Sunday, May 27, 2007

My Lipgloss is Poppin'


As much as I HATE that song, I couldn't resist using it at a title for my post because my new Carol's Daughter Candy Paint Lip Gloss, $13.50 really is poppin'. I wanted ALL of them. Even the red shade, "Diva"and I'm usually not a red girl. I ended reigning myself in and buying only two. "Hot Mocha" which is a lovely dark brown that is exactly the type of brown I always go for. I also bought "This is me", which is probably the best nude lip gloss I've ever had. I have been waiting a long time for a lipgloss like this and now I finally have it! All the shades are very sheer and are not porn star shiny, but shiny enough to make an impact.

The glosses go on so smooth and feel so good on the lips. They also have a hint of peppermint that is not overpowering at all. I have locs so I don't have the problem of hair sticking to my lip gloss, but they aren't tacky feeling on my lips so I imagine that hair wouldn't stick to it. I will be rocking these lip glosses all summer long!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Wedding Makeup Test

Last week a friend of mine from work came over to test some evening wedding looks as she's getting married in September. If there's one thing I learned from the experience, it's that I need much better lighting in my living room! I need a studio, or at least a good overhead light and a big mirror. Anyway, here are the shots. I think I used a bit too much gold on the browbone, and I'm still not crazy about the lip colors I chose, but anyway here you go! Isn't she purrty?! Never mind the 2002, never could figure out the date feature on my digital camera! LOL And please ignore the mess of video tapes in the back.


Sunday, May 13, 2007

All About My Mother


On this beautiful Mother's Day, I'd like to pay homage to the most beautiful woman I know, my mom!

One of the most memorable times in my childhood was watching my mom get ready for work or a night out. My mom is one of those old school, full face of makeup every day people and I loved watching her pull out her dusty, powder stained makeup bag filled with all her goodies and her makeup mirror and bring it to the dining table so she coul glam up for the day. She'd spend at least 30 minutes on her face, which I always thought didn't need makeup. I'd never seen her with a blemish, even now. And my mother is a beautiful woman, with or without makeup.

She's only made a few adjustments to her routine in the 33 years I've known her. Her essential supplies include the ubiquitous big red round sponge she uses to apply powder. She buys them in bulk now because they are getting harder to find; the painted red Maybelline eye pencils in black she'd light with a match to soften the liner. And I'll never forget Maybelline great lash mascara in blackest black (note: she takes the smaller lip inside the tube out so that she can apply thick, black coating of mascara on her lashes. She LIKES the Tammy Fay Baker look, apparently). Her rouge (yeah, she still says "rouge") was always either a cream or she'd just use one of her red lipsticks. She draws crosses on each cheek then blends.

I also remember her liquid foundation. Flori Roberts in "Chroma C". It didn't quite match her skin, and if she didn't blend it correctly, you could see the line around her face as perfectly round as if she were trying to look like a mime. Luckily I've been able to introduce her to the wonderful world of custom blend foundation at Prescriptives.

When I was girl, I would get all up in her makeup at every opportunity. She'd get so mad, but I'd do it anyway. I'd test all of her lipsticks, in various hues of red, on my lips, wiping them off and trying on another one. To my mom, red lipstick equals glamour. I've never seen her in anything other than red lipstick lined with a wine colored lip liner which she REFUSES to blend together, drives me nuts! Sometimes I just want to ambush her, hold her down and swipe on a pretty neutral or brown shade, but she just won't let me! She says, "It's just not 'me".

As much as I love makeup, I don't wear it every day. But when I do sit down to really do my makeup, I do the same thing my mom does. I pull out all my makeup and accessories, sit at my vanity with my super magnified lighted makeup mirror and really take my time with it. We may use different colors and have completely different looks, but It was all influenced by my beautiful, glamorous mommy whom I love very much!