Every time I walk into a makeup store like Sephora, I have this fantasy that I will somehow come out looking completely different…gone will be the under-eye circles and red skin! Nobody will know I ever had a zit in my life and my skin will be as dewy as my baby’s. It’s a fantasy born of FAR too many chick flicks where the girl is magically transformed by contacts, a pair of tweezers, and a curling iron. I want to believe what I see in magazines, despite knowing it’s airbrushed and it’s fairly unlikely Jennifer Lopez wears Cover Girl, like EVER.
I let the makeup artist work their magic, and I sit eagerly awaiting the mirror that will show me MY BEST SELF…that girl who looks like she slept on satin sheets instead of a bed-in-a-bag with dog hair. I’ll look like I get 20 hours of sleep instead of 2! And the results always are…not bad. You know, an improvement, but not the glamorous transition of my dreams.
But I do always leave Sephora feeling renewed somehow. Yes, I spent a small country’s GNP on makeup I didn’t really NEED, but for a few moments when I leave, I feel more put together.
Lately, I’ve been feeling dumpy. Just super “I’m a mom who let herself go.” It doesn’t help that I work at home, either. Hygiene went out the window long before I ever even got pregnant. Usually, I cure this with new makeup. Only now things are different. We’ve been hit by the crappy economy just like everyone else, and I have to do my makeup shopping in a drugstore.
What a different experience! It’s hard to hope for glamour when you’re throwing your makeup on top of a bag of lettuce and toilet paper at Target. And forget trying the makeup out! Of the very few items that actually have testers, the application experience is much less fantasy, much more fear. I’ve yet to see one of the testers that doesn’t make me want a Tetanus shot. Note to drugstores: if you’re going to put testers out, take just a little time to consider sanitation.
On the other hand, if you don’t use the tester, you risk going home and applying some newfangled foundation that turns your skin bright orange or eyeshadow that goes all frosty.
The only beacon of light in drugstore makeup shipping is mascara. I’ve always been a drugstore mascara girl: Maybelline in the green tube to be exact. I’ve tried the fancy ones…the ones that claim to lengthen, thicken, cure world peace. But you can’t beat the cheapo Maybelline.
Recently, I got a coupon to try a new Maybelline mascara product and I decided to give it a whirl. I’m a sucker for buy one, get one free, what can I say?
You can’t beat this $4 Define-a-Lash mascara from Maybelline! What I love most about it is that it’s got this fun rubbery wand that makes sure you get no clumps. You can put several layers on without getting spider eyes (but be careful not to let it dry too long or it gets very stiff…it won’t look bad, but you’ll be picking at it all day).
Also, it’s waterproof! I love this for the summer not only because I can wear it in the water if I forget to take it off, but also because I have a tendency to lose all my makeup when I sweat and this stuff goes NOWHERE.
So now, no matter what, I at least try to put on some mascara. It’s a little thing and it certainly doesn’t make me feel like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada, but it’s a start, right?
What’s your favorite drugstore makeup product?
I let the makeup artist work their magic, and I sit eagerly awaiting the mirror that will show me MY BEST SELF…that girl who looks like she slept on satin sheets instead of a bed-in-a-bag with dog hair. I’ll look like I get 20 hours of sleep instead of 2! And the results always are…not bad. You know, an improvement, but not the glamorous transition of my dreams.
But I do always leave Sephora feeling renewed somehow. Yes, I spent a small country’s GNP on makeup I didn’t really NEED, but for a few moments when I leave, I feel more put together.
Lately, I’ve been feeling dumpy. Just super “I’m a mom who let herself go.” It doesn’t help that I work at home, either. Hygiene went out the window long before I ever even got pregnant. Usually, I cure this with new makeup. Only now things are different. We’ve been hit by the crappy economy just like everyone else, and I have to do my makeup shopping in a drugstore.
What a different experience! It’s hard to hope for glamour when you’re throwing your makeup on top of a bag of lettuce and toilet paper at Target. And forget trying the makeup out! Of the very few items that actually have testers, the application experience is much less fantasy, much more fear. I’ve yet to see one of the testers that doesn’t make me want a Tetanus shot. Note to drugstores: if you’re going to put testers out, take just a little time to consider sanitation.
On the other hand, if you don’t use the tester, you risk going home and applying some newfangled foundation that turns your skin bright orange or eyeshadow that goes all frosty.
The only beacon of light in drugstore makeup shipping is mascara. I’ve always been a drugstore mascara girl: Maybelline in the green tube to be exact. I’ve tried the fancy ones…the ones that claim to lengthen, thicken, cure world peace. But you can’t beat the cheapo Maybelline.
Recently, I got a coupon to try a new Maybelline mascara product and I decided to give it a whirl. I’m a sucker for buy one, get one free, what can I say?
You can’t beat this $4 Define-a-Lash mascara from Maybelline! What I love most about it is that it’s got this fun rubbery wand that makes sure you get no clumps. You can put several layers on without getting spider eyes (but be careful not to let it dry too long or it gets very stiff…it won’t look bad, but you’ll be picking at it all day).
Also, it’s waterproof! I love this for the summer not only because I can wear it in the water if I forget to take it off, but also because I have a tendency to lose all my makeup when I sweat and this stuff goes NOWHERE.
So now, no matter what, I at least try to put on some mascara. It’s a little thing and it certainly doesn’t make me feel like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada, but it’s a start, right?
What’s your favorite drugstore makeup product?
1 comment:
I love Loreal mascara. I worked for Lancome for a long time and fell in love with theirs. Unfortnately Lancome is not good for the budget and Loreal worked!
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