Surrender, Dorothy

More Later

I have to go to the doctor today. The surgeon, actually. I might post later. I might not. It's nothing serious, I don't think. I hope. I'll feel better once I know more.

Since I'm not feeling chatty, I finally put up my Get Moooooving gift pack giveaway on Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews. Hint: contains Cuisinart and iTunes, get on over there.

Schooled By a Seven-Year-Old

Beloved, the little angel and I clomped down the sidewalk. It had snowed just a little bit, and what was there had already melted, but the air contained that combination of humidity and cold that tickles your nose and reminds me of the Rocky Mountains. I just wanted to be outside in it a little longer, so I whined for a trek down a neighborhood path that winds behind houses and essentially goes nowhere. I knew it went nowhere because we'd been down it before, but we were only a few blocks from home and I was stalling.

We'd only gone past four or five houses when the path became covered in the mud resulting from less than an inch of snow. I watched the little angel tromp through it in her snow boots and wished I'd been more thoughtful of my own footwear. I own snow boots, too. Why weren't they on my feet?

"This was a really bad idea," I said. "I'm sorry. We're getting all muddy."

She didn't even turn around. She just yelled, "Mommy, are you an explorer or are you a fashion model?"

I swallowed. "I'm an explorer! I'M AN EXPLORER!"

 

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Win a Sony streaming device that will turn your TV into a smart TV on Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews!

Sponsored Post & Giveaway From COVERGIRL: Down With All the Clumping

The following is a sponsored post from the BlogHer Publishing Network review program and COVERGIRL. Don't judge, I'm saving to get Beloved a belated bday gift.

Also! Whenever there is a sponsored post, I will also write an editorial post that day. To see all the posts about eyelashes and mascara, check out the round-up on BlogHer.

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I've never put a ton of stock in make-up. That said, much like putting on clothing made of something other than cotton and using hairspray, make-up helps me feel dressed and ready to leave my house. When I worked in downtown Kansas City, I wore full make-up every day. Now that I work from home, I usually only wear mascara/powder/blush. On the days I put on eye shadow and eyeliner and lipstick, boy howdy, something is getting done.

So let's talk mascara. I've always been blessed with lashes plenty thick and long. However, they have blond tips and are very hard to see without the help of good mascara. Unfortunately, the side effect of most mascaras is either a) smearing under my eyes -- I have long wished I could find a way to bottle the excessive oil from my skin and sell it on the black market to old ladies or b) clumping. The smearing seems to have improved since the midnineties in almost all brands, but the clumping is totally getting worse as each brand tries to let your lashes gain muscle without exercise.

Today we will be testing out COVERGIRL LashPerfection mascara. The fact sheet tells me it has *micro-chambers*. I am fascinated by a product that retails for $5.99 and has such technology. MICRO-CHAMBERS!

Here is a really horrible before picture showing you my bloodshot eyeballs but really attempting to show you the color of my lashes before the mascara.

Wow, is that ever unattractive. But necessary for the SCIENTIFIC TESTING. Also, I'm wearing no make-up in this photo. See that oil? How do I sell that oil? I'm trying to buy Beloved a birthday gift here.

As you can see, I have blond-tipped lashes which from afar look like they stop a few millimeters short of where they actually do without cosmetic aid. Also, they curl up pretty naturally, so I stopped using an eyelash curler after I accidentally bent my lashes in half and had to wait two days for them to go back to normal while walking around looking like an idiot.

In the foreground, we have the COVERGIRL LashPerfection wand without any mascara on it. I was attempting to photograph the MICROCHAMBERS, but they must be invisible to the human eye. In the background is another COVERGIRL mascara wand for comparison. I got it at the CVS booth at BlogHer and I can't remember what kind it is.

For comparison's sake, here's the wand of my normal favorite mascara coated with goo. I like this one because it comes off really easily.

AND NOW! MASCARA-OFF! (I wasn't asked to do this, I just thought it would make the post more interesting. And I was curious how COVERGIRL would do against a more-expensive-but-also-drugstore brand.)

It is really hard to take a picture of your own eyeball. This eye has the COVERGIRL LashPerfection on in brown. I did actually feel my eyelashes being lifted by the wand, which was interesting. Also, I'm wearing two coats here on my top lashes and was impressed with how separated they look.

 

Here's my old faithful in brown-black. Normally I would wipe away those clumps, but I had to show you, um, look! Clumping! It's not a huge difference, but there is a difference and my normal brand costs around $15 compared to the COVERGIRL at $5.99.

When it came time to take off the mascara, I just washed my face. I didn't seem to need eye make-up remover. It's not waterproof, but there also wasn't a lot of racoon eyes going on, either.

I have to say, I might switch.

And now! Who would like to win a $50 drugstore.com gift card for your efforts at looking at my eyelashes? Good luck!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

e) Enter between October 4-November 4.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

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While we’re on the subject, you might want to check out the “Looking Your Best” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great application tips and ideas for switching up your look for fall!