Be careful with the top on that! Apparently it's prone to popping off when you're squeezing the bottle. It happened to me, I lost a ton of product and it was such a mess.

I do like the product itself, though.

Sephora is a good place to buy from because of the excellent return policy.

They accept returns with or without a receipt and it doesn't matter if they've been used or not.

bostongreek: Thanks for the heads up. :)

Ooh La La: There was a woman in front of me who was returning a product and she had no problem at all. I went to Sephora because it seemed 'middle of the road' as far as price and I think trying out product is crucial for someone who doesn't know what she is doing...like myself.

Good luck with recruitment TrueStar!

best of luck this fall! you've gotten some great advice. and you sound like me as far as looks. same skin tone and hair, and i'm from ohio. I dont tan, i burn, peel, and go back to being pale. i dont wear makeup on a daily basis, i dont need to. but when i do, i wear powder to reduce shine (neutrogena), lip toned gloss (burts bees), and brown black mascara. i wore a LOT more makeup when i was younger... and it never looked good on me. now, even if i'm doing date night with the husband, i wear the same stuff, and a darker shade of lip gloss, and i still look great.

anyone else ever read that the best mascara out there is the maybelline stuff that comes in the pink bottle with green cap? i read something online not long ago that said even the experts recommend it. i bought it, and no joke... i love it. it's cheap, like $5 a tube, but looks amazing. doesnt dry out my eyes or lashes, doesnt damage them like some mascaras do, doesnt clump, isnt' goopey. i doubt i ever use anything else from now on.

oh, and if you ever want a funny picture to laugh at, i'll post ones of my attempts at applying/wearing eye liner. ;)

Try not to make faces when you put on your makeup - it will increase your wrinkle factor when you get older!

I used Max Factor mascara every day until it no longer was available. It was wonderful! Never smeared, ran, or anything. Now that I can't get it anymore, I've switched to Cover Girl, which is part of the same company.

Tinted moisturizer is great! I make my own by mixing one parts moisturizer and one parts foundation for a sheer coverage. I wear glasses so mascara is important, and lips should always be soft. I'm Italian but pretty pale, so that tint really can make me look polished.

I can tan if I want to (pretty quickly), but I don't want to age sooner than necessary and stopped tanning outside about 6 or 7 years ago. If you're in CA, sunscreen is especially important.

If you do ever want to play with eye shadow, a sweep of color along the bottom of your top eyelid can be really pretty.

Did you not stock up at the Big Bird? They were selling MF for like 80% off. You can also probably get it online thru a Canadian site.

I just went out and bought tinted moisturizer for an emergency situation (crying at work = blotchy face, YES!) and am sorely disappointed. I feel like it's moisturizing foundation rather than tinted moisturizer- it doesn't seem any more sheer or lighter coverage than my normal foundation. Sad! Guess I'll be taking that one back :( Not sure if that's how they all are or just this one (Physician's Formula, it's also what my normal foundation is).

I did break down and buy some mascara though, which I haven't worn for a few years. I'm digging it. Good thing I wasn't wearing it earlier, though!

This thread makes me want to bump the Love of Makeup thread.

I've run out of my Big Bird stash. I have very pale eyelashes, long, but pale. When your parents make you promise to never go outside without it by the time you're TEN, you know that you need mascara!

But seriously, the Cover Girl seems to be the same formula - I've already gone swimming in it without any smearing or flaking! But you do have to make sure you have the waterproof formula, just like the Max Factor.

I've tried the $$ mascaras, and have never had the luck that MF/CG has given me.

Someone said it before but http://www.makeupalley.com can be a good resource for product reviews, plus there are message boards there with women from all walks of life and they can be very helpful.
Personally, I adore all makeup from the natural "my face but better" look to a dramatic flair, but for everyday life I go fairly simple. A lot of makeup is trial and error to find what works best for you whether it's high end or drug store. Sephora's return policy is great if a product doesn't work for you or you simply don't like it.

Good luck! =)

Bumping—Honey, where did you say you stocked up when they discontinued your mascara? I'm pretty sure L'Oreal just stopped making my go-to, and I can't find it anywhere!

HC went to Giant Eagle which is a grocery store around Pittsburgh. I have found, though, grocery stores can be the BEST places to get stuff that's discontinued because they don't keep up with restocking and the newest products as much as drugstores or Ulta do.

Thanks! Tried that though. That's when I finally gave up and realized it was discontinued.
...on the other hand, the liquidation company on Amazon now has it for half price