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NYX Tinted Brow Mascara Blonde-Review

This a great eyebrow color if you have light eyebrows like me.  I’ve tried pencils and powders in the past, but was starting to veer off into Joan Crawford land. Not a good look for a middle aged woman.  My mom use to get her eyebrows dyed dark brown. They looked ridiculous as she was a red head, plus she was the neighborhood Avon lady so she should have known better.

 

This isNYX Tinted Brow Mascara 1-4-15.jpg-1 a very natural looking color and stays on all day.  I wear glasses so I’m fairly lazy when it comes to my brows.  I should probably tweeze more, but I really don’t care.  Besides I have poor vision and I can barely see to put make up on. I bought at where else- Ulta for $6.99, but I had a store coupon so it was less than $6!

Ulta Freebies

Is it possible to be in love with a store? It sounds so wrong, on so many levels, but I love Ulta!  I went today (my second trip this week) to get some skin care products and got a ton of freebies.  It’s my birthday so I got a free Ulta eye shadow palette with five yummy brown shades, plus $10 off anything in the store.  The Mario Badescu skin care I purchased was supposed to come with a nice gift.  They didn’t have the gift, so they gave me a whole bunch of great samples. They actually goofed up and gave me an extra skin care freebie package.  I didn’t realize I got the extra package until I got home. Score one for me!

I purchased the following Mario Badescu items:

Oil Free Moisturizer with a 30 SPF-$28

Glycolic Foaming Cleanser-$16

Cellufirm Drops-$25

Hyaluronic Eye Cream-$18

Ulta Freebies 2 1-14-15Mario Badescu Ulta Haul 1-14-15I got everything for $59! Woo hoo! I used my $10 certificate and rewards points to save $28!  I’ll do a review once I have used the skin care for several weeks.  I did a lot of research before my purchase, and everything I bought was highly rated.  Given the moderate price of the skin care and the generous sizes, I’m excited to see the results. I assumed the Mario products were high priced since they are in the same section as the high end skin care at Ulta.  This line has been around since 1967, so they must be doing something right. Stay tuned.

Getting your orange on at the 2015 Golden Globes

I just read the funniest article about all the fake tans at this year’s Golden Globe awards.  I find it so amusing with all the money these folks have they still end up looking like an oompa loompa.  Now I’ve been using fake bake since the 70’s, and I never looked orange. Well, there was that one time at the Indy 500, where I had to wear long pants because of my orange legs, and it was like a 100 degrees with a million percent humidity. (Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it was hotter than hell).

I used Coppertone Quick Tan or QT when I was in high school.  I’m a fair haired gal so I don’t really get tan, I get red. I actually use to use a tanning lamp on my face.  I would get a toasty shade of red, then mix with the orange of the QT for a great fake tan.  I cringe when I think of how many times I burned myself to a crisp just to be tan. It was all the rage back then.  If you were still pale in May, you were a loser. Now I don’t step outside unless I have a 30 SPF on.

coppertone ad

This is horrible, but for the 1970’s it worked.

1977 HS graduation

This is how you do fake bake-me in 1976

 When I go somewhere tropical for vacation now, you can’t even tell I went anywhere.  Having a pre-cancerous lesion cut off my shoulder in my mid-thirties cured me of the tanning crap.  My goofball older sister (she’s 16 years older than me) would go to a tanning booth before going to Florida to “get a base”, when she was in her 60’s. Now she’s super wrinkled, and I’m not.

I still do the fake bake, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t been orange since the Indy 500, in 1981.

 

Ipsy January 2015 Glam Bag Review

Oh Ipsy.com we’ve been seeing each other for more than two years now, and you still amaze me every month.  Why just yesterday I was telling a saleslady at Ulta all about you. I couldn’t believe she had never heard of you.  I gave her the quick low down. GO AND SIGN UP FOR IPSY NOW!  I think there may be a waiting list.  I was getting a mini facial, trying out the Mario Badescu skin care line (which I loved), when I brought you up.

 I was so hoping I would get my Jan. bag before my birthday, and I did.  Here’s what I got this month:

 All Over Shadow brush-Elizabeth Mott-value $9.99-OMG! I love it! Very soft and densely packed bristles.

(Malin+Goetz) Mojito Lip Balm- value $12- a luscious super hydrating gel, not sticky at all.

Bella Pierre Cosmetics shimmer eye shadow in Excite-value $14.99-a white pearlescent loose powder shadow.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut eye shadow in Treasure-I couldn’t find an individual value for this pale bronze shadow, but it’s a really pretty color.

Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream with avocado,Ipsy January 2015 Glambag Moroccan Argan oil, and shea butter.  This is so new it doesn’t have a price on the company website. I’m anxious to try it.

The value was well over the measly $10 I paid.  I so love a good deal.

 If you are thinking about trying a beauty box subscription, I highly recommend Ipsy.com.   If I was a crack head, this would be my crack. Kind of like Ulta is my crack. Oh I’m such a goofball. Alas, a well made up goofball.

@ipsy #ipsy #januaryglambag

 www.ulta.com

http://www.ipsy.com

Conair Heat Waves Hot Rollers Review- They’re back!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year!   When I say the Conair Heat Waves rollers are back, I mean hot rollers never went away, they just did for me. I myself have not used hot rollers for many years. I had no need; I just had a vast array of curling irons.  My hair is naturally curly, but I straighten it.  In this past year I’ve come down with the dreaded ‘menopause hair’. It sucks! Of course I’ve been in menopause for almost six years, so I guess I should consider myself lucky I didn’t get it sooner.  Menopause hair is gray, wiry, frizzy, and generally uncontrollable.  It especially blows for me because up until June of 2013, I had the most amazing hair I have ever had in my life. It was long, blonde, very healthy looking. You know your hair looks good when people you work with (that you know don’t like you) compliment you on your hair. Then in June of 2013, my hair was changed forever.  I had gotten some low lights for my blonde hair that ended up being too dark.  I went back to the salon to get it corrected, and my stylist left the bleach on my hair too long. My hair was damaged beyond repair.  I had been seeing this woman for 3 years, and I always tip very well. I was crushed.  My hair broke off and I had visibly thin spots on my scalp.  I spent nearly $400 buying hair pieces to cover up the damage.

We as women are usually obsessed with our hair.  A good hair day can make a big difference on your outlook for the day. I’m middle aged, so having awesome hair was really a treat for me.  My hair finally grew back, but it’s never been the same since.  Luckily for me I look okay with my hair up. But I’ve been wearing my hair up for the past eighteen months. You kind of look like an old lady when you wear your hair up all the time.  I take pride in my appearance, by wearing make-up and having a stylish wardrobe.

I never did tell my former stylist how much she ruined my hair.  I was afraid I might punch her if I went back. It’s ironic because she was always telling me what great condition my hair was in, and I could go for a long time between haircuts and highlight touch ups. My dermatologist told me I shouldn’t put any bleach on my hair for at least twelve months, use Moroccan oil and take biotin supplements.

I went to back to a salon I had frequented in the past, but stopped going to because they got too expensive.  I was told that there really wasn’t anything they could do.  The stylist told me to go on Pinterest to look for cute up dos. Are you flipping kidding me? Nothing I can do?  I had spent over $300 at this salon getting partial highlights and hair cuts on several occasions.  The stylist told me she felt sorry for me, but really could not do anything about my hair.

Conair Heat Waves Hot Rollers 1-3-15
Pre Jacked up Hair  Jan 2013

Before hair disaster

Well, I tried yet another salon.  This time the stylist was older and was very knowledgeable. She was familiar with my ‘menopause’ hair and suggested hot rollers. What an angel!  I always use a heat protecting product when I style my hair, but the Conair Heat Waves rollers are flocked, they also heat up in 85 seconds.  What a great alternative to using a curling iron. I’m getting the same results but not damaging my hair.

I bought my Conair Heat Waves at Ulta.com for $15.99, the regular price is $33.99, but they were on sale and I had a 20% off coupon. Here is a link to Ulta.

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod540578&skuId=2050458&_requestid=189261

Virtual Makeover-Modiface.com

I have thoroughly enjoyed having the past five days in a row off.  It was nice spending quality time with the family, cleaning the basement, watching too much HGTV, you get the picture. I was looking for some websites to try on a different hair color and came across Modiface.com.  OMG! I must have wasted over two hours tweaking myself. Let me rephrase that last statement, I downloaded a head shot and played with make up for two hours.  Of course I noticed I now have a dent on my forehead. Yikes! I opened my car door and smacked the crap out of my head a few weeks ago.  It barely bled, so I was surprised to see a scar. Oh well, scars add character right???? It’s a good thing I wear bangs.

The really cool thing about this site is that it has an anti-aging tab along with the usual hair and make-up colors.  You could alter your appearance via a virtual nose job, jaw contouring, face lift, etc.  It was way cool.  I kept showing my husband “look, here’s me at 35” I’m 55 so it was really cool seeing my younger self.  Check out the link below.  Have fun!

 

http://www1.modiface.com/mf_share/poll.php?sid=d26ddba2f23983d8c7cbeb67e81bb942

A Sugar Cookie for Mom

My fifteen year old son brought me a sugar cookie today from school.  He has one every day with his lunch, and has told me how yummy they are.  While this may not seem like a big deal, it’s a huge deal to me.  You see my son’s only surviving grandmother passed away suddenly about ten days ago.  Prior to that day he was a typical 15 year old boy, he barely spoke to me, always playing his computer games, smart mouth, etc. If I tried to hug him, he would act like he was dying.

I only have one child.  My son and I were very close when he was little. Once puberty kicked in, that all changed.  He doesn’t talk much and is painfully shy.  I on the other hand can talk to anyone, anytime or anyplace.  He has a hard time making friends, and doesn’t seem to care to meet new people.  He was very close to his grandmother.  She spent a lot of time with him.  She lived close by, and was in good health.  Often picking up our son after school and taking him to the dollar store, or for ice cream.  She was a dear woman.

My husband is devastated by the sudden loss of his mother, as am I.  We just saw her the week before she passed.  We live in the same area, and would see my in-laws several times a month. We encourage our son to try and make friends, but he’s been rejected so many times, it’s like he’s given up.  As a parent, it’s heartbreaking to watch your child be rejected by others.  I just want to tell those kids what an awesome person my son is, and how they are missing out by not wanting to be his friend. We as parents can only do so much. Our greatest wish is for our children to be happy.

In the past few months, I’ve been trying to go for some stealth hugs and kisses from my son.  He hasn’t be recoiling like he was six months ago, so I thought I was making some progress.  He’s a sophomore in high school, and I have come to the realization that he will be leaving for college in a few years.  My mother in-law was a shining example of a good mother.  She was always there for her children, and they were her life.

Our lives get busy and we sometimes forget just how precious our children are.  My heart breaks for my husband, his siblings, and my father in-law. When I said good bye to my dear mother in-law at the funeral home, I told her I would take care of her son and her husband.  I will do my best to honor her, because that’s exactly what she would do.