Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Get Your Face On!

So there was this party called Get Your Face On.  I read about it here and then it linked to here.  I read about it on the date the party was actually supposed to happen, so I obviously didn't make the deadline.  However, I liked the idea so much I decided to have my own party.  So here's me getting my face on.  Now, my dear friends, it's your turn.  Post it on your blog, link it back to this post and leave a comment so I can see yours too.  I've decided to have a giveaway to get people interested in doing this too (see below.) I don't always have personal entries on my blog, but I hope to add more do-it-yourself type entries as well.  I wear make-up when I go to work, sometimes when I go to church and occasionally on days off.  I like to let my skin rest so I don't wear it every day. So here goes:

My before and after shots (some of the coloring is due to lighting, but I took the shots from the same place in my bathroom):

How I do it.  These are my make-up brushes.  I've labeled them so I can reference them by number later.  This set of brushes came with my starter kit from Simply Karen.  It is a mineral make-up company.  I purchased their Allure Collection to get started.  It came with everything but lip products.  Now you'll see as I go through this that not all my make-up is mineral make-up.   
  
1) Foundation Buffer Brush
2) Perfect Coverage Concealer Brush
3) Multipurpose Powder Brush
4) Dual Ended Shadow & Blender Brush (large side)
5) Dual Ended Shadow & Blender Brush (small side)
   
So I start by applying my foundation (right) all over my face with brush #1.  I gather enough foundation on my brush, tap off the extra and apply all over.  Then I use brush #2 to apply a slightly yellower foundation (mineral foundation) around my eyes, alongside my nose and on any blemishes I might have.  

Next I apply blush (left) with brush #3.  You can see there are chunks of blush in the container.  Before I used the mineral I was using another blush which broke, so I put it into the top of the mineral container.  I keep cotton balls in each container to prevent spilling.  Most of the blush I actually use is mineral residue still on the cotton ball.  I tap it into the lid and swirl the brush around the lid, tap to remove excess and apply along my cheek bones. 

After my blush, I move up to my eyes.  I first use eye liner.  My current product is from Yves Rocher and is green.  Since it is green, I am using green shadow, too. The green really makes my eyes look green too.  I line the top almost all the way and try to get a little off to the side.  Then, I line the bottom about halfway.  I use my little finger to smudge or the smudger on pencil to blend the lines so they aren't too harsh.

Next I apply (with brush #4) a light eyeshadow all over my eye lids.  If I want to highlight the arch on my eyebrows, then I will use a very light (white, silver, cream) color right below the brow.  Then I apply a darker shadow (with brush #5) diagonally from the inside corner of my eye to the outer edge of my eye brow and then straight down to my crease.   I also use whatever is left on brush #5 and follow my eye liner (top and bottom) to seal my eye liner, which prevents smudging.  I finish off with mascara on top and bottom lashes.  I only apply one coat for daytime, however I will add a second coat if I am going out or dressing up.  I prefer smudge-proof over waterproof.

Lastly, I line my lips and fill them in with color.  I like darker cool colors on my lips.  I always keep a tube of lipstick in my purse.  Currently I line my lips with Artistry's Wine Liner.  My lipstick in my make-up box is Lancome and in my purse is L'Oreal.

Are you ready to "Get Your Face On?"  I am having a give-away.  This give-away goes until 3/31.  So you have until then to do any of these things.  I'll hold the drawing the beginning of April.  I don't have the exact prize picked out yet, but it will be make-up.  Good luck!  If you are a boy, you are more than welcome, to still post photos of your routine.  Here are the rules:



Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sink Bath

When the boys were babies I often bathed them in the sink or bathed with them in the tub.  I am not sure how much they enjoyed it.  Sam loves to take a bath and will often jump in the shower with anyone willing (or even not so willing) to allow him to join.  He even gets upset if we weren't planning on bathing and he wants to.  He doesn't like to be cleaned with soap or shampoo.  He just really enjoys playing in the water.  He often plays in the sink with the water washing his hands, filling up cups and pouring them out, typical toddler/preschooler water play.  Today, we heard Sam in the bathroom giggling and making all sorts of noise.    We were so surprised to find him like this:

Silly Sam!!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Braces


Joshua went to the orthodontist today and got braces.  He chose green and gold for St Patty's Day.  His next appointment is right after so it was fitting to have those colors now.  He is so excited to get braces.

How rude!

I came out to my car this morning and saw the front passenger door was unlocked and slightly opened.  I guess it was left unlocked last night.  Any way, the would-be thief stole my Sandisk Sansa mp3 player full of conference, church, other religious, and downright awesome music (but it needed to be charged,) $2 that belongs to my kids from recycling cans, and a shiny blue small notebook we use to track car repairs, gas mileage, etc.  Sounds like a kid got into my car and took stuff.  Bad kid.  I filed a police report, but nothing will probably come of it.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Interview

It's official:  I have a new friend.  I was interviewed by my friend and author Sarah M Eden.  Check out the interview here.  She is having a contest on her site, so you'll need to leave a comment.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Canning & Year's Supply.

Lately I have been canning.  My parents got me a pressure canner for Christmas because Katie Forsberg taught 2 canning classes at church and got me excited about canning.  I always wanted to learn.  My friend Madeline used to do it all the time, but I thought it was this horrible process.  I suppose it could be if you have to cut up a bunch of fruit and spend all day doing it.  But I haven't had that experience yet so for me it is very easy, refreshing, exciting and rewarding.  Since Christmas I have canned beans, ground beef, chicken (twice,) made my own spaghetti sauce and canned it, and am planning to do another batch of ground beef tonight.  Joe loves how easy it is to have prepared meats available to use.  No worry about freezer burn or food spoilage.  I love it!!  I want to make some fruit juice jelly next.
Also I have been working on our year's supply.  I highly recommend using this site and signing up for their baby steps.  I am a little behind but I am in the process of assembling our 72-hour kits.  Joe has also made me a can rotation shelf for the kitchen island and I am excited to use it.  The plans were off this site too, but since Joe has awesome carpenter skills, he made a custom one that would fit our shelves (length and height.)
So canning is actually helping us build our year's supply even more.  I can about 6-7 quart jars at a time and we maybe use 1 or 2 per week (total.)