Lush

I still sometimes have those throw back to middle school moments. The ones where no matter how good your grades were, you still felt gangly, awkward, and in awe of girls with smooth, shiny hair that weren't afraid to wield an eye lash curler.

I also occasionally have throw back moments to my first year of marriage, being broke, and either bumming product off my mom, or scraping together a semblance of a beauty regimen from the Dollar General.

Y'all have those moments, too right?

Well, Saturday, I stared both of those insecure visages in the face and... spent $200.00 on new make up. Between graduation and new jobs, it was time to stock up on items you have to buy in bulk (next week, I'm stocking my pantry!). Paul needed jeans, and I needed skin care....because I've been using St. Ives lotion on my face since March. But it's been such a long time since I bought any decent make up or skin care, and my face is so sensitive, and runs red, that I was sort of at a loss as to what to do.

Enter Lush. A couple of girls in my small group swore by it - girls who always look good, but not diva good (girls who also value sleep in the morning as much as I do!) - so that's where I went.

There's a Lush counter at Macy's, but best I can tell they are based in Great Britian. I have never bought make up from a cosmetics counter in a department store. It was a good experience - one every woman should have, I think. It's rather...confidence boosting. But I digress.

So, skin care, for red oily skin. The nice lady at the Lush counter helped me try on several things and I ended up with:
Fresh Farmacy facial cleanser, Vanishing Cream moisterizer, Tea Tree Toner, and Jackie Oates  color supplement (for normal folk). Oh, and a lip scrub. This all came to about a hundred bucks....but the quality is top notch. I'm loving it, and plan to go back for their body care items as well. Also, because the quality is high, so little is required...this stash will last me at least 8 months. Not too bad when I buy new Walmart stuff every month or so because my skin quits tolerating it or I get bored with what I have.

I also needed color products that stuck, so, for about another hundred I got two Mabelline 24 hour lip sticks, two Essie gel polishes, 2 MAC eye shadows, one paint pot, and one eye liner. All of which lasted through my 100 degree photo shoot this afternoon, and eight preK kids in Sunday school tonight. I'm sold.

(And to top this whole experience off, my hubby bought a TV (for graduation) that I could actually curl up and sit in, assuming it wasn't a flat screen panel with less than a 3 inch depth. Seriously, I'm 71 inches tall, and it's 60 inches across.)

So ladies, take it from me, the hippie look, while eco friendly can be refined ever so slightly, for a more polished gypsy look that doesn't take forever to apply, and doesn't sweat off!