Refinery29 reviews $150 eye moisturizing mask and says it's useless.

Good. That's what I like to hear.

An AMAZING holy-shit guide to buying pencil makeup products (from Beauty and the Bullshit)

This is mandatory reading. Seriously.

Some highlights:

• 'Your brands do not manufacture your pencils. They all source from the same suppliers. [...] There is no exclusivity.' [Ed.: HELLO DUPES. Dupes are frequently exactly the same product, then. Holy shit.]
• 'Sharpening has its advantages you know. [...] In automatic pencils, the lead hangs inside the plastic container unlike in wooden pencils which is totally embedded/supported by the wood.  This has an implication to the texture.  That means that the texture should be hard enough so that even if it is thin, it will not break inside the plastic encasing.'
• '...a good rule of thumb is that the more sophisticated (read, better) formula will be in a plastic "wooden" pencil with airtight caps [i.e. ones you have to sharpen].'

Blew my fucking mind, even though it's all so logical once you think about it.

Ten Worst Reasons to Buy Cosmetics (from Beauty and the Bullshit)

How to weed out marketing bullshit and avoid wasting your money on empty hype. Awesome! Also: New favorite blog?? Maybe! Be still my foul-mouthed heart.

Daily Dose of No Bullshit: The Beauty Brains

Have I mentioned this awesome site before? It’s written by a group of cosmetic scientists, some more skeptical than others, and they will tell you if the shit people are trying to tell you actually works or not. SCIENCE.

Daily Dose of No Bullshit: The Beauty Brains

Real talk about skincare ingredients from Natalie Dee

For those of you who haven’t been reading your Paula Begoun. Tsk tsk. 

“Read the labels and buy what makes you feel good, but don’t believe every thing you read on a bottle, because a lot of it is unregulated.  Just because there is a little picture of a leaf in the logo, and the plastic is all unbleached brown-looking, doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to sweet-talk you just to get your money.”

Bonus: “Also, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it is superior and/or safe…  Arsenic and uranium and poison ivy are natural, too.”

Real talk about skincare ingredients from Natalie Dee

Magic Isn't Real (by Natalie Dee)

This is a good reminder for us all:

There isn’t a cream or lotion or facewash in the world that is going to change what you already have.  If there were, everybody would be smooth and perfect and beautiful, and nobody would ever visit the plastic surgeon for anything at all.  There would be homeless plastic surgeons on the street with signs that said OUT OF WORK, PLEASE HELP!!  EVERYONE JUST BOUGHT A TUBE OF CREAM FROM MACY’S, AND NOW NONE OF THEM HAVE ANY WRINKLES OR CELLULITE AND I HAVE NO USEFUL JOB SKILLS.

(I don’t totally agree that there are no acne products that can help, and I think there are some ingredients that can slow down damage or soothe irritation, besides SPF, but for the most part, yeah. Don’t get sucked in. Do your research here or here.)

Magic Isn't Real (by Natalie Dee)