Thursday, February 4, 2010

Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 5: I'm ready for my close-up

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Wednesday February 3, 2010, is a very important day in the History of Erika. Today will hereafter be known as The Day of the Eyelashes. Because today, for the first time in forty-three and a half years, I put on mascara. And I did it for Kelly Ripa and the Cake Boss. (Yes, today we got a hint about our celebrity cake decorating instructor: Looks like it will be Buddy himself.)

Now let me reassure you that I was in fact a 13-year-old girl at one time. I played with purple eyeshadow and Bonne Bell lip gloss. I learned how to cover up zits and contour my imaginary cheekbones with blush. But for some reason I could never bring myself to wear mascara. My eyelashes were good enough that I never had to, and I was always afraid I'd poke the wand into my eye and ruin my contacts.

But now I'm middle-aged, I've had Lasik surgery, and everything, including my eyelashes, seems to be fading. So when my friend Hilary and I went to Sephora on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica at lunchtime to buy the makeup I knew I'd need for next week's cake decorating event in New York, I decided to take the plunge. Mascara. The end of a bare-lashed era.


I explained to Mercedes, the lovely Sephora consultant who helped me, that makeup and I have been polite strangers ever since I graduated from middle school. I told her about Electrolux and Foodbuzz sending me to New York to decorate cakes with Kelly Ripa for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. I told her the competition will be filmed. She was really excited, she understood what I needed, and she got to work.


Mercedes quickly found the key ingredient: a matte mineral powder foundation that will keep me from looking shiny on camera but doesn't feel like you're wearing Vaseline on your face. I am naturally a "glowing" (okay, shiny) person, so this part was important. Then she helped me find and put on mascara, some eyeshadows, and an eyeliner. I walked out with a tiny little bag and a new boost of self-confidence. Bring on the cameras! Bring on the cakes! My nose will be perfectly matte, and my eyelashes will be a mile long, thanks to the lovely Mercedes. If you're in Santa Monica and you need a makeover, she's your girl.

3 comments:

Rita Anne Smith said...

Absolutely beautiful - mascara has been a constant companion of mine...brightens my eyes up on those not-so-bright days. Can't wait to hear about the trip and congratulations on this accomplishment of yours.

Erika Kerekes said...

Unfortunately, the mascara I got at Sephora has to go back. Two days in a row, raccoon circles under my eyes by 6pm. I went to the drugstore and bought a waterproof one (Cover Girl? Revlon? Can't remember) for half the price and double the staying power, I'm hoping.

The foundation worked out well today though. As did the eyeshadow and eyeliner.

Hilary Cable said...

You looked fabulous at work today, dahling :)

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