Manolo for the Beauty

I certainly do not categorize myself as a hater of Taylor Swift.  In fact, I really don’t think about her much at all.  I’m just not in her target demographic in any way.  From the little I have seen of her, she seems like a sweet person, she is very pretty, and obviously she’s got quite the bit of musical talent.

However.

She is not what the modeling industry calls a “mover.” OK, I’m not really sure there is such a term in the modeling world, but there should be.

Other talents notwithstanding, Taylor Swift does not have natural movement as one of her gifts.  In fact, I might even call what she does in these Cover Girl commercials downright awkward.  Which makes me wonder why the felt the need to have her move around at all.  The last time I checked, I didn’t feel the urge to buy a lipstick because the spokesperson was a great dancer.

Or maybe it’s just me?

Like everyone else I know, I sweat. Sometimes I sweat more than others, but cute names aside, I don’t know that I’d ever consider paying thirty bucks for a deoderant.  Unless angels sing the Hallelujah chorus whenever I lift up my arms.  Then I might consider it. Briefly.

Now, it supposedly also has hair-minimizing properties, but most of the reviews were a bit sketchy on the details for that aspect of the product.

A percentage of the proceeds (what percentage is not stated) goes to the Jane Goodall Foundation. I’m thinking that if supporting that charity was one of the main reasons for buying this, then you would probably be better off buying a four dollar deoderant and donating the money you would have spent.

Can a deoderant ever really be worth thirty dollars?

Do tell!

Vanity one of the worst sins? That is SO Old Testament. Jesus is much more forgiving.

“Look your Sunday best!”

“Virtuous Vanilla”

“Get tight with Christ!”

Yeah, I’m probably going to hell just for posting these.

Last week I wanted to know what you consider to be your beauty “problem area.”  Again, this is not to say that you have some sort of defect, but I think it’s safe to say that almost everyone has at least one feature that needs a bit of extra ooomph.  The highest vote-getter? Acne prone skin, with 26% of the vote.  I completely sympathize, because even though it gets a bit better as you get older, it seems many women still get those annoying pimples, especially during hormonally sensitive times.  Or maybe that’s just me.

The next highest was uneven, blotchy skin tone with 15%, which places skin related issues at the forefront of our problems, apparently.  Undereye darkness/puffiness came in at 18%,  hair came in at 11%, and wrinkles/aging skin came in at 6%.  The rest were statistically quite small, so I won’t give you the entire rundown.

Today I want to test your loyalty.  Well, actually there’s no “test” involved, just me and my big nose.

I’m not really a pedicure person.  Oh, the idea of a pedicure sounds heavenly, but I don’t really have time for pampering myself at the moment.  And probably won’t for at least another year or so, if not a bit longer.

So in the meantime, I decided to give the Diamancel foot files at Sephora a try.  I live in Southern California, where it is possible to wear shoes without socks for at least 330 days out of the year.  Some years more than that.   This requires that feet be kept in tiptop shape year ’round, and since the birth of my daughter a year and half ago, I’d fallen way behind on the foot maintenance.

I ordered both the Diamond Foot Buffer #11 and the Diamond Foot File #20 because I figured my feet needed all the help they could get.

These files, if you couldn’t tell by the name, utilize ground-up diamonds to scrape those rough spots away.  So fancy!  They are easy to clean with soap and water, and I imagine that they will last for years with proper care.

I’ve found that the best way to use them is at night, before a shower.  Feet must be dry when using, and then after the shower, a nice rubdown with your favorite foot lotion will result in some fairly awe-inspiring feet in the morning.  I know you are supposed to sleep with socks after the lotion application, but I cannot STAND doing this.  My feet must be free to breathe, and I imagine my results would be even better if I did so.

 The Foot Buffer is a well made, heavy-duty tool, and is for an overall foot smoothing effect.  It is so nicely weighted that you hardly have to put out any effort to get an almost alarming amount of dead skin off.  It is not, however, cheap.  But for someone like myself who does not make it to the spa, I would say it is well worth the money in the long run. 

The Foot File is made to attack corns and callouses.  I don’t have any corns, but I definitely have my fair share of callouses.  This lightweight, easy to use file is also a bit pricey, but it is frighteningly efficient at getting rid of hard spots on the foot.  Again, well worth the money.

If, like me, you enjoy having soft feet but don’t necessarily have the time or money to spend on frequent pedicures, this tag team of foot tools just might be the answer you are looking for. 

*As always, my own money was spent on these products.

Believe it or not, I was actually going to do this post last week, but couldn’t find the time to squeeze it in.

And now, of course, the sad news today of her passing.

I honestly believe that Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most stunning women to ever walk the planet, period.  And when I say stunning, I mean jaw-droppingly, hear-stoppingly so.  Much is made of her gorgeous eyes, and did she ever know how to make them stand out even more by having some of the best-shaped eyebrows I have ever seen.  If there was ever an argument to bring back thick, shapely eyebrows, Elizabeth Taylor is it.

But, enough of my words, her face speaks for itself.

Oh that tempting Temptu!

Every time I go to the Sephora website, it is there, lurking in unexpected places.  Then it taunts me with fantastic reviews, people saying that they’ve never looked better!  Their skin is flawless all day long!  My God, why hadn’t they bought this thing sooner?  They didn’t know that life could be so fulfilling until the Temptu came along!

I jest, of course.  But really, I’m not adding all that much hyperbole.  When it works properly, people can’t stop gushing.

Let’s begin with the fact that the Temptu system itself is a whopping $225.00.  Wowza. 

If you broke it down, do I spend at least that much on lipstick every year?  Probably something close.  But my mother would be thrilled to know that there is a frugal pennypincher deep down in my psyche that digs in her heels at paying that much money for one thing that only applies the makeup.   And me? I’m not all that great with machinery.  I’d be afraid I’d break it. 

The makeup itself comes in things called pods, which unfortunately for their marketing department, brings an image of a green vegetable, not space-aged sleekness.  These pods cost anywhere from $55.00 for concealer to $30.00 for the blush.

Now these pods may take months to use up, but when I add up the cost at over $300.00, my mind reels and starts thinking instead about how much I love crisp snow peas. 

I suppose that if I was back in my old job where I was in front of a lot of people on a daily basis, then I would probably consider this system a bit more seriously.  But you, dearest reader, cannot see me (which you should definitely be thankful for at this moment) and so I just cannot justify the cost.  My skin is not in horrible shape, at least not yet, and I think for my lifestyle, my Bare Escentuals gets me through just fine. Although I suppose if I did some quick mental math on my BE and all of my makeup brushes, it might come somewhere close to three hundred bucks.  Still, you won’t see Glinda standing in line for the Temptu any time soon.

Am I alone in this train of thought?  Or would you be willing to spend almost any amount in your quest for perfect looking skin?

Much ado has been made in recent weeks about Kate Winslet and her newly shorn hair.

Most of the interwebs seems to have judged it harshly.

Me? Not so much.

You see, I am so feeling Kate and her desire to chop her hair off.

I turned forty a couple weeks ago, and the day before my party, I had my long-time stylist cut about six inches off and cut mucho layers into my formerly layerless hair. I needed a change, I needed it bad, and lacking the ability to go on a weekend bender to Vegas, my hair was where it was going to be.

Kate is coming off a divorce from her husband of seven years, her kids are now both in elementary school, and I think girlfriend just needed to look in the mirror and see something different.

Do I love the color? Not so much, although let’s take into account that the whole photo has got some major monochromatic elements going on, and her makeup is almost beyond neutral. 

My biggest problem is that it reminds me of Victoria Beckham’s hair a bit too much.

But let us not forget that unfortunate haircut or no, she’s still the gorgeous Kate Winslet and looks better on her worst hair day than 99% of us mortals.

There were nicely varied responses to last weeks poll, which asked if you purchased makeup over the internet.  26% will if they’ve already seen the product in person, and I feel you guys on that one.  21% does it all the time, which I would guess might be their preferred method?  I didn’t ask specifically, but that’s what I’m extrapolating there.  32% would consider buying a product unseen if the reviews of it are very positive.  I fall somewhere between this group and the first one.  I enjoy going and experiencing the makeup, but often as not, I don’t have the time.  So, in comes the internet to deliver the goods.  12% have never purchased beauty products online, and 7% are more willing to buy things like cleanser or moisturizer. 

Today I’m all about problems…

I was just browsing through the sale “rack” at Sephora and thought I would pass some of these on…  I’m almost tempted to get the Tarina Tarantino palette for the price…  Oh, and be sure to read the reviews before buying! I always do!

Tarina Tarantino Jewel Box Palette   Mixed reviews on this, although a four-star rating overall.  The price can’t be beat for what it includes, though.

Sephora Collection Concealer Palette  If I still wore this type of concealer, I would strongly consider this.  Half off!

MUFE Beauty in a Box: Make Up Tricks & Treats OK, so this is a holdover from Halloween.  So what? It has almost all regular-sized products and it is more than half off!

Korres Color With Skincare Benefits Collection  I have not personally tried Korres products, but I hear lots of good things about them.  Positive ratings on this one, although I hate people who take stars off because they were upset that the sizes are “too small.”  Then read the damn description before you buy!

Balmshell Lip Gloss  At eleven bucks I’m not enitrely sure how great a deal it is, but the reviews are quite good. Lots of different colors, too.

Sephora Collection Black Sequined Bag Collection  If you are looking for a good makeup bag, the prices will make you smile.

Urban Decay Beauty In A Box  This was given 4.7 stars out of 5 from 123 people, so I’m going to guess this is some good stuff.  Not bad for forty bucks.