Thursday, February 24, 2011

Crap.

(oops. The Bag Lady wasn't done complaining in this post, but hit some wrong key and it published itself!)

The Bag Lady hasn't had much to share with you lately. She's been peeking in here and there, but since Hotmail and Google joined forces, it has created a bit of an identity crisis for her. She blogs in her Hotmail account but does business in her Google account, so invariably she is in the wrong account when she takes a few minutes to visit blogs. Consequently, she doesn't leave comments because no-one would know who she was. She's sure there's probably a way to fix this problem, but hasn't taken the time to investigate thoroughly. She admits she is a little miffed about this situation because it has complicated her life rather than simplifying it. But she finds that is the case with most "improvements" in the world.

Take laundry detergent. "New and Improved!" generally means your clothes are not going to come as clean as they once did. "Phosphate-free" guarantees they won't! The Bag Lady knows that phosphates are public enemy number one, but they certainly helped get grease stains out of clothes. Sadly, they were apparently destroying the environment, so they had to go.

Eye make-up remover is another thing that has annoyed her lately. The Bag Lady doesn't wear a lot of make-up (you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear, as her mother used to say) but she does wear mascara most of the time. She has stubby little light-coloured eyelashes, and without mascara, she looks ...... scary. She has to wear water-proof mascara because that's the only kind that doesn't end up floating down her face to her chin by days end. For years, she used an eye make-up remover that worked wonders - took the mascara off, was gentle and didn't leave a greasy residue to gum up her contact lenses. She can't find that brand anymore, and has been experimenting with all the "new" and "improved" brands. Sigh. Not one of them will take the mascara off, and at least one of them was so oily, she had to use industrial-strength (but phosphate-free) cleanser to remove the oily residue!

13 comments:

Leah J. Utas said...

New and improved's got nothin' on old and lousy.

Is there a Part ll of this coming soon?

the Bag Lady said...

There may be a part II, but I lost my train of thought when it published before I was ready, and it hasn't come back yet. Sigh.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I'm wary of anyone who wants to "improve" what already works or "solve" problems that aren't problems.

Yesterday the pest control guy thought he was doing me a favor by spraying an ant bed while I was inside writing a check for his work trying to rid my attic of critters. Unfortunately, the place the guy sprayed for ants was Cadbury's organic lettuce bed, contaminating the soil and a few hardy survivors from last fall.

No favors and no improvements, please!

Geosomin said...

Huh...I can't offer any makeup suggestions. I'm one of those freaks with too long eyelashes and if I wear mascara it rubs off on my glasses...
I've found lately that "new and improved" generally seems to mean "hey, here's less of the same stuff in a smaller box!"..:)

Reb said...

I once bought a mascara (by accident) that was intended to stay on for three days. And it did, sadly some of it also stayed just under my lashes on the lower lid after I tried to remove it the 1st day. Maybelline Expert Eyes (although it is probably no longer available) is pretty good, you have to hold the cotton ball on your eye for a few minutes though for it to soak into the lashes. It's what I found after the 1ast one disappeared.

Hilary said...

Hotmail and GMail are now one? Ugh.

Re: your comment reply to Leah.. it must have been a new and improved train of thought..

Anonymous said...

One son has gmail and it messes up my identity and calendar access with Google. New & improved is downright dangerous.
Um, eye makeup? What's that?

Gena said...

I stopped buying waterproof mascara for that exact reason! Then, the last time I bought it I forgot to look. Sure enough, here I am with 3 day old mascara on despite using the "remover" every single day! Blech.

Dawn said...

If it ain't broke don't fix it!!

The secret to the mascara problem is just to get a little older. Then you simply don't care what your eyelashes are doing!

the Bag Lady said...

BG - it's awful when a 'favour' backfires like that! Poor Cadbury!

Geo - gosh, I don't know what to say about your eyelashes that wouldn't sound petty and envious! :)

Reb - I have found most mascara does that to me. I'm not exactly an expert at putting on makeup. sigh

Hilary - you're probably right! I still can't remember what else I was going to say!

kcinnova - I think I'll stop wearing makeup (again) - I didn't wear it for years until I went back to work in the 'outside' world. The cows laughed anyway, because they have such long eyelashes, they never have to worry!

Gena - if I could find some that wasn't waterproof, but stayed on my eyelashes (instead of rubbing of on my skin), I'd buy some in a heartbeat!

Dawn - I agree - why "improve" something that works just fine to begin with? (and I'm rapidly approaching the age where I won't care about my eyelashes!)

messymimi said...

If my memory serves (and at my age, don't count on it), there was once a Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schultz that had Linus saying something about all the commercials for new and improved made him feel old and inferior.

Agreeing that is usually means they've ruined it, made it cost more, and are giving you less.

the Bag Lady said...

messymimi - that's so true! All of it - old and inferior, and the fact that new and improved generally means they've ruined it!

solarity said...

Apparently my hypoallergenic makeup did not have waterproof mascara. Lucky me.

Mary Anne in Kentucky