Painting the Barn

After the hair, there's the face, and here, as elsewhere, the typical woman--the girl next door, if you will--is going to need all the help she can get. Before she can get said help, cosmeticians have learned, a foundation has to be laid, as it were, upon which to build. Therefore, "foundation makeup" is applied that generally matches the skin tone to smooth out such irregularities as oily skin, dry skin, birthmarks, acne scars, blotchiness, freckles, birth defects, and curses of God. Most such makeup is composed of a combination of oils, emollients, alcohol, powders, minerals, silicone, and water. Foundation makeup is the mask, or canvas, so to speak, upon which the makeup artist performs his or her miracle, transforming mere ivory (or ebony) into a statuesque beauty of Galatea's loveliness.

Next, let's consider (I almost wrote "look at") the eyes. There's an array of cosmetics to make the mirrors of milady's soul more attractive: eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara seem to be the main ones.

For men who write erotica, a few definitions may be in order. According to American Heritage Dictionary, eye shadow is "A cosmetic available in various colors or tints and applied especially to the eyelids to enhance the eyes." The same source defines eyeliner as "makeup used to outline the eyes" and mascara as "a cosmetic applied to darken the eyelashes." Since, by definition, makeup is mostly about the outer girl, that's about all the assistance a girl can expect from cosmetics manufacturers, as regards her peepers. However, colored contact lenses can be used to turn brown eyes blue or green or blue or green eyes brown.

Like hair color, eye makeup comes in a bewildering assortment of hues. One company offers 120 shades of eye shadow! Fear not, though, all of them come on a single two-layered, 9"- x 6"-inch "palette" which includes both "matte and shimmer colors" for as little as thirty bucks, or about 25 cents apiece, which is, presumably, quite a steal.