Month: November 2017

October/November 2017 ipsy Glam Bag

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Since I never did an October review and my November Glam Bag is here, we’re mushing the posts together. Hopefully that means the reviews will be short and concise. There will also be less pictures.

October

As always, I received five beauty items and a make-up bag in the shiny, pink bubble wrap packaging. The bag is red with lace detail and a black bat zipper pull. It is “mysterious” for this October, different than last where the bag was a light pink, patterned with cats and witches, and was a bit more fun.

HANALEI Papaya Enzyme Powder Cleanser

I liked this cleanser. It came in little packets of powder that you mix with water in order to form a paste that you scrub in. It felt good, smelled good, and didn’t leave my face dry. I still applied moisturizer after my face was dry anyways, as you always should, but it was less necessary than I have found with other powder cleansers like the Biore Baking Soda Powder Cleanser (which I received free from PINCHME; we’ll talk about that in a future post).

PRETTY WOMAN Nail Polish in Wine With Ice, Garcon

I’m a pretty big fan of nail polish. Like lipstick, though many may be very similar in shade, there is always a different formula and difference in the shade that makes me want to have all of them. This is also one of my favorite colors though. Deep burgundy is a color I like to wear in my shirts, dresses, hair, and apparently nails. The consistency of the polish itself is pretty nice too. It goes on well but you might need two coats to really get the deep color you want. I had to do two coats on Luke’s pinky finger to get this color.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion

This is an eye pencil that I have wanted to try since I was 12 and only used black eyeliner on my lower waterline without any other make-up. It stays pretty long (I can’t attest to 24 hours) and it also glides on fairly easily. It doesn’t pull and, though I don’t usually use pencils for winged eyeliner, I tried with this one day and it went on really well and stayed. It is also very black, something that I love, because when I want black pigment I expect black pigment. It’s not charcoal or grey, it is black.

TARTE deluxe lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1 mascara

I do not endorse every mascara that ipsy sends me. There have been a few that I have not been very impressed with at all. That said, I’m a big fan of this mascara and usually wear it without primer, something I would never tell anyone to do. It adds length, volume, and curls. Conditioning is the last of the “4” they talk about, but from my experience and knowledge, primer is what conditions your lashes (the reason I would never tell you not to wear primer).

MDMflow Liquid Matte Lipstick in Retro

The formula of this liquid lipstick was much like any other. It went on pretty smoothly but the color was absolutely horrible on my lips. It was much too pink and orange at the same time and I think the matte finish just didn’t suit this at all.

 

November

November ipsy Glam Bag

 

THE WHITE COMPANY White Lavender Body Lotion

Lavender is such a wonderful scent. It’s relaxing and helps you sleep which is why they put it in so many bath salts. This lotion smells wonderful and, since it’s a full body lotion, not just a hand lotion, it’s pretty thick. This means that I didn’t have to use a lot to cover my hands which now feel very soft, something difficult to keep up in these colder months.

Wearing IT Cosmetics CC Cream, Nomad Cosmetics Brow Powder, and ColourPop Satin Lippie

 

NOMAD COSMETICS Multi-Perfection Duo Brow Powder in Brunetta Brillante

Brow powders are interesting. I like pomades and pencils better because I feel like they show better and are easier to use. That said, the powders aren’t bad, they’re just not as good. That said, this brow powder isn’t quite as dark as I want it to be. They say that you’re supposed to use a brow color two shades lighter than your hair color. My hair is black. This brow powder is a bit lighter than two shades lighter than black.

IT COSMETICS Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ in Medium

BB and CC creams are pretty great. They’re super easy to use when you’re not someone who wants to do a full face or you don’t have time. IT Cosmetics is a pretty good brand too. ipsy has sent me a few of their other face and eye products before and I’ve been pretty happy with all of them. As far as this CC cream goes, it holds up to the Mary Kay one I used to use. It gives about as much coverage as CC creams do and it doesn’t feel heavy. The main issue I have with this is that it’s just a little light for me. I didn’t notice until I used it at work the other morning when I was getting ready in the store (one of the most fun parts of working the morning shift) and I just looked so washed out.

COLOURPOP COSMETICS Ultra Satin Lip in Baracuda

I love the color of this lippie. One of my friends recently bought some ColourPop lippies and said she liked them, so I was excited to try this one. I was also pretty excited that it was a satin finish, not a matte, because my lips have been super dry with the change in the weather lately so I wanted something less drying. It was pretty matte though, and pretty drying. I’m still on the market for a less drying matte lippie. I will report back when I find one.

SKYN ICELAND Berry Lip Fix with Wintered Red Algae

I love lip balms. Luke can tell you, I have too many of them and I am constantly applying them. I especially love lip balms that make my lips tingle and it was a surprise but this one does. I was a bit concerned about the berry scent. I’m usually not a fan of berry scented anything because it can get too sweet but this one isn’t bad. It is also just a scent, not a flavor, so depending on how you look at it, that’s a good or bad thing. I think it’s good because then the flavor doesn’t transfer the way my Sun Bum lip balm does. Onto the actual quality, I’ve had it on for about half an hour now and my lips have changed drastically. I woke up with extremely dry lips (I’m kind of sick) and they are already so much softer and plumper than they were. I applied it again because I’m kind of a crazy person, but I’m a big fan. Now I wish I’d gotten a full size instead of a sample.

 

Post-Grad Life Update #5: Writing These Posts is Cathartic

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As I write this, I am watching a Jenna Marbles video in one tab and am sitting in a muted Google Hangout in another. No, I’m not being a horrible friend and/or employee. A company, that I was supposed to have an interview with 30 minutes ago, has yet to tune into the Hangout.

I understand that I am the one that needs the job and am probably the more desperate one (for lack of a better word) but they rescheduled the interview prior to this incident as well. This is also not the first company to reschedule an interview with me though the other kept the rescheduled date. I have also had many employers not respond to me at all, even to say they hated my resume and hate me too. If a candidate did these things, they would never be considered for a position. So my question, simply, when am I allowed to get mad and say to them that I have decided to go in another direction and pursue other candidates?

I might just be a tiny bit angry.

On a separate note, because my search for a “real job” has been coming to nothing, I’ve been contemplating what I actually want to do with my life, much in the same way I had when I realized, four years ago, that I did not want to be a psychology major anymore. At that point, I decided to go to New Media Production, something that I’d discovered, and loved, in middle school. I thought that was the way I’d take my life and career but then I found event planning and decided I wanted to go that way instead. Currently, I’m working as a Beauty Advisor at an Ulta store in Austin, utilizing neither of those things. Am I upset about it? Yes, but mainly because of my pride.

Many of my coworkers are young. They are 18-20 years old, attending school right now and working at Ulta as a part-time job just to fill the time and make some extra cash. Once they graduate, they plan to get real jobs, the same way I did. The prideful part of me, my ego, says that I messed up to be in the same position that they are. I should have a real job. I shouldn’t have to work retail since I have a degree already. Even though I mostly like this job (retail is never ALWAYS fun) there’s a part of me that says “you should have done better.”

That said, the job does actually make me happy. I’m working in a store surrounded my make-up that I get to see, try, and sometimes get for free (and when it’s not free I still get a discount). My “why” for everything I do in life is that I like to make people happy and I get to do that every day. Last week, a teen gave me a hug because she needed help picking stuff out and I spent close to an hour with her making sure she got what she wanted and understood what it was all for and why she wanted what I was handing her. I always saw retail people as annoying and just trying to make a sale, but that day I realized that we could actually be helpful and not everyone would see us that way. I went home happier than any other shift that night.

My point, though sometimes I have trouble reaching it, is that I’m going to try to stop stressing about the fact that I can’t get a “real job.” No, working at Ulta as I am right now is not enough money, especially with these loan payments coming up. Life is going to get difficult for a while. I am hopeful that I can pick up more hours, or get some sort of a raise at the start of 2018 though. Anything to give me a little more padding in my bank account.

I do also plan to start making videos again soon into 2018. I’ve been putting this off because I spent some time making videos back in high school and I felt they were silly and no one cared. I’m at a point right now that I don’t care. I start every year stating that I am going to “do me” this year, and then it never ends up happening. I blame it on a lack of time because of school or some other external force. This one is all me this time though. I’m taking responsibility for myself and owning up to my actions.

I know this isn’t going to be easy. I know I’m still going to have days that I don’t want to do anything but lay in bed. The important thing to remember though is that I am going to get up. I am going to do what I need to do for the day, and I’m going to get up the next day too. Though my life has not gone the way that I wanted or expected it to, it’s still going and that’s something to be happy about.

Post-Grad Life Update #4: #MotivationWednesday

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It’s been almost a month since I posted anything here. The reason- I’ve been unmotivated and quietly depressed.

Back in the beginning of October, I was feeling a mix of emotions. I knew I was leaving a job at BigCommerce, the company I was temping at, but I had an interview at Austin Community College for the Specialist of Student Life, and I had two phone interviews with Rooster Teeth for the Events Assistant position- my dream job. I very quickly learned that I didn’t get the job at Rooster Teeth and now, 6 weeks after my interview for ACC, I still have not heard back, whether good or bad, about the job there.

For about a week after hearing back from Rooster Teeth, I was crying a lot. I missed out on my dream job again with no knowledge of when I’d get another chance at it and no other job prospects. I’d still be working at Ulta, but as a part-time retail job, I knew it wouldn’t be enough. At some point in October, I decided I was going to stop feeling sorry for myself and get back at it but the next day, I was sad and unmotivated again. It was hard. I was confused as to why Rooster Teeth, BigCommerce, ACC, and anyone else not responding to me didn’t want me. I felt more than qualified for all of these jobs. This feeling stayed with me the rest of the month and is still hanging above my head as I write this.

I’d told myself that I would be productive with my free-time at home but all I’ve been doing is eating, watching YouTube and Netflix, and sleeping. I didn’t write a new blogpost in a month, I haven’t updated my portfolio website, and the apartment is a mess. To those unfamiliar with depression, this is what it looks like.

Through all of this I have kept my mantra, positive outcomes only, at the front of my mind. I have tried to remind myself that though it’s not working out now, it will. This has been hard to believe when I’ve been everything but productive, but today I feel better. Something in me flipped today and I feel encouraged to clean the place up and keep working on me, so the first step towards that was to write this post.

I’m also going to eat some of the half-priced Halloween candy Luke and I bought at the H-E-B this morning. We got a pile.