Beauty Blogs Backstage for May – LiAnn of Sparklecrack Central

For the month of May I’ve been paired up again with LiAnn of SparkleCrack Central! If you’ve never been to her site, check it out because she’s amazing at cataloging colors. You can read her interview of me here.

1. What’s the most high end product that you use and love?

I’ve only dabbled in makeup, compared with a lot of folks, so I don’t know that I have too many high-end products. Beauty products that cost upwards of $40 are not something I’m going to pay for unless I *know* it works for me. That said, I think the single most expensive product I own and love is UDPP in the tube.

2. What high end brand do you feel is overrated?

Just about all of them, at some point or another. BE has some great products, I love their eyeshadows, but their foundation is not a great value. Yet tell people that you love some of their products but think their skincare and foundation are kind of sad, and you’re asking for a world of hurt. Urban Decay has some products that I like, but the ones that everyone raves about – the eye pencils – are about the same quality as Sephora’s Flashy Liner pencils, which cost less than half what UD charges.

3. What is your favorite low end brand?

Overall, I’d say probably Sally Hansen. I’ve used several of their nail polishes and skincare stuff, and they’re pretty good. There are some things that aren’t such a great value…but that happens with just about every brand, I think. I would have said “NYX” a week ago, but they’ve gone and pulled a stupid, so…mneh. The company still has several products that are both decent quality and fairly inexpensive, but the company needs to get over themselves and Do Things Right.

4. What mineral makeup company do you feel everyone should try?

Depends on what they’re looking for. I love Meow’s foundation, and they have some great eyeshadows, but they’ve also got some eyeshadows that are fainter or less adhesive than I’d prefer. Shiro has colors that are amazing, but thus far the product lineup is eyeshadows, a few blushes, and one lippie collection – still has room to grow. Fyrinnae has some stunning and unique eyeshadows (I don’t actually own Feline Familiars…yet,) but if they’re having a Bad Month, ordering from them can be a lot of hassle – and I really hate sending people to buy from companies who don’t make that experience as easy and straightforward as possible.

5. Do you think mineral makeup is a fad?

No, I don’t think it’s a fad. Fads tend to come and go, while trends increase and decrease in popularity, usually in cycles. I think mineral makeup is a trend, rather than a fad. It will diminish in popularity, as more companies start seeing that people want minimal-ingredient makeup and either change their formulas, or start offering some genuine minimal-ingredient makeup (and don’t get me started on Revlon’s “mineral” makeup that’s anything but). And of course there will be indies for a long time. (Short hair is a trend – one that seems to come back around every five or six years, regardless of the season. Parachute pants are a fad, one that thankfully doesn’t seem to be coming back around.)

6. What game have you been playing the most lately?

Sadly, lately, the “pester the HOA board to fix the drainage” game. Which is a sucky game, by the way. The win conditions are always changing. And there’s never ever the promise of cake. (I want cake!! Or the drainage fixed. Or preferably both.)

7. Have you ever cosplayed?

No, I haven’t. I’ve never had much patience for costuming (the creation, being aware of how you move so that you don’t break anything or rip anything or damage bystanders if you’ve got a costume with projections,) and the acting bug has never caught me; so while I like RPGs and worldbuilding, cosplay has always seemed more work than fun. Then again, that’s probably what a lot of folks think about blogging and coding, and I actually love both of those activities.

Share/Bookmark