can’t stop myself from leaning in to kiss her softly. “It’s nice to know my utter failure will make you happy. You’re a strange woman, and yet…I like you.”
Her laugh sounds even happier. “Good to know. So, why don’t you start by choosing all the makeup?”
I look at the dozen-plus white plastic baskets and rear back. “Are all the things in here the right color?”
“Not necessarily.” And she sounds pleased about that.
“Son of a—”
“You can’t say that. We’re family friendly here.”
“Bee sting.” I grimace.
She devolves into a fit of giggles, then peers at the camera. “If you could hear what he was saying to me about five minutes before we started filming…”
“You were the one with your mind in the gutter,” I point out, then look at the camera, too. “She was. I’m innocent.”
Masey snorts. “No one will believe that.”
“Yes, they will. They don’t know me.” I wink.
“Pick your products, goofball.”
“Okay. I’m just going to apologize in advance, honey. And to you,” I tell the camera.
Then with a shake of my head, I approach the first basket. Primers. I remember she put that on first earlier. But there must be over twenty here. Bottles, squeezy tubes, flat pans. Some are white. Others are pink. Some are straight-up oil. I’m already confused.
I grab a squeezy tube of stuff that says it’s infused with roses. That should at least smell nice. But then I read it has hyaluronic acid. Acid? Isn’t that bad for your face? I’m not taking a chance, so I set it down. I pick up another that calls itself a camera-ready radiant velvet primer. Okay, we’re in front of a camera and velvet is nice, so that should be good.
What the fuck do I know?
The next basket contains foundations. Again, bottles, squeezy tubes, and pans. I’m sensing a theme here… The color of the pigments are all different. Some packaging says the product is full coverage. But Masey doesn’t have a lot to hide. I especially wouldn’t want to cover up her few freckles. They’re totally adorable, so I avoid those items. Does matte mean not shiny in the makeup world? A lot of the bottles say that. Some have SPF, and that seems responsible…but the sun is down now, and she won’t need that tonight. Then I see one called Natural Glow Perfecting Liquid. Never heard of the brand, but that’s no surprise. I hold the bottle up to her face. I guess that’s the right color.
With a shrug, I set it on the table and move to the next basket. Thankfully, the next few choices are much easier. I choose a shade of blush that matches her shirt. Same with her lipstick. I sorta get the purpose of a bronzer, so I pick one that’s called South Beach Suntan Glow. It’s a little dark, but it seems like they all are. I especially avoid the one that looks oompa-loompa orange.
I’m not sure what to do with contour, so I grab a stick thing that looks less intimidating than the other pans of stuff. I choose a powder in a shade called cool fair, mostly because the packaging is interesting. Masey calls it bougie.
Next, I pluck up an eye primer in a tube and an eye-shadow palette. This last part is the most confounding. So many colors, even neon. People put dayglow yellow on their eyes? That’s a hell no for me. I end up choosing a palette called Hawaiian Beach with nice brownish shades. After all, when in Maui… Finally, I choose a mascara and something called a setting spray.
When I finish, I feel a little worn out. “Am I done?”
“Eyeliner.” She points to the basket in the corner.
I glance between the pencils and tubes of that stuff and the contour stick in front of me. “They do different things?”
“Very.”
I’m so fucked. “Um…”
“Just do your best.”
“You’re going to laugh at my expense.”
“We’re going to laugh together because you’re cute.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“I hope so.” She winks.
“Ugh,” I growl as I look down at my choices. Finally, I grab a purple pencil eyeliner. She looks good in purple. This should work, right? “Now am I done?”
“Now you get to apply everything.”
“Oh, the horrific part.” I take a deep breath. “Okay, you asked for it…”
“I’m sure you’ll make me beautiful.”
I cup her face, utterly forgetting about the camera. “You already are.”
The contented smile that curls her lips and makes her eyes sparkle is one I’d love to put there every day. She purses her mouth at me