The Unparalleled Awesomeness of M.A.C.

I started my life's maquillage the way I think everyone probably does - with a heady blend of Mom's cosmetics and cheap stuff from CVS.  As I got older and got, you know, a job, I discovered magical money-sucking stores like Sephora, which had more hardcore cosmetics that worked better and were more exciting.  Makeup is one of the things I firmly believe you should invest in as you can; I don't mean invest as in "everyone should make makeup a priority" but rather "if you're going to wear it, wear the good stuff."  While Sephora is my favorite for a broad selection of cosmetics and for good tips and fun new things, the best single brand I use is M.A.C.  I know Sephora used to carry their products and am not sure why that stopped, but it's probably for the best, Josie's pocketbook wise.  There are two products in particular that I love of theirs, which I'd like to mention here.

Item number one is their nail polish.  I am awful with nail polish on my fingernails.  Apparently I'm just super tough on my nails and spend all my time smashing my hands into things...even salon manicures chip almost immediately and look like I stuck my hand in a wood chipper before the week is out.  But M.A.C. can keep up.  I don't know how and frankly my best guess is "magic" but this stuff stays put like crazy glue.  The colors are all lovely, too...it's one of those things where it might not look like your particular thing, but odds are it will look lovely on.  I kind of gambled on this rum raisiny color, but it looks like a million bucks on, and every "ehhhhh I'll try it" purchase I've made from them has panned out much the same.  They are color experts in a big way, and I can't recommend them on that front enough!

To give my nail polish the best chance at hanging in there, I have kind of a process.  I start by washing my hands and then using either coconut oil or some other kind of moisturizing oil on my hands (I've even used olive oil), focusing on getting it into my cuticles.  I push my cuticles back and sometimes trim them with nail scissors, depending on how industrious I'm feeling.  After that, I file the edges to the shape I want and file the whole surface of the nail.  I think it's this resurfacing that really helps.  Then I put one coat on and let it dry ALL THE WAY.  I follow it up with a second coat, and that's the one I really try to let dry for as long as possible.  Sometimes I use a top coat, sometimes not.  I have been trying too to not worry too much about streaking or light patches at first, because sometimes as coats dry, the color evens out, but if I try to fix it in process, I always screw it up.

The other M.A.C. product I want to recommend is their pigment.  This is a loose powder and again, the key is the beautiful color sensibility.  I use their Rose pigment as a standby - if I'm packing for a trip more often than not it's this, mascara and a lip gloss - and it's amazingly gorgeous and versatile.  It also comes packed SO tightly in the jar...I've had this jar for almost a year and I use it all the time, but look how low it is!  It's more lightly packed now, but damn, that's serious business.  I can see the Rose being beautiful on almost anyone for everyday wear, but they have so many more colors for fun, and they're so worth it.  They aren't even that expensive, only about $20 for a jar.

You can buy all of these cosmetics at M.A.C. or at a counter in Macy's.

The Closest I've Come to Being in a Cult Was Taking a Shower in New Jersey

When I was little, I had to constantly be reading.  When I was eating my breakfast, I was reading the cereal box.  And the milk.  Later, I'd start reading the paper, or a book, or a magazine.  When I was in the shower, I'd read shampoo bottles.  This took an interesting turn when I visited my aunt and uncle's house in New Jersey, because they used Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, which has a label like this:

Click to enlarge

I took really long showers when I was in New Jersey.

For those who don't have 20 minutes to read this, let me say this: the passage "For one God's Spaceship Earth, with Bomb and Gun we're all-One or none!  All-One!  All-One!  All-One!  Exceptions eternally?  Absolute none!" happens, and it's not even the most frantic thing on there.  Dr. Bronner was an interesting guy, and the company is still run by his family following his death in 1997.  The soap, incidentally, is really good.  It rinses cleanly and it doesn't dry out your skin.  Plus, it's a culty-fun adventure for the whole family!

I grew up with this soap, and as I got older, I realized that Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap was the kind of thing hippie-type folks were prone to having on hand, which makes sense given my context for it.  I recently read about coconut oil being great for your skin (and a million other things; Jenna Marbles sums it up nicely), and wanted to try it - regular readers of this blog may remember that I usually clean my face with olive oil - and someone suggested that Dr. Bronner's was the best place to get coconut oil.  I was disappointed to discover that there is no pseudo-religious babble on the coconut oil container, though it does say "Dr' Bronner's MAGIC 'ALL-ONE'," which I suppose is pretty good.  It IS fair trade and organic, which in reality is probably better than having a bunch of rambling on the label, so it has that going for it.  However, I'm sitting here, having used some Dr. Bronner's coconut oil on my face and some of it in my morning smoothie, about to take my multivitamin and "Women's Treasure" herbal supplement with my nettle infusion as recommended by my herbalist (the fantastic Melanie St. Ours), and I'm kind of realizing that hippie is genetic and there's just no escaping it.  And you know what, I'm cool with that, because since taking my herbs my hair and nails have been super strong and luxurious and my whole life is more balanced, and right now guys my face is as smooth as the most angelic little cherub's butt.  I embrace the hippiedoodlery.

Note on the coconut oil: barring any weird skin freakouts, I will be switching over to coconut oil for everything.  I find that the olive oil still removes makeup a little better.  However, there was always the "smelling vaguely like a salad" aspect of using olive oil, and now I can instead smell like a coconut, which is preferable by far.  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I bet you could add in some other essential oil to make a scent you might prefer, as long as you chose something that wouldn't irritate your skin.  The main challenge would be blending it properly; the coconut oil is a solid at regular room temperature, so I guess you could warm the oil in a pot of water (i.e. put the open jar in a pan of water), mix the additional oil in, then let it set up again.  I'm going to try it!  I will report back soon.

DIY Pore Strips: Getting To Know Your Ingredients

Pore strips: the most entertaining grossness-based bathroom activity this side of the neti pot.  Also?  Not cheap.  A while back I came across Michelle Phan's video for pore strips and thought "huh, that seems neat," and then forgot about it for about a year and a half, obviously.  Listen, The Lucy just told me she took my advice on Makeup Forever's HD Foundation after two years, therefore two years is an acceptable and standard unit of procrastination BE IT SO ORDERED.

Anyway, to make your own pore strips, you take a tablespoon of unflavored gelatin and a tablespoon of milk, mix them up, nuke 'em for 10 seconds, then slop it on your nose (or wherever) and let it dry.  Here's Michelle's video.

I tried this today, and I have to say I'm kind of lukewarm on the result.  It may be that I pulled it off a little early, because I'm not good at being patient about pore strips in the best circumstances, but I didn't find the experience as thrilling as the storebought version.  That said, it did take a bunch of the oil off my face, and that's a plus.  Here are the pros and cons of my personal experience with this method.

CONS!

• Not as effective at dredging stuff out of your pores.  While oil came off easily (yay!) I got a minimum of those creepy plugs that come up with the Biore strips. 
• You have to find Knox gelatin.  If you can't find it on your own, you will have to ask a teenager at the supermarket.  They will not know what it is.  
• It smells like a foot.  Oh my sweet jalopy does it smell like a foot.  This would be less of a concern if you were applying this to, for instance, your own foot, but since it's likely going on your nose, it's kind of an issue.  If you're sensitive to smells, this is probably not a great option for you.
• It will look like you have gross boogers all over your face.  

PROS!

• WAY cheaper.  Knox gelatin costs about $1.86 for a box of five packets (each packet a tablespoon).  Biore strips are $6.89 for six strips on Drugstore.com.  That box of Knox is at least five uses per box, and maybe more...I didn't try saving and reheating the goop, so it's possible you could get more than one use out of each packet, and you could certainly get a greater area out of each one than the strips allow.  
• It's much easier on the skin.  Sometimes the Biore strips can be a little aggressive, but this method peeled off easily and without yanking my skin.  It was also minimally drying and either absorbed or removed a lot of excess oil from my face.  
• Easier on the environment.  With Biore strips you have a cardboard box, foil packet, plastic backing and a cloth or paper strip.  With the gelatin you have a box and a paper packet; less materials and all the way recyclable.  Fight your wasteful American ways!!
• It will look like you have gross boogers all over your face.  I list this here because it is hilarious and I am four.

I'd say this is worth a try, especially if you're a little light on the funds, but I did not find the results to be equivalent.  It's possible that with time I will get better at it, but I have to say this isn't the top of my DIY successes, unlike the use of olive oil for cleansing or apple cider vinegar and baking soda to clean my hair.  Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Makeup is Easy!: Cat Eyes Two Ways

My friend Rose occasionally makes noise about having me come over every morning to do her makeup.  However, this weekend we narrowed her makeup needs down to one main skill: doing a good cat eye.  This is a great choice if you're going to master one makeup skill, because it can be dressed up or down for any occasion.  If you want something a little snazzier, you can throw sparkly shadow over the top of it to make it pop, but if you just have a quiet day at work and want minimal makeup, you can leave the cat eye on its own, and that's all before you get to lipstick - I don't think there's anything more simply pretty than a smooth cat eye and a bright red lip!

Rose also mentioned a fear of liquid liner, and I don't think she is alone in that fear.  I have two ways to do a basic cat eye, one with liquid liner and one with shadow, but I also want to take a moment to talk about liquid liner itself.  The main thing to remember is: not all liquid liners are created equal.  If you are just starting to experiment with liquid liner, you want to get one with the skinniest possible applicator.  Sephora makes a really good one that comes to a lovely sharp point.  The second liner tip is to remember that you can work in small dabs, and that pays off huge.  I think the tendency is to think you have to open that sucker up and just draw one continuous line, but that's just not necessary.  As you'll see in my tutorial, I don't even do one straight line, and I consider myself something of a liquid liner pro.  As always, slow and steady wins the race.  Liquid liner does make a hard line, so it's much better to take it slow and get it right. 

So without further ado, let's make our way to feline fabulousity!  The first approach is the liquid liner approach.  I am using SEPHORA COLLECTION Long Lasting Eye Liner in "Glittering Black", which I bought on a whim and am totally delighted with; I thought the glitter would inevitably either get stuck in the tube or gunk up the smoothness of my line, but no!  It applies in a really fun, smooth glittery black line.  I should have had more faith in Sephora. 

1. First, draw a little wing at the corner of your eye.  I use my bottom lid as a guide.  You don't want a huge angle, so you should think of it as extending the line of your bottom lid towards the top of your ear.  The longer the line from the corner of your eye, the more dramatic, so you can adjust accordingly.  If you're unsure, start small - you can always extend it later!  As you can see, I have kind of hooked the liner along my lower lid; we'll elaborate on this a little later.

2.  Next, draw a line from the middle-ish of your eyeball to the furthest point of your wing.  I like to do this in small dabs, extending the line from both the tip of the wing towards the eyeball and from the middle towards the wing, eventually joining them together.  How you do this depends on your dexterity - I am pretty good at working from any angle on my face, but there was definitely a point where one direction was more comfortable, so go with what works for you.  I will say that if you're going to draw from the center of your eyeball out, don't aim for the tippiest-tip of the wing, but instead aim for just below it, so you leave a little room for error. 

NB: there is some reflection over the center; draw a straight line.

3.  Once you have the outline sketched up, fill that sucker in!  Once again, little dabs will be helpful, and you want to get as close to the edges of your eye as possible.  I find that the toughest part is getting the liner worked right into the corner of your eye, because it takes a weird little dip.

4. You'll now want to tune everything up: double check everything and even it out, making sure you have a nice smooth line and continuing it towards your tear duct at the inner corner of your eye, narrowing it as you go along.  The narrowing bit can be hard and there are two methods I use, depending on the liner brush.  When I use narrow brushes with a fine tip, I can draw mostly with the tip, again using small dabs.  If I have a thicker brush, I like to lay the brush parallel to my lash line and just tap it on the very edge of the lid.  That tends to get a very fine and neat line.  (You can also use this technique with a narrow brush, and I think it's actually easier, no matter what kind of brush you have.)

5.  The next step is optional, but I think it gives a much more complete look.  This step involves lining your bottom lash line, and you can use a liner of your choice.  I think a smokier liner works better here, to take some of the edge off the look.  I used Guerlain Terracotta Khol Kajal Intense Indian Kohl, which is a really great smudgey crayon of liner.  [NB: As far as I can tell, Guerlain's eyeliners are 100% win at all times.  They are a little pricey but the quality is outstanding and they last forever.  I highly, highly recommend them.  Literally cannot do so enough.]  You want to line right along your waterline, as I am creepily demonstrating by pulling down my eyelid in this shot (sorry, people who get eyeball-related heebie-jeebies!).  I also lined along the waterline on my upper lid and around the outer corner of my eye again, just so everything was all connected.

6. If you do not add mascara, this will look creepy.  Fire that stuff up!  You can also add false lashes, but I think the cat eye look stands alone well.  I use Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Waterproof Mascara but I also like MAKEUP FOREVER Smoky Lash.  I think the key to success with this look is making sure your lashes are as separated as possible, and getting a very light coat on your lower lashes.  Voila!

So there we have your more traditional cat eye look.  It takes some practice to get comfortable with liquid liner, but it's not an unattainable goal.  I actually like to draw a little bit on the back of my hand when I get a new liner, in order to get used to the way it applies.  I would also like to remind you of what I consider the most important rule of makeup: no one is looking that closely at your makeup.  That doesn't mean no one cares, but it does mean that they're not appraising your makeup for symmetry and perfection.  Don't worry too much about little bumps and unevenness!

Let's get started with the second method!  This one is all done with eyeshadow, though I think you could also use the technique with liquid liner or with a cream shadow.  I haven't tried it with either of those, but I see no reason it wouldn't work!

1.  Go to your desk and get your scotch tape out.

1a. Yes really.

1b.  Take a piece of tape and apply it to your face, following the curve of your lower lash line up and out just like we talked about with the initial wing in the liquid liner demo.  This will be your guide for a nice even line.

2. Take a makeup brush you are comfortable with and pick up a small amount of the eye shadow you're going to use.  I used the SEPHORA COLLECTION Double-Ended Smokey Eye Brush, without which I literally could not live, but you can use any brush you like.  This time, you're going to be applying shadow from the top lid out.  You are going to create the wing here, so feel free to go over the tape to get a nice narrow point.  It looks a little sloppy in the photo, but you'll be able to see better when the tape is removed.

I removed the tape at this point, but if you're worried about shadow fall-out, you can certainly leave it on.  As you can see, there's a nice sharp wing!

3. You're now going to continue the line across the top lid.  Keep using your brush to get the powder carried across the lid and over to your tear duct.  As always, a little bit goes a long way - you can always add more powder over the top, so start light!

5. I used a thicker line here to capitalize on the smokiness of the powder, but you can still keep it nice and thin if you prefer.  You can finish up with the same waterline liner application and mascara, and you'll be good to go!

I took a quick shot of all the products I used in this tutorial, and it's really amazing how few are needed - this is all you need for BOTH looks!

The pot on my palm is the shadow I used, and it's from the now defunct She Space, but any powder would work; I've also used pressed powder with the same technique.

Go forth, my glorious bewinged beauties, and fear the cat eye no more!

San Jose or Worcester Sharks Makeup

There are certain realities I have accepted about my life, many of them involving hockey.  Chief amongst them are the facts that a.) I go to at least 40 hockey games a year, and b.) that this means I will have clothing and makeup that goes with my standard hockey attire.  This usually involves jeans and a jersey, and given the fact that it's usually a Sharks game, this means I'll be wearing black, white or teal based sweaters.  When I wear black or white jerseys, I can use some color on my face (for teal jerseys I like to keep it silver and black, or maybe incorporate a bit of Sharks orange if I'm feeling adventurous).  I did a teal eye today and thought other Sharks fans might be interested in seeing how to put it together. Here's the whole look:

I'm not really sure why I look bored and/or angry but there you have it.  I've got a strong eyebrow over a teal base, silver overlay and white corners.  Here's the closed eye:

I start this look by defining my eyebrows with Anastasia brow powder.  I use an angled brush to apply a core of dark powder through the center of the eyebrow, then use the lighter shade along the edges.  This takes a little practice, but pays off huge.  It adds just enough definition to make your eyes stand out; I often use nothing but brow powder and Guerlain kohl eyeliner (more on that later), and it makes for a fast, put together look.

The next step is an eye primer; I am using Laura Geller Eye Spackle right now because I have it on hand.  It does a good job, but if you're doing something with minimal color and you don't have lily white skin, it does show up.  That said, it's always good to add some light color at the inner corners of your eyes and under the arch of your eyebrow, so it's a decent option for that.  (The best primer on the market is Urban Decay's Primer Potion.)  After I get the primer worked in, I apply the teal eyeliner and wing it out a fair distance.  I've highlighted the actual line of my eye so you can see that I carry the wing of the liner out pretty far.  You can adjust this for your own comfort level.  I use Urban Decay Liquid Liner in Bright Teal because I like the depth of color and the brush.

After the liner has dried, I add a little dibbity dab of white pencil on the inside of my eye and blend it with my finger.  I have a hard time blending this properly with a brush; if you are an advanced makeup person, go for it!  You can use any white liner or shadow you like for this.  I use a cheapie RiteAid pencil...the packaging says it's a Prestige eyeliner in White (E30). 

The next colors are all from Tarina Tarantino's "Starchild" palette, which I heartily recommend for anyone because it has a great selection of colors that stay put all day and night.  Unfortunately, it looks like its season has gone by, but you might be able to snap it up on eBay.  You could use Makeup Forever's eyeshadows for substitutes: Turquoise Shimmer 83 and Silver 82 should do it.  I put the teal over the lid to JUST over the crease so it's visible.  Make sure you blend it right into the liner so it's a smooth transition.  You want an arc to go from the tip of your liner wing over to the white highlight.  Finally, apply some silver over the top of your teal arch and run your finger over the line to blend, blend, blend.  I finished with Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara, which has the little hedgehog brush.  Even if you don't want to shell out for the Givenchy, I recommend any of the mascaras with the hedgehog brush, because they get riiiiiiight into the corners to get all those teensy little hairs usually involve stabbing yourself in the eye or slopping mascara all over your eye AND nose.  I think CoverGirl has one now, but I'm not sure.

Voila!  I finish with Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer and Makeup Forever's HD Invisible Cover Foundation (which incidentally may be a little pricey but is hands down the best foundation I have ever used).  It's always best to do foundation last, because that way you can "erase" any fallout from your eye makeup.  If you do foundation first - as I used to! - fine particulate from eyeshadow can fall down and get set under your eyes. 

Guerlain Owns My Soul

You probably know Guerlain because they sold a bottle of Shalimar perfume to every woman on the face of the planet at one point, and you vaguely remember some female relative or friend wearing it. My designated relative was my Aunt Cheryl, who is the epitome of glamour and probably to blame for some of my susceptibility to fabulous packaging when it comes to cosmetics. Here's the bottle you probably saw.

You just smelled the woman who wore this, didn't you?

Luckily, only the suspicion that anything my Aunt the glamourpuss would wear cost $1M Adult Dollars kept me from haranguing my parents for a bottle of this stuff. I was dealing in Teenager Dollars Earned at the Greendale Mall Popcorn Stand at the time, so I was in that weird phase where $20 still seems like a fair amount, but you also kind of get that it's not, unlike early childhood when you're like "I have $6, which means I can buy the whole ice cream truck. I am the richest person alive." You know, the more I think about this, the more it might have been better for all involved if I had worn down my parents and gotten a bottle of Shalimar, since I went through first a Love's Baby Soft phase and then a CKOne phase, the latter of which was less a "spritz, spritz, go" process than a bathing experience. I eventually moved on to Dior's J'Adore, which was less offensive generally but I still used in a volume one might consider more appropriate for stunning cattle. Sanity wasn't truly mustered until I moved to DC and discovered Sephora and Demeter perfumes, which are very subtle fragrances that smell like everything from "Wet Garden" to "Gin and Tonic." Now I have several perfumes I use - Lolita Lempicka's Fleur de Corail, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Miss Dior Cherie, Aquolina's Pink Sugar, Demeter's Salt Air, Michael Kors' Very Hollywood - which I like but Rich hates because (cuteness alert, danger) he "likes when I wear the same one because then when I'm not there my comforter smells like me." (Awesome husband for the win!)

So okay ANYWAY the actual point of this was not to give you a detailed history of my perfume wearing history - though I bet a post about vetting perfumes would be interesting...hmm - but rather to explain that the hold Guerlain's Shalimar had on me as a young woman has now transferred easily to their totally spectacular eyeliners that I am addicted to partly because they are amazing cosmetics and partly because they look like I robbed Greta Garbo's vanity. The first one I got was their Terracotta Loose Kohl Powder in brown.
This stuff is magical. Admittedly, I can see how it might make some hesitant, because it gets applied right on the waterline of your lower eyelid with the little stick - you just tap it on - but it's so worth getting over that hump, because it gives you the perfect smoky line for day or night. The brown is just the right color for the day/night switch, though the black would probably be nice if you were getting ready to go out for the night. But seriously...do you even care how good the makeup is? Look at that goddamn packaging! You own this and you're instantly a makeup professional, even if you can't put on foundation with two hands and a mirror. It is instant glamour for your dresser. It just sits there saying "this woman wears satin gowns for every occasion and smokes from a jeweled cigarette holder but never ever gets cancer because there is too much glamour in her system for it to take hold."

I've been totally obsessed with this stuff since I got it about a year ago on a recommendation from Apocalypstick Now. I am a total pusher, too...people will be like "hey, I need eyeshadow, any ideas?" and I'll respond with something like "sure, get Eyeshadow X but what you REALLY need is Guerlain Terracotta Kohl Eyeliner because it is magical." Probably bad.

A couple days ago, my Mom called me and she was like "hey, I'm getting a Sephora card as a gift, does thee think that I should get something else to complete the gift?" I, being a genius (okay, mostly a pusher), said "you should get a nice eyeliner, since [REDACTED] is an eyeliner master, plus it's a nice small item." Since my Mom isn't a big makeup person, I offered to find a couple options for her to pick from. WELL.
Yeah, Guerlain has a new formulation of eyeliner, and once again, it is effing magnificent. Needless to say, I ordered a tube of this Khôl Kajal* liner for myself, because what do you do around Christmastime but buy yourself stuff**? Again, it's a beautiful smooth product that goes on well and stays put without irritating your eyes, and once again, who cares, because it looks like magic! This one actually reminds me of another Aunt, my Aunt Karen, who went to Egypt with me and my Dad and who cheerfully obsessed with me over how the gorgeous ladies in their abayas did their eye makeup (hardcore, perfect smoky eyes everywhere). Kohl seems the obvious answer, but these women clearly had their ninja certification in application and probably didn't need slick packages like this to produce their looks.

I am such a sucker for packaging, man. Luckily, these products are also excellent cosmetics, rather than just nice packages, because I have definitely bought snazzy looking packages that turned out to be cheap crap. You should all go out and buy yourself some***!

* NB: I went to Sephora's website to check the name of this product, and I noticed that my "previously viewed products" section looks like a shopping list for a drag queen rave. There are five kinds of glitter, fake eyelashes, and random lipsticks (purple) on there. I think maybe Sephora is something I should not have.

** I am kidding, but unfortunately this DOES seem to be A Thing. All of these ads about "getting a little something for yourself" creep and gross me out. Feel however you want about Christmas - too much Jesus, not enough Jesus, too commercial, pointless, whatever - but it is a gift GIVING holiday. Gift giving is not the same as buying crap for yourself. I don't think I should have to explain this.

*** That's right, even you men. Guyliner is a thing now, didn't you hear?

Makeup Is Easy: Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Green

I'm starting to feel a little bit like an OPI nail polish titler at this point with the Makeup Is Easy posts, but I haven't really run out of horrible weird puns, so that's...good? Not sure. YOU DECIDE!!!!

In any case, you can see here that I went with a pretty basic green eye. I forewent the eye liner because I wasn't feeling up to it. I've been rocking the liquid liner lately because it hangs in there better in summertime, but it is kind of a process to get it so it doesn't look like you did your face with Sharpie. You can see how effective just a simple eyeshadow plus mascara can be, though:
I encourage any and all readers to just abandon foundation et al for day in the summer. It's just too much work to have it melt off midday and the odds of your skin looking better in summer are huge. A little sunshine - filtered through sunscreen - will cover all manner of sins. Don't sweat it and go with easy makeup that doesn't disappear.

Makeup Is Easy [For Men Too]: Make Your Hands Un-Gross

Your hands are one of the primary ways people make contact with you, whether it's a handshake or if you're a hand-talker. People notice them, so you should do what you can to keep them nice. I know it's tough for men to make peace with the idea of going to a salon - it seems to be the last bastion of belief in cooties - so if you get the value of having nice hands to recommend you to the world but aren't quite ready to go, here's a quick spiff-your-hands primer.

1. Drink lots of water. This is a good policy anyway, but your hands and fingernails are all made of skin, and you will want them as pliable as possible. Make sure to drink at least a couple glasses of water well before and up to the time you start working on your hands.
2. Wash your hands. Dirt, smudges, penmarks, whatever, it's better to avoid having gunk on your hands anyway, but if you're going to take the time to clean up your hands the best starting point is with cleanliness. You can clean your hands with soap and water, but for this exercise it's even better if you put a teensy - seriously, TINY TINY TINY - amount of olive oil on your hands and massage it in. Olive oil is a miracle product - it cleans and softens your skin and you probably have it in your pantry right this very second.
3. Push back your cuticles. (Just in case: those are the little rims of skin at the base of each finger nail.) I do this with my other fingernails, but you can also do it with a nail file or an "orange stick," also sold as a "cuticle stick." I don't know why it's called an orange stick, because it's not orange, or orange scented, or any of that. If you're feeling daring, you can trim your cuticles, but you don't have to. It's really, really important to have moisturized hands for this. Push all of the cuticle down, then carefully use a pair of nail scissors or cuticle nippers (both available at CVS) to nip away the excess skin. Always cut LESS rather than more - you can always take off more, but if you cut too much, it hurts like a MOTHER. I should note here that the cuticle plays an important role in keeping bacteria and grunge out of your system, and that's why I say this step is optional. Pushing them back will go a long way, particularly when you follow it up with...
4. Exfoliating your hands. Lots of ways to do this! Exfoliation takes all the old dead skin off the surface and lets new, healthy skin come through. You can always buy an exfoliant like St. Ives Apricot Scrub at CVS, but since we're keeping the men in mind, let's come up with some other ideas, too. Option one: steal your female cohabitant's St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I think every woman in the United States has a tube of this. Option two: take that olive oil you used earlier and throw some sea salt into it. It should be grainy, not goopy. Option three: get the roughest washcloth you have in your stash, and throw some hand soap on it. Whichever option you choose, you want to rub it all over your hands, focusing on your cuticles, then rinse it off. (I like to give my elbows a scrub-down while I'm at it.)
5. Shape your nails (yes, men too). There are two aspects of your nails to consider: length and surface. With length, take a second to think about how you usually treat your hands. If you work with your hands a lot and your nails break constantly, just cut to the chase and keep them short. For longer nails, think about the shape you want and make sure it's uniform. If you can find a glass nail file, that's the best option, but no matter what you use, make sure you file in one direction only! People tend to reflexively use a sawing motion, but this chews up your nail and makes it weaker. Just go one way - it's annoying but better in the long run.
   
6. File your nails. I actually really like those little four part files, but you can get them in blocks too, which form to your nails a little better. Even out any ripples, then give it a smoothing once-over. This will remove any cuticle residue and give you a polished look.
7. Optional: Strengthen your nails and apply polish. I have weak nails, so I use a nail strengthener. You want the Sally Hansen stuff in the gold bottle - it's at any drugstore. If you're a man and don't want shiny nails, no problem! Just put on two coats of the nail strengthener, then take a file and buff the tops of your nails so they're a matte texture. If you want to apply polish, put it on now, starting in the middle and moving out allllllmost to the edge of the nail.
   
8. Finish with moisturizer. Finally, give your hands a once-over with a moisturizer of your choice or another round of olive oil. You could also use a different type of oil here - I like the Body Shop's Monoi Miracle Oil (which really is miraculous; you can use it for ANYTHING), and Rich seems to like Dr. Hauschka's Lemon Body Oil, which has a nice zippy scent that picks you right up.
   

Tada! You have soft, good-lookin', good-feelin' hands, using the very basics and without going to a salon. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Makeup Is Easy: What's New, Kitty Kat?

I got my Gaga Viva Glam lipstick in and wanted to give it a whirl, so I fired up this look. I think you need to have strong color involved one way or the other - it's a light opaque pink. I paired it with the salmony pink Kitty Kat color from the She Space.
The green dress helped balance everything out, though I'm not sure I love the necklace with the lipstick. The necklace in and of itself, however, is awesome - I found it at Fresh Produce in Sarasota and thought it was so cool I just had to have it. The baubles are a series of quartzes, and they're tied together with a brown twine, so it has a very organic feel to it.
My eyebrows seem to be filling in a little, which is interesting to me. I wonder if it's because I'm basically brushing them daily as I apply brow powder? This was a super-simple look - just Kitty Kat on the lids and Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara, with the lipstick to finish.
Kitty Kat is a terrific shadow color - if Heather still has it over at the She Space (she's liquidating her inventory so she may be all out) I highly recommend it, particularly if you have similar coloring to me. You won't be sorry!

Makeup Is Easy: This House Believes In The Color Blue

March 25th was a busy day. I went to my four classes (Philosophy and Literature, Political Mass Murder, Economy and Society, 20th Century Continental Philosophy), then met with the two members of the Cambridge Union Society with whom I would be debating that night, then got inducted into the Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy honor society, THEN changed into a dress in the bathroom like the class act that I am and went to debate the existence of the War on Terror, followed by a celebratory trip to The Citizen. It was quite the extravaganza and a TOTAL blast. Debating the Cambridge Union Society folks was a terrific experience, and we all had a great time...really smart, wonderful people. They're on a US debate tour, and they are serious, serious business.

Anyway, since I was leaving the house at 9:30, I needed makeup that would last all day, and I came up with this:
You can see my haircut more clearly here, though I usually wind up pushing my bangs to one side. I went with an adaptation of a look I saw on Sephora. I applied Scared Silly on my inner eye, making sure to work it around the hollow and along my lower lash line, then applied Electric Lust on the outside corner, again working it around to the lower lash line. Sephora left a bare strip between colors in the middle of the eye, but I didn't really like how that looked so I added Jumpin' Jellyfish to blend the two together. I added two coats of Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara and then set the whole shebang with Skindinavia makeup setting spray. For lipstick, I used Julie Hewett lipstick in Oona Noir with M.A.C. Dazzleglass in Get Rich Quick over it.

If you have the chance to see the Cambridge Union Society debate, or even better, to talk with them, don't pass it up. The quartet that came to assumption was just a wonderful group of people, and their performance was brilliant. A good time had by all!

Makeup Is Easy: Life Is A Cabaret

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!
I guess that's not a very excited face, but it's still a FIERCE face. I went to my friend Cha Cha's cabaret show at 86 Winter last night with my friend Dan and my Dad, and I figured it was the ideal time to fire up some hardcore makeup. I've been loving Michelle Phan's YouTube channel because she does totally awesome makeup and she is great about explaining the mechanics of and reasons for what she's doing. She's basically the Alton Brown of makeup. I was looking for something fun to try out, and one of the looks that caught my eye was an Avatar inspired one that incorporated the lush colors of the movie. It looked great, so I decided to give it a whirl.
I used my She Space colors, which are powders instead of creams like Michelle used. I started out by using Fairy Tale Failed (light green) from my inner eye to the middle of my eyelid, about halfway up the lid. I then took Scared Silly (light blue) and continued the line out to a long wing on the side, and did a mirror wing from my lower lid. When you're doing winged eyes, it's easy to get disenchanted by fumbles, but the good news is that they're super easy to fix. You just want to use a wet Q-tip and pull firmly along the line you want while holding your skin taut. Once I was done refining the wings, I applied some sparkly Extra Caution (glittery blue-green) in the center of my eye.

Once I had the wings established, I took Fire and Brimstone (punchy strong yellow-orange and filled in the space between the two wings. I liked the pink overlay that Michelle used, so I applied Kitty Kat (salmony pink - I REALLY love this color, it's so pretty!) about midway up to my eyebrows. I finished the whole thing with white accents in Snow Capped along the eyebrow and my inner eye. Once all the shadows were done, I applied a round of mascara and defined my brows with Anastasia brow powder.

Then came the hard part.
I'm not good at applying false eyelashes. I usually wind up with a creepy V shape that makes no sense, gives a distinct drag feel to my look, and requires a two inch application of eyeliner to fix, which shoves the look from "drag" to "cat lady." It's not good. However, I liked these Sephora lashes so much I couldn't resist. The style I am wearing here isn't on the website anymore but the construction of them is so good I'll link you to the page anyway for other styles. They're really long with a criss-cross section at the inner eye. The nice thing about the Sephora lashes is that they have a band that's thick enough to give you good glue coverage but isn't obtrusive. I applied the glue, let it get tacky, then carefully placed the lashes along my lash line. I have literally spent twenty minutes one eyeball before (followed by swift giving up) and applying both lashes only took me about three minutes this time. I'm NEVER going back to drugstore lashes!

All in all, I was really happy with how this came out. The only thing I would have changed would be my lips - I think I probably should have used a light coral lipgloss just so my lips could keep up. The color in my lips has faded a bit as I get older so I'm used to being able to go without, but I think I need a little somethin'-somethin' these days. Enjoy!

Various and Sundry Items of Interest: Hand Cream and Brow Powder

I have a couple interesting items to recommend today, which is the least I can do given the sluggishness of my posting lately. The first item is for men AND women which hopefully helps the men who have been bitching about "those makeup things you do" and who got confused by Couture Week because the Worcester Sharks currently have a player named Logan Couture and they expected a week dedicated to him (which you could conceivably do, since he is awesome). Said item is Lush's Charity Pot, a really excellent hand cream, the proceeds from which go to various charities all over the world. It's a neat idea and a terrific cream. I have problems with hand cream, because my skin gets extremely dry and most creams that are meant to deal with that are super heavy and greasy. This one absorbs quickly with no greasy feel and the moisturization is awesome. It's not girly scented - it's kind of an earthly, raw-cocoa-bean-ish smell - nor is the smell particularly intense. My current favorite test for hand and body creams is to use them after I work out with Frank, because I irritate the callouses on my hands with the weights and my feet get a little dry from working out on the mats he has (I work out barefoot). This deals with the problem fast and lasts a long time. I highly recommend it, and I think it would be a nice gift too. You can see the charities that they support on their website and each container comes with a label on top telling you about one of said organizations (like the TreePeople one below).
The next item could also be for men and women, but I don't know that men would be receptive to its use; it all depends. For a long time, Sephora has been pushing the Anastasia Brow Powder, and I always look at it and think the little kit is just ridiculous ($75), but I recently tried the powder alone in a sample. My eyebrows look best a little skinnier than most people do theirs, but they peter out at the end, which is annoying. With this powder, it fills everything in to supplement the shape of your brows, and the effect is just right. I never would have believed I would use this product, but I totally love it and it adds just the right emphasis to my face. The powder on its own is $22 and comes in a variety of shades so you can match it to your coloring. It might sound a little pricey, but it will last you forever and make your eyebrows look great. If you are ordering something from Sephora, try the sample and see what you think.
I have to admit, I haven't really thought about men's grooming stuff, and given the recent whinging about my focusing on makeup, maybe it would be interesting. Are there any male readers out there who would be interested in hearing about any particular products? Skin care? Shaving? Nail care? Foot issues? I could probably help with all of these, particularly the foot situation since I have caveman feet. If you're interested in any of these things or something else, let me know in the comments or by email and I'll take a shot at it.