Julep is pulling more shenanigans. Recently, they reduced the ability of new subscribers to skip boxes. Now, there are even more changes. For new subscribers, the price has been bumped up from $19.99 per month to $24.99 per month, but the options have increased: in a program called "My Maven", new subscribers are able to fully customize their boxes, picking any polishes from the collection that they want to be sent. They also unveiled a new subscription option: Maven Luxe, which retails for $39.99 per month. There will be no changes for those who are already subscribed.

It's pretty clear that Julep is trying to discourage people from skipping boxes. By reducing your ability to skip, they force subscribers to either cancel their subscription or suck it up and buy the box. By offering more customization, they presumably want people to actually want to purchase the box.

I don't think that this is necessarily unreasonable from a business standpoint. My guess is that Julep has a lot of members who skip frequently. I also am willing to bet that there are some months where a shitload of people skip, and some months where only a few (relatively speaking) forego their cyclic nail polish delivery. For Julep, that is almost certainly difficult to handle. They have to be prepared, from a manufacturing standpoint, to meet whatever the demand may be. If they predict that demand is going to be high and a bunch of people skip their boxes, they have a bunch of leftover shit. Anyone subscribed to Julep periodically gets those emails about the ludicrous sales where things a marked down a crapload; I think that's what was leftover from months where they miscalculated how many people would accept their box.

Other subscription services that allow skips, such as Beauty Army, do not manufacture their own product, so skipping probably does not cut into their bottom line as significantly. They can send those same samples out next month to different subscribers. Julep creates and sends out brand new products on a monthly basis. That would be very hard to do without some level of stability.

The price increase is probably a way to compensate for the months where they fuck up on the amount they manufacture.

Clearly, the price increase and reduced skipping options both make subscribing to Julep less desirable. I know that. You know that. Julep knows that. If it's not worth the extra dough, don't subscribe. I think that Julep executives believe that the additional level of stability for subscriptions will save them more money than they gain by enrolling people who are inconsistent.

It is what it is.

Here's what I got this month:


Disclosure: As usual, I upgraded my box to the fancy-pants level using points. I would not have chosen to upgrade if I was paying cash for this box.

Nail Polish


The nail polishes included:

Iona (It Girl): The most effeminate navy blue of all time. It's as if the coast guard met a bouquet of irises. Buster Bluth might wear a blazer of this color to a Motherboy event.

Kam (It Girl): Hospital wall green. Er, hospital wall spearmint.

Jeanne (Boho Glam): The color of the sky on a sunny day when it's still a little cold outside. A baby room might realistically be painted this color.

Jules (It Girl): A very pale peach.

Maddy (Classic With a Twist): The color of raspberry sherbet, if raspberry sherbet was filled with a subtle pink shimmer.

Paulette (Boho Glam): A lilac duochrome with a golden shift.

Ramona (Classic With a Twist): The lightest, palest lavender of all time.

Laree (Bombshell): I LOVE THIS POLISH. A neon coral with a gold duochrome. Be still, my heart.

Saaya (Bombshell): A shimmery sunset orange.

Here's how Laree and Maddy look together on my nails:


Plié Wand and Accessories


Julep announced the release of their Plié Wand a few months ago, so there has been plenty of time for people to digest the idea. At its most fundamental, it's an extra-long handle to give additional control when applying nail polish.

One of the complaints I saw among nail polish aficionados is that they don't hold their nail polish caps like a pen, so this would be useless for them. Perhaps this is the explanation for why my nail polish is so crappy… but I totally hold my polish caps like a pen and love the idea of having additional control here. The wand also bends, allowing people to get whatever weirdass angle they need without painting up their knuckles.


The packaging was really spiffy, and the whole thing looks pretty neat when put together.


Unfortunately, shoddy craftsmanship was evident upon closer look. My magnetic ring was completely detached from the product. It's a superglue away from being fixed, but I am not pleased. The only reason I was able to use the product at all was because they sent me extra caps.


The attached brush is also scratchy and terrible. This is dollar store quality, right here.


Luckily, this brush is only necessary if you want to use the wand on a non-Julep polish. You can pull it right out, take the top cap off your Julep polish, and pop your Julep polish in the holder. A bit complicated to explain, but very easy to figure out and do. This method is also fully compatible with all old Julep polishes, which was a big concern when the wand was originally announced.

I definitely felt that the wand gave me extra control, although it by no means will get you from something super sloppy to a professional-looking manicure on its own. Still, I will definitely be using it for many manicures to come. I'm not sure it's a revolution, but it's still handy. It's probably the equivalent of an apple cutter. It's oddly specific, it won't always do what you need, and you can do the same basic thing with a knife… but there will be days in the kitchen where you will think FUCK YEAH, I AM SO GLAD I OWN AN APPLE CUTTER.

The bending feature did nothing for me, but it did not detract from the wand and it may be useful for others. For me, it could have been the Allongé Wand rather than the Plié Wand.

Here are the extra caps they sent me:



I also received the "creativity kit", a striping brush and dotting tool that are Plié Wand-compatible.


They do the deed. I have nothing significant to say about them. Perhaps I am just not advanced enough as a manicurist to tell what separates the good dotting tools from the bad.


As always, the code FREEBOX will get you your first box for free. Of course, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

Do you have the gift of sight (in a non-psychic way)? How about an elementary school-level knowledge of what makeup is?


If so, congratulations! You probably already know, then, that something this color:


…is not a blush. NARS's iconic highlighter is presumably only classified as a blush on beauty-selling websites because someone went "FUCK IT, SAME SIZE AND PACKAGING" and kept their work as simple as possible.

Like all NARS blushes, Albatross is housed in a slick black packaging that attracts fingerprints like my carpet attracts large clumps of hair. I swear, if you are worried someone is going to break into a personal safe, you should just superglue NARS products all over it. It will attract fingerprints before the person even touches it. I can only assume it sucks the fingerprints from the air when the person gets within ten feet. (Seriously, guys, I have no idea why I was not a writer on Burn Notice.)


Albatross has a color that is almost a contradiction. The ivory base is cool-toned ivory, but it's laced in a seriously intense golden sheen. It's perfect if you want to look like a statue that was poked in the cheekbones by Kind Midas. No glitter, just shimmery, shifting colors.


The texture is soft and smooth, making it easy to blend. A very soft touch will give a pretty, luminous look, whereas heavy layering is perfect for a day where you wake up and say, "Fuck it! Today I am going to look ridiculous!"

Albatross, lightly swatched vs heavily swatched.

Here is how it looks on my face:

NARS Blushes and things-that-are-not-blushes-but-pretend-to-be-on-the-Sephora-website retail for $30 for 0.16oz, putting them at $187.50 per ounce.

Techcrunch Disrupt, a conference focusing on "disruptive" technological inventions, consistently features a bunch of funky startups. Many of the innovations, from a water heater that will offer constant hot water and also randomly has wifi for some reason (ISI Technology) to a contextual search engine (Vurb) are potential game changers for the way we interact with machines. It's not a water heater, though, that has the makeup-world salivating.

Grace Choi, a Harvard buisiness-school grad who describes herself as a "serial inventor", is the brainpower behind Mink, a makeup concept that's about as disruptive as it gets. She explains in her TechCrunch presentation, "Mink is a desktop printer that prints makeup. It can take any image and instantly transform it into a wearable color cosmetic."

An imagination of how the printer might look. All photos are screenshots from the TechCrunch presentation.

Choi says, "I wanted to make a makeup product and what I found out was the makeup industry makes a whole lot of money on a whole lot of bullshit. And they do this by charging a huge premium on one thing that technology provides for free. And that one thing... is color!"

She cites sale volumes as the principle reason that drugstores offer such limited selection for color products. She claims that Mink can offer the selection of prestige color cosmetics with the convenience of mass-produced drugstore colors. "As a matter of fact," she says, "I'm beating the selection of Prestige because I'm giving you the selection of the internet and I'm beating the convenience of mass because I'm giving you the convenience of your own freaking house." She adds, "We're going to live in a world where you can just take a picture of your friend's lipstick and just print it out."

For her presentation, Choi whipped up a 'proof of concept prototype' to demonstrate that her ideas are more than theoretical.

She pulls up a Michelle Phan tutorial and grabs the hex code for a pink eyeshadow that the beauty guru was displaying. Choi explains that no fancy software is needed for the product to work: "All you need is a color picker to copy the hex code and any software to print." (She does her presentation using photoshop.)



She presses print and, after a few moments of delay, out pops a vibrant pink shadow.


She swatches it on her hand...


…and shows that it can easily be popped into a portable compact.



Choi says that the initial retail price for the Mink printer will be about $300, and the "substrates" (the non-colorful part of the makeup) and the ink will be "commodity-priced, so they are very accessible", adding, "per unit, the pricing is going to be much lower [than Sephora]."

Because it's based on the "mature technology" of the inkjet printer, Choi feels confident that manufacturing will be feasible.

Choi claims her target market is girls aged 13-21, since their makeup habits are as-of-yet unformed. She feels her product will be empowering to this audience, as it will show that "the definition of beauty is something [girls] should be able to control, not our corporations."

Although her presentation is undeniably snazzy, I'd be lying if I said I don't have significant reservations, and I definitely don't believe that the product will replace anyone's Sephora pilgrimage.

A hex code is well and good, but it's fundamentally misleading to pretend that makeup is exclusively about a single matte shade. A hex code sure as hell won't give you eyeshadow with shimmer, glitter, or duochromes. She claims her product will ultimately be able to print products like cream foundations, but there's so much variety in texture there it's borderline absurd. Foundations range from from thick, full coverage paints that are as matte as hell to dewey, sheer finishes… and that's not even touching extra fancy shit like cream-to-powder finishes. I don't understand how she thinks she will be able to pull off the range available at Sephora using mere hex codes.

She also misses on the demonstration of quality. She seems to believe that all cosmetics are identical save for the color used as inspiration, which is a clear falsehood. Her swatched product has super weak pigmentation and isn't even close to the hex code color she selected! People don't buy neutral palettes at Sephora because they can't find the color "brown" in the drugstore. They buy them because there is a noticeable and meaningful difference in quality. If she does not understand that, I don't see how she can make cosmetics that are objectively good. There's something to be said for having had a testing process before the cosmetics end up in your hands.

Additionally, I am confused about the nature of the inks she is using. She is suggesting that all her color additives are FDA-approved, but it is not clarified whether or not she is separating out eye- and lip-approved color additives. It's also not clear how she expects to offer every color imaginable, since some colors are not really producible using only FDA-approved pigments. (E.g. Urban Decay didn't choose to use non-eye-approved color additives in their recent Electric Palette just to bug you.)

Finally, I think she misunderstands who her audience really is. No 13-year-old is buying a $300 machine. If she is selling to 13-year-olds, she is selling to parents. Really, though, she should be looking at ladies in their 20s as a primary marketplace. It's an audience with (at least some) money. It's an audience who probably has $300 to their name, anyways. It's also an audience who wants to experiment and have fun with the shit they put on their faces. A 13-year-old's parents would likely have some degree of restriction on what makeup they allow. I'm adult and I can wear green lipstick and eat ice cream for breakfast if I want.

These are all points a makeup-savy person would have been able to ask about during the Q&A following Choi's presentation. Sadly, the all-male panel ended up using that time to clarify if there were different types of makeup that exist (e.g. foundation vs. eyeshadow), and whether or not those products need to be mixed.

Not the right people to be asking questions.

Despite my concerns, I have really high hopes for this printer. I think its greatest potential is for populations who are underserved for foundation colors. In particular, women of color have a motherfucker of a time finding foundations, looking at brands that don't even approach an acceptable range on the darker end of the spectrum. A friend of mine recently confessed that she was afraid to go get color-matched at Sephora because she was worried that nothing in the store would match her skin tone. Many foundations also fail to reach the truly fair-skinned shades. (Still, they'd definitely need the hex codes to be printing more accurately than they did in Choi's demo for this to be effective.) I also think that creating other makeup shades would be fun, as long as the quality is acceptable. If it actually comes out, I'll probably buy it. Maybe I can finally get my much-coveted dupe of Chanel Notorious.

I was surprised (and impressed) to see that Choi is already using existing media structures to create buzz for her product by using referral links to grant early access to the product. So: If you want to be notified when the Mink printer is released, you are welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

In the past few years, Urban Decay has been toning down their makeup lines. A company that crashed into the makeup scene with the tagline "Does Pink Make You Puke?" has slowly transformed into a brand that's suspiciously office appropriate.

When they released their sheer, neutral lip glosses, a friend of mine noted, "Urban Decay is now like if Laura Mercier had a potty mouth. They could release an entire palette of matte browns and if they were all named 'drugs mcslutface' they would still be 'beauty with an edge'."*

The Electric Palette was a really exciting release for 2014 because it's the polar opposite of the Naked palettes. Instead of endless rows of substandard (yeah, I said it) brown glitterbombs, it's an explosion of what rainbows would look like if you turned the saturation way up.


Because neon pigments have not been FDA-approved as eye-safe in the United States, Urban Decay is a loophole queen for this palette, calling it a "pressed pigment palette" instead of an "eyeshadow palette". This not only lets them sell the product in the United States, it has the benefit of alliteration.

Realistically, though, Urban Decay customers are using this as an eyeshadow palette.

The pigments in the four non-eye-approved shadows are approved for eyes in everywhere-that's-not-America and they are FDA approved for everywhere-that's-not-your-eyes. I am a non-smoker. I wear my seatbelt. I deserve this risk. STRAIGHT TO THE EYELIDS WITH YOU, PIGMENT.


I find the packaging really appealing. The plastic case is covered in an explosion of color, and the size is substantial. It comes with a big mirror that I assume would reflect my face if I cared enough to remove the plastic coating. There is also a brush included.





The ten colors, as a rule, swatch beautifully.

As always, all swatches are two swipes, no primer.

Note: the colors that are not FDA-approved for eyes are in italics, just like this sentence. 

Revolt is a super-metallic glitter bomb that looks like it would be right at home on a tinsel-laden Christmas tree.

Gonzo is an almost glowing summery blue. It's almost matte, but not quite: the faintest hint of silver glitter is evident, although, to me, it's not visible when applied. This is the only name in the palette that really gives me pause. It's either a Muppets reference… or it's really, really dirty. Gonzo from the Muppets is blue, but he's not that color blue! If it is the porn-y version… I'd say that's worse than the naming 100 products "ultra-clitoris threesome".

Slowburn straddles the line between red and orange. I believe the Crayola as a name for this: "red orange". It's okay to be a little literal, once in a while. It's another one with a "Eh, basically matte. Matte enough for me!" finish.

Savage is a classic hot pink. Savage is also the only color that doubles as a semi-permanant skin dye. I have massive staining after using Savage. The next day, I look like I have a serious disease.

Fringe is a metallic teal. This shade got a lot of love from reviewers, but I didn't find it to be any more stunning than the other colors in the palette.


Chaos is a vibrant cobalt with just the faintest shimmer.

Jilted is an incredibly buttery red-leaning purple. It's like a fictionalized, metallic bruise with a hint of iridescence.

Urban is the metallic medium-purple of your dreams. If I could lucid dream, I would lucid dream in this color.

Freak is a neat little grasshopper green with a golden sheen.

Thrash can't decide if it's a greenish yellow or a golden chartreuse. It also contains a small amount of shimmer.

I think all these shades (except, perhaps, Revolt) blend really beautifully and have great pigmentation. Still, I don't feel this palette is very complete on its own. In my opinion, a matte white and a matte black would have increased the versatility of this palette by tenfold. Black and white might not be "electric" colors, but they're damn helpful when planning a look. If you already have a matte white and a matte black, obviously, you can use those. Still, lazy lady that I am, I prefer not to have to open up a myriad of palettes for my daily eyeshadow alone.


The palette also does come with a double-ended brush. I like the fact that the bristles are purple. That is the extent of what I like about this brush.

The bristles are not soft and they feel very plastic-y. It's also kind of a weird combo of a "pack on the shadow" end and a "almost a detail brush but actually it's too big" end. I would not use this to apply my eyeshadow on it's own.

I do like having it, though, because I can moosh some bright color onto my face as an accent without neon-ing up my everyday eyeshadow brushes.


Here is a few looks I have done using the Electric Palette:

Note: In this photo, Savage is used as a blush, and the contour-that-kinda-looks-like-sideburns is Urban. Plus, you know... my eyebrows.

Because I don't believe that this is a complete palette on its own, I also wanted to show how these colors work when mixed in with neutrals. Because they blend so beautifully, I think it's actually pretty easy to incorporate them into other, less fancy eyeshadow looks.

Here's Urban under my eyes:

Also featuring LORAC Pro.

Here's Freak on the inner corners of my eyes:

Also featuring LORAC Pro.

Here's a hint of Fringe in my crease:

Also featuring theBalm Nude Tude.

And here is Chaos as a liner:

Also featuring Urban Decay Naked Basics

Urban Decay's Electric Palette retails for $49 for 0.4oz, putting it at $122.50 per ounce. May this be the sign of more bright colors to come.

*I totally did not ask for permission to quote you. Sorry, Amanda. Also, editor's note: Urban Decay did in fact release an all neutral matte palette (Naked Basics).

There's always a bit more anxiety when you subscribe to a higher-cost box. At $40 a month, PopSugar Must Have is in the you-better-not-fuck-this-up-for-me price point.

Here's what I got this month:


Kerry Cassill Eye Mask, retail value $24


I am sure that there are people in the world that use sleep masks. Clearly, those people exist, or no one would bother make them. (Alternative explanation: this is a money laundering scheme.) However, as someone who has no difficulty sleeping anywhere, I don't really think that this is something I'd be able to integrate into my life. On a boat, with a goat, in the rain, on a train… I can fucking fall asleep. Last night I fell asleep while I was watching one of my fish tanks and I literally just slept the night on the living room floor. I could put this on my face, but it would not affect my ability to get rest.

I will say that the design is really cute, so anyone who does use it can feel really fancy as they wear it.

Tone It Up One Day Fat Blast DVD, retail value $15 (Note: I can't actually find this available for sale anywhere, so I am trusting PopSugar's value assessment here)


I try a lot of products that I otherwise would not touch because I get them in subscription boxes and I want to be able to offer a meaningful review. I told myself I was going to do the same with this DVD. On this one… I can't. I'm sorry. I don't have it in me. Watching a DVD about working out is the exact opposite of the kind of workout I want to do. I want monotonous cardio with a very distracting TV show blaring at the same time so I can try to forget that I'm all sweaty.


This product has negative value to me. I will pay you to come pick it up from my house so I don't have to look at it or store it.

Zing Anything Citrus Zinger, retail value $16.99


When you go to a restaurant and the waitstaff pours from a pitcher with a bunch of lemons in it, my heart sinks. I don't want random citrus in my water. You can wax poetic about how water is too "boring", but water is fucking delicious the way that it is. (Unless you live in Southern California. Southern Californian water is disgusting and helps me understand why people would buy bottled water.)

So, as well-designed as this product is, I'm not necessarily the target audience.

The Zing Anything water bottle opens on both ends. One end is the normal "you drink from here" side and one has a manual citrus juicer.


I had no leaking problems. It's easy to clean. The opening is big enough to fit in ice. It's visually appealing.

I've tried it with limes and with an orange. The lime fit inside the container well, and the orange was fine, although I had to cut it up to make it work. Both were… not appealing to me. The insert inside the bottle had other 'recipe' ideas, but they don't sound like they would work well for me, either. For example, it suggested adding strawberries to the base. If I have strawberries and water, I would rather drink my water and eat my delicious strawberries than combine them to get mediocre strawberry water.


Ultimately, I do think that this will work well for me, even if the intended use isn't up my alley. I'm a big iced tea lover, and I think I would be much more satisfied with a citrus-infused iced tea. And, again, the design is good, so if you do like citrus-infused water, you probably will like this.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Nail Lacquer in Pool Boy (0.5 fl oz), retail value $10


Pool Boy is a robin's egg blue cream polish that was opaque in two coats.

I broke my ring fingernail and couldn't bear cutting my other nails any shorter than this.

Although Lord knows I do not need any more nail polish, I thought the texture on this one was nice and the color is very spring-y.

Smell Bent St. Tropez Dispenser Eau de Parfum Spray (1.7 fl oz), retail value $45


This is the weirdest fucking perfume I have ever used. This was the "big ticket item" for this box and I feel like the smell is weird enough that not a lot of people are going to be making jazz hands when they use it.

It smells like sunscreen and coconut.

A few bloggers have contested the clear fact that it smells exactly like sunscreen, asserting that it actually smells like gardenia. If that is the case, my sunscreen all smells like gardenia.

Although the scent has definitely grown on me in the past few days (it smells like summer in a bottle), there's no denying that this fragrance is strange.

Hi I'm Skinny Sticks in Multi-Grain Sweet Onion (7 oz), retail value $3.50


I want to hate these so badly. The brand name is literally "Hi I'm Skinny". That deserves to be loathed by default. The back of the bag is so condescending it reads as sarcasm: "Well aren't you a smart pup for choosing our Hi I'm Skinny sticks" [sic]. It suggests that I "fear the weekly weigh in" and that "skinny jeans [are] a scary thought". Shut the fuck up and let me snack, you assholes.

To add insult to injury, they don't even bother with commas.


Fortunately/unfortunately, these are fucking delicious. They're an awesome combination of sweet and salty. I have already grabbed a few more bags on Amazon.


Make no mistake: these are not healthy. Saying something is 40% less fat than potato chips is a nutritional cop-out, since potato chips are pretty much just a bag of fat. The Hi I'm Skinny Sticks actually have more fat than comparable foods (e.g. Open Nature Veggie Sticks). That's not a fault, necessarily, but it means that the way they are being marketed is not only dickish, it's misleading.

Indeed, the only reason the standard one ounce serving size seems at all large is because the fucking things are hollow.


Still… they're really yummy. I will eat them. I'll just glare at the awful bag.

Total Box Value: $114.49

This isn't the best PopSugar Must Have box I have gotten, but I'm definitely satisfied. When you subtract the value of the sleep mask and the DVD (both of which I will never use), the value is about $82.50, which isn't bad. The biggest problem with this box is there is no item that I was completely over-the-moon about.

If you are interested in joining PopSugar Must Have you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here. Don't forget to use the code REFER5 to get $5 off.

Anna asks, "I was wondering if you could possibly make a post concerning DIY makeup, specifically crayola lipstick… Is it actually lip safe? You write my fav empirically supported beauty posts!"

At this point, making lipstick out of crayons is a bonafide DIY sensation, with hundreds of tutorials littering the internet.

Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QloxsO9Jy0E

The most commonly cited reason for using crayons to create lipstick is that lipsticks contain trace amounts of lead. I can wax poetic about how low levels of lead in lipstick isn't a reason to hide in your panic room, but the easiest way to show the silliness of this claim is to write about lead levels in crayons.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), crayons contain between 2 and 5 ppm of lead. The CPSC caps lead levels in children's art materials at 100 ppm. This isn't a concern, because children are not eating huge boxes of crayons and because companies are actually staying well below the legal limit… but it's still higher than what you would find in lipstick. According to the FDA, lipsticks average closer 1.11 ppm. So, there's no real benefit to picking crayons as your lipstick of choice.

Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/laffy4k/

There are, however, some noteworthy downsides. Crayons are typically comprised of paraffin wax, which is used in low levels to add a little bit of gloss to lipstick. Unfortunately, because the texture is stiff and brittle, and because it doesn't play nicely with other cosmetics ingredients, you'd be hard-pressed to find a lipstick that is comprised of large amounts of paraffin wax. It's unlikely, then, that crayon-based lipstick will create a lipstick with the texture and color-payoff of a commercially available lipstick.

In addition to paraffin wax, crayons contain pigments. Reasonably, companies like Crayola do not release information about the pigments they use. Unfortunately for crayon-lipstick-makers, that means there is no way to know whether or not the pigments in any given crayon are lip-safe. On their website, Crayola cautions not to use their products on food, such as eggshells (I apparently did Easter wrong as a child… oops…). Although Crayola likely understands that an occasional hunk of crayon will get chewed on, this is still an indication that they are not formulating their product for consistent lip-adjecency. (And why would they?)

Proponents of DIY makeup like crayon lipstick often suggest that creating your own lipstick means you know exactly what is in it, while commercially produced cosmetics are a mystery concoction. In reality, it's the opposite. Crayon lipstick is what you put in it + secret Crayola proprietary ingredients that may or may not be lip-safe, whereas traditional lipsticks have a wonderful, convenient ingredient list.

My Birchbox was devastatingly late this month, not rolling in until yesterday. Luckily, they made up for it by 1. having a super adorable pattern on the inside of the box and 2. giving me 100 Birchbox points unsolicited. Since that adds up to $10 in the Birchbox store, I essentially got this box for free. Given that I reviewed my items for 50 more points, you could even make the argument that I came out ahead. Of course, that's the "This item was marked down by 50% so I am basically losing money if I don't buy it!" argument, but let's not let logic get in the way, here.

Here's what I got this month:


Pixi Beauty Shea Butter Lip Balm in Pixi Pink (full size at 0.141oz), retail value $8.00


This is a bubblegum pink sheer balm.


When I first tried this lip balm, I couldn't help but think it was strikingly identical similar to Maybelline's Baby Lips balm in Pink Punch. Upon swatching them side-by-side, this Pixi balm is a little bit more pigmented and maybe a hair more coral (although neither read as coral at all). It's also a bit stiffer.


Here's how it looks on my face:




ElevenSkin Perfection Eye Cream + Concealer (full size at 0.5 fl oz), retail value $30.00


I was originally supposed to get one of the Cynthia Rowley pencil eyeliners. I'm not going to lie. I'm a little bit bitter about it. The Birchbox-supplied photo of my box still has the eyeliner displayed, mocking me.

Image source: Birchbox.com

I'm guessing that they ran out of eyeliners. I appreciate the fact that the replacement sample probably wouldn't be considered terrible by Birchbox editors (it is a full size product, and they have previously sent out sample sizes of this eye cream), but it's still a gazillion times worse that an awesome silver eyeliner. Hell, the people who formulated this product don't seem to know what a "concealer" actually is.


First off, the product only comes in one color. There are things in this world that are true. One of those things is that, if you are going to make a concealer, it needs to come in more than one color.

To compensate for the shade range being literally as bad as it could possibly be while still existing, the creators of this product decided to make it super sheer.

A concealer, by definition, is not sheer. This is tinted moisturizer levels of sheer, right here.


The color is yellow on me, but it works fine. If this was actually a concealer, it would not.

I want that damn silver eyeliner.

Color Club Art Duo Pen (full size at 0.35 fl oz), retail value $10.00


For some reason, Color Club decided that the best way to express themselves with this product was to print black writing on a black bottle. When I asked my boyfriend, "Hey, I can't read what is written on this bottle... Can you?" he responded by yelling, "WHO WOULD DO THIS?!"

The premise of the product is that you can be all stripy and all polka dotty using the same nail art tool. Unscrew the cap and you get a striping brush...


…and pop off the cap to get a squeezy dotting tool!


Here was my first attempt at actually using this contraption:


I'm definitely not a skilled manicurist, so I wouldn't take my nail fails as an indication of a crappy product. Stripes. How do they work?

I did really like the polka dot squeezy tool, though. I found that the polish didn't rush out too quickly, so it was easier to make even polka dots than it is using a traditional dotting tool where you stick a teensy ball on a stick into your polish of choice.

Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Relaxing Sea Fennel Body Lotion (1.35 fl oz), approximate retail value $2.53


This is a relatively thin lotion that smells like cucumbers and baby powder.

No one gets excited about lotion.

SmartyPants All-in-One Adult Complete Gummy Vitamins + Fiber (2 gummies), approximate retail value $0.53


Multivitamin use is pretty controversial among nutritionists, doctors, and other healthcare providers. There's a reason that "Multivitamins just give you expensive pee" is practically a slogan for many. A substantial number of studies suggest that multivitamin use is not associated with decreased mortality, and does not seem to protect against common illnesses like cancer or heart disease. Still, proponents of multivitamin use argue that multivitamins can help fill the gaps in people's admittedly imperfect diets. The Harvard School of Public Health concludes, "Looking at all the evidence, the potential health benefits of taking a standard daily multivitamin seem to outweigh the potential risks for most people."  The National Institutes of Health have essentially thrown up their hands, saying, "Based on current research, it's not possible to recommend for or against the use of [multivitamin and mineral supplements] to stay healthier longer."

In light of their dubious efficacy, I'm not sure spending a whopping $47.95 a month on a gummy vitamins is going to fit well into my life.


I actually do buy and like gummy vitamins, but only because they are a candy that I can pretend has some sort of health promoting value. "I'm not eating a gummy bear. I'm eating a gummy vitamin. I'm being responsible."


I found these gummy vitamins to be fine, but rather unremarkable. They were a little too tart for me; My candy needs to be downright saccharine.

I also want to note that if you specifically want the SmartyPants vitamins, the non-sugar-free version is available on Amazon for a much more reasonably priced $18.14 a bottle.

Total Box Value: $51.06

Overall, I'm happy, even if I am mourning the silver eyeliner that might have been.

If you are interested in joining Birchbox, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

Ten dollars invested, ten dollars of random crap sent to my house. Thanks, Ipsy. It's the life of a subscription box addict.

Here's what I got this month:


(Note: The canvas, leaf-covered bag would have been pretty cute if it didn't have the word "Ipsy" scrawled all over it.)

Pacifica Natural Beauty Mineral Eyeshadow Duo 2 (0.07 oz), estimated retail value $3.92


As a duo of dusty plum and burnished white-gold, this eyeshadow looks nice, in theory.

Unfortunately, the duo is not actually being sold in stores or online. After testing the quality, it's not difficult to determine the reason.


This eyeshadow has pigmentation that borders on embarrassing. It takes some serious scraping to reveal a hint of color. What's worse, the tarnished effect on the light golden highlight, which might have looked striking in a highly pigmented eyeshadow, reads as muddy and unflattering here. It looks like I contaminated my eyeshadow with dirt.


Here's how it looks on my face:


This definitely does not tempt me to purchase any Pacifica makeup.

Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF50 (1 fl oz), approximate retail value $2.17


This piña colada-scented sunscreen formulated by Coola is lightweight and has a great texture-- no greasiness detected. The one ounce sample, though, is only a single full-body use. It's also sold in relatively small tubes, making it too pricey, ounce per ounce. I wouldn't buy this unless I got the product at a substantial discount.

Derma e Microdermabrasion Scrub (1 oz), approximate retail value $15.00


This scrub is incredibly harsh. Not only is loaded up with citrus oils for some reason (the tub smells like a carton of Sunny D), the abrasive aluminium oxide crystals make this the gooey version of sandpaper.


I would use this on my feet, but not my face.

Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask (2.03 fl oz), approximate retail value $1.92


This conditioner has a distinct candy corn scent, but no distinct difference from less expensive conditioning products.

Olive Natural Beauty The Olive Lip Balm in Refreshing Rosemary (0.07 oz), retail value $5.95


This lip balm has a minty rosemary scent and no other distinguishing qualities.

Bonus: TokyoMilk Dark Femme Fatale Collection Lip Elixir Lip Balm in No. 36 Salted Caramel (full size at 0.7oz), retail value $7.00
Bonus: BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up (full size at 0.12 oz), retail value $18.00


Last month, I got a TokyoMilk La Vie En Rose balm as a bonus for making referrals. This month, they inexplicably sent me a second one-- this time in Salted Caramel. Although the scent is a little darker, stronger, and more artificial than any caramel you might eat, the similarity is otherwise remarkable. I also got a full size BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick, which I have been totally unable to open because the unnecessarily complicated triggering lever is stuck.

Total Box Value (without bonus items): $28.96
Total Box Value (with bonus items): $53.96

I'm really happy with the bonus items I received for making referrals, but I'm not happy with the rest of the box. I also have a really difficult time finding the bonus items in time to redeem my points for them, which means I am racking up referral points much more quickly than I am spending them. Additionally, Ipsy's point system is pretty useless for non-beauty bloggers (most of you are probably not making high volumes of referrals, meaning that it's hard to hit the 1000 point threshold of a reward) so the box really needs to be good even when you take out the issue of bonus items. This box wasn't.

If you are somehow tempted to join Ipsy, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

Eyelashes are one of the last frontiers of color. Since they are normally relegated to blacks and browns, a well-pigmented colored mascara can be a bitch to find.

Although Butter London is a brand best known for it's nail polish, they've recently stumbled into the makeup market, producing everything from pencil eyeliner to cream blush. Most intriguing, though, is their vibrantly colored line of mascaras.



As you all already know, I am a packaging fanatic, so I need to give kudos to the brilliant interior on the cardboard casing. The raven wearing a crown looks like he fell right out of a nursery rhyme.


The mascara comes in six colors, ranging from the snooze-worthy (brown and black) to the downright inspired (lime green, violet, and pink). Unfortunately, at $20 a pop, I couldn't justify buying more than one color of a product that quickly goes bad. The lime green shade, Jaded Jack, definitely called my name. However, I settled on Inky Six, a palatinate blue with an almost iridescent sheen, since blue is a color that's pretty easy to pull off on the daily.



It doesn't take more than a casual glance at the brush, however, to spot the Wink mascara's fatal flaw. The wand is so covered in gunk that it looks like the toilet bowl brush of a smurf with food poisoning.


Mascara goo easily clogs up the opening. I keep feeling like I need to shove the mascara back into the tube… as if it is escaping.


In general, this mascara would have benefited from a much tighter stopper. If you applied this mascara in a rush, you would have one giant, vibrantly colored eyelash.


It would be vibrantly colored, though. This wasn't a halfassed blue mascara attempt by Butter London, where it looks blue in the tube and off-black on your face. The rich, cobalt color is opaque and exciting.


For that reason, I might be willing to forgive the gunkiness that sticks all over my brush, at least for now. This is definitely the most vivid colored mascara I have used, even if applying it happens to be like rubbing greek yogurt on my eyes with a toothbrush. If I could figure out how to use a $1 tube of what may as well have been finger paint as mascara in middle school, the adult, makeup-savy version of myself can make this vibrant blue look half-decent, especially since there isn't a clear alternative available.

I'm hoping that colored lashes continue to gain mainstream momentum, and companies have to get their shit together to produce top-notch colored mascaras. For now, I'll take the blue where I can get it.

Here's how Butter London's Inky Six looks on my face:


Come closer…


The Butter London Wink Mascaras retail for $20 for 0.32oz, or $62.50 per ounce.

Last month, I hypothesized that Julep's numerous, sizable changes are a way for them to help predict how many polishes they need to produce. If everyone upgrades one month and everyone skips the next month, they end up with a gazillion of the least popular polishes that they ultimately need to discount and move.

This month, when I went to order my Julep box, I got further evidence in support of my theory: they sold out of box upgrades. I logged into Julep when I got off of work on the 20th (which is the first day to look at your box), so this wasn't even the end of the box window. They've obviously dramatically cut down on the number of upgrades available, likely because, if they always sell out, they know exactly how much they need to produce.

(Alternative explanation: Julep boxes are pretty expensive. $20 for old subscribers, $24 for new subscribers. Not a lot of people want to add a $55 upgrade on top of that. It's possible that only beauty bloggers, who are kept in business by your sweet, sweet referrals, and thus get upgrades for free, are upgrading on a regular basis. Julep may think they are giving out too much free swag to people who are going to promote them no matter what they do.)

So, I guess I ended up with an "It Girl" box this month.

Here's what I got:


The "bonus" for the month was three PixyStix, because the one thing you need with your nail polish is a mix of sugar and citric acid that reminds you of childhood Halloweens.


In addition, I got the standard three nail polishes that come in every It Girl box.


The colors included:

Savoy, a metallic antique gold.

Phia, a lilac glitterbomb.

Jennine, a teal matte glitter that dries to a sandpapery texture. This was my favorite of the three, since it gives a funky, ocean-inspired look:


Overall, I'm satisfied with my box, but I'm bummed that I did not get a chance to grab the whole collection. However, since there were no products in particular that are hurting my heart to have missed, I'm glad that I know now to be more diligent on the morning of the 20th so that I don't miss out on something I'm actually psyched about.

As always, the code FREEBOX will get you your first box for free. (Pre-pay for 3-months and you can skip shipping costs on your first box, as well.) You can also feed my hunger for more referrals by clicking here.

A fabulous liquid liner can be the difference between feeling like Brigitte Bardot and feeling like a toddler who managed to get a hold of a sharpie. Luckily, Sleek's Dip It Liner leans more towards the former.


My favorite part about this eyeliner is the brush. The tapered, sponge-y nib is reminiscent of theBalm's Schwing. This style of brushes works well as a "gateway" liquid eyeliner since it's so easy to use in comparison to the floppy collection of bristles you usually see. Additionally, this style works well for people who tend to use the pen-style liquid liners, but who have problems with the tip getting clogged up with eyeshadow or having the whole tube dry up.


I do have to note that my brush has cracked. The issue is purely cosmetic (no air or germs can sneak in and the tube isn't going to dry out), but it doesn't exactly make you feel like you are getting ready to go to the Oscars when you are using a drugstore eyeliner with a broken handle.


I am not necessarily sure that the crack is due to fundamental packaging problems or due to my extreme clumsiness. I know it's sort of a trope in the media to use clumsiness as a character flaw. Bad writers think, "Well, we don't want her to be perfect, but she can't have anything really wrong with her…". My real life, though, is like a terrible Jessica Alba comedy. Today I slammed my fingers in the car door and broke not one, but two glasses over the garbage disposal.

Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79cWig36XJc&feature=kp

Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79cWig36XJc&feature=kp I have done both of these things in real life.

Anyways, long story short: I dropped this eyeliner. I have no evidence suggesting that people who don't drop things will also break it.


The ink is quick-drying, opaque, and matte as a stick of charcoal. I haven't had any problems with it flaking throughout the day.

Here's how it looks on my face:


The only other problem I have had with this eyeliner is that it was very uncomfortable when I stabbed myself in the eye with the brush. So, I definitely don't recommend doing that.

The Sleek Dip It Eyeliners retail for $6.99 for 0.14 fl oz, or $49.93 per ounce.

I don't know if it's the accents on the 'e's, the high price point, or the general Frenchiness, but Le Métier de Beauté always seems like a high effort brand to me. I feel like it's the kind of brand that fancy people wear. Like, you'd wear it to a gala.

I guess my lips are fancy now, even if I'm pairing this lipstick with a $3 Wet'n'Wild eyeliner.


The grooved black packaging on the Colour Core lipsticks looks like a cross between a bike tire and a sex toy, although it's work appropriate-enough that a TSA employee would probably still meet your gaze if they found it in your purse at an airport. If I were a dominatrix, though, this is definitely the tube I'd want to be using.


Unfortunately, since I always use my lipsticks at least a few times before I work up the momentum to photograph them, I didn't manage to capture a small but noteworthy flaw in the pre-use lipstick: it had a ding at the top of the lipstick itself. (My lips managed to smooth over the dent after a few applications.) This isn't a huge deal, but a lot of people are reporting crushed lipstick tops from this brand, so it seems to fairly consistent problem. I thought I would note the issue in case you want to put this lipstick in a display case and/or you think it's ridiculous that a $32 lipstick would have this problem.



Ibiza is a reddened coral with a metallic pink sheen.


I think the color is gorgeous. It's very summer-y and it offers uniqueness without being over-the-top. It has a wonderfully pearly effect on the lips.


I did my patented (not-actually-patented) "four hours and a meal" test for this lipstick. I think this is especially important for lipsticks that make claims about long-lasting formulas, and the Colour Core lipsticks are definitely advertising longevity. ("This creamy hydrating formula delivers essential moisture and full-coverage color to lips while maintaining the lasting power of a lip stain.")

Here's how the lipstick looked when applied:


Here's how it looked four hours and a meal later:


It clearly didn't do very well. Despite their claims of a stain-like last power, Ibiza is only reminiscent of a lipstain insofar as you end the day with color in an awkward line around your lips. For a nearly-neutral with a pearly finish, it's not necessarily terrible in terms of last power, but it definitely does not live up to the claims.

Le Métier de Beauté Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipsticks retail for $32 for 0.13oz, putting them at $246.15 per ounce.

P.S. Sorry about my terrible posting schedule. Have a picture of my bunnies in my bathtub as penance:


D'aww. Totally makes up for missed posts.

When I'm at work, I like to have a plan for dinner. I spend part of my day at work getting psyched up for the delicious food I'm going to eat when I get home. Daydreaming about miscellaneous food doesn't work for me, because I will get fixated on something random and I'll be disappointed when dinner rolls around and we're not having pasta/curry/waffles/whatever I've talked myself into craving.

It's the same with Birchboxes. As soon as my box goes up for the month, I check out what I'm getting and start to get excited. That's why it's been so frustrating that Birchbox has switched products on me at the last second for the past couple months!

Here's what I actually got (despite what the Birchbox website led me to believe):


Antica Farmacista Body Wash in Bergamot and Ocean Air (estimated 1 fl oz), estimated retail value $2.50


The lemon-y scent of this body wash is like a high class version of the lemon wipes I use to disinfect my kitchen countertops.

Evologie Stay Clear Cleanser (0.7 fl oz), approximate retail value $4.48


This is a bland cleanser by a brand that I have previously received a bland blemish serum from. I actually thought I had gotten a repeat product before I looked closer. I've already mentioned that I don't like their weird, science-free "patent pending" complex because they don't provide sufficient information to show that it does anything and that I don't like the fact that they don't include the percentage of salicylic acid in the product. This cleanser also touts some alleged antioxidant effects of lycopene, but there simply isn't data showing any topical benefit.

The cleanser feels exactly like every other cleanser on the planet.

The Aloe Source Vitamin C Antioxidant Creme (0.25 fl oz), approximate retail value $10


Given that this is called a Vitamin C cream, the ingredients list for this product is surprisingly lacking in Vitamin C. Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate shows up, but it's pretty far down on the list. The ingredients have their fair share of "weird", though. 'DNA' and 'RNA' are both listed. What? Whose DNA? This is such a strange addition to the list that I wish I had more information to offer, if only for sheer what-the-fuckery.

The cream itself is pretty stinky, with the odor of an orange-colored Gatorade.

Phyto Phytolisse Ultra-Glossing Finishing Serum (0.16 fl oz), approximate retail value $2.82


I don't have particularly frizzy hair, so I can't give a very good review of this. It did not set my hair on fire when I used it. Frizz control efficacy unknown.

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Creamy Lip Stain in Valentine (0.079 oz), approximate retail value $9.29


Everything else in my box was pretty "meh", but I was definitely excited about this product. The Cynthia Rowley Beauty Line is exclusive to Birchbox. Although I am not an owner of any Cynthia Rowley clothing, I am a hoarder of the Cynthia Rowley Bandaids, which is almost the same thing. I strongly believe that she is good at making pretty things, and polka dot packaging on this lip stain only proves my point.

Despite the name, this product doesn't qualify as a lip stain. At our most generous, we could call this a lacquer. It doesn't stain my lips, though, and it doesn't even really dry.


Valentine is a lovely stawberry-esque pink. It's super wearable and the cute-as-a-button packaging doesn't hurt.

Here's how it looks on my face:



Total Box Value: $29.09

Overall, I feel okay about this box. The Cynthia Rowley lip-ma-bob was by far the standout product, and it did encourage me to try other products from the line. Everything else was really, really boring.

Image source: http://www.geekbinge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Ann_Arrested-Development.jpg

Thank goodness for Birchbox points, which can offset some of the less lovable months.

If you are interested in joining Birchbox, of course, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

Despite the ever-increasing demand for lip shades that make neons look office appropriate, pastels have still been sadly neglected in commercial makeup. NYX identified this gap in this market and somehow mooshed it in with the "brightly colored french pastry" trend and the "inexplicably calling lipsticks 'lippies' despite the fact that these words are the same number of syllables" trend.

The NYX Macaron Lippies were born.


Packaged in typical black NYX cases, the line has colors that could generously be classified as "pretty fucking weird".



Of course, that means I had to have them.

From left to right: Pistachio, Black Sesame, Earl Grey, Rose, Orange Blossom, Lavender

I feel that the texture of each of these lipsticks is very consistent across shades. They are so creamy that they almost feel milky. The texture isn't greasy, but it's very, very soft, giving a lovely, satin-y finish.

However, there is a reason that vivid lipsticks aren't usually so malleable. These lipsticks slip and slide like no other. I found that wear-time was embarrassingly short. If you wanted to actually wear these suckers for a day, you'd be the person checking out their reflection in their compact every 20 minutes in case you need to make an adjustment. For me, outlandishly colored lipsticks need more longevity than your average lip color. If a "my lips but better" lipstick is half-faded, it's hardly going to look strange. But I'll be damned if I'm going look like I'm wearing mint green lipliner and nothing else because I dared to take a sip of water.

(Note: There is no "four hours and a meal" test photographed because I was never able to successfully convince myself to keep any of these lipsticks on for a full four hours. They were far too patchy and terrible looking after a couple of hours.)

With that established, here's a little more info about each color:

Pistachio

NYX Pistachio on Human Face

Although it could be called "minty", Pistachio is definitely most closely reminiscent of the "Tiffany Blue" shade that adorns Tiffany & Co gift boxes. Out of the six colors I purchased, this shade was far and away my favorite. The color is both exciting and vivid. The pigmentation was incredible. Wearing this lipstick is like being the embodiment of toothpaste (for the time it lasted).

NYX Pistachio Lip Swatch

Black Sesame 

NYX Black Sesame on Human Face

If the other shades in this line are sidewalk chalk, Black Sesame is the concrete. It's a pale, cool gray with an "undead" quality to it. I had pretty high hopes for this color, but I think I'm going to have a hard time using it for anything other than mixing. I'm not a big fan of nude lips and, on my skin, this almost reads as a nude lip. It's a nude lip... but if I was a zombie. I think this would be a lot more exciting and vivid on women with significantly darker skin.

Still, even if you're pale, and as long as you like the corpse chic, the lipstick definitely won't disappoint in terms of pigment. The pigmentation was solid and it succeeds in being off-the-wall in an unpredictable way. Lime green is not a lipstick you typically see, but you can't claim it's subtle. This, on the other hand, is more eerie than wacky.

NYX Black Sesame Lip Swatch

Earl Grey

NYX Earl Grey on Human Face

Earl Grey, named for the cornflower petals in the quintessential tea blend, is a cross between a sky blue and a periwinkle. It takes at least two swipes to get a truly full coverage effect.

Fittingly, given Captain Picard's beverage proclivities, this lipstick makes me feel like I belong on an episode of Star Trek.

NYX Earl Grey Lip Swatch

Rose

NYX Rose on Human Face

Rose is definitely the shade that was most different from what I was expecting. Despite the absurdity of every other color in this collection, there was some weird part of my brain that thought that Rose might be relatively wearable. Holy shit; it is not.

That's not to say that this is a bad color or that I didn't like it, but I found it to be just as odd and jarring as the more eccentric shades in the collection. Although the color in the tube looks like a bubblegum-y shade one might be able to find from a million brands, the lipstick, when swatched, has a cool, lavender-based tone that's weird as hell. Don't expect a hue that is classic or easy to pull-off.

This is another product that took a few coats to build up adequately.

NYX Rose Lip Swatch

Orange Blossom

NYX Orange Blossom on Human Face

Orange Blossom is a peachy pastel orange that reads like a muted creamsicle. This one also took at least two coats of lipstick.

NYX Orange Blosson Lip Swatch

Lavender

NYX Lavender on Human Face

I probably wouldn't call this shade a lavender, as it's got a super-cool blue undertone to it that gives it a surreal quality. The shade is amazing. It would be the perfect color for Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sadly, though, I thought that this one applied pretty badly, needing multiple layers to get the color I wanted.

NYX Lavender Lip Swatch

Overall, I feel that these lipsticks are fun, but I'm having a hard time imagining their appeal for a large audience. The colors are definitely unique and fun to play with, but the terrible lasting power makes them even more impractical than a green lipstick would otherwise be. This is really a product designed for photoshoots, where a makeup artist is hovering nearby in case of smudges.

The NYX Macaron lipsticks retail for a reasonable $5.99 for 0.16 oz, putting them at $37.44 per ounce. Because of the cheap price, I'd recommend grabbing one or two if you've been lusting over them... Just don't expect to wear the fuckers around town without them migrating all over your face. And, for the love of God, wipe them off before attempting to eat a sandwich.

It's time for my biannual "let's see if Sephora's value kits are a good deal or not" post! For my methods, suggested uses, and caveats, please see my original post here.

As always, having a good value on paper does not mean the kit is worth it for you, but having the numbers and the breakdown by product can help you make an informed decision.

There is one noteworthy difference between this post and my previous posts. In an effort to increase perks for VIB and VIB Rouge Sephora members, the company has introduced a handful of value sets that are exclusive to their bigger spenders. (These kits are available here.) I was curious whether or not these kits were better values than the generally available sets. Thus, I separated the VIB exclusives and the regular kits in order to compare them. This may make for slightly more difficult browsing. The results of my comparison are available at the bottom of the post.

Image Source: http://www.sephora.com/vib-rouge-value-sets?icid2=bihq_exclusives_061714_image.jpg&om_mmc=oth-bt-richlinks-2013

VIB Exclusives

1. Living Proof Style Lab Travel Kit
Contains:
2 oz Prime Style Extender, retail value $12
0.17 oz Satin Hair Serum, approximate retail value $3.29
0.25 oz Amp² Instant Texture Volumizer, approximate retail value $3
3 oz Flex Shaping Hairspray, retail value $15
Sephora's Stated Value: $35
Actual Value: $33.29
Total Cost: $29
Percent: 114.79%

2. Philosophy Amazing Grace Set
Contains:
5 oz Amazing Grace Body Butter, retail value $28
8 oz Amazing Grace Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath, approximate retail value $12
0.33 oz Amazing Grace Fragrance Rollerball, retail value $20
Sephora's Stated Value: $67
Actual Value: $60
Total Cost: $52
Percent: 115.38%

3. JINsoon Trio de Couleurs
Contains:
0.33 oz Nail Lacquer in Blue Iris, retail value $18
0.33 oz Nail Lacquer in Kookie White, retail value $18
0.33 oz Nail Lacquer in Tea Rose, retail value $18
Sephora's Stated Value: $54
Actual Value: $54
Total Cost: $45
Percent: 120%

4. Caudalie The Divine Collection
Contains:
1.7 oz Divine Oil, retail value $32
5.3 oz Divine Scrub, retail value $38
5.3 oz Divine Candle, retail value $48
Sephora's Stated Value: $118
Actual Value: $118
Total Cost: $82
Percent: 143.90%

5. Laura Mercier Inner Artist Quartet
Contains:
1 x 0.01 oz Baked Eye Colour in Black Karat, approximate retail value $4
1 x 0.01 oz Eye Basics in Wheat, approximate retail value $1.38
1 x 0.12 oz Translucent Loose Setting Powder, approximate retail value $4.20
Fan brush, retail value $30
Sephora's Stated Value: $35
Actual Value: $39.58
Total Cost: $25
Percent: 158.32%

6. Buxom Pout It Out
Contains:
0.14 oz Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in Mai Tai, retail value $19
0.15 oz Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Celeste, retail value $19
0.15 oz Buxom Full-Bodied Lip Gloss in Yow, retail value $19
Sephora's Stated Value: $57
Actual Value: $57
Total Cost: $34
Percent: 167.65%

7. Josie Maran Four-Piece Glowing Beauty Set
Contains:
0.3 oz Argan High Gloss Lip Quench in Pink Honey, retail value $16
1 oz Argan Illuminizer Skin Brightener, retail value $28
0.39 oz Argan Beautiful Eyes Eyeshadow Set in Beautiful Purples, retail value $36
0.18 oz Cheek Gelée Blush in Pink Escape, retail value $22
Sephora's Stated Value: $102
Actual Value: $102
Total Cost: $60
Percent: 170%

8. Tarte Making Waves Best-Selling Summer Essentials Kit
Contains:
0.20 Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Exposed, retail value $26
0.32 oz Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in Park Ave Princess, retail value $30
0.04 oz LipSurgence Power Pigment in Exposed, retail value $24
0.24 oz Lights, Camera, Splashes Waterproof Mascara, retail value $20
Limited-Edition The Buffer Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush, retail value $32
Sephora's Stated Value: $150
Actual Value: $132
Total Cost: $75
Percent: 176%

9. Stila Come Up Roses Makeup Set
Contains:
In The Moment 10 Pan Eyeshadow Palette, retail value $39
0.05 oz Lip Glaze in Shortcake, approximate retail value $13.75
0.5 oz All Over Shimmer in Rose Gold Shimmer, retail value $20
Sephora's Stated Value: $67
Actual Value: $72.75
Total Cost: $39
Percent: 186.54%

10. Tarte Glow Beyond Bestsellers Set and Travel Bag
Contains:
Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Self-tanning Face Towelette, retail value $2.10
0.2 oz Beauty & the Box Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Quad in Just Deserts, retail value $22
0.04 oz LipSurgence Power Pigment in Awakening, retail value $24
1.7 oz Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Self Tanner, retail value $13
0.9 oz Bronze & Glow Matte Bronzer & Cheek Tint in Park Ave Princess, retail value $32
Sephora's Stated Value: $107
Actual Value: $93.10
Total Cost: $49
Percent: 190%

11. Too Faced La Crème de La Crème Long Lasting Lip Collection
Contains:
0.01 oz Perfect Spice Lip Liner, retail value $17
0.11 oz La Crème Lip Cream: Spice Spice Baby, retail value $22
0.11 oz La Crème Lip Cream: Naked Dolly, retail value $22
0.12 oz Deluxe Lip Insurance, approximate retail value $15.20
Sephora's Stated Value: $74
Actual Value: $76.20
Total Cost: $38
Percent: 200.53%

12. Stila Here Comes the Sun Makeup Set
Contains:
0.05 oz Deluxe Lip Glaze in Peaches and Cream, approximate retail value $13.75
0.09 oz Eye Shadow Trio in Goddess, retail value $20
0.01 oz Smudge Stick Eye Liner in Lionfish, retail value $20
0.17 oz Custom Color Blush in Self Adjusting Bronze, retail value $20
0.5 oz All Over Shimmer in Liquid Bronze, retail value $20
Sephora's Stated Value: $88
Actual Value: $93.75
Total Cost: $44
Percent: 213.07%

13. Becca 24/7 Tints Kit
Contains:
0.24 oz. Eye Tint in Romanticism, retail value $24
0.24 oz. Eye Tint in Gilt, retail value $24
0.24 oz. Beach Tint in Raspberry, retail value $25
0.24 oz. Beach Tint in Grapefruit, retail value $25
Sephora's Stated Value: $98
Actual Value: $98
Total Cost: $44
Percent: 222.73%

14. Urban Decay Lip Junkie Duo
Contains:
0.34 oz Midnight Cowboy Lip Gloss, retail value $19
0.34 oz Obsessed Lip Gloss, retail value $19
Sephora's Stated Value: $38
Actual Value: $38
Total Cost: $9
Percent: 422.22%
General Value Sets

1. BareMinerals Prime and Perfect Pair
Contains:
0.5 oz Prime Time Foundation Primer, approximate retail value $11.50
0.03 oz Mineral Veil Finishing Powder, approximate retail value $2.00
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $13.50
Total Cost: $15
Percent: 90%

2. Josie Maran Argan Lip and Cheek Stick Set
Contains:
4 x 0.21 oz Argan Lip & Cheek Color Stick in Beautiful, Pink, Coral, Twinkle, estimated retail value $33.60
Sephora's Stated Value: $56
Actual Value: $33.60
Total Cost: $34

Percent: 98.82%

3. BeautyBlender Duo Set
Contains:
2X BeautyBlender, retail value $28.95
5 oz BlenderCleanser, approximate retail value $14.95
Sephora's Stated Value: $43.90
Actual Value: $43.90
Total Cost: $39.95

Percent: 109.91%

4. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics In Your Face Kit
Contains:
0.33 oz Lip Tar, retail value $18
0.42 oz Crème Colour Concentrate, retail value $20
0.04 oz Cosmetic Colour Pencil, retail value $16
Sephora's Stated Value: $67
Actual Value: $54
Total Cost: $47.50
Percent: 113.68%

5. Clinique Paired in Purple
Contains:
0.10 oz Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Color Balm in Grandest Purple, retail value $17
0.14 oz A Different Nail Enamel in Hot Date, approximate retail value $5.83
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $22.83
Total Cost: $19.50
Percent: 117.08%

6. Yves Saint Laurent Love and Lacquer Reds Set
Contains:
0.2 oz Rouge Pur Couture Vern is À Lèvres Glossy Stain in 9 Rouge Lacquer, retail value $34
0.06 oz Mascara Volume Effete Faux Coils Baby doll in Black, approximate retail value $9.00
0.34 oz La Laque Couture Nail Lacquer in 1 Rouge N Pop Art - Vibrant Red, retail value $25
Sephora's Stated Value: $74
Actual Value: $68
Total Cost: $58
Percent: 117.24%

7. Benefit Feelin' Dandy Lip & Cheek Kit
Contains:
0.13 oz Posietint, approximate retail value $9.29
0.1 oz Dandelion, approximate retail value $10
0.13 oz High Beam, approximate retail value $7.51
0.22 oz Ultra Plush Dandelion, approximate retail value $7.04
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $33.84
Total Cost: $28
Percent: 120.86%

8. Benefit Cosmetics Go TropiCORAL Lip & Cheek Kit
Contains:
0.13 oz Chachatint, approximate retail value $9.29
0.1 oz Coralista, approximate retail value $10
0.13 oz High Beam, approximate retail value $7.51
0.22 oz Ultra Plush Coralista, approximate retail value $7.04
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $33.84
Total Cost: $28
Percent: 120.86%

9. Benefit Cosmetics Sugarlicious Lip & Cheek Kit
Contains:
0.13 oz Benetint, approximate retail value $9.29
0.1 oz Sugarbomb, approximate retail value $10
0.13 oz High Beam, approximate retail value $7.51
0.22 oz Ultra Plush Sugarbomb, approximate retail value $7.04
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $33.84
Total Cost: $28
Percent: 120.86%

10. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar Trio Set
Contains:
3 x 0.33 oz Lip Tar in Clockwork, Hush, Memento OR 3 x 0.33 oz Lip Tar in Nylon, Harlot, Trollop, retail value $54
Sephora's Stated Value: $54
Actual Value: $54
Total Cost: $39.50
Percent: 136.71%

11. Buxom Full-Bodied Lip Gloss Collection Nudes and Brights
Contains:
6 x 0.06 oz Buxom Full-Bodied Lip Gloss in MWAH, Dolly, Yes You, Cha Cha Cha, Strut It, Pucker Up, approximate retail value $7.60 each
Sephora's Stated Value: $51
Actual Value: $45.60
Total Cost: $32
Percent: 142.50%

12. BareMinerals The Perfect Pair
Contains:
0.28 oz Original Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15, retail value $27
1 oz Prime Time Original Foundation Primer, retail value $23
Sephora's Stated Value: $55
Actual Value: $50
Total Cost: $35
Percent: 142.86%

13. Hourglass Best of Hourglass Set
Contains:
0.33 oz Veil Mineral Primer, retail value $18
0.35 oz Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara in Onyx, retail value $28
0.24 oz Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Ignite, retail value $28
0.16 oz N° 28 Primer Serum, approximate retail value $10.40
Sephora's Stated Value: $85
Actual Value: $84.40
Total Cost: $59
Percent: 143.05%

14. Blinc Amazing Eyes Discovery Collection
Contains:
0.12 oz Mascara Amplified in Black, approximate retail value $10.40
0.03 oz Eyeliner Pencil in Black, approximate retail value $15
0.06 oz Eye Shadow Primer in Light Tone, approximate retail value $10.29
0.06 oz Eyebrow Mousse in Light Brunette, approximate retail value $10.29
Sephora's Stated Value: $52
Actual Value: $45.98
Total Cost: $32
Percent: 143.69%

16. Makeup Forever HD Complexion Starter Kit
Contains:
0.17 oz HD Microfinish Powder, retail value $16
HD Kabuki Brush, retail value $40
0.5 oz HD Microperfecting Primer, approximate retail value $16.83
1.01 oz HD Invisible Cover Foundation, retail value $42
Sephora's Stated Value: $114
Actual Value: $114.83
Total Cost: $79

Percent: 145.35%

17. Make Up For Ever Birthday Beautiful Set
Contains:
0.07 oz HD Pressed Powder, retail value $22
0.04 oz Aqua Eyes in Purple 11L, retail value $19
0.04 oz Lip Line Perfector, retail value $19
0.84 oz Sens'Eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser, approximate retail value $5.96
Sephora's Stated Value: $66
Actual Value: $65.96
Total Cost: $45
Percent: 146.58%

18. Givenchy Haute Couture Look
Contains:
0.05 oz Le Rouge Lipstick in 103 Brun Creatéur, approximate retail value $15
0.28 oz Noir Couture 4 in 1 Mascara in Black Satin, retail value $32
Sephora's Stated Value: $48
Actual Value: $47
Total Cost: $32
Percent: 146.88%

19. Givenchy Art of Mascara Set
Contains:
0.05 oz Le Rouge in 103 Brun Creatéur, approximate retail value $15
0.24 oz Phenomen'Eyes Mascara in 1 Phenomen'Black, retail value $30
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $45
Total Cost: $30
Percent: 150%

20. Josie Maran Model Citizen Kit
Contains:
2.2 oz Argan Infinity Creamy Oil, retail value $28
0.55 oz Argan Color Stick in Pink, retail value $22
0.5 oz 100% Pure Argan Oil Light, retail value $16
Sephora's Stated Value: $66
Actual Value: $66
Total Cost: $44
Percent: 150%

21. BareMinerals Try. Believe. Love. Kit
Contains:
0.03 oz Original SPF 15 Foundation, approximate retail value $2.89
0.03 oz Matte SPF 15 Foundation, approximate retail value $3.86
0.03 oz Mineral Veil Finishing Powder in Original, approximate retail value $2.00
0.02 oz Multi-tasking SPF 20 Concealer, approximate retail value $1.80
Mini Full Flawless Face Brush, approximate retail value $10
Mini Concealer Brush, approximate retail value $10
Sephora's Stated Value: $76
Actual Value: $30.55
Total Cost: $20
Percent: 152.75%

22. Tarte Discover The Amazon 3-Piece Kit
Contains:
0.8 oz Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation SPF 15, approximate retail value $17.88
0.24 oz Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara in Black, retail value $19
0.6 oz Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, approximate retail value $16.24
Sephora's Stated Value: $68
Actual Value: $53.12
Total Cost: $34.50
Percent: 153.97%

23. Too Faced Cause a Scandal
Contains:
0.02 oz 3 Way Lash Lining Tool, retail value $22
0.27 oz Better Than Sex Mascara, retail value $23
0.35 oz Shadow Insurance, retail value $20
Boudoir Eyes Eyeshadow Palette, retail value $36
Sephora's Stated Value: $101
Actual Value: $101
Total Cost: $65
Percent: 155.38%

24. Stila Pretty Pick Me Ups
Contains:
0.05 oz Lip Glaze in Guava, approximate retail value $13.75
0.07 oz Convertible Color Dual Lip and Cheek Cream in Peony, approximate retail value $11.67
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $25.42
Total Cost: $16
Percent: 158.86%

25. Tarte Cheek Stain Collector's Vault
Contains:
8 x 0.50 oz cheek stains in Flush, Blushing Bride, Blissful, Exposed, Tipsy, True Love, Fearless, Natural Beauty, retail value $30 each
Sephora's Stated Value: $240
Actual Value: $240
Total Cost: $150
Percent: 160%

26. Makeup Forever Makeup Artist Picks 
Empty 4 Eye Shadow Palette
0.08 oz x 2 Eye Shadow Refill in 126, 164, retail value $42
0.08 oz Diamond Shadow Refill in 311, retail value $21
0.08 oz Powder Blush Refill in 92, retail value $21
0.14 oz x 2 Aqua Shadow in 28E, 20E, retail value $40
0.04 oz x 3 Aqua Eyes in 25L, 0L, 11L, retail value $57
0.40 oz Aqua Seal, retail value $21
0.07 oz Diamond Powder in White 1, retail value $25
0.24 oz Aqua Black, retail value $23
0.23 oz Smoky Extravagant, retail value $24
0.20 oz Brow Seal, retail value $18
1.01 oz HD High Definition Primer, retail value $34
0.30 oz HD High Definition Powder, retail value $34
0.08 oz x 2 Aqua Rouge in 2, 8, retail value $48
0.04 oz x 2 Aqua Lip in 2C, 8C, retail value $38
0.12 oz x 2 Rouge Artist in Natural N9, Intense 39, retail value $40
Sephora's Stated Value: $478
Actual Value: $486
Total Cost: $300
Percent: 162%

27. Stila Most Wanted Vol. II Eye Liner Duo
Contains:
0.01 oz Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black, approximate retail value $12.50
0.01 oz Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Violet, retail value $20
Sephora's Stated Value: $32
Actual Value: $32.50
Total Cost: $20
Percent: 162.50%

28. Laura Mercier Hi-Lite Kit
Contains:
0.10 oz Mini Lip Glace in Bare Baby in Nude, approximate retail value $16.67
0.06 oz Deluxe Matte Radiance Baked Bronze in Highlight, approximate retail value $8.31
Sephora's Stated Value: $18
Actual Value: $24.98
Total Cost: $15
Percent: 166.53%

29. Too Faced Sexy Lips and Lashes
Contains:
0.05 oz Lip Injection, approximate retail value $10.50
0.17 oz Better Than Sex Mascara, approximate retail value $14.48
Sephora's Stated Value: $25
Actual Value: $24.98
Total Cost: $15
Percent: 166.53%

30. Laura Mercier Flawless Color Favorites for Face, Eyes, and Lips
Contains:
0.05 oz Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Violet Asphalt, retail value $23
2 x 0.03 oz Eye Colour Duet in Chocolate/Cashmere, Sable/Morning Dew, retail value $22 each
0.06 oz Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Bronze – 03, approximate retail value $8.30
0.4 oz Full Blown Volume Lash Building Mascara in Black, retail value $24
0.15 oz Lip Glacè in Cherub, retail value $25
1 oz Foundation Primer, approximate retail value $18.86
Sephora's Stated Value: $146
Actual Value: $143.16
Total Cost: $85
Percent: 168.42%

31. Too Faced Little Black Book Of Bronzers
Contains:
0.35 oz Milk Chocolate Soleil Light Bronzer, retail value $30
0.35 oz Chocolate Soleil Medium Bronzer, retail value $30
0.35 oz Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer, retail value $30
0.35 oz Beach Bunny Custom-Blend Bronzer, retail value $30
0.35 oz Sun Bunny Natural Bronzer, retail value $30
0.28 oz Snow Bunny Luminous Bronzer, retail value $30
0.25 oz Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer, retail value $30
0.26 oz Pink Leopard Blushing Bronzer
Sephora's Stated Value: $240
Actual Value: $240
Total Cost: $139
Percent: 172.66%

32. Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer Flawless Face
Contains:
0.2 oz Amazing Concealer, approximate retail value $16.80
0.4 oz Anti Aging Face Primer, approximate retail value $13.60
0.32 oz Velvet Mineral Powder Set, retail value $36
Concealer brush, retail value $15
Sephora's Stated Value: $88
Actual Value: $81.40
Total Cost: $47
Percent: 173.19%

33. BareMinerals Get Started Kit
Contains:
0.07 oz Original SPF 15 Foundation, approximate retail value $6.75
0.05 oz Matte SPF 15 Foundation, approximate retail value $6.75
0.02 oz SPF 20 Concealer, approximate retail value $1.80
0.05 oz Warmth All-Over Face Color, retail value $19
0.015 oz Mini bareMinerals READY SPF 15 Touch Up Veil, approximate retail value $11
0.5 oz Mini Prime Time Original Foundation Primer, approximate retail value $11.50
Full Flawless Face Brush, retail value $28
Angled Face Brush, retail value $15
Concealer Brush, retail value $20
Sephora's Stated Value: $186
Actual Value: $119.80
Total Cost: $68
Percent: 176.18%

34. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pro's Picks Lip Tar
Contains:
5 X 0.33 oz Lip Tar, retail value $90
Sephora's Stated Value: $98
Actual Value: $90
Total Cost: $49
Percent: 183.67%

35. Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Complexion Kit
Contains:
0.18 oz Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise, retail value $22
1 oz Argan Matchmaker Powder Foundation SPF 20, retail value $34
0.5 oz Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation, approximate retail value $21
1.7 oz 100 percent Pure Argan Oil Light, retail value $48
0.03 oz Argan Illuminizer, approximate retail value $0.84
Sephora's Stated Value: $128
Actual Value: $125.84
Total Cost: $68
Percent: 185.06%

36. Benefit Cosmetics Primping With the Stars Contains:
0.08 oz Stay Don't Stray Stay-Put Primer for Concealers and Eyeshadows, approximate retail value $6.30
0.12 oz Some Kind-A-Gorgeous Foundation in Medium, approximate retail value $10.59
0.13 oz Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip & Cheek Stain, approximate retail value $9.29
0.25 oz The Porefessional Pro Balm, approximate retail value $10.00
0.25 oz Girl Meets Pearl Liquid Pearl for Face, approximate retail value $18.75
0.1 oz They're Real! Beyond Mascara in Black, approximate retail value $7.67
Sephora's Stated Value: N/A
Actual Value: $62.60
Total Cost: $32
Percent: 195.63%

37. Too Faced Paparazzi Ready
Contains:
0.35 oz Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder in Milk Chocolate, retail value $30
0.13 oz LashGASM Mascara in Black, approximate retail value $6.83
0.10 oz Sweet Sun Shines Lip Gloss in Mocha Freeze, retail value $16
0.35 oz Tinted Beauty Balm in Cream Glow, approximate retail value $7.93
0.04 oz Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black, retail value $18
Sephora's Stated Value: $87
Actual Value: $78.76
Total Cost: $40
Percent: 196.90%

38. Buxom Red Hot Set
Contains:
0.01 oz Pen & Ink Long-Last Eyeliner in P.S. Ciao, retail value $20
0.33 oz Sculpted Lash Mascara in True Black, retail value $19
0.03 oz Full-On Lipstick in Barcelona, retail value $19
0.15 oz Full-On Lip Polish in Krystal, retail value $19
Sephora's Stated Value: $77
Actual Value: $77
Total Cost: $39
Percent: 197.44%

39. Sephora Favorites Meet Your Match
Contains:
0.27 oz Deborah Lippman Nail Lacquer in Girls Just Want to Have Fun, approximate retail value $10.80
0.06 oz Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tint in Elite, approximate retail value $14.40
0.17 oz Formula X Nail Color in Invincible, approximate retail value $7.09
0.03 oz Hourglass Cosmetics Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child, approximate retail value $4.94
0.13 oz Nails Inc. Devonshire Row Nail Polish, approximate retail value $3.74
0.05 oz Bite Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss in Strangefruit, approximate retail value $8.46
Sephora's Stated Value: $52
Actual Value: $49.43
Total Cost: $25
Percent: 197.72%

40. Sephora Favorites Summer Stash
Contains:
0.049 oz Stila Cosmetics Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow in Kitten, estimated retail value $22.40
0.08 oz Nars Travel Size Laguna Bronzing Powder, estimated retail value $10.86
0.095 oz Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape, estimated retail value $11.61
0.27 oz Deborah Lippman Nail Lacquer in Mermaid's Dream, est. $10.80
0.018 oz Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in 12L, est. $8.55
0.08 oz Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Stained Gloss in New Wave with Lip Brush, est. $4.36
0.23 oz Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer in Venus, est. $3.22
0.5 oz Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray, est. $7.50
0.09 oz Marc Jacobs Mini Lash Lifter Mascara in Blacquer, est. $9.75
Sephora's Stated Value: $123
Actual Value: $89.05
Total Cost: $45
Percent: 197.89%

41. Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings
Contains:
0.14 oz Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, approximate retail value $12.00
0.17 oz Primed & Poreless Face Primer, approximate retail value $5.10
0.17 oz Better Than Sex Mascara, approximate retail value $14.48
0.17 oz Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, approximate retail value $9.71
Sephora's Stated Value: $42
Actual Value: $41.29
Total Cost: $20
Percent: 206.45%

42. BareMinerals Customizable Get Started Kit
Contains:
0.05 All-Over Face Color in Warmth, approximate retail value $19
0.07 oz Original Mineral Veil, approximate retail value $4.66
0.5 oz Prime Time Foundation Primer, approximate retail value $11.50
0.28oz Original Foundation OR 0.49oz READY Foundation, retail value $27 OR $29
Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush, retail value $20
Flawless Application Face Brush, retail value $22
Full Flawless Face Brush, retail value $28
Sephora's Stated Value: $138
Actual Value: $132.16 OR $134.16
Total Cost: $62 OR $64
Percent: 209.63% OR 213.16%

43. Stila Ready, Set, Summer! Set
Contains:
0.34 oz Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm, approximate retail value $9.94
0.08 oz Lip Glaze in Mango, retail value $22
Sephora's Stated Value: $29
Actual Value: $31.94
Total Cost: $15
Percent: 212.92%

44. Bite Beauty Best Bite Set
Contains:
4 x 0.05 oz High Pigment Matte Pencil in Quince, Rhubarb, Cranberry, Madeira, approximate retail value $53.33
Sephora's Stated Value: $55
Actual Value: $53.33
Total Cost: $25
Percent: 213.33%

45. Clinique Colour Cravings
Contains:
0.14 oz A Different Nail Enamel in Sweet Tooth, approximate retail value $5.83
0.16 oz All About Eyes Shadow Quad in Olive in My Martini, At Dusk, Blushed, French Vanilla, retail value $28
1.0 oz Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief, approximate retail value $21.76
0.10 oz Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Color Balm in Plushest Punch, retail value $17
0.28 oz High Impact Mascara in Black, retail value $16
Sephora's Stated Value: $93
Actual Value: $88.59
Total Cost: $39.50
Percent: 224.28%

46. Too Faced Better Than Sex Amazing Eyes Set
Contains:
0.17 Deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara, approximate retail value $14.48
0.03 oz Deluxe Perfect Eyes Eyeliner in Perfect Black, approximate retail value $13.50
Sephora's Stated Value: $25
Actual Value: $27.98
Total Cost: $12
Percent: 233.17%

47. Laura Mercier Flawless Face Kit
Contains:
1 oz Foundation Primer, retail value $19.50
0.21 oz Undercover Pot Shade #2, retail value $34
1 oz Tinted Moisturizer in Nude or Sand, approximate retail value $28.67
Secret Camouflage Brush, retail value $26
Camouflage Powder Brush, retail value $28
Velour Puff, retail value $12
Egg-shaped Sponge, approximate retail value $3.75
Sephora's Stated Value: $159
Actual Value: $151.92
Total Cost: $65
Percent: 233.72%

48. Tarte The Best For Lash 4 Piece Deluxe Eye Set
Contains:
0.14 oz Deluxe MultiplEYE Lash Enhancing Primer, approximate retail value $9.63
0.16 oz Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara, retail value $10
0.16 oz Deluxe Lights, Camera, Flashes Statement Mascara, approximate retail value $11.35
0.002 oz Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes Inner Rim Liner, approximate retail value $4.22
Sephora's Stated Value: $46
Actual Value: $35.20
Total Cost: $15
Percent: 234.67%

49. Smashbox Try It Kit
Contains:
0.25 oz Photo Finish Foundation Primer, approximate retail value $9
0.02 oz Photo Finish Lid Primer, approximate retail value $5
0.03 oz Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx, approximate retail value $14.25
0.14 oz Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black, approximate retail value $7.18
0.14 oz Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume, approximate retail value $13.30
Sephora's Stated Value: $52
Actual Value: $48.73
Total Cost: $19
Percent: 256.47%

50. Benefit Cosmetics You Go Gals
Contains:
0.25 oz That Gal Primer, approximate retail value $19.59
0.25 oz The Porefessional, retail value $10
0.25 oz Girl Meets Pearl, approximate retail value $18.75
Sephora's Stated Value: $49
Actual Value: $48.34
Total Cost: $18
Percent: 268.56%

51. Sephora Favorites Lash Stash To Go
Contains:
0.17 oz Too Faced Cosmetics Better Than Sex Mascara, approximate retail value $14.48
0.135 oz Lancôme HYPNÔSE DRAMA Mascara, approximate retail value $16.88
0.16 oz Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara, approximate retail value $13.33
0.08 oz Blinc Inc. Blinc Mascara, approximate retail value $9.90
0.18 oz Bare Minerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara in Intense Black, approximate retail value $8.77
Voucher for full-size featured mascara, retail value $18 to 27.50
Sephora's Stated Value:
Actual Value: $81.36 - $90.86
Total Cost: $25
Percent: 325.44% - 363.44%

Mean Percent Value: 170.66%



So, how did the VIB Exclusive sets fair?

To compare the VIB/VIB Rouge exclusives and the generally available value sets, I went ahead and did a simple t-test. I found that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, t(63)=0.9322, p=0.3548. Indeed, without the last, high-value kit in the VIB Exclusives Set, which drags up the mean percentage value to 185.80%, the mean percentage value would be lower than the generally available value sets at only 167.61%.

In other words, the mere fact that a kit is VIB/VIB Rouge Exclusive doesn't mean it's any more likely to be a better value. There are high value exclusive sets, but there are also high value sets that are available to anyone.

This doesn't mean that this isn't a perk for VIB/VIB Rouge members, as they are able to purchase both exclusive and non-exclusive sets. It's just means that rushing out and buying a ton of exclusive sets without thinking is likely unwise.

Note: For kits where a range of values was possible, I used the lowest of the values in my statistics.

It's the end of the month, and I'm pretty sure that waiting until June is over to write about a June subscription box means I get a late fine or something.

Here's what I got in Ipsy this month:


For once, I think the bag is pretty darn cute!

Be A Bombshell Lash Out Mascara (full size at 0.25 oz), retail value $15


The Be a Bombshell mascara was the subject of great controversy this month. Early Ipsy receivers balked at the smell that allegedly smelled like something so caustic it would set your lashes on fire.

Thanks, Obama!

Either these people got something way nastier than I did or they are all fucking bloodhounds. Mine smelled like slightly yucky-smelling mascara.

I did use the mascara several times and can confirm that I still have both eyes and most of my other body parts, so take that as you will.

That's not to say that the mascara is any good, though.


The formula leans drier and it just doesn't have any drama. It's kind of like using those disposable mascara wands you find in Sephora-- you just kind of scrape the thing along you lashes and make grumbly noises in dissatisfaction.

Be a Bombshell Mascara on Human Face

It's not the worst mascara I have ever tried, but it really doesn't do a particularly good job.

Ofra Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil (full size at 0.04 oz), retail value $13


The eyebrow pencil I received was a lot better. I sometimes forget that eyebrow pencils have a time and a place because I tend to prefer creamier products, but it's nice to be able go, "Yeah. This is the line where I am going to put my eyebrows. Stay put, brow. Stop having weird, hairless gaps."


The pencil was nice and soft, and the color was good on me. "Universal"? Probably not. I wouldn't recommend it to any blondes who aren't into the "Orlando Bloom as Legolas" look or to anyone with very dark hair. But it's cool and light brown and it will probably look decent on people who want their eyebrows to be cool and light brown.

Ofra Cosmetics Eyebrow Pencil on Human Face

NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brûlée (full size at 0.27 fl oz), retail value $4.99


I was not looking forward to this product when I first got it because the name "Creme Brûlée" is makeup code for "too nude for you, Robyn. Pick a different color."


I will say, though, I didn't hate it nearly as much as I thought that I would. It does nude out my lips a bit, as the color is lighter than my natural lip color, but it's still pink enough that I don't feel the need to roll my eyes at it.


The gloss is sticky, but not dramatically so. It kind of feels like how Elmer's glue might feel immediately after you put it on your lips, before it has had a chance to dry at all.

NYX Creme Brûlée on Human Face

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray (1.52 fl oz), approximate retail value $3.25


I don't know what to say about this because I didn't find that it did anything. Here's my head, though, in case you want to see it:


Realtree For Her Eau de Parfum (estimated 0.15 fl oz), estimated retail value $0.88


This perfume has a vintage "Cherry Blossom Body Spray" kind of vibe to it. In other words, it is perfect for any of you who happen to be a teenager from the 1980s.

Total Box Value: $37.12

Everything all together looks like this:


Overall, I'm pretty happy. Ipsy is cheap at $10 a month, and they send out a lot of "meh" brands, so getting a few duds is par for the course. I'm quite happy with the brow pencil and moderately happy with the lipgloss, and that's good enough.

If you are filled with a desire to join Ipsy, of course, you are welcome to use my referral link by clicking here.

Apparently there has been a shitload of hype about this new Benefit eyeliner contraption. Ever since I admitted that I had missed the hype due to literally never checking my email (apologies to literally anyone who has ever sent me an email), friends have been sending me photos of giant billboards and shit advertising this new gel liner.

Well, I own it. So I guess I should tell you about it.


I find the name a little bit baffling since it doesn't make any sense in the context of an eyeliner. The idea behind the name for Benefit's "They're Real" mascara is "I am not wearing falsies. These are my real eyelashes that have been manually made more evident by mascara, but nothing is glued to my face."'They're real' because they are not false eyelashes.

This eyeliner really shines, though, in giving you a decent-looking cat eye. I don't know what a "fake" cat eye would be, since all attempts to glue eyeliner to my face have ended in tragedy.


The reason this eyeliner has attracted so much attention is because the concept is relatively unique. Liquid liner pens are a godsend to anyone who can barely draw a straight line or who wants their eyeliner to be as similar to using a Sharpie as possible. Someone at Benefit's product development said, "Hm. I wonder if we could shove gel eyeliner into a similar gizmo and it could kind of ooze out and you could shape it a little or something." So, that's what they made.

When you get the pen, the tip is stopped up by a little traffic-cone orange plug. You pull the fucker out and twist the back a crapload and stop when you finally see some eyeliner coming out.


The tip of the eyeliner is a slanted, rubbery edge and the liner comes out straight from the enter in an incredibly phallic way, like some black, demonic pre-cum.

I found that, once the product hit the tip, it came out at a really reasonable, controllable rate.


The gel itself is softer than a traditional gel liner by necessity. It's the consistency of a pudding that has been sitting out in the sun for a while. I did not have any issues applying it. I thought the process was really easy and that it gave a great effect.

It does have the classic, matte black gel liner look. It stays on quite nicely, also. It's a "I need makeup remover to get rid of these swatches" kind of liner.


I am not sure it was easier to apply than a traditional gel liner, and I don't think it would be for anyone who doesn't fall to pieces at the thought of using a brush. I do appreciate that it saves me a washing, however.

Here's how it looks on my face:


Come closer, my dear.


…THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH.

Although it certainly gives a nice winged liner effect, I have actually been using it most frequently for tightlining.  I find that gel eyeliner gives the most dramatic, quick-to-apply tightline look, and that this format saves me approximately four seconds in the morning when tightlining compared to conventional gel liner.

I'm not necessarily sure that four seconds per day is worth $24 for most people, though, especially since everything in pen form is teensy tiny. At 0.04oz, this eyeliner is a steep $600 per ounce. Oof.

There are definitely some people who will adore this product. If you are the kind of person who likes things in pen form, you probably will like this, too. I also think it would be AWESOME for carrying with you to do touch-ups, if you are the type of person who leaves the house for reasons other than work. Finally, if you are really lusting after it and you have the cash to justify it, I would probably lean on the "go ahead and buy the damn thing" side. It's a good eyeliner. It works well. The biggest flaw is simply that you don't get a lot of product for your dollar.

The LORAC Pro palette is my favorite neutral palette. When someone asks me, "Which Naked palette should I buy?" I always ask if they have considered the creamy, perfectly-laid out LORAC Pro over Urban Decay's shoddy piles of mediocre grit.

When the LORAC Pro Palette 2 was announced, I was obviously pretty pleased.


The palette is identical in layout to the first iteration, with two rows of eight shadows each: one matte, one shimmer. Instead of a black case, the new guy is housed in a slate gray.


As before, it comes with a mini 0.19 oz of LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, which is a super high-performing eye primer that I have previously reviewed here. This is my everyday primer because it is quite inexpensive per ounce but it does a kickass job.


Although many people have suggested that this palette is a cool-toned alternative to the original LORAC Pro, I feel that the whole shebang is warm as the fucking July sun. Every color leans a little bit yellow.

I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I actually get a bit of an "Old West" feel from the palette, like all the colors have been mixed with a little bit of dust. It's the eyeshadow I would use to paint an all-makeup portrait of Clint Eastwood.



Most of the colors are pretty different from the original palette, save for the matte black hanging out in the top right of each. The only other colors I might compare are Taupe (from the original) and Light Brown (from LORAC 2), which are similar in shade but differ in undertone. (Taupe is much cooler.)

LORAC 2 also has slightly more "out there" colors than the original. It reads less like a conventional neutral palette.


I appreciate that LORAC didn't produce two interchangeable eyeshadow collections. Unfortunately, I don't think that the second Pro palette is nearly as well thought out as the first.

The original palette has a really beautiful mix of warm and cool colors, whereas the second version feels like it leans so warm that the versatility of the palette has decreased. I do like warm shades of eyeshadow, even on my cool-toned skin, but it makes the palette feel a little bit one note. There's a level of contrast that you simply can't play with. Even the traditionally cooler colors feel warm for cool colors. Like, the silver shade has an underlying warmth. There is a color that is literally called "Cool Gray" and it's a taupe that's cool for a brown, but warm for a gray. It's not a cool gray. It's a warm gray. The warm nature of the palette is especially prominent among the lighter shades in the palette.

Another issue I had was the lack of highlight shades. In the original palette, I can use White, Cream, Light Pink, Nude, and Champagne all as highlight shades. In this palette, the only shade that is light enough for a true highlight on me is Snow, a frosty white shade that is admittedly beautiful, but certainly can't carry every eye look ever. Y'all know that I use palettes for quite a while before I give you my official opinion. I frequently struggled to use this palette without supplementing from another palette. I think the product designers wanted to avoid having too many similarities between the two products. Unfortunately, they ended up eliminating my ability to create contrast on my eye. The vast majority of the colors in this palette are sort of medium shades.

The quality is definitely there. I feel the shades are beautifully pigmented, blendable, and gorgeous. No problems in terms of caliber. I just don't believe that this is a complete-feeling palette on its own. If you love the colors and feel super inspired them, fucking go for it. For me, though, this palette will only be used to supplement palettes that I already own.

But I bet you still want some goddamn swatches.

Mattes


Buff is a yellow-y light beige.

Light Brown is a warm, well… light brown. It is the color of the coffee poking out from under a cappuccino's foam.

Cool Gray is a grayish taupe. If you are very cool toned and have a light hand, it actually makes a half-decent contour. I never got my hands on Chanel Notorious, but this is kind of what I imagined it might have been like (only more matte, of course). If you're finding that conventional cool-toned contours like NYX Blush in Taupe are too warm and you bought this palette anyways, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Nectar is a rusty peach shade that would have looks like it would have been right at home in a badly decorated house from the 1970s.

Plum is a grayish dark purple.

Navy is a very bright, denim-esque dark blue.

Charcoal is a warm, medium gray.

Black is a black. …yup.

Here are a few looks done with the matte section of the palette (mostly):

Note: I needed help from the shimmery side of the palette to make this look happen.

Shimmers



Snow is a super vibrant, frosty white that, if badly applied, would look straight out of the 1980s, and, if well-applied, looks like ice princess makeup. It's the only shade in the palette that is a successful highlight on me.

Beige is a warm, peach-leaning beige shade.

Rose is a bronzy shade with a ton of pink hiding inside. You've heard of rose gold? This is rose copper.

Mocha is a warm, medium brown.

Chrome is a muddied silver color, like a layer of brown dirt over a pewter knife.

Silver is a super-metallic, disco-ball silver.

Jade is an olive green that looks like it belongs somewhere on a set of camo pajamas.

Cocoa is a reddish medium brown. It's a shimmer, but it's the least shimmery of the shimmers.

Here are a few looks done with the shimmery section of the palette:




I wouldn't discourage eyeshadow collectors from purchasing this palette because, again, fantastic pigmentation, lovely texture, yada yada.

However, if you're like, "Oh, I need a neutral palette and people seem to like these LORAC shadows… maybe I should get the new one!" imagine a buzzer noise and a big thumbs down from me.

If you came into my house and burned all of my eyeshadow palettes tonight, the first palette I would re-purchase would be the original LORAC Pro. The second Pro palette wouldn't even make the list. I could use the original palette every day and give you a new look. The new one? Well, I struggled to make six looks I liked enough for this post. If you are deciding between the two, I would recommend the first version every time.

Both LORAC Pro palettes retail for $42 for 0.32oz of eyeshadow and 0.19oz of eyeshadow primer. If you count the eyeshadow primer as a free gift, that's $131.25 per ounce. The primer mini has an estimated value of about $7.60.

Last month, Julep ran out of box upgrades. This month, I overcompensated by rushing to upgrade without any regard for whether or not I actually wanted the shit in the upgrade at all.

As always, I upgraded with points and would not have paid for the upgrade if I had to spend cold, hard cash that could be otherwise allocated to aquarium supplies, ice cream, or lipstick.

Julep has been taking a crapload longer to ship than it used to. I used to get it either a couple days before the new month and this box anti-climactically showed up in the middle of the month, just like all my other subscription boxes.

Here was my box:


The bonus item this month was a duo of Tootsie Rolls decked out in patriotic colors, which was suitably inoffensive. The childhood Trick-or-Treater in me secretly wishes they were the fruit-flavored Tootsie Rolls, though.


As always, nine polishes. I had to remind myself of the "theme" because the set is pretty eclectic (apparently it's "the Poolside Collection")


The polishes were as follows:

Lorenzana (Boho Glam): I'm pretty sure this is the official "We have run out of names for our polishes" sign from Julep that we've all been waiting for. I only know the name Lorenzana because there was the lady in 2010 who tried to sue Citibank, saying they fired her for being too sexy… but that was her last name. (If you're looking for names, Julep, there's still no 'Robyn'! Hint, hint.) Anyways, this Citibank-appropriate nail polish is being described by Julep as a "Shiitake" despite looking nothing like a mushroom. I'd call it a light, gray-leaning taupe.

Linden (It Girl): This is a smoky-looking bluebird shade.

Vicki (Classic With a Twist): This is an electric flamingo pink.

Braiden (It Girl): This is a dark gray filled with silver glitter.

Beverly (Bombshell): This is the color of blackberry pie filling.

Tamara (Boho Glam): This is a fiery red-orange.

Kelsey (Classic With a Twist): This is the color of peach yogurt. Alternatively, it is also the color of that lipstick that you get and go, "What the hell? I'm never going to wear this."

Lissa (Bombshell): This is a lovely, classic turquoise.

Dawn (It Girl): Is "neon mustard" a color?

Here's Lissa on my nails:


In addition to the polishes, which I actually rather liked, I also got a bunch of other random crap that I should have realized in advance that I would not be interested in.

The first was the biggest problem. I'm pretty accepting of ingredients for most beauty products. One of the few I really try to stay away from, though, is polyethylene (microbeads). I've written about polyethylene as a problem in the past here. Julep likes to bill itself as being a really responsible company, so I'm very surprised that they would choose to add microbeads to a scrub while many states are concurrently taking action to ban the ingredient for environmental reasons. I didn't even open the bottle.


Julep's Body Milk, identically packaged, is very neutral smelling. It just smells like lotion.


The Mint Condition Pedi Cream smells like toothpaste and feels like regular lotion. It does have glycolic acid listed as an ingredient, but it's not clear how much there is. My boyfriend has been using it on his very troubled feet.


Overall, my box was adequate. I should have skipped the super fancy upgrade and gone with a pure nail polish box instead, as the incredibly "meh" body products were hardly unpredictable.

If you want join Julep, you are always welcome to use my referral link by clicking here. The code "FREEBOX" will get you… a free box. It's self-explanatory, really.

"The Price of Sexy: Viewers’ Perceptions of a Sexualized Versus Nonsexualized Facebook Profile Photograph" coming out of Oregon State University is being published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture. A study called "The Price of Sexy"? Time for a disproportionate amount of media attention!

The researchers showed young women two fictitious profile pictures a girl they pretended was named Amanda. Amanda likes reading Twilight, watching the Notebook, and listening to Lady Gaga. The pages differed only in their profile picture. The photos were borrowed with permission from a real girl. One was allegedly "sexy" (her prom picture). One was "not sexy" (her senior photo). In the "sexy" photo, 'Amanda' donned cleavage-bearing red dress with a high slit and a garter belt. In the "not sexy" photo, she wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a scarf.

(This sexy photo is probably not very representative of the typical sexy Facebook photo.)

Perhaps a more typical "sexy" Facebook picture. I asked some friends for their sexy Facebook photos for this post and was asked if it counted as a sexy photo if there was an Elvis impersonator in it.

The researchers then asked 58 high school girls (aged 13-18) and 60 women who were not in high school aged 17-25 to rate Amanda on a scale of one to seven in three aspects:

"I think she is pretty."
"I think she could be a friend of mine."
"I have confidence in her ability to get a job done."

'Boobalicious Amanda' scored worse than 'Wearing-a-Scarf Amanda' on all three.

The researchers conclude, then, that having "sexy photos" causes people to perceive you as looking uglier, being socially undesirable, and being incompetent.

I conclude that you can probably just keep whatever your current Facebook profile picture is.

Why? In psychology, there are two kinds of validity that are crucial when designing a study. One is called internal validity and one is called external validity.

Internal validity essentially means that we're looking at the things we think we are looking at. If we conclude that "sexy pictures make people think you are incompetent", the 'cause' really needs to be "sexiness" and not something else. The easiest way to make this happen is to manipulate a single variable. Unfortunately, "sexiness" is a variable that is really difficult to manipulate, which is why there are a shitload of things that changed between these two pictures. Because so many things changed, there are lots of plausible explanations for the lower scores given to Boobalicious Amanda. Maybe people thought her red dress was ugly. Maybe people with prom pictures as their profile photos seem less mature than people who have a more generic picture. Maybe Wearing-a-Scarf Amanda's scarf was super stylin'. Because we can probably come up with a gazillion plausible explanations, the study is pretty low in internal validity. A study that was higher in internal validity might have manipulated two photos to be identical save for level of cleavage shown, for example, and used cleavage as a proxy for sexiness.

External validity is the extent to which findings can be generalized to other situations. We know that 13-year-old girls didn't like Boobalicious Amanda. Does that mean that potential employers (early high schoolers are definitely not potential employers) give a shit about your sexy photo, which likely does not involve a low-cut red dress with a slit and a visible garter belt? They might. But this study says nothing about it. It's often stated that, in psychology, there is a trade-off between internal and external validity. Sadly, this study was lacking in both departments. A study that was higher in external validity might have used a crapload of different "sexy" or "not sexy" photos that actually reflect the kind of sexy photos people take, and would have used a variety of different profiles. Maybe someone who likes Margaret Atwood and Rilo Kiley would be given more boob-related leeway than someone who likes Twilight and Lady Gaga. Maybe beach bikini sexy photos are seen as less weird than random garters on teenagers, so they are more acceptable sexy photos. (And, if they want to talk about the consequences with anyone who is not a teenage girl, they definitely would have used some non-teenage girls.)

Alternative headline for the media covering this study: High School Girls Really Don't Like Amanda's Garter Belt.

Although there is some level of common sense to the idea that you shouldn't fill your profile with pictures of yourself smoking pot while wearing a thong, we can't use this study as evidence that you can't post a picture with a little cleavage.

Researcher Elizabeth Daniels pushes her results even farther, telling ladies to change their profile pictures by not "focus[ing] so heavily on appearance… Focus on who you are as a person and what you do in the world." The thing is, that's not what the study shows at all. Wearing-a-Scarf Amanda isn't rock climbing in her senior photo. She's just sitting there doing nothing and people thought she was pretty competent and attractive. Daniels is just telling you what she wants your profile picture to be. Moreover, she's telling you it's your responsibility to prevent other teens from unfairly judging you because they don't like your prom picture.

(Luckily, she doesn't get to pick what goes on your profile.)