Make-Up Tip Monday....on Tuesday!

A big apology goes out to you all for not having this posted yesterday....instead of blogging I was posted up in bed all day long with a very uncomfortable stomach bug. I wish it on no one! But on with the good stuff!!

I was glad to hear that you all enjoyed the post last week and decided that I should continue. I didn't receive any questions last week, so I'm going to continue our discussion on skin for just one more week. And then I will move on to the juicy stuff!

Last week we discussed preparing the face for make-up. Cleansing, moisturizing, and priming the skin are three very important things that need to be done before you apply make-up. Before we get started on the foundation, I want to talk a little more about the skin. Everyone has a different skin type, which means everyone will have a different ritual before make-up application and everyone will wear different make-up types.

To choose the proper foundation, one needs to determine the right skin type.

Normal Skin Type: In normal skin, the oil glands produce sebum at a moderate rate, resulting in a balanced state, not too oily and not too dry. Normal skin looks consistently plump, moist, and vibrant. This skin type has the privilege of being able to wear any and most make-up.

Dry Skin Type: Dry skin is caused by under or inactive oil glands that do not produce enough sebum to keep the skin naturally lubricated. It usually has a dull appearance, feels dry and itchy and is sometimes sensitive. This skin type must stay away from anything to drying when it comes to foundation, but has the privilege of being able to wear make-up with natural oils in them.

Combination Skin Type: Most people have at least two different types of facial skin at any given time. The combination of skin is frequently characterized by an oily "T-zone" (forehead, nose, and chin) with the skin around the cheeks, eyes, and mouth tend to be dry to normal.

Dehydrated Skin Type: This is the most misdiagnosed type of skin. Most people feel they have dry skin, because it is flaky. Having flaky skin is the biggest characteristic of dehydrated skin. It is a build up of sebum that usually occurs around the nasal folds or cheeks. This just means that you need to drink more water! This problem can be treated with a prescription of 8 glasses of water a day and continuing a good regiment of cleansing and moisturizing.

Oily Skin Type: Oily skin is cause by overactive oil glands. Too much sebum is produced, resulting in skin that is greasy and has a wet appearance. Oily skin types are prone to develop acne and clogged pores. Despite these drawbacks, oily skin generally remains younger looking over time. My secret tip for dealing with oily skin is to treat it with more oil. Most oily skin types choose to cleanse their skin with anything and everything that will strip the oil from their faces and steer clear of products with oil. So here's the secret, what does oil repel? Water, right? So why would you cleanse your face with a water based product? I have found that that using a regiment of Cleanse Off Oil and Green Gel Cleanser has proved to keep oily skin in check.













A few pumps of the Cleanse Off Oil mixed with a little bit of water, carefully mix together and begin to work over the face just like a normal cleanser. Rinse with water and then dry face with a towel. Alternate this with the Green Gel Cleanser, using one on day one and the other on day two. You might find you like one better than the other, which is definitely ok! Remember you can always stop by your nearest M.A.C. counter and ask for a sample and talk to there artist for more information.

Here are the product descriptions from maccosmetics.com:

Cleanse Off Oil
An industry-strength oil-based makeup remover that's gentle on the skin. Botanically formulated with oils of olive fruit, evening primrose and jojoba seed and absolutely 100 percent mineral-oil free. Massages onto the skin to loosen all makeup, including waterproof mascara. Emulsifies into a lotion-type liquid with water: rinses off easily, no tissues required - and no residue! Protects with vitamin E. Skin softening and conditioning. Good for all skin types.

Green Gel Cleanser
Fresh, vibrant, skin-tingling cleanser with refreshing extracts of cucumber and algae. Full-on foam, yet delightfully soap-free. Conditions, nourishes and hydrates leaving skin clean, clear, smooth and protected. For a blast of freshness for the skin; just activate with water.

Now you have the basics for learning about your skin. I know its not the most fun topic, but it is kind of like having to learn the alphabet before you can learn to read. You have to know the building blocks. I hope you find this post helpful and I would love to hear what you think. If there is anything you need to know about make-up or your skin, don't hesitate to ask. If I don't have the answer, I will find someone that will!! Happy reading and enjoy your week!

Such a Lovely Homecoming!

Sorry for the lapse in posts....life has been a little hectic since my return to Florida. My trip home was fantastic. I was able to spend 10 full days at home with my parents, which I haven't done since the summer after my freshman year in college. It was a chance for me to relax, veg, not worry about school and pretty much be a kid again. My mom and I had a great time sight-seeing and crafting, even though we didn't get as much done as we would have liked. Here are a few pictures of my last days in TX:

We went downtown to have dinner and drinks and had a great time. My parents are so stylish...Dad isn't afraid to wear pink and Mom and I both love damask!!





















My mom and I went out for a day and piddled around town. We stopped a cute little shop called the Trading Post and saw some great things at ridiculous prices. The first three pictures are thing that I would love to have to decorate the house I do NOT have. The last picture of the sign is a little play off something Little Miss Sarah said before the election in November. Thought it was cute, but doesn't pertain to me seeing as I don't have an children! Ha!











We visited the Cupcake Cottage!!! TWICE :) If you live in the Fort Worth area, look it up. A-MA-ZING! My favorite were the almond poppyseed with buttercream icing!













We went to the Apple Store. I'm addicted.

And....we went to the Fort Worth Running Shop! My mom is wonderful and bought me a new pair of running shoes for my new adventure. Its so nice to be spoiled every once in a while. These are the shoes I got. Apparently, Michelle, the winner of last season's Biggest Loser is from that area and got the exact same pair of running shoes from the exact same store a few months earlier!!









I definitely wasn't looking for anything cute, but just something that was comfortable and helped my running. I was lucky enough to find these after trying on about 6 pairs of shoes and they are amazing. I've only run in them once, but I can already tell a difference in the way my shins feel after running.





I had such a great time in Texas, but I was very glad to get back to Florida! I missed J and his family and being in a routine. When I arrived home from the airport I was greeted with a bunch of lovely stuff in the mail! I haven't had a chance to let you all know, but I won my first giveaway! I was so excited!!! I won the Best of the Midwest....the giveaway done by two of my blog friends!! Read here about the giveaway! I won Lisa's gift and absolutely loved it. I am still enjoying all the little goodies :) Thanks Lisa!!


Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to check out the giveaways at ~*Sweet Tea Diaries*~

Spring Cleaning....or maybe a little MAKEOVER!

just a quick post.....Sweet Tea Diaries has done it again....hosting a great giveaway. She is giving away a blog makeover session from The Blog Fairy. Check it out!

Make-Up Tip Monday!

Hello all! I thought I would do a little something different. I am going to start two post during the week, Make-Up Tip Monday and Featured Friday! I will tell you more about Featured Friday in a little bit, right now I want to let you know about my new Monday fun. I worked as a make-up artist at M.A.C. cosmetics for 2 years and fell in love with the industry. I have currently been doing freelance work at weddings, photo shoots, and special events. I thought I might take my knowledge and help any of you that had questions or wanted to learn a little bit more about make-up application and your face! Since I haven't been able to get any questions from you all, I'm going to start with my first post and hopefully the inquiries will follow!

The topic of today's Make-Up Tip Monday is skin! Before you ever place make-up on your face, whether it is a heavy application or just getting ready for a day at the beach, you have to prep the skin. The skin is composed of 3 layers. The visible layer is the epidermis, which does not have a blood supply. This means it relies on the next sub-layer called the dermis. The dermis contains collagen, nerve endings, blood vessels, and oil and sweat glands. The collagen in the dermis gives structure to the skin, and provides the infrastructure for elastin and hyaluronic acid to be retained. Elastin is responsible for the skin's elasticity and the hyaluronic acid retains moisture. More collagen in the dermis enables more elastin and hyaluronic acid to be present. The subcutaneous layer is made up mostly of fat which provides warmth and absorbs shock.

It is very important to take care of your skin. Use the proper steps to cleanse, moisturize, and protect your skin, on your body and especially on your face! Always use an SPF before your make-up. A lot of the time, the SPF in your foundation isn't enough.

This is a picture of a young girl who wanted to see her sun damage. When you're younger, the effects of the sun aren't visible to the naked eye. Add an ultraviolet light and the image on the right is what you see. All the freckle-like spots are the sun damage that is irreversible. You must protect your face!

A few products that I am very fond of are:

This is a very affordable scrub that comes in a variety of, what I like to call, flavors. There are different levels of scrubs based on your need. You should not exfoliate every day with an intense scrub. If it is a fine-granule scrub, you can use it every other day. If it is more coarse, you can exfoliate every two or three days.

This is a very light-weight moisturizer from Neutrogena with an SPF of 20. For those of you worried about wrinkles, it is an anti-wrinkle cream. It contains retinol and antioxidants, making it an affordable preventative and repairing moisturizer.

Things you want to stay away from:

- "cleansing" sets. If you are struggling with acne or breakouts, a set is great, because your face is out of balance. Use something like Proactive. But if your skin is pretty blemish-free, stick with a cleanser and a moisturizer. Having to use a toner, means your cleanser isn't pH balanced and when you use it, it messes with the pH balance of your skin. The toner is used to bring your skin back to a pH that is in an equilibrium state.

- cleansers that suds! I know that getting a good suds makes you feel like you're getting a good cleanin', but that means it has a detergent in the cleanser and it is drying your face out and doing some not so happy things to your skin!

Last but not least, my official tip of the day! Use a primer after you cleanse and moisturize your face, and before you apply any make-up. My favorite primer is M.A.C.'s Prep and Prime Skin, without SPF.

This product is silicon base with caffeine and green tea extracts. Its purpose is to be a barrier between your face and your make-up. Prep and Prime holds your moisturizer in your face and prevents excess moisture-loss. The silicon allows for a smooth feel that fills in fine lines and wrinkles so your make-up won't settle in those little crevasses. The silicon also helps with make-up removal, because it doesn't allow your face to absorb the make-up. Prep and Prime gives you a longer day wear in your make-up and allows you to use less product!! The neatest thing is the caffeine and green tea extracts fight redness in the skin. Another reason you don't have to use as much product, because you are not fighting to even out and cover up unwanted discoloration on the face.

This product can be worn with or without make-up over it. I love how it makes the skin feel and how it evens out the skin tone. If you want to try a little, hop over to your nearest MAC counter and ask for a sample.

And there you have it...our first Make-Up Tip Monday! I hope you find this information helpful and please let me know what you think! I need more topics to write on, so let me know what you need help with....please!!!!

Have a great week....only 4 more days until the weekend! God Bless!

Drum roll please.....

So after hearing all your suggestions and pleas to not cut my hair here's the end product!!

Before

Please excuse the sucker....I had to have something to keep my mind off what was about to happen!

I had about a million little ponytails all over my head. The average person's hair would have about two or three and I had seven or eight.

And then it began....

Gotta have a sense of humor!

After

The final product! This is after my first wash and straighten. You never know how its going to really look until after you do it yourself.


















These were the inspiration! Katherine at Just Lovely suggested the picture of Sophia Bush on the right and I found the picture on the left. A great combination because I have curly hair and can wear it both ways.

So all in all it wasn't too traumatic! I still can't believe I cut a foot plus of hair off, but it was all for a great cause. I also found out about a new program while getting my hair cut. It is a program to help with oil spills....There are over 2,600 oil spills a year and it has been found that hair and fur are the most absorbent when it comes to cleaning up oil. A group of very smart people started taking hair clippings from salons and turning them into hair mats to be used at an oil spill. The mats are then sent to a farm where a certain kind of mushroom fees off the oil in the hair mats and removes it. Using this cycle, the mats can be used up to 16 times!!! The salon I was at participates in this great program and so should yours!!! The link to the website is here

Matter of Trust

Check it out and get your salon involved!!!

Thanks again for all your suggestions! Have a great Saturday :)

Don't you just hate when this happens.....

...just another reason for me to get a hair cut!!

On to other business:

I WANT TO BE A RUNNER!!

I want to get back in shape. I feel like I've just let things go and its all moving downhill. Yuck!! So I've been doing a little research oh how I can get myself into shape and how to become an amateur race runner! I've looked at a few 5K's around my area and I think I've narrowed it down.

Jim Payne Blue Ribbon 5k Run for Kids House

I'm so excited. I haven't signed up yet, because I want to make sure I can get a few weeks of running under my belt. I get back into Florida on the 25th and I will start then. (I'd start now, but I didn't bring anything in the form of a running shoe with me.) I will have 7 and a half weeks to prepare. I'm not completely out of shape, but I have never been able to run long distances. So this is the plan....I'm trying to find a running program that works for me. I'm going to start my running and I want you to keep me accountable. I want to finish this and start a new chapter! I've prayed about it and God's all for it! :)

My goals for running are:
-Finish my first 5K
-Lose 15 lbs
-Feel better in my own skin
-Find a new hobby :)

I want to add a weight and mileage tracker on my page....does anyone know where I can find that?

Have a great day!

Happy St.....what was that again??

oh yeah....ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! Such a lovely day to wear my favorite color....thank goodness I accidentally packed a little green shirt in my suitcase. And on to business....I have so much to say and so little time.

I would like to start out by saying that J is such a sweetheart. As you all know, I am in longhorn country visiting my family and J is back in the sunshine state. Last night while I was sleeping, he sent me the sweetest text message letting me know how much he misses me and loves me. It is always so nice to feel missed and loved :) It just warmed my heart.

Next, I LOVE TARGET! I should probably own stock in it. My mom and I went on a mission to try on the new maxi dresses that are so hot and found some great things along the way. And of course I whipped my camera out and started taking pictures :)


This was my favorite of all my pictures....the cutest pig watering can!! I wish I had a garden to water :)

On we go....as I posted earlier... the countdown to the big CHOP!!

I'm cutting the hair and I need some advice. I cannot decide how to cut my hair. I have been growing it out to donate it to Locks of Love or Beautiful Lengths and I'm ready to do it, but I'm extremely nervous. I know I'm doing it for a good cause, but my hair has become my security blanket. This is where I need your help.....I need to decide how short I should go and what style I should do.

Here's a little about my hair:
-it's thick. I mean if you are blindfolded and you have a real horsetail in one hand and my ponytail in the other, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

-it's coarse. One strand of my hair equals about 5 strands of normal hair.

-its curly. Once its wet it has a mind of its own. Ringlets in the back and wavy everywhere else. I love to wear it curly so I need a style that goes both ways.

-there are about six different colors in there! I've never dyed my hair, but it definitely looks like I do. It bleaches out in the sun, so I'm expecting it to become a lot more blonde due to the fact that I live in Florida.


This is a picture from about 6 months ago, at a football game with some of my best friends! I miss them so much. The hair is about 4 or 5 inches longer now. This is the only picture that I could find that showed most of the length and the color.

So there you have it. The details...and now I need your help. Help me find a style and not just something straight and blah. I need so spunk and I need to learn how to do something new :)

Have a great holiday and can't wait to hear your ideas!

I'm leaving on a Jet Plane!!

So I lied....I thought I would be in Texas by now, but I was a little confused on my arrival times! Eek. Right now I'm sitting in the airport at my terminal and could think of nothing better to do than post a blog :)

A few things to report....Mrs. Smith and Lisa are doing one of the most fun give-aways every!! They are high school friends that have decided to do this together! Please make sure to check out their pages.... Post Smith and Like a Valentine

This is just a little tid-bit of what they're doing...THE BEST OF THE MIDWEST!!! Woo Hoo!!


Now to the fun stuff...I need to vent a little bit about airport....especially the one I'm in right now. Lately I have been used to flying in and out of smaller more local airports. Right now I'm flying out of a large metro airport and its sooo much different. These are three things I could live without at airports.....

1. Cab Drivers.....those suckers drive like bats outta you know where....gracious!
2. Snotty flight attendants that think they own the airport. I'm standing in line to purchase my one and only soda for the week (I gave it up for Lent...and you know Sunday you should feast!!) and two flight attendants thought it would be ok to just slip right in front of me without asking, saying thank you, or even acknowledge the fact that I was in line first! Arg.
3. Broke-down terminals....just take a look at the pictures:




I know they need to remodel...but seriously? I don't know how safe it is to use a disposable pie pan for a sprinkler system!!!

Sorry for the rant! Just thought it was interesting. Time to power down, spread my wings, and FLY!!

God Bless!

Hook em' Horns!

....just wanted to let you know I will be heading to spend 10 glorious days in the great state of Texas...home of big hair, sweet tea, and bible-beatin' beauties!!! I'm headed to visit my parents, whom I haven't seen since Christmas. But don't worry....my computer is making the trip with me and I will continue to post and update while I'm there.

A little preview for the week:
-Countdown to the big CHOP
-Cupcakes in a fLaSh
-To swim or not to swim?

Have a great day of rest and next time you hear from me...I'll be livin' large and lovin' life!

Ride em' cowboy!

Deja Vu...

...didn't we just have a Friday the 13th last month? Oh, wait, we did! Lets hope this month turns out as lucky as last month! I don't necessarily have the best of luck with Friday the 13th....a couple of years ago I actually wrecked my White Beauty, and its all been down hill since then. Until now!

This is NOT a picture of my car, but it did kind of look like this. It wasn't one of my proudest moments :(

But moving on....

One of my new blogging friends has tagged me in her most recent post! Yeah! My first blog award!

~*Sweet Tea Diaries*~

is a blog that I read religiously along with a few others. Check it out if you get a chance!!

What I've been tagged to do is to reveal 10 Not So Cute Things about myself....if I admit to these things, then that makes them real, right? :) While I am a little hesitant to let you in on my bad habits and unattractive quirks, I'm going to bite the bullet and go for it!

So here we go:
1. I brush my teeth with my eyes closed. I kinda have a phobia of watching others, or myself, in the mirror for that matter, brush their teeth. It makes my mouth twitch uncontrollably.
2. I'm a procrastinator.....as organized as I am and as time-conscious I try to be, I put most everything off to the last minute. It's when I do my best work....HA!
3. My bedroom is a mess...I clean it and the nest minute its a wreck. I think there are little clutter fairies living under my bed that can detect a clean room!
4. I hate doing laundry. When I lived in my apartment by myself, I would go a month without doing laundry.
5. I have a problem with not returning phone calls. For some reason, I think, if they don't leave a voicemail, it wasn't that important.
6. I have IAD.....Internet addiction disorder. I love my laptop!
7. I rock a hair-do for as long as possible....meaning I only wash my hair about once a week. The cycle is....wash, dry, straighten, wear it straight for a few days, half-back a few days or with a headband, and then the lovely ponytail! And then it starts all over!
8. I spend 90% of my day in my pjs.....I don't have a job and I study all day, so why put on a cute little sundress and make-up when no one is going to see it.
9. I hate eating healthy.......but if I didn't, I would blossom into Moby Dick's wife! Gotta love those genes.
10. I am a bi-polar shopper.....one minute I can be the most frugal, money conscious consumer and the next minute I'm splurging on things I absolutely do not need!

These are just a few of my not so cute qualities :) Now I want to hear from you! Let me know if you can top my 10!
1. Mrs. Smith at Post Smith
2. Katie at Such a Loverly Life...
3. Lisa at Like a Valentine
4. Ashley at The Happy Little Home
5. La vie est belle! at Southern Bride

Happy Blogging!

Introducing...

...with love apparel

My very old friend from high school has recently decided to display her craft on Etsy. Since a lot of the blogs I read are from moms-to-be, I thought you might be interested in this little gem.

...with love apparel

This shop has some of the cutest outfits, hats, and blankets from everyday wear that I have ever seen. Located out of Lakeland, Florida, the designer and fabricator of these great outfits does all her own work and couples it with lots of love and tender care. she even takes custom orders!! Her work is crafty, yet stylish. What a great way to make your little one stand out!

Here are a few pictures of my favorite outfits....one of these days I will have a little one of my own to dress up in these great items!!





















I hope you enjoy and find lots of things you can't live without! Good luck shopping and if you have any questions, just let me know!!