I’m not a big shopper these days. I spent almost five years producing a shopping magazine and radio show, so bargain hunting still seems a little like work to me.

I am, however, still frugal. Okay, I’m cheap – I don’t like to pay a lot of money for clothes, shoes, purses – you won’t find designer brands stacked up in my closet. You will find a lot of clothes I don’t wear anymore since I started working from home. All those skirts, trousers and sheaths are starting to gather dust, along with the high heels.

What I didn’t have is a great pair of comfy jeans.

I don’t mean to say I am jean-free. I have about ten pair, of assorted colors, sizes and weight. Some are barely worn (did I really think I was going to wear white jeans?) and at least two pair are almost a decade old, and in danger of going threadbare in places you don’t want to be threadbare (no one wants to see that).

I found myself in Steinmart recently, looking for a nice blouse to wear for a TV appearance. The “tips” they sent over said to wear solid, bright colors. My closet is 90% black, and 10% faded, so I needed something new with a little color. I found a great teal blouse on sale for $17 and as I was walking back to the dressing room, I spied a rack of skinny jeans in a deep blue hue for $29. Soft, stretchy…sold!

They turned out to be Bandolino, the Selene version. I’d only seen Bandolino shoes before. These were the knit-to-fit style, and soft as yoga pants. They have a zipper and pockets, which makes them handy (I love to put my cell phone and a Kleenex in my pocket when I leave the house).

The thing I love most about them is that they are comfortable. I mean pajama-jean comfortable! But they look like regular skinny jeans. This particular color is so dark that is can pass for black with the right color (not that there’s anything wrong with blue).  And they didn’t stretch out. No sagging at the waist, seat or knee after a few hours like some stretchy jeans.

It took a little while for me to come around to the skinny jean style. That probably means it won’t be “in” this season, since I am never “on trend”.  I resisted going for the skinny jeans ever since Stacy London on What Not To Wear told us curvy girls to not even try them on – stick with the boot cut. But I don’t care anymore. I’ve worn these jeans four times in two weeks. I love them so much I went back to look for a black pair (yes, I have an addiction to black clothing) and, even though they didn’t have black, I ended up buying another blue pair, just so I can have a spare.  

I looked online, but I have not found a source for this exact jean. These are not the pull-ons or the capris. They hit right at the ankle. I’m a little worried that they will shrink. The label says to turn inside out and tumble dry on low – not sure I can keep that up. Jeans don’t get special treatment at my house.  

I think they work well with almost every shoe I’ve tried except sneakers (I’m only 5’4 – you may be able to pull that look off if you are taller). I like them best with my ballet flats.

They looked nice on TV with that teal blouse and my heels! You know I’m comfortable in these jeans if I dare to show a pic of my backside. Thanks to my hubby for volunteering to take the shot J

This is not a sponsored post, I just love the jeans! 

UPDATE 4/9 - found some Selene style/darkwash onlne at a source called Stage Stores. I have not ordered yet. Looks like SteinMart, BonTon and Belk are sold out of these jeans.Grab them wherever you can find them! They run small - if you are curvy, order one size up. I usually wear an 8 and I needed a 10.

http://tinyurl.com/ljbkpth


I’m in my reinvention stage! Currently touring as the co-founder of Tykester App. Follow me on Twitter as I find great things for vibrant, real women or at www.tamtalks.com

I wish I had longer, lusher lashes. I must not be alone., the selection of mascaras out there on the market is staggering.   I’ve tried at least two dozen of them in the past few years – drugstore, department store, beauty boutique and online. I never seem to last with one brand very long. My lashed are blond - practically invisible, so mascara is essential to me. My aging eyes need some help to look, well, lets just say “fresher”.

So far, I’ve purchased false fiber mascara, waterproof mascara, mascaras that lengthen, thicken, separate, fan out and supposedly curl.

I haven’t yet found the perfect one, so I’ve settled for mascaras that don’t smudge or wear off. Most mascaras do a credible job, but staying power is key with my long hours.

I wandered into Ulta yesterday to grab some eyebrow gel (I also have blond eyebrows – part of the fun of being a redhead, I guess). As usual, a salesperson with perfect makeup found me wandering the aisles. Her eyelashes were amazing, so I plunked down $25 to try the brand new Roller Lash by benefit.

Have you tried it yet?
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod11951085
 
It comes in a neat retro tube inspired a 50s inspired hair curler. New mascara is always fun since it isn’t clumpy yet and there is always that gleeful feeling that you may have stumbled upon something wonderful.

Day 1

I wanted to give this one a good shot, so I headed to my bathroom mirror to take off what little makeup I had on before trying this one out.

It has very little smell, which I think is a plus. The brush is actually a comb, in a somewhat unique shape that combines a lot of elements of the drugstore brands. I’m pretty sure that the only real difference we pay for in mascara brands is the applicator.  This one is curved slightly, with shorter “teeth” on one side. I’m not sure why a brush has teeth all the way around if it is curved. The smaller size of the applicator made it easier to wield around my smallish eyes.

This applicator is also thin, which I like, since I can get down to the roots of my eyelashes without smearing the product. I wiped on a few swipes quickly. It adhered to the lashes nicely for a first coat. The major “selling point” on this mascara is it’s supposed ability to curl your lashes. I have a problem with heavy product weighing down my sparse lashes. My lashes did not curl, however, they did look slightly “lifted” and the color is a satin black, so one coat suffices for a quick fix. Today, I wanted to check out the staying-power, so one coat is all I did.  Six hours later, when I went to take it off, it was nicely in place, no smudges, and came off easily enough – easier than the waterproof that I usually wear (my eye makeup remover is Almay Moisturizing Pads).

Day 2

I spent a little more time today prepping my lashes to make sure they were dry and product free. Again, easy application on coat #1. I took my time and brushed upwards with long strokes, and held the brush in place for a little longer than I usually do. I keep a Q-tip handy for clean ups, but I did not need it with this applicator. A slightly annoying thing is the little clump of product on the end of the applicator that I had to wipe off. Each time I dipped it back into the tube.

One of my go-to mascaras is They’re Real, also from benefit (it never smudges, but it weighs down my lashes so they never curl, even with a curler). It has this neat little ball of bristles at the end of the brush to help you with tiny little end lashes and clumping. I wish they would combine these two applicators if it would work out to curl and declump.

I worked on coat #2 a few minutes later and could see some real results. Again, it did not curl my lashes, but did lift them slightly, and didn’t make a clumpy mess with more product applied. I finished off my lipstick and applied a tiny coat #3 to the outside lashes. At the end of the day, no smudges, lashes still lifted slightly. I wouldn’t say they looked long and lush, but improved a bit over my regular mascara.

Day 3

Usually I am either sold or not sold by this time, but the jury is still out on this one. I did the same routine, taking a few minutes longer to try to get it right. This time, I curled my lashes to see if it would help – I didn’t notice any difference at the end. I used a dry eyelash brush before and after coat #1 to see if it helped on eyelash separation (not really, but this mascara doesn’t clump that much).

I feel bad for my left eye. I start out with good intentions, always on my right eye. I take lots of time with “righty”, and then get started on “Lefty”. I always have trouble with the left. I don’t know if it because the angle or my shaky hand, but my left eye eyelashes are always a little clumpier, a little less separated, and flatter. I’m not going to blame the mascara on that. As with Day #2, I got the same results – a slight lift in the tips, nice flat black color, but no show-stopping lashes. I will give it a rave review for long-wear – there was no smudging at all for three days, which is a big plus. But since it didn’t do much for making my lashes look longer or fuller, I probably won’t be shelling out $25 each month just to get a slight lift.

Can I “face” the world?

So, has anyone sent you #TheNoMakeupSelfieChallenge on Facebook? At first, I just ignored it as my friends passed it around. I do love my makeup.

It might stem from being a child in the south during the 60s and 70s, watching moms put on a dress and lipstick just to go to the grocery store. It may be a compensation for growing up in the shadow of an intensely beautiful mom, who turns heads still at 75.

Or maybe I’m just a little vain? Ding. I think we have a winner.

My moisturizer takes a few minutes to soak in. This morning, in my hotel room, I started doing my usual inspection and “critique” of my face in the mirror as I waited for it to dry. Wrinkles, dark spots, redness - I guess I’m checking to see what has deteriorated overnight. I may not hide my age from the world, but I don’t like my face to announce it, either.

As my body impatiently screamed for coffee, I sat there, waiting for moisturizer to set. I was puzzled, and maybe a little embarrassed. Who, exactly, was I trying to impress this morning? I was in a hotel, in a town where not one person knew me –so what if I trotted out in the world with a bare face? What’s the worst that could happen – people faint, babies cry, birds fall out of the sky?

I picked up my phone and snapped a photo so I could compare it to one I took yesterday, right after a TV appearance (it took me over 20 minutes to do my face and hair yesterday morning). I was shocked to see there wasn’t a ton of difference. Yes, one looks a little more polished and colorful, but the face is – for better or worse – still me.

So I threw on some shoes and toddled out into the world with my sports top, yoga pants and bare face. No one in Starbucks fainted. The doorman didn’t say “jeez, put on some lipstick, lady”.

This doesn’t mean I’ll be tossing the lip gloss any time soon (stockholders in L’Oreal can breathe easy). I’ve discovered that, while I CAN go without it, I still enjoy the whole ritual and routine of what my grandmother used to call “putting on my face”. So, I choose to keep doing it – for me, because it makes me feel more like the “best” me.

I think I’ll take a pass on sending that No Makeup Selfie Challenge to any of my Facebook friends. I hope every woman chooses to face the world each day with her best  - and she also lets her own heart determine WHAT her best may be.