Beauty

[just bee]

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

Just bee, I have an apple corer/slicer like the ones you posted.  Isn't that a handy little thing?  One good press and the job is done.

---

I guess I don't understand why someone would spend so much on packaged apple slices when it's more economical to slice your apples with this amazing kitchen tool.  I love gadgets!

We give our patients sack lunches and recently started adding apples and oranges which, of course, end up in the trash.  I drive around Albuquerque -- a city in one of the poorest states in the union -- and I see whole apples discarded on sidewalks.  When Honeycrisps are $16.97 at Costco and I have to choose a cheaper apple, it makes me ill to see perfectly good produce wasted on city streets.

Again, it's the end of Western civilization as we know it.

---

Our school district "forces" kids who buy a school lunch to take a piece of fruit, usually an apple.  The fruit ends up in the trash.

---

Every child should have an Italian mother.  Watching kids waste their school lunches when I was a kid was offensive enough; now that I'm an adult it's bad just thinking about it.  Makes me want to hand out slaps.

I work with kids, as well as adults, in psych and I can say with all confidence that the concept of parenthood is 99% dead.  When I hear "one-percenters" I think not of the upper income folks; instead, I think they're referring to the remaining parents in the world.  There are a few left.  Not where I live, of course, but I've heard they have been spotted in some parts of the country.

---

The apples aren't wasted completely.  DS tells me that the custodian retrieves a few from the trash.  Do you know how sad that statement makes me?  My throat is starting to hurt because I am about to cry.

---

I hear ya.

[dosey]

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

HEP - No!  There are not a lot of good food choices.  Moldy blackberries, wrinkled green beans, rock-hard peaches, expensive seafood.  Thank goodness the canteloupe and watermelon are tastey.

I've read some of the Less is More and Bold Lipcolor threads.  It puzzles me how I can look in the mirror bare-faced and think "Okay.  Not bad.  A little tweeking with cosmetics will make me socially acceptable."  Only when carefully applied.  Too much makeup or the wrong colors (too dark, too light, or unnatural colors), and I look hideous/ridiculous.

I took an eyeshadow inventory.  After throwing some away, giving some to DD, and using a few (very few), this is what remains.

2 new, never opened quads

2 singles

1 duo

1 nine shadow palette--what I am using daily (1 empty pan, 3 with visible      pan, 3 with small dents, and 2 that will probably not be used)

1 nine shadow shimmer strip

That is not bad considering what I started with, but what remains will last for years.  It has helped letting go of a lot.

---

Better-half wants to leave NM, but I can't help think that wherever we go the problems will be the same.  The food is sad.  Our produce looks like it fell off the back of a truck.  And then run over by a texter.  I hear ya about the seafood.  I remember my mother would prepare seafood for me when I was little because she knew I loved it.  My siblings were not fans.  She would buy halibut.  I look at halibut prices today and I wonder how I was ever able to experience it.  It couldn't have been so out of reach in the 60s.  I roll my cart past it in the store and get dewy-eyed.

Regarding lip color.  I collected all those mood lip colors -- the ones that change color on your lips?  Don't know what it says about my mood or my chemistry, but every one of them turned into my least favorite color: Purple.  I look odd with purple lips.  I also looked odd with brown lips, but that didn't stop me from wearing brown lipstick.

I have been told that women should match their lipstick color to a specific part of their bodies.  Hmmm.  How do I post this?  Let's just say that this body part is attached to a body part that is attached to your torso.

I don't know who it was who did the research on this, but that's a whole nuther topic.

---

I don't think stores will allow us to color-match that.

[just bee]

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

HEP - No!  There are not a lot of good food choices.  Moldy blackberries, wrinkled green beans, rock-hard peaches, expensive seafood.  Thank goodness the canteloupe and watermelon are tastey.

I've read some of the Less is More and Bold Lipcolor threads.  It puzzles me how I can look in the mirror bare-faced and think "Okay.  Not bad.  A little tweeking with cosmetics will make me socially acceptable."  Only when carefully applied.  Too much makeup or the wrong colors (too dark, too light, or unnatural colors), and I look hideous/ridiculous.

I took an eyeshadow inventory.  After throwing some away, giving some to DD, and using a few (very few), this is what remains.

2 new, never opened quads

2 singles

1 duo

1 nine shadow palette--what I am using daily (1 empty pan, 3 with visible      pan, 3 with small dents, and 2 that will probably not be used)

1 nine shadow shimmer strip

That is not bad considering what I started with, but what remains will last for years.  It has helped letting go of a lot.

---

Better-half wants to leave NM, but I can't help think that wherever we go the problems will be the same.  The food is sad.  Our produce looks like it fell off the back of a truck.  And then run over by a texter.  I hear ya about the seafood.  I remember my mother would prepare seafood for me when I was little because she knew I loved it.  My siblings were not fans.  She would buy halibut.  I look at halibut prices today and I wonder how I was ever able to experience it.  It couldn't have been so out of reach in the 60s.  I roll my cart past it in the store and get dewy-eyed.

Regarding lip color.  I collected all those mood lip colors -- the ones that change color on your lips?  Don't know what it says about my mood or my chemistry, but every one of them turned into my least favorite color: Purple.  I look odd with purple lips.  I also looked odd with brown lips, but that didn't stop me from wearing brown lipstick.

I have been told that women should match their lipstick color to a specific part of their bodies.  Hmmm.  How do I post this?  Let's just say that this body part is attached to a body part that is attached to your torso.

I don't know who it was who did the research on this, but that's a whole nuther topic.

---

I don't think stores will allow us to color-match that.

---

Wait six months.

[Oshare-girl]

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

HEP - No!  There are not a lot of good food choices.  Moldy blackberries, wrinkled green beans, rock-hard peaches, expensive seafood.  Thank goodness the canteloupe and watermelon are tastey.

I've read some of the Less is More and Bold Lipcolor threads.  It puzzles me how I can look in the mirror bare-faced and think "Okay.  Not bad.  A little tweeking with cosmetics will make me socially acceptable."  Only when carefully applied.  Too much makeup or the wrong colors (too dark, too light, or unnatural colors), and I look hideous/ridiculous.

I took an eyeshadow inventory.  After throwing some away, giving some to DD, and using a few (very few), this is what remains.

2 new, never opened quads

2 singles

1 duo

1 nine shadow palette--what I am using daily (1 empty pan, 3 with visible      pan, 3 with small dents, and 2 that will probably not be used)

1 nine shadow shimmer strip

That is not bad considering what I started with, but what remains will last for years.  It has helped letting go of a lot.

---

Better-half wants to leave NM, but I can't help think that wherever we go the problems will be the same.  The food is sad.  Our produce looks like it fell off the back of a truck.  And then run over by a texter.  I hear ya about the seafood.  I remember my mother would prepare seafood for me when I was little because she knew I loved it.  My siblings were not fans.  She would buy halibut.  I look at halibut prices today and I wonder how I was ever able to experience it.  It couldn't have been so out of reach in the 60s.  I roll my cart past it in the store and get dewy-eyed.

Regarding lip color.  I collected all those mood lip colors -- the ones that change color on your lips?  Don't know what it says about my mood or my chemistry, but every one of them turned into my least favorite color: Purple.  I look odd with purple lips.  I also looked odd with brown lips, but that didn't stop me from wearing brown lipstick.

I have been told that women should match their lipstick color to a specific part of their bodies.  Hmmm.  How do I post this?  Let's just say that this body part is attached to a body part that is attached to your torso.

I don't know who it was who did the research on this, but that's a whole nuther topic.

---

I don't think stores will allow us to color-match that.

---

Wait six months.

---

Oh my!  Can you imagine telling the girl behind the counter, "I'm looking for a MNBB color"?!  Wow, now I've heard it all.  Or have I?  Actually, it's not a bad idea, but how in the world would you ever be able to color-match that in-store?  

[Oshare-girl]

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@rnmom wrote:

As far as ComPacting goes, I've been pretty much flush over here. Some items have been coming in, some items have been going out. I've tossed several products that I just don't care for, especially makeup, but I've also bought some replacements. I've also used up some items. I want to try to go cruelty free as much as possible, so the makeup I've bought has been Physicians Formula so far, and I've tossed some Benefit, Sephora, Covergirl. I still have a lot of those brands here, but I tossed the items that I didn't really like anyway. 

I'm trying to find a replacement for my Ponds cleanser too and ordered some oils and facial wash from Vitacost to try. Ponds is basically just mineral oil anyway, so I'm going to try and switch to coconut oil or joboba/castor oil, etc. and see if it works as well and will be cruelty free. 

It's a work in progress for sure, but I'm getting there! By the end of the year I'd love to be just down to products that i use and love and don't have to worry about ComPacting anymore. I've been doing this for a couple of years now too and it's wearing on me. I'm just about ready to toss everything and start over with just the basics!

---

FYI.  While coconut oil has some fantastic uses, I found that it causes my skin to break out.  Jojoba oil does not.

---

Same with me.  I tried coconut oil on my face and I broke out.  I tried it in my hair and broke out on my neck.  Jojoba & argan oils seem to be compatible to my skin.  I leave the coconut oil for cooking now.  As much as I wanted to multitask with it, it's just not possible for me.

[just bee]

My head hurts.  I was looking at the grocery store ads and noticed that Albertsons is selling Lucerne products.  Lucerne?  Wasn't that Safeway?

In Chicago, there was Jewel-Osco; in California, there was Albertson's, Lucky and Safeway; in New Mexico, there's Smith's (which is Kroger) and Albertson's which is now Albertsons because the company dropped the apostrophe.

Albertson's -- er, Albertsons -- has been other stores here.  When we first moved to ABQ, there was Jewel, which closed.  Safeway closed.  Raley's closed.  I can't remember if Lucky was here for 45 minutes or if that was a dream.  Furr's closed.  Wild Oats closed.  Sunflower closed and is now Sprouts.

Anyway, I wanted to know why Lucerne products were appearing in Albertsons, so I went online to research it.  If you want your head to explode, read about the store on Wikipedia.  Albertsons dropped the apostrophe and bought Jewel, Lucky and Safeway.  Albertsons is now the second largest grocer; Kroger is still number one.

But reading about which stores, geographically, are owned by which division started to make me dizzy.  Safeways still exist in Northern NM, Colorado and Arizona.  But they're under different divisions.  It's complicated.  Actually, it's not unlike a Russian novel.

I'm looking at shopping more at Albertsons just to avoid the frustration I feel when I'm shopping at Smith's/Kroger.  But things are never that simple.  Smith's has been producing a good cookie lately in their otherwise awful bakery section. 

I guess what I'm asking is: Do you know what store it is where you go to shop? 

[just bee]

---

@Oshare-girl wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@dosey wrote:

HEP - No!  There are not a lot of good food choices.  Moldy blackberries, wrinkled green beans, rock-hard peaches, expensive seafood.  Thank goodness the canteloupe and watermelon are tastey.

I've read some of the Less is More and Bold Lipcolor threads.  It puzzles me how I can look in the mirror bare-faced and think "Okay.  Not bad.  A little tweeking with cosmetics will make me socially acceptable."  Only when carefully applied.  Too much makeup or the wrong colors (too dark, too light, or unnatural colors), and I look hideous/ridiculous.

I took an eyeshadow inventory.  After throwing some away, giving some to DD, and using a few (very few), this is what remains.

2 new, never opened quads

2 singles

1 duo

1 nine shadow palette--what I am using daily (1 empty pan, 3 with visible      pan, 3 with small dents, and 2 that will probably not be used)

1 nine shadow shimmer strip

That is not bad considering what I started with, but what remains will last for years.  It has helped letting go of a lot.

---

Better-half wants to leave NM, but I can't help think that wherever we go the problems will be the same.  The food is sad.  Our produce looks like it fell off the back of a truck.  And then run over by a texter.  I hear ya about the seafood.  I remember my mother would prepare seafood for me when I was little because she knew I loved it.  My siblings were not fans.  She would buy halibut.  I look at halibut prices today and I wonder how I was ever able to experience it.  It couldn't have been so out of reach in the 60s.  I roll my cart past it in the store and get dewy-eyed.

Regarding lip color.  I collected all those mood lip colors -- the ones that change color on your lips?  Don't know what it says about my mood or my chemistry, but every one of them turned into my least favorite color: Purple.  I look odd with purple lips.  I also looked odd with brown lips, but that didn't stop me from wearing brown lipstick.

I have been told that women should match their lipstick color to a specific part of their bodies.  Hmmm.  How do I post this?  Let's just say that this body part is attached to a body part that is attached to your torso.

I don't know who it was who did the research on this, but that's a whole nuther topic.

---

I don't think stores will allow us to color-match that.

---

Wait six months.

---

Oh my!  Can you imagine telling the girl behind the counter, "I'm looking for a MNBB color"?!  Wow, now I've heard it all.  Or have I?  Actually, it's not a bad idea, but how in the world would you ever be able to color-match that in-store?  

---

Wear a tube top?

ETA: Wait -- I think I've got it.  Borrow a baby and tell the girl you're still nursing.

[Oshare-girl]

I missed the end of May's Compacting thread.  We were cleaning out the closet under the stairs.  I never really thought about it because the door always stayed closed.  We only opened it to get the Christmas tree out.  Boy, did we compact that closet!  Tossed several suitcases whose wheels were disintegrating.  Donated boxed games that were never opened and the kids have outgrown.  Brought out the old yearbooks and pictures from high school.  DD & DS asked, "who's that" so many times.  They are all people they know but can't recognize from the 80s pictures.  Loved it when DS told DH that he looks better with less hair, that he had such puffy hair when he was younger.  DH did not like that.

One thing that I cannot toss but will not display is the Christmas tree that my mom made for the kids when they were little.  She has collected a whole ton of Pooh beanie babies which she decorated a whole Christmas tree with.  DH refuses to put it out at Christmas. I hate that it's sitting in the closet getting musty.  What to do with it?  I could give it back to my mom but don't want to hurt her feelings.  Plus her house needs a good purging and I don't want to add to her clutter.  For now it will sit in the closet.  It has a place and that's ok.  For now.  Wait, the purpose of this story was that I only wore concealer and lipbalm that day and I ended up with the biggest pimple above my lip.  How did that happen?  I was also an oil slick after a few hours.  So for me, less is not always more.  The right products are more important that the amount of products.  I think there are products I use that are actually protecting my skin from dirt and other pollution.

I also feel like I have been compacting my beauty products for so long that I just want to chuck it all and start over.  Especially in the eyeshadow palette category.  If I had to start over, this is what I would do:

1 Dr. Perricone No Foundation Serum

1 Stowaway Creaseless Concealer

1 translucent setting powder

1 eyeshadow primer (I hear the Milani one is really good & inexpensive)

1 neutral eyeshadow quad or not more than 6 shades (the Tartelette Tease looks nice)

1 Laura Geller contour palette (the one with the bronze & brighten, highlight and blush which can all be used as eyeshadow too)

1 Colour Pop eyebrow cream

1 Colour Pop gel eyeliner, dark brown

sheer lipcolor (mauve, red, MNBB ;D )

1 lipbalm

mini mascara (a new one every 3 months)

Bareminerals Locked & Coated (this waterproofs any mascara I use)

UD All NIghter setting spray (this really keeps my face on in the Hawaii humidity)

2 perfumes (one for everyday use and one "fancy")

nailpolish for toes (red & light pink/mauve) 

Nailtiques Formula 2 for fingernails (if i go bare, my nails peel & split)

Phew!  Looks like a lot but the contents of my current stash is at least 4 times this list.  One day it will happen......

[Oshare-girl]

---

@FindingMyJoy wrote:

---

@aprilskies wrote:

So, I absolutely had to post that I finally hit pan on the white eyeshadow I have been working on.  I was thrilled this morning. It is just a tiny speck of pan but I think it is the first eyeshadow ever that I hit pan on. 

Sometimes I feel so silly posting excitement over these things but after accumulating and tossing so much, it feels good to use something.   ...and this is the only place I would even dare mention such a thing. lol  Thanks, ladies. 

I will say, using the same eyeshadow palette everyday is good in the sense that you really get to know the colors and how to use them.  ..or not.  But, you really realize how long it takes to use even one eyeshadow and it is a bit boring, especially if it is just a neutrals palette.But, it feels good to see a palette getting some use. I will continue with one month one palette but once I rotate through, I might make the cycles longer.  I have no notion that I will finish these palettes, but I would like to get good use out of them.

---

Congratulations!!!! You have every right to feel excited about hitting pan!! I know I did when it happened to me LOL. But you're right, some people wouldn't understand it.

It's definitely surprising to see how long it takes to hit bottom of an eye product. It shows they are a good investment - takes forever to empty them but I totally agree that it can get boring.

I took a break from my pan the palette experiment so I could play with a newer palette. The experiment was really good for me and I will continue to try to keep my usage to 2-3 palettes to see if I can make any more dents. I may dig thru my supply and find another older 1 to combine with use of a newer one so I can enjoy both.

---

@aprilskies a big congrats to hitting pan!!  That's so exciting!  I get a little thrill every morning when I open my pan that palette and see the pans showing.  You will too!

@FindingMyJoy I am doing the same thing, using 1 older palette with 1 newer palette.  I feel like I'm getting some use out of more of my stash.  It also helps to remind me not to buy any more eyeshadow because when will I ever get around to using it?

[aprilskies]

---

@just bee wrote:

---

@aprilskies wrote:

Makeup is a funny thing.  Why is it that one day it can look great and the next a powdery mess. 

I, too, am close on a few more empties.  One I have a replacement for already and the rest I am not repurchasing.  My backlog is slowly going down. Never again with backlogs. 

---

Sometimes I think it's more about technique and what's right for your skin type and coloring and not the brand or the price.  I think I solved my recent powdery mess: I'm using less shadow and now there's less on my lenses.

There's a thread here about "mature" women: Is less more?  I think it's true for younger women as well.  There seems to be a trend now for a more natural look and I hope it continues.  For me, my face is a palette and I tend to use watercolors instead of oils.  Not a lot of layering.  I've always believed in bringing attention to the best feature and taking focus away from the feature that needs no emphasis.  For most women, it's a choice between eyes and lips. 

In the 60s my mother worked with a beautiful English girl who was a real headturner.  Without makeup she was invisible.  But with makeup... wow.  She always said that if her apartment was on fire and she could only save one thing it would be her eyeliner. 

As I age, however, my lips require some attention.  They're disappearing and I know I look better with a little color and shine, but I just don't like lipstick.  Haven't owned a tube since the 90s and ended up throwing away a draw full of colors because they weren't being used.  The right color is crucial.  And it seems like most women choose the wrong lip colors.

---

Yes, I think yesterday, I used way too much stuff and when I tried to correct it without having to start over, let's just say it didnt work.  Less is definitely more.  Usually, I am careful how much I apply but sometimes it doesnt work out. 

I will check out the Mature thread.  Sometimes, lately, I skip over those because, at times, I find them a bit frustrating.  Over 40 should or shouldnt do this or that, over 50, who are you to have long hair, what do you think you are 20. But, it sounds like it would be an interesting read.  I have always been a neutral girl for the most part but do like some color.  I even bought a colorful palette this year. It is color but muted color and I will tone down if I need too.  I bought it within the last two months and havent really played with it much yet since I started the one month one palette and started with an older neutral palette. So, I am excited to get to it. I will use it with another palette as it doesnt stand alone.  Even though I use color, I still make it natural looking if that makes any sense.

I prefer eyes over anything. I tossed all of my lipsticks a few years back. I am really not a lipstick person. ....or blush for that matter. Have only a couple of those too. I only would apply it in the morning so by the time I got to work after coffee and all, it disappeared.  Now, I have one nude lipstick and one lipgloss that came in kits I bought, otherwise, I wouldnt have any, but that is not to say I wouldnt in the future.  I love the look of them.   Yes, the right color lipstick, I think, is very important.

 I hear you on needing different things at different stages in life.  Right now, my lips are okay, but I do see a difference in the crinkles/crepiness around my eyes.  ....and all of a sudden, eyeliner looks harsh on my eyes so I have been sheering it out some. I love eyeliner too.  Another reason not to stockpile, you just dont know when your perspective will change on things.

Good luck on the lipstick.  Some really beautiful colors out there