I have super sensitive skin, so once I find a product that works for me I really stick with it. I also have pretty dry skin, but in the summer, I try to keep things lighter. The following products are what I’ve really been loving for the summer:
Bliss Makeup Melt is my all-over makeup remover. It doesn’t sting my skin and does a solid job of taking my makeup (minus waterproof mascara) off. It’s cruelty-free and relatively cheap, so I definitely plan on keeping it in rotation.
Pacifica Sea Foam Cleanser is the only facial cleanser I’ve used that doesn’t irritate my skin. It’s a little pricier for drugstore skincare, but because it’s cruelty-free I don’t mind spending a little bit more. The face wash doesn’t do much more than cleanse, but it’s enough for me.
Pixi’s Glow Tonic is hands-down my favorite new skincare discovery. To me, it has a mildly rosy scent, but the real kicker is the absolute magic it does for my skin. I’m not even sure what exactly it’s intended purpose is, but within a few days of using it, my skin was significantly more radiant and even-toned.
CeraVe’s Moisturizing Cream is the only product whose cruelty-free status I’m unsure of, but after a long winter it did wonders for my skin. Alternatively, though, if I want something light I opt for an avocado or almond oil in place of a traditional moisturizer.
I recently realized that almost every eyeshadow color I owned looked awful on me. Because I have dark brown eyes, rather than making my eyes pop, coral-y and orange-y colors made me look like I had just finished crying. So, for a while, I just stopped wearing eyeshadow entirely.
However, this changed when one day I purchased some purple eyeshadows, “Daddy” and “Issa,” on a whim. I’ve bought several Colourpop eyeshadows in the past and I absolutely love their formula, but these two shades are like nothing I’ve ever used. “Daddy” is slightly paler, more Easter-y purple, which is something I would usually shy away from, but when I put it on my eyes I was absolutely stunned. “Issa” is a deep, warm-toned plum color with a blueish glitter reflex, and it looks absolutely gorgeous in combination with Colourpop’s “Hammered.”
I actually did a look with "Issa" for a banquet party about a week ago. I applied it over the lid with some deeper purples from an old L'Oréal palette. My outfit consisted of a purple-y color scheme with hints of emerald green throughout the details. Since "Issa" already has somewhat of a blue-greeny reflex, as I mentioned earlier, I decided to take "Donna" (also by Colorupop) and lightly tap it over my lid in order to intensify that green hue, and I absolutely loved it! Both of these eyeshadows are my new favorites and have paved the way for a long love affair with purple on my eyes.
For the longest time I’ve been searching for cruelty-free haircare but after trying Dr. Bronner’s shampoo, which essentially turned my hair to straw, I was a little skeptical to try something new. But, the last time I was at the mall, I decided to give Lush’s shampoo a try. After getting some help from the employees at the shop, I settled on Montalbano. I’m a huge fan of anything lemony, so I was sold on the scent right away, but I was also pleased with the recommendation for oily roots. Even after making the purchase though, I was slightly nervous as to how my hair would react to a solid shampoo. Despite my skepticism, I was pleasantly surprised! While in the shower my hair felt a little sticky, but as soon as I stepped out it was completely fine. I love the smell of the shampoo and it genuinely makes my hair feel clean. And, as a plus, I learned from the Lush employees that because a shampoo bar lasts about 90 washes, it’s the equivalent of about 3 bottles of shampoo. By using a shampoo bar in place of a traditional liquid shampoo, you can significantly cut the amount of waste you leave behind. This, combined with the way the Montalbano makes my hair feel truly has converted me to the way of shampoo bars.
If you’ve ever wanted your heart to smush like a balloon with the air let out, I’d recommend falling in love with a friend. If that kind of masochism isn’t enough for you, it might also be helpful to simultaneously friendzone one another. Hold each other, press your lips against one another, but remain just friends. Reach new heights of intimacy, but struggle to define anything. Acknowledge that you’re one another’s soulmates, but still mention in passing just how cute the new kid in your class is.
As long as you don’t give your relationship a name, it does not exist. In a society where we place the highest value on language, we cannot see the things we do not have a word for; like the Greeks who did not have a name for the color blue, we have no title for the relationship that lies between friend and lover. The problem with such a fixation on labels is that the lack thereof indicates a lack of commitment: just like we all assume that a relationship between a boyfriend and girlfriend is more volatile than that between husband and wife, the relationship between people who are unable to define their relationship is the most volatile.
For as long as you choose to walk the precarious line between being nothing and being something, you are asking to fall into the chasm that threatens open beneath your feet and swallow you whole. And when you do fall, there is no net to catch you. When the relationship ends, almost inevitably because there is nothing keeping you together—not the law, a lease, or even just public knowledge of your existence, you are left grasping at nothing. If you chose not to mention the more-than platonic nature of your friendship to your other friends, there is no one to lean on when your relationship becomes suddenly less-than amicable. If you chose to keep the secrecy of your indulgence buried in depths of your chest, there are no statuses to update or photos to delete, to burn. When a relationship that was never really a relationship ends, there is no roadmap for moving on.
To the people who knew you as what you were at the core, just friends, there is no problem. Why don’t you just tell them how you feel? Tell them you miss them; you want them back. Would you tell your ex how much you missed them? Drop to your knees and beg for them after they dumped you? No, because you still have some dignity left. For everyone who suspected there was something more from the start, there is nothing to say because there is nothing to be salvaged. Because we were lovers, we can no longer be friends; because we were never truly friends or lovers, we can no longer be either.
I wish I could have you back as any of the above.
If I could go back in time,
I’d sit in the November chill of your car in the parking lot
And pray instead this time that the car would not start
I’d fold my hands to match my origami heart and beg to stay in your old-ass car a little longer
Just to have you a little bit longer
I want to hear your excuses just one last time, tell me why this time — just this one time — you
couldn’t figure out how to drive
I’d sit in that parking lot all night if it meant sitting there with you
I’d sit on the curb in the cold, waiting for a tow
I wish your stupid car had never started and that we were still sitting in that parking lot, the sky
permanently frozen in the yellow-blue haze before the sun drops out of the sky
