Hello, darlings! Still subbed up to Ipsy.~

I used my black-and-white Madras flannel top for the background for these photos, because lezbereal: white-and-grey marble backgrounds are so not me. I couldn’t even muster up enough reason to create a collection of backdrops for my photos because I’m not into dust collectors. The plaid flannel is multi-functional. You’ll see me wearing it. You can’t exactly wear marble or use it for other ish.

Lottie London AM to PM Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Mocha

I love this, because my “safe” eyeliner shades have always been black and brown. Black is classic, but brown allows me to play with warmer colors and put the focus on something else, so it works great with this bag given the lip gloss (below) that was included.

On the other hand, it’s quite small and apparently needs a sharpener, so I’m not super sold on this yet. See, I have a Wet N Wild black eyeliner pencil I got for Shane’s wedding that needed to be sharpened, and it fell off like carrying butter on a knife; so I’m wary now about eyeliners such as these needing to be sharpened.

Ciaté London Glitter Flip Transforming Glitter Liquid Lipstick in Infamous

Ipsy says this color looks “gorg on all skin tones”. First of all, gorg looks like a word with hard Gs on both ends, so “gorg” doesn’t hold the same value for me. I thought the slang word died after eighth grade, but apparently not.

This lipstick (I keep calling it a lip gloss because of the bottle, so bear with me here) goes on matte, but becomes a sparkly adventure after you press your lips together. I’m in love with this. It reminds me of Christmas and would be a great look for Christmas, though I do think it would receive a lot of feedback from family—both compliments and criticism—because it’s not a color I ever would have considered for myself. It’s daring.

Yet, still, I’m smitten. It’s a color with an attitude—one that fits my personality quite well. I wore it in an Instagram post, though pictures aren’t showing the sparkles. It’s like tinsel for your lips.

I don’t recommend swatching this on your arm, because even with makeup remover and shower scrubbing, there is still a faint line from the lipstick! Haha, so.~

Tinct Cosmetics Nail Polish in Bilbao

Bilbao is the white shade. I was super hoping for the Arhaus (purple)! but white is good, too—I can always go for a white nail polish (although I should be careful what I wish for so as to not get only white polish).

I love Tinct’s shades, especially Sofia! I have a hard time finding polish shades I love, so to find a brand whose shades I like a lot is game-changing. They’ve got a lot of the dark colors I love (though I am still on the hunt for a good, bright red that isn’t too pink).

Downside to this polish, however, is that it’s finicky and takes longer to dry, even if I try to apply it thinly, because it’s hard to get even and is just…thicker than I’d like.

F.A.R.A.H. Brushes Tapered Blending Brush 35E

I like how lightweight and easy to hold it is. I used it to blend last month’s eyeshadow with this month’s all-over powder for a shimmery eye look and quite liked it.

OUAI Dry Shampoo Foam

Pronounced way, according to an interview. The first and last dry shampoo I tried was by Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak, when it first came out. I didn’t try it again; I didn’t really understand it. Colder weather dries my skin and hair, so I don’t shower if I don’t go outside (just freshen up) and have been keen to try dry shampoo again—so this was great timing!

I was excited about trying this, so I literally scheduled a day to. The second time I used it, I’d painted my nails and was keen to prevent air bubbles like my previous paint job, so it was mighty convenient to have this around, because I had to go to the store!

Even though the price tag makes me nervous ($28, 5.3oz), I do love this. OUAI’s dry shampoo foam (DSF) transforms day-old hair as if it’s just finished air-drying after a shower. It’s pretty amazing and smells great, too—which works well as a light perfume until you wash it out.

One thing I’ve noticed that I’m not hyped about is that the scent lingers, even after shampooing and conditioning my hair, for at least until the next wet washing. The scent is lightweight and airy, so it’s not bad, it’s just that it gives a smidge impression that it’s not all out of my hair, and that made me a bit nervous. It’s nothing I find too problematic, but it did frustrate me, and if I were reading a review about it, I’d want to be warned about this! I’ve resolved this issue, however, by leaving my wet shampoo in my hair for an extra couple of minutes before rinsing.

That said, my hair felt clean regardless. I think it’s just the scent getting locked in or something; I don’t know how that ish works.~

I am keen to try other OUAI products; their DSF has become a necessity in my beauty arsenal, like black eyeliner.

Katherine Cosmetics Natural All-Over Powder in Sienna

Named after their golden retriever mascot, Sienna was included as a gift from Ipsy and is said to look great on so many skin tones.

I used my all-over powder in conjunction with last month’s eyeliner just to see how it worked out together, and I quite liked the look it created. The shade isn’t too popping; it’s more subtle. It produced a slight shimmer, which made it fun and helped tie the look together considering the liquid lipstick.

The bag

Recommendation is to use this as a clutch, but the sequin design in Ipsy’s picture led me to believe it would be of a higher quality than it actually is. Instead, the sequins are just on front (leather back) and felt cheap to me—reminiscent of my second grade drill team uniform, but not quite a sequin purse I owned in middle school. It holds a lot, but I’m not a fan of it.

This month’s bag felt like a slap to the face at first. The lipstick was too dark, and the all-over powder sample was anything but what I’d expect. However, the liquid lipstick grew on me. It’s daring, bold—so “me”. The look grew on me; I fell in love.