In my quest for makeup inspiration, I picked up Carmindy’s 5-Minute Face from Border’s bookstore the other day. The book is built on the concept that every woman should master the five-minute basic, everyday makeup look, and then can build on or play off of that polished canvas to incorporate trends or more dramatic looks.
The five-minute routine is shown here:
I like the five-minute face on me, but I find the eyeliner does less for my eyes than the eyeshadow does from Tyra’s routine in yesterday’s post. I feel much prettier with the little bit of eyeshadow than I do with the lined eye. What I love about Carmindy’s routine is the incorporation of highlighter and the use of brighteners under the eyes instead of concealers.
I had never found an adequate under eye concealer. I find I am much more pleased with the results of a lightening concealer than a true concealer. I’m currently using The Body Shop Lightening Touch. I thought it was the concealer Carmindy’s book recommended, but it turns out the book meant for me to pick up The Body Shop Concealer pencil or Benefit’s Bright Eye. I am actually quite pleased with Lightening Touch. Target’s Boots No. 7 has a similar concealer, Radiant Glow, and while I like The Body Shop’s slightly more, I am using Radiant Glow for my travel kit. They are both good options. I like them much more than the various MAC and Clinique under eye concealers I have used in the past.
Other than the five-minute face, the book offers guidance for additional looks, such as creating the smoky eye or a sixties face. This is why I bought the book. I already viewed the five-minute face how-to on YouTube.com, but hoped that the additional information would prove useful. There’s also a list of beauty products, both drugstore and high-end, that are listed for look, age group, and coloring. But it is unclear whether they are the products used in the photos and whether they are products Carmindy herself chose.
Was it worth the purchase? I haven’t decided. I figure I can always resell the book on half.com, so the most it will cost me in total is the cost of a magazine. At that rate, it is worth it. At $20, I expected more. I usually sell the fashion and beauty books I purchase since the information is so basic. This is one that will most likely fall in that category. I would have liked more information about application of the trend looks. All of the true meat of the book is captured in the YouTube video above.
By the way, the one beauty book I haven’t sold is Bobbi Brown Beauty. I’ll often pull it out to look over for reminders and inspiration during a bubble bath. It’s a great resource and a definite keeper.
