Beautiful Hair = No Poo???

Have you joined the "no poo" craze? I myself had several reservations based solely on the NAME!!! I mean really? We couldn't come up with anything better than THAT??? What is it you ask? I haven't told you yet? Okay so it's basically not using shampoo (hence the awful phrase "no poo").  I explain in this video my journey to sheer desperation in even considering saying goodbye to shampoo. I do feel that all the years of using shampoos full of chemicals and harmful toxins have aided in the downfall of my scalp and I was hoping this would help. So far so good, but I'm still a newbie. Watch this video to learn more, visit this site and see what you think! Will you join this even if you don't have a huge "why" like me? What are your thoughts? And PLEASE rename it for crying out loud!!!!!P.s. DyInG over Taylor's flower headband here. It is my firm belief that a big obnoxious bow balances ones head out and should be worn on a daily basis.....just sayin.

Cotton Candy with Darling Girl Cosmetics

Hey! This is a little look I did the other day using my Darling Girl Cosmetics in cute, cotton candy colors! :)

 Products:

-Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

-Mystique on lid (palest aqua with pink sheen)

-Mardi Gras on outer lid (medium minty teal with copper shimmer)

-Sweet Savage in crease (matte candy pink)

-Lucky on browbone and tearduct (white/turquoise sparkle duochrome)

-Rapture on outer lower lashline (warm purple with pink sheen)

-Forget Me Nots on inner lower lashline (light lavender with orange shift)

-The End used with BFTE Mix & Fix and applied wet as eyeliner (deep purple/blue shimmer)

-Adoration to blend around edges (nude pearl)

-Sephora white pencil on waterline

-MAC Blacktrack Fluidline (tightline)

-Maybelline The Rocket mascara

-Tiny holographic nail decal stars from drugstore

-Urban Decay Naked Basics palette (brow)

-Cover Girl clear mascara (brow)

-Wet N' Wild Coverall Foundation in 815 Fair, and mark. Powder Buff in Nude

Underexposed flash pic to show sparkles!

 Sadly it was monsooning out on the day I did this, so I didn't have much natural light for pictures. I had to do them the old-school way, standing in front of the lamp in my room, lol. These colors, being pretty light and with all kinds of shimmers and shines, were hard to capture on camera, but I tried. :/ I didn't have to do much editing to them since I don't think I could have made them much better anyway, lol.

The eyeliner color I used is actually more purple in person, like a deep smokey blackened eggplant, but it does have the blue shimmers also, and that's what mostly showed up in these photos. If you're wondering why you don't see the colors Rapture and The End on the website, they were part of the limited Cute de Grace collection and aren't available anymore.

Pic of how the makeup looks on my face for context :)

Thanks for reading!♥

*Some or all images were lightly edited using Aperture and/or Photoshop; for details, please read the photo editing disclosure widget at the bottom of my right-side bar.
**All products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Swatchfreak makeup collab: Dreamy Mermaid and Sultry Siren

 Yay! I'm so excited to bring you this much-anticipated collaboration post! (You can check out Tamara's post here!)

The story: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I was contacted by the extremely gorgeous, sweet, and talented Tamara of Swatchfreak to do a makeup collab; we tossed around some ideas and her idea of Siren/Mermaid was agreed on. I chose Siren and Tamara chose Mermaid, and we each made a design for the other. Since I'm bad at drawing, I enlisted my sister BeckyPennArt to help me! I told her exactly what I wanted and she made it appear like magic. :D

The Designs:

Mermaid design; concept by me, digital artwork by BeckyPennArt. We made a version with notes like the one below but it's kind of distracting so I posted the cleaner one, hehe.

Tamara's Siren design; she used real makeup and drew it by hand, how cool!

 After we sent each other our concept sketches, we agreed that creative license could be taken and we got busy planning and then sharing our looks. Check them out and please click for most detail!

The Dreamy Mermaid:

Tamara's Dreamy Mermaid, even more beautiful than I envisioned!♥

Mermaid eye close-up! I adore the colors and crushed-up seashell, Tamara's genius idea! The purple brow is also the exact color I imagined, it couldn't be more perfect.

Used products:

• Fyrinnae – Nevermore – on brow (applied with water)
• Sundara Cosmetics - Turmeric - in tearduct and outer under lash line area (from a company that don’t exist anymore )
• Darling Girl Cosmetics – Purple Haze* – Soft Focus Blush + Fyrinnae – Nevermore + Fyrinnae - Marshmallow Puffs - all three used to go from yellow area on lid to pink, to purple
• Fyrinnae – We’re All Mad Here – inner under lash line area
• Fyrinnae – Futuristic Glamrock – in crease
• Tick:Tock Cosmetics – Frozen in Time – for HL
• I’m not pretty sure what false lashes I used, but I think they are from Misslyn

 The Sultry Siren:

My Siren, complete with damp hair ;P

Siren eye close-up!

 Products:

 Since I did this look last September I don't remember exactly what-all products I used, but what I do remember is that I made the eye shape with Urban Decay Zero pencil and filled in the outer corner, crease, and under my eye. I went over the black with Lucky eyeshadow by Darling Girl Cosmetics, one of my fave eyeshadows. It's similar to Sugarpill's Lumi and looks amaaazing over a black base! I also used some black eyeshadow around the very edges to preserve the black like in the sketch. On my lid I used the popular Wet N' Wild eyeshadow color that is in several of their palettes; it's a warm brown with teal iridescence. I packed that heavily on my lid and blended it a little with the teal. Then I used a gold, I think it was Autumn by BFTE Cosmetics, on my inner lid, blended with the gold and coming down to a point at my tear duct. Under my lower lashline I used BFTE Patriot, a matte navy blue at the outer corner, and then more Lucky in the middle. I used Lucky again as my highlight shade from browbone to tear duct, and also patted some over the WnW brown to intensify the iridescence. Lashes are Ardell #139.

On my brow I used NYX and Sephora pencils in light and dark brown for the over-all shape, then combed through my brow hairs with some Darling Girl Glitter Glue and heavily applied the WnW brown-blue shade.

On my skin I think I just used Revlon Colorstay and mark. Powder Buff foundations, with some bronzer as a contour. I used Lucky again to highlight my cheekbone for an ethereal glow♥

My lips didn't quite turn out the way I wanted but I used NYX slim lip pencil in Black Berry, and OCC Lip Tar in RX (the blue one). Tamara had mentioned some gold at the cupid's bow so I used BFTE Autumn for that.

It was super hot and humid in my room and I started to feel sick so I didn't get to do both eyes, but I tried to hide it with my hair. :D

This was so much fun to do and I'm super grateful to Tamara for inviting me to participate! I also want to thank her for letting me use her cute little collage pics because I was too lazy to make my own. :)

Please go check out her blog, she does awesome makeup and take beautiful photos too!

http://swatchfreak.wordpress.com/

Thanks so much for reading!♥

 *Some or all images were lightly edited using Aperture and/or Photoshop; for details, please read the photo editing disclosure widget at the bottom of my right-side bar.

Ipsy Bag For May

ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!

NEW WINNER!!!!!!!

Sadly the time elapsed for our winner to claim her Norwex rags so I had to choose a new winner. That should come as GREAT news to the rest of you!!! Okay, so I put the numbers into Random.org and here is the new winner!!!!

BAMANNIE

Please oh pleeeeaaaase contact me so that I can send you your fabulous rags that you are just going to LOVE!!!!! Congrats =).

Some BFTE Gel Liner and Eyeshadow swatches

My friend Uncut Color on Facebook just posted that she got a BFTE Cosmetics order today and loved the colors and would be posting swatches soon; this reminded me that I have some unposted swatches too, so I decided to post them. :)

Gel liners, $8.99 from BFTE: Peacock, Venomous, Marcasite.

With flash: Peacock, Venomous, Marcasite.

Direct sunlight.

 I've wanted to try these liners for a long time, so since BFTE was having a 15% off promotion for April, I decided it was the perfect time to get a few. The colors are gorgeous; Peacock is a shimmering teal, such a gorgeous color. Venomous is a completely matte purple with no sparkle or shimmer. Marcasite is a metallic charcoal gray with silver shimmer. Can't wait to use these!

I also got the COTW Deal, the full sized Color of the Week and 3 sample jars of my choice for $6. A great deal :)

Funky Fruit (COTW), Appletini, Riveted, Big Island.

With flash: Funky Fruit, Appletini, Riveted, Big Island.

Direct sunlight.

These were swatched with brushes since there were only 4 colors this time. Funky Fruit is a fruity pink color, like the inside of a watermelon, with pinkish sparkles. Appletini is a pale satin-finish green color; I may actually like it better than Mint but I have yet to compare them together. Riveted is a medium blue, slightly subdued, but looks to me like it has a very slight copperish sheen to it; you can almost see it in the middle of the swatch. Big Island is a very sparkly golden bronze color.

As always, I like everything! BFTE never disappoints♥

 

 *All products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Mother's Day

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Mother's Day. Mothers come in all shapes and sizes. They also come in the form of an aunt, neighbor, grandmother, sister, and friend. No matter your role here on Earth, we as women are nurturers, healers, friends, and companions. I want to give a special virtual hug and kiss to my sweet mother. This gal is pretty special to me and it is rare for us to go without talking long. Earlier in life I was her little girl, her only little girl with three other boys. She dressed me up in dresses (I rarely went a day without wearing one) only to dig in the dirt, play guns or trucks with my brothers. Later in teenage years we didn't see eye to eye and, sadly, I was the reason for most of it. I am sad that I made choices that made her sad and sometimes hurt. It was only when we split ways and I moved out that I truly understood all of the wonderful things she did for me. Isn't that sad that it took that long? She was in Sacramento while I was in Huntington Beach living very different lives. I called her with news about jobs, friends and life in general. I had a HUGE impression to move back home one year and I thought in my head,"She will NEVER accept me back. She will remember too freshly everything that I have put her through, no way!" She responded with tears that she had been feeling the same way and I will never forget feeling vErY grateful for such a forgiving and in tune mom. She welcomed me back with open and loving arms. A short year after that and I was packing to go live and serve in Siberia and we joyfully went shopping together getting me all ready. Tears were shed the whole week before me leaving and the airport was even worse. Leaving my mom was a very hard thing to do. We were allowed to speak to each other only a few times in the year and a half that I was gone and we made each second count. I came home for a short while before I was engaged to my prince and we were OFF and planning a wedding together. Kevin was out of state so my lovely Marmy was my date to look at linens, rental businesses, cake tasting (our favorite part!) and reception venues. My mother has grown into my very best friend. Someone that knows my faults and loves me anyway. Someone that has seen me at my worst and still saw potential (even if I didn't). Someone that seems to know all the ingredients I need for every meal at the drop of a hat, the cure for every heart ache and sickness, the one that sends cards to all of her kids for every little occasion. The one who knew I needed her last year and came a total of THREE times in a manner of months to come and be with me. She is my partner in crime (when a hubby can't fill in the gaps), my "go-to" gal for almost everything and the only mother I could and will ever want. I love you sweet Marmy and I always will. Here's to many more years of giggles, hugs, long talks and special occasions. 

Forever, your Jen

Norwex Winner!!!

Thank you to everyone for participating in our Norwex rag giveaway!!! What a great response to such a wonderful product. I, myself, am having a Norwex social soon to share with more friends and family these great products. LOVE them! =) Okay, onto the winner. Many were called, ONE was chosen. That person is {drumroll please}

MsPamlam

Congratulations, you have just one two Norwex cloths of your very own!!! You are going to love the way they clean, disinfect and wash all of your makeup off! Please contact me via email within 48 hours to claim your prize and to give me shipping information. If I have not heard from you within that time frame I will have to choose another winner (so please email me!) =). Stay tuned everyone for more giveaways and more makeup posts. Hugs!!!

Look: Naval Orange

Hello! I'm back today with a look that's actually from over a week ago; Cosmetics Aficionado posted a Blog Hop for orange lips and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to participate. I did this look the next day but haven't had a chance to post it until now. I named it Naval Orange, which is a play on the fruit plus the fact that I used navy eyeliner with orange lips. Get it? ;) Anyway, check below for products used and you can also click the pics to view my makeup in (slightly embarrassing) detail if you so choose.

Products:

Face:
-Reviva Labs Primer
-Wet N' Wild Coverall foundation in 815 Fair
-mark. Powder Buff in Nude
-mark. setting powder
-mark. Bronze Pro bronzer
-Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (Naked2 as contour)
-Darling Girl Cosmetics blush in Neon Trees (light neon peach)
-BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadow in Butt Naked (highlight)

Eyes:
-Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper
-Naked Basics palette (Walk of Shame all over lid/browbone; Naked2, Faint, Crave on outer corner/crease/lower lashline)
-Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Adoration (nude pearl on browbone)
-Sephora white eyeliner pencil (tearduct/inner corner and waterline)
-BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadow in Butt Naked (tearduct)
-Belleme Waterproof Pencil Eye Liner in Navy Blue (From abbamart.com)
-MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
-Cover Girl Lash Perfection mascara
-Naked Basics palette (Faint on brows)
-Cover Girl clear mascara (on brows)

Lips:
-NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Orange
-MAC lipstick in Morange

I wanted a very classic look and opted for navy liner instead of plain black. I thought it would brighten up my eyes even more, and it did! If I'd had a matte navy gel liner or something, I would have used that, but this liner was all I had. I rather like the little bit of shimmer it gives though! This look was so much fun to do and I really lucked out with the natural lighting which made my pictures look as bright as I felt wearing this summery shade! ;)
Don't forget to check out the other posts in the orange lips blog hop, or feel free to add your own!




You can also find the navy eyeliner I used here at abbamart.com and get 10% off your first order if you use my affiliate link below; they're $6, come in tons of colors, and also stay-proof!

Thanks for reading!♥

*Some or all images were lightly edited using Aperture and/or Photoshop; for details, please read the photo editing disclosure widget at the bottom of my right-side bar.
**All products were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Honestly...

If I was truly honest with myself I would want to 

look less like me and more like that!

I want:

A smaller nose

A thinner face

A shorter forehead

Large lips

Biggers eyes

Darker skin

Thicker hair

and that's just my face don't get me started on my body!!

I have no idea why I feel the need to change the things I do,

Why don't I want smaller eyes or thinner lips, Who knows!

We all see beauty differently, We all think different things are beautiful but it doesn't matter what we think is beautiful as long as we look in the mirror and find beauty in ourselves.

Sure I would want to look like that, But I look like me and that's okay too.

Remember to find beauty in yourself, 

                                                             Sinead.

Benefit Fake up Review

Cake up Fake up!!

Flakey Skin? Dry Patches? Dehydrated Lines?

Stop your makeup caking up

Start using fake up by Benefit!

A creamy concealer with a ring of vitamin E & 

Apple seed extract moisturizer - Covers and hydrates!

With it Available in three shades - 01 Light  02 Medium  03 Dark

Many uses:

Under Eyes - Doesn't set in fine line.

Dry Patches - Blend in the direction of the flakes to help them disappear.

Smile Lines - Rehydrate caked up facial lines.

Lips - Blur lip lines and pigment without drying out the skin.

Want to learn more check out my video - Coming soon...