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SusanofO -> RE: Make-up Tips (1/7/2007 7:37:07 PM)
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General Opinions: My mother told me to never go to bed without washing my face, and I never have once, I don't think, in my entire life, really. I am also very conscious of skin care, because I had a Dermabrasion in my late twenties.
A Dermabrasion (a medical procedure which isn't done anymore, really, and has been replaced for the most part, with Laser surgery) was (for me) an extremely painful procedure in which the top three layers of ones' skin (of the seven layers humans posess) is rubbed off, under a local anesthetic, with a rotary-powered steel brush.
Afterward, you literally feel and look, like your skin is disappearing - you have lost three layers of it. Needless to say, what is left then, needs to be protected, and there is a month or longer recovery period during which I had to wear a towel-like, white face mask everywhere I went. Taking a shower felt like a million needles splashing and sticking my face, for instance. I couldn't wear any make-up (except eye make up) or expose my skin to any sunlight. The skin has to be kept scrupulously clean during recovery, despite the fact that keeping it that way is painful, to say the least.
During this recovery period, walking around campus (I was in grad school at the time) - people who didn't know what I was doing used to give me sympathetic glances, and some asked if I'd been in a terrible fire. The manager at the Drive-Thru at a Burger King gave me my meal for free, because he felt sorry for me, and mistakenly believed (despite the fact I tried to explain otherwise), that I'd been in some horrible accident or fire. I was taking a Speech class, and had to give a speech - so I gave the speech on my Dermabrasion, because I figured people would be distracted by my face mask anyway, so my speech may as well be on the procedure. People's reactions to my appearance ran the gamut - and it was kind of interesting, and sometimes comical, to observe this.
So - to me, appreciating my skin is the kind of appreciation someone who had to wear braces for years would maybe have for better-looking teeth, or maybe akin to someone who hasn't been able to see suddenly discovering reading glasses or contact lenses vastly improving their vision, for instance.
And I think being aware of it has paid off. I do think my mother probably spent hundreds at the department store cosmetic counters, but I've always thought the drug-store cosmetics were just as effective and good-looking on (why spend money you don't have to)? There are probably exceptions to this, but if I can get a lip-lining pencil at Walgreen's for two dollars - why would I go to the Estee Lauder counter at Dillard's and pay, say, $22, for the same thing, practically?
Skin care: I started using a skin care line I heard about on the Home Shopping Network called Serious Skin Care - the particular product within the line is called "C-No Wrinkle" because it's made with Vitamin C and produced for women (or men I suppose, too) over 40. My skin has never felt or looked better, I have to say, since I started using it.
I used to use just Ivory soap and water and a moisurizer, up until a few years ago (and on occasion, I still do) but - the older I got the more justified some kind of "skincare regimen" seemed to me. I am sort of lucky because I have very oily skin naturally, and even though this posed several problems for me when I was younger, I have seemed to get very few wrinkles as I've aged (my mother told me this would happen, but I didn't believe it until it did happen).
There are several versions and kits of "C-No Wrinkle" you can purchase (HSN.com) - the "starter kit" costs about $25, and the entire line of products costs about $90. But both kits will last at least 1-3 months (depending on how heavy-handed you are with applications). The kits include such things as cleanser, toner, moisturizer, night face cream, hand cream and under-eye cream (for day and evening).
I also use the Olay Regenerist Microdermasbrasion Kit treatment three times a week. The kit is less than $20, lasts for months, and takes about 3 minutes each time you use it. It really exfoliates dead skin cells and has made a noticeable difference in the look and feel of my skin.
Hand care: I also rub baby oil into my cuticles every night (so I have less chance of getting hangnails, and they also make my hands and nails look smoother and prettier, I think). Nuetrogena makes a hand cream called "New Hands" that will take years off your hands in five minutes. It costs about $7 and is available, I imagine, in almost any drug-store. I always use hand cream - it makes my hands feel so good and so much softer. I am a body and hand cream fanatic. I always use body lotion, too, because I just like softer skin.
Eye Make Up: I've always liked the old stand-by mascara, Maybelline's "Big
Lash" - it is inexpensive, and it really, really works. I think Almay's got pretty good mascara as well -plus it's hypo-allergenic (I wear contacts, so non -hypo-allergenic can hurt my eyes, sometimes), and it doesn't seem to clump. I use an eyeliner on my upper eyes, and a pencil liner (in dark blue) for the lower part under my eyes (I never got used to wearing mascara on my lower lashes, so I just use a pencil liner there).
For Eyeshadow, I like natural beige, brown, golden, and peach colors, and light greens (my eyes are a Hazel-green color, so it works well). I always use a "base color" on the lids, and a much lighter (but in the same "color family") "high-lighter" color on the brow-bone above my lids.
Foundation: I like the fact that one now can have literally hundreds of choices in a drug store or cosmetics counter as far as shades. I think it's important to really attempt to match your own skin tone as closely as possible. I use Nuetrogena Oil-Free, or Revelon Age-Defying Makeup for foundation - but - there are so many choices, it'd hard to say which one would be "best" for anyone else.
I always use Face Powder, but then again, my skin gets shiny after a half hour if I don't, so I am pretty dedicated to using powder. There are some nice shimmery powders on the market, now, that blend face powder in with a sparkly finish that is just light, not over-the-top, as far as effect (IMO).
Blush: I think cream blush looks better on most people over 40 (as opposed to powder blush) because I think it's easier to blend, and can look more natural sometimes, but I suppose that is a matter of preference.
Lipstick: I started wearing bright red lipstick last Summer, and like it. I still use pinks, naturals, and wine colors, but - for years, I shyed away from using bright red - because I just thought it was too flashy - but it looks great on, I think. I do still think it is maybe mostly a "night-time" thing for me to wear, though. And I always wear lip-gloss, but just a wee bit. I just hate a "gloppy" look on lips. I like shine, though, on lips.
Lipstick application tip a friend taught me: After I put on lip-stick, I will put my finger in my mouth so it looks like I am sucking on it, for instance, and then take it out of my mouth and wipe it on a tissue - this action is to try to ensure that none of the lipstick (especially if it is a darker color) ends up on my teeth when I smile, after I've applied it. I also blot my lips a little with a tissue after applying lipstick and gloss.
If you want an all-year tan but don't want possible skin cancer: HSN.com carries a product called Tan Towel, (and a darker, faster-working version, called Tan Towel-Plus), that looks like a Wet-Nap cloth that you wipe all over yourself in the areas you want to tan. Within 3 hours, it looks like you spent all day in the sun, tanning. The tan lasts several days to a week (even after you bathe or shower) and costs (I think, I forget, actually) around $30 for 10-15 towlettes (which is probably 1-2 months supply). You can also buy this product at: www.tantowel.com The advantage to this method it that there is no mess, it's less expensive than a tanning salon, and it's fast. HSN.com also sells a similar product called a "Tanning Mitt" under the "Toni Brattin" (sp?) product line heading for a similar cost.
My favorite "can't do without it" cosmetic item: Vaseline. I don't know what I'd do if they stopped making Vaseline. I put it on my lips at night (to keep them soft), and my nails (cuticles), and sometimes even just rub it into my skin. It's a miracle invention, I think - because the effects are almost immediate, as far as softening and also healing any scratches, etc.
- Susan
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