Make-up hints

abbadoodles

Liz, I just remembered that I had read a really good book about all the treatments.  It's The Surgery Free Makeover by Brandith Irwin, MD.  She is a Seattle dermatologist.  Very good and up-to-date info.  You can get it on amazon or maybe your library has it or can interlibrary loan it.

http://www.amazon.com/Surgery-Free-Makeover-Need-Great-Younger/dp/0738211184/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222782303&sr=1-1

Dr. Irwin also wrote another book about facial treatments (2002) but while it has good basic info does not really deal with treatments like Botox, laser, fillers, etc.  Still, it's worth reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Best-Face-Without-Surgery/dp/1561709530/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222782303&sr=1-2

As far as the OTC filler gels and creams, I have found the Lift Fusion to be pretty effective but my forehead lines are not deep.  You have to use it every day, preferably morning and night.  Marin, however, said she did not see any improvement from it.  (The LiftFusion does have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval FWIW. I don't know about any of the other ones.)

Although the LiftFusion is pretty expensive, it lasts a long time as you only need a tiny drop to treat the whole forehead.  I bet it's still less expensive than either Botox or "real" fillers over the course of a year.  Well, anyway, I am ***not*** doing the Botox.  Wrinkles be damned!

Liz08

Thanks Pansy-

Lets see....I have 3 deep forehead creases...2 scowl lines between the eye brows...so I'd be looking at $1,000 to $1,500 every 6 months....Ouch !  Beauty is expensive and this happened as a result of sun worshiping ...talk about being stuppid in  my youth.  I already had a basal cell on my scalp where I usually part my hair. It' proof that too much fun in the sun has its consequences.  Trust my I had ALOT of fun in the sun in my teen and college days.  Now I just use a sunless tanner on my face, limit tanning on the rest of my body, enhance my tan with a sunless tanner if needed, and wear a baseball cap that matches my b-suit.  I have a whole collection of baseball caps just for the beach.

abbadoodles

Wouldn't it be fun to get together to compare wrinkles?

Liz08

Abbadoodles-

I didn't see your reply earlier but thanks for the book info.  I think that I will go to my library and see if they can get the book for me. If not, I can always buy it.

Did you worship the sun in your younger years too ?   I can still hear the Tropical Blend commercials of the "Deep dark tropical tan" in the deep Jamacian male voice. I used to go down to Florida for every spring break and on my last spring break I got such a dark tan from being at the beach every day for 10 days for 8+hours each day.  I kept my tan up by going to my local beach whenever I had the chance.  When my tan faded in the fall, my forehead wrinkles didn't .   But being only 21 yr old, this wasn't enough warning, I kept tanning in the sun until just recently when I got a wake up call with a basal cell.  My skin surgeon told me that I have a 50% of getting another basal cell,  especially with having a history of BC, I was told my body made cancer once, it can make it again. Also, I was also told that melonoma rates are up. These comments scared me .   Now skin checks every 5-6 months and I have anything questionable biopsied.  Like I mentioned in my previous posting, I rely on Lavera sunless tanner for a healthy glow . 

Anonymous

I'm back, y'all, and seem to have missed a bunch! Pansy....thanks for the lowdown on Christina's makeup. I LOVE the name of her shade of blush!!!! Must be very pronounced !

I totally agree with all of our resident experts that Botox is the way to go for forehead furrows. I've seen some amazing results in that area. Unfortunately, Botox is the one treatment that I just can't take due to my history of Myasthenia Gravis, so when the forehead goes, I guess I'll have to go for the "real deal"...an entire facelift, of course! But the Restalyne is quite effective in plumping out the wrinkles and threatening jowls around the mouth and along the jawline. I paid only $450 for a syringe, had no anesthesia (it wasn't offered or even suggested) and it lasted for about 9 months. I'm now in desperate need for a booster, but money is too tight (unlike my chinline) so it will have to wait. Sigh....

So I didn't use any sunscreen but did (kind of) use some dry spray oil that smelled yummy. Mostly I was in the water and didn't get any burn at all. Wrinkles, maybe though. Sigh....

~Marin

abbadoodles

Welcome back, Marin.  Was the water warm????  Lucky you that in SC the going rate is "only" $450.00. 

I was never much of a sunbather.  You had to sit too still for too long for me.  Plus, I hate the heat.  Even tried this summer to sit outside for a short length of time several days in a row to tan my legs/arms but that didn't last too long.  Add to that the fact that I will burn if really out for a long time but then I fade to a soft golden glow, not even a real tan.  Hardly worth the effort.

Don't you hate it when some well-intentioned medical sort tells you your body loves to make cancer?   I heard that line when I was in intensive care the day after my free TRAM and felt like death warmed over, never mind being told I should have a colonoscopy since I had had bc twice.  This resident's mother had just had one.  Yeah.  *Bleep* you and everyone that looks like you. is what I felt like telling him.  Talk about socking you when you are down.  Sorry for the digression.

Will check out the Lavera stuff.

iodine

So--I'm on vacation in Boston, have an afternoon without dh--he's at Fenway on a baseball tour, and I get to a lovely MALLLLLLLL!(I live 2 hours from a decent dept store)

Lord and Taylor has specials with make overs---OMG, chick used so much consealer it showed up every wrinkle I ever had and I do think it created MORE.   I liked some of the eye and lip colors and  liners, so treated myself in honor or our 40th wedding anniv. (Nov 3, but we were celebrating in Boston)

Get to Saks and they are having a make over thingy, too.  So---I'm cking out fragrances and get pulled into a makeup thingy with treatment creams---good thing, too, because now I see what the other chick did to me---the French SA was loving me and was SO sure I'd buy the whole set of crap!  Can you imagine, the moisture was, get this!  $400! and all the other jars/bottles Started at $200!  and I would have needed 6!  OMG, it was all I could do not to laugh in her face.  they actually seemed put off that I asked the price!

I did get another makeup/over and it was a lot better, but I got away from them by telling them that I'd give the list to my dh because he loved to buy things for me and I didn't want to spoil his fun.  LOL, I'm good!

DD sent me after Laura Mercier (sp)tinted moisture and the SA was a real lady and gave me 2 shades to try. 

I opted for a couple of new lipsticks and will give up the MAC longwear for fall, I think.  I liked the way real lipstick feels and can put it on blind if needed.  I just can't wear Lancome, it has some exfoliater in it that  makes me need to put it on constantly, just like Carmex does.  that's why one gets "addicted" to them, they dry out your lips.

Anyway, I had a ball.  Now I've got to remember all the instructions of the eye colors I got.  Thank goodness I have a instruction sheet. 

abbadoodles

Dotti, I don't know where the cosmetics companies dig up these "makeup experts" but I suspect they have never seen the interior of any beauty school.  Egads, they always do seem to glop on the makeup with abandon.  You know, when you're 20 yo you just cannot "get it" about the wrinkles and slackening skin.  Poor dears.  They will learn, won't they??? Well, I guess free is worth just what we pay for it. 

Had that haircut last week, my third since ending chemo in mid-May, '07.  The curl is finally starting to go;  hair is much straighter towards the roots.  May get a perm one of these days!  I've also gone back to doing my own color.  Have been using Clairol's Second Nature, which I use with 10 volume peroxide.  There is no ammonia in the color so it's much kinder to my hair and still does the job.  You have to get it at a beauty supply store, though.  It's not a retail product.  Luckily, there are a couple of beauty supply outlets in my area and you don't have to be a hairdresser to buy there.  Save big bucks!

everyminute

Hi all.

I am 39 and about half way through chemo...still have an ooph and rads to go after that.  Doc told me that one of the big symptoms of my very sudden menapause would be skin tone  - any suggestions on a really good moisturizer for face and one for body ?  I would like to stay ahead of things if possible. 

Raye99

Hi there -

I was 39 when I went through chemo as well. Did the doc mean that your tone will change or your will be more dry?

For dryness, I used and still use Olay Regenerist Serum on my face. For body, I use Curel cream, which is very rich and keeps your skin moist for hours. Also, I use Cetaphil bar soap for my face and body. It is a non-akaline soap. My skin is combination - a little oily around the nose and forehead and normal on the rest of my face.

Concerning skin tone - I went to the makeup counter and the ladies there suggested a powder a little darker than my usual to ward off any "greenish" cast I would get from the chemo.  I don't typically wear foundation, so the powder is my base. It is Lancome Dual Finish.

Good luck to you.

Raye

BethNY

I love oil of olay complete moisturizer for sensitive skin, and I used the #4 neutrogena color corrector to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes.

abbadoodles

Every, if you are like lots of other women, your skin color may actually improve while on chemo.  It's the steroid blush.  I must say I always had that "glow."  And, some little bumps I had, I think they were those slightly enlarged oil glands, just disappeared.  My skin was actually much better while on chemo.

However, the hyst and ooph may cause your skin to change over time.  It will probably be drier.  There are so many good moisturizers, some of which contain certain chemicals, such as parabens, that you may choose to avoid.  Some companies also manufacture organic products.  Personally, I just use what does a good job for my skin, which is pretty normal but getting drier around the eye area than it used to be. 

I'd look for a moisturizer and eye cream both of which contain a sunscreen for day use and moisturizers without sunscreen for night if you can afford it.  Also, I suggest smelling the products before you buy because if you are like me, you won't be able to stand the scent of some of the popular products. 

If you buy at CVS and you don't like the products, you can return them.

abbadoodles

Okay, too much information here so go away if you are easily embarrassed.

My MS free TRAM pulled up pubic skin and, with it, considerable amounts of hair.    I don't mind pubic hair, but this is a bit too much, too high.  I have decided to wax it, at least until I find out what laser treatments would cost.  $$$!!!

We've talked in the past about waxes, and I do have the Poetic Wax at home but it is a pain to heat the wax in a double boiler, yadda yadda.  Does anyone know of a wax that is easier to use?  Marin, are you out there somewhere?  You know all about these things.  Help!

Anonymous

Hey sweetie, I'm here and I'm all about the wax! Even though I had the entire Va-JayJay lasered, there are still a few soft hairs that were missed and I like everything to be absolutely smooth & spotless. So I do wax, from the top of where the hair would normally begin all the way under and up again around the...ahem, back door  . I used to use Poetic Wax, but its pricey and I've discovered the new Nair microwaveable wax (I think its called "Salon Wax").  Its not only easier because you just microwave and apply, but its waaay cheaper (like around $10 versus PW's $50!). I also have a tip on application....instead of the tongue depressor-type applicators, I use flat chopsticks which allow me more control, narrower application and I can just trash them when I'm done. You can buy them in quantity in any Asian market.

So good luck, Tina! Once you've started waxing, you'll be obsessed with keeping the area smooth. And lemme tell ya....one's man doesn't mind it one bit either! Now who's TMI !

~Marin

Daffodil

Just saw promo for a new show, Blush~~~totally chick-chic, but maybe fun? (Surely there are no politics in cosmetics?)

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/blush/video/season-1/previews/1859715323

abbadoodles

Thanks, Marin.  I shall look for that!

Daffy, the show looks fun.  Can you watch it on the net?  I don't have cable.

Anonymous

OK, now I need help, ya'll! I'm beginning to see that I definitely need to use foundation on a regular basis. The sun has left its marks and the years have too. But I HATE the feel of makeup on my face and also hate how it rubs off on everything. Can anyone suggest a foundation that doesn't feel all greasy/dirty/itchy and that doesn't come off on your clothes (or anyone else's!)? And if possible, I'd rather not pay $50 or more for it. Maybe I'm asking too much..?

~Marin

Daffodil

Abba, check out the link; I bet you will able to watch, at least parts!

Marin, I have tried many foundations, including minerals (Maybelline, not the Escentuals), which might suit you very well. However, while I am older than you, I have sworn by Cover Girl AquaSmooth for years!!! I've used the pricey ones~~~always go back to AquaSmooth.  The Cover Girl Tru-Blend has gotten kudos from makeup artists.

iodine

how about tinted moisture?  Since I retired, I only put on foundation (minerals) for going out.  The tint is great for running errands, just covers the reddness on my cheeks and chin and evens out my forehead without being heavy.

might be worth a try.

abbadoodles

I chose my last bottle of foundation strictly by what I could get that most closely matched my own skin color.  It happened to be a Chanel (kind of pricey but no $50!) that also has SPF in it.  Make sure you buy one with at least SPF 25.  The best protection against UVA and UVB is provided by either zinc or titanium dioxide in the formula.  Right now I am looking for an eye moisturizer that contains such.

BTW, I had a hard time finding a good color foundation because anything that is beige-y, even some that call themselves porcelain, are too brown/yellow for me.  My skin is light with pink in it, not peach or golden.  I think you are a golden girl, so you should have a much easier (and cheaper) time of it.  There are so many good, new foundations on the market now.  Maybe you can get some samples???

Ooooh, I'm going in for another boob overhaul tomorrow.  See you guys later!

hpisles

Does anyone know of a good eyeliner that will stay above the lids and not smudge on my lower lids.  I have oily skin and tried everything under the sun.  I'm always having to wipe under my eyes when I go to the bathroom to get rid of the eyeliner that ends up under my eyes.  But what the heck, with the fatigue and dark circles that I'm getting now you can't tell the difference (grin)

abbadoodles

Are you sure it isn't your mascara that is smudging and running?

sushanna1

Marin--I swear by Clinique's "Almost Makeup."  It looks and feels more like a tinted moisturizer.

abbadoodles

Just thought of a tip to keep eye makeup from smudging/running.  Be careful not to put moisturizer on the upper lid and on the lower directly under the lower lashes.  The oiliness from the moisturizer will encourage your makeup to run into it. and it will be a mess.  I used to have these problems until I was tipped off about this and it works.  Makes sense.

Anonymous

Marin: I use Revlon Colorstay Oil /free Makeup. It has an SPF 6. I didn't start using it for fear of makeup rubbing off onto something else like clothing, but have a big red scar near my lip that I wanted to hide and not have to worry about the makeup coming off during dinner! It stays very well, even better than most of the concealers that claim to be long wearing.

Daffodil

hpsies, have you tried liquid eyeliner?

Hi, everyone!

abbadoodles

Sale alert!

CVS has Rimmel mascaras on sale this week and Sunday/Monday only L'Oreal's Advanced RevitaLift Anti-Wrinkle Serum is $11.99 with $11.99 "extra bucks" so it's essentially free!  Time to try it no risk!  I think some of you have already used this and give it high marks.

I have to say that I bought Olay's Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum a couple of weeks ago and I am really impressed!  The internet site has it for $20.99 but I think I paid about $16 on sale.  I am finding it does a great job temporarily tightening the skin on the upper lid under the browbone.

Daffodil

Abba, hope you see this: does Rimmel have more than one kind of mascara? What should we look for?

abbadoodles

Daffy, I don't use the Rimmel, myself but a few of the regulars here do.  I think Beth uses Rimmel products and maybe Marin.  Emelee might but she hasn't been around much lately because of the new baby. 

But, yes, they have more than one mascara.  I wouldn't know which one to pick for you.  My latest favorite is Clarins Wonder Length.  I received a free sample at the counter when I purchased some Clarins bronzer last spring and it is really, really good.  Much better than my previous fave, Clinique's High Impact Mascara.  Definitely better than the Chanel Defincils I bought a few months ago.  I also use the pink tube Maybelline in a pinch and that is pretty okay, too.

BethNY

HI GIRLS!!!!! It's so great to be back.

Marin- I would get a light coverage foundation, but mix it with moisturizer, and if you apply it with a sponge, wet the sponge and squeeze it out first-- this will give the foundation a lighter feel.

FOR RUNNY EYELINER- first- you need to use an eye base I love the neutrogena color correcting stick- you just apply it on the eyelid, and under the eyelid. Also, you should try the physicians formula eyeliner that looks like a permanent marker- it only comes in black and brown thus far but it is smudge proof.

Also, to keep liner from smudging, dab a little powder on the rim over the liner.

I don't use rimmel mascara- I swear by loreal double extend.

I have 150 emails to answer and so many posts to catch up on, so I will write more later. I'll post pics this week- the weather was NOT FUN AT ALL, and I have a million loads of laundry ahead- xoxooxo