Just when my blogging friend blackbird is bragging about how productive I am, or, irony in action

Oh, internet, you know I love you, but I'm having a few problems with my next eye shadow post. And it has nothing to do with all the M.A.C. shadows I just bought over the internet. I am not freaking out AT ALL that M.A.C. gives their shadows all kinds of unique names like Wedge and Cork and Bamboo and Corduroy and then when you order 15 of them, it tuns out they're all exactly the same color.

(Some makeup expert I turned out to be.)

Also, I really want to scan in some pictures from some out of print books I have on makeup. I dug up a couple of excellent diagrams of the general eye area, with very clear instructions on where to put which shade of shadow. They would be so helpful. But I can't get my scanner to work.

Also, LPC kind of derailed me with a question about lilac-colored eyeshadow; specifically, whether it's OK for us old broads to wear it. (My answer is yes, of course, but only with due diligence about shimmer. And unless you're planning to star in a remake of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I'll terminate glittery lilac-colored eyeshadow with extreme prejudice.)

So I'm getting way behind on my posting. For example, I have plans to start a regimen that I'll do for an entire month, so I can report back with a truthful, objective review (albeit marred by parenthetical remarks in italics.) I bought a Murad Get the Glow! Resurgence kit, as well as a couple of other supposedly miraculous products. I was planning to post about them on May 1st, and now I'm all BEHIND.

Capital letters were designed by the ancient Romans to express FRUSTRATION.

And now I have to go to see lovely Tony at Pascal Pour Elle (he's completely adorable) to get a blow-out because I have two cocktail parties to attend tonight.

WHAT A WHIRLWIND.

30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 22: Blot, don't powder

I just realized that I'm sounding awfully bossy these days. Do this; do that; hey you in all the black! Wear some color, damn it! Well, I just want you to know that you have my permission to tell me I'm full of it. OK? OK.

Now here's another
rule
tip for you: as we age, our skin becomes less lustrous. Which you might think is a good thing. After all, shine is bad, right?

Well ... maybe. Nobody wants to relive their days of high school/high beams. Nobody wants to look like an oil-slick--but go too matte and powdery, and you start to look embalmed.

I've already mentioned that every beauty expert on the face of the earth advises us to wear less makeup as we get older--and that I disagree. But I do think it's important to let the natural texture of your skin show. Especially if you've painstakingly cleansed, toned, moisturized and sun-screened your face. You're probably using at least one product that promises to brighten your complexion with optical diffusers. Don't you want your hard work to show?

So whatever you do, don't keep touching up with powder during the day. Instead, whip out a packet of blotting papers and blot off the shine. You'll absorb the extra oil and perspiration, and you'll do it without powdering over the beautiful glow you achieved from your skincare and makeup.

Do I need to show you Baby Jane again?



A few years ago it was well-nigh impossible to find blotting papers. People scoured beauty supply stores to find Palladio papers, because the only other blotting papers available were by Shu Uemera, and they cost ridiculous amounts of money.

Well, now there are all kinds available. Every makeup line seems to be producing them, and at all kinds of prices.

Drugstore Lines

When I was at Blissdom in February, I went to the E.L.F. party and came away with a packet of their papers. I just love them. And you get 50 for $1.50.

Noevir Japanese papers are available on Amazon, 100 for $3.30.

Clean & Clear papers are also very popular, at 50 for $5.69.

Sonia Kashuk has 100 sheets for $6.99 at Target.

Boutique and Department Store lines

Now that the word has gotten out on blotting papers, everyone has gotten into the act, and of course, the prices are all over the place. Naturally, the packaging on these little packets is adorable--but you're the only person who's going to see it, so why spend the extra money? Let's see how high they can go.

Too-Faced has 100 for $12.99.

Sephora has 50 sheets for $10.00.

Shu Uemura has 40 sheets for $12.00

And MAC's Blot Film offers 30 super special sheets for $13.50. Ding ding ding! We have a winner! That's 45 cents each time you blot the shine off your nose. Why? Because they're film, not paper. Hey, at that price, they should be film of Marie Antoinette eating cake. You might as well blot your face with dollar bills.

A dirt-cheap alternative

Thrifty chicks use Starbucks napkins. I kid you not.

OK, ladies--it's a sunny Friday afternoon, and it's time to start enjoying the weekend. Have fun! (And leave a comment if you think I'm picking on MAC. After all, nobody likes an internet bully.)

30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 17: Be a brownie

You might be wondering why on earth Pamela Anderson is doing in a blog post aimed at beauty and style for women of a certain age. Well, duh, I'm using her as an example of what not to do. And I'm not going after her super-thin eyebrows and super-obvious implants. I'm going after her eyelashes.

Mascara has become like a Model T Ford--you can have any color you want, as long as it's black. Which is OK, as long as you think everyone looks best in black mascara. Unfortunately, I don't.

Black mascara is lovely at night, but for broad daylight, I find it a bit stark and artificial looking. If you're blonde, redhead, or like me, an aging brunette, you'll probably look better in a softer shade of brown/black or brown. In fact, if you're a redhead, you'll probably look best in auburn--if you can find it anywhere.

Unfortunately, most drugstore mascaras only come in black, super-plus-blackest-black, and black/brown. I checked L'Oreal, CoverGirl, Maybelline, and Revlon, and the story was almost always the same.

There are drugstore brands that offer brown mascara, but you have to dig pretty deep. Almay has at least one mascara available in brown.

For years, Max Factor was the only line with a mascara for redheads; unfortunately they're leaving the States. The mascara is still available at Drugstore.com, though. And Revlon's DoubleTwist line includes a shade called Blackened Ruby that looks auburn.

Fortunately, the latest fad in drugstore mascaras appears to be ones that emphasize the color of your eyes. Physician's Formula sells a brown mascara, and in addition, their intensive i-color mascara and intense i-color mascara with light interplay both claim to intensify eye-color. They're available in four shades. CoverGirl sells a similar line.

Department store lines offer a wider variety of mascara shades: Estee Lauder has several formulas that come in brown and and even navy blue; MAC has some browns, and so does Lancôme. (Lancôme also sells specialty mascaras, like gold and silver. But that's not the point of this post.)

Boutique brands like Jane Iredale, BeneFit, and Sephora offer mascaras in a variety of interesting shades. In fact, if you go to the Sephora website and do a search for "brown mascara," you'll discover that there are plenty of options.

The trick is to not go crazy. Colored mascara can be fun, but it's not something to wear if you want to be taken seriously. For proof, remember Princess Diana and her blue eyeliner and matching eyelashes. I'll confess to having developed a certain degree of fascination with colored mascaras, and I'm trying like crazy not to succumb to Yves St. Laurent Fascinating Violet or the Benefit BadGAL in Plum.

I remember the 80s and I don't think the world has yet recovered from my experiments with Princess Di-style cobalt blue.

Or my Two-Faced glitter lashes in the 90s when seriously? I was old enough to know better.

But while I busy myself locking up my credit cards and backing away from the Sephora website, I urge you to think about whether the black mascara you've been wearing for years and years is actually doing you any favors. Or could you, like the women pictured here, benefit from a softer look around the eyes?

Elsewhere:

The Beauty Blog has a great post on mascaras for redheads here.

Did you know that there is a beauty blog devoted to mascara? There is. It's called Clumps of Mascara. Currently on hiatus, but still packed with useful reviews. Click here.