Beauty Resolutions for 2012!

Hey! So I find I preach a lot of important beauty/skincare rituals that I don't actually practice, so here's a list of things that should always be done and together we should motivate each other to do it.

Any tips on how to make these resolutions actually stick?

1.) Always wear sunscreen, this one is actually REALLY important because this can dramatically affect your health ONTOP of making you look healthier.

2.) Take your makeup off every night, also very crucial because when you keep your makeup on, not only is it a pain to get off and work with in the morning, but you also clogged your pores and most likely will have acne appear. I use Yes to Cucumber facial towelettes and I LOVE them, they smell amazing and do the job well.

3.) Exfoliate, you can check out my previous post about exfoliation, you can make it fun! It'll make your skin SO smooth and make moisturizing much more effective.

4.) Moisturize right out of the shower, when your skin is wet moisturizer is much more effective and it gets right into the skin. This is important because the shower strips your skin of it's oils, so you replace them with moisturizer! To remind yourself to do this, keep the lotion in the shower with you.

5.) Clean your makeup brushes regularly, this will even help make your makeup look better because you won't be mixing colors(that you don't want mixed). Also, it's just better for your skin and more hygienic. Use Parian Spirit brush cleaner, it works amazingly.

These are just 5 very important acts that should be a part of every girls(and guys) makeup routine. Let me know throughout this new year how this works for you and keep a thread going on how you guys keep to this routine.

Exfoliation!

Got the photo from here

Basically, the point of exfoliating is to get rid of all the dead skin cells that are accumulating all over your face and body. Not only will this step help you look(and feel) better but it will also allow makeup application to be a MUCH smoother process. Foundation(or whatever you use for foundation, my choice is  a tinted moisturizer) will go on a lot better and blend in easier with proper exfoliation.

I would recommend exfoliating only maybe 2-3 times a week. It is a little abrasive and harsh on the skin so definitely don't do it more than 3 times a week. Remember to pay attention to harsh areas like knees, elbows, heels and such. Be careful with more sensitive areas like around the eyes and your chest, ect.

Here are some homemade recipes:

1.) 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C mashed avocado, 1 C olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional). This is for sensitive skin(brown sugar is more gentle)


2.) 2 C ground coffee, 1/2 C sugar, 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional). If you need a bit of a wake-up call.


3.) 1/2 C sea salt, 1/2 C olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional) ,5 drops of an essential oil of your liking(see list below)

Essential Oils:

Normal Skin- jasmine, lavender, almond, orange, rose, tea tree
Combination- rosewood, geranium
Dry-almond, orange, sandalwood, lavender
Oily- lemon, peppermint,cypress,juniper, grapefruit, eucalyptus
Sensitive- chamomile, rose, carrot, jasmine.

You can buy great glove online, here. These are perfect for exfoliating the body AND face and aren't as harsh as a loofa, but do a little more work then a washcloth(which is o.k to use too, and less expensive). You can also obviously just use your hands, they works great too.

Just hop in the shower, use warm water, never HOT, and put the scrub all over your body and scrub in a circular motion, on the face too. Then just rinse it off and you should be all set! Simple as that but it can do wonders for your skin.

Don't forget the lips!!! What I do is take a toothbrush(you can have a separate one you use for this, but you'll wash it anyway so you can use the same one you brush your teeth with). Just take it dry(I feel this works better) and just rub it against your lips in a circular motion, you can even go as far as to use a lip scrub 1st then use the toothbrush. Scaly lips are not sexy :p The winter is the obviously the biggest time that this is an issue. It takes about 7 seconds to do and you can just do it when you brush your teeth!

Do you have any recipes for homemade scrub??? Leave your comments below!

Contest from Gone2Rehabbrb

Go check out this blog, also a beauty lover, she's doing a contest for a bunch of eyeshadow samples! :D

Contest!

Beauty From the Earth Swatches!!!!

So these swatches are in horrible lighting and do NOT do these colors justice, but you can see a little what the colors look like to give you an idea. The more colors I get, I'll keep putting up swatches, I really love this brand. I'm a huge fan of Crystal's(she owns BFTE cosmetics) cosmetics.

At the left: Top= With Urban Decay Shadow Primer, Below that=nothing
At the right: These are the colors wet(I used Mixing Medium from BFTE)

The colors here are(from left to right): Chili Pepper, Lemon, Blue Me Over, Erase the Stigma, Zach's Friends, Bali, Little Beach, Faith, Lavish, and Caribbean

My favorite from this bunch is definitely Erase the Stigma(for an amazing cause too..I actually thought about starting a suicide awareness campaign myself so this(and Zach's Friends) are both colors I hold deep in my heart. Also, I really like Little Beach and Faith too. They look amazing wet.

At the left: Top=With Urban Decay Primer,   Bottom= nothing
At the Right: Wet using BFTE's Mixing Medium

The colors here(from left to right) are: Whisper, Raspberry, Grape, Green Apple, Diamonds, Blueberry, Orchid, Honey, and Gem

My favorite of the bunch is definitely Whisper, this picture doesn't capture ANY of the beauty in the pigments of this color. In the shade it's a beigey color, and in the it's almost purple, a VERY iridescent color. It's amazing. I also love Raspberry, Green Apple, Blueberry and Honey.

At the Left: Top= With Urban Decay Primer,   Bottom= nothing
At the Right: these are wet using BFTE's Mixing Medium

The colors here(from left to right) are: Luck Me, Crystal, Promises, High Maintenance, and Moonwalk

My favorite from this bunch are Promises, High Maintenance and Moonwalk. Promises and High Maintenance are gorgeous and this picture doesn't do them justice. Moonwalk is an AMAZING neutral color. It's a beautiful brown.

Check out Beauty from the Earth's site!!

My Favorite mark. Products

So todays post is about my favorite mark. products. I used to not even know what mark. was, and then I got really bored with the way my life was going and needed to having something to do(I was laid off from my job and it was the 1st time I was unemployed). So I looked into selling mark. products and decided it was an AMAZING deal. So since then I've kind of become addicted with many products of theirs. These are my top 3(it's kind of 5, but 2 of them are "hook-ups":

1.) mark. Touch &Glow: As you can see above I have some swatches, the lighting is horrible so the picture doesn't do the colors justice, but they're AMAZING. So iridescent and perfect for everything. Highlight color, all over the face and body illuminator and eyeshadow colors. I LOVE this multi-use product. It's also a creme to powder finish, so goes on amazing, but never creases :D

2.) mark. Get In Line waterproof liquid liner in "Painted Black": Goes on so well and doesn't smudge.

     mark. On the Edge liquid liner in "Cleo": I love the brush for this, goes on so well, and you can smudge it to create a smokey eye, or leave it to be bold and precise.

3.) mark. Pro Glimmer lip powder in " Peek" and "Punk": I LOVE this stuff. The only con is that when you open it sometimes the powder goes everywhere :p but I love how this makes your lips look. This is actually being discontinued /: But I hope they bring it back, I love it so much. Both colors look gorgeous and do so much for my lips.

So if any of you are interested in buying anything go to my mark. website and check it out :D

Also, if anyone is interested in also selling it, making some extra money on the side, meeting a lot of new people and getting a great discount for LIFE on mark. products(all for only $20) then comment below, sign-up yourself but please use the referral code: 13299641 OR e-mail me at Jwls750@yahoo.com! I'd be happy to answer any questions, it really is a pretty large part of my life now.

Happy Holidays/My Makeup Book Collection

This is just part of my collection of makeup books. I'm obsessed with each of these:

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual(my 2nd favorite)

Makeup is Art by Jana Ririnui(my FAVORITE!!)

Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin(R.I.P Kevyn)

Eye Candy by Linda Mason(very nice for beginners)

Makeup Makeovers by Robert Jones

Makeup Makeovers: Wedding Edition by Robert Jones

Hair and Makeup by Jane Campsie

Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin(not pictured)

So that's part of my collection, I definitely recommend all of them. They really inspire me.

Happy Holidays all!!!! Get any presents? Do anything fun?? Let me know in my blog!

Be BOLD!!!!

I think now more then ever we're allowed to break free of always wearing neutrals and keeping it safe. Try out a bold lip!!!! I went with a brightbrightbright pink :D I love it. Red tends to look to harsh on my so I went this way. What do ya'll think??

I think a pink lip would look amazing for Chrismas/New Year's/ANYDAY!

I used Sephora's Lipstick in R11(Love Test).