A few months ago I bought Stila’s Glamour Goddess palette to pull myself out of the rut of years of drugstore eyeshadow duos. Trouble is, those duos always come with the foam applicator. This kit came with no applicator at all. I’d rather have an applicator than eyeliner. I’ve never perfected eyeliner.

I started using my fingers and then moved to Q-tips. After poking myself in the eye for the second time in one morning, I realized I needed a better solution. But I’m lazy, so I forgot about it.

Then, WM asked why there were suddenly so many Q-tips in the trash. When I told him why he uttered a phrase I’ve been using a lot lately when I realize how darn cheap I act.

“We are not hobos!!!”

And we’re totally not. So I went to my local Ulta and bought an eye shadow brush and an eye liner brush. These brushes were not only inexpensive, but the bristles weren’t yanked out of a dead animal.

Max, Ollie & Charlie approve.

Anyway, I was struck at how much better I became at eyeshadow. No more fumbling with a one-inch piece of plastic. No more unevenly smudging the pigment on my lids because the foam tip was weird or torn. And now my eyes look finished with minimal effort!

Photographer: sloopjohnb via stock.xchng

Ew.

I turned where I always turn for girly advice (the internet) and apparently I’m supposed to use a base coat under dark colors. Good thing Fairy Teal has a base built in. Which didn’t work. Well, now I know. In the meantime I’m leaving them polish free and trying to hide my Statue of Liberty fingernails.

***

The dogs don’t eat unless I’m home. Even on the days that WM isn’t subbing and is home with them all day, they only eat when I’m there. I guess it’s a pack thing – that they’re not comfortable unless all of us are together. In any case, the “Mom’s home, let’s eat!” mentality is a bit disturbing. Charlie, on the other hand, eats constantly.

***

Here’s a newish pet peeve of mine: When somebody wants you to do something for them (or more likely instead of them) so they stand in front of what needs to be done and announce it. Now this is acceptable if the human is a child…

Young child: “Oh! Oh! The phone is ringing!”

But what I mean is…

Grown-ass adult: “Oh! Oh! The printer is beeping! It says it needs paper!”

Thanks to The World of Strawberry Shortcake Clip Art Gallery!

Yes, I went no ‘poo for about 9 weeks last year & only used a homemade baking soda paste on my hair. It was horrible (itchy & greasy) for 3 weeks, amazing (gorgeous thick waves) for 5 weeks and horrible again (oil slick) the last week. So I gave up. When I shampooed for the first time after that it was like I was at the most posh spa on earth.

Lately I’ve been frequenting sites such as No More Dirty Looks and making a small list of things I want to avoid in my beauty supplies. So what does a girl who wants to do the right thing for her hair without having to work for it do?

I found Burts Bees Raspberry & Brazil Nut shampoo, which claims to be 99% pure and free of parabens and sulfates. And while my hair isn’t as bouncy as it was when I was shampoo free it is healthier than when I was doing Head and Shoulders. And I smell like Raspberry Tart, too!

The only downside is that it doesn’t lather and I had a difficult time adjusting to that. Lather was a visual/tactile indicator in the shower of which parts of my hair were shampooed and which weren’t. Without that I have to pay more attention and make sure I get all parts of my scalp. I’ve found that going front to back, nape to back and sides to back, in that order, works for me.

But I haven’t stopped there. I’m using Burt’s Bees Milk and Honey moisturizing lotion and it’s doing a much better job keeping my skin soft than my beloved Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion did. (They changed the scent on that, by the way. Not as yummy now.) Plus it’s paraben free as well.

And I’m testing using a natural tea tree oil soap bar (from the Ren Faire no less) on my face instead of the Proactiv. Watch me be all broken out again in 2 weeks. But it’s worth trying.

It could be gimmicky but as a lady approaching 40 (weep!) I figure the better I treat my skin the better it will treat me.

This is not a paid product review.

In August, I ran out of my supply and I got it into my fool head that since I was nearly 37 years old I had NO need for acne medicine anymore. Look at all the money I’d save! So I quit it cold turkey,

Bad idea.

Two weeks later I was hollering uncle as I put layer upon layer of concealer on. But I was still cheap, so I went to the local pharmacy and bought a store-brand system that touted itself as better than Proactiv. It was $14.99 (after the Extra Care Bucks) for the 3-piece cleanser/toner/lotion package. I started the regimen twice a day and hoped for the best.

Three weeks later, I was at wit’s end as NOTHING was changing at all. So I went to the Cherry Hill Mall and bought the 3-piece Proactiv set from the kiosk. Fifty-five bucks. I’m now operating at a $15.00 financial loss. Happily, I re-started the Proactiv and hoped for the best.

A week ago I discovered that my skin had the texture of a dry Froot Loop. Not good at all. I completely fried it with all of the acne product and the pimples, while smaller, were dry and irritated. Even my beloved Hope in a Jar wasn’t working.

So I went back to a regimen a former coworker (Hi, Robin!) suggested many years ago when I experienced the same situation.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

I stopped putting everything on my face — Proactiv, Hope in a Jar, even my makeup (very hard when you’re breaking out). I washed with just a tiny drop of Neutrogeena cleaner on a buff puff to take off the flaky skin. I purchased Cetaphil moisturizer and tea tree oil (another $18.00 or so). Twice a day I mixed one drop of tea tree oil into one squirt worth of the Cetaphil and gently spread it on my face.

And whaddya know? It worked! My face got softer again and the pimples faded. Success! Eventually I’ll work the Proactiv products back into the routine but for now I’m finding that simpler is better.