Every Day is My Wedding Day

There is a lot of hype in the wedding day. After all, some people have dreamed about this day all of their life. They wanted to be a princess for the day. They wanted everyone to look at them. They wanted everything to be perfect. It was their day.

In my beauty journey, I created this mantra in order to remind myself and other women that we can create a kind of excitement, anticipation, joy and warmth that comes with wedding in our everyday. This is both inwardly and outwardly. Beautifying ourselves is our gift wrap for the guests of our lives everyday. We want to be a gift to others. We invite them into our lives to celebrate our lifespace regularly. Let us cleanse our inner being so that we may be a gift.

Making sure we look pristine everyday, if we keep it in proper focus without vanity, envy or obsession, can make us feel like a princess. Keeping your life in order, doing regular meditation or praying, doing things that make you happy, being a blessing to others and nourishing your body can improve the feeling of perfection in your life naturally.

Every day is my wedding day. And you're invited.




*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

In My Opinion: The Glam Look

I thought I would start a new regularly themed post called "In My Opinion". And I want to use this platform to state my unvarnished opinions about global beauty trends, experiences, testimonies and random thoughts.

Today, I want to talk about the order of operation for the glam look. Basically, let's talk about the face. And my opinion about the most quintessential aspects of facial makeup that creates a glamorous, celebrity style look in order of importance. 

Eyelashes, eyebrows and lipstick, in my opinion, are the most important pieces of your facial enhancement to snatch everyone's eyes toward your spotlight.

The Eyelash

First, I believe that great mascara in addition to the application of false eyelashes (of course with an eyeliner) is the most quintessential aspect of creating a glam look, worthy of celebrity. You already know that adding simply mascara to your everyday look sans makeup quickly and easily enhances your look. But when it comes to blazing the runway, if you don't have eyelashes, you don't have anything. You are not the star. You are not a star. Let me just tell you that first and foremost.

If your eyebrows are scattered and all you have on is lip balm, but you have on the false lashes of life? People had better move out of your way. Because the princess is coming through.  

The Eyebrow

Knowing how to shape, sculpt and highlight your natural eyebrows is powerful. This is with or without the glam look but especially for the glam look. Your eyebrows are your face. Your eyebrows tell us everything we need to know. The size, the arch, the shape, the thickness, all tell us something about you. But regardless the shape it takes, if you can clean up your eyebrows and make it look flawless, you are instantly a beauty to be reckoned with. 

Even on a bare-faced beauty, glorious eyebrows are a woman's natural makeup to make her flawlessly beautiful. The beauty of your face I believe begins with your eyebrows. But if you want to look like a superstar, perfect eyebrows are not only quintessential, it makes or break you. 

It makes the difference between an everyday girl and an A-lister. If eyebrows are this critical, it must be natural then to ask why I ordered it as number 2 instead of number 1? Glad you asked. 

Had this been a list for the most important things for your face to look great as opposed to the most important things for your face to look like a celebrity, then eyebrows and eyelashes would be switched wherein eyebrows would easily take number 1. False eyelashes, however, create a supreme effect of celebrity status far and above the eyebrow and that is why it tops this list. Nevertheless, for non-Hollywood people, you can look amazing without eyelashes but eyelashes can be an amazing enhancer. 

The eyebrow stands as a tattoo for the face that shapes what we know and fixates our attention on the pure beauty, without which your facial beauty would be a little....formless. The eyebrows, thus, give your face a "form". And for the international supermodel, it's usually a signature. Eyebrows and celebrity go hand in hand. 

Lipstick

Want them to roll out the red carpet? Get the right lipstick. Lipstick can enhance your face from 0 to 1000 if you get the right shade in absolute perfection and create an irresistible look. Lip lines, lip highlights, lip plumping, lip contour are apart of the many lip tricks to create fuller, sultry and sexy lips that make your whole face pop. These tricks abound in the pockets of many pro makeup artists and I count them as part of the lipstick regimen that takes your face from just pretty to bam! can I have your autograph? 

While the right lipstick makes a bold statement and says definitively 'I am here', lipstick without eyelashes and eyebrows ain't cutting it for the pros. 

So, that concludes my list in order of importance to stand out like a celebrity. There are a range of things involved in facial makeup that creates a glamorous appearance especially for celebrities from illuminators to contouring to great foundation to prime concealer to the smoky eye to luxury setting powders and blushes of life, among many other things. They are all important for the glam look. But alone, without the aforementioned quintessential things, it would all be for naught.  

*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

Stand Out in the Crowd

It's easy to stand out in the crowd. If you know the tricks to the trade.

In America, we generally have a very casual culture when it comes to fashion (which in my travels I believe the world is rapidly picking up). We were once known as the T-shirt and sneakers culture, so to speak, while some other cultures dressed in blouses and boots.

For this reason, most people's everyday look is ordinary. And there is nothing wrong with ordinary if you want to look ordinary. But if you want to make waves, which I aspire to do, try dressing up everyday.

It doesn't have to be elegant wear but something that is just a notch more "dressy" than a T-shirt. A blouse, a special top, a dress (dresses make things easy), a pretty skirt...you get the picture. Boots can easily jazz up a look and sandals can be so sexy. Even the right sneakers can look completely glam. You could even choose a jazzy graphic tee if T-shirts are where it's at for you. But take it up just a notch.

Throw on a statement earring, necklace and/or ring. If it's winter, throw on a sleek infinity scarf. If it's summer, throw on fierce aviator sunglasses. Take care of your skin and hair. A fashionista I once knew said that most looks can be forgiven if you have great hair and shoes. I think she may have been on to something. Even if you do not have great hair, take care of it because your hair is your crown. Alternatively, buy a wig or get a nicely done extension. Wigtypes.com have great high-quality, inexpensive wigs that are made for African-American women but can be used by all! It would be great to try them out on that website.

While make up is not necessary, it can enhance the look. Just simple mascara can improve your appearance if you are really not into everyday or regular makeup. Also, if all you add is eyeliner, that is also really cute. But if you want a touch of makeup without the full face, I love bb cream (or a tinted moisturizer) for a fresh look without the heaviness of foundation. It's almost like easy moisturizer that gives your skin a warm glow. Alternatively a well-done full face will turn heads.

Be more than casual. Reach out of your comfort zone. Be you but better. When you look good, you can feel so good. It can literally improve your posture, your mood, your energy, your outgoingness, your boldness. Sometimes it even has a reciprocal effect for those you interact with, possibly improving their mood and energy. Do you want to brighten other people's day? Then beauty and fashion may be the way.






*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

Cheap but Excellent Foundation

Since we're on the topic of foundation, I have also found a product that can be used as foundation, which I covet more than my beloved Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream which I use as a foundation for everyday wear.

That is LA Girl HD Pro Concealer. Breathe.

As you know, I am a proponent of Makeup Forever (MUFE), which is a more expensive brand. But I love their HD liquid foundation. I believe there may be something in this "HD" (high-definition) thing. Because LA Girl HD Pro Concealer gives my skin life.

Oh, and it's only $2.99 at your local beauty supply store or beautyjoint.com.

I appreciate this concealer for it's beautiful application and that it beautifies my complexion as it brightens and smooths the tone. I like to save my MAC and MUFE products for special occasions or when I want to look my best, but I would use this concealer too when I want to look my best without using up my more expensive products. I love the look more than the amazing Maybelline product but only slightly less than MAC.

It's also extremely versatile. You can also use it for contouring because it has a thin applicator on its lid which makes application for contouring simple.

You can also use this concealer as foundation *and* contour at the same time by choosing your skin color, a highlighter color and a much darker color. Apply the skin color as foundation, then the darker color for contouring the cheeks and face, and then using the lighter color (highlighter) for the under eye, temple, nose, etc. With a setting and finishing powder added, you can make a beautiful full face application.

Alternatively, you could just use it as concealer. At which point, it's pretty much the only concealer I use.





*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

The Holy Grail (Currently) of Foundation

I believe that even the best products can get better. Therefore, I share my excitement with reserve.

I have found the holy grail of foundation.

Not long ago, I tried so many different foundations and I wrote a blog post about it. At the end of my exploration, I found that I loved MAC Studio Fix foundation and Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream. A few days ago, however, I entered the wonderful world of Sephora and literally spent hours trying out samples of makeup from everything to foundation.

Knowing nothing about Smashbox, Bareminerals, Sephora, Kat Von D, Nars, Cover FX, Urban Decay, Too Faced, Makeup Forever, and Bobbi Brown, among so many others, I walked in blindly. Or shall I say, I walked in with a fresh face and an open mind. I knew little about which brands do what and which do what better.

After trying on so many different foundations including all of the aforementioned brands, I landed on Makeup Forever's (MUFE) HD liquid foundation. It was so awesome. And I found out later after talking to a Sephora rep that it happened to be the most popular foundation. Look at me--I have taste!

But then! I encountered a beautiful woman at the store who was a shopper like me. When I tell you her makeup was flawless, I mean it. I asked her exactly what she was wearing. Ironically she was wearing Makeup Forever, but she had on the MUFE Face and Body Foundation topped with MUFE's new Pro-Finish (multi-purpose foundation or setting powder). So, I was in the right brand but I had not yet reached the holy grail product.

MUFE's Face and Body topped with MUFE's Pro-Finish is quite magical. It brightened and evened out my complexion for a baby-like, heavenly glowing appearance. It went on extremely lightweight and not cakey. It did not oxidize darker; it stayed the same color. I did not feel like I had makeup on but I felt like my face was the best thing going. I had reached nirvana. I would later experience further utopia when I saw the power of the setting powder, keeping my face flawless all day long...and into the next day (because I forgot to take it off!). And the next day it was just as flawless. It did not look "slept in". It looked just done by the makeup artist. The morning glow made it even better than before.

MAC has been beat. MAC is gorgeous on my complexion and enhances my appearance greatly but two of its main flaws are that it can look/feel a little cakey and it feels like it is melting during the summer time. The MUFE combination, however, is airy and wonderfully breathable. Moreover, it's like it becomes your face and it stays quite dry (but not drying) in hot weather.

MUFE is at the top of my list right now. And, as you recall, I was also a huge fan of the HD liquid foundation but I did not purchase it. The Face and Body with the Pro-finish was even more superior than what I had thought was my favorite foundation at Sephora, and both were in the same brand! MUFE is not to be slept on. Stay awake.

Or better yet, sleep with it, sleep on it but let your skin stay awake...forever.






*Enjoy, comment and subscribe!

Trash or Treasure? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Thrifting

Lalalala, discovering the thrift store sent me into a magical world! My first foray into a thrift store haul was at Plato's Closet near Florida Mall. I picked up two pairs of glorious heels, a Steve Madden purse and an Aldo hat for $40 bucks. I was hooked.

I later went to Plato's Closet's Grab Bag event, where you can have as much clothes that fits into a bag, all for $20! I got a ton of clothing and the value of it all came to about $1000 bucks. More hooked. With plenty of thrift shopping experience now, I can tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.


THE GOOD

You can save a ton of money. There are amazing finds to be had at thrift stores at phenomenal prices. Try finding a $200 blazer for $6! Yes, these are mostly used items but there are plenty of things in great condition. At places like Goodwill, there is a color-coded 50% discount every week. Try taking half off of $3.69 for any piece of quality clothing! While Goodwill takes most of the donated clothing to sell, other places actually buy-to-sell only gently used designer brands (consignment shops). While these types of places are usually more expensive, the quality of the clothing is also worth more and may last longer. Nevertheless, you can find great name-brands at Goodwill! Just by a look at threading and a touch for stronger material, you can pretty much tell the quality of a piece.

THE BAD

If you do not have patience, going through the racks to find hidden gems will be a pain. Check for missing pieces or do the "why did they give this piece of clothing away?" check. This involves looking at the piece in its entirety to see if you would be able to use it in its current condition.


THE UGLY

If you are going through clothing and you feel an itch, drop that clothing like a bad habit. I had the misfortune of going to a Goodwill Clearance center (as opposed to retail) in which everything that fails to sell in the retail store goes to the clearance center to be sold for $1 per pound. At first I thought it was an amazing deal until I saw the set up...literally tubs of clothing that you have to pull out and look at. The one I went to was dirty, filthy, musty, chaotic and....itchy. Bad, bad sign. Get out immediately.

Ever since that bad experience, I have been turned off to thrift stores. I want to stick to buying affordable *new* clothing. I think I had my fun thrift shopping for a while but that Goodwill scarred me and literally made me think of all that was bad about thrift stores....that I had not encountered up until that store.






*Enjoy, comment and subscribe!

Forgiveness is the Key to Confidence

I feel abnormal in that I do not have a story of self image issues. I have always felt confident in myself. I can not honestly recall a time in my life where I lacked confidence in myself. Therefore, I can not justly inform someone on how to go from 0 to 100 in confidence. What I can educate them on is how I have lived my life.

I had every reason to have low self esteem. Growing up, no boy liked me. I was very chubby and almost everyone in class picked on me (and sometimes my family picked on me). And I never said a word back to them. I cried everyday because they would not stop bullying me. I wore pretty much the same pair of shoes everyday. My clothes were always oversized...in so not a fashionable way. I never wore fashionable clothing. My hair looked all types of crazy. I always had my head in the books. I was a really smart, quiet kid who was very sensitive and overly emotional. Sometimes I could barely speak. My mom always called me lazy. Though I had my middle school crew to hang with, by high school I went to another school in a different district and I did not connect with people at the new school very well. In short, I was isolated in high school. I would literally sit by myself in a corner....until after school when I would hang with buddies from my old school at the library. Being socially isolated made me not want to go to school many days. It was torture.

Despite all these issues, I was still very confident. Being a believer of God and His promises, it did not occur to me that anything was wrong with me. I relied more on how good I was as a person to measure my value. A value I measured. And you can tell what someone values most in others by the measure by which they value themselves. (If someone values something about themselves, they will seek others who match up with that value. Even if they lack something that they value, they will still seek in others what it is they value. Or, if they lack it, they could go the opposite way and find others who lack it also to feel better about themselves.) Because I could see and love the goodness in me, all I could see was the goodness in other people...even when they hurt me. And I gravitated towards the nicest people always. In this way, I always remained in a positive mindspace. 

It is only in my adulthood where many women my age are learning how to be confident in themselves that it even occurred to me that this was a struggle for many females growing up. It's in writing this post that I am even trying to recall some of the things that women mention that they had a hard time with. I was not exempt from these experiences. All of these experiences were painful. All of them made me cry. But I went through them with a conviction about myself. As long as I was a good person, all else could be forgiven. I prided myself on being kind, considerate, empathetic, patient, virtuous. This is why I loved myself. And consequently why I loved others. And this was how the world was painful, but it was a beautiful place. Because I felt love inside myself, I saw love everywhere. 

In spite of my humble beginnings, I knew that the Bible told me that the meek shall inherit the earth. And therefore I took pride in meekness. I took pride in humility and humbleness. I took pride in obscurity. Because the earth is mine. This is a guarantee. Even when my situation looked like rags, I always felt riches. That same invisible girl to someone felt like she had it all. 

I could naturally forgive myself. I truly do not know why I got this gift while others had to learn it. Lazy? Forgiven. Fat? Forgiven. Unattractive? Forgiven. Unlikeable? Forgiven. Mute? Forgiven. Sensitive? Forgiven. Lonely? Forgiven. I never sat and thought about these things negatively about myself, because they all came through a sustainable filter of forgiveness instantaneously. I was not those things, and I was more than those things. Ultimately, these were my experiences; these things did not define who I am. My confidence was in knowing and loving God, how I treated people and how I treated myself. Did people leave my presence feeling better? That has been my primary concern in my activities in life. 

Forgive what you can't do, what you haven't done, what you are not, what you are working on, what others say, what others do....keeping forgiving and focus on becoming a better you.









*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

The Truth about MAC Dupes

There are plenty of videos, sites, blogs and social media platforms suggesting that more affordable brands are "almost exact" dupes for MAC's higher-end lipsticks, for example. I am hear to say, yes and no.

What you can often find in drugstore brands such as Wet N Wild, Revlon, Milani, NYX and L'Oreal are repetitive colors usually in some variety of blue-based, orange-based, pink-based, mid-, light-, bright-, dark-, muted and mixed colors of all the shades of the rainbow...with just slight (and sometimes major) differences in specifications such as tone; undertone; finish (e.g. sheer, sheen, satin, matte, etc); texture; price; formula; packaging; application; type; and length of wear, among other things. 

Wet N Wild is a special favorite among lovers of lipsticks looking for a bargain because many of their colors almost exactly mirror those of MAC. However, the specifications of these lipsticks are quite different, hence the difference in price. 

For example, Wet N Wild megalast brand is semi-matte and MAC's matte collections are either fully matte (dry) or retro matte (more drying). This leaves a little more shine on your lips as compared to MAC. 

You will find that Wet N Wild does not cover with as good an opaque finish on the lips unlike MAC, which can enhance the appearance of the lipstick, your lips and your face in totality. 

Wet N Wild is good because it has great color payoff, but with less product (and better packaging) you will get amazing color pay off from MAC.  This allows your product to last longer. MAC, of course, also has longer wear, allowing you to use less product, thus further prolonging the life of the lipstick.

Wet N Wild also had the tendency to clump on me sometimes when applying (although pursing the lips helps) while this is never a problem with MAC. Sometimes Wet N Wild also settles in the lip, creating a poor application and requiring further application. I could go on and on about the differences but this is just to provide what these differences mean for you. 

I love a good dupe myself especially for colors I am on the fence about. However, the truth about MAC dupes (and dupes in general) is that when you buy a dupe, you should more or less just expect to get the same color. MAC products have a superior texture and finish that most brands can not rival. If all you are concerned about is a color, than go right ahead and get a dupe. A dupe usually is the same as getting the color, not the same as "almost" getting the product. Just know the truth that a "dupe" is no where near the same as getting the original lipstick no matter how similar the colors.  As long as that's straight, dupe away!



*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

Know Your Foundation

I compared several brands of foundation including Revlon Colorstay Combo/Oily Skin, MAC Studio Fix, Ideal Flawless foundation, Ideal Flawless BB cream, Maybelline Perfector Age Rewind, Maybelline BB Cream Pure, L'Oreal HIP foundation, Kleancolor pressed powder, Kleancolor Skin Wish BB cream, Ulta pressed powder. The through-and-through winner was MAC Studio Fix! Maybelline BB Cream Pure stood as the runner-up.

I really wanted something to beat MAC. I truly did. It would have been better for my pockets. My range of foundation and foundation-like products covered high-end, drugstore and beauty supply store quality. MAC Studio Fix costed $27, while Kleancolor pressed powder costed me $1. There were lots of different prices in between.

MAC Studio Fix gave me a perfect and luxurious coverage that made my skin look flawless. Maybelline's Pure gave my skin life. Revitalizing life. A coverage so natural but full. These will be my go-to foundations until further notice!




*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!

Why Buy Any Other Lipstick Beside MAC?

MAC is a lipstick giant. And well-deserved. When I put on a MAC lipstick, I feel like I have precious gems on my lips. The level of fierceness can not be quantified.

But going at $16 a pop, I could not possibly get all the shades. I have to be very selective.

I chose my first couple MAC lipsticks, Ruby Woo and Flat out Fabulous, by looking at google images and youtube videos of these colors. They were absolute stand outs. And I had to get them. Currently MAC has free shipping for any purchase so I utilized that feature when I got my first Ruby Woo. Glorious.

I also bought Flat out Fabulous by chance when I tried to purchase MAC products on MACY'S website because there was a free gift with purchase. But shipping, handling and taxes came up to $12! So, since I was already close to the free shipping eligibility by $12, I figured what the heck, throw Flat out Fabulous in the bag! So now I psychologically tell myself I paid the $4 difference for Flat out Fabulous as opposed to paying S&A plus taxes...plus I got  a free gift! Exciting!

Yet while I adore MAC lipsticks and think it's the best out there, there are certain shades that I can deal with without them being pristine like these gems. When it comes to the color red, I want the best. And the best is Ruby Woo hands down for the color and the texture.

However, if it's brown or even purple, which are not my very favorite shades for lipstick, I can take some more reasonable quality lipstick that is not MAC. As you may know Jordana is a stand out lipstick brand for me as well. I also love Milani, which happens to be a sister to Jordana under the same company.

But give me a MAC any day of the week.

*Enjoy, comment, subscribe!