Beauty Buzz: Andi on Buyer’s Remorse

By Andi Douglas, nwaMotherlode.com beauty editor

Time is precious to a mom, especially when your kids are in tow and at least one of them has to tinkle NOW! So, when I spend 15 minutes in the drugstore staring at all of the beauty products available (and there are a lot) and end up leaving with nothing because of a deep-rooted fear of Buyer’s Remorse, it irks me to no end.

Make-up counters in the mall cause similar anxiety with the tempting, and breakable, goods always within reach of little hands, even with the restriction of a 5-point stroller harness. So, in desperate need of some updated products, I agreed to a consultation at the home of a Mary Kay sales director, Dawn Stanford.

Even though Lexi, 17 months old and never still, managed to empty everything out of my diaper bag including an entire bowl of Goldfish, I felt relaxed and able to try out some great new products.

Finally, I was able to get the tinted moisturizer I have been craving. I have been putting off buying any from the store because the color choices seemed vague and, unlike foundation, most moisturizers come in opaque tubes so it is hard to compare. The Mary Kay Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 ($18) went on smooth and evened out my skin tone without the weight of foundation. The best part, all of the Mary Kay products are guaranteed so if a month goes by and I a find that the lotion is not compatible with my skin, Dawn will help me find something else that works.

If you want more coverage and are a fan of mineral foundations, Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation ($18) is definitely a great value and has all of the oil-absorbing properties mineral foundations are famous for. Personally, it did not work on my super dry skin, but when winter rolls around and I lose my summer tan, I am going to try out some of the other liquid foundations that are available.

My favorite part of the makeover process is always the eyes and a beauty tip I picked up from Dawn: Always do your eyes first, so if you have any flakes or blink while your mascaras wet (hate that!) you won’t mess up the rest of your face.

I tried out some of the electric colors that beauty editors have been raving about and found that I’m a big dud when it comes to eye shadows, and migrated back to my standard smokey eye. But I did update the look with Navy Eyeliner ($10) and smoked it up with Mineral Eye Color in Midnight Star ($6.50). It came out gorgeous and one of my friends commented that they had never noticed I had brown eyes before, a real testament to the rule of opposites attract when it comes to eye makeup. I looked a little made up for lunch at Chick-fil-a but who’s judging?

I was a little nervous about the one-on-one aspect, but with a friend along for the ride, it made for a really fun morning and I have a mile long wish list of things to try next. I’m also officially addicted to the comfort of a guarantee…no more Buyer’s Remorse for me!

Have a question for Andi, beauty blogger and fellow mama? E-mail it to mamas@nwaMotherlode.com.

“Beauty Buzz” is sponsored by Hull Dermatology, with offices in Rogers, Bella Vista and at the Eureka Springs Hospital. Dr. Hull has published several scientific papers and has received numerous awards and honors for her work in dermatology. For more info, click here to visit the Hull Dermatology website.