Manolo for the Beauty

I’m in California, typing this late at night on Thursday.

By the time I wake up tomorrow morning, the hysteria will be in full force.

I can’t even imagine being Kate Middleton.

I read in the LA Times that Kate was planning on doing her own makeup.

Girfriend! Don’t do it!

If there was ever a day when it might be a good idea to have a professional come in and do your face, a wedding to the future King of England is probably it.

Hell, I had someone do my makeup for my wedding, and there were less than a hundred people to see me.

If there is any certainty, Kate’s beauty choices will be roundly criticized by people on the internet.  Her hair should have been up. Her hair should have been down.  No! Half up and half down!  She needed more lipstick/eyeliner/blush or didn’t have enough.

Since that is the case, it is always nice to have someone else to blame.

That being said, she is an absolutely gorgeous woman who will no doubt look wonderful no matter what she does.

*I want to extend my sympathies to any of our readers or their families who reside in the Southern states that have been so devastated by tornadoes.

There is no racial diversity in these ads from the early 1900’s, but I still find them fascinating. It wasn’t until around the turn of the century that beauty and hygiene ads went from a laundry list of ingredients and their effects to the picture-based, aspirational ones we still see today.

I love this. “Fate cannot harm you!” That is some powerful stuff.

“Used by those you admire” and served by children (cherubs?) with no underpants. Classy.

(more…)

OK, I didn’t really get one, nor did I need one.

But this is what happens when you send your husband to buy you some deoderant.  He gets you the wrong kind.  Oh sure, he got the right brand, but he bought me Dove’s brand new Ultimate Stay Smooth Antiperspirant and Deodorant.  Dove claims that this stuff:

Minimizes the visual appearance of hair over time.
This unique anti-perspirant formula contains Pro-Epil Complex with natural extracts and Dove 1/4 translucent moisturizers.
From first use, it smoothes and conditions your underarm skin.
Within weeks, you’ll start to notice that your underarm hair feels soft, fine, and easy to remove.
Over time, your underarm hair will look and feel less noticeable.

I have seen mutterings around the internets about this deodorant, actually, and most of them were outraged.  How dare Dove put out a product designed to make women feel like their armpits are ugly!  Just what the world needs, a deodorant that makes your underarms pretty!  Armageddon!

While I didn’t really feel one way or the other about the deodorant, I could see where Dove was coming from.  Apparently they designed the product because a majority of women felt that their armpits didn’t look all that great, and were self-conscious about them, especially when sleeveless shirts.

Is this some sort of self-esteem epidemic?

I don’t know, it might be.  Then again, maybe not.

I figure that for this particular product, the consumer will speak with their dollars and if nobody really cares about what their armpits look like, then this product will slowly fade away.

I had zero expectations about this deodorant, but darn it all if I wasn’t completely taken aback by the reduction of my armpit stubble.  Listen, we know each other well enough by now that I can discuss my armpit stubble with you, right?  Where there was once sharp, dark, and spiky suddenly became wispy and barely noticeable.  It is up for debate as to the smoothness of my underarms as I’m not the type of person to regularly check, but I suppose it looks better simply by way of the hairs being less noticeable.

Now, I don’t know exactly what is in this “Pro-Epil Complex” and I probably don’t want to, but I have to admit, this product does what it says it does.

In this corner: Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip in 15c

In the other corner: Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Pink Mauve

I’ll be rating both products on four criteria:

1) How long the product stays on

2) How they match up to my personal lip color, since I like a color that is similar to my own lips, just more intense (obviously, this will vary from person to person)

3) How drying the formula is

4) How smoothly the product goes on

I applied both products at the beginning of the day, without any product over them.

Ready, set, fight!

First up we have the MUFE.  It stayed on quite a long time, although I’m not really sure I would go so far as to say it was waterproof.  It lasted through lunch, which included eating breakfast, drinking a couple of glasses of iced tea, and administering multiple kisses to my toddler. I was impressed.  Of course, it didn’t look like I still really had lip liner on, but my lips still had the color stain well past lunch.

Bobbi Brown also lasted quite a while, enduring roughly the same scenario as the MUFE.  It didn’t last quite as long, though.

Point: MUFE

When I went to Sephora, I asked for help in finding a shade to match my lips, and this is what the associate came up with.  It looked pretty good on my hand (there’s that stupid hand thing again!) so I went ahead and brought it home with me.  It didn’t really match my lips at all.  It was much pinker than my lips, and it didn’t look as natural as I wanted.

The Bobbi Brown was bought online and was a total shot in the dark.  It was almost a perfect match to my own lips, and I should no longer be surprised that I consistently seem to choose better colors for myself than the sales associates at Sephora.

Point: Bobbi Brown

Almost at the first stroke of the MUFE, I could tell this wasn’t going to be good.  If there is anything I hate, it is the feeling that my lip liner is sucking all the moisture out of my lips.  And that is exactly what this product felt like.  It bugged me all day, and the dryness can probably be attributed to the fact that it is “waterproof.”  I purposely didn’t apply anything over it, as I wanted to judge the product on its own merit, not how it felt assisted by super creamy lipstick or lip gloss.

Let’s face it, I have yet to find a lip liner that is moisturizing, but the Bobbi Brown was as hydrated as you are going to get for this type of product.  I didn’t feel like my lips were going to shrivel off my face, and I count that as a good thing.

Point: Bobbi Brown

The MUFE went on fairly smoothly, but it definitely feels like a pencil, similar to the eye liner, actually.  It is a bit dry, and thus does not glide the way I would like.  Maybe I’m being unreasonable in my expectations, but for $17, I don’t think so.

The Bobbi Brown went on much more smoothly and I didn’t feel like I was really having to press down to get the color on there.  Once over and I was finished.

Point: Bobbi Brown

The Winner: Bobbi Brown by a landslide.

I have wanted so much to love the MUFE products, but so far they’ve come up far short.  Yes, the Bobbi Brown is three dollars more than the MUFE, but at that point, you might as well go ahead and spend the three bucks for a better experience.

Last Sunday night did not find me writing a Beauty Poll, but instead doing hours of research on how to remove a virus that my husband allowed (allowed!) onto our computer.  By the time I got it off, I really didn’t care about much of anything any more.  Can you blame me?

The previous poll was about the orange beauty trend, and a full 36% of you have decided it is one you are going to sit out. 22% are embracing it, and 17% want to, but don’t quite know exactly how.  I’ll have to get on that one for y’all.  23% only cared about the lovely blue nail polish featured in the picture, and you can find out the shade here.

This question is such an obvious one for a poll, I can’t believe I haven’t asked it yet.

I have this thing about exfoliating.

I’m sort of obsessive about it.  I just sort of love the idea that I am scrubbing away dead skin cells.

Yes, it is a personal problem, but it doesn’t hurt anybody, so I just roll with it.    In fact, I cried when L’Occitane had the gall to discontinue my most favorite exfoliating soap EVER. 

So when I saw this facial cleansing product from philosophy, I decided to give it a go.  It said it was designed for daily use, so all the better in my mind.  A thirty second mini peel sounded right up my alley.

There is no doubt that exfoliation occurs when using this product.  Whatever they use as the exfoliating “beads” fall somewhere in between gentle and a teensy bit harsh.  I suppose it depends on how much pressure you use.

One tip for those with contacts, I found out the hard way that rinsing properly is VERY important.  Do not rinse off in a rush, else you will find yourself with little beads embedded temporarily in your eyeballs. Yes, it was as pleasant as it sounds.

As with any new product, and especially an exfoliating one, I expected some inital breakouts.  Breakouts did indeed occur, but I thought they would be temporary and go away once my skin got acclimated.

Except, it never did.

I had annoying, icky breakouts for a month, my friends.  I kept hoping it would get better, because other than that one side effect, I liked the product.  It made my skin soft and smooth and reduced my pores nicely.

Then I stopped kidding myself that the breakouts would go away and resigned myself to the fact that my skin does not react well to this product.

But for those of you who love taking off that top layer of skin as much as I do, this product might be worth a try.

At least, according to this article from The Telegraph.

I sort of get it, I really do.

It seems that many of the women featured in the article are almost afraid that wearing makeup will make people take them less seriously.  As if applying makeup will make them appear clownish and inauthentic. And there’s the rub.  Does wearing makeup automatically mean you are trying to hide something?  That you are uncomfortable in your skin and feel the need to present yourself differently to the world?

Maybe yes, and maybe no.

No doubt for many women, wearing makeup makes them feel more confident about themselves.  When you ask about the “fake” or “inauthentic” aspect of makeup, that’s when you get into some dicey territory.  Is wanting to cover up imperfections a sign of low self-esteem?

Let me ask myself.

Do I feel better after applying makeup? Yes.

Do I ever walk out of the house without it?  Very often, today in fact.

I don’t think wearing makeup is a problem unless you are using it as some sort of crutch, or if you don’t want anyone to see you without it. 

I have no issue with people who don’t want to wear makeup, I’m all about whatever makes that person comfortable.

But upon looking at the pictures of the women featured without makeup, I noticed that these women had fantastic skin. I looked high and low for discolorations, blemishes, or any other type of skin problems, and I had a hard time finding any.  Perhaps it was just some really good lighting, or excellent genetics, or a combination of both.

Part of me, though, wonders if they aren’t spending tons of money on services like masques and peels and goodness knows what else in lieu of makeup. 

It is definitely more expensive to visit a salon regularly to keep your skin looking fabulous without the “help” of makeup, and I can’t help but think that women on a lower socioeconomic rung don’t have that option, but can usually buy some foundation and concealer that will last them a few months.

If wearing no makeup becomes completely trendy, I have the feeling that only a few will be able to afford it.

A while ago, I pointed out that it seemed middle parts were making a comeback as seen on the runways at New York Fashion Week.  And indeed, along with the resurgence in 70’s influenced style, the middle part has found its way back onto the heads of women everywhere.

Well, not everywhere.

Because if there is one certainty I have in life, it is that I look horrific with a middle part.

Kudos to you blessed ones that can make it work, but I find that it is so severe looking that it usually makes the wearer look older.   Not having bangs in the first place can be a somewhat severe look as it is, and when you add a middle part, it can be a one way ticket to aged flower child if you aren’t careful.  I’m not saying it can’t look good, I’m just saying it is harder to pull off, especially if your hair is straight, long and one length.

I did sport a middle part back in the day, but that was in the actual 1970’s, and I was probably about eight and had little say about my hair at that time.  Thanks Mom, for the ugly memories! Yes, now I have Brooklyn Decker’s haircut, but one basic difference is that I part mine on the side.  Pssst, Brooklyn, it looks much better that way!

I know the middle part is supposed to go hand in hand with the latest bohemian-inspired looks, but the last time I looked even vaguely bohemian was when I dressed as a gypsy for Halloween in fifth grade.  Bohemian and Glinda don’t go together.  At all. 

Are you for or against middle parts?

P.S. Is it just me or does Fergie actually have some orange in her eyebrows up there?  Please tell me I’m imagining it.  Either way, girlfriend needs to use some different eyebrow powder, methinks.  Unless she is really digging the orange trend and then, uh, good for her?

Take a REALLY good look at this woman. She looks familiar, does she not?

You’ve seen her before, somewhere. But you just can’t quite place it.

I’ll tell you where you’ve seen her before after the jump, and I promise you will do the classic forehead smack.

(more…)

I bought a lipstick that cost $46.00 freaking dollars.

And I didn’t regret the purchase for even one nanosecond.

And that’s really all you need to know, isn’t it?