My faithful friend, Sally (& a few other's I'd like you to meet).

Confession No. 138:

I have a friend I rarely talk about. Ever.

One would think that the least I could do was shine a little light on a friend who has faithfully been there each and every time I turn to her. Yet to my great shame, mums been the word.

I met her through her cousin, Nair. Due to my Germanic bloodline (or so I was told and blindly believed), the dark course horse-hair that sprung up on my legs at the very earliest signs of puberty was unacceptable in my eyes. It was already embarrassing enough that the undershirt had to be replaced by something so hush!hush! as a trainer bra by the 5th grade...hairy legs only made things more awkward. It had to go. Because I was still quite young and intimidated of those chintzy pink daisy razors, I was easy prey to the message of television commercials that paraded teenage girls bragging about wearing short skirts, and from the looks of it, whatever they did left them with clean, shiny legs. And one of the girls had dark hair like me. Wonder if she had German blood coursing through her veins, producing wiry hair like mine?

And so, my mother formally introduced me to Nair, aisle 5 at the local Rea & Derrick. Nair was nice on the ride home, but once she 'opened up', I was quietly repulsed by her odor that I can still smell at the sound of her name. I tried to come up with a similar scent to compare, but there simply is none. But still...those leg's in the commercial...surely those girls were too nice to lie...it MUST work, my young naive mind concluded.

Apparently it does - on peach fuzz. I, however, was gifted with industrial strength hair follicles, and Nairy left me hairy. I was forced to work through my razor intimidation, and after a few nicked knees, felt much more confident in my navy gym shorts.

Little did I know during my initial visit at aisle 5 at Rea & Derrick that the rest of life I would find myself down the same road. If not at Rea & Derrick, it would be CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid...anywhere I knew Sally was waiting for me.

You may have heard of her.
My tried and true friend...

Sally Hansen.

For the sake of my pride, I will not go into the specifics of how she has helped me retain my femininity and reign in the effects of my heredity and hormones...but I will say I have spent many hours alone with her at the vanities of my youth and adulthood , and she has always come through for me. The times I was so sure I would be mistaken for Tom Selleck, after just a few moments with her expertise sitting upon my upper lip, why, all fear dissipated upon leaving the confines of the bathroom (not to mention the 'happy high' I got from bleach inhalation during the process. 8 minutes was never enough time for me).

And so....

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have decided to reveal my All-Time Favorite Beauty Products Ever.

{Who cares??? you ask. I know. I wonder the same thing, and yet I continue typing.}

Jergen's Natural Glow--FIRMING

THE best lotion ever. Tan and tone(r) in a bottle? For less than $6??

How could I resist? I cannot. I only wish it came in wine vats.

Shick Xtreme 3 Comfort Plus.

L'Oreal's Voluminous
I have tried many, but I keep coming back to LoriO.


Wet n' Wild Lipliner

in Brandywine 666. For .99 this liner has the perfect color (if not the perfect number!)
and I often wear it as a lipstick and blend it with gloss. A true staple in my purse...and rare day when my lips aren't pierced by it because it's not sharpened, but still worth the pain!



Sally Hansen.
Here she is, my friend, Sally. Our partnership is now out in the open.



Head & Shoulders, Citrus Breeze, 2-in-1

No problemo with Dandruff here, but this shampoo does a humdinger of job on a scalp that suffers the abuse of product and electrical impulses every day





Cetaphil

Has been a steady companion through many skin changes.






Bare Minerals Foundataion

Absolutely hands down favorite foundation of all time. And trust me, I need coverage. I need 'evenness', and since the first day I tried it (thank you, Diona!) I
have never felt the urge to stray.



There you have it.
All you never needed, and really did not want to know.


Shallow, mindless reading.


If that is what you were in need of upon stumbling through the door of the Coffee Cottage today, then by golly, I was happy to oblige.


PS. If you care to, please notify me if there is a product out there that I can simply not live without! I am not a woman who wakes up, pinches her checks, tousles her hair and dabs a dot of Vaseline on her lips. To the contrary...I need help. And lots of it.