Now as regular readers will have learned, each girlish pursuit comes attached to a whole lifestyle that the more cynical among you will probably read as an attempt to sell you more peripheral products. In the case of cosmetics, there are two primary lifestyle battlegrounds: brushes and cleaners. I learned precious little about Ms. Dorf during my stay, but apparently she is the reigning queen of brushes. She manufactures brushes to apply eye shadow, to blend eye shadow, to deposit eye liner at the base of the eyelashes, to put on lipstick and to apply foundation, just to name a few. Each of these make up application functions has a specific brush designed for just that purpose, and naturally each brush cost more than $20. To me this begged the obvious question, why not just use your fingers or something?

“Oh no,” Sam said sternly, “you don't want to use your fingers.”

Why? Are they too oily or something?

“Well, no, it's more that when you use your fingers you really don't know where it's going.”

I nodded even though that statement makes absolutely no sense. Why would I not know where my fingers are going? I mean, if I don't know where they're going who does?

Foundation and blush applied, Sam turned her attention to my eyes. “So, what sort of eye make up do you usually wear?”

I don't usually wear any.

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