LishLoren

Secret Diva...just like me, except I ooze it so obviously.

I am going to tell my husband this.  I don’t think he believes me when I sit down to do work for the business.  I am really wondering why he doesn’t see massive dollar signs when he looks at me.  I know; it’s because he is a man.  I see massive dollar signs when I look at him, because I love him.

Really, I know that he is freaking out about the amount of money it is going to cost me to get the skin care line started.  I have started itemizing what I need to purchase.  I am trying to show it to him piece by piece.  I am hoping to avoid any fainting that way.  Wait till he finds out how much the marketing artist is going to cost.  I mean I am going to get a discount because we know each other ( he dated my sister).

I am Martha Stewart so he shouldn’t worry.  I think Martha solved her problem by ignoring her husband until she was ready to divorce him.  Maybe…Damn, I’m out of ideas!

I just want to let you guys know that if at all possible when you are buying from random companies use the pay with Paypal option if they have one.  It will save you trouble with your credit card company.  It is must easier than filing a claim with a bank or credit card company.  I really love Paypal.  I do not love iHeartRedCherry.  I will let you know if I try to order from them again.  In the meantime I have another company to try.  Here goes nothing!

This a convenience for me because I moved to a city that I cannot find the beauty supply stores that would have this stuff.  I have to get it online.  If  you have a beauty supply in your area save yourself the shipping and go there.  All hail Asian store owners in Cleveland.   ( Most of the one’s I frequented were Asian owned.)

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I was wearing a pressed powder from Avon as a teen just to get rid of the shine and to even me out a little due to my acne scars.  Then I went to Clinique Superbalanced  liquid foundation in my late teens and early twenty’s.  My acne had cleared up and I had plenty of dark marks from hyperpigmentation after.  This foundation provided light to sheer coverage and worked when I was going out or wanted to look clear and bright.   I stopped using this after my divorce mostly because I didn’t have time or money or energy to worry about makeup.  When I did get back to it I started using mineral powder foundation because Auntie Mel gave me some to use so I can see how I like it.  She was of course on the edge of the new stuff and told me it was going to be very popular.  She was right.  I loved it.  It was easy to use and I could take it with me. I could reapply without it looking cakey or needing to take anything off.  You could see my skin under it but not the bad stuff.  So that was my choice for the next two years.

This is now.  I am 27 and my skin is dying.  I might be exaggerating  but probably not. I am suddenly aware that I have wrinkles.  Right around my eyes.  They suck.  My skin is getting very dry around the T zone and I cannot wear my mineral powder without flaking in those areas.   So now I am hunting out the new foundation. That is not easy for anyone and its even harder for women of color.  This is getting worse by the minute.

I know what I want.  I would like to have something without any ridiculous chemicals in it, I want it to be hydrating and it does not have to be oil free,  I want a medium buildable coverage and if it has some good antioxidants and vitamins in it to help my skin since it will be sitting on there all day it would be perfect.  Last I don’t want to pay $50 for it. So here is the list of things I have tried so far and my thoughts on them.

Pure Luxe Whipped Mineral Creme Foundation:  Trash, turns white when I applied it to my hand, dry, pasty.  Crap.  Next.

Tarte ReCreate Anti Aging Foundation: liquid has all the wants except it being buildable.  Does not come in my color.  Would have to mix two colors.  At $39 a bottle don’t really want to go there but it would last me twice as long.  Will go in to Sephora to have full face try of this combo if nothing else pans out.  Hope I don’t have to even though I want it.

Graftobian Hi Def Creme Foundation: creme feels good on my skin and has a shade that matches perfectly.  Looks great on camara.  Does not mix well with a heavy coat of moisturizer.  I have to use my lotion sparingly or the foundation looks really oily and does not set well.  Otherwise fine.  Looks good on my camara but not as great to my eye and pictures.  Has to be eye good because people don’t look at you through video camara lenses.  I do feel like I am wearing makeup with this base on.  Have not had problems with my skin drying out while wearing this.   These are sold as individual pans at $11.00 but they have a minimum order policy.  So $30 it is.

Makeup Forever HD Invisible Cover Foundation:  liquid formula,  feels like having nothing on your face at all.  I mean it feels fabulous!  I let the Sephora girl put this one on full face since we found a color that matched and it was great it felt like she was brushing my face for fun.  It is weightless.  The color is almost perfect but I get the feeling it would be just a tad too dark in the winter as I can get quite pale.  I have medium fair skin for a black girl meaning I can go from a  NC 45 to a NC 40 on a bad year.  (That’s MAC talk.  Most people have been to the counter and find out what their skin tone is in that company’s color range. It is a commonality because it is so popular.)  I liked the coverage and even felt that it could be thinned down with a moisturizer for a light look or applied with a wet brush or sponge if I wanted something just above sheer.  It looks good to my eye and the color is very pigmented.  I like that the color stayed true in the sunlight outside the mall which is really when you see the problem.  (Keep a cheap pack of makeup remover wipes and moisturizer in your bag or car so you can take off anything that looks really horrible.)  I have applied it myself just once and I decided to sleep with it on just to see how my skin reacts.  It was fine in the morning but take your makeup off before bed and don’t be a laze!  I have enough in my sample to put it on about 4 or 5 more times.  It is $40 a bottle.

I still want to try Chanel Vitalumiere, Prolumiere and Korres Wild Rose Foundation if they have it in my color.  There will probably be more added to my “want to try list”.

youtube.com/watch?v=Laf81ti-OKs&annotation_id=annotation_900895&feature=iv

I used two different greens, lots of liner and mascara and false lashes.  Blend like your life depends on it!

That Sonia brush I bought that was  a powder brush.  I still have it.  It is one of the best brushes I own.  Then I met MAC.  I was enraptured!  I had a feeling of accomplishment when I went into that store, picked out a fierce lime green and stated, “I want to wear this.” without an inkling of doubt.  The artist didn’t bat an eyelash and effectively showed me how to do it, with a bright pink lip!  I started buying their brushes.  I was convinced when they told me that if I took care of them like they explained it would last forever.  I nodded in approval when they told me that they have never had to replace any of their brushes and they use them every day at work.  I threw over the cash knowing that I was taking a step into eliteness.  I had MAC brushes.  My Mom would not approve of the price and I turned my nose up at the thought.

There were no buzzing florescent lights in this store.  No trolling employees looking at you funny for buying drugstore makeup brushes.  That strange feeling you have while standing in the aisle looking at the plastic packaging backed with cardboard trying to think what everything looked like on you or felt like against your skin.  The unknown was in every box.  You were about to waste some money. The girl at the cash register knew it and was  smirking at you because she knew you were going to fail and you could not get your money back.

MAC was not that in any way.  They were your friends giving you free lesson and expert advice.  They were wearing faces full of makeup not like the slightly too oily face of the Rite Aid girl who was green not with envy but because if the lack of natural lighting in the store.  MAC associates glowed with the efforts of man created natural light simulation.   These people meant something and knew something thats why they wore sophisticated all black and oozed club savvy.  And I had bought some!  I could see myself narrowing my eyes and flipping my hair as plain Jennifer complemented me that next time I was as the drugstore. Who’s laughing now?  I am.  And so are my makeup brushes.   So I felt.  For a long time.

Until 1 year ago.  I didn’t want to keep spending that much money.  I had been coveting a $52 powder brush forever and still had not bought it.  I mean $52?!  I could not bring myself to do it.  I go the counter and spend $250 but that is okay as long as I spread that amount over as many products as I can.  Which meant not buying that brush.  I knew that there was something else out there.  I knew that cosmetics was largely like the food industry.  One manufacture, lots of products, all the same, different names.   So I started looking.  I knew I would find exactly what I wanted and I would not have to spend too much cash.  I started watching YouTube makeup videos about the same time and realize that I could use other people as buffers for experimentation.  I didn’t have to buy the brushes, let someone else do it.  I could sit back and review for the rest of my life if I wanted.

Two years later.  I  finally made a purchase.  I am not sure if I really like the brushes yet but that is not the point.  The point is since I got that package in the mail I am different.  I have found at least two other companies that I am going to try and it has only been one day since I got the new ones.  There are brushes out there that are not expensive and are good and there are brushes that are expensive that are good.  I am going to try all of them that fit my fancy.  Not just because I think I want something better, but because I am not afraid to try anymore.

I am not afraid.

I have lost “The Fear”!