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Mom got me a nice winter coat from LL Bean, which doesn’t fit, so I am returning it for a different one. Any reason I shouldn’t have them refund the money to her card and buy a coat off eBay? (I told her I was probably going to do this.) Is Primaloft actually significantly better than Thinsulate, etc? Is it possible to pirate Aerogel yet
is not something I can do. I'm demonstrably okay with buying my own medications that way - though most kratom vendors prefer Papyrus or Lucida Handwriting - but I cannot do the same to the animals.
This evening's anxiety-fueled research project was pet tracking technology. Because what if Bu gets lost, like Polly did. One of these Bluetooth trackers looks like the most reliable option at the moment, and they don't seem to actually be all that reliable.
ur face is problematic
Nov. 20th, 2015 01:25 pmBy which I mean my face. My face is the problematic face. I know I've been whining more about it than usual lately, but that's actually because I've actually had fewer lumpy painful crises than usual. They feel less fair now.
The reason I am investigating the Korean skin-care fandom is that I accidentally duplicated a part of "The Process" a while back, and found that it seemed to help.
What I did a couple mornings in a row while very groggy:
( Cut for boring. )
The reason I am investigating the Korean skin-care fandom is that I accidentally duplicated a part of "The Process" a while back, and found that it seemed to help.
What I did a couple mornings in a row while very groggy:
( Cut for boring. )
no subject
Oct. 29th, 2015 01:43 pmI do not wear eyeshadow, but I like looking at eyeshadows? Online, at those mineral makeup shops that name them things like "Jesse Pinkman" and "Out, Damned Spot!" and "Team Rocket." (Those three names belong to a coherent thematic category.)
It's pretty, it's just that I just don't actually like the way it looks when placed on the eyelids? I think people's eyelids are a reasonable color already. You put eyeshadow on them and you end up just looking maybe slightly meaner, and it's not an improvement.
Our present approach to makeup is honestly really limiting and confusing to me, we don't do enough with it! Like, I would wear this substance on my face if it weren't, you know. Just for your eyes. If you are the sort of person who wants Breaking Bad-themed makeup, you should be able to stencil molecules onto your face with it, on occasions other than Halloween or the Woolly Worm Festival.
The only place it's socially-acceptable to apply Poke Balls to yourself with your makeup is your fingernails, and in my opinion, that means that we're doing this wrong.
It's pretty, it's just that I just don't actually like the way it looks when placed on the eyelids? I think people's eyelids are a reasonable color already. You put eyeshadow on them and you end up just looking maybe slightly meaner, and it's not an improvement.
Our present approach to makeup is honestly really limiting and confusing to me, we don't do enough with it! Like, I would wear this substance on my face if it weren't, you know. Just for your eyes. If you are the sort of person who wants Breaking Bad-themed makeup, you should be able to stencil molecules onto your face with it, on occasions other than Halloween or the Woolly Worm Festival.
The only place it's socially-acceptable to apply Poke Balls to yourself with your makeup is your fingernails, and in my opinion, that means that we're doing this wrong.
Thank you, people who just signed up for it (Curology/PocketDerm) using my referral code. If anyone wanted an update on this: tretinoin has unsurprisingly worked much better than benzoyl peroxide on my acne. It also doesn't ruin my clothes like the BP does, so I'm probably not actually spending more money.
And it is, obviously, much cheaper and more convenient than going to a real-life dermatologist for a Retin-A prescription.
In summary, still recommended for Americans with really bad acne who can't get cheap tretinoin via other methods.
Edit: Have like seven people genuinely found my code and signed up using it just today. Where exactly are you coming from.
And it is, obviously, much cheaper and more convenient than going to a real-life dermatologist for a Retin-A prescription.
In summary, still recommended for Americans with really bad acne who can't get cheap tretinoin via other methods.
Edit: Have like seven people genuinely found my code and signed up using it just today. Where exactly are you coming from.
I got a $1 Flowerbomb knock-off
Oct. 16th, 2015 09:30 pmperhaps-inevitably called "Blossom Blast."
I do not know what Flowerbomb smells like, but I really like this stuff. It's basically vanilla and tea, and then the perfumer kept adding floral/gourmand stuff until it started smelling bad? And then hit "undo" exactly once. I could spray it to ward off muggers because it would harm the muggers' self-esteem to smell like this. It is also pink.
I do not know what Flowerbomb smells like, but I really like this stuff. It's basically vanilla and tea, and then the perfumer kept adding floral/gourmand stuff until it started smelling bad? And then hit "undo" exactly once. I could spray it to ward off muggers because it would harm the muggers' self-esteem to smell like this. It is also pink.
This is the strongest perfume oil I have ever worn. I touched the roller lightly to my wrist and am now permanently a teapot.
$1 Knock-Off Tommy Cologne
Sep. 11th, 2015 04:35 pmPleasant cucumber/melon-y "aquatic"/"clean"/"cold" scent, with some light floral stuff underneath. Basically, smells like a men's clothing store at the mall, or one of those "cooling" facial toners.*
I'm not sure whether this is what the actual stuff smells like or not, but it's basically what I'd expect from an okay scent marketed to young guys.
(* Never, ever spend more than like like $2 on that, by the way. It feels nice if it's hot, but it has no real benefits skin-wise, is actually irritating to most people with acne, and costs like $0.10 to make. You could probably figure out how to manufacture it by the gallon if you look at the ingredients label and then spend a while browsing The Perfumer's Apprentice.)
I'm not sure whether this is what the actual stuff smells like or not, but it's basically what I'd expect from an okay scent marketed to young guys.
(* Never, ever spend more than like like $2 on that, by the way. It feels nice if it's hot, but it has no real benefits skin-wise, is actually irritating to most people with acne, and costs like $0.10 to make. You could probably figure out how to manufacture it by the gallon if you look at the ingredients label and then spend a while browsing The Perfumer's Apprentice.)
They've all shown up now, and... yeah. Don't order green or blue "ghost eye jasper" or "choi finches" stones off eBay, or the stuff labelled as malachite or chrysocolla that look the same. I made a Mistake.
I knew they were going to be dyed, and was prepared for them to be ceramic or resin or something (doesn't look that way, actually). They're pretty, and I don't care about "realness" in terms of pretty rocks!
Alas, the con I should have been prepared for was this: literally all of them, from every seller, were photoshopped.
In the manner visible above - the saturation and contrast were bumped way, way up. Since all but one of them showed up on the same day, it seems likely that the sellers are all the same company, and the "newer" ones with fewer reviews are dump accounts.
Welp. It wasn't like I spent much on this investigation, but I'm honestly pretty sad - I really liked the photoshopped rock pictures! I may look into bleaching/dyeing them if the eBay disputes don't pan out.
I will post more photos once I’ve taken some in sunlight with a real camera, but they all do look like this, unfortunately. A sad rock story.
I knew they were going to be dyed, and was prepared for them to be ceramic or resin or something (doesn't look that way, actually). They're pretty, and I don't care about "realness" in terms of pretty rocks!
Alas, the con I should have been prepared for was this: literally all of them, from every seller, were photoshopped.
In the manner visible above - the saturation and contrast were bumped way, way up. Since all but one of them showed up on the same day, it seems likely that the sellers are all the same company, and the "newer" ones with fewer reviews are dump accounts.
Welp. It wasn't like I spent much on this investigation, but I'm honestly pretty sad - I really liked the photoshopped rock pictures! I may look into bleaching/dyeing them if the eBay disputes don't pan out.
I will post more photos once I’ve taken some in sunlight with a real camera, but they all do look like this, unfortunately. A sad rock story.
no subject
Sep. 11th, 2015 01:34 pmBecause I am wasting money lately, I also ordered two well-reviewed $5 knock-offs from here: I got the Silver Mountain Water one (Silver) and the Flower by Kenzo one (Red Rose), since I've wanted to try those.
They apparently got shipped to Mom and Dad's house, and Dad called today to say the he has "your weird box. Were you expecting a weird box, because one's here? It came in the mail. It's here, I've got it. It's a weird box. Should I open it, honey?"
"It's perfume, so I mean, not unless you want to smell fancy -"
"I can't hear you, honey, you're breaking up [garble]."
I have concerns.
They apparently got shipped to Mom and Dad's house, and Dad called today to say the he has "your weird box. Were you expecting a weird box, because one's here? It came in the mail. It's here, I've got it. It's a weird box. Should I open it, honey?"
"It's perfume, so I mean, not unless you want to smell fancy -"
"I can't hear you, honey, you're breaking up [garble]."
I have concerns.
$1 Knock-Off Eternity Review
Sep. 11th, 2015 01:09 pmPleasant light jasmine and/or ylang ylang-ish scent that disappears within five minutes.
$1 Knock-Off CK Obsession for Men
Sep. 10th, 2015 10:30 pmApparently I've had Obsession confused with something else forever, so I don't know if this smells like it. The actual stuff is supposed to be cinnamon-y, which isn't really the case with this. It's both pleasant and familiar, though: vanilla/floral/sandalwood-musk-based incense.
It makes me think of lawyers, unfortunately. One of the guys at at the firm wears loads of something very close to it.
It makes me think of lawyers, unfortunately. One of the guys at at the firm wears loads of something very close to it.
The $1 knock-off Angel
Sep. 10th, 2015 03:35 pmdefinitely smells like Angel, but, I guess, with a piece missing? And a weird off-ish "cloudy" overtone.
...actually, what it smells like to me is perfume with "vanilla-y" notes that's been sitting in a cabinet for years. This $1 knock-off Angel might be old. How could the Dollar Tree betray me this way.
...actually, what it smells like to me is perfume with "vanilla-y" notes that's been sitting in a cabinet for years. This $1 knock-off Angel might be old. How could the Dollar Tree betray me this way.
$1 perfume research.
Sep. 9th, 2015 09:06 pmHaving googled around: the Jordache/Jean-Philippe-brand Dollar Tree perfumes are manufactured by Inter Parfums, who are behind manufacturing for a lot of Srs-Bzns-type perfume companies. (They don't appear to me to be cannibalizing any of their clients' sales.)
So, these particular dupes would have been formulated by industry professionals who certainly know the actual formulas for the originals! As such, assuming that a given designer fragrance can be produced using components that don't bring the price above $0.25/oz or so - I don't think this is unusual? - the Dollar Tree knock-off is probably chemically-identical to "the real thing."
This is not a new thought, about either Products in general or perfume in specific! I just like finding new examples of it.
So, these particular dupes would have been formulated by industry professionals who certainly know the actual formulas for the originals! As such, assuming that a given designer fragrance can be produced using components that don't bring the price above $0.25/oz or so - I don't think this is unusual? - the Dollar Tree knock-off is probably chemically-identical to "the real thing."
This is not a new thought, about either Products in general or perfume in specific! I just like finding new examples of it.
Since the cat was trying to eat it and he knows best, I just tried on the fake C5. It smells about right, to my fuzzy recollection? I don’t own any of the real stuff to compare it to, and I’ve only tried it on myself once, but the scent is properly initializing the expected traumatic scent-memories of being induced to hug and/or make conversation with strangers at family and political events.
(I don’t like C5. Or White Diamonds. They should back off and stop asking me how my horse princess book is. I am trying to read my horse princess book.)
So, an attempt was made! The Dollar Tree’s perfume supplier is not just dumping random stuff into these bottles. And they didn’t overdo the aldehydic elements to the point of harshness, like a dupe I tried a few years back.
It’s already wearing off, though. If I wanted a fake C5 with staying power (I don’t), I’d probably order some oil from one of those Etsy or eBay shops.
(I don’t like C5. Or White Diamonds. They should back off and stop asking me how my horse princess book is. I am trying to read my horse princess book.)
So, an attempt was made! The Dollar Tree’s perfume supplier is not just dumping random stuff into these bottles. And they didn’t overdo the aldehydic elements to the point of harshness, like a dupe I tried a few years back.
It’s already wearing off, though. If I wanted a fake C5 with staying power (I don’t), I’d probably order some oil from one of those Etsy or eBay shops.
