Domesticity Friday #1: Cake, Cetaphil, and Australians

Okay, so this is the fourth post of the night, but I guess I'm just so happy to have another outlet again that I can't help it. So in honor of Domesticity's birthday I'm going to initiate a weekly tradition of posting random thoughts on Friday. Here we go:

- Those of you who read today's post about my makeup meltage know that my normal-to-dry complexion has a tendency of getting greasy in hot weather. That's why I've gotten attached to my Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar - it gives my face a nice, freshly cleansed feeling without feeling too dry, filmy, or itchy. And it's probably the only cleanser I've ever used that didn't make my skin even worse for using it.

- Okay, I have no shame in admitting that I've been watching Rock Star: INXS. Granted, I've probably written term papers with better editing and continuity than every episode, and there's no way that anyone will ever replace my beloved Michael Hutchence, but I can't help it. The songs! The crazy contestants! The House Band! Middle-aged Australian men with foxy speaking voices! And the bitch-faced reaction shots during bad performances are even more priceless than anything Simon, Randy, and Paula can come up with after four seasons of American Eye Dull, I mean Idol. Plus MiG Ayesa (in spite of his slight resemblance to a younger version of my Dad - hmmm, Electra complex, much?) has now joined Chad Hugo and Apl.de.Ap on my list of Filipino Guys Who Should Be More Famous On Their Own By Now.

- Which reminds me: I've also been listening to the version of "Tempted" that Squeeze did for the Reality Bites soundtrack. LOVE. THAT. SONG.

- Am I the only person who actually doesn't mind all the stuff from Sears' Ty Pennington Style line? I don't even like the guy that much, for crying out loud, but the bedsheets can't be THAT bad - or can it?

- Currently snacking on chocolate cake. Because, really, when you've gone through a month's worth of throat infections like I have, you'd be jonesing for chololate cake, too.

- My humps, my humps, my humps. And what's with all the fading lipstick, anyway? (Thanks, Fug Girls!)

The Case for Melt-proof, Un-skanky Makeup

So there I was last week, on the North Shore for the wedding reception of two friends that I love so dearly, doing the things that I usually do when I go to weddings - take photos, eat cake, drink champagne, meet new friends (and the occasional hot guy), and dance up a storm with the rest of the wedding party. For the most part I had been pretty much well-behaved throughout the night, so I thought I'd just go into the bathroom and freshen up, so to speak.

Imagine my horror, then, when I came up to the bathroom mirror and saw my reflection. Up until this point I thought I've been pretty good with the makeup - a few dabs of powder here, a swipe of lip stain there - but I had no idea that my mascara had started running and smudging to the point where I had raccoon eyes in the worst possible way. Add to that the fact that 1) my face looked pale, since I've sweated most of the powder off and 2) my lip stain was fading in a very unattractive manner, and I looked less like a civilized wedding guest but more like someone trying to get all "Punk Rawk"-ed up for a reality-show audition.. Luckily for me it was near the end of the night and I got a ride going back out to town, and anyone who saw me at the wedding would have thought that I looked OK anyway.

So what did I do wrong? I mean, I knew it was going to be humid up at the North Shore, and I had the time to touch up between the church in Mililani and the reception in Waimea. I suspected that part of the reason why I looked so pale was the harsh lighting in the ladies' bathroom, which could have also contributed to the dark circles around the eyes. That said, barring all the factors and elements present, I can name the two main culprits for my makeup meltdown:

• Foundation, or lack thereof. Even though I have what people consider to be "normal-to-dry" skin, the sweating does make my face greasy, so anything that's supposed to make me "glow" only makes me look like a Krispy Kreme donut, and anything marked "long-lasting" either makes my skin seize up and itch, or looks like it was troweled onto my face, on top of being a bother to remove. The week before, I had used my BareMinerals powder on my face for a party, and my makeup did hold throughout the night, but for some reason I didn't use that this weekend. Silly me. (Seriously, folks, this BareMinerals stuff is the bomb if you want something that can withstand hours of socializing, even in tropical weather. I recommend using this with the Face Color powder in Warmth.)
• Mascara. Yes, Maybelline Volum'Express "washable" mascara, I am glaring in your general direction. Yes, I know I'm the type of person who won't spend more than $10 for mascara (and that entry is forthcoming) but I've had so much luck with the other drugstore mascaras that I thought this one would work. Heh.

Had these two elements stayed on the top of their game, my face would not have devolved so quickly into skank territory. But as it goes, I've lived through this, I've learned my lesson, and I'm ready to move on.

And she WILL be blogged

So, yeah, come on in. This place is pretty new, but it's comfortable, and I'm sure we'll be able to spruce it up over time. Grab a seat and I'll get you a drink.

(And, yes, my French isn't all that great. But bear with me. It's not just la maison de Mei, it's ma maison, and I like it that way.)

I know that we haven't really kept in touch in the last two years, but you do understand, right? Let's face it, three years is a mighty long time to be away. But you have to admit, too, that a lot of things have changed in the last three years. I don't know about you, but I'm sure I'm not the same person I was three years ago when I had that other page, the one with all the drama and the dirty bits. Back then I was just out of college, throwing myself at boys that I never really understood and were - let's be honest here - "just not into me." I had a job, friends, and a loving family, but I burned out anyway and I hated myself for it all.

Then all of the other things happened. Like moving to Makiki. Going back to church. Making new friends. Getting back in shape. Then I quit my job and decided to go to grad school full time. Now you know.

But this blog isn't about all that, not at all. I mean, if you want the dirt and the drama, you'll have to look elsewhere...

Oh, yeah. The new blog. At the risk of sounding like bad ad copy, Domesticity is about living the good life even when it isn't as perfect as it should be - like, say, being an unmarried full-time graduate student and part-time youth minister on a limited budget in a state with a high cost of living. It's about being super fantastic even in flip-flops and second-hand mu`umu`u. It's about the things that make you smile when everything else seems so chaotic (and not even in a bad-reality-show-about-your-marriage kind of way). Fluffy, girly stuff.

So there you go - a true-to-life (or at least true to life in Honolulu) look at fashion and lifestyle. Clothes, shoes, makeup, food, some home furnishings, with a side serving of pop-culture snark. Let's see how this goes.

Testing, testing, one two....

If you see this, it means that I've been able to post something on this blog. If not, then we'll see.

UPDATE (a few minutes later): Hey, it worked! So I guess this means my blog is working. Let's do this!