Over the years I have often bought my daughter new makeup. It’s so fun, gilding a lily. In college, gold eye shadow. Last year, red lipstick. And last week, for her 29th birthday, new all around – this time focused on minimizing controversial ingredients.*
I took her to Sephora for a free mini-makeover. You pick one feature for the makeup artist, we chose eyes. (Never fear, fierce mama managed to get advice on the full gamut.)
The artist recommended the Tarte line, for both aesthetics and ingredients. (And I know they use a lower case T in their branding but in a blog post that just makes me feel like I made a mistake.) We looked at two Tartlette palettes, the Bloom Clay and the Matte. We chose Bloom. When you’re 29 a little shimmer calls the fairies close.
We had to steer the artist away from scary goth overkill, but eventually got to a simple light lid, dark crease, and darkest shadow lining. A little highlight on the brow. Turned those blue eyes an almost-ocean color.
Having learned for myself the value of an eyebrow pencil, I urged one on my daughter. She didn’t resist, overly. The Benefit Goof Proof #2 worked with her fair skin, red hair, and medium brown eyebrows. I love 21st century brush-on-the-other end phenomenon.
Finally, I threw a tube of my faithful Dr. Hauschka, Volume version, into the birthday loot. Why keep the good stuff to oneself?
On to tinted moisturizer and blush. As a very fair, lightly-freckled blue-eyed redhead, my daughter needs very light coverage and a lot of SPF. The artist recommended both a Tarte primer/BBcream, and a brand I hadn’t heard of, AmorePacific. We chose the AmorePacific Color Control Cushion with SPF 50. This is their fairest shade. The built-in cushion acts like a Beauty Blender, and the compact itself is very nifty for carrying about.
However, as I researched this post, I discovered that the AmorePacific product relies on 7% ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate to get that big SPF 50. Not the most suspicious sun filter, but not the best. Drat. I shipped her the Tarte BB today. Maybe she can alternate products, depending on plans for cavorting in the sun.
For blush, we went with Tarte again – this time one of their Amazonian Clay products. Although I like Julie Hewett pot blush for myself, powder blush with, again, a little shimmer, works beautifully on a young woman. We liked the coral/pink, “Tipsy.” Great for those of us who hover between warm and cool skin tones.
Finally, a new lipstick. Red, coral, she had already. Possibly also presents from her mother. So this time we got a gorgeous rosy mauve gloss from Bare Minerals. “Heartbreaker.” A final touch of shimmer.
How did it all work? Why, thank you for asking!
Thumbs up.
P.S. We also got her new sunscreen. Redhead lyfe. Happy birthday again, honey.
*I looked to avoid pthalates, parabens and anything that acts as an endocrine distrupter. No human studies have yet reported issues, but animal and absorption studies are worrying. And, although I asked the makeup artist to recommend products, in retrospect, I should have just looked up her recommendations on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) site while I was in the store. Their Skin Deep database is an excellent resource.
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50 Responses
I’ll repeat:
She is so beautiful
Lucky you!
And thanks a lot for Skin Deep Database
Dottoressa
@dottoressa, Thank you and you are welcome! I am lucky. Very lucky and very grateful.
Beautiful! Truly! So radiant, and the makeup isn’t apparent — so it’s obviously doing its work well.
@Frances/Materfamilias, Exactly! Best kind of makeup. Thank you:).
When my daughter was 15, I took her in for “the works” including a tutorial for application. She is 32 now. It was one of the best times that we had together. When my son married 4 years ago, one of my gifts was having his bride’s makeup & hair done and then buying her the products used. Great memories.
@Susan, “The works.” It’s a luxury, to be able to do something completely, and makeup is more affordable than buying her a whole outfit, or, say, a car;).
So glad you posted the photo as I kept reading, I kept thinking – ohh I hope there is a picture, and there was, and she is beautiful. Co-incidently, I was recently in a Sephora with my daughter and the make up she gravitated to was Tarte. Both my children have very fair skin and my son has red hair. They both always wear a product with sunscreen. My husband was a volunteer lifesaver at a Sydney beach in the days when you sat in the full sun without any protection. He has skin checks every six months, usually which involve the removal of some type of pre-cancerous mark. The UV in Australia is so much worse than here in the US. Therefore, I tend to buy an Australian product such as Ultraceuticals or a BB cream recommended for Asian skins. Given all this, I did love lying in the sun, and sadly my skin is a testament to 70’s beach culture and Hawaiian Tropic oil. PS may try the Julie Hewett pot blush as I like a cream blush.
@Yvonne, So glad you liked the picture. I guess that is one of Tarte’s strengths, that they understand super-fair skin. And good for your husband in being so vigilant. I absolutely recommend the Julie Hewett blush. Lovely product.
How wonderful! I love Sephora mini-makeovers. And Tarte BB cream, wearing some right now :)
Happy birthday to your daughter. What a great mama she has!
@Danielle, You were maybe the person I remembered saying that if we were looking for a good replacement for Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, take a peek at Tarte:).
She is so lovely, and looks so much like you!
@Susan B, Thank you:).
You and your daughter are both so very beautiful, Lisa. What a fun thing is makeup shopping with your grown-up girl! My 33 year-old daughter and I don’t get much chance to do it anymore but when we are able to make it happen, we treasure the time. You mentioned that you “hover between warm and cool skin tones.” I fall between the two, also–do you find it challenging when shopping for foundation/BB cream/powder type products? I sure do. I feel as though I’m forever looking a little too yellow, or a bit chalky-rose, even in products marked “neutral.” First World, I know… What a delightful post. Thank you!
@Linda G., You are so kind. I have found it very difficult to find foundation-type makeup, any makeup in fact. But I am getting pretty good at it. Using a tinted moisturizer allows my skin tone to come through and balance the orange business. Then I just do anything else – lipstick, cheeks – in either blue-toned or yellow, depending on how I feel.
She is divinely beautiful!
@Linda Pakravan, Aw! Thanks! She gives thumbs up to the Merida rug, BTW, and tells me I just have to accept someone’s going to walk on it;).
This lotion may get a good rating on your EWG group’s website but it gets a terrible rating here, and I think the reasoning on Beautypedia is sound:
“In the United States, if a company does not submit its product for FDA testing and subsequently pass the test, the product cannot display the Drug Facts Label or broad-spectrum claim, and in this case, DeVita’s Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30+ lacks this important feature.”
http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/by-brand/devita-naturals-skin-care/_/Solar-Protective-Moisturizer-SPF-30
You can read the review for yourself. The most important thing about a sunscreen is that it provides protection.
@Wendelah, I understand your point. I have to admit, I find Paula’s Choice a little bit out of alignment with my personal values. Always have. She is less woo-woo than I. Which, probably better but there you have it. It’s also true that my daughter wore the Devita to a wedding, and her shoulders in the strapless dress survived pretty well.
Lovely daughter; looks like you. What a considerate—and fun— thing to do! Some good makeup suggestions, too, though I have to dial it down to cool tones only.
@Lisa Chavez, Bare Minerals in particular seems to do cool coloring pretty darn well.
It’s no surprise to me that your daughter is beautiful. She has good genes. She is lovely with or without makeup but what a fun gift!
@Jane, :) thank you!
You have such a beautiful daughter and all of this was very informative. You are convincing me to search for safer products. Thank you.
@Susan D., You are very welcome and thank you!
Wow. che bella bambina! When my girls were about to hit their teens I took them to the Clinique counter to learn about makeup and skincare. Time well spent. Also fun. At any age
@Mary anne, At any age:).
Ah, beautiful! I fondly recall my own mother taking me along to Regent Street’s Dickins & Jones, a swanky department store now sadly defunct, and selecting my first foundation and powder.
I’m off to look at the Skin Deep database which I was previously unaware of, thank you.
@Chronica Domus, You’re welcome. Seems that the mother/daughter makeup trip crosses the pond:).
Your daughter is beautiful and glowing, with and without makeup. I do need some makeup for fall and although I’ve never been in a Sephora, maybe it’s time to go and try the Tarte line which I’ve heard nothing but great things about.
@Kathy, Thank you. I’m diving in to Tarte myself, just picked up their BB in Fair.
Your daughter is a natural beauty! Love that you did this with her. My mother started me off by taking me to a department store to get a few nicer skin products and lipstick when I began wearing makeup and it made me appreciate nicer cosmetics and see less is more.
Now with all the focus on better and healthier ingredients I love the Healthy Living app (used to be Skin Deep,) for vetting out products. One company that I’m really loving is Beauty Counter. Fabulous products and all of them have to be rated a 2 by EWG or under or they won’t make them. The Skin Tint is very good as are the lipsticks, body lotions and face products. You guys might check it out.
@kim, Oh thanks for the additional resource. I know this whole issue of safety vs. effectiveness, as Wendelah points out above, is kind of tricky. An emerging domain, and I think the more info, the more entrants into the market, the better.
Sounds like a great time. My daughter, age 43, tends to root throught my cosmetics, and kidnap them, just as she did when she was 12. Her daughter does the same, but you can always catch an 8 year old when she is wearing makeup…they are not subtle! They just left and I notice that my favorite nail poish is missing, along with that little piece of my heart.
Aw, @Ellen, so lovely! My daughter is a frequent borrower. I love to see her in my stuff. Any of it. xox.
That brow pencil is the best. I discovered it a month or so ago. Natural, long lasting, and almost impossible to break. If only I’d found it in my 20s, instead of my 50s :)
@Kaitlin Marcus, Youth, and good makeup, wasted on the young?:)
BEAUTIFUL CHILD YOU MADE!
I LOVE TARTE TOO!!!!!!!I believe it is GLUTEN FREE ALSO………..
@LA CONTESSA, Thank you! And yes, I believe it is.
Oh, my, my, how beautiful she looks!!
I really like Tarte cosmetics, too. My favorite is the dollface blusher. Love that they produce very clean products. I think she enjoyed her makeup session with you immensely!
@Candace, Thank you. We had a wonderful time. I’ll look at dollface.
I would have gone with a cheek color closer to that of the lipstick, but at her age, it may not make much difference! And so nice of you to make such a fun day of it with her…
@Jadie, I totally agree with you – the odd thing is that the blush is far cooler on the skin than in the compact. In fact, I even said as we were choosing, “You want your blush and lipstick to be similar shades,” or some such thing.
You just made my day! I used to swear by the DeVita sunscreen but I haven’t been able to find it in ages. Someday I will remember that I live in the 21st century without having to be reminded….
And after doing a makeup purge (thanks, contact allergies!), I am still looking for a new BB. I think I will be trying the Tarte.
Also, your daughter is lovely. :)
@Maria, Thank you:). And happy to help! I know, it is amazing how Google has transformed our world. To say nothing of mobile phones and social media. Iyiyiyi!
Bare Minerals, huh? Never tried but now I want to, especially as I’ve heard some people say they don’t use anything but…
Thanks.
@Lisa Chavez, I never liked their foundation, the brush-on power formulation didn’t work for me. But their lipsticks are great.
Oh, thank you! My skin can tend toward dryness, so powdery stuff usually is not a good thing. Love a natural little pop of color against my paleness, though, so a lipstick might be nice. Usually use Burt’s Bees.
@lisa
Usually I just speak my piece and don’t read the comments. This is different. Science matters.
Just the fact that you’re critical of Paula’s Choice for not being “woo-woo” enough is cause for concern. “Woo-woo” thinking propagates myths and pseudo-science. “Woo-woo” decision-making leads people to refuse to vaccinate their kids, putting the most vulnerable members of our population at risk.
Please reconsider your relationship with EWG. There is no hard evidence, no science to support most of their claims. What they do is fear-mongering, pure and simple. Check out this article for starters and do yourself (and your readers) a huge favor. Do more research into this organization. Don’t let yourself be used.
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/07/my_food_paranoia_wake_up_call_the_ewg_wants_us_to_be_afraid_of_the_food_we_feed_our_kids_heres_why_i_refuse/
Jenny Splitter is not perfect–who is–but she’s trying harder than most bloggers to make sense of the world using science.
Your daughter didn’t get sunburned. That’s good. I’m glad it worked out for her. But–what if she had? How would you feel then, taking that kind of chance? Maybe it costs the company money to do the necessary testing. Anyway, I get it. Why should they bother when they can sell their products regardless?
In conclusion, let me leave you with the words of Carl Sagan.
“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. This is a clear prescription for disaster.”
Oh I’m a big fan of science. I just know that sometimes data lags the danger. Rest assured, I vaccinated my kids:)! Also I eat gluten. And dairy. I avoid extreme diets of all kinds. Just that Paula’s Choice is a nudge too far to one side for me. I think you and I are probably quite close in actions, but, use different language to articulate our concerns.
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