Hey That’s A Nice Life

I wasn’t totally happy with the first trial run makeup session I had in November and I’ve been kinda stressed about it because I’m just not much a of makeup wearer.

So, I’ve been doing a lot of research and talking to makeup artists, etc.  I learned of a makeup line at Sephora that really interested me and today I had a session with the artist there.

Here is the result:

The makeup line is Make Up For Ever and it’s supposed to stay and stay and stay all day while still looking natural.  It’s been on now for about seven hours and it feels very natural and is holding up extraordinarily well.  It’s high def makeup so it’s used for TV a lot.  To me, my skin looks as nice as it does when I’ve been airbrushed for TV.

Interestingly, we used a different brand of primer.  The primer here is Lorac Aqua Prime, and the eye and lip primer (same product) is Urban Decay.  After the primer set, Terri Anne used a concealer from Josie Maran.  Then she used the #30 Mat Velvet Make Up Fo Ever Foundation (with a much larger foundation brush than I would have imagined) and set it with a Make Up For Ever  translucent pressed powder called Duo Mat #21 (she brushed that on as well).

Next she applied the bronzer (Sephora brand) and blush (Makeup For Ever).

BUT - can we talk about my eyes. I LOVE what she did.  Even better - it’s a Sephora color palette!

I loved the lipstick, too.  In fact - I already bought it.  It’s a $5 Sephora lipliner and some $12 Sephora gloss.  With the primer on, it’s really lasted.

Okay - here is today’s work (taken under the really harsh flourescent lights at work):

And here is the first trial from Bobbie Brown (taken in soft lamp light at home):

Thoughts?

For some reason I can no  longer remember, a few minutes ago I told Don about a strange wedding photography trend that is compelling in the oddest way.  Fake mustaches.  He seemed skeptical that this is actually a trend. 

But it’s true.  A number of wedding blogs that I read have written about it and showcased pictures.  And not a number like 2 either.  A big number.

So I hauled up the laptop and googled ‘wedding mustache’.  This was one of the first pictures that appeared:

See?  Isn’t it odd and strangely compelling?  Offbeat Bride says that fake mustaches are the new red wedding dress so you know it’s for real.

I don’t see us going this route - it didn’t even occur to me to get a red wedding dress - but I sure love looking at the pictures. 

On the other hand, Don’s surprise project does need a few props, so maybe we’ll spring for a few fake ’staches.

moustaches for all! by racheℓ ✈ mergeweddings.com’ s

Today my friend Erin and I took the afternoon off from work, had a leisurely lunch at the cafe at Nordstrom and then hit the Bobbi Brown counter where we had appointments for makeup application.

Skip this post if you don’t care a thing about makeup, because I’m going into some detail here. Do not skip this post if your name is Sofia.

I was curious about the long wearing cream eye shadows that Bobbi offers because my friend Kristen had just purchased some. The day I saw her, Kristen had taken a shower and her eye makeup still looked amazing.

Here’s the overall look the consultant put together for me. I’m not sure it’s what I expected, but it was pretty nice.

As you can see, it’s not too heavy (that’s kind of the signature of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics - natural, but taken up a notch or two).I was expecting an even more neutral eye pallet, though. The consultant instead used “sand dollar” (silver) eye shadow with “brown rock” in the crease (there’s also an all over shadow in “white” across the entire eyelid). The gel liner is called “espresso”. It does make my eyes look even bluer, I have to admit. You can see the shadow better in this picture. I didn’t buy anything because I want to see how it wears after a few hours and I want to see what Don thinks (since it would be very bad if on our wedding day Don doesn’t think I look like myself). I also think the eye liner might be a little dark ..,. her alternate suggestion was a lighter brown called chocolate shimmer.

In the event that you care about makeup stuff, I’m also wearing:

• Eye corrector and concealer (”bisque” and “sand”) to remove the darkness under my eye
• Foundation (”warm sand” in a stick tube)
• Bronzer (”light”)
• Mascara (”black” no smudge)]
• Blush (”pale pink”)
• Lipstick and liner (”pink mauve”)
• Lip Gloss (”rosy”)

Finally, here is a picture taken Saturday night where I’m looking down in a similar way to the picture above. This was not a long-wearing application, and I didn’t have any primer on so most of the shadow slipped right off my lid, but this is what I normally look like with eye makeup.

The colors here are a coppery brown, a light silvery blue near the brow, and deeper blue (denim) in the crease. Maybe it’s too muddy? Don doesn’t mind it so much when it’s freshly applied, but as the day wears on he finds it a little “raccoon-y”. So don’t suggest a smokey eye as I don’t think he’d find that nice on me at all.

Any opinions? I’m not a makeup girl … so, really, help me out here.
Oh - my dress is ivory and I will probably wear pearls if that make a difference at all (the consultant today did ask).