Make Me Up

I can't get enough makeup. As I've been more frugal, I've stayed away from shopping for items that aren't necessary. Well, when you want to save money, the best thing to do is go out and buy the right product the first time. Also, quality is key. I have fair, sensitive skin and tend to get a pimple or two on my chin every once in a while. That means I really, really have to be careful about my products otherwise I end up with a stockpile of foundation that makes me breakout.

Luckily, there are many helpful sites to help us on our quest for Holy Grail products:

• 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic has some great reviews, but I particularly love her detailed manicure routine.
• Makeup Alley has reviews of almost everything. You need to create and account to see everything, but it's free and totally worth it.
• Total Beauty is new to me, but their reviews are really helpful.
• In My Professional Opinion by Melissa Street is very cool. She recommends products and tools and posts Q&A's.
  

I love learning new application techniques. Here are some great artists:

• Kevin Aucoin's book Making Faces is a must. The man was a true artist.
• Bobbi Brown's book Beauty has some nice basic makeup info. I love her focus on taking care of your skin.
• Carmindy from What Not to Wear has some great little tips, especially for folks who don't normally wear makeup.
• Tricia Sawyer has an amazing amount of information on her website. She doesn't just list application tips, but has tons of video as well.

Mother of the Bride

One of my closest friends is getting married. She has chosen a fabulous gown and the other bridesmaid and myself get to wear dresses I already had. Yes. Anyway, her mother is dead set on not looking like a mother of the bride. I came up with a little list for guidance. I think it really could work for almost any special occasion.

A mother of the bride outfit must be chic, comfortable and fit perfectly. And it has to express your fabulously unique personality. In order to fit the criteria, I have created these guidelines:

1) When in doubt, try it on. You never know how it will look on you unless you are wearing it.

2) Use a great tailor! Don't limit yourself to petite pieces. If it fits in the waist and not the hips, go up until it fits the hips and have the waist take in. Even if you do find something that fits pretty well, take the extra step to make it fit perfectly. You are worth it!

3) This outfit should make you feel like a million bucks. If you have to force something, it isn't right. There is enough time to find the pieces that are just right.

4) You should have one "wow" piece. This is the funky, unique, interesting piece that you can't live without and are so excited to debut. It could be a jacket, blouse or skirt, or it could be a piece of jewelry. However, it should only be one piece. If you have loud, fabulous earrings, then go easy on the necklace, or don't wear one. The rest of your ensemble should be a chic and elegant complement to your "wow" focal point.

Exercise Clothing

I spent hours last night trying to find plus size fitness apparel. Much of what is labeled "activewear" is just loungewear. It took a lot of time to find high performance bras and shorts. It took even longer to find plus size tops with moisture-wicking technology. Most of which were expensive and not particularly cute.

Here are the online shops I found that have quality plus-size fitness attire:

• A Big Attitude, www.abigattitude.com, ABA
• Always For Me, www.alwaysforme.com, Enell, Danskin, ABA
• Enell Sports Bras, www.enell.com
• JC Penney, www.jcpenney.com, SJB Active
• Junonia, www.junonia.com, QuikWik, QuikEnergy, Goddess, Active Adaptables
• Just My Size, www.jms.com, JMS, Champion
• Ladies Only Sports, www.ladiesonlysports.com, Enell, ABA, Danskin, Pizzazz
• Net Sweat, www.netsweat.com, ABA
• Paragon Sports, www.paragonsports.com, Champion, Danskin
• Plus Size Athletic Wear, www.plussizeathleticwear.com, SportHill, N-2-Fit, Danskin, Enell,
• REI, www.rei.com, REI OXT, Danskin, Moving Comfort
• Team Estrogen, www.teamestrogen.com, SportHill, Moving Comfort, SHEBEEST, Terry
• Two Roads Fitness, www.tworoadsfitness.com, Enell, Moving Comfort, SportHill, InSport

Double-breasted

I was looking for a brightly-colored rain jacket for a Manolo for the Big Girl reader and noticed that most of the jackets I can find are double-breasted. In my opinion a double-breasted trench looks lovely on Audrey Hepburn, but not so much on a gal blessed with curves. It makes one appear more wide. Why is it that so many plus-size designers don't understand the voluptuous figure.

On a different note, I am lusting after this Gayla Bentley dress and blouse. I love how her Obi Sash gives the silhouette and defined waist.

plus-size models

Modeling is a competitive field. There are more pretty ladies than jobs. Sure, sure. However, it seems like any pretty curvy girl can pose for a plus size boutique. I LOVE that the shops that cater to bigger gals have real-life bodies to present their clothes. But Tyra has taught us that a good model is an artist and doesn't merely pose, but expresses herself.

I'm tired of seeing a lovely woman with a dead look in her eye trying to emulate Kate Dillon.

What Not to Wear

I don't have cable. Why? Because I would watch TV all the time. I already watch too much, but if I could get the Style, Bravo, BBC, HGTV and E! anytime I wanted, I would have no friends. Last weekend I did camp out in front of a cable TV and so took in many epsiodes of What Not to Wear. I'm more of a fan of the BBC original because they are so grabby and catty, but Americans Stacy and Clinton do a pretty good job.

One episode in particular featured a Chicagoan who kept saying he problem wasn't her clothing choice, but her weight. She just needed to lose weight for her tight pants to look awesome. Well, the WNTW duo firmly disagreed saying nothing was going to save the clothes, they were just bad. I agree, but I appreciate the point they were trying to make. Even if the clothes were stylish, if they don't fit, they are taking away from one's beauty.

Let's face it, it SUCKS to gain weight. But everyone has had that day. You take your favorite jeans out of the dryer before a night out, slide them on and...they just don't want to zip up nice and easy. You have to do lunges and squats to try to stretch them out a bit. Even with the stretching, you can still see that roll on the top of your jeans under your cute top that now accentuates how your bra strap digs in to your back.

That is NOT the way to feel sexy. You can't pull off a confident, attractive look if you are uncomfortable in your clothes. At the same time, who wants to accept that new label of going up a higher size? I get it. I really do. You have cute clothes already, you want to wear them, not go buy new ones in a bigger size. Just lose weight, right?

Here is a point that WNTW hinted at: when you feel attractive and confident, it will be easier for you to return to your normal size. It may be a little counterintuitive to by bigger clothes to lose weight, but I think it's logical. If you eat your feelings, then wearing unflattering clothes will make you feel worse and eat more. If you look great, you'll be more inclinded to actually live life and not think about food so much.

Take it easy

I get frustrated when complex issues are made to be simple. Bloody video games cause school violence and people are fat because they have no will power. I get it. It's nice to think about things as being black or white, good or bad, on or off. We want simple solutions. Take a pill. Have surgery. Go on a liquid diet. None of those things are necessarily EASY, but they don't address the myriad of reasons why men and women take in more calories than they can burn.

There are a number of ways to lose weight. It's simple math. Almost any diet invented will work provided one sticks to it. We've all lost weight, but we always seem to find it again. Why? Because we revert back to old behavior. We take in more calories than we burn. What does that tell us? Does that mean that 80% of the people who diet have no will power and are flawed?

No. It means that changing behavior is a complex, difficult process. Changing your diet isn't as easy as getting a food list. It's even harder than reaching your goal weight. Look at Oprah who is recognized as a talented, intelligent, determined and successful woman yet continually struggles with maintaining a healthy weight.

That's why I hate reading about the next diet fad, watching a Kirsty Alley sell frozen food on TV, and hearing about a new wellness center opening up that offers gastric bypass, as if those are viable solutions to the obesity epidemic. Sure there are some people who will be successful with those programs, but not the overwhelming majority of people who try them.

I wish I had the right book to read or counselor to recommend who could help us wash away our food and body issues, but it isn't that easy. It's a good place to start, of course, but even after years of reading these books and talking to good people it's still an intimate problem. It's the closest, quietest most private problem. So hushed that we don't want to talk about it and many times choose to ignore it. Maybe part of the solution is to talk about it more.

What do you think?