Thursday, February 21, 2013

Make Up For Grown Ups


Until the invention of the time machine, or the discovery of the fountain of youth, we will all have to accept the fact that our skin is constantly maturing. Time marches on, but there is a lot you can do with skin care and makeup choices to help you look as good as you ever did. The way to do this is with color and care, and by forgetting what used to work for you at 18 or even 28. Learn what will work for you now.

I have noticed that as skin matures make up can either be your best friend

Or your worst enemy


Make up can not be used to mask your aging skin, and trendy bright colors will only draw attention to your fine lines and wrinkles. But all make up is not your enemy. It can be a powerful tool in helping you look young, and feel beautiful. 

Here are some tips from make up guru Bobbi Brown's book entitled Beauty Evolution, along with my two cents worth of advise and recommendations, of course.

Essentials for beauty regimen after 40:

1. SPF Lotion- It's never too late to prevent additional sun damage. My personal preference as of late is Avene High Protection 50.

2. Eye cream- It's a must to make your concealer go on smoothly. Again, I like Avene and it's very reasonably priced.

3. Concealer and/or Corrector- It wakes up tired eyes. I use both from Bobbi Brown.

4. Foundation- It can cover redness and even out skin tone. This tinted moisturizer from Bobbi Brown is my best kept secret for younger looking skin. It is super hydrating, and has an SPF of 35, so you can skip step number 1 if you use it.

5. Blush- Your skin may no longer have a natural glow, so add it back. I like the beautiful choices of blush from GloMinerals.


6. Eye shadows- Light shades with a nice contour and highlight color look beautiful. I love the eye trio's from GloMinerals because you don't have to guess which colors to use... it's sort of like paint by number. 


7.  Eye liner and mascara- It can add definition to your eyes. Bobbi Brown makes a wonderful gel eyeliner, but my favorite mascara is probably the cheapest one available from Maybelline.


8. Hair color- It can brighten your face whether you add just a few highlights or do all over color to cover the gray. I've tried several different colors and colorists, but I am always happiest with a Redken Color Specialist. If you need a new stylist, you can look up a Redken Color Specialist from the Redken website.















Thursday, February 14, 2013

A T.A.M.P.A Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm feeling grateful for all of my relationships today, but especially for a group of my close girlfriends.



This is a very special group of ladies that I met while my kids were young, and we were all stay at home moms. We call ourselves T.A.M.P.A., because we all met when we lived in Tampa, Florida, and because each letter in T.A.M.P.A. is the first letter of our names.

Trish
Alex
     Melanie
 Paula
Amy

You could not possibly imagine a more diverse group of ladies. Soon after we met, we quickly realized how different we all are. Of course sometimes this will cause conflict, but truly, I believe our differences bring us together more than they drive us apart. Each of us has something to offer that we can't get from anyone else.

I am a bit conservative, although I do have a wild side. I am a girly girl, and I'm so not athletic. I am thoughtful, and kind most of the time, but I can be competitive.

Alex is fit, and healthy. She is honest and moral, and is comforted by her spiritual beliefs. She is a "regal beauty" (she will gladly tell you herself), and she makes me laugh more than anyone else I've ever known in my life.

Melanie is electric and fun. Her energy can be crazy one minute, then be chill the next. She will definitely keep you young. She'll admit she can be vain, but she is quite a hottie. She is definitely someone you'd get into a bar fight for. 

Paula is the oldest of us (although she doesn't look it, no fair). She fully understands and appreciates the importance of family and responsibility. She probably won't join in your shenanigans, but she will gladly watch with a smile. She is generous, and kind, and gorgeous.

Amy can be a homebody. Sometimes she has to be pulled away from home in order to spend time with her, but she is so worth it. Once she's out she is fun, and hilarious and can cut a rug with her "round up" dance move. She is far from lazy, her projects are ongoing and amazing. Her smile literally lights up a room.


I love and respect all of our differences and I feel very Blessed to have found such a wonderful group of forever friends.

  






Monday, February 4, 2013

Acqua-scuze me???

I fully intended on writing a blog this morning on a wonderful product I have discovered. I was so excited to share it with you. I woke up happy, had my coffee, then jumped in the shower before sitting down to write. That is when huge devastation and disappointment set in. Let me start from the beginning.

I have blogged before about this cool site called Beauty Army at www.beautyarmy.com. When you join, you get 6 great beauty samples sent to you based on the results from a beauty quiz you take while signing up. My most recent shipment was a full sized nail conditioning treatment system from a brand called Acquarella.


It contained a nail file, buffer, cuticle stick, nail polish remover and the conditioning polish.  I loved the idea of getting my nails into shape, so I followed the directions, and did the treatment for three days.  My nails did look better.  I was pretty pleased. So naturally, I went to the Acquarella website to learn more about this product. The site looked promising and educated me about all of their polishes. They promised to do the following:

 1. Dry fast (LOVED this idea). 
2. Not need base or top coat (even faster, love it).
 3. Be a safe- water based and non-toxic polish with no odor (I have worried about the toxins in nail polishes, and my husband can't stand the odor... seems to be getting better and better).

The only draw back I could find is that they cost $16 a bottle. YIKES!  But I had to try it. I love the look of healthy nails, and I was excited about being able to paint my nails and have them dry quickly. Manicures, and gel nail polish would cost a lot more, after all. So I bought a color called Vixen. That's right, this Cougar is a Vixen.


Last night, I followed the directions exactly. Clean and buff bare nails. Swab nails with Acquarella remover only. Rinse using clean water, dry throughly. Apply two thin coats of the nail polish. OH MY GOSH... it was gorgeous. It dried super fast. I thought I was in love. I woke up this morning... no smudges. I was thrilled. This was the answer to all of my manicure dreams. I lovingly gazed at my nails over coffee.

BUT THEN... I jumped into my morning shower. Horror and devastation set in (if I'm not being dramatic, I'm not being me).


Apparently, the only thing wrong with using a water based nail polish, is that water removes it.  This is what my nails looked like after my shower, less than 12 hours after I painted them. And yes, I did retouch this picture of my hand to remove some wrinkles... don't judge.


I am so glad I didn't order any other shades. I just threw out $16... ok actually more than $16 because I got excited and upgraded to 2 day shipping (I want it... and I want it now Daddy!).

Ladies, if you should come across this product... look the other way. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and in this case, it definitely was.