Fashionably problematic

I scoffed when I saw "20 Most Annoying Beauty Problems Solved!" on the cover of the January InStyle. I know fashion and beauty can be superficial, but something about this title seemed especially superficial.

I looked at the article anyway, of course. And indeed, lots of the "beauty problems" seemed pretty trivial. But right off the bat, #1 nailed me. How often do I wash my makeup brushes? Do. Not. Ask. I am really bad about doing that. But when I read that not washing my brushes might mean I'm ruining them—especially the rather expensive Jane Iredale powder applicator—I decided to reform. I did my washing, with dish detergent, which apparently is better than soap. Lots of pigment came out of each one. I actually washed them twice. I now have something new to remember about once a month. I don't think any of the brushes are ruined yet.

There was also one about the ends of fingernails chipping. I have a lot of problems with my fingernails—or rather, curiously, with some of them. I play guitar, so I don't want my fingernails long, but I do want them to be even. I seem to have no problem growing out the nails on the index, ring, and little fingers. But the nails on my thumbs and middle fingers chip and break off. I have no idea why. For chipping nails, the article advised using a glass nail file. Mine is sapphire, I think. I had read elsewhere that glass is better, as well as longer lasting. And now I know that a glass nail file is not expensive. Something to get next time I'm at London Drugs.

Finally, there was an item about redness on the sides of the nose. I have that problem, especially in winter. I also have flaking skin there, no matter how much I moisturize. Unfortunately, I have had conflicting advice on what to do about the problems, so I might have to experiment. The item did mention something about certain kinds of moisturizer building up and irritating the skin, thus causing the flaking. I might need to change to a different kind of moisturizer. It's an unsightly problem, annoying even, so it would be worth trying to fix.

One more fashion change I need to add: beg, steal, borrow, or build more closet space. Sure, there might be items I could remove, things I really don't wear, but I did a purge just recently. Really, neither Sweetie nor I has such a big wardrobe. We do, however, seriously lack closet space. This is an old house, and there are no closets upstairs. We share an IKEA wardrobe that each of us could probably fill on her own—and that's not even counting the summer clothes that are stored in a closet downstairs (that was part of a renovation project).

The trouble with a closet that is too small (and that includes the downstairs storage) is that things get crushed together, thus always getting wrinkled even if you've just ironed them. So we have to look into storage solutions. There is space in our bedroom. We just have to use it better.

OK, some resolutions are more important than others. But hey, makeup brushes! Closet space!