Something I Have Been Working On...

So I quit smoking!!  I did start vaping so the urge to smoke isn't there.  My nicotine level is so much lower than when I was smoking cigarettes. I am also not putting thousands of chemicals into my body. 

I'm starting to physically feel better. I have noticed some flavors getting more vivid - like lemon. I love lemon. My favorite yogurt is Noosa Lemon I noticed yesterday how tart it actually was.  I was surprised.  I know people always say smoking dulls your taste buds and I honestly didn't think my tastebuds were bad because I would eat something and think this tastes soooooo good. Then I ate the yogurt yesterday and was floored.

I also love the fact I don't smell anymore, my perfume stays, my hair smells like shampoo, not stale smoke.  I have noticed my skin looking better, healthier - less dry. It doesn't look as aged as it had started too.  That right there is motivation on its own to stay a non-smoker. Yes, I know vanity for the win!  

Now I just need to work on getting back to the gym. I haven't gained weight since I stopped smoking, in fact, I have lost some of the weight I gained when I was working at the salon. I, however, do want to get back to working out and living the best life I can.  I want my muscle tone back!! 

Here is to putting down a horrid habit and picking up the free weights!

I Never Meant to Fall off the Internets

So it's been a hot minute, sorry about that. I never meant to just disappear.  Honestly, a few things happened. It has been a difficult year. I've changed jobs a few times, and currently am looking again. My daughter and grandbabies moved out of state; to be blunt I hit a funk. I also hit a wall and didn't know what to even blog about anymore.

These days I am dealing with insomnia really bad despite taking my medications, which will explain the 2:30am blog post.  I feel like this past year has been one huge lesson in what I DON'T want to do. So I have been a tad lost in direction.

I truly loved working at the salon, but after a few stylists walked out it just wasn't a feasible option. So I accepted a position as a service advisor for an automotive repair shop thinking "hey its an adventure, a new life experience!" Turns out it is not exactly an industry I am cut out for. So I am looking again.  I think I need to go back to what I know, either the Medical field or Corporate America. Unfortunately so are all the recent college graduates!!

As far as the blogging block goes, I just need to get back to putting down whatever comes to mind and not worry "does this fit, or has this already been done"?  I enjoyed blogging the most when I just wrote and didn't attempt to fit a theme or aesthetic. In the beginning, it was just me and my thoughts about whatever. So that is what I strive to achieve again.  I find that I miss my ramblings and Wednesday confessions and some of the plain silliness.

Some posts may be long, some short - some will probably have no rhyme or reason but at least it won't all be stuck in the abyss of my mind any longer.

Wednesday Confess Sess

I can't wear heels anymore so I have turned into a sneakerhead.  My first pair of Adidas are due in today and I am beyond excited. I used the custom design feature on the website almost 3 weeks ago. I am now eagerly waiting for my all blush pink classics to arrive. Yes, they will probably be GLUED to my feet for awhile.

I'm addicted to Feud: Betty and Joan on FX.

I need to go buy out my gym membership and go back to home workouts and the complex gym that needs serious help but is right here. When I worked in the office my gym was convenient it was not far and I would just pop in on my way home and workout. Now that I am working in the salon it's out of the way and my hours are just to unconventional to justify keeping it when I can use the treadmill at the complex and my Jillian videos, which is how I started out in the first place.  Once I start school driving to the gym to workout will be completely impractical.

My insomnia is worse with the time change - I wished that we would just stay on daylight savings time.  It takes me forever to re-adjust each time the tinkering of the clock comes around.

Driving downtown makes me anxious - Monday I have to drive downtown at rush hour for a conference on skin care. I am looking forward to the conference just not the drive there and back!

Skin Care Mistakes I Made in my Teens and Twenties..

The things I wished I could go back and tell myself in my teens and twenties. Things I am now preaching to my daughter and nieces..

I was always hunting the tan - pasty, porcelain very skinned blonde (was natural back then) wanting to always be a bronzed goddess.  Which let's face it was NEVER in the cards - though I did achieve nice a nice bronze color when tanning beds hit the scene. Now I wished I'd never done either. I still want the glow but these days I am hitting the self-tanner and sunscreen. Yep at times, I look streaky but it is better to be streaky than missing skin patches due to melanoma.

I used straight up soap to wash my face in my preteen years.  Then the clear glycerine bar as a teen and noxzema, and some Seabreeze toner - loved the burn. No moisturizer in sight.  Looking back my skin was most likely horrible dehydrated.

In my twenties, I slept in my makeup - heavy stage makeup to boot. I washed my face when I showered using my body wash. I used regular lotion as moisturizer, if I bothered at all. Eye-cream was a word I didn't know.  if I had a breakout I would attempt to dry it out with rubbing alcohol on a q-tip or a mixture of baking soda and peroxide.  The makeup artist in my shudders to even read those words now.

I am always telling my daughter to start an anti-aging skin care routine NOW while she is in her twenties and her 40 something self will thank me. True to fashion she doesn't listen.  I have also started preaching this to my best friend's daughter - whom I consider my niece.  I have access to amazing skin care of which I am without shame, putting in her hands and lecturing her on the evils of sleeping in makeup - even if "it is just eyeliner".  Sleeping in makeup will cause premature aging of your skin as well as a whole slew of skin issues.

Take care of your face - you only get one. Your skin is your foundation for everything. Treat it right, pamper it. Drink tons of water, eat healthy and use the best skincare your budget allows.  It doesn't make a damn bit of difference if you use high-end makeup if the skin you are putting it on isn't treated well. If your foundation is cracked its just a matter of time before it all crumbles.

Life Currently

So it is no secret I stepped away from blogging for awhile.  I had a few life changes that I didn't discuss here, well anywhere.  I changed jobs, and more so accurately completely changed career fields. I didn't really ever discuss what I did for a living or where I worked. I was working in the IT field as a business manager. In September my almost 7-year career ended in IT.  It was not expected, but frankly, it was time to move on. I had reached burnout status.

I took some time to figure out what and where I wanted to go.  I worked very briefly in retail at the start of the Christmas season. Then I took a position at a salon working in Customer Service Management.  I have also started the steps to take my Makeup Artistry course for my certificate from MUD.  Through the salon, I am working on my retail certification from Dermatological. I have an all day seminar and workshop coming up at the beginning of April.  I am waiting to hear back from the school on the newly restructured MUD program so that I can enroll and start.  Classes are all day Sunday and Monday.  The salon is closed both days so this works out perfectly.

In with all of these changes my daughter also moved out of state. I am used to seeing my grandbabies every few days. I was there when both of them were born and are very attached to both. This has been a hard transition for me.  I was cleaning today and came across a few hidden rocks that were not in my basket and had a moment.. My grandson is who would bring me rocks from all his adventures.  I have saved them all. He started this when he was about two. I treasure them all and miss him flying through my door yelling NONI check out what I have for you! His fifth birthday is in a few months, it will be the first one I have not been there for.  My granddaughter turns one in August, I am hoping to be able to get there for that.

With all this going on, I lost my passion for blogging, and since I changed the focus of the blog to a beauty blog I didn't feel that most of this fit that aesthetic.  However, the fact is this blog was always my outlet and I lost sight of that.  It's mine and I can mix it all up and not attempt to just fit in one basket.  I always said nitch blogging wasn't my thing, why I tried is beyond me. So I am going back to my roots, it will be simply my blog with everything thrown in. Whatever I am feeling or into at the moment may show up.  Be it a makeup review, favorites of the season, my journey to becoming a makeup artist or Wednesday confessional with an occasional bitch session thrown in.  

I hope to see y'all back and interacting - I've missed you.

I said I Wouldn't but...... Kylie's Liquid Lips

Okay I saw the KoKo Kollection and said "take my money". I am a huge fan of Khloe and I saw the colors in her collab with Kylie and decided to take the chance. Yes I have seen the reviews on her previous lip kits, I have seen the rants regarding the brushes on her glosses.  I also know there has been a reformulation and the brush on the gloss changed.

It has been rumored that the Kylie liquid lips are the exact same as Color Pops ultra mattes. I have now worn both and can say if they were the reformulation is NOT Colorpops. Kylie's formula is one of the most comfortable I have ever worn - at least the KoKo Kollection is.  I forgot I was even wearing anything! I can NOT say the same about ColorPop.

They dry down transfer proof, super comfortable and very long wearing, even after a Starbucks coffee and eating a salad for lunch. At the end of a long 10 plus hour day my lipstick was still going strong and did not budge until i took it off with eye makeup remover. I do plan on getting one of her regular lip kits to compare the normal stock versus this collab. Right now the only other liquid lip I found to be this comfortable is Anastasia of Beverly Hills.

The colors in this collab are stunning. Gorg is my favorite with Okurrr coming in next, Kho$$ I find a bit on the yellow side of nude and I did expect that based on the color description Kylie had on her site. It washes me out just a tad so I use it to layer with other colors. Damn Gina is a nice gloss that pairs well with all the liquid lips if you want to wear them glossy without changing the color very much.

I honestly hope to see another collab in the future with any of Kylie's sisters.

*pictures were obtained from Google.

                                             This is from Kylie's snap chat reveal

Winter is Coming, is Your Skin Care Ready?

Sub zeros temps, forced air heating, blustery winds all of which takes the moisture right out of your skin. With the change of the seasons your skin care should change as well.  Keeping your skin hydrated will help both with keeping break outs to a minimum and help with aging. Winter will sap the moisture out of your hair, skin and nails. It is essential to put it back.

The one thing that doesn't change is what I wash my face with.  I always use my Murad anti aging acne cleanser. However in the winter I add oils into the mix.  Yes as an oily skinned girl I use oils. No it doesn't make my breakouts worse; in fact they are better because my shin is getting what it needs therefore it is not working to produce oil. So my PH mantel stays more in balance and my skin stays more consistent.

In the morning I will wash my face to remove the oil from my PM routine and start the day with a fresh canvas.  Then I take my regular moisturizer and add a drop of rescue oil to it. Emulsify them together then work into my skin. I also use H2O's eye rescue cream in the morning to keep my under eyes hydrated.  That is the first place my skin dries out. I let that soak in before starting any makeup for the day.  Usually I will do my skin care then go get dressed for the day and then come back and start my makeup.

At night I will double cleanse my face. Not because its gotten too oily but because I have started using a face brush. People generally will tell you "oh those break you out" and yes they can, if you are grinding IN that days makeup. So I wash my face really well with my cleanser and a regular wash cloth first making sure everything is gone. Then I add a little more cleanser to the face brush and use it for exfoliation. I only use the brush two or three times a week,  Then I will use First Aids extreme rescue over night eye cream under my eyes. After that I use 3 to 5 drops of rescue oil on my face really working it in and a few more drops down my neck and chest. Do not forget your neck. Ever see a woman with gorgeous skin and the dreaded "turkey neck" usually because her skin care stopped at her chin!

During the cooler months I also make sure to keep up on my water consumption. Its essential to stay hydrated your skin is comprised of 64% water. Dry air, caffeine cold wind all of it saps the hydration from your skin and body drink your water! It makes a huge difference in so many aspects of your body and health. Your skin hair and nails really do reflect what is going on inside.  Staying hydrated will go along way in keeping your glow!