To bookend my Autumnal Anticipations post, here's a rough accounting of my makeup ins and outs -- acquisitions and evictions -- of the season. Also because my makeup 'empties' pile keeps growing, with my urge to blog about its contents decreasing in proportion; likewise, my plan to post periodic updates of my one-in-one-out pledge made at the beginning of the year has resulted in... 0 posts as of late October XD Although I have managed to stick to it quite easily without feeling deprived and intend to carry on into next year :)
And finally, because I hope to bring my habits of consumption to the forefront -- the subject of money is too-often elided in our pretty world of frivolity-blogging, despite obviously fuelling it. It's a fairly persistent niggle of mine that I may be normalising certain behaviours/assumptions by, as I've recently been doing, posting (and pending) so many reviews of new and shiny things during a season of unusually high expenditure (for me) without giving them a context and making explicit several things:
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And I'm not including samples sent for review or generous gifts from friends. Don't even ask. They are strange folk. CLEALY I spoil myself plenty. Erm... I didn't buy any new skincare or haircare products, nail polish, perfume, base makeup, or brushes? *opens mouth for cookie* If anyone is still reading and not projectile vomiting in disgust, do leave me a comment :)
(This post was inspired by several recent reads from my blogroll, in particular Claire's thoughtful post on living below one's means and her Thankful series, and Belly's brilliant, brave and honest musings on this topic, in particular her ode to Pan. If you're more of a printed-pages-with-covers person, I highly recommend the retro-but-so-very-relevant-still, not to mention witty, zingy and zippy! Orchids on Your Budget (orig. pub. 1937).)
And finally, because I hope to bring my habits of consumption to the forefront -- the subject of money is too-often elided in our pretty world of frivolity-blogging, despite obviously fuelling it. It's a fairly persistent niggle of mine that I may be normalising certain behaviours/assumptions by, as I've recently been doing, posting (and pending) so many reviews of new and shiny things during a season of unusually high expenditure (for me) without giving them a context and making explicit several things:
- I have never gone into debt over my frivolities or even exceeded my self-set 'fun money' budget (portioned out after necessities and savings have already been accounted for); this season's purchases have in fact been entirely funded by proceeds from previous blogsales.
- The fact that I felt the need to state that^ (which is true in every season -- the budget bit, not the blogsale bit) and make this blahblah of a post testifies to just how much I've bought recently -- which really only means 'it feels like more than usual for me', mind. Ev'ryone bein' diff'rent etc.
- My main reason (not the reason, which would simply entail NOT BUYING MORE MAKEUP WOMAN) being that my makeup acquisition/usage seems to proceed in waves, and recently I've finished* several 'staples' dating from 2005-2010 which 'need' replacing; the other major genre of changes are 'necessitated' by changes in my skin (from very dry to insanely dry) which have rendered previously wearable formulas suddenly unflattering. At least scarequotes are free :P
- Finding that most of the enduring loves which I've used up to the last speck/drop/dollop have been Japanese formulations, I've mostly sought to replace them with new, made-in Japan products. That I'm able to acquire many of these at all is thanks to the generosity of local friends (who also save me from some poor choices!), but buying blind still has its perils and I'm probably more accepting than I should be that a proportion of my purchases will just head straight onto the give away/donate/sell/swap pile. Haven't quite addressed this in-built waste issue to my satisfaction as yet...
Er.... bullet points are supposed to lead to some kind of concludey conclusion, right? Sadly none to be had from me. But feel free to share your thoughts and experiences and discuss specific issues further in the comments. Hopefully we can make an open-in-many-senses post of this, while keeping things civil and mutually respectful. :)
*I finish stuff at an unusual(? it seems) rate not only because I am a clown ALLDAYEVERYDAYFORLYFE but also because I've acted as (hi-lariously unqualified!) makeup artist at some point to pretty much every woman I know and several of the men. For non-powder products, especially those hard-to-acquire Japanese ones, I often send slices, scoops and decants to makeuppy friends around the world to sample.
Right, some pictures! And specifics!
(dc = discontinued, LE = limited edition, all other products are currently available)
Some things I've finished / nearly -- as mentioned above, too lazy to review all of these in exhaustive detail, especially as most are impossible to acquire now. But please do ask about anything you'd like hear/see more of!
Clockwise from top left:
EST Emotional Aura Eyes quad 03 (dc), Shu Uemura IR605 and matte white eyeshadow singles (both dc), Fasio Shadow Trick Eyes PK-5 (dc), Suqqu 09 Koju quad (dc), Chanel Abstraction Illusion D'Ombre [repurchased], Rouge Bunny Rouge Lola automatic eye pencil and Batiste Grayling cream eyeshadow.
KATE Deep Trap Eyes GY-1 quint (dc), second only to Suqqu Koju above in my warm-grey-shadow-loving-heart :(
Pan showing on another of my KATE Deep Trap quints, PK-1 (dc; and guess my favourite shade from this :P). Also Addiction Last Scene lipstick down to a nub, thanks to my pimping this perfectly balanced soft red out to all and sundry. Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata blush, formerly my go-to nude, now replaced by Chicca 01 Baby Girl.
Another RBR staple, Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow (top right), which will be replaced by their later release Sweet Dust Seriema (paler, cooler and more versatile for me), along with Shu Uemura Sakura blush (LE from spring 2006), the navy from Suqqu 01 Kakitsubata (dc) which I often use as a subtly cool-toned liner to 'block off' warmer eyeshadows from my lashline, and the grey from Suqqu Koju again (the shade I hit pan on first).
Cream products clockwise from top left:
Rouge Bunny Rouge Kiss Elixir lipbalm (dc, why why whyyyyyy) -- this is my third tube, and confirmed my love for this formula :/, RMS lip2cheek Smile, Korres Natural Purple cherry oil gloss (actually a warm rose), Essence Candybar stay with me lipgloss (a staple last summer), Chanel Confidence extrait de gloss (dc), Suqqu EX03 Shumomo noble nuancing lipstick, and creamy glows in 18 Karakurenai and 01 Saebana (all dc), Chanel Génial rouge allure (dc).
Factor in the things I've ditched as unsuitable:
A selection from my last blogsale
...and my ongoing projects to a) convert to a powder-free blush wardrobe and b) find powder/pencil/gel replacements for all my liquid liners...
my lovely, lovely unsuitable-to-my-skintype-and-makeupstyle rainbow of liquid liners :(((((
....and I hope you'll understand why I've been buying so bloody much lately.
*deep breath* So these are all my purchases of items released this season (autumn 2013):
Clockwise from top left:
Suqqu EX-17 Hatsushimo (LE) -- review, second look
THREE 09 Star Guitar -- swatch
Addiction Suspicious and Fresh cheek polish
Shiseido RD413 Sanguine lacquer rouge
Guerlain Rouge G Madame Flirte (LE) -- review
Etude House Rosy Tint Lip 08 After Blossom
Kiko Twinkle Eye Pencil 04 Bewitched Periwinkle (LE)
By Terry Crayon Kohl Terrybly 09 Royal Navy -- review
Maquillage True Eyeshadow RS721 -- worn here
And these are my purchases from core lines / permanent ranges, which tend to be more specifically stash-gap-filling:
The Guerlains (Gala Rouge G and Habit Rouge Rouge Automatique), bought on sale at escentual.com, round out my newly diminished lip wardrobe with shades (er, reds) I know I'll wear in formulas that have proven themselves on my very dry, picky lips. Gala worn here.
Two Addiction glosses are likewise to widen my colour options in a very flattering formula (discussed here) -- Rich Girl, a bright, warm red (worn here) and Yellow Submarine, a mauve-cancelling, lip-brightening sheer.
The new-to-me formulas are Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge 09 Dandelion Flower Coral, which I hoped would be the bright coral which I couldn't find in my otherwise beloved YSL Glossy Stain line after reading WorshipBlues'review), and THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Colour 11 Edith's Whisper to vamp up my jelly lip collection.
The mascara is RMK W mascara 05 -- a dual-ended tube with white lash primer and a forest green mascara at either end (worn here). Another forest green with a beautiful sheen, Kiko Automatic Precision Eyeliner and Khol in 709 Forest Green. (Building that rainbow in pencil form :P)
In the middle is a wee magical pot of Face Stockholm cream eyeshadow in Seiden -- a pale pink/green duochrome, like MAC Vex in silky cream form.
And the quad is THREE 08 Spirit Light (swatched here) which is my platonically perfect warm neutral palette, and displaces all of these sunkissed former loves:
RMK Ingenious Powder Eyes SH-1 Shiny Brown Gold, Paul&Joe Eye Colour B 003 Tranquility (dc), RBR Caress of Mink pigment (shown here), Jouer Amaretto (review), Visée x Smacky Glam Glam Glow Eyes BR-7 Bitter Brown (swatched here, worn here).
It's a rollercoaster I tells ya!
(This post was inspired by several recent reads from my blogroll, in particular Claire's thoughtful post on living below one's means and her Thankful series, and Belly's brilliant, brave and honest musings on this topic, in particular her ode to Pan. If you're more of a printed-pages-with-covers person, I highly recommend the retro-but-so-very-relevant-still, not to mention witty, zingy and zippy! Orchids on Your Budget (orig. pub. 1937).)