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Odds and Ends

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1. What a lovely way to approach the new year. image credit: kristen delap

2. You all, I am simply fascinated by this article and Dr. Aron’s study on falling in love. Can you truly make two people fall in love by having them answer these 36 questions in one setting? Surely not. However, I feel the need to bust on up to a stranger and try it out. Maybe at my next airport layover? (Kidding, honey.) Will someone do this and report back?

3. Incredibly useful healthy-eating charts and graphics right here.

4. Lipstick alert. First off, Beautycounter just came out with a lip sheer in scarlet red. It looks gorgeous and we all know how much I like the lip sheers. Also! While doing research on safe lip color, I realized that the MAC Lustre lipsticks score surprisingly low on the EWG’s Skin Deep website. This excites me greatly because I love their tremendous color selection. I picked up Syrup and Plumful and can’t deal with how much I love both of the shades. (Also, Viva Glam V is about the best pinkish-nude out there.) What’s your favorite MAC lipstick shade?

5. Did you see this article on the declining divorce rate? Promising.

6. The 35 best times someone on Facebook thought The Onion was real. HAHAAAAAA.

7. Since my clothing/accessory shopping days are over until late March, I’m just going to make you buy stuff instead. Did you see this reversible tote? Black AND cognac brown? For 48 bucks? DO IT.

I’m heading to Dallas for a couple of days followed by a quick trip back to the beach. Can’t wait to soak up some California sun, folks. Enjoy your weekend!

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20 comments
  1. Kate

    January 16, 2015 at 7:00 am

    I am going to try those 36 Fall-in-Love questions on a date night with my husband (he doesn’t know this yet) as a love brush-up. I’ll report back. :)
    THANK YOU for finding me the perfect, inexpensive, tote to replace my busted one from Boden, which is literally flaking apart and hanging by a thread. I have been shopping for months and not found anything as perfect as the one I just ordered from Nordstrom.

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 7:34 am

      I thought about doing that on date night as well! I not even sure after 12 years that I know all of my husband’s answers! ;) Yay on the tote!

  2. Leslie

    January 16, 2015 at 8:22 am

    Such great stuff this week!! First I love Neil Gaiman, he is so quote worthy. Magic, art, books and kisses, that’s all anyone needs, right? Also, that healthy eating guide has tons of information!! Thank you. And my favorite TWO red MAC lipsticks are Russian Red (matte) with a REDD lip liner for a serious red lip and Lady Bug (Lustre) for a lighter, more casual look.

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 11:12 am

      Russian Red is a classic!

  3. Rebecca

    January 16, 2015 at 8:25 am

    I need to know more about that reversible tote! I’ve got bigger arms, so sometimes straps drive me crazy. Is there anyone out there with the same problem that can give me an idea of how the straps work? Thanks!

  4. Chris

    January 16, 2015 at 9:20 am

    I am so buying that tote! I should probably buy the black/cognac, but I’m loving the cognac/aqua combo….decisions, decisions!

    On a side note…I have been in the process of cleaning up my beauty & home cleaning routines as well over the last year. You inspired me to make the jump with my make-up and I went on a Tarte binge with Macy’s gift cards I had (score!). Coincidentally, 4 days later I found out I had Thyroid issues, so now I’m on a quest to finally clean up everything! Last thing for me to change is my hair products, which I ordered yesterday. Hopefully I got some keepers (it’s hard with a pixie, I HAVE to use product)! Will you be doing a hair post on your favorites?

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 11:12 am

      Yay for you! I will do a post on hair favorites, although I haven’t been using that many products lately. What did you end up ordering?

      • Chris

        January 16, 2015 at 12:39 pm

        My normal routine is to use a styling cream (Bumble & Bumble), then a texture paste/cream (my salon’s brand), and then Elnett hairspray. I think the hairspray is going to be the hardest to find…

        I ended up purchasing:
        Alba Botanica Soft Hold Style Cream – EWG score of 1
        John Masters Organics – Hair Texturizer Bourbon Vanilla and Tangerine – EWG score of 2
        Alba Botanica Medium Hold Hair Spray – EWG score of 3

        Honestly, I purchased these because they had pretty good reviews and were available on Amazon with free shipping :). I would have loved to find a hairspray that had a score of 2 or 1, but most of the ones I looked at had crazy scents, and the Bourbon Vanilla & Tangerine of the texturizer will probably be pushing it – I couldn’t imagine mixing that with, say, Vanilla Mint! The market is slim for “safe” texturizing creams, so I had to pick my battle :)

        Like I said, having a pixie means I HAVE to use product!

        • whoorl

          January 16, 2015 at 5:09 pm

          Cool! Keep me posted on how you like the new products.

          • Chris

            January 21, 2015 at 9:14 am

            Well, they leave a lot to be desired, but I am working with them :)!

            I’m used to aerosol hairspray, so that is going to be the hardest to get used to. The one I purchased leaves the hair kind of hard, which the Elnett never did.

            The style cream doesn’t leave the hair as “dirty” as the Bumble & Bumble version doid. I do a messy style most of the time and need some grip on the hair to accomplish this.

            The texturizer is nice, but it isn’t as tacky as the one I was using. I don’t get as much lift as I was getting, and not nearly as much texture. There is a very fine line between not enough and way too much (greasy mess) with this one. Smell is fantastic and not strong at all.

            To work with these two issues I have purchased the Not Your Mother’s Girl Powder Volumizing Hair Powder. Scores a 0 on Skin Deep and gets pretty good reviews.

            Fingers crossed!!

  5. Tina

    January 16, 2015 at 11:05 am

    GAH! Stop! I am on a buying freeze too! But the cognac with the lining? You are KILLING me! I had the 36 questions marked on my phone and I had planned on “making” my scruffy-face do it with me on date night. At the new champagne bar. Where I will have champagne and oysters. I’m pretty sure I will make a spectacle of myself.
    I also wanted to write you a thank you (complete with a picture of my loot, but then I just thought that to be a bit much) for doing all the work for me on healthier beauty/body products!! THANK YOU! I have been working on it for months and you made it SO much easier! It’s so time consuming! Now…if I could just find a 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner for my 7 year old….hint, hint.
    Best,
    Tina

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 11:11 am

      Haha, #sorrynotsorry. ;)

      So glad I could I help! As for my kiddos, I use this shampoo and conditioner: http://bit.ly/153OHgQ (Although I only use conditioner on some days…I find the shampoo to be moisturizing enough.)

  6. giselle

    January 16, 2015 at 11:54 am

    I ordered that tote yesterday! I love your style so glad to know you like it too :)

  7. kat

    January 16, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    I bought that bag but when it arrived, it had a horrible toxic chemical smell. Womp womp. Might as well go full leather!

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      Oh, bummer!

  8. Sarah

    January 16, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    Thanks SO MUCH for all your research! I have completely overhauled my makeup and skin care products from your recommendations. I am thrilled to see MAC Lustre lipsticks are acceptable. Perhaps I am using the website incorrectly, but I tried to look up MAC products on EWG and nothing resulted?? I assume other MAC finishes like Cremesheen are a no go since you didn’t mention those. . .

    • whoorl

      January 16, 2015 at 4:14 pm

      Hi Sarah, unfortunately many products aren’t listed on the Skin Deep website – what you need to do is find the ingredient list of your product and enter each one into the search individually. It’s a bit time-consuming, but I’ve never come across an ingredient that wasn’t in the EWG database. If all of the ingredients score low, you are set. :)

  9. Marie

    January 16, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    Ugh. Can’t believe you wrote “I’m just going to make you buy stuff instead” right before an rStyle link.

  10. Charlene

    January 21, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    I love your idea of not buying stuff until a certain time. I tend to binge shop for myself and then have periods of getting nothing at all. I would love to hear more about this “Since my clothing/accessory shopping days are over until late March”.

  11. Pam

    January 21, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    The reversible tote arrived in the mail today–love it but wish it were a tiny bit smaller. My husband asked why I got it and I explained, “Sarah from Whoorl told me to do it!” LOL I now own a bunch of Tarte make-up on your recommendation, too, so thanks! #swearimnotastalker