I’ve received more than a few emails this week regarding beauty product awards and while I’m pretty sure that it’s some sort of advertising campaign set up by the companies who manufacture the products, it did get me thinking about how much I rely on certain products.  Adding to that, the conversation I recently had with my cousin who just had her first baby (and boy is he beautiful!) about feeling good about how you look with the least amount of effort has prompted me to recount here what I have found that works for me. Now, let me warn you.  I am not, nor will I ever be the kind of woman who goes for a natural, earthy look.  You know, the less is more, just rolled out of bed and I’m natural and gorgeous kind of girl.  I’m a girly girl who loves color and long, thick lashes and shiny, shiny, glossy, pigmented lips.  My hair is dyed a red that I don’t believe exists in nature, but I love it.  So now that you know where I stand, you can better decide how to take my reviews.  Ok?  Ok. 

The first product that I  can not live without is Lancome Cils Booster XL.  It’s a mascara base that, (I swear!) makes an unbelievable difference.  My lashes are so much thicker when I use this especially with Lancome Hyponse Mascara which is not at all clumpy and gross.  I can put layer after layer on and it just makes the lashes longer and thicker and almost velvety.

 As far as foundations go, I live in Florida, so they tend to melt off of you, instead I use a tinted moisturizer, Lancome Imanance in Tawny, it gives me just enough coverage so that my skin tone evens out.  This is the one place that I feel that less is more, there’s nothing worse than a caked on, yucky foundation don’t you think?

 So those are the products that I buy.  I know they’re all Lancome and you might be saying, “but Christine, Lancome is so expensive!  I can’t afford that!” and I would say that while it is expensive, there are definitely tricks to getting your money’s worth.  The first thing you need to do is go to the local Lancome counter (there’s one in all the “better” department stores) and introduce yourself.  These women work on commission and any of them should be glad to add you to their customer base.  They will call you and mail you whenever there’s a special, or purchase with purchase, or the holy grail, gift with purchase.  Here’s the tricky part; you have to time your needs to coincide with their promotions.  Sometimes I’ll buy my tinted moisturizer before I actually need it, if there’s a particularly yummy promotion going on. All the department stores have a promotion each season, so if you’re lucky enough to have numerous department stores in your area, sign up with each one. The gifts are always very generous sizes and usually have an eye shadow or eye shadow/blush compact, a lipstick, a juicy tube (the best gloss ever, bar none) and a moisturizer or make up remover and some sort of make up case or bag.  The moisturizers are so good you can’t believe it, but they can get very expensive, so the gifts are a nice treat if you don’t want to invest in their creams. 

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Yikes!  See that storm?  You see the really red area?  Yeah well, my house is right underneath that right now.  I was on the phone and had to throw it across the room because I could hear the lightning crackling the lines.  Is it dangerous to talk on a cordless phone during a storm?  How about a cell phone?  Thank goodness for wireless and for a fully charged battery on the laptop.  

It is OK to use my photos or content provided a link back and proper crediting is given