64 Arts

A Good Foundation

64 Arts

Let’s face it–a lot of us have a love-hate relationship with foundation.

On the one hand it’s goopy, messy, stains our fingertips, towels and clothes and can leave streaks if we’re not very careful. On the other hand it tends to provide amazing coverage and can hide a multitude of surface flaws.

I’ve tried all sorts of formulas–expensive to cheap–and all sorts of applicators: fingertips, sponges, even paintbrushes (which worked better than I thought it would). It’s sort of a necessary evil.

Like a friend’s mom once said: You paint the barn when it needs it, right?

So when my own mother, she of the no makeup and great skin at 50, revealed that she thought rather highly of the Bare Escentuals mineral foundation I figured it was worth a shot. Short answer: I’m completely sold on the benefits of mineral make-up

  • very little mess
  • easy application
  • generally better for your skin

And over the years I’ve tried three different brands: Bare Escentuals, Cover Girl and Mary Kay (the latter 2, of course, I’ve also used their liquid options).

Bare Escentuals was my first experience and can I just say that I love, love, love their brushes. The kabuki brush is so perfect to hold in your hand and–for lack of a better word–scrub in the powder. (No, it doesn’t take that much pressure, but it’s the best description I’ve got!). The foundation itself is light and airy but gives great coverage with only one pass, even though I tend to have very uneven skin tone. I also adore their mineral veil. (Granted, I’m a “fairly light”, so the mineral veil could almost be my foundation color!)

CoverGirl True Blends has the distinct benefit of being available in drugstores, etc. so is really good in a pinch, but it’s not my favorite. I needed far more of it than either of the other two brands I’ve tried and when the idea is maximum coverage in the minimum time (a major plus for the mineral foundations) that’s a serious detriment.

And, can I just say, they lose major points for packaging–good idea, faulty execution. The self-contained brush was nice but it’s nearly impossible to get it back into the little tube top without crimping some of the bristles. Furthermore, the lid of the dispenser end being so narrow made it difficult to get the brush into it to get the shaken-out powder. I ended up shaking it into a spare lid from a large dish and it worked better that way. Still, they do have a finishing veil, and it’s an acceptable substitute for mineral veil and that earns them back a few points in my book. Plus, they are the least expensive of the three I’ve tried.

Finally, a friend of mine started selling Mary Kay last Fall. I’d used a variety of their products about 10 years ago and it wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I just wasn’t fond of paying that much for make-up. Since then I’d become a Sephora devotee, so the price point wasn’t as big a deal. And Mary Kay had recently come out with their mineral line so, hey, why not?

Downside? They don’t have a loose veil-type powder but they do have a handy pressed mineral compact that is perfect for mid-day touch ups. I’m also preferential to my kabuki brush over theirs, though the Mary Kay brush is perfect for all-over color like bronzers or even just a hint of blush.

Upside? Excellent quality of the mineral foundation. It feels lighter than Bare Escentuals but without a noticeable drop in coverage. The price is right there with Bare Escentuals. Plus I get to help my friend make some money doing what she loves and that makes me feel good.

Beyond the Basics

You know I love the Bare Escentuals brushes and their concealer brush (which merely concentrates the foundation for additional coverage) is no exception. I have a bounty of their eye shadows and still use them almost daily but what I love most outside of their foundation is the Buxom Lips Lip Gloss. Holy bee-stung, Batman! It smells amazing, looks even better, and makes your lips tingle for ages. No funny taste and it’s slick but not sticky. Love it!

Mary Kay, on the other hand, excellent skin care line as always. I use their TimeWise products daily and they really do help with my difficult, combination, hormone-screwy skin. Also, color me amazed at the pigment in their tinted lip balm! Most of the time you’re lucky to get any kind of color at all from a balm but these are super-pigmented by comparison–I usually use it in the mornings when the full force of the sparkly Nourishine Lip Gloss that I also adore.

The 8th Art: Make-Up!

64 Arts

Dyes and colorants for the body and teeth.

Let’s put our pretty faces on, yes?

I didn’t grow up knowing a lot about make-up. By the time I was that age Mom was totally over wearing it herself and wasn’t all that keen for me to start. No bonding moments over lip gloss for us. In fact, I was only allowed to wear pressed powder for the longest time. I specifically remember my freshman year of high school when I got invited to the Prom (helps to date an upperclassman, yes?). My dress was powder blue so Mom, trying to be helpful and supportive, brought home some mascara and eyeshadow for me. Blue eyeshadow.

Now, I know that blue shades are making a comeback but even then (1991) I knew that I had no business wearing blue eyeshadow with a blue dress, especially since I have blue eyes. Nope.

But she tried, and I do appreciate it now.

Usually I’m good at learning things from books–make-up was not one of those skills that I learned that way. Thank Cosmo for the Internet, tutorials and grown-up girlfriends who can show me what to do. And, you know, what not to do.

Speaking of tutorials, here’s a great one for repairing a broken compact. Who knew it was so simple?

May Day Baskets

64 Arts

A long-standing practice that has fallen by the way side these days is the practice of giving flowers to friends and neighbors on the first of May.

Feel like being a bouquet bandit this year? Wrap small bunches of flowers (wild or hot-house, whatever floats your boat) in cones of colored paper, large doilies or even in small (or big, if you’re feeling generous) baskets. Prep them either the night before or the morning of May 1st and then head out to your lucky friends and leave the gifts on their front steps or hanging from their door knobs.

You can leave a note, of course, but you can also do it anonymously and keep your friends guessing who might have left them such a wonderful little gift!

Floral Proportionals

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I’ve got cakes on the brain right now, but that’s not totally separate from floral arrangements as I will now demonstrate.

Cake for 50, with Flowers for 45

Back when I was still doing a lot of cakes I was contracted to do a small wedding cake for all of about 50 guests. Small cakes are good and bad–fairly quick, no special equipment or ridiculous baking pans required, but they can also look a little small in the reception venue.

This particular cake, shown at left, was a bit dwarfed by the arch behind it and the large table it sat on but the worst part of it was the flowers.

No, that is not an optical illusion or a trick of the camera angle, the floral topper really was 2/3 the height of the cake.

From this I learned a very important lesson: Make sure the florist knows the size of the cake they’re prepping flowers for otherwise you might end up with something grossly mis-matched. It sorta reminded me of my first wedding where the florist (a friend of my mother-in-law to be) had started on the bridal bouquet (silk) before I’d even had a chance to talk with her. The flowers, if left unchecked, would have been wider than me (not a joke, I was much thinner back then)!

But it’s not just cakey applications where size matters! Think about your dinner table the next time you have guests over. If you plop a huge centerpiece in the middle, the folks across from one another won’t be able to see or easily talk to one another–not a good thing! Well, unless it was me and my (now) former mother-in-law. Same goes for overly scented flowers: while taste is technically a skill of the taste buds, the nose works in tandem with them and strong flowers can overpower the flavor of food.

So, the tall and the short of it is–Harmony. You want your flowers to match your setting, to complement it.

Just because flowers are a man’s way of making up for one transgression or another, doesn’t mean they are a band-aid for everything.

Fun with Flowers

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Now that we’ve covered some flower basics and touched on some selective flower meanings it’s time to talk about making them look pretty sitting on your table, desk or counter–more than just being dumped in any old vase.

Containers

It’s great to have a selection of vases around for that unexpected bouquet–even if you’re just picking some up for yourself (I used to do that all the time and think I’ll get back in the habit, again). Of course you save the ones you get with birthday arrangements, Valentine’s gifts and the rest (you do, don’t you?) but what else can you use for a vase?

  • Vases and More

    Potential Vases Collected from Around the House

    Wine glasses

  • Wine bottles
  • Tea Cups or Mugs
  • Small buckets
  • Pitchers
  • Canning jars
  • Test Tubes (with a holder)
  • Toothbrush holders
  • Pen caddies–

Pretty much anything that can hold water can hold a flower or two, too!

Arrangement

An odd number of stems, of colors or heights will add to the visual composition of your arrangement. Why? Well, with even items it’s just too easy for them to hive off in either direction or look boxy. An even number gives you a focal point which the other flowers can cluster around. In other words: Embrace Oddity!

Think about the classic 3-rose bouquet you find in any florist’s reach-in. They may be all the same color and size but they are usually at 2 or 3 heights to make it look nicer–you get to see that there are three separate flowers and each has room to bloom. A larger bouquet of all the same flowers works the same way: by trimming the stems to different lengths and then angling them within the vase we get a nice domed or semi-circle shape that lets all flowers be seen and looks great from all angles. This is especially good for centerpieces.

But enough abstracts, let’s use a real-time example:

  1. Pick a container that will easily hold your flowers–I’ve picked up a small vase and had to start all over when all the stems wouldn’t fit, so dropping them all in to see how they look is totally okay.
  2. Fill half to 3/4 full with fresh water and whatever flower food you have available.
  3. Select one flower to be your focal point. Decide whether it will go in the center or to one side. Trim it to the best height for your vase.
  4. Looking at the rest of your flowers, decide which ones should go around the focal flower first and trim them just shorter than the first flower, enough that the petals sit just below each other. This choice can be made from a color point of view or size–it’s usually best to start large and work your way down to smaller, but there are always exceptions to every rule.
  5. Place each set of flowers into the vase, sorta weaving them stems around one another to keep each layer in place. Use corners or edges to your advantage to angle a flower in the direction you want it to go instead of letting it float around.

The first flower's tough to position, but it's good to get an idea for how high you want your arrangement.

The second set of flowers is a head shorter than the first flower.

The third level of flowers goes in...

The rest is just filling in the "holes." With full flowers you don't even need any extra greenery!

It’s really just that simple.

Helping Hands

There are a number of floral helpers out there and many you can replicate at home.

Oasis is a (usually) green foamy material that soaks up tons of water and you can stick your flowers into it to keep them in a very specific arrangement. This usually gets used in an opaque or covered container since it’s not very pretty to look at.

Floppy stems are sometimes a problem, especially with sunflowers and very full roses. I don’t see wires used as much, these days, instead I’m seeing more plastic tubes on the upper section of stem as additional support. Clear drinking straws can be used in their place for all but the thickest of stems; either slide it on from the bottom or make a slit along the length of the straw and wrap it around the side like a neck brace.

Frogs aren’t just for your garden! Some are made to go in the bottom of your vase and have little spaces that help hold your flowers in place and some are more like lids or inserts that fit just inside the top of your vase and provide a grid in which to place your flowers so they don’t slide to one side or another. These are great for simple, streamlined arrangements like tulips in an oblong vase or something. In a pinch, though, you can replicate it with clear tape laid out in a grid across your vase–just leave enough space for the stems to fit between the tape!

Sand, glass beads and rocks can also help keep your flowers in place.

If you use something less than attractive inside your vase, it’s not a bad idea to take some fabric, wrapping paper or tissue and wrap it around the vase to pretty it up.

Go forth, arrange! Fill your house with flowers in pretty containers and brighten up your space. Have fun!