Eclectic Musings

Maybelline Gel Liner in Forest

2011-10-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

Let's talk about the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Forest, a gorgeous blackened teal that makes an opaque line and sticks around all day. A little over four years ago, I reviewed the MAC Kohl Power in Mystery, putting it through the ultimate test: having a baby. One of my favorite things about it was the color--more so than even the staying power. The color, a rich, blackened teal, would work for any eye color. It made it through the whole labor and delivery process, too. Well, Maybelline's blown the MAC one out of the glistening blue-green water with this product.

Maybelline's gel liner in Forest has got more teal, but it's still dark enough to line even the darkest lashes without looking "off." I tend to have that problem, so I usually have to put a swipe of colored liner above a black line snuggled in against my lashes if I want to do something out of the ordinary along my lash line. This line looks like it's a soft black until the light hits it. I'm reminded of dragonfly wings.

The staying power is perfect. If I put it on in the morning, it's still there at night and, barring an incredible attack of allergies, it looks freshly applied. It's smooth and goes on with very little effort at all, especially with the brush that's included (more on that later).

The price of the Maybelline liner is kind of high unless you can get it during a BOGO or BOGO 50% off sale. It retails at around $10, but that includes a brush. Speaking of the brush, I think it's different from the ones that came out with earlier gel liners from this line. I remember those first ones being angled, scratchy, and destined for the trashcan as soon as I opened up the package. The one that came with this pot of liner is indispensable. It's soft, flat, and tapered at the tip. It's perfect for doing a thick or thin line. I like to line the outer edge of my eye with the brush turned to the thicker side, then go along the inner half of my lid and my lower lash line with the thinner edge. There's no scratchiness at all, though the brush is firm enough to withstand eyeliner application.

I love this one and I think I may want to go back and get Sapphire too, which was released within the same collection.

Marc Jacobs Daisy

2011-04-04T18:49:00.000-04:00

From what I've seen in the fashion world, the man can do no wrong. Daisy's no exception, though I do wish it would last longer. I can smell it well for a couple of hours, then I really have to search for it. It doesn't fade completely, but it is much fainter than some of my other favorites after the same amount of time. That could be the nature of this kind of fragrance since I normally like heavier oriental scents. Maybe when the weather's more reliably hot, I'll find that it sticks around more.

I bought the .67 oz eau de toilette spray because I'm both a commitment-phobe and an art lover. I didn't need a full-size bottle, but I wasn't going anywhere without that pretty plastic daisy (there's a rollerball version available for those who don't care about the flower on top). It's smaller than I expected it to be, but it's very cute. It only has one daisy on top and the bigger bottles have two.

The notes are: strawberry, violet leaves, ruby red grapefruit, gardenia, violet petals, jasmine petals, musk, vanilla, and white woods. None of those really overpower any of the others, and they mingle together so nicely it really is like you're out in a field somewhere on a non-humid, breezy summer day, wearing a sundress and enjoying a day off from real life. If I had to pick a note that stood out the most, I'd have to say it's the strawberry.

Daisy reminds me a lot of Miss Dior Cherie, a little of Ralph Lauren Romance (without that mysterious sharp note) and a tiny bit of YSL Babydoll, which smells absolutely delicious normally but was so peachy/grapefruity on me, I had to let the windows down in the car so I didn't choke my best friends with my synthetic B.O. There's no "stank" with Marc Jacobs Daisy--it's just beautiful, delicate, and unobtrusive. Unfortunately, this isn't the most unique scent in the world, but hey--it's sweet, fresh, clean, flowery--a crowd-pleaser, for the most part, and really "unique" scents often aren't.

Some people may say this is a "young" scent, but I feel completely at ease wearing it and I'm almost 30. (I was also born 50.) haha I think any woman who wants to feel light and carefree without venturing over to the dark side of Victoria's Secret's fruity-florals would love it. Sephora's description says it's sophisticated with a hint of whimsy, and I think that's a good way to sum it up. It's work-friendly, daytime-friendly, and if you do wear it at night, you probably won't get kicked out of bed.

Book Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2010-10-04T16:11:00.000-04:00

This book left me unable to give it a thumbs up or thumbs down for a few weeks. Though I'm still not giving it either, per se, I feel that I've processed it enough to form an opinion at this point. It's dark. It's dreary. It's post-apocalyptic, and unfortunately it never says what really happened to cover the world in ash and leave some good guys and some bad guys to trek along eating their own kind or scavenging for canned goods and soap in deserted basements. The main characters have no names; they're "the man" and "the boy." They're some of the few people left, and they're trying to make it across the country (or at least a big chunk of it) to the sea.

Because I read the book, I will not see the movie. There are two main reasons:
1. The book is written so beautifully, it's like 200+ pages of sheer poetry. McCarthy paints his bleak images with words as skillfully as Dali painted his vibrantly colored clocks dripping down the page with oil paints. I wasn't completely sure I was going to buy it even though I'd heard good things about it, so I sat down in the play area with Ramona. She played with trains and I started down the long, long, LONG (there are no chapter breaks) path that was The Road. I was instantly locked in, moved by the language. I'm a sucker for language. Before I knew it, I was 15 or 20 pages in and Ramona wanted to leave. So I bought it.

2. Because the imagery is so good, I have no desire to see it "in real life" on the screen. What's in my head is enough to haunt me. I think they must leave the baby boy roasting on a spit out of the movie, but they don't leave out the basement of people who are trapped and waiting to be eaten. I haven't heard one way or the other about the pitiful, desperate old man the main characters leave in the road to die, naked, after he tries to steal their cart full of goods and even their shoes. (I can't say that I blame the dad for being so angry at the man, because if the man had succeeded in taking their food and shoes, they'd have died. I still understand the old man's perspective as well.) There's no reason for me to reinforce any of these images in my mind.

The most action in the book is when the dad has to pull a gun on a guy who threatens his son. There's also the basement part. Most of the book makes you feel as if you're trudging along beside them, except your stomach may be full. There's not a lot more. They're walking, you're reading. You may even feel guilty for seeing an odd beauty in the destruction (thanks to the word choices) as you drag your feet along with them, a little off the main road.

The father-son relationship will bring you to tears at points. They each try to give up things so the other can have them. The dad makes himself a cup of hot water and sprinkles the last bit of instant hot chocolate in the cup for his son, pretending that he has some too so that the son won't feel bad. Typical parent moment in the midst of the desolate world. Sometimes the boy is the father's conscience when the father is too hardened from trying to protect and feed his son and himself.

I'm not disappointed that I read it or sad that I bought it. I do wish there was more of an explanation about what happened, a few more "action" points, and maybe one more ray of sunshine through the ash. It was depressing, but after a stint of reading the Pretty Little Liars books, it was almost a welcome change. Almost. If you love language and you don't mind a gruesome image here and there that may stay with you long after you've closed the book, I recommend it. If you don't like heavy reads that illustrate what could be a very real future, stay away.

Fun Activity for Kids: Painting Shirts

2010-07-05T15:28:00.000-04:00

My friend and I decorated our own t-shirts last week and let Ramona in on the action. She loved participating (we used paint pens for less of a mess). Getting her to wear it, however, was a different story. She thought it was "dirty" and refused to wear it until we "got all the 'paink' off of it." I bribed her with a lollipop this morning, so she put it on. She kept saying, "I don't like it, I don't like it..." but now she doesn't seem to mind so much. Here she is right after her bath, talking about just how much is wrong with it:

Swimming and Writing

2010-06-01T16:53:00.000-04:00

I can't swim. I hate having water in my face, and sometimes even watching other people underwater on movies causes me to panic slightly because I feel as if I'm drowning, even if the person on the screen isn't. I love water--on the shallow end. Hot tubs, showers, ocean waves, a quiet pool, the sounds, the feel...I'm actually a little obsessed. But I cannot swim, so there's a level of fear there. Not a fear of water per se, but a fear of failure IN that water. If I fail to swim when the water gets over my head, I die.

In a pinch, I might be able to thrash around and keep my head up until help comes. I could probably even float on my back once I got over the eerie, isolating sensation of cold water drumming in my ears as long as I managed to keep my legs up rather than trying desperately to touch bottom in the murky (or clear) water--at least with one big toe. However, I can never seem to find a rhythm in the depths. I can never find catharsis in a swimming pool or a lake, no matter how much I love the water or how much I want to swim with confidence. I can never feel the beautiful strain of muscles working from head to toe as I cut my arms through the cool, welcoming liquid and kick as if I have fins and not feet. I can never teach myself to blow water out of my nose below the surface, creating a bubble stream back to the top, where I will shortly reach for more air. I'm afraid of submersion. Again, afraid of failing in something so deep you can't see the bottom from the top.

Just as I long to work my muscles, pushing against the urge to just float there in the sun and wait for help, I long to write and work my mind. I want to go deep, so far into a character's mind and heart that there's no clue of which way is up or down. I want to push myself and find every little detail that can enrich a scene for my readers. Yet somehow that inability to just let go and write without inner criticism gets in the way. It's getting harder and harder to stick my head under the water and blow bubbles through my nose. It's getting harder to go down there to check out the life on the floor or even get a closer look at the bright white bottom of the pool. I'm afraid of failure here, too. Without successful writing, though, I'll die. It'll be a different sort of death than drowning in a lake, of course, since I probably won't actually stop breathing and my heart will go on beating. But it's death all the same.

My goal for this summer is to do more than flail around until help comes because life is in the way, or float on my back because it's easier to write solely on superficial topics than to really take the time to teach myself to come back down below the surface without panicking. I really enjoy writing about beauty and fashion, too, don't get me wrong (these topics pay the bills!), but I really want to go deep below the surface to inspect human emotion and personality, and to sculpt characters that you don't want to say goodbye to when you close a book after reading the final page.

Maybe I'll learn to swim this summer, too.

Update on Benefit PosieTint and High Beam

2010-04-16T17:27:00.001-04:00

The short answer: It's hard for me to make myself use any other blush or cheek highlight. It doesn't matter if I'm pale or sporting the sunless tan.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that when I try putting PosieTint over my mineral makeup, it sticks to it right away, so I was walking around with a pink circle on each cheek (not completely noticeable because I saw it and tried to blend the heck out of it without redoing my makeup). They work best on bare skin or over liquid foundation.

Anyway, still lovin' them both. :)

Spell Cosmetics Online Makeover Results

2010-04-16T11:15:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have seen me comment about Spell Cosmetics so you know how awesome I think they are. Recently, Elle posted on the Spell blog that she would like to do free online makeovers for their Facebook fans. All you have to do is send a photo of yourself, tell her what kind of look you're going for, and colors you don't like on yourself. You don't just get product recommendations, you get step-by-step instructions--and a VIP discount of 25% that lasts for 48 hours after the consultation.

Here's what I sent:
I'm most interested in a day-to-day but slightly dramatic look. I don't care if I look like I'm wearing makeup, but I don't want a full-on black smoky eye at 10 a.m. either (I have been known to do that though). LOL I just want to look pretty and maybe a little sexy/mysterious.

Colors I don't like on myself: Deep greens, teals, most blues (I use hints of blue sometimes and that's okay), yellows...I prefer neutral or pink lips and play up the eyes most days.

Her recommendations included:
Antiquity, Sepia, and Triple Strand shadows with a little Bronze if I want something extra
Goddess Glow blush
Ingenue Gloss
Black liquid liner

I had a color that looked kind of close to Sepia, though Sepia's probably a little darker, so I didn't use that in these pics. I was also drinking coffee while taking these pics, so the lipgloss had worn off:

I love all of the products, but I think Triple Strand is especially amazing. It's pearly and livens up my eye area without depositing a lot of color.

Disclaimer: I purchased these products myself. The "makeover" was free.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup Review

2010-04-15T17:36:00.000-04:00

So much for variety since I changed the name of this blog. LOL I'm still talking makeup. But I'm talking about this makeup to anyone who will listen, in real life or in the blogosphere. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup rocks my socks. It's got an SPF of 20, which had me hoping it would work fabulously because I love when foundation has sun protection in it.

I've been using it for a few weeks now, and it hasn't broken me out. I won't say that my skin is better off after I wear it than when I wear nothing, but I will say it irritates my skin less to wear it every day than any other liquid foundation (I can wear Micabella's mineral foundation daily without any redness, dryness, etc). The coverage is medium. I got it to match my faux tan because I can never keep the color on my face as long as I can on my body, and putting a sunless tanner on my face every day will make my skin angry. I got it in Natural Beige because it leans more toward the yellow side than pink.

I apply it with my MAC 187 brush and it blends like a dream. It's kind of on the runny side so it's easy to blend out. It lasts all day (good thing, since I'm trying to make my face match my body with it!) and doesn't get cakey in spots like a lot of my other foundations have been known to do after hours of wear. My skin looks luminous and flawless, not super shiny, but definitely not matte. It just looks like, well, healthy skin.

This foundation has been compared to NARS Sheer Glow along with Revlon PhotoReady. I can't compare to the NARS version because I've never bought or even sampled that one because of the price. I can say that the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup seems to have a better range of color choices than the Revlon one, and looks great longer. I loved the Revlon one once I figured out how to make it work for me (initially I hated it), but I think I love the Neutrogena one even more.

Two other great things about it: You can get it at any drugstore and it's less than $10 (watch for BOGO Free or BOGO 50% off...that's how I got mine).

Learning Optimism

2010-04-09T23:10:00.000-04:00

While I was pounding away on the treadmill today (cranked it up to 7.0 for a while today and barely felt a thing! Woo! Progress.), I was reading an article in an old Shape magazine. The author was talking about her struggle to become a more patient person, since upon further inspection and talking with a therapist, she determined that impatient people have lower IQs, higher blood pressure, narcissistic tendencies ("My time is more important than yours so hurry the hell up!"), and they procrastinate. That's good; I can buy it. In talking to this therapist she gleaned that impatience was a learned characteristic and something you could train yourself to overcome. That's cool, too. But then she compared it to optimism and stated something along the lines of, "It's not like optimism, which you're born with or you're not." Is that true? Or do you think you can learn optimism? I do. But maybe I'm "just an optimist." I never thought of myself as one or the other, honestly. It just depends on my mood. Ha.

Positive Psychology News seems to agree with me. It's just a matter of changing the way you think. Optimists automatically see bad situations as fleeting and good ones as permanent. Pessimists are the opposite. If a pessimist knocks out a presentation and does a fabulous job with it, it was a fluke. Hmm...I wonder if a lot of writers are pessimists, because I have seen so many say they feel like posers once they reach a modicum of success. LOL However, if an optimist does the same good job, it's because they worked hard, they know their stuff, etc, etc.

If you like the way you think and you're a pessimist, great. However, by shifting to a more optimistic perspective, you may find yourself getting sick less--and you could live longer than your glass-half-empty buddies. Plus in the case of self-fulfilling prophecies, your chances of having a happy, rewarding life increase when you have an optimistic outlook.

Build Freedom is another site that talks about learned optimism. It offers a similar explanation of the differences in the way optimists and pessimists look at life and also how a good dose of learned optimism can help alleviate depression by teaching you that you are not helpless. This site agrees that, in the human mind, bad things are a pessimists fault and will influence everything they do and everything that happens to them forever (or at least a very long time), but they're simply unfortunate and temporary events in the optimist's life that he or she didn't necessarily cause.

If you visit the Build Freedom site, you'll see 10 ways to learn to become an optimist. It's written regarding the 1992 recession, but I doubt the human brain as it relates to optimism and pessimism has changed too much since then. ;) There are statements listed there that you should remember like (these aren't word for word, so be sure to check out the site):

Since I'm human, that means I can learn and set goals. I'm not helpless. I can achieve things.
Change happens. Just as things change and get worse, they can change and get better. Tough people outlast tough situations.
Relax and think to achieve a more realistic, positive outlook.
When your thoughts start to stray to "the dark side," reign them in and put them back into the Positive Mental Attitude camp. Eventually, your positive thoughts will become a habit.
Look at everything you have left rather than looking at what you've lost.

You can also see more at Canada.com, where Lucy MacDonald, the author of Learn to Be an Optimist: A Practical Guide to Achieving Happiness (Chronicle Books), explores the differences between the two states of mind.

I would love to present the other side of the argument--that once you're an optimist or a pessimist, you can't change, but I can't find anything that supports it. I'm not saying that the Shape article's author or the therapist was wrong--I'm no expert, first of all. I have seen articles that suggest that optimism and pessimism are fixed states, but I haven't seen anything to back up why they think so. It seems to be a common belief, but not one that has a ton of information.

I guess it doesn't matter if you can be "born" an optimist or a pessimist, or if it's nature or nurture that turns you into whichever one you are. The important question is whether or not you can change it. Though it's hard, it seems that it is possible to re-shape your way of thinking.

So what do you think? Can you change your way of thinking and become an optimist, or are you stuck with a glass that's half-empty no matter what you do? Are we born one way or the other at all, or is it nurture that sculpts our positive or negative outlook?

Some People

2010-03-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

First, let me say that I am sure I annoy other people sometimes, and sometimes I'm completely oblivous. We all do unless we're complete hermits. I'm nearly a hermit, but not quite. Today was the first "real" spring day and there were a ton of people out at the park, even before school was out for the day. I realized again that some people just bug me or in the very least make me question their judgment. Sometimes they just make me giggle and they don't really bug me, but I thought they were worth a mention too. ;)

The other day, I went to the park and it was still a little cold. There, I found a girl lying on top of a guy, making out in full view of the playgrounds (and picnic areas, and trail...), but conveniently hidden from the parking lot thanks to a hill. On the preschool playground, there were smoking mommies. I don't mean they were wearing skinny jeans and halters with their bangin' curves on display. I mean they lit up and smoked their cigarettes right on the bench, not 20 feet from the slides. I seriously doubt that's even allowed. Ugh.

Today was complete hell as I tried to make my way around the parking lot to find a spot. People were cutting each other off, nearly wrecking (I actually thought I watched one happen, but I guess they missed it by about 3 inches) as they scrambled to hold up not one, but both lanes of traffic while they sat there waiting for a mom to pack up her kids, her stroller, and make sure everybody had their appropriate snacks/pacifiers/etc.

Later, I was trying to back out and give someone a parking space, but there were two cars in a row just sitting behind me, waiting for other people to get packed up and back out. As they sat there, traffic continued to collect behind them, and everybody was so busy cursing them, they didn't even notice that, "Hey, Buddy, I'd like to get OUT here." I think it took me a full 10 minutes to free up a parking spot, and Ramona was not in the best mood.

Other things I've noticed today:

Trying to potty train and use a public restroom does not work. People don't clean up after themselves.
I knew this, but I'm always shocked to find another example of it. I'm not putting my kid on that seat, and she's too freaked out when I hold her up to go. Pull-ups rock.
Women with kids wear six-inch stilettos To. The. Park. Um, why? You don't have to go looking as frumpy as me in my yoga pants, tank, hair in a bun, and slightly hideous sunglasses bought on a whim, but dude.
When other people's kids push my kid, I get really annoyed, and it does not help when they try to flirt with me later (the kids, not the parents, though if the parents tried to flirt I'd probably just get more annoyed. Lol).
There are other mommies in the world who, like me, want to (and do!) wear tube tops. I always feel weird doing that, plus I'm afraid it'll get yanked down. I try not to wear one when I'm going out with Ramona by myself.
Skechers Shape-ups make it fun to walk (I did two miles instead of just one). I'll review them later after I've had a chance to judge their effectiveness. They do feel really good to my super-high arches. You could drive a tractor under the arches of my feet and these hug them nicely.
Teenage guys will pretend they can't catch up to teenage girls when they're jogging together and the girl's loose and very short shorts keep flapping up with every stride.
Getting an iced coffee on the way to the park to go for a 1-2 mile walk while pushing a stroller loaded with about 40 lbs of stuff (kid included) is probably not the best idea. Hooray for being one of the stupid people I'm ranting about.
Apparently there's a chic mommies' club made of women who wear boots and skinny jeans with fancy shirts to the park when it's finally warm enough for flip-flops. They all looked like they thought they were far too superior to be outdoors, but were making the best of it by forming the Foxy Boot Clan (but I did want to ask them where they shopped for their shoes!).
Gandalf (Lord of the Rings) lives in my town. Yep, and he has a mean motorcycle. I knew it was him when I saw his beard blowing in the breeze as he drove by.

Enough spewing of the venom. Thanks for humoring me. It's been a rough day (even before my adventures at the park!). I got new walking shoes and one of the first things I did in them was narrowly miss toddler poop on the bathroom floor. Have I mentioned that I've taken the next step in potty training and started letting her wear big girl panties? She's usually good, but when she screws up, boy does she screw up.

In the words of my favorite fictional character, "Tomorrow is another day."

Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty

2010-03-17T18:21:00.000-04:00

I admit it, I'm a fan of my birth date twin (different years). I always have been, even though I haven't always wanted to admit it for whatever reason. I'm also a fan of learning about different cultures in present day or throughout history. Combine all that for my love of everything makeup, health, fitness, etc, and The Price of Beauty is right up my alley. It's way cheaper than the book set I kind of want but will never buy ($220!), 100,000 Years of Beauty by Elizabeth Azoulay. Even though the show is only looking at standards of beauty today, it's enough to scratch the itch.

For those who don't know, it comes on VH1 at 10:00 on Monday nights. If you missed last week's, that's okay, because that was the first time it aired. You haven't missed much yet. In the last episode, she went to Thailand. Next week, she's going to France.

So far, I think it's rich in content. You get to learn about other cultures, reflect on just how different they can be from ours (the paler the better in Thailand, while we're over here baking in the sun or tanning beds, or slathering on sunless tanners), and you get to laugh. Did you expect anything less than a handful of funny quotes from Jessica, CaCee, and Ken in every episode? Especially Jessica! She's not playing the ditsy blonde she was on Newlyweds, but one of the things I've always admired about her is that she's not embarrassed to admit when she doesn't know something (nor is she embarrassed to throw in a slightly crude comment when the moment arises!). She's not afraid to show that she's just another curious human, faux pas and all. It's refreshing and she makes it easy to laugh with her as she wades her way through ignorance.

There were some times where I cringed, thinking, "She's representing us and she's being rude!" but I'm sure she didn't intend to offend anyone, at least. I'll probably watch every episode. Humor...culture...what's not to love?

Ralph Lauren Ralph Perfume Review

2010-03-15T17:48:00.000-04:00

Review of Ralph Lauren Ralph: This is "the original" Ralph Lauren scent from what I understand, but I've never paid attention to it. I love most of the others--Blue, Romance (favorite!), Hot, Romance Always Yours, Rocks (not my favorite, but it's okay), etc, but the simple blue bottle never really attracted my attention. When I first sprayed this onto my wrist today, I thought it smelled too citrusy and not at all like the freesia mix I'd expected based on reviews at MakeupAlley.com. I was crushed and had almost decided to go a few doors down for the Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things perfume that I knew wouldn't have as much staying power.

I decided to wander around Sephora for a few more minutes, though, and kept sniffing my wrist as I went. Boy, did it change! After a few minutes, I had a clean, fresh, freesia scent that smelled just like the Sexy Little Things massage oil I fell in love with again last night. It also reminded me of the old Bath and Body Works Freesia scent in the purple bottle, but not as strong (that stuff made me gag until it faded a little!). I had no qualms about snatching up the 1 oz bottle after that. A few hours have passed and I'm still smelling it. When I got back to the playground, my hubby immediately said, "You smell good!" Yay, it got the man's seal of approval!

Overall, I'd say this is a fabulous spring/summer scent for those who like fresh, clean florals. If you love freesia, this is a must have. According to Sephora, the notes are: Apple Tree Leaves, Yellow Freesia, Italian Mandarin, Japanese Loquat, Osmanthus, Magnolia, Linden Blossom Flower, Purple Freesia, Boronia, Musk 2000, White Orris.

Benefit Cosmetics, Revisited

2010-03-14T17:56:00.000-04:00

For the longest time, there were very few Benefit products I thought were worth the money. Mostly, I thought they were hyped up average products in pretty packaging for exorbitant prices. Lucky for them, I was in a funk this weekend and went to Sephora to cheer myself up--all alone. Let me walk you through not one, but two, Sephora trips:

I went to Sephora yesterday on a mad dash to try Benefit High Beam yet again because I keep seeing it on people with skin as fair as mine and falling into a state of awe over how beautiful and radiant they look. When I guzzle down all the water I'm supposed to and run like a maniac hamster on the treadmill, I can get close to that--once the purple flush that consumes my face when I work out subsides. However, this product takes it up a notch and if I want to be lazy one day, I can still get the glow of a runner's high.

I've swatched High Beam before and walked away unimpressed, thinking it barely showed up. Something about the lighting in that corner of Sephora made it flash a pearly white-pink, though, so I decided to buy some and take it home to try on my face (trying testers on my face skeeves me out, and I'm not even a germaphobe). When I checked out, I had 500 points, so I was able to pick up a Tarte sampler pack. I haven't tried all of those things yet, so I'll have to review them later as a group.

Initial review of Benefit High Beam: I absolutely love it on my cheeks and down the bridge of my nose. I want to throw away the MAC Shell Cream Color Base I've been using because in comparison, Shell is a glittery mess. This doesn't emphasize my pores, it's easy to blend, and the cool undertones make it look natural on my NC15-NC20 skin tone. Warmer skin tones may like Moon Beam better, as it's got a gold tint instead of a pink one. It does show up enough to do the trick, but it's not obvious (so that's a good thing!).

I put it on over mineral makeup and it didn't make a mess of it even though it's powder. I imagine it will meld effortlessly with liquid foundations as well, and I've read that it works well at brightening up the undereye area when mixed with concealer (I could use that!). I'm not keen on the packaging, which is like a jumbo bottle of nail polish, complete with that type of brush, but it's better than having to dip my fingers into the product. The bottle is clear so you can see the color of the product inside and how much you have left.

I'd read a review prior to going to Sephora that said a makeup artist told them to do a circle of Posietint on each cheek, then draw a line from the top of the circle across the cheekbones with High Beam for a perfectly natural, glowing set of cheeks. I have previously tried Posietint on my hand as well, yielding barely-there results. I tried it again and once again, something about those Sephora lights made me able to see it. It looked almost like nothing, but enough of something to possibly bring life to my cheeks. I didn't get it, though, because I was trying to be a good girl and just get what I went in for. That lasted all of a day.

Today, Ramona reeeeeally wanted to go to the mall to play on the playground. Awesome dad that she has was willing to hang out with her there while I went to Sephora one more time. This time, I was in pursuit of a sniff of Ralph Lauren's Ralph perfume because I heard it smells just like Victoria's Secret's Sexy Little Things, but lasts more than the time it takes me to walk downstairs (it does!). So what did I do? Of course I had to pass back in front of the Benefit section to get to the perfume, so I picked up Posietint. Then I spritzed on some of the Ralph. I thought I was the one freak on earth on whom it did not smell as good as Sexy Little Things, but after the dry down, I was met with a schnoz full of freesia heaven.

Initial review of Benefit Posietint: This is a light, neutral pink that I think will work on most light-medium skin tones, but probably won't show up very well on pigmented lips. It gives mine a little bit of color, but nothing to get too excited about. It's pretty, it's natural, and it layers well underneath sheer nude glosses that are just a little bit too sheer/nude for when you don't want to look like you're wearing much makeup. For example, I layered it under the LipFusion Color gloss in Bare that was Sephora's $10 item of the day and it looks good.

On the cheeks, Posietint shows up way more than I thought it would! I look like I've been laughing my butt off and I'm in a jolly good mood even though in reality, I'm still a grump (slightly less of a grump due to the shopping though). I did the circle method where I drew a circle with the nail polish-like brush, then dabbed it around with my fingertip and it does look very natural. I could almost throw out all of my other cheek products, but since this is just the initial review, I'll wait a couple of months to see if that sentiment sticks around (and update you then too). haha

The packaging is similar to that of Benefit High Beam, but it's got a metallic pink coating on it instead of being completely clear. That means you can't really see how much is left or the actual shade of the product. The color of the coating is about the same color as what's inside, for what it's worth. The product itself is somewhere between gel and liquid consistency, which surprised me because I expected liquid.

Hiking on Ice

2010-03-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to the mountains. After driving for hours, partially up the dirt roads on the mountain, we came upon an "Oh, crap" moment. There was snow. We weren't even to our destination. Since we'd invested so much time anyway, we kept going forward. There was also the fact that there was nowhere to turn around without falling off the side of the mountain. When we got to the trail, there was another family leaving. They said it was a good hike, but kind of icy, so they suggested picking up some large sticks to use as trekking poles before we got too far in. Boy, am I glad we did that! At one point, on the way down, I slipped. I kept slipping, twirling, bending over at the waist, then standing upright again, overcorrecting a little so that it looked like I'd fall over backwards. The whole time, I had two thoughts alternating in my head:

"Oh no! It's going to hurt when I finally fall!" and "This must be really funny to watch." I was informed later that it was, in fact, hilarious to watch. I never actually fell.

The stick kept me upright, but I was spinning around it, sliding down the mountain trail, for a few yards. Oh, and I forgot to mention the creek we had to cross. I was in sneakers. Not waterproof.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Well, I hope this positive body image sticks around...

2010-03-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Today I was changing Ramona's diaper and she said she wanted to touch her knees. For some reason, she always says that. I guess because here lately, her knees are almost always covered up by pajamas or blue jeans. The following conversation went like this:
"I don't like my knees!"
"What do you mean? You have beautiful knees!"
"I NOT have beautiful knees. I have a beautiful BUTT."

After I laughed my own butt off, I assured her that she was beautiful from head to toe, not just her butt. hahaha

Coffee Blog

2010-03-11T16:35:00.001-05:00

My day is never complete without coffee. Generally, if I even think about coffee I have to go drink some. It revs me up in the morning and oddly enough, it calms me at night. Coffee at midnight? Why yes, I think I will have some... That's why I was so happy to discover this blog:

Destination Caffeination

I get to learn about all the things I've missed out on so far in my coffee adventures. I've found a local roaster. I've found the amazing differences between fresh beans and those you buy on the shelves of the grocery stores. I've even decided on a few favorites (Kenya, Kona, and Jamaican Blue). We grind our coffee every morning so it tastes even fresher and extra delicious. But still, the quest for the perfect cup of coffee continues.

I think it's experiencing a few hiccups right now. It was at another location, but recently moved.

Have you heard of Layla Grace?

2010-03-07T19:55:00.000-05:00

Layla Grace Marsh is the same age as my daughter, so this story hit home. She has stage IV neuroblastoma. On February 28th, her dad posted on their blog that they'd been given about two more weeks with her--not the couple of months they'd thought they had before. The Twitter updates break my heart, but I can't turn away.

Reading about her reminds me so much of Ramona. I read on her parents' blog that she was always in the 80th percentile at her check-ups, always healthy, that she learned to communicate very well at an early age...she even has the same middle name as Ramona.

I've been following her parents on Twitter (LaylaGrace) and I'm a fan of hers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laylagrace. For every fan they get, a dollar is donated to help Layla's family. There's also LaylaGrace.org, where her parents update her status in more detail than Twitter allows. Also, if you have a little girl you'd like to buy a cute hat for, all the proceeds from If the Bow Fits' Tie Dye Boutique Hats (available in three different sizes so any little girl can wear them) go to Layla and her family. I think we're ordering the Raspberry Peony one.

The family could use everyone's prayers, messages, support, or even a donation (possibly in the form of signing up as a fan of theirs on Facebook or purchasing a beanie--it's easy), so I thought I'd pass the information along.

Oink.

2010-03-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

I polished off a bag of dark chocolate M&M's (don't judge, rough week). Ramona found the empty purple bag on the coffee table after her nap. She said, "Mommy, you ate ALL of these." I said, "Yeah, Mommy's a pig." She said, "You're not a pig, Mommy, you're a woman." That statement is much more accurate than she has any idea about at this point in time. She is a wise, wise child.

Just Dance for Wii

2010-03-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

I think I might just lose my spare tire with this thing. I'm not a video game person. I like the Wii, but I'm not an addict. I can go months without turning it on. However, I have spent about five hours of my life on this game since I got it this weekend at the suggestion of my best friend. I'm so totally sure she could kick my butt at this thing since I have very little coordination but like to try to pretend I do anyway.

So what is it? It reminds me a lot of Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution (no mat though). You try to keep up with what the little person on the screen is doing, dancing to some great music from the 1970s through today. I had a fun time listening to the Spice Girls...felt like I was in 8th grade again.

The game can tell how well you do because you hold the controller in your right hand as you boogie your Saturday night away. The more energetic you are, the better. I danced my butt off to songs like:

Ring My Bell
Hot N Cold
You Can't Touch This
Cotton Eye Joe (favorite #1)
Womanizer (favorite #2)

You can seriously lose hours to this game without realizing it. But hey, at least you're getting a good workout.

The Things I Want My Daughter to Know About Beauty

2010-03-01T17:29:00.001-05:00

This will be in a magazine later, but the idea started out as a blog post, so I'll put it here too:

What girl doesn't love beauty tips and looking her best? In a world where we're wrapped up with celebrity images, plastic surgery, and the latest scandal, sometimes it's hard to remember to get back to the basics. There are a few things we can teach our daughters about beauty that ideally will move with them through the passing trends, the years, the wrinkles, and everyday life.

1. You can't avoid every wrinkle no matter how hard you try or which products you use, so make sure the wrinkles you do get reflect the laughter and joy you've shared with others.

2. Wear sunscreen—and not just on your face. Don't forget your hands; they'll tell the truth about your age even if your face lies.

3. Never forget that everyone is beautiful, no matter their age, weight, skin color, or anything else. No matter how old you get or how much you weigh—no matter how much you hate your thighs or your tummy or your triceps one day—you're still beautiful too. Believe it.

4. Moisturize your body after every shower for youthful, glowing skin. Exfoliate from head to toe at least once a week. You'll get your circulation going and remove the dead skin.

5. Sometimes the prettiest makeup is the quickest. A little blush, mascara, and lipgloss can perk you up on a day when you're feeling tired. And sometimes a smile is all you need.

6. The best way to look beautiful is to give someone else a compliment.

7. There's very little that a brand new tube of pink lipstick can't fix.

8. You're a multi-tasker. Expect the same from your beauty products. Buy things that pull double-duty (or more!) and save your money. If you're itching to spend the extra anyway, donate it.

9. It's okay not to act your age sometimes. You're never "too old" for blue nail polish.

10 Embrace your imperfections. They are not flaws. And whatever you do, don't obsess! It's not worth it.

11 For radiant skin, drink plenty of water. Skip the alcohol and coffee. Drinking your eight glasses of water and getting a moderate amount exercise every day is good for you—inside and out.

It'I It's a classic mom-ism, but seriously, stand up straight. You'll look slimmer, feel better, and people will take you more seriously.

Se Seek out balance in life. Being calm and being happy will make you so much prettier than any new blush.

14 Treat beauty magazines like junk food. It's okay to indulge sometimes, but don't let them be your main course. Read some fiction, learn how to do something new, or pick up a biography. Always expand your mind when given the opportunity. Give yourself lots of opportunities.

15 As Audrey Hepburn once said, "For attractive lips, speak words of kindness, For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone."

Taking basic care of yourself, loving others, and enjoying life can be the quickest beauty-boosters. Those things can sometimes surpass the finest lotions and potions out on the market and they can definitely make your beauty more well-rounded. After all, what's a pretty face without a beautiful spirit behind it? Teaching your daughter about the heart of beauty can instill confidence that money and facial creams can't provide.

Lovely Light Outages

2010-02-16T19:36:00.002-05:00

It's so funny to me when a letter in a store's sign goes out and takes the meaning to a different place. There are two places in town that I go to frequently:

*I get my clothes all fresh and wrinkle-free at the "LEANERS" (at least they don't really shrink them!)
*I get my medication from the CVS "HARMACY."

That is all.

"You Look Like a Baby, Woofus!'

2010-02-14T13:08:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been a good two weeks. Ramona's been relatively calm and reasonable. Today, however, I'm alone at home with her despite the fact that it's Sunday (hubby has to work) and she is kind of nutso. She was being pretty obnoxious this morning while she was in her high chair so I whistled to get her attention. She looked startled. I felt odd, whistling like that at my kid. She looked at me, scrunched up her face, and said, "I NOT a doggy. I a little GIRL." At least it got her attention. :)

After she got down, she decided to annoy the Rufus. I walked into the kitchen and witnessed what she'd done to him. He didn't seem to mind much; he was just sunning himself, glad she'd left the room. When I started laughing and ran to get the camera, he lazily walked through the house behind me to see what was up. I'm not sure how he avoided running into something, at least a little bit.

Then Ramona pushed the headbands back to where they were supposed to go and said, "You look like a baby, Woofus."
The Little Girl hugging the Baby:
He came over to beg me for back-up and she still wouldn't leave him alone:
Look at how his eyes are pleading with me to stop the embarrassment:
We ended up taking off the headbands and he's content again, lying in the sun where he started.

A Poem: Tissue Paper Ghosts

2010-02-13T16:44:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love poetry. I can't remember a time when I didn't. A few minutes ago, I came across one that gave me goosebumps and made tears prick my eyes as I thought of the way time marches on, every moment fleeting as we do our chores, love our families, shove aside our emotions and worries when we can or just have to, and trudge through the decades and the roles we cloak ourselves in as we get older and older.

It's called Tissue Paper Ghosts and it's by a writer named Katie Ford Hall. I don't have permission to post it here, of course, so here's a link.

SNOW!!!!

2010-02-12T17:58:00.005-05:00

We never get snow like this!!! Best. Day. Ever. I got to drive in it, build a snowman, make a snow angel, and go "sledding" (on a sheet of cardboard) down the driveway. I really want to go down the huge hill in the back but I ran out of time. Maybe tomorrow...

Wheeee!!!! This was her second time down. She loved it.
Getting ready (these pics are all in reverse order because of the way they uploaded to Blogger)
We had a hard time getting started, but once we did, we almost hit the mailbox!
Woooo! There was a big mound of snow blocking the way, but we figured out how to manage.
At the top. Neither of us had ever done this. We were both a little nervous. The driveway's pretty steep. haha
Bushy brows and rosy cheeks are in, yes?
Close-up!
She looks way more elegant than I do trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
High-five! Thanks for letting you borrow my hat? No problem, any time.

It looks like the snowman's giving them the evil eye. He's going to try to kill us later when all the lights are out, isn't he?

My sorry attempt at a snow angel. The idea came up and I was down in a half-second!
The beginnings of the snowman.

This was meant to show how deep the snow was after it first started coming down. When I moved my feet and Ramona saw that there was mud underneath, she started to cry because it was "dirty" and we had to go in for a while. This was before the snow got a good bit deeper, hubby came home, and we started the snowman (she's been dying to make a snowman since she saw Caillou do it).

Yoga Today

2010-02-09T16:38:00.004-05:00

I discovered something awesome this morning in my daily blog-crawling time. It's Yoga Today. I love, love, love yoga but I'm not very experienced in it. I know the major poses and I'm fairly flexible, but I never stick to it long enough to really master it. Mainly because the workouts are kind of long and repetitive, and I only have DVDs to use for now. I don't want to pay the usually outrageous (imo) fees for a yoga studio on top of my gym membership fee. I also get bored with the DVDs I have. I love the way it makes me feel, mentally and physically. I have a lot of unexplained pain that almost fades to nothing after a few days of yoga.

Blah, blah, blah, enough with the I-<3-Yoga spiel. Yoga Today is neat because you can go there and do their free one-hour video that changes every week. If you'd like more, you can pay $3.99 per video download OR you can sign up for a year-long membership, which is $89.95 at the moment.

I just did the free video for today. It's 54 minutes of hard work.

Though this sounds like an advertisement for them, I'm not affiliated with them at all. I just found this this morning and thought it was so cool I had to share. I love the idea of a new workout every week--for free!

Yoplait Greek Yogurt

2010-02-08T15:49:00.003-05:00

Yoplait has a Greek yogurt out now. I just saw it in my grocery store, but I'm not sure it's new. I can empathize with those who live in places that don't have grocery stores full of obscure items, and I have a feeling that the Greek yogurt from other brands may fall into that category for a lot of people. Yoplait, however, is often on shelves anywhere you can buy yogurt, so maybe, just maybe, they'll stock this one too.

They are 6 oz and have 0 grams of fat, 130 calories, and a whopping 12 grams of protein, so they make great snacks for anyone hoping to bump up their protein intake with a healthy snack. If you have little ones who love, love, love their yogurt, you can eat this even if they're hooked on their more colorful, fun yogurt.

I keep hearing that yogurt's great for you, blah blah blah, but I couldn't get on the bandwagon before Greek yogurt because it was either full of high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. HFCS makes me feel guilty and sluggish; artificial sweeteners make me feel ill (even in something as small as a yogurt). They do have some sugar in them, but for me, that is the lesser of the evils. If I plan to have a yogurt, I put less sugar in my coffee or something along those lines so it evens out. I want to switch Ramona over to it, but she's hooked on the yogurt that comes with the candy bits on top. I made the mistake of grabbing those once and she hasn't been interested in any other kind since.

Free Shipping from Sephora

2010-02-06T14:58:00.002-05:00

Get free shipping from Sephora.com by entering the code TOUCHDOWN when you check out with any order of $25 or more. That's for this weekend only.

Similarly, NARS is offering free shipping on orders of $25 or more. I'm not sure how long that one lasts though.

Facefront Cosmetics Sale

2010-02-06T14:34:00.003-05:00

MAC--Gift with Purchase?!?!

2010-02-06T13:57:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've ever seen MAC do a gift with purchase before, and this one only applies to Nordstrom stores or Nordstom.com. When you buy any two MAC eyeshadows, you get a free Shroom (it's their best-selling shadow). Nice!

I was tempted since I'm finally about to finish off my Shroom after about 6 years, but there's not a Nordstrom near me and $8.00 shipping for 3 eyeshadows (total cost pre-shipping would be less than $30) is a little steep in my opinion. They do have free shipping with purchases of $200 or more, but I don't need that much stuff! LOL So if you need a lot of things from Nordstrom or you have a store near you, go check it out!

This is for today (February 6) only! If you take advantage of it, let me know what your two shadow picks would be. I had two picked out (Arena and Style Snob) before I backed out due to the shipping cost.

Maybelline Stiletto Voluptuous

2010-02-05T11:19:00.004-05:00

Most people--myself included--tend to review things they're passionate about, whether they love them or hate them. So today I'm reviewing a product that I just find "okay." I wanted to go buy it so badly. I passed it up once at Target because I didn't get anything else there and didn't want to stand in line for just a mascara. Then I had to go to CVS and I caved. I think I paid $8.99 for it.

The packaging: The same cute stiletto-shaped packaging as the original Lash Stiletto, but a stunning red instead of the black shade from before. The tip of the stiletto is black. I don't have any issues opening the tube like I do with Cover Girl LashBlast (love that stuff but I feel like a wimp when I try to get it open so I don't buy it too often). The brush isn't goopy when you pull it out because the inside ring of the tube does a good job scraping off the excess product.

The brush: I found the brush a little awkward to get used to. I like to coat the tops of my lashes first, then go underneath. It was weird to try to coat the top lashes without making a mess because it's got a tapered tip but the brush as a whole is still curved. I think that shape helps curl the lashes when you do go underneath, though. When I apply my mascara, I like to wiggle the wand from roots to tips and kind of do a curling motion, too. This brush is not conducive to that kind of application. It's strictly a sweep-from-base-to-tip kind of brush. You may be able to wiggle it a little, but again, it feels awkward. It's great for girls in a hurry who just like to sweep it on and go, but not good for control freaks like me.

The formula: Not too wet, not too dry. I'd say the formula's on the drier side as opposed to Maybelline Great Lash, for example, that goes on like water. I got Very Black and it is...I don't notice any "patent leather" shiny effect with this one and I didn't with the original one either. Very Black is not as black as the Great Lash Blackest Black, if you're familiar with that one, but it's not gray, either. It's definitely black. I think I read that some people had a hard time dealing with the smell, but I didn't notice one (especially not in comparison to Maybelline Colossal!)

The effect: Mediocre. It brings out my lashes, but the effect is fairly natural. I attribute this to the inability to maneuver the brush the way I want to. I can get the same kind of lashes from a coat or two of Great Lash or a coat of just about any other mascara. It's nothing special, but it gets the job done without clumping. I had visions of fanned out, beautifully thick and long lashes in my head, so I was a little disappointed. I think I like the original better.

The wear: It stays on just fine, but I don't think I'd notice a drastic difference if it did start to lose its effect. It didn't flake, so that's a plus. I was a little worried about that because in a few of the reviews I read, people said it did flake.

The verdict: I wouldn't buy this one again because I like my lashes to be "BAM!" but if you're a fan of the natural look and want a mascara you can just throw on and go (with the additional perk of a little curling without a separate tool), you may like this one. It's just an "okay" product in my book.

Sigma Makeup Brushes (SS188)

2010-02-04T11:22:00.002-05:00

Sigma Makeup brushes--at least the 188--are like digging into a big dish of creme brulee, starting to feel a little guilty, and then lo and behold, you find out it's got half the calories of a normal batch of creme brulee (but all the flavor!). I've only got the 188, so I can only speak for that particular brush, but I've heard great things about the others.

I normally love MAC brushes, but I never buy them because they cost so darn much and I'd rather buy eyeshadow. I'm always on the lookout for good alternatives. I really needed a 188 style brush to apply my cream blushes. Fingers deposit too much color sometimes and it's hard to blend out. Enter the Sigma SS188 Small Duo Fibre Brush. It looks just like the MAC one, but it's about half the price.

I received it quickly, washed it, and got very little shedding. That's the first great sign. I hate looking like the carnival's Burly, Hairy Woman display when I'm done putting on my foundation/bronzer/blush, and I hate the fingernail marks I get sometimes once I'm finally done prying all the brush hairs off my face. I got none of that with this brush when I applied my cream blushes. The hairs stayed where they belong--on the brush. It blended my new Cremeblend Blush from the MAC in Lillyland collection like a dream.

I don't have MAC's 188 but I do have the larger 187 for foundation application (Sigma has an SS187 too) and the quality feels the same to me. The brush density is comparable. I don't think I'll ever buy a MAC brush again. I can't wait for the day when I need to replace my shadow brushes. I'm using Loew-Cornell's 239 lookalike from Michael's and it works okay for now, but I can't wait to need a replacement. I imagine the bristles of actual shadow brushes are a little bit softer.

I Am Not a Cook

2010-02-03T14:07:00.004-05:00

Friends, enemies, neutral readers...I am not a cook. That statement won't shock anyone, really. For the first undetermined period of time early in my marriage, my nights to cook consisted of lemon-pepper chicken or Hamburger Helper. I'll give you one guess as to who's the chef in my family (in my defense, I love to bake). With my husband's busy season in full swing now, however, I'm trying to expand my horizons. So far, I have learned two things:

1. I love Crock Pots
2. It's probably completely possible to give yourself an aneurysm using a garlic press

My mom recommended a cookbook called Fix It and Forget It--Lightly, so I bought it. I'm all about eating healthy even though I'd almost rather skip a meal than make one (don't really have that option with a family though!), so I thought this would be a good solution. So far, the recipes look bland--and they kind of are--but they're tasty enough and easy to do with a toddler on hand. I can't always promise to be able to make dinner at a certain time, especially not when I really have no clue what I'm doing. With this, I can do my prep work before things get crazy, then "fix it and forget it."

I'm still afraid I'll kill myself and anyone brave enough to partake in one of my home-cooked meals if I try to cook a chicken breast in a pan on the stove rather than safe and sound in the oven for an hour or more. But I can do more than lemon-pepper chicken or chicken-in-random-sauce this way. And if I get distracted, it doesn't matter. It's almost as good as inviting my mom to just move in and cook for us. ;)

We shall see how this Hungarian Goulash turns out and how long it takes to get this garlic stink out of my hands. They stink so much of garlic, I'm afraid I'm going to be shifted to an alternate reality soon where I am a vampire slayer. I could probably murder a whole colony of them before the stench gave out.

Popcorn and a Movie Day

2010-02-01T15:23:00.003-05:00

Why, hello there, bags under my eyes! I must be dehydrated or something. A coffee addict. Dehydrated. Something to ponder. Ramona's busy eyeing the popcorn and not paying any attention to the camera.

Today, Ramona and I had a cheap date. We went to Starbucks and I got my drink for free because they were out of what I wanted last time. Her big, super-chocolatey chocolate milk was just over $1.00. Then I had a free coupon for a non-new release at Blockbuster. We went there with Cinderella in mind, but they were out of that one so we got Anastasia instead. I've never seen that one, but I'm kind of intrigued by Russian history and will take my little tidbits of info where I can get them. ;) (I have a book to read about it later so I can get all the facts straight.) Plus the back of the DVD case promised a fabulous soundtrack, which at 2 years old is probably the most important thing aside from the presence of a cartoon dog with a floppy tongue or ears. We both enjoyed the movie until I started singing At the Beginning with the credits and she told me to stop. Ouch.

Bribed with the popcorn we got at CVS on the way home, Ramona curled up in my lap and sat still for almost the whole length of the movie. I don't think that's happened since she learned to walk. We covered up with the leopard print blanket and she almost fell asleep on me. Luckily, Rufus was there to provide the entertainment. Ramona giggled her butt off because when she threw popcorn his way, he'd catch it mid-air.

Perfect afternoon. Time for a nap for her and some work for me.

Fingerpaint

2010-01-31T21:12:00.003-05:00

Today was Ramona's first foray into fingerpaint. You'd think I would have bought some already with the way she likes to dump everything remotely like a gel or liquid onto her tray and smear her fingers through it. Sometimes she even takes the excess and flings it onto the wall. I just get too caught up in the, "Ugh, now there's something else to clean up!" to think, "Hey, I have an idea! I want to go buy something else to clean up!" Yeah, I know, I'm a terrible mother because I just can't embrace the messes or happily smear collard juice through my own hair. At least she eats collards.

Anyway, we went to Target tonight and all the way there and back she chanted "I wanna PAINK! I wanna PAINK. I WANNA PAAAAAINK." To add to the excitement, she associates paint with Santa Claus because when we went to Michael's today to get some yellow acrylic paint for me, she saw Santa. Did you know he drives a Honda when the reindeer are feeling lazy? Nice car. White like his beard. It reminds me of that joke where you hold up a piece of plain white paper and say, "Look, a polar bear playing in the snow." More like, "Look, it's Santa driving his Honda the last stretch of his way home!" We decided he must've been picking up some paint for the toys he's making and checking in on all the kids in the southeastern region of the country while he's at it.

When we got home, we put out the tarp, pulled out a big sheet of paper and let the budding artist get to work. On the way home she said she was going to paint a green cow with blue milk. The finished product looks like a pasture to me! I think she's a fan of this new medium, and she surprisingly didn't really make much of a mess. It was entertaining because she'd tell me which color she wanted and where to squirt some of it on the page, then she'd stick her hands in and work on her masterpiece. There are some handprints on the tarp but none on the carpet or walls like I feared. I can't wait to take her easel outside in the spring and let her paint there.

Tomorrow will be fun. We're going to paint some more, drink hot cocoa, and watch Cinderella. I love the beginning of the month when I feel like I have a little bit more free time (deadlines!). Sometimes I run out of fun projects for a 2-year-old. If anyone out there has any ideas, let me know!

Lipstick on Your Teeth?

2010-01-30T23:41:00.002-05:00

This is an old trick. Everybody may know it, but I just saw a video on it the other day and it reminded me that there may be someone out there who doesn't know, and they could be suffering from the only type of smile that ranks right up there with spinach in your teeth--the red/pink/purple-toothed kind.

After you apply your lipstick or gloss, stick your index finger in your mouth (the whole thing). Close your lips around it and pull it back out again. The lipstick that would've made it to your teeth will now be on your finger. So go grin at somebody and make the world a better place. :D

What Brown Can Do

2010-01-29T22:59:00.005-05:00

No, this isn't a fashion post. Or a makeup post. Or a hair post. (Darn it!) The wind sounds just far enough away from freight train level for me to know that it's not actually a tornado, and there's rain that will probably freeze on the driveway again. I'm inside feeling thankful now that I'm done pulling the window screens off of the deck and into the house (they're still down from when we had our house painted--oops!--and when I heard one fly up against the side of the house, I knew it was time to at least bring them in).

Brown is supposedly a cozy color. It's recommended for dens and living areas where you want to feel warm and relaxed, where you want to wind down after a long day. I remember my dad had a brown La-Z-Boy recliner pretty much all my life, and I have to agree; that color is like an instant hug. I love color therapy, or chromotherapy, but that's another post.

So brown...the color of my dog and the color of the insanely rich hot chocolate my hubby makes for me when I'm having a bad day (or a craving...haha). Today was a bad day.

First, I'll start with the hot chocolate:

I love how he has whipped cream and chocolate syrup for hair. 70% cocoa, melted in a double boiler with heavy whipping cream, honey, milk, and some other stuff I don't remember. I can't drink it often, but it is oh-so-good.

The other "brown" I'm thankful for tonight is my dog, Rufus. We did a little mini-photoshoot tonight:

He's a boxer/bulldog mix we got from the shelter about five years ago. He'd been seized by the sheriff's department because his previous owner chained him up outside and basically just left him there. He was emaciated when we got him but he LOVED to try to play and run. We could see what kind of heart he had and how his rough beginnings (first nine months of life) didn't harm his outlook on life or humanity. He has proven us right time and time again.

Rufus is kind of silly sometimes, like when we first moved into our current house and he caught his reflection in the window and tried to attack it. But he's an excellent dog and he unflinchingly takes SUCH abuse from Ramona. She drags him around by the collar (she's technically walking him without a leash, but he doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it), steps on his feet, pulls on his tail, smacks him in the face sometimes while shouting, "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT" (somebody's observed too many video games being played), and still, he doesn't care. He guards her door while she sleeps, checks on her when she falls, licks her when she gets close enough and doesn't seem to be up to anything silly...

We could learn a lot from dogs. Especially big goofy brown mutts who just want to be loved.

Maybelline Sunset Seduction Quad Neutral-Dramatic Eyes

2010-01-27T11:51:00.000-05:00

I hope you can hear it! My daughter was awake, singing Old MacDonald to herself. If she heard me, she'd demand to come downstairs and then I wouldn't get this thing done. LOL This is kind of a dramatic side of neutral eye using the new Maybelline Sunset Seduction quad (the taupe, copper-brown, and pinkish-white shades). Other products used include:

Face:
Micabella Mineral Foundation in Lady Godiva (also used as my under eye concealer)
NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo
Eyes:
MAC Carbon
Stila Convertible Liner in Onyx
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara (Blackest Black)
Lips:
MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass
Nails (hahaha)
OPI Metro Chic

All products in this video were purchased by me and it was my choice to include them in the video. No one's paying me anything, but I wish somebody would. ;)

Favorite Products of 2009

2010-01-27T11:18:00.001-05:00

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation Review

2010-01-27T11:15:00.003-05:00

This video's been up on YouTube for a while, but I have an update: I've found that if I mix it 50/50 with Smashbox Artificial Light, it looks amazing and not dry at all. I just look alive, which is more than I can say for most winter days. :)

What's in My Purse

2010-01-27T11:13:00.001-05:00

This is a tag on YouTube...first tag I've ever participated in. See what's in my bag:

Christmas

2009-12-22T11:08:00.002-05:00

I won't say I'm a Scrooge since I buy my Christmas gifts well in advance and have Christmas tunes blaring from my stereo before Thanksgiving even gets here, but I do not enjoy messing with a tree.

Last night I had the house to myself so that I could unwind, so I went down to the basement where our artificial one was buried under mounds of memorabilia, comic book boxes, and more. I totally worked off any stress I had by getting that bad boy out of the corner, out from under a long table--and knocked a ceiling-high stack of comic book boxes over on myself (at least they were empty!).

I still have no idea where half of our ornaments are; the only reason I found any at all is because we bought them after Christmas last year and they were just sitting around down there. I also found some lights which are really awesome because they blink sixteen different ways, one of which made me feel like I was going to have a seizure just by watching. After we got the first strand densely wrapped around the tree, we tried to connect them to the next strand. Waitaminute...that wasn't possible. They don't actually connect?!!? Ohhhhh...they're the outside lights, the ones we have never used and probably still won't use this year despite their cool ability to blink sixteen ways, no less.

So we had no idea where our lights were. My husband scooped Ramona up and took her out for the second time last night, on the hunt for lights at Walmart and "getting into the holiday spirit." We also needed a tree topper and something to hang the stocking from. He called from Walmart to let me know that the Christmas stuff was already 75% off and they only had one color of lights left. Purple. I think the angels themselves started singing a chorus of Hallelujah in my head at once because I've always wanted a purple, silver, and white tree but can never find purple lights. Then he corrected himself and said, "Well, they're dark blue, but they might be close enough." They're decidedly blue once lit up, but they're still really pretty.

The whole time, Ramona's was SOOOOO excited about getting Christmas stuff. Seeing the box out when she and her dad came back the first time kind of freaked her out because she didn't know what it was. She looked at it, then ran to him and said, "Pick her up, please?" Then he explained and it was okay again.

Anyway, back to Walmart. He said she had to carry around the angel herself, periodically kissing her on the head. She brought the bag in herself and said, "Mommy, look! Look! An angel!" I let her unwrap her and then set out to remove the packaging. When we put her on the top of the tree, she just stared like it was the coolest thing ever. As we wound the lights around the tree, she kept asking, "Are you okay, angel? Are you okay, angel? Are you okay, angel?" I kept faking her answer, "Yes, yes, I'm okay." When it didn't seem to sink in, I tried a new method, "No, actually, I have a tree up my butt." And still, I got, "Are you okay, angel? Are you okay, angel?" It took a very long time to put on those lights.

We still have ornaments to do because by the time the lights were done, the chili was ready. Ramona didn't really want to eat much and we told her she didn't get to stay up and put the ornaments on if she didn't. Finally, she just said, "I wanna sleep." I guess the ornaments will happen tonight.

Putting up the tree was worth it this year, even if it was kind of late in the season (at least that way I don't have to pull her and the dog off of it for a full month). Ramona was SO excited about it. She jumped and skipped around so much! She also tried to ride our boxer mix, but that's nothing that new.

Embrace the tiny moments of joy...

2009-11-25T12:22:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, I was driving to Starbucks along the winding road that takes me past the school, the drugstore, etc...nothing exciting. But as I lifted my gaze slightly, I noticed that the leaves' color was still shifting to an intense yellow. It was beautiful against the gloomy gray, drizzly sky. At that moment, I felt so in awe...so overwhelmed with joy. I had my brilliant, funny little girl in the back, I had good Christmas tunes coming out of the speakers at me, and I won't lie...I was pretty happy about the small red cup full of minty-chocolate goodness that was about to make its way into my hands. Cruising along that damp black road through mundane buildings, past other cars, there was an intense wash of joy that made its way over me. Cherish the little things (and the resulting random moments of bliss) and remember that sometimes the only way beauty can announce itself and be admired is by standing against a dim background, like the chartreuse leaves against the slate sky. How else would we know to appreciate it? Just lift your eyes upward a bit, calm yourself, and you will find it.

This year, I'm thankful for the ability to stop and look for the beauty and the hidden joys in the most unusual places. Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-11-22T01:16:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Using up eye shadows

2009-11-20T11:43:00.002-05:00

How long does it take you to use up your shadows? I'm sooo wanting to cut down on my collection but it's not really stuff I can sell because of the way I have it all organized (no magnets...shadows are rubber cemented into a palette). I really want to use up some of my stuff but it seems like it takes me forever. I've only hit pan on one shadow (MAC Shroom) and I bought that back in 2003. I just hit pan on it; it's not even gone. I've managed to almost use up a concealer over the past year or so, but I'm not as concerned with those. My liners are getting shorter and shorter (or in the case of gels, emptier and emptier), but the shadows and blushes--powder products in general--seem to be bottomless. I'm trying to use up a pressed mineral powder that seems to go on and on and on. It doesn't do much for my complexion, but I don't want to just throw it out since it's "okay."

I won't know what to do when I get my collection whittled away to just staples that all fit in one bag. hahaha

Speaking of staples, what are yours? Some of mine:

MAC Woodwinked, Shroom, Soft Brown (Soba's interchangeable), Shale, Crystal, the Smoky palette from 2007 (2006?)...
LUSH Celestial moisturizer
Josie Maran Argan Oil
MAC Lovechild lipgloss
L'Oreal Infallible Plumping Gloss in Plumped Rose
NARS blush/bronzer duo in Orgasm/Laguna
MAC Cream Color Base in Crushed Bougainvillea (it was limited edition but Posey cream blush might be close)
Micabella foundation
MAC Kohls in Smolder, Teddy, Powersurge, and Phone Number
MAC Feline Power Kohl
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (though I'm sure there are plenty of cheaper dupes, which I'll be trying when I'm done with this one)
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara
Eve Pearl's Salmon Concealer
Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Moisturizer for Dry/Combination Skin

Halloween

2009-11-03T12:51:00.002-05:00

It was cold, misty, kind of a generally icky evening but we set out trick-or-treating anyway. Because Ramona had to get a costume that was a little too big for her, I ended up holding the edge of the skirt up so she didn't trip. It was nice and muddy. She didn't go trick-or-treating last year, so this year was her first. She kind of understood what was going to happen before we got going, but she didn't realize that everybody would be dressed up--even people giving out candy.

At the first house we went to, the lady was dressed as a witch. It was fine until she dropped a Tootsie Roll near Ramona's foot. Then the witch bent over to pick it up and Ramona lost her little mind, she was so terrified. The witch stood up and put the Tootsie Roll in Ramona's bag, though, and got a pitiful "Canks" (thanks) and a sniffle. Then she happily went on her way to the next house and wasn't terrified anymore after that. She especially loved this one guy who pretty much gave her his whole bowl of candy.

Fun times!

I had planned on doing a cool makeup post because I was going to be a belly dancer too. Circumstances led me to pass on putting on my costume, though, so I didn't bother with the crazy belly dancer makeup. I did do a mean smoky eye though, and I need to review two of the MAC holiday palettes (Sorceress and Devil May Dare). I used Sorceress for the smoky look. More on that later.

I Love Fall!

2009-10-31T23:45:00.015-04:00

We've had an eventful fall. We discovered our love for hiking, especially when waterfalls are involved. We visited a pumpkin patch (who knew there were BLUE pumpkins? Hello, centerpiece!). And of COURSE there's Halloween. This fall (or was it summer?) we also went to a belly dance show, and Ramona loved it so much, she danced the whole time she was there. When she found out it was an option, she insisted that we dress her like a belly dancer for trick-or-treating. The best we could do in her size and my limited craft abilities was a Princess Jasmine costume combined with a hip scarf I made. Good thing you can't see the stitching in the picture. Prepare to be bombarded with pictures.

She thought the view from the top of a very steep hike was awesome. She was the only one who didn't want to be in a stroller all the way up and down. Never doing that hike again.
She was NOT down with riding in the wheelbarrow.

This blue pumpkin is currently a part of our centerpiece. It. Is. Awesome.

Awww...

Taking a break from the hard decisions. So many pumpkins, such short legs.

Check out the warty pumpkins! We carved one the other night and got so many compliments from trick-or-treaters.

Who knew warts were so cool? No Compound W for these guys, no sirree!

Well, ain't he just yummier than a pumpkin pie?

First real bite of candy ever. It's a mini Milky Way. She got hooked UP on the candy. One guy basically gave her the whole bowl. Two thumbs up for cuteness.

Who needs Rajah when you have a pony?
I freaking love this picture.

Belly dancer in action.

Another day, another hike. This one's way better. There's water. Wait and see.

She was surprisingly calm about all that water rushing below her feet. She could see it.

Way, way too many stairs, but I'd do it again. I have done it again since then. It's an awesome challenge.

This is the face I make when she screams in my ear. This is the face she makes when she is screaming about being picked up for a photo shoot. She walked down all the stairs by herself, and part of the ones on the way up. Girl could travel in style (in a backpack) and couldn't even appreciate it.

This is what serenity looks like.

She wasn't exactly thrilled about having to sit, but she posed because she was plotting on climbing those rocks behind her as quickly as possible.

I think this is a really cool shot for some reason.

This looks like a learning opportunity. I'm loving the hat.

The End! I'll try not to put so many pictures in one place again for a while. ;)

How horrible is it...

2009-10-30T22:11:00.001-04:00

That I made Ramona talk about pajamas a whooooole lot tonight once I found out it sounds like "Dumb Ass" when it comes out of her mouth? She was talking about Mommy's pajamas, Daddy's pajamas, and Ramona's pajamas...and had to be wondering why on EARTH pajamas were suddenly so funny. It was a teaching moment, though. I learned that if I make her say something over and over, eventually she gets it right and I can stop laughing.

Funny "Ramona" stories

2009-10-30T14:34:00.008-04:00

A friend of mine said my daughter reminds her of Ramona (of Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and that whole series). I like the comparison so much, I'm going to be using Ramona as my daughter's "code name" here from now on.

Random Ramona facts:
*She says "Sid the Science Kid is FUNNYYYYY."
*Her "boyfriend's" name is Buck. He's a grown, married man and the manager of a comic book store. He has a goatee and glasses. Every time we go there, she says, "Heeeeey, BUCK!" and she throws her newly purchased comic book at him. She wants him to throw it back, but I could just say that she's doing the whole kiddo thing where they do something mean because they like you. Well, except for that one time that boy in first grade kissed my hand like I was a princess. I was very upset and later got a wart there.
*She cheers when I grind coffee because she knows that coffee is the stuff nice mommy is made of.
*She really, really enjoys going to the dentist. Weirdo. ;)
*Ramona should be using the potty since she wants to change her own diaper so badly. I walked into her room a few mornings ago to find her lying there naked, diaper open, allllllll of her wipes pulled out of the tub, wadded up, and shoved onto the second shelf of her changing table. I asked why she needed all of the wipes and she replied, "Baby! Eeyore!" I said, "Did they need their diapers changed, too?" She chirped, "Yeah!"
*Pumpkin carving is her favorite sport. We taped on the patterns and she colored all over them with a chunky purple crayon so she eventually hit the dots that were necessary to get the pattern onto the pumpkin. Okay, I admit it. I got impatient and helped.
*She calls my sister, Brittany, BUTT-nee. She shouts it in her place of work, no less. I love it.

That's all I have for now! Oh wait, she wants to be a belly dancer for Halloween. Here is the hip scarf I made her. Instead of normal clothes, she'll have a Princess Jasmine costume on with it.

Oh, and a couple more photos. This is totally just a photo-dump. LOL

She really likes to shop at Target because there's a Starbucks there and she gets to drink vanilla milk:
Then there's her favorite hobby, coloring with her best buddy, Rufus:

She also has come to the point where she likes to have her hair fixed (thank God!):

Cover Girl Lash Blast Luxe Review

2009-09-04T00:11:00.003-04:00

I got this in Black Royale because I've had luck with other blue-tinged mascaras. They tend to make my eyes stand out. In certain lighting, you can see the blue with this one...and the sparkles. The sparkles look like eyelid dandruff, so I'm not a huge fan. In all lighting, I need to work at noticing that I have lashes at all. This Luxe version is a far cry from the beloved original. If I weren't such a weirdo about throwing out barely-used products, I'd toss it. Maybe I can use it on top of other mascaras for a hint of blue and sparkle. The brush and tube seem to be the same as the original Lash Blast (the Luxe tube is a pretty pinkish-red rather than orange), so the problem has to be the formula.

Pros:
Prettier tube than the original orange, and so far I haven't had as hard of a time getting it to open. That could change over time.
The color is a nice, subtle blue that looks soft black from far away
It doesn't irritate my eyes, even though there are tiny pieces of glitter in it

Cons:
Where are my lashes?
Eyelid dandruff? Really?!?!?

Stepping Back into Sexy

2009-08-30T12:39:00.003-04:00

As the hubby and I are trying to decide when to have another baby, I'm remembering all those early days when I was sleep-deprived and wondering what the heck I was thinking (but yeah, in the end it was worth it because toddlers are super-cool). Recently, I ran across something I wrote after an attempt to "get my sexy on" post-baby and full nights of sleep. I thought this was already on here, but I guess not! So here's a funny story from when my daughter was around 3 months old:

Yesterday, two of my worlds collided. That there were just two of my worlds there is debatable. I experienced past/present, sexy/gross, fantasy/reality, ability-to-just-worry-about-not-busting-MY-face/can't-wear-heels-because-I'm-carrying-a-baby-around.

Ok, so a lot of worlds. It was the opposite of the Big Bang Theory (I know there's a term for that, but there's a whining kid next to me in her crib, refusing to take her normally 2.5 hour nap for the fifth day in a row, so I can't conjure it up at the moment). Whatever it's called, there was a giant implosion. Everything I know meshed together at once, and it wasn't pretty. It was colorful, though, a nice mix of purple-brown, green, and red.

I was in this cute little boutique in a nearby town's downtown area, enjoying the facts that I'd managed to work that stinking stroller at all, that I was in good company (my sister and my best friend since elementary school), and that I had some darn good (spilling as I navigated the slightly bumpy sidewalk with it in the cupholder of the stroller), fresh, delicious coffee with a bittersweet hint of chocolate. The sun was out but not scalding; the promise of spring was right around the corner. Life was good. It was almost what I've always known as normal. Plus the additional baggage, of course.

My friend, my sister, and I passed by the store at first, but my daughter was fighting the sun as ferociously as a six-month old can: shielding her face, taking off the hat that I put on her to block the sun and throwing it to the sidewalk in frustration, squinting, and trying to squirm lower in her seat as if falling to the ground would take the sun from the sky. Nope, it won’t take the sun out of the sky, but it might make her see stars. When we passed by, my friend mentioned that they tend to have cute things in there.

In an effort to relieve my daughter's discomfort at least for a little while, I decided to do a U-turn in the middle of sidewalk, crew in tow, and take a look though I'd sworn not to buy anything more than coffee and I dreaded steering a stroller through a store that promised to have narrow aisles. Oh well. I have to stop dangling my feet in life and dive back in, I suppose. I just prayed she wouldn't cry.

I thought the store might be full of stuffy old women and a pretentious owner who was as protective of her carefully selected merchandise as a bulldog with a pork chop. They'd look down upon screaming tots and the moms who thought it was okay to bring them in and disturb other customers' shopping experience. I know. It wasn't too long ago that my mindset was similar. The employees and customers weren't like I'd imagined at all.

They did have a glossy wooden sign inside that said, "Unattended children will be given espresso and a puppy." At least they had a sense of humor. I couldn't say that I blamed them for not wanting young children running around the store, breaking the beaded necklaces and tossing around the fluffy purses like hacky-sacks. I've seen what kind of damage eighteen year olds can do.

You know how some couples say they met at a crowded bar, that their eyes met instantly across the room and everything/everyone else just disappeared? They say they knew they should probably not break away from their group of friends to go chat, and they could never take that person home to Mama....because they had dangerous and fun written all over them--a far cry from steady and dependable, or even remotely wholesome.

That's how it was with this patent leather, red stiletto peep-toe pump. In an instant, I knew I had to have a pair of them, even if they were (especially because they were!) cheap. Not practical, I said. I need to have flats--cute, girl-next-door, mommy-material flats I was just expressing a need for to my husband. I'll never balance in those while carrying an extra 20 lbs on my hip, I thought (and I still won't, even though I bought them). Gaaah, it was sexy, glinting, winking at me under the muted lighting of the little store. Posed like a wallflower, but most obviously not a wallflower, the shoe was begging to be approached. By me.

I pushed my daughter in her stroller over to the display, trying my best not to drag the Vera Bradley purses that lined the floor along with me as I attempted to saunter over.

What size? What size? Ah! There it is! A 6.5. My size. Score. Oh no! It's too big; it falls off when I walk. "Do you have this in a six?" I tried not to sound frantic as I had a brush with my former, sexy life.

They did. I tried it on. Tight. Don't care. Doesn't fall off. I will sit and look pretty, as long as they stay on my feet while I shuffle short distances and try to suck my belly in. At this point, I was sitting with one crimson shoe on, one clunky, flat ski-shoe-esque boot on, holding my daughter who'd begun to cry.

I guessed she was crying was because she was hot and started to wrestle off her top layer of clothing, a hot pink blanket sleeper. As I sat there with one foot quite literally in the past and the other one in the present, I felt my forearm begin to warm. Prunes. Peas. Up my sleeves and previously eaten. The crying finally stopped as my best friend dove into my purse for a cloth to help me clean up the mess.

"How are those shoes working out for you?" the sales lady asked, seemingly oblivious to my dilemma.

At this point, I'd do anything to get some sort of groove back, so I answered, "A little tight, but I'm buying them anyway. And this smoky black loose eye shadow too."

"Oh, they'll loosen up over time."

"Good, that will be great," I replied, borderline delirious. Somewhere it registered that I was glad I was getting the tighter of the two pairs of shoes. I was thrilled I'd found a pair just like I'd wanted in the middle of last year at half the price. I was also distracted by the stickiness of my skin. I wished a change of clothes for me was in the diaper bag.

They should really consider making a Mary Poppins diaper bag. I've needed an umbrella, a change of clothes, a coat, and several other items since I've started carrying that thing around. I have to pare it down, though, having only two hands.

Let's just say I look like quite the intellectual pushing a stroller that protects the baby from the elements, in the rain with no umbrella, or in the cold with no coat (it's harder to pick up your child with a bulky coat on…they just slide right through your hands!). For my next act I'll be adding precariously tall heels while walking and juggling singing toys in primary colors. I may even throw in a cute little ditty or two while I do it, why not.

I cleaned up with one of the burping cloths I always carry whether I remember to brush my hair or not. My friend (bless her soul!) took my baby for a minute while I checked out, and I bought the shoes. Now I just have to figure out an appropriate time to slip them on.

MAC Colour Craft Natural Flare Quad Review

2009-07-17T11:58:00.005-04:00

If you could bottle Fall and put it in a kaleidoscope, that is what I am wearing on my eyes today. It's the sun trickling through the slowly dying--but going out with a beautiful bang--leaves in October, a beautiful array of gold, brown, yellow-orange, and amber. So why could I have passed?

For starters, I like standalone products. Sure, coming up with new combinations by mixing products is fun, but I want a choice. Without a base, preferably a colored base, the shadow looks like faintly-colored glitter or mud on the lids. And the eyebrows, which quite frankly are prominent enough on my face without sparkles. And the cheeks. If I were to apply them all with a Q-tip or my finger, they might give me decent payoff (that's how I swatched them in the store). However, I like to use brushes, so that didn't work.

Yesterday, I put them over Indianwood Paint Pot and the shadow was lovely and almost metallic. The shadows stayed there all day. Perhaps Natural Flare is a little too warm-toned for my skin, but golds, oranges, and browns do great things for blue eyes, so I'm on the fence there. Sexy eyes + sickly face = ???

Today, I'm wearing the whole quad over Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I also wet my brush with Fix+. Again, metallic, pretty, and more vibrant than their dupes from the regular MAC line.

Speaking of dupes, did I really need this quad? Sure, Goldmine, Amber Lights, and Brun don't glow exactly the same, but I could've done without (and may still do without if I decide to return it). However, I can't think of a dupe in the main line for the yellow-orange color in the quad. Unfortunately, mineralized products are never all the same, so I kind of got cheated out of that color a bit. It's the smallest one of the four and the one I'll use the most of.

Pros: Colors can look glowy and metallic with the right amount of effort, you get 4 colors for $19.50, colors look amaaaazing on tan skin or blue eyes, and you can use them wet or dry.

Cons: If you're a blue-eyed, cool-toned gal like me, you may be torn between having amazing-looking eyes and the tones looking a little "off" on your skin; you don't necessarily get the same amount of each color; most colors are easily duped even within the existing MAC line; if you don't use a good base and/or wet your brush, you may find the color payoff less than ideal and the glitter fallout a big fat pain.

Tips: Use a base (duh), use them wet for extra intensity, and "pat" them on with a flat, dense brush rather than "sweeping" across the lid with a fluffier brush.

Eww Haiku

2009-07-16T11:16:00.003-04:00

This is unrelated to beauty, but yesterday my wonderful, curious little toddler wanted to see if she could stop up a bottle of water with one finger in the backseat. I've been able to trust her with a bottle back there before, but this time, her finger went in, the bottle went upside down, and water poured out all over her and the seat. (She tried to clean herself up with a napkin. LOL) She also has to eat snacks back there to ride in some sort of peace. Sooo...you can imagine the mess when I took the car seat cover off to let it dry. It was so gross, I wrote a haiku:

Removed car seat cloth
Soggy fries, bloated raisins
It's air-drying now

On a happy note, I will be reviewing MAC's Natural Flare quad and Colour-Crafted lipstick soon. I need to wear them more to see what I really think.

Favorite June/July Products

2009-07-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

I forgot to do June's favorite products, and since July's half over, I'll combine them:

Micabella's foundation still rocks. It makes me happy to do my foundation in the morning. I've found it's not so great when you buff it into the skin using a kabuki like I've always done with other minerals. Instead, I sweep it downward with a powder brush I got from Spell Cosmetics.

Spell Cosmetics' shadows rock, especially if you use them wet. I used Lanikai Lagoon today (wet) about halfway up my lid from the lash line, put a bronzy brown above that, a coppery pink above that, and a champagne above that. It sounds scary, but it's the ultimate wearable beach-inspired look.

Benefit "10" bronzer/highlighter combo. You sweep the brush across both products at once, then apply it directly to your face that way. Blend back and forth, and you have cheekbones like crazy in just 10 seconds.

MAC's Love Nectar Lustreglass. You can barely tell it's on, but it's the perfect glossy, peachy-pink.

TiGi's Some Like It Hot shampoo, conditioner, and serum. It's great for keeping the humidity from wreaking havoc on my hair.

Stila's 24K Golden Noir Smudge Pot. It's a gorgeous black base with golden shimmer that you can actually see, especially when smudged out from the lash line. The shimmer is just that--not glitter.

Rimmel's Sexy Curves mascara's still great, but I'm eyeing the new L'Oreal Collagen one. I think I'll try that next.

Not makeup, but the Pecan Toffee Bars from Starbucks deserve a spot on the list.

Your Daily Dose of Cute

2009-07-09T13:36:00.002-04:00

I don't feel like talking about talking about makeup at the moment because I'm in the middle of an applesauce attack, but here's your daily dose of cute:

Between that and the wide-eyed little boy baby at the storytime meeting today, I think I might want another one after all.

Micabella update

2009-07-05T22:25:00.002-04:00

I just found on my shadow jar that it's 2.5 grams of product. Not the 5 I thought. Still, it's more than I will ever use up and since I'd have a hard time splitting a MAC Pigment with someone, I'd almost rather pay $10/shadow and get to play with more colors. I probably won't buy more simply because I have too much eyeshadow and I'm pretty sure I can get more product for less from other brands. The color payoff may just be a little less intense with those. The Micabella shadows are seriously beautiful.

Micabella Mineral Cosmetics

2009-07-05T20:25:00.003-04:00

My mom was in town for the weekend to celebrate the 4th and my birthday. In true patriotic fashion, we went to the mall to light our wallets on fire and shoot them into the skylight heavens. First stop was Charlotte Russe, where they were having a great sale and I felt pretty darn cute in clothes I'm probably too old for. Trudging my way back to the door with two very large bags in tow with a sick "Why did I buy all that stuff?" feeling in the pit of my stomach, I wasn't giving my mom the attention I would usually afford my toddler if she were my shopping buddy.

So when she stopped to admire something shiny and say "Ooh, pretty" aloud at the Micabella kiosk (Micabella.com), my reaction ("RUN!") was a little delayed. I knew they were notoriously aggressive salespeople there. I didn't actually get the "Run!" out before the beautiful lady at the register swooped in and scooped me up with her perfectly pigmented talons (ok, manicured nails, but humor me on the mental image). She deposited me into her comfy little chair and went to work more aggressively than my own mama to try to make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I swear, if I ever have a really bad day and feel like a total hag (frequently do), I'm going there.

That said and all questionably genuine compliments aside, the products are really nice and if you're stubborn enough about not wanting to buy anything after they've taken the time to make you up, you can score a decent deal. The prices they tell you at first are not final. I ended up giving in and buying the foundation on top of three shadows. I wanted the blush, too, but I was already feeling like I should be about three feet shorter, looking over my shoulder with a naughty little grin and one glittery, pigment-covered hand in a forbidden cookie jar. In reality, my hand was just poised mid-air, credit card dangling.

The foundation does make my skin look flawless. It feels good to the touch and to my face. It's like I don't have anything on. Despite its powder form, it doesn't feel dry and tight like a lot of them do on me. I thought the color was a little dark for me but it looks better today. I got Lady Godiva. The shadows can be used eight ways, similar to pigments and loose shadow pigments from other brands (in your hair for highlights, in your lotion, mixed with clear mascara or nail polish, as lip gloss, as liner when used wet, etc). The shadows are highly pigmented and smooth; they also come in a range of colors to compete with almost any other makeup line. Because they're loose, you can also mix them to create custom colors.

If you're a fan of MAC pigments but hate the almost-$20.00 price tag and the fact that they don't come with sifters, you can get three Micabella shadows (with sifters) for $30. You get 7.5 grams of MAC pigment compared to what appears to be slightly less of the Micabella pigments (I can't find the number of grams anywhere, but it appears to be around 5).

Micabella makeup is 100% pure mica and minerals. There are no preservatives, dyes, chemicals, talc, or oils. They also never expire, so if it takes you 20 years to use up a product, it's not a problem. Just don't add moisture or oils to the main jar; keep things sanitary and you'll be fine.

The Best Highlighter (Face)

2009-05-10T21:42:00.004-04:00

I've been searching for the perfect cheek highlighter lately. Who knew it was already in my makeup collection? It's the one eye shadow I have from Stila--Kitten. It's a frosty peach-pink that's so light it's almost white, but not so white that it's too stark against my skin. It's also one of the silkiest shadows I've ever used. I love it on the tops of my cheekbones and the inner corners of my eyes. I'm going to try it above my cupid's bow one of these days when I actually think about putting on my lipstick before I get in the car. I think it'll make my upper lip look plumper. This is such a multi-purpose product!

Now, if I can just find the perfect cheek contour color...I'm not buying anything this month, so I'm forcing myself to figure out new ways to use the stuff I already have. That and maybe I can use up some of the things I've been collecting for years.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Review

2009-05-04T14:16:00.003-04:00

This is for the regular Too Faced Shadow Insurance, not the colored "Lockdown" version that just came out.

Texture: Kind of oily/slick. You only need a tiny, tiny bit for both eyes because it spreads out so easily for a thin, even layer. This tube could probably last about a year for me. Maybe a little less.

Color: It looks beige when you squirt it out of the tube, but it's invisible on.
Price: $17 for .35 ounces, and you can get it at Sephora, Ulta, or TooFaced.com

Packaging: One of the more sanitary ones. It's a squeeze tube with a small tip so it's easy to control how much comes out. You don't have to dip your fingers in and you'll also be able to easily get the majority of the product out. The container was my biggest complaint about Urban Decay Primer Potion. If you didn't cut it open, you'd throw away about 2/3 of the product. This one's sort of like a very small tube of toothpaste.

Performance: I never knew my eye shadow could last all day on my inner corner OR stay bright all day long. Other things I tried like Urban Decay Primer Potion and MAC Paint Pots (which I used to swear by) just don't cut it anymore. At all. I'm going to have to force myself to finish my Paint Pots in Bare Study and Painterly just so I don't waste product and can use the containers for Back 2 MAC. I just can't say enough good things about this stuff. I really never knew a primer could work so well.

Point to consider: I have dry lids. I have heard that if you have oily lids, this isn't a good match and UDPP is better.

Favorite Products for April

2009-04-28T14:37:00.004-04:00

April's almost over and I've discovered (or re-discovered) a few products that I absolutely love this month:

*MAC Silverthorn eye shadow: This one came out with the Rose Romance collection this month. It's not a simple silver. I see a lilac-blue tone plus a gold shimmer. It's hard to describe but this is a very unique color! And you know how some things show up in heavy swatches but don't translate well to the lids? I could still see the blue/gold tones on my lids yesterday when I wore this shadow on the lid with Circa Plum pigment, also from the Rose Romance collection, in the crease.

*MAC Just a Pinch Gel Blush (also from Rose Romance): It looks scary in the jar, but it makes you look like an innocent girl who just got her first kiss when you put it on. It's just a glowing, beautiful flush that blends into your skin effortlessly. If you've tried the cream blushes and thought this was the same, go try it anyway. The texture is completely different, lighter, easier to blend, and just, ahhh...

*Cover Girl LipStain in Everbloom Kiss: This is the lightest one and it's pinker than the other one that I have, Teasing Blush. That one shows up almost berry-red on me. Both are pretty, but I like Everbloom Kiss better for fair skin during the warmer months.

*MAC Perfect Topping Mineralized Skin Finish: It's barely-there pink and perfect to use as a blush OR all-over skin brightener. Use a regular, dense blush brush for blush application and a big, fluffy brush if you want to use it all over to brighten up your skin.

*Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara: I got this in Extreme Black and I'm still loving it. I mentioned this one earlier along with the LipStains.

*LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids Soap and Solid Perfume: One word: MMM! It's a pretty sweet scent, so if that's not your thing, you might want to pass. However, it's not completely sweet to me; I think it's got a clean sort of undertone, too. Either way, it's worth a sniff! I haven't been using anything else since I got it.

*Milani Nail Polish in Day Dreaming: This is a light, creamy gray. The lasting power is average for me. I've had it on for three or four days and there's some slight chipping around the tips of about half of my fingers. I didn't use a topcoat, though.

*MAC Dazzleglass in Steppin' Out: This is the only Dazzleglass I think I would repurchase. It's a beautiful hot pink with a slight coral tinge that doesn't scream for attention when you put it on, but just does a nice job of brightening your face. It complements MOST makeup looks I do, but I wouldn't pair it with a smoky eye or anything that dramatic.

And some products I tried that I wasn't impressed with this month:
*MAC Shadestick in Cakeshop: I tried it on my hand and it looked beautiful. The pewter-green shade showed up and the shimmer looked like shimmer, not glitter. On my EYES, however, the color disappeared and I was left with big chunks of glitter...which left ME with a big sty.

*Revlon Creme Gloss: The color (Slip into Pink) I got isn't bad, but I was hoping for a different applicator. It is a pretty, shiny nude-pink. Stupid me for not looking into it further before grabbing it. I just don't like the flow-through brushes. They tend to get messy and I feel like I either have too much product or not enough. This is one reason I'm not crazy about Stila's Lip Glazes.

*NARS Blush in Torrid: Even applying with the lightest hand makes me look blotchy and like I'm in the middle of an eczema attack. This will be better when I've got a little more color. It's still a very pretty medium coral-pink with a tiny bit of gold shimmer, though. It's darker and warmer than NARS Orgasm, one of my favorite blushes. Anyway, Torrid is beautiful, but just not the best for me most months of the year.

Drugstore Makeup Finds

2009-04-21T22:52:00.003-04:00

Yep, it's me. I'm alive! My goal is to start posting regularly next month. Life got pretty busy for a while there, in good ways and in bad ones. I'm trying to lay off the shopping for a while, but I couldn't resist a few drugstore finds. They're cheap, right? That's what I keep telling myself, "Oh, it's just $5.00..." MAC still has my heart, but it's easier to justify three things at Walgreens for the price of one thing at the mall. Here are some of the goodies I've picked up and love:

Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara: I'm usually disappointed by Rimmel mascaras despite the snazzy packaging that sucks me in almost every time. The brush on this one is curvy and it's plastic like Maybelline Define-A-Lash, Cover Girl Lash Blast, etc. It's almost like three balls in a line. I got it in Extreme Black, which really IS black, black, black--not gray. So far, it's thickened and lengthened my lashes. It says it curls, too, but I never really notice that with any mascara. My lashes aren't particularly straight to start with. Anyway, one big problem I have when it comes to mascaras is their tendency to kind of disappear. I don't know if it just wears off at the tips or what, but what starts as a va-va-voom lash day can fall to a measly attempt to maybe look like my lashes are tinted. This formula, though, stayed on all day. Yay!

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse: I got this one in Pink Frosting this time. I had a darker one once before that I absolutely despised because of the blotchy appearance it gave my skin. I ended up trying to give it away. This is a light, youthful pink and it's great on my fair skin. I'm on the fence about sparkles. Sometimes I see them and think they're obnoxious and sometimes I don't. As in, sometimes I just don't see sparkles on my cheeks at all so I'm not sure if there are glitter mermaids swimming around in there, coming up to the surface on random days to check out another life in the sun. (Can you tell I just introduced my daughter to The Little Mermaid?) If you like warmer tones, there's a peach one that looks really similar to this one. It was gorgeous too, but I didn't want to go all crazy and get two before I made sure I liked this one. I may go back for it. I'd like to wait for some sort of Maybelline BOGO sale though, because they tend to pop up frequently and I paid full price (still less than $8.00) for this one already. The consistency of this blush is like whipped cream and you just barely have to tap your fingertips into the pop to pick up enough color. Then you tap it onto the apples of your cheeks and blend around and back toward the temples. It's not scary because it's not the type of blush that will dry in one spot before you get the chance to smooth it out. The color is a bright, neutral medium pink that makes you look like you have a juicy little secret.

Cover Girl Lipstains: Beware of the colors! They're brighter than you might expect based on the packaging. I got Tempting Blush and it's a pretty red-berry color. The packaging is one of the lighter ones. Application will take you back to elementary school when you might've colored your lips with markers. That's essentially what this is--a fruity magic marker for your mouth. What makes that great is the precision you get. I once had a lip stain from Sonia Kashuk's line that not only tickled like crazy when I tried to apply it to my lips, but the brush was flimsy and I couldn't get it to go only where I wanted it. With this Cover Girl brush, you could line your lips and then fill them in with color--definition AND long-lasting color. Nice. Oh, and some of the reviews said they don't last that long, but I've had mine on since about 6:00. It's lasted through a meal, snacks, smooches, and a few glasses of water. It faded just a bit, but it looks better, more natural, this way.

30 Percent Off at Spell Cosmetics

2009-03-21T00:03:00.002-04:00

Spell Cosmetics is offering 30% off everything in the store through Monday, March 23. Don't miss it! Also, check them out on YouTube for a chance to win more prizes.

My top picks:
Under My Spell Face Primer
Mineral Wet n Set (you can even do winged liner with this--in any color of mineral shadow!)
The AllThatGlitterz21 Glosses (I got the super hot pink Do I Dazzle You one, but I'm dying to try ElleAlie's Lullaby)
Crown Jewel Liquid Liners
Any of the eyeshadows. I've only tried the Cat Eyes Trio so far, but they're beautiful and blendable. Take a look at the Sun & Surf kit that comes with a bonus bronzer. It's absolutely perfect for summer!

Maybelline Great Lash

2009-02-02T11:21:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had a product that you just felt the urge to warn everyone about due to its complete inability to perform? And then you suffer a lapse in judgment (or, in my case, you needed a kind of blah, liquidy mascara to blend your real lashes with falsies) and try the product again, only to find that hey, you love it now!

Three words: Maybelline Great Lash. The blackest black with the newer, cooler looking label, to be exact. I bought it before the one Christmas party I made it to because I wanted to wear falsies and I needed something that wasn't too volumizing to mix my lashes with the fake ones.

The next day, on a whim, I decided to try it on my naked lashes. Wow, I'm not sure they've ever looked better. They aren't clumpy. The brush glides through my lashes and it isn't awkward to wield at all (hello, flimsy Maybelline Define-A-Lash). While my lashes don't look super-duper thick, they do stand out. I don't clump this mascara into a category with those that simply tint your lashes anymore. By George, it actually does something!

Mascara ramble aside, yes, it actually is me! Back from the blogging dead. Next thing you know, I'll be doing tutorials again. First, though, I need to get a hair makeover. This DIY color just isn't working for me. I dyed it red and it was amaaaazing. For a week. Then it dropped me into some level of burgun-rust hell and I haven't been able to escape despite my attempt to use a "cool light brown" to turn it somewhere close to my natural color again. The end result was brighter, redder roots. Oh, yay. Mama don't have time for this red hair maintenance.

While dreaming of a magical hair color, I decided it's time to cut off my hair. I'm tired of looking like a washed up college kid. I'm kind of obsessing over this:

I even love the color, though I'd never go that light. I'm too pale and too lazy to maintain the roots. However, I love how all the tones work together, so maybe I can do something like that with brown. But first I need to find a babysitter.

Holiday Eye Makeup with YouTube's Panacea81

2008-11-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

This girl is such a doll, and I was so happy to see a look with RED shadow. I can never pull off red on my eyes, but she's inspiring me to try again.

If you have a hoilday party to go to and you have no idea how the heck you're going to wear high heels again after wearing flats to chase around a toddler for the last few months (*ahem* ME), you can at least know your eye makeup looks good, even if you look like you're just "toddling" around yourself.

And hey, even if you bust your butt, at least you got a night out without the kids and the opportunity to wear heels at all! That's what I keep telling myself...

Quick Eye Makeup

2008-11-19T12:44:00.004-05:00

This is a trick I use when I want to look like I put a lot of time into my shadow, blending different colors, etc.

First, put down a black base on just your lid, to right below your crease (or into your crease if you want more drama). Today, I used MAC's Sharkskin Shadestick but I'm not a big fan of it anymore. It's too dry and I wound up tugging on my eyelids way more than I should've to get even a somewhat even coating. You can use MAC's Blackground Paint Pot or even a black liner. If you're using a regular black liner, you may want to add the extra step and put on a regular primer first, like Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion, since regular liner is likely to crease if you put it all over your lids as a base.

Make sure the base blends out at the edges so you don't have a harsh line (I just use my finger, but some people prefer flat, synthetic brushes to apply them and blend them). Then you take a duochrome shadow/pigment (today I used MAC Old Gold), which just means that it looks like it's different colors depending on the way the light hits it. Layer it over that black base and up above where the base ended, almost to the brow bone. It will look like two totally different colors and you won't even have to open another shadow. Old Gold, for example, looks like a deep emerald green over the black and a brassy color on my skin. Pink Pearl (MAC) looks navy blue over black and bright pinkish-purple on skin.

Highlight color is optional. So is liner. Always use mascara, though. ;)

The end result is kind of a funky, colorful smoky look.

Red Holiday Lips

2008-11-18T12:44:00.003-05:00

My new favorite red lip combination is MAC Red paired with Red Enriched liner (also MAC). Here's a picture:

I think I'll be wearing this combination quite a bit until spring! Yep, even during the day. LOL

What's YOUR favorite red lip combo?

How to Thread Your Brows

2008-09-18T12:29:00.001-04:00

I learned how to thread my brows yesterday thanks to the amazing Eily311 on YouTube. It's surprisingly easy once you figure out the perfect thread length for your hands.

How to Apply False Lashes

2008-08-29T13:06:00.003-04:00

Nothing makes your eyes stand out like a great set of lashes—even if they're not your own. Applying false lashes is easier than you might think!

First, go ahead and apply all of your eye makeup, making sure to use black liner close to the top lash line where the false lashes will be. The black liner will help them blend with your natural lashes—even if you can't get them as close as you would like. Also, be sure to curl your lashes.

Check to see if the falsies line up with your eyes from the inner corner, just where your own lashes begin, to the outer one. If they are too long, trim off as much as necessary from the outer corner of the lashes. As much as you may hate to see that length on the ends go, it will be worth it!

Hold one end of the lashes between the thumb and forefinger of each hand in an upside-down U-shape, then roll them up and down to loosen up the band. You want them to curve easily so that they'll effortlessly hug your eye shape.

Put a small drop of lash glue on the back of your hand and run the band of the lashes through it. Make sure the band is evenly coated and that you didn't miss either end. You don't want your lashes to lift at the edges halfway through the night (or fall off early in the night!) because there wasn’t enough glue! Don't be afraid because the glue is still white; it really will dry clear!

Wait until the glue is tacky--roughly thirty seconds--before attempting to place the lashes on your eyes. This will help them adhere and keep them from smudging the eye makeup you've already done. The glue will almost be clear, but not quite.

Once the glue is tacky, you can use your fingers, tweezers, or an eyelash applicator (often sold in lash kits) to apply the inner corner first. Press down for about five seconds, then press down the outer edge for another five seconds. Tap your fingertip back across the middle toward the inside, pressing the lashes in place. Allow to set for a few more seconds.

Apply mascara to blend your natural lashes with the falsies. The best mascara to use here is one that doesn’t add much length or volume, but tends to offer a more natural look. Look for a mascara with a thin consistency, like Maybelline Great Lash.

To further blend the lashes with your overall look, you can go back in with black liquid liner on the inner corners. This gives the illusion of one clean line rather than a clean lash line followed by the abrupt start of lush lashes.

You're done!

Fall Makeup Trends

2008-08-26T15:13:00.004-04:00

I'm in love with the dark, romantic looks of fall makeup. My favorite lip combination right now:

Prestige Black Plum Liner with MAC Media lipstick. Not carefully tapped on with your fingertip--applied straight from the tube for intensity. Another lipstick I use with that same liner is ULTA's Black Cherry, which is glossier than Media. You could deepen either lipstick more with black liner and really be true to the near-goth look of the season, but I have yet to do that without just goofing around. Maybe I'd try it if I were in my clubbing days (oh wait, I never had any of those).

For daytime eyes, I do matte-ish neutrals. I like Vanilla on the lid, Club in the crease, Malt above the crease, and Vanilla to highlight the brow bone. Line the top with slightly winged black liner and the bottom with more Club. Then add mascara. Don't forget a little bit of blush (MAC Blushbaby's good here).

For night, I go with a bit more shimmer. MAC's new Smoke & Diamonds is the perfect smoky lid color, with a hint of Carbon in the outer V and crease, blended up with Wedge, and highlighted with Shroom. Again, blush is a must! You can go with precise liquid liner or smudged out pencil liner (Stila's Convertible Liner in Onyx is good for this). Add Smoke & Diamonds to the inner 2/3 of the bottom lash line, with Carbon on the outer 1/3. Load up on the mascara for drama.

For the perfect nighttime outfit, combine edginess with femininity. Black leather pants with a cream colored lace top, anyone?

FREE Shipping and Mini Makeup Remover from Clinique

2008-08-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

FREE SHIPPING and mini Makeup Remover with any $30 purchase on clinique.com! Valid Through 8.31.08

Spell Cosmetics Primer Update

2008-08-04T20:01:00.002-04:00

Here's the update after 11 hours of wear.

http://www.spellcosmetics.com

Looks like a winner to me! One thing I didn't mention in the video is that the packaging on this one is way less annoying than the Urban Decay Primer Potion's. This product is $19.00 for 1 oz. and it contains SPF 20. It also has Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and an opalescent finish. Love!

Starflash Eye Shadow Tutorial and Spell Cosmetics Primer Experiment

2008-08-04T10:59:00.003-04:00

I'm trying out Spell Cosmetics' Primer on half of my face and on one eyelid. I'm also testing out two of the Starflash shadows I picked up yesterday. :)

What I used:
Spell Cosmetics primer (one eye, half of face)--www.spellcosmetics.com
Urban Decay Primer Potion on other eye
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Light Flush
Victoria's Secret Mosaic Bronzer
MAC Sunset B. eye shadow from Starflash
MAC Smoke & Diamonds eye shadow from Starflash
MAC Fertile eye shadow
MAC Feline Kohl Power
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara

$30 Lena Flat Iron Review

2008-08-02T13:41:00.002-04:00

Here's a review on the Lena Salon Designer flat iron, "a $129.99 value!" I got mine at Ulta and I haven't seen them anywhere else, but they may be sold at other stores.

Pros:
The price is good at $29.99.
It's cute.
It's lightweight.
It comes with a thermal protecting case/mat.
If you get Ulta coupons in the mail, you can use them on this and pay even less.
It gets the job done.
You can control the temperature.
It lets you know when it's heating up, cooling down, or ready to go.
Automatic shut-off after an hour, so if you're forgetful, leaving your iron on won't cost you your house.
Ceramic plates protect your hair.

Cons:
Not as effective as the CHI.
I have to use more products to get my hair straight and shiny. A heat protecting spray alone won't do it. I use S-Factor Flat Iron Spray and Tresseme's heat protecting spray, then go over the finished 'do with a shine serum or Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream.
My hair doesn't like to hold the style as much with this one.
I have to crank it up to 400 degrees, the highest setting, to have any hope for straight hair.
Because of all the product I have to use, I need to wash my hair more frequently.
If you lose the receipt, you can't exchange it at Ulta for something else. I tried.
My ends tend to look fried anyway because I'm horrible about keeping up with trims. However, this iron tends to make them look worse, and they still look wavy—not straight. I don't think it's doing additional damage necessarily, but it's not smoothing down the crazy hair like other flat irons can.
It's more difficult to curl with this iron than others, though I'm not sure why. The shape isn't that off but it just didn't cooperate when I tried. Could be user error though I can do it with my old iron.
I sometimes have to go over certain pieces of hair more than once, and I have to use smaller chunks of hair than I did with my CHI, so it takes longer to finish. Not 20 minutes longer, but maybe 7-10.

Verdict: You can see that the Cons list is longer than the Pros list. I'm still fairly neutral on the product, though. It does get my hair pretty straight, though I don’t think girls with ringlets would have the same results. My hair's just stubbornly wavy.

If you don’t have the money to spend $100+ for a CHI and your hair's not super curly, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Just make sure you keep your receipt. It's just "okay" in my book. Since I'm stuck with it, I'll use it until $100.00 falls out of the sky and just try it out with different products and techniques. ;)

How to Do Your Brows (this is a joke)

2008-07-31T22:09:00.005-04:00

I was feeling inspired by a hilarious publication to do a "how-to" post. It's a joke. Don't try it. ;) And don't believe any of the mottoes, either.

How to Do Your Brows

Wax on, wax off. All of it. Yeah, it'll hurt, but "no pain, no vain." Something like that. In other words, if beauty doesn't hurt, you're not pretty enough yet.

With a Sharpie (choose your own color, but it MUST be a Sharpie so you don't lose your brows in the rain), trace the edge of one half of your favorite coffee mug onto the area above each eye. No, you don't have to saw it in half—-just eyeball where to stop and start. You might want to practice with an eyeliner pencil or a ballpoint pen first until you get the hang of it. After all, a Sharpie's a PAIN to get off, which is why we're using one.

The best way to line up the coffee mug is to hold the handle parallel to your nose with your useless hand, making sure the bottom of the cup is resting in the bottom edge of your eye socket. Holding the Sharpie in your dominant hand, trace the edge right onto your forehead. If you follow this method, they'll be even on both sides. You don't want to look ridiculous.

You can change your brow shape (bigger, smaller, squarer(?)...)from day to day based on how much caffeine you think you need to get through morning. Just finish your cup and, before putting it in the dishwasher or leaving it on your desk to grow mold in the residue, hold it up to your eye. Make sure you drink all of your coffee first. Gah, don't be a ditz. You don't want to waste coffee on your eyes, though, on second thought, it may firm up the skin.

Skin Care Routine

2008-07-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

I've finally found a skin care routine that works for me. I'm happier with my skin than I have been since I was about 21. The acne/eczema hit after that. Here's what my skin is like:

Dry--very, very dry most days. I have had to use Vaseline as a moisturizer before if that tells you anything. Now it's more normal. I attribute it to the skin care routine because I still had the dry, dry skin last summer.

Eczema-prone. It's very sensitive. I've tried natural products, steroids, etc, in the past. In my experience, it seemed like what helped the eczema caused acne and vice-versa. What a pain!

Acne-prone. I never had this problem before. In high school, my skin was spotless. Then my 20's happened and I looked 13! See above for the endless cycle of ugh when it comes to eczema/acne.

So here's what I've been doing and I've only been getting the occasional zit.

Morning: Rinse and put on the Kroger knockoff of Cetaphil moisturizer (can't find a link for it)

Night: Wash face with Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser. If I'm wearing heavy or long-wearing foundation, I have to remove with jojoba or olive oil first. I just let it sit on the skin for a few minutes, massage it around, then wash--or I'll use Clean & Clear's Deep Cleanser because if I use it only every now and then, it doesn't do any damage.

Go over my skin with my Tweezerman Blackhead Removal Tool

Then I apply I Feel Pretty Product's Pretty Amazing 2% BHA Liquid and let that stay on for 30 minutes before I do anything else (I'll sometimes shower while I wait, watch a TV show, etc).

Then, after that's set in, I apply Paula's Choice AHA gel. I Feel Pretty Products has one, too, and I'm going to try that next so I don't have to order from a bunch of different places. It'll be a while though since these products tend to last forever.

Finally, right after the AHA, I apply the Cetaphil knockoff moisturizer.

It took me a while to work up to both using BHA every night (I had to work my way up from using it every third night because my eczema would wake up). Once I had that under control, I started alternating nights between the BHA and AHA. Finally, I got to the point where I could use them both every day.

I hope this helps someone. If you have skin that seems to have every problem in the book, I recommend trying these out. Oh, and of course you have to drink plenty of water!

L'Oreal HIP Metallic Duos--Go Look!

2008-07-25T20:58:00.001-04:00

Sale ends tomorrow (CVS), so go check 'em out. ;)
The pics at the end are in this order:
Gilded
Mischief
Mirror/applicator on the bottom

Victoria's Secret Mosaic Bronzer Review

2008-07-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

Image from VictoriasSecret.com

Ok, I promised a review on this one and I debated on whether to just write it all out or do a video. Since it doesn't show up much in the videos, I figured a text version would suffice. :)

Application: I have used this two ways. I've used a kabuki brush for allover coverage to warm up my complexion when I have a sunless tan on my body but nothing on my face. I have also used it with an angled blush brush as a contour. Both look very natural. I never look too dark or too dirty. It does just what I want, when I want. With either type of application, I just swirl my brush through all the colors, but you can pick out certain ones to contour, highlight, or even use as shadow.

Color: Not shimmery at all, really. I got this one on purpose because I have so many shimmer products. There is one that looks to be about the same depth in color, but with shimmer. It was gorgeous, but I've already got MAC's Belightful for that.

The color is a light, matte brown. It's the perfect "real" tan look, not the orangey bronze that a lot of "tan in a compact" products tend to give off. For example, I have Urban Decay's Baked Bronzer (can't remember which color) and a lot of people on Makeup Alley said it was very natural. Yeah, if you're transitioning into an Oompa Loompa by playing in shimmery fairy dust. "I'll never grow up; I'll just grow orange!" I'm too white for that one, to say the least.

I would only recommend this particular bronzer for those with very fair to medium skin tones. Medium-dark skin tones would probably not see the difference. Some of the other shades may work well, though, so they're worth checking out.

Packaging: Sleek. Black with pink lettering (it says Very Sexy on the outside and at the bottom of the mirror inside). Sexy. Square. Portable. I love it. It has a mirror inside but no brush. If it had a brush compartment on the bottom, that would be better, but who really likes those brushes that come with makeup anyway? LOL They're usually low quality and you have to use something else. Also, it would make the packaging bulkier, and I need my space in my blush/bronzer drawer. It's packed.

A Note: The display had four of these bronzers, each with a different name. Mine was labeled Goddess, I think, but when I looked for it on the display, they had the other three and then one that wasn't labeled anything specific. It simply said, "Mosaic Bronzer." That was this one. It looks most like Natural listed on the website. I was confused, so you might be, too. Hope this helps. Mine looks like the one in the picture at the top.

60% Off Chi Products

2008-07-24T14:09:00.003-04:00

If you're in the market for a new straightening iron, now's the time to shop!

Get up to 60% off Chi hair appliances at drugstore.com. While supplies last.

MAC Odd Couple Mineralized Shadow Duo Tutorial

2008-07-24T09:05:00.006-04:00

A real one this one, if quick! After I did this, I realized there were a few things I left out:
1. I needed to do my eyebrows, so ignore those. ;) I've been filling them in lately but I totally forgot as I scrambled to get my face ready to do the one eye on a video.
2. Do your foundation last. I had some fallout I had to clean up after the video was over and it would've been easier if I'd done my foundation after the fact. Again, it was because I was trying to get as ready as possible before filming. LOL
3. I forgot to do the inner half of the bottom lash line with the swirled part of the duo. Just use the pencil brush to deposit some color there and you'll brighten your eyes. :) I had already done it on the first eye; I just forgot to do it on the second one.

I really recommend these mineralized duos if you're wanting to try a shadow like this. They're soft, shimmery, and blend like a dream. They're also more vibrant than you'd expect if you're familiar with MAC's older mineralized shadows.

What I used:
MAC Mineralized Duo in Odd Couple
MAC Blanc Type (any creamy white will do)
L'Oreal H.I.P. Creme Liner Midnight Blue
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara Blackest Black
MAC Beauty Powder Shell Pink (any shimmery pinky-gold will do)
Victoria's Secret Mosaic Bronzer
MAC Plushglass Ample Pink

Work-Safe Look with MAC Mineralized Shadow Duos

2008-07-20T13:14:00.004-04:00

I said I wouldn't get any, but I did. The last mineralized shadows didn't have enough color payoff for me. These, however, are pretty awesome. They're still light but they're shimmery enough to look pretty darn ethereal without being over the top. I guess you could say they glow since the shimmer isn't very pronounced. I used Pink Split today in a work-safe look. I added daytime friendly red lipstick in the form of New York Apple (MAC), but you don't have to do that part if you're just going to work.

Unfortunately, the camera issues continue, so I still don't have really detailed makeup pictures like I wish I did. Hopefully you can get an idea from these anyway. I'll list what I used underneath.

Face:
MAC SPF 15 Foundation in NC 15, but only because I'm trying to use it up
Benefit Thrrrob blush
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Shimpagne (it was LE, but their Belightful powder will work, as well. You can also pick up just about any kind of champagne colored shimmer powder from the drugstore...Milani has some; so does Jane.)
Victoria's Secret Mosaic Bronzer (for contour...I'm obviously not bronzed! haha)
Concealer

Lips:
MAC New York Apple, lightly

Eyes:
MAC Pink Split Mineralized Eye Shadow Duo (I sprayed Fix+ on my brush before applying, but I didn't notice a difference, so you can easily skip that step.)--Pink side from lash line to a little above the crease; swirled side on crease and outer V. Pink side on inner lower lash line; swirled side on outer lower lash line
MAC Shore Leave Eye Shadow to highlight (you can use any other barely pink champagne shade as Shore Leave was LE...it's easy to dupe)
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline on top (winged out) and on waterline
Maybelline Colossal Lash in Glam Black (LOVE it and already got a backup because I found it for $3.47 at Kroger)

This is a very soft look that doesn't take much effort. You look like you put some work into your appearance, but it doesn't scream "makeup!"

Oh, ignore the zit. His name is TOM. He likes to come around every month when I'm already an emotional mess and torment me further. He also hates blankets, so all of my attempts to cover him up result in him kicking it off. ;)

Go Bronze, Victoria's Secret Style

2008-07-16T09:59:00.004-04:00

Victoria's Secret Angels always look like they just stepped off the beach, thanks to that radiant, bronze glow they all seem to have. I recently saw this video:

Usually an optimistic skeptic (umm...?) when it comes to bronzers and a lot of sunless tanners even though that's the only way I ever tan, I went to check them out. I didn't believe that:
1. They'd really look brown--and I wasn't even sure the sunless tanner would show up at all
2. The bronzer wouldn't rub off
3. The sunless tanner's color guide wouldn't be one of those that I absolutely hated (I prefer lotion types that don't have any tint); I expected a streaky, ugly, muddy mess until the color developed underneath

I got the Bare Bronze Shimmering Body Oil and the Bare Bronze Gleaming Self-Tan Body Tint because I'm pretty much so white I'm clear.

The first day, I mixed them together (roughly 50/50) like the video above recommends. All I did was squirt/pour a little of each into my hand at a time and mix them together. I thought it'd probably be a waste of the sunless tanner, but tried it anyway since I had two tubes. The results were amazingly bronze, shimmery, and realistic once I got my face to match my body (more on that later because I got the Very Sexy Mosaic Bronzer, as well--Happy Birthday to me!). I applied it from my neck to my feet, just to see how it'd turn out. The results:

1. As I mentioned, I looked glowy and bronze--NOT glittery and orange
2. The ruboff was minimal. I didn't apply over any other lotion. I put it directly on dry, bare, freshly exfoliated skin. I wouldn't venture out in white or pastels, but I wore a black shirt with khaki shorts and only got major ruboff inside the waistband and inside the bottom edges of the shorts.
3. It was so easy to smooth on. The texture was like a silky gel.
4. I was pleasantly surprised to have a very nice tan going on once I washed off the bronzer at the end of the day.
5. You know that stinky DHA smell you can get from sunless tanners? The ones that make you dread sleeping in them all night because your sheets will stink, but you don't want to wear them out during the day because YOU will stink and send throngs of people running away from your general direction? Not a problem with this one. I actually recommend wearing it during the day because the tint is so gorgeous, plus it smells pretty good (beachy).
6. I did have a little bit of a problem with both the mixture and the bronzer alone creasing along my neck and inner elbows. However, it was easy to smooth back out there. I just had to keep an eye on it. It happened once or twice soon after I applied.

Later, I tried the sunless tanner on its own. I'm not sure why the final color didn't show up any darker than it did with the 50/50 mixture, but it didn't. I still had a medium reddish-brown tan once I washed all the color guide off, just like before. It faded nicely over the next five days, so I wasn't cursed with "lizard skin" like I sometimes get.

I applied the bronzer alone the next day to give my tan some oomph. It was a little harder to spread on its own, but still looked natural. The color depth didn't change much simply because the sunless tanner's tint is about the same color (the sunless tanner's tint is sheerer on its own than the bronzer, though, so you can tell a difference between the two). The ruboff was also about the same--minimal. It took soap and water to take it off.

Complaints:
The bronzer bottle is heavy, glass, and it's hard to get the product out. If your hands are already slippery from applying some product to your body, you run the risk of tossing the thing clear across the room. I'm not sure if there's a pump available for it, but that would help.

The sunless tanner tube seems to be kind of small, though I've applied it twice all over and I've barely made a dent. It's also pricier than the regular drugstore stuff I tend to buy ($18 for 5 oz). It works sooo much better though.

Oh, I forgot to mention this: If you're going to be carrying around your baby with bronzer on your arm, dress him or her in something dark, too. There's ruboff there, as well. My daughter had streaks on her white shirt because I still have to carry her everywhere. LOL

I hope that makes sense...I'm going to review the Mosaic Bronzer soon. Right now, I have a whining, crabby baby trying to climb into my lap--probably to slap me because I'm a few minutes behind on her second breakfast. LOL

Maybelline XXL Curl Power Mascara Review

2008-06-19T09:41:00.003-04:00

I couldn't find a picture of this one to use, but it's a black and white dual-ended tube with purple accents. If you're familiar with other XXL mascaras, it's the same type of tube, but with purple on it. :)

That's where the comparison stops. This mascara is ten times better than the other XXLs. My biggest beef with those? Flaking. This one stays put, thank goodness, rather than throwing black confetti down my cheeks.

Packaging: No complaints. It's the same kind of packaging as all the other XXL mascaras, as mentioned above. It's also kind of a fat tube with slightly tapered ends, which makes it easier to hold on to and maneuver. My favorite thing about the packaging is the satisfying "click" you feel when you close the caps; you know they're closed. Oh, and the brushes are curved, which should help with the curling part.

Application: I don't usually like primers, but I use them when they're attached because I'm a little OCD that way (or something). I have to use all parts of a product or it drives me nuts. The only reason I don't like primers is because it's one more step to put into a makeup routine in the mornings. They really do help boost volume and length, though, if you get a good one (I like this one, L'Oreal's, and Clinique's).

After letting the primer dry (if you prefer to let it dry first--it's personal preference), apply the other side. Coat over the primer. I like to do two coats to make sure all the white is covered.

I like that the mascara's not too runny like Great Lash, but not super thick like it's about to dry out, either. It grabs onto the lashes and paints them well, but it doesn't splatter everywhere as I pull the brush through.

Results: I wouldn't call this my holy grail mascara or anything like that, but it does lengthen and thicken the lashes. There may be a little bit more of a curl to my lashes than usual, but they tend to curl upward on their own, so it's hard to tell. It did what it said it'd do, just not better than all other mascaras I've ever tried, if that makes sense.

Price: I think I paid $6 for this. I got it as a buy one, get an eyeliner free deal.

Overall: I'd buy it again if it were part of a special deal like the one mentioned above. I wouldn't seek it out to purchase again, though. It may just win me over one day when I run out of mascaras to try and need a new one. It did what it set out to do, and it did it well.

Moisturizing Facial Mask

2008-06-14T20:16:00.004-04:00

My face is a desert. Today, however, it was a dessert (har, har). I found this facial mask recipe on Beauty Tyrant that called for a half a banana and two tablespoons of honey. You mix them into a paste (I couldn't quite get it to the right consistency so it looked pretty gross on my face. LOL) and apply. Wait 10-15 minutes and wash it off. You can also use a banana slice cut in half under your eyes to get rid of dark circles while you wait.

Supposedly, the banana combats dryness and the honey works on the acne. I have the worst of three worlds--dry skin and acne, topped with super sensitivity. This sounded like the perfect mask for me:

Simple, with few ingredients
Natural, so I don't have to worry about chemicals irritating my skin
Bananas are moisturizing
Honey fights acne

Bonus: It smelled pretty good.

My results weren't knock-me-on-my-butt fantastic, but I'm impressed. Obviously, my acne didn't just go "POOF!" but my face did feel smoother. It probably would've felt like a baby's butt had it been a bit more supple and more moisturized when I was done rinsing off the mask. My skin felt better than after any other mask I've ever used; those tend to make my face feel DRIER than when I started. With this one, my skin felt more moisturized than when I started, but not as moisturized as it needed to be.

I didn't notice a difference with the dark circles. They're still hanging out there, but it's been a long day.

I highly recommend this mask for those with dry skin and/or acne.

Blush Rant

2008-06-13T13:05:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else have a problem with their blush fading? I'll put it on in the morning, then within a couple of hours I'm looking pasty again. My skin's dry, so you'd think it'd stick, but it doesn't. So do I want to look like a clown in the AM or a corpse in the PM? That's assuming I don't have time to fix it later. Even if I have time, that doesn't mean I want to have to do it.

New Poll!

2008-06-13T12:47:00.001-04:00

I finally got around to putting up a new poll. Sorry it took so long!

Beauty and Brains Unite!

2008-06-13T11:11:00.002-04:00

This article makes me happy because I'm tired of seeing female "role models" in the form of empty-headed sex kittens. Sure, most girls want to be cute, but there can be something behind the mascara. However, it kind of makes me sad that nerdy women in heels are newsworthy.

Here's the article:
Geek Girls: Revenge of the Nerdettes

For you edgy mamas out there...

2008-06-09T08:49:00.005-04:00

I wouldn't call it a tutorial per se, but it's a walk-through on how I did my makeup this morning. I was inspired by Panacea81's Amy Lee of Evanescence look. It's darker than it appears in the pictures and the video. We have an orange level smog alert, so I won't be leaving the house anyway. Not that dark or bright eye shadow ever stopped me in the past... ;)

Anyway, it really does make blue eyes pop. It's also pretty simple as long as you don't load up your whole lid with color straight from the pencil. Put a little on, then smudge and work from there (Panacea81 does a great job of showing it in her video, though she's using different products). One thing I will say about using the NYX Jumbo Pencils instead of the Shadesticks she used, though: SET IT WITH POWDER. I used NYX's Dark Brown on top after about an hour (yeah, just an hour!) because it was already creasing on me--with a base underneath. With a color that dark, you can't just ignore creasing.

On to the video:

Oh yeah, I forgot! I am so excited now. My father-in-law figured out why my computer was being so weird. We fixed it, and it fixed my ability to upload YouTube videos, so there will be more tutorials coming at you now! I was getting so irritated because I'd try to upload them for hours and it would just die on me.

If you like MAC's Dazzleglasses...

2008-06-05T21:05:00.005-04:00

But hate that they're limited edition or hate the outrageous price for a lip gloss, you. will. loooove Rimmel Kiss Off gloss. A lot of the colors are similar to the Dazzleglasses, BUT they're about $5.00 (compared to, I think, $16.50). They're also not as sticky so you don't (at least I don't) get that goopy ring-around-the-mouth or rip your hair out with your gloss when the wind blows.

I am in love with MAC's Steppin' Out, the only Dazzleglass I bought. My supply is visibly lower every week (even my husband noticed!). Funny, I pulled it out and applied on my way to ULTA. Welllll, lo and behold, I was glancing at the Rimmel display while my husband fed my daughter a smoothie type of drink from the nearby Caribou Coffee to keep her entertained.

I once again found something shiny and had to stop. It's starting to be a theme with me. Anyway, they had a dupe of Steppin' Out. Since I'm not done with Steppin' Out yet, I picked up a different color. This one's called Flashback. It's a whitish-clear with pink, teal, and--I think I detect some gold in there--microglitter (yay, microglitter!).

They are definitely worth checking out. I think there were about 8 colors.

Milani Runway Eyes Single Shadow Review

2008-06-05T13:27:00.003-04:00

One word: Ugh.

Like a bird or a redneck, I like shiny things. That means that when I saw the collection of Milani Runway eyes shadows gleaming up at me, smiling and winking, I had to stop and check them out. And then resist the urge to buy one in every color.

"Just one," I told myself. Then my superego (??? Too long since the Psych classes) chimed in, "For now," when my id tried to throw a todderesque tantrum on the floor of my brain. So the most grown-up version of my brain sat down on the floor with me as I tried to decide on the single color to take home and try out. My first thought was to get the black one, but I have too many black shadows and not enough occasions to really dig into them, so I went with Beach Sand, the one that seemed to be a hint darker than my skin tone and packed with silver and pink microglitter shimmer.

When I got home, I used the sponge-tip side of the goofy curved brush included in the compact. The other side is a traditional brush. I haven't tried that side because I think it'd send fairy dust stuff all over the place. Since Tinkerbell's nowhere to be found and I'm not sure how to get down if I do, in fact, find myself flying due to eye shadow fallout, I refrained from using that brush.

Anyway, the swatch I did on my hand with the sponge-tip side turned out to be gorgeous, almost the way water glimmers in the sun. If the water were champagne-colored. The shimmery specks were farther apart than I'd hoped they'd be, so it didn't have quite the metallic sheen I was wishing for, but hey, it was a drugstore shadow so I'll cut it some slack. Then I tried it wet, as the shadow package says to do for more intensity. It was a little better, but still not perfect. I would've deemed it a keeper, IF...

If underneath the top layer of shadow/sparkle, there was more sparkle! Underneath that top layer of pulverized disco ball beauty, there is just slightly shimmery, sorta pretty shadow. Phooey. I have about 14 others that look just like it. The silvery-pink shimmer is what made me think this one was different from all the others.

Always one to root for the underdog a little too long, I tried this on my eyes anyway. I like to give makeup a fair shot before going through the hassle of a return. So this morning I tried it on my eyes. Big mistake. I put it on over MAC Painterly Paint Pot. That part was fine. It even looked really pretty since some of the shimmer was still on top. Heck, I didn't even mind when it crumbled a little bit in the pot as I scooped more color up.

On my eyelids, it's the same color as my skin, so it just looks like I have shimmery lids, but not over the top. I'd call it an almost-no-makeup look, actually. The shimmer's not that obvious. The surprise came later. A few hours after I put it on, the inner corner of my right eye was swollen and sore. This thing's definitely going back to the store.

Overall, I would prefer to throw this shadow against the wall, scrape the pieces from the floor, and then burn them. However, here are the positives: It's a very soft shadow. It's also very subtle, especially once you get past the really sparkly top layer. Oh, and it's cheap: $6, though you can find Milani BOGO or BOGO-half-off quite often. The biggest pro for me? I can return it to CVS and get my money back because they have a really good return policy. So does Walgreens. Not sure about Wal-mart and Target as far as used cosmetics are concerned, but I don't think you can get Milani products there anyway.

Mama! Mama! Book!

2008-05-31T23:50:00.005-04:00

I'm the horrible type of mom who sticks her kid in the playpen so I can eat breakfast in peace. Kidding on the horrible part in case you didn't get my 11:48 PM humor. ;) A few days ago, I was hunched over my laptop, doing my normal mindless routine to get my brain jump started, spooning up my ham and cheese instant grits and sipping on my happy juice (aka: coffee).

It took me a minute to snap out of my zone, but I did it to the tune of "Mama!?!? Mama!?!?" I responded with my usual, "What, baby?" expecting more babble. Instead, I was met with the coolest thing I have ever seen: She was holding up her teething book by the blue plastic "spine" and telling me, "Book!" I did not even know she knew that word. LOL She's never repeated it back to me like she has with ball, dog, etc.

I was so excited, I started calling people like I did on the day I got engaged and then on the day I found out I was pregnant.

So in honor of "Book!" I'm going to post a few of my favorite beauty books.

In case you couldn't tell, I think Kevyn Aucoin was amaaazing. All of these books are full of so many tips and techniques, I couldn't begin to describe them all. I checked the Color Me Beautiful book out at the library back in Fitzgerald...err, Fish Barrel...when I was in middle school. I've been a makeup addict for way too long! LOL

Nireyna's Kim Kardashian Look

2008-05-28T21:07:00.004-04:00

Remember when I was talking about Kim Kardashian's makeup? Nireyna on YouTube has an absolutely STUNNING version:

I think I'm going to try this one for my girls' night out this weekend! Hopefully I'll have enough prep time. The cool thing about this look is the fact that you can substitute any color for that grayish purple she uses and totally update it based on what you're wearing or your coloring. I bet you can get this one down to just a few minutes if you're not worried about it being completely perfect.

The Outer V

2008-05-20T15:19:00.002-04:00

I found this MakeupGeekTV video on YouTube about how to get the color perfect on the elusive "outer V":

Hope you enjoy!

ELF Lip Gloss Review

2008-05-16T09:26:00.007-04:00

Someone asked me to do a review of ELF Cosmetics since they're so cheap (and who doesn't love a great deal?!?!), so I found the ELF gloss I picked up a few towns over. It's called Fairy and it's a light, shimmery pink. It's sheer enough to barely show up, but I bet it'd look sexaaay over hot pink or red lips. It looks good on its own for color-phobes, too.

Something I forgot to mention on the video: The bristles are kind of splayed out, at least on the one I got. It's not horrible, but there's a stray one poking out here and there, and the brush is pretty flimsy overall. Still, not a deal breaker for the price. I'd expect more if I bought it at a department store, but $1? Eh. I'll get over it. :)

Day to Night Look

2008-05-15T09:16:00.004-04:00

Thank goodness YouTube finally worked. I've had this video sitting on my desktop for a couple of weeks, trying periodically to get it to upload. Usually YouTube just dies on me after it pretends to be uploading for a while. I was getting so discouraged, but it worked today!

This is a daytime look that you can turn into a nighttime look with a few more products. Who wants to wash off their makeup so they can start over? My skin's too sensitive to do that very often, so I like looks that I can just add to for more drama.

I used mostly MAC products, but you can easily find similar colors at the drugstore. I'm going to list the colors here from memory, so let me know if there's something in the video that you need to know more about in order to find a drugstore dupe:

Shroom: Satin pale beige
Soba: Light satiny golden brown
Crystal: Icy lavender, satin
Shale: Medium-tone, reddish plum-mauve, satin
Smolder: Dark black, smudgy liner
Any black volumizing mascara
Blushbaby: Medium-tone, sheer pinky-beige blush
Lovechild: Rosy mauve lipgloss with copper shimmer

I only got pics of the nighttime look, but here's another one, this time with eyes open:

YouTube Issues and Baby Pictures

2008-05-09T17:15:00.007-04:00

Hey! I haven't dropped completely off the planet. I have a couple of videos ready to go, but YouTube's working against me. It'll pretend to be uploading for about ten minutes, but then it dies. I'm going to keep trying. In the meantime, I will be doing some product reviews and other things that don't necessarily require video. But first, some baby pics, since they're easy and I'm typing with one hand right now.

What happens when Daddy changes the diaper...she looks appalled, doesn't she? "Bloomers on my head? Like, oh m' gaaaah. Daaaad."

"Arrrrrrrr! To the gangplank with you! That's where I send all the people who can already walk!"

This is her stinky face. We'll blame it on the dog.

Hooray for Sleep!

2008-05-02T09:33:00.010-04:00

I'm in a pretty good mood this morning. The past few nights have been horrible because my daughter's been waking up a lot, then waking up at 6:00 or so and refusing to go back to sleep (she normally would go back to sleep until 9:00 or 10:00, and that's when I got all my stuff done).

Last night, we fed her at 8:30 and tried to put her to bed. She was not having it. So she watched Grey's Anatomy with us and promptly passed out after that. That girl didn't wake up until 8:30! Yay!

This morning, she's trying to learn how to crawl, but apparently forgetting how to look at the camera:
And so it's makeup-related, I'll post a couple of pics of my FOTD (face of the day). I've been doing a lot of softer looks lately. It doesn't look like I'm in a good mood, based on the pics. Hahaha:

Here's what I used:
MAC Stillife Paint (I hope they don't completely discontinue these, but it looks like Paint Pots are taking over for the paints and shadesticks)
MAC Melon Pigment on the inner half of the lid
MAC Kitschmas Pigment on the outer half of the lid
MAC Violet Pigment on the crease, all the way across
Bourjois Loose Shadow (kind of a maroon color?) #10 on outer V
Bourjois Loose Shadow (shimmery champagne color) #2 to highlight
I Feel Pretty Products Gel Liner in Black Cherry
Maybelline's new dual-ended curling mascara that I'm forgetting the name of (Curl Power?) but need to review, Very Black
That looks like a lot, but it's really not. Hey, that rhymed. And my coffee maker just chimed.

Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation
Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer
Maybelline Mineral Power Pressed Powder
MAC Light Flush Mineralized Skin Finish

MAC Viva Glam VI Lip Glass

She still loves it!

2008-05-01T18:48:00.002-04:00

Here's a clip from my daughter watching herself dance to Peanut Butter Jelly Time. She's got a lot more moves now. LOL

Yeah, her shirt's way too big, but she needed something cool to wear, the red caught her eye, and I gave in. ;) Her daddy and grandpa are both really into comics.

After my last post, here's a smile:

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...

2008-04-30T23:32:00.003-04:00

I went out of town to visit my dad for his birthday and give him some yummy freshly roasted coffee and a grinder since, as far as I know, you can't get it that way down in his neck of the woods. Oh, and I don't recommend overnight trips with a 7.5-month old, just so you know. Not if you value sleep like I do. All in all, though, it was a good trip.

After I got back, I found out that one of my friends--and a fellow mom (of three)--had passed away. She was only 33. It's hard to get in the posting mood when something like that just jerks the rug out from under you. My heart breaks for her children and for all the people whose lives she touched. There were so many; it seems that everyone who even just barely knew her fell in love with her vivacious personality. She taught everyone who knew her about generosity, compassion, and love, and she will truly be missed.

Cover Girl Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows, Ice Princess Review

2008-04-23T12:56:00.005-04:00

I want to start this off with a funny story: I was about to try to take pics of my makeup today, and I had the Cover Girl website open in Firefox so I could make sure the product I have hasn't been discontinued (I bought it a long time ago). It was loading; I'd forgotten it was there.

Right as I got iPhoto open and started to take a pic, Cover Girl's website started saying, "Girl. I see you, girl." Go listen! Freaked me right out. I was wondering what kind of weirdo virus I had, but it was their ad with Drew Barrymore that pops up and plays when you load the site. LOL

I decided to visit the "rarely used" makeup drawer today and dig around for a face that didn't involve MAC stuff at all. Here's what I used:

Cover Girl Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows in Ice Princess (review to follow)
I Feel Pretty Gel Liner in Black Cherry (Black with red hints; very hard to describe)
Maybelline Define-A-Lash in Black
ULTA Lip Gloss in some random pink color (I forgot the name of it, but it's a medium cool pink)
Benefit Thrrrob Blush (pinkish-plum)

I skipped the foundation because I'm trying to take it easy on my skin. Anyway, minus the fact that I should've put on foundation (LOL), the whole look meshed well together (for those of you who have the quad or want the quad and are looking for ideas). It's a whole pink/purple-toned look to welcome spring.

Here's a picture just for kicks, though in all fairness, the colors are washed out a little more than they should be. Ignore everything but the shadow. As makeup artist Billy B would say, I am a "hot mess":

Here's my review on the shadow palette:

Initial impression: Colors are pretty, but kind of chalky. There's no "color pop" here, even over Urban Decay Primer Potion. However, if you prefer really sheer application, these may be right up your alley. I also used brushes rather than the sponge-tip applicator that came with it, so that probably lightened the effect overall.

The colors: Pale lilac that I used as a wash from the lash line to brow, icy blue with a slight purple tinge that I used on the inner half of my top lid, bold violet for the outer half of my top lid, plum for the crease. The bold violet and plum have the best color payoff and they're the least chalky. Still, for those of you who like to use the darkest shadow in a palette as eyeliner, this one's probably not going to give you the powerful color you need to line with.

The package: Typical of Cover Girl's packaging. There's the clear plastic lid with hinges attaching to a dark blue base. Not flimsy, but I wouldn't want to step on it or leave it to bang around in my purse without the protection of a makeup bag.

The price: I think I paid $6 or $7, so not a bad deal for four shadows, even though the quality's not the best. You can buy this and still get your kid a toy--in the same store, even. LOL

Would I purchase again? Nah. I think for a few more bucks, I could get shadows that weren't so chalky. There's a similarly colored palette in Revlon's ColorStay line that's a lot better. They aren't chalky at all.

A-lurkin' we will go...a-lurkin' we will go...!

2008-04-21T20:10:00.004-04:00

If you're out there lurking, I'd love to hear from you! Say hey or something. Bloggers love comments. LOL

Maybe one day I'll do a contest like some of the other bloggers I've seen. We're always fishing for a discussion.

Have a great week!

:D

Strawberries!

2008-04-21T13:55:00.004-04:00

Here lately, my daughter won't let anyone else put her to bed. Why? Because she wants to hear Deana Carter's Strawberry Wine as she goes to sleep. I'm the parent with all the words memorized (plus I'm not sure how it'd sound with a male voice singing it), so I'm the lucky one. Hubby gets stuck with bottle-washing duty, poor guy! The singing thing all started because Strawberry Wine's one of the few songs I actually do know all the words to. I wonder if playing the CD would be as effective? It would definitely sound better! Ha!

With strawberries on the brain, I thought I'd introduce you to a strawberry mask I found over at MakeYourOwnCosmetics.com. It uses strawberries, freshly ground oats, and lemon essential oil. My face is too dry and sensitive for it, but it's designed for oily skin anyway.

Prefer to eat the strawberries in your cereal as opposed to smearing them on your face? No problem. You can still enjoy the hot spring and summer color by wearing the shade on your lips. Here are a few to try:

MAC Sashimi Mimi
MAC Strawbaby (from the Fafi collection, so it'll be gone soon)
Stila Cherry Crush Lip Stain (yeah, I know it says cherry--not strawberry. It looks brighter on some people though. LOL)
L'Oreal Color Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss Berry Burst
Maybelline Volume XL Seduction Lip Plumper Fully Blushed