Carmindy

This is absolutely NOT the sort of book I would ever buy or pick up on my own as 1) I use a bare minimum of make-up 2) I find cosmetics rather intimidating, and I'm self-conscious about shopping for them. However, I won this in a gift pack earlier this year, and after a few days of feeling like I look bleh, I figured it was as good a time as any to read it.

Actually, I was pretty impressed with the book. It lives up to the title, emphasizing that THINKING positively will reflect in a person's face and empower them more than make-up alone ever could. True, that. Carmindy (who does make-up on the show What Not to Wear) also emphasizes focusing on good facial features rather than covering up the bad. The book has chapters on each part of the face - lips, eyes, skin, cheeks - and shows techniques on how to handle different shapes/textures/colors. I especially liked the examples of how to apply eye shadow for different shapes and times of day; it makes me feel like actually trying out eyeshadow for the first time in, oh, three years. There's a chapter on tools, explaining different sorts of little brushes and thingamajigs. The back of the book shows real women of all ages and ethnicities and how they look before and after. Carmindy is very good at her job.

That said, sometimes the positive-emphasis was a bit overdone. Almost ever paragraph had sentences like: Fabulous! Gorgeous! The book also isn't bound for friendly use in a bathroom. It's hardcover and oversized like a coffee table book. Pages don't stay open on their own. As far as functionality, it would have been more prudent to make it glossy and spiral-bound. Those are the only gripes, though. It's a nice book for gals like me who might want to dress up every now and then, but don't exactly know how. I actually went out and bought a lip liner and pencil eye liner today. Whoa.… (meer)