I always like a good beauty quote, and Andrea Claire had a few good ones in her interview with Makeup Junkie. You can read the full interview and learn more about Claire's makeup, hair and style career here at MJ's blog. You can also see some of Claire's print work. I'm glad MJ is back online posting again.

Here are some highlights:

Fall 2009 Beauty Trends
Claire feels smokey eyes, matte red lips, and 80s revival will be the top trends this fall. This was confirmed in the MAC videos I posted earlier.

Advice to women of a certain age
Avoid trends such as 80s revival, if you already lived it once. Makes sense to me.

...if you had been there done that and bought the lime green shadow you cannot do that again! Besides, it is very much a 'must have young skin' to pull it off. Bold colour blocking with eye shadows can age you and have you looking like you are stuck in a time warp. This look is only carried off if you are an adolescent so if you are 21 and under I say rock it, over 21 opt for another trend of the season.

Claire gives the following makeup tricks:
Smokey Eyes

*layer carbon/charcoal shadows with metallic colour. [You notice that I have done this, as it works better for my eyes.]
*If you find shadows are difficult to blend with your dark base then layer MAC's Smolder pencil with a Lise Watier's Metallic Eye shine pencil, smudge together with a Q-Tip. [Or use the MAC smudger brush as I have done. And use a lighter base. MAC's Smolder moved on me and made a mess. Blackgraph stays put. They are two different formulas. Smolder would likely smudge better.]

Matte Red lips

*apply the lip liner after the lipstick so it doesn't appear to[o] geometric.
*dot a smidge of vitamin e on top - not to add gloss but just a little moisture -- if matte is too drying for you.

What I really loved is her beauty mantra:

Be realistic. Be real... Beauty is not serious - beauty is a moment in your day that can convey confidence, flirtiness, calm. What I mean is, all women 'take 5' in their day by touching up here and there ... Beauty is a moment in time that is forever changing. Embrace those little moments but don't be those moments just live in them.... HA! Life is short - enjoy it - have fun with it. That's what beauty and fashion is all about; ... A form of expression that can change day to day, season to season - enjoy the trends but remember to enjoy life too. Andrea Claire at Makeup Junkie

Be sure to look at Makeup Junkie's blog.

Karin --I do wear the lime shadow, just judiciously.
www.savvythinker.com
don't steal my posts -- you know who you are!

Originally posted 2009-08-27 19:21:47.

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Does this ad offend your sensibilities or do you find it clever?

A German lingerie firm, Liaisons Dangereuse, has an ad featuring Middle Eastern music, a beautiful, thin, dark haired woman, stepping out of the shower, discretely naked, getting dressed in Liaisons Dangereuse black lingerie including garter belt and high heels, no other clothes, then putting on a niqab, similar to a burka. "Sexiness is for everyone."

And, of course, the shock factor from sexy lingerie to niqab is carrying this ad around the world. The company is getting a lot of free advertising.

My take
An observant Muslim woman would likely never allow herself to be photographed in such a manner, I wouldn't think. (I have Muslim friends.)

Sure, we who are not Muslim tend to think wearing a niqab or burka is because of the regulations of men. In some cases, it likely is, but being circumspect or modest in dress is something honored by many, religious or not. I have friends who are equally circumspect who are Mormon and religious Jews.

It just feels disrespectful to me.

What do you think?
Does this make you want to rush right out and buy this lingerie -- or the opposite?

Is there another way the lingerie could be marketed to Muslim women? Or do you think this ad is not appealing to Muslim women at all, but rather to others?

In a perfect world, would you like to see more respect of varying beliefs? I wish to honor the spiritual journey of others, not denigrate it, as I feel this ad does. Is nothing sacred?

Karin

Originally posted 2010-01-08 16:03:42.

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One of the things I like to do, though unconsciously, is people watch. Likely it is because I grew up in the fashion world, so I enjoy seeing what people wear and how they wear it. I am not critical, I am just looking with an interested eye to analyze, because I've been a buyer. At a young age I was buying not only for youth, but for older men and women. I know too well the fleeting nature of fashion and of trying to stay ahead of the game to anticipate trends when shopping the markets to buy for the next season.

Stores in our area had a hard time sustaining themselves when they used northern buyers for our market. It just didn't fly. Think hot, humid, and tropical and you would be right. What you'd wear in NYC or Chicago, you would likely not wear here. Also, the majority of us grew up somewhere else and came here for the space industry, so our fashion tends to be eclectic, but geared toward extreme heat.

The other day I was on a college campus with my 11 yo who had a function there. There were parents, as well as kids from 5th grade to 12th. Three college girls parted a swath amidst us. One was striking; one was average; one was OK. It was clear the striking one was leading the others and they deferred to her. They were an island to themselves. She was head of the pack, and she knew it. Confident. The rest of us of whatever age were invisible to them. I wondered what they would look like as parents. It was hard to imagine. But the day is coming whether they parent or not.

The next day I stood in a long line at the post office. Two young girls were in the front, one might have been an exchange student. One wore a dress; one wore shorts and a T. Both were modest and circumspect in their clothing. In front of me were two women older than I am. They both were invisible, in their demeanor and in their clothing. Behind me were women, invisible, looking hot and tired, none young. More or less patient in the line. I tried to imagine them the age of the young girls and failed. I tried to imagine what the young girls would look like at the age of these women or of me, or the ones behind me, how they might dress, and it was near impossible. I wondered what the hopes and dreams of the older women had been, and if they had achieved them. I wondered if the young girls would achieve theirs.

Next came me, fading into invisibility, maybe, wearing my uniform for the heat: shorts and a T. And don't forget I wore a lot of bracelets before they came back in style. Or I set the style, LOL. I am fashionable, but not a fashion plate. And I'm recycling things I loved from years gone by.

It reminded me of Dylan Thomas:

Do not go gentle into that good night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Or Robert Frost's

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I don't think of myself as old, though to some I might be, and there are moments when I definitely look older than I would like to. I don't intend to go quietly. I hope never to be invisible. I've got a long ways to go before I end up there. Maybe I'll be like the 107 yo woman blogger and still be blogging. That would be something! But I hope it is an interesting ride. And she is clearly not invisible.

Someone I know once said to me that she couldn't wait until she was old enough not to care what she looked like. How old is that, pray tell? I'll never forget the striking much older woman on the arm of a younger man in Paris, her head scarf twisted into a flower by her ear. High heels and tasteful makeup. I have something to aim for, but skip the heels!

How about you? do you think of yourself as invisible, or do you know better?

Karin

Here it is in full:

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Poem lyrics of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Originally posted 2007-08-29 22:12:05.

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Once upon a time in a previous lifetime, at least it seems that way, it was so many years ago -- I taught professional makeup. I enjoy the fashion aspects of it; I enjoy tweaking it depending on what is currently in style, limited to my eye shape; I enjoy having makeovers -- and even giving them; and I thought I would begin to share techniques along the way as time allows.

I am an equal opportunity beauty aficionado. I have products across the board, from high end to low end. Some things are worth the money a high end company charges (some colors and skin care,for example); others are not.

Whenever possible, I try to buy with a gwp which gives me more to play with or to pass along as gifts.

And I always find something to buy if I am having a makeover -- or I would choose a different cosmetic brand to have one with. Spending the money for a high end lipstick or gloss or whatever seems easier to justify (whether I have to justify or not) if I've just had a makeover. Sometimes a makeover requires a minimum purchase. I try to avoid those, even though I usually will spend the minimum. And I suppose if a person really hated how they looked, the minimum purchase would be a moot point, unless they charged up front, which some do. I just don't like the constraint of it when it can be done for free. (It's free anyway, you are just buying product.)

When I have a makeover, I usually give the makeup artist free rein. I tell them I am not afraid of makeup; it doesn't have to look natural (think eyes) but I'd like my skin to show through (face); it just has to be in the right placement with the right colors. It's fun to see what they come up with. My eyes usually make or break an artist -- they either know how to do them or they don't. Some are scrubbers. And some find it hard to blend as my skin is so fair. I've been known to tell them to stop blending, because they are hurting me. Here is when a good set of brushes and a light hand is a necessity. And also a heads up on technique.

To a certain extent anything goes. If you like the way you look, you can wear it. There's a wide range between goth or exotic and natural. Don't be afraid to experiment. And do think about getting a makeover, if you never have. Update your colors; mix it up a bit. Be modern. I only dislike a makeup badly done. I think it's fun to see how others are out and about and what they are wearing.

After all, it only lasts a day. What have you got to lose? You can look flawless. It can actually improve your skin. You look more polished. You can enhance your beauty.

And if you really, really know what you like and think it will never change -- and if you know a good technician -- you can get permanent makeup. I've seen some beautiful work, and I've seen the opposite. I think even if I had permanent makeup, I would still apply makeup. I like the variety it offers.

You can be anything you want, starting with natural in the morning and working your way up to exotic. You can tweak your work makeup to go out to dinner (sometimes all it takes is another color of lipstick or a swipe of liner.)

I'll also be talking about products that work and do what they say. There is such a plethora of products now, all claiming the same things and working similarly but different, who knows what to choose. Not even the SAs know which of the lines works better unless they have personally compared.

Stay tuned.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-06 02:23:23.

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This book is a delicious romp, with some serious issues handled through the story and the relationships, but in ways that you care about the characters and don't look at them with a jaundiced eye. Most of us have known someone who might act this way, given half a chance. And most of us have felt the brunt of some of this, even if in lesser degree.

Again, I was struck by the cover (which was what made me choose it) -- both the illustration and the clever title with its play on words to the English idiom, "Wolves in sheep's clothing." (It gave me the opportunity to define the idiom to my younger girls.) And because it said chic clothing, I hoped it would be as fashionably interesting as it turns out to be.

Oh my, this story is a lark! Filled with twenty-something abbreviations, it is Mean Girls grown up. I read nearly every word so as not to miss any of the humor or the abbreviations. The authors skewer anybody and everything. They even skewer themselves:

Lell: "My number-one priority is discretion...I don't like to have people who are loose-lipped working close to me [she has security cameras trained on everyone]...I don't gossip about my coworkers, and I expect -- no, no demand the same from them. Besides the fact that we have no friends in common, you don't seem the type to waste time on meretricious persiflage."

Julia (thinking): Meretricious persiflage? What the hell was that? "Of course not. I am like a vault..." And God, what had she told Douglas so far? She'd need to put a filter on that.

Lell: I didn't think so. Because gossip is really just tacky and harmful...In fact, there are two girls that I'm sort of friends with, and they have a book deal to write about twenty-something Park Avenue debutantes. I think it's really shameful and tacky." p 64

It has everything -- a thoroughly likable main character, Julia; love; sex; morality; sexless marriage (and adultery and wished-for adultery); a pedophile married to one of the women; extreme wealth and those who have wealth, but can never keep up; four friends who are variably supportive of each other; gay men (friends with the heroine Julia) who later enter into marriage in Canada; foreign phrases used to separate the knowledgeable from the less knowledgeable...

All this is delivered with a camera's eye, dished up with humor, while we laughingly wince at the character flaws, which are our own, but exaggerated enough to make them palatable.

Julia has naturally what the others need to develop -- style with a capital "S." She works at Pelham's jewelry store, a mere peon in the system, until she is noticed by Lell, the store heiress, when she is asked to deliver a necklace on Lell's wedding day. Julia is handcuffed to the briefcase containing the necklace and escorted by security. While there, she knows intuitively how the bridal attendants can successfully wear the normally staid and old-ladyish Pelham jewelry (which is delivered in a second delivery), by making some deceptively simple changes.

Suddenly Julia becomes the pawn in Lell's and Polly's makeovers. Both see her potential and feel it will reflect well on them if they are her mentor. Lell really has nothing to prove with the snobbery to bring it home, but Polly is playing catch up. Julia finds herself thrust into the world of trust funds (and lack of), loveless marriages, the milieu of high fashion, and more. She loses herself for a bit, but never completely loses her good sense, her kindness, her sense of seeing the good in everyone, even when they treat her crassly.

I rate it a 5. I chuckled out loud more than once, and I look forward to reading their first book on the off chance that it is similar to this one.

BTW, this would make a great movie!

Have you read it? If you like the relationship between the women in Sex and the City or the cattiness of The Devil Wears Prada, this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy.

Karin

If you are looking for interesting jewelry or bridal attendant gifts, look to Inky Productions. You can find more information at her blog. Her MySpace.

Originally posted 2008-07-13 13:45:32.

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When it comes to facial treatment products, I find that I like to at least sample products that friends have led me to. If a friend recommends a product as accomplishing what it is hyped to do, I rely more on their judgment than an ad campaign.

How about you? Have you tried (or bought) something recommended to you by a RL or online friend? Did you find yourself more satisfied with it? (Or trying something you might never have found or tried on your own? There is such a plethora of products now, who can sort through them all?)

There's something about it that makes me happy. Maybe there is even less buyer's remorse or second guessing.

Since I was about at the end of a couple of products, I bought something completely new to me on the strength or recommendations. They are significantly less money than the products I have finished. I'll let you know what I think of them after trying them for a couple of weeks or so.

Karin

Originally posted 2008-05-10 14:04:47.

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For a true cosmetic buff, how could I not try Zalan's $1 lippies with interesting colors and such darling paper packaging?

Can you say cute! The packaging makes me happy.

And if you happen to be a Zeta, the top of the lippie package has a crown and a Z. These would make cute, cute big or little sis gifts. Or new recruit gifts.

I threw these into a Cherry Culture order just for fun. Book Girl bought one of the colors too.

Can you say I'm an equal opportunity customer! I bought 3 of the 4 shades. I'll add the other colors as I wear them.

From the ridiculous to the sublime, from the price of Chanel lippies to Zalan. I've got them all.

Purple Haze Quite a fashion forward color
This is a little dark for me for daytime, but I'm wearing a very dark purple shirt, and it's a match. And I'm more of a gloss addict now, than lipstick.

It's hard to get the color to show up. The flash is picking up red. But, in fact, it is a very dark, almost Chanel Vamp color, very deep wine. With sheen, no glitter. It's quite pretty, in a very dark way.

Deeper skin tones could wear this one beautifully. It would be a vampy wine-neutral.

5 hours later, after lunch and snacking
I could distribute the color just by smooshing my lips together. As you can see, it didn't migrate. It still has nice color, and right up until this last snacking it felt like there was still quite a bit of lipstick/moisture. Now it feels more like a stain.

My take:
From the first application, I knew this wasn't a Chanel. It is quite waxy going on, which is a good thing, because I don't think it is going to migrate, and for a color this dark, that is a plus.

Book Girl
That's really interesting and very dark.

It doesn't feel dry at all, but it feels waxy, yet moist.

Karin
5 for price
2 if you compare it to very expensive lippies as to feel
3 moist
5 color excitement

Originally posted 2009-03-24 11:16:40.

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I saw a friend the other day, and as we were talking, she remarked that she had read somewhere that there were only three things we needed to do to look 10 years younger:

Do your nails
Wear makeup
Wear jewelry

Hey, that seems doable!

Jewelry
Then she laughed and said that I could easily take off 15 years with my jewelry, LOL! (I like to bead.) How funny! It's good to laugh.

My personal look is flower child as someone told me.

I like simple, flowing clothes -- but I keep adding jewelry until it makes me happy with the effect, layering necklaces and bracelets. Most items are not chunky, but the overall effect might be after layering. I had to laugh recently when I read a designer who does the same thing. I'm not a minimalist -- remember the old rule of only so many accessories, including gloves? I'm over the limit just with the number of earrings I wear, LOL!

But I don't think I'm overdone -- except at times and usually intentionally.

Jewelry doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful. Buy silver. Buy pieces that look real even if they are not -- or buy things that are intentionally costume but beautiful. Watch for sales. Take up beading, though sometimes it can be expensive. Take apart old pieces you no longer wear and re-bead them, or pick up pieces at garage sales and rebead (or simply wear!)

Makeup
I, in turn, shared these three things with another friend yesterday. She has only just begun to wear makeup at age 60. Her comment: it was easier not to wear any.

Well, it might be easier, but I know which way I look better, though my kids tell me I look fine no matter what. That's love for ya!

Not too long ago Avon showed how makeup enhances and looks more youthful with before and after pictures, without and with makeup. What a difference! At the time, when I showed the pictures to my friend, she didn't believe it. I did, because I know the difference for me.

Nails
Remember how I've talked about taking care of your hands here? Same thing, almost!

My own nails are natural at the moment.

Nail polish alone doesn't last very long, though I know of several folks who reapply daily with different colors. My nails absorb color and turn yellow. I don't like that. Only Lipmann polish doesn't seem to do that on me.

I like the look of white tips, and I have an excellent manicurist who does a very thin veneer, but it's not possible at the moment, and I don't like what it does to my own nails after they are removed.

How about you?
Do you have your nails done? Do you wear makeup daily -- at least some? And do you wear some jewelry?

What is your particular look?
classic? traditional? sexy? gypsy?

Don't forget to keep a smile on your face, put fun in your life, and smell good too! Who knows, that might be as important in keeping youthful as anything! What do you think?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-10-17 10:05:36.

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I like to watch the Oscars as much for the glam as for the host and the presenters, not to mention the winners. I never wanted to miss any of Billy Crystal's openings.

Ellen DeGeneres is hosting the Oscars this year. It sounds like she is working incredibly hard, double shifting her talk show, and getting ready, writing and re-writing, while keeping a good spirit about it. It's something she's hoped to do since she hosted the 2001 Emmys.

I'm trying to enjoy every step of it: the anticipation, the day of, the night of...It will be interesting to see if this is something that I'll do again. But right now I'm just looking forward to this one.

That's the secret to happiness, according to one book I read: to enjoy all that goes into the final moment of accomplishment. If you are a writer, the book said, but you only enjoy it when your book is published, you will not be happy the rest of the time. But if you enjoy all that goes into writing the book, then you will be happy. I'm not sure I totally agree, because if you hope to be published and that doesn't happen, then what.

Others say her warm approach, her positive attitude, her wit, humor and unpredictability and that she makes you feel good are parts of her appeal.

She hopes for some last minute surprises on Oscar night, like when Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups or when there was the streaker.

Chris Rock evidently told her last week that the job is 'scary as hell.' I betcha. About 40 million watch it in the US, not to mention other countries. As she says, not too many people could do it.

She hopes to spread a happy vibe. I don't know about you, but I can always use more happiness.
Karin

Originally posted 2007-02-21 09:53:51.

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I was surprised to learn that in the last 10 years, the Oscar for Best Actress hasn't been awarded to any woman over 39. For the past 9 years, it was even lower, around age 35. If Judi Dench, Helen Mirren or Meryl Streep wins, she will be the most mature recipient since 1990 when Jessica Tandy, at age 80, won for Driving Miss Daisy.

A weird thing happens to male actors, especially movie stars, in my experience. Which is, they become grumpy old men. I think a young male actor feels great. All the girls want him. He's a star. As they get older, that sense of not being in control of their own destiny sort of grates on them, and they get grumpy. And they move into direction to try and feel they're in control of their own destiny...I don't feel psychologically challenged, because I'm in a collaboative situation on a set with a director...

One of the great advantages of getting older is that you can walk into a world which is more truthful and less to do with other people's fantasies. Helen Mirren

Well, who's it gonna be? Likely the decision is already made; we just don't know who it is yet.

I often think life is hardly fair. Tremendous performances can be turned in by several, but because of the thoughts-of-the-year it's a shoo in for one who might not in other years be the choice. But that's life! On to the next project! Talent wins out, Oscar or no Oscar.

When asked if they still had to audition for roles, Dame Judi said:

I think sometimes we might be without knowing it. If you're having a kind of friendly [there's that word again!] meal with somebody and you suddenly see those very beady, gimlet eyes looking at you, you might be auditioning then.

I like to see power going to older women. It makes me feel more secure.

No, seriously, I was just seeing if you were reading. I don't feel more secure, but it may move us away from the 60's kind of veneration of youth.

A well-known George Bernard Shaw quote is:

Youth is wasted on the young.

I hardly think so. But I'd like to see age like Dylan Thomas did:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Let's go on and out with a few sparks and some Oscars.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-02-24 07:23:49.

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