Alert followers of Makeup Monday will note that I missed last week’s post. Sorry about that! I ended up making a sudden unplanned trip to visit my 16 year old son at his school in Colorado to help him recover from an adverse reaction to a medication. The situation remains unresolved so today’s post will be brief…
Welcome to Makeup Monday, my weekly series on makeup; academic and postacademic job market and productivity posts will continue on Tuesday and Friday as usual.
Here is my weekly reminder: I will not engage with makeup-shaming here or on any Facebook or Twitter comment threads. I support your right to not wear makeup, and anyone who dislikes makeup, disapproves of makeup, or wants to argue that no academic woman should be judged on the basis of makeup (which nobody is claiming anyway), I suggest you come back for my other posts on other topics.
For previous posts, see the following:
- Yes This Post Is About Long-Wear Lipcolor
- Welcome to Makeup Monday
- Why Makeup Why Now?
- Face Makeup, The Basics
- Face Makeup, Getting Fancy
- All About Eyes
- Brows Get Their Own Post, Because Of Course They Do
The very first post in this series was about Long-Wear Lipcolor. In that post I shared my efforts to find truly long-wear lipcolor–ie not the usual, “stay on for one hour and call that long-wear” thing. I tried a lot of the popular matte long-wear options like Tarteist and Stila All-Day, and they were all beautiful, and they do last a couple hours, but absolutely nowhere near the “all day” wear that they claim. I even tried the $36 Yves St. Laurent Tatouage Couture Matte Lip Stain, which is supposed to be ALL THAT, and…. No. Just No. It comes off with the first meal, and the “stain”-y effect has no heft or shape to it. It’s just this sad, thin, half-transparent color. I am mystified by the effusive reviews.
Anyway, in the end, as I mentioned in the earlier post, I found two products: Beauty Bakerie’s Lip Whip, which has tremendous staying power and a wonderful heavy matte effect. Watch the video below to see just how long-wear this stuff really is! At the same time, these heavy matte liquid lipcolors are challenging to apply, so watch this video with some good advice about how to do it.
And then there is Lipsense, which really does live up to the hype. That stuff just does not come off – I mean, even for up to 24 hours – as long as you put on the three coats, and cover with one of the patented glosses (which include matte, pearl, glossy, etc.). Lipsense is only sold by distributors, so here is a link to a good one on Ebay I’ve ordered from. HOWEVER, commenters on this blog have noted that the company appears to support the Trump administration, and that’s certainly a major consideration in this political moment. We need to both look gorgeous AND support #Resistance!
So if you want to get a long-wear lipcolor and at the same time support a small, indie, vegan and cruelty-free company that is the post-ac passion project of a queer Feminist Studies Ph.D., then go immediately and get yourself Endurance Matte Cream Lipstick made by Shae Face and Body, founded by Shae Miller, Ph.D.
Here is what Shae has to say about her company:
I have a PhD in Sociology with an emphasis in Feminist studies, so research is kinda my thing. So is teaching, which is part of how I came to make my own face and body products.
Teaching college courses about gender and health meant discussing dangerous ingredients in many beauty products and the psychologically damaging ways that these products are often marketed. This prompted me to think about what was in my own cosmetics and led me to think about what a body positive beauty brand would look like.
I was inspired to research alternatives and began formulating my own products– first eyeliner, then mascara, then matte cream lipstick (fierce was the debut color). And while it took a LOT of attempts (and the feedback of many dedicated and supportive friends) I had stumbled onto something I really loved doing.
And others loved what I was making, too, so I started to share my creations and take requests for new products.
Which brings us, more or less, to today…the culmination of a dream to create a brand that celebrates femininity, masculinity, and everything in between.
Shae kindly sent me her lipcolor to try, in Harold and Mauve, and Bowie, and Bowie has become an item I carry in purse at all times! Here’s me (below) in a no-makeup-except-for-Shae-Endurance-Matte-Cream-Lipstick-selfie. Endurance lasts for about 4 hours on me, with an absolutely gorgeous color and the nice thick matte heft that I love.
I am always thrilled when academics turn their passions into a fulfilling business. I’m particularly excited about Shae, because she’s a queer femme (like me) who uses makeup to express herself in all of her complexity. Here’s what she has to say.
As a queer, feminine person whose gender is fluid I was also concerned with how to counter social beliefs that femininity is weak, artificial, or validated only when attached to certain bodies and identities.
Body positivity, self-expression, and self-care are at the heart of everything I do at Shae Face & Body.
My products are not intended to “fix” your “flaws”… Instead they are about providing you with resources for indulging in self-care, and for expressing your fabulousness in ways that celebrate you for who you are.
I love makeup and skincare, and I want to make them fun, affirming, and available to everyone. This means that you are a part of my process, and that I have you in mind each time I formulate a new creation.
Here’s Shae in one of her blog posts about the fluid nature of gender presentation. Be sure and order from Shae Face and Body, and tell her Karen sent you!
Oh, I LOVE this post! As a graduate student, though, I have to recommend the Rimmel Provocalips Long Wearing lipsticks at around $6. I stopped using (and still have remaining) LipSense because of these. I like them because when LipSense does come off, especially the darker colors, it comes off in clumps that once led a friend to ask if I’d cut my lip. Rimmel comes off more subtly, is easier to apply (one coat, and the gloss), and stays on through meals, even salads with oily dressings! It is also way more affordable than the LipSense kit of products.
I’m excited to look into the Shae products too!
Great tip, i’ll try the Rimmel! Actually, my current go to item (aside from Beauty Bakerie) is Cover Girl Outlast. Those go on and just do. not. come. off., and unlike a lot of drugstore brands, come in sophisticated colors appropriate to a) campus and b) someone in their 50s like me. I’ve tried a million luxury/high end “transfer proof” options (including Kat Von D and Stila) and nothing comes even close to the staying power of Cover Girl. So on days when i don’t want the heavy matte Beauty Bakerie look, that’s what I use.