recreating me

it's time for a new look....

being a new mom with a new job requires a new look. i swore i'd never let a child dictate my amount of self-maintenance, but it's happened. i already cut four inches off my hair because he likes to pull it and i have no time to fix it.

what kind of look am i looking for? good skin, lashes and lips. that's the minimum. of course i'll still put on the glam for special occasions, but i'm going to create a quick routine that i can do in the wee hours of the morning.

unfortunately, i also have to cut back the cosmetic budget. the sad part is that i'm very particular. it's been a long time since i've purchased drug store makeup, and with some things i fear there can be no substitute. can anything really stretch my lashes like my $28.00 Diorshow mascara? i may have to find out, as much as that pains me.

i also haven't hit the perfume counter in a long time. though i still have tons of bottles on my dresser, i feel that i've outgrown some of it and i'm ready for something new. and on perfume, i refuse to follow a budget. i can smell cheap a mile away.

a new chapter, a new me, and hopefully soon...new makeup!

my eyelashes have left the building

among the lengthy list of unattractive side effects that pregnancy brings, one that bothers me a lot is what it has done to my eyelashes.

as a side note, the hair on my head in thicker and more brag-worthy than it's ever been. i hear it may go back to it's former state after i deliver. boo.

anyway, my eyelashes are shorter and sparser than they were nine months ago. my deep-set eyes rely on big, fat lashes and some manuevering with an eyeshadow brush to keep them from looking recessed and exhausted. not only am i actually tired all the time...i look it! even a swipe with my regular mascara doesn't hold the same magic that it used to.

i'm too nervous to try Latisse, the prescription medication that is supposed to grow lashes, due to the side effects. i simply won't risk putting brown spots on my blue irises, especially when it's permanent.

then there's L'Oreal's Renewal Lash Serum, which doesn't necessarily spark new eyelash growth as much as help you keep your lashes intact. basically, it stalls the shedding process.

hopefully my eyelash woes mend themselves after the baby arrives....i've had several months to plot and plan a new "hot mama" look, and having decent eyelashes is definitely part of that!

product test drive: airbrush tan

for my wedding, i had my first spray tan experience.

i had expected what i had seen from my big-city experience: a booth that you go into, raise your arms, and get hosed. what i actually encountered in a much smaller town was very different.

after calling around to the various businesses in the area, i found that there were no spray tanning booths. what i finally found after LOTS of digging was a lady who did a type of airbrush tan, with a gun she sweeps across your body while you stand there wearing...not much.

that was a concern i hadn't counted on, because in a booth nobody gets to see your pale goodies as you get sprayed. you have privacy. however, if you are standing in front of a girl with an airbrush, she is all up in every bit of your untanned junk.

this gal was nice, don't get me wrong. but she took me down into her unfinished basement and had me strip down to my unmentionables, and then gave me the chills while she sprayed and powdered me. it was a little awkward for a pregnant plus-size chica.

the end result was better than i expected, color-wise. i wasn't orange, since i asked her to use her lightest formula on my already-pasty skin. i felt like my chest got a bit tanner than the rest of me, and it didn't cover my swimsuit straps as well as i wanted, but it did help them blend. i felt like i looked pretty natural, and i think my pictures turned out well. the first day i kept smelling the formula, but that wore off.

what i didn't like was how it came off-in chunks! then again, i was on my hawaiian honeymoon, sweating and frolicking in the ocean for a week. but the color would start to pill off of me, like an old sweater, and it would make a big streak when i wiped it. this happened mostly on my legs and chest. it made me feel dirty, and i started to wonder how much people could tell that my tan was fake.

i don't regret having it done, but i probably wouldn't do it again.

just for kyl....my wedding face blog

okay, in an attempt to wash myself of the guilt and shame of being a horrifically inconsistent blogger these past few months, here goes a shout out to kyl about my wedding makeup....

even i was surprised by what i ended up using. being pregnant has caused my skin to really throw me for a loop, making my normally oily skin into a flaky, dry foreign thing. i fight oil my whole life and buy products to combat it, and on the most important day of my life, i end up having to wear something...moisturizing? i wore Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation, which would have been an absolute no-no if my skin were acting normal. i find it so hydrating that my face would generally turn into an oil slick within minutes, but not so on my wedding day. i topped it with Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil, just to give it a nice finish.

My blush was Cargo blu-ray blush/highlighter in pink.

i had my eyes planned out for months. of course i used Urban Decay Primer Potion to start, because your wedding day is the last event you want your makeup to slide on. i used Cargo's 2008 Holiday Palette, and i wish i could tell you the colors, but the package doesn't state what they are. It was in a retro satin case, and had a palette of silver eyeshadows, a highlighter blush, a silver glitter pen, and a silver eyeliner. i created a muted silver smokey eye from the palette, lining my eye with Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Jet. i lined the inner rims with the silver liner from the holiday palette. i covered my under-eye circles with Benefit Erase Paste.

here was a big disappointment...my mascara. i was all pumped up about using Dior Blackout Waterproof. i'm a HUGE fan of the regular formula, but since i didn't want to cry it off on my big day, i decided to try the waterproof. it didn't pump up my lashes nearly as much as i wanted, and i found that it flaked off fairly easily. i put in on top of Lancome's Cils Booster XL as usual, but i didn't have the glam eyelashes of my dreams. on the upside, it didn't come off when i cried.

i stuck with an old faithful for my lips...my Bourjois Lip Stain (which is getting harder and harder to find....). i topped it with Chanel Glossimer in Constellation (which i don't think they make anymore either). i got so caught up in the day that i forgot to reapply after the initial application and there was quite a bit of kissing, so i can't blame my lip stain for bailing after about three hours. i also think that my husband still looks dashing with a little bit of glitter on his lips from me ;).

i'll post pics of my wedding face soon, and i still need to tell everyone about my spray tan experience.....

spray on that marital glow!

i'm getting married in 9 days.

i didn't picture it going exactly this way in all my girlhood dreams. i'm definitely not the size i'd like to be as a bride (that's what happens when you get pregnant-no dieting!), and i'm a pale, pale girl.

i had almost come to terms with the paleness, except one day over the summer i got into my mother-in-law's pool and returned with some VERY noticeable stripes from my bathing suit. my dress won't be able to cover these, and i know they'll show up in the pictures.

i'm considering a salon spray tan....maybe. not to look like a malibu bride, but to simply even out. however, i've heard that the tan can look orange if you are pale to begin with. i'm a little nervous, but something has to be done, and i don't trust self-tanner in this situation. or maybe it's me i don't trust.

i also plan on doing it a few days before the wedding so that i can remedy the situation if need be.

my other dilemma: my hawaiian honeymoon and this spray tan. i've heard it doesn't hold up well under salt water. nothing says glowing newlywed like a streaky pregnant lady on the beach!!

my wedding day fragrance: Idole D'Armani

up until last weekend, i had my mind made up about what fragrance i would wear on my wedding day. Versace by Versace was my special occasion fragrance.

it's a sparkling, laughing floral that makes me envision that spectacular moment when we are announced man and wife and descend back down the aisle. that joyous, feminine smell had the potential to mark a memory. i'm not a floral girl, but this particular scent would go brilliantly with all the glitz of my wedding day, and dry down very nicely as the night wore on.

however.

last weekend, on a whim, i sauntered through the cosmetics department of macy's. i decided to sample the new Armani.

i love the Armani fragrances, because they are so well made. Mania is still one of my all-time faves, and i had a crush on Sensi for a long time. She is an excellent choice too-it reminds me of a friend from long ago.

Idole D'Armani is a grown-up version of Sensi. Sensi was sheerly sweet without being saccharine, with just enough woods to give it depth.

Dillards.com describes it this way: "An ode to the feminine ideal, this spicy floral fragrance captures a woman's grace, beauty and strength. Opening with dazzling clementine orange, juicy pear, ginger and davana, it boldly blends absolute saffron, jasmine and rose loukoum with base notes of patchouli and vetiver for a lingering, sensual luminosity".

if Versace was the walk back down the aisle, Idole D'Armani is a night filled with hugging loved ones and being kissed by the one you love. it's an abundance of sweet warmth, cozy and intimate. it makes you want to lean closer to the person you are talking to.

Versace laughs, while Idole huskily murmurs. it doesn't ooze sexuality with musk and sugar, it's subtley beautiful because it smells like skin in candlelight.

that's my wedding day scent.

product test drive-clarisonic is worth the money!

i got a clarisonic for my birthday!!

i know it's foolish to say everyone should run out and get one-they are pricey. but everyone should definitely have it on their wishlist!

i had heard such amazing things from people who owned these miracle machines. tales of soft, clear skin that boggled the mind. even people whose skin broke out initially after they used it still weren't sorry. with reviews like that, it's natural to be curious.

first of all, it doesn't operate like i thought. i don't know where i got this idea, but i thought the brush spun around, but it doesn't. it simply vibrates. this vibration (while feeling very soothing on your skin), loosens dead skin and allows your product to penetrate better. it is your arm's job to move the machine in circles.

another cool feature is that it times each area of your face. once you start, it beeps after a certain amount of time to indicate that it's time to go to the next area of your face. no clock-watching!

all in all your daily clarisonic experience lasts about a minute and a half.

my skin does feel renewed after using this. the dull skin vanishes, leaving behind softer, smoother, cleaned skin. i couldn't stop touching it! it doesn't irritate existing blemishes and actually helped mine go away.

clarisonic is available with different cleansers and textures of brushes.

this is worth every penny. and then some.