Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette 50% off ($27) from Ulta today only + free shipping (and gratuitous cat photo)

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Ulta sent me an email saying the Naked Smoky palette is half price today, in stores or online--but you also get free shipping on your order if you buy it, so if you can't get to the store, you don't have to pay extra. I wonder if they just have a huge overstock of these things? I don't wear smoky-eye looks or dark greys enough for this to be worthwhile for me, but it is tempting. Anyone else been coveting it?

And since I haven't had time to post anything detailed lately, please take this cat photo instead. I'm cat-sitting this bag-loving jerk this weekend. He kept me up all night because he stole my Beauty Blender and kabuki brush out of my suitcase, and then kept yelling at me to get up and play with him. It wasn't until 3 am that I realized he had them and that was why he was making so much noise. Now today I have to somehow move all of my furniture from one apartment to another on very little sleep.

But hey, I've learned that if I ever feel like getting a $20 cat toy, Beauty Blenders are very popular with the felines.

Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipsticks 3 for $24

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As you may know, Bite discontinued the Luminous Crème formula this year in order to replace it with the Amuse Bouche lipsticks. Now they are clearing out the old LCs, so if you were a particular fan--or if you missed out--you can get 3 for the price of 1 ($24). It looks like there was originally a "bold" combo and a "nude" set, but I only see the nudes on Sephora's site right now (Fig, Retsina, and Musk). I have a few of these lipsticks and like them quite a lot (including Mulberry, which I wrote about here, so I hope the bold set reappears). They're very comfortable. Anyone planning to pick them up while they last?

Remember that you can get two-day shipping for a year from Sephora for $10, which is a good idea if you're planning to place more than two orders in a year. There is also 4% cashback from Ebates at the moment.

I'm in the process of moving this weekend, so I probably won't have any really substantial posts again until I've settled in a bit. All my shit is in boxes.

Extra 30% off regular items, extra 50% off clearance, and free shipping from J. Crew Factory

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I have been so good about not buying new clothes during the past year, but holy shit am I sick of everything I own at this point. I really shouldn't be shopping when I'm about to move with all the expenses related to that, but . . . 50% off. Use code SETSALE. Today only.

(Note: "Extra" means this is an actual sale, not one of the fake sales they send emails about all the time.)

ETA: The regular J. Crew site also has 40% off sale items with code SUMMER.

What beauty companies own what other beauty companies (from Defining Delphine)

In case you've wondered what big companies own what beauty brands, here's a helpful post laying it all out. Then you can shop who you want to shop or avoid who you want to avoid or identify formulas that are identical between brands (though don't forget that unaffiliated companies can use the same factories to product certain products!).

Something new to add to the list: L'Oreal just bought IT Cosmetics.

Review: Marc Jacobs Beauty Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight

Disclosure: Affiliate links. Product provided free for review from Influenster.

To continue my recent theme of trying out products that wouldn't normally fit into my budget, today I'm reviewing Marc Jacobs Beauty Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight. This product was sent to me for free from Influenster. If you're not aware, anyone can sign up for Influenster and get things to review. It's not a blogger thing, but you do need to use social media.

Highlighter is one of those products that is proliferating the market right now, but if you are not a makeup collector or someone who regularly uses makeup to create editorial looks, you probably don't need more than one. In fact, you probably don't need one at all, because chances are you already have an eyeshadow that can function perfectly well as a highlighter. Personally, when I do my makeup, I am usually aiming to conceal things I don't like and to enhance or slightly alter things I do like, but rarely to draw a lot of attention to the makeup itself (with the occasional exception of lip colors and eyeliners). It's my impression that the majority of makeup consumers belong in this same category, though I am quite aware that people use and enjoy makeup for other reasons as well. Maybe you don't want to look naturally glowy, but like an android or an alien. That's a legitimate choice.

For me, two highlighters have been enough for a while now (and, again, eyeshadows will substitute just fine). Because I have a fairly neutral skin tone, I can adjust my makeup to be cooler or warmer, depending on my clothing, hair color, or mood, and it will still be flattering. So if I want to bring more warmth into my complexion, I'll use a gold/champagne highlighter (right now I have a mini tube of Benefit Watt's Up), and if everything else I'm wearing is cooler, a pearly or pink highlighter will often work better (I am currently working on a bottomless bottle of Benefit High Beam).

For a lot of people, either warm or cool will be more suitable for your skin tone, however. For everyday use, highlighter is generally meant to look like light is naturally reflecting off the high points of your face, and so having subtle variations of shade in various highlighters isn't going to make much difference, because the color shouldn't really show up, just the glow. For these purposes, you only need one good option that works for you.

That seems to be where Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight is meant to fit in. The Sephora description says that it contains both silver and gold pigments in order to be flattering to both cool and warm skin tones. I think you can see that that's a fairly accurate description when you compare the photo below to the first photo in this post. At some angles and in some lighting you get a warmer champagne or golden shimmer and at others a cool, pearly color like in the photo below. You may also be able to tell that it has a creamy texture here. If you've ever use Benefit's Watt's Up, the Glow Stick is much softer, slipperier, and more emollient.

The effect is on my skin is subtle and natural, so it works well for everyday use. I even applied this stuff to my entire face, and I just looked "dewier," not like some kind of combination human-fish cyborg. But I didn't take a photo.

 Here's how it looks on my cheekbone. I'm wearing other makeup in the photo, but no base product (just concealer and powder). I applied the Glow Stick by swiping my finger across the surface of the stick and then patting it along my cheekbone.

This photo was taken adjacent to direct sunlight (i.e. I was standing right at the edge of the shade on a very hot, sunny day) which intensifies the effect somewhat. It's not as shiny in indoor lighting. I think it looks pretty naturally "dewy." (I can't help but put scare-quotes around that word--sorry.) In fact, I'm not wearing the highlighter near the inner corner of my eyes, but the natural glare of the sun of my skin there looks similar to the reflection created by the Glow Stick. I don't think it makes the natural texture of my skin look any worse than it is, but it also doesn't do anything to disguise it.

Unfortunately, the creamy texture does not work well for my oily summer skin.  It disappears after just a few hours, and all I'm left with are a few stray sparkles. I think this would probably work much better for dry skin, but since I don't have that, I can't say for certain. I'll have to hold on to this until winter and see how it works for me then.

The product description states that you can get "one-swipe application" on your cheekbone due to the shape. I haven't had much luck doing that. It's not the right size or shape for me. Fingers are fine.

Here are some comparisons with some other products I own:

Left to right: Marc Jacobs Beauty Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight, City Color Shadow & Highlight Mousse in White Gold, the highlight shade from the Wet N Wild Walking on Eggshells eyeshadow trio, Benefit High Beam, and Benefit Watt's Up.

I thought that the City Color Mousse would be similar, but it's clearly more yellow and more intense. The main similarity is that it also doesn't work very well for my skin type, because it is very slippery. But the color is so pretty that I keep it around in hopes that I'll figure it out some day. I also looked for an eyeshadow that would be close to the Glow Stick as a powder alternative. Honestly, any pearly-cream eyeshadow is going to be pretty close, as you can see from the Wet N Wild swatch. And then I swatched my two usual highlighters, Benefit's High Beam and Watt's Up, just as points of comparison. You can see that when the light reflects off of these products, the differences are subtle. Noticeable in heavy swatches like these, sure, but when you use a lighter application like you ordinarily would on your face, the differences are going to be even less apparent.

$42 is out of my usual budget for a highlighter, especially since there are so many things that can be used to highlight the skin. But I was curious, so I did a cost comparison with some other stick highlighters out there (there are a lot these days!).

The Marc Jacobs Glow Stick is $42 for 0.49 oz., making it $85.71 per oz.

Glossier Haloscope is 0.194 oz. for $22, or $113.40 per oz.

Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight is 0.21 oz. for $22, or $104.76 per oz.

Benefit Watt's Up contains 0.33 oz. for $30, or $90.90 per oz.

Maybelline Master Strobing Stick is 0.24 oz. for $10, or $41.67 per oz.

Milk Makeup Highlighter is 1 oz. for $24, or fucking huge.

I don't know how any of these but Watt's Up compare (and I like Watt's Up quite a bit--it lasts longer on my skin), but there's the cost breakdown for you. The Marc Jacobs Glow Stick is somewhere in the middle. Not cheap, not outrageous.

I think that the Marc Jacobs Glow Stick is going to appeal mainly to people who have dry skin and want to own a single, natural-looking highlighter that's easy to apply without going overboard. There's a lot of product in there, so it would be hard to use it all up if it were just one product in a rotation of many. I guess it would also appeal to people who like their makeup to look like deodorant. Who doesn't, though?

Extra 40% off sale items from ModCloth

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I know some of their stock is unbearably twee, and the names they give things sacrifice intelligibility for alliteration or rhyme. But you might find something special for cheap. Use code TOOHOT. (They're not kidding. The forecast is 97 degrees (that's 36 my fellow Canadians) for this coming weekend. TOO HOT!)

Choix Subscription Box #3 (with mini reviews of Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, Chanel Le Vernis in Vamp, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow, Tom Ford Matte Lip Color in Pussy Cat, and Laura Mercier Baked Eyeshadow in Black Karat)

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For more information about this subscription, take a look at the detailed review of my first two boxes. For now, I'm going to jump right in to the products I sampled in June (I'm already way behind, since I got my July box over a week ago already). This subscription is a fun way for me to test and review some higher end products that I normally wouldn't pick up.

My third box was full of surprises--things I liked more that I expected, and things that made for disappointing swatches but worked much better in actual use. Here are the samples I picked this time:

Chanel Le Vernis in Vamp and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx01.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow, Tom Ford Matte Lip Color in Pussy Cat, and Laura Mercier Baked Eyeshadow in Black Karat. They actually managed to preserve the "bacon" marbling in the Hourglass blush when repressing it! Impressive.

I also got these applicators, which as usual I could pretty much do without. I actually have no idea what the third thing is. This is the second time they've sent one of those. Any ideas?

Many, many photos below!

Lackluster Liquid Liner: Review of Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Intense Black

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Okay, maybe "lackluster" is a little harsh, but I have a hard time resisting alliteration. The fact is that this eyeliner is fine, but since I've so often heard that it's THE BEST and since it costs $22, I was hoping for better than fine.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner is felt-tip liquid liner that works like a marker, with the "ink" wicking up through the tip. This style of liquid liner is less messy than some other formats, but the downside, in my experience, is that the tip can get clogged or not flow immediately. If you apply your eyeliner after your eyeshadow, which you need to do to get the cleanest, crispest line, then it can pick up the product below and prevent the liquid from flowing properly. I also find that, even though I store the eyeliner vertically with the cap down, if I try to draw a line on my eye immediately after uncapping it, it's usually a little weak. I have to scribble on the back of my hand a little to really get the product flowing.

The other problem I tend to have with this style of eyeliner--and this applies to all the brands I've tried--is that the tip wears down quickly and becomes sort of floppy, which prevents drawing a perfectly sharp point. You can see that in the photo below, my wing is not "pointy enough to kill a man." It was the best I could get out of it after using this pen for a few months (though only a couple of times a week). The tip of this particular eyeliner also tends to end up with long fibers clinging to the end of it, which are part of the material of the tip. I have to pick them off with my fingers, making a mess of my fingertips. And it's hard to clean up (see below). On the plus side, I've been using it for months now, and it hasn't shown any signs of drying up.

The Black shade is a very dark, opaque, inky black, which is great. It has a little sheen to it--it's not completely matte. It's easy to draw thin or thick lines by varying the pressure. If you go over a line you've already drawn, the product below doesn't get picked up, which is has been a source of frustration for me with eyeliners in the past.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner definitely lives up to its waterproof claim, though not the "stay all day" claim, at least for me. It's very difficult to remove, even with a dual-phase makeup remover. I sometimes use this pen to label swatches I make on my arm, so that when I come back to my photos later, I know what's what. Here's my arm after trying to remove the marks with oil, makeup remover, and soap, AND THEN SHOWERING. I even used a scrubby Salux cloth in the shower, and the eyeliner isn't 100% gone. Maybe I should switch to Sharpie?

So if your main problem with liquid eyeliners is that they smear when your eyes water, that's probably not going to be a problem if you use this one. Unfortunately, despite being difficult to deliberately remove with oil, my oily eyelids devour this stuff just like any other eye makeup. Even with primer. Here's the state of my eyeliner after about 6 hours. And the photo below was taken in the winter, when I wasn't even at my oiliest.

You can see that the oil in my skin has sort of eaten the eyeliner away and caused it to crumble and flake, even though my eyeshadow has survived. The liner has completely disappeared at the outer corner of my eye where my crease dips low (for a clearer image of what I'm talking about, see this post). It still looked okay with my eye open, though the edges of the line had become more jagged and the tip of the wing was no longer sharp.

Overall, it's a decent liquid eyeliner. If I'm going to spend $22, however, I want something spectacular. I can find things that perform just as well as this, if not better, at drugstore prices. My favorite felt tip eyeliner is L'Oreal Lineur Intense ($7-10) (short review here), which I will write a detailed post about once I've used up this Stila liner. I am also curious about the Physician's Formula Lash Boosting eyeliner ($8-12) that Renee at Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick recently reviewed. I've added that one to my wishlist.

What do you look for in a liquid eyeliner? Have you found one that meets all your requirements?

Miscellany: Dry shampoo hysteria, tricky sunscreen, Amazon sales, and Too Faced on HauteLook

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First: My husband shared an article from the Atlantic with me today linking dry shampoo with hair loss. "It's in the Atlantic; it can't be complete garbage." Oh, no? You can read it for yourself. It's the typical beauty article where the writer ask "experts" (in this case some combination of hair stylists and dermatologists) about her theory, and they basically respond, "Yeah, I guess it's possible that something like that could happen." I'm not going to throw out my Batiste. The lesson is probably that you can't replace actually washing your hair with using dry shampoo, because building up all the product on your scalp isn't great. I imagine it would feel pretty gross, though, so I don't know how someone could stand to regularly use dry shampoo without washing it out. (There was a similar article in Refinery 29 where the woman clearly had some kind of allergic reaction to an ingredient in her dry shampoo that caused the hair loss. If it hurts you, stop using it!)

Second: Evangeline emailed me with some helpful information about that Sephora Sun Safety Kit. I've never bought one of those, because I'm picky about what sunscreen I use on my face (though sometimes I use sample packets like these ones I reviewed on Instagram), but not at all picky about what I use on my body. That means a bunch of mini sunscreens isn't going to be much use to me. But if you are still trying to find your ideal sunscreen, buying a kit full of various minis seems like a potentially useful way to narrow down the search.

But here's what Evangeline says: "I recently bought the Sephora sun safety kit. I knew that $32 was a lot to spend on the total amount of sunscreen in the kit. It really annoys me to find that some of (all?) the small tubes are only half full. This trickery came as a complete surprise to me. I weighed the cost against the size of those small tubes. They fooled me."

So it sounds like this is one of those cases where you have to pay close attention to the labels in order to determine how good a deal it really is, because they've used tricky packaging to make it look like you're getting more product than you really are. That is something I often forget to do, as evidenced in my "tricky, tricky" series.

Third: Amazon has a deal right now where Prime Members get $25 back when they spend $50 on luxury beauty, so if you've been biding your time to buy something fancy on sale, now might be your chance. The downside is that it seems like you also have to spend the $25 you get back in the luxury beauty department, so you'll have to think about whether or not there are $75 worth of things you need right now. Use code PRIMEBEAUTY25. They also have a 35% off section, which seems to include mainly LORAC, Mario Basescu, Make, and Gorgeous.

ETA: Too Faced is on HauteLook today for 40-60% off, if you're looking for any eyeshadow palettes or lipsticks. Their eyeshadow primer is also marked down to $12.

July Target Beauty Box available now ($7)

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There are two options this month,  with 7 items in each one:"Fresh & Fabulous" and "Simply Radiant." Are you going to pick one up this time around? I think if they were $5 I might grab one, but $7 seems a little high for what is included. You do get a full-size NYX lipstick in the first box and a full size Wet N Wild mascara in the second. You can see all the contents of both boxes here as well.