on my face - travel edition

I traveled quite a bit over the last few months, including a month-long trip to the States and a little weekend getaway, so I had to do some careful thinking about my makeup essentials.  I pared it down and managed to fit everything into this little makeup bag (which, by the way, is the absolute best for travel, each little compartment velcros out so you can customize it as you like or just grab one little pouch, and the whole thing weighs about as much as a moth).

Here's the final edit: everything you need to look and feel fabulous when you're away from home without being overloaded or deprived.  It will get you through everything from casual cups of coffee to family dinners to glammed up nights out.

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on my face - november

I swear, I did not wear all this makeup at once.  But the cold weather and the grey rainy days make me want a little something more on my face, a deeper smoke on my eyes or a berry wine on my lips.  And of course, a variety of blushes.  (I am obsessed with having the perfect blush color for any given day, does anyone else out there have this problem?)

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a moisture fix

I ran out of my favorite winter daytime moisturizer.  Like, really ran out, as you can see by the ravaged bottle on the left.  This was a real disaster because I can't find Boscia products anywhere here in Madrid.  Usually I stock up on this stuff when I'm in the states, but this summer I thought, come on, there's got to be decent moisturizer in Spain.  Right?  So now of course I had to spend days researching, reading reviews and recommendations on beautypedia (I totally trust Paula) and makeup alley, and trying out all the samples I could get my hands on.  (I may have mentioned it here before: I'm a chronic researcher.)  But this is a tough one, it had to have the right spf for rainy grey winter days, it had to be lightweight but still moisturizing, it had to have a natural matte finish that leaves you neither shiny nor flat, it had to be gentle and non-comedogenic for my sensitive and acne-prone skin, and it had to deal well with sweat so I could get through my morning ballet class without any weird meltdowns.  That's a lot to ask.

But I found it!  And in case any of you out there have similar requirements I thought you might be interested.  Big thumbs up to MAC Studio Moisture Fix, it does everything I wanted, plus it smells so lovely and fresh it makes me just a wee bit happier in the mornings.

on my face - october

For someone as beauty and product obsessed as I am it strikes me as odd that I don't talk about it here more often.  I could probably fill a small suitcase with all my cosmetics, and I woud have trouble parting with any of it if it came down to it.  On the other hand, at any given moment in time I'm probably only using a handful of products.  I go through phases of absolute obsession, and then suddenly I will look in the mirror and realize, That blush is all wrong.  Luckily there's usually something else in my drawer to replace it and freshen up my morning routine.  For now, for the summer-to-fall transition, these are my go-to products.  Just a little complexion cleaning, a touch of color on the cheeks, and fairly neutral eyes.  Nothing that screams makeup, but still a bit more polished than those hot summer days we're leaving behind.

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