Day 5, Part Two: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

It’s beauty time!

I bought over thirty dollars worth of Maybelline and CoverGirl makeup products this afternoon (all recommended by Cosmo) in order to follow their step-by-step beauty advice. Thirty dollars for three shadow sets, and liner may not be a lot in cosmetic land,  but it’s certainly a lot in Art School Student Land.

First up? “Smokey Eyes For Your Shape” (BeautyNews, page 103).

I bought the recommended brand, Maybelline Expert Wear Eye shadow, and got to work

I followed the instructions for “Almond Eyes” (in Cosmo’s world, there are three eye types: Round, Almond, and Oval), and the end result looks like this:

Honestly, I’m not all that impressed. I mean, my eyes are more defined than before, but they don’t look “smoky” or “sultry”. They look like eyes that are wearing three colors of shadow. I associate smoky eyes with something loose, smeared casual. They’re sexy because you got the smoky eyes from staying out, and having fun. These? Waaay too precise.

I paired my “smoky” eyes with a pink lipstick, because according to Cosmo (101 Things About Men, “Suprising Factors That Make a Guy Eager To Meet You”, page 78),

Men are biologically attracted to women with full lips, since they’re linked to fertility. A pale lipstick, like light pink or peach attracts light which makes your mouth look plumper.

Ladies, you won’t trap a man* unless you have raccoon eyes and dick sucking lips!

Don’t get me wrong, I like makeup. I like wearing makeup. But the result of following a magazine’s advice on what makeup to buy, and how to wear it doesn’t make me feel fun, or sultry, or sexy, or beautiful. It makes me feel like a total and complete sucker.

Maybelline has several print ads in October’s Cosmo (ditto CoverGirl). Is Cosmo featuring these products because they are genuinely good products/good deals, or did they have an additional incentive to feature them?

*I have to pick up some groceries from my boyfriend’s place. I think the only reaction from him that I’m going to get is raised eyebrows and giggles