30-something and fabulous! part two

I gotta say, I like makeup! But mostly when it's for fun dressing up in costume, winged eyeliner, jewel tone eyeshadow, super fake lashes! 
I have yet to master the night out smokey eye or even a basic daytime look, and don't even get me started on this contouring face with three colors of foundation then powder ... that is way too much!! 

I keep it simple and basic and I like the products I like, for example I have been a tired and true Bare Minerals customer for a LONG time now. Even with all their new products they come up with, I stick with the tinted foundation powder and mineral veil. I love how light it is and blends so well and softens the overall appearance of my skin, beautiful! I also use Maybeline Instant Age Rewind Eraser to battle darkness under my eyes, and the two products together are great!

There are only a few colors of lipstick in my makeup bag because I have never found one that doesn't get sticky weird and isn't super expensive. I usually just put on lip moisturizer, Softlips and Nivea are the best!  But when I do toss a lipstick into my purse for a night out, Cover Girl Lip Slicks or Maybeline Baby Lips are what I like! For the best nude lipstick, I have found e.l.f. Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick to be the best choice of colors. Each only have a few shades, not the entire hue and tone of reds, pinks, or nudes to choose from, I guess that's why I like each one of those too, your not bombarded with tons of choices of colors. With these, I have soft and creamy lips in great neutral shades that wear well (but not all) through the day!

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then mine are a simple two pane framed window with simple sheer drapery that does not compete with the sole! I can not leave the house with out mascara, that is my simple sheer drapery that is needed everyday, and it has taken me some time to find the perfect lash enhancer. I have picked mascara from lots of different brands, flat and curved brush, all natural ingredients to sky high length, and have settled on Cover Girl Clump Crusher Curved Brush for many years now. Cover Girl has always had choices in mascara that work well, and I'm a curved brush girl, nothing else will do!

As far as eyeshadow goes, I tend towards neutrals or soft pinks with a bit of sheen to them, not sparkly and not too matte. No blending, no four shades on each eye to create an "effect", I brush it on, highlight my brow bone with an angled brush and I'm good to go. Speaking of brushes, look for a great variety of tools from e.l.f. at Target, reasonably priced and study. I do look up the best colors for blue eyes every now and then,  but those colors seem too bizarre for me! If I want some color, I put on nail polish! I buy whatever color I'm looking for, I don't check labels or ingredients, but I recently cam across an article about why you should care what is in your nail polish and I must say, I'll be rethinking some of my colors. Check out the whole article here!
What about eyeliner? Well, liquid liner evades me, I have no idea how to use it with out looking like a kindergartners art project! I prefer a good pencil or crayon-like that glides over the lid easily and can be smudged nicely. Sonia Kashuk brand is my favorite one I have right now, others that are great are Maybeline, Cover Girl, and Bare Minerals. A lot of times my eyeliner ends up being a free gift with purchase, I don't spend much thought or money on it, but I do need it to be a charcoal in between black and grey color! If I want to change it up a bit, plum or navy are excellent choices as far as I'm concerned!

Now let's talk brows. A very important topic to me because mine are very light mousy brown, patchy, and over plucked, sounds wonderful, I know! I have tried pencils, creamy products you paint on, powders that you apply with a bristle brush and FINALLY after all these years came across a great one that does the job and stays on all day! Have you heard of Wunder Brow? This is a semi permanent  gel that brushes on and blends to be the appearance of tiny brow hairs! It has been a life saver and the best product for my brow problem I have ever found! It takes a few tries to get the hang of and can be cleaned off with their formulated remover (or as I found, vitamin E oil that I bought at Target) if you have any mistakes or to remove for the day. It does not transfer off or peel off, it's waterproof and makes my brows look hoe they are suppose to look! I would recommend Wunder Brow to anyone and everyone!

Under that not-so-much-makeup, my skin is a bit of an issue that I'm working on, but to pamper myself after washing my face {I love my face wash, read my part one!} I like a sheet mask or an eye mask! So luxurious and relaxing at the end of the day, and my skin feels wonderful, what not to love! 
I went into Sephora and found so many different kinds for each problem area but ended up getting Sephora Collection orchid sheet mask for even skin tone and the pearl eye mask for brightening. Both did the job but not a dramatic change that I noticed. Next trip for a mask was to Target, where I found a couple brands with lots of different treatments, and great prices too! Yes to Tomatos sheet mask (the entire line of Yes To brand has sheet, mud, and eye masks!), Masque Bar sheet mask, Que Bella eye mask, Miss Spa sheet mask ... what to choose, what to choose! After using the Miss Spa oxygenating sheet mask, I felt so invigorated and the next morning my skin was refreshed and so smooth! For a little pampering that goes a long way, I would definitely recommend checking out your local Target, or online, to find one that fits your needs!

With my face feeling fresh, I need to pep up the rest of me, and with summer days long gone, I like to use a self tanner. I've been wanting to try one of those sunless tanning towelettes but instead I had the opportunity to try out Roden+Fields Sunless Tanning Foam. The foam products are a bit intimidating and I wore gloves just in case of a mishap, but the foam was easy to put on, smelled nice and the result was awesome! I didn't have any problems aound my knees and ankles, which is the intimidating part for me, and it was even all over. I looked like I had been on the beach all week and I loved it! Another product that has been a go to for sunless tanning is Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. This one I have no fear about streaking and I don't use gloves, the "tan" is not as dark but its a warm boost of color for your skin, nice and subtle!

If only I had known what I know now about make up and skin care 12 years ago, I would be better off! Maybe, maybe not. I do know the products that suite me best and I do know how to be comfortable in my skin, so that might be the best lesson learned!

SHE HAS FIRE IN HER SOUL AND A KILLER PAIR OF BROWS

xo