This Lipgloss = Summer 2008

I usually pay very little attention to makeup trends. Trends in makeup generally strike me as a pretty stupid phenomenon, because it's not like your skin tone is going to change to accommodate whatever color lipstick or eye shadow it's cool to buy this week. Duh. Wear whatever flatters you, trendy or no. Damn the Man!

But I changed purses before flying to California recently, and discovered in the airport (stupid plastic bags!) that none of my lip things made it into the traveling purse. Which meant that I needed to make a stop at Sephora.

I, like Natasha, love the NARS products, particularly for lips. So that's where I beelined. And when I saw this gloss that is clear with zillions of itty-bitty gold glitter pieces, I knew that I at least had to try it. It's called Greek Holiday -- how could I resist? And I am happy to report that Greek Holiday totally looks hot on me. The bonus? Since it's clear gloss, it goes over any ol' lipstick and also looks amazing.

I don't even care that this lipgloss is the epitome of the summer 2008 makeup trend. One month, Lucky Magazine is hailing the complete-and-utter-now-ness of including copper/gold glitter in all sorts of makeup items, and the next month, I'm buying a gloss called Greek Holiday and applying it every chance I get. Before 9 a.m. While driving. I swear I don't know what happened.

Anyway, this stuff is genius. Clear gloss. So much glitter you can't tell that there's no actual color (the NARS website claims it's "sparkling pink sand," but I promise you that it's just gold glitter). Great for daytime when you wear it plain, awesome at night when you wear it over a matte lipcolor. I think I'm in love. Either that or I've been transported to Greece.

Scraping and Scrubbing

Back in Ancient Greece, bathing was a social ritual. It wasn't so much about getting clean, because baths were public; it was more about the see-and-be-seen phenomenon that we now experience at swimming pools and beaches. Getting really clean, though, happened after all that soaking in the pool. Getting clean involved rubbing olive oil all over your body, and then scraping off the oil (and the dead skin and toxins!) with a special scraper called a strigil.

Sometimes I wish the oil-and-strigil method were still the order of the day. I love me a good scrubbing, the kind where you can feel that top layer of dead skin scraping off. But since my skin is also painfully dry, the water's inevitable removal of my natural oils is a rather unpleasant side effect of any bathing/showering/washing activity I do.

So I've found a compromise. First I scrub, then I oil.

I know you're not supposed to use scrubs that have big pieces of shell in them because they are too abrasive and actually can scratch your skin... but I really don't care. Because good ole' St. Ives Apricot Scrub feels so good -- so scrubby -- that I use it on my face every single time I shower. My face doesn't feel clean unless I scrub it, gently (not like I'm trying to scratch myself!), with the St. Ives goodness. And even though I've been using this stuff for years, just this morning I noticed a little bit of a sweet-citrusy smell that really helped me to wake up and feel more energized. I checked the back of the tube for ingredients and found some kind of flower extract oil, but I'm not quite certain if that's the source of the deliciousness. Still, it's nice to have a bit of aromatherapy (and refreshing that it's not marketed as an aromatherapeutic product and priced accordingly!) to start off the day.

When I'm feeling really splurgey (maybe once every couple of weeks), I also use Sephora Super Stars Body Scrub (which apparently isn't out anymore, but this link goes to something like it). The scrub has a creamy which smells amazing, and has giant jojoba oil beads and sugar and a ton of other good stuff that gives you a very scrubby-but-not-scratchy clean feeling.

After I've gotten all washed and scrubbed, I have to replenish those lost oils immediately. My solution has, for the last several years, been Aveeno Shower and Bath Oil. I love this stuff. I love the way it feels, I love the way it smells. I love that one bottle lasts for a very long time, and makes me feel like I'm really getting my $7 worth. But I don't so much love the way it gunks up the floor of my tub, and so I think I am ready to start looking for something else. I'd love to hear your suggestions and recommendations.

Your cheeks will thank you

I've been writing a lot about perfume lately, so I thought, why not do some makeup-y posts for a change?

I was merrily typing away when it occurred to me: Is this totally irrelevant by now? Do I really even need to write this post?

Is it not common knowledge by 2008 that NARS' Multiple Stick is the single greatest invention ever to touch cheeks all around the world?

Well, I hemmed and hawed for a couple of minutes, but then decided to go through with it. Who knows? Maybe there are one or two of you out there who haven't heard of this magic blusher wand. Besides, all good news is worth repeating.

I first read about the Multiple back in 2005, on the great but now seemingly dormant blog, Blend. I liked Blend quite a lot because it was written with such common sense and humor. A lack of common sense and humor make for one turn-off of a beauty blog. Too much like eating cotton candy, in my opinion.

Crystal at Blend raved about the nice way in which the Multiple struck a balance between a creamy application and a powdery finish. She was honest that, at $36 a pop, she had a hard time bringing herself to buy one of these things, but confirmed at the end that she was really happy with it.

Well I waited even longer than Crystal to get one (I must either be poorer or more of a skinflint). However I finally bought one a couple months later, and now I think I may be twice as enamored as she was in this little stick!

I deliberated a long time between the colors Cannes and St Barthes. I eventually chose the latter because it was so sheer and yet seemed to make all the difference between wearing and not wearing makeup. (It's not nearly as "brown" as it appears on the website.)

I got the best compliments after I plunked down my $36 for this thing. General, subtle, sort of mystified ones: "You look so nice today!" "Hey, what kind of soap do you use for your skin?" "You're so...glowy!" The compliment that cinched my devotion to the Multiple was given to me by my friend Elaine underground in Brooklyn's Nostrand Av. C station. She peered at me and said, "Wow, Natasha. You're radiant today!" When a tiny bit of blush makes such a difference that your friend notices it underground, I think one can safely say that the blush is a keeper.

Only lately have I started to cautiously use it as a eyeshadow primer. I'm pretty weak at applying any sort of eye makeup besides mascara, but just patting my finger lightly against the stick and then dabbing my eyelids leaves a nice, understated shine.

I would encourage anyone interested in buying a Multiple to take their time. Try out a lot of different colors on different visits to stores that have tester sticks available. Once you've decided, the Multiple will make a serious dent in your wallet but the product lasts for quite a long time unless you're living in some sort of "retro eighties world-of-the-bronzed-cheekbone" like Lindsay Lohan.

The only downside to the Multiple? I have no real reason for splurging on other fantastic blushers in seductive packaging, like Bourjois's good-smelling little compacts, Tarte's stickier but similar Cheek Stain, or Maybelline's well-priced and excellent Dream Mousse Blush.

P.S.: Perusing Sephora's online selection of blushes, I notice that there are a lot of Multiple-like knock-offs. You'll have to let me know if you find one that you like that is as nice as NARS's, only cheaper. This is one rare product where I'm convinced that the quality and the shades offered are worth the price.