The Monkey Is In.

So be prepared. Bring a banana.

I'm a writer of horror and dark fiction. I've been doing this since 1999 and believe me when I say, it's cheaper than therapy and safer for the world at large.

Filtering by Tag: AOA Studio

PDs, MEHs, and GFYs December 2020

Well, here we are folks. Almost to the end of the shit show we’ve come to know as the year 2020. I anticipate over spillage into 2021, but I’m hopeful it will only taint the first few months with its grubby little paws.

In the meantime, let’s go through a handful of stuff I really enjoyed, or not, or really had luke-warm feelings toward. I’m thinking of changing the GFY to FO: FUCK OFF. Little shorter, little sweeter…well, maybe not sweeter.

Also, I’m sure that all but one product mentioned here is from a company that’s cruely free! (I don’t know about the toothpaste, Think Your Teeth).

PANTY DROPPERS

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Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara: One of my favorite mascaras. It’s expensive so I wait until it goes on sale to purchase. It seemed I either bought an older tube or I had this sitting in my stash a little too long. Felt kinda dry and clumpy this time around and didn’t last very long. It’s usually not like that.

Tarte Busy Gal Brows (Medium Cool Brown): I love colored brow gels since my eyebrow hairs are very fine and few. If I don’t want to draw them in, I use a gel like this. I really liked the color, even though the hold isn’t great. But the teeny tiny brush is the best part. This is way to expensive to justify buying (unless it goes on mega sale - which I think it did and I have a backup). I kept the brush and am trying it with another brow gel that’s a little too thick. Hoping the smaller brush will help apply it better.

Essence Precise Eyeliner Brush: I love this fucking brush! And it’s $3 (used to be slightly cheaper, if I remember correctly but it’s worth it). I use this for gel eye liners or when I need more precise application for cosplay makeup.

Milani Retouch & Erase Light-Lifting Concealer (Light): This is pretty much the only concealer that looks good on me. Not drying, not heavy, blends out well. It works best if I’ve put a facial oil under my eyes, let it sit for about 10 seconds, then blend the concealer on top before setting with powder. I’ve since discovered Milani has one lighter shade (Fair) which is good because Light is way too yellow. Sometimes you can get it from Ulta, but I had to get mine directly from the Milani website.

NYX Cosmic Metals Lip Cream (Electro Magnetic and Celestial Star): I loved these lip creams. Gorgeous jewel tones, shiny and sparkly but didn’t feel gritty on the lips. Unfortunately, these just got too old and now are a little dry and streaky. (They have fewer colors available at Ulta, and the NYX site is out of stock on some so I’m wondering if this product is slowing being phased out)

MEH's

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Sky Organics Rosewater Facial Mist: At first I really enjoyed this, but the longer I used it, the heavier the scent became. To the point where it’s just unbearable now and it stinks up the entire room. Otherwise, it’s a decent face mist. I got mine at CVS but I bet you can get them all over.

Think Your Teeth Toothpaste (BTS Collab): I think I got this in a Daebak box. The toothpaste itself seems fine, but the flavor is off-putting. Lavender, I think. I’d be interested in trying their sensitive formula, though.

Milani Trifecta Mascara: Doesn’t really do much, definitely not three things. Looks more just like a soft, natural mascara. It’s on sale at their site…shocking.

LA Girl Oomph’d Mascara: See above.

AOA Studio Buttercream Gel Liners (Blueberry and Pistacio): This is the Shop Miss A house brand, I believe (pretty much EVERYTHING on Shop Miss A is around $1 - no joke, and there’s some good stuff on there). Loved the colors on these (rich blue and green) but the little pots are completely dried out. Like we’re talking little round bricks and they’re not that old. Granted, they were super cheap, so I’m not that mad about it.

Colourpop Pretty Fresh Creamy Concealer (Light 33C): The color is great but the product itself looks very dry on me (so much for that hyaluronic acid part, eh?). EDITOR’S ASIDE: if you go to the CP website now, they just launched a Hello Kitty collab and your computer cursor TURNS INTO A SNOWFLAKE!!!!

Colourpop Creme Gel Liner (Puppy): I love this color so much. I went through a phase of only wearing this with a matching matte shadow in the crease of my eyelid. But the pencil dried out way too fast, and is completely unusable now.

ELF Flat Brush: For an inexpensive brush, this lasted longer than I thought it would. It was nice for spreading out concealer or inner corner highlight on the eyes. But the little bristles pushed down into the ferrule and I can’t use it anymore. But I’ll probably get another one, since they’re pretty cheap. I think this was the concealer brush, but mine doesn’t have a name on it, where the packing now does include that (better late than never).


GO FUCK YOURSELVES

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Fourth Ray Beauty Mellow Milk Mist: As you can see, it took me nearly the entire bottle of using this stuff to figure out it was what made my skin take a nose dive into the shitter. Broke me out something horrible! Which is sad because it gives a nice glow to the skin. GAH!

NYX Gel Liner/Smudger (White): So fucking dry, so fucking difficult to work with, so fucking NOT pigmented, and so fucking dry within a short amount of time. TRASH!

Notoriously Morbid Eye Base (Dreams Fade): Anyone following me on IG knows I’ve been loving on NM so hard. But this eye base is terrible. It doesn’t help shadows last longer, nor does it help with intensifying pigment, AND it ends up making all eye shadows crease like crazy on me. FUCK! (not available on their site, so it may have been a Halloween Advent Calendar exclusive)

Milani Stay Put Waterproof Eyeliner (Linked On Black): This product is the reason I refuse to wear waterproof makeup any more. It’s nearly impossible to remove this stuff (which might be a pro for some people) and irritated my eyes. The actual liner also dried out and separated from the wooden pencil around it. WHAT THE HELL?

Catrice Long Lasting Lip Pencil (And The Cherry On The Top): Spoiler Alert - it’s not. And it’s not for sale anywhere that I can find. WEAK!

BONUS ITEM - The Year 2020: No explanation needed, amirite?

Okay, well that wraps up my loves, likes, and hates for 2020. Here’s to hoping 2021 doesn’t suck as much giant donkey dick!