I agree with everything the Mini Mum says. It is pretty scary when you realize that the right-hand side looks "normal" by comparison to the left side, which looks like a mug shot taken in the local police station.
But, my post here is in favor of makeup. Not a lot of it and not all the time. For those days and nights you want to refine, just a little. Just so you know where I'm coming from: if I don't put on mascara, I wonder if people will run from me, screaming.
I have very fair, dry skin. Freckles. I got a fair amount of sun damage growing up because the California sun is intense and I was out in it pretty much all the time. No shoes from June - September. The beach. Baby Oil. Renova has fixed most of that, but not all.
I don't go in for expensive skin care products (except for Renova) or make-up. Drugstore brands -- Neutrogena, L'Oreal, Almay, Maybelline -- have put so much money into R&D in the last 20 years with excellent results. (A few pricey exceptions: Nars lipstick, Mac mascara, Revale skin care stuff - recommended by my tough dermatologist.) Generally, a trip to CVS, preceded by careful readings of Lucky and In Style, will get you what you need.
Anecdotal proof, the best kind. Up until a couple of years ago none of us had ever heard of primer or BB cream, but they are way lighter and subtler than the old foundations, which I never used anyway. Too heavy. The other day I applied the following to my face:
- Olay all-day moisturizer with sunscreen
- CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer
- Revlon Photoready BB Cream SPF 30. The best.
Late that afternoon I went to Body Pump class at the Y (the subject of a future post), worked up a sweat, and headed out to my car with a fellow Body Pumper. We stood talking as the sun was taking its sweet time to set.
Later he emailed me: "You wore that light like you owned it."
And I said (to myself): Thanks, Revlon!