And a couple random plugs I've had nagging at my brain and forgot to post:
1) Garnier Nutrisse hair color. If you're looking for something more gentle on your hair (hi mom!), this is SO it. Nooo stinging itching burning whatsoever when I used it, and it smelled lovely the entire time. My hair's quite happy just now, I'm pretty sure it didn't dry out so much with this stuff. It's been about a week now, and while the red isn't quite as crayon-red as it was... well, part of it is probably that I'm still not good at distributing the goop evenly when dying. It's still very, very red, the color very vibrant, and it's all kinds of shiny. (Some credit undoubtedly goes to the L'Oreal color-protecting shampoo, Pantene shampoo for redheads, and John Frieda conditioner for redheads, and the different leave-in conditioners I use pretty constantly now. Mostly those just fix the frizz and keep the curls, though.) L'Oreal is still my fav, the color is fantastic, but this stuff just made my hair feel *happy*.
2) I'm always poking around for something to deal with the dark circles under my eyes. While magazines and websites keep giving me suggestions in the $30-$100 range... my budget's a little smaller than that. So I tried this concealer stick by CoverGirl that I spotted at the drug store, and it is working *beautifully*. CG Smoothers Concealer. It looks like a tube of lipstick - I picked it up in the "neutralizing" color, which is a bit yellowish, and perfectly knocks out the darkness of the circles. A bit of gentle smoothing-in when putting it on, and it doesn't clump into skin-crinkles at all. I like.
3) New favorite mascara! I'd seen an ad for CoverGirl's LashExact mascara - which was my previous favorite, as it adds just a bit of darkness and definition to eyelashes, without being really obvious, aaaand without clumping. (I'm awful at mascara, so I need all the help I can get.) But! There is a new flavor! Exact Eyelights - the stuff is tinted just the littlest bit, to make your eye color look brighter. So, mine is ever-so-slightly sapphire blue - noticable on the brush, but not on my lashes at all. Totally helps pick up the color of my eyes, which is working awesome, especially with the bright-red hair and pale skin just now. CoverGirl is my friend. I love MAX Factor's eyeshadow palettes, and I splurge on something randomly interesting looking now and again, but when I want something that just *works*, CoverGirl's a great bet.
4) Making apple crisp from scratch is TOTALLY worth the time and effort of peeling and slicing like ten apples. Holy crap. Tom had an awful day at work yesterday (came home a good half an hour late), and I fed him apple crisp, and he looked *so* incredibly happy, it so made my day. (Followed
this recipe almost exact - added a bit of nutmeg and a smidge more cinnamon.) I'd had no idea what type of apples to use, apart from non-squishy ones, so went with McIntosh, and the stuff is freaking delicious.
5) Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End". Absolutely PHENOMENAL book. Tom and I both absolutely loved it. Audible's audiobook of it is an understated reading at first brush, but as you get into it...it suits perfectly. Loved loved. Tom's still in utter disbelief that it was written in like 1953, it's incredibly un-dated (apart from the party scenes, but the social nuances I hunt out for my own writing probably flew over Tom's head).
...aaaand I have successfully dodged being productive for most of my evening now. Back to the novel-grind!
*Ananda Daydream * 11:02 PM *
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