Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! Time for a new current topic!

The Beauty Community is Not DEAD!

I know it is weird to see this post but I wanted to put in my two cents into this because Jeffrey Star went on a few podcasts talking about the beauty community being dead according to him. He talked about the people he lost as friends and I do have some thoughts since I feel it’s not dead, it’s a different factor I believe that caused something. But first!

Disclaimer!

This post is based on the thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts on the subject ahead. You have been warned!

What Does Jeffrey Think?

So, Jeffrey talked about how the beauty community on YouTube died due to Tati and James Charles. If you remembered around 2019, Dramageddon 2.0 took place where Tati created a video called “Bye Sisters” talking about a situation with James Charles hitting on straight men and wanting them to become gay to be with him. Apparently, according to Jeffrey, this caused the beauty community to die and he talked about other people that also was part of it that included Laura Lee, who he believed stabbed him in the back since he helped her get the information to start her brand and meeting the places to help with labs to create the makeup. Also, talked about Kat Von D with how they were friends for a long time and that she caused a scandal and she wanted people to be vegan like her. I did kind of see that since she was pushing a documentary onto her audience during her house tour video, I did watch that, well half of it and I could not stomach it. I am not vegan, I need my vitamins and minerals in meat. Apparently, he said Kat left Los Angeles to another state? And then to himself, he believed he is honest and that he tells the truth. Ummm…let’s look at what I think!

What Do I Think?

In my opinion, he was the root actually to this and that the community is not really dead. First, if you can rewind towards Armageddon 1 after his documentary with Shane Dawson and how you saw his human side and everything. He talked about the same items in there and yes I did believe the documentary and what he said and did buy his makeup, which I did have to replace two of the pallets due to flood water and seeing that the common root is him. Laura, Manny MUA, Gabriel Zamora, and Nikita Dragon had a photo where they were giving the Middle Finger Salute towards Jeffrey talking about how success is better without them? This brought up their pasts about having racist comments and that led to their apologies, minus Nikita, but I do find it funny that they have been successful with their own brands. Manny and Laura the most since they have stopped hanging out with Jeffrey, which I will get to next. The Dramageddon 2 happened and he was also involved with James and Tati and he didn’t apologize for that, he just stayed quiet and left to live in Wyoming. Tati did come back with her channel and she is flourishing again and now James is about to come out with his own makeup brand which he did sneak peeked earlier this week. Now, with all that happened, I think the people who were involved with these bits of drama events have turned around and moved on without Jeffrey. How so? Well, Manny and Laura have their brands, Laura Lee Los Angeles and Lunar Beauty, and their own podcast called Fool Coverage which is a fun listen. Also, Tati has come back with her channel and now lives in Seattle since after the crap she went through with Dramageddon and what took place with her lawsuits that were outside of this and had to deal with that. So, yeah, Jeffrey lost his friends after what had happened and he said they couldn’t hang with the scandals that he goes through but most people don’t like drama. Another thing is that their reputations while hanging with him were also being looked at. I remembered a saying from Benjamin Franklin where you hang with someone that is considered wrong then you will be seen the same way as them, as being like them too. I think the reason why Laura and Manny left him behind is that they were releasing errands that they want their fans to enjoy and have new people come to them as well. If they stayed with Jeffrey, people would research him and would not want to buy their stuff if they hung with him still. People were also worried about Tati hanging with Jeffrey and what had happened to her opened her eyes and she did have his lipsticks in the background and took them down afterwards. THen with James, there was nothing going on from what I saw in their videos together, they were just enjoying each other’s company, especially with their video of burning their own pallets with a flamethrower. It’s weird that hearing how he is “soulless” and yes being someone who goes after straight guys even the young ones is bad, he did reveal it on his own channel that he will be better. I haven’t been watching much of James lately but I have seen his process of his makeup brand which is a good thing.

Seeing these people change has been the best and they’re thriving. I guess leaving Jeffrey behind was the first step for them and they may not be at the pedestal status for most people but they have been better since they have their own brands to work on, also Tati is back on YouTube doing what she does best with buying drugstore and luxury products and reviewing them and showing how well they work for a day. You can see how well they moved on. Which brings me to the next point!

The Beauty Community Still Exists Even On Other Platforms!

The beauty community is still alive and thriving, even on Instagram and Tick Tock! I even have been posting on Instagram using new stuff I picked up at Ulta and other places on the web. I just posted a look with the Secret pallet from Nabla Cosmetics this afternoon. I think with the internet being so expansive, we can grow a community in social media. YouTube was the first place for beauty content and it did help me in looking for new items to try out by looking in WalMart. I remembered being asked how I knew about these products they didn’t know about, I said on YouTube of course! Of course, Laura, Manny, and a few others are not as big as they were before but smaller personalities have been on YouTube still. I still watch Jen Luvs Reviews for information on new releases, I also enjoy Lauren May Beauty since I picked up some things due to her like the new NYX Blur Foundation I’ve been enjoying, also the Essence Baked Blushes, and I remembered Kelly Gooch also having good recommendations as well. People have been on Tick Tock doing reviews, even Jeffrey, but they are starting to be mistrusted a bit so they turn back to YouTube of course, and Instagram even. I did come to YouTube for the reviews on the Telescopic Lift Mascara which I do enjoy now and my lashes look beautiful when I use it! I would say just go for the more honest people if you are looking a great review on a product, I tend to watch more than one review outside of the big influencers, even though I feel KathleenLights is one of those who are also honest, heck I did buy the L’Oreal Glowing Bronzer years back all thanks to her and a few people who reviewed it. WHich brings up another point.

Following the Trends to Be Relevant!

Another thing that Jeffrey talked about is how he reviewed Road Skin Care and he just threw it out without trying it. He just didn’t give it a try, Tick Tock didn’t like the video though. He did mention how he was Team Selena since Hailey Beaver and Slena Gomez were having a bit of a time where Hailey was copying her. Angelica Owls made a good point that he was saying that Hailey’s skin care is not great that he is Team Selena due to how a lot of people were Team Selena as well. So, he was following the crowd. I would try Road Skin Care if it was sensitive skin friendly, I did see some video clips in drama videos that people had bad reactions and that is a real reason for me not to try, it is bad reactions and I don’t want to experience that myself. I have my favorite skin care products already. When I try something, I give it a chance for a bit before saying I like the product or not. It takes a little longer with skin care of course since I have to see how well my skin reacts and if I have any reactions due to the ingredients. I feel the same way with foundation if it blends with my skin tone since I’m light to medium with neutral undertones. I did say above, I do like to try new things some people have tried and all thanks to Lauren May Beauty I have a new foundation I enjoy with my favorite Wet N Wild Dewy foundation and the Urban Decay ones. Just following a trend is not usually the way to go and doing something because it’s popular, like throwing out skin care items after purchasing it is also not cool. If they are going to watch for an honest review, then do the review.

Conclusion

So, yes, the Beauty Community is not really dead. Like I said before, the internet is still expensive and people can find reviews on products by going to YouTube or Instagram to know what is up. People are still thriving with their own things by being themselves whether it’s doing a podcast or still working on YouTube. I think the pandemic really caused a major shift for beauty where people wore masks and they could only do eye makeup and brands did release mask friendly lip products as well. No matter what, makeup will still be purchased, reviewed, and also looks being made for Instagram. So, it’s not dead!

That completes this post! Next up is a review on the new BabyMetal album! Yes, I am returning to music reviews!

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe. It’s time to have a new beauty post!

Subscription Brands I Buy Regularly

Glad to touch upon this but when I unsubscribe from most subscriptions, there are brands I do love and have been curious about which leads me to pick them up. There are some brands I already pick up but there are others I got into all thanks to being with Ipsy, BoxyCharm, and Glossy Box. I am going to announce that I have rejoined Allure because I did enjoy their box the most because I get random things to try and they do choose times randomly and I would like to see what the editors do enjoy. I won’t post about them because I feel it’s boring to do that every month and it’s really tedious using Convenient OCR on one computer and having to type on the other since WordPress is better on Chrome OS. So, I will get the box but won’t post about it. I may do Favorites again or talk about what I have liked quarterly. I will see what happens. Anyways, let’s see what I have purchased all thanks to subscriptions!

Formula 10.06

First up is Formula 10.06, which I sometimes purchase. I remembered trying these guys when I got their grapefruit exfoliation scrub in my second bag when I got back to Ipsy. One thing I did enjoy was trying more of the independent skin care brands and getting to see the ones that are more sensitive skin friendly. I did buy some other products from them through Ulta which was their Rescue Me and a post blemish serum but they don’t carry them anymore but I do go to their website now for that. I do want to keep getting the scrub and the wipes because they are more affordable than Murad and I do like the wipes since they are so gentle.

Hempz

I have bought their stuff for a little while when it came to their lotions and body scrubs. I need to get their sensitive skin lotion at some point again because I have major dry spots on my legs. I do like the idea of hemp seed oil in skin care and it does help with dryness. I did like the scrubs and I think I may have one somewhere amongst all of my body care.

Urban Decay

I have been a fan of Urban Decay after trying out a sample of their Perversion mascara and have bought it a few times. Which reminds me, I need to re-purchase due to the flood hitting my Caboodle with most of my makeup. I have purchased their products over time and wish they come out with more of their grunge colors since it feels like they are not being as inspired as with their original Naked pallet. I did pick up some of the single shadows during 21 Days of Beauty to come up with some eye looks and glad I got more Way Around stickers. I do enjoy their eyeliners the most despite the price.

Tony Moly

Another skin care brand I have been enjoying and tried througbt5fv4rh Ipsy is Tony Moley. I have enjoyed some of the face masks and got some of their products over time like their Chock Chock Green Tea moisturizer, their Banana Milk Hand Cream, and my true favorite is the AM Gel Morning Face Wash that I always put on my face tool in the mornings before I head to work. I just recently got into their serums and am glad that they are still going and carried in Ulta.

Purlisse

A brand I wish Ulta carried, well brands but I mostly buy from this one, is Purlisse. I love how Jennifer Yen came up with this brand all thanks to her skin hating heavy stage makeup. I wish Ranger Stop gets her as a guest because I want to interview her so badly! I do have her bronzer from her beauty brand, Yensa, but I have more products from Purlisse. I just finished the Blue Lotus moisturizer and loved how calming it was on the skin while using it every morning and night. It didn;t really irritate anything. I did just pick up a few of her BB Blushes since I lost one and I do like the formula of those blushes since they just go on smoothly. I will definitely get the bronzer from Yensa again since that blends pretty well.

Marc Anthony Hair Care

I have not bought from this brand since I have stopped using them due to issues with some product packaging. They are good for the price but wishing the packaging didn’t suck. I was sad that their coconut hair mask was not in a plastic pouch because it’s easier to handle with a tube.. I would say that packaging needs to be improved with this one.

Eva NYC

I’m glad that Ulta carries this brand and the first time I tried them was through my very first BoxyCharm at the end of 2014. I have gotten a small flat iron and it does help out with touch ups but the one I tend to get is a leave in cream and it has worked wonders for my hair both wet and dry. It also smells so good! I’m glad that this product came with a pump too and they don;t cost much either.

Mac Cosmetics

Even though they are in Ipsy, they are a go to for lipsticks and blushes when I need to replace something. The item that I always get over and over is both the Pro LongWear Paint Pots and the Mac Stacks Mascara in the deluxe size. I use the paint pots as shadow primer or wear them solo if it’s the Taylor Gray or Ground Work shades, I even just got a rose gold one. WHile the Mac Stacks make my lashes amazing! Again, who needs falsies when mascara really does the trick.

Fentie

I’ve been getting Rhiana’s brand here and there after getting one of her mascaras in my Glam Bag X when it was really good at the time. I really want to try her newest one since I’ve heard it pop up on YouTube. I did get one of the concealers during 21 Days of Beauty to see how her complexion products work out. I did get a bronzer which is growing on me. And I am getting a lipstick from her brand in my Allure Beauty Box this month. I am so excited!

About Face

I also tried out Halsy’s brand through Glam Bag X and I loved what I have tried out so far. I enjoyed the powder highlighter I got, I also got a small bundle through the Ipsy Deals and then I picked up an eyeliner. I like how smooth it went on and planning to get more shades even if it is an automatic one.

Ana SUey

All thanks to ScentBird, I have purchased a few perfumes from some of the brands and one happens to be Anna Suey. The first perfume I’[ve gotten happened to be Cosmic Sky which is a jasmine scented perfume and it smells really good. The bottle is interesting where you have to flip it over to spray. I did just get the newest one in their Fantasia collection which is Fantasia Surprise Pop and when I got it, I was not expecting to have a unicorn on the bottle but what drew me in was that the bottle has a color scheme and they were inspired by Andy Warhol. Besides Vincent Van Gogh, I do enjoy ANdy Warhol’s artwork on the Campbell’s soup cans. That one smells interesting since it is sweet with the jasmine kick. I am thinking of getting the mermaid one next.

Floral Street

Another brand from the ScentBird area is Floral Street. I got into this brand all thanks to getting a thirty day supply of Electric Rhubarb and fell in love with it. I wished it wasn’t so pricey since I did get not only this one but also Wonderland Peony and Sunflower Pop as Christmas gifts from dad last year. I originally wanted Rhubarb and Peony but while shopping on the site I saw Sunflower since it was inspired by Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings. They smell so good, I do have London Poppy on my queue for this year and can’t wait to smell that one! I did find a bit of a dupe through Dossier for Electric Rhubarb which is Floral Rhubarb. I am torn about it though but at the same time, you can splurge at certain times.

Confessions of a Rebel

Last brand is Confessions of a Rebel and it is also from ScentBird. When I first subscribed to ScentBird, their perfume Let’s Be Real was my first one. I did use a credit card to get the full-size since this brand is also really pricey. I would say to wait for a 20% off code from them which I did around Black Friday which I got a scent that reminded me of Sonic Death Monkey from Lush. I am not kidding about that name, it was a mocha scented shower gel they discontinued years ago. And of course, I have the one that some of my favorite YouTubers who get sponsored enjoy from them and that is Bite Me. I finished up my Scent Bird samples of this one which is a strawberry scented perfume which smells amazing! It’s like a strawberry shortcake with a hint of alcohol almost but it is supposed to have apples, which I hardly smell. I am eyeing Get a Room, Bitch Please, and I think another one but those are two other scents that I also like. Will have to see as time goes on.

I think that is it for this post. I’m glad to try these brands during my time in subscriptions and missed how fun it was but now they have changed with Ipsy and Boxycharm, it has not been the fun I remembered. I am glad to be back with Allure though. I will still buy the skin care items I enjoy from these brands, heck I saw some of my favorites from Tony Moly on sale on the Ulta app and picked them up. I forgot to mention Color Club which is one brand I also buy for nail polish but with my nail polish post you already know I love that brand as well. I haven’t bought many nail polishes as of late. Anyways, my next post is going back to serious land with why did the beauty community “die?” I am using the word die loosely since to me there is some semblance of a beauty community which you will read those thoughts next!

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with another post!

Thoughts About Ipsy Acquiring BoxyCharm

So, Ipsy has now acquired BoxyCharm! How can I count the ways? As in, what do I think? I do have thoughts!

Disclaimer!

This post is based on thoughts due to experience! Please respect the writer’s thoughts on this topic! You have been warned!

As you all know, I used to be subscribed to both Ipsy and BoxyCharm except they were completely separate from each other. Ipsy was just makeup bags and the basic bag just had deluxe size samples and Glam Bag Plus is the next step up with five full size items with more prestige brands. While BoxyCharm, on the other hand, is a box with five more luxurious brands even when I started back in 2015, I did have to unsubscribe for a few years until I resubscribed with my own money this time and enjoyed it for a bit until BoxyCharm bored me. I loved getting a new pallet every month but the other items really bored me. What I found weird was that they had profiles when I got back around 2019 and it felt like they didn’t listen to what I lied. I did suggest to them about shade selection for face products like foundation, concealer, and powder, even brow products! They listened to that! But not products I did not check off, which were false lashes. I canceled after getting them a second time. You already knew my story with Ipsy which had me leave Glam Bag X, which was their luxury bag or shall I say box where they sent me boxes without four items once. THen GB Plus was next and gave Glam Bag a few more chances until things got nuts with them. I am not the only one who left due to how the profiles were not being listened to much or just the product selection was not what it used to be and that was Alexandria Ryan. I saw her video where she canceled her original profile on camera and she pointed out how her profiles did not match and kept on getting some similar items in all three of her bags. I thought Ipsy was all about the profile, after seeing this video, I was astonished. 

So now, I find out that BoxyCharm was acquired by Ipsy and it has me worried! Yes, worried! How so? I will tell you!

How Will This Work?

Okay, first is the question in how will this work for both? I remembered with the GB Plus and GBX that you needed the basic Glam Bag to have the next two tiers up. Apparently with BoxyCharm joining in,, first Ipsy is getting a bit of an upgrade where not only you still get the five deluxe items but also still choose one item every month but there is one item they call the Power Pick. The Power Pick is either a brand or product that Ipsy chooses as the item that makes the subscription more oomf for the buck. I wonder how since the product choices during the last few months were not the greatest and that made the subscription kind of go downhill for me due to how some items were not my favorites. I was hoping to try some items but it was hard to choose from which made it more tedious. I did find it surprising that when one of my bags got lost in the mail the green eyeliner I picked was sold out but they gave me a gift bag with that eyeliner eventually. I was glad since I was getting tired of getting nothing but black eyeliners. But wait, there’s more! I was glad I watched Alexandria Ryan’s video about this subscription where Ipsy got rid of their Glam Bag Plus and Glam Bag X. The BoxyCharm by Ipsy is different from what I remembered when I subscribed and I think this took place of GB Plus because you get to choose three out of the five products and the two products are your last two items happen to be based on your profile and supposed to be the Power Picks. The Power Picks are spotlight items for that month. I have thoughts on this coming up after talking about how this works. Beauty Boost is basically their Premium Box basically and that is six items I believe? I never went to Premium since I felt I was already getting the same items in the base box. And finally, the Icon Box which is their quarterly box, which is basically both BoxyCharm Lux and Glam Bag X. It works like Glam Bag X where they pick someone who is iconic to curate the box every February, May, August, and November and you get eight full-size items choosing three of the items. The other five are chosen by the Icon and they match your profile.

Thoughts and Skeptics!

I am really skeptical, especially after watching Alexandria’s video it helped me get an idea of what they’re doing. When I saw Alexandria’s video, it seemed like they never changed their ways. What do I mean by that? As in, it feels like they don’t really customize it to your profile. I remembered when I first joined in 2014, I felt that my products did fit me and that it felt more personal with each bag. Then when I came back in 2018, before they started item choices, it felt personal still with each bag and once choice became a thing for all three tiers, it didn’t feel the same and that they were just adding items to just items. I felt the same way with Boxy where I was getting pretty good items and it was like Christmas where I didn’t know what I was getting until it arrived. Then when they started allowing people to choose things then that felt off where they did the same thing where they just picked things except not reading the profile the most. I am still mad about the false lashes because I did not check that off when it came to products I love to get, which I remembered checking off foundation, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, powder, concealer, lipstick, lip gloss, nail polish, and I believe hair care, and a few skin care items and lashes was the only thing not checked. Yet, they still sent them two times! What the hell? You already know my stance against them, especially after Lash Gate. So, I am really skeptical about the profile part because Ipsy is not only keeping their members but they are also getting the ones from BoxyCharm to cater to and that will take a lot of work to read everyone’s profiles and I have a feeling with this merger it will be extra overwhelming for them. I can imagine so many people complaining about products they get that are not what they wanted. The only complaint I had towards the end was how much skin care I was getting when I marked I was comfortable with makeup and not lying about it. I did see that Alexandria was getting repeats in her boxes since she gets more than one since she tends to do Adventurous, Regular Profile, and Skin Care but they sent repeat items in her boxes.. So, yeah that is making me more skeptical about the new boxes and that brings up the next point!

Items Being Missing!?

As you know, the major reason I canceled Glam Bag X is that I ended up having items missing. My May GBX had the NudeStix item I chose being missing and glad I got to try it all thanks to 21 Days of Beauty and then August, my birth month by the way, had half of my items missing! As my three choices were not in my box, well four items I chose and had to contact them and found out that the First Aid Beauty toner sold out. So, yes this is where the idea of them being overwhelmed comes into play with the amount of subscribers being under them and I have a feeling that products might end up being missing in the boxes out of nowhere, especially with Icon Box. When I notice something missing in my order is missing from Hot Topic or Ulta, they tell me over the phone if it could be replaced and if not, they just refund me and give me a gift card. Ipsy did give me extra points to use after what had happened but I think items might be missing.

Shade Matching Going Wrong

I am watching Alexandria’s video again at this moment and one thing I want to point out is that shade matching will be hell with face products and brow products. Alexandria got a brow gel from Anastasia Beverly Hills and it was taupe. I understand taupe is usually a universal shade for brow products but not for everyone since it can pull gray for most, with the shade of taupe is brown and gray mixed together. I’d rather get that as an eyeshadow or eyeliner. With the amount of people being subscribed will be hard with matching with shades and also one thing about profiles between the two, at least Boxy mentioned Light Medium as a skin tone and I think Ipsy needs to add that now because not everyone has a lighter skin tone and not everyone has a medium skin tone either, so there is that happy medium! And, with the idea of choice, I hope they keep the idea I gave to Boxy and that is to choose the shade if a concealer or foundation is chosen, 

That is it for this post. I was thinking of re-subscribing for shits and giggles at first but thank you to Alexandria, I see that they haven’t really changed with how they do things. I have a feeling things may go wrong due to the merger. THere are going to be so many people under each box that things may go haywire. I don’t get why they had to merge but to me they were stronger individually. I will see how these boxes live up, if they have to split then c’est la vie! Next post is my review on the last two books in the Winter of the Witch trilogy.