For the life of me, I can't figure out where my lips end and the flesh begins.

I agree!!!! I had two faced years ago, and it was great. You had to be careful because if your hair got stuck on your lips and then ran across your cheek, red, swollen line on your cheek. But the lips got all plumpy and felt stingy and fabulous. But not now. Now there is nothing that does anything. Why?

That's my problem with this! I get all excited about tricks to make lips look fuller and softer, and eyes look bigger and brighter. But then, you see that the model had those features to begin with anyway so... Where are the ladies with thin lips and tiny bead eyes?

Why didn't Raven or Jujubee win that season?????? I mean, Tyra? She couldn't do makeup at all, nor could she do a reading. Sorry. Still not over that clear robbery.

I have pale/red irish skin and thin, small lips too. But one problem I have always struggled with when I try to line my lips is: where do my lips actually end and my flesh begin?

See? That sounds ideal. I could never pull it off, though.

Yes, the caveat always being that whatever makes someone happy/do you/ etc. and it does look fun to try! I just mean that I’ll be happy when makeup trends are smoke and mirrors in a way that works better for going about an everyday life instead of this extreme contouring meant for stage and/or professional…

This picture makes me want to pluck my eyebrows into 90s oblivion again!

Also, her bone structure supports her lips/mouth/jaw, which is always a giveaway. If I tried to get my lips done, they would look swollen as I don’t have the bone structure to support them.

Yeah. That’s why I just don’t like the trend. I can appreciate the skill of it, but it’s not the particular skill I’m interested in someone weilding on my face. I also can’t help but think that when I see younger women with nice skin and features, that look isn’t doing them any favors either. I’ll be happy when this…

Gaaah! This phone? Site? Anyway, I was going to end by making the riveting comment that I liked the red lip color on the girl with freckles, but I'm not sure all that extra work she did was required.

This is a good example of my problem with contouring in general. I like the idea of using makeup as smoke and mirrors to enhance or dehance (is that a word?) certain features or skin complexion.

That’s true. And that point of a leap is when you have kids. And you realize just how important certain things are that were easy to ignore, justify, tolerate, or convince yourself of. It’s luck if the partnership works out anyway, but man, so many relationships that are decent when the people are childless…

I think part of the problem here can be summed up by the term, “reasonable request.” Obviously,it’s reasonable to request the avoidance of any allergen. However, keep in mind that accommodating that request is not always as simple as omitting a tomato or substituting almond butter. If someone has a serious gluten…

Oh, no! I only read. I used to harbor fantasies, but now I'm content to recognize and consume better writing than anything I could have done. I'll have to check it out, thanks!

This is my very favorite so far, for reasons others have already said so well. I love how thoughtful and insightful the writing is, and how thoughtful it shows that you were throughout the process. It is so compelling. I hope you write in your everyday life! If so, please include links to your writing. If not, please…

Very much like that, minus the ability to park yourself on a park bench and chill with a bag of chips for an hour.

No one ever does! It is weird not to have any core strength to speak of because your abs have had The Great Schism. All of a sudden, you find yourself not able to do basic things, like stand up out of a chair without a pulley system.

Well, I’m actually a work-from-home mom, which is a situation that I do appreciate, but it obviously has its stresses. One of the downsides is that since I only ever leave the house with the kids and to do house-related errands, I pretty much haven’t had any self-respect about my appearance since 2010.

Bad joint problems during pregnancy (which I believe is common, there is some hormone during pregnancy that loosens them). But my hips and knees never returned to normal. I now have that trick knee when it rains, and I still have to pop my hip about every 4 or 5 steps so it doesn't stiffen up on me. Which isn't…