Diary of a Makeup Junkie

I knew I shouldn't have stepped foot in Sephora...

By: Cynthia Nellis

September 15, 2011

2 Comments

Source: Cindi Nellis

Here's what almost $300 of makeup looks like.

Share This Story

I took a break from the fashion shows to go shopping and wandered into a NYC Sephora. Sounds harmless enough, right?

The problem is that I am weak: I love makeup. I am from Texas, which explains a lot (I like to joke that they teach kindergartners how to apply lipstick.)

At first, I just bought a take-home for the 17-year-old (a skull-shaped eyeshadow from Tokidoki that was way cute.) Then the Dior salesperson, Katya, got hold of me.

"Can I help you find anything?" She asked.

It couldn't hurt to look at a new lip plumper to smooth out lip lines, I thought.

Of course, Dior had one (and they honestly have some of the prettiest packaging for their lip products I've ever seen.)

"I'll take that." I pointed to the Dior Lip Maximizer.

Followed by a lip gloss that brings out your natural lip color, Dior Lip Glow.

"I'll take that, too."

"You look a little tired," the makeup pro told me.

So she fixed me up with concealer – SkinFlash, Radiance Booster Pen – which works great to cover up circles without being too cakey or greasy. It also works as a highlighter and she showed me how to use it on my brow bone.

From there, naturally we moved on to blush (Dior Coral Rivera) My consultant told me I needed blush, not bronzer, and I agree. The peachy color she chose really woke up my skin.

Then we tried a new eye pencil – a bronzey green color – DiorShow Mint — that is spectacular and something I never would've tried on my own. I think women our age need to avoid harsh blacks for liner and this is a great alternative for darker eye colors.

The best thing I bought was the foundation (called AirFlash) – a super light, spray foundation that gives you a natural finish with a bit of a glow. I have trouble finding a drugstore foundation that I love since most of it seems so heavy.

Total damage? $280. Which took my breath away for a minute. Then I realized that the last time I had done a makeover and splurge was at a Sephora in Manhattan – in 2005.

I guess it was about time.

More about makeovers in middle age:

Related: Shopping, Beauty, Dior, makeover, makeup, sephora • All Categories

Share Your Thoughts

First Name:

Birth Date:

For your protection, ensure that no personally identifiable information (like full name or email address) is submitted in your comment.

CAPTCHA

This tests that you are really a person and not a computer.

What code is in the image?:

Enter the characters shown in the image.

Trust is a cornerstone of our corporate mission, and the success of our business depends on it. P&G is committed to maintaining your trust by protecting personal information we collect about you, our consumers.

Our Privacy Policy

Anonymous | Sep 17, 2011

How do you like the Dior AirFlash make-up? Does it really give you a flawless finish? Is it hard to get it to spray evenly? I've been tempted to buy, but $50 + is a lot for a foundation!

Cynthia Nellis | Sep 17, 2011

I love it. It's very light and sheer, so definitely not for heavy coverage. But I wanted something that just evened out skin tone, covered a few imperfections without looking heavy. I apply it with a brush — give it a pump on both sides of the brush — apply on forehead, cheeks, chin and blend — I don't spray it directly on. It's super expensive for foundation, but I love it and don't wear foundation every day so it will last forever (sorry, but I am guilty of not throwing it away every six months.) Go bare-faced into a department store or Sephora and try it first!