stuff girls put on themselves

I recently discovered a makeup blog by the great cartoonist Natalie Dee. It's called Stuff I Put On Myself. As someone who grew up hippie-ish and makeup-less, I find myself still learning how to use the stuff right. And like Natalie, who was a lifelong nail-biter, I overcame my lifelong nail-picking to become a very serious consumer of nail polish. (Though Natalie has gone so far as to create her own line, Super Black; the winter line will be available shortly.

I'm a cheapskate about makeup but I have expensive tastes. I spend the money when I need to, and have been known to look for discontinued and out-of-season colors on Ebay. When I can, I buy from ELF, which has great/cheap powder eyeshadow kits and some nice lipsticks - although their online swatches bear only a faint resemblance to the actual colors. Their nail polishes used to be great, but then they changed the formula and became way too thick. Some nail polish thinner helps.

I'm still looking for the perfect day cream (something very moisturizing with a 15 SPF) and the right foundation (never wore the stuff until recently...I'm starting to see a little discoloration from times past spent in the sun) and the best-ever mascara (I'm sticking with Maybelline Great Lash for the time being).

I've been a fan of Urban Decay for a long time, although they keep discontinuing stuff I like. Their old nail polishes were awesome, as was a metallic (not glitter) liquid eyeliner and a gloss called Lip Gunk. Now they do some no-good polish in sets. And recently, they discontinued my all-time favorite eye shadow, Lounge, which is a reddish brown with a green sheen. I bought an extra before they vanished.

There is no doubt that I've become a girlier girl over the past few years...the makeup and clothes are catching up with the jewelry, it seems.