I gotta put on my face!

When I was little my parents used to watch the Lawrence Welk show. Now, granted most of you are WAY too young to know this show so here is a link to two youtube videos! ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU_m9pauvns or http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=zgsRiqzoQ9g&feature=endscreen) Okay now some of you who actually watched those can't believe you just watched those. Some of you wanted to gouge your eyes out and still others are left wondering ... wtf. I get it it's a little out there, but that show started back in the 60's and hit it's high in the 70's. So aside from the out of touch clothing and super hair styles, the show had merit. It was like a giant talent show every night. They had the best dancers (back when it was cool to be a male dancer) the best singers and musicians. Bottom line it was good ole fashioned quality family television programming! And you can bet your bottom dollar my parents LOVED it! And to be perfectly honest with you all ... so did I! My brothers and I would fight each other on who had to take a bath first because none of us wanted to miss it! (Yes I'm serious as a heart attack right now, that show was the diggity!) I wanted more than anything to be on that show, even though when I was watching it it was already off the air, we were watching re runs. Never the less, I thought every woman on there (except for this one woman who played the piano like no one I have ever seen then or now - Joanne Castle, not a looker but she could pound the keys!) was beyond gorgeous - the woman in the second link was one of my favorites. But my all time favorite was a Latina woman who sang beautifully. And what's more she was the prettiest woman I'd ever seen. So not only did I want to be on the show, I wanted to be her! I would go up in my room stand in front of my mirror and sing my heart out ... terribly. But if you notice in the video's the fashion then was shiny lips. Until I got my first lip gloss I'd lick the bajeebers out of my lips to make them look that shiny when singing into my hair brush. But it was my first idea of what make up should be. Now I understand that that show was a bit over the top in terms of make up, but the women looked beautiful. So I would sneak in my parents bathroom and watch my mom do her make up to see how this magic happened. Pretty soon, she taught me a trick or two. Since then, I've adapted my own styles of "putting on my face." Husband approved! Most of you who have read through past posts know that I swam in college and hopped aboard the "easiest way possible" train. Minimal is awesome. So if you're like me and too lazy to spend 50 hours in front of a mirror (I don't like my face that much) or if you're afraid of make up ... once again I'm here to help. Hold your applause please! Really you're making me blush! (pun intended) There are only 4 things I think you need to make a complete face. And if you are NOT like me and have amazing skin, you can even get rid of one. Look at you! Over achieving already! Here's your gold star. Okay to secret to easy awesome make up is .... Powder, blush, mascara and lip gloss ... BOOM! Consider your mind blown! These items you CANNOT mess up, and will make you look beautiful and put together, and take less than 5 minutes.
If you don't know where to start let me help you. I prefer Cover Girl pressed powder in the silver compact. I have tried other powders (even others by Cover Girl) and none work as well. It goes on beautifully, it covers well, it's easy to apply, and it's mid range in terms of cost. If I can't buy that compact, I won't buy any at all. Sometimes I use loose power instead or a bronzer, which is nice, but I like the compact because I can take it with me and don't have to ever pack a separate make up bag. I can touch up anywhere and I always look great ... or well as great as I can! If you have great skin, you can skip this part. I like it to smooth out my uneven skin tone (that means that some parts of my skin are darker than others, mostly due to sun damage) Next is blush. This one can get a little trickier. Don't get scared keep reading! Blush takes a little more trial and error, you just have to find what fits you. It depends on the complexity of your skin. I found and love Cover Girl Classic Color blush I use 540 Rose Silk. It's a gorgeous color and makes my cheeks look sun kissed with a hint of sparkle. It also comes in a compact so I can take that with me easy peasy any where I go. Love it! (PS If you're starting to think I'm a paid endorser don't, I don't have enough readers for that ... YET. These are the actual products I use and love) In fact, my blush is sitting in front of me right now! The other thing I love about this blush is it lasts forever! I use it nearly every day and it lasts months. My mascara? Great Lash by Maybelline. Super cheap and totally the best. Don't worry yourself about clumpage and all the other issues make up companies try to mess with you about. This mascara is $4.99 anywhere you go, it lasts and it rocks. It's the one with the pink bottom and green cap - can't miss it! Lastly, and easiest, lip gloss. You can use chap stick too. Anything you love. Here are a few of my favorites. Chapstick brand with the black label. This has been my favorite for a long time. My husband recently told me he loathes the smell (which I love ironically enough) so I switched to Nivea. In LOVE with this brand! And if you're careful you can get it on the super cheap. Watch for coupons and wait for it to go on sale at your local store and you'll feel like you're stealing it! It works great and both brands leave your lips looking finished with out color and moisturized. I'm not big for color, I feel like it makes my teeth look yellow ... weird yeah. Anything by Wet n Wild. Yep, I said it ... I endorsed it wanna fight about it? It's SUPER cheap but lasts and works just as well as anything else. It may not tout the lasting qualities of some of the better brands, but seriously, how hard is it to reapply? They come in tons of colors, I usually go for palest pink or closest to nude. They also sell a clear if you just want shine. A tube usually runs about $2 bucks so you can pick a bunch of different colors and run wild with out breaking your budget!
Application? Easy. First apply your pressed (or loose) powder all over your face. Make sure you rub the applicator pad up into the corners of your eyes, over eye lids and around your jaw line. That is still one tip I'll never lose from my mom. Make up line is the WORST. So make sure your powder is blended in with your neck!! Next take a few swipes of blush and apply in upward strokes on your cheek bones. Practice this a little to you see what looks best for you. Every face is different so what works for more cheeky girls doesn't work as well for us round faced gals. I also slightly swipe once over my nose and chin (with out adding any more blush to the brush - say that 5 times fast!) This is just to make everything look smooth and together, not really to add any more make up to your face. Then apply mascara. Don't pump the brush in and out of the bottle. I learned this trick from Cindy Crawford. We're on a first name basis. When you pump the applicator brush into the base it pumps in air which makes your make up dry up faster. Instead, swirl the brush inside the tube and pull out. To be honest, I pump a little maybe 2-3 times, but no where near what moms in my day did. They pumped it like they were preparing to blow up a bike tire. Try to avoid that it'll make yours last longer. And finally, apply your lip product of choice. Your face looks fabulous and ready for anything! Sometimes when I'm feeling frisky and I have a big event I'll add more make up and steps, and you can too when you want or feel comfortable. But these are basics for every day.
Apply, love and show it off! Go you gorgeous girl go!