Roses, Seashells, and Eyeliner

There's a rose in my garden whose stems are weak and whose blossoms are floppy. I can't bear to rip her out, though, because her petals are the most glorious, pale interior-of-a-seashell color:

The rose petals remind me a lot of this little seashell, which I keep with my makeup:

I use the seashell as a little pot to hold water for my eyeliner:

After a long search, I have found my hands-down favorite eyeliner: "La Femme Hollywood" cake eyeliner. It's from my local beauty supply shop. An amazing deal, the eyeliner costs only $3.50 per pot. And a pot lasts for a loooong time.

(Full disclosure: My Lovely Daughters #1 and #2 prefer Stila's "Stay All Day" waterproof liquid eyeliner.):

photo credit: luuux.com

But I prefer the old-fashioned method of dipping a wet brush into a pot of pigment, and creating a line as thick or as thin as you want. With a brush and water, cake eyeliner allows you to make a thin, dry line along your lashes (bottom line, photo below).

Or you can goop it on for more of a va-va-voom look (the middle line, above). I used this more dramatic approach for The Hubby's office party last December:

(That French Twist took a ton of hairspray and enough bobby pins to set of an airport metal detector!)

With even more water, you can apply a watery wash of color over the whole eyelid (top line in photo below):

Every time I put on makeup, I'm glad I have the little shell. And the best eyeliner, ever.

And the breathtaking roses out front.