Movin' on up.

Tomorrow morning my husband and I are going to meet with someone to get pre-approved for a house! I am so ready to get out of this area we are currently in. There is nothing to do around here and we find ourselves always driving back to the area we came from to do things. So once it's time to start looking for a house, we will be (hopefully) going back to where all the action is.
At work, I will be trying out for the  Pro Team, which is a position where I will be able to teach other people how to achieve certain makeup looks. Possibly/most likely doing so on camera! I'm a little shy about doing stuff like that, but I will be getting some practice in by doing my own tutorials in the meantime.
 I am also working on my portfolio currently. I have a few photographer friends who will be helping me out with this and I'm so excited!

 Bella has 6 teeth!!!!!!!! She got her first two bottom teeth January 1st, then her "fangs" came in, and now her front top teeth are peeking out. She is also crawling around like crazy and putting everything in her mouth! She can pull herself up and walk around as long as shes got something to hold on to. All this at 8 months old. She is growing up so fast! She is the happiest baby I know. She hardly ever fusses, although she makes up for that by still not sleeping through the night. She is still just totally awesome though.
I've got a side project in the works with one of my best friends. Extremely excited about it!
My green tip of the day: Save the sleeve from your coffee and reuse it, or just invest in a refillable cup. Most places will give you a discount for doing so.  Let's save the planet one coffee cup sleeve at a time!

Giving Back.

Hi there! Been a while, huh? Well...I had a beautiful baby girl who is now almost 8 months old and I can't seem to tear myself away from her cute little self! She is my world. As a new parent, I often think about what kind of parent I will be as she gets older and how can I make the most impact on her life? The conclusion I have come up with is to start giving back to the world and our community and to show her how to become a kind-hearted person and, in turn, do the same as she gets older. This has been so embedded in my mind that some nights I wake up with excitement for the future and can't get back to sleep! I know she is too young to understand what I'm doing right now, but if I get in the right mindset and continue from now on, it will be second nature to her.
The first thing I'm going to do is volunteer my time at Gilda's Club. For those that don't know what it is, it's a place for people of all ages living with cancer, or people that have a friend or family member living with cancer, to go for support, networking groups, seminars, etc. I am fortunate enough to not know anyone close to me that is suffering from cancer, but that doesn't mean I have to sit around and wait for it to happen in order to want to help. For me, volunteering is volunteering. I just want it to come from a positive place rather than negative.
That said, I don't want to get too carried away. I know this will be an emotional journey, so I have to choose what is the most important to me.
Wish me luck and send lots of positive energy my way!

Be Patient.

I just want to throw this quick note out there...I haven't forgotten about you! We ended up moving quite suddenly and I'm about to have this baby girl any day now. It's been a little stressful and crazy, but soon I will have my beautiful girl home with me to help out with my next blog! Wish me luck and a fast and easy delivery! Love you all!!

Skin Concerns.

This first request is about skin, and a great place to start! Working with skincare, I get to meet a lot of people w/ all kinds of skin concerns. The basic types of skin are: oily, dry, normal, and combination. Please note that sensitive skin is NOT a skin type! Sensitivity is merely a concern and can be involved in any of the aforementioned types of skin. I will delve deeper into the sensitivity realm, since I got that ball rollin...

SENSITIVITY.
Ehem...If you go into a store looking for products for sensitive skin, you may find yourself confused. It's easy to send you to the natural skincare, but what if you are sensitive/allergic to botanical ingredients? You can't just stop at being sensitive. You need to find out exactly what you are allergic/sensitive to. This is a task so many people just like to skip because it's "too hard" to figure out. Some common culprits are fragrance (could be synthetic or natural), acids (salicylic, glycolic, retinol or vitamin A, etc), preservatives (parabens), detergents (sulfates) and alcohol. The list goes on my friends! But the best way to discover what you have a sensitivity to is by process of elimination. It's one at a time and for a few weeks at a time. A good test for trying new products is to apply it behind your ear everyday for about a week. If it's fine there, chances are it's okay to put on your face.
BUT, since so many people consider sensitive skin as a type, many companies have tried to narrow the search down and have made a sensitive skin category to go along w/ their clients needs. One skincare line in particular that I like is REN. They claim on every package that their products do not contain parabens, synthetic fragrance or dyes, petrochemicals, glycols, silicones, or PEGs. This brand also has a "sensitive" collection of skincare. For my non-natural peeps you can try Kate Somerville or Peter Thomas Roth.
Certain skin conditions, such as eczema or rosacea, may also affect how you take care of your skin. This is something to see a dermatologist about because they may require prescriptions or specific products.

OILY SKIN.
This is a fun one! People with oily skin tend to have larger pores. They work hand in hand since your pores are where the oil (sebum) is coming from. There's a good and bad to oily skin. It's really a blessing in disguise because all that oil is helping to keep your skin moisturized! Which means...dun dun DUN...you don't get as many wrinkles as everyone else! YAY! The tricky part is trying to control that oil without over-drying your skin. It's a vicious cycle...if you take too much oil away, your skin will freak out thinking it's not moisturized enough, so then here comes more oil! The other problem beyond skincare is how your makeup wears throughout the day. If your face is producing excess amounts of oil and you wear foundation (liquid, powder, doesn't matter), most of the time the oil from your skin will change the color of your foundation, often making it darker and splotchy.
There are products that mattify the skin, but don't count on this alone as your moisturizer. Oily skin types typically like to use foaming cleansers because they "feel" like they are cleaning better. Not true, but still fine. DO NOT USE BAR SOAP ON YOUR FACE. EVER. I will hunt you down...for real. The thing about bar soap is that they are mostly made of detergent. They suck you dry. Detergents tend to have a higher pH level, which is kinda the opposite of our skin (I won't get into the chemistry, just trust me on this). Ya know how if you let a bar of soap dry and it gets all ridgety and has weird layers? That's what's happening to your face. So, stick with liquid cleansers. Your skin should not feel tight after washing it. If it does, you took away too much oil.
Exfoliating is a good idea a few times a week to get rid of any oily buildup, like blackheads that usually form on the nose. This alone may help to minimize the appearance of pores.
There are treatment products you can use between cleansing and moisturizing, but I'm skipping to the moisturizer. All you need to know about moisturizers is to make sure they are oil-free. The biggest oil to avoid is mineral oil. It is known to clog pores.
Some products I will recommend are the Pores No More line by Dr Brandt. His products help to clean out and minimize the appearance of pores. Please know that you CANNOT shrink your pores (some laser or chemical peel treatments can "tighten" the pores, but this is still minimal and not a permanent thing. You have to keep up w/ these treatments and that can cost you A LOT of money) . If you use products that keep them cleaned out, they will appear smaller. For my sensitive/oily folks, try the Boscia skincare line. They do not use any preservatives that could cause skin problems.

DRY SKIN.
Dry skin is commonly associated w/ sensitive skin. It can be very easily irritated if it is not hydrated enough. Besides the obvious hydration factor, dry skin causes wrinkles! The good part of this skin type is that your pores are pretty much invisible. This means that the oil in your body has no where to go, and in some cases can cause milia (whiteheads). The best type of cleansers to use are creamy/milky or oils. If you still prefer to use a foam, that is fine as long as you don't feel tight afterward. And especially for you NO BAR SOAP. In addition to cleansing, it is important for you to exfoliate to remove any dead skin. This is a little more important for you if you have flaky, dry skin. For moisturizing, it's okay to get products that are not oil free. You need that oil. In most cases, the oils that they put in the ingredients are essential oils or extracts that are not harmful to the skin so they don't clog the pores, they just penetrate deeper. My favorite brand for this is First Aid Beauty. They have the BEST moiturizer for dry skin and it's lightweight and best of all, inexpensive. For a natural option, try the Caudalie brand. They're products are derived from the grapeseed and have a lot of antioxidants and anti-aging properties to them as well.

NORMAL SKIN.
So, this is a pretty easy one. For those of you that have normal skin, meaning a good balance all over your face, you are lucky. You can use pretty much whatever floats your boat. Products are going to be more of a texture thing for you, so just go with what you like. I will say though, don't go too overboard with the heavier textures. You may want to just concentrate on using anti-aging products or any other specific concerns you may have. To make it easy, you should use oil-free products during the day and your heavier moisturizing products at night. That way you can absorb all the good stuff while you're sleeping, but not feel like you have a mask on during the day.

COMBINATION SKIN.
So you may have a little of both oily and dry skin. The main places for oil are the forehead, nose and chin area, also known as the T-zone. Your cheeks may be more on the dry side. This isn't always the case, you could be like me and have oil all over AND dryness all over. This is a harder type to maintain. You may do what I had suggested for normal skin, and that is to use oil free products during the day and heavier moisturizing products at night. It will help to create a good balance. Most importantly for you is to exfoliate every other day and also incorporate a mask or 2 once a week. The exfoliation helps to get any dead skin off and also any accumulation of sebum around the nose area. I would alternate masks (which is what I do). One week use a mask that helps w/ the oil, the next week use a moisturizing mask, or use a combo to suit certain parts of your face. I like to use a clarifying mask by Bocia for the oil and an oxygen mask by Bliss. For moisturizers, try Yogurt Cream for oily/dehydrated skin by Korres (natural brand), or an oil free cream or lotion by DDF. Cleansers can be the foamy kind, again, just make sure they don't make your face feel tight after you dry your face.

So there you have it. Sorry it was super long! I'm sure I have plenty more to say, but just shoot me your questions if it's something I haven't covered. Good luck with your skin!

What's next?

So, I have some ideas about what to blog about next, but I want to know what you guys want to learn about the most. So post me a comment and let me know what you have the most trouble with!

Highlighting and Contouring.

For my fellow chubby-cheeked ladies, or those of you that already have an awesome bone structure, but want super awesome cheeks, this is for you. For starters, I just want to say there are no rules to makeup, but more or less guidelines. You don't always have to do things in the order that I do them. Just do what is comfortable to you. I will probably be repeating this in future blogs because it is super important to me that you just have fun and go with the flow!

The first thing I did was the contour. I used Hoola by Benefit, which is a matte bronzer. Placement for this will be from the middle of your ear to about the middle of your cheek (between your ear and your mouth). This creates a shadow and helps to create a cheekbone.




Next is the blush. I used Bella Beautiful by Benefit. This is a shimmery pink color. This will sit on top of the contour color, making sure the 2 colors blend together where they meet. If there is space between the colors, you will just look foolish! I put my blush just on the apple of my cheek, but try not to get too close to your nose. A good rule of thumb is to place 2 fingers pointing up next to your nose (like you are about to fake shoot your eye out) and begin placement of your blush there.



The last step is the highlight. This will draw more attention to the upper part of the cheek, bringing this area forward. For this I used High Beam by Benefit. This is a cream highlighter. Place a "C" shape around the outside of your eye. The top of the "C" starts at the arch of your eyebrow. Blend this in, again, making sure the highlight and the blush are blended where they meet. Sometimes I like to blend this onto the apple of my cheek as well, so when you smile you have a nice glowing apple! It's okay if you get this under your eye. Sometimes there is just no avoiding it because it's already so close. Plus it just makes your eye area look more hydrated.I unintentionally used all Benefit products here. There are a bazillion different brands, colors and textures to choose from. For dryer skin types, you may like to use all cream or liquid products because they will be easier to blend and not get too dry looking from powders. Shimmers look best on dryer skin. Oilier skin types will most likely prefer to use all powders to minimize shine. Matte colors will also help to keep the "oily" look away. Word to the wise to my oily peeps: PLEASE use a primer under your makeup at all times! One reason for this is when you apply a powder (or anything else for that matter) to your face, the oil from your skin will make those shades darker and/or change color. Also, throughout the day from eating, talking, making out (or whatever you do w/ your face) your makeup will just start to move around and make it look blotchy. For everyone else, it's up to you!

Good luck and I expect to see my friends rockin some killer cheeks soon!

Time flies, new things happen.

I'M PREGNANT!
Luckily, one of my best friends (Jackie) is prego also! She is just a month behind me.
Vito and I had tried for a year to get pregnant, but it just wouldn't happen. I turned to fertility drugs and had to take 2 rounds before I got prego. I am just so happy! I want to grab everyone's hand and put it on my belly to feel the baby kicking. I am 6 months along at the moment. Rockin' my little baby bump. It's a girl. We have decided on the name Isabella. Most mornings I lay in bed and stare at my stomach and watch her kick me. It's the craziest feeling knowing there is something alive inside of you. We are in for one sweet, bumpy ride!
Update on my life, Vito and I are still in the same house. The ceiling started leaking again this year, but we nipped it right in the bud before the ceiling could fall again. Vito's brother is living with us. He is back in school and super serious about it. Although he is home most of the time, we hardly get to spend time with him because he is always studying. He is dating this awesome girl who lives in Chicago. They seem to be doing pretty good for having a long distance relationship. My sister, Christen, is getting married in September. I'm excited to head down to Texas for that and to see my family. My sister, Brandi, (also in Texas) now has 3 beautiful daughters; Kennedy, Taylor, and Reese. She also got rid of her loser excuse for a husband and is dating someone much nicer and treats her very well. My sister, Melyssa, has been dating a guy for a while now, but I have yet to meet him. She is away at school and is hardly around. She is an honor student at her college! Her boyfriend just recently took her to Hawaii. Super jealous. My youngest sister, Erica, is still trying to figure herself out. She seems kind of stuck in life, but I know she will pull through one of these days. She has good intentions and a good heart.
We've been to some weddings, had some friends who had babies, gained friends, lost friends. The usual. Oh yeah, and I got a job at Sephora and have been there for a year now. I love it! It's a bit of a struggle to learn about all the bazillion products we carry, but I think I'm doing pretty well. They sent me to training a while back to Washington DC. That was pretty cool.
I've become slightly addicted to watching youtube tutorials lately. They have inspired me to get my own ball rolling and start doing blog tutorials and maybe posting videos on youtube. I just have to get past my shyness for that one. I feel silly talking to cameras. But, I'll do it if it will help to boost my career. I believe I have the talent for it. Wish me luck!