I am almost embarrassingly low-maintenance when it comes to my physical appearance. Luck and genes are the main reason: my hair is strictly wash, dry and go and, aside from a few months of horrible acne when I was 26 — yes, 26, WTF! — I haven’t had any issues with my skin. I don’t need any fancy or expensive products to keep my skin or hair healthy. I don’t even comb my hair anymore.

It’s only been in the past few months that I have started wearing makeup almost everyday. Why only recently, you ask? To begin with, I always felt too young to wear makeup. I’m in my 30s now (shudder), so that reasoning doesn’t really fly. Secondly, I’m lazy. I just am. Between peeing, brushing my teeth, showering, and dressing myself, who has extra time to put makeup on? Finally, makeup? Really? Unless there’s a special occasion or something… why wear makeup? I always felt kind of fake when I wore makeup. I would rub most of it off of my face before walking out the door.

Cut to today: Makeup has become part of my daily get-ready-for-work routine. I finally reached that point where I was wearing the makeup for me instead of to impress other people. As you’ll see if you continue reading, I don’t exactly go nuts with it, and I let my skin breathe on the weekends unless I’m going someplace special.

Here are some of the products I use:

The foaming cleansing liquid from the Shiseido Pureness line has been my face cleanser for a few years now. It’s gentle and leaves my skin feeling fresh and soft. I’m panicking a bit because it was discontinued. Thankfully, I can still stock up by buying on eBay. In addition, the deep cleansing foam from the same line is a suitable alternative.

I moisturize with Ultra Repair Cream by First Aid Beauty. This stuff is so totally gentle and keeps my face nice and moisturized. It’s also great for any dry patches I may get anywhere else on my body. I have found that moisturizers with sunscreen in them leave my skin feeling greasy and cause breakouts. I’ve had no trouble, however, when I put on Aveeno’s face sunblock after applying my moisturizer. It’s good stuff. Wear sunscreen!!!

I have to thank my friend Christie for suggesting the Sin shade by NARS to use on my cheeks. It’s a great everyday blush that works great with my skin tone. I sometimes use NARS The Multiple on my cheeks in either Malibu or Maui, depending on the season. When I want flush cheeks, I use the tarte for True Blood limited edition cheek stain.

My must-have for lips is a tube of Carmex, which never lets me down. For color, though, I like Stila’s Long Wear Lip Color in Rendezvous. If I’m going for something glossy and fun, I use Zuzu’s lip gloss in Mischief, which was a gift from Janesse. For something bold, I like Sephora’s cream lip stain in Endless Purple. Sephora isn’t messing around with their lip stain, people. All I need is a drop! It’s as if I am painting my lips. It stays on long and is meant to be noticed.

I don’t do much in the way of eye makeup. I put on mascara maybe once a week. Blinc makes a great mascara — this was another recommendation by Christie. Once it’s dry, it doesn’t smudge no matter how much you rub your eyes (I speak from experience) and rubs off cleanly with warm water. I have also tried Blinc’s liquid eyeliner… ‘tried’ meaning that I managed to get it everywhere near my eye except where it’s supposed to go. Thank goodness it comes off with water. I need to practice my liquid liner skills. P.S. I had some trauma last week when I mascaraed my eyeball. All is good!

I finish off my face with a loose powder by Estee Lauder. It’s a nice translucent finish and works well on its own when I’m in a hurry or just want to wake up my face a bit before I go out.

Allow me to end this post by saying that I LOVE SEPHORA. I can easily spend an hour or two there trying products. A visit there can lift your spirits if you’re having a bad day, or can be a fun girls activity if you’re at the mall with a good girlfriend or a bored niece. I remember being totally intimidated by Sephora when it first appeared in the Chicago area. Have no fear: no one will bother you if you don’t want to be bothered but they will be really helpful if you want advice. (Okay, now give me free stuff for plugging your store, Sephora. Thanks.)