People in my family don’t wear makeup, so I never grew up buying or testing it out on my face. However, now that I’m a so-called “adult,” I find that, once in a while, I need a little something extra to make myself look just a tad bit more polished when I’m off to a party, wedding, or job interview. It turns out that compact cushions are perfect for people like me who don’t normally wear makeup.

What do you think of when you picture California? When I was a kid in Maryland, I told my classmates that my family was moving to California, and they were in awe. They said that people in California only ate yogurt, so I should prepare myself for a drastic change in my diet. And they told me that the people were all golden tan there. They probably got this information from movies and books—after all, before I moved to the West Coast, I thought that all Californians were like Dawn from The…

Many things in life carry hidden costs that aren’t reflected in their initial price tags (caveat emptor indeed). For example, if you buy a large house, you’ll most likely need to spend more money to get it cleaned (or more time cleaning it yourself). If you start using waterproof mascara, you’ll also need to purchase eye makeup remover. If you color your hair, you’ll have to start buying sulfate-free shampoo to help preserve that color—and hair treatments like the one…