From Cosmetic Drama to Makeup Tips and Tricks
The first time I ever applied eyeshadow, I was probably nine, it was probably my sister’s makeup, and I’m absolutely positive the eyeshadow was robin’s egg blue. I looked gorgeous. All I had needed was to put on her glittering white lipstick (am I showing my age here?), and any man would want to marry me. Right there. On the spot. The only problem—besides the fact that I was only nine—was that the lipstick had not yet been opened. So what did I do? I did what any younger sister would do at a time like that. I opened it. I applied it. And there, in the mirror before me, was the new me, the most beautiful new woman in the world. Forget that I looked like I had white-out on my prepubescent lips. I was now myself, only better. And that’s what makeup has always meant to me. The tool that brings out the “better” version of the person in the mirror.
Of course, it’s all a trick. No matter how often I apply my under eye concealer just so; no matter how many times my mascara doesn’t clump; no matter the fact that I cover my cheekbones with blush to perfection, I’m still the same old girl who tromps around my house in ratty slippers, gnaws at my fingernails, and curses at idiotic commercials on the television while I mainline Lifetime TV docudrama movies. Still, who cares if makeup is just a trick? A Christmas tree is just a Douglas Fir without the lights on, but on go the baubles and LED’s, and suddenly it’s Christmas. I’m just a woman with all the body parts allotted to me, but on goes the makeup and suddenly I’m glamor personified.
In fact, I loved makeup so much that after my sister pummeled me for going through her makeup, all I (the daughter of a Harvard Professor and a mother who was a University Art Professor) ever wanted to do with my life was become someone who applied makeup for a living. I wanted to be the cosmetic queen. So what did I do? Well, I went to beauty school.
Don’t get me wrong. Beauty school was great and I was great for beauty school. I did great hair. But that’s for another story. Having a cosmetician license didn’t preclude dabbling in makeup. The minute I was out of beauty school, I applied for a job at the nearest hair salon that sold cosmetics. I wanted to make people beautiful from the top of their head to the bottom of their necks even if they had crepe-y necks… (and I did great crepe necks).
By the time I was out of beauty school and had gone through college and become a novelist and then editor, I had segued from the creamy blue eyeshadow and white-out lips, to the wine powdered eyeshadow with a dab of white frost under the brow and Clinique Black Cherry lip gloss on my smacker, to the wild bright colors of Borghese everything, to, finally, a subtle stroke of all the good things I’d learned, leaving behind the mistakes and drama.
I’ve never really understood why female birds are given the dull feathers, while the male birds are given the fabulous colors (think male peacock here), because as female human beings, it seems a required rite of passage for us to apply (with generous amounts of hormone-produced motivation) as many makeup colors as we can possibly load up on our pale faces. Darwin, where are you when I need an explanation? Why oh why did the guys get off so easy, with their morning shave and rapidly pulled on jeans, while we, the girls, had to spend hours making sure our hair was just right in order to go anywhere—even the grocery store?
Who knows. Who cares. Thank the Universe that those days of applying makeup like a clown are long behind me. I’ve managed to get out alive, and without having plucked out (permanently!) too many eyebrows in the process (I can now go peacefully into old age without adding color where hair should be). And I’ve discovered tricks that I can now pass on to other women who actually do want to get the makeup right.
These tips are for the women who’ve passed the initial pile-it-all-on makeup phase, and have landed into the just-do-something-with-my-face stage… these makeup tips are for women who want to budget their bucks and budget their time.
Ten Make Up Budget Tips and Tricks
* The best makeup on women over-40 is always going to be subtle makeup, and we only learn subtle when we understand what subtle really means. Go to the nearest mall and study older women. Think to yourself why one woman really looks good and one woman really looks desperate. You don’t want to desperately want to look young. Analyze.
* You don’t have to wear any makeup if you don’t want to. Feel free to have a sexy hairstyle that shows you care about your looks, and forgo the extra makeup process. A little dab of moisturizer is all you need (recommendations and swear by’s: L’Occitane’s Immortelle, Stella McCartney CARE line; Steven Victor MD).
* If you do want color on your face, consider purchasing one lipstick that can be used for both lips and cheeks (we’re talking almost identical ingredients here). The trick to using lipstick as a blush is to make sure that your skin is well-moisturized so the color will blend in smoothly. (recommended: Tarte Lipstick - Saucy is a color that goes with just about any complexion; Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE VOLUPTÉ Silky Sensual Radiant Lipstick SPF 15 in either Peach Passion or Sweet Honey).
* Don’t get sucked into lip liners. They’re fun and defining, but not a budget necessity.
* If you want to do eyes, stick with mascara. And hands down, for the older woman, Givenchy Phenomen’ Eyes Mascara is the thing. Perfect for those who need reading glasses just to open the tube!
* If you need some foundation and don’t want to look made up… another hands down: Smart Shade by Almay. And while you’re at it, get their under eye concealer. You won’t ever need powder again. (Powder enhances wrinkles.)
* Need a good cleanser? Completely Clean Anti-Aging Thermal Cleanser by Avon is a spa in a bottle—no kidding. Wet your face, apply the cleanser, feel it heat up! The granules remove the dead skin that sits on the surface of our face making us look deathly. Apply a good moisturizer after using (*see above).
* Consider ditching the lipstick for lip balm, instead. Lipstick is thicker and tends to enhance the fine lines. A non-sparkling lip balm, such as Sulu’s Vanilla Blossom or Jack Black’s Acai Berry and Vanilla will not only moisten your lips, but make them look sweet and youthful (and they taste great!)
* If you must, must, must do powder, try Paul & Joe Creamy Powder Compact Foundation or Bobbi Brown’s Sheer Finished Pressed Powder
* Spend a week making up different parts of your face, and get your friends to answer this question, at the end: if you had to be stuck on a deserted island, which makeup should you take with you? It’s just possible that they’ll all tell you the one thing you looked best in… and you can forge ahead happily into a free and easy beauty regime based on that.
Copyright © Sarah Gilbert Fox, Baltimore Style
