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By Request: When Minimalism Isn't a Choice
In my 27 years on this earth, I've never lived in a space larger than a two-bedroom apartment. My current apartment measures 271 square feet (10 square feet per year of life, plus one to grow on),...
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The Beauty Scenario Tag
Thanks to Liz for the tag!The person who came up with this meme clearly has a boundless capacity for suspension of disbelief, as well as a knack for writing questions that each provoke about five more...
View ArticleI Have Instagram (and Some Questions about Instagram)
After holding out for years, I finally joined Instagram! I was wary of giving myself yet another way to waste time online, but you all seemed to be having so much fun there that I couldn't resist....
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Holy Magenta: NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Spice Cake
Sorry I've been posting so erratically this month! I usually try for one post every three days, but lately it's been two posts in two days, then a break of five or six days, then two more posts in two...
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March Favorites (Beauty and Otherwise)
This March has felt about twice as long as a normal month, and it's still not over. I can't explain what made it seem so interminable. Maybe it was that we were teased repeatedly with the promise of...
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Beauty Abroad, Part 14: Topshop Matte Lip Bullet in Plastique
I'm not currently abroad, but this lipstick came from abroad, so I'm going to slide it into the "beauty abroad" tag and hope the gods of blogging consistency don't strike me down.When I bought...
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So Vernal It Hurts: Butter London Fruit Machine and Trout Pout
Before starting this post, I spent a long time five minutes trying to come up with a good simile for the operation of material desire online. The Internet engenders small cravings, then quickly...
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Eight Beauty Products I Didn't Buy in the Last Six Months
I made my stage debut in 1996 at the age of eight, in my elementary school's production of The Phantom Tollbooth. I had two roles: the Spelling Bee (marred by a wardrobe malfunction: part of my...
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Liner Notes: NYX Slim Lip Pencils in Dolly Pink and Pumpkin
Just a quick review of the final two items from last month's Ulta order: NYX Slim Lip Pencils in Dolly Pink, a pastel lavender-pink, and Pumpkin, a burnt orange with gold shimmer.I keep protesting on...
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Rantstagram? Instarant? Anyway, I Have Some Thoughts
I've been on Instagram for three weeks now, and it's brought me a lot of delight so far. I love posting snippets of my life and getting glimpses into other people's travels, lunches, and lipstick...
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Empties and Near-Empties, Spring 2015
(I typed "Spring 2013" at first, then spent a few seconds wondering why that didn't look right.)Not quite five months since my last empties post, I've accumulated another small collection of used-up...
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Let Us Now Praise Formula X Enigma
Until recently, teal was one of my least favorite colors. It unsettled me in the same way that fuchsia used to: both are amphibious, ill-defined colors. But one swipe of fuchsia lipstick in the summer...
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AB Goes to Toronto (What I'm Bringing + What Should I Do/Buy?)
How's that for a convoluted title? Anyway, I'm going to Toronto for the first time at the end of this week! I'll be presenting at a conference and will be in the city for a mere 48 hours, so I won't...
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Beauty Abroad, Part 14: Notes from Toronto
Many thanks to everyone who gave me Canadian beauty advice! As it turned out, I bought three beauty items in Toronto, none of them from a Canadian company: an American Apparel nail polish, a Face Shop...
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Beauty Abroad, Part 15: Inglot Eyeshadows in 08 and 433
In the last couple of weeks, I've been a bad early modernist: I've watched the BBC miniseries of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall without first reading the books. I did start reading Wolf Hall two years ago,...
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La Vie En Corail: Milani Rose Powder Blush in Coral Cove
I'm an ocean away from the product I'm about to describe, writing through a haze of jet lag. Let's see how this post turns out.For the longest time, I avoided any hint of orange in my face makeup. My...
View ArticleSo You Want to Start a Beauty Blog
Since joining Instagram two months ago, I've become more aware than ever of the sheer number of beauty blogs out there. It seems like every other woman on Instagram identifies herself in her profile as...
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How to Apply American Apparel Glitter Nail Polish in Daisy Field
1. Spend several days wondering whether 27 is too old to wear a topcoat containing holographic microglitter and large pastel daisy-shaped glitter. Entertain paranoid visions of one of your advisors...
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Beauty Abroad, Part 16: Topshop Rio Rio and London Beauty Shopping
I like buying makeup to commemorate happy occasions. Lipsticks and nail polishes and eyeshadows function as little pins that secure my memories to the material world. That's why I started my Lipstick...
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Beauty Abroad, Part 17: Kiko Infinity Eyeshadow #264
In my review of Sephora Formula X Enigma, the nail polish that sparked my love for teal, I mentioned that I wanted to try a teal eyeshadow. It didn't take me long to find a suitable one, so here we are...
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