How I Do My Eye Make-Up

When I use to work full time I received a lot of compliments from my customers and co-workers about my make-up, especially my eye make-up.  I remember one customer specifically who stopped me abruptly and stared straight at my face and said "I just LOVE your eye make-up!"  I was a bit embarrassed at the time and did not quite know how to handle the compliment because I wondered if I was wearing a bit too much eye-makeup;  after all shouldn't she have said "I love your eyes" and not your "eye make-up"?   Because if I really did a great job, it would be my eyes that get noticed and not my make-up.

Since then I started styling blogging and I have gotten a few questions about my eye make-up and one request for an eye make-up tutorial.  Well I don't have a tutorial for you, I tried, but the pictures of me squinting in the mirror trying to put on make-up plus the close up of my wrinkles and skin flaws, was too painful for me to look at...so I certainly don't want to put any of you through that misery.  Instead, I'm just going to share a few tips on what works for me, what products I use, and a couple of videos I found on YouTube that demonstrate these products and I think are fantastic.

Now here is my first confession.  I really, really, really don't like spending a lot of money on make-up and skin care.  I mean, the prices of that stuff is crazy isn't it?  The last time I stopped in a Sephora store I bought two itty bitty little containers of make-up:  a concealer and a eye shadow primer, and it costs me $54.00!  YIKES!  Needless to say, I haven't been back in that store since May and I hope to not have to revisit anytime soon.  That being said, if I really like a product, I will pay that, but I don't feel that all the make-up that I use has to be high end.

So here is what I use on my eyes.  First I moisturize just the under eye area and not my face.  Why?  Because I have super oily skin and if I added moisturizer I would have a zit (Yes, I still get pimples at the ripe old age of 53, can you believe it?) the very next day.  Plus, I usually use a tinted moisturizer as my foundation anyway so I do not need any extra moisturizer.  Right now I am using a Clinique moisturizer that I received free when I purchased some other Clinique products awhile back.  Even though it says it's for very dry skin, I find it a very light and airy moisturizer, and it is perfect to put under my eyes.  It isn't greasy at all.  I do give it a few minutes to dry before I add my concealer.

Next, I add my secret weapon:  an eyeshadow primer.  Up until a few years ago, I never used an eyeshadow primer on my lids.  I just put foundation on my lids thinking it was the same thing.  Then I received this trial pack from Ulta Cosmetics and I never used foundation on my lids again!  This stuff is amazing!!!!!!  My eyeshadow never creases and stays on all day long with this stuff.  I've tried all the samples in this pack, and I love them all, but currently I am using the age-defying one HERE.

After my moisturizer and primer is on, I add concealer to my under eyes.  A lot of women do not use concealer because they don't need to.  They just put foundation under their eyes.  I unfortunately inherited my under eye circles from my father and so under-eye concealer is a must for me.  I am currently using this product:

Sold HERE


It's actually a color-correcting fluid.  In all my 53 years of life, I have never been 100% sold on any concealer and I have been on a constant quest for the perfect concealer, which I have yet to find.   This product was my latest attempt.   It's o.k., but I think I bought the wrong color and I would like to try the other one next time I need to replenish it.  I bought the pink shade which is described to "Brighten dark areas" and I think I needed the peach shade which is described to "Masks circles/spots".  When I put this on, it definitely looks too light and pink for my skin, so then I put my foundation over the top of it.

Once the eyes are totally prepped, that's when the fun part begins:  I add the eye shadow.  Now I don't match my eye shadow to my clothes (that's something we used to do in the eighties!), but I do want my eye make -up to compliment what I'm wearing.  So in other words, if I'm dressed for fall or winter, I will not wear light eye shadow, but I will choose darker, smokey tones.  My absolute favorite eye shadow palette that I have ever used in my entire life is NAKED by Urban Decay.  It is very pricey, $54.00 a palette, but it will last forever (except the high lighter, but we'll talk about that later).  It comes in four different color palettes to choose from.  I currently own two palettes:  Naked 2 and Naked 3, but I would love to own Naked Smokey as well.

Sold HERE

What I love about these palettes is that there are so many choices and no choice is wrong.  You literally cannot make a mistake when applying your eye make-up for all the colors within each palette go together and blend so well together.  Just pick a light, medium, and dark shade along with a highlighter, and your good to go!

To achieve the look in this picture, I used Naked 3.  I put the "Dust" color in my inner eye to brighten and open my eye.  Then I put the "Buzz" color over the middle lid and under my eye.  Yes, you heard me right, 'under my eye'.  It really opens up and brightens the eye...especially for us middle age women.  You will see a demonstration of this in the two videos below.  Then I pick a darker color to put in the corners and crease of my eye, usually "Factory" or "Dark Side" depending on what I'm wearing.  I then use the darkest shade in the palette for a eye liner, in this case it is "Blackheart".  I finish off the look by applying the lightest shade "Strange" under my brow and again under the eye to highlight it.  I then apply mascara, and that's it.

When you watch the videos you will notice that they both use eye liner and pencils too.  I do not.  I do not like the way eye liner looks on me, plus I would feel uncomfortable wearing that much eye make-up.  I love it on everyone else, but just not me.  Plus I feel a heavy eye liner would just accentuate my dark circles.

So here is the first video.  It uses the Naked 2 palette which is what I use during the colder months of the year for it's mostly taupes and grey-beige shades.  But remember, I skip the eye liner part.  I just use the darkest shade in the palette as my eye liner.

And this video uses the Naked 3 palette, which I am wearing in the first picture in this post.  This is the palette I use during the summer months as it's mostly pinks and rose-hued neutrals.  If you like a softer eye make up look, this is the palette for you!

These are just two of my favorite YouTube videos, there are thousands more available on the YouTube site.  I picked these two because I loved the look and they were quick and easy to follow.

I honestly cannot say enough about this eye make-up.  The colors are gorgeous, the make-up lasts all day (with the primer), and it's super easy to use.  My only complaint is that there is only one highlighter in each palette.  Well, that goes super fast and you are out of it before you used up any other colors in your palette.  You can buy the "Foxy" highlighter color from Naked 2 HERE for $28.00 (which I may have to do soon), but I couldn't find the "Strange" highlighter color from Naked 3 listed.

I did read some good news recently that Urban Decay has heard our cries however and will soon be releasing a trio of highlighters!

Aren't they pretty?  I can't wait!

Well I hoped that helped even though I could not (or would not) do my own tutorial.  I'd love to hear your thoughts about what you thought of the videos and the Naked products.  And if anyone knows of a great concealer out there that doesn't cost a small fortune, I'd love your recommendations cause I'm still looking!  

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

How I Store My Cosmetics

Even though my new "Beauty Room" is far from finished (we are still working on the bed, end table, decor, and basic organization),  I have still been using my new room;  especially the vanity.  I have put my make up on several times in the day while sitting at the vanity, and the light is fabulous.  In fact, on a very sunny day I actually had to close the sheer drapes because it was too bright!  But once I moved the sheer to cover the window, the lighting was perfect.  

I did have to put my make up on once in the dark.  I was wondering how that would work, and it ended up being fine.  The room is very well light, and I checked my make up in the bathroom mirror before I left.

I really do enjoy sitting down at this beautiful vanity to apply my make up.  It seems a lot less stressful, and is actually kind of fun and relaxing.

I was worried that because the vanity was so small, I wouldn't have room for everything.  But I was wrong:  I did!  Here is how I store all my cosmetics.

On the top of my vanity I keep my make up brushes.  I found this pretty toothbrush holder at a home improvement store.  It was just the right size and style to hold my brushes.

 I placed a hand mirror on the right top of the vanity and this pretty little dish on the left side.  It's just perfect for throwing little items in:  like bobby pins, rings, small earrings, etc.

The perfume bottle is old.  I am keeping my eye out for more of them, but I don't want the top of the vanity to get too cluttered.  I found I like to set my make up on top of the mirror while applying it.  If I set it directly on the vanity, I get a make up stain that's more difficult to get off the wood than the mirror.

Both the mirror and the pretty dish were found at T.J. Maxx.  Don't you love that place?  I've been going there once a week since I started this redecoration project.  They get new items in every week and I'm never sure what I will find next!

Now for how I store my cosmetics.  The vanity has five drawers, and although I filled them all, none are filled to capacity.  So I have room to grow!

The top left drawer I have my tools, moisturizer, and concealer.

In the top right hand drawer, I put items I'm either currently not using or rarely use.

 The first bottom drawer on the right holds all my lipsticks (I have more, but those are in my purse!),  loose facial powder, mascara, and my eyelash curler.

The center drawer, the drawer hardest for me to reach because my body is in the way, holds all my foundations I'm currently not using.  I change my foundation with the seasons, because the color of my face changes depending on how much sun I get.

And finally, the far right drawer...the drawer closest to my dominant right hand, holds the items I use the most.  My favorite eye make up ("Naked" by Urban Decay.  Someday I will do a post on this awesome eye shadow palette), my current foundation, bronzer, and illuminator.

Now some of you are probably wondering "Don't I need a sink?".  I do.  The normal order of my routine is to wash my face, brush my teeth, and then put my contacts in.  After that is finished, I then move to the vanity to put on my make up.  Then I usually move back into the bathroom to wash my hands and style my hair.  I haven't tried curling my hair at the vanity yet.  There is no outlet on the wall the vanity is placed near (one of the drawbacks of living in a century old house).   But I think if I ever curl my hair in a way that takes a lot of time, I will probably just run an extension cord across the room because it is so nice to sit down!

Now that all my cosmetics are in my vanity, my husband is thrilled to have his counter space back in the bathroom.  So ladies, if you want a vanity, this is a good incentive to tell your hubby so he will buy you one!

On a side note, I just found out my Easter Outfit  was chosen twice this week on two different link ups!  I was featured in  "The Spotlight of the Week" on Stylin in St. Louis and Living in Color Style and in "Thursday Moda" on Elegance and Mommyhood!  How exciting is that?

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.

My New Hair Style

I did it!  I got a bob!  My husband thought I would chicken out at the last minute, and I almost did.  But I was really in the mood for a change, and I especially wanted the hair off of my neck for the summer, so it was time.

If you remember last week's Beauty Post, I shared pictures of bob hairstyles and talked all about my frustrations with my current hairstyle.  I don't want to go into all those details again, so if you missed that post, you can catch up HERE.

So without further ado, here is my new look!

 The side view

                                                                      The Back View

I love the back view the best.  I never liked the back of my head before because I have a cowlick in the back that can be very frustrating to work with.  Because the hair is shorter now, and it has a natural wave, I can just scrunch it with mousse and it's nice and full and curly!  Yeah!  No more flat, stringy hair!

If you forgot what my hair looked like BEFORE, this was my most recent photograph taken three days earlier.  Just long, straight, and a little frizzy.  And this was a good hair day!

                                                                     The Front View:

And here I am AFTER!  In addition to getting a new cut, I had my roots touched up and lots of highlights put in.  I LOVE highlights, if done right!  They add that finishing look to any hairstyle.

Brenda, my stylist, did an amazing job with the highlights.  I love the way they look on top of my head too.

From the front, I don't think my hair looks that different than it did before.  I like that the front is longer because I can still pull it back off my face with pins and combs, and I can also still wear head bands!

Now I have a funny story to share with you all.  Most of you know I live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and I am always making fun of the way people dress around here.  Well, this is what I wore to town to get my hair done.  Distressed jeans, striped shirt, white vest, black and white scarf, and a pair of cute booties.  Nothing special, but a well-put together stylish outfit.

As I was leaving the salon a lady called out to me and said "Hey Fancy Lady!  Can you take my picture?".  I was quite bewildered at first, but I took her phone and took her picture as she asked.  (She had very long hair and was getting it cut to donate to Locks of Love, that's why she wanted her picture taken. )

After wards she said, "I just love your outfit! You look so nice".  I just said "Thank You" and left the building chuckling to myself.  Only in rural Wisconsin would an outfit like this be considered "Fancy".  Maybe that should be the new title of my blog "Fancy Lady!"  LOL!  I think I'll stick with "Amy's Creative Pursuits".

So what do you think?  Do you like my new bob hairstyle?  I can't wait to try styling it different ways and see what it looks like with some of my outfits.  So fun!  Change can be scary, but it can also be a lot of fun sometimes.

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Finally, on a side note, if your a blogger over fifty years of age we'd love to invite you to participate in a blog series specifically for bloggers over fifty.  It would be a great opportunity to meet more bloggers in your age group, and also might help promote your blog.  You can read more about it HERE.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

"Beauty Room" Update

Most of my readers know my last child moved out of the house last summer and my husband and I have been redecorating his old bedroom.  Originally it was suppose to be just a walk-in closet, but my kids and hubby were worried about losing the extra sleeping space for company so we decided to keep the bed in the room.  I then started calling it my walk-in-closet/guest room.  But then as the room progressed and we began working in the space, it became apparent that it wouldn't be much of a walk-in-closet at all and more of a dressing room.  So then I called it my walk-in-closet/guest room/dressing room.  Well after reading another blog (Beauty with Lily) I discovered that there is actually a real name for this type of room....they call them "Beauty Rooms".  I love it!  Here I thought I was the only wacko creating such a room, only to find out I'm not original at all.  You have to check out Lily's blog to see other kind of "Beauty Rooms".  And from here on out, I will always refer to my new room as my "Beauty Room" too.  So much easier to say than walk-in closet/guest room/dressing room.  :)

Anyhow,  two weeks ago I showed you the drapes, closet, flooring and a chair I picked up at a thrift store.  If you missed that post, you can catch up HERE.

This week I will show you some new furniture I picked up and our progress on the bed.

This is what the bed looked like BEFORE:

The picture was taken when the room was decorated for Christmas and you can't see the headboard, but it was basically just a dark wooden base with three large drawers underneath and a shelf headboard.

My husband ripped out the drawers (they were broken and unusable) and the old headboard, but left the basic platform the bed was built upon.

Because we had extra space on either side of the mattress and I had lost all my other storage space I longed for in the room, we came up with the idea of building a little cozy cove from this idea I saw on Pinterest.

Image Credit

Of course, the example is a window seat, whereas ours is up against a solid wall, and the shape of my ceiling and size of room  differs, so we had to come up with another design that worked with our room.

We finally decided on angled bookshelves on either end of the bed.  Here I will display jewelry, fashion books, pretty nick knacks, etc.  

These are just basic shelves at the moment, but will be covered and encased with pretty trim and painted white.

The bed and shelves will be encased with beams running floor to ceiling on either side, plus a large crown moulding on top of which I plan on hanging sheer, sparkly drapes.  It should look quite beautiful and cozy when were done.  A bed fit for a princess!

Instead of drawers underneath the bed, we chose to do use under the bed totes (I can fit eight of them under the bed) and hang a bed skirt.  I will get a lot more storage this way, and I won't have to worry about mice getting into them!

And now for the real fun part....my furniture arrived last week and I LOVE IT!  I bought both pieces through Sears.  I got this pretty vanity table for only $154.00.  It did arrive with a few nicks and a dent, and we thought about sending it back, but it wasn't worth the hassle to me.  I know some of you will think I'm nuts to not send it back, but the way I look at, I will most likely end up putting my own nicks and dents in it anyway and they are hardly noticeable.  Other than that, it is a really nice piece of furniture.  The size and style fit the room perfectly.  And I LOVE putting my make up in front of a window and getting the natural light.  It makes all the difference in the world.  I usually don't put make up in the dark now that I don't work anymore, so that hasn't been an issue yet.  If I ever need to put make up on when it's dark outside, I'll just have to do a re-check in the bathroom mirror before I leave the house.

I found this pretty glass tabletop at T.J. Maxx to put on top of my vanity to help keep it clean from make up stains.

This is the view of the room now if your sitting on the bed.

My husband thought the room needed a fancier chandelier than what was in the room before, but instead of buying one, he just took the old chandelier out of the master bedroom and spray painted it silver (it was a burnished gold before) and then put my son's old ceiling fixture in our room (we plan on redecorating that room next year).

I love the way the chandelier looks silver instead of gold.  Except, now I have a ring where the old ceiling fixture use to be.  I tried washing it off, and nothing!  It wouldn't come off.  I'll try dabbing some paint up there and see if that helps.  Any other suggestions?

Well what's a Beauty Room without a mirror right?  I found this pretty one for only $65.00 at Sears.  Isn't it just the perfect addition to this room?

And here are the two pieces together.  Don't you just love them?  The floor is crooked (one of the drawbacks of living in a century old home) so my husband has to put some shimmies on the right leg of the mirror to level it off.  I also plan on shopping for some pretty perfume bottles for the vanity.  So far, I only have one!

And that is it for now folks!  I don't think the room will be done until April, and unfortunately a lot of the finishing touches won't be done until much later than that because I'm still hunting for bedding, nick-knacks, wall decor, and a hat rack.  But I'll keep you updated as we progress!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE

New Spring Hair Cuts: Bangs and Bobs

My hair is completely driving me CRAZY right now!  The second to last time I had my hair cut I forced my hairstylist to cut my bangs too short for I insisted  they grow so fast they get in my eyes too quickly after my appointment.  Big mistake.  This is what I ended up looking like for almost six weeks!

YIKES!!!! I thought those bangs would NEVER grow out!

So by the time my next appointment rolled around, my bangs were the perfect length.   I then said to my hairstylist "Don't cut my bangs".  Well, you can just about guess what happened next.  You got it.  They grew too long too fast and were constantly in my eyes.  I was ready to take a scissors to them myself I got so frustrated!  Now they look like this!

 Yeah, pretty awful. I know.  Lesson learned.  Trust your hairstylist to cut your bangs the appropriate length to begin with.

The good news is, I have a hair appointment next Wednesday and I will not only get my bangs trimmed, but I'm thinking of an entire overhaul too:  fresh root touch ups, highlights, and perhaps a shorter, newer look.

I started looking on-line for new trends in spring hair styles.  Bangs are definitely 'in', for both long and short hair styles.  So I'm definitely keeping the bangs, despite all my frustration.  I think they are very complimentary to my facial shape and I have been told they make me look younger....who doesn't want to hear that?

But I'm also ready for a change.  Right now even though I get my haired trimmed every six weeks, it's a little long for me.  Not that I don't love long hair, but on me it just gets limp and stringy and loses all it's fullness if it gets too long.  Shoulder length hair tends to work best for my facial structure and hair type.

While perusing the web, I discovered that bobs are very popular now.  Bobs are not new, they've been around a long time.  But there are many different styles of bob cuts and I found myself most drawn to the shaggy medium length bob.  Why?  Because I won't have to style it of course!  Just moose, scrunch, blow dry and go!

Here are some of my favs:

This one seems to be just the right length, and I love the color!

Image Credit

I do like this one, but I worry it might be a tad too short for me.

Image Credit

This one is super cute, but the bangs are a bit long.  I think I look best with my forehead covered.

Image Credit

This one looks as if it's shorter in back than in front.  I'm not sure I like that, but I do like the length in front and the bangs.

Image Credit

So what do you think?  I'm asking for opinions here.  Don't be afraid to give an honest answer.  Should I go with a bob, or keep my usual hairstyle and just get a trim?  Or do you have another hairstyle idea that you think may look good on me.  Keep in mind, the hubby does not like super short hair on me!  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  And my appointment is March 23rd, so be sure to let me know what you think before then so I can make a decision!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.

Headbands

If you've been paying close attention in my last two fashion posts you would have noticed that I was wearing headbands!  I have discovered that since I got bangs, headbands look really good on me and several people have even told me that I look younger with bangs and headbands:   not that I'm necessarily trying to achieve that, but it's always a nice thing to hear.  It's far better than hearing the question "Are you feeling well?" :)

So far I've shown you a black and white headband in THIS POST and an olive green one in THIS POST.

Here are those two looks again in case you missed it:

  Now both my headbands are simple fabric ones, but I also wanted to show you all some other types of headbands on the market today and the different hairstyles and looks you can create with them.

Express has some pricey, yet fun ones I really like.

I love the knot in this headband and how the model is wearing it directly on her forehead.

This one has a long pretty skinny scarf.

If you prefer something more delicate, try this Pearl Headband from Francescas!  It's like jewelry in your hair.

Headbands are great to wear as a replacement for jewelry during the hot summer months when you don't want any heavy jewelry on your neck or arms.

If the above embellished headband is to delicate for your taste, you could try going bolder this one:

Now that I've shown you several different types of popular headbands, lets talk about ways to style your  hair with a headband.

I love this Tuck and Cover hairstyle.  It looks so easy, I might even give it a try myself!  You can find this and other hair tutorials at this site HERE.

Wear a headband with a messy ponytail!

I just love this cool and casual look! You can see a video on how to achieve this look HERE!

And finally, what about a half up half down look?  Part of her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and the rest was left to hang beautifully down her back.  You can read more about how this look was achieved HERE.

There are so many more headband hairstyles on this Pinterest board for you to explore than I could ever cover in this post,  so if your interested in more ideas, go and check it out!

So when the heat and humidity arrive this summer, will you be trying any of these headband styles?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.