Beloved Mother will probably not be happy to learn that black eyeliner, black mascara, and purple lipstick have returned to my makeup box, on regular rotation, as part of a professional look.
Those of you who are well-versed in girly stuff will already have known that you can't wear the same makeup as a nearly-forty-year-old as you did when you were a teenager. I did not know that, so I had been wearing the same brown eyeliner/brown mascara/clear gloss combo for the last...oh, twenty years? as I had when I was not Going Out and trying to make Beloved Mother Sigh Deeply.
However. This summer I seem to have acquired a tan. A fairly deep tan, for a fair redhead, which means I'm approximately apricot-colored with darker freckles (it looks better than it sounds, I swear). The brown/brown/clear thing simply wasn't working. I looked tired.
So, on a whim the other morning, I yanked out the black eyeliner and mascara. Despite the fact that Flashes had chewed the end of the blending brush I use for smudging eyeliner, I perservered (and will probably end up with some obscure eye infection caused by cat saliva). I used black eyeliner, smudged it with nearly-black/still vaguely brownish/kinda charcoal liner, and added two coats of mascara.
Hm. Okay. I don't look like a Goth or a trollop. Hm. What's this? Purple lipstick? What's the color? "Prince's Toenail Bruise"? Sounds good. Slap some of that bitch on up, then.
And all day? People told me what pretty eyes I have. And how awake and rested I looked. Strangely enough, the solid black liner and lashes look more natural than brown. It's very odd. And the purple lipstick? Sparingly applied, it looks like I've just eaten a dozen habaneros, which, for a girl with my lippage, is saying something.
I'm going off to find that old Einsturzende Neubaten T-shirt now. And maybe consider a flattop. Because I am the epitome of femininity.
Every time I try to update my makeup routine I end up blowing money on products I use once, hate and throw out. Someday I swear I'm going to go barefaced to MAC or some such place and let them have their way with me.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one who owned Ende Neu (which comes up on rotation in the ER night shift when it's slow)
ReplyDeleteLove the blog, adore your cats (2- 12 week old kittens named Darwin and Dante now tearing up my...well, everything) and if I saw you, would probably adore your eyeliner! Keep on writing.
Ok, I'm sorry but brown, brown and clear? Mascara should NEVER be anything other than black, I don't care what color hair you have! Eyeliner or no, black is the only way to go with mascara. Glad you made the switch. ;)
ReplyDelete... remember *brown-black* mascara etc. when the tan fades a little (probably won't disappear entirely).
ReplyDeleteAs I remember, it wasn't a case of my Sighing Deeply so mucyh as it was "Too much Makeup Makes Granddad Nervous."
Since we relocated to the Pacific Northwest, I have discarded all summer makeup - we are pale all the time here, unless you go to Rain City Tanning.
Mom
Why are there never pictures? I want to see an apricot with freckles and mascara.
ReplyDeleteR