Finding a grown up foundation

I can confidently say that my friend Jodi is one of the pretty people. She doesn't wear much makeup but always looks great. I did something today I knew would make her proud.

I'm not much of a makeup kid; I wear it to work (sometimes), but most of the time I don't bother with it. It's not that it isn't important to me to look nice, but rather that I'm lazy and have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to makeup.

So, after being out of foundation for oh, about the last month, I decided to take the plunge and buy real, grown-up makeup instead of using my usual "whatever happens to be on sale at Shoppers' when I get there" method.

I wanted the kind you buy at department stores. The kind where there are ladies in white lab coats at the counters, wearing enough of their wares that if they were on stage, the people at the back of 3rd balcony could pick out what two shades of eye shadow they were wearing.

So, I approach the clinique counter and one woman, who looks like she applies hers with a spatula/ putty knife/ cake decorating tool combination, offers to help. I tell her I don't know what shade to get but offer that it will be in the pastey end of things. She tries one and exclaims "woooowwwww, you reeeally aarrrreee pale!" loudly enough that the girls two perfume counters look over. Thanks, Captain Obvious! What can I say, I'm good with the sunscreen. I thought about muttering about not wanting to look like shoe leather when I got to be her age, but decided against it.

She finds one shade that matches me well, but they're out of it. She finds another to replace that one, but they don't have any of it either. In the process she manages to squirt some of the second one onto my scarf so I would forever have a reminder of that shade. Her last ditch effort ended in one that was a "perfect match" to my skin, and which they, remarkably, had in stock. I bought an eye shadow as well to wear tonight, guessing that my broken-lid covergirl one I've used for years (which barely has a dent in it) wouldn't do now that I'd had a taste of the good stuff.

So there you have it, my first foray into department store makeup!

So, I'm off to shower so the velcro rollers I use to do my hair (also a skill I picked up living with Jodi) will have plenty of time to dry.