I love lip. I love lip!

I spent the first part of my make-up wearing years swathing my lips in various shades of deep red lipstick. My love of it knew no bounds and I had various shades in both blue and orange undertones. We were together so long I thought we'd never break up. I blew off lip gloss as a product for underachievers. That is, until I tried my first Chanel lip gloss. Chanel was my gateway drug for a decade of searching for just the right texture, tone and stability in a cherry red gloss. I realized recently that I may never find my white whale of a perfect product and I should try looking in a different direction.
Now those of you who have talked to me about make-up know I love Laura Mercier's products on a level ever so slightly inappropriate. I saw she made a tinted lip balm, HydraTint. Here's the what: I'm completely smitten. I bought the Rose and the Crimson and they both have a delightfully shear tint that allow me to apply far too much eyeliner. The Rose is a pretty little pink and the Crimson is a perfect pitch red. There are 4 more colors of which I will probably buy 2 more. They have a SPF 15 with broad spectrum, green tea and other emollianty happiness to keep you supple. On top of the pretty color, protection and enrichment, this lip balm smells exactly like fruit stripe gum! It's like my childhood happy candy moment is reborn every time I reapply.  Honestly, I get a little too excited to put it back on after eating. Try it! You might just find yourself sniffing your lipbalm!

Stop you're making me blush!

Advances in cosmetics have made it possible for us to cover up our natural cheek color with foundation, only to then add back a more perfected color! The color we prefer in the texture that we enjoy. So let us find together what texture you do like. There are so many, and of course there is layering.... I am a fan of layering a power on top of a cream. Here's the what:
Old Faithful: Powders! Powders are classic and easy! Apply with a brush, perhaps a kabuki style as it is, super silly simple. Like most make-up junkies I love the Nars and their best-selling Orgasm really is one of the easiest as it tends to go with most complexions as it contains peach, pink and gold tones. I feel it needs a bit of punch so I recommend using a gel first, to punch it up.
Newbies: Gels and creams. Now I have to say that it is a bit easier to apply to your cheeks after foundations and prior to powders, that being said you should also start adding with a conservative squeeze, knowing you can layer. My favorite, because it does react to your skin and turn a color that matches your specific complexion is the Smashbox O-glow. I'm sure by now you've noticed a pattern in names. Cheeky, no?
Creams: Creams can come in tubes, pans or sticks. If you find one in a tube that you like I suggest rubbing it between two fingers to 'warm' it before application, so it goes on your skin a bit smoother. If you find on in a pan, it's going to be far easier if you apply it with a brush, preferably a stipple. If you choose to go with a stick, you cannot go wrong with the Nars Multiple. I love it so much.
I guess it's the smoothness involved with the application. It's, again, a different texture than a powder and the cream formula carries the pigments in the product with a clarity that is not found in the powder.
I'm gonna only say one thing about bronzer. If you have to use it, do it sparingly and OVER a blush. Brown is not a color found on cheeks solo, it goes with a rose! 'Nuff said.

Scrub-a-dub!

Nothing feels better than peeling back the layers... Of your face! I discovered exfoliation in Jr High. I was in love right away! Of course, back then I used the cheap drugstore apricot product that is not(!) what you should use. But, you ask yourself, or perhaps, me! Why should I exfoliate, what is the big deal? Well, when you remove the top layers of skin you get a couple of benefits; less possibilities of break outs as the oil from your skin won't get trapped under the dead skin. If your skin is aging, it will help rejuvenate it and lessen the look of fine lines and wrinkles. It will help to minimize pores and allow your make-up to sit better, and if done regularly and properly it will keep your skin younger looking and super healthy. Now, there have been many a delightful scientific advancement on both sides, but they are both not for everyone, so let's break it down.
There are two main forms of exfoliation manual; a serum or lotion that typically contains beads or other agitators that you manually have to scrub into your skin to remove the layers. Then of course the chemical exfoliates that have either a natural or chemical acid; glycolic, lactic, salicylic etc. There are good and bad things about both. Some faces are super sensitive to the chemicals and the acids can give them rashes or too much pealing. If you choose the wrong manual you could really be doing severe damage to it; cheaper exfoliates are made with nut shells who's dagger-like edges tear up your skin instead of smoothly scuffing it away.
If you do choose an manual to try, a great everyday one is Philosophy's Microdelivery . The great thing about this one is that the beads begin to dissipate after 60 seconds so that you cannot do any damage to your skin with it. Thoughtful, no? A good chemical one, that's actually not too expensive is the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish face wash. This product contains salicylic acid and I found it really reduced my pores when used regularly. Yay!
Daily exfoliation is best done in the morning as your skin naturally purges during the night. And I think if you start using a product regularly you'll really like the improvements you'll find! Now there are masks and there's derm-abrasion kits and so forth and we'll get into that another time. For now I wish you to go forth and scrub!

Moisture!

It's an addiction. I have lip balm squirreled away throughout my life. A tube by my side of the sofa. A tube by my side of the bed. A tube in the bathroom. A tube on the book shelf that I walk by 18 times a day. There are no less that 3 tubes in my purse at any given time. A tube at my Mom's house.  Lastly a tube at work.  Now generally there is lip gloss or lip stick on my mouth during the day. Guess what I put on first? Ya huh! Like any crazed junkie I have tried any "celebrity" product (one touted by all the mag's and experts to be 'the best'). If a product line I like had a balm, I tried it. I remember the first time I bought a fancy lip balm. It was Aveda and it was Christmas time, I figured I was treating everyone else, I was due a little prize. I went home and my room mate was watching a movie about the Holocaust that took place in a concentration camp. I cried because of what all these people had suffered and here I was buying $12 lip balm! Who did I think I was? Needless to say, having calmed down and letting go of my neurosis I continued my search.
Here's the what: you eat your lip balm. You eat anything you put on your mouth. Please make sure the ingredients are not toxic or contain petroleum. Especially if you're reapplying throughout your day! You may as well drink gas. Yuckima! Again, you need to decided what is right for you. Minty, plain or, what? Clove! "Lady you are crazy!" Yes! I am! Crazy for lip balm!
Burt's Bees lip balm is the happy standard. It's mildly sweet and oh so soothing. It comes in a tube or a pot for finicky ladies. It is the perfect underskirt for any lipstick, as many lipsticks do not care about the condition of your lips. They just wanna be pretty and last. I don't blame them, but you should still take action. I love, love, love the Burt's Bees Medicated lip balm with Clove oil. It has all the moisturizing properties of the Original, but the clove oil makes it tingly. Plus it has a red cap which is delightful, for aesthetic purposes. For those of you who are active, there's an SPF version! Happy lip licking!

Who are you and what do you want?

You stand in front of the counter perplexed. How can there be so many different kinds of foundation? It's bordering on the ridiculous! How does a girl know? How could she possible choose? What do they even all mean?
You are going to have to ask yourself, 'who am I' & 'how much effort will I put in for the look I want?' Now I'm not gonna judge you. I would love a body like Marilyn Monroe, but the level of effort involved in that undertaking in daunting. Same goes for your face. You want pretty, glowy, smooth as a model-in-the-pages-of-Vogue skin. Of course! Well it takes time, money and effort baby! So here's a break down on types and what they do. Later I'll get all into brands, but this is a divide and conquer situation if ever there was one. (Unless you are a product junkie who has one or two brands from each category... like me.)
Powders! Here's the what: there are two types, mineral or loose and the solid kind MAC made famous 6 years ago when they made a product so definitive, it was obvious you had it on from 10 feet away. Mineral powder is generally easy to apply, can be very flattering and good for your face, but needs touch ups throughout the day or a primer applied before hand to give it staying power. I think it's really for a producty girl. The effort and up-keep is not the highest, but it's not for beginners. Plus the cheap versions are fairly shoddy, so there is an investment. On the other hand there are the simple little pans of powder foundations! No muss, no fuss, apply with sponge and go. Make-up snobs will tell you it's not really foundation and you're never gonna be stunning in it. You will have full coverage and most will last through the day.
Sticks! Here's the what: Control, control, control! Rubbing a stick all over your face means you can add as much as you like, where you'd like it! Depending on the formula you can get them more luminous to not-budging-a-centimeter. However you're not going to be super stunning perfect.
Liquid! Here's the what: There are a trillion formulas to choose from, but when you find the one for you, you will have more control and the looming possibility of perfection! Applied with finger tips, sponges or a brush, dry or wet; you can make it as easy or difficult as you have patience for. Add it to your moisturizer or spf to make a quick tinted moisturizer. Apply sparingly with finger tips for a more informal look. Try a sponge wet or dry to experiment with texture. Use a foundations brush for perfection!
Oddballs! Spray, mousse, airbrush, troll doll. Don't do it. They are the banana clips of our generation. Fun for half-a-second until you see it being used as a sight device on a Star Trek character.

Don't lash out at those you love!

There is a fine line between thick defined lashes and Tammy Faye. I have to say that I spent 3 years of my life and a ridiculous amount of money looking for the perfect mascara. One of the more difficult aspects of my hero's journey was that I had to figure out the real question: "what is the perfect mascara for me?" Most mascaras volumize or lengthen. With the scientific advances we have now added curling, lift and even nourishing. There are great formulas and great brushes, but sometimes they don't meet up. You get a fantastic formula and a weirdo brush that holds too much at once so that you have to scrape off the excess prior to application. Or conversely a brush that instantly and evenly distributes said formula, but then the mascara flakes, smudges or 'falls' throughout your day. Sometimes a product will actually dry up before you've used it all. Also there is the professional advice which frequently does not translate to the everyday user, as you don't have the time or the tools to jimmy-rig something!
I can, as a cheap alternative get behind the Lash Blast formula. It is very consistent and easy to get pretty good results quickly. It's also popular enough that it's not going to disappear next season, which is delightful.
In the slightly more expensive but worth it catagory, is a couple of Clinique options. High Lengths is just that, lengthening with easy application and a lasting formula. High Impact mascara will give you the appearance of fake lashes: more lashes, longer, thicker, curled, but it is a bit more work to apply, this is for the girl willing to spend some time.
In the pricey catagory we go to the house of Dior. I have personally tried every mascara in the Dior line and DiorShow Iconic is my fave all time mascara of my heart. Worth every penny and here's the what:
You can do one application for a casual look. It lengthens enough to look pretty. It also has peptides, so you are nourishing your lashes, Yay! For a more dramatic appearace you can work the formula into your lashes at the base to get definition and maximum curl and then bounce the brush at the tips of your lashes to see longer lashes then you've ever seen before. It lasts all day, no flakes, tons of joy staring at your lashes in a mirror thinking, "awww yeah, baby! You look good!"

Clean is not subjective!

I have used one face cleanser for the last 9 years. That's longer than any relationship I've ever had. I have cheated on my cleanser from time to time, lured by seductive promises, fun packaging or reader awards in certain 'beauty' magazines. Lies! All lies! My heart belongs to Philosophy's Purity Made Simple. I buy it only in the giant 32oz bottle, as any other size is a waste of my time and money. Here's the what:
The creamy texture, the soothing aroma, the fact that it works! It removes every bit of my makeup including my mascara because I can rub in my lashes and it doesn't upset my finiky-sensitive eyes. I recommend you rub it into your skin, not just over, you will like the result. It acts as a toner, it is moisturizing, which is delightful, and it is  mildly exfoliating.
Fun facts! I use it once a week to clean my underarms to really clean those pores that get the fuzzy end of the lollipop with deodorant AND sweat. I use it once a week when I shave my face! YES! I shave my face. Why not? (a post to come later!) I also use it on my special lady area when it needs a little extra cleaning.... I know you know what I mean by that.
I will never assume that what works for me will work for every one just as well. That couldn't be true or there would only be like 4 products on the market. I'm just saying that I have this product figured out for myself & many of my friends have followed. Barring a zombie apocalypse or God-forbid a formula change, I will never need another face cleanser.