A lot has been made in the news recently about the lipstick effect, the tendency of consumers to buy small luxury items during a recession instead of purchasing high ticket items.
Apparently, the recession has hit me hard:
Behold the infamous “Tackle Box”. This carrier houses my not-so-secret shame and the pinnacle of my girly indulgences. I am not even going to try to defend this frivolity on my part; every woman deserves to feel like a pretty, pretty princess. I fully recognize I don’t need this, but I like it, and that is enough for me. The thing with makeup is this: it can tweak who you are and how you see the world. A smoky eye leaves me feeling vampy and flirtatious; a light wash of pink blush and sheer lip gloss results in a sweet and innocent reflection in the mirror; and taupe lids with a nude lipstick are all I need to be reminded it is time to get serious. I’ve been obsessed with make up since high school, which isn’t shocking. It is the time in everyone’s life when they desperately wish they were anyone but themselves; my kohl rimmed eyes told the world not to screw with me and served as a layer of protection.
So when economists talk about the lipstick effect, I get it. These little pots of powder and jars of paint are a luxury I could never imagine relinquishing even in the toughest of times. Take away my vacations, President Bush, but you cannot take away my Lancome.
Of course, all this money going to make up has to be taken from somewhere else. It’s okay to pluck from my food budget to subsidize my material lusts, right? Right? Well, I am the boss around here and what I say, goes. Out with the steak, in with the ground chicken… These chicken burgers were made solely from things already in my pantry and came out shockingly well for being thrown together on a whim. The sesame oil added moisture to the ground chicken, which can often become dry. The red pepper flakes offered a touch of heat without becoming too overwhelming and the soy added a touch of sweetness. Had I been thinking (I am often not), I would have added some ground or fresh ginger; it would have added a nice element of depth. Oh well; they still tasted great.
And I am still left with enough money for a trip to Sephora…
Asian Chicken Burgers
Lemmonex Original
1 package ground chicken meat
1 1/2 tablespoons seasame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 medium sized shallot, mined
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
Salt and Pepper
Combine all ingredients together (will form 4 patties). Cook until no pink remains in burger.
9:12 am on June 26th, 2008
Okay, the burger is great. I mean, I at least half support all things Asian…
But woah, by itself Tackle Box is as wide as the sink, even before you unfold its numerous compartments. How heavy is it? Even perched as precariously as it is, it doesn’t topple into the sink.
It weighs about 8 lbs, maybe? It is usually perched sideways on the left edge; one day I am going to knock it down and there will be some tears. You might actually hear me sobbing in your neighborhood.
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9:18 am on June 26th, 2008
Why not just get a pink sparkly Caboodle?
I love makeup, too! I troll for Clinique Free Gift Time so I can buy a $23 compact and get $40 worth of other stuff.
A caboodle is not big enough! I loathe to admit it, but this photo makes it look small. There are about 4 layers of eye shadow in that bottom compartment…
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9:36 am on June 26th, 2008
I have tons of makeup, but I basically wear the same five items every time I do up my face. I really should throw the unused stuff out.
And that burger looks nummy. I’m may be picking up some ground chicken with my strawberries and spinach…
Yeah, I do manage to use all this. Shocking but true. Also, there are online swaps for make-up if you don’t want to just trash it…
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9:57 am on June 26th, 2008
Oh thank god it’s not just me. Sephora started sending me unsolicited coupons and stuff in the mail… I can only assume, because I’m one of their best customers.
And I definitely hear you on the style of make-up affecting your persona and the way you carry yourself that day. It’s like when you wear a new piece of clothing and everyone comments on how great you look that day; it’s not necessarily the clothing itself, it’s how you’re wearing it.
Love it.
Agree 100%. I never feel sexier than when I wear my red lipstick; it isn’t the lipstick, it is how it makes me feel.
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10:08 am on June 26th, 2008
PS, Sephora might be having a free shipping sale right now. Just sayin.
EVIL TEMPTRESS!!
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10:44 am on June 26th, 2008
Personally, I prefer the classic “Pint of Beer with a Shot of Whiskey Effect.” I believe this was known to help quite a few people through the Great Depression. Enough of these and you can feel like just about anybody. Or anything.
Rothko! I have missed you so… I have had a few whiskeys in my day as well, so I hear what you are saying. Still though, some sparkle helps as well…
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11:04 am on June 26th, 2008
Ahhhh makeup. While I don’t wear a lot of it…come nighttime and getting decked out–ITS ON. With subtlety of course. Sort of.
I can be subtle, though it is generally not my style.
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12:03 pm on June 26th, 2008
From one makeup lover to another:
From a recent email – not sure about the makeup, but worth it for new brushes- plus, you can’t beat $1.00:
Nordstrom is changing the logo on their makeup, so they’re selling
everything that says ‘e.l.f.’ for $1!
http://www.eyeslipsface.com/shop.asp
If you spend $10 and enter the code: ECTAPDY, the shipping is free. what could be
better!
Thanks Sooz! The ELF stuff is good, but they actually are not connected to Nordstrom…that is a bit of an internet scam. Still, some of the stuff is worth it.
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12:51 pm on June 26th, 2008
I just Estee Laudered myself into gloriosity this past weekend. Full makeover. Glad it’s not just me.
Full makeover! Oh, sounds like heaven. It is funny, for a girl who owns 45 eyeshadows, I have never had a full makeover…what would they give me?
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2:05 pm on June 26th, 2008
Yeah, congressional staffers are really hurting right now.
SD, I don’t work on the Hill. Do you know something I don’t? You wouldn’t be the first man who claims to know me better than myself.
And ps: young Hill staffers (like office assistants), who are thousands of dollars in debt from college, make about $28k a year. One is not going to live high on the hilt with that.
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2:08 pm on June 26th, 2008
We have similar make up tastes, I recognize the Urban Decay, love urban decay and mac.
I got an awesome makeover in San Fran last month at MAC – walked away with 200 dollars in makeup – yikes.
UD and MAC are the best eye shadows…along with Lancome. Highly pigmented and blendable.
I am sorry male readers.
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2:08 pm on June 26th, 2008
A few random thoughts…
Watching a woman who knows how to apply lipstick, apply lipstick is the best free performance art going.
Fortunately there is no male equivalent for this activity.
Everyone feels sexier with a glass of champagne.
One eggwhite will add to the juiciness of that chicken burger.
Champagne can leave you with a brutal hangover if you are not careful, though. That is not sexy.
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2:15 pm on June 26th, 2008
Do you ever use the urban decay eye shadow primer? Best stuff hands down, its better than macs. Love it!!!!
I am still searching for the perfect mascara — argh!!!!
I use the Loreal, but have been meaning to try UD.
I generally don’t do drug store, but try Cover Girl Lash Blast (in the fat orange tube.) It is awesome and only $8; proves that some drug store stuff is just as good as the make up counters. Have you tried Dior Show or Lancome Hypnose? Those are phenomenal.
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2:35 pm on June 26th, 2008
Severe champagne hangovers are usually the result of an allergic reaction to the champagne itself. This allergy exists in about 10% of the population – myself included. If I ever have more than three glasses, get me home quick before my jassackery begins.
Wow, the more you know. I didn’t realize there could be a specific reaction to champagne.
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2:44 pm on June 26th, 2008
Obviously by the comparison of our tackle boxes, we are fishing for something completely different. Just remember, once you have set the hook, don’t pull too hard or it will rip out.
Yes, one must always be delicate.
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2:48 pm on June 26th, 2008
I made some very similar burgers the other day (with ground turkey meat), and yours look almost as good!
For me, the best way to keep poultry patties moist is to NOT buy the 99% lean stuff, as tempting as it is. When you use the 93% lean meat, there’s just enough fat content to keep things juicy without…well, making your ASS juicy as well. Ha!
As for the makeup, we are kindred spirits, as you know (though my addictions are lip gloss and perfume instead of eye shadow). Love the “Tackle Box”! Oh, and Sephora ALWAYS has free shipping, if you spend $75 or more–which, come one, is pretty damn easy to do.
Yeah, 93% is clutch. I only use the 99% for things like meat sauces. Like you, I cannot spend less than $75 there, so shipping is always free.
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2:56 pm on June 26th, 2008
No I haven’t tried the Lancome or Dior
I got the primer for free – the coupon was in a magazine. if i find another one I will let you know……….I will never use another primer.
I will say best lipgloss though is
stila lip glaze
Try them and let me know. I am a Chanel Glossimer kinda gal myself.
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2:58 pm on June 26th, 2008
ohhhhh that sounds like a really tasty burger! thanks! and yeah… make up love!
Who doesn’t love make up?
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3:16 pm on June 26th, 2008
Ohh Chanel – you have awesome taste.
I like Chanel’s liquid eyeliner – makes a very sexy smokey eye.
Oh, I will check that out. And I have VERY BAD TASTE in men.
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3:30 pm on June 26th, 2008
Yeah, guys definitely do not notice any of this stuff — maybe presence vs. absence of make-up, but that’s it. Chanel, Dior, etc. — just a way to show that you’re better and badder than that bitch over there! (To paraphrase the “it’s more about how you feel” comments.)
It’s like how many guys obsess over the perfect car or plasma screen TV to get. Usually guys are less deluded than girls, but in this case, I think the poor saps actually think a potential conquest would care about their choice.
I don’ do it for boys; I do it for me. Chanel and Dior make the best of certain things. I type this as I wear a $6 belt. I know labels are not everything.
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3:31 pm on June 26th, 2008
My only cosmetic vice is fragrance. I will search the world over for the perfect citrusy floral.
Have you tried “Calyx” by Prescriptives? Kenzo “Flower” is also lovely…
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3:31 pm on June 26th, 2008
So do I – so we have that in common bad taste in men, but good taste everywhere else.
I think you, me and Shannon should hit the town in search of men — Shannon can be our “wingman” per se ha
I think Shannon could bust some skulls for us.
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4:15 pm on June 26th, 2008
“Full makeover! Oh, sounds like heaven. It is funny, for a girl who owns 45 eyeshadows, I have never had a full makeover…what would they give me?”
Oh, but you must! Find a saleswoman that doesn’t look like she’s applied her makeup with a catapult and plop yourself down on a Saturday in her chair! Get a look that’s intended to work all together from someone who has some sense of what goes with what!
Then go home and throw out the stuff from 1993. It’s probably gone bad by now, anyway.
I do purge though; about once a year. I really use everything I have. Can you imagine how bad it would be if I didn’t?
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4:26 pm on June 26th, 2008
I wear White Linen, Happy Heart, or Fresh Sugar Lemon in summer, and Diptyque Jardin Clos or Prada in winter. So I smell like flowery laundry, orange juice, lemonade, an English garden after rain, or a vanilla-dipped forest.
Prada is dead sexy, but way too heavy for summer.
I like the Prada as well. I am ok with white linen, though I am always looking for something “cleaner”.
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4:26 pm on June 26th, 2008
Also, skull-busting? I LOVE my badass online rep. In person I’m 5′2″ and look like I’m 12.
Yeh, people think I am some kind of sassy urban ice queen. (Other’s words, not mine). Little do they know I go home and watch “Bambi” every night and sob.
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4:31 pm on June 26th, 2008
Zipcode- I second UD’s eyeshadow primer- awesome stuff. I do like Stila lipgloss a lot, but NARS stays on foreva-eva!
I am wearing Nars today.
Boys, I promise…tomorrow, there will be sex talk.
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4:49 pm on June 26th, 2008
Liar. Tomorrow we discuss rainbows and ponies!
UNICORNS!
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4:58 pm on June 26th, 2008
Men are dummies; I should know, I am one. Every guy I know says “I don’t notice make up, it’s unimportant. The only thing I don’t like is when girls wear too much”
Dude, you know when that hottie looked up at you with those amazing F Me eyes? Make up. Or she bats her eyes at you in a way that suggests she badly wants to violate the local decency laws? Make up. Or the lips you so badly want wrapped around your….? Lip gloss. etc.
That’s the point of good make up: you don’t notice it but it makes her look hot.
So looking forward to tomorrow’s blog. I got nothing on the chicken burger, I’m allergic to chicken.
Allergic to chicken? That bites. And thanks for seeing my point about make-up. Of course blue eye shadow is obvious, but even when I look “natural” there is always something there.
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5:02 pm on June 26th, 2008
Lemmonex, is that tackle box like one of those Harry Potter magic tricks where objects are much larger inside than they appear outside. Kind of like all women’s purses right?
Haha, yes. All the eyeshadows are about the size of half dollars. Also, I have pulled ROLLS OF DUCT TAPE out of my purses. I am not screwing around.
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5:18 pm on June 26th, 2008
Yeah well most of you think I am some gun toting, dominatrix, when in reality I look very innocent – I swear I don’t any chains or black rubber suits. Maybe a whip for fun but other than I look like I walked out of Young Republican meeting most days.
OK, now you are just lying. I sense you are a leather kinda gal.
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5:22 pm on June 26th, 2008
No, I swear – the only leather I own is a motorcycle jacket and that has pink on it. Coach purses and leather shoes, but seriously – I am very girly actually. Heck my fav color is pink
My favorite color is black…wonder what that means. (And yes I know it is actually lack of color)
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6:08 pm on June 26th, 2008
That’s the point of good make up: you don’t notice it but it makes her look hot.
Nah, I always hear girls saying they’re not wearing any make-up and feel disgusting, naked, bla bla bla, and I can’t tell — I thought they were wearing make-up. Granted, these are mostly college students.
Obviously make-up will have a greater effect on 30 and 40-somethings, who have lots of visible wrinkles, thinning lips, etc., but I’m still doubtful of its utility to 20-somethings.
OK, think of it this way: It is art. I like to express myself and my mood through my makeup.
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6:10 pm on June 26th, 2008
(especially ones like Lemmonex who look 5 years younger anyway — no, not because of the make-up. It’s an overall effect, not just the face.)
Thanks…I think.
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6:50 pm on June 26th, 2008
I didn’t read through the other comments so sorry if repeat question:
How do you (did you) cook that? On a grill or a skillet?
What condiment are you showing on top? It resembles the Big Mac’s “special sauce” (and looks just as tasty).
I cooked it on the foreman grill; it would work on a grill pan or skillet though. The sauce is low fat mayo with a few shots of soy sauce mixed in. It was awesome.
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9:52 pm on June 26th, 2008
Apparently I have visible wrinkles and thinning lips…perhaps I ought to never leave the house at all.
Back to your cave, troll.
Don’t worry. I still think you are swell.
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11:23 pm on June 26th, 2008
All this… estrogen… need to… watch sports, drink beer, and smoke a cigar…
I like the beer and cigar part! And I love hockey if there is a fight…
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8:27 am on June 27th, 2008
I have worked in the beauty industry for 18 years: Lancome, Chanel, Trish…and then, onto the motherlode: Sephora itself, where I ran a store for 5 years, and then worked part time for 2. Now I write for a beauty magazine in my part-time and to say I have a stash of beauty products is a gross-understatement. I have so much crap I can’t close my box…
But would I part with any of it? Do I still add new lip glosses here or a shiny new eyeshadow there? Absolutely. I like to think of it as my own little contribution to the economy. When I worked at Sephora, I used to hear a lot of guys complain when their wives/girlfriends etc. would buy makeup. ‘Why do you need that?’ and my standard answer to them all was, ‘How many DVD’s do you own?’
ahem.
Those chicken burgers look fantastic!
You have no idea how much I envy you; my secret dream is to work in the beauty industry. It’s funny you mention the DVD thing; my friend Irish and I often talk about that. Her thing is movies and shows on DVD, mine is makeup. We really spend about the same amount on them, mine just draws a little more ire. It’s our money and we can do with it what we choose.
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9:34 am on June 27th, 2008
I hate to interrupt this charming conversation (“Makeup Rulz! Boyz drool!”) with a question about COOKING (God forbid!), but … what did you top these burgers with?
I answered that, fool! It’s not all make-up talk. Mayo with a few shots of soy sauce…
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10:54 am on June 27th, 2008
[...] Turkey Burger | Jun 27th 2008 Not to jump on Miss Lemmonex’s coattails, but I made some pretty tasty turkey burgers the other night. This recipe came from the [...]
11:12 am on June 27th, 2008
Mmmhmm, I see that Orgasm blush in there. Slut.
The pink box near the Orgasm is called “Throb”…ahem.
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11:49 am on June 27th, 2008
I’m a NARs girl myself. I am convinced that the only way I survived 4 months of joblessness were my occasional trips to Blue Mercury for a new tube of NARs lip gloss. Expensive but worth it.
It is worth every cent. It is the little things…
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4:31 pm on June 30th, 2008
I wish I could cope with a tackle box like yours. I think I missed the critical developmental window for make up skills. My parents would not allow so much as colored lip gloss until after I turned 18.
Now I can’t fathom what to do with all of it – plus it makes my face feel all icky if I try. But I wish I could be all girly over powders and paints – I really do. And being one of those old hags with thinning lips and fine lines I probably really need it.
Like everything else, practice makes perfect. Hmm…maybe you are using the wrong stuff if you feel icky? Quality is key.
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