Evil Olive

Evil Olive is here to help. a friend recently asked how much she should be giving for a wedding. 'tis the season! there's a lot of factors that come into play: how close are you to the person? are you giving as yourself or as a couple? etc.

hey Olive,

i was invited to a family wedding, a cousin. we are not close, i haven't even seen this cousin in decades. i will not be attending, but do i send a gift? i'm not sure what to do here since it's actually a relative and my parents and other family members will be attending. the cousin's parents actually attended my own wedding, but he did not. i did not receive any gift or card from the cousin, but his parents gave me a gift at the wedding.

thanks,

perplexed in NYC

dear perplexed,

interesting! you'd think there'd be a clear-cut answer here because it's a relative, but i'm going to disagree with that here. you haven't seen them in ages! you clearly don't have a relationship with them. i would at least send a card, but i don't know if i would send any gift if you're not attending. think of it this way -- he didn't attend yours and didn't give a gift. you're doing the same. his parents came to yours and gave a gift, your parents are doing the same. i'd call that fair on all fronts.

sincerely,

Olive, Evil Olive

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i've always loved Laura Geller. she hit the nail on the head with the baked trend, years ago. her products are always high quality, and i really like her too. she's on QVC as well (great deals there too when she's featured!), and she's just lovely.

here’s what i bought:

color drenched lip gloss (pink grapefruit)

glamLASH mascara

blush-n-brighten (pink grapefruit)

bronze-n-brighten (medium)

color drenched lip gloss: pink grapefruit -- this feels great on the lips! great color too: not too much, not too little (though i don’t know about “drenched”). i feel like i can apply this without a mirror and it'll look great. is that the test of a good lip gloss??

glamLASH mascara -- holy moly! i wasn't expecting much, and it blew me away. i LOVE it. volumizes, lengthens, and separates! i think i like it even better than my holy grail, Dior's DiorShow. yes, really!

blush-n-brighten: pink grapefruit -- i'm not big on blush, and even i thought this was a bit subtle. but i'm actually glad that it was, so i can keep applying to get to the color i want. it looked natural too, really fresh.

bronze-n-brighten: medium -- i never bronze, so i was hoping i could be as light-handed as the blush, but it was too much. but for most, and those who contour, don't go by what i say. this, like the other "brighten" products, is wonderful.

prepare yourself for sappy love here, i've been blown away! where have i been? i'm only sorry it took me this long to discover this company. and they just recently celebrated *only* a one-year anniversary. i cannot believe they're that new, that young!

the quality -- from their products to their customer service -- is impeccable.

here's what i purchased:

lippie stix - Westie (matte)

lippie stix - Skimpy (glossy)

lippie stix - clear/primer

lippe pencil - Westie

lippie pencil - BFF

eyeshadow - Eye Candy

highlighter - Hippo

ok, first things first... SQUISHY! the feeling of the eyeshadow and highlighter is so interesting! like nothing you've felt before, it's hard to explain - it's spongey, baby butt soft, creamy yet powdery. really amazing and innovative.

and second things first... the pricing of their products. the lipsticks and lip liners were $5 each, the eyeshadow is also $5, and the highlighter is $8 and a bigger size than the eyeshadow. that kind of pricing AND amazing quality? i mean, c'mon! c'mon! it's true. all the buzz is true and justified!

- for me, Westie is insanely incredible on my lips, the color is ridiculously great with my skintone. the matte-ness of Westie is to die for, and lasted for hours. the lipstick and the pencil are quite similar and go together like PB+jelly. i'd say it's more mauve-y than the website shows, it's a bit too pink there.

- i like Skimpy, but the color isn't quite right on my face. it's very nude/brown. but it felt great, and it was just the right amount of glossy. maybe a bit too creamy, but it would be of course, compared to Westie which is much drier as a matte.

- the BFF lip liner is quite similar to Westie, just a tad more brown. looks great with Westie, and i like it on its own too. and it tickles me that BFF stand for "be fucking fabulous!"

NOTE: having used the Westie lip liner and lipstick together, it lasted me from 8:00am, until i ate lunch at 12:30pm, AND was still there after!! of course, it had wiped away and it was no longer matte, but the color was still on my lips. kind of like a tint, but it’s not a tint. so impressed. my lunch was saucy too, and i wiped my mouth multiple times!

- i am REALLY digging the primer. it's clear and matte. unexpected, right? it's glorious. i'm going to wear it on its own, it just smooths my lips and feels great.

- this eyeshadow! Eye Candy is the perfect mix of a light purple and pink without being Barbie-ish. it's cool, and does have silver sparkle, but it's so fine, that it looks great without having too much of a glitter sparkle.

- stop everything you're doing! this highlighter! OMFG. squishy like the eyeshadow, bigger, soft, easily blended. i got it in Hippo, a cool slight purple, and rays of light for days. this stuff is amazing! it might have unicorn blood in it. shh.

so all in all, i'm incredibly impressed, and super duper happy. i’m looking forward to trying other colors and products. and Colourpop is very much expanding -- the highlighters are new, and they've just come out with bronzers too. i only hope they continue to grow and grow and i hope they're successful as hell!

i told you... sappy! let's make out, Colourpop. olives are great kissers! squishy like your formula. ;)

i want to love Lush. so much. but so far, it’s miss after miss.

there wasn’t a Lush store in my area until recently, so i was able to experience the store first hand finally -- it’s mesmerizing and sucks you in. every employee i’ve encountered has been lovely and very helpful.

here’s what i bought and tried:

1) d’fluff: strawberry shaving soap -- sure it worked to shave my legs, but because it doesn’t lather whatsoever, it was simply a wet, crumbly mush. and strawberries? it’s pink, but that’s as far as any strawberry-likeness goes.

2) h’suan wen hua: hair treatment -- can you say this three times fast? can you say it at all?  this made my hair feel disgusting. applying it, it felt like it was going to moisturize my hair, but when i was done, it was really bad. it smelled like garbage, and made my hair feel greasy like i hadn’t washed it in months. 

3) full of grace: face serum -- this was ok. it didn’t do anything special, i have a million other serums i’ve tried and liked that i could use instead. i appreciate that they tried to deliver a different kind of application, but the bar was more annoying than anything else.

the internet is endless. so Evil Olive will bring you a slice of it. chop me up, for the sake of sharing! welcome to Olive Slices, another new series.

when Evil Olive comes across something interesting, it’ll be posted here! a favorite this, a favorite that. a slice of the big pizza pie that is the interwebs.

Olive at the Bar is a new series, an advice column. think of Evil Olive as your bartender, pour your heart out. *squish squish*

you can e-mail me <[email protected]> with a question or story, or if you're on Tumblr, submit via my /ask. all my contact info is here: contact me! please include your name and state (no last name, no city).

Evil Olive wants to help.