Today's makeup look - romantic #Beauty

On Thanksgiving, I was grateful for a day off. I had proven to myself and others that I can make Thanksgiving dinner, and since that Thanksgiving, I haven't felt the need to prove my abilities again. I would have been happy to cook something simple at home or eat out at an Indian restaurant, but my husband suggested that we go to the Thanksgiving buffet at a nearby hotel.

Sometimes I think that I'm one of the few people who still makes a production of going out. I chose a 3/4-length sleeve pullover sweater in cream (pure white is not my best shade) and a flippy skirt with a mesh floral print overlay. To adorn the outfit, I chose the Victorian-inspired Anna Sheffield for Target Filigree Charm Necklace that hangs from a delicate rose gold tone chain.

I then complemented my outfit with a romantic makeup look:

I first used Paula Begoun's Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Mattifying Concentrate as a primer, which left a soft-focus finish. Once again, I used Daniel Chinchilla Flawless Finish Liquid Foundation. I pressed facial tissue on my face to remove excess makeup. I then pressed loose powder on my face with a cotton round to set the makeup, and buffed the powder with a face powder brush. I skipped blush, as I had plenty of color on my cheeks.

For my eyes, I used Pantina trio eye palette in Chichi Merlot, applying Veil (dusty mauve) on the lid, Spicy Currant in the crease and outer corner, and Black Currant cream eyeliner. Rite-Aid sometimes features tabletop displays of Pantina cosmetics.

You needn't use a mascara with a round spiky brush head such as Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes and the copycat from L'Oreal Paris to coat every last lash. You can get the same effect by holding the wand at right angles to your eyes and applying mascara using the tip of the wand - just remove any gunk on the tip first.

I applied Color Comfort lipstick in Golden Berry from Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy on my lips with a Q-Tip to create a stain. Carmindy's lipsticks have good color payoff and a smooth finish, as the name implies. To add a little shimmer to my pout, I applied a touch of loose gold mineral powder from the stack I bought from the mall kiosk for BellaPierre.

Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy

Carmindy - love her hair, love her earrings, love her eyes, love this photo!

If I tune in to TLC's What Not to Wear, it's for the last half hour when Nick Arrojo and Carmindy work their magic. I find Clinton Kelly bland, and quite frankly, Stacy London irritates me. I don't sense compassion and caring on Clinton and Stacy's part for their subjects. In one espisode, the subject wept because she couldn't believe that she could look this good. Stacy's reaction was so feigned and smarmy that I've tuned her out. The "Fab Five" of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or Trinny and Susannah, for that matter, would not have been that insincere.


Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy

Carmindy has now teamed up with Sally Hansen, best known for its nail products, for a complete line of colour cosmetics called Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy. First, a caveat: "Natural Beauty" more accurately refers to the look favored by Carmindy, rather than to the cosmetics, which contain synthetic ingredients in addition to natural ingredients. Regardless, I was pleased with the two products from Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy I sampled:

Color Comfort Lipcolor in Adobe - A cream lipstick with a soft, not slick, finish.

Sheerest Cream Bronzer in Miami Glow - this feels more slick than the Suki Pure Natural Creme Stain. It indeed is sheer and as with cream blushes and bronzers, melds with the skin. Even my husband sees something different when I wear cream blushes and bronzers. He says that I look great, although he can't pinpoint what makes me look so good.

Does this brand have legs? Sally Hansen had a color cosmetics line called Healing Beauty that was discontinued 2 years ago. By and large, users didn't like Healing Beauty products. From what I've read on MakeupAlley, Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy has had good user reviews. I suspect, however, that Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy will last only as long as TLC's What Not to Wear is shown on TV.