Weekend Looks: City Color Cosmetics and Fyrinnae

I mentioned in my post last week that I placed another Fyrinnae order because I wanted to get the Pixie Epoxy that is supposed to be used under many Fyrinnae shadows, and I also purchased a few additional shadows in the order because I had enjoyed the other shadows so much. 

Apart from these new singles, I realized that I had gone through all the individually packaged singles in my collection. There are, of course, many single Makeup Geek shadows that are in custom palettes, but I have pretty much gone through all my singles. The only one really left was one from City Color Cosmetics that I hadn't been able to use yet. 

So, for the weekend, I decided to use that and a new shadow from Fyrinnae. 

Below are the two looks I did this weekend.

Look 1: City Color Cosmetics Beach Cottage

Beach Cottage on the lid and Juvia's Place Zobo blended into the crease

Look 2: Fyrinnae Serendipity

Serendipity on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), Becca Ombre Rouge 3 blended into the crease, and Fyrinnae Saharan Princess padded onto the outer corner. 

City Color Cosmetics Beach Cottage

Status: Keep, for now

A while back, I bought four of the City Color Cosmetics Shimmer Shadows, and I absolutely love them. Considering that these are $5 each for foiled shadows, my expectations were pretty low, despite the fact that Temptalia has given most of the shades an "A" rating. I have been blown away by the quality of these shadows, and if I didn't have a stupidly large eyeshadow collection as is, I would definitely be tempted to purchase more. 

I really loved how Beach Cottage looked and performed on the lid, but I have it in the "keep, for now" category because, while I love it, I also have two other golden green foiled shadows. And really, how many of that specific kind of color does someone need? I swatched all three of the shadows in question to see how similar they are:

From left: City Color Cosmetics Beach Cottage, Juvia's Place Mali (from the Masquerade palette), and Makeup Geek Typhoon. 

To me, Beach Cottage looks like the combination of Typhoon and Mali. I like all three shades, and I do feel they are all different enough for me to keep. I will, however, pay attention to how often these shadows are used and will eliminate some if I don't feel I am using them enough. 

I paired Beach Cottage with Zobo because Zobo is one of the prettiest shadows ever, I think, and works exceptionally well in the crease with strong green, blue, and purple shadows. I really enjoyed the combination and thought the look was pretty. 

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Before I discuss Serendipity, I want to talk about Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy. I have a few thoughts on this. One, and I just have to say this, I don't really like that I needed to buy a second product to make some Fyrinnae shadows work. I feel like if another product is required for the first product to work, then that crucial product should be included in the order at no additional charge. I use a primer whenever I wear eyeshadow, so it does feel high maintenance to add another step just to make Fyrinnae shadows work. 

With that said, I was very pleased with the results of this product. I've read that it can be used as a mixing medium to "foil" other shadows as well. I've never really been a foiling person or a person who uses shadows wet. I'm just way too lazy for that. I much prefer when a shadow works just fine as is, over primer, and applied with a brush. 

I used Pixie Epoxy as recommended by one of my readers. I put a tiny dab on the center of each eyelid after priming and smoothed it over the part of the lid I knew I would apply the shadow. For me, that was the just the lid. I then waited a few seconds until the product was a little tacky and applied the shadow. 

The effect was really beautiful and I am glad that I have the Pixie Epoxy as well as the Fyrinnae shadows. But, I can see how this would be a bit high maintenance for others and not really worth it. 

Fyrinnae Serendipity

Status: Love

When researching which Fyrinnae shadows were universally loved, I heard about Serendipity probably a little more than Rapunzel Had Extensions. And when I looked up swatches, I thought, "... So?" I just didn't get it. It looked like any normal bronze shadow to me. And while I am a person who generally likes to ignore/dispel hype, there was something about the hype around this indie shadow from a brand that I don't hear most mainstream people on YouTube talk about that really piqued my interest. What I mean is that Makeup Geek, Morphe, Juvia's Place, Coloured Raine, Violet Voss, Costal Scents, Colourpop, etc. are all technically "indie" makeup brands. But they are widely talked about on YouTube and many makeup blogs. Fyrinnae is a brand that I have heard about only in discussions about indie makeup outside of the "mainstream" brands I listed above. So, this isn't Too Faced or Tarte or Anastasia Beverly Hills hype, this is something totally different. And that was interesting to me. 

When Serendipity arrived and I swatched it on the back of my hand with no primer or Pixie Epoxy, I could see that the color was not what I thought it would be (and not at all what it looked like in the pictures I had seen), but it was also pretty sheer and therefore not that interesting. I was feeling a little doubtful as I applied the Pixie Epoxy onto my lids and went to apply Serendipity, but man, was I pleased with the result. 

The color of this shadow is unlike anything that I have seen before, but it is also very neutral. I feel I could wear this to work with no problem. It is just lovely. And I have to say, after using this shadow, I have to laugh at all the crap that gets hyped in the beauty community. Sweet Peach, Modern Renaissance, Master Palette by Mario, anything by Kylie Cosmetics—they just don't hold a candle to how I feel about the shadows I have tried from Fyrinnae. The colors are just so interesting, and in all those palettes, I feel like the only thing interesting is the combination of colors, packaging, and the name. There is something so refreshing about a makeup company that is under the radar for the most part and just puts out cool, beautiful shadows. No gimmicks. No manufactured hype. No paying people to shill their stuff. Just good products at normal prices. It's sad that it seems so novel to me. But I like it. 

This Week's Looks: Kat Von D, Bare Minerals, Viseart, Too Faced

The looks I did this week were made up of a mishmash of items. I'd like to say there was a rhyme or reason behind anything I used, but I basically just used whatever I felt like using. For the most part, the commonality was that these were shadows that I had not used in a while.

Here are four looks I did last week.

Look 1: Kat Von D Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck on the lid and Inglot shadows blended into the crease. 

Look 2: Viseart Boheme Dream

5 on the lid, Physician's Formula Classic Nudes quad blended into the crease, and 9 padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 3: Bare Minerals Skinny Dip and Velvet Pecan

(Left: Velvet Pecan, Right: Skinny Dip)

Skinny Dip on the lid and Velvet Pecan blended into the crease.

Look 4: Too Faced Cafe au Lait and Almond Truffle

(Top left: Cafe au Lait, Bottom right: Almond Truffle)

Cafe au Lait on the lid and Almond Truffle blended into the crease.

Kat Von D Thunderstruck

Status: Keep, really enjoy 

Kat Von D Thunderstruck is a really fun eyeshadow. The reason I first bought it, interestingly enough, was because I was trying duplicate Too Faced Satin Sheets. I've written a couple of times of my love for Satin Sheets, and when I first swatched Thunderstruck, I thought it was going to be a dead ringer for Satin Sheets. It's not. But it's in a related family and is still really pretty. 

I swatched three shades on my hand, two of which I used this week, to show the true color. Because these shades are all kind of duochrome, the color gets completely washed out when I take the pictures of my eye. The swatches below are much more accurate in terms of color. 

From left: Kat Von D Thunderstruck, Too Faced Satin Sheets, and Bare Minerals Skinny Dip

Thunderstruck and Satin Sheets are both "white gold," in my opinion, but Satin Sheets is a little more yellow than white. I like the way Satin Sheets looks all over the lid better than Thunderstruck, but I still really enjoy Thunderstruck. I think it gives my eyes a nice fresh, glowy look. Thunderstruck is also lovely as a face highlight. 

Viseart Boheme Dream

Status: Favorite

I really enjoy this palette. I could easily write a blog post about why people don't need to buy it, but I did, and I enjoy it. I think there are absolutely substitute palettes out there, and I think the repetition of the pink, blue, and green shades can be a little overkill, especially in a palette that is so expensive. But, since I have it in my collection and I enjoy it, I use it. Interestingly, I had never actually used the "neutral" side of the palette before, and I really loved it. Viseart shadows glide on like a dream, but the color that I used certainly was nothing revolutionary. 

Bare Minerals Skinny Dip

Status: Keep and enjoy

Bare Minerals Velvet Pecan

Status: Favorite 

I really love Skinny Dip on me, and I especially love it paired with Velvet Pecan. The pictures of my eye don't do Skinny Dip any justice. The flash completely washed it out, but the above swatch is a pretty accurate depiction of it. If the light isn't hitting it, it looks invisible, but when the light does hit it, it is a beautiful iridescent pink shade. 

Velvet Pecan is one of my favorite shadows of all time. I wasn't a huge fan of it being a loose shadow, but I am not as hung up on that detail anymore. This is the perfect crease shade for my skin tone, and I love it. The only issue is that I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere. I bought it and Skinny Dip at a Bare Minerals outlet store in California over the summer, and I haven't seen them offered anywhere else since. 

Too Faced Cafe au Lait

Status: Keep and enjoy

Too Faced Almond Truffle

Status: Favorite

I wrote a post earlier in the week about depotting Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons. I realized that while the entire palette was usable and could create pretty looks, I only really loved five shadows. And I bought the entire thing for those five shadows while telling myself that the rest were completely suitable. But I wasn't really wanting to reach for Chocolate Bon Bons after I used it in one week, one palette, and that was because the palette on the whole didn't excite me. It was just those five shadows. And since depotting those shadows, I was really aching to use to them again. The look I did with Cafe au Lait and Almond Truffle was one of my favorite looks from that palette and one of my favorite looks last week. 

Decluttering and Depotting: Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons and Juvia's Place Masquerade

During my one week, one palette challenge, I used and thoroughly enjoyed the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons and Juvia's Place Masquerade palettes. I felt confident and happy keeping them in my collection. But as I have been really drawn to singles lately, I've been scrutinizing my palettes to really see if I love the entire thing or if I just love pieces of it. 

With both of these palettes, I realized I just love pieces. 

Typically when I've made the decision to declutter something, I just declutter and don't look back. If there is a "special" shade in a palette, I see if I can try to duplicate it in my collection or just buy the single shadow. 

I've mentioned before my love affair with Too Faced Satin Sheets. I've had it in three palettes, and I've decluttered all three. And every time I declutter, I think I won't miss Satin Sheets. I'll remind myself that I have a ton of shadows and I'll be fine. And each time, I miss Satin Sheets. And because Too Faced is, frankly, obnoxious and doesn't sell singles, there is no way that I could get this shadow outside of a palette.

Almond Truffle is also another favorite shadow of mine in this palette, and I know that if I didn't have it, I would sincerely miss it.

Those aren't the only two shadows I love in this palette, but they are certainly favorites of mine. And I suppose because there are a few other shadows that I love and then plenty of shadows that are totally fine, I decided I liked the palette enough to keep it.

But you know what? When I really looked at it, I love Sprinkles, Molasses Chip, and Cafe au Lait.

I like Cotton Candy, Totally Fetch, Bordeaux, Mocha, and Malted, but I have all those colors several times over.

I don't really care for Dark Truffle, Pecan Praline, Earl Grey, Divinity, and Black Currant. They are fine and totally workable, but they just aren't shadows that I'm really drawn to. And I hate Cashew Chew.

When I realized I really only wanted to keep five shadows, it seemed really dumb to keep this entire palette. I had some space open in a palette I depotted my Natasha Denona shadows into, so I thought maybe depotting would be the best option.

I couldn't find any tutorials for depotting Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes, let alone the weirdo Chocolate Bon Bons, so I thought I would write how I depotted it.

So, first, you need to get a thin tool to wedge in the space between the brown part and the pink park. I worked the tool around the perimeter of the palette, making sure not to pry too hard as the shadows would break. I just went around, little by little, until the entire thing popped out. And guess what holds Chocolate Bar palettes in place?

Yep. Just three strips of tape. That's it, guys. 

So, now you have the shadows separated from the bulk of the packaging:

From here, I placed the shadows I wanted on top of the tiles of my hair straightener and waited until the plastic slightly melted. Then I took the same thin tool and lightly lifted the shadows from the palette. The glue was melted, so they just slid right out.

I then was able to pop the insert back into the packaging:

And here is my new, streamlined palette:

With the Juvia's Place Masquerade palette (mine is the mini), I really liked almost all the shadows. I mentioned in yesterday's post that the mattes aren't my favorite, but they are workable. And I really do think this is a great palette for someone who doesn't really have any eyeshadows at all. It gives you incredible color along with powerhouse neutrals. But for me and those of us who have a lot of neutrals, close to half of this palette is repetitive. 

So, I decided to depot the colors that I thought were most special and beautiful. Since these palettes are cardboard, the heat method doesn't work. Instead, I just pried them out and tried to be as careful as possible. 

I kept the top two rows as well as the third shadow in the third row. That shadow, along with the one above it, went into my custom palette with my other singles. I put the rest of the colors in a palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills, along with a single from Makeup Geek:

I only had one casualty, and that was Zobo. Half of it shattered, and I repressed it. As you can tell, I didn't cover the entire shadow in alcohol (likely a mistake), and after having several days to dry, I believe the shadow just looks like that now. It swatches beautifully, though, so I am hopeful that everything is okay. 

So, this process taught me a lot. First of all, it feels great to be one palette down and several shadows lighter. More importantly, I feel like this is the lesson of palettes. If you were to take a palette and only keep the shadows that you love, that are special, and that you want, my guess is that it would not be the entire palette. I really enjoyed using both of these palettes. I used every shade in both, and I was happy with how my eyeshadow turned out. But the shadows were largely just fine. They weren't crazy special or unique. They were just a part of the palette and acceptable, so why not? And those "meh" shades were really what drove me to pull the trigger on buying. Because had those "meh" shades been totally ugly, I likely would not have purchased the palette. But when I am choosing to spend money on a product, it should be a fantastic product all the way through. Or it should be something new and special all the way through. With the Masquerade palette, it is fantastic that half the shades are neutral, but for me, those weren't all that interesting because I have so many neutral shadows.

In the end, I don't think either of these palettes were a good purchase for me. And having to do it over again, after thinking more critically about my purchases, I would not have made either purchase. But, it's honestly a little hard for me to say that because there are shadows from both palettes that I completely love, and they are not available outside of these palettes. 

It's funny. When I was looking for a tutorial on how to depot Chocolate Bon Bons, I watched many depotting videos of other palettes. And in the comments, people were talking about how the video made them sick because their palettes are their babies and they could not imagine "destroying" them like that. And I am caught in between both ways of thinking. On the one hand, I do enjoy the presentation and uniformity of a palette, and it is just pleasing for me to look at. But on the other hand, depotting has been a fantastic way for me to downsize my collection while still holding on to pieces from palettes that I love. I like my makeup to look pretty, but I moreso want my makeup to be functional and used. And I can tell you that the depotted shadows from both palettes will be used a lot more now that they are free of their palettes. 

In the future, if I'm ever considering purchasing a palette again, I might ask myself, "If I were to depot this, which shadows would I keep?" And that would be keeping in mind colors that I already own and don't need to have duplicates of. And if the answer is not all or exceptionally close to all of the shadows, it should absolutely not be a palette that I purchase. 

What I'm Not Buying: Juvia's Place Saharan Palette

Juvia's Place recently released the Saharan palette, and just like everything else the brand has put out, it sold like crazy and is currently out of stock. 

But I won't be buying. 

It's no secret that I really love Juvia's Place. The Nubian 2 palette is a total favorite of mine, and that palette was really my gateway drug into using and loving colorful eyeshadow looks. I then purchased the Masquerade Mini and fell for that one as well. I don't think I have ever liked any eyeshadow look more than the ones I created with those two palettes. 

So when I heard that Juvia's Place was coming out with another palette, I braced myself. Because I knew I was going to like it, I knew it was going to be beautiful, and I knew that I was not going to buy it. 

And you may ask, "Why?" And really, it's because I just don't want any more palettes. And not only that, but if I am honest with myself—really, truly honest—I have to say that I don't like Juvia's Place matte shadows. The mattes are generally fine. They aren't as terrible as Morphe mattes, for example, but they aren't as good as the shimmers. And I find that really disappointing because Juvia's Place does color so well. So I love the color of the mattes, but I don't really like how they feel (dry) or blend. And while I am not a huge fan of the powdery mattes (like in the Lorac Pro or Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance), I like mattes to be a little softer than those from Juvia's Place. 

And the thing that I keep learning about palettes is that they really aren't that great of a bargain if you only like some of it. Knowing that the mattes won't be my favorite is enough to keep me away. But looking at the color scheme, I know I would only really love some of it. 

When I look at the swatches:

Photo: LivingDeadMakeup

I see several beautiful shadows that I already have or won't really wear. 

On the whole, the Saharan palette reminds me a lot, interestingly enough, of my Viseart Bijoux Royale:

Photo: Tempalia

Mixed with the Electric Palette:

Photo: Temptalia

Mixed with warm matte neutral shadows. 

A tactic that has helped me recently in making smart shopping decision is to stop looking at the palette as a palette and look at it as a collection of individual shadows. Seems obvious, right? Well, I think it's fair to say that is a practice that is not implemented all that often. So, looking at this palette, the most interesting shadows to me are the matte hot red-orange, the tarnished gold, and the shimmery dark pink. 

Other than that, there's a shimmery champagne (incredibly common), shimmery cranberry (common),  shimmery dark teal (not as common, but I have one in Bijoux Royale and the Electric palette), shimmery icy white (incredibly common), matte orange (common, especially as of late), shimmery light pink (very common), matte black (so common that most people hate them), and a matte tan/peach (likely the most common shadow). 

I've got the tarnished gold, dark pink, champagne, cranberry, dark teal, icy white, and light pink in Bijoux Royale. I've got the matte hot red-orange in the Electric palette. And I've got the matte orange, matte black, and matte tan/peach several times over. So I literally have everything in this palette, just not arranged in this specific palette. 

The Saharan palette is basically made up of very common shadows paired with a few less common shadows and packaged together in a manner than is uncommon. Juvia's Place shimmers are incredibly beautiful, so I can see how people might justify buying this palette because they want these colors in a foiled finish. But for me, I think it makes more sense to pick a few select colors that you know you will use and love often and buy singles in foiled finishes. Makeup Geek likely has duplicate shades for all of these shadows. 

And while the color scheme of this palette is mostly unique and pretty, I don't think it is incredibly practical for a lot of people to use on a daily basis. This kind of palette reminds me of the palette that you buy because you're bored with all the neutral palettes and you want something a little different. And so you buy it and you love it because the colors are so shiny and pretty and bold. But eventually you'll realize that it's challenging to wear an intense orange every day, and then the palette won't get a ton of use. 

This palette does have several positive attributes, however. First, it really is beautiful. It is pleasing to look at, which tells me that the palette was put together in a really smart way. When we see brands like Too Faced and Tarte come out with the same tired and uninspired palettes over and over again, it's truly refreshing to see something that deviates from that. Juvia's Place palettes also flatter a true myriad of skin tones, from deep to fair. They are not palettes that claim to be universally flattering when they really mean "universally flattering for light skin tones." They are truly universally flattering. 

I thoroughly enjoy the majority of shadows in my Nubian 2 and Masquerade Mini palettes, and I think Juvia's Place is a really exciting brand. The Saharan palette is interesting and beautiful, but I just already have all the colors. And while I think that the combination of colors as a whole is so unique, when I look at the individual colors, they are not unique whatsoever to my collection. When I factor in that I don't really like the matte formula, this palette is just a pass for me. So I will let it go and watch other people buy it and rave about it. But it would just be clutter in my collection. I don't need it, and I won't be buying. 

Weekend Looks: Fyrinnae and Makeup Geek Singles

As I mentioned in yesterday's post as well as posts in the last couple of weeks, I've been really into my single shadows. And by "really into," I mean really into. As my disgust with the marketing and hype tactics around palette releases grows and quality of palettes drop, the allure of singles becomes prominent. 

And I keep thinking: Had I really forgotten how great singles are? 

For the first two years or so of my interest in makeup, I used MAC singles (depotted into a palette) almost exclusively. As the Naked palettes were released, I bought them and other popular palettes, but I still heavily favored my MAC shadows. And I guess I had just forgotten about that and forgotten why I favored those shadows. And it was because I had selected them. Me. Not MAC. Not YouTube. Not bloggers. Me. 

And I'm kind of shocked how easily I was taken off course and along the marketing and hype path and forgot how great it is to select shadows yourself. 

Over the three-day weekend I wanted to use some shadows that were new to me that I don't yet feel comfortable wearing to work. 

Look 1: Fyrinnae Shenanigans

Shenanigans on the lid and Makeup Geek Desert Sands blended into the crease.

Look 2: Makeup Geek Backlight

Backlight on the lid, Colourpop Sliver Lining blended into the crease, and Colourpop 143 padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 3: Fyrinnae Mephisto

Mephisto on the lid and Viseart Dark Matte shades blended into the crease. 

Fyrinnae Shenanigans

Status: Favorite

I mentioned in yesterday's post that Dior Cosmopolite is one of my top two favorite bronze shadows I have ever used. Shenanigans is the other. This shadow blew me away. The pictures don't really do it justice, but this is one of the most complex bronzes I have ever seen. I paired it with Makeup Geek Desert Sands, which is a gorgeous kaki brown, and I think the look came out really pretty. Shenanigans is a darker bronze, which is the main reason I would hesitate about wearing it to work, but I could see in the future potentially being able to wear it. 

I also mentioned in yesterday's post that I am new to Fyrinnae, and the main reason for exploring the brand was to show my support for them taking a stand and supporting the ACLU and Human Rights Watch. I was thoroughly impressed by this shadow and am even more impressed that it was less than $7 for a sizable jar of product. I don't have a ton of experience shopping with "indie" brands other than Makeup Geek, Colourpop, Juvia's Place, and Coloured Raine, but Fyrinnae has seriously impressed me. 

Makeup Geek Backlight

Status: Favorite

I've wanted a shadow like this for a while, but was never going to buy the Urban Decay single Tonic because I think it's overpriced. I came close to building a Buxom custom palette that included a similar shade, but I really, really didn't want another palette. When I discovered Backlight and saw that it was pretty much an exact duplicate of Tonic, I knew that was the shade that I wanted. And man, do I love it. It's everything that I wanted it to be. It's a pigmented, smooth pinky-purple and blue duochrome shadow. I paired it with Colourpop Silver Lining and Colourpop 143, and I thought it made a gorgeous combination. 

I'd like to talk for a moment about Colourpop Silver Lining. I haven't heard the best things about this shadow, and Temptalia even gave it an F rating. There are times where I don't agree with Temptalia's ratings, but I am usually within the same ballpark. I'm not in the same ballpark with Silver Lining. I think it's a great shadow that works really well for me. I've mentioned before that I don't subscribe to the way of thinking of "maybe I got a dud" because I think it's perfectly acceptable for people to have different opinions on products, especially since skin tones and textures vary so much. But I've seen Temptalia's swatch of Silver Lining and I've seen other swatches as well, and they look nothing like mine. Temptalia's swatch looks visibly patchy and chunky, but whenever I swatch mine, it is smooth and pigmented. My swatch is also significantly cooler in tone than hers, and I find that swatches usually look the same on her as they do on me. So, I don't know what any of that means. I don't know if I got a totally one-off shadow that is unlike what everyone else received, or if Colourpop may be experiencing some quality control issues. When I saw Temptalia's F rating and read her review, I swatched Silver Lining yet again to see if there was something that I had overlooked. But I really do like that color, so I don't know what the issue may be.   

Fyrinnae Mephisto

Status: Favorite

Holy moly, this color. When I was researching Fyrinnae to see what some of the "classic" or favorite colors from the brand are, I tried to find unique colors that I didn't already own. When I came across Mephisto, I stopped in my tracks. The color was just so interesting and multidimensional that I had a hard time believing the photos were real. Mephisto is very dark, so I assumed I probably wouldn't like it, but I was so drawn to it that I ended up purchasing it. 

To say I am impressed is an understatement. This shadow blew me away. It looked like I had velvet on my eyes. I paired it with the maroon and purple shadows from Viseart Dark Matte, I think they they paired quite well. I feel Mephisto could have paired nicely with brown, orange, and blue tones as well since they are all present in the shadow, but I chose to go with the obvious purple choice. 

This shadow certainly gives a dramatic look, and I think it would make a fantastic alternative to a traditional smokey eye. 

All things considered, the shadows I chose to use over the weekend were all winners. As always, I wish I lived in a world where it was perfectly acceptable to wear whatever I wanted to work, and maybe I will achieve that one day. Earlier in my career, I worked at one of the most prestigious museums in the world. And a woman who was very high up wore a black smoky eye every single day. It was a very dramatic look, and I loved it. And I remember thinking that you had to be high up in your career to get away with something like that. My current position is pretty high, but I still don't feel like I have the license to do that. And I think that's primarily because the women in my office don't really wear much makeup. Or maybe it's because of the type of institution I'm at now, which leans pretty conservative. But wouldn't it be cool if my signature look was Mephisto smoked out all over the lid? That would be pretty awesome.