Pammer just did a lovely post on her beauty must-haves. (I rarely get zits, but I'm going to seriously consider purchasing the Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion she mentions, because the few I get tend to be the quite obvious, cousin-of-Rudolph type... usually right on my nose to boot.) I've decided to be a complete copy-cat and do the same. :-)

Let's start with skincare. Like Pammer, I also use the Purity Made Simple face wash and the Hope in a Jar moisturizer. Once I knew they worked for me, I bought the ginormous containers of the stuff from QVC because they are a complete steal as compared to buying the smaller versions and they last practically forever.

Cosmetics. It may sound kind of involved, but I actually can do my make-up pretty darn quick in the morning. Despite having generally healthy and unblemished skin, I do have a problem with uneven skin-tone. For conquering that, I am a huge fan of Neutrogena cosmetics. I use their Healthy Skin Enhancer, which is sort of a tinted moisturizer, with SPF -- score! Regular foundation always feels quite heavy to me, which makes me feel hot, which in turn makes me usually sweat it off... kind of defeating the purpose. So tinted moisturizer, with some strategic concealer work, is what works best for me. Speaking of concealer, I use the Neutrogena's SkinClearing Oil-free Concealer, under my eyes to cover any shadows and around my nose. To finish it all off (after blush, discussed below), I use their Healthy Skin Loose Powder. I don't know if I'll always be able to get away with drugstore products, but for now these are totally working for me. Although Neutrogena tends to be more expensive than other drugstore brands, I usually get them on a buy one, get one free deal at CVS.

To combat my deathly paleness, which I think always makes me look tired even when I'm not, I use Tarte cheekstain in Tickled. This stuff is so awesome, although it does take a couple tries to get the application down. For me, I swipe two fingers across the top, then sort of swirl my fingers on my cheeks. I put it on after foundation (I find it easier to blend if it's on top of something), but before powder. And this shit lasts forever. Seriously, I've probably had it almost two years and I've barely made a dent. It also apparently has an indefinite shelf-life. So even though it may seem pretty expensive, it's so far cost me about $1 a month... and that's if I tossed out the 90% I've still got left today.

Eyes. Now, my eyebrows are kinda messed up. I used to have these sort of oddly-sparse man-brows. Like, totally the shape and thickness of a man's eyebrows, but still not completely filled in. A general mess. Then, in high school, I discovered plucking. I managed to get my eyebrows to a nice womanly shape... except that the ONE TIME I really had no idea what I was doing and plucked ABOVE my eyebrows, my left one never fully grew back in. Actually, in general, over the past ten-plus years of eyebrow grooming, most of it does not grow back anymore (in a good way... now I just have a few strays to handle, instead of man-brows), but I'd really like those couple of hairs above my left eyebrow back. Oh well. Anyway, looooong story short, they're still somewhat sparse in the middle (from nature, not overplucking), and to combat that I use Vincent Longo's Bi-Brow Powder Pomade in brunette. (Yes, I know my hair is reddish-blonde, but my eyebrows and eyelashes are brown.) Again, may seem pricey, especially since I don't even use the pomade part all that much, but it also lasts forever. (I used Benefit's Brow Zings before this one, and while I did prefer the pomade in that one so used the entire product, I decided it wasn't necessary and saved myself $8. I may go back when I've used the Vincent Longo one up, but that won't be for at least another year.)

Damn... that was a lot about eyebrows. More than you needed or cared to know, I'm sure.

Mascara: CoverGirl VolumeExact Mascara in black-brown. The only drugstore brand I've found that doesn't clump or rub off easily.

Eyeshadow: Ulta. Bone is my all-over color. I've got a couple of the other ones (so! many! pretty! colors!), but Summer and Toast are my usual neutral go-to choices. You can usually find some online coupons for Ulta, plus they run sales pretty often.

Lipgloss: I've gone on and on about my lipgloss obsession before. My favorite lipgloss ever has apparently been discontinued -- Tarte supergloss in Lancelot and Guinevere. I still have not recovered. Anyway, since then I've become a fan of the Philosophy Lip Shines (I got this set for Christmas), and I liked the Stila Lip Glazes in a few of the colors in a mini-gloss set I bought a while back, but I'm not sure if I loved it enough to spend the money on it again. I also recently splurged and purchased a Nars lipgloss, but was not a fan... too thick for my taste.

I guess that leaves me with hair products. Again, with the drugstore brands. I have pretty plain and simple hair, so I just use the Herbal Essences Body Envy shampoo, conditioner, and volumizing gel. I've used Pureology as well and was a big fan, but I don't know if it was that much of a difference that I want to spend $20 per bottle of shampoo and conditioner. My mom did give me some of her Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment, which I use every couple of weeks when my hair starts to look a little dull.

Yup, I think that about sums it up. I swear, I am not nearly has high-maintenance as that makes me sound. :-) Oh, and new suggestions are always welcome, especially when it comes to bargains and LIPGLOSS.

Posted by: Stephanie | January 25, 2008 12:55 PM