All My Blushes

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At the end of the summer my husband and I will be moving--first to Texas for three months and then to California for the next nine months. Since we're going to be looking at temporary/shared housing, I'm trying to downsize as much as possible (or at least to minimize what I take with me rather than storing in my mother-in-law's basement). I'll be on a postdoc fellowship with a fairly scanty stipend, so I'm also trying to take whatever I can to avoid shopping during that time. It's a tricky line to walk between packing light and buying duplicate shit that I already have. So far my packing list includes clothes, a very few books (we'll need library cards), only the most vital kitchen supplies (like the french press and the smoothie blender), and sheets and towels. Of course, necessities also include makeup and toiletries for me, both because I want to use up things I already own rather than buying them new, and also because I want to continue blogging while I'm out west. Still, I've managed to weed out a ton of stuff, most of which I'll give away, and to store a few things rediscover a year from now. (Does anyone else have a recurring dream in which they go back to their parents' house and find a closet full of amazing clothes that they'd forgotten? No? I should probably have myself examined. Anyway, that's how I picture my reunion with my stored makeup.) I'm storing most of my nail polish, for instance, and only taking these bottles along.

While organizing and packing (did I mention we're also moving into a local sublet this month where we'll be staying for six weeks?), I was inspired to swatch all of my blushes, so that's what this is all about. Because my skin tone is quite neutral, I'm able to wear all sorts of blush colors. The only ones I've had much trouble with are peaches that are too orangey, like Milani Luminoso. I was pleased to realize when I looked at all of these blushes together that I didn't have many dupes or near-dupes.

This post is going to be pretty casual: I'll show you swatches and talk a little about each product. I haven't taken new photos of most of these blushes on my face, but where there are illustrations in previous posts, I've linked to them. The swatches here represent my entire blush hoard with the exception of a coupe of things I've already put into my discard pile and the blushes in a BareMinerals palette that I put into storage (one of which I swatched here).

Here's the first batch, sort of grouped according to formula and then color:

Cream blushes, left to right:

Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in What's Up Doc? and NYX Cream Blush in Tea Rose

Please excuse the long scratch on my forearm in every photo here! My foster cat loves to be picked up and carried around, but does not like to have her nails trimmed, so there's always a long claw left behind to get me. And I can't take photos with my left hand, so here we are.

For cream blushes, I made a heavy finger swatch of each blush and then blended it out with whatever was left on my finger. For the powder blushes I did the same thing with an eyeshadow brush that's particularly good for swatching (used here, for example). It's easy to see how different your typical eyeshadow and blush are when you swatch them with the same brush!

I keep What's Up Doc? with my blushes rather than with my lipsticks, because it makes a terrible lipstick and a great cream blush. The slipperiness that makes it a disaster on my lips makes it easy to blend as a blush, though since it's very pigmented, I have to use it extremely sparingly. It also stains, which personally I like. (If you want to see it on my lips, here.)

Tea Rose is a terracotta shade that's on the neutral side but still warm enough that it looks best on me when my hair is dyed red, as it is now. You can see it on my face in this post. It's getting a little old, but I love the formula and it seems to be in perfect shape, still, so it's a keeper for now. It's more susceptible to fluctuations in temperature than my other cream blushes, so I guess we'll have to see how well it survives the early-September road trip south.

Marcelle Cream Blusher in Raspberry, e.l.f. Cream Blush in Vixen, and Stila Convertible Color in Poppy

Raspberry is one the only blush here for which I've bought a replacement. This is my second one (and they've changed the packaging since). It's not flashy or anything, but it's a flattering shade on me and a formula that's easy to use. It's a subdued rosy plum (not berry!!), similar to my natural flush. It blends nicely and doesn't fade easily. Raspberry is my default choice when I want some color but don't want my blush to stand out much. I think Marcelle is only available in stores in Canada at this time, though they do have a US website.

Vixen has been discontinued along with the other blushes of this type, but you can read my full review here, if you want. The formula was just like those weird Maybelline Bouncy Blushes. This color is somewhere between red and fuschia--it tends to pull more red on me. I'm pretty sure I will have this blush until the day I die and never finish it, even though I use it semi-regularly.

Poppy is my purest red blush, and it's more of A Look than the others. It does a kind of fairytale, Snow White thing on me, which I like, but which isn't something I go for every day. I don't use it as a lip product, by the way. Like most multi-use products, it's too drying for my lips.

Powder blushes, neutral/coral/peach, left to right:

Unknown very old Quo holiday palette

The left swatch is the panned matte dusty rose shade at the bottom left of the palette, and the right swatch is the shimmery peach at the top right. Now would be a good time to point out that swatches aren't an obvious way to demonstrate the quality of blushes. Especially for those of us with paler skin, blushes that swatch really pigmented and opaque are going to be tricky to use, so the sheerness above is actually a good sign for me. But it can still be hard to tell from a swatch how well a blush will blend, especially since there's a difference between the bare skin on my inner forearm and the skin on my face that may be covered in various other products before I apply my blush (even if only sunscreen).

Nevertheless, I've loved both of these blushes for well over a decade now and they are still going strong. I even wore them to my wedding (you can see them on my face here), where I did something I often do: blended the two together. The peach is pretty orange/warm, and can look a little off on me depending what clothes or other makeup I'm wearing, but the combination of these two is really pretty. I recommend playing around with blush combinations if you haven't done that before. You can mix two together on your brush, for instance, or you can try using a darker or cooler shade further back on your cheekbones with a brighter or warmer shade on the apples of your cheeks.

Unknown Ulta brand GWP blush and Milani Baked Blush in Corallina

I don't use this anonymous Ulta blush often, but it's neutraliest blush I own, so I've been hanging on to it. The weird thing is that it has some colorless specks of weird glitter in it that don't do much other than being weird. You can see one of them in the top quarter of the farthest left swatch if you look closely.

Corallina applies much more nicely to my face than it appears in this swatch, and it's a more vibrant coral than it looks here. It's chock-full-o' pure gold glitter (you'll have to take my word for that too), which isn't an everyday look for me.

Wet N Wild Pearlescent Pink (the new version)

The new Pearlescent Pink is a shimmery peach, which is not the same as the old version. You can read all my rants thoughts about the old and new versions of this blush here and see them both on my face. This blush is similar to the peachy Quo blush above, so I'm really just holding on to it for comparison swatching at this point. If I ever finishing that other blush, I'll start using this one, unless I've decided to give it away in the meantime.

Powder blushes, pink and plum (left to right):

Wet N Wild Pearlescent Pink (OG) and Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless

The two versions of Pearlescent Pink are different enough that I grouped this one with the pinks rather than with the peaches. Fortunately blushes last forever, because I'll miss this stuff when it's gone. The only downside is that the shimmer can be glitzier than I'd like in direct sunlight. As I said, I have a whole Pearlescent Pink comparison post with photos here.

Tarte describes Fearless as "pink coral." Really? I mean, the plastic that the packaging is made out of could reasonably be described as coral, I suppose, but the blush itself is a completely different color. I think of this blush as more of a Barbie pink. It's not too warm and not too cool, a little bright, and fun but natural on my skin. This is my most expensive blush. I've used it many times, and as you can see from the photo above, the embossing isn't even worn down. Before buying it, I used a card sample that lasted many, many months. This is a blush that will never die.

Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks and theBalm Instain Blush in Pinstripe

Sweet Cheeks came in an Ipsy bag once upon a time. It's a nice, warm pink with some smooth shimmer, but it's quite pigmented and powdery, so I don't use it as often as I might otherwise.

Pinstripe is a deep, moody, slightly sickly plum. I like it a lot. The Instain formula is lovely. Pigmented with a very subtle, satin shimmer, easy to blend, and long-wearing. It really does stain. Here's the above swatch after removal with a makeup wipe:

Here is Pinstripe on my face. I was experimenting with a low blush placement.

I would always recommend waiting until theBalm shows up on HauteLook if you want one of their products, which is where I bought this blush. Most things will be included in the sale, and they're usually 50% off. They also have 50% off sales on the brand website now and then, but in the past there have been problems with the site crashing.

When I look at all of these blushes together I think, first, this is more blush than any one person actually needs, but also that my blush hoards pretty much covers all the bases for me. (Ok, I've been tempted on and off by Urban Decay Bittersweet, but let's try to forget that.)

As for my favorites among the bunch, that's tricky. I mean, I really love Stila Poppy, but it's not the most wearable blush here. If my favorites are the blushes I wear most often then right now they are Marcelle Raspberry, OG Pearlescent Pink, and (just while I have red hair) NYX Tea Rose. Price really isn't any indication of how much I'll like a blush or how well I'll think it performs (and I've tried out several higher end blushes that confirm that opinion).

How do you do blush, if you do it at all? Do you have just that one versatile, natural shade that you wear with everything, or do you have a whole blush wardrobe that you switch up along with the rest of your makeup? Either way, what's your favorite?

The Beauty Scenario Tag

I was tagged on this one by Beauty Reductionista what seems like a million years ago in Internet time, but I guess was only about 3 weeks ago in reality. So maybe I am not as slow as I feel. These questions seem to be designed to make me think about how much I really value all this crap I have. Let's find out!

You have to get rid of all of your foundations and only keep one high-end and one drugstore; which do you keep?

All I can think here is yes, please! Give me an excuse to get rid of all my foundations and start over, since the only ones I have left are ones I don't like much. Then I wouldn't feel obligated to use up this crap. None of them is high end. I'd probably replace them with tinted moisturizers instead, since I don't have a lot of skin tone issues that need heavy coverage. I've been looking at options from The Balm, Laura Mercier, and Paula's Choice. None of them is very cheap, but that's a product that seems harder to find at the drugstore.

Here's what I had at the end of last year, but at this point I'm left with just the Maybelline stick, the Revlon, and the Sephora tinted moisturizer.

You go for an interview, and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?

I would absolutely ignore it. I would be surprised to find someone in my field wearing noticeable lipstick in an interview, to be honest. And I really need a job, so it seems the safer bet to say nothing. I can't afford to be noble at the moment. Better that she wonders whether or not I noticed than that I risk offending her. In another situation I might mention it, but not in an interview for an academic job when the odds are already stacked against me - academics are prickly weirdos under the best of circumstances.

You're not feeling yourself and need a pick-me-up lipstick. Which do you go for?

Am I buying something or just putting on something I own? If it's the latter, I regularly put on garish/fun lipstick at home that I can't wear to work, like red or orange or hot pink or dark wine.

You go back in time for a day to your teenage years; how would you do your hair or makeup differently?

I had a horrible boyfriend in high school who constantly tried to convince me not to wear any makeup or feminine clothes, etc. If I could go back in time to my teenage years, I would chop his dick off.

You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott haircut but they hear wrong and give you a pixie cut - what would you do?

A) Smile, say thank you, call your mum and cry hysterically
B) Cry in the chair and things get awkward
C) Complain to the manager and demand a refund

As other people have mentioned, how do I not notice all my hair being chopped off before it's finished? I mean, I have terrible eyesight and I have to take off my glasses in the chair, but even then I would be able to tell the difference between shoulder length and pixie. I'm going to be a brat and not choose one of the options. If she started to chop off too much, I would probably hesitate uncertainly about what was going on until it was too late to stop her, then stop her and ask for a refund. So I guess it's a combination of A and C.

Your friend surprises you with a 4-day city break and you have one hour to pack. Which 'Do it all' palette do you pack in your makeup bag?

The only one of those (with eyes, lips, and blush) I have is a shimmery Pixi palette, but I probably wouldn't take it, because it's bulky (and the packaging is embarrassingly juvenile - better it remains in my bedroom). I guess since I recently got this Bare Minerals set called "The Magic Act" on sale (below) and I haven't quite decided what I think of it, I could play with it on the trip. I'd have to pack lip stuff separately along with a bunch of other crap. I'd really prefer to travel with smaller options than a bulky or fragile palette.

Does it annoy anyone else that the eyeshadow pans are crooked?

Your house has been robbed. Don't worry, everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What's the product you really hope is safe?

I thought a lot about this, and I don't think there's any one thing I would particularly care about losing. But I would be really fucking pissed about everything being gone, because I can't afford to replace it - or maybe my renter's insurance would cover it. Would they really believe that I own this much makeup? Maybe I should start taking inventory photos.

It's interesting that I am not particularly attached to any of the beauty crap I own. Does that mean it's more about the experience than the object for me, or something? Anyone want to analyze me? I think I've had enough introspection for one day.

I'll tag Beauty in a Jar, Hello Pretty Bird, and anyone else who wants to play!

Getting my shit together

I've been trying to organize myself this year, so far. Not really as a New Year's resolution, but it so happens that with the new year comes a slightly less horrendous, or at least more flexible, schedule for me, and so I am attempting to take advantage of that. One of my main goals is to sort out my apartment. I moved in August, but I didn't find time during the entire fall to completely unpack. I had a friend stay with me for a week in December, and I had to make her sleep on an air mattress in the living room instead of the spare bedroom/office, because that room was completely filled with boxes and bags of crap that I hadn't gone through since moving. I still haven't been able to put away all of that shit, but I did manage to clean off my desk, and now I have a work space that is not my bed or my couch. It's amazing how much more productive that has made me. When I sit at the desk, I actually get work done. It helps that it is in the corner facing the window, so I can't see the heaps of clutter that are still piled on the other side of the room - but I'm chipping away at those. At this rate, by the time I (likely) move out of here in the summer, I'll finally have everything sorted out.

Part of my process of getting my shit together involves ridding myself of shit I don't need and not acquiring additional shit. My biggest mass of hoarded stuff is my collection of (surprise!) makeup, nail polish, and skincare. Though I haven't set any strict goals for myself, I am trying hard to use things up and to discard things that I don't want to use. I just filled up a box with nail polish and makeup and posted an offer on Freecycle. Hopefully someone will take it off of my hands. I have a few nicer things that I just don't use, and I think I am going to try selling them to Glambot. (Anyone have experience selling to that site? I'm curious to hear about it.) I am also trying to use things that have been sitting around for a long time - not just makeup, but things like travel size bottles and packets of shampoo. I think I have enough of those hoarded at this point that I can probably go six months minimum without having to buy any shampoo or conditioner. I have been holding on to them, because they are useful for travel. I used to go overseas to do research, but I haven't done that in a few years. I have no idea when I will have secure enough employment to get research trips funded again, so there's no use keeping that shit around for who knows how many years. I can always buy more small bottles of hair products in the future if I need to (or save some empty bottles and refill them).

I'm also trying not to buy any new makeup for two reasons: to save money, and to use up some of the things I already have (original concepts, I know). I haven't bought anything so far this year, and I don't really foresee doing much makeup shopping for a while, though I am still regularly tempted. (Yesterday Nouveau Cheap posted that my favorite topcoat was on sale for $10, but by the time I saw it, it was sold out. So, yay?) I am still getting Birchboxes, since I paid for a year in advance, so I do occasionally have new little things to play with. But the lack of buying is one of the reasons this blog has been moving a bit away from reviews - though it never was strictly (or even mainly, I think) reviews. The other reason is that I don't have a lot of free time, and so I haven't been posting a lot of anything, obviously. I think I am going to be posting more things like empties and quick reviews of things I have had for a while, instead. I hope those are interesting for other people - I always enjoy them when I see them on other blogs.

If you're in a place where you are also trying to cut down on clutter and stop buying things you don't need and organize your space, there are of course lots of resources out there. It seems like everyone feels like they are failing at this - we can't all be, right? But here are some of the places I've found motivation or commiseration:

The Makeup Talk No-Buy Support Forum: There are lots of interesting conversations going on here from people who feel like they have too much makeup. Reading through these, you'll either feel like you've found your people, or you'll feel some kind of relief because it turns out that many other people actually have way more stuff than you do (I won't say which category I fit in myself). I've had fun in these forums. If you want to make some serious changes, there are lots of challenges and projects people are working on that you can take part in.

When Budget Beauty Starts to Hurt: This is just a short article about how quickly buying cheap makeup can add up (from The Billfold). Don't I know it. (Sorry if I have enabled anyone else's hoarding.)

Unfuck Your Habitat: This fits in the cleaning/organizing category. I totally knew about UFYH before it was cool, guys. And yet I haven't really used it - but I am still recommending it, because I know a lot of people who have found it extremely helpful. They have an app that is supposed to be great, too, and I think I am going to buy it soon and actually give it a go.

The January Cure from Apartment Therapy: I signed up for the mailing list and then immediately fell behind, because my schedule was too erratic (the downside of the "flexible" schedule I mentioned above). But the sequence of tasks is a good one, and I am thinking that I will try to work through them at a much (much, much) slower rate.

So that's just me rambling about my general goals and intentions. I have been doing pretty good so far. It's slow progress, but I am not increasing my hoard, my apartment is slowly coming into order. Today I pulled all the bags of old shoes and winter wear and curtains (?) out of the hall closet. They are still in a pile in the middle of the room, but they are my next mess to tackle. I've also found more time for cooking, which I really couldn't seem to do much of in the fall. That's been really good both for my budget and my health (I love my crock pot).

Anyone else on this same track? Any other resources or links to related stuff you'd like to share?

Thinning the Hoard

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Someone once asked me how I decide what to keep and what to get rid of when sorting through my accumulation of makeup products. Now seems like as good a time as any to write a post about that process, since I just realized that I'm going to have to move in less than 6 weeks. Ugh! I mean, I'll be glad to get out of my current shithole of an apartment, but apartment hunting and moving are huge pains in the ass.

Before I pack everything up and move it somewhere else, I'd really like to eliminate as much of the useless shit I have lying around as possible. My piles of unnecessary belongings extend far beyond just makeup, but since that's what I mainly talk about here, that's what I'll stick with right now. Writing it all out is a useful process for me, because it forces me to come up with realistic rules for myself about what I should or should not hold on to, and to spend the time to consider whether or not I really have room for various items. So I'll go through a few categories of cosmetics here and lay out some guidelines upon which I'm basing my decisions about what to keep and what to set free. If you can think of any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Trash or Keep

There are certain items that I can easily decide to hold on to, such as products that I use on a regular basis and/or one that are unique and well-loved, and there are those that I can easily dispense with, because they are of no use to me.

Trash: There are some things that I'm never going to use, and that I also don't think anyone else should use. I tend to come into the possession of shit that falls into this category through subscriptions (Ipsy, in particular), free samples/gift-with-purchase deals, or the occasional impusle purchase. For example, in a recent Ipsy bag, I got some "Mark Fading Pads" by Proactiv, and the first ingredient in them after water was SD alcohol. No thanks. I don't want to use them, and I don't want to subject anyone else to them, so bye bye.

Practical, non-perishable stuff: This category includes products that will get used up eventually and won't expire in the meantime, like eyebrow pencils. Yes, I have too many of them. But they don't take up a lot of space, and they will be fine waiting for me to get around to finishing them. Just don't pick up any new ones in the meantime, self.

Those categories are pretty straightforward. But I also have a lot of things that are more difficult to classify. They may or may not be superfluous. They probably are, but it's helpful to think carefully about why, so that I don't regret passing them along to someone else, because I am ridiculous.

Makeup

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner and Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide On Eyeliner

Dupes: I confess that I own a lot of unnecessary dupes and products that perform basically the same function as one another. One example is black eyeliner. Everyone has a favorite black eyeliner, and so I've picked up quite a few along the way that I've heard good things about. I don't really like to open something that I don't yet need, so I have several brand new black eyeliners just sitting around waiting for attention. And I don't even fucking wear black liner very often. Why did I buy them? (Anxiety?) I'll hold on to a couple in addition to the ones I'm currently using, but the rest must go.