New makeup for me - and for Agent Carter

Today I bought some new makeup at lunchtime. I feel slightly bad about it because I promised myself I’d use up some of the makeup I have, not buy more. But it was that or buy a doughnut, and I’m trying to watch what I eat (don’t know why, nothing I do seems to make me any less rotund), so on balance I’d probably have felt worse about the doughnut than I did about one new lippie and a new nail varnish. Then I got back to the office and discovered Besame’s Agent Carter collection has started shipping! Agent Carter was one of my favourite television programmes in recent years - female-led late 1940s-set Marvel? Bring it on - and I was gutted when it got cancelled. I guess the Besame collaboration shows people still think fondly of the series, even if the networks didn't.


My makeup has toned down as I’ve grown older, and on the whole I’m fine with that – it’s been a natural evolution – but shopping for lipstick did make me wonder if my natural dislike of standing out too much has crossed over into ridiculous timidity. ‘What if a colour doesn’t suit me?’ Don’t wear it then. ‘I keep seeing photos of myself where my lips look wonky, perhaps I shouldn’t wear dark colours any more.’ Learn to apply it better, then. The red-brown I bought today is hardly startling, yet still I wondered if it wasn’t a bit too much. In fact, it all felt like too much instead of, at worst, the waste of a fiver on some harmless face paint*. I had to remind myself that it’s okay to try to look good, even if the attempt results in failure – better than never trying at all, eh?

And so I’m going to play with my makeup for a week or two, with painted nails and different lipsticks. I'm prepared to wear all sorts of colours on my nails that I'll never let near my face. Maybe I'll even DO SOMETHING WITH MY HAIR. (Hey, though, let’s not get hasty here...)

I shall keep my eye on the Besame site. Someone I follow on Instagram has the set of Agent Carter lipsticks. There were three in the Stark Industries box, labelled 102 Sweet Dreams, 103 Forget Me Not and 104 Always Be True. The colours look nice, typical Besame (rich and saturated), though people say they’re the same as others in the Besame range rather than anything new, just in different packaging. They don’t look like the shades I own, though, and perhaps if I had those strong colours, I'd convince myself to put them on my face instead of trying to fade into the background.

*As it happens, the red-brown is a bit too muted for my face, and looks a tad muddy, but I reckon mixing in a dot of one of the many bright reds I own but am too scared to wear will sort things out. In case you're wondering about the brand, it's B., a vegan brand from Superdrug.

Comments

  1. Mim, as an aficionado of red lipstick for a very long time I can tell you that there isn't a person in the world who can't wear red lipstick. Get your red lipsticks out and put them on. I think I've seen a post where you had red (ish)lippie on and it looked fab! Go Mim with the red lips and bugger what anybody else thinks. You have fair skin and beautiful auburn hair - red lipstick will look stunning!

    Never heard of this make up range; will wait to hear how you find them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You always look amazing in your red lipstick - I should definitely take a leaf out of your book.

      Delete
  2. That's a shame about the lipstick because the colour looks like it should be perfect for you.
    I rarely do bright red anymore, but I have a wide range of coral shades that seem to do the same thing without screaming, "Lips!" Revlon Snow Peach (shimmery) is somewhere between pink and orange, and Revlon Siren is bright coral, but a creme, and not-quite something Granny-esque. It works well with vintage clothes.

    The nail varnish is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I need to take the plunge with coral; my Besame Carmine is more orange than red and works really well. Coral would probably suit my pale yellowish skin. We get Revlon over here, I should look up those shades.

      Delete
  3. Hah! I often wonder if I'm getting foolishly suckered down the deep dark rabbit hole of consumerism buying new beauty products too. I just bought Catrice's new Liquid Metal cream eye shadows because the colors were sooo purty & Bibi luvs anything metallic. They are the kind that you paint on (do not blend) and let dry. The effect is not as spectacular as I'd imagined as they dry sort of crinkly looking. Oh well. Glad I boughtCatrice's $5 dupe rather than the Stila's $30 original to find that out!

    We are still allowed to have fun as we age & trying new styles is par t of that.
    I'd avoid lippy shades that have brown in them. Brown lippies seem to be the thing only JLo & Kim Kardashian can pull off. I find that bright lippies suit me better now - colors I wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing when I was in my twenties are now the ones that look the best on me. I just looked at the photos of those Agent Carter iippies & think all the shades would look great on you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's something about brownish reds that calls to me - probably from when I was young and thin in about 1995! It always looks good on Gillian Anderson in old episodes of the X-Files.

      I do sometimes wonder if people will look back at the current craze for contouring and say, "Really?" Some people do it really well, but I find it distracting when people take it to the level of having brown and silver stripes!

      Delete
  4. Nothing nicer than buying new lippy! After a flirtation with minimalism I took a good look at mine and realised I keep buying the same colour, had a slight relapse last year when the one I found to replace a discontinued one was also discontinued...annoying. Having been blessed with roseacea in recent years makeup buying has become a chore, just praying my current foundation is going to be around for a while, at least I don't need blusher!! Loved Agent Carter too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I fall into the same trap with eyeshadow. "Oooh, BEIGE!" Then I look at my eyeshadows and wonder why they're all brown...

      Delete
  5. Don't get me started! I've been a bit down in the dumps lately, and always seem to gravitate towards the make-up counters. Lipsticks seem to be my current weakness, having both three in the last couple of weeks. I feel kind of naked when I'm not wearing lipstick. I'm going for cherry red and dark pink lately, instead of in your face bright red. Coral does not suit me at all. And I'm always buying new eyeshadow colours too, while I'm actually only wearing lilac. I do agree with Veronica that you should go for the reds! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How odd, I'd never have imagined there was a colour you couldn't wear. I'm actually looking at the corals as they work on my yellowy skin! I have put on red today, though.

      Delete
  6. There's a real excitement that comes with buying a new lipstick - I think it's the one cosmetic that really does transform how we look. Last time I bought my Sleek blusher from Superdrug I got a red lipstick for free. When I posted photos of me wearing it on my blog I was really surprised at that it looked okay as I didn't like myself in it when I looked in the mirror - too serious and harsh looking by far.
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found painting my eyebrows in makes a massive difference. They don't grow properly, they're only about an inch long (Pete calls them 'rottweiler eyebrows' as he reckons they're like the little beige dots rotties have over their eyes). But I can't be arsed with it most days. I'm trying now; I've even slapped on some face powder.

      Delete
    2. Barry M have a fantastic eyebrow kit. Superdrug were doing a three for two before we went to India so I got it free with my blue nail paint and eyeliner. Mine are tattooed on anyway but I wanted to play about with the thickness and loved it. xxx

      Delete
  7. I have loads of lipsticks and I never, ever wear it! I don't know why I buy them because I know I never wear lipstick. My make-up weaknesses are eye shadows and nail polish, I have loads and yet I still buy more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've got quite a stash of nail polishes, haven't you? I have made an effort and painted my nails, and I realised I've had this bottle for well over five years. I don't think I've ever managed to use a bottle up...

      Delete
  8. Mim, you look fantastic and should wear as bold a lipstick as you want. I think that you would look amazing with a scarlet lip. Most redheads do, just think of Rita Hayworth. I love the colour of your new lipstick and nail varnish. Did it go on as silvery in real life? You can never have too much make up. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am wearing the red today! It seems okay to me, I hope it doesn't look a disaster to everyone else...

      The nailvarnish is a sort of teal shade, though it caught the light in the picture. It needs a base coat, and as I was too lazy to dig out my blue, I'm wearing a purple/gold glitter one today. But at least I've made an effort, it's a start.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts