Beauty Tips: EVERYTHING

My friend from New York, Jenay, texted me a couple of weeks ago asking for tips on my makeup. I tried to tell her as much I could through text and decided that I would write a blog post to help her out more. I can’t help her face-to-face since I am in Milwaukee so, here is a brief breakdown on my personal makeup routine.

The Basics

You need a good base, whether it’s foundation or concealer, depends on how much coverage you would like.

On a light makeup day, I do concealer under the eyes and set with a powder and maybe any dark spots that need a little attention.

I recommend Revlon’s Photoready for foundation. And LA Girl HD Pro for concealer. Revlon’s Nearly Naked Pressed Powder for setting. I found the foundation in my color for clearance at Ulta, it’s a pricey $13.99 otherwise.

LA Girl Pro concealer ranges from about $1.50 to $3.00 at your beauty supply store and it’s amazing quality!! They’ve recently come out with corrector colors as well, they work so good and come in range of shades. I would definitely pay more from them if I had to. It’s hard to find concealers in my skin tone unless I go to an expensive drug store counter.

Another plus: these are great fro highlighting and contouring. Just get a shade darker for contouring and a shade or two lighter for highlighting.

The shade I use of the LA Girl Pro Conceal.

After the base, decide what type of makeup day you’re going for. Light, medium or full.

If you are going for a light day, here’s what I do – Concealer, eyebrows, mascara and highlight.(Sometimes eyeliner.)

For a medium coverage day, I do all of light plus foundation and eyeliner.

For my full makeup look, I do light and medium but the base includes both concealer and foundation. Along with light contouring using a powder or liquid concealer that is a shade or two darker than your skin tone. See below for what I do.

In the real makeup world, my full day would probably be considered medium for most since I do highlight with liquids and I never use blush.

I typically pair any look with my fav lipstick, Sephora’s Creme Lipstain in “Always Red”. It dries matte and isn’t drying and it stays on forever. I sometimes darken it with NYX’s Soft Matte Lip Creme in “Monte Carlo”. Again, it’s not drying at all. Since using these two, I never touch my MAC lipsticks anymore.

The Sephora lipstain retails for $13 and NYX retails for $5 at ULTA. Both are on SALE now. yay!

Sephora’s Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red is my absolute fave red lippie!

Mascara, Brows, Highlight

Mascara is my all time favorite when it comes to beauty. I don’t like falsies and I love watching my natural lashes literally grow before my eyes. It’s magical!

I stack my mascara’s meaning I use more than one. Usually up to three but most of the time two, a lengthening and a volumnizing. The trick is to alternate multiple coats without creating too much clump. A little clump is good but if you have too much take an old, clean lengthening mascara brush and rake the wand over the top of your lashes to help separate.

I only use L’Oreal mascaras. See more on my mascara techniques here.

Brows – I LOVE Anastasia Beverly Hill’s Brow Pomade. It’s wonderful! Brow’s take some practice and mines turn out different all the time it seems. I suggest Youtubing multiple people doing brow tutorials and PRACTICING.

Concealer under the browline can help creating clean lines. Remember to blend the inner edges, boxy eyebrows are not cute.Brows are so very important because they help frame the face. It is also important to keep them trimmed, threaded or waxed. Well-kept brows improves your overall appearance.

Some use a highlighting concealer underneath the brow but I use a concealer that is my skin tone to conceal unruly hairs.

Nars Highlighting Blush in “Albatross”

ELF Studio Bronzer in “Golden”

Highlight – Highlight/bronzer can make your flat make up look POP and add dimension.For brown and darker skin women, choose “bronzers” that are actually highlights for our skin. Regular bronzers for women that are not of color, won’t do anything for you, at least in my opinion. Use a fluffy blush brush to lightly cover the apples of your cheek and brushing back along the cheekbones. A fan brush is the best, although, pricier.

A Step Further: Full Face

Shadows –This takes practice and a lot of personal preference too What I did was find out what I liked and tried different variations. I stick with golds and browns only and I create different looks with those colors. I’ll add in champagnes, matte browns and shimmery greys to help the looks pop.

Contouring – I take a eye shadow that is darker than my skin, suck in my cheeks and brush lightly in the concaves with a fluffy, large eye shadow brush. Some people will use liquid concealer and blend, this is where the LA Girl concealer comes in handy again.

Everyday face

My every day face is the light look, with gold in the inner tear ducts and eyeliner (sometimes). That’s it! Sometimes I’ll add some gold on my lid and some dark brown the crease for a more complete look.

When I am having acne breakouts, I give my face a rest. It also helps with making sure my self-esteem stays in tact by leaving the house as the good Lord made me and being okay with that. I do not want to become one of those girls who can’t go anywhere without makeup on because she doesn’t like the way her face naturally is. Makeup is an enhancement of what you already have.

My number one rule is taking care of your skin FIRST then you can play! 😉

If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU! Any additional questions, just ask!!

Beauty Tip: How to get full, lengthy natural lashes

 I am one girl who does not like false lashes so this method gives me all the fullness and length without gluing something to my eye.I feel that mascara is one of the most important products you can put on your face along with nicely shaped/filled eyebrows. It’s hard to find one mascara that can give you everything you want: length, fullness, and thickness. 

That’s why I stack mascaras. That meaning I use more than one. I use multiple ones that promise different effects and I alternate theme once or twice depending on how many I am stacking.

For everyday use (typically when I need to run out the door) I stack two mascaras once or twice. I start with a thickening or wider bristled mascara and then use a lengthening, thin bristled mascara. The trick is to work quickly to prevent the mascara from drying out to fast between applications. Also, look downwards in your mirror as you apply making sure to get  the roots and every lash. I suggest using a hand mirror. 

I’ve tried many different, low-, middle-, and high-end mascaras and my absolute favorite combo of middle price-ranged mascaras are L’Oreal’s Voluminous Million Lashes and Telescopic Shocking Extensions. 

Both are good on their own but together they are amazing! I use the Million Lashes first and then the Telescopic. If I have extra time I will alternate more than once, no more than three times. These don’t clump if you apply them correctly. It takes a bit of practice but afterwards, your lashes look so long and pretty. 

Lashes with L’Oreal’s Million Lashes and Shocking Telescopic

For a more dramatic lash, I use a high-end brand: Benefit’s They’re Real. All three of these together will make you look as if you have on falsies. Trust me! Unfortunately, I am out of They’re Real for pics but I did recently get Million Lashes and Telescopic at Ulta for BOGO 50%. They also have this deal online. My suggestion for stacking mascaras is always buy when stores have BOGO, usually Ulta has them at least bi-weekly.

 

I also for a BOGO % at Akira in Chicago. I picked up a really pretty matte black and gold bracelet(not available online). I am starting to think I am BOGO 50% queen (or addict lol)

Product Review: Shea Moisture Growth Milk and Gel Souffle

Any woman of color with naturally curly/kinky hair knows how difficult it is to get soft and moisturized hair without it being weighed down.

Yesterday, I went to Walgreen’s and saw that they had BOGO 50% off on Shea Moisture products. I needed an everyday moisturizer and a styling product as well. Which is why I chose to buy the Yucca and Baobab Thickening Growth Milk and the Coconut and Hibiscus Curling Gel Souffle.

And I am so happy I did! I read reviews that the souffle is hard to work with unless it is used with another product. So, I used the thickening milk first and then a minuscule amount of souffle on top for a twist out. The milk went on so silky smooth! I wanted to pour the whole bottle on my head! And the souffle held the twists together really nicely. What surprised me the most was neither made my hands feel sticky. You know, the feeling you get when you’re using more than one product and want to wash your hands every 30 seconds? Not with this, my hair absorbed all the products and on my hands the products  felt similar to lotion.

I have yet to try the Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie with the souffle but I’ve read that the results have been great with that combo as well.

Go out and catch the great deal Walgreen’s before it’s over!

Results of chunky twist out on unwashed, 4c hair:

The Indian Community in Chicago

Chicago is like a large pot of stew. A lot of different things mixed in to create something good. As I have lived and worked here, I have noticed people from all walks of life and all countries. Recently, I watched The Honor Diaries which focused on honor violence: women who have been attacked or killed because they were said to have brought dishonor to their family. The movie was based on people of Muslim faith.

Since watching the film, I had an interest to learn  more about Muslim faith communities and families. What other things do they believe in or practice? What makes their sense of family and religion so strong? Why is it so important to them to keep traditions? Middle Eastern and Asian families, to me, are the most traditional and tight-knit.

Because of this, I’ve decided to base my World of Ethnic Media class on the Indian community in Chicago.

Zareen Syed, half-Indian/half-Persian student at Columbia noted that the Indian community is quite present around the Loyola campus area. “It’s massive,” she said.

I think it will be interesting to find out what makes their community work in staying present in Chicago. I would also like to compare them to the Persian community since they are not big in Chicago.

Les petits légumes farcis!

Looks so good! I love that she used different veggies and even cooked the tops. xx

goodfoodmarsh

Salut again!

It’s got to that point in the week where it’s definitely time for another one of Rachel Khoo’s ‘My Little French Kitchen’  recipes. I’ve already attempted her artisan Tian Provençal & sassy Spicy Aubergine Fries, but I’ve absolutely saved the best ’til last. You’re all in for a bloody good treat!

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius & grab some lovely fresh veggies to get cracking with. I opted for peppers, beef tomatoes and courgettes. You’ll also want red onion, black olives, capers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, raisins (optional), herbs (of your choice) and the all important red rice. [full recipe down below!]

Begin by cooking your vibrant red rice according to packet instructions. Whilst your rice is cooking, flesh out your veggies so that you’re left with some wonderful hollow shapes & place on a lined baking tray (see above!). Meanwhile, fry one large red onion and mushrooms…

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Stuffed Green Peppers.

I really hate cooking but when I see something I want to try I look up the recipe and go for it. Tonight, I made stuffed green peppers! I actually skimmed over a recipe and just ended up doing whatever after boiling the peppers. Here’s what I did (healthy options will be in parentheses):

What You’ll Need:

4 medium/large green peppers

1/2 lb Ground Beef (Turkey)

Brown Rice, use a small to medium amount. 

One small tomato

One small Onion

1-3 Sweet peppers

Basil

Cilantro

Salt & Pepper

1 tsp Oil of your choice (olive or coconut)

Shredded cheese of your choice( no chees would be healthier)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. 

1. Cook ground beef (or turkey) as directed. I have frozen cilantro and basil cubes that I pop in the meat after it has been drained. One of each should be goo and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. While meat cooks, boil 2 pots (a small and a large pot) of water. Cut tops off of green peppers, take out seeds and rinse with cool water. Place peppers in the large pot of boiling water for about 5-8 minutes or until tender. Place boiled peppers on a plate to cool.

3. In the small pot of boiling water, cook brown rice as directed. While rice is cooking, dice onion, tomato and sweet pepper(s). Once rice is done cooking, drain water and put in a pan, along with veggies you just chopped. Is tomato a veggie or fruit? Q & A of the day. lol Sautée rice and veggies (and fruit lol) in oil with salt and pepper to taste and turn heat off. 

4. Now to ensemble the stuffed peppers! I did meat, rice mix, then shredded cheese to top it all off.

5. Place the bell peppers in a baking pan and bake for 17-20 minutes or until cheese is melted, slightly browned, and peppers turn a dark green.

6. VOILA! You’re done! Enjoy!

*Note* I used 1 1/2 lb of ground beef and way too much rice.I had a lot lefted over so  I mixed the rice mix and ground beef together to use for tacos later. It’s even good alone (carb free!).

After the failed poem challenge….

I want to start back blogging again. I did write about 10 poems altogether so I will post those at random.

 

I have this urge to start my minimalist, aesthetically pleasing lifestyle. Simple and fresh. Not too much of anything. I want to start with beauty products. Just downsize to one or two (three, at most) of everything. I don’t need three conditioners, two leave-ins, and five oils. I  don’t need five body sprays and 10 lotions. I need to find what I like use only that until it runs out and then either buy the same product or try something new. I also do not need 3 nail polishes that are basically the same colors. lol  It’s so hard though, when they are either slightly darker or lighter in shade and this goes for my lipsticks as well. I have an obsession with reds and purples. oh man, vampy looks are all me. But, I have dupes of dupes. 

I’ve decided to not buy anymore of these products until they are used up. So I will start with things I like the least, use those up and go on to my faves and repurchase once they are done with. 

Oh! I also have jewelry I never wear! I barely wear jewelry in the first place. I literally need two necklaces, one pair of stud earrings, and a ring or two and I will be happy.

Now, to decide what to throw away, give away, or use up. That’s always the hardest part. 

Well, that’s all for now.

xx

The CPS: South Loop story I never got published

Because my source backed out when I attempted to follow up with her, I didn’t have a “parent” for the story. I never went back to interview a “parent” either. Completely my fault. I’m still proud of this story and will use it for clips and such. Read below.

 

Did NOT forget about NaPoWriMo

I’ve been writing almost daily, I just have to upload them. Ahhh, sweet laziness. 

About four days behind on NaPoWriMo :(

So, everything I wrote just got lost for some reason. I  wrote three poems and they are gone. How annoying. I will start writing poems in my poem book and write them here from there. I  have about 4 or 5 poems to do. Oh mon dieu!