I would be lying if I said I wasn’t experiencing a bit of an identity crisis during this global pandemic. How does a style blogger and product junkie write about beauty and fashion when isolation is strongly encouraged and there’s nowhere to go? Where would I wear a yellow lace dress? Or a corset swimsuit? Why wear makeup if half of my face is covered and it’s just going to come off on the mask and create skin problems?
Until recently, I felt the idea of fashion shows was nothing short of sadistic; they were just a reminder of places I couldn’t go without the constant worry of catching COVID-19, or having my great mood stifled by the reality of temperature checks, discouraged socializing, or the lack of money to shop. I’m living in robes and sweats, so while I’m not an athleisure girl, I see the appeal now.
Apparently, my issues are poor peoples’ problems because fashion shows are still going on, albeit digitally, and Vogue is here to break down every show as they come in.
Beautyblender is one of my favorite beauty tools. I own two Beauty Blender sponges, the solid cleanser, and the Sur.face Pro palette, and I was visiting The Zoe Report when I saw that the brand is introducing its newest innovation coming this spring, the Liner Designer. I am not cat eye savvy and try as I might, I can not get a satisfying result. I came to the conclusion that I am just not cat eye material and my inner feline may never be realized. Perhaps this is a game changer for me. Watch out…
Straight line. Every time.
This triangle-shaped tool works as a guide allowing the user to create various versions of the cat eye more easily. The perfect cat-eye (a trend that never seems to go out of style) is achieved by painting any eyeliner formula onto the flexible disk, then dragging it across the eye. I’m honestly trying to visualize how that will work. seeing as there are no examples available presently. I am going to assume (and you know what they say about assuming) that it is akin to a stencil?
The flexible disk is housed in a travel case that has a 5x magnified mirror and suction cup (which confuses me). It can also be used as an eyeshadow and mascara shield in addition to a tool to make your lip liner sharper.
The Beautyblender Liner Designer will be available at beautyblender and Sephora for $18 this spring.
Britney Spears using EOS Summer Fruit lip balm. Image: EOS
I was shocked to see the news reports about EOS lip balm causing blisters and rashes. I love the stuff, it was an impulse buy last Christmas while shopping for others and I’ve always found it to be a great product. The egg shape is cute and attention getting and the vibrant colors are cheerful. Otherwise known as Evolution of Smooth, the brand has an extremely high customer rating and a plethora of celebrity brand ambassadors. The EOS site has an entire section “EOS BUZZ-CELEBRITY FANS” where celebrities like Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus post selfies with the pod in hand, helping to elevate the popular pod to cult status.
EOS Summer Fruit lip balm.
All the excitement is about the “Summer Fruit” version which seems to be causing blisters, rashes, and extreme dryness in some people. Rachel Cronin says it caused her to develop a rash all over her mouth within hours of applying it. She kept reapplying it not thinking that a product that was made from natural ingredients and touted to keep lips smooth and soft would be the cause of her dry coarse lips. Within 24-hours, she had a severe rash and blistering all over her mouth that took 10 days to go away.
Rachel Cronin and her EOS rash.
Cronin isn’t the only person experiencing adverse reactions to the product. Celebrity vulture attorney Mark Geragos is behind a class action suit claiming a “substantial number of consumers” have experienced allergic reactions to the product that include loss of pigment, bleeding, and cracking with symptoms lasting anywhere from days to months, and some claim to have permanent scars. The suit is asking for damages and corrective advertising.
There seems to be some confusion and skepticism about what is causing these reactions because the EOS lip balm is 99 percent natural, gluten-free, and organic. It is approved by the FDA and according to the company’s tweet about the matter, goes through rigorous testing and exceeds the industries quality and safety standards.
Dr. Marie Jhin told Huffington Post that people can be allergic to natural products and the most likely culprit is Vitamin E, listed as tocopherol in the EOS lip balm. Jhin suggests avoided products that contain Vitamin E, beeswax, perfumes, and fragrance, and use products like petroleum or Aquaphor.
My ‘collection’ of products: Burt’s Bees lip balm, Aquaphor healing ointment, Neutrogena lip moisturizer, and Blistex medicated lip balm.
Clearly, that isn’t my mindset and that’s why this lawsuit irritates me. I have a lot of allergies and I have suffered severe reactions, including but not limited to rashes and blisters that covered my body and it never occurred to me to sue anybody, I simply stopped using the product. If I eat lasagna I itch, get congested, tired, and experience stomach cramping; that doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the lasagna, it means there is something wrong with me. It never occurred to me to sue Pepperidge Farms because eating their raspberry strudel gave me the runs.
Every mishap isn’t the fault of someone or something else. Sometimes it’s on you. I really like this product, and Geragos always goes on a publicity witch hunt when he sees dollar signs because he thinks that enough bad publicity will make his latest ‘mark’ cave in and pay up. The problem with being a victim for profit is that the majority suffers and the minority cleans up. The company is forced to change a product that was fine to begin with and their reputation is tarnished simply because there are people in our society that prefer to adopt a ‘victim mentality’ instead of using common sense and taking responsibility for their own maladies. If your lips don’t like EOS or any other product, stop using it. Use your powers for good. It’s as simple as that.
Nails Inc. Paint Can nail polish in Hoxton Market.
One of my favorite nail brands, Nails Inc., has come up with yet another beauty innovation – spray on nail polish. This cutting edge brand has created Paint Can and promises that it is the fastest manicure around boasting a 20-second dry time. It’s awfully cute in a graffiti artist kind of way. It is called Nails Inc. Paint Can it comes in two colors, Shoreditch Lane (silver) and Hoxton Market (pink) and with such adorably British names, it’s important to note that this product is not yet available for sale in the US (March 2016) and it has sold out in the UK. At this point, only US beauty insiders (editors) have been able to test the product. Allure’s Jenna Rosenstein was lucky enough to get a hold of the product and her review includes an informative tutorial as well as tips on how to use the product.
Allure’s beauty writer Jenna Rosenstein’s finished manicure with Shoreditch Lane.
Nails Inc. has already started a waitlist for the US launch date and without trying the product my feeling is; at $17 a pop, it’s expensive and wasteful. The online tutorials show more product on the hands and surrounding areas than on the nails and the 20-second drying time doesn’t include the drying time for the top and base coats. Neither color, in my opinion, is flattering to my skin tone, or even in colors that I would wear independently.Then there is the issue of the product being inhaled and washed down the sink. However, I can see its use and entertainment value for nail art. (I am already visualizing how this can be utilized). So unless I find myself with a product sample – and I won’t – I will just have to wait until March like everybody else to see if this is indeed an innovation or a waste of money.
StylEnigma 
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