And this:

I love make-up. I pretty much looked like I had black eyes throughout junior high.

Child services showed up once only to discover I’d been over-zealously applying Root Beer Lip Smackers and black eyeliner. I like to think that since then my make-up aesthetic has become less Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby and more Grace Kelly in Rear Window.

So I was thrilled to try out my evolved skills with my Mary Kay booty. I invited a crew of my neighborhood knocking-on-the-menopausal-ceiling mom friends over on Sunday and I wove my magic upon them:

My gorgeous 46-year old friend Bettina without make-up.

Here is Bettina after I applied Mary Kay’s long-lasting mineral eye shadow Vanilla Truffle, Midnight Star and Black Pearl, brushed on Mary Kay’s Shy Blush (even if Bettina is a bold one) and finished her off with Mary Kay’s NouriShine Cafe Au Lait lip gloss:

Hello, Vixen.

Next up is my Boho chic 52-year old friend Diane:

Diane dares to go nude!

I then accosted Diane with the subtle Golden Vanilla, Truffle and Lavender Fog mineral eyeshadows. Dashed on Lash Love Mascara in Black, a little Shy Blush and finally the Cafe Au Lait lip gloss:

Tasteful, approachable, beautiful

This next photo is either me without make-up or an escaped convict from Chino Prison:

Here I am after one week of using the Mary Kay Timewise Microdermabrasion set (in short: sloughing off decrepitude and replenishing moisture).

I’m sporting Golden Vanilla, Truffle and Lavender Fog eye shadow, LashLove Waterproof mascara in black, a dollop of Shy Blush and Mango Tango NouriShine lip gloss:

I never wear brightly colored lip gloss because I am lip challenged. I always end up looking like Cloris Leachman on Dancing With The Stars. But I love the Mary Kay Mango Tango and even the Rock ‘N Red. I’d given up on me and red lipstick. But I’m back, baby!

Kiss me, Mwah!

As you may have guessed, I received all of these products from Mary Kay, but I want you all to know I get approached to write reviews all the time, for various products. I only blog about products I love. And I am sold on Mary Kay. They’ve saved me from matte lip stick, and their eye shadows flatter women of a certain age. I wholeheartedly endorse their products, and there isn’t even a pink Cadillac in it for me. But I might get one anyway! I aspire to iconography!

Great news – if you’d like to try out some Mary Kay products you may be in luck! I am giving away a fabulous Mary Kay gift basket to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is tell me your greatest beauty tip.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 19 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/19/12-12/31/12.

Be sure to visit the Mary Kay page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

I was provided with Mary Kay products to use and review, and was compensated for this post, however all opinions are my own.