I'm Melting.

I knew we were in for a brutal Florida summer when I was sweating in March! But it's continued to prove me right with hot, hot, hot days and scarily hot nights. But I actually enjoy the heat as long as I can tough it out poolside with friends. However, the problem I've been facing is makeup related. I shared before that I had the chance to sit down during my on TV makeover, and ask a makeup artist for some makeup advice. I did ask her a few questions about keeping the shine at bay but I had more questions about summer makeup...

Thankfully, I'm not the only one. I read a great article in InStyle magazine about products that won't melt in the heat and I added a few to my current makeup 'hit list'. I love to work the system so I made my whole list of items which included: shine control primer, cheek tint (instead of blush), oil control and matte finished bronzer, etc. So after I got my list made up I hit up Sephora.com with the whole list. This way I got free shipping, 4x the points on my credit card, and 8, count that 8 samples for free with my order.

So a few new things I'm beating the heat with this summer:

I bought this 3 color cheek tint kit, so I can see which color(s) go best with my skintone, and give this whole cheek tint idea a try. I've never used any before and benefit cosmetics are always popular, especially these so I thought they were worth a gamble.



This I've bought before but I was out of it and needed more. I bought the to go size since it lasts a LONG time for me (and I didn't want to spend the money on the full bottle this time). You mist this over your finished face and it holds your make up all day, even in the heat. I love it.


Cosmedicine's Matte and Bronze powder. Two things I love to be - matte and bronze. Enough said.

I bought some mineral powder and one other bronzer to try as well. But you get the idea.

I also browsed a few articles about summer makeup tips and one suggested applying tinted moisturizer (which I love) with a damp sponge. I'd never tried it that was so I've added that to my mental to do list. I frequently do a tinted moisturizer instead of foundation on the weekends, with a hint of blush and a few strokes of mascara.

Another highly recommended producted in InStyle's summer ideas was Burt's Bees tinted chapstick. A product I can't live without since my sister got me hooked on it back at Christmas time.

How do you keep your makeup from melting in the summer? I'm taking all tips and tricks into the database this week because let's be honest, the summer is just beginning for me and it's goign to be a hot one!

Love,

B

Picking the Professional's Brain - Makeup.

Well yesterday was makeover day and I took full advantage of having 3 professionals working on me to ask questions! I wanted to share a few tidbits I learned with you from the gal who did my makeup...

I'm fasinated by people who are good at makeup because while I love to dabble and could spent a good hour playing in Sephora, I just don't have the creative genius some people have, especially in the eyeshadow department. I see these cool new trends and think 'I wouldn't know where to start'. Anybody with me here? She taught me how to do a smokey eye, which I've always though were really cool but with a color palette that works for me. Apparently because my eyes are hazel/green (but people assume their brown because I'm THAT bad at doing eye makeup) - I should stick to plums and peaches and never ever use neutrals. Epic fail on my part...guess I'm cleaning out my makeup bag and starting fresh! I mean, I knew from art school that purples pop greens so I do have a few of those but I usually combine them with neutrals which apparently wasn't doing my eyes any favors.

I talked to her a bit about how to keep from being shiney as well. I have oily skin and midday I tend to get shiney which also sometimes makes my makeup gather in dark or orangey looking ...puddles? I hate this. It's made worse by the fact that I'm dark complected and therefore my makeup is dark. Anywho, she recommend a primer that's made to control oil. So I've added that to my 'to buy' list. I know bare essentuals makes one but I'm not a huge fan of their products, so I'm still looking. I've used Makeup Forever's mist and fix and I like that for what it does but it doesn't control my oil factor. I've also tried the photo finish product that magazines rave about but it doesn't control my oil. Blah. She also said to buy buy buy oil blotters and have them everywhere. In the car, in every purse, in the house, in a pocket. Any and everywhere.

Ever wonder who makes the best bronzer? Me too. I swear by bronzer and since my face is always paler than my body, I'd probably look like a freak without it. She didn't really have an opinion but I've tried many and the best for me has been Nars brand bronzers and the 'Pot of Gold' by Sephora. Thought I'd share that anyway.

After my conversations with her I poured over the stack of magazines that had been building up on my coffee table for weeks and came up with a few other things for my new makeup hit list which includes:

- oil reducing primer
- eye lash curler
- oil blotting paper
- concealer stick
- eye liner brush (so you can use eye shadow as liner, which I learned about yesterday as well)
- purple shadows
- deeper lip gloss

I hit Nordstrom Rack on lunch and had much success:

Whew. Still have a few things left to collect but I'm going to hit Ulta soon with a coupon from May's InStyle magazine and take care of the rest.

Love,

B

Tricks of the Traveling Trade.

Photo Credit.

Airports. Let’s chat about them. I know many of my readers (whose blogs I also read) either travel frequently for work or are headed places this summer for vacation (hopefully both). I’m wondering if you all find airports as interesting as I do. I never have a dull travel experience and I fly a lot! In fact, my flight schedule for the next few months involves…

Pittsburgh, PA
Cinci, OH
Myrtle Beach, SC
Isle of Palms, SCIndianapolis, IN in Sept, Oct, Nov (x2), & Dec
Raleigh, NC
And a few more I can’t publicize just yet.

First off, let’s talk about the people you meet when you travel. A few years back on a flight to Hawaii I slept on the shoulder of a man with no teeth. Crap, now you know how to get me if I ever play ‘Never have I ever’ with you in the future! Gr. Confessions….Nice guy though. When you’re exhausted and dirty from traveling for 12 hours, you aren’t picky about your travel friends. Or at least, I wasn’t.

On a flight to my sister’s wedding (2 flights, actually) I met a guy who happened to be on both my flights, in the seat next to me and was from my school. Fate? Perhaps. Regardless, we’ve been friends for 3 years now since our airport meeting and we check in from time to time to see what the other is up too. He’s working on his PhD (still at Purdue) and I’m in Florida working, obviously. He’s one of the only travel buddies I’ve ever been daring enough to share my personal info with…we started as only facebook friends.

Flying home (to Indy, I mean) I was offered a job with Verizon once! That was interesting. I met two men who headed up sales areas in the Midwest and after gabbing with them for an hour or so they took a liking to me and gave me their cards, saying if I ever wanted to move home and work for them – they would have a place for me. Presh. I’m happily employed and settled here in Florida but the gesture warmed my heart and it’s always encouraging to make a good first impression (hard to do while looking a hot mess en route home).

Let me share with you a few words of wisdom about travel (feel free to comment some additions, my traveling friends)…

- Never take a layover to save 50 bucks. In my experience your time is worth a lot more than your money when it comes to traveling. If it’s the difference between 200 and 250 bucks but you have to stop in Detroit on the way, don’t do it. Fork over the money and fly direct. You will thank me.
- Unless Atlanta is your ‘final destination’, avoid it like the plague. I have honestly NEVER had a good experience with a layover in Atlanta and en route to the Super Bowl this year my sister actually had to sleep in the ATL airport, without her bag, which they’d lost by then. Yeah, ugly stuff.
- Don’t wear complicated shoes. You’ll be in a full sweat by the time you get through security and the people behind you (who will inevitably be on your flight and close enough to glare at you) will hate you by the time you successfully get them on, on the flip-side. I recommend shoes that slip on and off… flip flops, ballet flats, sperrys, uggs, etc. (I don’t know enough about men shoes to have lots of creative ideas for them, so sorry). Please avoid crocs….please.
- Dress for the summer, plan for the arctic! It never fails if I dress for the plane to be 60 degrees, it’s 90. If I plan for it to be 90 degrees, it’s 60. I’ve learned to layer so that regardless I’m not dealing with chattering teeth or sweaty pits.
- It’s over your head. If you’re going to carry on, practice lifting your bag above your head before you leave your house. I always pick my carry on up and make sure that I will be able to lift it (even if slightly awkwardly) over my head and into the bin. If you don’t, chances are you will either crush your soon-to-be plane neighbor OR you will have to ask for help and lets me honest, people are cranky on planes! I like to be prepared…if it’s wicked heavy, take a pair of jeans out. A southwest employee taught me that.
- Establish Boundaries/Learn to Ignore. If you want get anything done while flying I highly recommend setting the expectations early on. If I plan to read or sleep, I sit down, put my ipod on and proceed to ignore the people sitting next to me (assuming I don’t know them, of course). If you start chatting at the beginning you’ll get stuck chatting until you touch down. Sometimes, I don’t mind this (in the case of attractive, single men for instance) but for the most part I prefer to be left alone with my Kindle.

If I sat here long enough I could probably tell you 100 more stories and tips but I’ll spare you. You now have the force, Luke (Star Wars reference, don’t judge). Use it well.

Love,
B