A few weeks ago I wrote a post about asking strangers where they got things. One of the main examples I gave was asking a girl about her lipstick. I had this encounter over a month ago, but little did I know that it was just the beginning of a long journey.

Colourpop. Yes, with a “u.” The British way, but for an American company. That was the brand of lipstick the girl said she was wearing, in a shade called “Bad Habit.” I figured I would pick it up the next time I found myself at Ulta, or Sephora. Maybe they’d even have it at the drugstore. Nope. Nope. And Nope.

I began to realize I was venturing into the makeup underground of insider knowledge, but the insider knowledge was actually everywhere I started to look — specifically in the realm of instagram-fame.

So, if you’re a makeup guru, chances are you’re thinking “old news.” But, if you’re a makeup pleb like myself, we’re just discovering what lies beyond the pictures we occasionally see in our feeds of airbrushed pores, eyebrows not of this earth, and dark painted lips. (Oh, and highlights and contours — but we’re sort of, already figuring that one out.)