Friday, April 10, 2015

Things I Haven't Changed My Mind About

I started this blog on Tumblr in late May 2012, so I guess I am coming up on a three-year anniversary. Seems longer! My original idea for this post was to go back through opinions I've shared here and see what I've changed my mind about. I mean, when I started, I had a handful of mostly drugstore products, and I had no idea I was supposed to be excited to get GOOD BRANDS like a Tarte lip crayon or a Benefit primer in my Birchbox. (I gave them away and now and then I think back and kick myself for some reason, maybe because I don't get cool stuff like that from Birchbox these days.) Surely now that I am a sophisticated and discerning makeup and skincare hoarder, my tastes have become refined and I can see the value in products that baffled me years ago?

Not so much, apparently, because when I revisited my old posts, it turns out that the main thing Old Me and New Me differ on is the amount of crap New Me owns, and the waning desire that New Me has to ever buy another bottle of nail polish (it's not gone, but it's slowly dissipating).

For instance:

Things that are slightly more complicated now:
  • I still don't think that expensive finishing powders are going to change your life. In my post on them, however, I did sort of conflate finishing and setting powders, which is obviously makeup blasphemy. I'm slowly working my way through this Nars powder (below), which I use almost every day mostly out of habit. I honestly don't see much difference on my skin. Maybe for photos? I do still prefer the Maybelline powder I mentioned in that post linked above to all the more expensive loose powders I've tried.
Nars powder: a little grimy, but PAN!
  • I do have some NYX products that I like now, but I guess I'm still not super excited about any of them.
  • I guess if I were to write my highlighting and contouring on the cheap post again, I might include more options for contouring/shading. Like if you have really cool coloring, maybe you don't want to use bronzer, because it could look too orange. I own NYX blush in Taupe, and I would likely mention that - though I almost never use it myself, because I still use highlighter much more than shading contouring products (if I'm going to do anything at all). These days there are way more products out there specifically designed for contouring, and I would still say fuck those, because you can just use crap you already own, like eyeshadow or concealer.
Things that have changed:
  • I guess I got back together with lipstick, but I'm still not very good at wearing it, especially if it's very dark/bright and opaque. Maybe for an hour at home, but not if I am out somewhere where I have to talk or eat.
  • A lot of the newer stuff I've acquired has been "higher end," but it's not because I necessarily think it's better. It's mainly because I'm trying to save money, which sounds like nonsense, but hear me out. I've bought very little makeup in the last 9 months or so, and what I have bought I've mainly picked up using my Birchbox points. So that means that even though I would really prefer a L'Oreal Lineur Intense liquid liner, I got the Stila liquid liner, because it was $0 with a few months worth of points instead of $9 at CVS. Other things I've picked up have been with gift cards I got for participating in consumer trials, etc. (I'm going to write a post about how to do that some time in the next couple of months). So the more expensive things have oddly enough been more affordable for me due to circumstances.
  • All of the blue glass mugs that I had for many year broke. Fuck.
  • I tend to include more of my own photos when I review something now, even though my camera is still shit. I just like reading posts on other blogs that include some photos, so I figure I ought to do it myself too.
  • I'm not using any affiliate links anymore, even though some of my old posts still say they have them. They don't - I just don't have time to edit every single one. I'm not ruling out using them again in the near future, though.
  • My hair isn't this pretty anymore. I should probably do something about it.
  • Instagram.
So that was admittedly pretty self indulgent, but then so is this whole blogging thing, isn't it? It's nice to know that New Me is still Old Me, for the most part. I still haven't sold out to The Man or whatever (though if The Man has a job to offer me, he should definitely get in touch).

6 comments:

  1. Those knot hair ties actually made me yell and throw something when I saw them. Goody wants me to pay HOW MUCH for 3 when I can go to Joann and get elastic enough for 12 at half the price? UGH.

    The normal elf primer I decided just does not work. The next time I'm at Walgreens, I'm going to grab the WnW fergie one to try, because I'm oily, but also still unemployed and kinda broke.

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    1. The regular e.l.f. one was okay for me. Better than nothing and better than some others I've tried, but not my favorite. The WnW has worked the best for me, and I just finished the tube a week or so ago that I had since whenever I wrote that post! Definitely worth trying.

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  2. I actually like those knotted hair ties because they don't leave a gross dent in my hair, but a lot of them are absurdly priced. There are some cheaper options on Etsy (and honestly, you could just DIY it). But I've still never owned Comfort Zone, gasp. It's one of those things where I always put it back at the last minute because I'm cheap, but every time I see it I go oooooooh shimmer.

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    1. Oh, yes, I think the hair ties work fine, it's just that I've seen them priced anywhere from $5-15, and it's just a ribbon with a knot in it. Comfort Zone is worth it, I think!

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  3. This is a great post! I agree with you about NYX, though I do love their Butter Glosses (both the regular and the intense versions). As for contouring on the cheap, I've repurposed my disappointing Milani Bella Taupe eyeshadow as a cool-toned contour powder. I've used it exactly twice to date (both times for makeup looks that didn't make it out of the house), but it seems reasonably effective. I've never tried a highlighter of any kind, but I actually dreamed two nights ago that I was highlighting my entire face with some sort of Estee Lauder product and I thought I looked awesome.

    After reading your review of that avocado mask, I think I have to try it! My favorite exfoliant, Lush Angels on Bare Skin, is also clay-based, and sometimes I use it as a mask.

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    1. I guess if people were heavily contouring every day, using eyeshadow could get expensive, but for occasional experimentation, it doesn't seem worth buying separate products. I'm glad you found a use for that Milani shadow.

      I think I am going to use the avocado mask tonight! I always forget to use masks. But that one sucks gunk out of my pores like nothing else, without drying me out. Love it!

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