Hello again!

Sergio Rola - Unsplash

I'm back from my break! I am a bad blogger for taking an (unannounced) break from the online makeup world, so apologies are in order. I have some posts planned that will be up soon - keep posted for my 2015 favorites, a new series on destashing and decluttering, and some reviews.

I took a break for a few reasons. First and foremost, I had lots of family events in December and January and my husband and I took a (long for us) trip to see family around the holidays. I absolutely adore our families and was excited to take time to visit, read books, play board games, and stay far away from my computer and phone. In fact, I didn't even take my laptop with me on my trip! On the positive side, I packed makeup I loved for my trip and many of those items are in my 2015 favorites.

Second, through the tail end of 2015, I have been working on focusing my collection, destashing, and trimming down my beauty spending. I gave a lot of products to my sister, who is an ideal recipient of items that don't work for me - her skin is warmer, a shade deeper, and shares my shade preferences for color products. I was happy to re-home lots of products to her and I also tossed expired products  and sold some on online. I do plan to publish a few blog posts I wrote about strategies for trimming down collections and reducing beauty spending.

Finally, I took a break from the online makeup world because it stopped being interesting to me. I think it is natural to wax and wane in makeup interest, but I felt like the online beauty community began to feel like a pundit echo chamber. I trimmed down my YouTube subscriptions, accounts I follow on Instagram, and blogs I follow. Over 2015, I have learned more about the type of content I value vs. the type I don't and I think it is natural that my media consumption has followed that. My focus now is on people who seem discerning and detailed - I just don't have the time and patience for Trendmood style hype or  Morphe code pushing gurus or I'm So Obsessed Seriously favorites.

Long story short, I'm back and excited to get back to blogging! I've been reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld and watching The Great British Bake Off lately, and for some reason this picture by Sergio Rola felt right for me right now. I hope all of you had a great holiday season!

Makeup conspiracy theory- bottomless Becca shimmering skin perfectors

So you know how restaurants advertise bottomless fries or infinity drink refills? I've been thinking (probably Thanksgiving inspired if we're being honest) and I have a makeup conspiracy theory to share - Becca's shimmering skin perfectors are bottomless. I'm not sure how the Becca fairies do such a great job coming over to my house and topping up my SSPs, but I have magically yet to run out despite near everyday use.

I bought the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlights set last year (about 14 months ago). The set contained mini SSPs in Pearl, Champagne Gold, and Opal, each with .17oz of product. The full size is ten times larger at 1.7 ounces. I absolutely adore the Becca SSP formula and use one of these shades almost every day.

Based on my photo showing how much I have used over 14 months, I have gone through about half of Pearl, about a third of Champagne Gold and a quarter of Opal. I also have a picture below (shade: Opal) of the typical amount I use on a daily basis - I apply to my cheekbones, inner corner of my eye, lightly on my browbone, and cupid's bow.

By my estimate, if I'm using up about a mini size (.17oz) per year, it would take me around 10 years to finish up a full (1.7oz) size bottle! Assuming I'm gross and don't care about expired products or bacteria, that is a serious commitment to a highlighter. I think I am so used to using up and repurchasing cream base products (concealer, BB cream, foundation) it has been truly baffling to me that I am nowhere near empty on these. Thus, I can only conclude the Becca fairies are coming to my house for free refills :)

I am left with two questions: Why is the full size so gigantic? If you have finished a full size Becca shimmering skin perfector, how did you do that? I would love to know where and how you apply it.

Show & Tell - My everyday neutral eyeshadow Z palette

I wanted to do a quick show & tell post sharing my everyday neutral eyeshadows I keep in my Z palette. I have a Z palette 4U and I really like the size - it fits a lot of eyeshadow without feeling unwieldy. All of these pans magnetize to the Z palette without needing any extra magnets or magnet tape. I love mixing and matching brands to pull together the shades I use most in a palette, even if there is some wasted empty space. I have a mix of depotted shades from palettes and eyeshadows that are sold as single pans.

In my palette:

1. Stila In The Know Air, Wind, Desert, Clay, Earth, Rain, Smoke, and Ebony
2. Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow quad in Coffee Bean, top 2 shades
3. Too Faced All I Want For Christmas (LE) 
4. The Balm Nude Tude Stubborn and Standoffish 
5. Covergirl Cheekers bronzer in Golden Tan (this isn't a great bronzer color for my skintone, but I enjoy it as an eyeshadow)
6. Inglot 341 and 31

 Do you have an eyeshadow palette for your depotted eyeshadow or shades that come as single pans? What do you keep in yours?