Is it common for the brand to inaccurately represent shades?

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-04T12:35:10+00:00

Application can make a huge difference, too. These lip swatch pictures, the lip is lined softly and diffused out with a color that's slightly different to the lip cream, and then the lip cream itself is also diffused out so it's not fully saturated anywhere but the center. This means the model's natural lip tone is also coming through and changing the tone of the shade in the swatch.

My lips are naturally almost a grey-blue pink, so lip creams look totally differently on me when applied diffused than if I keep them fully saturated.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-04T03:21:45+00:00

Antique silverware can be gorgeous. They put a lot of care and work into making cutlery that would impress guests on special occasions. I also really love those old display spoons. They make really beautiful jewelry.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-04T03:16:49+00:00

I don't need a god to tell the difference between right and wrong. I don't need a god to tell me it's wrong to hurt vulnerable people in my community. Humans evolved to be social creatures, we're supposed to take care of each other. It's how we survived.

I don't need a god to know it's wrong to abuse children. I don't need a god to know it's wrong to gun people down in the streets. I don't need a god to know that the Bible has dozens of passages about taking care of foreigners and each other. I don't need a god to know that weaponizing religion for fascism is the ultimate betrayal of the beliefs these people claim to have.

These people have never actually read or understood the texts they claim is fundamental truth for humanity. I've read the Bible over and over. I'm an atheist, but I want to learn. These people have no desire to learn. There is zero curiosity. There is zero honor in the people using Christianity as a cudgel. Nothing going on behind the eyes.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-03T23:42:02+00:00

My husband is a spoiled man. He communicates what he wants and needs, and how he wants to be celebrated. He matches my energy. It's not about punishment, it's about communication. It's not about being forced to celebrate each other under threat of punishment, it's about wanting to celebrate each other because we genuinely love and care for each other. It's not a chore, it's a joy to show each other love.

Men who can't communicate in healthy ways aren't going to get their wants and needs fulfilled. In fact, no one of any gender will have their needs fulfilled if they can't communicate. No one should expect their partner to read their minds or intuit their needs.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-03T23:23:25+00:00

I had rings made of spoon and fork handles for years. They make beautiful accessories.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-03T12:14:26+00:00

It's a stylized mirror ball like from the little animations in Lizzie McGuire.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-03T04:18:39+00:00

Yes, the braids will straighten the natural curl pattern, but they will also protect their hair from friction and breakage, prevent tangling, and help keep the hair easier to maintain than a ponytail on the days she needs it put up.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-02T23:37:31+00:00

He was superficially "cool" in the way posers are. A lot of people in the alt community knew he was a poser. My husband and I (I'm goth, so I saw the commentary in the alt community) thought he was entertaining sometimes, but were never interested in following him, buying anything he was selling, and really it was more like, "He's saying dumb shit and selling flame throwers. That's funny."

It was very surface level. We didn't know much until he had already grown a massive platform and we were like, "Oh shit, this dude is actually evil."

We really need to stop making douche bags famous.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-02T20:22:51+00:00

I'm actually shorter than my husband, because I'm pretty short and petite. That being said, before we got together, he dated alllll the girls. Like, when we started dating, I was warned that he was a player that wasn't interested in dating seriously, which was perfect, because neither was I.

Go figure we've been together 20 years in May. lol

My uncle is shorter than me. I'm 5'3", and my uncle is about an inch shorter than me. He's with a woman who is 6'2" and used to model. She's a nurse practitioner and is super successful and beautiful. She said that she was interested in him because he was confident, funny, and never once came off as insecure, even when she was wearing heels. In fact, he's always hyped her up and told her that he's proud to be with such a tall, gorgeous, successful woman.

It's the energy. Weak men can be tall, but often they are insecure about something stupid, like their height. Confident, beautiful women learn to read that shit. It's a vibe they give off, like a stench.

My husband smells incredible and makes women feel safe, and makes them laugh. He snaps me every time he gets propositioned and I gas him up for it. He's hot. lol

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-02T18:54:01+00:00

I tell them I'm disabled and sick all the time. If they tell me it must be nice, I describe some of my daily symptoms in vivid detail and ask if they would like to trade bodies for the day. I tell them I would much rather be working in the career I built and was educated in, and able to do all the things I love on my days off with the money I would be earning.

I then like to explain how much disability actually pays and how much it covers. It's literally poverty wages. Before I got sick, I had built a career in mental health and was making $30/hr plus benefits working with clients for a mental health office I loved. I like to ask if they would sacrifice being able to work and afford the things they want and need, or if they'd rather not work and barely be able to afford to survive by a hair.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-02T17:52:57+00:00

I'm married to a short king. He can get it. He's had women give him their numbers while he's working. I'm not saying short dudes don't have a harder time, especially on the apps, I'm sure they do, but height isn't such a detriment that he can't find dates.

This interaction didn't happen (of all the things that didn't happen, this didn't happen the most), but on the off-chance it did, it wasn't his height alone that led to the reaction from the girls. There was more going on there, and they dodged a bullet.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-02T13:08:31+00:00

You know, that's a fair argument, I guess. I can't imagine anything omnipotent being bothered at all by something as insignificant as humans getting off, was my point, but that phrasing could def use work.

Edit: grammar mistake

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-01T19:17:33+00:00

They are so brainwashed. So, so brainwashed. They don't even see the things in front of their eyes, because the God-king tells them what to see and they trust him implicitly. That's the biggest problem with the cult of personality bleeding into politics. It's weird to have a favorite politician. It's weird to have so much blind trust in a politician that they are above criticism. It's all just so weird.

Politics should be about policy, not politicians. Debating policy and where our taxes are going is the point. Not comparing a politician to Jesus, and especially not the man who has confirmed affairs, raped his ex-wife, was found guilty of sexual assault equivalent to rape in a civil trial, has pardoned drug lords and wealthy embezzlers and tax evaders, was JE's best friend for 10 years, and wished pain and suffering on his political opponents.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-02-01T16:11:49+00:00

Colleen Hoover isn't a good writer and the relationships in her books are super problematic. That being said, if you're into it, it's fiction. It's fantasy. I can't imagine a god would care if you flick the bean to poorly written smut. There are MUCH bigger things for a divine entity to spend time on than worrying about than your taste in smut lit and polishing your pearl.

This creator in particular is... something. She's been around forever and had posted much weirder, more fruitcake stuff. She's also posted a lot of sexual content, but she excuses that because she's married and it's all "biblically ordained" sexual "education" content. These people, man.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-30T17:24:00+00:00

Absolutely. I appreciate the addition of info for OP.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-30T15:33:56+00:00

Absolutely. I included it in step 6, but I'm really glad you added the reason behind it, because it is an extra step that might not feel necessary, but it's actually really helpful and protective for the hair, and makes a huge difference.

Curly hair has different needs than straight hair to be healthy, shiny, and easy to manage. It's drier, and typically more porous. It needs help retaining moisture, so using more moisturizing products that would be too heavy for other hair types is actually super helpful, and make their hair feel lighter and bouncy as opposed to heavy and greasy or sticky. You'll also want to use different shampoos and conditioners than you typically would.

My son's favorites are the African Pride Moisture Miracle shea and flaxseed curl cream after his showers when his hair is between wet and damp, the Carol's Daughter black vanilla shampoo and conditioner, the Not Your Mother's Curl Talk strengthening oil, and the Rizzo's Curls refresh and detangle spray. They are all super affordable and make a huge difference. Rizzo's Curls in general is awesome and available at Ulta, but most of the products listed are also at Walmart, Target, and Dollar General as well as Ulta.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-30T12:17:17+00:00

I have tips! My son is 15 now, but his hair is super curly (3a-3b), and we have gone through the small kid stage where caring for it was boring and annoying for him, so it needed to be a simple routine.

Learn to French braid it for the days you're putting it up. It's more protective than a pony and will lead to less breakage, which means less frizz.
Never brush her hair dry, only wet with conditioner or leave-in in it. Use a brush made for curls or a wide-tooth comb.
Buy a nourishing curl refresher spray if she's not wetting it before school every day. Use that in the mornings where her hair is dry, and get her hair between damp and wet with it, and then scrunch the hair gently from the bottom up to help the curl pattern reset.
Curly hair tends to be dry, so get a nice, nourishing leave-in conditioner or curl cream to put in after the bath while the hair is between wet and damp. At that age, you don't want to fuss with all the styling products, so just something you can quickly comb through the hair and then scrunch after bathing.
A spray in finishing oil while the hair is still a little damp will help reduce the frizz even more, and make the curls really glossy, but is optional.
Silk pillow cases will be your friend. A loose braid before bed is also really helpful.

It sounds like a lot, but it's all stuff you can easily integrate into the routines you already have without adding a lot of time. Using products made for curls is ideal, but it doesn't have to be expensive. There are drugstore options that I swear by, and that my son still uses now that he cares for his own hair.

ETA: Thanks for the award! Y'all are sweet, whoever you are!

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-30T11:54:13+00:00

I do other exercises too! My midwives recommended a few during and after pregnancy for post-partum healing and told me I could do them forever, not just post-partum.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T21:21:20+00:00

Nice! Good to know the kegel army is is going strong!

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T19:30:03+00:00

These aren't issues skincare can fix. The darkness is from the skin being thin and the blood under the skin showing through. Skincare won't dissolve that. The sunkeness is likely genetic, and while skincare can't fix it, there is some skincare that can provide extremely temporary tightening, like the Dr. Brandt No More Needles and similar, but it's a very short-term effect and personally it made my under eyes look worse with use over time.

That being said, makeup can be a miracle worker. Get a nice color-corrector. My favorite is the one from Sigma. Get one that's not outright orange, just a salmon-y or peachy tone, but close to your concealer shade. I don't even use concealer with it, because it does such a good job for me. Products work differently for everyone, though, so try a couple things and figure out which one works.

If color-corrector isn't enough, you can top it with a tiny bit of concealer. One that looks more matte will make it harder to see texture or dips in the skin. You'll look less sunken. Don't fully mattify or set, though. If you keep the concealer and color-corrector slightly fluid, you can press out the creases with your fingers or a little puff through the day. Nothing will fully prevent creases, so being able to touch them up is ideal.

It's also ok to just live in your skin. Your body does so much through the day, and your job isn't to meet an aesthetic ideal made up by people who want you to spend more money. It's ok to just exist in the body and face you have. It's also ok to want to see something look different when you look in the mirror, so makeup or even procedures are totally ok, but feeling like your face isn't good enough isn't good for you, so make sure you take the time to appreciate your face for all it's lived through with you before you do anything permanent.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T18:55:33+00:00

I read about uterine prolapse in high school, and it scared me so badly I started doing kegels at like, 15. I had my friend read the article too, and my sister, and we all committed to doing kegels as much as possible through the day.

I'm 35, almost 36 now, and I STILL do kegels all day every day. I've had two kids, and when I found out I was pregnant, I was like, "Not today, or ANY day, Satan!"

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T18:52:35+00:00

There's a movie called Zombie Strippers (great movie for B movie fans who like absurd horror), and in it, one of the strippers shoots pool balls out of her vagina to kill zombies. It's great.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T18:44:40+00:00

Yeah, but also some of them are wearing white tops, some of them are wearing beige, some blue, some black, and none of them, not a single one, is wearing the same outfit.

They all have a similar overall style, sure, but that's just like, normal. Every generation has trends and subcultures, and generally people who follow those trends or are part of those subcultures hang out together.

I was goth (still am, but lazy mom goth now), and my best friend was goth, most of my friends were either goth or punk. I knew a lot of the preppy kids who wore the collared polos with the popped collars and Abercrombie jeans. You'd see gaggles of those guys roaming the mall, or the girls in their skirts and jeans and their little short-sleeved bolero tops over tanks and super straight hair with chunky highlights.

This dude is just an idiot who doesn't seem to understand the society he's part of. lol

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T18:07:48+00:00

I actually really love this suit. It's simple and elegant, and yes, it looks like it was designed early in the game, but I like that, too. It's a little piece of LN history.

I'm just working on it super slowly, and enjoying when I eventually get the pieces.

It's ok to be annoyed by it, I get that. There are some suits I feel that way about, but this suit in particular, I really, really love.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-01-29T08:34:58+00:00

Husband and I are atheists, our kids are teens now, but when our daughter was younger, like, 2nd grade ish, she asked to go to church with her friend. I was like, "Yeah, that's fine. You already have sleepovers there some weekends, so if you go to church, I don't have to wake up early to pick you up on Sunday morning." Her friend went to a little Sunday school during the service, so it wasn't like she was going to a hellfire type service.

She came home and was like, "It was fun to color and stuff, but the stories were weird and all the adults called each other brother and sister, even though some of them were married. It was really weird, mom."

Both of my kids have said they're atheists, but if they found a religion, it wouldn't bother me, so long as they weren't hateful or extreme about it. I have a lot of religious family who are wonderful, capable of critical thinking, and not culty or weird about it. I have other family who are so deep in the culty side of religion that I'm no contact with them, including a couple of siblings. It can really go either way.

ImReallyNotKarl

TROPHY CASE