Throughout my childhood, and even to this day, my Dad is prone to make passing comments about his “Rich Fantasy Life”. In his Rich Fantasy Life he owns a hockey team. In his Rich Fantasy Life he is a silent partner in a restaurant, where he always has a table waiting in the back. In his Rich Fantasy Life his decades long career in Biotech results in the curing of cancer (jury is still out on this one! He’s not retired yet!). In his Rich Fantasy Life, maybe he even gets a Nobel Prize for this achievement.
I mention this because the concept of a RFL is now engrained in my brain, and I often get to thinking about what my own might look like. It’s a round-about way of setting goals that permits, nay, encourages you to think big. If your life could look like anything at all, what would it be?
Part of my RFL is that it never takes me longer than 20 minutes to get ready. That might seem like a long time to some, but I’m talking about the whole sha-bang here. Showering, hair removal, hair, makeup, and picking an outfit can creep into the 1-2 hour range when I am going OUT out. And I’m often so inefficient at time management on a weekday before work that I end up having time for none of that, and showing up to the office in an un-accessorized outfit with no hair and makeup whatsoever. Wouldn’t it be nice if my routine was so efficient, so perfected, that I could look like an off-duty Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on a daily basis? That’s the dream people.
The secondary element to this part of my RFL is that the tools required to get me ready for the day should fit nicely in the drawers of a small vanity desk. I don’t know which one yet, I haven’t picked it out. The desk isn’t important really, only that all my beauty items can be tucked away neatly within it, so that I don’t end up with the open storage clusterf*** nightmare that I currently have.
With that in mind, I have started keeping an eye out for ways to both reduce and optimize the beauty products that I own and use regularly. They need to be fast, compact, and yield RHW level results or I’m no longer interested. We are saving time, money, and space or it is not worth it!
The problem then becomes color cosmetics; like blush, lipstick, and eyeshadow. If you’re not that into makeup in the first place, then maybe you can find just the ONE complementary shade for you, but I like variety. I like options. What if I’m wearing something bright lilac? Am I supposed to just keep wearing a deep browny coral on my cheeks? No! I want a flush of bright pink! Maybe this is just me, but with this in mind I decided to start looking into cheek palettes – AKA something compact that would still give me options. I also unequivocally prefer cream blush products over powders. My skin is dryyyyy with five y’s so I knew I needed the palette to be creams.
That’s when I stumbled across this baby. The Ultra HD Blush Palette with “Invisible Cover Cream Blush”. Twelve shades of it to be exact. Twelve! This is listed as a “pro choice” on the Makeup Forever website, but I knew this had the potential to be the one blush product I needed in my RFL makeup kit. I asked for it for Christmas this year and my parents were kind enough to order it for me.
Before we get into my experience with the product, I want you to know that when you read the sales copy for this palette, it will sound too good to be true. It highlights a “invisible coverage” and “second skin-like texture”, and even asserts the makeup is invisible under a 4K camera and to the naked eye. After using this product non-stop for about a month, I can honestly say that this is accurate. I know, it’s kind of insane, but all I need to do is swirl my first two fingers in my color(s) of choice, rub them against my first two fingers on my other hand to disperse the product, then gently tap my cheeks and BAM. I’m freaking glowing like I went to a pilates class earlier. Oh me? Why yes, I am indeed full of life and not at all a vampire.
The best part about the fact that this blush is invisible is that it doesn’t look weird if I wear it with no other makeup, you know? I just look more awake and alive, instead of looking like I only had time to do half my face in the morning. It is also buildable if you are looking for more pigment. Really it is a dream all around. I can’t say enough good things about it.
The price is a little steep at $110, but for the number of shades you get and the small amount of product you actually need in order to do your makeup (I have yet to even make a dent in any of the colors after about a month of daily use), I think it is 100% worth it.
How is minimizing the rest of my beauty routine going? Please, don’t make me blush.