Written by guest blogger and fellow mom, Adele (who just happens to be my sis, too!)
Prior to becoming a mother, I was a low maintenance kind of gal. I wore makeup – at 35, I pretty much had to – but I prided myself on my 5-minute daily makeup routine. A little tinted moisturizer, some blush, eye shadow, lipstick, maybe a little powder or mascara, and, voila, done! Easy peasy.
Besides, I have a rather sordid history with makeup as a teen of the 80s. All those blue-toned hues and neon pink lipstick shades on my yellow-toned features made me look like a transvestite. Sure, I eventually realized the error of my ways, but can you blame me for being a little wary of makeup? I figured I couldn’t go wrong by keeping it simple. I could get away with it.
When I had my daughter, Mira, I was lucky if I had a shower some days, much less nicely coiffed hair and certainly no time for trivialities such as makeup. But I also hated how I looked. My body, even after reaching pre-pregnancy weight, was not quite the same. I had huge circles under my eyes from chronic lack of sleep. I didn’t like how I looked, but I just couldn’t muster up enough energy to care. Besides, everybody was focused on my daughter, not me, and she was the cutest baby in the entire world (not that I’m biased or anything).
Then I decided to go back to work. No cute daughter there to take the focus off of me. My being a mother wouldn’t factor into my work life. That’s what I was going for, right? An opportunity to interact with actual adults and not use words like “poopie” or “kaboomie.” (Though, as an aside, I once did say “kaboomie” while discussing a work related issue with a patient. Ooops.) I looked in the mirror at the dark rings under my eyes and my oatmealy complexion and realized that I needed to do something drastic if I were to return to the adult world and also feel good about myself again. I needed an intervention.
That’s how I found myself at the Bare Escentuals store in Charlotte’s Southpark Mall. BareMinerals, their makeup line, came highly recommended from a number of different friends, many of them fellow mommies. The saleswomen there were more than happy to educate me, lining up a row of little jars and brushes to prep for my makeover.
The routine is definitely more complex and time-consuming than my previous routine: moisturizer (I use one with SPF in it even though their makeup technically has some degree of sun protection), primer, foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, mineral veil, eye shadow (with or without liner), mascara, lipstick, and gloss. Each step, starting with the foundation, is in powder form, which I really like for a couple of reasons: it’s less messy (it’s not on my hands and I don’t have to mess with those stupid little sponges) and it goes on lightly without compromising coverage. By the time the saleswoman was done with me, I looked like a different person, yet the makeup didn’t feel particularly heavy. Wow.!
When I picked my girl up at daycare, the head teacher, who is not prone to compliments, told me I looked like a model. I’ll take it. Of course, that’s with the pro doing my makeup. What would happen when I tried it myself?
I’ll admit it – there was a bit of a learning curve. The nice ladies at Bare Escentuals mapped out every step on a little labeled diagram, telling me which little jar to use when and with which brush. All of the little jars (except the eye shadow, which was smaller) were the same size with the same “bareMinerals” logo on it (except the mineral veil, which says “mineral veil”), so it was easy to get confused.
I had to learn how to pour the right portion into the lid of the jar, swirl the brush around, tap the excess off, then buff in the appropriate motion across my face. My first few attempts were okay, but certainly not to the “model” level achieved in the store. But I looked better. Undeniably so.
Once I got used to the routine, I improved both in terms of the overall effect and the time it took to apply in the morning. Now, I can do a reasonable job in about 7 minutes, barely more than my prior “low maintenance” approach required. I look so much better and actually feel less made up than I did before in terms of the weight of the makeup. I like it so much that I find myself applying it on a weekend if my plans involve leaving the house (even if my only house-leaving involves going to the grocery store).
Several things impress me about Bare Minerals. It evens out my complexion with very little effort, and the concealer actually covers the majority of my dark circles – even after a particularly bad night battling nightmares or teething. As I mentioned before, it’s light on your face and doesn’t involve getting your fingers in it. In addition, Bare Minerals lasts a long time, especially with the primer (and longer if you do a better job than me of keeping your hands off of your face). Beyond all of that, it just looks good—the colors they offer just work. I don’t look particularly made up, just like I have naturally amazing skin and a light bit of makeup to emphasize my good points.
Of course, as with anything, there are some drawbacks. It did take my skin a little bit of time to fully adjust. I had some very mild irritation for the first few days that went away. I’ve been told that there are other mineral makeup brands that use less talc and are thus less irritating. I have fairly sensitive skin, though, and I did adjust fairly quickly.
The daily routine is also complex to pull off and not necessarily intuitive to a makeup novice. Their instructions help, but it’s still pretty daunting. I’ve learned to stack my jars of makeup in a particular order so I can quickly access the ones I need without having to puzzle over whether I’ve picked up the blush or the concealer.
You also have to spend a little money up-front, especially if you don’t have a lot of makeup brushes. I think I probably spent about $250 to start. Checking their website, they have a good offer that provides about half of the needed supplies (foundation, bronzer, mineral veil, three brushes, and some freebies) for a mere $60.
When I got pregnant again, I gained a whole new respect for this makeup. I have rosacea, but it hasn’t been active in a long time. Almost as soon as I got a big fat positive on my home pregnancy test, I started breaking out in red bumps on my face. Then the burning red cheeks started. Looking like you just got slapped across the face is not an attractive look on anyone.
This makeup covered it all up beautifully with almost no additional effort and without irritating my skin further. My hormones have calmed down as I have lumbered into my third trimester, but now that it is summer, I’ve developed the charming “mask of pregnancy” that I had always read about. Again, a few swirls of my brush, and the pigment imbalance is no longer noticeable. Sure, I’m exhausted, look like I swallowed a watermelon, and am barely able to waddle from my car to my office, but at least my makeup makes me look like a glowing pregnant woman.
Oh well, low maintenance is overrated anyway, right?
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