I think I’ve been up since like 2am. Laying there. Listening to an incredibly detailed (I can distinguish each instrument and hear the exact voices in the lyrics) reproduction of the theme song from the prime time cartoon “Family Guy” playing over and over in my head. “Where are those old-fashioned values, on which we used to rely?” I’ve already manipulated several instrument parts in my head to bring out the horn, add a trumpet for a bit part, created a dramatic pause in percussion at one point just to see what it would “sound” like, added a marching band beat on the drums for the end where the people sing, “It’s…the…family…guuuuuy!” (that one didn’t end up sounding very good, but kinda goofy). I liked the version in my head that ends with the horns doing “shave and a haircut, six bits”. I’d always been able to “hear” in extraordinary detail in my mind’s ear; I imagine it’s a bit of what Mozart did when he wrote full symphonies with all the complete instrument parts in a first-and-final draft. Less interestingly in my head while this music was going on are the foreground thoughts — consumed by Mr. W’s ex situation. (She called him tonight and left a message demanding child support money despite the fact that Mr. W’s daughter has moved back in with him full-time for weeks now and made it clear she is there to stay.) So 2.5 hours go by of this, and I think I’m losing my mind cuz altho I can control the music, I can’t get it or the thoughts to simply stop.

Okay, so I’ll blog.

I’m very excited about being a new member of the Bare Escentuals mineral makeup consumer community. A friend bought me a special edition color kit for Christmas (2 eyeshadows, 1 blush, 1 powder eyeliner, 1 gold dust accent powder, 1 loose powder, 3 different application brushes), and I liked the way it worked, and was interested in trying the all-natural mineral foundation cuz hey, it’s supposed to be good for your skin and improve skin over time. “Makeup so pure you can sleep in it.” So yesterday I went to Sephora and paid $60 for this Starter Kit.
I was skeptical as to how long it would last and how well it would cover. With my oily skin, the only decent foundation I’ve been able to find (and stuck to like glue for over 10 years now) is the Revlon ColorStay brand which boasts the motto, “It really won’t rub off!” Well, it does transfer, but only after a couple of hours, and I’m sure with normal skin it’d stay put pretty much all day. I get shine breakthrough in an hour and have to blot. However, I’ll say that I don’t have to reapply even if I go to the gym.
I applied my new Bare Escentials mineral foundation without washing my face beforehand (altho I was wearing no makeup, I had been up for quite a few hours), and although I wasn’t happy with the immediate coverage and kept dumping out more foundation powder to brush/buff onto my face, the end result after a first layer of Mineral Veil as oil-absorbing base, spot-concealing specific areas with the foundation powder using the included concealing brush, quite a bit of foundation powder all over, and finally ending with another layer of Mineral Veil as setting powder, well, the end result was really decent. Mr. W liked it better than my original liquid foundation because he said it looked less “masky” to him and more natural. So then I popped in the DVD and watched the tutorial tell me all the things I did wrong. Apparently you’re supposed to apply as many layers of foundation as you need coverage for, not dump a bunch on the brush to apply cuz you don’t see immediate full coverage. And for fuller coverage, you’re supposed to use a special included “Kabuki brush,” not the “full face brush” I’d been using. Oops. BUT, this foundation, even tho I did it “wrong” and didn’t optimize what it can do, lasted longer than the “high-tech,” chemically created ColorStay brand! Not only did I not get shine break-through (altho I looked slightly dewy, not shiny, without reapplying, repowdering or blotting after 6 hours), but at 10pm, I pressed my face lightly against Mr. W’s white T-shirt and the makeup did not transfer! (He didn’t appreciate my little test after I told him why I’d just leaned my cheek into his shirt-sleeve, stared at the sleeve, leaned again, checked again.)

And that is…the most exciting thing happening in my life right now. It even beat out the fact that I couldn’t stop peeing today as I debloated and it turned out I didn’t gain any weight after my 2-week gym hiatus. Well, I did do a half-hour cardio session once each week, a few days ago I ran 3 miles at lunchtime. Hmm. Looks like I should’ve stopped this post a few sentences ago. Sorry.