Friday, March 01, 2013

The bare minimum?

I have never worn a whole lot of makeup, mainly because I'm not very good at it.

And I always admire women who know how to do eyes, lips, cheeks, all of it, and look so put together. 

Me, I love eye liner and mascara. I desperately want a blue mascara, and seem unable to find one. I had the best one in the 80s and never again. Saddy! I like to wear eye shadow, but it never seems quite right on me.

And I don't feel like I need it. (If need is at all an accurate term here. I recognize the first-world prolemness of this.)

So, when I look candidly and assess frankly, I know that increasingly I need under-eye concealer so as not to look like I need 54 hours more sleep. I could probably use blush (if it's still called that - seems like an archaic term) and I could use some lipstick, as my lips are rather pale.

I mean, I don't think I look terrible without any makeup, but I feel like now, with age and exhaustion, I need more help than I used to.

All that said, on work days I mostly manage concealer, eyeliner, mascara. On weekends, mostly just moisturizer with sunscreen.

So, one of my friends/colleagues sells Avon. She is one of these people who can and do pull a whole outfit-makeup hair look together on a regular basis. She really knows how to use makeup, and is up on the latest products, tries different looks, has been using eye cream since back when I should have been, and always, always has her nails done.

Basically, she's a perfect person to buy makeup from. She loves makeup and she has a rather expensive Sephora habit, and I don't know how she started selling Avon, but she and a variety of our colleagues are happy she did.

It has a number of very nice products, and she's totally helpful and candid with her recommendations.

I'll go to her and be all, "I need something for my HAAAANDS which are so very DRY but I don't like the rose smell of that one cream and the other feels a little slick and ugh..." and she is all, "Here, try this one."

In fact, she's one of the first places I turned when my pregnant tummy was itchy itchy itchy and I headed over and was all,  "HELP! My stomach! Itchyitchy! Argh! Desperate!"

Or something of the sort. Likely not even complete sentences.

So the other day I headed over to her desk to inquire about soft eyeliner and if perchance Avon has a blue mascara (no).

Her (pretty! thick! red!) hair was nicely done, and I complimented her, and we were talking about hair cuts and length and how mine is aaaaalmost long enough to pull back. And how I can't wait to be able to do that, because it will just be so much easier.

She said, "I know. It would be great to just get up in the morning and not have to fuss with the washing and blow drying and styling."

And I was all, "Oh, I don't do any of that. I wash it at night and sleep on it. I'm not even sure that mine is clean today."

 We looked at each other and I said, "Yeah. So I guess what I'm saying is, I don't do anything...and I want to be able to do even less."

16 comments:

  1. Oh, ditto. I'm terrible. I do think however, that as you get older, "less is more". If I wore as much eye shadow and pencil as I used to wear, I'd look permanently knackered. For me it's concealer every time, plus eye liner and lipstick (which I also use as blush). When I remember, I put on mascara too!

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    1. Yes, I agree - less is more...or anyway, it needs to look like less. I used to wear a ton of blue eyeliner - and I certainly cannot pull that off anymore. Or black on top and underneath. I have long eyelashes but they're invisible if I don't wear mascara. Totally envy people who do not need it!

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  2. If I don't use concealer, I generally look as though I've been catching fastballs in my eye sockets. If I use concealer, I then feel as though my face looks too beige, and then I have to put on blush and mascara and I'm down the Sephora rabbit hole. Which is kind of a fun rabbit hole.

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    1. So, you put it exactly the way I feel it. And I walk around with my face looking too beige most of the time, I think.

      The Sephora rabbit hole is certainly a fun one. I think the last time I was there was with you...which was a veeery long time ago.

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  3. Lisa--the Sephora (in Georgetown at least) has blue mascara. I always do one eye, then forget and leave the store with it on.

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    1. Ooh! They have it in green and purple and pink & sparkly too! Online! *hauls out credit card*

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    2. I remember the blue in sephora too! it is pretty :)

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    3. Oh, thank you! I must go there! I have been on this quest for a while! And I recently got a cobalt blue eyeliner and I want to do the whole, overwhelming blue business just for fun.

      Is it this one? http://www.sephora.com/full-action-extreme-effect-mascara-P278807?skuId=1228055

      I like this blue, but didn't see green, purple, or sparkly pink - all of which are intriguing!

      I also saw that Dior has a blue that looks gorgeous http://www.sephora.com/diorshow-mascara-P40404?skuId=710459 - but it's out of stock.

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    4. Lisa, this is the sparkly one I mentioned, it comes in lots of colors :)

      http://www.sephora.com/glitter-eyeliner-mascara-P376433?skuId=1437557

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    6. Ooh, pretty! Lots of colors! And sparkly! I am hoping for a trip to Sephora this weekend!

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  4. I don't know. You're one of those lucky people who I think look better without makeup. So fresh faced. If it ain't broke..

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    1. Oh, thank you. You are kind. I am not, actually. I don't think you've seen me without any makeup. I must have just looked fresh-faced because, well, I don't know why.

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  5. You're beautiful with minimal make-up or none at all. Sincerely, just keep doing what you're doing. I have tried many times to apply eyeliner and failed each time. A girlfriend recently gave me a lesson in eye shadow technique which was fun, she's an absolute pro at applying make-up and I love how she can change her look with make-up but it looks natural and totally "her". It's nice to have friends to gab about make-up with or go to Sephora, I love that store.

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    1. Thank you, lovey. I am pretty sure I look like a zombie without any makeup, but I appreciate it.

      I agree - I love to talk about makeup, I love to look at it, I love Sephora...despite the fact that I never go, and almost never buy makeup. It's very fun, and I don't quite know why, actually.

      What I find very intriguing is that thin black line all the way around the eye and then the dark eyeshadow. Is that the smoky eye? I don't know. But I love it. Maybe I will try to learn...

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  6. So...as the person with the rather expensive Sephora habit and seller (but not pusher) of Avon, how did I just now get to reading this? You know I can talk makeup for hours. Beauty supply stores and the cosmetics aisles in larger drugstores are my happy place. And I'm a really good enabler to go to these stores with as well...I have references. :)

    I see from earlier comments that a blue mascara has been found - Sephora hardly ever fails. :) As an FYI, drugstore brands sometimes will put out colored mascaras as limited edition seasonal things in spring/summer. Maybelline did it last year, they had a blue, and a purple and green. You can usually also score all kinds of colorful things at Sally's Beauty Supply.

    Quick tip I learned from the pros that feed my habit: for undereye concealer, go for a pink or peach-toned concealer to balance out the blue tones in the undereye area. Most yellow-toned concealers will end up looking grey. Sephora has several brands that sell great ones (Bobbi Brown Corrector, Benefit Erase Paste) but you can get them at drugstores too -usually sold as correctors.

    I may be a makeup addict, but putting a nice look together takes time, and more often than not I leave the house with barely any makeup on, just concealer and lipstick. Basically enough not to frighten strangers. The thing I can't be bothered with is my hair. I wish I could just wash and go, but the thing with that is, with thick course hair, wash and go can easily turn into Lion King. And drying/styling myself takes FOREVER. So that's why you see me in a ponytail/bun about 80% of the time. And why when I go to the salon I will try to go as long as my scalp will allow without washing it again to extend that lovely, smooth do.

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