Teaching An Old Dog

Look at me; posting two days in a row. For the last couple of years, I've been a BzzAgent.  Basically, they send me products and coupons to try and tell people about.  A few weeks back, they sent me samples of the CoverGirl & Oil of Olay Simply Ageless line.  I received foundation, blush, concealer, and corrector.  I was very nervous and skeptical about trying this product.  First, I had to pick the colors from an online form.  Second, I'm a loyal, loyal makeup consumer.  I find something I like and I stick with it.  I've only used two foundations previously for any length of time.  I started with Clinique as a teenager, and I switched to MAC in my 30s.  I've tried others here and there and quickly discarded them. I've never tried a "drugstore" brand that I liked at all.

It sat for a week or two before I even opened it up to try it.  It was a little tricky to open.  I was able to open three of the containers, but had to get Jim to open the fourth.  I started to think I was makeup container impaired, but I've since read of many others who had problems.  I think there is a basic design flaw happening here.

That, however, is the only flaw.  I absolutely love this makeup.  I've now officially switched to a "drugstore" brand. The corrector immediately evens out my skin tone.  The concealer does a great job of concealing without caking up.  But it's the foundation that won my heart.  It applies smoothly and stays smooth.  It feels cool, almost liquid-like, when you apply it with the sponge.  It dries instantly though.  The coverage is smooth, even, and matte. It remains suspended somehow on your skin without sinking into any lines or wrinkles, so you don't have that cakey, nasty building up in the lines of your face.  Another added bonus is that it has an SPF of 22.   I went with their second lightest shade, and it's a perfect match for my skin tone.  The blush is a little more challenging.  The color I chose is a tad too dark for me, and I haven't quite mastered applying a creamy blush as opposed to the powder version I've always used.  I think the problem here is more user error than product, so I'm not letting it sway my opinion.

In short, I give this product a huge thumbs up!

Another Reason Why Drugs Are Bad

Let me begin by saying that this post has nothing to do with this picture.  It's just one I took the other day with my phone.  It scares me a little because I see a flash of Sera in 12 years.  She's growing up so quickly.

During Easter week, we took our annual spring break trip to Gulf Shores. Unfortunately, I had a minor medical issue that came up at the beginning of our week that ended up requiring a small in-office surgical procedure.  Life got much better post-surgery because the pain was greatly reduced and the Vicodin was doing a fine job of taking care of what was left.

Because I was taking this pain relieving drug, Jim did all the driving home.  I kept insisting that I felt fine, but smart man refused to let me drive.  We got home very late and just collapsed.  The next day we woke up and  unloaded the car.  Since the next day was a work day, I was pretty focused on getting us unpacked and laundry done to start the work week.  If you'd asked me, I would have insisted I was right on top of things, and I was.  Unfortunately, I have very little memory of the details of the day.  What does this mean? 

In my haste to get unpacked and things put away, I put away Sera's birthday presents right away.  Most we found because I'd put them away in the drawers we use to store Sera's toys in the living room.  We searched and couldn't find two of her gifts though.  Not only couldn't we find them, I had absolutely no memory of ever seeing them.  We were sure we didn't leave them behind in the condo because we triple-checked the condo.  We've left things behind on more than one occasion.  Where could they be?

One was a dvd my mother had given Sera. She had watched it over and over in the condo and loved it.  The other was a coloring set my dad and step-mother had given her.

About two weeks ago, I found the dvd.  It was actually in the dvd cabinet, but just not in the right place.  Yesterday, the coloring set showed up.  I have no idea where it was.  I just noticed that Sera had it out and was coloring with it. 

It's more than two months later, but she finally has all her birthday presents.

Remember, drugs are bad...if you need to remember what you were doing while you took them.