What’s up, beautiful blossoms?!

I did say I was going to attempt writing an entry today as scheduled and I’m here. And yes, BAFT is making a one-time comeback today, thanks to YouTube MUA Jordan Liberty’s video on Instagram makeup on the second half of today’s entry. But first, time to get my raised eyebrow back to its normal level.

FLOWER Beauty, as I’ve mentioned before, is a cosmetic brand created by Drew Barrymore that used to be sold in Walmart stores. The brand’s selling point is that it’s plant-infused, cruelty-free, made in America, and uses the same ingredients used in luxury makeup without the hefty price tag. I say “used” because Walmart no longer carries this brand, which raised both eyebrows.

The business reach of Walmart is pretty expansive – there are superstores across the country and their cheap prices lure hundreds everyday (believe me, I’m willing to travel at least 5 miles to the only Walmart closest to NYC, which is in Rosedale), signalling the end of mom-and-pop stores in suburbia. Getting a shelf in a Walmart is a dream come true for any retail brand and FLOWER Beauty is no exception to this.

But when someone posted on Reddit’s Makeup Addiction that Walmart Canada had a clearance on ALL FLOWER Beauty products, that piqued my interest a bit. Canadians pay more for products from the US (currency exchange rates being the reason), so I figured that maybe the brand was just too expensive, even if it was Walmart-exclusive. I’ve never shopped in a Walmart Canada before.

But when I popped into a Walmart by the Galleria at Westbury, I came across the FLOWER Beauty shelf in the cosmetic section and it was cleaned out – just empty plastic shelves and little yellow tabs saying CLEARANCE. Whether people went bonkers and grabbed the stuff off or Walmart cleared them because nobody was buying them, I’ll never know. I couldn’t help but think that Drew Barrymore was going to discontinue the brand because it wasn’t selling well.

But a quick Google search for deets showed that the brand has not been discontinued – the company site is still active, but it continues to say that the brand is only available at Walmart in-stores and on Walmart.com. Perhaps this will change soon to reflect the now-empty shelf spaces that are collecting dust in-stores. If there is one thing that Shark Tank taught me, it’s that paying for retail shelf space is a bitch – most of the brands that pitch on the show are online-only.

Do you see FLOWER Beauty still being sold in your local Walmart? Have other stores started carrying them? Let me know in the comments below!

And now, let’s jump right into BAFT. Earlier today, I was browsing new beauty videos to watch on YouTube and because I’ve watched some of MUA Jordan Liberty’s videos, YouTube suggested his video on Instagram makeup. If you dabble into makeup today, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to not know about Instagram and its influence on beauty trends. Jordan was very vocal about how he felt regarding the Instagram makeup approach – he wasn’t fond of it because the style requires layers of makeup to look good for pictures and video.

But the average woman isn’t gonna put on layers of makeup just to look good for a camera and then take it off when she’s done. Even more so if she has to go to work. During one of my bus trips to Atlantic City, I went HAM on my makeup and did the works – foundation, eyeshadow, concealer, lipstick, the works. After 4 hours (half of my day), I was ready to wash my face – the makeup felt heavier toward the end and despite using my UD De-Slick spray, I still sweat a bit and some of my makeup came off because my face got too damn oily from trying to keep myself warm and toasty from the damn cold weather.

Ultimately, wearing layers and layers of makeup felt impractical for me. I can understand why drag queens do their makeup heavy handed – when they perform, they need their makeup to last through shows. Kim Kardashian West and her family can rock the heavy makeup look because they’re photographed nearly 24/7. But girls and women who post makeup selfies for the hell of it on Instagram? They must have all the time in the world to transform their faces for their followers.

When Jordan decided to film his model’s response to the Instagram makeup look he did, she surprised me by saying she didn’t even recognize herself. This had me wondering if one of my views on makeup in general is tilted: people wear makeup to look different. I didn’t expect people to wear makeup and still recognize themselves. The endgame of makeup is to transform oneself – and no, the no-makeup makeup look is not excluded from this because people are still changing how they generally look.

When I see people get makeovers, most of the time people would be tearing up because they never imagined that they’d “look like that.” As in they don’t recognize themselves and they’re somehow happy. But does that mean that they shouldn’t feel that way because Jordan’s model wasn’t happy with the fact that she couldn’t recognize herself? Of course not! Your mileage may vary, after all.

So the next time I start to put on makeup, I’m sure I’ll remember Jordan’s video and ask myself: do I want to look different today, or do I still wanna see myself?