This might actually be useful!

Finally, spring has sprung!  Yesterday was a beautiful, with temperatures that hit 70.  That's right, SEVENTY DEGREES!  Last weekend we were bundled up, fighting torrential rain and shivering, and now it's leave-that-jacket-at-home-and-FROLIC-outside weather.

Plus, George woke up early yesterday morning and...brace yourselves...finished the invitations for me.  I still have to do the calligraphy, don't get me wrong, but he decided to finish adhesing all the invitation covers!  He's the adhesion master.  Maybe I haven't mentioned that I somewhere along the way, I decided that "adhese" was far more fun to say than "adhere."

What about this is useful to you?  Not much.  But...after I woke up, found the invitations adhesed and we went for a drive to soak up the glorious sunshine, I did my first full at-home makeup trial.  Having given it a full day to see how everything wore, I'm ready to review.  And I think the results might actually be useful to you.

Disclaimer:  I am a big makeup fan, I wear it every day, I feel naked without it, and I'm not afraid to look like I have something on.  That said, I HATE the "made up" look.  I want my skin to glow, not look like I've layered anything on.  Eyes and lips are great areas to play with color, but on my face--I think of make up as the great eraser to let what should be my natural flawlessness shine through.  Blend away any ruddiness, cover any trouble spots, and move along to the fun stuff.

So without further ado, ladies, do yourselves a favor and add the following products to your must-have list:

Benefit Erase Paste concealer 
I use No. 1, fair.  This isn't a new addition to my makeup bag--I've been using it for a couple of years now.  It's super-creamy and provides great coverage.  I use it under my eyes and it actually makes me look awake, and stays on all day!  It's also great to cover blemishes or ruddiness--on what I call my "good skin days," I just dab a little of this on and skip foundation.  I'm a huge fan of brushes, but this is one product I apply with my fingers; it blends right in.  Unlike some foundations which are thinner, this is so creamy that it doesn't need to be layered on and it never looks flaky.

Make Up For Ever HD foundation
This one is new--after a few makeup trials (Bobbi Brown and my favorite standby, Sephora) it's beautiful.  For days when I want a little more coverage I still love my Bobbi Brown stick foundation, but this MUFE product is the first liquid foundation to earn a purchase in a long time.  It's definitely one to apply with a foundation brush, but it blends in seamlessly and provides a perfect amount of coverage without looking "made up."

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes cream eyeliner
Demolition, a dark brown, is perfect for me--and it comes with the best dual-ended  brush I've ever seen included with eye makeup.  The definition of a buildable liner--it goes on in a super-thin line, very easy to press right into the lash line, and the angled brush side makes it easy to flare it out a little if you want, or to very gradually thicken the line.  I'm used to liquid liner so I'm not afraid of the brush, but I think this would be easy even for eyeliner novices.  Plus, it really lasts all day...a huge accomplishment considering that my squinty-grin has a habit of bringing any lower-lash-liner right under my eyes in no time flat.

Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder
Update to come at days' end, but honestly, the best finishing powder I've ever put on my face.  It claims to have that optical-illusion soft-focus effect...and after applying it, it really does!  I only needed one touch-up during the day, which included a few drives in the sun and even sitting and walking outside in the sun for a couple of hours, and it stayed soft and velvety.  I never got "bad picture shiny," just a little bit dewy after all the sunshine, and a little powder touch-up brought me right back where I needed to be.  It also totally prevented the foundation from oxidizing at all, which is always a concern (especially in hot weather).

I tried a few other products too--MUFE HD primer in particular--that I'll hold off on endorsing until I have a little more time to see the results.

And, because people are always quick to tell what you should get, but never what you shouldn't, these did not make my final cut.  You can tell I'm always hunting for better primers!

Benefit Stay-Put Eye Primer
Does more than nothing, but not enough to buy it.  I tried Urban Decay's Eye Prime once and think I liked it more, but want to try it again.

Too-Faced Primed & Poreless Primer
It feels great going on, and I actually liked its creaminess.  It just really didn't do much for me over the course of the day.

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer and Shadow Base
Maybe for someone with a more olive complexion this would be great, but it was just too dark for me.  Didn't brighten my eyes, just took the bluish tint from under my eyes and replaced it with "darker than the rest of my skin" tint.  It also didn't have the greatest texture--call me spoiled after getting hooked on Benefit's Erase Paste and Playsticks, but I expect more creaminess from them.  This disappointed.

Benefit Lip Plump
I'm in love with the idea of a lip product that actually helps lipcolor last longer.  I love Lorac's lipcolor and it does last, but it's a bit sticky (hence its absence from my must-have list, though I still might end up using it for the wedding).  It's one of those liquid-with-a-glossy-topcoat deals.  What does that have to do with the Benefit Lip Plump?  Well, it does nothing.  On its own it made my lips look a little corpse-y, and didn't really help the lipcolor go on any smoother or last any longer.  Maybe I used it wrong...

Alright, ladies, there's the story.  I hope this guides you to even more satisfaction as you rack up those Sephora VIB points.  (Which reminds me, if you don't get your makeup from Sephora and have a Beauty Insider card, get with the program.  The samples alone, and ability to try so many products before committing, make it more than worthwhile.)

I'm wrapping up the envelopes today, hopefully, and George and I are driving down later today to Hartford to see the fabulous Candace and Josh Jeffrey of Candace Jeffery Photography.  Can't wait to meet their kiddles at last, and enjoy some quality downtime.  BONUS, the weather in Hartford is supposed to be about 17 degrees warmer than here...score!