A Total Waste of Makeup

I can't rave enough about this novel! Yes, it falls into the chick-lit, genre, but it's completely devoid of the vapid, two-dimensional characters and highly unlikely escapades that are all too common in women's fiction. And, If that wasn't enough of a reason to pick it up, it's hilarious too.Charlie is a perfect heroine - smart, funny and flawed, she will remind you of, well, you. What pushes this novel to the top are the great secondary characters. Her friends and family were all pretty realistic and well drawn out. Each brought their own brand of humor to the story as well as added to it's depth. Not only was I able to see bits of my family and friends amongst them, but I also found myself identifying with Charlie's utter show more embarassment at their hands...To continue reading this review, visit my blog, The Eclectic Book Hoarder. show less

I read this book eons ago. I loved the snappy dialogue and the main character Charlize (otherwise known as Charlie) and her crazy family and friends.

I had a horrible day the other day and all I did was hunker down and read this and the next book in the series since they are go to laugh out loud books for me. Long story short, I was in a car accident (I am fine) but am irritated that I had to take the day off work to deal with insurance companies and drive my car to an auto body repair shop for an estimate. I will be lucky to get my car repaired by the second week in January at this point. Fingers crossed.

Re-reading this book years later it is still smart and funny. Charlie is a personal assistant to Drew Stanton (one of Hollywood's show more richest A list stars) and is dealing with the fact that she is single and about to turn 30. Armed with her two best friends from college (Kate and Dawn) she tries to navigate Los Angeles dating scene while making sure that her younger sister gets married and their crazy family doesn't ruin the day.

There were literally some laugh out moments in this book. Any scene dealing with Charlie's family always caused me to go into a laughing fit. The craziness that happens while trying to assist Drew was also ripe for laughs.

I liked the idea that Charlie was writing a book of advice to her yet to be born great grandniece so throughout the book we had funny little asides with regards to dating, love, and family.

"Breaking up is hard to do. Do it anyway."

"Never call a household between 10 pm and 8 a.m."

I will admit that I wasn't feeling Charlie's love interest in this book at all. I had more fun reading about her bad dates frankly.

The writing was great. Though at times things felt overly descriptive though I like that Ms. Gruenenfelder took such care to describe the settings where certain things in the book took place.

The ending promised more to come from Charlie and her family. show less

The Review

A girlfriend of mine who loves reading Chick Lit as much as I lent me this book. I have been in a happy, feminine reading mood all this week and treated myself to not one, but two Chick Lit books this week! It’s nice to pamper thyself!

Kim Gruenenfelder hit a home-run with her debut novel (published 2005/2006). Although I didn’t get a copy until recently, I am happy that I did. What I discovered is that this is one of a two-book series with Charlie as our heroine. Gruenenfelder has very recently published its sequel entitled Misery Loves Cabernet. I am so hoping to grab a copy and review it soon!

Back to A Total Waste of Makeup, our heroine Charlie juggles a cast of supporting characters in her life in addition to the movie show more star that she is a Personal Assistant for. Some parts of Charlie’s life are as glamorous as you’d want, although Charlie is as real and down-to-earth as you can get. She is attacked with a barrage of phone calls on her constantly ringing phone. It’s either her neurotic sister, looney mother, needy boss, or wimpy dad. Unlike Charlie’s best friends, who are described as being gorgeous and Size 2’s, Charlie is our Size 6, more classic gal. (O.K., I have to say… Charlie… a Size 6 is TINY!). She’s had some problems in the love department by picking the wrong men. However, by the end of this book, our heroine has what looks like the beginnings of something positive.

My favorite part of the novel was the trip that she and her friends took to Las Vegas for the Bachelorette Party. You could imagine yourself right there in the thick of it with them!

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

A great romantic comedy, A Total Waste of MakeUp is a perfect classic escape. For your tropical vacation, poolside, or summer fun, I would most definitely recommend this book. But, since the sequel is published, I’d get both books so that you can read on and find out what happens to Charlie. I know I can’t wait to find out!

For the genre Fiction:Women’s Fiction/ChickLit, I am going to rate this book a 9 OUT OF 10. show less

4.5 ★
This book was hilarious. The diary entries were the best, LOL.
The protagonist, Charlie, is a pathologically-single-made-of-honor-for-her-little-sis-about-to-turn-thirty gal. She has a glamorous, high paying job, as she works for one of Hollywood’s top celebrities, but her track record with man is disastrous. She’s writing a diary for her great-grandniece with advices for dating, and life in general.
I enjoyed this book. Charlie’s family is nuts, and Charlie herself is super funny.
The books leaves a lot of things hanging, but since I‘ve seen there’s a follow-up book it’s understandable. I’ll bring this book back to the library and borrow the second chapter, as I’m not about to spend 9.99 for an eBook. (I think some show more authors are a bit crazy with their pricing, I’m going to start a new shelf – Borrow-it-it’s-too-expensive)
Things I didn’t like, hence the deduction of .5 star:
Her bestis are a bit of a riddle. I didn’t get Dawn at all, she was confusing, and at times a bit obnoxious. Didn’t like her that much! She would definitely not be my best friend. Kate was ok, but … sometimes hard to believe.
Drew, the Hollywood star, was portrayed a bit too insecure to be credible! I mean, I don’t think that one of the sexiest men alive, rich to boot, and as successful as it gets would be such a pushover with women, and such a chaser, for that matter. This characterization bugged me a little, but other than that, he was a really nice guy, funny, and with the odd pearl of wisdom here and there.
Fav. quote: We laugh, then down our shots. It’s going to be a night to regret. I love nights like this!
Fav. life philosophy: I mean, why not just roll the fitted sheet in a ball and throw it in your linen closet…
I have to share with you some of my favorite diary entries, I’ll put them in spoiler mode so that if you still haven’t read the book I will not spoil your fun!
Sometimes, when you’re single, it’s good to make your married friends jealous. ♥ Spend a night listening to the bartender problems. ♥ No matter how successful you are, no one can work out for you. ♥ When someone presents you with a gift, no matter how strange, do not respond with “Huh?” “Yikes!” or “What the hell is this?" ♥ The heart has a mind of his own. show less

Love, love, love this book. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh so hard or so much. Great weekend or relaxing vacation read.

I have no idea how I actually ended up with this book, as it's not something I would buy of my own accord; regardless, I read it, and it was pretty bad. The main character is totally unlikeable and vapid, and now that I think about it, so is every other character. The storyline is weak and doesn't really hold interest. I see this as an example of what "chick lit" should NOT be.

The thoughts to the great grandniece was very funny and true. I laughed out loud and would read another book by the author.