My Spring Shopping List: Beauty

So here you have it--the much-awaited follow up to "My Spring Shopping List: Fashion." Try not to wet yourself out of sheer excitement. And if you do, for the love of God, don't tie a hoodie around your waist and pretend that it didn't happen. We will all know anyway.

1. Clinique Chubby Stick in Chunky Cherry. I originally wanted this item back in February after seeing it in (you guessed it!) Real Simple. Trouble is, everybody else wanted it too. I walked up to the Clinique counter at a local mall one day and asked to purchase it, and the lady looked at me, I shit you not, like I was in flames. She goes, "Honey, now we don't have any of those. We've had a real run on em. Did you not know how popular they are?" And I had to say that, no, I didn't know because really, I thought I was the only idiotic person who saw something in a magazine and said, "I WANTZ IT NOWWWWW!" Not to be swayed, I called two other malls the next Monday at work to see if they had it. Nope. One mall said they had it in Richer Raisin, but that.would.not.work. I WANT CHUNKY CHERRY AND I WANT IT NOW. (And by the way, seeing it typed out like that, I realize that Chunky Cherry sounds like a fetish film that I'd rather not imagine.) So I put it off. And then one day, I remembered it, put it on my list, and the rest you know because you read this blog. I woke up with a burning desire the next day to purchase it, took my kids to a nearby pizza restaurant under the auspices of "Moms Eat Free Monday's" and then took a quick trip to the lovely and exotic Belk store and purchased my large adult crayon. And I'm not disappointed. This is a great Spring lipcolor because I get the glory of wearing red lipstick, but without the hassles of having to line or to find a red that matches my skintone. The color is so light that it just doesn't matter. That said, the red really does do what I want it to which is to liven up all the whites and neutrals that I seem to be moving to this season. And for those of you who are into having lips that don't feel like sandpaper, it is moisturizing and silky. A big WIN here, I'd say. And I can understand the hype.


2. Conair You Curl. When I first got bangs cut, I really wanted to rock them with loose waves. So I bought a curling iron (let's disregard the fact that up until that point, yes, I was a woman, born and raised and currently living in the South who did not own a curling iron). And I used it a couple of times. But I never really got the look I wanted. I always managed to get a few curls that were...kinkier than usual. And I got a few curls that were like freaking Robert Mapplethorpe photos (i.e., VERY KINKY--don't google image search that on your work computer if you are unsure as to what I just referenced). I blamed it all on the clamp. When really, I could just have easily blamed it all on my hair skillz which are nonexistent. But the curling iron seemed like a good place to place blame, so that's where it went. And I basically quit curling my hair because I like it straight and because I also acquired another fun beauty tool that I'll write about some other time (gotta give you a reason to come back!!!). But then, I saw some bloggers who had purchased the Conair You Curl, which did not have a clamp, and I felt rather vindicated that someone else had a clamp issue and that the good folks at Conair had seen fit to graces us with a clampless iron. And then I imagined how much I thought the glossy look and the wavy hair would really complete the Spring look I was going after. So, of course, I went out and bought it. The package contains the iron (of course), but also this wacky little glove that only has three fingers in it. I think it is worthless--I have very few nerve endings in my hands and fingers (or at least, I must, because I can basically withstand inhuman amounts of heat without realizing it), so I can curl sans protection. My husband thinks the glove is AWESOME. He puts it on and makes really, really bad jokes. We have seen him do the moonwalk in the glove--"Michael Jackson after a shop class accident!". He has tried to use it in the kitchen to comic effect, mostly while preparing bacon. And he has made many, many jokes about the faltering economy and the need to start paying for clothing items based on what actually you want it to clothe. ANYWAY, glove aside, I like the tool, and it is a good deal easier than a regular clamped curling iron. HOWEVER, if you have zero skillz like moi, you need to allow some time to really get to know the thing. And I haven't had that yet. I've used it maybe two or three times. I'm getting better, I'd say, but I'm still not creating perfect wavy loveliness, you know? The most important thing to note is that I probably do not have the patience for it. I try to section off my hair with clips so that I can curl individual sections, but I get so impatient that I end up really half-assing the last bits of hair. But that's me. And surely you're a better person. So you could really like it. I will say this: it heats up quickly, it does its job (if you have the skillz), and it is a lot easier to handle than a regular iron. And when I have used it, I have gotten compliments on my hair, even the first time when I screwed up a bit and ended up brushing the curls out a bit and finger combing it. So kudos on that. And Matt says it looks like a sex toy. So that's a plus too I guess!


3. Olay Pro X Scrubber-Thingie (Clarisonic Rip Off). I'll just be honest and say I haven't purchased this yet. I am basically putting it on here because I want to see if others have and what they think. Here's the dealio: I really want a Clarisonic--it's been on my wish list for over a year now. In theory. But here's what would happen if I spent the $100 or so and bought one: I would love it for about a week. I would write a blog entry about how awesome it is. Then my usage would slowly taper off and I would forget about it. And it would lay on my bathroom counter and taunt me. And someday, when Matt finds out how much I spent on it, he would add it to the list of things that I've spent cash on and then forgot about a week later. Or at least, that's what I think I'd do. SO, I kinda want to purchase the Olay version for $30, see how it works and how I like it, gauge how much I would use it, and then decide if it is worth ponying up for the Clarisonic or sticking with the Olay version or just forgetting the whole thing and using a washcloth like the rest of the plebians. I'm pretty sure I will pick it up next time I'm at Target, just based on some reviews I've read on the blogosphere, but I'm still soliciting info on it. So let me know!

That's really all I have right now, which is good for my wallet I guess. In Spring/Summer, I tend not to put as much emphasis on make-up, although it is fun to play with sparkly stuff. So I'll probably be posting some on that. Which I realize makes me sound like a large dog that gets distracted by the shiniest toy. But if the shoe fits, rock the hell out of it. That's what I always say!