Beauty school drop-out

I headed to the mall today. The mission: to buy some Clinique moisturizer. I had to have a mission, because I avoid the Christmas-time mall like the plague.

The winter weather is doing a number on me..I like clinique, it's a little un-exciting, and yes, I've been using it since high school..but it gets the job done, and is not alarmingly expensive. A girl on the other *cough* side of 20...or 30...*cough*, does need to start paying attention to her upkeep; sooo, I decided to purchase a night cream, or whatever extra special stuff they have for this dry weather, and maybe a jar of that nice eye cream I had a sample of months ago.
Upkeep girls, gotta invest a little in the upkeep...!

The man behind the counter (yes-man!) corralled together my dramatically different lotion, ($24) and then found the night cream I requested and then the "anti-gravity eye cream"
...with a name like that, how could I NOT get it?!!

....and then he rung up my purchase and it came to:

-One hundred and a few more dollars.

Now, the Clinque man already had me a little disarmed, he was not the petite, dressed in black, guy-friend- wearing some eyeshadow-make-up guy I see quite often at the M.A.C. counter...you know that guy, he's fun and your best-friend, and given the chance he will give you advice or even a make-over to make you bee-u-ti-full, 'girl-friend'! No, the Clinque man was quite tall, and had a beard, and no eyeshadow. I'm trying to re-evaluate our relationship here and adjust myself to getting moisterizer recommends from a guy with a beard. He has a beard!!

He rings me up, the total of which makes me feel a little dizzy...and then he goes in for the kill:

Looking at my face, he squints and asks, "do you need some lip moisturizer, too?"

And yes, my lips are a little bit cracked. But I don't need Clinque- man, who throws me a little off-kilter, to comment on the sad state of my lips. Was that a sales ploy or a veiled critique? I truly don't know. And now I am slightly paranoid. Does bearded Clinique-man think I look bad? Does he know some beauty secret I am bareft without? Will he recommend the lip moistureizer that will solve all my problems?

But, thank-you-very-much...after spending One Hundred and a few dollars on moisturizer;

One Hundred and a few dollars...

I will stick to the Burt's Bees lip gloss in my purse.

And, "umm-mmm, don't you be going there with me, honey...umm-mmm!" (insert sassy finger wave in the face here)

I only thought that part, I am after all, crispy white toast girl and have never actually tried that move.

I did attempt it for Sky when I told him the story.

"nice finger wave thing, Jen!" he said with admiration and surprise...

ummm-mmm, don't even go there with me...