Okay, so, OCC's new Lip Tar in Technopagan seems like just a blogger thing, right? Weird. Sparkly metallic navy. Also, Technopagan is a weird name. That's a Buffy thing, right?

[Sam Winchester voice] BUT GET THIS.

It's purple.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen and agender people and robots, it's not actually blue. Sort of.

The BASE COLOR is purple and the SHIMMER is blue.

Why does this matter to me, Elizabeth? Because it makes it totally more wearable.

I mean, not that I wasn't going to wear this to class, because I was, but the purple gives so much depth and reddish tones to this color that makes it look almost natural. You can see in the swatches here that the edges are purple, and in real life that's more true to the color you get. You can sheer it out and get a lovely blueish indigo, or wear it full-on and layered up for the full blue effect.

Also, here are my feelings on blue lipstick.

I bought this because it is LITERALLY MY FAVORITE COLOR EVER. I mean, EVER. My prom dress was this color (and fully sequined, so... it had a similarly sparkly effect). I bought it because it's SO FREAKIN' COOL. And I'm gonna wear it to class tomorrow for sure. Do I care about what other people think? Yeah, I mean, I'm not totally senseless, so I care about things like wearing deodorant or shoes to class, but lipstick isn't always something you wear for other people, especially not blue. In fact, it's mostly something you wear for yourself. So... I'm wearing my favorite color, for myself. I also have nail polish and eyeliner in this color. So you know what, if you like blue lipstick, or you like a green or grey or yellow lipstick, just go for it. If anyone complains, just blow them a green or grey or yellow kiss.

TIP: Wear unusual colors like bold colors-- with otherwise minimal makeup. In the first picture I also used Benefit's They're Real Push-up liner to make a kind of funky, graphic look, and I'm not wearing any base products in either picture except blush, although in the future I'm definitely going to apply concealer because to me, 'minimal makeup' is 'minimal face' and red spots definitely distract from the overall look.

My skin has been acting up lately with tons and tons of dry patches and uncontrollable flakiness and I've used all my best moisturizers and nothing. helps.

Except this Boscia overnight mask which I picked up at sephora intending to get samples of moisturizers to try and buy later, but there was nobody in the skincare section so I ended up just buying this. You're supposed to put it on at night and wash it off in the morning, but I like to apply a generous amount, like a mistoruizer, and by morning it's mostly absorbed so I rinse and exfoliate but don't really wash it off. I like to keep it on to sink in as long as possible to keep my skin protected from anything else that would make it even drier because it's so sensitive right now. To everything.

The mask comes out as a sort of translucent white gel and applies like a thick moisturizer. I've read complaints that it's sticky and will glue your face to your pillow, and I think there's validity in that. There's also validity in sleeping on your back or changing your pillowcase when you know you're going to use this mask. When I wake up there's not a trace of stickiness, but a thin film that feels more protective than funky residue. Best of all, no beard of flakes. Every morning on the retin-a I wake up with extremely dry patches on my cheeks and jawline and chin that I have dubbed the beard, and this stuff TOTALLY eliminates that. It happens overnight-- I never go to bed with a beard of flakes-- so this does a super good job of preventing that from happening and/or showing. I highly recommend this for anyone with chronically dry skin. It'll help so much and it's so much more effective than a mask you leave on for 20 minutes or a moisturizer that sinks in in 20 seconds. I can even wear my Hourglass liquid to powder foundation (the liquid to powder claim is no joke) after using this mask and I don't look crazy caked up.

HIGH FIVE THANK YOU BOSCIA

I'm not a girl that likes to touch up makeup throughout the day. I need long-wearing eyeliner and mascara that won't smudge. But since my skin has been so dry lately and foundation looks like a mess over it, I've been wearing sunscreen and I have to reapply that every so often- and since I'm not wearing anything for oil control, I've thrown a mattifying powder in my backpack the past week and I'm surprised I've never done this before.

I got Urban Decay's de-slick mattifying powder when it went on clearance to make room for an updated formula or something, but this old version works wonderfully. I use a large flat-top powder brush (the one that came with the Sephora radiant orchid brush set) and swirl it around, then lightly dust it over my cheeks, nose and chin. My forehead is thankfully covered by my bangs, so although it is shiny most of the time because of that, you can't see it.

I also love this Guerlain KissKiss gloss for a simple everyday color. It's pale pink and shimmery-sparkly, but just enough of each to give you a little color and depth. This gloss is pretty opaque but since it's such a natural looking shade on me I don't have any problems with patchiness or obvious smearing. The one complaint I do have is the smell--- I enjoy violets, yes, but this is so heavily fragranced that you can smell it as soon as you open the tube and it hangs around for most of the wear time. The scent on the Rouge Gs has nowhere near this kind of lasting power. Still, it's not an offensive scent. This formula feels so divine, not sticky at all but plush and squishy, and has impressive wear time for something this un-sticky. I hate sticky lip gloss. If I want more lasting power out of a lip color I'll just go with a lipstick or a lip stain, there's no reason to use a gross lip gloss for lasting color.

I also carry a lip balm with me everywhere. I have one attached to my keychain, I have Benebalm in my purse, and a Burt's Bees in my backpack. Lip balm is essential. More practical for class than pulling out a luxurious lip gloss, too. Fewer weird stares.