I haven’t worn makeup regularly - beyond a touch of eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick - since my freshman year of high school. No kidding, the last time I wore foundation every day was when I was fifteen. I don’t read fashion and beauty magazines, not even while I’m waiting for my foils to process.

I do take steps to camouflage and/or prevent signs of aging. I wear moisturizer with sunscreen every day. I apply lip balm, hand cream and night cream (when I remember to wash my face) before bed.

And I do spend time and money on my hair - cuts and highlights and products, even a professional quality hair dryer made in Italy.

But makeup? Too much trouble.

So it doesn’t seem likely that a lazy girl like me would be interested in a book like Beauty Confidential, right?

Au contraire! Beauty Confidential is perfect for lazy girls like me. I don’t want to read through issue after issue of a half-dozen magazines, trying to extract what may or may not work for my skin, my hair, my coloring. For me, that’s not entertaining; it’s excruciating.

When did I know I would love Beauty Confidential? When I got to page 16 and read the section titled “The Lazy Girls Club” - all about how to condense makeup into a ten minute routine (and what products to use - bonus!). Now I’ve incorporated products from elsewhere in the book, as well as products that I already used, into my own ten minute routine:

Cleanser - Cetaphil Face Wash

Gentle and effective. Much better than any other cleanser I’ve tried because it leaves my skin squeaky clean without overdrying it.

Moisturizer with sunscreen - Philosophy When Hope Is Not Enough

SPF 20 (I think), light and absorbs quickly. One of the first lessons I learned upon moving here is that I can’t go without sunscreen, no matter how little time I spend outside, nor what time of year it is.

Foundation - Bare Escentuals i.d. Bare Minerals

If you hate foundation the way that author Nadine Haobsh and I hate foundation - sticky, gloppy, dirty, germ-ridden yuck that it can be - then give Bare Minerals a try. Until I tried it myself, I thought Nadine was a bit obsessive in her adoration of Bare Minerals. Now I fear that I may become similarly obsessed.

It feels like you’re putting absolutely nothing on your face, just making circular motions with a big fluffy brush, but the results are incredible. It doesn’t smudge or smear or require touch-ups. It’s foundation that I’d actually wear in midwestern summer humidity.

Mascara - Lancome Definicils

I prefer lengthening mascaras; volumizing formulas make me feel as if my lashes are full of clumps. Nadine notes that you should wipe off excess product from the brush with a tissue before applying - good advice that I’d actually first heard several years ago. And even though I really like this product, I still comb through my lashes afterward to separate them and remove excess mascara.

Eyeshadow - NARS eyeshadow in Nepal

I hadn’t worn eyeshadow in at least fifteen years. Okay, maybe ten - I think I wore some on my wedding day.

Great color, easy application (I actually use my fingers as Nadine suggests, and it works), and it doesn’t crease.

Blush - NARS blush in Orgasm

Oh my. The name says it all.

This color is light and subtle, and like the NARS eyeshadow, it applies easily and lasts. I did pick up a Sephora blush brush, as my old all-purpose blush brush has seen better days.

Lips - Fusion Beauty LipFusion lip plumper, Clinique Black Honey gloss

The lip plumper is just like a gloss, except it’s clear. I apply it before bed and in the mornings, and I use the Clinique gloss during the day. These glosses are not like the drugstore versions; the applicators are sturdier and the glosses themselves are thicker.

Does the lip plumper work? I don’t know; it seems to. If nothing else, I dig the tingly sensation.

What did I disregard? Concealer. I hate concealer. I bought the L’Oreal True Match Super Blendable concealer that Nadine recommends, and while it’s an improvement over the Revlon concealer I’d tried most recently, I still hate it. Not enough of an improvement to justify the effort.

Not only has Beauty Confidential prompted me to make myself a bit more presentable before leaving the house each morning, it’s convinced me that nightly skin care should be just that - nightly. So now I remove my eye makeup (old standby is Neutrogena eye makeup remover), wash with Cetaphil, and use my Philosophy night cream (Hope in a Jar - I prefer it over When Hope Is Not Enough, which feels kind of heavy for me) and eye cream (Eye Believe - it hasn’t eliminated my sunken eyes each morning, but they’re looking better) - every single night.

Is it silly to start a new beauty routine now, being pregnant? Actually, I think it’s the perfect opportunity. I’m not spending money on clothes, and I’m certainly looking for ways to improve my appearance - namely by drawing attention away from my lower half. And it’s always a good idea to take care of your skin.

Will I keep up with it once the baby comes? That, I can’t say. I fully intend to keep up with the skin care, and it sure doesn’t hurt to have an arsenal of cosmetics that I actually enjoy using. Who knows? The dark circles may get to be bad enough that I’ll gladly break out the concealer in addition to all the other goodies.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy looking pretty. From the neck up, anyway.