I’ve always been way more into eyeliner than eyeshadow. Shadow feels dark and weird on me most of the time so I’m sure I just haven’t figured out how to wear it correctly. In my early 20′s my idea of makeup was primarily lots of eyeliner and also glitter and it hasn’t evolved a whole lot since then.  In fact I only recently bought my first liquid liner. I don’t wear eye makeup that often but when I do my routine generally consists of a swipe of the Revlon creme stuff in the pale sandy color and a thin THIN line of liner. I recently learned how to tightline and I’m not doing it totally right because I’m using a felt tip liquid liner but wow it really does look lovely and I’m thrilled with how it doesn’t look like I’m wearing makeup.

Here’s my stash. I sorely need an eyeshadow brush set. As you can see.

Eyeliner pencils

1. Nyx slim eye pencil in Karat (loves this and it comes in a billion colors)
2. Avon glimmersticks liner in Emerald
3. Covergirl liquiline blast in brown (meh, I suck at using this)
4. Victoria’s Secret Verysexy sparkly liner they don’t make anymore (it’s so old I’m tossing it)
5. Avon Ultra Luxury Eyeliner in Khaki
6. Rimmel London soft kohl in jungle green
7. Jordana (??) Kohl Eyeliner in Bashful Blue
8. Sue Devitt Kalahari Eye Intensifier (I love this)
9. Clinique Quickliner in violet (nice stuff)

Eyeshadow and mascara

1. Some old Rimmel eyeshadow they don’t even make anymore so I should probably toss it.
2. Two Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadows (MY FAVORITE STUFF IN THE WORLD)
3. my Blinc Mascara which I need to replace cause it’s old
4. Benefit They’re Real (this stuff is not fucking around)
5. Watt’s Up highlighter

 Third chance to play along!

Or hashtag a post on Instagram or Twitter. As an added bonus, I will draw a blog participant at random after the final Makeup Monday post on 5/27. You have two more chances to enter via blog post. The winner will get whatever random stuff I want to send in a little makeup care package the first week of June. Huzzah!

© Maria Melee, 2013. | Permalink | 4 comments |
If you are reading this anywhere else, some douchenozzle has scraped my feed.

Today, Angelina Jolie published an op-ed with the New York Times and let the public know that she underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction to reduce her significant genetic risk of breast cancer.

I think it was brave of Angelina Jolie to make a hugely difficult decision for the sake of her health, future and kids. When it comes down to it, surgery sucks no matter how privileged you are. Because Angelina is a major figure in our culture and because she is valued in part for her physical attributes, it was also brave for her to go public with her story. By raising awareness, she’s opening herself up to all sorts of responses.

Obviously her ordeal is hugely complicated, and so are the responses to it. I can’t imagine dealing with the general public when it comes to issues like elective double mastectomy. For every individual who values her solely for her breasts, there’s another who wonders why it’s a “big deal” for a woman to have her breasts removed. There’s an entire spectrum in between and no matter how sheltered she is, some of that has got to touch her. I admire her willingness to open up to the world of strangers.

I believe that people need these stories put right in front of them. People need to consider that some women need to have entire organs cut out of and off of their bodies to try to survive. While no women amounts to her breasts alone, it’s undeniably unsettling and difficult to part with a part of your body. There’s nothing wrong with being horrified at the thought of having to undergo a double mastectomy. There’s nothing wrong with identifying that part of your body as part of your womanhood or part of your identity as a mother or part of your sexual well being.

With issues like this, if often takes a cultural icon like Angelina Jolie to get people thinking and talking. This woman is famous for her sexuality and breasts are tied deeply with sexuality in our culture. We’re thinking and talking about her boobs.

Her boobs are a spark that needs to start a bigger conversation. The conversation needs to be sustained. I’m not talking about a “conversation” that lasts a few days thanks to tabloid-style reporting and trending topics on Twitter. I’m not talking about a conversation that stops as soon as the next headline drops.

It’s okay if this conversation is about the problematic aspects of breast cancer prevention awareness in addition to how brave or honest or great Angelina Jolie is for sharing her story.

The problem with “raising awareness”

We’re aware now! We know that women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at huge risk of breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer and sometimes elect to have major surgery to reduce that risk. Science! Neat! Genetic testing exists to help women (and some men) determine whether or not they are at greater risk for developing certain types of cancer.

So it’s just a blood test?

We should all get this simple blood test done? Well, not exactly. The most basic form of the test is about $300. The more comprehensive and effective panel costs between $3000 and $5000.

But insurance covers that, right?

Well, only if you are considered at risk by the criteria your insurance company chooses to adhere to. Some companies go by the National Cancer Institute’s risk criteria, such as having two first-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50, or three or more diagnosed at any age.

The short of it is, this test is not accessible to everyone and there is no exact standard for determining whether or not a woman with insurance will be covered for it. A woman without insurance is looking at a significant bill if she wants the comprehensive test done, even if she has close female relatives who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

How about the mastectomy?

Bloomberg reports that a mastectomy can cost $15,000 to $50,000 or more. Depending on insurance coverage, this could be dialed down to a copay or might tap out a yearly out of pocket maximum. It depends on any given woman’s individual coverage. For someone without insurance? Well. That could be an entire year’s paycheck. Easily.

And the reconstructive surgery?

Angelina Jolie shared in her op-ed that her reconstructed breasts appear similar to the way they did pre-surgery, with only small scars. Without criticizing her as a person or criticizing her choice, I think it’s important to acknowledge that the ability to follow up a double mastectomy with cutting edge reconstructive surgery is a huge privilege. On top of the price of a mastectomy, the price of reconstructive surgery is very high, with a recent estimate running about $40,000. I’ve seen other estimates run as high as $50,000 per breast and as low as $5,000 per breast.

What about taking time off of work and getting help?

In her op-ed, Angelina Jolie said that she continued working and living her life over the three month span of surgeries. I have to question how much she was able to work and how that work compares to other types of jobs. How many working women, working moms, working grandmothers can bounce back from a major surgery? How long can they take off of work without losing their jobs, health insurance coverage or savings? How much help do average women have to cover the day to day responsibilities they won’t be able to attend to while undergoing major surgery?

Who really has a choice?

Ultimately, we need to talk about the fact that what Angelina Jolie was able to do was a choice and a choice that she was privileged to make. I think it’s incredibly cool that she acknowledged this: “It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live,” Jolie said.

We can’t afford to lose sight of the fact that every day, men and women have to choose between what they can afford and what could save their lives. I don’t have any magical solutions to propose. I wish I did. I hope we keep talking and continue advocating for affordable health care.

This issue feels personal to me. My grandmother (pictured holding me in 1980) died of ovarian cancer in her mid-50’s. I have close female relatives who have undergone full hysterectomies to prevent ovarian cancer risk. I had the less-comprehensive BRCA1 test several years ago when I was privileged to have excellent group health insurance. Even then, my gynecologist had to walk me through the application to make sure I answered every question in a way that would get the test covered. The test I had showed no mutation. Had it shown a mutation, I honestly can’t say I’d have the balls to do what Angelina did, even if I had the means. She’s no doubt a hero in my eyes, and by shining a light on the problems with “awareness” as a nebulous concept, I’m not downplaying what she went through or her bravery in sharing that story.

The bigger, enduring picture

Finances should not be an obstacle when it comes to survival. No one should be more afraid of financial ruin than they are of cancer. When we’re done talking about Angelina Jolie, we can’t afford to move on to the next celebrity’s shocking decision. Some celebrity’s upcoming inconsequential Twitter meltdown shouldn’t overshadow the conversations that Angelina Jolie has sparked.

Resources

Keep in mind that starting in 2014, the Affordable Health Care Act should help make breast cancer screenings more available to all women in the United States. Most breast cancer isn’t caused by BRCA mutations. Check your breasts and stay on top of the screenings that are recommended for your age and risk factors.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prevents health insurance companies and employers from making decisions based on the results of a test like the BRCA test, but it does not prevent life insurance, disability or long-term care insurance from making decisions (such as denying you coverage) based on your genes and risk.

I would love it if you shared any resources or thoughts you have on affordable health care and cancer prevention. I’ve found that Think Progress’s Health channel has good info, as well as Moms Rising. To learn more about breast and ovarian cancers, I’ve checked out The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. Before you donate time or resources to a cancer organization, I recommend taking time to look into that organization’s mission, ideals and where funds are spent.

© Maria Melee, 2013. | Permalink | 5 comments |
If you are reading this anywhere else, some douchenozzle has scraped my feed.

May’s PopSugar Must Have Box

This month I opened it at the end of the day after using it as a carrot to get my work done first. I saw a flimsy tote bag and almost peed myself because last month’s big fun item was a reusable dry cleaning bag and I have dry cleaned something precisely twice in ten years, which effectively made it the stupidest thing I’ve ever not actually paid for since I’m on my free boxes right now, thank you friends and family. Thankfully the tote was just like… randomly hanging out in there to scare me. The rest of the stuff was great!

The stuff!

Kooringal Giselle Mid-brim SPF 50 hat in graphite ($27). I love this hat. So. Much. It has a wire thingy in the brim to keep the shape and a string thingy in the inside to tighten it and it’s heavy and perfect and I ADORE IT. I can’t wait to wear it all summer and feel glamorous.

Pacifica Color Quench lip tint in guava ($9). People seem to like this a lot! I like other Pacifica things, but I hate the way this smells. It’s a nice item but I’ll be giving it away. Literally, in my Makeup Monday prize package.

Mindy Kaling’s Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself: 50 Topics to Share with Friends ($14). At first I thought I’d give these away but then I thought they might make nice blog topics. Or insufferable ones. I guess we’ll see!

Way Better Snacks ($3) sweet chili chip things. These look good. I will probably eat them tonight. They were kind of earthy but yummy. Nice heat.

Beauty Blender ($19) pink egg makeup sponge that looks vaguely dirty and I can’t figure out why and also the stuff that cleans it ($18). It’s so soft. I keep rubbing it on my face. The word sponge makes me laugh. Also shit, that thing is expensive. I better not lose it. And by I better not lose it I mean my turkey children better not destroy it or touch their butts with it.

The Modern Cocktail margarita sampler ($10). They carry this at Bealls of Florida so… That. Also I can’t drink without getting sick anymore so this will be a gift. It’s definitely adorable regardless of my cocktail snobbery MARGARITAS SHOULD ONLY BE MADE WITH FRESH LIME JUICE and inability to imbibe.

It also came with a Charm & Chain $30 gift card. That I’ll probably stick in the #makeupmonday prize as well.

Was it worth it?

Overall this was definitely a good month. Including the gift card the stuff totals $130.  I would have paid $35 for the hat alone. I love it that much. And the bizarre makeup egg that I’m told is amazing was worth almost $40 total with the cleanser it comes with. Win win win! Suck it, dry cleaning bag.

© Maria Melee, 2013. | Permalink | 4 comments |
If you are reading this anywhere else, some douchenozzle has scraped my feed.

When it comes to foundation, I’ve never had much luck. It wasn’t until I was having my makeup done for my wedding in 2004 that I learned that my “oily” skin is actually dry/combo. Turns out I’m not 15 anymore! Between my dryness and fuzziness, foundation looks bizarre and NOT GOOD on me. I have decent skin and don’t mind my moles and spots so I don’t really go for stuff with a ton of coverage but holy shit now that I’m 33 I’m like yeah, okay. We could use a little coverage.

I’ve been toying with CC/BB cream and I really love the Juice Beauty stuff I’m using but my mild sensory issues make me completely nuts when I have any sort of foundation on so… that’s a thing. Right now I usually use it if I am going to be outside a lot. Otherwise I still don’t wear anything on my face at all on a regular basis. I’m currently seeking:

1. A good everyday use moisturizer that preferably has some sort of free radical destroying factor
2. Blush that isn’t shimmery or too dark

1. Ecotools large powder brush
2. Clinique rinse-off foaming cleanser (I like this but it will MURDER your eyes if you don’t rinse well)
3. Cetaphil Daily Moisturizer (I use this during the day if I’m going to be outside)
4. Bare Minerals Mineral Veil (I’m enjoying this, but I’m still new to it)
5. Mac Studio Fix powder + foundation (I ADORE this, especially since I now know to use a brush. I’ve been using it for about 8 years.)
6. Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer (moisturizing, blend-able)
7. Juice Beauty CC cream spf 30 (it’s a little… greasy? But I like it a lot. Except that I can FEEL IT ON MY FAAAACE.)
8. Nuxe oil (The smell is strong but it’s nice on your cheekbones for a bit of a dewy look. Also apparently it’s not good for you. Hm.)
9. Klorane Makeup Remover (I LOVE IT. I need to buy a full size and some cotton pads.)

1. Nars orgasm illuminator (this is my hands down all time favorite makeup item)
2. Stila custom color (it’s a leeeeeeeetle pink but I really love it. But I need a better blush brush)
3. Laura Geller blush (I dunno, it’s really… brown? And sparkly.)
4. Tarte cheek stain (despite the scent of candy, I ADORE this shit.  I wear it on bare skin so I don’t know how it works with foundation)

How to play (and win stuff)

Write a post or #makeupmonday hashtag a post on Instagram or Twitter. As an added bonus, I will draw a blog participant at random after the final Makeup Monday post on 5/27. Every time you do a post and link it up you’ll be entered. (For a total of four entries, since I’m doing Makeup Monday every Monday in May.) The winner will get whatever random stuff I want to send in a little makeup care package the first week of June. Huzzah!

© Maria Melee, 2013. | Permalink | 8 comments |
If you are reading this anywhere else, some douchenozzle has scraped my feed.