Review: Crazy Busy Beautiful
This is for all the ladies. Geared entirely toward a female audience, complete with women-only pronouns, Crazy Busy Beautiful is the Holy Grail of beauty how-to books.
Written in 2010 by Carmindy Bowyer, widely known as the makeup artist on TLC’s What Not to Wear, Crazy Busy provides women of all ages with cheap, inventive ways to enhance their natural beauty. Ranging from quirky skin care techniques to getting the perfect brow, there is something for every girl and her appearance issues. All the guys out there could get some use out of the bare minimum skin care chapters, as long as being referred to as “girlfriend” doesn’t bruise any male egos.
Preaching “enhance, not mask,” Bowyer bases the majority of her tips on maintaining the skin underneath the foundation. Use SPF every single day; exfoliate for longer, don’t scrub harder; pick a moisturizer that’s right for your skin type; never, ever go to bed without washing your face first; and so on and so forth. If more people got back to basics using the steps Bowyer sets out, the cosmetic industry would be making far less than their current $10 billion plus per year.
The money spent on Crazy Busy is more than compensated for by the money saved on beauty products after reading Bowyer’s suggestions for home remedies and quick fixes for everyday troubles. Entirely unheard of, and surprisingly amazing methods for clearing blackheads, covering under-eye circles and reducing redness are just a few of the wacky rituals shared. Bowyer opens up her manual to her readers, and, every few pages, someone’s crazy grandmother or pesky younger sister contributes her own advice. Who knew chilled Visine could take the red out of a pimple?
Sometimes girls can get a little carried away and end up with raccoon eyes or the dreaded bronzer streaks, but with Crazy Busy, those problems are a thing of the past. All of the common mishaps and makeup mistakes are done away with in approximately 200 pages.
While skin care is covered thoroughly, makeup takes up approximately 90 more pages and goes into further detail. Looking at pictures of Bowyer, one can clearly tell she knows how to apply the perfect liner and lipstick, and with the help of Chapters 6 and 9, the rest of the world can learn her secrets
Need the perfect cat eye? Page 137 is for you. Looking for your summer shades? Try pages 121 through 123. From redheads to grey-haired beauties, pale skinned to deep tans, big eyes to big lips, Bowyer covers it all with budget-friendly guidelines.
Every girl and her mother could appreciate a book like Crazy Busy Beautiful.
-Hayley Battenburg
