Made Up Like A Grown Up

After a month or so of the new makeup routine, I've concluded there are a few things I really love. Megan from Princess Street totally had it right on a quick out-the-door face.

Where has tinted moisturizer been for the last 15 years of my life? I've been using the porcelain Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer as my only foundation most days and it's fantastic. When I feel I need to be a bit more polished, I break out the MAC, but most days it's not needed.

The Makeup Forever 5 Camouflage Cream Palette No. 1 is magical. I was a little intimidated by this and the idea that this is my concealer. Yet, after a little trial and error, it's better than any stick concealer I've ever used.

The four-color MAC eye shadow palette is amazing and the MAC Viva Glam lipstick #6 is fab. I am totally in love. Finally, the creamy eye liner from MAC also outstanding.

Now I just need to be better about really washing my face before bed. No reason to age this face any faster.

Making It Up

One of the first items that prompted me to consider documents/blogging about a more mindful life were the products I use on a daily basis. Inspired by my friend Sarah, makeup was on my list of items to reevaluate. So for the past year I've been trying to get through my existing product so I could replace them. After a few false starts, I finally reached a point where I realized a few things.

1. I can't completely run out of everything at the same time

2. I really need to start wearing make up like a grown up, you know a "real" professional.

3. I am completely intimidated by make up, skin care and the women who work at stores that sell them, e.g. MAC.

So I started searching for a consultant that wasn't affiliated with a specific brand. I wanted a translator for the vast world of product. This should have been an easy endeavor, but lacking any direct referrals I had reached a dead end. Then I randomly came across the handy Washingtonian Reader Deals, and voilà Princess Street. 

Megan, the brains behind Princess Street, offers a straightforward service. She'll come to your place and evaluate your current products; make a list based on what you're looking for; go shopping with you to pick out the products; and come back to your place to teach you how to use it all. It's fun and idiot proof. Perfect. Flat fee for her expertise and you buy the products selected based on the budget you set out.

So this past Saturday, I spent my afternoon shopping with my new personal makeup expert for a whole new look. The headline? I really have no idea about make up, but M was super friendly and helpful. Most importantly, she answered the questions that elude me. What's worth a splurge, and what can you just pick up at the drugstore?

So armed with the goal of getting more natural, professional make up we headed out. In retrospect, I was ill equipped to really know if the products we finally selected really fall low enough on the Skin Deep scale to be a true improvement, but I'm going to go through the process of typing the products (the ones not in the database yet) to get an overall rating. Another post for another day.

We hit four stores: MAC, Sephora, CVS and Blue Mercury. I'm also heading to Target to pick up a couple things we couldn't find. 

The list of new products (photos later):

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer spf 20 (porcelain)
• Make Up Forever Palette 5 Cremes de Camouflage No. 1
• MAC Mineralize Satinfinish spf 15 Foundation (NC20)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (medium light)
• MAC Powder Blush (Dame)
• MAC Powder Blush (Prism)
• MAC Eyeshadow Four Palette (need to look up the color names) 
• MAC Technakohl Liner Eye-Liner Kajal (earthline)
• MAC VivaGlam 6 Lipstick
• MAC Mystic Satin Lipstick
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (eden)
• Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara (very black)We also picked up brushes, more later, as well as a few skin care basics. Day two of trying out the new scheme-- referencing the handy face guides M made for about what to use in what order-- I am slowly thinking I might eventually get this down. But, since I'm starting with a steep learning curve, this could take awhile. So not sure if I hit it out of the park on the natural side, but hopefully I've not purchased a make up bag full of toxins and I might look a bit more put together in the weeks ahead. Well, at least from the neck up.

Blue Polish

First things first, the new eco nail spa next door, The Emerald Door, is great. Proceed with booking an appointment immediately. They use Zoya polish and no chemical/toxic products in their treatments. Help get this new eco-business in NW DC/Silver Spring/Bethesda area off to a great start. Mention Washingtonian and get 20 percent off until 1/31. Now back to your regular scheduled programming.

Polish selection at the beginning of a little spa indulgence is always a fun moment to determine what you want to be walking around thinking about for the next 4-6 weeks. Especially in winter, when your toes are not on full display. The color you pick is more for you than the toe monitors of open-toe shoe season. The OPI colors have the best names (sadly, not eco-friendly). Personal favorites include "Queen of D'Nile," "An Affair in Red Square," "Peru-B-Ruby."

So I plucked alluring "Ibiza" off the shelf and bravely embraced the new blue and gray tones of the season. But really, I was reliving what was an old habit long put into hibernation.

The period of mid-1990s, also known as high school, was the peak of grunge and manic panic blue. Being the straight-laced speechie that I was, the blond hair was never touched. But my toes? Ahh, well my toes were blue for every speech tournament. 

It became an odd little superstition. Even my mother would pick up blue polish for me. My inner artist rebelling against my future MBA self. Blue toes gave me confidence, a little sass before rounds and rounds of extemp and impromptu.

Somewhere between the move from IL to DC, the toes stopped being blue. I don't remember any fanfare, I just stopped using the color. 

But today, as I stood there staring at the lovely dark crimsons and pinks I've faithfully worn for years, I wanted blue. And when the first brush stroke hit by nail, I knew. I am no longer a blue polish girl. Whatever that impulse was, needs to go back to into my Pekinian. 

The beautiful deep water blue is gracing my toes as I type this and I plan to put these little piggies on full view in yoga tomorrow, but these next few weeks are likely my last miles walked in my blue toes. The color of my youth is not the color of my thirties.

Perhaps my subconscious was looking for a little boost of confidence as I begin training for another 10 miler and pushed me toward Ibiza. And hey, maybe these first miles tread on blues toes will set me on the right path to better health. But farewell blue, we shall likely not meet again. 

Blocking Out the Sun

Still straining to smells wisps of the salty ocean breeze, I sit just barely tanned from our recent beach excursion. Gone are the days of seeking long hours in the sun, barely reapplying sunblock and never thinking I had enough of a tan.

This time we were armed with sunblock (reapplied at least every two hours), a large umbrella (that we actually made a point of staying in the shade as it moved), and a large beach hat. A huge shift in behavior from my years of entrenched sunning-at-the-beach habits.

But, I failed to choose an organic or less chemically damning sunblock. As I looked at the Badger sunscreen at Whole Foods selling for $16 for 2.9 oz. I froze. The Target Up&Up sunscreen was $11 for two 6oz. containers. Yet, Badger was really the only sunscreen I was prepared to buy, but six days at the beach meant a lot of sunscreen and suddenly the math in my head was telling me we could be looking at close to $100 for a week's worth of sunscreen for two people. So I folded. I bought not just sort of toxic, but a full 7 on the Skin Deep scale spray screen of Up&Up and Coopertone.

So now I sit here, less than tan, but full in the knowledge that I failed to follow my own guideline of using my power as a consumer to drive demand for better, safer products. Sorry skin, I'll go buy you some less toxic options this weekend.