Manolo for the Beauty

The last time I had bangs? High school.  Not really a good look for me.

But these ladies show that bangs can be chic, whether with short or long hair.

Everyone’s favorite hipster girl Zooey Deschanel. Although I keep wanting to brush her bangs out of her eyes for her. I’m not sure she would appreciate that.

Everyone’s favorite trainwreck, Courtney Love. I do say that with affection, though. Looking the best she has in a while, although it looks like she kissed one too many people hello.

Here’s Kerry Washington with some fun and flirty bangs.  Talk about accenting those cheekbones!

Helena Christensen doing the sideswept long bang.

Aw yeaahh, Joan Jett could rock any hairstyle, but chooses some choppy bangs.  And looks damn good doing it.  And, and, check out the serious cat-eye she’s got going.

Taraji P. Henson does sultry, sideswept bangs fantastically well.

I’m not sure, but I wonder if Leah Michelle is under contract to keep her hair with bangs for her role as Rachel on Glee. She could practically patent her “soulful gaze from under bangs” move.

Along with makeup, I really, really like perfume.  It does not have to be some rare brand mixed by magical elves and only sold on Rue Frou-frou in Paris. If it smells good, I’m all for it.  Although if you are into unusual and hard-to-find scents, I highly recommend this site.   Although I do wish more perfume would come in metal containers, as exposure to natural light will alter your fragrance. Ah well, just stick it in your closet.

I went to Sephora today, and I had my coupon from one of these, which I received as a gift sometime last year, and have only now gotten around to using.  If you prefer to try a scent during different times of the day, or in different weather, then I would recommend using this option.  You get some nice sizes and the opportunity to use them one at a time and at your leisure, rather than trying to spray a few on yourself at the store and getting your nose all mixed up.  Although if you need your “nasal palate” cleansed, Sephora will whip out some coffee grounds for you to sniff.

So the sampler I had contained FlowerbyKenzo, which I absolutely love.  However, my husband absolutely hates it.  And even though I’m not necessarily all about ignoring my needs for his, I decided to be generous and not get it this time.  Wife of the Year material, I know.

Anyhoo, thought I had settled on Prada’s Infusion d’Iris, when at the store, my fickle self decided I wanted something a bit more fruity for the upcoming warmer months, as I already have a winter perfume.  I happened to be chatting with one of the employees, and she let me in on a little secret.  If it turns out you don’t like any of the perfumes contained in the sampler, you can pick any fragrance of similar size and value and get that instead.  Score!

I finally settled on something completely unexpected, which was Coach’s Poppy, a scent I’d never smelled before today. (There’s also this German scent Ghost Duft, from Forget Flowers which is all over the world.)

I’m happy with my (technically free) perfume, and I’m sure I’ll be adding to my collection sooner rather than later.

In a few short months, I will be hitting the big four-oh.  I’m not particularly upset about it, as I’ve found that whole line about “getting better with age” thing to actually be true.

Up until this point, I have not done a whole lot with the skin on my face.

I don’t know why, because for decades, I abused the crap out of it by tanning relentlessly and not wearing sunscreen while out and about.  About ten years ago, I stopped tanning purposely (but I tan easily, so I get color no matter what) and started wearing at least SPF 15 makeup and/or lotion during the day. Luckily, I’ve got some good genes and some oily skin, and up until now, I’ve been able to get away with my minimal effort. Contrast this with my college roommate, who at the tender age of twenty would assiduously apply cream every night before she went to bed.  Because, she said, it was never too early to try and stop those wrinkles!  We didn’t last long as roommates.

I made one attempt after the recent birth of my daughter to use a night cream, and I was unfortunate (some would say stupid, but to them I say shush)  enough to choose a product made with retinol.  I say unfortunate because I was breastfeeding at the time and it upset my daughter’s delicate tummy.  I only used it for two days (the effect on her was that fast) and returned it.

But I’m a sucker for punishment, and back in the face cream game.  I’ve got a Sephora gift card burning a hole in my wallet, and after much research, I’m torn between a couple of products.

The Caudalie Vinoperfect looks pretty good, but it’s expensive and might actually be too much for my already oily skin.  I know many people, though, who swear by Caudalie products.

Yet Hope in  Jar doesn’t seem like quite enough.  Yet I also know many people who swear by HIAJ.

Anybody got any tips for me?  What is your favorite night cream?

I’ve no problem with actresses getting glammed up for photo spreads.

Except when that actress is 12 and very heavily made up.

You can try to tell me that she is a film actress who is already used to having her makeup done, which is true.  But I’m betting that they aren’t trying to make her look like a 21 year old ready to go clubbing.

She isn’t all sexy-fied, which is good.  However, I think there is TOO MUCH STUFF on her face.  Actress or no, she is not even a teenager yet.

As a  young girl, I would apply makeup covertly whenever I got the chance, but the only person that saw me was, well, me.  I wasn’t being exploited for magazine sales or Internet hits.

Mountain out of a molehill you say?  Possibly, but I wouldn’t allow my daughter to go out of the house looking like that, so I’m sticking to my guns and saying that this photo shoot was all kinds of wrong.  No matter how good she looks.

False eyelashes + heavy eyeliner + missing teeth = does not compute.

Last week I wanted to know what your favorite special occasion hairstyle was, and 44% of you responded that it was basically your same everyday style, just with a bit more “oomph.”  21% go for curled and down, while only 5% do curled and up.  10% simply put their hair up, and 7% of you straighten your hair and leave it down.  Me? If I’m feeling especially festive, I will break out the Caruso steam rollers (which are fab, by the way) and leave my hair down, which is it’s normal state when I’m not kid or baby-wrangling. 

I’m in a state of shock over seeing my mom with black nail polish on her nails this weekend, courtesy of her 18 year old niece’s beauty stash.  It’s shocking because she normally doesn’t even wear nail polish, and doubly shocking because my mother is about as trendy as Queen Elizabeth II.

My lovelies, on this Christmas Eve I wish you peace, love, and joy.  See you on Monday!

In this rather depressing article in the LA Times, much advice is given on what holiday drinks to avoid.  According to the experts quoted in the article, if you drink too much you will frighten small dogs and children the next mornng upon awakening, and also will do things like raise your insulin levels and commit murder on some of your collagen. Oh, and heaven forbid, they will expand your waistline.

Articles like this really piss me off.

Somehow they managed to suck every ounce of fun out of the holidays, besides pushing almost every hot-button issue a woman has about her looks.  You’ll have bloodshot eyes!  Your face and body will be puffy! You might turn beet red and have to slink out of the room in shame! And you’ll get fat, too!

Articles like this make me want to go and have many, many drinks just to horrify people like Patricia Wexler and Paula Lambert.

Then I will visit them the next morning and taunt them with my expanded waistline and doughy, collagen-less  face! 

Suffice it to say, I’m guessing good old Patricia and Paula aren’t invited to many holiday parties this year.

The lovely klee stated in a comment:

Go get a free make-over at one of the beauty counters about once a year. It will give you new ideas, freshen your look (so you don’t fall into a time warp trap) and you’ll probably learn a trick or two.

That is an absolutely fabulous idea, for sure.  Everyone should definitely take her advice.

Except for me.

You see, I seem to have the “makeup counter curse.”

I have yet to be pleased with any makeover done at a makeup counter, and I’ve had quite the few.  I’ve had them done at high-end department stores as well as places like Merle Norman.  And if you can remember Merle Normans, then congrats, you’re a dinosaur just like me!

Usually my first indication that this isn’t going to turn out well is when the counter girl has apparently seen fit to apply practically all products from the line she sells on her face at the same time.   It’s too much, I tell you, and it frightens me.

Despite my inner alarm bells, I have proceeded with the makeovers, always with disastrous results.

I consider myself to be an attractive person.  I’ve got large blue-green eyes with long lashes, a nicely shaped nose, an oval face shape, and lips that are (to me) the perfect thickness.  I don’t really have great cheekbones, but I’ve long come to terms with my non-chiseled-ness.  But the makeup artists tend to see a blank canvas upon which they envision me coated with so much product, I don’t even recognize myself when they are through.  They always pay compliments to my features, even as they go about doing their best to sabotage them.

After my last visit to Sephora, which was an experiment to see what lip color the employee would steer me toward, I am sort of ambivalent about anyone helping me at all at this point.  She applied this very frosty, Barbie-pink lipstick on me, and I wanted to laugh.  I’m almost forty, and Barbie-pink doesn’t do me any favors.  I wore it twenty years ago, and trust me, it belongs in my past.

So for everyone else, makeovers are a great idea.

Me, not so much.  At least until I figure out how to counteract the curse.

Last week I asked about permanent makeup procedures and if you’d be willing to spring for one. 52% said the mere thought of it gave you the willies, while 34% were paranoid about having a permanent “mistake” made upon your face. I feel both of you. 4% would do it if they could afford it, 4% would totally go for it. Only 1% of you have had a procedure done already, and Vicki was kind enough to expand on her particular experience in the comment section.

Today, I want to know about how you prefer to do your “special occasion” hair.  I’m not talking about what you would do for a wedding, but more for a really great party or very special night out, like let’s say a formal-ish New Year’s soiree.

In this essay and accompanying interview with the founder of Aveda cosmetics, Ms. Kamali says she has given up wearing lipstick altogether.  Horst Rechelbacher apparently scared the bejusus out of Ms. Kamali by stating that we ingest liptsick (which is true, to some extent) and therefore we are poisoning ourselves with lead and arsenic and who knows what else.

I did some research, including here, here, and here to find out if Mr. Rechelbacher knew what he was talking about. 

 Because I’m not going to say that I’m a big fan of putting poisonous things on myself on a daily basis.  Monthly, maybe, but daily is a bit much.

I also went here, here, and here to read a bit more from the other side.

My thoughts?

We are exposed to toxins on a daily basis, including from our homes, work, and the environment.  So there is no escaping toxins, really. 

Second, I’m not necessarily a big fan of the FDA, and I do believe that the ingredients in cosmetics should be listed for all to see and that there should be more transparency in that department from the cosmetics industry.

Third, I noticed that almost all of the more “inflammatory” articles were either from sources with a vested interest in people buying their “green” products, or people who are heavily invested in a green lifestyle.  Nothing wrong with a green lifestyle, but some of these people are the same ones who believe that children shouldn’t be vaccinated, which I highly disagree with, so there’s that. 

The consensus seems to be that in a lifetime, a woman will ingest about four pounds of lipstick.  Over a lifetime, not a year, as stated in one of the articles above.

In taking all of this information into account, as well as my love for lipstick, I’m going to say that Ms. Kamali is just slightly overreacting.  I’m not going to tell her to put on some red lipstick because she apparently believes that lipstick is toxic, but man, talk about living in fear.  I’m thinking that she is exposed to more toxins breathing the exhaust-laden New York air on a brisk walk than she is wearing lipstick.

And Mr. Rechelbacher, while technically being correct about what lipstick contains, doesn’t go into the specifics, which are actually very important.  Which is a shame, because I really do love Aveda lipsticks, they smell fantastic. Shame on you, Mr. Rechelbacher.  But I’m not sure it’s enough to get me to stop wearing your lipstick.

Do I trust everything companies and the goverment tell me? No.

Am I already being poisoned by lots of other things, including the air that I breathe? Yes.

Is four pounds over a lifetime all that much? I’m thinking no.

With all the research I’ve done and facts at my disposal, I’m going to pick my poison, in a manner of speaking, and continue wearing lipstick.

Wanna join me?