Do you read beauty blogs? I follow a couple of “mixed media” blogs (perfume + make-up) but compared to the amount of perfume-related sites I frequent you might say I don’t read them at all. Though maybe I should? Sometimes they prove to be very useful. But I’m running ahead of myself.
Last year while perfume shopping sniffing at Barney’s with Natalie (Another Perfume Blog), we stopped at a Lipstick Queen counter: I wanted to show her the Hello Sailor lipstick I featured in the In the Search for the Perfect Blackberry: P.S. post. I also secretly hoped to find Black Tie Optional gloss. Instead my attention was captured by their Chinatown glossy lip pencil in the shade Mystery.
My wallet was on its way out of the purse when Natalie stopped me and explained that for the money ($18 at the time) all I was getting was what you can see on the picture above. We spent some time trying to figure out if it had some hidden turning mechanism or something like that. Nope. It was a solid plastic tube with a relatively large but still not-enough-for-the-price gloss tip.
It was a reasonable thing to do so we left Barneys empty-handed though on the perfume side it was totally their fault: if I remember it correctly, they were out of either a size or a perfume Natalie wanted.
Months later, by mere chance, at Tinsel Creation I stumbled upon a review of another shade of that Chinatown lip pencil in which Jessica not only praised the quality of the gloss, but explained how good was the sharpener that came with the pencil.
The next time I happened to be at Barneys I re-confirmed with an SA that I could actually sharpen the pencil – and it went home with me.
With all other lipsticks I have in similar shades did I really need that lip gloss? You know the answer. Does it look like black currant? The tip of the pencil reminds a slightly unripe berry. On lips it’s a shimmering berry tint. But I enjoy how smoothly it glides, how easy it is to apply and how nice it looks on my lips. So I’m glad I read that post on a beauty blog.
Can you recommend any beauty blog that you follow and like?
Images: my own
Undina's Looking Glass 
That’s great that you’ve found a product that suits you well in terms of color and texture. Bravo for you for getting that thanks to a beauty blog.
I don’t read any beauty blogs at all and once in a while (read: very rarely) I do visit blogs dedicated to skin-care and shaving as skin-care is what interests me as a cosmetic chemist and shaving is what I have to do every couple of days so I’m always curious if there are any new products worth searching for and trying.
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I think I use skincare products more often than cosmetics but for whatever reason I usually don’t read about them. Most likely, because I do not expect any miracles from those creams and lotions.
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What a happy chance that was, and I’m glad you are now united with your berry lip gloss pencil – I bet it suits your colouring very well.
I usually Google the item I want to read about and then just take my pic of the beauty blogs and that pop up, but of those I can particularly recommend Best things in Beauty (who does also cover perfume in fairness), and The Beauty Lookbook. I also love My Beauty Blog (mixed again – and in German, but you do count some German speakers amongst your readers). I may think of a few more pure beauty blogs by and by. There are others I regularly fetch up. Then I guess I am *a bit* of a ‘mixed media’ blog myself, being still in search of the perfect skin care product for my mature complexion with its chequered, sun damaged past. ;)
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I subscribe to Best Things in Beauty. The Beauty Lookbook – noted. Blog in German is probably too much for me but if anybody can read it easily – here is the link.
I’m yet to write a post on anything skincare-related. I still might : -)
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I love a bit of LipstickQueen, although her latest lines are getting ridiculously expensive. I do read Getlippie and theBritishBeautyBlogger pretty regularly, the former for entertainment, the latter for information. If I have a serious(!) make up question I go to the Sali Hughes beauty forum. All of those are British, so might not cover everything that’s available in the US.
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Get Lippie – subscribed, thank you. As to British Beauty Blogger – you’re right, I glanced through the recent posts – those aren’t brands I hear about living in the U.S. Interestingly, it’s there that I read about an upcoming Chanel Coco Noir Parfum release. It seems that Perfumeland was so underwhelmed by the Eau de Parfum concentration that nobody thought of reporting on this news.
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hey there Undina,
I don’t follow any beauty blogs but I do like a few of the FASHION blogs. Especially the ones that preview ads and marketing like Art8lamby.
Portia xx
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One day I’ll do a post on those as well – if a story comes together.
Thank you for sharing Art8amby.
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That berry colour looks positively luscious. I’m glad it worked out for you. Can you tell us what the perfume was that Natalie left without?
Actually I have Natalie to thank for introducing me to my favorite beauty blog by Lisa Eldridge. I would never have had the confidence to start doing eye make-up otherwise and I like that she’s free from advertising (aside from the stuff she does for Chanel). She also put me on to Caroline Hirons who is very entertaining and like Sabine, I follow Sali Hughes.
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I don’t remember the name of the perfume that Natalie was looking for but I think it was something from L’Artisan in a 50 ml bottle.
I watch Lisa Eldridge on youtube from time to time – I didn’t realize she had a blog as well. Subscribed!
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I also found out about Lisa E. from Natalie!
Other beauty blogs I particularly like: The Beauty Department (awesome visuals/tutorials), Into the Gloss, I Covet Thee, A Model Recommends…I read lots.
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You read a lot indeed! Do you follow any of the advices?
Natalie is extremely useful!
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i love Sali Hughes’ column, and the Non Blonde. I know I buy too much, so I am trying to be way more select in the future. Sometimes I look at the amount of product, and think how long I have to work to earn the money for said item. If it will bring me pleasure then i can pull the trigger but sometimes, if it’s only 2 g of product 9and that is all some eyeliners are ) i just don’t want to spend $30 on two grams of something. Guerlain used to have great lipliners-I could use my favorite shade multiple times per day and it would last for months. Then they changed the packaging, reduced the amount of product plus increased the amount-and that was my breaking point. I still really like the Laura Mercier line-it always makes me feel pretty, and the products are pretty much goof proof. i have the Black orchid stick gloss too.
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I agree, sometimes the price doesn’t make any sense – not in the absolute but in relative sense.
Laura Mercier is one of my staples: love the tinted moisturizer and come back to it after trying many other similar products from other brands.
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One more thing-
When i read you were searching for the perfect black current – i assumed it was perfume! i have Aube Pashmina from Huitieme Art to try. So i guess i like perfume more than makeup, too!
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Perfume was in the previous post. That’s why this one is “P.S.” : -)
Huitieme Art is a brand that isn’t available in stores where I live so I had a very limited exposure to it. I’ll give this one a try if I come across it.
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Hi Undina. I don’t follow any beauty blogs, but I enjoy some of the beauty posts on the perfume blogs that feature them, particularly Victoria’s at EauMG. Enjoy your new lip color! I like all three of the colors you feature – that whole berried but sheer look is great. (And you have the perfect lips for any shade of dark lipstick, btw. I think I remember you wearing the Laura Mercier, which would be my favorite of the three you featured here).
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Thank you for the compliment, Suzanne. Your memory is good – I did wear that Black Orchid during your visit. What you probably don’t remember/realize – I bought that lip gloss pencil during our visit to Barneys – while you were sniffing something at the masculine stand, I think.
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Have a good day exhibition
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Thank you, Lidia.
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Thanks for the shout-out! I wonder whether I might have more readers if I concentrated on *one* topic… but I have a range of interests, so I can’t help myself! I like your term “mixed-media.” :)
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Thank you, Jessica! I’m so glad I read your review (and I’m reading everything on all the topics you cover – even if I don’t always comment): it’s such a nice product, I enjoy using it.
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That lip pencil looks lovely and shimmery! (and the Laura Mercier shade looks gorgeous too, yumm. Love Laura Mercier in general.) I do like lip or eye pencils that come with sharpeners, it’s so much more useful that way.
I love beauty blogs and I see people have already mentioned my favorite: The Beauty Lookbook and Lisa Eldridge. I also like Front Row Beauty for clear product photos and swatches.
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I have two favorite lipsticks from Laura Mercier – Pink Champagne and Black Orchid – and I’ve been repurchasing them again and again, I don’t even know exactly if I’m on my forth or sixths tube of each.
I looked at the Front Row Beauty blog and I think she’s too young for me. But here’s the link for others.
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Hello my dear Undina, most of the lipsticks came as a componemt of a Gift with Purchase. Estee Lauder and Clinique are my top brands. I rarely use lipstick but occasionally, I read about a favorite blogger’s favorite lip product and I end up checking it out AND purchasing it. Consider me enabled :-)
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I started with those brands (and GWP lipsticks). Some of them were actually a success. I loved Clinique’s Tender Heart lipstick and used it for years. But then at some point I got GWP from Dior… In my opinion, Dior’s lipsticks are a grade higher than EL’s and Clinique’s. And Laura Mercier is very nice… And Burberry… I like Tom Ford as well but just cannot bring myself yet to paying his prices for a lipstick. And I’m very curious to try SL’s lipsticks but those are even more expensive, I think.
I heard a lot of good things about Lipstick Queen but I have a very limited experience with this brand so I can’t say anything about their lipsticks but I love both glosses I got from them – Hello Sailor and Mystery.
I don’t know what colors suit you but if you get to Laura Mercier counter, try Sparkling Pink lipstick.
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Oh boy, more enabling! The other one I’m curious about is the Guerlain lipstick that looks like a weapon (as described in Dad’s American Beauty)
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