Presto Change-O!!!

Okay. You know Yours Truly is a big sucker for {{{unique}}} products (read that "gimmicks," boys and girls). I've been eyeballing this Revlon Foundation championed by the lovely Jessica Alba that starts out white and changes to your exact skin color. "Yeah, sure it does, Jessica. Of course I believe you." The ever-practical me just knew it couldn't be so. However, finding myself in CVS the other day. . . well, there she was, Jessica, her beautiful countenance just begging me to prove her wrong. So of course I HAD to buy some. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!)

Now it is NOT all one color. There are, I believe, five color ranges. I chose #210 light. (I have paled out to almost ghost white this winter. Not sure why.)

Got it home, ripped it out of the blister pack and squirted some on my hand. My first thought was Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!!! It looks like Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream, you know, the stuff that's off white with black flecks of vanilla beans. My skin color? Hardy Har Har. So I rubbed a little in and ya know what? It turned into a nice very pale beige color. My, my, my. I then tried it on my face. Did the same thing. I wouldn't say it's my exact color, but it's dang close. It gives you a nice, dewy look. It's very soft with pretty good coverage. I wouldn't have believed it but, hey, would Jessia Alba lie? I think not.

One point here. For drugstore makeup, it's NOT cheap. This tiny tube of Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup (Says 1fl. oz. but sure doesn't look like it) was $12.99 in CVS. For that price, you can start thinking about foundation in the department stores. However, if you're in CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, et cetera, and you want some unique foundation, this may just fit the bill. It may be a gimmick, but it does what it says.

Fix Your Face And Go. . .

. . . VOTE!!!!!

If you're an American reading this, it's one of the most important Constitutional privileges you have. Just get out there and vote your conscience today. The choice is yours.

More makeup goodies to come!

Are YOU a Hot Mama?

Do you wanna be? Then click on the link above. Make Me a Hot Mama is the web's newest e-zine on making the most out of Motherhood. And I quote. . . "Don't let motherhood declare a fatwa on your fashion sense. Our up-to-the minute trend alerts, product reviews and articles help busy moms stay abreast of the hottest fashion and beauty topics. Who says motherhood can't be sexy?"

AMEN and AMEN, Sistah!!! And yours truly is the Cosmetics Editor at MMHM. Does it get any better than that? I think not! LOL Seriously, there is great advice and lots of tips and links to make you the hottest mama ever. Subscribe so you don't miss a minute of what's happening over at Make Me A Hot Mama today!

An Oldie But A Goodie

No, I'm not talking about me, although I certainly fit the bill. . .

I'm talking about Cover Girl Clean Makeup. According to Wikipedia, it has been around since 1958, formerly known as Noxzema Medicated Makeup. It came into national prominence in the ad campaign of 1976 with Christie Brinkley's face and turned into the longest running cosmetic contract in history between Ms. Brinkley and the now-named Noxell Corporation. Back in "the day," every girl had a dark blue jar of Noxzema on her dresser. It did it all. Where did you keep yours?

I have to admit to being a bit surprised that it was still around in its original form, but it is. . . and, come to find out, with darn good reason. I just got some from a friend so I gave it a whirl. Yeah, it still smells like Noxzema but other than that, all I can say is. . . WOW! This stuff is good. I tried the Classic Ivory in both the Clean Makeup Liquid Foundation and the Clean Pressed Powder in the brown case. The smell dissipates quickly and you are left with good coverage and a nice, soft matte look. I wore it to work and it lasted all day. It still looks good after 12+ hours. I admit to being mightily impressed, especially when I found out the price. Would you believe $5.34 at http://www.drugstore.com ? No, I'm not joking. The pressed powder is the same price. You can't even buy a pencil sharpener at most department store counters for that!

So if you need a good, basic foundation and you're short of cash, check out Cover Girl Clean Makeup. Catch it on sale and it's an even better bargain. Your face will thank you.

What Goes With Great Makeup?

Why, Great Jewelry, of course! Check out this wonderful site I just found with gorgeous jewelry at really reasonable prices. Finders Keepers has designer-inspired jewelry at prices we all can afford, plus lots of other good stuff. Just click on the banner above this post and have some fun. . . not to mention crossing a bunch of names off of your Christmas shopping list EARLY (which means prior to 6PM on Christmas Eve :)

Are You a Head Turner?

If you have trouble applying your eye makeup, you should be. If I’m no talking about how hot you are, then exactly what am I talking about? Simple. If you can’t maneuver your eye makeup tools, turn your head!

One of the things I hear most often when I suggest eyeliner and/or mascara to people at my counter is that they can’t apply it correctly because they can’t draw a straight line or maneuver the brush. Okay. Not everyone has a hand that’s rock solid steady, so. . . turn your head instead of your hand. Here's how:

Put your eyeliner of choice at the center of your lid, right down into the lash line. If you can, draw out to the outside corner. Now go to the inside corner and meet your line at center eye. Can’t do it? Turn your head. Plant your elbow on a hard surface, steady your hand on your cheek with your little finger, put your eyeliner at the center of your lie, right down into the lash line and, instead of drawing out and moving your hand, turn your head so the brush or pencil travels to the outside corner. Now move the eyeliner to the inside corner of your eye and, while keeping your hand as steady as you can, turn your head to meet the line in the center. NOTE: You do not need to reload your brush if you are using eyeliner other than a pencil. You want most of the eyeliner on the outside half of your eye. There is plenty left, believe me, to do the inner corner to center eye once you are done with the outer line.

To get your mascara on straight, balance once again with your elbow on a hard surface and your pinky on your cheek while staring into a mirror. Put the mascara brush under the center of your lashes and turn your head down a bit or “blink” down on it. If you can’t do this all along the eye, plant the brush where it is and turn your head, to the outside first and then move to the inner corner and meet up in the center. Your lashes will be coated and you won’t have those dots and dashes that tell the world you stink with a mascara wand. :)

Give it a try. You will see how easy this is. Like all things, though, it will take a little practice to get it exactly right. You can use the same technique on your lips, too. Just start at the center and turn your head to one side at a time. It’s easier to control your head than that ever-shaky hand of yours (and mine!).

Back Again

I have one word for this flu bug that's been running around. UGH!!!! Just finished with round two of antibiotics and all that. There will NOT be a Round 3. My lips to God's ears, eh? :)

Now on to more makeup!!!!

Strike a Pose. . . Vogue, Vogue, Vogue

Actually, I'm talking about the magazine, NOT the song. Sorry. :)

I got a copy of Vogue in the mail today. I never ordered it and I haven't looked at one of these in quite some time, so I eagerly grabbed it and trotted off with it for some elegant bathroom reading. The first thing that struck me is that it's about the size of an old Sears catalog! I kid you not. The index is on Page 204 and it proudly announces itself as a 798-page issue. This is pretty heavy reading! I have no idea how much this thing costs either, as the address label is over the box where the price would be. I'm sure the price matches the weighty look of this tome.

Admittedly, it's a little "young" and New Yorkish for my taste. Still, it is quite a feast for the eyes. Gorgeous photography, some good-looking articles, makeup looks to die for and TONS of advertising. If you want to know what's new and what's in, Vogue is the mag for you! And if you love Keira Knightley, this is definitely THE issue for you.

As soon as I get some serious time, I will be going through this gift page by page and reporting on it here. If you are the one who gifted me with this huge, beautiful and miraculous magazine, I have two words for you: THANK YOU!

Halle Berry Twisted My Arm!!!

I was in CVS picking up a prescription for my mother today and as I walk in, there it was, a HUGE display of Revlon Color Stay Mineral Lip Gloss with Halle's glorious picture on it, enticing me to buy, buy, buy. Yeah, I could've resisted, but I was weak from a week of lung and ear infections. They took advantage of me. It was a conspiracy, Halle's smile and Revlon offering Buy One Get One Free on all their makeup. I mean, come on, Halle + a BOGO??? What's a slightly demented makeup maven to do?

They didn't have my color on the front display so I ventured back to the regular Revlon wall. They had more colors. I selected my desired two and then. . . right next to Revlon was Almay. Guess what? They were offering Buy One Get One Free, too. All right, all right. I caved. Two BOGOs on the Almay and then the Revlon BOGO and I was one happy camper! Especially since I had a coupon to knock another $4 off. I got almost $60 worth of makeup for $23. Oh frabulous day! :)

What started it all is that I've been on a lip gloss kick for the past two months or so. I love lip gloss. I have thin lips and they don't get any fatter with age (just Botox). Glossy lips always look more voluptuous and younger. The trouble is, most lip gloss doesn't stay on. Now they have "stay-on" lip gloss, "plumping" lip gloss and other types of lip gloss. I'm scarfing up as many as I can and I promise you a review in the next couple of days.

So if you happen to see me obsessively applying lip gloss with a mad gleam in my eyes, blame Halle Berry. It's her fault!!! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Got ELF?

Yeah, I know I already posted tonight, but I just HAD to tell you about ELF, more properly E.L.F. or Eyes, Lips, Face.

Do you need makeup and don't have a lot of $$$? Would you like to try some new looks, but don't want to spend a lot? Got teen girls stealing your makeup? Then aim your browser at: http://www.eyeslipsface.com . Everything's ONE DOLLAR!!! Yes, you read that correctly. $1. Okay, I'm lying. The minerals aren't $1 each, but everything else sure is!!! You get free shipping with a $75 order, but you would need a U-haul truck to get a $75 order in from the mailbox. Regular shipping is about $6 or $7, so get your family and friends together, make one big order and split it.

Awhile back, I found an E.L.F. rack at the local K-Mart. It was always empty. Gee, wonder why? Then one day I found an eye pencil on there, so I bought it. $1, WITH the sharpener! That's when I went to the web site and got seriously blown away. My first order was $28 with shipping. I got 22 products! And once you sign up, you will get coupons in your e-mail box. You can even get a button to put on your tool bar which will pop up when new sales and savings are available.

One caveat here: This is not the same quality makeup you will get from a major line, i.e. Lancome, Lauder, Arden, Clarins, etc. in a department store. There's a reason you pay those prices. Howsumever. . . it's great stuff for a buck a pop!

I haven't tried their minerals yet, but will on my next order. Stay Tuned!

That Cheek Shading Technique

Yes, I know I promised you this eons ago. Mea culpa. Here it is now. I've been diligently searching for clip art I can use to demonstrate, but I can't find anything suitable right now. You'll have to deal with my words. It's relatively easy. If you have questions, contact me via this blog, K?

Before I start, I should mention that this technique is excellent for round and square faces or if you've put on a little weight in the cheek area. Also, it's good for doing a look on an oval or narrow face where you are specifically trying to accentuate your cheekbones. If your face is too narrow and it's not for a special effect, it won't look good. I'll deal with thinner faces in a later post.

Okay. Here we go. You know how everybody tells you to suck in your cheeks and place your blush there? Well, I want you to suck in your cheeks, but instead of your blush, use a dark shade of makeup, a bronzer or brown eyeshadow. (Color is color, folks. I use lots of things in places where they're technically not supposed to be. :) I use a medium shade of bronzer on my medium-light olive skin. The darker color should be applied in a straight line, directly in the hollow created by the sucking-in (is that a word?). The best brush for this is an angled blusher brush, but use what you have for now. When you're done, you should like someone punched you in the face. Your cheeks should visibly sink in.

Now take your favorite blush color on a regular blusher brush. Start under the center of your eye and sweep up towards the hairline by the top of your ear. Smile to make sure you have blush on the apples of your cheeks. Now bring the blush down OVER the bronzer or whatever you used to shade. Yeah, I know it looks like too much right now. Trust me and hang on.

Here comes the real trick. Take a light highlight color (I use white eye shadow. . . GASP, HORROR, SHOCK) and either with a brush or with your fingers (I use my fingers :), make another line right across the bottom of the bronzer shading. The white shading should be in a similar straight line shape as the bronzer when originally applied. (NOTE to darker complected ladies: White may not work for you and could make you look pasty. Choose ivory or beige or makeup 3-4 shades lighter than your skin tone or a highlighting eye shadow. You may have to experiment a little to get just the right color.)

Now take a big fluffy powder brush and load it up with loose face powder that matches your skin tone. Dust it off on a tissue so you don't get a big gob of the stuff on your face and. . . BLEND, BLEND, BLEND!!!!! Stroke from the center towards the ear. Cover all colors. Blend until all you see is your face subtly thinner with no demarcation lines. You should not be able to see where each color stops and starts. If you can, keep blending.

EXTRA TIP!!! Got double, triple or more chins? After you put the initial bronzer stripe in the hollows of your cheeks and your brush has only a little bit of bronzer left, stroke it under your chin from ear to ear. This has to be done gently. If you get too much on, you're going to see a brown line. Remember, you can always powder it down if you get too much on. It's easier, though, to add more than to subtract later.

Go ahead. Try it! It may take you a few tries to get it right but I guarantee you round and square ladies will love it!

She's B-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k

Sorry to leave everyone hanging. Sick kids, life intervening and then getting the same creeping crud as the kids had me down for the count. I'm still not back to my usual, but I'm working on it.

So get set to be bombarded with several posts over the next few days. You know you'll like it.

We Interrupt This Blog. . .

. . . to bring you one of those stories about "life and warpaint." You'll like it. Promise.

It's Picture Day at school. It's 7:00 a.m. There is a soft knock at my door. It's The Surprise. If you read the blurb under this Blog's title (above), you will note that I have teenagers at home. The Surprise was a gift I received in my early 40s. The Surprise is now a teenager. And it's a girl. The Surprise has bright golden red hair, a face full of freckles and huge blue eyes. The Surprise is also makeup crazy. Gee, wherever could she have gotten that from? :) (Did I mention it's a GURL???)

She wants me to do her makeup for pictures. Why? Didn't I teach her to do it herself? Well, as a good MMM (Makeup Maven Mom), I certainly tried. However, The Surprise's makeup drug of choice is a black eye pencil, used liberally all over her face. Most of the time, she looks like she's been in a fight and lost. Yes, it makes me cringe, but what's a mother to do? I can't stop her from borrowing eye makeup (NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU VALUE YOUR EYESIGHT!!!) in the bathroom at school and turning into Twiggy circa 1967. So we struck a deal.

School pictures are expensive. I pay for the pictures. When they come back to me, if you look like the Target dog, except with black rings around your eyes instead of red, you pay me back for them. Easy. Simple. Yes, you have the option of not having your pictures taken. ("Mom, you can't be serious!!!")

The night before pictures, she hadn't made up her mind yet, whether to get pictures according to my rules or not. She stopped into my job (the makeup department of a large department store) and looked around. One of my cohorts in color crime spotted her. The Surprise related her tale of woe and what to do on the morrow. My cohort took her to her own counter and made her up, very soft and pretty. She came back to me and asked if it would be all right to get her pictures taken like this. I heartily agreed. We purchased the makeup and she went home to practice.

When I got home very late that night, she was in tears. She couldn't do it. Could I recreate "the look?" She knew I would have to get up early. My much-needed morning sleep when I work late would be forfeit. "Mom, puhleeze, can you do it like this? Pretty PUHLEEZE???" Okay, okay. Call me a soft touch MMM.

So there's the 7:00 a.m. tap on my bedroom door. The Surprise is dressed and ready for her makeover. We have half an hour. I dutifully recreate the makeup application from the night before in soft shades of purples with very thin lines around her eyes, mascara, light blush and lip gloss. She looks good. (MMM breaks arm patting self on back here :) I tell her the makeup lessons will begin when she gets home. She agrees. She pinky swears she will learn how to do it correctly. She kisses me good-bye and literally floats out the door, singing on her way to the school bus.

The torch has been passed. By the way, do any of you know if black eye pencils can be put down the garbage disposal? bwahahahahahaha

Twist My Arm, Why Dontcha?

Okay, okay. I have heard from a bunch of lurkers following this blog (come out and show yourselves, Cowards!!! :) that I promised makeup tips. Yeah, I did promise a few of them. . . okay, okay, maybe a LOT of them. So to shut a few folks up, here's a quickie for tonight.

To make your lipstick stay on a l-o-n-g time, line your lips with your favorite pencil and then fill them in with that same pencil. Pretend your pencil is your lipstick and completely cover your mouth. Make any adjustments to your lip line at this time. Then fill in again with your favorite lipstick. Blot once with a single sheet tissue. (Make a single sheet tissue by pulling apart the two plies of most standard tissues and use only one.) Apply a little powder. Blot again. Apply lipstick again. Make kissy lips and look mahvelous!

Don't like lipstick? Follow the above advice to the lipstick part. Now cover your lips with your favorite gloss instead. Blot once, but skip the powder. Now gloss again. You will be soft, shiny and pouty!

You can get lots of interesting colors by combining different pencils and lipsticks/lip glosses. My current fave is a taupe lip pencil with plum-colored gloss over it. The taupe tones down the plum a little bit and it goes with just about everything. Mix and match to your heart's content. Have fun with it! One of the best things about makeup is. . . if you don't like it, you can wash your face and start over!

Cheek shading for chubby cheeks coming up tomorrow! Promise.

Be There or Be Square

There is a large makeup mirror on my desk. I can see my whole face in it and it's instrumental for getting my warpaint on straight in the morning. I just caught my reflection in it and. . . UH OH, I SEE A SQUARE!!! Now what's so surprising about that? All my life my face has been round, that's what. My makeup has been planned for a round face since I knew there was such a thing as makeup. Now it's SQUARE??? Okay, okay. Let's be honest here. Age has taken its toll. I've lost some weight (woo hoo!), a good thing for most of us. But SQUARE???

Now the panic sets in. What am I going to do in the morning? I have to be at work early. How am I going to rework my makeup to look good on a SQUARE face and still get to work on time? Why didn't I notice this earlier or on my day off so I could properly prepare? OH, WOE IS ME!!!

So off I go to my library of makeup books, studying the great Kevyn Aucoin, perusing Eve Pearl, searching the online pages of Allure Magazine, Googling "makeup for a square face." What does one do with a square face? More importantly, why must this old dog learn new tricks NOW? BIG SIGH

And then it comes to me. The makeup application for a round face AND a square face is pretty much the same. I knew that, didn't I? Yeah, kinda sorta. BIG CLEANSING BREATH. I know what to do in the morning. The same thing I've been doing for shaping and shading for X + a gazillion years. Oh, I do different looks almost every day, but I contour my face pretty much the same. Round = Square where that is concerned.

Okay. The face was round. The face is now square. Same same. Dark shadow in the hollow, blush center eye to center ear and cover the dark shadow. White smudged in under all. Blend, blend, blend. If you want the specific technique, send me a note on this blog. . . especially if you have a square face.

Six Degrees of Nail Polish

"Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is an average of six 'steps' away from each person on Earth." (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

You know what? I'm beginning to believe it! Case in point: Getting my nails done. I resisted professional manicures and acrylic nails for many years. I never liked the look in the early days of the phenomena. I didn't think I could function in my daily life with them. However, when I accepted my job at a cosmetics counter in a major department store, I figured my hands better look good while I was performing my makeup magic on them. So I broke down and decided to do a short acrylic full set.

My first step was to get a few recommendations from people I trust. I almost always do things on personal recommendations. I like the intimacy of a personal recommendation rather than relying on, say, a newspaper ad. So I began asking around.

I stared at everybody's hands. "Ooooh, who did your gorgeous nails?" They would give me a name. "I love your nails. Where do you get them done?" They would give me a name. And on and on it went. After a few days, one salon's name kept popping up far and above the rest. The capper was when a good friend of mine (we'll call her #1) told me she drives almost 40 miles to this very same salon to get her nails done! The skeptic in me was satisfied. I made an appointment, got my nails and have been a very satisfied customer ever since. (See, I can even type with these things!)

One day at work, I am talking to one of the other counter managers (we'll call her #2) and I just happened to ask her where she gets her nails done. Guess? You probably got it, but not only the same salon. . . the same operator! Number 2 talks about another lady that I happen to know (we'll call her #3) and she gets her nails done by the same operator, too. I am starting to get blown away here.

Then one day soon after, I was waiting in line to pay for my coffee at a convenience store and I saw a lady with great nails so I asked her "THE QUESTION." We can now call her #4. This pattern repeated itself many times until I stopped counting at #10 or thereabouts.

The real "gotcha moment," though, came when I was talking to Friend #1 just last night. She not only uses the same operator at the same salon, but she mentioned to me that she was referred originally by my work buddy (#2) many years ago. I never even knew they knew each other! She then went on to mention some other people who were customers at this salon and I knew them all. Wow!

Six Degrees of Separation. In the world of nail polish, though, I think it's even closer. Who knows? Maybe all of us ladies are closely related by our fingertips. :)

Why Powder & Lipstick?

As I age, my thoughts drift back to my childhood when my mother and her friends all looked perfectly made up. It was another era, a more refined time. Oh, how I longed to look just like them! What transformed these women from housewives and mothers to looking like the women I saw in the magazines? Why, powder and lipstick, of course! I know. I asked them. "Mommy, what's on your face?" "Powder and lipstick, honey." "Grandmom , what makes you look so pretty?" "Powder and lipstick, honey." Ask a woman of that age today when you try to sell them product. "What makeup are you used to wearing?" "Powder and lipstick, dear." There may be a lot of product on that face, but the answer is usually the same: "Powder and lipstick."

Certain days, truth be told, I find myself wearing. . . guess what? Powder and lipstick. It's easy to put on before dashing out of the house and it does make you look a little bit better. Most days I add foundation and a little mascara, too, but the "Powder and Lipstick Option" is always there. I sell a lot of powder and lipstick. I always will.