[maddy29]

can someone recommend a great pressed powder for pale skin that is combination oily/dry and somewhat zitty? god, i sound so hot! i keep going to target and just staring at them all. i want something that i can use to take the shine off and to hide some of my rosy rosacea, but that won't make me break out.
thank!

[yummymum]

Has anyone ever used fake eyelashes? Ugh. It sounds so bad. But i'm actually interested in trying them out for special occasions. My eyelashes are perhaps my worst feature - sparse, thin, puny. Anyway, I'm just looking for recommendations.

And-- I'm tired of my makeup. I bounce back and forth between drugstore makeup and the good stuff. Currently I'm using a mixed bag of drugstore stuff. Some of it is kind of old and I'd really like to pitch it and try a new brand all together. I'm really bad about this part of "being a girl". And I'd really like to start paying more attention and treating myself a little more. So some friends of mine use MAC cosmetics. What other good brands are out there?

[maimy]

I'll say this, not one of the ones I tried stained anything - sheets or clothing. Neutrogena, because it went on dry, also had the least naked-down-time, which is also nice.

The stickiness gets to me worse than the smell (though I did joke with kog3100 about coming home to sleep with a frito). I cannot STAND to feel sticky and dirty, and we get enough humidity that fighting gunky "lotion" skin is never going to be on my summertime fun list ...

I've been using DSL daily facial moisturizer lately, and it has sunscreen 25 if I remember. Hands and face, every durn day. Of course, compared to you, honey, I am a vampiress!! *Grin*

[mandolyn]

maimy, excellent reviews - thanks for sharing!

jergen's "natural glow" sucks. no matter how carefully or how often i apply, i always get splotches. i do plan on using it after my legs are tanned, when splotches won't matter. and i actually don't mind the smell.

my all-time favorite is still bain de soleil radiance eternelle, medium/dark. you have to stay naked or in a robe til it dries, or wear i-don't-care t-shirt & shorts, but i love the smell, and i get a very believable, dark tan in a few hours. if you don't shower before bed, it will come off on your sheets, no matter how many hours after you apply. and it also will come off a little when you shave (but not noticeably).

but i'm a sun worshipper, i freely admit. so with my beloved Bain de Soleil Mega Tan Sunscreen Lotion With Self Tanner, SPF 4, and a few more sunny days, i'll hopefully be able to go without pantyhose soon. (i know spf 4 is not good. but thanks to my italian heritage, i rarely burn and do at least use 15 on my face.)

[dusty]

Thanks, Maimy! You *are* a goddess...

[maimy]

Dusty, I've tried four of them this year, and Jergens was the worst (and least effective - I know it's not meant to be turbo-tanning, but I think the weakness actually contributed to the streakiness problem). The reviews, if anyone's interested:

#4 - Jergens whatever-it's-called. I gave it to my mom. She appears to have gotten good results, but here is my problem. Most of these products call for use right AFTER a shower/bath. Given that all but one of the ones I've tried (a) makes me feel sticky and (b) makes me smell like a corn chip after about four hours, there is NO way I'm using them AFTER bathing. Jergens is meant to be used every single day, no less. Again - no way, Jose'. Maimy don't play stinky corn-chip girl for a living.

#3 - L'oreal sunless tanning mist. Excellent color "believability", some pigment concentration at hands, toes (but not the usual trouble spots of elbows/knees - again, controllable). When used six hours BEFORE a shower or bath, every other or every third day, results built nicely and stayed well, even with shaving. Bottle, at $9, lasts fewer than half a dozen applications.

#2 - L'oreal sunless tanning gelee'. Excellent color "believability", some streakiness (can be controlled with a quick learning curve). When used six hours BEFORE a shower or bath, every other or every third day, results built nicely and stayed well, even with shaving. Tube, at $9, lasts several weeks.

#1 - Neutrogena Tanning Mist. THE BEST for non-sticky/non-stinky, hands down and by a wide margin. Goes on dry, color-change is good, no streaks or dark patches, and staying power is GREAT. Bottle, at $13, lasts about two weeks (can be found on Amazon at 2 cans/$18 for Deep, or 2 cans/$17 for Medium).

[dusty]

I've been trying one of the lighter self-tanners on my legs, the kind you're supposed to use every day...Jergens, I think. Anyway, I'm afraid to take a razor to my legs, for fear I'll take off what I have built up, so I've been using an electric razor. Anyway, I still managed to have streaky legs.

[tyger]

has anyone used urban decay's lingerie and galoshes? i'd be all over it if the waterproofer bit worked well, as that way i wouldn't always have to buy my mascaras in pairs, one waterproof one not

[maimy]

Pagan, you are a reservoir of helpful knowledge! Thank you.

Cat, it sounds like that particular bronzer is too bronze. I've had the same problem, though I am a very pale olive (which is to say, sallow) rather than pink-and-white complected. However, the solution I've used may work for you. I cut the bronzer into another powder - perhaps a mineral makeup, or even plain talc (this is what I have used in the past, but you may prefer not to go this route). I used Johnson & Johnson baby powder on my face for 20 years, and had no issues with it, so the lighter application one would use for a bronzing application might work for you. I cut my own bronzer way, WAAAAYY down, like maybe one part bronzer to half a dozen or more parts something-lighter. Straight bronzer has always seemed to me a damn sight too strong for any but the most tanned skin.

[tyger]

catsoup, it might just be that your complexion isn't suited to looking tan? my mom is like that, yet she insists on using self-tanner, so it just looks like her legs are covered in gravy or some such thing

[catsoup]

I bought a bronzer recently (a powder). I think I'm using it ok but when I put it on, I feel like my face looks dirty. My face is usually a lovely mix of pale and red so maybe I'm just not used to my face looking "tan" - what do ya think?

[mandolyn]

pagan, thank you kindly. i feel betta now.

have i told you guys how much in love with dallas i am? i shall never use another blush/bronzer again. and this from someone who's been stuck on estee lauder's mele glace (sp?) blush for over 10 years. (which i think they finally discontinued, sniffle.)

[pagangrrl]

Mando--

A majority of natural hair make-up brushes are created without killing the critters. Many are just shaved. Also, if you are worried about them being penned up somewhere and only exercised to shave, fear not. Animals who are mistreated have massive hair issues and therefore it would not be in a company's best interest to mistreat their little critters who are regularly shaved for their fur.

[oceandessa]

Ladies, I am going to New York in August, and I am absolutely afraid of my first Sephora experience and the lasting effects it will have on my credit history!

But just to think of all the goodness I can't get here: Urban Decay! Nars! ...........And I am sure I can get good mineral makeup somewhere in that city.

Seriously - PLEASURE OVERLOAD! I can't wait.

[mandolyn]

i spent an OBSCENE amount of money yesterday at sephora. on dallas (which is everything i'd hoped and more!). and a blush brush. and a powder brush. but they're only the 2nd and 3rd ever "good" brushes i've ever bought in my life. and they seriously feel wonderful against my face. i want to have unbridled passionate sex with these brushes.

i'm a little worried about what they're made out of tho. i'm afraid to look.

[auralpoison]

Oh! I do that, too!

[cherrypeel]

When I curl my eyelashes (I have short lashes too) I heat it up with a blow dryer for a few seconds (this is with a metal curler). Then I crimp it right next to the lashline (but not right on it, because it pinches), hold it for around 10 seconds, then "curl" the rest of the lashes out- and upward. Mind you, I don't do this every day because I suspect it's not too great for my lashes.
However, you may want to return to the store to ask exactly how to use your particular eyelash curler.

[mornington]

yay mando!

I got mac's studio fix foundation the other day and I love it! Urban Decay will have to wait and I've spent a fortune on make-up recently.

[maimy]

WOO-HOO for Mando!! Eye happiness. Congrats, luv.

[mandolyn]

i'd be eager to have a lesson in eyelash curling also. my lashes have become hopelessly short. *weep*

d-bunny, i plan on splurging on "dallas" soon sooner soonest. methinks it's going to match perfectly the blush + bronzer i'm combining right now.

'member my futile attempt to find clinique's discontinued quickeyes - my beloved eye pencil that also has matching shadow on the other end? well, they found FOUR of them for me, and they just came in the mail! these puppies are going to last me YEARS! and hopefully by then, one of the other estee lauder lines will come up with something similar (seriously, it's like the best eyeliner\powder combo in the universe, how could they discontinue it?!. i am in HEAVEN wearing my sable eyeliner today, i've missed it SO MUCH!

and i thought i'd share this:

vote & win - the best of sephora 2006. first prize is a $1,000 sephora gift card - yeah, baby!