It may seem a bit weird but I find a lot of psychological satisfaction from plucking my eyebrows. It’s a little thing really but does wonders at calming me down sometimes if I get a little riled up by work stuff or personal stuff or whatever. There’s other beautifying rituals I have in my life that not only make look better but also feel better and don’t require much time or effort. Painting my nails, putting on a little makeup, wearing a pretty top that compliments my skin tone – all sorts of wonderful little pick-me-ups I can benefit from. Beauty is more than just creating a pleasing surface to look at I think, or glamming it up for a special occasion – it’s found in the every day and can easily make you feel good about yourself when you look deeper.

What are your favorite beautifying rituals? How do they make you feel more than just a pretty face to behold?

Hello Lovelies :) Just a short post today about expressing and spotlighting the one-of-a-kind qualities of loveliness that you possess. One of the best ways to identify a true Hot Girl is how she rocks her own look and feels comfortable in her own skin.

In order to really exude that confidence it’s important to choose makeup and beauty bling that doesn’t just cover you up but allows as much of your gorgeousness to shine thru.

I recently celebrated my muse and bff’s (best fabulous femme) (more…)

Lately I wonder – Is my skin maturing yet? Up close?

It’s been a couple years since my milestone 30th birthday. At the time of it I tried real hard not to freak out over all the doom and gloom that “it all goes downhill” and instead took comfort in my naturally youthful feature’s longevity.

Yet, a seed of doubt was planted back then, I must admit. Now I’m scrutinizing moisturizers and trying not to squint so damn much in a day lest my face all come crumbling down overnight or something horrid.

And really – it isn’t all that bad in reality. It’s really a beautiful time to live in now! There’s bucketloads of amazing youthful retaining products plus tons of research validating all those years I spent OUT of the sun.

Yep my mid 30’s look and feel just fine. Hell 40 looks pretty sunny even!

Meanwhile my photo collection of hot old chicks is growing and giving me plenty of beautiful inspiration for when the laugh lines and crows feet get just a bit more deep.

Character AND Beauty…nice!

photo credit: galaxies and hurricanes

Since I’m up to my eyeballs in “other” work projects (yes that’s right it’s not all glamor & fashion) here’s another review for ya. I created the makeup design pictured above w/ the cheap as hell “White” eyeliner pencil from Wet n Wild. Girls, I tell ya, their pencils are a must for your beauty kits since they work beautifully and don’t cost bunches. Come on we’re still in a recession right? You don’t have to blow all that hard earned cash on pricey department store eye makeup mkay? Let me save you from yourself and those creepy ladies who work the cosmetics counter. Pick these up instead at the drugstore down the street…or whatever. My suggestions? Gray is a gorgeous neutral and white is wonderfully thick making it great for fantasy details or brightening up the inner corner. And sure black is a basic.

Happy Beauty Making! Feel free to comment below and make fun of my photo ;) lol.

photo credit: Jacklyn DL

Probably more than any other type of makeup, how you work your foundation can make or break your beauty look. Here’s some tips for getting it right.

DO’s
-Do spend a little extra on a good foundation – lipsticks come and go but foundation should be high quality, make you look fabulous, and last as long as possible.
-Do check ingredients – just because it says “Oil Free” doesn’t necessarily mean it is completely free of oil unfortunately.
-Do read reviews, check out recommendations, and ask the pro’s at the makeup counter for advice and assistance in getting the right tone.
-Do let your moisturizer soak in before applying – that way it won’t get all streaky.
-Do apply mineral foundation to your eyelids to prevent your eye shadow from creasing.

DON’TS
-Don’t forget to blend, blend, blend! This includes passed your jawline and along your neck so you don’t get that nasty tide mark.
-Don’t apply foundation to your hand when shopping for the right shade. Your hands are rarely the same color as your face. Check directly on your face instead.
-Don’t just check your makeup in bathroom mirror light & go – bite the bullet and look at your made up face in NATURAL LIGHT so you don’t end up looking a fool.
-Don’t let product and bacteria build up on your brushes – wash them out regularly especially if you have a tendency to break out.
-Don’t take it all too seriously – educate yourself but have fun with it.

Alright, hope that helps you stay beautiful ;) Got any beauty questions or tips? Feel free to share them in the comments below!

Happy Pretty Making!

photo credit: Lil Larkie

Since I just got back from Florida, a land of sun and surf I thought I would give all you gorgeous girls the rundown on mascara. And what does mascara have to do with the sunshine state? Well ladies…first lemme explain with a great rule of thumb:

Remember W is for Wise…not just Waterproof:
So choose your mascara wisely and apply your daily coat accordingly. Why? Here’s the lowdown: the ingredients in waterproof formulations make it particularly tricky to remove at the end of a glam day. This means you’ll mostly likely be tugging, pulling, and vigorously rubbing at your eyeballs just to get this stuff off of them. Later on this can mean you lose way more of that lovely fringe than you’d like to. Instead go for non waterproof formulas. Trust me unless you’re a big cry baby there really isn’t much running and smearing going on each day.
If you must go the waterproof route use it VERY infrequently. Actually I decided to break the no-waterproof rule during this recent trip to FL. My reason being I planned on jumping into the ocean with a cute guy and would rather not have any runny peepers. Afterword, to get this clingy type of goo of my delicate little lashes I baby *oiled the crap out of them making sure to be as gentle as possible in the process (NOTE: *mineral oil is fabulous for removing stubborn makeup). Then I went back to my usual non swimming pretty routine with daily non-waterproof mascara to keep my lashes intact.

Drugstore vs. Department Store
Where to shop for the best brands is the next small challenge. I gotta confess I’m biased towards drugstores, mostly because I know it makes sense. You can stay beautifully on budget by forgoing the the cosmetics counter in purchasing this particular beauty product. Mascara is something drugstores have an awesome selection of. You should save your hard earned dollface dollars for foundation, brushes, and color at MAC, Bobbie Brown, or otherwise. Cheap is beautiful okay? Just because it’s $20 and vibrates doesn’t mean it’ll coat those lashes any more amazingly than just grabbing that $6 tube while you get groceries. My choice for last weeks vacation? Maybelline The Colossal Volum’ Express in a happy bright yellow tube.

Spidery or sweet? You choose!
To coat both top and bottom lashes or not? That is the question! I love big fluffy spidery eyes myself so I coat both. If you do too you might want to change it up by coating just the top lashes sometimes – you might find doing so can give your eyes a girlish and classically retro sort of look to your overall makeup design. This might also be a better strategy to minimize losing any lashes should you choose to be a beauty badass and go for waterproofing them for those watery events like funerals and swim dates.

Speaking of application what’s your mascara application strategy? Go ahead and answer this week’s pretty little question: Do you apply mascara to both your upper and lower lashes or just the top? Why? Leave your comment below, I’d love to hear about it.

Until next time and Happy Pretty Making!

Ok kids! First I want to apologize for my lack of posting the last week or so. Things are busy here in the really real world and I’m making some changes. Rest assured there is still awesomeness to be had here (& elsewhere with the 365daygirl project) and I LOVE for you to be a part of it.

So today, with this #makeupmonday I want to ask you a couple things :) If you will indulge me. That means it’s quiz time…er poll taking time! Woot! So please take a minute (or less actually) and check off your answers below.

Thank you so much for answering and commenting – it really helps me make this blog & the 365daygirl project good for you and an enjoyable experience :) Keep your eye out for the changes and more great content to come :)

Keep it Really Real!

Let me take a moment to get a little personal…

I used to be pathetic at doing my makeup.

Absolutely.

Totally,

And stupidly inept at applying cosmetics to my face in a beautiful and pleasing way. (*Here’s an interesting fact: the word “cosmetics” comes from the Greek word for “order”. Which was totally antithetical to my first newbie designs of course :P)

But I still loved playing with it and would do so every chance I got. I blame this fascination with the magic of makeup on my dad. Yes, my dad. No, he didn’t dress in drag nor was he a circus freak. He just loved Halloween…and theatre :) And I loved watching him transform.

Meanwhile my mother just used the standard neutral toned, basic cover up and color of a busy working woman. Concealer, brown brow pencil, that sort of thing. Not particularly imaginative but functional and easy to put on everyday.

My dad’s makeup was “special” so he would put it high up on a shelf in my parents bedroom closet. Meanwhile my mother’s daily beauty products were easily pilfered just by going into the bathroom and rummaging through cupboards. So being the enterprising pre-glamorgoddess girl I was I snatched up her lipstick and pencils and commenced to make a very bad attempt at “drawing” beauty on myself before the living room mirror.

A minute later my dad spotted this cosmetic horror and yelled at me, saying “Little girls aren’t supposed to wear makeup!”

He was right…mostly cause I made a huge mess of my face.

I kept at it though – and even contemplated a career of makeup artistry. Would that I wasn’t also simultaneously obsessed with other things (travel, socializing, fashion, writing, spazzing out) I just might have made that a reality. As it is I’ve made a nice pastime out of fantasy makeup and even made a few lovely tweaks to my daily makeup routine.

What’s my point here? Have fun with your designs – explore color, shapes, lines, etc. Make it a fun ritual for expressing your personality while also enhancing your natural features. With that sense of play and experimentation you will enhance your learning and even get to know your own unique beauty quickly and easily :)

So, what’s your makeup story? Let me know – I’d love to hear it ;)