I’ve been a fan of Samantha Thompson Smith from the News and Observer for awhile now – even when she did the retail section, back in the days before Sue Stock and her coupons galore! In the past few years, Samantha has been doing the fashion section of the paper and has a blog called the Fashion Plate. A few weeks ago there was a giveaway, and lo and behold, I somehow won!

My goods arrived in the mail today. Muy exciting! I got this Clinique tiger lily eye shadow from the Spring 09 collection, which is “shades of pinkish brown.” Well, so far in my ventures in wearing eye makeup, I’ve only enjoyed brown/beige shades. So, perhaps “pinkish brown” will be the next shade I enjoy. I preliminarily tried it on, but I can’t say for sure if I like it until I wear it a few times. The shades have definite promise though! Look at me with “fancy department store makeup.” haha. Worst part is, if I actually decide this is the eye makeup I Must Have, I’ve discovered that it’s already DISCONTINUED!! Ugh! Why do makeup companies do that????

Speaking of discontinued makeup, I was recently trying to buy some more of that Carmindy fast fix concealer I was all excited about a few months ago. Don’t I (finally) figure out, after visiting like 3 different stores that the shade of it I was using was DISCONTINUED!! Ugh! They still have the crappy lavender stuff, but not the yellowish shade for covering up dark circles. I gave up and got the light version of the skin-tone fast fix, and so far it seems pretty good. It might actually be better than the yellowish shade. With that purchase I could get another Carmindy product for 50% off, so I decided to try the mascara because I needed some. So far, I am not impressed. The brush is super tiny and the mascara is all gloppy on the brush when you take it out. Time will tell. The only mascaras I consistently like are Maybelline, but, 50% off! I can’t help myself. I still want to try her primer, which is supposed to make your skin super smooth, or something. It’s almost ALWAYS sold out at the store, which tells me its awesomeness is unbounded. However, be warned: the Carmindy stuff is NOT at Target or Wal-mart. I’ve only seen the line at Ulta, though, maybe they might also have it at drug stores (but seriously, who shops at drug stores???).

I’m determined to have this eye makeup crap figured out in the next few years (when I hit that scary birthday that ends in 0), at which point, I’m sure a whole new host of problems will show up that completely defile whatever makeup routine I’ve developed. Why is it so difficult!!? Any tips are appreciated!

Posted by Carrie on Saturday, September 12, 2009
Categories: fashion · 2 Comments »