Sunday Ramblings for June 10, 2012

Posted on Sunday, at bought • 265 views

I'm still slogging away, porting content over bit by bit. I probably won't be done until the end of summer. But, eh, I'm publishing new content at the same time, so it's not like the site's in stasis. I almost feel a nagging guilt about not having things ported over faster…and then I remember: this is my hobby, this is my fun-project, this is me indulging my extreme love of both color and taxonomy. My CMS software released a major upgrade about six months ago, and I held off upgrading because I was waiting on a crucial plugin to have a version compatible with the new software. Then I had a few false starts, and would halt the upgrade because things didn't go smoothly. I finally decided to just do a clean install and manually port the content over, since the follow-their-path upgrade meant a drastically slowed control panel. You folks don't deal the control panel, and the upgrade didn't affect site performance at all; but the control panel is where I do all my work. I had to wait a minute (I timed it) when switching tabs to on the entry-composition screen; and the upgraded tagging was not acting quite right. It was absurd! So I waited until I had the time to do a redesign, the time to start porting things over, the time to install the new plugins and make sure the functionality did what I wanted it to…and then I did a clean install. The CMS runs smoothly, no hiccoughs, no hidden legacy dependencies waiting to trip me up…but I have to manually copy over all of my old entries and comments, because the database structure changed a lot between the old and new CMS version so I can't do a nice, smooth table-copy. (There are distinct downsides to being a raging perfectionist when dealing with technology, which increasingly seems to be focussing on expediency and the appearance-of-competitive-versions, rather than writing clean and scalable code.)

I had tentative plans to go see Prometheus today, but realized that I'd rather get more content done for the site, get a comfortable backlog built up and get more content ported over, and wait a few weeks to see that movie. I'm planning on seeing the third Dark Knight film with my dad, when that comes out in July. That's about the only other summer movie that I'm really looking forward to. I'm going to be at IMATS LA in a few weeks, and will be attending GeekGirlCon in August. Both times I'll be meeting up with friends old and new. What are your summer plans? What products have you recently tried - whether they're new, or new-to-you?

Sunday Ramblings for June 10, 2012

I've received my orders placed during the various Memorial Day sales. I've got a whole bunch of mascaras to review now! CoverGirl, L'Oreal, Revlon, Black Radiance, Physician's Formula, Wet n Wild, Lumene…black, dark black, tinted, colored… I chose items that were BOGO, or heavily discounted, or inexpensive in the first place. I stuck mostly with waterproof-formula whenever I could, because I've learned by experience that non-waterproof mascaras and I just don't get along all that well. I've only tested two thus far. CoverGirl Exact Eyelights mascara has some colors that I like, but it doesn't give me any volume, definition, or length. On the plus side, it is waterproof - so I can put it over my non-waterproof mascaras that actually do give me volume/definition/length, and have everything I want. The downside is that I'm using two products where I could potentially be using one. I know, I know, #firstworldproblems.

If you read Sirvinya's site, you may have read her review of Black Radiance's Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer. I recently bought a few tubes to send to her, when she lamented the fact that she'd only bought one during her trip last year; and I picked up one for myself. I've only used it twice, but I do like it. I don't know whether I like it more than or less than Benefit's POREfessional, but Black Radiance undeniably works well, and costs a lot less. Black Radiance is sold at Walgreen's, and very few other stores that I've found. I hadn't seen it at all in my local Walgreen's…but the other day I was in KMart looking for those storage shelving cubes, and noticed that KMart carried a good portion of the Black Radiance line including cream shadows!!! They were marked as “New”, on the packaging, so I think those are a relatively recent addition to the lineup. I may get one or two and try them out. (Who are we kidding!! I'll definitely get one or two. I'm such a cream shadow addict, it's not even funny.)

I have lots of reviews and write-ups and manis to display in the coming weeks. It feels like it took me forever, but I finally spent a weekend photographing and swatching, and another one editing photos. This takes me through August, possibly longer if I insert any date-sensitive reviews. How's that for terrifyingly organized??? Well…terrifyingly organized, but still working on the content-porting project. That thing is going to eat my brain, I swear.

I lovelovelove the Revlon Just Bitten Balmstains! They're perfect to toss into your purse or backpack (or pocket.) You get more product out by twisting the bottom instead of sharpening, so you don't lose any product. They're like Tarte Lipsurgences, or Clinique Chubby Sticks, but a) they cost a third of what either of those products do; and b) they have better color payoff. If you have seen these but were debating trying them, I highly recommend them. You missed the great 40% off sale that Rite-Aid had on many products, including the entire Revlon line; but keep your eyes peeled for any other coupons. (Check with Nouveau Cheap. She's awfully good about listing the drugstore-chain sales.) I have eight of the current twelve colors. I do hope that Revlon extends their line a little bit. I'd like to see a cooler deep red, and some shimmer finishes. I had tried a few of the Just Bitten Lip Stains, and while they had good color payoff, the glob of waxy stuff at the end was always just a little off-putting. It was supposed to be applied over top of the stain, to soothe the lips and give them a balm-oid coating. Unfortunately, it looked quite a lot like the chunks of semisoft wax the orthodontist would give me to put on the edges of the braces. These balmstain pencils are an excellent next step.

Another product I bought during the Big Big Sales was CoverGirl's Outlast Lip Stains. My advice: don't bother. The color payoff is a bit faint - VERY faint, when compared to the corresponding color in Revlon's Just Bitten line.

Over in the indie world, I've placed several orders with Love Hues, after seeing some of their colors on Sirvinya's site. The quantity is a bit on the smaller side (it's actually 1 gram, as opposed to “one gram and some change”) so the cost is a little higher than some indie lines. And the color range is still rather small. Still, with shades like Wonderstruck and Chestnut Mulberry and Underwater Chameleon, they've got a fairly decent selection of duochromes with good color payoff. The color change isn't as spectacular as many of Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic shadows, but it's definitely there.

Meow Cosmetics has released their Joys of Summer collection, and the Pleasures and Summer Carnival are back for the season (as are Caribbean Escape and Lost Rainforest.) I have the sample set of Joys, and hope to show you swatches in a week or so.

Aromaleigh continues to release new products…and a few old ones. The Bête Noire collection is back! I'm hoping that their Opulent Lustres collection also comes back. There aren't many regular metallic loose-powder collections available, and I love the Opulent Lustres.

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