Dare I Hope...?

I must be dreaming, because matte lipsticks are becoming extinct. Apparently this new collection is not out yet; at least I haven't seen it at CVS or Walgreens yet. I haven't been to Rite Aid in a while. I sent an email via Milani's site. Be still my heart... Apparently they also have a mineral makeup line coming out, too. Cool, but not exciting. Everybody's got a mineral makeup line now.

Current Lemming:

I think I can make this, especially since I don't have the $500 Nordstrom is asking...

That's What I Get For Sleeping In

I really didn't mean to sleep so late, but when you stay up until five in the morning...

Anyway, it was after two when I finally woke up, and even though I was still sleepy, I forced myself out of bed, brushed my teeth and took a shower. After booting up the computer to check my email, I flicked on the TV next to it. It was on E!, a channel I never watch (seriously), and there is some Latina chick with long dark hair, talking about how much she wanted to have the plastic surgery, etc blah blah, and then she says, "And then my right nipple totally rotted and fell off."

Oh Geez!

There goes Thanksgiving dinner. I thought I would faint.

Since I was a kid I can remember having disdain for the vainglorious who go in for plastic surgery (or is it cosmetic surgery?)--you should be grateful for what God gave you--unless, like, you have an arm growing out of your forehead or something, why would you do something so damn drastic as having surgery??? And I still feel that way. I still feel no pity for people who show up on those news shows, crying about how their collegen injections in the backseat of that Nissan in the parking lot of their church went horribly awry, etc. HOW COULD YOU BE SO FREAKING STUPID?? And vain? What's really sad is that most of these people... they look fine. Good. Great even! Then they have to wear a bag over their heads.

Always

I've always loved Always pads the best. They're the only company that has the sense to fold the tabs up so they don't stick to the adhesive underside. Maybe they have a patent on that? D'know. Anyway, they are just overall the best you can get at any price, and I've tried them all. So today in the mail I get a big sample pack including the new version with the wipe included, and as a little treat they included a little stack of Post It Notes, complete with their company name and logo. Oh yeah, like any woman is going to use these! How about some Anusol Post Its, or maybe some Trojan ones? Actually, Trojan Post Its would be kind of funny...

Beauty Discovery: Jojoba Oil

I never would have tried oil to cleanse my oily skin, but reading enough raves about Jojoba oil on Makeup Alley convinced me. I picked up a 2 ounce bottle for $5.45 at a NatureWay store, and damn if I'm not impressed. I rub it into my skin, wipe it off with a cotton round, and wash my face. It's amazing how much dirt comes off. Today I mixed in some salt and it really sloughed away my dry patches. I also use it in my hair to soften and shine. I wish they sold it by the gallon in a pump.

Celebrity Crush #2

Tim Gunn... hubba hubba. Yeah, he's obviously gay, but he's so freakin' HOT. My oldest sister used to call men like Tim "Silver Foxes." No doubt. I want to sit on his lap. I want him to say, "Make it work" to me.

Yay for Matte!

Matte lipsticks are going the way of the Dodo these days. Who started this crap!? In the last two or three years, everytime I go shopping for a lipstick, matte finishes are nowhere to be found!

However, today, I got lucky. Nars makes the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. I was just at Naimie's and saw their display, but I didn't notice these pencils. I want Cruella, Damned, Dragon Girl, and Forbidden Red, but at $22 each... I'm going to have to narrow that down. Here's the link:

http://www.narscosmetics.com/acb/stores/1/Velvet-Matte-Lip-Pencil-C26_category_7.aspx

Vogue, October 2006 Issue

After my fruitful trip to Fingerprints yesterday, I stopped by Cha For Tea for lunch. I had my usual, the crispy chicken, large iced Mango Green Tea, and the Sweet Butter Toast. Also as usual, the service sucked, even though it was at about 20% capacity. Anyway, while I was waiting, I noticed the magazine rack for the first time and I browsed the new issue of Vogue.

Yes, I hate Vogue. Normally I never read it because it's 90% ads. But I had the time, boy did I. The crap they try to put over on the masses! The most heinous thing I noticed were the Jill Sander platinum (they are literally metallic silver) oxford with wedge heels... Geez, this is the epitome of Ugly. I'd rather run a mile over broken glass barefoot than wear these atrocities. Chloe had a couple of outfits featured, and both of them looked bulbous and cartoonish, with ugly wedge heels and ridiculous unflattering cuts.

Most of the rest of what I saw was either recycled from previous seasons or equally as hideous as what I've just described, but there were a few exceptions: Giorgio Armani has a sleek blue velvet suit with a floucy hem that is simply divine. Valextra has a pristine white leather valise I'm afraid to ask the price of. J.P. Gaultier has a short chocolate (microfiber?) trench coat with a full 50's skirt that is so pretty on page 458, and Adrienne Vittadini has a lovely, clean-yet-rich looking kimonoesque sweater with a grey tweedy skirt that is just as tailored and flattering. How many is that? Four? I didn't notice any of the fall Chanel line that turned my stomach online. Maybe Vogue knows better than to advertise such foolishness as thigh-high denim stiletto boots. Oh, and the makeup is borderine-Goth this year. Just like two years ago.

Lipgloss: A Generalization

I've felt this way for a few years now: Lipgloss is a sort of rip-off. Yes, I'm making a generalization here because I have a couple that I really like and I do lay down cash for such as Plastic Shine by Christian Dior. But for the most part, lipgloss is really just diluted lipstick. If you take a shiny sort of balm like Blistex Spa Effects (which smell awesome, by the way), slick that on, and then swipe a decent lipstick over that, you can rub your lips together et voila! Lipgloss! Vaseline will work very well, too.

Another thing I generally hate about lipgloss: it's sticky and goopy. Well, not all of them, but quite a few like MAC's lipglass. When I was a child, my mother used to smear Vaseline all over my face as a moisturizer. This really grossed me out, and to this day I can't use any sort of ointment on myself more than a square inch in diameter, if that. The unctuousness just drives me insane. I can't take it. I guess this is at least part of the reason I am a matte-lipstick sort of girl. Matte in a shiny world... again I'm in the minority!

Product Review: Tilt

I found this at Pac Sun, that clothing store for surfers. This is a subtle ambery scent that has notes of pink grapefruit, apple, and hibiscus, among other lovely things. Not a bad deal for $22.50 for 1.7 oz. Not nearly as toe-curling as eau Legere, but mightly fine in its own right.

Today's Lip Color

Today--well, Saturday--I actually put makeup on for the first time in I don't know how long. Well, I put on powder and lipstick before going out. I bought a tube of Joe Blasco's My Hot Pink (matte) because it was on sale. I also got a tube of Amazing Red, also matte, of course. Anyway, MHP was very bright, so I swiped some off to thin it down. When my Mom saw me, she showered me with complements which is pretty rare in and of itself.

I have a weird relationship with makeup. I love it. I still remember my first experience with it (my oldest sister made me up when I was nine years old--it was so much fun). I literally own enough of it to last me a hundred lifetimes, but I don't really wear it that often. I suppose if I had a job that required it I would wear it everyday, but I never did. I know that it makes a big difference. When I was subpoenaed to testify when I worked for the PD, I would put on a suit, twist my hair up into a bun, put on makeup and pumps, and go to court, and when I'd run into officers and coworkers and friends, they would all invariably say, "Wow! You clean up real good!" It was such a bizarre backhanded complement, and it irritated me, but I knew they didn't mean any offense. I could even see how different strangers would treat me. Strange men would follow me around--only when I wore makeup.

Perfume Review: eau Legere by Rodier

En route to the sale at Joann in Del Amo Mall, I passed by one of those ubiquitous perfumeries, one of those Mom & Pop places that sell a thousand different scents. I've been jonesing for Heart by Garden Botanika since I found a vial of it in one of my old bags I yanked out of storage. I popped in just to check.

Of course, they did not have Heart. I asked if they could recommend anything ambery. The clerk told me those were usually very expensive since they get it out of whales. I laughed; I still don't know if that's true, but I smelled the three samples he presented me with. The first two were pretty okay. I never heard of any of them, not even the brands. One and two: nothing really great, nothing awful. The third one, eau Legere by Rodier, replicated the feeling I got when I first fell in love with Clark at Poly High School in 1988 (I still remember this vividly, standing in the hallway waiting to have my senior photos taken, wearing that retarded fur drape, and in he walks tall and handsome and smiling in his dapper grey suit, God help me): chills, goose bumps, flushing, sweating, and euphoria, all at once. Geez! I was overcome. I needed water, I had to sit down. Of course I bought it ($44.95 for 3.3 oz). I wanted to buy a small bottle to take home and do the sleep test with, but they only had one size. Que sera.

Trucco's Divinyls Longwear Lipgloss -- Drenched

This is my new Holy Grail lipcolor. It's a long-wearing berry base with a pinkish top gloss. The gloss is nice but the base is where it's at. This lasted three days on me, and it didn't get dry or gunky or flaky in the least. It was sort of like a temporary tattoo. I really wanted a red color, but this turned out to be a nice almost-neutral on me. It's $19 at Ultima Cosmetics in downtown L.A. I looked for it at Second St. Beauty and Blooming Beauty in the South Bay area, but neither of them carried it. There are four other colors but they are all too light for me.