(Plus some bonus YSL and my Feb 2013 Popsugar box! Warning! This post is very picture heavy.)

Today, I have some drugstore lovelies to share with you. Some I've had for awhile (the balm stains and lip butters), and some are newer.

When talking about makeup, I generally think that there are items where you should ONLY go high-end (eyeshadow!), and then items where there's not much difference between the high-end brands and their drugstore brethren. Mascara usually falls into this category (Maybelline makes some of the best mascara on the market, perfectly comparable to Diorshow, imo).

If you'd have asked me a few months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that there'd be a cream eyeshadow that would hold up to high-end versions. MAC's Paint Pots have been generally well-regarded since their release, and Benefit's have also gotten high marks. Then came Maybelline. They accomplished two pretty remarkable feats with their release of their 24 Hour Tattoo by Eyestudio cream eyeshadow line: one, this stuff is actually pretty damn fantastic for $6, and two, the color range has some colors that you usually only see in some of the riskier high-end lines, like MUFE, Illamasqua, or Urban Decay. Like, there's a FUCHSIA. Fuchsia. Anyhow, when I saw these on 1/2 price sale at Rite Aid, I pounced.


Clockwise from top:
Audacious Asphalt, Inked In Pink, Tenacious Teal, Tough as Taupe, Fuchsia Fever.

( Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows.Collapse )

( Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters and Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.Collapse )

( L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Stains vs. Yves Saint Laurent Glossy Stains.Collapse )

( Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express Mascara.Collapse )

( Yes To... Facial Wipes.Collapse )

I also got my Popsugar Box for 2013 yesterday. As ever, here is my referral code, and get $5 off your first box with the REFERFRIENDS coupon code.

( Popsugar Must Have Box, February 2013Collapse )

Before I go, a few final random shots!

( Randoms.Collapse )

Since I've been huddled in my studio working nonstop this month, you are basically getting three weeks' worth of posting all at once. Makeup reviews, PopSugar reviews, stuff stuff stuff. Warning: image heavy!

Woe, USPS: Yesterday was my first full day off in a long, long while. Well, mostly-off. I spent about a 1/2 hr adjusting shipping profiles on my store, as Monday USPS prices go up. It's not that big a deal for US residents, but it is fairly dramatic for international customers. Prices are pretty much doubling there. I am a bit nervous about how this is going to affect my business, and basically I'll be eating costs on international orders (custom and club) that have already been paid where shipment is ongoing. Lovely.

However, I am now using Etsy & Stamps.com for shipping instead of going to the PO with everything. This means that the savings I am getting for free delivery confirmation alone should offset the cost of printing labels and then some. Yay for efficiency-- I'm saving a lot of time this way, and time is money when you own your own business.

Woe, my own stupidity: I forgot my phone was in my back pocket. My phone is now in a bowl of rice. I may not have a phone for the next few days. Crossing my fingers.

Reading: I haven't had solid chunks of time for reading, which is what I prefer when reading long-form narrative fiction, so I've been reading Michael Farquhar's A Treasury of Royal Scandals, which is largely entertaining and very good for the 30 mins or so I can muster before I pass out at night. It does, however, cause me to ardently wish that there is a special hell in which several Roman emperors are burning eternally. I had to skip a few pages here and there because oh hell no. I have tonight basically free, so I will be cuddling up to finish The Night Circus, which so far is entrancing when I can find the time for it.

PopSugar: My January box came! ( Cut for spoilers.Collapse )

So overall-- for the theme, it's a good box. Even if it's not my favorite theme, I will get plenty of use out of it, especially the big ticket item. If you're interested in joining up, here is my referral code!

Makeupland: Now that I have had some time to play with stuff I got in the latter part of last year, I wanted to show some photos and do some reviews. Plus, my nail polish collection continues to grow. ( Lots of sparkle.Collapse )

Hair: My hair indeed lightened up after the last round of washes. It's now fuchsia on top, medium purple underneath. Here's a shot plus a rainbow clip-in I bought from IKickShins on Etsy.






I AM RAINBOW BRITE, Y'ALL.

Okay, technically, I'm like a Stormy/Starlite mashup, but most of you wouldn't get that reference.

In less-fun news? I didn't blow dry my hair for like a week while I was working on the latest update, and that combined with SERIOUSLY DRY CONDITIONS in my house = the first bout of dandruff I've had since adolescence. I did a coconut oil masque because dandruff shampoos SERIOUSLY strip color, and it's a little better, but I looked like a serious grease ball afterwards. Next up is gonna be apple cider vinegar + rosemary EO. And we got a humidifier. Ugggh, I am ready for my scalp to stop freaking out.

Retail Therapy, Non-Makeup Variety: ( Under the cut.Collapse )

Other things: Really, there's not a lot else to report. Husband is good, preparing for a ski trip. He bought me an orchid. It's lovely. The weather is bitterly cold, and the 1" of snow on the ground hasn't melted in two days. Cats are mostly fine, except Olive has had an all-caps ATTITUDE lately. She cannot abide Nox or Mim getting any attention. Period. We are trying to break her of that, but she is being difficult.

So. Yep. That's about the it, minus my political rantings, which are mostly on Facebook. Enjoy How to deal with a mansplainer, starring Hillary Clinton in gifs, if you haven't seen it already. How Faux News ANYONE could have watched that hearing and decided that she didn't stand her ground and then some is totally beyond me. Rand Paul is a fucking disgrace, and I'm surprised he can tie his shoes, let alone sit in Congress. I'm not saying that there shouldn't have been an official inquiry about Benghazi. There absolutely should have been. What I'm saying is that nobody talks about the other consulate attacks pre-Obama, where far more Americans have died and been injured than the Benghazi attack. What should have been a routine and necessary investigation into Benghazi has been turned into a three-ring circus of conspiracy theories and condescension by the Tea Party and their bankrollers at Fox. It's political opportunism on display. These are, of course, the same people who say the left politicizes tragedy after mass shootings. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

If you made it this far, congrats. Gold star. Here are some pretty pictures to finish this massive post off!

( PRETTY THINGS.Collapse )

Ciao, y'all. Off to read.

Mostly because I'm quitting Birchbox after January (and I have a nice even 20 pts for $20 off their shop). I liked my time at Birchbox, and I did find a couple of products through them I use regularly that I would not have tried otherwise, but frankly, I'm tired of perfume samples I never wear, and hair oil samples one box after another. Their points program is great, but unless January blows my socks off, I'm pretty much done.

I had intended to start Popsugar in January, but I got bumped up to the December box after a few people on their waitlist flaked. Currently, the January box is sold out, and they're taking orders for February.

Basically, Popsugar is a subscription box wherein you'll get lifestyle stuff (books, movie tickets), housewares (candles, mugs), beauty stuff (nailpolishes, lipsticks), food, etc. It's more rounded than a lot of the other subscriptions out there, and for $35, you're guaranteed full size products worth far more than $35 (and I did find this to be true). Shipping is free.

After scoping out the previous few months' boxes, I took the plunge. I liked most of the offered products and figured even if something's not a perfect match, it's at the least gift-able. And I like trying new things. I'm a novelty seeker.

( The December Box, spoiler-cut for other subscribers.Collapse )

So yeah, I'll stick around for another month or two. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the box.

If you're interested, two things:

Thing One: this is my referral code. What this means is that for every two people I refer, I get a month's box free. If you join up, please consider using my code?

Thing Two: Coupon code "REFERFRIENDS" gets you $5 off your first box.