Tag Archives: beauty

Style and Ethical Consumerism Lessons Learned from My Child

Posted on by
Reply

Back in the olden days, the natural order of things was parents passing wisdom and valuable lessons down to their children because parents were the ones who KNEW THINGS. But that was long ago — way back when you had to stay in one spot to talk on the telephone — and times have changed. Now, parents KNOW NOTHING and we depend on our children to keep us up-to-date. At least that’s how it works in my family. Older Daughter, for example, is the one who got me hooked on Pinterest, TOMS and an interesting book called “Hunger Games.” And recently Younger Daughter has introduced me to two new obsessions: Acure Facial Toners and Roma Boots.  I can’t even begin to tell you how good these products are — for you and for others. Acure uses organic and Fair Trade ingredients (as well as minimal and recyclable packaging) in its skin- and body-care lines, and this facial toner is seriously good stuff. I’ve got a bottle stashed at the office — the refreshing hydrating spray of wonderfulness is perfect when you need more than a brisk walk to the break room for gossip and coffee to revive you. And it smells oh-so-good! Roma Boots smell, good, too —  not only in that brand-new-shoe smell that makes you feel rich and prosperous but in that I’ve-done-something-good-for-someone-and-I-look-damn-cute-too sort of way. Roma Boots was started by a native of Romania, who was anguished to see Roma (or “gypsy”) children in the cold and wet streets without proper — or any — shoes. The company will donate a pair of boots plus school supplies to a child in need when you buy a pair of Roma’s all-weather lightweight, stylish and natural rubber-soled boots. That’s TWO people with dry feet for the price of one — a deal you cannot pass up.

I Feel Pretty … Oh So Pretty — I (Finally) Learn about Makeup

Posted on by
Reply

Makeup always has been a mystery to me — like some sort of basic language every other female had learned while I was in Starbucks one day. If you’ve ever caught me staring intently at your face, it was because I’m trying to figure out what you did to look so good. I mean, how do you keep your eye shadow from flaking off? How do you know where to put blush? And what, exactly, am I supposed to highlight? Scary stuff. I approach buying makeup the same way I approach buying flowers for our yard: Embarrassed about my lack of knowledge, I go to the most generic store possible, avoid all helpful sales people who might ask me questions I can’t answer and hurriedly toss things in my cart based on whatever the tags say. (Part shade? Full sun? Fair skin with pink undertones?) However, while you can get away with that when it comes to our yard (Are the flowers blooming? Okay then.), when it comes to my 50-something-year-old face … not so much. I’d been vaguely dissatisfied for a few weeks when I happened to spot TV makeup artist Carmindy’s “Get Positively Beautiful” in my own bookshelves. I remembered getting it when I was in a mega bookstore a couple of years ago with the urge to BUY SOMETHING USEFUL RIGHT NOW but I couldn’t remember ever even opening it up. So I sat on the floor, paged through it and suddenly had the revelation: “I actually can do makeup. I can crack the code.” I’m not sure if it was the confident and straight-forward advice in the book (as opposed to Bobbi Brown‘s “Beauty,” which I’d bought a few years ago because everybody said she was THE makeup person for women-my-age but the book was a 400-level-class and I hadn’t even registered for Makeup 101) or if I was finally ready to learn, but suddenly it all made sense and I couldn’t wait to get started. First, I faced my pathetic makeup drawer. I ditched almost all of it: Broken blue eye shadows (That’s what you wear if you’ve got blue eyes, correct?), years-old foundations, concealers in all sorts of “colors,” dried tubes of mascara (Who can remember to close them?) and dark matte lipsticks guaranteed to last all week … or something. Then I went shopping, sticking to my generic-retailer approach for budgetary purposes. (Recognizing I was in a vulnerable state, I somehow subconsciously understood that a trip to the department-store cosmetic counter would result in a sizable dent, financial-wise.) Spending almost 30 thoughtfully intense minutes in the makeup aisle instead of my usual rushed drive-by shopping, I followed Carmindy’s advice and chose contrasting eye colors, light glossy lip colors and transparently pink cheeks. She also recommended lightweight glide-on primers and highlighters, which I’d never used. The result? I feel much more polished, feminine, prettier and put-together. The truth may be that makeup is sort of like exercise for me: Nobody may be able to tell the difference on my outside, but on my inside I sure feel better about myself. And, really, that should be all that matters. On the other hand, I had to get husband JP to help me open the L’Oreal True Match Naturale mineral blush I bought. I could not figure it out — Where does the powder come out? How do you attach the brush? He helpfully pointed out that a piece of plastic still covered the sifting holes even though I’d already removed one piece. Then he left me on my own. Carmindy … ???

Objects in Packaging May Be Smaller than They Appear

Posted on by
5

Dear Olay, I like your products. I really do. They work pretty much like you say they will and they sure beat the fancy stuff, price-wise.  It’s just … well, I always feel as if you’re trying to lull me into thinking I’m getting two or three times more than I actually am. And there’s no need for that. It makes you look sort of duplicitous and sneaky (see Survivor’s Boston Rob for an example of this type of behavior.) I’d be happy with packaging that actually was the size of the product I’m buying — happier, truthfully, than paying for and disposing of three or four times as much paper and plastic than is required. And why place the jar behind the clear plastic so that you can’t really see the top of the bottom of it? Do you think I’m going to believe the jar is bigger than it is? I mean, I can read. I know how much is in the jar. When you try to pull a bait-and-switch, it makes me mad because 1) you think I’m that gullible and 2) I fell for it a little. So, please, just make a box that’s the size of the jar and we’ll all be much happier. Thank you very much.

The Captain and Tendrils

Posted on by
5

How 3-year-old grandson Captain Adorable went from hippie nature child to sweet little boy to cool rocker kid in 20 minutes …

We didn’t really realize how long the Captain’s hair was until the stylist combed it out — there was more than enough for a Locks of Love donation, which is what the Captain’s mommy wanted.
Oh so cute … this look says, “I use my inside voice and sit quietly in Sunday school.” And while the Captain can do those things (well, sometimes, anyway), they are not his favorite activities.
This is the Captain’s new look. It says, “I like worms, mud and climbing over anything that Mommy & Daddy say I can’t.” Bath time took care of the blue spikes, but they could reappear at any moment. 

The Captain’s mom, my Older Daughter, is having a hard time with the new ‘do. She was tired of people mistaking her little boy for a little girl — an understandable mistake, though — and going through more bottles of conditioner for his hair than she used on her own. But this is new. And different. It’s change. Her baby’s growing up. And mine, too. Sigh. 

 

Soaps

Posted on by
2

Okay, I’ve given up spa pedicures, learned to shop clearance racks first and cut my coffee-shop habit in half. Are you satisfied now, you stupid Financial Crisis??? On the other hand, there’s no need to be pound-wise and penny-foolish and drop all luxuries. After all, a girl needs a little indulgent pampering in her life. And for my hard-earned money, it’s amazing how a $3 bar of soap can make you forget that you really should clean the toilets and change the litter box today. I love scented soaps, especially handmade herbal ones. I promise you that a bar of richly fragrant homemade soap is one treat you do not need to forgo. Like the lovely Bee and Flower Chinese soaps you can find in import and Oriental shops for $2-$3. Rose and sandalwood are my favorite scents, and I think I’m as intrigued with the Chinese packaging as I am with the soap itself. You can find handmade soaps everywhere — that’s part of the hunt. I picked up this bar of organic coffee soap at Keens Beans coffee shop and roasters in Pensacola, Fla., http://www.keensbeans.com. The label says the soap will moisturize, protect, provide antioxidants, exfoliate, help with fine wrinkles and neutralize strong kitchen odors on your hands — I just like that it smells like espresso. Scented soaps make great gifts, too. Older Daughter — Capt. Adorable’s mommy — brought me wonderful Soaps by Jan soap and lotion as a thank-you for babysitting when she and my son-in-law spent a recent weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee, http://site.soapsbyjan.com. One of the best things about Soaps by Jan is the creative scent mixtures: Check out 1969 Patchouli Lime, Peppermint Sage and Crone’s Garden with 12 homegrown herbs. These are a bit more expensive — $4.75 a bar — but definitely worth it.

Makeup

Posted on by
9

L'Oreal Age Perfect MakeupI don’t know if it’s a change of season or a cleaner bathroom mirror, but all of a CoverGirl Simply Agelensssudden I’m tired of my usual makeup and have gone on an obsessive hunt for something different. I’ve used bareMinerals foundation for years and I originally loved the light non-makeup feel of it. But now, despite Leslie Blodgett’s assurances that it doesn’t, the powder is settling into and accentuating every wrinkle and line on my face. That may be because I’ve got more L'Oreal Visible Liftwrinkles and lines than I did a few years ago, but still. And since I haven’t looked at what’s new beyond the occasional mascara and lipstick lately, I’m delighted to find foundations aimed at the over-50 me that claim to do exactly what I’m looking for: Cover lines and wrinkles, brighten skin tone and add a little love along the way. And speaking of “cover,” we’ve got Ellen! Listen, if Ellen DeGeneres is recommending anti-aging makeup, I’ve gotta try it. And I’m glad I did, because I’m officially in love with Cover Girl Simply Ageless foundation. It’s light but creamy and really does cover wrinkles and smooth out lines but truly feels as if you’re not wearing makeup. I actually get compliments now — well, my older daughter said my makeup looked good when I asked her, but I’ll take it. And I adore the compact-style packaging  — why give you an applicator without a way to carry the applicator around? Which brings me to L’Oreal Age Perfect Makeup, my runner-up. This is more mousse-like and creamier but does cover well, if a little too thick for me. It leaves more of a matte finish where Simple Ageless has a natural look to it. If I were redoing my makeup to go out at night, I’d go with the Age Perfect, although the cute little applicator brush of course immediately 1) gets lost, 2) gets dirty or 3) becomes a new cat toy. Or is that just what happens at my house? My third pick is L’Oreal Visible Lift Line-Minimizing Makeup. Some people love this and it does good things for your skin, but even though it looks OK on, it’s  too heavy and old-school foundation for me. I can feel it in every pore when I put it on — makes me want to wash my face. Yuck.

For a mascara roundup, read the Smaurai Shopper in The New York Time’s spring women’s-fashion magazine at http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2009/02/22/style/t/index.html#pageName=22samurai. This is the first time I’ve seen someone agree with me in print that the makeup artists’ supposed darling Maybelline Great Lash is overrated and underwhelming. It flakes and glops and leaves me with short stubby lashes. Double yuck. And besides, I can do short stubby lashes on my own without any mascara help, thank you very much.

New Year Countdown

Posted on by
11

christmas-2008-part-2-0621Welcome to the eighth day of Cathy’s New Year Countdown. Look, I promise you that it is not too late to make your 2009 resolutions. (Go to http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090102/ARTICLES/901020301 to find out why.) You were nursing a headache busy yesterday, anyway, so make today the day. Need inspiration? Go to your favorite bookstore and find new guides and how-to’s for every problem you’ve got. Browsing in good bookstores is a joy and treat you deserve — what better way to start 2009? (A friend told her book-loving granddaughter she’d take her to Barnes & Noble for her birthday but they only had a couple hours and her granddaughter said, “Only two hours? That’s not much time!”) My motivating picks for 2009 are “A Year of Wine” — which explores the idea of drinking wine by the season and packs in lots of wine info — because I want to stop wandering around wine shops aimlessly and choosing bottles only by the cute labels; “Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design” — a workbook for identifying and celebrating your personal style — because I have none; “Great Hair,” by What Not To Wear’s Nick Arrojo — who shows you how to choose styles and products based on your hair’s texture — because my hair is a disaster; and “Get Positively Beautiful,” by WNTW’s Carmindy — who believes in enhancing the positive instead of hiding the negative — because I couldn’t get Nick Arrojo’s book without getting Carmindy’s, too.  Based on the way my post-holiday house looks right now, I probably should have concentrated on books about cleaning and organizing, but wine, fashion and makeup are much more fun. Check back for day no. 9 in Cathy’s New Year Countdown, when we finally face the dismantling of Christmas.