Makeup: necessity and new obsession

Makeup is a necessity at my age and it’s my new obsession. My husband calls makeup a luxury.  At my age it’s a necessity and I’ve gotten to the point where I won’t leave my house without foundation and concealer – at the least.

I’ve been on a hunt for the perfect makeup. I watched You Tube videos till my eyes were blurry. I literally stayed up all night watching videos on eye makeup for hooded lids.  This was after I discovered – in horror – that I HAD hooded lids!

I walked into Sephora and it was a sex shop for makeup addicts. I’m pretty sure I had a makeup orgasm. There was so much to choose from; I was in complete overwhelm.  So many brands! So many choices!  Sephora will give you samples of absolutely anything, and boy did I get samples! I am completely obsessed with all this makeup. Don’t even get me started on the brushes!

My new list includes, primer, foundation, contour, bronzer, blush, eye makeup primer, eye shadow, and brushes.

After experimenting with so many different brands these are my conclusions.

To start you MUST wear a primer. There are lots of great primers. I found this out thanks to all the Sephora samples. Too Faced makes a great one; but, Smashbox’s original is amazing. Without a doubt, Too Faced Born this way foundation is the BEST ever and I’ve used them all. Put this on with a Beauty Blender (worth the $20) and you’ll look amazing, like you have no makeup on; but, it covers everything you need covered.  It’s also  fun to use and is a really happy shade of pink.

Smashbox’s contour kit gives you a highlighter, contour powder, bronzer, and a brush. Perfect!  I admit their highlighter doesn’t seem to do much; but, I still use it. The contour and bronzer are great. The bronzer doesn’t leave you looking like George Hamilton.

When it comes to blush, I could never get it to stay on for more than an hour be it powder, cream or stain.  Milani baked blush stays on forever! The best part is you can get it dirt cheap at CVS. Urban Decay’s blush is great too but about three times the price of Milani. How do I know Urban Decay blush is great? A sample from Sephora, of course.

Setting powder is a must and Nars is the best by far. It gives you a flawless finish.  It’s $26; but, it’s worth it.

Concealer and corrector? I never thought I needed this but once my under eyes were pointed out to me I was, once again, horrified. MAC got rid of the dark circles and discoloration under my eyes with a combination of concealer followed by a color corrector. (I had tried everything from Bobbi Brown to Sephora’s brands and back again.)  It’s creamy and blends seamlessly using my little pink sponge. Sadly, Sephora doesn’t sell MAC.  You have to get it at a department store or buy it from MAC online. Attention to the under eye area is an absolute necessity for those of us that aren’t 20 anymore, trust me on this.

Eye shadow will crease unless you wear an eye shadow primer or buy eye shadow with built in primer. ELF’s eye shadow primer is only $3, works really well, and is available at CVS. The problem is it’s made in China and I was told by a forensic chemist that the Chinese factories are filthy and to never put anything on your face that’s made in China.  Urban Decay’s original eye shadow primer is also top notch and is not made in China; but, it’s also a lot more costly. Thank you Sephora for that sample.

After my all night session of You Tube videos on makeup for hooded lids, I found out shimmer is a no-no.  Upon looking at the hundreds of eye shadows I own, I discovered most were shimmer.  UGH. I found a great makeup palette in neutral shades by MUA on sale for $10 at CVS.  The only problem is it’s made in China; but, for now I’m sticking with it.

There are a million brushes and most You Tube videos showed every application required dozens of brushes.  I have it narrowed down to a few.  A kabuki brush by ELF ($6) for powder, three Pop Art brushes for eye shadow (about $2 each at CVS), a Chanel crease brush that I’ve had for years that’s perfect for blending, and the Smashbox brush that came with the contour kit.  (How I wish I could find the flat Chanel eye shadow brush I bought years ago.) Smashbox also has the best flat eyeliner brush that’s perfect for gel eye liner.  The problem is that the gels dry out really quickly.  I’ve tried liquid liners but haven’t found one as good as the gel.  I hate pencils.  Not only do you not get a thin enough line, you can’t keep the tip sharp. By the way, there’s a little trick to putting on eye liner if you have hooded lids.  Don’t follow the shape of your top lash line. Don’t go all the way to the outer corner or it makes your lids look more droopy. And on the bottom, don’t line the whole thing – just go from the outer corner about a third in.  With your shadow, make sure you go way above your natural crease with the darkest shade and blend the whole thing like crazy.  I’ve tried to “wing out” my liner; but, unless you’re a true artist, you just wind up looking crazy.

So my daily routine is: moisturizer patted on my face and eye cream under my eyes. You have to let it soak in for a bit before you go any further. Then foundation, concealer, and corrector all blended with that little incredible egg – shaped Beauty Blender sponge. (Ok, I got mine for $10.99 on Ebay.)  Don’t waste the money on their liquid cleanser, but the solid is very convenient and effective.  Invest in the mesh travel pouch; because, it dries it without creasing the sponge and it’s great for taking the Beauty Blender with you.

My next step is contouring. bronzer, and blush.

Then I highlight with Becca Moonstone powder. It’s ridiculously expensive; but, you use such a small amount for highlighting that it will last you the rest of your life.  Make sure to blend the contour, bronzer, and blush.  The moonstone goes just in a couple of spots.

After this, I pat on some Nars translucent powder with my kabuki brush then spritz my face with Bobbi Brown setting mist.  I’m not sure this part does anything but it feels good and I’m too lazy to mail it back.

Then it’s on to my eyes. Neutral color shadows are best and for hooded eyes make sure to go above your natural crease with the darkest shade.  Sometimes I’ll use a little shimmer in the middle of my lid or in the corners.  I still need a pencil brush for the corners.  That’s the next purchase.  Then eyeliner – a gel applied with the Smashbox flat eyeliner brush and finish with Rimmel waterproof mascara. I’ve tried every mascara on the market and keep going back to Rimmel.

As for my lips I’ve tried every lipstick known to man and still can’t find one that doesn’t dry out my lips. I have been using a Bobbi Brown one that matches the color of my lips so it looks very natural. I love the way other people can use bright lipsticks; but when I do, I feel like “here comes Erica’s lips!” So I stick to the neutrals.  If anyone knows of a lipstick that REALLY doesn’t dry out your lips please let me know!

I now have to get up an extra 15 minutes for this routine; but, it makes me look and feel so much better having a nearly flawless complexion that lasts all day!  And I’m so obsessed with my Beauty Blender I honestly can’t wait to use it.  It’s great for foundation, concealer, and corrector. I’ve seen videos where they’ve used it for powders too; but, I just couldn’t get it to work.  I switch to brushes for powders.

I spritz my brushes daily with ELF daily spray and then wash them once a week or so with shampoo and let them air dry.

At the end of the day when it’s time to take it off I’ll use any eye makeup remover and then a makeup remover cloth.  Invest in a Clarisonic!  It’s amazing to get rid of the remaining makeup, leaves your skin feeling great, and makes your serums and creams go on so much better.

Oh, another thing, Lierac Cleansing Water is awesome.  It’s expensive ($24 a bottle) but use some of this on a cleansing pad in the morning and you’ll be amazed at the stuff that’s accumulated during the night!  I also use it after a makeup remover cloth if I’m too lazy to get out the Clarisonic.

My husband still thinks make up is a luxury.  So one night I took it off, went downstairs and asked him if he still thought it was a luxury.  His answer, “no, you need it.”  That’s what you get after 25 years with the same man.

As for skin care – I’m still experimenting.  I just got a new brand tonight that promises miracles. I don’t have the money for surgery at the moment, so let’s see if this stuff really does the plumping and line removing it promises!

I’ll keep you posted. Hopefully my makeup obsession will not turn into a skin care obsession.

Is there a 12 step program for this stuff?