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Updated: Nov 25, 2020 136 Comments · by

Office Beauty Hall of Fame: Addict Lip Glow Color Reviving Lip Balm

Coffee Break· Workwear Hall of Fame | · · ·

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Readers raved about this lip balm in the post on beauty empties (as in, products they actually finish), but I wasn't sure I needed another tinted lip balm. I gave it a try based on how much the readers love it, and now I love it as well. I have the berry/glow color.

It's moisturizing and not dry, it's very easy to put on, and it's a great no-fuss option if you're looking for a “my lips, but better” product for work. Addict Lip Glow Color Reviving Lip Balm

Psst: these are some of our favorite MLBB tints (“my lips but better”) — a super easy office makeup look! Also check out this $20 option from Amazon; it's a great Dior Addict Lip Glow dupe. Other recent favorites, both very affordable: this NYX gloss, and this Peripera glowy tint.

Sales of note for 9.30.24

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

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About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Busybee

    I accepted a job offer and put in my two weeks notice on Friday. I had been actively job hunting for about two months and I think the new place will be a good fit. I don’t hate my current job but leaving now is a good professional move.

    Before the new job became a reality, I was so excited by the thought of leaving. I’d envision how great it would feel to get rid of all my files. But now that it’s a reality, I’m not as ecstatic. I know it’s nerves, plus the fact that I hate change. Anyone else ever had this feeling where you were so excited by the dream, and less excited when the dream became a reality?

    • Anon

      Yes, several times. Keep telling yourself that it’s normal and you are just nervous now that reality has set in and be prepared to feel unsettled in your new job for awhile.

    • Eowyn

      Absolutely! I job searched for months before finally getting an offer that would allow me to leave a job I hated. And by hate I mean panic attacks and breakdowns while driving to or from work (or occasionally at work)- it was not a good time. Anyway, I had a ton of doubt and second guessing once I accepted and offer and put in my notice. It’s completely normal to get cold feet once you’ve finally made this decision. What helped me was thinking about how much better the new job would be compared to my old one and mentally noting all of those individual reasons. Change is scary, but once you start your new job I’ll bet you rarely even think about the old one.

    • EuroMover

      Yes!!! After 20 minutes of jumping-clapping-kissing-spouse&kid excitement about a really cool job (role sounds better than anything i could have dreamt up, wonderful team that’ll ensure an amazing learning curve, truly solid pay for the city) I’m freaking out and now wondering if i made a mistake and continue to stay home- something i actively disliked for the entire 6 months that I have done it.
      Eat chocolate, try to meet or otherwise get to know new coworkers and maybe ask your future boss what you can do to pre-ramp up. :)

      Good luck!

  2. magazines for tweens

    Any tween parents have any magazine recommendations?

    I read Seventeen until I was 16 or so, sometimes Nat Geo (although very dark stuff in there; genocide pics and the like), and then Highlights as a young kid. What are good options for younger kids? They are sort of broadly-interested these days (so fashion would be OK, but they like maps and science and history and just stuff).

    FWIW, I get W, which is not at all kid-appropriate, as so many of the ads seem to feature very strung out looking or passed-out looking half-nekkid women. How do you explain that that is not normal except in the context of selling you very expensive things that will wind up looking like the aftermath of some sort of felony??? [At least it’s not an American Apparel ad, which how do you explain except as part of its corporate culture?]

    They like getting stuff in the mail that is for them and actually read (in the past: highlights top secret adventures), so happy to indulge them in this.

    • Anonymous

      National Geographic has a junior version that would be a good option.

      For fashion magazines, I keep them out of reach so they don’t see them.

    • lsw

      Have you looked into the Cricket family of magazines at all? I loved Cricket as a kid and now they have a ton of other magazines. We currently get Ask and Babybug in our house. Expensive but high quality and zero ads.

    • the yellow one is the sun

      Seconding the National Geographic Kids recommendation.

      I picked up a Girls World magazine for a friend’s 9yo and was pleasantly surprised by the content. Really positive, good articles on science, friendship, etc.

      Ranger Rick might be too young – I see it described for ages 7-11 – but I really loved that as a kid.

    • Anon

      Teen vogue is outstanding and includes real journalism.

      My son reads game informer (you get it with a game stop membership) and the Boy Scout magazine. He also occasionally reads my husband’s Smithsonian magazine.

      • Anonymous

        Teen Vogue may not appeal to tweens (my 11-year-old thought it was boring), and some of the content can be … mature for that age group. I think it would be better for teens than for tweens.

        Muse, a science magazine from Cricket, looks interesting and age-appropriate. American Girl is better for younger kids, aged 6 or 7 to about 9.

      • Calico

        Yes, Teen Vogue is only online. I’d suggest looking into the Rookie yearbook.

    • Pompom

      I was the only tween/teen I know of with her own subscription to W and Martha Stewart Living. I was also perhaps *too* excited when my issues of the teen/YA magazine put out by USAA arrived in the mail. Not sure what that says…!

      There’s those Ranger Rick and Big Backyard magazines, and American Girl magazines, those were always fun.

    • CapHillAnon

      Nat Geo kids and Muse magazine are popular with mine. Stone Soup can be good if yours are closer to 12/ 13 or interested in writing.

    • magazine recs

      Someone else mentioned the Cricket series which I highly recommend, especially Muse for slightly older kids (and Ranger Rick, if the outdoorsy interest is there.) My sisters and I got those three for years and they’re still fun to revisit. If the kid is creative, Stone Soup is also interesting (content created by teens).

      • Senior Attorney

        I am Very Very Old but when I was a tween and teen I loved American Girl.

        • Anon

          I think you’re thinking of something else. The American Girl company was founded in 1986 and the magazine didn’t start until the 1990s… weren’t you an adult with a kid of your own by then? I’m 34 and AG was new in my childhood.

    • Pep

      Sports Illustrated has a “junior” version, if either of your kids likes sports.

  3. FWIW on retirement places

    My retired parents live on the side of a mountain, easily 1.5 hours from good medical care. One parent recently had cancer. You can’t easily even ride in a car during chemo b/c you can be violently ill (either end) without notice. And your care may be at times that make you fight rush hour traffic or get stuck in it.

    They had to stay over in a hotel the day before and the day after each time. And sometimes 2 days if a storm was coming b/c you can’t just reschedule your chemo / follow-ups.

    This would only work with a second parent (not sure what kind of other caregiver could swing this schedule) who can still drive and who can hear (to help with listening to doctors / scheduling follow-ups, etc. (not helpful to have a male parent still trying to smile / nod while attempting to disguise the fact that he cannot hear . . .)).

    TL;DR: I have told them when only one is permanently well (or there is only one of them left) that they really, truly have to come live in my city.

    • Anonymous

      Yeah, this is a nightmare waiting to happen.

      You can have a healthy young retired couple, and things can change in an instant. My parents were both still working when one parent was almost killed in an accident and is now severely disabled after being hospitalized almost more than half a year. Then in midst of the stress of dealing with that, the other was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Just like that, they were completely helpless, and this was even living next to a major city. And they were only in their mid-60’s. Just dealing with rush hour traffic (and snow storms) made transportation to chemo 60 minutes on a good day and 3 hours on a bad day… impossible on their own.

      You are right that in such a situation you actually need another competent family member to step in as caregiver. There is no other way. You cannot hire a home health aid to take notes during oncology appointments, and driving home in the winter dark after chemo with a nauseated patient who sometimes has an accident in the car is not good for 65 or 75 or 85 year old parents to be dealing with on their own.

      Hoping your parent remains cancer free, and that you can grab this window of good health to move them closer to you soon.

      • Anonymous

        Shoot — I forgot about the whole driving at night thing.

        SRSLY parents — you are more reckless than my tweens.

  4. Tax Withholding

    Due to the “marriage penalty,” my husband and I ended up with a 5 figure federal income tax bill, despite being salaried employees and having our withholdings at the higher single rate. We had to pay a penalty. I would obviously like to avoid this next year. If this has happened to you, do you (1) somehow ask your employer to withhold more or (2) pay estimated taxes? Thank you!

    • Anonymous

      Depending on your income level and type of employment, next year’s tax situation may be completely different than 2017, so you need to look prospectively, not retrospectively at it.

      • Tax Withholding

        Depending on your income level and type of employment, next year’s tax situation may be completely different than 2017, so you need to look prospectively, not retrospectively at it.

    • Additional Withholding

      I do additional withholding. You may need to fill out a new W-4 but it should be pretty simple to do. The IRS has a calculator to figure out how much extra you should withhold, though it’s down now as it’s being updated for the new tax bill. Google might get you something similar from a different entity that will at least get you a number to use that you can update when the IRS calculator is back.

      • Anonymous

        +1

        This year may be different, but I always put in 110% of what I owed last year to avoid penalties. In this interest rate environment, I’d rather be 100% sure if avoiding the penalty than have the foregone interest.

        • Anonymous

          And by “this year,” I mean 2018, which you will do in 2019 (but can withhold for now).

          • EuroMover

            Do you/can you max out 401K?
            We started getting seriously aggresive about all things pre-tax : 401K, childcare FSA, HSA (when possible), pre tax transit deduction, donations and then upgraded to “tax loss harvesting” on our robo-advisor to stay below the next cliff and just made it by a hair’s breadth.

            Not directly answering your question, but just wanted to throw the option out there.

          • Tax Withholding

            Yeah, it is a good point. We already max out our 401ks. No kids, and an HSA doesn’t make financial sense for us. We could reduce our tax liability via more charitable contributions, but we’re also saving for a home and paying off student loans, so it is hard to do a lot of that right now.

    • Chicago

      This happened to me a few times. I used a withholding calculator I found online that asks both parties’ incomes, remaining paychecks for the year, taxes paid so far, etc., and tells you how much extra to take out of someone’s check. Then I went to my employer and asked them to do it! I haven’t done my taxes yet this year, but hoping it worked…

    • Anonattorney

      On your W-4 you just designate how much you want to withhold per paycheck. Just talk to your employer and fill out a new W-4. There are worksheets from the IRS that you can use to try and estimate. Given the amount you had to pay, I’d probably schedule a meeting with a CPA and get some guidance on estimating how much to withhold

    • Anonymous

      Have you previously used the IRS withholding calculator? You can use the G search to find it. It’s currently not available due to the tax changes but it will be ready in February. I’ve found it to be very accurate in its calculations. I fill it out by using my first paycheck of the year.

    • Tax Withholding

      Thanks, additional withholding it is. I think I will wait for the IRS withholding calculator a few of you suggested to come back online before doing a new W-4 (or whatever I need to do) though.

      Fwiw, my understanding is that the marriage penalty/AMT will still be alive and well at our income level, and our deductions will go down for next year due to high SALT. So I suspect our tax rate will go up in a meaningful way next year under the new tax plan. I hope the new calculator takes all of that stuff into account.

      • Anonattorney

        Turbo Tax also has a TaxCaster that will estimate your taxes for next year, using your numbers for this year. So if you’ve already done your taxes for 2017, try the taxcaster to see your changes for 2018.

    • KateMiddletown

      You didn’t mention if you’re working with a CPA – I would consult with them. People who do taxes for a living have more tips and tricks than I could even fathom.

    • Jen

      Yes, we’ve always had to withhold extra- we do it from either or both of our paychecks, depending who has the majority of the benefits being taken out/whose HR system makes it easier.

      Fwiw we both withhold at 0, “married but file at the high single rate” and add $300-$600 extra to take out per paycheck. We have kids and a bunch of other deductions too, but we make a lot.

    • Anon

      How do you even end up like that? Do you have a lot of other things going on besides just earning income? Five figures seems bizarre to me — like, you should have known your withholding was too small.

      • Tax Withholding

        Sure, maybe we should have known, but we didn’t. And no, we don’t have much else going on aside from a small amount of interest income. I was frankly surprised at how much we owed. I naively thought that withholding at the higher single rate would get us close enough that we could just pay a few thousand at the end of the year – the prospect of getting into penalty range didn’t even occur to me or my husband as a possibility. That was obviously wrong, and I know that now and I am trying to remedy that for next year.

      • Tax Withholding

        No, we don’t have much going on besides earning income. And sure, perhaps we SHOULD have known our withholding is too small, but we obviously didn’t. I naively never thought that the withholding amounts set by the IRS, which both of our employers use, and withholding at the higher single rate, would be a problem. That was wrong, and now I am trying to avoid it for next year.

          • Tax Withholding

            I don’t get these incredibly snarky comments. I did not know that I was able to change my withholding and specify an amount over what the until this morning. I also still do not know whether my employer will even do this (my payroll department doesn’t even know for sure) and whether paying estimated taxes is a better route.

            You act like I am an idiot and I do not deserve that. At all. At all. At all.

          • Anon

            +1 OP, you do not deserve this and there is no reason for this tone and snark. I feel like its the same ONE commenter who tries to get in first and post a rude response to genuine questions every time.

        • Onlyworkingmomintulsa

          Did you get hit by the AMT? This happened to my husband and I last year and it was the worst!!!!!

  5. Anony

    Option 1. There’s a calculator online you can use to back into the additional dollars you’d like to have withheld from each paycheck and then you have to submit a formal form (a revised W4 I think) to request the additional withholdings.

    To that end, with the new tax regulations, how are people handling this? I’m being lazy and haven’t looked myself yet – has this calculator been updated yet to satisfy/accurately project income taxes for 2018? I feel like everyone still has no clue what to expect, but maybe that’s just me. This year we are getting just about $10k back (2017 wasn’t an anomaly income year for us, but definitely a “new normal”)… hoping if we remain status quo, our over contribution will cover any tax increases. That said, if tax regulations weren’t changing we definitely would have dialed our withholdings back in 2018.

    • Anonattorney

      I kept googling until I found the most comprehensive calculator (and sorry, I can’t remember which one it was!) My employer automatically adjusted my withholdings so I was withholding less, and I wanted to know if that was going to work. Apparently the calculator I used said my tax liability was going down, so at this point I’m going to stick to my current withholdings. I’m hedging my bets, though (especially because I have high SALT), and just plan to have a good cushion in savings to deal with whatever happens next year.

  6. Vietnam

    I’ve learned much about future vacations from reading recommendations and suggestions here. Now I’ve got one of my own: Vietnam!
    Has anyone been there? Any suggestion on can’t-miss destinations?
    We’ll be there in late March for two weeks, starting in Hanoi. Some interests include food! as well as nature and outdoor activities. Less interested in big city experiences but smaller places welcome, and very happy to get a little bit off the beaten track.

    • Ellen

      Dad was in Vietnam, but NOT as a tourist. He does NOT have to much good to say b/c he was in the MILITARY and we were at war then. He did say the food was NOT to tasty, but back then it was the 1960’s and there was no such thing as good food in the Army. FOOEY!

    • EM84

      Excellent choice, that was my most-beloved food destination! I would recommend to travel from the North to the South and try different regional specialties. I also tried pho in each region we visited as each region had a different twist on this classic.
      I loved Halong Bay, it was very picturesque. Hanoi was ok as a 1.5 day trip and the gate to Halong Bay. We then moved to Da Nang, Hoi An, took a bike tour to the Marble Mountains. We also checked Nha Trang and biked along that area (but it was packed with Russian tourists to the point where streets had bilingual signposts – in Vietnamese and Russian…). My friends also recommended Hue and boat trip along the Mekong Delta – I haven’t been, but would recommend. Ho Chi Min City – I could live without this experience, but we wanted to go to Phuquoc island and the only connection was from HCMC. Phuquoc was great.
      Depending on how much time you have, consider visiting mountain region of Sapa.
      I loved my Vietnam trip – people, nature, food and recommend it to everyone. I enjoyed it more than fancy trips to Thailand.

    • MJ

      You must see Ha Long Bay. In Hanoi, go to a water puppet show–it’s really cool! My friend and I also went hiking in Sa Pa and I enjoyed that. In Hanoi, I loved wandering around the old town and visiting Uncle Ho in hi mausoleum. (Protip–do not laugh at plasticized Uncle Ho–the guards were very offended!). The buffet at the Sofitel in Hanoi is unreal.

    • Anonymous

      I second Ha Long Bay. I would recommend two nights on one of the boats (called “junks”) rather than one. I stayed 2 nights on the Treasure Junk and it was a highlight of the trip. Also second the water puppet show in Hanoi. Overall Hanoi is pretty insane as far as congestion/traffic. If that is not your cup of tea (it wasn’t mine) then I would not recommend spending much time in Hanoi. While you are there, the French Quarter is a little less overwhelming than other areas.

      I enjoyed Hoi An much more than Hanoi. It’s a small city close to the beach. I stayed in the Hoi An Chic Hotel and it was really, really lovely. Some things that I enjoyed in Hoi An: (1) the Green Bamboo cooking class (2) Reaching Out Tea House, which gorgeous and was run entirely by deaf people (3) Ms. Vy’s restaurants, including Morning Glory, Cargo Club and my fav, Mermaid Restaurant (4) Getting a few pieces of clothing made.

      I really wanted to make it to Hue and Sa Pa, but time didn’t allow.

    • IMMJ

      We were there in January and loved it, especially the food -my favorite is fish in a clay pot, plus Da Nang pancakes and spring rolls – but do be careful about food hygiene and never drink tap water. We went north to south and also visited the Mekong Delta. Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are both worth a visit. We stayed on the beach just south of Da Nang, which was spectacular. The Cham museum in Da Nang was worthwhile, and we had a fabulous and inexpensive seafood dinner at the very informal Thanh Hien 2 across from the beach in the city, but – and it’s a big but – we were with a Vietnamese person; I don’t think anyone there spoke English. While staying in Da Nang we spent parts of two days in Hoi An, a taxi ride away. Hoi An is charming and has nice stores as well as history. A highlight of our visit there was a cooking class, which I think was at Morning Glory Cooking School.
      Visiting Hue and environs is about history, and the Hue central market is filled with friendly locals, few or none of whom speak English. Saigon is a fairly modern city. The Cu Chi Tunnels outside of Saigon are a pain to get to but provide a vivid and terribly sobering lesson about war. The people of Vietnam are friendly, the country is beautiful, and prices are generally well below what you’d pay in the U.S.

    • Monte

      Loved loved loved my trip. I went south to north and I loved Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Ha Long Bay. I could have done without Hoi An and Da Nang — they were good for a quick rest, but I wish I had not spent more than a night in the region. But I love big cities and found Hoi An in particular to be overrun with tourists trying to get bespoke clothing, rather than just a normal city where people are living their lives. And I regret not going to Hue instead.

      If you do make it to HCMC, I also recommend the Mekong Delta boat trips and the Cu Chi tunnels. Touristy, sure, but a really fascinating look into the region and a particular place and time.

      Also, if you don’t have your in country travel locked down, I found it easy to find cheap, last minute flights from city to city, so that is something to keep in mind.

  7. Clementine

    A couple weeks ago, I asked people to please shop for me for a pair of block heeled, colored pumps that would look good in black tights.

    Somebody suggested the LK Bennett Sersha in Oxblood and… I both love you and hate you. I love you because these were the magical shoes I’ve been looking for!

    I hate you because it’s TERRIBLE knowing that this brand of shoe fits my feet perfectly and has fabulous styles…

      • Clementine

        I would try them as they’re a pretty medium width. They run about the same width as Michael Kors heels if that’s helpful, but they’re made of leather versus a synthetic so it would be possible to stretch them (or have a cobbler stretch them) if it’s a minor issue.

    • Anon

      I love LK Bennett! I’ve had decent luck finding their shoes in my size on Ebay and sites such as Tradesy.

  8. Anonymous

    Question about university hires. If an applicant has one semester with low grades, would you want a brief explanation along with the transcript? Brief meaning a sentence or two.

    • Pompom

      My two cents:
      Cent 1: If you are considering asking someone to provide this, sure. It’s on the table in the hiring decision, but probably shouldn’t control the decision, absent something egregious.

      Cent 2: If you are considering supplementing an application with this material without being told to do so–ie you are the applicant–be careful: they may not have cared in the first place, and by including an addendum of sorts, you might be drawing attention to it or making a non-issue a liability. I’ve seen this well-meaning act of spontaneous disclosure go awry in the legal hiring context, but obviously, YMMV.

    • Anonymous

      If there was a really, really good reason, such as a parent dying, then the explanation would be useful. But if it is just your standard college problems, then no.

    • Anon

      I’m confused about the context. You’re a job applicant applying for a university job? Or a current student applying for an intro level job? Most employers don’t care about your grades and will never see them, unless they require a transcript to verify that you have a degree (in which case actual grades still don’t matter). If for some reason they do care about your grades (consulting or some other firms that do corporate recruiting on campus), excuses probably aren’t going to do you any favors. So the short answer is, don’t say anything!

      • Elegant Giraffe

        Agree with this. Providing an explanation just draws unneeded attention.

    • Anon

      Depends on when it was. Did it happen during first semester Freshman year (then ignore it- a lot of people have trouble adjusting to college), if they had stellar grades and then dipped off for a semester, it can be worth inquiring. When I was in grad school, one of my parents was diagnosed with a brain tumor during my last semester and it really affected my ability to focus, i had to travel home a bunch of times, etc. thus affecting my grades. Unfortunately, it was during my last semester so I’m sure that many employers just thought I had senioritis, though I had stellar grades the rest of the time.

  9. Elumen

    What’s the deal with elumen? It sounds like it’s less damaging than regular hair dye? Is it availabe in non-pink/purple colors? Like browns?

    I have thin curly hair and would love to cover my grey permanently but I’m terrified of damaging my thin hair.

    • Anonymous

      My stylist only uses Elumen, including on me in the past. My bills at those visits are in the $400-$500 range in a high-income Chicago suburb. My hair felt noticeably better vs using other coloring products. I have mousy blonde hair and he made it a shade or two lighter. Right now, I’m leaving it alone but will only consider Elumen when I color it again.

      • Anonymous

        Oh – and I have thin hair, so that shouldn’t be an issue for you. I would not buy it and apply it yourself, though – see a stylist.

        • Elumen

          Thanks! I’m definitely not going to attempt anything on my own. It’s expensive but I’d rather pay more and not damage my hair. How long does yours last?

          • Anonymous

            My stylist is a firm believer in a natural look and he says with Elumen you can go 6 months to a year between applications. He tends to not put in a color drastically different from my v I r g I n color and it doesn’t look bad as it grows out. I’d say that I went in about every 9 months. Obviously if you have a more dramatic difference you might need to visit more. He’s also not pushy – he tells me to come in ‘whenever’ – meaning he doesn’t care in the slightest if I visit every 6 weeks or 6 months. I go every 6 months because my hair is long and he’s pricey. If you can’t tell, I feel he’s worth every penny. He takes a full hour or more to cut my hair , he’s meticulous and knows exactly what he’s doing. He has made me a convert to his way of dealing with hair, including Elumen.

  10. Anonymous

    What does everyone think of Hope Hicks wardrobe choices? Her skirts are too short and she wears too much bold makeup IMO. On the other hand, I try hard to look professional to be taken seriously and end up just feeling frumpy.

    • Anon

      I had to google photos of her because “offensive appearance” isn’t something I associate with her. Her makeup’s a bit TV Anchor, but it’s pretty. Her clothing also seems fine to me. She reads a bit younger than her 29 years, but her look is pretty much the standard, “I’m preppy and I’m new to D.C.” look often spotted on young Hill staffers. She’s no C.J. Cregg, but for the Trump White House, her wardrobe is the least of my concerns.

      • Anon

        I also had to google some images and her makeup is a bit strong but maybe that is so she doesn’t look washed out. As for her skirts, I thought the majority of them looked fine. She dresses a little young for my taste but I imagine a lot of women her age dress like that.

      • Anonymous

        Interesting… I read a lot of political commentary with comment sections and most people seem to think she looks much older with all that makeup. Like 40’s older. I agree the makeup at minimum doesn’t do her favors even though it’s well done for what it is.

        • Ellen

          We must cut Hope Hicks some major slack, b/c she is ONLY 29 years old! If she wear’s short dresses, so what? So did I! Beside’s, Hope has the leg’s for it. And her long hours at the White House with POTUS would make any of us look tired. I think she will be fine in 10 years. Mom says Dad was oogeling her on TV, but Dad says he was NOT. Personaly, I know Dad is over doeing anything more then oogeling at this point, but at least he still has an eye for beauty. That sometimes works against me, particularly when he points out that my body is not as good as Rosa’s. FOOEY on that! I am a professional, and need to work to pay for my lifestyle, while Rosa does NOT. If I had a husband who worked at Meril Lynch to support me, I would be taking Yoga classes all day and trimming my tuchus instead of tracking loosers trying to filch my cleint’s out of money on false WC claims! DOUBEL FOOEY ON THEM!

      • Anonymous

        “She reads a bit younger than her 29 years.” No way, she is pretty but she looks way older than 29.

    • KateMiddletown

      I won’t judge her outfits or makeup. But I judge her political affiliations hard.

    • Anon

      Looker her up as well because I have been avoiding white-house news to the extent possible for my own sanity.

      I thought her makeup was too strong as well but seeing Anon at 3:48s comment about her looking washed out makes sense.

      As for her wardrobe, it’s refreshing to see colors and patterns but her skirts are a bit short. I am 28 and keep my skirts to knee length or slightly above because I know that’s what is professional

    • Anon

      I don’t think of them, because I’m not a shallow, judgmental B.

      Definitely judge her politics, though.

      • Anonymous

        Jeez. I think we’re all trying to navigate professional dress and where to fall on a spectrum of such.

      • Anonymous

        I do judge her politics, but not here. This s*i*t*e is about professional fashion or so I thought.

  11. AIMS

    Just wanted to say I love this lip balm. I use it in place of lipstick for everyday in the original color. It’s fantastic. I think I’m on tube 7 or 8 at this point.

  12. Anon

    Dear Vanguard:

    You are the only thing standing between me and the few thousand dollars in my tax refund. This week is officially “mid-February”, so please hurry up with the 1099s!

    Signed,
    The Buyer of My Condo Asked Me to Make Expensive Repairs

    • Elegant Giraffe

      We just did our taxes this past weekend. We logged into Vanguard, and there was an option to view your tax forms online.

      • Anon

        Yep, for mutual funds – they came out in mid-January. Brokerage accounts aren’t out yet – they’re mid-February. I check daily.

        • Anony

          I’m waiting for the same from Schwab. 2 brokerage accounts with seriously minimal interest, but still reportable. It’s standing between me and $10k.

  13. Anonymous

    Me: I have done task X. Here it is. Please review it.
    Co-worker: What are you talking about? I don’t want to look at anything, I just want you to do task X. Why haven’t you done it?
    Me: Yes, I have done it. Here it is. Please take a look.
    Co-worker: I don’t understand why you are going off on a tangent. I just need X. Where is it?
    Me: It is right here.
    Co-worker: I am so busy and stressed and I don’t have time to look at anything. I just want to see X.
    Me: HERE IT IS. STOP PROTESTING AND JUST LOOK AT IT.
    Co-worker: Oh, yes, this is X. That is what I needed.
    Me: [Sighs. Bangs head against desk.]

    • Anonymous

      Me: obtains hotel contract block for x people. Boss’s group ends up being 2x.
      Hotel: We fulfilled our obligation of holding x rooms for you.
      Boss: All the other hotels we work with accommodate us, because it was an approximate number. They screwed up!
      All these flawed people that work with us!

  14. Non-surgical Rhinoplasty?

    Anyone have experience with a non-surgical rhinoplasty, where fillers are used to smooth or augment the shape of the nose? I’ve always had a ski-jump nose and don’t love the profile, but as I age the bridge is becoming bonier making the tip look wider than it is. A full surgical nose job seems extreme for my level of annoyed dissatisfaction, but I’ve been wondering about the non-surgical option. If you have done this, would appreciate any notes on cost, value, and how long it’s lasted. Thanks!

    • me too

      I’ve never heard of the non-surgical option, but i had the surgical one done 15 plus years ago and it was the best decision I made. I used to think of my nose constantly and now it never crossed my mind. But if you’re just annoyed by it and it’s nothing more than that, I think considering options besides surgery make a lot of sense.

    • Anon

      Just get a consult with a plastic surgeon, they’ll be able to best tell you whether you are a good candidate based on your actual nose; some nose shapes/issues just don’t benefit. And a real plastic surgeon, not a dermatologist.

  15. London Question

    I will be in Amsterdam for work for a week in July. My husband, mother, and 5-year-old are going to meet me in London at the conclusion of our trip (mom and son’s first international trip). We have 6 full days. My husband wants to venture outside the city for a few days (would love to see the coast). Where should we go for two nights? Prefer a train journey from London rather than renting a car, but not totally opposed to driving. We’ll probably go for the first few days of our trip and finish in London. Thoughts? Is this an insane plan. I know there is plenty of adventure to fill up six in London, but my husband is pretty firm that he wants to see more of England. Mom’s in great health and kid is generally very chill.

    • Violet

      Isle of Wight. So close, so beautiful, lovely gardens and places to have tea, people to meet, beaches. Also, the ferry ride to get there is a charming journey.

    • Anonymous

      If you haven’t booked your travel yet, one fun option would be to get to England by taking the ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich. You could then spend a night in Felixtowe or Ipswich or Colchester.

    • Lyra Silvertongue

      You could take the train to York for a few days. We flew into Heathrow last October and took the train up to York for three days before continuing northward. York is a lovely small city full of great history, and very manageable without a car. Compared to London, it doesn’t feel like a traditional “city” either. The oldest portion is walled and everything is quite walkable. We did end up renting a car, but that’s bc I wanted to get out into the Moors and see some other highlights of the region (Rievaulx Abbey, Eden Camp, etc). Do book your train tickets as early as possible- the earlier you book, the cheaper they are. Also, York is supposedly home to the best fish and chips in the UK (a big claim), and we thought they were pretty fantastic there. Try Drake’s- nothing fancy but amazingly delicious!

    • Londoner

      I second the recommendation for York. Bath would also be a good destination for an overnight trip (beautiful town, around 2 hours away from London by train). You could also do day trips from London; places like Brighton, Dover, Oxford, Cambridge, Salisbury/Stonehenge are all easily reachable by train (no need to rent a car). You could also take an overnight train to Scotland (Edinburgh or Glasgow), but that might feel a bit rushed.

      • Lyra Silvertongue

        Oh, Bath is another great one! I love Scotland but I do agree that you’d feel rushed trying to do Edinburgh in just a couple of days. Glasgow may be a bit more doable.

  16. Buying a Home Without a Realtor

    Has anyone done this? Anything I should know? How was your experience?

    Background info – I am not seeing the benefit they provide, as I am very familiar with the area I am buying (lived here my whole life), and likewise familiar with pricing. I don’t want to pay the commission, and don’t really want someone picking properties for me to see. I do plan to work with a real estate attorney because I do not feel comfortable signing Ks and other docs for a 7 figure transaction with doing so. (I am an attorney myself.) I am still open to being convinced of taking another path if there are just things I am not considering, but we are pretty sure this is what we want to do. May post again in the am. tyia!

    • Anon

      The seller typically pays 3% to their realtor and 3% to your realtor. It’s not clear that they would necessarily give you 3% off the price just because you don’t have a realtor, so it’s more of a windfall for them than you

      The realtor community knows about upcoming listings that you won’t see on MLS. If you’re in a hot and popular market, you might miss out on some listings for that reason. At least here in the Bay Area, some properties get snatched up before they officially go on the market.

    • Anonymous

      The seller pays the fees realtor fees for both parties, so if you are buying I don’t know why you wouldn’t use a realtor. I used different realtors to buy two separate houses 10 years apart. Both were multiple-offer situations and in both cases the realtor was able to help me come up with an offer that was the winning bid while still being very close to the next highest bid. In fact, with my second house I was originally prepared to offer significantly more and the realtor recommended I go in with a lower bid that was only slightly higher than the next offer (in a situation where there were 7 offers). And since the realtor can walk you through the paperwork at the seller’s expense, you would save money by not paying a real estate attorney.

    • Buying a Home Without a Realtor

      I should add there is no way I am not having an attorney at least review the documents. In my view, this is a small price to pay for piece of mind, but I understand not everyone feels that way.

    • Ranon

      My husband is a realtor and as a buyer you don’t pay the commission, the seller does. In our state all closings are handled by attorneys and not title companies as in some states. Besides juts sending you homes to view and showing them to you, a realtor, a good one anyway, keeps your transaction smooth for you. They schedule the inspection(s), negotiate repairs, negotiate your buying price and potential price reduction for repairs not done etc, and many other things I would never think of did I not see the work that he does. As a buyer I cant see the downside. As a seller you can save money by selling a home yourself because you save the selling agents commission. Unless you are buying a property that is for sale by owner and no agent is involved, the seller is paying someone, you might as well have someone whose sole purpose is to negotiate and look out for your best interest. Additionally in my state, you cannot just show up to a home to view it, it requires a showing request, which if you do not have a realtor would mean you are contacting the agent who has the sellers best interest at heart. A realtor has to be there to let you in and to hold the liability of you being in the home.

      If you let them know your expectations, that you know the market and know what houses you want to see, they will schedule the showings for you and you dictate the rest of how you want the transaction to proceed.

    • Anonymous

      Depending on your Realtor, they probably know more about the houses, how they’re built, what is normal in negotiations, what should be fixed by the seller, will have a better idea of comps, will have access to MLS and more information than you, will know when inspections are done incorrectly, etc. They’re also not really picking for you, but usually set you up to see all the properties in your criteria so that you can pick which ones you want to see. I mean it’s up to you, but you’re not really going to get a deal by going solo. Also not sure where you are located but in some states the contracts are all basically the same, so you don’t really get much benefit from working with a real estate attorney unless you have some unusual sale conditions.

    • AIMS

      So we tried to do this, sort of. Not to avoid paying a commission – because as others have pointed out to you, that’s not something you pay as the buyer – but because many brokers were just not very competent and we had a good sense of the market/things we needed to know, etc., and it was not good. There may be something to seller’s agents giving you a slight preference since if you’re up represented, they don’t have to split a commission, but that also assumes all other things being equal, which in any markets they rarely are.

      The reality is that it’s very hard to negotiate certain things on your own behalf. We ended up finding a really professional and knowledgeable agent and she made a WORLD of difference. You don’t need to have the agent pick properties for you if you don’t want to, you can just email things you want to see t o your agent and have him/her schedule appts.

      • Buying a Home Without a Realtor

        Thanks for your response, and if you don’t mind, I am really curious what you found hard to negotiate on your own. I also fear incompetent/self-interested real estate agents, and generally like to cut out middlemen as much as possible (i.e., not using a mortgage broker) not just for monetary reasons, but to reduce frustration and annoyance.

        And I think I need to understand the commission issue more. Several of my coworkers have negotiated a lower sale price by not having an agent in my market, but perhaps I am missing the point they are making. Perhaps I will ask this again in the morning, or just talk to those dudes and get over my hesitation in taking personal finance with coworkers. And I also want to learn more about using something like Redfin/no buyer’s agent, and how you get a refund in that model.

    • Anonymous

      Here are some things that our realtor did beyond what you listed:
      –Found out about properties that hadn’t been listed publicly and got us into see them ASAP which was crucial to seeing the house we wanted (we were buying in a small Midwestern city so not really what you think of as a ‘hot market’ like SF or Boston, but there was really limited inventory in the school district we wanted to be in). We saw our house at 8 am and by 11 am were in a bidding war with several other potential buyers – if we hadn’t had an agent I’m sure we wouldn’t have been able to get in to see the house that morning and wouldn’t have been able to make an offer in time.
      –Got lots of background info about neighborhoods, homeowners associations, schools, etc. This was probably all publicly available or could have been obtained from the seller’s agent, but she definitely saved us a ton of time by coordinating everything and just delivering us large packets of info for every house we were seriously interested in.
      –We got in a bidding war, she advised us about what would be competitive and gave us a maximum number above which we shouldn’t go (when we won the bidding war and had the house appraised, it appraised for exactly that much)
      –Negotiated with the seller’s agent on our behalf when they made some crazy demands after accepting our offer – I’m an attorney too but the seller’s agent was a bit of a nutcase and I’m not sure we could have successfully negotiated with her on our own.
      –Referred us to an excellent appraiser and home inspector (she had mortgage loan officer recs too, but we had our own)
      –After we got back the inspection report, went back to the sellers and negotiated for them to make all the identified repairs – again, not sure we could have done this ourselves because although the sellers seemed perfectly reasonable, their agent was crazy.
      –Handled all the parts of the process that needed an attorney and all the closing paperwork, we literally just showed up and signed our names a few times – I couldn’t believe how easy it was.

      As others noted, I think you’re unlikely to save a lot as a buyer w/o an agent because the sellers pay the agents’ commission, and a good agent will do a lot more than just show you houses. You still pick which properties you see – any good agent will suggest ones you may not have identified but that doesn’t mean you have to see them and you will absolutely see anything you want to see.

    • Anon

      Yep, I did it. It was my first time buying a home and the only thing I think having a realtor would have been good for was coordinating all the moving pieces — like forms to sign, etc. I found my home through word of mouth and the seller, who was a friend of a friend, didn’t want to use a realtor on her end. She told me she wouldn’t mind if I did, but wasn’t willing to pay to accommodate that. Anyway, I thought the whole thing was fine and what benefit I would have got from a realtor would definitely not have been worth the thousands of dollars I’d have paid.

    • Caesia

      Look for a flat rate realtor in your market. As a buyer, you’d typically be refunded the difference between the 3% and the flat rate.

  17. biglawanon

    I haven’t used this lip balm, but Dior lipsticks are so moisturizing. Going to have to try…

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