Friend, I’m hoping you can help me through this bout of grade-A writer’s block by forgiving me for rambling and blabbering on (more than usual) while I slog my way through it.
Truth is, after 8,729 posts about makeup (seriously, that’s how many posts I’ve done)…sometimes you run out of new ways to say, “This is (or isn’t) a pretty kick-@ss palette.”
First, this was supposed to be a post about Bobbi Brown’s new limited edition $80 Twilight Pink Lip & Eye Palette, but whether it ends up being that or something else, we’re about to find out.
Ha! I made myself laugh…
At least that’s a start. 🙂
So, back to the palette. It’s new for the holidays, houses 10 powder eyeshadows in a mix of matte, shimmer and glitter finishes; four sheer lip colors and two tiny brushes (which, eh, are just OK).
See, here’s the good thing about wearing smokey eyes…
Uh…I don’t even know what I’m talking about. I’m just going to sit here and move my fingers until I think of something to say.
I warn you — it might take a while.
Alright, Karen, what’s the most surprising thing about this palette?
Gosh, Karen, I don’t know. I keep trying to think of a snappy intro, like, I could make a joke about Twilight, the movie, or maybe say something about the lack of warmth in the palette.
Gawd, my hand is throbbing… This is what I get for not cleaning the floors. I actually fell, slow motion, in my office today, and the lamest thing of all was that I was barely moving when it happened. I was just walking slowly to my chair.
Honestly, it’s a miracle the bookshelf didn’t fall on me.
I guess we can just file that under “Not-So-Exciting Things That Happened Today.”
As for things filed under “Good Things That Happened Today,” I did a dark smokey eye with this palette, and it didn’t turn out half bad.
Maybe I should talk about the palette now…
OK, the palette, the palette, the palette! It’s by Bobbi Brown, new for holiday, WOOTY TOOT TOOT! Bobbi Brown’s new limited edition holiday palette features 10 powder eyeshadows and four lip colors housed in one sleek mirrored kit. There are also two mini brushes included as well for on-the-go touch-ups.
I HATE THAT WORD FEATURED. I HATE THAT WORD HOUSED. I HATE FEATURED, HOUSED, BOASTS, OFFERS, because I would never, ever say any of those words in casual conversation. Holy sh*t, this is angry, angry typing. I can barely see straight.
Anyway, new palette, new for holiday. It’s got a lot of cool-toned colors.
Oh, boy, I’m not going to be able to use any of this at all. Keep breathing, don’t freak out, pretend you’re just talking to Jen.
I guess I would tell her that most of the colors are very cool-toned, with a couple of neutrals. Not a lot here for people in the warmer skin tone department.
I hate that word, “department.”
It’s a nice kit. What does nice mean? Nobody knows what nice means.
What would I say to Jen?
She’d probably ask me what I was wearing and say something nice like, “I like your eye makeup. What are you wearing?”
It’s a new holiday kit by Bobbi Brown, so if you like it you should go now to the counter because holiday stuff usually sells out fast, and if you wait until December, you never know if it’ll still be there. That’s how it is in the makeup world. You’re literally celebrating Christmas in July sometimes. OK, maybe not in July, but October and November.
Since you have such warm skin tone, I don’t know if I’d recommend this for you. Most of the colors in the kit (at least the eyeshadows) are cool-toned. There are some neutrals, like the shimmery gold and matte brown, but you may not love the rest of them.
Or, you could take the neutral shades and warm them up by mixing them with the other colors. Does that make sense? Don’t be afraid to mix the eyeshadows together. I’ve seen makeup artists do it all the time at the counter. It’s actually kind of fun. It’s what I did with this look here. I did a lot of double-dipping of my brushes.
I’d take a brush, swirl it in one pan, then swirl it in another, and then pop that on an eye.
Anyway, if you’re going for a high-fashion, very dark eye — not the palette for you. This one’s more for everyday smokey eyes, something like I’m wearing here. Even the darkest color in the pan isn’t that dark. It’s actually super sheer, which is good if you’re scurred of dark colors or if you want to wear smokey eyes but don’t want to look like a panda. With sheer shades, you can work your way up in layers. It’s easier to start with a little color and build up than to start with a ton of color and sheer down.
Gosh! The lip colors. I just realized that I haven’t talked at all about them. Really, though, they seem like an afterthought. All pretty sheer. Eh, they’re nice enough.
Your friendly (but frustrated) neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
haha This was fun to read. Sometimes I read your blog and think to myself “Good god, how does she write so much about makeup 24/7. I could never do that”. You’re only human for getting writer’s block every now and then. This eye and lip palette seemed kinda “eh” anyway.
The eye look you did is gorgeous! You may have writer’s block, but you sure don’t have eyeshadow…using…block…okay, there’s no way to make that sentence work. 😀
I feel like I always want to buy the Bobbi Brown palettes because they’re so wearable and sophisticated, but when I’m actually doing my makeup, I’m disappointed in the lack of intensity. I like my neutrals to be vibrant, shimmery neutrals, you know?
While I’m sure you were frustrated when you were writing this, you made me smile the whole way through. Chin up, Karen, you’re doing just fine even when you’re having writers block. You’re the most relatable beauty writer out there.
Fellow writer… I relate to everything in this post, especially the cliches. I find it odd that BB is using so many pink tones in her eye palettes lately. Without a fair amount of prepping and priming, pink makes eyes look red. Not a good look on my uber-fair face.
LOL! I never realized the grueling nature of your work until now. Your post reminded me of papers I wrote in college…angsty and gritty, but meaningful nonetheless. I’ll pass on the palette, but I’ll never quit you!
Dear Karen, although I cannot really relate because writing has never been my forte, your writing is always so creative and out of the box. Your posts are never just reviews, they tell stories and that’s why I love your blog. Even this post was extremely funny and I kept smiling all the way till the end. I’m sure your writing forces will come back to you soon. Hang in there.
Oh and about make up, your smokey eye looks beautiful. I actually like this toned down version. And your straightened hair looks beautiful.
Hi Karen,
You are writing beautifully, and I kind of enjoy seeing a little more of the background thoughts you have when youre writing. Dont worry! Its hump day, all downhill from here. This palette looks pretty okay, but nothing great honestly. Thank you so much for the review!
I’m not sure whether to start off with “Aw” or “Ha ha”…this post was a fun read even though I could practically hear your frustration throughout!
I think blogging as a career presents some interesting challenges. People rarely spend their entire careers in the same position, but with blogging, you’re not getting promoted, you can’t switch companies, etc. And bloggers rarely take lengthy time away from the blog. It can be a challenge to self-generate that “freshness” you might be craving.
It sounds like you might be a little fatigued with makeup reviewing, which is normal. My advice would be to take a break. Step away from the computer, don’t try to write any posts, focus on other things. Take a few days, take a week, take two, whatever you need. We’ll be here when you get back!
(P.S. Sorry for the TL;DR response!)
Woah, that black is really pigmented.
You might hate certain words but I love the way you have a way with words even with writers block. I really enjoyed reading this post. And omg! You have actually written 8k+ posts!!!!
This palette didnt excite me at all but you do look very pretty. Straight hair looks lovely on you 🙂
See 🙂 Writer’s block disappeared already! U r rocking this post 🙂 Awww and You are loooking sooo pretty karen , seriously!!
I really enjoyed this post…because it felt real! so real! I liked that you were honest and told us that you get sick of beauty blogging sometimes and reviewing eye shadow day in and day out. I totally get it. I hope you don’t get too frustrated because your my favorite blogger–your funny, sassy, clever and real. I like that you have character in your blog. I do agree with the other ladies, maybe a break would be helpful? You deserve it and allow yourself that time to recharge. You sound a little burnt out which happens to everyone when you do something your passionate about, sometimes you put so much energy in you have nothing left. I hope you take a break and maybe explore some new things to blog about. Your readers love you! By mixing in posts about fashion, music, books, movies, etc and posts about life in general will only enhance your page. I know this is a beauty blog but I love your non-beauty posts even more! People love the real side of you, not just the side that is given Sh$# tons of free makeup to review with hopefully a positive bias ;). Keep being real, keep being you and take a freaking break before you throw this BB palette out the window!
P.S. all of this coming from a future therapist 🙂
I agree with the comments above. Your blog is always so fun and entertaining. I enjoy it every day. Take a break if you need it but I hope you don’t get too discouraged. I think you’re great!
For having writer’s block, this post was pretty amusing. I’ve been blogging for just over two years with WAY less frequency and several extended breaks and I have no idea how you do it. I start feeling this way after a month.
If it helps, I find trying something new helps sometimes. Grab an indie polish brand you’ve never tried or write a post that has nothing to do with makeup and see if that freshens things up. Have a cute cat contest for your readers. Winner gets 10 lb bag of catnip. I’m saying that because my adorable cat really likes catnip. 🙂
Jokes aside, good luck!
Hi Karen! I am new to the makeup world, and I find your blog really entertaining…never a dull moment! 🙂 If you are searching for things to write about, can I suggest a few posts talking about technical makeup application mistakes you’ve learned during your blogging career? As in “don’t blend this way,” “avoid these types of ingredients”, etc.? You have such a way with words, and the tutorials you have posted in the past are fantastic! I’m so glad I found your blog- keep up the great work!
I thought about this long and hard but didn’t really want the lip products. And now I’m holding out to see if Naked 3 is real, because if it is, it’s my kind of thing.
The palette is quite skippable as most of the shades appear similar including lip colors.. but u manhaged to pull off a pretty look with this.. 🙂
8k+.. thats really something .. Congos girl.. the writer’s block 😀 :D.. i liked it .. lovely post 😉
Babe, I hear you. Trying to find different ways to say the same thing is not as easy as it seems *HUG* I write for a living and I have days where I tell my desk “desk, meet face”. I’m so tempted to get this Ostrich pillow actually (http://www.ostrichpillow.com/) for such days.
One thing that always works for me is to write points instead of paragraphs, then go for a walk or grab a latte outside, come back and try to connect the points to create paragraphs. But that’s easy for factual writing, where you have very few things you can say 🙂 Creative writing is a whole different ballgame. *HUG* Hang in there.
I loved reading this! You are great at what you do and its always nice to see (or in this case, read about) a different side of you. Keep up the great work!!
Anyways, the palette, nice but I could do without the lip colours.
The smokey eye look you created with those colors is quite impressive. Nice palette for a cool toned, lighter (whiter) lassie. Your angry typing made me laugh! Thanks for keeping it real.
You’ll work through it Karen! I read your blog every day and think you’re amazing for keeping it so creative! Like someone above said – take a couple days off if you need and change things up a bit -it’s important to recharge your creative batteries. Sending good vibes 🙂
LOVED this post. You describe the writing process so well. Thanks for writing such creative, entertaining, and informative posts. I don’t blame you for hitting a wall with this palette.The palette itself seems uninspired. There’s nothing about it that says “twilight.” These shades don’t lend themselves to creating multiple looks. Despite having many products, it seems that the looks one can achieve are: a) shimmery eyes and pink cheeks; b) shimmery eyes with slight smokey effect and pink cheeks. I hope Bobbi’s next palette will have more contrasting shades, and a balance between warm and cool offerings.
My favorite post yet! Hilarious. I’m a writer too, I feel ya. Thanks for putting this out there for us!
That was such a fun post to read. Really understanding the process of writing. Thank you for taking the courage to post it even though it may have been a little bit of “crazy talk”. My favorite part about your blog is how personal and relatable you are. Thank you, for being you.
Best blog post ever! EVER! How many times can you say the same thing?! How many times can beauty companies push the same thing?! Having had to write a large thesis, papers and other bits I totally understand your pain. This was gold. Thank you Karen!
I agree with all of the above! I can tell you were frustrated and I applaud your honesty and sense of humor. Best beauty blog out there and i would really miss it if it were gone.
Is it just me or are most Bobbi Brown palettes sheer, cool toned, geared more towards paler complexions?
This post right here is why I’m reading. I love your honesty! (The makeup looks great too.)
I have been reading your blog for nearly a year now, though I only started commenting recently. I love you! I’ll help you out here. For us NC42ers, this palette is bloody awful. Skippety-skip.
oh wow 8700+ posts and I’ve just found you!