To state the obvious: it’s been two months since my last post! I devoted those two months to searching for teaching jobs at prep schools, which meant many Zoom and phone interviews and, eventually, four overnight campus visits, three of which required air travel. I was fortunate to get so much interest from schools, but it was a hectic, exhausting time, and I decided early in the process that I didn’t have the mental wherewithal to assemble a different outfit and makeup look for every visit. So I chose a few products that traveled well, didn’t require brushes for application, made me look polished and professional, and complemented my two favorite interview tops (one a dark blue slightly brighter than navy, the other navy-and-white striped).

I wanted to write a post about this capsule collection, but doing so before I actually got a job offer felt like jinxing myself, and I didn’t have much free time, anyway. However, I can now share that I’ve accepted an offer and will be moving to the Washington, D.C. area this summer! And that means I can also share the makeup that came through for me during those stressful two months. Not all of these products came through perfectly (more on that in a second), and I can’t promise that they helped me get my job, but at least they didn’t prevent me from getting that job. Here they are:

1. e.l.f. Wow Brow in Neutral Brown

This has been my go-to brow product for years now. I don’t need a lot of pigment to fill in my eyebrows, and Wow Brow is subtle enough for my needs; I just wish it had a bit more hold, since some of my eyebrow hairs are U-shaped and don’t want to lie flat. (Plus, e.l.f. has really jumped the shark as a brand in the past year and I’d rather not give them my business if I can avoid it.) I actually forgot to bring this product on my last campus visit and ended up taming my brows with Burt’s Bees cuticle cream and a toothbrush, which was more effective than I expected. Maybe I should buy a thicker, but clear, eyebrow pomade? Let me know if you have any recommendations.

2. Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush in Nearly Apricot

I bought this cream blush last spring, and as a blush, it’s all wrong for me: its peach color turns muddy on my skin, and its formula is slippery and silicone-heavy. Unfortunately, I realized its wrongness only after the return window at Sephora had closed. I kept it around, though (that pink Polly Pocket compact was just too cute), and earlier this year, while searching for a peach color corrector for my dark undereye circles, I had the bright idea to try Nearly Apricot under my concealer. And it worked! I don’t use it every day, and when I forgot to bring it on one of my campus visits (are you detecting a pattern?), I can’t say I noticed that much of a difference. But when I remember it and have an extra minute to use it, my undereye area looks a little less gray than it does with concealer alone.

3. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Affogato

The first Radiant Creamy Concealer I used, over a decade ago now, was Vanilla, which was a little too dark for most of my face but had a peachy tone that helped cancel out my dark circles. Then I traded Vanilla for Chantilly, which was light enough for spot concealing but less effective for the dark circles. Then NARS introduced Affogato, which was lighter than Vanilla but pinker than Chantilly, and I thought I’d found my holy grail. Now, though, I wonder if I should really own two RCCs—Vanilla for the dark circles and Affogato for the rest of my face. Maybe when I start earning an income again? For now, the combination of Affogato and Nearly Apricot is working well enough.

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Mushroom

One of my favorite new products of 2023, Mushroom remains my go-to eyeliner for cool-toned professional looks; I’m halfway through my second one and will probably repurchase it as long as it exists. The subtle shimmer brightens the gray without supplying the disco sparkle of my other favorite gray eyeliner, NYX Gunmetal. Mushroom’s payoff isn’t quite opaque, which used to annoy me but now seems to contribute to the overall softening-yet-defining effect.

5. Maybelline Lash Discovery Waterproof Mascara

I really thought this was my ideal mascara, but I opened a new tube recently (my third, I think) and it’s more prone to smudging than tmy previous ones. Damn it, why can’t I own more than three tubes of the same mascara before it gets discontinued, reformulated, or price-hiked?

6. Milk Cream Blush Stick in Rally

Another favorite product of 2023, Rally brightens my complexion, looks natural, and is travel-friendly and easy to apply—except, of course, for the malfunctioning twist-up mechanism. My work-around is to put the blush in the freezer for fifteen minutes, twist up enough product to hold me for several days, and replace the cap (which, luckily, is not flush with the top of the tube). Maybe Milk has fixed this problem since 2023, but its packaging hasn’t changed at all, so I’m not optimistic.

7. MAC MACximal Matte Lipstick in Captive Audience

I introduced Captive Audience last fall, in my post about my classroom makeup, and it remains a favorite. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t remain a classroom lipstick: the community college always has lower enrollment in the spring, and I didn’t get a class for this semester.) In my neurotic mind, every interview lipstick is a classroom lipstick, but not every classroom lipstick is an interview lipstick. When I already have a job, I’m happy to wear bold colors; when I’m trying to get a job, I’m more timid. My thought process this year went something like this:

I’ve been wearing bold, opaque lipstick for so many years that it’s become a defining part of my style, and I feel more comfortable wearing it than not, so it should be part of my interview look. According to my seasonal color analysis, I should wear a True Winter lipstick, but I can’t shake the feeling that even on me, those colors read as LIPSTICK!!! to civilians, and I can’t take that risk. However, the muted shades that generally signal “professional lady” wash me out. I need something in the middle: cool-toned and fairly bright, but warmer and softer than, say, MAC Rebel. The formula should be matte enough to stay in place during a morning of talking and sipping coffee and water, but not so matte that it dries out my lips.

And that led me right back to Captive Audience. Now, I don’t know for sure that this shade doesn’t read as LIPSTICK!!! to civilians, because I haven’t looked at lipstick with civilian eyes since 2009. But it makes me feel confident, and an administrator at my last campus visit even complimented it!

And here’s the finished look (yes, my hair could have been neater; I really needed a haircut, and the D.C. humidity didn’t help):

Then, of course, there was the question of nail polish. Like lipstick, it has been a part of my look for so many years that I feel naked without it. For interviews and campus visits, I went with sheer pinkish shades because 1) the brutally cold winter made my nails break constantly, and I don’t like the look of bold polish on my super-short nails; 2) I’m a clumsy ass who is almost guaranteed to chip my polish while traveling, and sheer pinks are easy to touch up; 3) my personality is ~quirky~ enough without the assistance of bold nails (a student at one school told me I reminded her of Zooey Deschanel’s character in New Girl, lol).

Here were the polishes I wore to my in-person interviews and campus visits from January through March. L-R: Cirque Colors Berry Jelly, Lavender Sky, Pink Lady Jelly, and Rose Jelly; ILNP Claire.

Clockwise from top left: Lavender Sky, Claire, Berry Jelly, Pink Lady Jelly.

Now that my job search is over, I’ve been reveling in flashier polishes (the one I’m wearing in most of these photos is KBShimmer Candy-Do Attitude, the perfect ’80s-arcade-carpet shade) and, of course, in the immense relief that comes with having made a big life decision. My next post will appear less than two months from now, I promise!