Lashgasmic-Search for Non-Clumpy Mascara

I have a dog but he is kind of borrowed,

I have no kids, though there are a few in my life.

I’m older so I’m not taking classes at college, and I don’t have time to take craft or cooking classes (tho that might be fun).

So, I spend my time and money pursuing a couple of things I really enjoy. Taking dance class and playing with make up and skincare.

Last week I spent 8 hours watching videos on youtube according to my fading battery report.  If you were able to slice up those 8 hours, I’d say I spent at least 3/4s watching some related video about skincare, make up, some vlogger’s sephora haul, or a few hair videos (check out provocativewoman channel-all long hair, cut and color).

Even Google is tracking your video hours-I recently saw a report that of the time spent on youtube a great big chunk of users were watching…make up videos….and what do they do with the info…..shop online.

It’s VIB and VIB Rouge shopping season-which for those of you unannointed means 20% off everything in and on sephora.com. For Rouge level, Sephora started the sale early, stopped a few days to let buyers catch their breath, then started up VIB level which included Rouge level too.

I have to admit at this point after shopping both levels (for gifts for other people-I swear!) I’m a smidge fatigued.

Having said that, yesterday I was with my buddies and I asked them what I bought.  I buy make up and skincare like one friend buys diamonds and jewelry. (I guess if I didn’t buy so much make up I could buy diamonds). Oh well.

The discussion kind of stirred up the frenzy again..but thankfully only for a little while and the desire dissipated. I did check the sephora app for the weekly wow and inbox but no takers.

Anyway.

Because I’ve found my dream creams at least for now (Shiseido Future Solutions Eye and Contour cream, Clinique SPF 30 Sunscreen and Clinique tinted City Block SPF, La Mer Moisturizer or Shiseido Waso) I’ve moved on to mascara.

Now I’ve never really had a mascara fetish. As long as it stayed on in a sweaty dance class, could take a touch up application, washed off easily and didn’t clump, I was pretty happy. I used Great Lash for years, non-waterproof and life was good.

But I, like everyone get so many mascara samples that may as well try them, right?

Side note(s):  my test for washability is to remove it with micellar water.

Side note(s): Brands please make packaging less similar.  I’ve been at counters where the salespeople had a hard time identifying the right formulas.

Here’s my thoughts in no certain order:

Estee Lauder Sumptous-smears under my eyes and definitely clumpy.

Estee Lauder Sumptous Bold Volume-I think this is the sample I got, which I would try again.  It doesn’t smear like its sister.

Too Faced Better Than Sex-pretty awesome. Long, fat lashes, washes off with micellar water and combs through pretty well if it does get clumpy.

Benefit They’re Real-impressive lengthening, though won’t take a touch up at all. I guess whatever makes the formula curly, also makes it stiff. It does lengthen enough that I can feel my lashes on my glasses.

L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes, Great Lash and other drugstore-I haven’t found anything I like for a long time, I’ll buy it to try it but take it back.

MAC-I used to love False Lashes but the people at the counter at the mall nearest to where I live are pretty horrific so I rarely buy anything MAC.

Clinique

-Chubby Lash-I liked this so much I bought for friends. But then it started clumping.

-High Impact-no impact

-Lash Doubling-good price

-High Lengths-I liked this at first because of the brush but I think the formula is too liquidy so it clumped.

Laura Mercier-Long Lash-clumpy.

Blinc-my friend recommended this brand. It has a specific way to put it on, takes no touch ups, lengthens and doesn’t clump, and washes off with water. Like it but wouldn’t buy it again.

Burberry ?-beautiful packaging. Super clumpy.

Guerlain ? I got this as a sample but the purchased tube was horribly clumpy.

Shiseido-Full Lash Multi-Dimension Waterproof-just used this yesterday. I loved loved the lack of clumping but getting it off was a struggle.  I don’t really use make up remover unless I get samples-so that’s where that lost points for me.

Bobbi Brown-a few varieties over the year but nothing I’d buy again.

Tarte-Lights, Camera, Lashes-tried the sample and tossed it for abundance of meh.

Mary Kay Lash Love-great brush, but doesn’t take a touch up. Kind of crinkly.

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir-nothing in particular to say.

Lancome Definicils-I guess if non-clumpy was the only thing I wanted this is fine. It lengthen but lashes don’t get fat.

Smashbox Full Exposure-meh. Just meh.

Makeup for Ever-Smoky Extravagant-I think I liked this but clumped after awhile.

Some I’d like to try:

Diorshow Iconic Overcurl

Wander Beauty-I have it, but haven’t tried it yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#jonesroadbeauty a Phoenix or a Dodo?

Been slacking off on writing about the stuff I try and leaving it up to the video creators on YouTube and TIkTok.

Sooo many comments about the amount of old people using TIkTok.

As a marketing person, I figure it’s TikTok’s way of being inclusive, aka we are showing you other old people to encourage you to engage.

When I’m on the app I see mostly people 50+, 50+ old guys saying this is my age, this where I live…..or 50+ women telling me about the menopause. I’m guessing young people are still on the app, I just haven’t liked the right, or followed the right creators to lead me to that statistical gold mine of data.

Then the ads.

The ads I see tend to be universal products. Even though the talent or influencer market-picked type is young, anyone can use the product like mascara or FAB face and body cream.

I must have watched the women who is 50+ with nice skin aka nice lighting that talks about product and make up tips too many times, because #jonesroadbeauty appeared in my newsfeed.

I watch a selection of people on YouTube, so I had not heard about @bobbibrowncosmetics phoenix product line, jones road.

The tiktoks (and YouTube videos) are pretty lame and lack the money invested in production as Bobbi’s slick vids for her namesake line. There is a way to keep production costs down, look great and sell product, but unless you are a diehard fan, you might pass out trying out the line if you never heard of the brand if you based it on her tiktoks.

I was a diehard Bobbi Brown cosmetics fan. In fact, hers was the first make up book I ever bought, and I was considered one of my salesperson’s best customers at NM. The Bobbi counter move from the right hand side, albeit a front front door position to the featured position in front of the ladies who lunch escalator where everyone lunching could see everyone buying make up from high up among the butterflies.

I digress.

When I saw the video, I excitedly looked for more videos-unfortunately they were pretty lackluster so I went to YouTube and the jonesroadbeauty website. Very few YouTube video reviews, and comments were pretty lukewarm. It’s surprising because the product line is nearly identical to Bobbi Brown cosmetics–the colors are the same, the textures are similar and Bobbi looks great (must be her skincare).

I’ve been searching for the perfect gray beige brown eyeshadow for a year and #natashadenona mini gray pallet and assorted others did not fit the bill.

But jones road’s selection does—the starter pack includes the miracle balm, blush, eye shadow, lip gloss and eye pencil. Plus I purchased one more eye shadow in a lighter variation of gray beige. (I checked today and this particular kit is not on their website).

The eye shadow is perfection. Soft texture and stay all day color. I applied it with and without a primer (more on Trish McEvoy’s eye brightener from Nords).

The eye liner is hard and stiff-but it makes drawing a line easy after using very soft pencils that don’t tug. Net neutral on that-not a break out color so I wouldn’t buy it as a stand alone.

The lip gloss is nothing to write home about. Could be anyone’s product.

The blush pigment is pretty good–the pale pink lookalike delivers a soft pop of color–I guess if you wanted to do Bobbi’s signature look, I would start with a light layer then dot a second layer on the cheek apple.

And then the miracle balm.

It’s a giant amount of product that you dab on like highlighter (mostly) though it is a multi-use product. When I saw the size, I’m like, why is there so much product? Can you rub it on like a body balm moisturizer?

I was excited to try it out and dabbed a little on my cheek. Almost immediately I noticed the not citrusy tart smell, but SOUR smell. Underneath I could smell a minty base–much like Bobbi’s extra product line.

It’s my karen-like issue that I won’t take the time to return products to one of 4 inconvenient UPS locations on Oahu, or buy an envelope to return rejects so I wrote jones road in hopes they would send fresh product.

The response was “it’s you, not us”, and that I can’t tell when product is spoiled v rancid.

I’d buy more eye shadow, but moist products like the balm, concealer etc that’s probably been sitting in their warehouse since Sep 2020 launch, is a so long jones road.

Drop No More! What’s up with the medicine droppers for foundation et al?

I found one of those combo sunscreen with tint and skincare products that I really liked, or well at least really liked with the caveats that it didn’t apply well when used with prep products such as Shiseido Future Solutions softener, or Kiehls Daily yellow stuff.

But once it was on the face, looked great, color perfect and had decent staying power.

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint lives in the rare product category of liking it enough to purchase it twice.

I bought it again knowing that the lame medicine dropper applicator makes a huge mess.

You have to shake the product so if you shake the product in the normal fashion of up and down, you are greeted with a great overflow of product when you open the medicine dropper, which then, overflows to the side of the bottle.

So much wasted product.

What a mess.

On my second bottle, I would shake it side to side to avoid the overflow, which worked. I did finish the product but decided until Ilia changes their packaging, I’ll skip it.

Besides, did Ilia ever read their comment section on IG? I think not, so many people noted that the “model” tugged at her face and opened her mouth in that, “watching my mother in the mirror way” of how people used to apply all products. Not a gentle pat with fingers or sponge, or slide with a foundation brush.

A tug.

Like a tug of war with her face-“I want to look good, but in the process, I’m going to ruin my skin by pulling it out of shape to get the product on.”

Another product that I got in a Sephora favorites was the Dr Jart sunscreen. Also in a medicine dropper. Great product-moisturizing so can skip a heavy moisturizer layer. But same issue-half the product is wasted because of the dropper.

And while I’m at it, what’s up with those tiny eye shadow applicators in Tom Ford’s eye shadow quads-or Chanels, Dior’s?

The gross sponge in cushion compacts.

Ewgh.

Some like it HARD-Rolling on a PVC Pipe vs softer approaches

A recent conversation made me start thinking about whether all this rolling of muscles on foam rollers, yoga balls or PVC Pipe was creating burst veins/broken capillaries on rolled parts and whether the entire concept of fascia relief was just a bunch of BS.

Add to that-if releasing the fascia that formed to support injured areas was a good thing at all?

For those who exercise often or those who used to exercise often and never stretched before or afterwards, the concept of loosening up the connective fascia tissue offers an enticing belief that fascia is the evil maker of all aches and pains AND that it can be manipulated into submission by rolling with any apparatus hard or soft.

Hmmmm.

Or is fascia release just a trendy gym fad?

In talking to people who use their bodies for a living professionally, their knowledge of how to use or not use the various rolling and massage tools exceeds what the old fart gym rats would have or come to believe as taught by their instructors.

All they know is they feel better and they gladly offer testimonials for how rolling on hard PVC pipe rollers has changed their lives for the better.

Is that point of view really about that people want everything fast? That slow and steady doesn’t win the race and that the time-starved just want relief NOW?

About 10 years ago I popped my hamstring and was out of commission from doing anything that included jumping or running. So I started doing yoga.

I walked into the intermediate yoga class and the haughty instructor asked me if I had every taken yoga.

Uh, no.

But I am flex-y except for my busted hamstring. She let me stay and I took yoga faithfully for months after I regained use of my hamstring. She was a great teacher. I stopped yoga when it became the gym in-thing and the classes became a competition where people fought to be in the front on their certain mat and all the BS that is not truly yoga.

Anyway.

I nursed myself back to health slowly over 3 months-had a few acupuncture sessions.  This time in my life was before PT was my go-to answer for anything that hurt.

OK

I like to think of myself as knowledgeable enough to use an apparatus properly-so, couple that with the fact that the instructor is a self-promoting d*ck, so I’ve never been to class.

Obviously mostly because the person is a d*ck.

So I’ll speak to my own experience with attempting to dislodge my fascia via physical manipulation with a trainer instead of an inanimate object aka PVC pipe.

I tried FST or Fascia something something about a year ago. The concept of breaking up connective tissue that had scarred into place to help me function somehow made sense to me. That I could have increased flexibility was enticing.

I have to admit that the sessions felt good-stretching instead of mashing (the trainer has opinions about mashing via PVC pipe and rollers).  Working with a trainer, the client mainly is stretched to start breaking up the connective tissue (fascia) that has scarred into place.

After my second session I noticed that my knee started acting up. I’ve had IT band type issues that once one thing acts up, everything falls apart.

You know like the song- the ankle bone connected to the shin bone the shin bone connected to the…..

So at this point I went to my third session with trepidation. Instead of working on my legs which were in pain at this point, the trainer worked on my shoulders and neck.

I drew the line at my neck since I was already thinking the FST caused my issues with my knee.

Fast forward a year later-I had multiple sessions of PT to reset my left leg-once one old injury  was fixed another one flared up.  This time around I learned that if I stuck to GENTLE self-massage, ice, elevation and using my vibrating roller pretty much any injury will heal.

From my point of view-the fascia connective tissue had scarred into a place where my old injuries were supported and although not working perfectly, they worked properly.

Lesson learned?

Human beings were created to function and heal on their own meaning the fascia scars have a purpose.

And that PVC Pipe and destroying connective tissues is just a fad.

Seriously, where are the medical studies that support either approach-hard or physical manipulation? Some people may be helped with mashing themselves-but, could they have been helped anyway by another means?

Thought.

 

What Does A 40-Year-old Man Know About Mature Meno Skin?

Aka help for dry skin that comes along with menopause.

The other day I was cruising youtube and Sephora’s Beauty Director vid pops up- the topic being “Mature Skin Tips”.

The vid is hosted by David, one of the three or four featured make up artists.  He often teams up with another make up artist Jeffrey, but rarely with Myesha for some reason.

Well, I think I know the reason, while Jeffrey is a much better make up artist, David is just plain pushy and boorish when paired up with him. Every time Jeffrey tries to make a point or talk about a new palette, David boorishly overpowers the conversation. It’s very off-putting to the point that if there’s a vid with both of them I skip it.

Anyway.

He starts talking about his own “mature skin” at age 40–

Seriously? Since when is 40 “mature”? Hasn’t he heard 70 is the new 35?

I get that at the end of the day Sephora and David are pushing products they want to promote, so whatever they recommend may be from personal experience of testing the product but are their recommendations honestly relevant when he’s talking about mature skin as a 40 year old MAN?

He could instead describe his video as for “maturing skin for men” and that would be more accurate.

I think Sephora tried with a video made last year of one of their older make up salespeople-an attractive white haired woman with nice skin who had her make up applied by Jeffrey.

But there’s no Beauty Director who is in his or her 50+, 60+s, who could offer real tips for the desert dry skin that comes along with menopause.

Ugh.

Or is it a celebration?

Whichever side you take here’s my formula after buying and trying pretty much every thick moisturizing for aging skin cream.

Cleanse-micellar water.  I’ve used Bioderma and Garnier and to save a couple of dollars, buy the Garnier regular formula.  The waterproof formula has something harsh in it and stings the eyes and it doesn’t clean water-resistant mascara very well anyway, so go for gentler with the regular formula.

Masks-skip anything for exfoliation or with clay.  This will only make your skin drier.  I like Farmacy Honey Night Mask but if you’re not planning on washing your hair, it will seep into your hairline never mind a mess on your pillow. Go for Fresh Rose or Lotus masks. Tried Laniege and Fresh Black Tea-meh.

Eye Cream-I was using Shiseido Benifiance, but I really found that Shisiedo Future Solutions for Eye and Lip Contour is pricey but lasts a long time and worth the $150.

USE IT WITH

Fresh Black Tea Eye Serum-I am in my second bottle and tried pairing it with the Black Tea Eye Cream but the Shiseido Future Solutions cream works much better.  I have seen the crepe-texture on my lids reduced and my lids appear less droopy.

Fresh Black Tea Kombucha Essence-leaps and bounds better than SKII. There’s something about the slightly tacky liquid that moisturizes and relieves dryness.

Oil-I don’t always use an oil. But I like it for heavy-duty nights. If I do, I might put on some Herbivore Hibiscus Oil or the Ordinary Rose Oil.

Day Cream-I’m liking the Fresh Vitamin C Nectar. Smells like tangerines, light formula. Though on a day after a day of being in the sun, I slather on Rosa Artica-heavy formula. Like vaseline.

Night Cream-I use pretty much the same approach. I’ve tried some sleeping masks and sometimes I use them, but my day procedure works pretty well.

Sunscreen-Clinique SPF40 Mineral Fluid. Light, doesn’t sting the eyes.

Tinted Moisturizer-Clinique SPF40(?) City Defense.

Heavy Duty-Drunk Elephant. White and thick but disappears with a lot of rubbing in.

Light Day Duty Sunscreen-I like Olay Day Moisturizer SPF15. I put it on my neck, decollette (sp) arms and legs.

Case Studies

Golf-Today I will be out in the sun with hat and sunglasses and hopefully mostly under cover of the golf cart since I am not golfing just taking photos.

My plan-my base skincare with Fresh eye serum, Black Tea Essence, Shiseido Future Solutions Eye, Kiehl’s Day Serum, Vitamin C Nectar Cream, maybe an extra layer of Rosa Artica on my face and neck.  Followed with Clinique Mineral SPF, Origin’s Eye Cream with SPF30. Another layer of Clinique City Defense Sunscreen, then makeup.

During-carry around Clinique City Defense for touch ups every two hours or so.

Night-take it all off with Garnier micellar water. Cleanse with Cerave Hydrating Cleanser in the shower to take off the rest of the make up.  Basic skincare Fresh eye serum, Kombucha essence, probably the Ordinary Rose Oil and Kiehl’s Rosa Artica over it all. Maybe a touch of Clinique Dramatically Different to seal it all in.

*****

Oh yeah-my last recommendation to David?  Stop using the beta-acid peels he’s always blabbing about.  I think it’s Dr Dennis Gross.  Stripping your skin of natural oils to get that clean feeling is just stripping your skin of it’s natural protection from the elements. It also lays bare a fresh layer of your skin to burn even more under the sun.

Duh.

 

Too Much Goop-Super Goop Cream Eyeshadow Shimmers

They are very pretty in the package – when you smear it on your wrist the consistency is creamy and doesn’t feel like it has a lot of drag on your skin, so Super Goop’s eyeshadow shimmers with sunscreen seemed like a great product to try to protect the lids.

They come in three shimmer shades-when I tried them on in Sephora the darker shades are very pretty but I rarely wear colors that dark at this point.

Unless you’re going to go full guns with a dark smoky eye, wearing a bunch of color on your lids is very aging and looks too heavy in the summertime.

Unless you’re just one of those flamboyant types who wears it well,

or not.

Anyway.

The point is, I use a light hand when it comes to color.  When I bought it I didn’t really think about how much product I would put on that delivered color payoff AND SUN PROTECTION.

That’s the question-how much of the product do you have to apply to get the promised sun protection?

The guideline for face sunscreen is a dime.

The guideline for the body is as much as you can possibly tolerate starting with a quarter cup per body part.

So how much of Super Goop’s eye shimmer to get the benefit?

Turns out for me, there’s no way that I would get the benefit unless I put enough product on AND all over my eye.

That’s the other thing-if the product were a more neutral skin tone shade, then it could be used on the entire eye area from the lid to the brow bone. I tried that one day and well, it was just too much.

Would be great if I was doing a gold disco retro eye.

But not for everyday.

The conclusion? Pretty but not practical until they come out with neutral shades without readable shimmer and sparkle.

K

PS

The only products with SPF that I have found that don’t sting or irritate are Clinique’s City Block, Clinique Mineral Fluid and Origin’s A Perfect World.  Most sunscreens have too much fragrance or otherwise sting.

He Called Me “Aunty”-How Others See Me

Of course in Hawaii, calling someone “Auntie” refers to any female that is older than the child you are talking to.

Example when speaking to small child, “Go ask Auntie….”

But the other day when my yard guys were here, and the driver called out-“No worries Aunty…”, I was thinking “Is it my outfit?” I was dressed down that day, but it wasn’t like I was wearing culottes.

In any case, I had been feeling that way anyway and have been giving it some thought about when I transitioned from being called”Hot babe” to being called “Auntie”, when people are referring to moi.

When and how did I get here?

A few years ago, instead of having a healthy dinner with a glass of wine, I would, many evenings be eating a bag of potato chips with a couple of glasses of wine.  In college the same bad habit was a few Michelobs and a bag of Lays potato chips purchased from the 7-11 since I didn’t have a car to go anywhere else.

I digress.

Nowadays I follow my mood.  My trainer had me on a pretty strict diet of low carbs–he suggested 50 grams.

If you’ve ever followed a low carb diet you probably just gasped in horror.

When you start tracking your carbs, you realize that 50 grams is just the trace amounts you get in foods that are considered low carb anyway like vegs.

But as I put it “I wanted to look cute in dresses” which was my workout goal.

I was getting tired of looking only at the baggy blouse rack instead of the form fitting choices.

Really I know it’s about comfort-but wearing baggy clothes wasn’t helping in the Auntie department.

Fast forward-I lost 10 pounds in 18 months following a lower carb but not 50 gram diet.

People still call me Auntie but I think I’m starting to feel good about the fact I’m approaching 60 and my skincare and obsession with staying out of the sun has delayed people from making the transition to calling me elderly and offering me the senior citizen discount.

I don’t wear clothes that are inappropriate for my age but I still hang onto my halter tops because nowadays I use my arms as my physical barometer.

Inside I follow my heart and if I want a cupcake-cheers to that.

My spirit is mature but I’m not inflexible.  I can change for a good rationale, but mostly I reject things and people who are just going to be bad for me which in the end keeps me the most youthful.

Maybe I deserve that Auntie tag after all-there’s a wisdom attached to the title after all.

K

 

Purple Haze-Kiehls Company Store

I really enjoy Kiehls’ products-Rosa Artica is my long time fave go-to moisturizer when skin is parched.  Bar-none it is the thickest face product I know.  Like whipped vaseline.

But in a good way.

Got the friends and family card in the mail and left it in my car so I’d remember to take advantage of the 20% off.

So, I thought the sale started Monday and already knew what I wanted when I walked in the store.  I overheard the purple haired salesperson say “see you tomorrow when the sale starts”.

Then I realized that the sale started on TUESDAY.

I rarely venture over the hill on Tuesdays since I live 12 miles away on the Windward side.

I know, “too far to go”.  At least for people who live in Hawaii.

I figured that Kiehls might be nice and give me the discount a day early if I asked nicely.

I’ve been going to Marsha Nadalin in Kahala for over 10 years and their sidewalk sales happen on Fridays, and my brow person only works on Thursdays. When I nicely ask, they nicely reciprocate and give me whatever discount a day early.

Not so with the purple haired one.

I rarely shop in the store since I can buy Kiehls from Nords, Blooms, NM and sephora.

All you can do is vote with your credit card since

good

help

is

hard

to find.

Nuff said. I don’t need to start a lecture on competition.

Note:  I started this a few months ago but never published. I went in the store the other day when I walked by and didn’t see the purple haired person. (I have nothing against hair dye).  

 

 

Having A Moment

You have probably noticed that cosmetic retailers are battling it out for a piece of the beauty dollar pie. Used to be Sephora had a sale twice a year and the rest of the time I’d wait to buy stuff when there was a good gwp.

Nowadays once one retailer posts a sale or promo coupon than Macy’s or Nordstrom posts a price match. They even compete with company stores!

If you want to replenish a basic like Clinique sunscreen- should you it buy for 25% off at the company store, or hunt around for a gwp with free shipping?

If you can’t tell by now I’m of the “wait until I get a deal” crowd.  Sephora reduced their samples per order to two and the pickings are slim. Even if you’re rouge, you get nothing extra for the privilege of the upgraded plastic card.  Just the status of being amongst the crowd of the big spenders.

Or at least perceived as such.

One day I was in line and the cashier said to the woman, “You have 20000 points…..”

I was a bit shocked.

Previous to that I thought I bought a lot – mostly skincare but still a lot.

This past holiday was different.  I bought gifts and stuff for me and then said- step away from the credit card .

Nevertheless I bought MORE.

When it was all said and done I was in a drunken stupor of a makeup buying frenzy.

After recovery, I seriously had moments when walking into the cosmetic dept of any store and my eyes would glaze and I would get a buzzing in my ears.

Too soon.

I wasn’t safe from myself.

Only a few days ago when a pot called the kettle black, on the same day I dumped two eye palettes I stopped using, did I go shopping for makeup.

It was nice.

I felt calm.

I responded to salespeople, “I feel like buying today.”

I’m the type that in a nice store, I veer away from the manolo blaniks to stay in Stuart Weitzman Ville.

There’s just a price point where I refuse like a stubborn horse and avert my eyes.

Maybe I was just reacting to the pot, but I walked up to the Dior counter and bought a limited edition shadow palette.

I told myself it was to replace one of the two palettes I dumped.

The truth is-I was buying it to feel better.

Some people can face truth about themselves, and well, others just can’t, so the best thing to do is just let them look in the mirror and hope someday they will face themselves.

Now, what am I going to do with my Nordstrom  note?

Save it for something I really need instead of something I just want to feel better.

k

 

 

 

 

 

Creamiest of the creamy-By Terry Eye Shadow Stick

When I watch videos about using long-wear eye shadow sticks-youtubers drawing on big smudgy blobs of color to blend out to big smokey eyes, or drawn on to precise sharp wings…

I think, I can do that.

I don’t use a lot of quotation marks here.

As always, I answer the siren call of obsession with a product when I become convinced I NEED IT NOW!

Such is the case in my collection of Bobbi Brown eye shadow cream pots and sticks.

Ditto with my Laura Mercier eye shadow sticks.

Love them both on you tubers, but they feel like dragging a rubber eraser along my eyelid.

In the ripe age of approaching the next decade mark, I’m thinking a lot about the texture of products I put on my eyes.

I recently consulted with the Nords Fresh counter manager and he suggested it might be that my eye shadow was drying out my lids.

Hmmm.

I have quite a collection of powder eye shadow palettes.

It makes sense that if you put powder on to keep dry in the summer, than powder would dry out your skin on your eyelids. Duh.

He suggested one of my fave brands-Nars eye shadow stick in Goddess, a peachy, rose gold color which can be worn alone or as a primer.

I received it a few weeks later in the mail.

Excited to use it-I compared it to my Laura shadows. Somewhat softer, but still felt a little draggy.

My heart is always searching.

So I wandered into Saks and I’ve always loved the By Terry hand cream….

Wanting to buy and needing nothing….scary.

The salesgirl was actually from the La Mer counter but she spoke highly of By Terry products.

I took out the eye shadow stick and glided it on my hand and I couldn’t believe how creamy and soft it was….sigh. But, I just bought the Nars version and thought the color was really close.

Never mind.

Bought it anyway and came home and compared colors-not the same.

However, the By Terry shadow stick is waaaaaaay softer.

Kirsten’s glide rating of shadow sticks:

Bobbi Brown-like dragging a rubber eraser across your eyelids.

Laura Mercies-Like dragging a softer eraser, but somehow feels abrasive-like the glitter particles are scratching my eye.

Nars-Better slide, but I can’t help but wonder if the product was old and maybe dried out?

By Terry-soft like sliding whipped cream on your eyelid.

Price wise, the By Terry product is the most expensive, but it’s cheaper than plastic surgery.

The other lesson learned? Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much of sale another line might offer, the product will drive the purchase when the benefit outweighs price rationalization.

K