Rococco, sure. Sephora should have a BE counter and a tech to play with your face. I was in Chicago last night and dragged my makeup phobic friend into the BE Boutique at Woodfield, (Mecca itself, only two in the midwest I think) for a makeup application. Had to ply her with a glass of wine first. We'd been up since 5, driven 3 hours, then had a tedious all day conference - our 50s faces were not exactly dewey and fresh... When they were done, she looked great!! Another convert. BTW BE is "15 spf", but you use so very, very little that I doubt it is sufficient protection. Oh, and on the messiness of the powders. I'd forgotten to swirl the brush in a bit in the lid, and was kinda dunking it instead. Duh. The lid and the Kleenex tip did the trick. Thanks.

Angc, try googling for a cream sans sunscreen, or check Amazon. Hope you find it! Okay, the cream came today. Around 2pm I put it on. I wasn't sure about it at first because it does the same as my powder. I didn't have to use any under eye concealer which was great. Very silky feel on face. About an hour later I crawled into bed from exhaustion from the past week. An hour after I got up I looked in the mirror, and it was still fresh looking! Combined with the RoC treatment I've been using the past week, my face looks better than ever. All of it is inexpensive which makes it even sweeter. :)

Running errands yesterday took me near Macys w/MAC counter. Without realizing it I suddenly found my car had navigated to the store. ;) I scored some great shadow colors! They're satin (bit more color choices than strictly matte), but there's so little sparkle to them it's not an issue. It applies well and has a richer (quality) look and feel, like it's almost creamy instead of too powdery. My eyes are tricky, more gold and light olive, minimal brown. Pitch black lashes and brows. Sort of a warm/cool thing going on. But if I wear earthy colors like true browns or anything smoky in the crease area, looks like I got in a brawl and lost, lol. The girl there was very helpful, and I came away with suggestions that worked for my eyes rather than the more common 'oh, this is the latest trend, you'll love it'. She nudged me to try a lid color I normally would have passed right on by, but once on it was a nice color. Everything blends well together, great for everyday soft and subtle look (my preference). What I noticed about their shadow is what sueb said. A little more gets more intensity of color, rather than looking like a heavy powder pile-on. Nice to know the recycle policy. While I'm thinking of it, has anyone tried the trick of adding a few drops of rubbing alcohol to crumbled eye shadow to get it to pressed powder again? I have a great Smashbox freebie I dropped awhile back, it broke into chunks. Otherwise I guess it's finish it off altogether by grinding it to fine powder, then put it in a jar. ;)

This is a fun post. I will say that in my busy working military life, I could get up, shower, shave underarms (daily), legs (3x weekly)makeup (eye shadow, mascara, foundation, powder, lipstick), hair (washed and blow dried, very short), dressed and out the door in 25 minutes. Now, years later, I use far less products and it seems to take far longer. When I was stationed in Spain I could get waxed, from top to toes, for about $7 so I never had to shave of pluck or anything. That made getting ready for work a real breeze. Now, in a typical morning I use: face wash - I use an Oil of Olay-type face cloth. hand wash - Dial Complete on all the sinks, two baths, mudroom, and kitchen. bar soap - I use a liquid soap; DH still uses the bars. :( shampoo - Daily conditioner - Perhaps once a week. hair serum - Never heard of it. hair mouse - No, but I keep a can of hairspray for the 3-4 times I year I might use it. toothpaste - At least five times a day. floss - Yes, but should more often. mouthwash - Listerine; twice a day for gum protection. shaving gel - Ha! The few times I shave I use shampoo. deodorant - Kept in both bathrooms and the bedroom. Wherever I dress I'm ready! body lotion - Rarely, but more so in winter. foot powder/or lotion - Gold Bond all over. face cream - No; but Mom says I should. foundation - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. blush - I'm taking treatments for Rosacea so I'm good on the natural blush! LOL powder - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. eyeshadow - Very rarely; 2-3 times a year. eyeliner - No; never liked the look. mascara - Can no longer wear. lipstick - Every day. I love lipstick with colour, but not the pale, dead looking non-color most gals are wearing now. I wear earrings daily, too. I love lipstick and earrings. And that's the daily stuff, add to that the occasional: hair coloring - I stopped coloring three months ago. I'm liking the "salt and pepper," heavy on the salt look! tooth whitening strips - No. nail polish/ base coat/top coat - I cut my nails as short as possible and push the cuticles back once a week. When I worked I kept them short and polished with a pale pink color. I did it my self. I do get medium length dark red gel nails for the Christmas season. nail polish remover - No need cuticle cream - No, but about every four months I'll get a manicure that does not include polish or false nails. They just soak, trim, work off the cuticles and do a hot wax dip. hand lotion - I keep bottles on each sink