Makeup My World

As long as I can remember, makeup was never really part of my world. Yeah sure, I experimented with it as a teenager, but I always thought of it as a hassle; therefore, never made time for it. As I got a little older, I would buy makeup here and there. Maybe a some lip gloss here, some face powder there. Nothing really that could make a whole face up. It was pointless anyway. I had no clue how to apply makeup. No one had ever taught me and I never asked. Honestly, I never really cared. I had it in my mind that makeup was evil and girls only used it to make themselves more desirable or trashy. Either way, I believed that makeup took away from their natural beauty and that they were all fake. I was all about being oh nat-tu-ral. Plus, guys like it better when you didn't spend an hour or two in the bathroom getting ready. Especially the one I was dating in my early twenties. He liked that I would just throw my hair back and off we went. 

About 7 years ago, maybe a little longer, my ex-mother-in-law had asked me why I really don't wear makeup. She was always wearing makeup when out and about etc. She was and more than likely is still a beautiful women. I just told her makeup wasn't my style and I didn't see the point of it. She said to me, give it about 5 years or so, you'll understand more. I just looked at her like, "what?" Sadly, I now understand what she was saying. For many people, when you get older, your skin gets more washed out and not so fresh and dewy looking like it once was. Something makeup could give you back. Though, with that new knowledge, I didn't turn to makeup, I still thought it was a hassle and just didn't care how I looked. Actually, now that I think of it. I never really cared how I looked. Well, I did but I didn't. I like to blend in with the world and not stand out. I felt makeup help stand me out. Don't ask, I don't know, LOL! Low self esteem plays a huge part of my life. Anyway, it would be several years later that makeup finally made an appearance in my life.

I guess it was going on three years since I had left my ex-husband. I never did that "I'm a new woman" makeover after I left him. I was sick and tired of my looks. I needed a change. Nothing drastic, just something different. Unsure how to accomplish it, I did what any modern age person would do. I turned to the internet for help. God bless the internet!

I was browsing YouTube and on their homepage I noticed a video of a makeup tutorial. Out of curiosity, I clicked it and watched the magic of makeup stream before my eyes. I was mesmerized. It was a video from Panacea81. I must have watched all her videos that day. I enjoyed watching her apply eye makeup and just hear her talk. She is someone I could see myself being friends with in real life. She's just a great overall person and happy she is blessed with such success.

Later on, I searched for more beauty tutorials. I only watched videos that got tons of views and had good quality. I know that shuts out a good majority of beauty gurus, but I was looking to learn. I then stumbled upon MakeupGeekTV and fell in love with Marlena. She is exactly what I was looking for. She had the makeup 101's to advance, spoke clearly and explained techniques well. Her wonderful personality was a great bonus too.

I soon found other YouTube beauty gurus to watch and follow, but it wasn't until recently I wanted to see and know more. After watching a Petrilude video of how he learned how to apply makeup, I went out and got books to read. I don't plan on going anywhere with my new found passion. I just want to learn to better myself. If it takes me elsewhere, I will do my best to nurture that flower and bloom. For right now, I am just going to keep practicing, because God knows I need to, and watching the pros create their magic with a sweep of a brush.

Have I transformed/ had a makeover yet? Not quite, but I am hoping to soon. When I do decide to have my makeover, it will be everything "Me." I wouldn't want to be anyone else but me. The makeover I want to do is to make me feel better about myself and go beyond where I haven't gone before. I just want to try something new for my new journeys ahead.

(This totally should have gone up as one of my first blog posts. I just never got around to it. Not only that, but things have slightly changed since I created this blog.)

Double Fail Monday

Screenshot of ABCNews.com/Entertainment

First fail: Shame on Ashley Judd's Makeup artist for using light reflective powder to set her under eye contour makeup. Just because it says HD powder on it doesn't make it photo ready. Tsk! Tsk!

Second Fail: Fail on whomever posted this on ABCNews site and thought that Ashley didn't rub in her face makeup. They clearly have no clue what they are talking about.

Hit or Miss: Part 1

I know in the past I would review products and write a blog on them. Sometimes, I would make the blog as wordy as possible to make it an actual post rather than me saying "I liked it" or "I hate it." I figured for some of the products that I have tried and haven't written a review yet, I would do a Hit or Miss list with them. That way it's easier for me and gives you more things to see other than random rambles by me, haha! :D

I originally was going to do this with just Health & Beauty products, but then I thought, "why stop there?" So, in the future, I may add other things in my "Hit or Miss" blogs. Oh yeah, I am hoping to do a "Hit or Miss" series. Probably should have mentioned that first. I need sleep. I have been up all night, then again, I work night shift so it's natural for me. Anyway......

Urban Decay Primer Potion in a bottle

Let me just say that I love Urban Decay Primer Potion. I use it daily. I hate the bottle. Everyone who uses this knows the bottle design was a complete fail and ends up slicing it open to get the remaining product out. The bottle design is the only reason why this is a miss.

Urban Decay Primer Potion Tube

Two thumbs up for Urban Decay. They recently started putting their wonderful product in a more accessible container.

Two Faced First Base

Since we are on shadow/ eye make up primers, this is Two Face First Base. Now, Two Face has a primer potion just like Urban Decay and more than likely the same formula, but I wanted to try something different so I picked this up. I should have really looked at the product before buying it. I think I actually bought it online from Sephora. I can't recall. Anyway, this is shimmer hell. I am not a fan of frosty or overly shimmery things. This is just that, over the top shimmer. So, not for me.

Benefit High Beam

Ok, I know I just said I am not a fan of frost and shimmer yet I list this and it's nothing but frost and shimmer. There is a reason. I love using this to add highlight to my cheekbones, brow bone, to illuminate lightly all over for a dewy look etc. This is not over the top. I am sure it could be if you way over used it, but this for me is the right amount of shimmer I need where I want it. I currently have this in sample form, but a little goes a long way. Once it's out, yo better believe that I will be repurchasing this "super model in a model."

Rimmell London Max Volume
Mascara

My lashes need every little help they can get. I was not blessed with "look at me eyelashes." I heard several YouTube beauty gurus rave about this product. I thought, "well, it's not gonna break the bank if I buy it." So I tried it. I loved it. It did what it promised and what the gurus had said. Why is it in the miss category then? Good question. See, the thing is, it's great for wearing in short durations or instances that don't call for rising temperatures. I wore this to work one night. I'm a nurse and I am up and down all the time. I would say 3 hours or less into the shift, I went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. I noticed that my mascara was making itself known on place where it shouldn't have. After fixing that problem, I continued to work. By the time I got home, I think I about wore off the mascara on my face. I thought maybe I applied it too fast that night and tried it again the second night. Nope, same thing. I wanted to like it, but it lacks staying power.

Laura Mercier Caviar Eyeliner

I love, love, love this eyeliner. I use this the most out of all my eyeliners. It's well pigmented, it has the best staying power and stays put where it should. It's smuggable. It can be applied to be very clean looking. It can be messy. You name it, it can do it. I've been using this over a year. It lasts forever. I like the clean look this gives. I use my angled eyeliner brush from Sonia Kashuk, wet the brush, dip it in the product, and line my eyes. I cannot rave enough about this product.

Laura Mercier Camouflage Concealer

I have to admit, this is the only higher end concealer I have used and tried. The many concealers that I have used in the past were drugstore brands like Physicians Formula and one you will see next in this blog. I am not knocking PF, they are okay, but not great. Laura Mercier Camo on the other hand is great. It does exactly what it's suppose to....conceal. It even conceals the most stubborn spots and blends very well. I love the dual colors it offers. They work well together or separate.

Hard Candy Concealer Palette

I love that there are different color concealers in this palette. It makes it very versatile and easy to travel with. Sadly, this is nothing but a greasy, sheer pot of crap. Have you ever stuck your finger in shortening before? Well, this is what it felt like to me when I stuck my finger in it for the first time a couple weeks ago. Even though it felt greasy, I still gave it a try. When I applied it, it did nothing. How surprising. I knew something that greasy would be nothing but sheer. I read other reviews on it and people were saying you can build it up. What? Eeew! Why? Building up with this would cause nothing but creases. Ick. This is SO a miss for me.

L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle

When I first put this on it felt awesome. It just glided well all over my face. It is a light coverage foundation, but the color matched me well and felt like air on my skin. Then I looked into the mirror. I am plagued with dry skin. My T Zone is the damn Sierra Dessert. This stuff settles into my dry areas and looks like sand dunes on my dry skin. I wanted to love this, but my skin told me different.

CeraVe Face Cleanser and Lotion

I know the product looks so generic and unappealing, but my skin loves it. The facial cleanser helps reduce the redness/ rosacea on my cheeks and where ever redness decides to sneak up on me. It feels like lotion when applied and very gentle on my face. As for the lotion, it's gentle enough for my face and strong enough for my body. I love it. It gives just the right amount of moisture needed everywhere and doesn't feel like grease on my face or anywhere else. I've been using this well over a year and really can tell a difference in my skin, mainly my face. I have tried more expensive products and they never gave me the result this has.

Well, that's it for this round of "Hit or Miss." It's bed time for me. I hope you all enjoyed my reviews. Remember, everyone is different so not everyone is going to have the same effect. These are my opinions and mine alone. I am not affiliated with any companies mentioned. I bought everything with my own hard earn cash.

Have a great day y'all!

Blog Makeover

As you can see, I changed from the simple white background and added some color and design to the blog. Basically this is in hope of me trying to become more active here since I really have been ignoring it since I started. Also, I will be doing my very own self makeover soon. So, I thought, why not do one here too.

Come May, I am hoping to get a great hair cut, dye job and highlights. May not go too much all out. I will see though. I know I am wanting a change just to see how it looks. If all fails, it will fade in time and I can go back being same old boring me. I figure I will post ideas of hair cuts, colors, highlights etc here just to jot down ideas for myself and anyone else who is bored.

Well, besides the blog makeover and my self makeover, I have other things I am going to soon blog about. I am hoping to pick up those items over the weekend if I make it into the city. Grrrr.....hate living so far from civilization. Takes a little over an hour and a half to get to a Target or any other decent store for that matter. I thought when I lived in Virginia I was isolated. WTF was I thinking then? At least there I had several Wal-Marts, Targets and other stores to choose from. See, this is what you get for complaining, haha!

Anyway, hopefully this blog makeover will actually make me want to come here more often and finally get this thing off the ground somewhat. Keeping my fingers crossed.