Whoops its Been Two Months ...

Not sure where the past two months went but ummm oops.  I have been busy with work spearheading a new project that started before Thanksgiving and continuing for a while into the near year.  I did take the week off between Christmas and New Years to do not much of anything but relax have fun and chill.

I think the only thing that I didn't get done while I was off was a massage - that will be coming up. I did get a mani in the middle of the day which just seemed super strange.  I also got into see my hair stylist and came out with pink and blonde hair. Which I am totally loving. Its been super fun.

I also managed to get my ass to the doctor and get an annual physical for the first time in about 4 years..... oops I need to call tomorrow to get my blood work results back.

I also started looking into taking classes at night to get my certification for makeup artistry.  Which I am super excited about. Getting my pro card would be such a thrill. Long term goal get my pro card then start working up the ranks.

This weekend was a mix of busy and chill. Saturday I spent the day with my sister in law. We went to the jewelry store and checked into getting some of her rings reworked and reset. Then we hit lunch, shopping grabbed a movie then dinner and a bit more shopping.  Sunday was a mix of lounging and working on a few things I brought home from the office to get a jump on next week.  especially since I came back from vacation worked two days then spent the next two days in bed sick.  

I didn't really make any new years resolutions I generally don't but I do have some goals to work on. I am wanting to get back into blogging - though the blog may start to focus heavily on makeup and beauty.

I need to check out of social media a tad and back into reading more.

I want to start night classes to get my certification and work toward my procard.

I am working on less stress and conflict this year.

I am also getting back into fitness.


How have y'all been?? Goals for 2016? Life updates?

Stick a Fork in that Week

Seriously the end of August already??? Its Sunday night and I am chilling out watching the VMA's this week flew by. This upcoming week is going to be busy. I have an employee leaving, a new one starting and its a 4 day week for me that ends in vacation.... Hell Yeahs.

Saturday I ran errands I needed some new bras and wanted to grab another pair of black skinny jeans so I headed to JC Penney's.  I had ran in there last week when I was at the mall to exchange primer at Sephora and picked up some awesome skinny jeans by ANA. I now one 5 pairs of black ones which makes getting dressed super simple in the morning. I'm all for that.

I popped into Sephora while I was there as well and am testing out a new foundation by Becca not sure yet what I think but I've only worn it once. When I went in I was wearing a no makeup make up look that all the girls went nuts over. Its become my fave pretty much just all bronzey and glowy. I have no clue what I am going to revert to when fall hits LOL.

Makeup with the new Becca foundation and hair left curly. This was before it was totally dried - it ended up being almost double in size lol.

Sunday we grabbed lil man and headed to the T-Rex cafe. He had a blast.

The Entrance 

                                                                                                     Checking out the fishes

We didn't get a chance to check it all out - he was overwhelmed.  We will take him back to check out the dino dig.  I think we will be skipping lunch there next time. The cafe is out at the legends so there are so many better places to grab a burger right there. We knew going in the food wasn't great but it was expensive. We took lil man just for the experience.

I hope y'all had a great weekend. Here is to next week.. Go kick ass!!! 

Makeup Products I Would NOT Purchase Again

This is totally my opinions on things that did not work for me or that I just didn't like. If they work for you, awesome. If you are on the fence about a purchase maybe this will help.  Its no secret I buy a lot of makeup, skin care and hair care products. In the words of my husband a metric "shit ton" of stuff. This is a small list of what the hell was I thinking about products I have purchased in the past few months.

Lets start with skin care, skin care is not a place you should skimp. Lets be real here - your skin is where just about everything in your life shows up. Sick, tired, stressed it will all show up on your face. I have started to use anti aging products - I have yet to find anything that is my "holy grail" so the search continues.

I purchased this - with high hopes -  it will be passed on.

This broke me out and I did not like the scent. While it does contain sunscreen there are conflicting reports that you should use retinols with sunscreen. Honestly the scent alone and the fact it broke me out is enough for me to say nope.

Next up ELF Studio makeup remover cloths:

These burned my eyes. The scent is strange. I bought them for quick use on days I don't wear makeup or to correct small mistakes, Given the fact that I have to rinse my face after I use this the quick corrects are out. I do use them on non makeup days and then rinse my face after or to remove the makeup off the back of my hand when I use that to mix shades and apply foundation. In the respect they are fine, but its a waste and even through they were only $3 I won't repurchase when they are gone.

This next product is blowing up social media and I can NOT figure out why. Its very expensive and honestly a horrible product. 

 This stuff is called "Instantly Ageless" ummm okayyy. It was designed to get rid of bags under the eyes and wrinkles. It DOES deflate the bags. HOWEVER, huge however this will create MORE wrinkles that you started with. it drys out the under eye makes fine lines more prominent, your makeup will settle funny over the product therefore insuring that you highlight what you tried to hide and make it all worse.  I don't know about y'all but I don't need MORE fine lines than I actually have thanksbutnothanks.

Moving on to makeup - Primers.

 This is the first primer I had ever tried. It felt great in the store on the back of my hand - that is where it ended.  Once on the face the product pilled and refused to smooth out. I ended up buffing most of it back off just to get my foundation to lay properly. Not a great payoff for a product that claims is a perfecting base.

The next primer is also a Loreal primer - one of their newest products. Honestly I think this would be fine for someone with dry or normal skin. Anyone who has an oilier skin will do better with a powder highligher. I also didn't feel that this product gave me that "lit from within" glow I was hoping for after hearing the Youtubers rave about it.

Foundation:

 Physicians Formula Nude Wear Line.

Part of this is totally my fault for expecting more from a product in a "Nude Wear" line. I am a full coverage girl - just always have been. I picked this up with hopes of being able to build a full coverage yet still have that light foundation feel for the hot humid Kansas City Summer.  Another issue is that there are not a lot of shade choices in the line. This is Light/Medium in any other line this would fall into the beige range - not something a fair skinned girl can pull off.  This also oxidized badly and in just a few hours I had full on bad tan oompa loompa orange going on.

The other issue I had was the foundation brush Physicians Formula provided with it.

What the hell is a girl supposed to do with that??? I actually used it to blend concealer - it sucks for that as well. Do yourself a favor and throw this out, invest in a real foundation brush. I prefer a kabuki style over the flat paddle foundation brushes. The kabuki gives you a finished airbrush effect, the paddle brush leaves streaks and its hard to use to blend out foundation.

Speaking of tools - stop wasting money on beauty blender knock offs. They are hard as a rock - they don't blend well and they will beat your face - and not in the good way. You have heard that term, when everything is blended perfectly and someone says I got a beat face.

This thing doesn't even swell and soften with water. I tried to use it one time - after this its trash bound. Now I have heard that the ONLY decent dupe is the Real Techniques sponge. I have ordered one from Ulta with my last makeup order and will be giving that a spin.

Coverup/highlighter combo from ELF. Seriously I have to stop buying ELF. I have YET to find any actual makeup they produce that I like. Now they do have a studio brush that I love to use for setting concealer and I like the lip exfoliator - buts that it.

This concealer highlighter duo was horrible the concealer doesn't blend and the highligher is the consistency of putting frosting on my face. Do yourself a favor and spend more than $3 on these products - it DOES make a difference.

Last on my list today is an eye shadow trio from NYC in Late Night Latte.. Even with a kick ass primer I only got one color to show up and it creased and was gone by midday. Not my goal with my eye shadow. There are much better drug store eye shadows out there with way better color payoff and they last all day with a good primer. 

Notice the fall out. It was worse on my face.

The One Where I Changed My Mind. (Beauty Post)

The One Where I Change My Mind ....

So about a year or so ago I made the statement - ok a few times that I didn't think high end foundations were worth the money or the hype, they were all formulated the same drug store would work just fine and that eye shadows where were to splurge.. .... Did you hear that?? Yes, that is the sound of me eating my own words.

Over the past year I have had issues with my skin that I have never really had. I didn't have major issues as a teenager - guess this is the pay off, wrinkles AND acne, cystic acne at that. Seriously Mother Nature - not funny.  Right around the time I turned 40, my normally "normal" skin - not dry not oily- turned on the freaking oil factory. My makeup didn't stay, everything creased.  Eye primer fixed the eye shadow creasing and then disappearing. I still had issues with my foundation.

Something I pretty much thought I had to just live with. I had started tossing a sponge in my makeup bag and my tube of foundation and reapplying after lunch. I did cycle through a few different types of foundations searching for something truly matte and with staying power it also had to be full coverage. I have just always loved the full makeup look of the old glam Hollywood. I probably get it from my grandmother who was never caught out of the house without full makeup. Her favorite foundation? Old school pan makeup.

Fully fed up with separated flaky and cakey patches by 2 pm I ordered some Amazon Clay Foundation by Tarte and the accompanying brush that beauty bloggers all over said was the best way to apply the foundation to get the best look and coverage. This stuff is BEYOND awesome.  It stays put, it doesn't cake flake or disappear, It stays matte. Something I really want especially in the humid summers of the Midwest.









The clay in the formula is what keeps the foundation matte and on your face. This winter I may have to find something else depending on how the winter here is. However maybe not if my face keeps up the oil slick routine.  I have high hopes that I have found my "holy grail" of foundations.

What do you use? What about it makes it your go to?

Apparently my blogging week starts on Wednesday's

Oops. New trend started I guess. Monday's the last few months have just been bonkers. I have every intention of getting my blog entry done early, while I sit and have some coffee. Then I check email and fire off a quick answer to this one or that one and before I know it, it is time to be working and somehow the Monday Blog never gets up.

Then Tuesday rolls around and I am doing some clean up from the day before. So here we are at Wednesday.  I have been asked why I don't just blog on the weekends  and schedule out posts. Sometimes I do - most times though I try really hard not to go near my laptop on the weekends. I sit in front of a PC for about 12 - 14 hours a day for work so on the weekends I have a real hard time hitting the power on button.  I may however rethink at least scheduling a few days out on Sundays.

Last weekend was my birthday weekend. I had a blast. Friday night we ordered Chinese to be delivered and just hung out. I'd had lunch with my mom earlier in the day and then somehow we both ended up at my house working on the genealogy project I started a few months ago. She has gone to her house for a bit to grab pictures and some paperwork to try to fill in the holes I have in the chart. We have plans to work some more on it when she returns from her vacation.

Once of my dearest friends sent me some brightly colored Gerber daisies and Red Velvet cupcakes.  D came home with my absolute favorite pink roses. Saturday we hit the Crepe restaurant downtown - which I originally thought was in Lee's Summit - Nope its in the old Summit theater building.. Oopsie.. I had the best ham and cheese crepe with scrambled eggs and a soy latte.

Then we hit Walmart and picked up the organizers that I wanted for the bathroom and rugs from Homegoods. Dinner was low key - bacon and egg sandwiches - was supposed to BLT's but umm someone got distracted when chili was mentioned and forgot to grab both the L and the T. I'm claiming a blonde affliction *wink*.

Sunday I did finally get to meet up with a few friends that I had not seen in awhile due to scheduling and illness. We grabbed lunch at a BBQ joint in the Northland then headed to Ulta and Sephora for a little shopping. Yes, I came home with more make up! TooFaced released an all matte version of my favorite pallet and it had to come home with me.  That evening we headed to my sister-in-laws where D installed a new dishwasher for her and she made me my favorite grilled chicken salad for dinner.

I finally have the house put together, the last box was stashed in the closet to be gone through later. The bathroom is now organized and things are within reach and convenient plus its cute! I love the new rugs and the 2 shelf units we bought. Next on the list is new dishes (all our small plates have now been broken) and a few things for the kitchen. I do believe a Kuerig is next on the list for a joint anniversary present. An area rug may also make its way home!

Weekend Shenanigans!

Wow Monday again, already .. its a super short week for me so I'll make the best of it. I am off Thursday and Friday. 

Friday I left the office early and hit the gym.  I have been hitting the treadmill for interval training and lifting. Loving the results from the lifting even though I just started a few weeks ago I already see a difference.

Got cleaned up and hit the local Mexican place for a good taco salad - minus the shell ;-) and hit Gtown to catch up with friends and family.  

Saturday I got up with a headache took some meds to get that down to a dull roar then hit the gym again.  Saturday night found us at an annual find raiser a friend of mine holds calls Muggs for Juggs - it benefits the Susan G Koman Foundation 3 day walk. Its always a great time and this year was no exception.. There was an added treat of bagpipes being played by a few local firemen. Gotta love a firemen in a kilt..

Sunday we got up and had a quiet morning then I hit the nail salon for a much needed mani. After that it was off to the Plaza for a walk, Starbucks and a stop at the MAC store, I was out of my favorite eye shadow.  

Talk to us Tuesday - Link up

Today is shaping up to be a Kill it - Kill it with FIRE sorta day.. Starting with waking up a half hour late this morning and going from there.  I got my new glam bag last night and was super thrilled to test out its contents - tip of the day, don't try out new products when you are running late. I'm rocking the ":glam fairy emo" smokey eye this morning. 

My new earrings came yesterday as well so I am sporting them.. Love a great deal - I got them on ebay for 47 cents which included shipping! I'm patiently waiting for the rest of my ebay auctions to get here. I am waiting for a few 8 bracelets to show up, a necklace and a ring total for all over it $27 .. 

I finally found a new purse and it arrived over the weekend, hey don't judge, yes it seems like a lot of stuff over the past few weeks, BUT its been over a year since I bought a new purse, and I needed new clothes and accessories to match - none of my old clothes fit .. they are a few sizes to big! WOOT so glad to be able to say that now.

So far since I started with FitCamp (end of July beginning of Aug) I'm down 20 lbs. I did hit goal but I am thinking 5 more lbs need to go and I am working on getting really toned. So far I am just maintaining - which is pretty good for a holiday season.  Right now I am in the middle of the plank/squat challenge which ends Dec 31st.

And now for the pictures 

   

I invite you to just drive

Over the past few weeks on my morning commute to work I have seen all of the various things listed below.. A women putting on full face makeup, a guy shaving, someone reading a novel (yes the book was splayed out on the steering wheel) a women eating a bowl of cereal and as always someone texting.

All of which have made me afraid to be driving in the lane next to them, behind them, or the scariest of all in front of them.  I understand running late - we all do so on occasion. I don't understand putting everyone else around you at risk.  Sure you have mad multitasking skills, sure your committed to being both on time and looking fab, I implore you however, to either call in late or show up less than groomed - take 2 minutes when you get to your destination and spruce up.  I'd much rather show up alive and less than perfect than a dead body that  is unrecognizable because of your distracted driving.  Texting while driving has proven to be deadly, please don't kill me because you can't stand to not text your friend back "gurl he was fine, & the jeans he wore made my tongue itch. L8ters" !  Eating while driving has been done for years, however pick something more portable - a bowl of cereal??  Lady a breakfast burrito will do more for you protein wise AND is much easier to hold and drive.  


Honestly if this is the norm for your morning commute, then take a time management course and go to bed earlier so you can wake up earlier and accomplish what you need to in the morning BEFORE setting out. Frankly you don't have the right to put everyone else on the road at risk. Put some thought into prepping before you get in a car and turn the key. You really are operating heavy machinery and should proceed with caution.