BEAUTY Yes, cosmetics go bad. I’m not referring to the electric blue eyeliner I saw recently ringing the eyes of a woman old enough to know better. No, I mean the not-so-attractive truth that the ingredients in beauty products degrade. Textures, scents, and colors change, and, worst of all, contaminants find their way in. Flip over your products and somewhere
BEAUTY It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays … for the rest of the country, at least. The beauty industry begins its holiday rollouts in summer, so I’ve been playing with jewel-toned, glittery eyeshadows since August. You might have noticed that Sephora, Ulta, and Macy’s unveiled makeup and skin care gift sets in September, or that Saks took
My husband Tod’s grooming routine has long benefited by simple proximity to me. It’s easy enough for him to pick up some product left on the bathroom counter and apply it to his face. He does this routinely, sometimes first asking, “Will this make me look good?” Sometimes I know he’s used a product and decided it’s effective when it
BEAUTY I’ve learned the hard way not to take cosmetic promises at face value. Reading the ingredient list is a more reliable way to suss out what cosmetic science, if any, is at work. Sure, I’d love to believe claims about products that will shrink my pore size, might turn back the clock on my body’s tendency to age, or
BEAUTY I have lost track of the number of cult beauty lists that tell me I must own MAC Ruby Woo matte red lipstick, NARS perfect-for-all Orgasm blush, or Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation. Yes, you need NARS Orgasm ($30, Sephora) because the peachy-pink hue invented to mimic a postcoital glow is flattering on almost everyone. Double Wear ($38, Macy’s),
BEAUTY To my husband’s feigned horror, I turn up on our sofa two or three nights a week with black mud, green clay, or a skinlike hydra gel masking my face. I haven’t always been someone with an arsenal of face masks in varying textures and colors. There was a time when I, maybe like you, had just one overly
BEAUTY When my girlfriends tell me they don’t know what to do with eye shadow, or how to choose colors, I assume they’ve recently encountered the seasonal offerings cosmetic companies insist on rolling out. Pastel yellow and sailboat blue pop up in spring and summer eye palettes with the insidiousness of weeds. I don’t know what to do with those
BEAUTY Few things fill me with glee like new makeup does. Every fresh product comes with possibility: This could change everything! Hope in a compact. Promise from a squeezy tube. Eternity in a jar. And why not? Cosmetics are the essence of reinvention. I get particularly excited when the cosmetics themselves are reformulated or reinvented, which often doesn’t mean they’re
It’s time to get your soon-to-be-exposed parts ready for public viewing.
Here’s how to maintain your look, from the opening act to the after-party at Coachella or Stagecoach festivals.