I've bid farewell to 2 more lbs. this week --- and good riddance to them. What's more, weighing in at 145 means that I've met my latest mini goal! My new mini goal is going to be 139. I'd like to weigh in at 139 by Sunday, December 13. Wish me luck. The weight is definitely coming off a bit more slowly now than it was over the summer, but I'm still headed in the right direction. By the time I get to 139, I should be solidly in a size 10.
I spent Halloween night with my nieces at a neighborhood carnival. Kitten was dressed up as her heroine of the moment - "Cingewedda" - and Poppet painted the town red as a fuzzy little chicken with orange and green striped legs. There were ghouls and goblins out in force last night with capes, tiaras, and face paint galore.
I've been experimenting with a little face paint myself recently. In addition to the loose powder I apply twice I day, I began trying a liquid foundation right down the center of my face - just trying to hit the places where I have more freckles and reddishness than I do anywhere else. Unfortunately, this is also the oiliest skin on my face. No sooner did I start using the liquid foundation than my skin began breaking out right in the very same area! One of the virtues of having been a frump for so long is that I'm starting with a great baseline. It's very easy to tell when something new is not a good idea. I went from having about one blemish per month to having two or three per week. Clearly, liquid foundation isn't a good idea for me, but I still wanted to try something to even out my skin tone in that area.
1940s beauty experts were adamant that no grown woman should consider herself fully dressed without a good foundation make-up. The right foundation was credited with giving the face everything from "a velvety finish" or "that pearly finish" to "smoothness which can’t be commanded in any other way." It was widely touted that foundation - or "base" - could even improve the facial skin:
Makeup bases are certainly a great addition to the cosmetic family and can protect the skin as well as make it look lovely. They can stay the damage of cold and wind and dust and sun. The powder clings to them and keeps your makeup fresh for a longer time. They cover up minor blemishes, and if you select the right kind for your skin, they will even act as a gentle lubricant for the extremely dry skin. (Spokane Daily Chronicle, March 27, 1944)
The Evening Independent's Alicia Hart suggested in an April 1940 article on the latest spring fashions that no look was complete without a well made-up face:
The face that is a connecting link between a new navy suit and a beautiful hat must be fresh and clean, expertly made up. Clean your face carefully at least three times a day - morning, noon and night. Don't put layers of fresh make-up on over stale. Don't expect to achieve that coveted luminous look unless you use a foundation film, cream or lotion. It's a mistake for any woman to assume she doesn't need to use a foundation preparation.
Clean your neck every time you clean your face and make it up just as carefully. The new vogue for white collars on everything - coats and suits as well as dresses - puts the spotlight once again on throats.
There were two major types of foundation on the market during this era. A cream variety - I'd guess this was similar to the liquid foundation available these days - and a "pancake" variety, "which comes in a wafer-cake form, and is applied with a moist sponge. It is this latter kind which now is generally used by the film stars" (St. Petersburg Times, May 29, 1940). Josephine Lowman advised her readers in March 1944 to select a foundation with a oily base if they had dry skin: "I have long thought the use of wet cake makeup may be extremely detrimental to dry skins, leading to coarseness and extreme dryness."
Application was everything. In The New American Etiquette (1941), Lily Haxworth Wallace recommends that after washing the face and applying face cream, "apply a lovely, smooth foundation. Use only five dots on your face, and blend it in very smoothly. The success of one's appearance depends, to a large extent, on the correct application of the foundation cream." One trick suggested by a beauty expert of the era was to dip your fingers in cold water to ensure more even coverage. At all costs, one must be absolutely sure when applying foundation that she doesn't forget her neck! "Don’t let makeup end at the chinline. Carry your foundation and face powder downward on throat. Your throat should match your face. Unless you apply makeup skillfully, it won’t" (The Evening Independent, March 10, 1941).
The truly adventurous woman might even attempt to use two shades of foundation in re-sculpting her face:
You can change your facial contour by a clever combination of light and dark foundation creams… Light lengthens and reveals. Dark shortens and conceals. Thus if you have a triangular face, use a light foundation cream on chin and lower cheeks… dark or medium on rest of face. This adds fullness. If round… apply dark foundation to lower cheeks tapering toward the chin, for a desired oval shape. If oblong… spread entire chin and jaws with dark foundation. Result is a foreshortening of the lower features. If your forehead is too deep, use a darker base than you do on the rest of the face. (St. Petersburg Times, September 2, 1945)
So what's a gal with a face that rejects a liquid foundation to do? I want that velvety finish of yesteryear, too! What I've decided to try is one of the new mineral powder foundations - just at the center of my face. I settled on a jar of Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation in Classic Ivory the other day. I'm no cosmetics expert, but I'm pleased with the results so far. I'll have to give this some time in order to see how my skin reacts. Now if I can just remember not to try applying loose powder on top of the powder foundation...
12 comments:
Jitterbug - You don't have to use foundation. Both of my grandmothers and many of their generation considered women who wore makeup to be hussies. (Of course, when I was growing up, most of the women plastered on the makeup.) My paternal grandmother only used witch hazel on her face. My maternal grandmother used cold cream to cleanse. Both grandmothers applied a light powder dusting and wore a little lipstick. They both had the most beautiful skin and always looked well groomed.
Mineral powder is the best! I am a makeup artist, and it is by far my favorite choice for all but the driest of skins. And there are so many types! I prefer Joppa minerals, but have great things about the maybelline.
What kind of lipstick do you wear?
Mineral foundation is so great for my skin. I find that it covers even better than liquid and I don't have the feeling I've got heavy makeup on. It just evens out my skin tone so well.
Jitterbug - We all got caught up in the makeup issue, but forgot the *real* issue. Congratulations on losing 2 more pounds. You've lost almost 50 *that is FIFTY* pounds!!!!
Congrats on the weight loss! I use a liquid (light formula) foundation on days when I wake up looking like the walking dead, but otherwise I wear nothing or a tinted moisturizer. For moisturizing I take the make-up off with cold cream, and slather on vaseline. My aunt just recently told me that a close friend of hers who has plenty of money to spend on all the expensive creams has the face of a child....all from vaseline (her mother and grandmother always told her that was all she needed). My grandmother told me to use cold cream, and it does indeed work. I also use Burt's Bees Apricot Oil (you can find it in the baby section) and I found my using all of those regularly, my skin looks great, and I don't really have to wear make-up. Plus, mascara and some pretty lipstick, and whose worrying about a "perfect" complexion?
Back to the weight loss. You have basically cut back on snacking, are eating healthy, and walk while doing vintage exercises right? (making sure I haven't missed anything in our move). It proves my point that people don't need crazy diets!
As Jitterbug, I am truly envious. You're doing so well in your weight loss!
I wish I could do mineral make-up. It just doesn't seem to sit well with my skin. Of course, I haven't tried it since I perfected my cleansing and moisturizing routine (cold cream and Clinique--my skin is very dry!), so maybe now it would work.
Let us know how you like Maybelline's brand!
One thing to remember is that every single foundation and powder will contain different ingredients. I'm OK with some liquid foundations, but not others. Same thing with powders. It can take a lot of experimenting to get the right one!
Congrats on making your goal! I do hope you make the next one, as well. :)
Moisturizer.
I'm not kidding. I have the oily skin from Hell and a good, non-comedogenic, moisturizer has made a huge difference. It seems counterintuitive, but I swear my face is less oily now, even in Southeast Texas' notorious humidity, than it was before I moisturized. Also, I had hairlines around the corners of my mouth that have now disappeared. Hooray! (I think mine are Nutrogena Healthy Skin for daytime wear and Aveeno Skin Calming or some such thing for night. Nothing fancy. I can't use anything astringent or "skin clearing" more than once a day or I burn.)
I'll have to try mineral powder. I generally do not wear makeup, partly because I'm lazy but mostly because it makes me feel as though my face has been breaded and deep-fried. I've used liquid foundation on occasion (because I think it's rude to look like a bloodless corpse in other peoples' wedding photos) but it always curdles after a couple of hours.
Packrat, thanks for the congratulations! I'd love to be able to make do with a light dusting of powder, but there are areas on my face that could use a little cosmetic magic. (Your grandmothers were lucky!)
Shar, I'm glad to hear such an experienced recommendation. When I first started wearing lipstick, I bought Almay Red. Lately, I've been using just one coat of the Almay with a coat of pink-ish lip gloss on top. Always experimenting!
Bonjour Madame, mineral powder's getting a thumbs up from me so far... I'm trying to be careful blending it into the areas where I only use face powder.
Kalee, thanks for sharing all your winning techniques. In your picture, you look like you have beautiful skin! (I wish I'd taken better care of mine during my twenties.) You've got my reducing formula about down pat. I'd add that I've been very faithful about NOT eating anything I haven't purchased at the grocery store (no restaurants, take out, vending machines, etc.). And timing seems to make a real difference for me when it comes to eating. I've been following the rule: "Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a pauper for dinner."
Amber, all that matters is we find just the right combination that works for us, right? I'll keep you posted on the Maybelline.
dotted lines, maybe my skin is just rejecting CHEAP liquid foundations! I'm sure a great liquid works well with some skin types. And TY for the thumbs up!
Latter-Day Flapper, I'm so glad you mentioned what's working for you! You had me at hairlines-that-have-disappeared. Actually, I've been thinking that a good night-time moisturizer is something I truly need to add to my beauty regimen. Pronto.
Congratulations on the weight loss!!!
I use Bare Minerals and LOVE it! I haven't tried the drug store minerals but I just like Bare Minerals so much that I don't even consider not using it. I've been using it for 2 years now.
The cost seems pricey at first but after the first initial investment it doesn't cost much more than drug store make up. And I feel like I have *nothing* on my face. I also struggle with redness and rosacea and it covers it beautifully.
Mrs. Michele, thank you for the testimonial! I'll keep that brand in mind if this little jar doesn't work out for me. So far, so good. I'm glad it's been such a help with your skin problems. :)
The mineral powder foundations are great, even for a person with a less-than alabaster complexion like myself. Love your blog, I read it almost everyday!
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