Believe it or not, I'm something of a girly girl. I like high heels, makeup, and loving rituals involving gentle exfoliants and moisturizer. Having been told that this makes me look unserious, I have refrained from putting up this sort of guide in past years. But applying makeup is no more unserious than playing video games, and, one might argue, is at least as much fun. So: the official Megan McArdle guide to girl stuff. If nothing else, the trolls will enjoy sniffily declaring that this doesn't belong in the same magazine that published Mark Twain, (you know, the one who wrote lengthy essays about serious topics like cigars).
Makeup is probably my area of greatest expertise. [Insert obligatory comment on how badly I need it] Makeup is interesting stuff; some of it is worth paying for, and some of it you might as well just buy from the drugstore. Unfortunately, the latter category doesn't make very good gifts; people tend to look at you strangely if you hand them a plastic snap-box of Max Factor eye shadow. Save that for yourself and pick from these:
Foundation: The Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit. Do not pay any attention to the founder's blathering about the miraculous properties of the earth, which she seems not to realize is, like all other makeup, composed of chemicals. This makeup nonetheless works really well, particularly for people with (like me) extraordinarily sensitive skin. I'm allergic to chemical sunscreens, so this makeup, which is based on one of the metal oxides, is the only thing I can wear on my face for sun protection.
This foundation works best, however, with a decent exfoliator and a lot of moisturizer, because it plays up rough skin more than liquid. On the plus side, it doesn't streak, doesn't run, and doesn't look caky. Overall, almost everyone gets great results with it, but make sure you're properly moisturized before you start.
Lips: Never buy lipstick for anyone; you simply can't judge what it will look like. Even women don't have a very good idea of what will look as good on their lips as it does in the tube, which is why most of us have a drawer full of once-used drugstore lipsticks. What you can buy, if you're of a mind, is a set of lip gloss. Because they're sheer, almost all lip glosses look okay on almost everyone, and chances are she'll find a few she really loves. The great gloss trend is over, and gloss is on its way out, but you're still safe this year. This Stila set provides really good colors in small sizes at a really good price.
Cheeks: I just don't see the sense in paying good money for expensive blush. The stuff from the drugstore is the same damn stuff at half the price. If they must have their blush in a pretty, expensive container, buy them a gift card and let them pick it out themselves.
Eyebrows: Eyebrows make a dramatic difference in a face, but almost no one pays attention to them, and when they do, it's to draw horrible thick lines through them. For those who have had to cut back on the eyebrow waxes, a brow kit is a nice gift, and Sephora has a very affordable one. It includes stencils and tweezers, and more importantly, the right kind of brow color. Brow pencils are a travesty; what you should use is powder, wax, and gel to get gentle color and to hold stray hairs in place. The Sephora kit has them all.
Mascara: Another product that is just as good in the drugstore. However, right now there is a reason to trade up. Mascara should be used for a maximum of three months, because of the risk of eye infection, and ideally much sooner. The tubes we all buy last much longer than that. Sephora currently has a kit composed of best-selling mascara samples, which will last just about as long as they should before being thrown out. They give your giftee an opportunity to try out a bunch of different styles to see what she likes, and also a way to vary her look.
Eyeliner: You simply cannot beat Smashbox cream eyeliner, which combines beautiful color with flexibility, accuracy, and staying power. For a green-eyed girl, you can't beat this set, which has three green-friendly colors and an applicator brush. Otherwise, I suggest this mini starter palette, or a neutral brown. It's important to get a set that has the right brush in it, because the applicator makes a big difference.
Eyeshadow: This is the kit I'd recommend hands down. It's got a solid breadth of colors, both subtle and strong, which is the important thing when it comes to eyeshadow; if you're locked into one combination, you're boring yourself and not looking your best. As I said elsewhere, drugstore eyeshadow is just fine, but most people wouldn't give it for Christmas.
Perfume Most people don't realize just how intensely personal scent is. It interacts with the chemicals in your skin, so perfume that smells divine on one person (or in the bottle) can smell horrid on another. I have a friend who swears by the Philosophy line of scents, which make me smell like I've been ripening for decades in a nursing home.
My personal favorites are the Ralph Lauren scents; any of his perfumes smell good on me. But unless you have that kind of intelligence, you can't hope to guarantee a good match for your darling, because she won't even know whether it really works until she's worn it around for at least twenty minutes.
This year, Sephora has a great scheme: you buy a box with eight or nine samples in it, and your giftee can try them all, then bring in the enclosed voucher and get a full sized bottle of whichever one of the eight she likes best. There are three kits: the new classics, the trendsetter, and the best sellers. (There's also one for him) My personal pick would be the classics, which contains several of my favorites, but it's also $20 more than the other two. How to choose between best sellers and trendsetters? The name sort of suggests it. The best sellers tend to be lighter, somewhat more girlish fragrances; the trendsetters are edgier, and IMHO, sexier. You know better than I which your lady would prefer.
Bath For my money, if you want to give a lovely bath gift, you really can't beat L'Occitane en Provence. Their products are beautifully formulated and last forever, and the fragrances are light and classic. I suffer from hideously dry skin in the winter, and their shea butter products really do do a superior job of banishing dry skin. I can't afford them all the time, but I often get a gift box for Christmas, and I love them to death. Top picks are their Verbena bath salts, the Shea body cream, and this Verbena bath kit.
Face My pick for face cleaning and moisturizing is the Philosophy line, which is gentle and effective. Their "Makeup Optional Kits" come in different formulae; I use sensitive skin, but they also make a regular version, as well as one for people with breakout problems. This should be paired with an exfoliator, but you're better off letting your loved one select this, as they can go very wrong if not picked carefully. About all my skin can stand is a gentle rub with baking soda. Everyone swears by this new gadget, which apparently really does produce superior results, but I can't bring myself to invest; as it is, I still get carded in DC.
Hair I don't believe in expensive shampoos. Don't buy at the very bottom of the market, but the Nexxus, or Infusium, or for that matter, Pantene, all do just fine. Plus, you don't know whether your loved one wants color protection, maximum volume, or bouncy curls.
Tools One lovely gift that's almost never given is a really good set of makeup brushes. Those really do make a difference, and they're available in nice kits. In my opinion, Smashbox and Bobby Brown make the best brush kits, but Sephora makes good ones; I like this one for mineral makeup (aka Bare Escentuals) and this as an all-rounder.
Sorry to put you through that, but I've been wanting to gush about makeup for a long, long while.
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Fascinating. Now I know how women feel when men discuss fantasy football.
In that vein, I have Tomlinson on my team, but he's going against the Bucs defense. Should I sit him and go with my backup?
Am I the only one who prefers women who wear no makeup at all?
I always thought that giving perfume as a gift is a subtle way to tell someone they smell bad.
I guess cosmetic gifts in general would deliver a similar kind of message.
Noah, There are studies that show that many to most clain to prefer women who wear no makeup, while the vast majority of men find women more attractive wearing make-up.
Touche, Megan. I'm reminded of a scence from Always, where Dreyfuss buys Hunter a gift and it first she refuses it until it is accidently gets knocked over, and as she gets a glimpse of the glittery fabric, she rejoices, "Girl Clothes!".
I don't wear much makeup, but I love the few things I do use:
1) Clarins Tinted Moisturizer: (just a hint of color, plus it moisturizes and has SPF).
2) Neutrogena Clean Lash Tint: (very light and natural, the total opposite of most mascaras, which are thick and cause clumping and flakiness...not attractive)
3) Trish McAvoy shimmer shadows (any color looks great, and this stuff stays on and just brightens up the eye a bit; doesn't look too "frosted")
I'm afraid that's the extent of my list (although I agree on the lip gloss thing...I hate lipstick).
For an easily affordable bath-related gift, consider a selection of zip-lock bags to hold the Kindle.
I just found really FUN Max Factor mascara with a plain ordinary "base coat" (that is, the regular mascara) on one end of the tube, and a cool metallic "highlighter" on the other end. I bought the brown mascara with metallic gold. You put on the regular mascara all over your lashes, then hit the tips with the gold. Neato!
BTW, I'm 42 and seldom wear more makeup than eyeliner to pretend that my eyelashes aren't blonde. But when it's time to spruce up (as this season often is), I too love the makeup.
I look forward to your post on lingerie and hosiery Miss McArdle.
Megan,if you like Bare Escentuals, you can try Jane Iredale (found in upscale salons) it seems to show up dry skin less. The sales pitch says they grind the oxide to a finer degree.
Mascara, I splurged on the vibrating Lancome. It tickles to the point of hysteria.
I am with you all the way on L'Occitane.
Should any of you value types out there be utterly unimpressed with the fun of the make-up counter, just go buy Paula Begoun's (the Cosmetic Cop) "Beautypedia" It lists every ingredient, its efficacy and value. You'll never be snookered by a pretty face and packaging again.
Noah, There are studies that show that many to most clain to prefer women who wear no makeup, while the vast majority of men find women more attractive wearing make-up.
I also think I prefer women with no makeup; but from what I've heard, makeup done well should not be noticeable.
Noah: What you like are women who look good with no makeup.
You have to be careful about perfumes and scented products. My wife is allergic to musk so I have to be care what I buy for her as a gift.
A great gift is a full set of cleanser, toner, and moisturizer. Another is cuticle cream - if you use it regularly, your nails will grow in better. It has to do with properly treating the nailbed, which controls the health of the nail.
A really good hair brush is fine.
Are the women of San Francisco sent to a makeup boot camp?
Subtle. Sometimes wondrous.
"Am I the only one who prefers women who wear no makeup at all?"
No, you are not. Women look much better without makeup, lipstick, plucked eyebrows, and without elaborate hairstyles. Flat-heeled shoes are preferable to high-heels.
stubby at 7:31 pm beat me to the punch.
It's not, strictly speaking, make-up, but then neither are bath oils - so how come there's no recommendation for massage oil?
My wife and I were on a cruise and did a couple's massage class and got this bottle of massage oil that had an enchanting scent and was not sticky. When that ran out, I bought another bottle for some absurdly high price, but I would STILL recommend it if I could remember the name.
Hmmm. To your male fans, you are a cool econoblogger. Most of these male fans won't care at all about the topics you discuss in this post. However, a significant fraction may suddenly become infatuated with with you now that you have (with apparent honesty) revealed this heretofore carefully camouflaged feminine side. Being a proud member of the not-very-deep gender myself (i.e., being a proud male), I read this post all the way through, but only because I was intrigued by the fact that you've been "wanting to gush about makeup for a long, long while." I, myself, would not have predicted that.
Men prefer women who don't *need* makeup :-P The proportion of such is inversely related to age.
I don't do this as a holiday gift per se, but when the wife and I are going out for special occasions, I get her an appointment at a salon that does fake eyelashes. Not the cheap stuff you get at the drug store, but the individual lashes that are glued on by a very patient professional. It's pretty striking and the wife loves how they look. Maybe a good gift would be a gift card for a number of these treatments.
As far as female condiments go, gentlemen, I recommend home-brew massage oil: get some sunflower or safflower oil and dose it with a little of her favorite perfume. Then, you get to apply it. Remember, the stuff goes bad after a while, so use it liberally and often.
I wouldn't dare buy cosmetics of any sort for my dear wife. Jewelry is much safer.
Go clip your nose and ear hairs, Bruce.
does a bundle of firewood count as a christmas gift?
"If nothing else, the trolls will enjoy sniffily declaring that this doesn't belong in the same magazine that published Mark Twain, (you know, the one who wrote lengthy essays about serious topics like cigars)."
Nice try, but the thing is that Twain was such a gifted writer that he could make cigars interesting even to those who'd never believed they could possibly find them so. With you—on makeup, music, electronics, etc.—not so much.
Although I'm sure that, in its time the Atlantic actually HAS published writers worse than you. Most contemporary readers just don't know who they were. A similar obscurity is in store for you. Sooner, one hopes, than later.
Hey girl- I agree with almost all of your selections- and I sincerely love the diversion! I MUST recommend Lancome's Hypnose mascara. I love it- 1-2 coats and it's perfect for daytime, 3-4 and it's stunning for night, and no clumping or running. I'd buy it for you!
I'm a woman who doesn't go in much for makeup. I think I wear it about twice a year. I have four kids, so evidently I look good enough without it.
Makeup just gets in my way. All day long I'm kissing owies, hauling napless kids back to their rooms, etc. Even on Sundays I'm managing time-outs and getting head-butted by toddlers. If I wore makeup I'd just be making work for myself getting makeup stains out of everyone's clothes.
Megan,
Loved the girly girl post. Growing up as the only girl with 4 older brothers and a wallflower mother, this post was an absolute pleasure to read. Isn't it fun being a girly girl? :-)
OK, Megan, how about some pics of you in your favorite makeup? And your favorite high heels?
"I have four kids, so evidently I look good enough without it."
Wha?? So, you're like -- I got pregnant 4 times, so I must be pretty?
Although, ultimately, you will need to make up your own mind about M. Glenn Kenny, I have a number of things to say that you may find useful. I will start this discussion by arguing that I've been rolling up my sleeves in preparation for a long, hard battle against feral bohemians. Then, I will present evidence that M. Kenny considers our independence to be the most formidable obstacle in the path of his ambitions and business pursuits. It follows from this that he's a psychologically defective person. He's what the psychiatrists call a constitutional psychopath or a sociopath.
In case you hadn't noticed, M. Kenny somehow manages to maintain a straight face when saying that his op-ed pieces are Holy Writ. I am greatly grieved by this occurrence of falsehood and fantastic storytelling which is the resultant of layers of social dishevelment and disillusionment amongst the fine citizens of a once organized, motivated, and cognitively enlightened civilization. I, speaking as someone who is not a rambunctious cult leader, cannot compromise with him; he is without principles. I cannot reason with him; he is without reason. But I can warn him and with a warning he must really take to heart: He fervently believes that Bulverism is a be-all, end-all system that should be forcefully imposed upon us. This shows that he is not merely mistaken about one little fact among millions of facts but that our national media is controlled by obstreperous, warped shirkers. That's why you probably haven't heard that some people apparently believe that if we don't bother M. Kenny, M. Kenny won't bother us. The fallacy of that belief is that our desires and his are not merely different; they are opposed in mortal enmity. M. Kenny wants to encourage every sort of indiscipline and degeneracy in the name of freedom. We, in contrast, want to alert people that he wants nothing less than to insist that our society be infested with prætorianism, Trotskyism, nihilism, and an impressive swarm of other "isms". His hirelings then wonder, "What's wrong with that?" Well, there's not much to be done with tactless, maladroit agitators who can't figure out what's wrong with that, but the rest of us can plainly see that M. Kenny claims that he can succeed without trying. That claim is preposterous and, to use M. Kenny's own language, overtly scornful. No history can justify it.
M. Kenny justifies his vitriolic maneuvers with fallacious logical arguments based on argumentum ad baculum. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, it means that if we don't accept M. Kenny's claim that he can absorb mana by devouring his nemeses' brains then he will condone universal oppression. Let me carry my thoughts on this subject a bit further. His shell games have created a jejune, satanic universe devoid of logic and evidence. Only within this universe does it make sense to say that M. Kenny can make all of our problems go away merely by sprinkling some sort of magic, pink, pixie dust over everything that he considers ribald or incomprehensible. Only within this universe does it make sense to make my worst nightmares come true. And, only if we enhance people's curiosity, critical acumen, and aesthetic sensitivity can we destroy this xenophobic universe of his and snap his secret agents out of their trance. Don't give his pleas a credibility they don't deserve. To end this letter, I would like to make a bet with M. Glenn Kenny. I will gladly give him a day's salary if he can prove that profits come before people, as he insists. If M. Kenny is unable to prove that, then his end of the bargain is to step aside while I comment on a phenomenon that has and will continue to prostrate the honor, power, independence, laws, and property of entire countries. So, do we have a bet, M. Kenny?
A great gift, if you know a woman who is rather clumsy about creating the "smokey eyes" look for herself:
Those new paper strips that have a pre-blended shadow on them. You just press it against your lid, and peel off.
A little too expensive for every-day use, but a great quick way to do your eyes for special occasions. They have them at Sephora. Probably elsewhere.
Yeah, girls with no make-up are ideal. But that's because they are girls. The whole point of make-up is to imitate the flush of youth anyway. So of course having the real thing, ie actually being young, is better.
Similarly, a bra-less 20 year old is very sexy. Not so much on a 35 year old.
Man here. A number of cosmetic defending women have used the 'men only prefer women without make up if they're attractive naturally. Ordinary women need the make up!' argument.
Let me say that I can just barely notice when women are wearing make up. You can cake it on thick, and It will still take a while before I figure out something's different. The correlary to this is that if you aren't attractive without make up, you still won't be with make up.
Sure, if you've got a giant bright red splotch on your face, it will look better if you can paint over it with skin-tone color -- but that's an extreme example. Mostly, the gals are putting it on to get the approval of other gals; the guys don't notice/care.
p.s. if you groom your eyebrows into thin little lines, you look just as fake and vacuous as do people who pump up their faces with botox. I notice the eyebrows, and hate it when they're groomed!
Again, only do this stuff in extreme situations. If you've got a unibrow like Bert from Seasame St., THEN you can groom a little.
Normally, I'd stay out of threads like this, but there's something I have to correct:
Megan_McArdle: you are *not* a "girly girl" for the simple reason that girly girls are typically married by 35.
p.s. if you groom your eyebrows into thin little lines, you look just as fake and vacuous as do people who pump up their faces with botox. I notice the eyebrows, and hate it when they're groomed!
I really hate it when women get into grooming.
And I'm not talking about eyebrows.
Thanks Megan!
You've done your male readers a great service - I've never heard cosmetics explained in such a systematic, almost scientific fashion. I'm sure my girlfriend will appreciate any marginal increase in my makeup literacy.
And I don't think blogging about makeup reduces your professional esteem. Most of the professional media has been driven insane with blind Bush hatred, and when Bush 43 ends, and when the fever fades, there will be a lot of sheepish back-pedaling. Your reasoned and rational approach to contentious issues gives you my respect, and proficiency with cosmetics does not reduce it.
I've seen you on video and you look like you're not wearing any make up. The ultimate compliment.
Make up is like a spice. Just a hint adds a whole lot of flavor. A bit too much and it overwhelms. Not enough is too bland -- unless the ingredients are incredibly good.
And I'm not taking this metaphor any further.
PS: To the guys who say they prefer a woman with no make-up. No, you don't. You (1) prefer a woman who can artfully apply a small, subtle amount of make-up to bring out her best features and (2) are either clueless or insufficiently focused on her face to notice. Hey, bub, her eyes are just above her nose, not below her neck. ;)
I just wanted to put in a plug for Benefit products. Their brushes are easy to control/use (I love the versatility of the "talent brush"), easy to clean, and relatively inexpensive, even as a set. Their "Lemon-Aid" eyelid primer is some kind of miracle, though it's probably not practical as a gift unless you buy it in one of their little sample kits. And if you give anything from Benefit as a gift, include their latest catalog in the package; it's written in a fun way and the products all have cool names.
I've seen you in discussion with Perfessor Reynolds. You're Hot. Of course it might be 'cause smart is hot.
I watched again with the sound turned off. Yeah, you're Hot. But, would it kill you to sit up straight?
Another suggestion for those who need/want help with the "smoky eye" thing: Stila has kits that talk to you, telling you how to put the different shadows on. Oddly reassuring.
What I know about makeup can be written on a very small page in large letters; but I have noticed that women who wear makeup a) enjoy the ritual, b) enjoy themselves.
Thirty seconds for lipstick or twenty minutes for the full meal deal are all time when women can step out of their often frantic lives.
Being willing to take that step is often the difference between a woman who is pretty damned frazzled and one who has a moment's calm.
The real stuff of beauty seems to me to lie in self possession. That sense of calm and pleasure and friskiness that an unharried woman carries with her. If makeup helps create this I'm all for it.
(eye roll) Gentlemen, a FEW of you may actually prefer the no-makeup thing. Who knows? But in my own rigorous testing (me, with and without), I certainly have found that I garner lots more attention, smiles, conversation, etc., from random men - both those who know me already and usually see me without makeup, and those who have never seen me before - when I'm wearing than when I'm not. (I do agree that subtlety is the soul of good makeup-wearing, even though I love the gold-tipped lashes thing - which I freely acknowledge I wear for ME and not for anyone else.)
It's possible that it's the occasion that makes the difference: at a party, everyone's on good social behavior (we hope); not so much at the bus stop. But without further testing - say, half my face done, half not, standing perfectly still and waiting to see which side of my face people talk to - it's difficult to tease out that effect.
I'd try all your recommendations, but the bathroom scene from "What Women Want" comes to mind, except worse: I'm no Mel Gibson.
I've been a makeup addict since the age of 12, and I find it very amusing to see Megan, of all people, gushing about it here. But the fact is, the cosmetics industry has exploded in the last decade or two with new and innovative product lines, and there's SO much fun stuff to play with. There are probably countries with GNPs less than what I spend at Sephora every year.
I am also a MAC aficionado, though there's probably not more gushing I could do about that brand that hasn't already been done. If you're brave enough to try liquid eyeliner, their Liquidlast eye liner does not budge once it's on. Trust me, with this on, you can go through a full day, work out, run a 5K, go dancing, sleep 8 hours - when you get up, it'll still be there. It doesn't come off until you take it off.
And for both scented and bath stuff, a nice gift would be to order a sampling of soaps from Lush Cosmetics, as their stuff smells wonderful and the soap is luxurious without being too pricey.
Love Bare Minerals! I just purchased the "starter set" a couple of weeks ago. It is amazing the amount of coverage you get from this stuff and how natural it looks and stays all day long. Great post---I have tried most of these things (with success) and will experiment with some of the others you suggest.
"does a bundle of firewood count as a christmas gift?"
Yes, Brandonian, if you put it in a basket with a bow and: (1) a bag of marshmallows; (2) a box of graham crackers; (3) an interesting assortment of chocolate bars; (4) two holiday-themed mugs; (5) some gourmet hot chocolate; and (6) your favorite CD of Christmas music.
Do this, and you're good to go.
Agreed, Jamie. I'd bet that most of these guys who claim to prefer women not wearing any makeup at all don't realize it's there when it's subtle. But my experience has always been that I get more male attention/compliments with it, even when they think (and have actually said) that they like my natural, "makeup free" look. Heh, that's what *they* think. :)
I too prefer women wear no makeup. My wife doesn't, and after 25 years, I find it weird on others.
Thanks for the fun post, Megan (and for all your other posts).
As to the guys who say they like women best without makeup: I have many male friends who have said the same thing. Out of them, approximately 20% genuinely prefer women without makeup- generally the same guys who are also attracted to kind of crunchy girls who wear overalls and have dreds and such. The rest just don't notice when a woman is wearing makeup unless she has caked on so much she looks awful. In this category is one particular male friend who commented that he wished there were more women in Hollywood with "natural, feminine bodies, like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider" (in which her already ample boobs were actually DIGITALLY ENHANCED to be about twice their normal size, and antigravitational).
Gay guy who appreciates attractive women and football,
Horse pucky. I have carefully observed a number of women when they are wearing and not wearing cosmetics, very carefully, and on many occasions over extended periods of time, and with more than visual examination. Many of them "looked nice" when made up, but they were generally more attractive (to my admittedly skewed perceptions) when au naturale. I simply recognized that they applied makeup to for their own very good reasons (the way it made them feel about themselves and/or to conform to expectations or professionalism or other cultural norms) and pounced them after they washed the stuff off.
For all of you who prefer porcelain skinned beauties, au naturel, I am certain you have no objection to Natura Bisse. Think of it as the fifty yard line at the super bowl of skin care.
I'm surprised as a vegan that you're recommending "drug store" items without at least steering people to Burt's bees or Weldon or some other label that doesn't test on animals.
I'm not a purist myself - there are too many things to focus on if you're going to be that way, but.......still..... if you're recommending.....
Makeup should be like a formal evening dress - something that you wear only on a few special occasions each year.
Most women don't really need it and most women don't seem to know how to properly apply it either mechanically and/or aesthetically.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so...
Gee, I must be, like, the only guy in the world that actually prefers it when a girl wears a tasteful amount of makeup. Then again, maybe the girls I tend to date, like Megan, actually need it.
This is going to sound silly, but I have no idea how to apply makeup well and as a result don't at all. Do you have any recommendations for books/places to learn?
To all the commenters presuming to tell me what I think: my wife does not wear makeup.
Revealed preference.
QED.
When discussing men’s preferences, it should be noted that makeup (like clothing and shoes) is more than just an appearance-enhancer, it’s also a signaling mechanism. Sometimes (most of the time), a guy is looking for a cheap whore, and if you look like one, you’ll get his attention.
Or to put it more politely, a woman who puts some effort into her appearance is usually understood to be a more promising prospect for conversation, flirting, whatever, than one who shuffles about in sweatpants and Urkel glasses.
So don't be so sure that you wouldn't look aesthetically better without the face paint.
Clueless: Kevin Aucoin's book is, in my opinion, the gold standard. It's a little dated--doesn't cover power foundations, for example--but he was a genius with face shape.
Back in the 18th century, a good few manly men wore makeup and felt about it and about perfume the way MM does. I have never been able to understand why I am incapable of feeling the same way - even though I had an exceptionally good nose for perfumes and still enjoy helping women choose them.
Linda F
I would be amonst the grateful if you would post a link to where we could find a really, really good hairbrush. They are wonderful gifts, but impossible to find.
Another vote for little or no makeup. I grew up in a family where any makeup beyond perhaps a moisturizing foundation and occassional lip gloss was frowned upon, and even the extended family wasn't into it too heavily, so I'm more or less trained as to what normal faces look like and can pick out a paint & detail job pretty quick. The key detriment of it is not that it doesn't look good (it can, if done well and above all subtly), but that it doesn't look natural.
Thanks Megan. Great post, appreciate the thoughts for the wife. I am going to use some of your ideas for Xmas.
"Although I'm sure that, in its time the Atlantic actually HAS published writers worse than you. Most contemporary readers just don't know who they were. A similar obscurity is in store for you. Sooner, one hopes, than later." --Glenn Kenny
Haha, this one literally did make me laugh out loud. In a hundred years one will still be able to look up McArdle's work as a writer for the Atlantic, whereas you will be beyond obscure. Even your descendants won't know you apart from a listing on a family tree. Even if they do manage to dig up one of your works, you'll just be that cranky guy with more n's in his name than talent in his pen.
That was a fun post Megan, thanks! And I totally agree with Rob Lyman; make up, and the amount that is applied does signal that you're available for...something, though that "something" could be as mundane as pitching a new client. Enhancing one's features is one way to tell the world that you're concerned with effect you have on others and thus are ready to do business (of some sort ;)And speaking of effects, Trader Joes Moisturizing Cream blows away anything devised by Lancome et al. Test it!
I'm not sure I'd enjoy receiving a hairbrush as a gift.
Megan,
As long as we're doing product placements here, would you please help me plug my line of underpants with $100-bill prints all over them?
Men commenting on women's makeup is like women commenting on which is the best jockstrap to wear-- utterly uninformed blathering.
Noah-- so glad you love your woman with no makeup. Why don't you go kiss her all over her cosmetic-free face, and stay out of our makeup conversation?
Having said that-- gotta put in the plug for the the tried and true-- gotta love Chanel makeup and perfume. The lipstick and lipgloss stays on all day, and considering that's what I wear the most, that's what I'm looking for.
Fragance-- well, it's very personal, No. 5 is the best.
Men commenting on women's makeup is like women commenting on which is the best jockstrap to wear-- utterly uninformed blathering.
We don't generally put on a jockstrap before blind dates to impress you guys, though.
Clueless, also check out YouTube. Lots of makeup application videos - and while books are great, there's only so much they can show you about the actual process of applying the stuff.
Thanks Megan! I found some of this at the Sephora store and my wife's going to love it. You just saved Christmas!
do you like giving golden showers?
Megan & jaed, thank you for the tips. I'll be checking out the book & videos!
Also, this is kind of dorky, but watch the makeup programs on home shopping channels
Thanks for the terrifically valuable advice! Can we look forward to a "Girl Stuff" gift guide update next year?