QTOD- Running

I looooooove to run. Cardio is probably my most favorite part of exercising. I learned awhile back that to be able to keep a steady comfortable pace, breathing correctly is a huge thing to train yourself to do. It sounds silly but if you dont have a breathing method down, you'll fall apart. What alot of people dont know is that you should breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. This makes a huge difference! Next time you put those running shoes on keep this in mind and I'm sure it will help! Have a blessed Friday :)

QTOD- Sunscreen and Freckles

I have freckles, there's no denying that, however I found that by applying SPF 15/30/45 on really sunny days reduces the "outbreak" of freckles that I would have normally gotten if I didnt apply SPF. This has been helpful to me, for all of you that have Freckles too, keep this in mind :)

Daily Facial Moisturizer- MAC Comfort Creme

 

A moisturizer formulated to instantly rehydrate the skin and provide immediate and ongoing relief from redness and irritation. Ultra-creamy, provides high-comfort wear while providing sensitive skin with the soothing benefits associated with its calming plant-and marine-based formula.

This facial moisturizer is newer to MAC Cosmetics. I love their line of facial products because I have very sensitive, dry(er) skin and when this came out, just the name had me hooked, so I picked it up at my local MAC and sure enough, this is by far my most favorite of them all! The formula is thicker like a cream, but goes on smooth, and absorbs quickly. Your face looks fresh, not greasy. I can not start my day with out applying this first. This retails for $32.00

QTOD - Feet on the Floor

I know when I get home after a long day of work, after I make dinner and finally go to sit down, I end up laying down on the couch and after that I'm finished for the night. Meanwhile there's laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, yada yada yada. I learned a while ago, watching a documentary on television that if you sit up straight on the couch, with your feet remaining on the floor, you dont get lazy or tired as fast, and you are able to stay up longer and have more energy later. This really works!!! Try it and leave your comments!

Avon SuperShock

I tried this mascara for the first time a couple weeks ago, after giving it some time, I really like it. It grasps every hair, and volumizes nicely. I'm not a fan of the plastic bristled mascara's, but this one is different. I've tried it in black only so far. It's much more pocket friendly and looks good if you just want to throw it on for the gym. I never leave home with out atleast mascara on so I'm keeping this one in my purse. For $6-$9 a tube you should try it out!

Back2Shellac- Cocoa

5 Day update, I went back to the color Cocoa, the French manicure really held its own, but after I painted this color on a couple family members I had to experience it again! This is the perfect nude, in my opinion.

QTOD- Blending Blemishes

A really easy trick that I read about, (a year ago and it's proven to work) on blemishes is that instead of wiping foundation or coverup onto your blemishes, take your finger and "blot" the coverup over the blemish with just your finger, it will dissapear and you arent left looking cakey or over done. Try it out :)

Shellac French Manicure / Decadence

I posted a few days ago about Shellac'n on my famly. Here is the French manicure, and a new color from the Spring 2011 collection called Decadence. For the French manicure I used Cream Puff for the white tips, and Romantique for the top color. The application on Decadence was smooth, the only thing about red coloring is that it shows any imperfections on your cuticles, and around your nails, such as hang nails and so on. Next time I'll definitely have to do a complete manicure instead of just a polish. What do you think?

QTOD

Holidays...I'm not sure about all of you but I know when good food is put in front of me its very easy to keep eating and eating, over the past year I've worked really hard on limiting my portions. My best advise for you especially around holiday  meals is to eat slowly and STOP when you are full. Drink lots of water before hand, that always helps me!! Hope this is helpful. :)

QTOD

Today I was practicing my Shellac'n on some family members, 6 actually. I realized something, and thought that this would be helpful for other Shellacer's in regaurds to the nailpolish lifting or peeling on the thumb nails. I find the application to work better when you cure pointer through pinky fingers first, and then thumbs so that the uv light hits all nails equally. I hope you find this as helpful as I did!

Quick Tip of the Day- Lashes & Lipgloss

Ever feel like you are rushing out of the house and have zero time to spruce yourself up a bit? Keep a travel size mascara and an extra tube of your favorite lipgloss in your purse and you'll be good to go :)

Shellac French Manicure- After 1 Week

To prove how awesome this Shellac biz is, I'm posting a weekly update, on how my nails look after a week of typing and cleaning, and dishes and some more typing, not one chip!!You can see growth and excuse my cuticals, but they still look great!

About Me

I probably should have started this blog with this very post...but I didnt so moving on. My husband and my son are my very heart and soul. DeWayne and I have been married going on 3 years this summer, and our son Dezmin is 3 and a half years old. They are the reason I care so much about who I am as a person, how I carry myself and living a healthy lifestyle. Nails and Make-up dont define who I am but I believe the saying "If you look good you feel good", and that effects every aspect of our lives. Never having a weight problem growing up, I was completely blindsided at how easy it is to put a little extra baggage on when you are in a relationship, or even just the hardships of life, but DeWayne has been so supportive I wouldnt be where I am today if he wasnt there every inch of the way. Remember a healthy lifestyle goes alonggggg way!!! And of course our 3 year old keeps me pretty active too. Never a dull moment :)
I'll be sharing my love of all things "beauty" here on this blog. I hope you enjoy, and comments are welcome!
Have a blessed Day

Moroccan Oil

This little bottle of amazingness has influenced my morning routine indefinitely! I have long blonde hair, and it's often a pain to wash, condition, brush, blowdry, straighten..yada yada yada...But when I started using this product my hair came out shiny, softer than ever and smelling like a tropical paradise! It does not leave your hair greasy, or filmy, just stunning. I use it before I blow dry on damp hair, and sometimes after, or before and after I straighten my hair. Just on the tips of my hair and at the roots of my hair line. It keeps those little "fly aways" where they belong and my hair looking healthy. Totally worth all the effort.

I've seen it retail anywhere from $10.95 to $31.00. Check your local beauty salon for stock, this is a must in my beauty routine :)

Everyday Cateye Products

MAC  Paint Pot

MAC 266 Angle Brush

MAC Fluidline

Mary Kay Mineral Eyeshadow

Lancome Cils Booster XL

Lancome Virtuose Black Carat Mascara

Cat Eye

My daily beauty routines consists of very little, however when it comes to eyes I feel that they should stand out more than anything on your face. Alot of people speak with their eyes and for me that's the first thing I look at when I talk to people. I love this signature "Cateye" look, and have been "wearing" it for almost 3 years now. It's so simple yet elegant. In these pictures I'm wearing MAC's paInt pot in Painterly, fluidline eyeliner in DipDown which I applied with a MAC 266 angle brush and MaryKay mineral eyeshadow in Granite for the crease. To finish off this look I applied one coat of Lancome's Cils Booster XL and one coat of Lancome's Virtuose Black Carat. Simple every day look.

Shellac French Manicure

This is my very first attempt at a Shellac French Manicure. I used Cream Puff a pure white color for the tips, and Romantique a nude-ish pink for the full nail color. The formula on the Cream Puff was a little on the thick side, but once it was on my nail it did run a little. You have to make sure to rub excess polish in the bottle neck to avoid running. The formula on Romantique has an odd consistancy, you have to use a heavy coat, if you use a thin coat this color will actually shrink. It's the weirdest thing. Overall I'm happy with how it turned out.

Shellac Cocoa

My favorite Shellac Color...drum role please....Cocoa!!! the most beautiful nude I've ever seen in my life! This color stayed on for 2 and a half weeks. The formula was pefect, no streaking, no globs, it was as  beautiful the day I removed it as the day I put it on...very pleased!

Shellac Fedora

This was my first "do it myself" Shellac experience, it's the color Fedora, and I'm inlove with it. Excuse the glare, my blackberry did it no justice...But it stayed on for 2 weeks, no chipping and I was totally impressed! The formula with new bottles of Shellac apply much like a normal bottle of nailpolish even though the Shellac formula hardens like a gel under the UV lamp. If you are having this done at a salon, some of the time, the formula may seem much thicker, like an old bottle of regular nailpolish. Regaurdless the finish will be flawless.

CND Shellac

I first found out about CND Shellac in January of this year and I thought how do I not know about this amazing invention?! My first salon experience left me a little unsettled (I can be so picky), as soon as I left the salon I was filling my husbands ear with "This one looks OK but these 4, what happened?!" and as soon as I got home I got right on line and looked up prices on a Gel Lamp and polishes...that was only the beginning...

If you dont know about CND Shellac it is a "14 day wear. Zero dry time. Mirror Finish." application. It is possibly the best nail polish experience I've ever encountered. The process takes apx 45 min total. The base coat cures under the UV lamp for 10 seconds. The first coat of color cures for 2 minutes, as well as the second coat, and the top coat cures for 2 minutes. You would think that it should take 10 minutes tops, not the case but when the top coat cures, you wipe the excess film off with a alcohol absorbed cotton ball and the mirror finish is remarkable! You can dig in your purse, do your make up or weed the garden immediately after application. No joke.