My new foundation routine, or: how a brush changed my life

Well, hello there!

If you love light makeup, are oily or sweaty, and are looking for a flawless looking and a "quick to apply" makeup, girl, let's sit down and talk!

First off, I put on concealer under my eyes (Pixi's Correction Concentrate in Brightening Peach is ah-mazing if you naturally look like the zombie of death) and liquid highlighter on the tops of my cheeks and down my nose.

Next, apply a light layer of a primer - I love the Laura Geller line and the Almay CC!

Then, (and here's the amazing part!), take your e.l.f. powder brush (it looks like a giant stippling brush) and pack on the Physician's Formula Air-Brushing Pressed Powder (from the Mineral Wear line).  This is my winning combination!  First off, the powder has SPF 30 in it!  And second, the amazing brush is SO ridiculously easy to use and makes the powder look amazing now and for a good bit of the day!  It's the kind of thing where I look in the mirror and at the same time notice how smooth my skin looks and wonder where the makeup is (cause I cannot see it!)

You can also use the amazing brush for applying blush and bronzer - oh, please do!  It looks flawless!  You can't tell where the blush and bronzer start and end on your face, it just looks beautiful.

So there you go, ladies, my secret formula for summer.  Turns out it is super easy!  And I have to say, my husband does not mind one bit that I can get ready in 5 minutes (as opposed to 15, 20, 30...) with this winning combo. ;)  Not that, you know, I get ready in 5 minutes most days.  Makeup is about fun, right?

Stay happy!

Sparkly Twirls

Would You Rather? Beauty Tag

Well, hey there!

I love this idea of tags - a set of questions people answer by youtube or blog and then "tag" others to do the same.  It reminds me of friendship books my friends and I carried when we were students.  Full of questions, the books would be passed around to different friends to learn about each other.

So, here's a page from the electronic friendship book!  I'm not sure who started this tag, but I've seen it up and about swimming on youtube.  Grab a cuppa and sit a while!

1. Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice makeup or nice hair and no make-up?
Hmm, probably nice hair and no make-up simply because my hair tends to be naturally unpredictable.  However (and this is a big however) makeup and hair really depends on what I feel like, so some days I want no makeup and crazy hair.

2. Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?
Oh my gosh! Both sound awful!  If I had to pick, I would rather have to shave my eyebrows, for two reasons.  1. eyelashes are biologically more necessary as they keep muck out of the eyes, so I would feel more susceptible without them and 2. if people are filling in their eyebrows, surely we can also draw them on?  Or try a new bang haircut :)

3.  Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life?
I'm not a big MAC girl (<-ha! See what I did there? Big Mac?), but I adore Sephora and Ulta.  So Sephora - twist my arm, twist my arm!

4. Would you rather wear the ligloss/lipliner look or 80's perm?
80's perm, please? Anyone else but me think all kinds of curls are awesome?  Also, straight lines and me don't get along!

5. Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?
Well, I think every girl has done both in her lifetime!  It gives us something to laugh at!  Probably... leave with an overdone blush because, hey, maybe you just saw the guy you liked and are all flushed!

6. Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public?
Hm, I know these genie pants are sometimes considered fashionable, but I would still choose biker shorts.  THe MC Hammer pants seem to me to be in an identity crisis: am I a bubble skirt?  am I pants? am I for boys or girls? if I am so stretchy, do I have to a split or other forms of gymnastics?

7. Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered?
Alright, I'm torn on this one!  Being orange would be worse for me in terms of appearance, but tan lines mean that I got too much sun and may run an increased risk of skin cancer.  Maybe I can cover up the orange with something else?  Else wear light and breezy skirts and scarves all summer.

8. Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color?
Hair cut, for sure!  Hair will grow out and you can dress it up.  But a bad hair color?  There's nothing to do about it but wear a headwrap or hat.  Plus, if it clashes with your skin tone, what clothes and makeup will you wear??

9. Would you rather have youtube or twitter taken away forever?
Easy!  Twitter cause I don't tweet - I'm a cat not a bird.

10. Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara?
Likely makeup brushes because I loooove mascara and you can always use cream products without brushes.

Anyone else fancy doing this tag?  I tag you!

Moving Day!

We are moving!  And packing up everything but carry-able necessities, I started to think: what makeup items are "essential"?

Some girls adore mascara, some lipsticks, some eyeliners....

Perhaps I am boring, but as much as I love color (ah! sparkles and purple...girl, that is a beautiful combination!), my favorite essential is SUNSCREEN!

Now I wouldn't say I'm super pale, but let's just say that more than once it has happened that I have bought the lightest shade in foundation and concealer and found that it looked more like a bronzer!

And there are many things I will do for beauty, but messing up my skin for the future is not one of them.  Getting spots of any sort removed from your face is no fun matter and the scars are difficult to get rid of.  So my philosophy is to wear sunscreen now so that I don't have to wear foundation to cover up damage in the future.

Now, if I had to pick more than one item (like a genie?  You get three makeup items?), I would add concealer and a lip stain.

I love the idea of wearing just a bright lip or strong eye makeup with little other makeup on.  The reason I love it is that it's a fun illusion!  Cause all you're really wearing is a lot of confidence, and that looks fantastic!  The lipstick or eyeshadow is just a little sign that you decided to be extra confident today!

Girl, where have I been?

Two words for you: BEACH SPRAY

Also known as: "shake that sassy hair like a goddess" spray

Cause, wow, this spray makes you feel like one!

I tried a couple of hair recipes today: one for a detangler (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Spray-Detangler) and one for a beach spray.  The detangler looked awesome!  But when I made it, it ended up so thick that I couldn't get it out of the spray bottle!

But, wow, did the beach spray do wonders!  And, best of all, it's just a concoction of products that already work on my hair!  I used my favorite products to mix it up in a little spray bottle.  Check it out!

Here are the products that I used!  

My favorite wax, hair spray, oil, and leave-in conditioner.

Want to make your own?  Follow these proportions using your favorite hair products!

Sparkly quotes for women

I wanted to share with y'all a few quotes specifically for women - and specifically for days when chocolate seems to be the answer to an unknown question.

All from Pinterest!

Stay beautiful!

Flowers + Buns = How did it become so chic?

Now I love flowers and I love all sorts of hairstyles, but traditionally, buns are associated with older ladies and granny chic flowers are, as well.  But combining them, we get a boho, festival-style, summer bun wrap.  How crazy is that?!  It looks so fresh and young!

I've seen these around - but ya know, my first thought when I'm looking at accessories is, how do I make that?  (If you're in the store and you see a woman looking at the stitching on an accessory or the way wire jewelry is put together, come say hello!  That is likely me!)

So, here's my take on the classy and snazzy bun wrap:  Some fold over elastic and some flowers!  It looks cute with a tuck (the first photo) or with a traditional bun (the second photo).

Are you ready for summer?

A project long in the making and a few spur of the moment projects

Howdy!

Is it obscenely hot outside where you are?  A heat "wave" seems absurdly appropriate - it seems like it washed over us Southerners in a blast of a night.  We fell asleep in fleece and woke up to a burning sun.

I've been thinking of one project for months now - not that it was particularly complicated; I just did not ever feel like working on it.  And today, I was excited to get it done!  Here's the story: three years ago, we bought two office chairs (we thought they were the same!).  One of them still looks like it is new while the other (more comfy) chair appears to have started molting.   Yes, molting.  The chair flakes off pieces of the black covering anytime someone sits in it.  The result?  We are all walking around like spotted cheetahs with these little specks attached to our legs!  But the thing is, this chair is so much more comfortable than the other one... despite the fact that they looked alike.  So, I have made a cute little cover for it!  You know, since we can't give it lotion for its rough skin.... we can at least dress it up some so it doesn't feel bad.

It's a super simple quilt-like pattern on one side, and a soft fleece on the other.  I made straps that attach two per parallel side - you just tie them on the diagonal under the chair!  (erm - you'll can probably tell, but I'm a math person) :)  Math lovers unite!

So, then, I thought: ooh, I have a sewing machine and some pretty fabric, so I'll whip up some headbands and an infinity scarf!

I have to tell you the secret to all of these infinity scarves!  I have a lot of old skirts that are in gorgeous patterns but don't fit anymore.  Do you?  Cut out the waist of those bad boys and turns the rest into an infinity scarf!  Perfect for spring!  I think I may have more scarves than anything else at this point, but they really are like lip glosses.... you can never have too many!  I love making them and I am thrilled to wear them!

Happy Friday, everyone!

I'll leave you with a quote:

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude"

-Scott Hamilton