i dont think so...

one of my favorite beauty sites is totalbeauty.com--it's so informative. however, yesterday i was looking at the fall 2008 beauty trends and i was a little bit shocked to see that black lips and yellow eye shadow were two of them.

i have a huge problem with this.

black lipstick isnt going to look good on anyone--ok, maybe on the runway because of the amazing lighting tricks, clothes and the fact that a professional applied it and probably did something to it. black lipstick on its own, on a real person, in the daylight isnt going to look good. i keep seeing this month's magazines hawking black lipstick and i think this is terrible. i repeat, black lipstick isnt going to look good on anyone. it's harsh, it's dense and it's going to look muddy. just say no to black lipstick.

yellow eyeshadow? REALLY? REALLY? REALLY? now, i love me some colored eyeshadow and i would never, ever even think to wear yellow. yellow can be a tough color to pull off and so near the eyes makes it even more difficult. and if you factor that the color will be reflecting on the whites of your eyes to make you look jaundiced, i am going to have to pass on that too.

it just goes to show you: some trends are not supposed to be followed.

i dont know if it's the water or the soap in my new office, but my hands are beyond dry. dry to the extent where i must, must, must put lotion on every single time i wash my hands or they will be peely. not only is that gross, it's never happened to me before. needless to say i am not happy about this in the least. the new job is great, except for the super-dry hands. the good part is, there are many lotions in the bathroom to choose from after said hand-washing. the bad new is, none of these lotions even come close to moisturizing--that's how dire the situation is. thankfully, i was rummaging around in my purse (i really am like mary poppins sometimes) and found what is doing the trick: Burt's Bees Hand Salve. yes, it's a salve. this intensive moisturizer is packed with botanical oils, herbs, beeswax and features olive oil to moisturize and protect dry hands. i've been keeping it on my desk and my hands are back to their normal shape. i've also been using it as a lip balm in a pinch when i am too lazy to go inside my bag.

scheduled maintenance

last night i looked at my train case and it's overflowing. it's scary. like really, really scary. when i bought it years ago, i was able to fill it up--of course--and it was organized and beautiful. that's actually my traincase in the picture. of course, it's empty and not scary looking. the best part was that there was still enough room to add to my collection of pretty, sparkly things. right now? not so much. right now, it's a mess and my products are hard to find. i really need to go through it this weekend and chuck some things, which is always a little bit painful to me. i hate parting with products; i am always afraid that i will want or need it in the future. but it must be done--this last week it's been scary to look at. plus i have way, way more products than i first started with--and that is good--so i've been thinking that maybe i need two traincases. that option is almost more scary because you know that i am going to just give myself more license to shop.

sephora is killing me

i got my sephora holiday catalog last thursday and THEY ARE KILLING ME.

i know it's not personal and they dont mean to, but they are. THEY ARE KILLING ME.

i want everything. i look at it every day and i put post-its on everything i want. needless to say the catalog is covered because i want EVERYTHING. i am not exaggerating.

and the fairies are so pretty--it's really a work of art. now i know i can't stroll into the office with the obviously fake eyelashes and confetti on my face, but i am in serious awe of the beautiful images and the amount of work that must have gone into that shoot.

the brilliant sorceress and snow sprite spreads in particular are especially torturous. i am dying, dying, dying to get my hands on Too Faced Sparkle Glamour Gloss, Nars Eye Shadow in Night Snow and Benefit Miss Popularity. they are all so sparkly and pretty--and i am a sucker for shimmer and sparkle.

i am seriously restraining myself from hitting sephora and there are at least 2 near my office and one near my apartment. self control should be a gift with purchase.

all made up?

i am obsessed with that pretty, no-makeup makeup look--all the cute girls on tv are sporting it. i can't seem to get it no matter how hard i try. well, that's not exactly true--i can create it, but by lunch it looks like i am not wearing any makeup, which is completely infuriating because it takes a considerable amount of time to get that no-makeup makeup look. ironic, isnt it?

it's all about clean skin, flushed cheeks and a pretty pout. but unlike all the girls on tv, the difference with me is, i dont have makeup artists running around after me and touching me up. if only! and i guess i could do that on my own, but it seems like a silly waste of time in real life. i cant spend half my life in the bathroom or any shiny reflective surface fixing up my face when there is so much life to live, work to get done, friends to appreciate and the world to see.

i guess i will just start with reapplying lipstick after lunch.

magazines, we can tell

now that it's fall, all the magazines are telling me it's time to update my look. clothes. shoes. makeup. it's time for a change! and i am so excited--i love fall, everything about it. but the thing is, the magazines? so not helping. the models? completely airbrushed, photoshopped and kinda vacant (sorry, girls, but you're still pretty). the celebrities? as much as i love them--not much better. i wont even talk about america ferrerra on the cover of glamour last month. so pretty and so photoshopped. magazines, we can tell. everyone can use it nowadays. and she is gorgeous on her own--let her be!

it makes me so angry.

i remember a time when i would look forward to my magazines to see new makeup. now it's just for the products--i dont even bother with the pictures because everything kind of looks the same. and now that i can't depend on the magazines--i've turned to the tv for inspiration. (i know this will open a whole other can of worms).

the girls? still pretty, but so much more active. and it's almost easier to see the makeup with all the different kinds of lighting. plus i feel like there are so much more options. right now my girly-makeup-want-to-look-like-this obsession is chuck from pushing daisies. i didnt even bother to look up the actress' real name because i am certain her whole look is central to the character. look at her, even rising from the dead she looks gorgeous, dewy, fresh. i just want to look like this normally (and i've never even been resurrected). the skin is glowy--i am thinking some kind of cream highlighter and highlighter powder (and i need to know specifics). but what i love, love, love is the gloss. what is that and where do i get it?

why magnifying mirrors are bad

JG and C might be the only people who truly understand my product obsession--i think it's because they've been buyers for so long--but even they still give me weird looks when i bust out my makeup bag. we were in portland, OR, for a couple of days for C's wedding and i did my best to bring a pared-down makeup bag, yet still be prepared for whatever makeup mood might strike. i did a pretty good packing job--i sort of thought about what "faces" would match the specific outfits i'd packed. i dont normally think like this; i do my makeup first and then see what outfit should match (i am probably the opposite of every other woman out there). it worked out well, even though i did miss the rest of my "babies" at home.

portland was great, the wedding was great, but there was only one problem: the magnifying mirror in the bathroom. i dont have one at home--and that's a good thing. i read somewhere once that using a magnifying mirror will make you see things in the mirror that arent there normally--or at least visible to the naked eye. but there was one already in the bathroom and i wasnt able to sit in front of my regular mirror and well... things got ugly, literally. i felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. i am obsessive about applying moisturizer and sunscreen, i guzzle water by the gallon and think i have pretty good skin. one look in the magnifying mirror and i started feeling like a hag. there was this one wrinkle under my right eye that i swear was not there when i left NYC on wednesday--and i am pretty sure it's not there now (i keep checking the mirror), which is just one of the reasons i am glad to be home. portland was great, i just dont like their mirrors.

random thoughts

so every magazine i've opened up in the last few weeks has heralded the return of lipstick. i can't help but wonder, where did it go in the first place? lipstick is back? really? when did it go away? i never stopped using it. should i have? no, but that's not what the magazines are telling me.

it wasnt like they werent being sold in stores. it wasnt like the brands werent coming out with new formulations and colors. so really, lipstick never went away. why are they telling me it did?

of course, i am the queen of glosses and for the most part, i wear a gloss every day (or a couple of different ones--i am like a mad scientist), but there are times when i wear lipstick. sometimes you just need the "done" lipstick look (and nothing can ever replace the perfect red lipstick). besides, i have my favorites that cannot be abandoned.

it just goes to show, you have to do what works for you and makes you feel good--because in the end that's what beauty is all about (at least it should be).

it's a big week!

this week is very exciting! first, oscar fever is in the air--and tonight, just like everyone else, i will be glued to the awards show. everyone is dying to know who will receive a golden statue and what the gorgeous ladies will wear, but i am dying get a peek at the makeup! i can't wait to see who will be sporting a smoky eye, a red lip or an ethereal glow. i will try to post my favorites this week. second, i have been invited to attend a Prescriptives focus group. i am such a fan of Prescriptives Skin Care that i can't wait till the big day! i will post more about that later too.

living beauty

whenever i get a new magazine in my mailbox, i can't wait to check out the beauty section. and once i get into my apartment, the thought process before reading the magazine goes something like this: skip right to the beauty section; no, don't do that because then you will never pick it up again; skip right to the beauty section. NO! read it like a normal person. this month's InStyle was worth the wait of getting to the beauty section by reading the magazine in order (don't get me wrong, i love InStyle, but this month, there were a lot of ads). this month's beauty section was great; from the 3 faces 3 places section to the coast-to-coast beauty, but my favorite section was by far bobbi brown's beauty lessons and the 3 comments on beauty from Ann Curry, Marcia Gay Harden and Susan Sarandon. i think what i appreciated most was that the Bobbi Brown section mentioned ways to look younger without opting for surgery--and i can't wait to go out and buy her book Living Beauty.

just gorgeous!

As Bree Van De Kamp Hodge, Marcia Cross looks amazing. The hair is glorious, the skin is radiant and the makeup is sublime. It’s normal looking women like this in Hollywood, the ones who aren’t Botoxed to an inch of their lives or have had so much plastic surgery they end up looking like frozen caricatures of themselves that make me think aging isn’t such a scary concept.

Now for some reason, every Monday morning, I want to look like Bree Van De Kamp Hodge. I don’t know what it is about Mondays, but there is just something about the first day of the week, which makes me want to look like a put-together WASP. Usually, I am running so late that I barely end up looking like Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman is gorgeous and another example of a normal-looking woman, but on that show they don’t glam her up very much). It’s Sunday night and tomorrow is another day, and another chance to strive for the perfection of Bree Van De Kamp Hodge.

a fresh perspective

i haven't posted in a while--work's been crazy, i've been lazy--so there are so many beauty-related things rattling around in my brain. last weekend i cleaned out my train case and it was intimidating, overwhelming and finally liberating. i called K in the middle of it, in a panic. "i have these two urban decay eye shadows (polyester bride and midnight cowboy) do i toss or do i keep? they are beautiful, but the glitter is too chunky, ends up all over my face and eventually in my eyes. obviously, it shouldn't have been a dilemma. toss it. but it makes me feel terrible; what if i want it later? what if i miss it? what if there was a way i could have made it work. i also tossed out some things i had no business keeping; some were old and some i hadn't touched in ages. every morning while i got ready, i would look at some of these products and they were just sitting there for so long, not being used and it was making me feel guilty. now they are gone, and it's a little bit of a relief. i organized and moving things around made me realize i always reach for the same things (or in the same color family) so i've been breaking out of my rut this week, trying new things. i've been mixing it up a little and it feels good. the best part? now i have room for even more stuff!

the first time

the day lancôme discontinued beige esquisse rouge absolu was a sad, sad day. i don't remember much else about it except i was really, really angry and wondered how i was going to replace my favorite lipstick. i am a reasonable person, things like that shouldn't be so upsetting, but it was "THE FAVE." my friend K and i started calling it that because it was perfect and it went with any look; you could wear it with any eye shadow, you could pair it with a smokey eye or rosy cheeks. you could wear it to an interview or even use it on those casual, but still want to look polished days. "THE FAVE" was perfect (i know i said that already, but it's true). it was this beige-y, pinky color that looked good on everyone.

i think it's about this time that i realized i was a beauty junkie--that products were my crack. i've always been obsessed with products; thinking about what works, what doesn’t, what could work, what i want to try next. what i am dying to try next, actually. and I am always dying to try something new. i love to know what people are using, what is working for them and if people ask (let’s face it, even if they don’t), i love to tell them what i am using and what works for me. it's like being a kid in a candy store (actually, i think as a kid i might have preferred looking in my mom's makeup bag instead).

but the day i found out it was discontinued--i made it a practice to buy two or three at a time so i wouldn't have to worry about running out, which makes the whole thing a little bit ironic--something changed. it was like i had to go out and try even more things so i would never be blindsided if something i loved was discontinued. i'd be able to bounce back, ready with 2 or 3 products in my arsenal.

it's been years since "THE FAVE" was discontinued and i've been lucky to find some shades that have come pretty damn close to the perfect hue, which has taught me to not have beauty prejudices. the must-have product doesn't always have to break the bank to be perfect, but if it does, then it's certainly worth it!