At the risk of coming off as pathetically shallow & superficial, I’d like to share my hunt for a good under-eye concealer & how Hashem is even with us in the petty insignificant stuff.
I’d heard good reviews for a particular anti-aging under-eye concealer that is sold in my neighborhood, so I went to purchase one. The anti-aging under-eye concealer marked “Fair 03” seemed good enough, plus I’d read that a paler concealer in a large triangle area under your eyes brightens & highlights that area, so that’s the concealer I ended up with.
Only once I got home, I couldn’t get it to work. No matter how much I twisted the base of the concealer, the product wouldn’t ooze out through the little applicator sponge.
So I called the store and spoke with the nice young woman who’d sold me the concealer. Surprised to hear it wasn’t working properly, she offered to exchange it after making sure I’d really followed the directions.
But I was too tired to go back to the store that day. Then it rained a lot the next couple of days, so I didn’t go out then either.
Finally, I made the short journey, hoping I’d get one of the nice salesgirls and not the somewhat brusque owner who might turn the concealer-exchange into a minor confrontation.
And because you really are supposed to ask Hashem for everything (including the smallest, most insignificant desires), I asked Hashem to provide me with a successful concealer-exchange. There is also a short & highly effective prayer you can say for success in your errands and other stuff here:
A Very Short Prayer for Success before Going Anywhere
It's also worth noting that I did not sink into grumbles about the challenges of accomplishing anything in Israel. That sentiment goes away after many years, especially if you work on the emuna that everything is from Hashem regardless of cultural variations. Also, it helps that I haven’t been to the USA in over 16 years, so I no longer have cultural comparisons fresh in my head—it’s all a blur! (Thanks, Hashem!)
Anyway, back to my concealer challenge...
Fortunately, one of the nice young salesgirls stood behind the counter.
Unfortunately, she could not find another Fair 03 in stock, no matter how thoroughly she searched.
Fortunately, she thought to suggest that I look at Light 01, which is also very fair, the only difference being that it was made for fair skin with warm undertones—which happens to describe my own skin.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a tester-sample of Light 01.
“That’s really the only difference?” I asked, holding them up together for comparison.
“Yes,” she said. “In fact, I don’t even like the Fair 03 myself. I've found that kind of shade just doesn’t look good.”
I looked at the salesgirl, who was possibly fairer than me and also with warm undertones. “You would take this one for yourself?” I asked, holding up the Light 01.
“Yes,” she said.
So I took Light 01. Once home, I saw that it looked fine on my face. Then I read that for older women, making the whole under-eye area brighter and fairer actually ages your face -- yet another reason why the first concealer wouldn't have been good for what I wanted.
So Hashem was with me in my anti-aging under-eye concealer journey, finessing events so that I would end up with a concealer in just the right shade for my face & stage of life.
In the scheme of things, it’s all so meaningless. I know that.
But you also have to remember that Hashem created anti-aging under-eye concealer and all their shades, and that out of His Great Love for us, He is with us in the small, petty stuff too.
Just like a real Father.
I’d heard good reviews for a particular anti-aging under-eye concealer that is sold in my neighborhood, so I went to purchase one. The anti-aging under-eye concealer marked “Fair 03” seemed good enough, plus I’d read that a paler concealer in a large triangle area under your eyes brightens & highlights that area, so that’s the concealer I ended up with.
Only once I got home, I couldn’t get it to work. No matter how much I twisted the base of the concealer, the product wouldn’t ooze out through the little applicator sponge.
So I called the store and spoke with the nice young woman who’d sold me the concealer. Surprised to hear it wasn’t working properly, she offered to exchange it after making sure I’d really followed the directions.
But I was too tired to go back to the store that day. Then it rained a lot the next couple of days, so I didn’t go out then either.
Finally, I made the short journey, hoping I’d get one of the nice salesgirls and not the somewhat brusque owner who might turn the concealer-exchange into a minor confrontation.
And because you really are supposed to ask Hashem for everything (including the smallest, most insignificant desires), I asked Hashem to provide me with a successful concealer-exchange. There is also a short & highly effective prayer you can say for success in your errands and other stuff here:
A Very Short Prayer for Success before Going Anywhere
It's also worth noting that I did not sink into grumbles about the challenges of accomplishing anything in Israel. That sentiment goes away after many years, especially if you work on the emuna that everything is from Hashem regardless of cultural variations. Also, it helps that I haven’t been to the USA in over 16 years, so I no longer have cultural comparisons fresh in my head—it’s all a blur! (Thanks, Hashem!)
Anyway, back to my concealer challenge...
Fortunately, one of the nice young salesgirls stood behind the counter.
Unfortunately, she could not find another Fair 03 in stock, no matter how thoroughly she searched.
Fortunately, she thought to suggest that I look at Light 01, which is also very fair, the only difference being that it was made for fair skin with warm undertones—which happens to describe my own skin.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a tester-sample of Light 01.
“That’s really the only difference?” I asked, holding them up together for comparison.
“Yes,” she said. “In fact, I don’t even like the Fair 03 myself. I've found that kind of shade just doesn’t look good.”
I looked at the salesgirl, who was possibly fairer than me and also with warm undertones. “You would take this one for yourself?” I asked, holding up the Light 01.
“Yes,” she said.
So I took Light 01. Once home, I saw that it looked fine on my face. Then I read that for older women, making the whole under-eye area brighter and fairer actually ages your face -- yet another reason why the first concealer wouldn't have been good for what I wanted.
So Hashem was with me in my anti-aging under-eye concealer journey, finessing events so that I would end up with a concealer in just the right shade for my face & stage of life.
In the scheme of things, it’s all so meaningless. I know that.
But you also have to remember that Hashem created anti-aging under-eye concealer and all their shades, and that out of His Great Love for us, He is with us in the small, petty stuff too.
Just like a real Father.
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