1) My favorite eyeshadow primer has been discontinued. Stay Don't Stray by Benefit has been a staple to my makeup game for a long, long time. I just did a search on my blog and I talked about it in 2011, so I've been using it for more than a decade. I do not know how to replace it. Here's what I've tried.
A sample of Rare Beauty Always an Optimist: They sell this as "weightless," but that is 100% inaccurate. It was very heavy, a very dark color (darker than my shadow!) and was incredibly hard to blend. Did not like. (I did like the other primers that I sampled, just not the eyeshadow primer.)
A travel size of Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion: This plain does not work. My eyeshadow has melted into the creases by noon.
I am begging for eyeshadow primer recommendations over here.
2) I heard "Beaches of Cheyenne" by Garth Brooks the other day and got all choked up. This song used to be just a sort of boring mid-tempo ballad for me back in the day, but I saw Garth in concert in Columbus in 2016 and now I legitimately think of this as one of my favorite Garth songs. There was something about how he performed it that really swayed me into thinking it's one of the most powerful songs ever. Do you have a song or an artist that you flipped when you saw them live (either for the better or for the worse?)?
3) I am currently doing a thing at work where I meet with students who are on academic warning or probation. These meetings tend to be a lot of me listening to students and making appropriate referrals, whatever they may be. I also will sometimes do advising about summer classes and I was working with a student on warning and said "okay, so this stats class is a six-week course, so it will be at an accelerated pace so don't work a 40-hour job at the same time because it will take a lot of time." The student said, "I'm not a bad student or stupid" which was NOT what I was saying at all. I flipped over her transcript, circled her first four semesters and said "this shows you're a good student" and then circled her last semester and said "this shows something bad happened. Now we're fixing that."
Then she was crying and then I was crying.
The kids are having a rough time out there.
4) Two of my beloved podcasts are coming to an end. 60 Songs That Explain the '90s just released its last episode. One of the hosts of Let's Go To Court is leaving podcasting, so that one is also ending. I am not ashamed to admit that my Wednesdays are going to be a bit drearier from here on out. I'm not really looking for new podcasts because I think if I whittled down my podcast listening I could actually listen to more audiobooks, which would be good for me, but I am still sad.
5) Late-stage capitalism sighting at the grocery store last night.
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Hit me with eyeshadow primer recs, songs that you've flipped on, and what your favorite sugar cereal is.
LOL late stage capitalism pic. I like to use Tarte crease-less concealer on my eyelids. I also really like the Ulta brand of tinted primer. I get the slightly sparkly one. It's pretty great and can work by itself in a pinch. I also keep a travel eye shadow brush in my purse and desk to give myself a quick mid-day blend if things look smeary.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I keep trying Ulta products and being disappointed by them. (I just bought an Ulta eyeliner and it's depressingly bad.)
DeleteYou are a much more put together person than I am. There's no way I'm adjusting my makeup during the day - once I walk out of the bathroom in the morning, I am DONE with it until I remove it at night.
While walking Hannah?! What a multitasker thou art.
ReplyDeleteWell, whenever I had a thought, I pulled her aside and jotted it down. She doesn't mind slowing down to sniff.
DeleteI'm so glad that you're there for your students, Engie. I teared up along with you two--kindness and gentle guidance can make such a difference.
ReplyDeleteI think eyeshadow doesn't look good on me, so I'm no help there. A song that has been breaking me recently is that Billie Eilish-Barbie song "What Was I Made For." (Do NOT listen if you're feeling sad.) Frosted Flakes is my brand of oldie-goodie-basic sugary cereal :).
Oh, that poor girl. She was on the edge of tears for the whole meeting. I think she thought she was in trouble or something. I have tried to let students know that I'm a judgment free source of help, but I think it's confusing because their experience with administrators is usually not great. I think she left the meeting feeling better and having a plan in place, which is really the best I can hope for.
DeleteOh, that Eilish song just won an Oscar. I KNOW A CONTEMPORARY POP SONG!! (I have to admit I do not care for the breathy singing style, so that song doesn't really hit for me.)
I know exactly what you mean--I think of it as the "sexy babytalk" genre. But it's a good song. I'll stand by that too.
DeleteMy heart goes out to your student. College can be so rough. I flunked out in my first semester, and when I went back in the summer, my advisor sat me down and laid out a plan to get me off probation - I was taking two English (read: easy) classes and a math class, and she showed me that it was OK to get a C in math as long as I got A's in the other classes. That was the model that I used for the rest of my college career - get the A's where you can to balance out the C's and oh yes I got a D in a chemistry class once. She gave me solid advice when I needed it, and I'll always remember her.
ReplyDeleteYES!! If students are struggling, there needs to be a mix of classes on the schedule to balance out strengths and weaknesses. It's a hard line to get students to do self-assessments, though. Many don't want to admit that math and science are hard for them, even when their ACT scores and previous college class records indicate they are. *sigh* I do my best, but I can't do much to help them outside of school where the real problems are, you know?
DeleteAw, I like the story about the student- yes, it's hard to be a college kid. Or high school, or middle school for that matter. I feel like the worry-free time ends after elementary school. I'll bet that girl really appreciated her interaction with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm no help with makeup! And... I'm also in a bit of a podcast lull. Some of my favorites have been doing less regular episodes and it's bumming me out. I've been trying out some new ones, with mixed results. There are definitely a LOT to choose from!
Yeah, I think it's hard to be in elementary school, too, if you don't have a great home life or there are other external factors at play! I hope that I helped that student, but if not, at least she knows that I'm here for future assistance.
DeleteI'm bummed about my own personal podcasting landscape, but I guess podcasting changes just like anything else.
I couldn't tell you the last sugary cereal I ate. We weren't cereal kids. Actually, our mother fought to get us to eat any breakfast at all. But that vast array of Lucky Charms is astonishing. I mean...why?
ReplyDeleteI haven't worn eyeshadow since I used to sneak and wear it to high school in the 10th grade. Sorry.
Bravo to you for the way you handled that student. That was perfect. I do think so many students now are juggling a million things; Life is hard out there. Too many people don't get that and are dismissive of the challenges that young people face. If we could approach each other from a place of Kindness and Empathy first, we'd all do much better.
It's not that hard.
(I wish I could do something while I walked. Impossible. I'll trip and fall.)
I don't remember the last cereal I ate at all. My husband buys Chex to eat as a snack, but I never eat cereal. I tried not to eat it when I was a kid because I hate(d) milk and there's nothing grosser than milk left after cereal (I mean, Brussels sprouts are grosser, but that's a different topic). The cereal aisle is FASCINATING, though, because there are so many variations of every cereal. Why do we need so many versions of Lucky Charms? I have no idea, my friend. None.
DeleteOh, I stopped and pulled Hannah over when I was making notes on my phone. I wasn't walking and typing. That's a recipe for disaster!!
I don't wear eye makeup so no recs. Songs hit you in different ways at different times in your life, as you've so eloquently proved. I'm kind of over podcasts, I was so into them when they started years ago, but now... 🤷♀️
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! I have listened to podcasts since the very early days and don't see myself ever stopping. I just love them.
DeleteI'm in the no eyeshadow, no advice group. But I hate it when my favorite products get discontinued. I also think students have a hard time - so much pressure! I love all kinds of cereals! I couldn't pick a favorite. Well....maybe Cocoa Puffs. Those are dessert!
ReplyDeleteSpot on! Most of those cereals are just dessert options. It's been a long time since I've had any, but I was a Cinnamon Toast Crunch girl.
DeleteI don't use eyeshadow primer but now I am wondering if I should? I grew up with any cereal being a treat so I have a weird love of Cheerios and Corn Chex, sigh. I did go through a Frosted Flakes phase in my mid-20s, but I remain so much more of a salty fan vs. sweet.
ReplyDeleteI have super oily lids and if I don't use primer, my eyeshadow just all melts into the crease within an hour. I'm envious of people who can just throw on shadow and it stays!
DeleteI think you need to do a makeup tutorial at some point, because I didn't even know there was such a thing as eyeshadow primer.
ReplyDeleteLive concerts are not my thing -- too much noise, too many people -- so I have only been to a handful. But I have seen Weezer in concert twice and I adore them. A lot of their songs haven't held up that well lyrics-wise since the 1990s, but the music still bangs.
The work you're doing sounds really hard and really important. I'm so glad those students have you to help them navigate these challenges.
Ha. Everyone's makeup needs are so different. I didn't even know that there were people wearing eyeshadow without it.
DeleteI have actually probably been less than a dozen live concerts in my entire life. They're usually too loud for me, so I get you on that! I'm glad to hear when 90s music still holds up!
I wear eyeshadow once in a blue moon and didn't even know you were supposed to use something UNDER it.
ReplyDeleteYou handled that meeting so well. College is so hit and miss with profs and admin in whether kids get met with compassion or judgment, and the compassion means so much.
I can't think of anything exactly like your music situation, but I saw Bob Dylan in concert and was SO disappointed in his version of Don't Think Twice, it's Alright. It was like he thought he had to mix it up because it was live and I just wanted to hear the song. Same with Lindy Ortega and All My Friends. I think a live performance of a song can be great if it's done with feeling, but I hate it when they add weird endings to the lines or make it so the song is unrecognizable.
I literally have Facebook open on my other tab and had JUST read my friend Kerry's status about being sad over the 60 songs that explain the 90s podcast being done. Love it.
My parents saw Dylan once in the 80s and he was so drunk and/or stoned that they really felt like they had been fleeced out of the money they'd paid for tickets. It sounds like you had a better experience than that, at least!
DeleteSo much sadness over 60 Songs that Explain the 90s being over. It makes me feel better to know Kerry is in the same place over it, actually!
Oh, Engie, I love how you reframed that for your student. It made me want to cry, too. 💕
ReplyDeleteOh, we were a mess. Poor thing. That scene happens over and over again in my office and I swear I don't cry every time, but sometimes it hits differently.
DeleteI don't use primer (yet, I'm close to caving) but; I just saw a tip on Instagram about using concealer instead. Can I vouch for this? No I cannot. But maybe worth a shot?
ReplyDeleteI don't use concealer! Should I be? Why is makeup so hard?
DeleteI can't think of an example of a song that I was meh about but loved when I saw it live, though I know there must be at least a few. I will tell you that Taylor Swift's 'Bigger than the Whole Sky' makes me cry just by existing. I don't even have to hear it to start, just thinking about it. It starts with thoughts of Mulder, than morphs into my parents, and my friend who died at 55 last year, and blah. I'm crying now just writing this. Also, OMG about what you said to that student. I'm kinda crying about that too. You're perfect. (yes, you are.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope you never hear that TS song while you're just going about your life! I hate the idea of you crying in the grocery store. Sheesh!
DeleteI don't wear any kind of primer, does it make a difference? is it for eye shadow to stay longer? hope you find one you like soon.
ReplyDeleteThose cereal boxes!!!! Gosh... my first reaction is food coloring, hahaha...,
songs... I used to not understand the fuss about black pink, but once I started it, they are my favorite songs to listen in the hard/last part of my runs. I'll definitely watch their concert with my girls if they are near by.
Yes, the primer makes the eye shadow stay so that right before I take my eye make up off at night, it looks exactly the same as it did when I put it on in the morning. If I do not wear eyeshadow primer, all the eyeshadow will end up in my crease within hours. I guess I have oily lids?
DeleteMy favorite sugar-y cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It's basically dessert. In our family, you're allowed to pick a box of sugary cereal for your birthday week and the stuff that the kids choose... *shudder*. Cookie Crisp is particularly popular.
ReplyDeleteYour student is SO lucky to have you and your empathetic soul there for her.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is my personal favorite, but I get the appeal of Lucky Charm and Cookie Crisp. LOL. They're all tasty, but maybe not great for us.
DeleteNo recommendations but try googling "discontinued cosmetics" -- I've had luck with some of those sites before.
ReplyDeleteThere was never a dupe for it, so it's been hard to find a replacement. I don't really want any old product, either, in case it's past its use date. *sigh* It's hard to be picky about product.
DeleteI am kind of cringing at the cereal pic. I recently heard a podcasters say that her 50-something husband still eats lucky charms and I cringed hearing that because those cereals are so unappealing!! My parents did not let us have sugary cereal as a kid except when we went camping and had those little mini boxes. We would occasionally get trix as a treat when I was a kid so that was probably my favorite? But now all of those sugary cereals are off limits - which is totally fine!
ReplyDeleteI'm no help on the eyeshadow issue!
LOL. I do NOT think sugary cereal is unappealing. I think it's delicious. I just can't justify the price given the lack of nutritional value!
DeleteI should probably be using eyeshadow primer but I just can't be bothered, even though my eyeshadow never stays as long as I wish it would. Late-stage capitalism is also all the ADDITIONAL beauty products we need just to get all the other beauty products to stay on our faces. UGH.
ReplyDeleteGod, I love sugary cereal. Such a lovely little treat sometimes! My favorite is probably Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Cocoa Krispies!
Oh, wow! Honestly, my eyeshadow is all in the crease within like an hour if I don't use primer. That's a waste of product!!
DeleteI haven't had sugary cereal in YEARS (maybe a decade?). It's just so expensive!
I've never used an eyeshadow primer and quiet honestly couldn't say what it's for. Some of the make-up game just completely passed me by
ReplyDeleteI don't eat these kind of cereals. I hate milk so I would eat it dry and then its just way way to sweet. I know I am weird.
The primer is exactly what paint primer is for - to even out the skin and make sure the color stays. I don't even see the point of putting on eyeshadow without primer, to be honest!
DeleteI hate milk, too! That's also why I don't eat cereal. But I would like a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with soy milk. That would be good.
No eyeshadow, so can't help there (but I hope you find something that works). And not a cereal person... although I went through a Cracklin' Oat Bran phase until I realized that the amount of saturated fat in one small serving was about half (I think) of the daily allowance. I then went through some kind of Special K (I think? it might have been something else?) phase. Although... looking at the Special K site, nope. Huh. Well, whatever. Some other slightly sweet cereal. Of note, this happened when I first started working night shift so... yeah, carbs. It was short-lived. :) I honestly don't think I've ever had Lucky Charms!
ReplyDeleteYou never had Lucky Charms as a child?! That's astonishing to me! But I recently told my husband that I've never had Wheaties and that astonished him. It's hard to try new cereals when the ones you love are the ones you love.
DeleteI gave up on eyeshadow primer when I stopped using eyeshadow regularly; sorry, I'm no help!
ReplyDeleteWTH with all the Lucky Charms?
I couldn't imagine working a forty hour week and taking classes full-time either, I get what you were saying, but she must feel so overwhelmed that she didn't get your thoughts.
Why so many versions of Lucky Charms?! I have so many questions about it myself.
DeleteI haven't used eye shadow primer in forever, but I remember I used to have Too Faced Shadow Insurance and loved it.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is a great rec! I'll give it a try the next time I order makeup.
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