I don’t really wear makeup. I used to, when I went to a Regular Job, but I haven’t in years. I don’t really have time, and Dave lovingly says I look better without it.
Lately, however, when I look into the mirror, the image I see screams, “Dark circles! Old!” and it seemed time to do something about it. I dragged out my makeup bag, but most of the things in it were kind of dried out, or I didn’t remember when I’d bought them, or I did remember, and it was for my wedding 10 years ago. So I went for the Web 2.0 solution and posted a Facebook status update asking for undereye concealer recommendations.
One jaunty trip to the Benefit counter later, I was ready to streamline my makeup bag. Here’s what it looked like before:
Lots of old foundation and mascara. I do have to say, though, that after throwing away the obvious things, I was still left with more than I expected. There were a lot of eyeshadow colors that are pretty good and weren’t cheap, and while I don’t wear eyeshadow very often, maybe someone will get married or something and I’ll have to dress up more. (Is this rational? Should I pitch the eyeshadow?)
Here’s the after:
Last week I stopped by at Dave’s office and he said, “Hey! You look really good today!” “I’m wearing makeup!” I proudly declared. To which he said, “Darn!” because it disproved his better-without-makeup theory. It does say something for the Benefit stuff I got, though, and that it looks makeup-free, and can be smeared on by a tired mom with her fingers in one minute and still yield excellent results. I got:
- Boi-ing, undereye concealer. Covers everything and looks great.
- That Gal. Called a “brightening face primer” which doesn’t really help. I don’t really understand how this works, because it’s very pink, but somehow it makes me look like I have perfect skin.
- Creaseless Cream Shadow in Honey Bunny. This also seems like magic. I smear it on my eyelids, and it doesn’t look like I’m wearing eyeshadow, but just like I’m perky and awake, which I mostly am not.
- Bad Gal mascara. I am really not very good at mascara, but since all my other mascara was many years old, it seemed like a smart idea to get some new stuff. This mascara has a brush that’s roughly the size of a toilet cleaning brush, and despite the name making it sound like it’s going to be all smudgy and punk rock, it’s actually fairly subtle and lovely and adds to the whole “I’m not wearing makeup, no, I’m just this fabulous all on my own!” aesthetic.
So there you go. In the spirit of my continued decluttering, I have partially decluttered my makeup bag, and have feng shui-ed my face, as it were.
Yay! New makeup! You know what I love even more than new makeup? STREAMLINED new makeup. I was trying to streamline my makeup but kept buying all the wrong stuff, so now I have a surplus of slightly-wrong makeup. But it’s stored in a super-cool vintage Sears train case I got from eBay, so I’m happy.
Just yesterday I realized, “You know, the only eyeshadow I should ever wear is Nars Cairo.” So I ordered a new Nars Cairo. I’ve tried the new BeneFit creaseless creams, but I don’t like the new formulation as much as the old; but maybe I just had a tricky color that didn’t lend itself to the quick schmear.
That Gal sounds like that magic Prescriptives powder we used to use. Oh, I think it was actually even called Magic. Must try That Gal. It sounds like exactly what my tired skin needs. Off to Sephora.com…
I was so skeptical about That Gal. As the (way too overly made up) makeup counter woman was putting it on, I was all squirmy and saying, “But it’s PINK! I’m not really very PINK!” and she said, “You’ll see. Don’t worry” and put it on half my face so I could, in fact, see that the That Galled half of my face was all lovely and smooth and flawless, and the Regular Julie half was wrinkled and craggy.
And now you have a Clinique “take up to 8 years off your face” banner ad along the bottom of this page. Hee. (You can bet I’ll click on it, too.)
is it all shimmery and cyber-looking afterward? I don’t know. I’m way too pink as it is. that’s my big pink problem. I’ve never tried the shimmer stuff, but maybe that’s the solution? does it feel nice and moisterizing, or is it weird? I tolerate alot of moisture – becase when I’m not pink I’m flaking. Leaving you with that lovely picture…
It’s not shimmery at all. It’s moisturizing, but not overly so. Honestly, I don’t know what the hell it is. It really looks like you’re not wearing makeup at all, but just happen to have fabulous skin. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I mean, it only comes in one color, but somehow that works for everyone? It’s just magic, that’s all.
I have a been a long-time user of Origins Barenaked foundation and All or Nothing pressed powder. But lately, I’ve been feeling the need for something with, shall we say, a little more substance. I will definately go check these out. Sad fact is, Dave, that you really don’t need make-up in your 20’s (although this is often sadly figured out in hindsight while perusing mid-90’s pictures), but I’ve yet to see a woman over 35 who isn’t jazzed up a bit by some foundation and mascara. But we can keep that as a secret among us ladies.
ooooh! MAKEUP <3
have you tried Riversol Skin Care? Its AMAZING 😀
http://www.riversol.com and you can get samples! wooo! It is based on a five star hydration concept! i LOVE it. The moisture concentrate is fabulous, as well as the serum and eye cream! 🙂
Great for all of us beauty junkies 😉
I love boing. I use it every single day along with benetint.