I knew that the day that I arranged to have my makeover at the Francois Nars Counter at Saks Fifth Avenue was going to be a day of fun.

First of all, I was having my hair cut at my stylist's salon at eleven o'clock in the downtown section of Philly. From there, I took a bus that whisked me out of Center City towards the more upper crust suburbs of Bala Cynwyd. The bus dropped me off at the front door of Saks (how's that for service?) and I was then entering one of the most glamorous newly-renovated makeup departments in any store in the surrounding area. I spotted the Nars counter almost immediately and saw that I was about a half-hour early. The makeup artist there looked to be about my age and was very warm and cordial as I introduced myself. She was waiting for a friend to stop by to get her blush and lipstick done but since I was early, she would get me started. She explained to me that Nars does not have a skincare line so she said she was using Clarins skincare to remove my makeup. Clarins eye makeup remover was very gentle and removed every trace of eye makeup I was wearing. She did not remove my mascara, which I thought was interesting. A friend of mine told me a while ago that she used Nars' mascara and didn't like it. She told me that it didn't dry properly and that it smudged under her eyes. Having that in mind, I wasn't surprised when she said she wasn't going to remove my mascara because I had it on "so nicely".

If not playing up Nars' mascara was the case, I admire her indirect method of honesty. Frankly, I would rather think that I had my mascara on as nicely as she said. When I walked into Saks I was wearing a purple eye shadow duo paired with a bright pink lipstick - not typical your Saturday "get your hair done and shop" makeup, but this is me you're dealing with. I woke up that morning feeling a little colorful, dramatic - you get the picture - and because I have dark features and hair I can pull off this dramatic look. However, the Nars artist was about to change all of that. I explained to her that I had a wedding to attend in August and that I wanted a look for that day. My dress is an icy blue and I wanted something to bring out my eyes and hair. She wasn't sure which colors to use at first and it took some playing around before she could figure out a look to achieve that I did not already have. I have so much makeup as you can guess, all organized in my room by makeup line - lipsticks are arranged in a very large tin. I also have a nice assortment of makeup brushes by Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, Trish McEvoy and Shu Uemura.

I never knew that Nars had its own selection of makeup brushes. I was shown a few brushes that the makeup artist likes best. An eyeshadow brush caught my eye because of its shape; it can be used to apply shadow all over the eye and also has a tapered edge on it allowing great contouring -- all of that in one brush for $24.00. The eye lining brush was also very nice for $17.00. I kept saying to myself that I didn't want to spend a lot, but I did want to get a few things I do not already have in my treasury of goods at home. You would think that's a tough decision, but there is always something to find!

After cleansing my face with Clarins cleansing milk and alcohol free toner (which did not leave my face tight - very nice - but we're not reviewing Clarins today, sorry!), she asked me if I used moisturizer. I wanted to say "Do you brush your teeth?" Loosely translated, that meant "What woman does not use moisturizer?" Even oily skinned women need protection and some moisture! Okay, I am off my soap box and I replied a simple "yes - oil free in the summertime." I must give Clarins skincare a try - some nice products there. Anyway, the canvas was ready and now the makeup artist was testing different shades of foundation on me. The rest of my body is currently self-tanned. I usually don't use a self-tanner on my face because I do not like to interfere with the good skin care regimen I am using. I'll use a tinted moisturizer or my regular moisturizer with a bronzing powder to get that sun kissed look. Since we both decided we liked doing that as opposed to using a dark foundation, we were ready to proceed.