What is the "My Fair Lady" label all about anyway?

It is quite simple.

I am getting married soon.

I am not going to get married in an Old Navy t-shirt and jeans with uneven skin and wild 'n crazy hair.

Enter "My Fair Lady".  You can follow along with me as I go from jeans and gym shoes to a fancy dress and heels.  All that is missing is a flower stand...

So...what have I been up to?

First we need to see what needs to be done for this major transformation: hair, makeup/skin, clothing, shoes, accessories.  What a coincidence that all this is what brides usually obsess about...  The only difference in this case is that I don't usually give a rat's patooty about any of it, so I am starting from scratch.

OK, now for what has been done.

Ummmmmmmmm.... I bought makeup and I look at it every day sitting on my dresser.  That is about how far I've gotten. I haven't even broken the seals on any of the containers yet.  Sigh.  I will start practicing how to put it all on this weekend, I promise.  I have the makeup, I have the notes on how to apply it and what goes where first and so on...and most importantly I have my new friend at Bare Minerals on speed dial.  I just need to lock myself in the bathroom and go for it every weekend.  Putting makeup on before I leave for work just will NOT happen - I'm not going to get up any earlier than 6am - so nights and weekends are it.

All that is left for the makeup portion of the transformation is practice - and a good moisturizing lipstick.  I didn't like the formula from Bare Minerals.  Anyone have any ideas?  When I have a hot flash, my lips go dry.  I mean DRY.  I'm not into shiny lip gloss or sparkly stuff, just a nice creamy, matte moisturizing lipstick.  I need something that won't crack off my lips when all the moisture gets sucked out of them.

Now for skin.  My skin is in pretty darn good shape, thanks to some good genes handed down by Mom and protecting myself in the sun.  I'm not worried too much about wrinkles - lucky me, I hardly have any at all.  Again, THANKS MOM!  The only thing that bothers me is my uneven skin tone and large pores.  Combine that with the occasional red or purple splotches during a hot flash and well, there you go.  YIKES!  I have been using Boots No. 7 (I get mine at Target) intense face and eye serums and night cream ever since I went for my first visit to England to see Honey.  I had asked him to ask round to see what was the best skin care line for lines/wrinkles/aging and the answer was Boots brand.  I couldn't afford any of it direct from there, but when they came out with a formulation for the States, by golly I jumped on it and have been using it off and on (mostly off to be honest) ever since Target first put it on the shelves.  I had tried other products in between, but they were too expensive once the trial sizes were gone to continue.  Boots No. 7 works just as well as the others and is very budget friendly - as long as you don't buy EVERYTHING they have of course.

My beauty "regimen" for face - every morning and every night:

1. Wet textured towel with very warm, but not hot water.  Hold on face a few seconds, wipe face and neck.  Rinse towel and repeat as many times as you need.  I usually "wash" twice, rinse the towel really well one last time and leave it on my face a bit.  The warmth feels sooooo good after a long day.  I have not used soap on my face for a very long time.  As a result, my skin is soft and I very rarely break out.  My face gets clean without the harsh soap or chemicals.  Imagine that.
2. Apply eye serum, being careful to not pull the skin, it is especially delicate in the eye area.  I put a tiny bit of the serum on my ring fingers and gently dab it round my eyes until it is absorbed.
3. Apply face serum using recommended amount in an upwards motion.  I heard once that putting on creams and lotions in an upward motion gives your skin a bit of a lift.  Does it work?  Don't  know, but it feels good.  Also apply some to your neck and decollete, don't forget to use the upward motion thing.  You get wrinkles there too (and everyone sees that every day just like your face), so why not?
4. Apply small amount of the face cream all over face, neck and decollete.  Yes, I do actually use the "night cream" in the morning AND at night.  Nothing says you can't.

Skin Care Bottom Line:

Very simple regimen and it only takes a few minutes.  My skin is smoothing out, I can see a bit of a difference in my pore size and my skin tone is beginning to change for the better too.  It is amazing what a little extra attention to yourself will do, isn't it?

Back to makeup for a bit now.  I chose the Bare Minerals makeup because I like a 'natural' look and I didn't want to cake layer upon layer of this that and the other thing onto my skin.  I do however want pretty, natural looking, even skin with a glow that is not PURPLE when I have a hot flash.  The mineral powders are light, my skin doesn't feel clogged, and the coverage is amazing considering the VERY tiny amount of product you actually use.  Most importantly, the coverage is SO good, that I had a hot flash while I was there and the only reason you could actually notice is because my ears were BRIGHT red.  Going to have to do something about that for the wedding I think...

Makeup Bottom Line:

Don't go buying willy nilly all over the place.  Doesn't matter that you can return makeup you don't like at CVS and so on.  Take the time to visit an actual makeup counter of a line you are interested in - or ALL of them if you want!  I found the experience relaxing, eye opening, and a good way to spend some time either with a friend or just yourself.  There was no pressure to buy at that moment either.  If you are older, make sure the young person (most of them are VERY young)  behind the counter understands your needs as someone who is most likely old enough to be their mother.  Skin needs and coverage change, sometimes daily for those of us experiencing "the change".

Next up: Hair and Nails.