I am not going to do a post about recent events in Newtown, CT. In my heart I feel something similar to what President Obama said during his address. No words that I could come up with could ever truly honor the pain and suffering surrounding what happened. Yesterday morning I saw a man on TV pray about it. My stomach was sick as I fought off the urge to burst into tears.

As for today’s post, I know that women visit my site. I figure some of you would appreciate a fun fact.

In 2013, I intend to have a new life. One phase of my plan involves going back to school.

I’ll discuss what I am going to study down the road once I’ve been accepted.

In the meantime, I’m in the process of trying to take better care of myself. I have been considering my appearance. Somehow I’ve started working on a skincare routine. And of all the things in the world, the other day I decided that I should know how to put on a decent “face”. Beyond the odd venture into cosmetics, I’ve gotten the idea that I ought to make a consistent effort.

Christmas cards and gifts be damned.* Somehow, the other day, I set aside some money to hook myself up.

For foundation, my drug of choice is MAC.

Their products may be expensive, but there’s a method to my madness…

Whenever I try drugstore makeup I end up disappointed. Certain lines attempt to incorporate darker shades into their repertoire. Yet I think they do an awful job. And honestly? Brown #1 and Brown #2 are often either too light or too dark for my complexion.

Interestingly enough, this lack of variety isn’t a secret. I nearly high-fived a salesperson the other day when she recognized that one type of foundation, “…made [my] skin look ashy.”

But I digress…

MAC matches me almost perfectly.

And if, like me, you’ve got a casual relationship with makeup, you might want to pay attention to the useful part of this post:

MAC’s Studio Fix shades are numbered. However between their liquids and powders, their numbers do not match.

Let’s look at a picture, shall we?:

On the left is a bottle of Studio Fix Fluid. The shade is NW 43.

The other night I was looking at MAC’s web site. I wanted to replace my bottle. (Although it doesn’t look like it, it’s empty.) However, I had decided to return to my first love–Studio Fix Powder.

I almost purchased it. Yet something inside told me to check it out in person.

The next morning my mother went on a shopping trip. I joined her.

Here’s where things got interesting.

I made a beeline for the MAC counter at The Bay. (If you haven’t been to a MAC kiosk, they have testers available for all of their products.)

Immediately I rifled through the Studio Fix compacts. I grabbed one marked NW 43 and asked for a mini-sponge and mirror.

The second after I started blotting my skin, I was confused. That’s when the salesgirl schooled me in The Ways of The MAC.

“Powder shades are darker than [their] liquid [counterparts].”

At that point, she sprang into action.

The shade you see above on the right is C8.

Which leaves me with some questions.

I don’t know what MAC’s logic is. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have their product codes correspond across the board?

And if the powder and liquid are different shades, shouldn’t they have different numbers?

Perhaps MAC has some sort of master plan. But I fail to see it.

And now, pardon me. I have to go practice doing my eyeshadow…

*The other day at the mall I thought about how selfish/broke/introverted I am. I try to remember to give to others. Yet as soon as I get some money, my first thought is about how I can use it to get something that I think I need.