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.