June 6, 2011
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Three ways I've failed as a girl:

1. I have read the Cliffs Notes for several Jane Austen novels just so I can pretend to know what I'm talking about when discussing literature with friends. You know that scene in You've Got Mail where Tom Hanks is completely exasperated while attempting to read Pride and Prejudice? Yeah, that's me. 

2. When I invite people over and my guests ask "Can I bring anything?" I always say, "DESSERT!" because my baking suffers a failure rate of 50% and I want to play it safe.

3. I have a profound inability to apply liquid eyeliner. I have no idea what I'm doing. 

I am terrible at applying liquid eyeliner

Leave a comment:
 
 


Jessica Shannon
  June 7, 2011 12:21am

You should see me
Cassidy
  June 7, 2011 12:44am

Amy, I love you. :) I am right there with you about the eyeliner. :)
Mindy
  June 7, 2011 1:14am

Start from the middle of your eye and go out and then go back and do from the inside corner to the middle in short strokes. PS I watched alot of YouTube videos
Anonymous
  June 7, 2011 7:10am

You are not alone! I'm afraid I just don't get excited about Austen the way some women do, and I've NEVER been able to apply liquid eyeliner without it looking like an inkblot from space. =)
Jackie
  June 7, 2011 8:02am

No worries, Amy, I gave up on liquid eyeliner years ago. I use powder and a very thin brush - it's more forgiving. But Mindy's advice is so good that I may give liquid another try. :-)
Nicole Breeding
  June 7, 2011 8:46am

This is totally me. Totally. People always tell me to draw little lines with the eyeliner and then smudge it together or connect the lines but that never really works for me. I also would love to understand Pride and Prejudice but like Tom Hanks, I put it down only to pick it up and throw it across the room. As far as dessert, I can do dessert, I just don't really like to do anything else. :)You are not alone.
Laura
  June 7, 2011 9:23am

I've had better luck with the liner that is a pen instead of the little brush. Though, pencil is so much softer looking, anyway. www.google.com/search
Jenny
  June 7, 2011 10:01am

1. Honestly not sure I've even read the Cliff's notes for any of those books.
2. I can bake, not as good at cooking.
3. I don't even wear makeup.
Sounds like you're ahead a bit!!! :)
Holly Wynne
  June 7, 2011 10:42am

1. I am a girl. I was an English major. I have an M.A. in English. I taught English for 5 years. I have made it through exactly one Jane Austen book.

2. See, this is why we should live close together. You could cook dinner, and I would bring dessert. Not that I'm awesome at it, I just enjoy it and don't fail too terribly often :).

3. Same exact problem with liquid eyeliner. I have not conquered it yet, but I do at least somewhat better with a cream. I use this one (kinda expensive, though) currently: www.walgreens.com/store/c/l'oreal-hip-high-intensity-pigment-color-truth-cream-eyeliner/ID=prod3460797-product. It's a little easier to glide on. And when you inevitably make a blip in the line, you can just make the line a little thicker to cover it. Then you can be Cleopatra for the day!
Ann
  June 7, 2011 12:32pm

1. I feel your pain with Jane Austen. I also can't stand Wuthering Heights.
2. I'll move to PA- you cook, I'll bake.
3. After I move to PA, I will show you how to put on liquid liner! I kind of cheat though...I use the liquid stuff (Revlon Colorstay or the Mabelinne alternative) and then wet a tiny eyeliner brush, dip it in VERY pigmented black shadow and use that to smooth out any rough spots...works great!
Whitney
  June 7, 2011 11:10pm

Carmindy says to draw your line with an eyeliner pencil, then go over it with the liquid liner:

www.dailymakeover.com/blogs/positively-beautiful/2009/08/the-right-way-to-wear-liquid-liner.html

Also, you might do better with a different style of brush. My eyeliner has relatively long, flexible bristles in the brush that comes with it; I also have one of those eyeliner brushes that has a flat, angled shape. Sometimes one or the other is better, based on how thick of a line I'm going for and how much control is needed.

Also, a q-tip dipped in eye makeup remover is invaluable for fixing the line afterward. When I first started doing the liquid liner thing, I usually had to go over it three times; line, erase mistakes, line over erased bits, erase a little more, finish line. I'm much better at it now; I only have to erase when I accidentally sneeze before the liner has dried.

In the end...liquid liner is not a necessity of life. It's just pretty. =) You can always skip it and wear an extra coat of mascara if you want a similar-enough look without the trouble.
Tiffini
  June 7, 2011 11:59pm

1. Jane who?!
2.I make my sister bake for me!!
3.The only eyeliner I use is liquid! :) you slightly pull at the corner of your eye, and start in the middle and go out then start again at the inner corner and make a smooth line the length of your eye lid and done...try not to look up for a little while because it is likely to smear if you do ;) took years of practice...I don't think that makes you any less of a girl!!
Monica
  June 9, 2011 11:03pm

Ok, here's my advice about the eyeliner: Don't use it.
Whitney
  June 10, 2011 10:21pm

Or you could get an eyeliner tattoo. Get like mood ink or something, so it will change color with the weather. That way it doesn't have to look the same every day. Ooh! Or you could get that ink that only shows up under a blacklight. That'd be like superhero makeup.
heather t.
  June 30, 2011 8:29pm

yeah, i've also never read any of those girly books. i even kind of inwardly feel smug about it. but i did watch a pride and prejudice movie and loved it..

it's the recipes that i feel most confident about during the making (cooking and baking) that turn out the worst. :(

i look ridiculous with too much make up. i tend t have dark circles under my eyes, so any attempt at eyeliner or eye shadow just makes me look worse. mascara is as far as i get with the eyes unless it's a REALLY special occasion. then it's 1 sweep of tan eye shadow. i can't tell you how many years it's been since i even attempted liner.

we're no less feminine because of any of this. :)
  AmyGaskin: "Do you hope other women compare themselves to you?" OUCH. t.co/4yIGjabq #hardquestions