beauty
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End of Summer Memo
I was planning to do an Early Autumn Memo for my re-entry into blogosphere, but it’s so warm in Brussels (up to 31 degrees expected in the coming week) that I cannot bring myself to talk about autumny stuff at the moment. Which is, in a way, good news, as I have quite a few things to share from this summer, and as they aren’t necessarily summer-specific, they may still be of use to you. So I am going to get them off my chest in this post, leaving all the talk of chocolate-coloured suede and plush perfumes for the next memo.
Best of 2021: Beauty, Style, Perfume
In the two years of the pandemic, my makeup, perfume and clothes purchases have slowed down – although not stopped by any means. Perhaps most irrationally, my habit of buying a few evening dresses per year is as strong as ever. But if you are expecting a proper ‘best of’ of fragrance or beauty releases, this I’m not able to provide. Still, perhaps this overview is useful as you are planning your own wardrobes or makeup buys.
Best of 2021: Skincare
I am happy to report that in general, I have been buying fewer things. Well, with the notable exception of books – things seem to be getting worse on that front. But otherwise, there has been progress. I still have a soft spot for skincare, however, and tried quite a few things this year, some of which were very good. So here they are, in a vague order of application.
A Korean Skincare Update
Sometimes I buy beauty stuff even if I don’t need it, or just out of curiosity or because I want to cheer myself up. I know I shouldn’t do that – it’s evidence that I’m trying to fill an internal void with meaningless objects, which in turn is all the result of a capitalist conspiracy to keep me unhappy and coming back from more. This is, broadly speaking, true. If I were a fully content, balanced, worthy individual, I could probably live without a ‘wardrobe of cleansers’. But sometimes I think that buying that new cleanser is a better option than despairing and berating myself over the fact that I haven’t yet reached complete enlightenment and still crave stuff. I mean – it’s just skincare. It could be drugs!
Skincare During a Pandemic: Discuss
A few people have asked me for a skincare update, which I’m happy to provide. It’s interesting that while attitudes towards clothes and fashion have almost uniformly moved in the direction of “less” and “not a priority”, beauty is a more complex issue. There has obviously been some rethinking and reassessment, especially on the makeup front. But while I know a number of people who have simplified their skincare routines, I probably know more of those who have found solace in pampering or have used the teleworking situation to engage in some hard-core retinoling.
Dr Sam: Skincare for Sensible People
When it comes to skincare, I’m definitely not a reasonable person. I like things to be effective, I honestly do, but I also like them to smell lovely and to come in nice packaging and maybe include some ingredients that sound good, but don’t really do much, ..
Great Affordable Moisturisers: The Inkey List
Somewhat unexpectedly, I’m having much better luck lately with reasonably priced moisturisers than I’m having with fancy ones. I really liked what Alex Steinherr did for Primark (and Sali Huges agreed!), found CeraVe lotion to be a solid basic and now, the n..
The Best Affordable Cleanser I’ve Ever Tried
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m always on the hunt for good, affordable cleansers: I consider cleansing to be of extreme importance and while I’m personally ready to pay a small fortune for a good skin-cleaning product, not everybody can or w..
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser
My obsession with cleansers is well documented, but I haven’t really found anything to add to my Hall of Fame for a while. Omorovicza Hydra Melting Cleanser is beautiful, but doesn’t remove makeup as well as I’d like and is ridiculously expensive. Kat Burki’..
Best of 2018: Makeup
I admit this title is misleading, as it’s in no way a comprehensive assessment of stuff that came out in 2018. Firstly, I don’t buy that much makeup any more. Mind you, I still buy much more than an average person, but I don’t test as much as I do with skinc..