Not Your Mother's Eye Pencil...

It’s back!

My very favorite eye pencil is back, and I know that seems trivial, but believe me, it really isn’t. In my world, makeup is sort of a slap/dash affair: I’m looking to put as little effort as possible to make me look – well, like I did at twenty when I didn’t have to do anything. Which of course means doing quite a bit, but I really want it to be easy and quick.

I pretty much use about four products: concealer (duh), powder (to sort of smooth things out), bronzer (need some color here), and then eye liner/shadow. When I’m really feeling special (or like I want the bother at the other end of the day), I’ll use mascara, but I’m usually too lazy to clean it off at bedtime, so I’d rather skip it.

And here’s the thing: when I go into CVS, I don’t want to spend a ton of time cruising the makeup aisle, comparing products. I want to buy what I always buy, and get the heck out of there. When I find a product that works, I keep using it. Which is why it just ticks me off when the makeup companies discontinue a product. Usually just when I’ve gotten to totally count on it.

So, back to my eye pencil: I loved mine. It was two products in one: eye liner and shadow. One product, two functions, great color, worked for me. And then suddenly I couldn’t find it; CoverGirl stopped selling it. And after much searching, I realized no one else sold a product anything like it.

Which meant I had to find another way to keep my eyes from totally disappearing into my face. I tried skinny pencils – took too much time and effort to deposit any real color on my lid. I tried gingerly applying shadow in a thin line – hard to keep the powder from getting into my eyes. I started asking friends about their products, but really, I just wanted my old eye pencil back.

And then I was in a place not known for selling cosmetics, when suddenly, there it was: my eye pencil! Different company, same product. No idea why them, or why now, but I wasn't asking questions. They only had one in my color, so I scooped it up, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.

It doesn’t cure cancer, or even the common cold, and I know having the “right” eye pencil won’t change my life. But it WILL make me oh so much happier when I can throw on my makeup in – well, the blink of an eye, and that’s something.