Notes from a Haul

I allowed myself to indulge in a bit of an Armani haul recently during the Neiman Marcus beauty event. I mostly have gotten over my Gift With Purchase vulnerability of years past (how many Clinique eyeshadow duos and sample bottles of yellow moisturizer does one person need?) but the combination of the Neiman Marcus tote bag and Giorgio Armani makeup bag pushed me over the edge into placing an order for some items I needed to replace (Gloss d'Armani in Plum 600) and that were on my running to-buy list (Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in Rock Sand).

The Neiman Marcus bag was so-so. Some perfume samples, some Cle de Peau cotton cleansing pads you're supposed to be all excited about taking to the counter to find out how to use (I'm guessing: pour some skin care product on them and rub on your face), some shampoo and conditioner. The bright pink tote, though, will come in handy. But the Armani bag was fantastic (the offer seems to have changed slightly since I ordered, but you get the idea) -- generous samples of skin lotion, primer (which I've had before and love), foundation, and illuminator. A roller bottle of Acqua di Gioia perfume. A full-size nude lip pencil and full-size black-brown eyeliner. And the makeup case they all came in is actually sleek and something I will use.

My order included Eyes to Kill in Rock Sand and Pulp Fiction. I love this formula; it really is All That. It's extremely shimmery, layerable, and silky, and a little goes a long way. I can easily see the pots I've bought lasting for many, many years, so I don't mind spending the $32 it costs. I think one of these probably gives me better value than four $8 shadows. Rock Sand is a peachy nude, and Pulp Fiction is a beautiful and sort of odd purple-gray-taupe. I also bought Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Emerald, which is exactly the blackened green I've been looking for. It's a true green, but dark enough that it doesn't look flashy or too 80s. I also replenished my Gloss d'Armani in Plum 600, which has become a staple of mine and the only lip gloss I think I've ever used up. Again, I think this is a formula good enough to be worth the $28 price tag since (a) I use it frequently, more than I use any other gloss and thus worth more to me than four $7 glosses, and (b) the longwearing formula allows me to apply once in the morning and maybe touch up once more after lunch, making a tube really last. I also picked up a Rouge d'Armani lipstick in #406, a stunning red from the fall collection, which is backordered but I expect soon. It's a gamble, but I looked at a lot of swatches and it seems divine.

In the photo above I'm wearing some of my new purchases:

foundation: Armani Designer Shaping Cream Foundation in #5
eyeshadow base: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
eyeshadow: Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in Rock Sand
eyeliner: Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Emerald
mascara: NYX La Amoureux
blush: Laura Geller Baked Blush/Highlighter in Como/Portofino
lips: MAC Viva Glam VI

Perfume and Makeup and Blogging, Oh my

Either you can teach an old dog new tricks, or I am exceptionally immature, but I find myself 43 years old, with an established career as a lawyer and three children in the suburbs, suddenly living out my teenage dreams of getting my hands on all the cosmetics and perfume I could ever desire. Well, "all" is an extreme word given the cost of this stuff, in a world where beauty bloggers receive truckloads of high-end stuff to review, while I pay retail. By that standard I'm downright deprived. But I'm a big girl now, and I have disposable income, and given my status as a mother of three boys with a full time job, I figure I'm entitled to a few little luxuries.

And so I find myself at a point in life at which, if you were to believe the magazines, I think I'm supposed to be wearing a "signature" scent and a "signature" slash of lipstick, but instead spend glorious minutes in between conference calls, carpools, and diaper changes trying on eyeshadow pigments or trying to sniff out elusive notes in perfume blends.

So this blog will chronicle my experiments, disappointments, random thoughts, wishlists, and product reviews. I apologize in advance for the quality of pictures, as I'm generally too busy/lazy to do much more than shoot with my iPhone and email the resulting ill-lit photos to myself. But it's good to have areas in which you can improve.

Other ways in which I spend my time include knitting, cooking, making cocktails, trying not to kill all vegetation in my garden, reading (including mysteries), and watching TV, but the good stuff, you know. Sometimes maybe I'll talk about that instead of what's on my pulse points.