Beauty Literotica: Reading under the Influence of Cold Medicine

Hi ladies,

For two weeks of mostly bedridden, I must admit it was not as dreadful as I thought, thanked to some books I collected at the local public library. Who would have thought the public library to have such a healthy collection of beauty and makeup books? Some of the books I wanted to read for years while others I discovered with serendipity. If I bought these books, it would have cost me an arm and a leg but by using the library, I was able to read them and immerse myself in some valuable lessons.

That's Oscar Blondie and the books (he's a distant cousin of Nemo!)

The books are (top to bottom):

• Natural Beauty by Laura DuPriest;
• Free Gift with Purchase by Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director of Lucky magazine;
• Bobbi Brown Beauty: the Ultimate Beauty Resource by Bobbi Brown and Annemarie Iverson;
• Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual by Bobbi Brown;
• Allure Confessions of a Beauty Editor by Linda Wells (editor-in-chief of Allure magazine) with the editors of Allure;
• Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin (it’s not a loaner!)

All these books are must-read materials and believe it or not, they keep me humble. As soon as I think I’ve known everything (rookie mistake), the book gives me something to think about. I’ve learned a tremendous amount of information from “Making Faces” by Kevyn Aucoin. The book was published in 1997 but the information is nowhere near being outdated. This book really up my ante in makeup as a whole and it serves as an inspiration to me (and that’s why I bought it!)

Bobbi Brown’s books are a joy to read and I learn makeup with deeper details after reading them. Bobbi Brown Beauty is her first and Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual is her latest book. In both of them, she wrote with fervor of the makeup artistry. So far, Ms. Brown has wrote a total of five books, beside having her own makeup brand, working with TV shows (Oprah, the Today Show), celebrities, runway shows, etc. I highly recommend you to buy “Making Faces” and “Makeup Manual” as both books are well written and illustrated. On top of that, Making Faces makes a good coffee table book for the fashionistas.

“Confessions” and “Free Gift” can be read in tandem as they were both written by beauty editors. Jean Godfrey-June is an award-winning beauty editor, previously at Elle and currently at Lucky. Her writing style is snappy and somewhat laugh-out-loud funny. “Free Gift with Purchase” gives you a glimpse at the world of a beauty editor (and then director) of a glamorous niche beauty magazine. There’s a reason I do not call myself a “beauty editor” when almost everybody around who has a blog calls themselves so. When someone has a blog, that person is a blogger, simple as that. To be a beauty editor, that person’s job is much more taxing but the clout is also much higher. Also, the gifts are undeniably better. Only a handful of beauty bloggers out there receive direct promotional products from the companies. The rest of us simply buy stuff from our pocket. Again, I’m not a beauty editor – I am a blogger.

“Confessions” is an interesting book to read and the format is very similar to that of Allure magazine itself. If you want to learn a lot of tips and tricks, this is a perfect book for you.

“Natural Beauty” is a good book to read when you want to look good but have a tight budget. Laura DuPriest is a spa and salon owner with a lot of experience in her field. The points she shared in her book are practical and do not cost a lot of money. It’s a must-read for the DIY ladies.

These are just overviews of the books, the actual reviews will come in the subsequential weeks. So please stay tuned for them!

Since this is the official last post of the month of May, I just want to say a quick “Thank You” to all of you who are still with me. June is an important month to me (my birthday does not fall in this month, mind you!) To this blog, June marks the beginning of a new cycle as we started it all at the end of this month. So I hope to be a more frequent blogger next month and hopefully the situation will allow me to do so. I hope this month is kind to you and next month is going to be better. As always, stay gorgeous!

Ciao for now,
Your Makeup Blogger

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