Week Links [21 December]

Good morning! I want to express my deepest condolences to anyone who has to work today. I’m off until the 4th, because my job absolutely rules. I will be spending my day baking chocolate babka and catching up on podcasts. I’m also racing to read 50 books by the end of the year…only 4 left!

I hope you and yours have a spectacular holiday season in spite of everything. Merry Christmas!

  1. Taylor has done it again—sneak-attacking us with another iconic album, this time in celebration of her 31st birthday. I was an extremely late-adopter with Taylor, but even if I hadn’t already become a fan, 2020 would have been the year. This girl comes back harder than a ’90s trend. (This post was mostly written a week ago, so I know evermore is already old news.)
  2. I’m going to be posting about my 2020 in books, but one that deserves an unrelated shout out is Beach Read by Emily Henry. I almost wanted to start over from the beginning when I finished it. Powerful, sweet, delightful fun. Also, I read this during a snowstorm, so it was nice to remember that summer exists.
  3. I discovered this jewelry brand on Instagram last week and now I want everything, especially this zodiac necklace.
  4. I got another set of foils in my quest to become a blonde and the bleach lightened the virgin hair at my roots so much that it kind of looked like a ’90s boy-band’s frosted tips (I have since gotten a root smudge). I use Olaplex to keep my hair from falling out from the way I abuse it.
  5. I’m listening to Shit, Actually by Lindy West and the chapter on The Notebook felt like a point-blank execution. I know it’s problematic, and that by extension, I’m problematic, but I don’t care! It’s an iconic love story! (To be clear, Lindy’s book absolutely rules and has made me laugh out loud like a fool on innumerable occasions.)
  6. I need an intervention to prevent me from buying this sweatshirt.
  7. I listened to this podcast episode on unpopular opinions recently and apparently my opinions are not so unpopular after all! Microwave-haters unite!
  8. Bided (bode?) my time and finally managed to snag a new wool coat for 60% off. Debating as to whether I should grab this one too, since it’s SO inexpensive…
  9. Reorganized my fridge again because, much like Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, I will never be satisfied. These carafes are such a bargain and look sexy as hell in the fridge. No more ugly cardboard and plastic containers! These ones have a half gallon capacity if that better suits your needs.
  10. I’ve probably already written about this, but I got a matching set of this hoodie and these joggers (when they were on sale, I’m not a millionaire) and I feel LUXE when I wear it. I wish I could afford to get them in every color. Ironically, the first day I wore my sweatsuit, I came across this article by one of my favorite writers, Amanda Mull. P.S. It’s probably only a matter of time before I get this to complete the look, since I’m the worst person I know.
  11. Hanukkah was last week, and while I am not Jewish and have basically zero right to care about this, I am also an obsessively festive holiday person, so I had a 2-person mini feast of “traditional” foods I’d never tried to make before. A friend of mine made me some vegetarian matzoh ball soup and hamentachen, and I made latkes, applesauce, challah, and tzimmes (without the plums, since my husband has a thing about fruit in savory foods). It was so delicious and I’m definitely writing this while I’m eating the leftovers. Taste-wise, the challah wasn’t as good as when I made it on Rosh Hashanah (if this behavior is what gets me cancelled, it will have been a good run), but I’ve gotten so much better at braiding. It was a sight to behold!

My Favorite Makeup

I don’t know if it goes without saying, exactly, but I am *very Jean-Ralphio voice* the worst when it comes to makeup. I take my skincare semi-seriously (I own a serum!) but makeup is a whole ‘nother ballgame. My makeup game is as follows—wake up, neglect to put on makeup, drive to work, get settled, sneak away to the bathroom for 5 minutes to do the bare minimum to make myself look alive. I basically never do a full-face, and my “full-face” never involves actual foundation.

These are the products I use every day (or at least, on the days when I try even the least bit). I’ve probably linked to a bunch of them before, but I figured having them all in one place was the easiest (I’ll probably shop from this post when I start running out of things!)

Eyes

Sephora – Hot Line Brush Tip Liquid Liner

This is my every day liner. I swear to god it’s better than Kat Von D‘s. It took a couple of swipes when I first got it to get into full effect, but once it did it instantly became my ride-or-die liner.

Maybelline – Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara

I really tried to get into natural/fancier mascaras, but I find that nothing works quite so well as this old standby. I’ve tried basically every drugstore mascara (and some fancy ones) that exists, and this one takes the cake every time. Fun fact: I once met a makeup artist that uses this on her clients!

Face

Glossier – Stretch Concealer

It’s just the best concealer in the game. I’ve used about every drugstore concealer and nothing compares to you, boo. Use it with a brush or your fingers. It’s flawless and not cakey at all.

Glossier – Boy Brow

People have STRONG feelings about Boy Brow, but honestly, it has the following going for it:

  • It’s cheap.
  • It’s easy AF to apply.

That’s really all I need in a makeup. I never remember to do my brows, so it’s nice to have a product that literally requires 2 seconds of application. It doesn’t require the steady hand or know-how of a pencil.

Burt’s Bees –  Blush

Far be it from me to regularly use a brush to apply makeup, but when I’m feeling up to it, this is my powder blush. Since I’m not really a blush person, I wanted to make sure that I committed to a natural brand. And I love it!

HAN – Cheek & Lip Tint

This is definitely more my speed when it comes to blush. I just smudge it onto my fingers and then smudge it onto my face. I have the Cherry Cosmos shade and love it.

Trestique – Highlight Stick

Another thing to smudge on the fingers and then onto the face! This can be super subtle or really flashy, depending on how thickly you apply. I like that it’s versatile with just a hint of sparkle—I’m not trying to look like a Vegas showgirl at work!

Lips (the most important part)

Too Faced –  Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick

I only have one shade of this, but I’m absolutely obsessed with it. Super matte without being drying.

Pixi Beauty – MatteLast Liquid Lip

Simply the best! Better than all the rest. I swear, I’m planning on getting every color (I have Caliente Coral, Pastel Petal, Evening Rose, and Pleasing Pink now). Long-last, not super drying, but highly-pigmented. It’s a dream!

Oui Fresh – Buffy Lipstick

All of the shades of Oui Fresh lipstick are great, but Buffy is the most universal, by far. It goes with everything, and it’s sheer enough to be barely-there but stands up to a thicker application.

Urban Decay – Vice Lipstick in Cream Finish

I can’t find the exact name of the one I have (because I bought it so long ago…) but this lipstick goes on luxuriously and really lasts. There are a ton of different finishes—I’ll definitely try the Comfort Matte next).

There are so many other brands that I absolutely stan for (like BITE!) but if I’m real with myself, these are the products I keep returning to again and again.

Am I alone in being the laziest femme ever? Shout out some other great makeup hacks in the comments.

Shout Out Sunday 8.25.19

I wrote this an age ago so we’ll get right to it!

  1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng lived up to the hype and then some. It’s incredible.
  2. I cannot even explain to you how much I want this bag.
  3. So I treated myself to this bag.
  4. My husband and I have been watching Cheers on Netflix and it’s such a fun throwback!
  5. I got to see Rob Delaney perform a couple of weeks ago and it was sublime!
  6. I was desperate to get into another series after reading the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, so I started reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. The best part is that I’m reading it on my Kindle for free using the Libby app!
  7. This jumpsuit has been in my cart for months. Should I cave and get it?
  8. My Grove Collaborative box accidentally shipped this month even though I didn’t need anything (my notification must have gone to spam). Within a day, customer service responded to me, refunded the entire order, and asked me to donate the items rather than return them. Is it any wonder I love this company? I was able to give a bunch of toiletry items to a friend who’s moving in a couple of weeks.
  9. What did you think of Whitney Cummings’ newest special?
  10. I can’t find the exact one I have, but this is my favorite lipstick.

Until…tomorrow!