hello again!

     I still haven't uploaded those dern product photos I mentioned, oooooh, about a week or so ago when I made my first post. ha. anyway, since I have a bit of time to write, I'll jump right into the obligatory posting about my skin care routine.

     I'm a firm believer that foundation - liquid, cream, or powder - is a great way to create myriad skin problems. of course, as a teenager, I felt that anything that was thick enough to cover my acne scars and pimples was magical. I used foundation daily back then, and it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I ceased my use of foundation completely. by that time, the wily temperament of my skin had cooled considerably, and I no longer had to worry about breaking out. sure, I would find an occasional pimple on my forehead, chin or jaw line, but I wouldn't cover it up: I would take care of it.

     to start my morning skin care routine, I rinse my face using very warm water. I do it a couple of times to loosen everything that's sitting on the top layer of my skin. next, I take a roughly dime-sized amount of my Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream (whew! long name!) and rub it over the near entirety of my face -- but not on my eyes! I don't get near my lids (upper or lower) or my delicate under-eye areas with the stuff. it's much too stringent and coarse, and I'm guessing it would cause a lot of damage to my eye if any of its exfoliating grains managed to get in. and yes, I know that some of you are probably thinking I'm crazy for using a body scrub on my face... but to be honest, I've used plenty of facial scrubs over the years that just haven't done as good of a job as the Clinique body scrub does. it comes in a huge tub; and if you're only using it as a facial scrub, it should last at least nine months. I've had mine since the beginning of the year, and I still have enough remaining for another four or five uses.

     moving on!

     after exfoliating for a good amount of time (about a minute or so), I rinse off the scrub with more warm water and then use an organic face wash that I picked up from my local natural foods store. it's called Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean face wash; it contains awapuhi, tea tree oil, and a long list of other natural ingredients that I can't quite remember at the moment. as far as face washes go, this is the best one I've ever used. as long as I use it every day, I can go weeks without seeing pimples or even the tiniest zits. it has a very strong herbal smell, but I don't mind it since I know the ingredients are indeed natural.

     I don't use any toners; I feel that they dry the skin too much.

     to moisturize, I use Oil of Olay's Active Hydrating Fluid for sensitive skin. I'm not really sure about how good it is for the skin, but it absorbs quickly and seems to create a barrier against moisture loss.

     at night, I generally go through the same routine. I'll sometimes skip exfoliating in the morning. if I find any pimples, I'll zap 'em with Clean & Clear's Advantage Acne Spot Treatment. it's cheap (around $7.00 for a small tube) and powerful, so only a small amount is needed for application. it's meant to be placed only on a pimple or zit and should not be spread over an area of the skin! application should take place anywhere from two to three times per day (after applying a non-greasy moisturizer). oh, and I do use Biore strips on my nose whenever I feel like my pores are becoming too clogged...

     so that's it, folks! nothin' complex. happy cleaning!

so.

     as a teenager, I did my share of experimenting with various (and sometimes downright horrific) shades of lipstick. I also hungrily depleted myriad MAC kohl eyeliners, thanks to my tendency to heavily line my lids to create a dark, smoky look. up until several months ago, however, I'd had no interest in wearing or buying cosmetics for several years. five, to be more precise. however, after viewing several tutorials on YouTube, my curiosity was piqued. now, eight months later, I'm the proud owner of a small, manageable collection of lip glosses, drugstore eye shadows, and hand-me-down blush compacts.

     I won't claim to be well-versed in the realm of cosmetics, but I was spoiled as a teenager by MAC's amazing line of products, so when I recently purchased an eyeshadow quad and a pot of gel eyeliner from Avon in an attempt to save some money, I wasn't surprised that my purchases couldn't live up to my expectations. (sound snooty enough for ya, yet?)

     the eyeshadow quad comes in a medium-sized black compact, comparable in size, shape and appearance to a Chanel compact. the compact is quite difficult to open, however, and requires a bit of a struggle to pop open.
     the color pay-off for all four of the shadows is minimal. the lightest shade, a kind of ultra-light beige, is terribly chalky. the bronze shadow that is meant to line the upper (or lower, I suppose) lid is very muted. many layers are needed to make it noticeable at all, which is extremely disappointing, because really, how hard is it to botch the formulation of a shimmery eye shadow?
     the gel liner - all of Avon's gel liners, actually - contain small bits of glitter. not really sure what the point of it is, since a plain black liner would be preferable, but hey. in any case, Avon's gel liner is the first I've used. it glides on smooth enough, even if the bits of glitter do sometimes clump together on my liner brush and create problems during application.
     which reminds me: the Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush is definitely handy. if my hand is feeling steady, I can usually sweep the brush along the length of my lid without having to stop to adjust the position of my hand; which is great, since I'm a n00b when it comes to applying liquid and gel liners to my eyes.
      the one other product I purchased - possibly the most disappointing of all - is an Avon retractable eyeliner. the description in the Avon catalog was definitely enticing and convinced me that it might be better than something I could buy at Walgreen's or Target. the liner has an angled edge rather than a pointed tip, allowing the user to create three possible lines: a very thick line, a very thin line, and a mid-sized line. this feature would be great, if it didn't take several swipes to create a line that is satisfyingly dark. I haven't used it since it came in the mail about three weeks ago.
     the final verdict: unless I'm really strapped for cash, I probably won't be making any eye shadow purchases from Avon anytime soon. has anyone had different results with other Avon products (lipsticks, glosses, cream shadows)? I realize I don't have any regular readers at the moment, but if anyone has a different (or even a similar) perspective on Avon products, please do not hesitate to add to the discussion.

p.s. - I'll add product photos in a few days.