Cute cute little baby, don't you wanna make him stay up late at night?

I'm totally into that idea. I like the idea of primping, going out for coffee and talking about your own personal cuteness. That would rock. You could start by talking about things you've bought in the last month or so (but I'm not going to do that right now, surprised?) with special concentration on things that will make you cuter.

Of course, things that will make you cuter are not limited to clothes and makeup. For instance, I think pie can make you cuter; who can eat pie and not break out into a thousand smiles? Anything that makes you smile can make you cuter, no matter who you are.

Ellen and I looked cute last night when we went to see Eddie from Ohio at the Birchmere. She beat me there because I had trouble getting a cab at Crystal City, but eventually I found her. The show was a lot of fun, there was much laughter, a lot of good music and only one of the new songs that made me say "that really needs work." Most of the members of EFO sing, and I've never been a huge fan of Julie, who does most of the singing, but I really enjoyed her performance last night; it was as if she wasn't trying too hard for the first time in her career.

I wore my favorite black pull-on pants, black clogs and an actual sweater from the 80s. It's the next-to-last pink thing in my wardrobe, left over from when I had dyed black hair and looked cute in pink. This particular sweater is a bright but fairly subtle pink with a clock pattern in black. It buttons up the front, though I wouldn't really call it a cardigan; it's way bigger than anything I'd buy these days, but it's soft, so I keep it.

The only thing about my outfit that wasn't cute was the ivory socks. (Please don't tell the Fashion Police.) My feet were cold and I couldn't find any dark socks to go on over my tights at the last minute.

Oh, one more thing. Catiecake also dissed BeneFit, a line of makeup out of California. I don't understand that, since I love everything I have from BeneFit, despite the stoopid names they give their products. BrowZing, their pigmented wax brow grooming stuff, is one of my can't live without it things; I'm also a big fan of the cream eyeshadow, and the Kitten glittery powder in the puff is ever so much fun.

I guess Catie has different things than I do. The line that I'm a sucker for, despite the fact that I don't love the products, is Philosophy. The skin care is all right, with the exception of Real Purity, a cleanser and Deeply Superficial, an exfoliating mask that everybody should keep on hand. Those two products rock my world. The Kiss Me lip balm is all right, but the moisturizers aren't that good, their bath gel smells like laundry soap, and the body lotion smells like crayons.

The makeup in the Philosophy line is equally middling, most of the colors are kind of muddy. I'm not sure how anybody finds a decent blush there. But it's all about the packaging, and these folks know their packaging; I'll give them that.

Full disclosure: Currently I'm using a Philosophy glycolic acid moisturizer on my incision, hoping that it will spur the growth of new, healthy skin. So far it seems to be working. I just don't want to put that stuff on my face, like ever.

The line I'm a sucker for in terms of both packaging and the stuff in the package is Body and Soul, out of Los Angeles. The lipstick is gorgeous, and the creme blush is out of this world. They both wear exceptionally well. I think when I'm ready for a new loose powder, it will be Body and Soul.

And that's all the news that fits.

before - after