I headed to the mall on Friday armed with a limited amount of makeup knowledge and a Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic. I hadn’t really planned to make a stop at Sonic first, but that morning Caroline asked me if I’d come eat lunch with her at school and could I please bring her a Wacky Pack with a side of mozzarella sticks? And how do I say no to that?

Especially when I know that she won’t eat all her tots or the mozzarella sticks and I can eat whatever is left over with no caloric consequences because every mama knows that the food you eat off your child’s plate doesn’t count towards any official calories.

So I experienced all the entertainment and mouths full of missing teeth that the elementary school cafeteria has to offer and then grabbed my Cherry Limeade (and maybe a mozzarella stick) and left for the mall. Since Caroline eats lunch at 10:40 (absurd) I still had plenty of time to conduct my makeup research.

Here’s what I ended up with:

1. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

I walked into Sephora already totally biased towards this product, mainly because Gulley loves it and I totally trust her opinion on these sorts of things. Plus, it got a lot of shout outs in the comments.

I’d like to say that I’ve already used it and gotten countless compliments on my glowing complexion, but when you spend all weekend coaching soccer and laying on the couch in attempts to recover from aforementioned coaching experience, makeup doesn’t really seem necessary.

But I loved it when I tried it in the store and the nude shade is perfect for my skin tone.

2. Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna

Nars has a blush that people rave about (I’m not going to mention it by name because, MY WORD, at the google searches it would generate). Anyway, I tried it but felt like it looked too pinkish for my skin. I don’t really enjoy a pinkish hue as much as I like to look as if I just returned from a long weekend at some tropical resort.

Even though if I’d just returned from a tropical resort I’d still be pale because Mamaw would wear her SPF 75 and oversized sunhat the entire time.

So this is like I’ve been to the tropics and live in a world where a little bit of sun exposure doesn’t come with ugly consequences like basal cell carcinoma and brown sun spots.

3. Cargo Blu-Ray High Definition Mattifier

A reader named Sara emailed me about a year ago and told me about this product. I’ll admit I was hesitant to buy it because I generally believe that any sort of makeup primers are just a big scam to get you to spend more money.

But on Friday I purchased my second tube of it because it absolutely makes a difference in how my skin looks. It evens out fine lines and covers your pores so your skin looks smoother even before you put on any kind of foundation. Or maybe I’m just seeing something I want to see and it’s just a placebo effect. Either way works for me.

4. Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Palette

I wasn’t really looking for eyeshadow but I was walking through Macy’s after I left Sephora for other non-makeup related errands when the girl at the Benefit counter called me over and asked if she could do my eye makeup. It’s like she had a window into my soul.

And so of course I said yes because I am committed to the research. Next thing I knew she’d made my eyes pop and sparkle and highlighted my brows and she’d done it all with just this little palette of eye makeup.

What really sold me was when she showed me how I could use it to give myself a natural eye or a smoky eye depending on the occasion. Granted, I haven’t worn a smoky eye since I inadvertently got a little carried away with my Merle Norman palette of blues and purples back in 7th grade when I tried to match my eyes to my blue Izod shirt. But you never know when I might decide I want to sport a smoky eye at a PTO meeting or for a trip to HEB.

So those were my four purchases of the day. I still need a good eyeliner but couldn’t make a decision and, truth be told, I was actually pretty happy with my Revlon ColorStay eyeliner before I got overzealous and broke it in half the other day.

And the girl at Sephora and the one at Macy’s both tried to sell me on new mascara, but I’m a big fan of CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara. The price is right, I love the brush, and it doesn’t clump when I put it on. I’m sure I’d love DiorShow or one of those fancy battery-operated ones if I tried them, but since my family likes to eat and Santa Claus needs to show up next month I’m going with the whole ignorance is bliss thing.

I also neglected to buy any sort of lipstick because I have approximately 84 tubes of various lip products floating around in the bottom of my makeup bag and countless others that I carry in a Ziploc sandwich bag in my purse. Gulley made fun of me for the Ziploc bag a while back and I tried to explain that it’s because I travel and need the Ziploc bag to get through security. Of course since I hadn’t been on a plane in about a month at the time, my explanation didn’t hold a lot of weight. What’s closer to the truth is that I’m lazy and don’t want to take the time to move all my lipgloss from the ultra classy Ziploc to a fabric makeup bag because can you even imagine the amount of energy and time that would take? How would I ever get those 30 seconds back?

Anyway, in the interest of knowledge and frugality, I’ll share with you that I’m a huge fan of CoverGirl Lipslicks in Daring. It’s a great color and it’s cheap. I own no less than six tubes of it because I keep losing them and finding them again. It’s my prodigal lipcolor.

And there you have it. I realize on the scale of boring to moderately interesting that this entire post would fail to register, but y’all were so helpful with all your suggestions that I felt like you deserved to know how it all turned out.

You should also know that the downside to makeup experimentation is that my face is breaking out like I’m a thirteen year old with a mouth full of chocolate and braces.

Of course it could also just be PMS.

But I believe it’s directly related to having my face covered with more makeup in a two-hour time frame than it usually sees in a week.

Unless I get all dolled up to deliver Sonic at 10:40 a.m. to the school cafeteria.

I have a group of girlfriends that have gotten together once a month for dinner for the last three and a half years. We call ourselves Birthday Club, even though there are only 6 of us so, as our husbands like to point out, the math doesn’t really add up. But we are like the government and don’t allow arbitrary numbers to stand in the way of what we want. Not to mention, it’s not like we’re going out 1.2 trillion times a year because that would be an excessive number.

Anyway, last night was Birthday Club. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that we met at Chuy’s because why, oh why, are we going to a chain Mexican restaurant when we live in the Mexican food capital of the world? Actually, Mexico is probably the Mexican food capital of the world but they have an advantage because if you’re visiting Mexico then technically you’re eating Mexican food even if you’re eating a cheeseburger and fries.

But we went to Chuy’s because it’s a fairly convenient location, they have excellent queso and some jalapeno ranch dip that is totally worth all the 30 Day Shred workouts that it will take to work it off.

We covered our usual array of topics in no particular order: Shopping, marriage, kids, shopping, reality television and life in general. However there was one question that I meant to ask and I completely forgot all about it once I got there and got engrossed in the fact that one of them had just bought the cutest jacket from a boutique located inside a carwash. Needless to say, my car is getting washed later today.

Okay, back to the point. In the last two days I have run out of all my makeup essentials. My tinted moisturizer is almost empty, I used the last of my bronzer getting ready last night, and my eyeliner broke in half and cannot be salvaged. In what is an unprecedented circumstance, my entire makeup bag is in need of an overhaul. Sure I could just go out and buy the same stuff I had before, but what if I’m missing out on something great?

I don’t want to spend my life wrapped in a Neutrogena tinted moisturizer bubble and miss out on a blessing that could cover my uneven complexion and make me appear fresh faced and impossibly dewy. (I really don’t like the word dewy, but I’m keeping it there because I can’t think of a better word right now)

So before I just run off to the drugstore or the department store or Sephora all willy nilly, I’d love to know what makeup products you use and love. Like the ones you truly love. I don’t want to know about the lipstick that you kind of like but could live without or the mascara that’s just okay. I want to know the products you can’t live without. The ones you will buy over and over again because they are worth the money.

I will anxiously await your input, but in the meantime I’m planning on staying home all day and avoiding mirrors because the world isn’t ready to see my winter skin without a little bit of bronzer.

This weekend has left me with what we in the industry refer to as writer’s block.

I have no idea what I mean when I say “industry”. Blog industry? Mom industry? The National Federation of Backhouse Painters Industry? The Women with Severe PMS Industry? People Who Procrastinate and Watch the Grammys Industry?

Whatever. I am struggling with the words.

So I’m pulling out a fascinating topic. Beauty products. Specifically the top ten beauty products that are currently my can’t-live-without items. This list rotates from time to time because I believe a true beauty regimen is like a shark; you have to keep moving or you will die.

Or at least have deep wrinkles and age spots.

And I don’t really know if that’s true about the sharks but I heard it one time and it made a lasting impression.

1. Oil of Olay Microdermabrasion & Peel System

I am a huge believer in microdermabrasion. It has rescued me from a vast wasteland of sun damage in the form of large freckles, otherwise known as age spots. I’ve tried other brands, but I think this one is the best.

Of course maybe it’s just because it makes my whole face heat up which gives the illusion of effectiveness.

2. Hummingbird Farms Lavender Lotion

If you ignore everything else on this list, do not ignore this. I have really dry skin and, therefore, a lotion obsession. Actually, it’s more of a passion.

After discovering this miracle in a bottle two years ago, I cannot live without it. It is literally the only thing that keeps my hands from cracking and peeling during the winter and it smells much like I imagine heaven will smell.

I am totally addicted. All other lotion is dead to me.

3. Oil of Olay Regenerist Night Cream

I decided to try this after I saw it in a magazine article that compared it to La Mer. And as much as I’d love to try La Mer, I believe that flawless skin would be pointless if I couldn’t afford to pay the light bill because no one could see me.

Anyway, this moisturizer feels so good when I put it on and, while I don’t know if I look like I’ve had a mini-face lift each morning, it has definitely diminished the size of the wrinkles in my forehead that used to greet me in the mirror at the beginning of each new day.

4. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer

This is the greatest invention ever for busy women everywhere. It’s sheer coverage, spf 20, and moisturizer with retinol all in one convenient package.

It’s genius. Sheer genius.

Neutrogena? Call me if you’d like to use that as your marketing slogan. Or maybe you already use it. Whatever.

5. Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara

I’ve talked about this before and it is a big deal that I am still committed to it after a year. Mascara monogamy has never been my strong suit.

It goes on great, lasts all day, and it’s cheap.

6. Physicians Formula Bronzer

Let’s just say wintertime + my face = pasty white.

I will give you a small piece of advice. Don’t overdo the bronzer or you will have what I refer to as “white neck syndrome” and in photographs you could look like a big, tan, floating head hovering above a body.

Hypothetically speaking.

7. Aussie Hi-Hold Hi-Shine Hairspray

I bought this hairspray at Target a while back because I saw the purple Aussie bottle and became completely nostalgic for all the good times I had with my Aussie Sprunch Spray from 1986-1990.

Also, it was only $2.99.

As it turns out, I really like it. It has a decent amount of hold, even in humidity, and makes my hair look a little shinier than usual.

Plus, I am a total sucker for that grape smell. Hello 1987, I have missed you.

8. Olive oil and castor oil

Last spring, I asked y’all for your best beauty secrets and a few different people mentioned this. Needless to say, I was completely intrigued and had to try it immediately.

I went to the drugstore and armed myself with some Stridex pads just in case things went awry and I found myself in some serious need of breakout medication.

But y’all, it totally works. I use the oil-cleansing method about 2-3 times a week and it makes my face feel so good. I highly recommend it.

Okay, so you shouldn’t be surprised that I’m ending the list at eight. I would so love to add two more things to make it an even ten, but my mind has never been more blank.

Which probably means I should add some Omega 3 Fish Oil-type thing to my beauty regimen because my brain function might need more help than my eyelashes.

I’d love to hear about any great beauty finds that you’ve recently discovered because knowledge is power and so is a good moisturizer.