Beauty Week Day 2 - Make Up

Hi everyone!

My name is Haley and I blog over at For Everything There is a Season (come say hi)!

I've been happily married to my best friend Brice for two years now.  And, together we have a beautiful 13 month old little girl named Sophie.  We are also expecting our 2nd little miracle in March of 2012!  I enjoy staying at home with my kids, dabbling in photography, and the good Lord above.

Michelle asked me to blog about makeup! It's something I don't talk about a lot but ohhh, how I love it!  Even if I don't have time to do much during the day chasing down a toddler and keeping up with housework, I try and make it a point to go and do something special to my hair and makeup before the day ends.  Let's be real, if you look good, you FEEL good and confidence is everything!  

I will share a few of my tips and favorite products!

First off.  The most important thing is that you take care of your skin.  Make sure you start off with clean, fresh skin when applying make up.  

This is one set of products that I love.  There are gentle exfoliating beads within which are perfect for scrubbing away dead skin and makeup.  This does have salicylic acid in it, which you aren't advised to use while pregnant.  For pregnant mama's (or anyone who is interested) try...

A natural cleanser.  Did you know that cleansing your skin with OIL can actually be more beneficial than soap? I had no idea until I started researching natural beauty supplies.  Here's a great article if you want to read more.  You can use various oils depending on your skin type and needs. It's all natural and simple to make.

Now that you have a fresh face let's move on to FOUNDATION!

Foundation is one of those things that you either do it right...or you do it way wrong! Be sure to get the proper color.  There is nothing worse than a noticeable foundation line, whether it's not well blended into the neckline, or is too dark or too light.  The easiest way to find your shade is to TEST them out!  Put a thin layer of 3 foundations you think are closest to your skin tone on your wrist or jawline and let it sit and dry for a minute or two.  After it's dry whichever one blends in the MOST is your shade. 

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What are your skin needs? Do you need a lot of coverage, or would you rather have something light.  Look at labels! If it says "matte wear" or is made for woman of age, chances are it's going to be a thicker, more dense foundation.  If you want something light, go for a tinted moisturizer or a luminous, buildable foundation.  

TIP:  Don't forget to apply it to your eyelids and blend a little into your neck for blending purposes!  Blending it on your eyelids makes eyeshadow look better and is a great base for holding it on.  

Some of my favorite Foundations are:

Mary Kay Luminous Wear foundation (my sister in law sells Mary Kay and everything I have tried by them is fabulous).

CoverGirl Natureluxe foundation.  This you can get at your local drugstore, Walmart, Target etc.  It goes on like a dream and is not too heavy! The coverage is perfect.  One of my favorite foundations I've tried from a convenience store!

Let's talk about lips! HAVE FUN with them! Don't be afraid to try a pop of color on a toned down face. (One of my favorite looks).  Do bright red lipstick and a winged eyeliner lid! You can't get much more classic than that.  

TIP: For dry, peeling lips.  Take a soft tooth brush with a tiny amount of tooth paste and gently exfoliate your lips.  It will brush away all of the dead skin and leave your lips feeling tingly and soft.  Make sure to moisturize them and keep them looking their best!

Lastly, I'd like to talk about eyes! Which are the funnest thing to play up.  Practice makes perfect when it comes to makeup.  Believe me, I've had raccoon eyes and overplucked eyebrows to show for it.  

For eyeliner, I almost always use liquid eyeliner.  It takes a steady hand to put on, but once you get used to it, it's so much easier than a pencil! (That's just my opinion).  I like the look of liner on the top, and very little, or no liner on the bottom.  It's all about eye shape and what you are comfortable with.  If I wear a lot of liner on my bottom lid, it tends to make my eye look smaller.  Keeping a clean lower lid can really open up the eye and give you a clean look.  

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Don't be afraid to experiment.  The wonderful thing about makeup is that you can wash it off and start fresh if you have turned your face into a disaster.  

Remember, that your goal should be to enhance the natural beauty you already have! Use resources like youtube and google and look for fun makeup tutorials! There are a ton out there, that can be really helpful if you are looking to achieve a specific look.  

Thanks for checking out my guest post! And thank you to Michelle for letting me take up some space on her lovely blog.  

What are some of your beauty tips and products?