I love make up — I don’t take pains to hide that vain side of me. At the same time, it’s my way of pampering myself and refusing the passing of the years getting the better of my looks. (I have always believed that age was really how old or how young you felt. And even if you are already considered old, it all depends on how gracefully you are aging.)
I’m the type of person who feels naked without at least lipstick on, and for whom a made up face is part of dressing up. So everyday, I paint my face depending on my mood and the colors I’m wearing, and on weekends, I dab at least some lip color and maybe some eyeliner if I’m so inclined. I always have some pressed powder in my purse because I cannot stand an oily face.
There’s a make up discount store on 39th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison in Manhattan called COSMETICS MARKET which sells deeply discounted make up from closeouts and gift bag packages. It’s no 99 cents store, but here you can buy a Lancome face powder compact retailing for over $20 at the department stores for just $10. Estee Lauder and Clinique lipsticks which are usually at $13-$16 each are at $5-$6.50. The stocks are limited and forever changing, so I try to go there whenever I can. Be ready to linger if you decide to visit because you’ll be tempted to try all the testers of the colors/shades that you fancy. (Although there are no free single use applicators like those they provide at Sephora, there are tissues aplenty to clean up with before going to the next shade.)
I used to bother with a concealer until I found that the liquid foundation I’m using actually works well in evening out my skin tone. Depending on the season, I use liquid or kohl eyeliner, and mascarra is something I can wear only in the hot months when the winter winds don’t make me teary eyed.
I keep to the ivory tones and am currently using Neutrogena’s ________ which, believe it or not, I found in a dollar store here in Bayside. I was lucky in getting a suitable shade, and it is supposed to be an SPF30 product. (Can’t beat that kind of sun protection!) I have several pallettes of eye shadow quads and trios, ranging from Aziza to Estee Lauder. My lipstick colors run the gamut of vampy reds to pale pink and a recent gem of a find given the popularity of nude make up again. I picked up a tube of Maybelline’s MOISTURE WHIP lipstick in Hint of Honey which is a pale tan and works beautifully by itself, or works as a good screen to “tame” or lighten any color underneath it, be it a dark pink or a dark brown.
To finish the make up off, I top it with Lancome’s MATTE AMANDE III which I treated myself to when it was Lancome’s turn at gift time at Macy’s a few weeks back. ($35!) I’m pretty happy with the way the light bounces off the powder without making my face look like it was plastered with make up.
Why all the preoccupation with make up? I just like taking care of myself. I think that to be able to take care of others well, one must be able to take care of one’s self. Amen.
Pinay New Yorker 