Suburbia Revisited With Grandma Merle Norman

After a six week stint in suburban America, Monkeybaby is back in New York. Our nostalgic experience granted us the chance to indulge in Doritos, aimlessly wander around malls (haven't been in one of those in a while!) eat Frosted Flakes for breakfast and even go to 7 Eleven for a slurpee. Although I didn't miss almost getting run over by belligerent cab drivers and paying six dollars for tuna on whole wheat, I did miss all that the Big Apple has to offer: seeing the Lion King on Broadway every night, standing and dreaming in the middle of Times Square while sporting my "I Love New York" t-shirt, and keeping a camera in tow so I can take pictures of myself with every major celebrity I see (you all should check out my latest with Corey Feldman and that one guy who was the fourth to get kicked off Big Brother 3!). No, seriously folks, it's great to be back in the city. I missed all of you!
Since I was in the suburbs and immersing myself in all that the "rest of the country" has to offer, I went into a, u hum, Merle Norman store. OK, I'm not necessarily proud of this because this is the kind of makeup that your grandmother's mother Beatrice probably used when she met your great-grandfather Theodore while getting a 5 cent malt. For those of you who aren't familiar with the brand, it was established in the 1920s by Ms. Norman herself and a "studio" can be found at pretty much every mall in the States. With its mauve and white signature packaging, "young, fresh, and innovative" are definitely not the adjectives I'd use to describe the brand. Although the products are not cheap, the packaging (particularly the eyeshadow palettes) suggests otherwise.
While at the shop, I decided that instead of being a big beauty snob, I should try a few things because perhaps the products are in fact good. So I picked up the Luxiva Eye Ink in black and the Luxiva Ultra Thick Mascara. The eye ink (a liquid eyeliner) is almost identical to MAC's liquid eye liner and I am pleased with the results: a clean swipe of black liner that adds instant sophistication. The mascara, on the other hand, is rather goopy and clumps easily. I can assure you that I'll be going back to my old standby, Lancome's Hypnose mascara. I would write more but I see Gary Coleman and Scott Baio in the distance. Gotta get my camera ready and take those photos!