My worst enemy

I don't hide the fact that I suffer from acne.  I have had it for most of my life.  Most of the time it's under control due to a strict skin care regime.  However due to hormones,  a late night of being too lazy to wash my face, or because it's a full moon and high tide a pimple pops up out of no where and what's worse is it brings friends...lots of them.  They mainly congregate around my mouth (this is generally due to hormones) and forehead.  The forehead ones are quite painful and typically the size of a large barn cat so trying to cover them up can be a messy chore.  Awhile back I learned a quick way to take care of the redness so I wouldn't have to use an industrial sized tube of concealer and the best part it's cheap and many of us have this little wonder already in our medicine cabinet lurking in the back.  It's a bottle of eye drops (make sure it indicates that it removes redness).

It works by constricted the blood vessels around the inflamed area so the redness is not as apparent.  It may not be a cure all, but in my time of need it works just great.  I typically will take a cotton ball soak it with the eye drops and pop that in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.  I then take the cotton ball and place it wear needed and hold in there for a minute or two and presto changeo the redress has subsided.  Please be on the look out for more tech tips and and ways to make make-up application a lot easier and quicker.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for sunscreen

As soon as I became a Mary Kay independent consultant, I dove head in first into my box of Mary Kay products.  I felt like I won the lotto.  There were pink boxes everywhere calling my name and screaming "try me, try me".  I of course wanted to make sure that I was using all the products in the Miracle Set (3 in 1 cleaner, Day Time solution, Night Time solution and Age Fighting Moisturizer), so I could accurately give my honest testimonial on the set.  I am not going to review the whole thing today, just the Day Solution 35spf.  I want to point out this product specifically because one of my last blogs talked about the importance of wearing sunscreen.

I will say this everyday for the rest of my life to whomever asks me what can I do help my skin "WEAR SUNSCREEN".  I said it before and I will say if again, this is the most important step you can take to prevent lines, spots, sagging, dull, and tired looking skin (sleep is probably a close second).  What I don't understand is why many people (men and women ) choose to not invest a small amount of money to prevent so many issues with our skin and yet years down the road will fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars for cosmetic procedures but not spend 20 or 30 bucks for prevention in a bottle.  And like so many you, I want to get the most for my dollar and that's why I really like using this sunscreen.

I have gone threw my fair share of sunscreens only to be left in either a greasy mess resembling a pan of fried bacon or a ghostly mess that even sent Casper the friendly ghost in the opposite direction.  I have tried a multitude of brands and am always left wanting more...or for that matter less (less grease, less pasty).  I was pleasantly surprise with the outcome of the Day Solution.  I realize that I sell Mary Kay, and should have had more faith.  It's just that I have been burned (no pun intended) in the past from other brands, but this product really delivers.

I do not have wrinkles or age related fine lines yet, but I do have lines from scrunching my face and giving the "you are so in trouble" look.  This daily spf actually helps to relax fine lines without the need for needles.  No botox injections here.  I also liked the fact that my face did not get progressively greasier throughout the day.  Hot humid summers are famous for making my forehead become a mirror.  And the most important part of all NO ZITS!!!!  I have battled acne my whole life and have suffered through bottles and bottles of lotions, potions, and elixirs because each time I wanted to try a new fancy sunscreen I would break out with painful pimples.  So I was extremely happy this sunscreen did not make matters worse and as as matter of fact since using the Miracle Set, my acne is almost gone. 

Besides making your face greasy, sunscreen can sometimes make you look ghostly.  Have you ever applied sunscreen and been left with a thick white opaque cast to your skin? This is due to titanium dioxide.  It is often used as a pigment for paint or food coloring because it has a white opaque color to it.  I'm not going to argue whether it's safe or not to use.  I would love to lead a natural organic life, but guess what?  I love taco bell and nothing satisfies my thirst better than an ice cold coke during the dog days of summer.  And speaking of summer be on the look out for my next glamour look...beachy bronze. 

Express(lane) yourself

Just like I promised I am showing you a quick look that can be achieved in 5-7 min.  Please don't quote me on this though for one big reason.  If you have never worn make-up and this is all new to you I'm will safely bet that this will take you a bit longer to achieve.  Just like most things in life though, with a little bit of practice you will be right up there with the pros.

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I decided to use pictures to show the step by step process instead of putting up a video, Trust me that's what I would like to do, but when you have a 4 month old that demands you attention every 9.7 seconds and a husband that demands your attention 3.4 seconds it can be quite difficult to get anything done in a timely manner.  And I don't have the patience to film and then edit out my little bundle of joys new skill (screaming like a howler monkey for fun).  I do feel, however that many of you novices will benefit from these still shot images to get a better grasp on the application process.  You won't have to keep repeating the same footage over and over again to still be left in a whirlwind of confusion.  Most of my tutorials will be for the woman on the go because why? Most women are on the go so why show the runway look that took 30 min to achieve.  And let's face it and be real, most men don't want to see those looks and can be quite scared of the labor intensive looks.  I know my husband would much rather see a simple look any day over the black smokey eye with deep red lips (please please don't even attempt that...we must only highlight one feature at a time or risk looking like the headliner from a burlesque show) and he has a shorter attention span than the baby.  So making him wait while I'm getting ready is like playing Russian Roulette...no one wins.

I will include everything from bridal to going out with the girl looks, I just feel most of us can appreciate and benefit from looks that do take under 10 min complete.  Please please please book a glamour look with me and I can come to you and show you hands on how to do something that requires a little more skill like the cat eye.  Thanks for taking a look!!!


Here we go...

Btw all make-up is Mary Kay of course

1. I am using mineral powder foundation- it is so much faster to put on than liquid and compared to other   mineral foundations does not make me look cakey and does not streak when crying (post pregnancy hormones are no match for this stuff)
2. Facial highlighting pen-highlights and conceals
3. Cherry blossom blush
4. Glacier gray cream eye shadow
5. Steely eyeliner
6. Frosted rose lipstick
7. Ultimate mascara (eyelash curler optional)

1. Apply facial highlighting pen around whole eye area. Dab don't rub to blend (the eye area is very delicate)

2. Apply mineral powder with brush

3. Apply eyeliner as close to the top eyelash line as possible.

Don't worry about evenness.

will be blending it in with the cream eyeshadow.

4.Using you ring finger or an eye shadow brush apply the cream eye shadow starting from the eyelash line and blending towards crease.  Make sure to blend in with the eyeliner.  Lightly reapply eyeliner to make it more noticeable if desired.









                                                           


5. Smile and apply blush to the apples of the cheeks (the fatty area) and blend towards the temples.














6. Curl eyelashes (optional) and apply mascara

7. Fill in lips with lipstick.

And here is the completed look done in under 7 min.  In future blogs I will go over proper ways to apply concealer, mascara etc. This blog is purely to show you a look that can be achieved quickly.  No more excuses.

An ounce of prevention

With the end of summer no where near in sight it seems only appropriate that I talk about sunscreen and why we all need to wear it everyday rain or shine.  I can not stress enough how important it is to wear this anti aging potion in a bottle even when it's cloudy outside.

Sunscreen is probably the most economical purchase a person can make that helps to prevent the premature aging process.  I'm sure most of you will find this surprising but did you know that most of the sun spots that pop up in our 30's, 40's and beyond didn't just show up one day from too much sun while on vacation. These pesky spots and wrinkles have actually been forming deep within your skin for years.  Way back when we were in our preteens all the way through our 20's the sun was shooting aging  laser beams at our skin.  Unfortunately, we felt invincible during these years and forgo the sunscreen and now we have to pay the price.  So as we are getting older and noticing all of this damage assuming it's from getting older it's actually from our careless days outside in the sun many many years ago.  These ninja laser beams of UVA and UVB rays penetrate our skin and cause damage to our skin when we aren't even looking...YIKES!!.  UVB rays burns the surface (sun burns) and  UVA rays are capable of penetrating our skin to the dermis layer and cause damage at the cellular level.  It also affects our collagen and elastin fibers...Hello wrinkles.  It's mind boggling to me, that something like this can easily be prevented yet many of us choose not to do it and then scramble around to different doctors wondering "why me?". Why you is because either you were misinformed a long time ago or you chose to ignore the facts.  The great news though is that you can jump abroad this SPF train and do your duty to your largest organ and protect it just like this momma protects her one and only child.

I'm not claiming to be a doctor I'm just someone that really takes her skin care seriously and feels others should too. Years ago when I worked behind the Clinique counter I had a woman approach me and ask for help with her skin.  The poor thing had dry skin, wrinkles and lesions caused by unprotected exposure to the sun. I asked her what her daily routine was for skin care.  Her abrupt answer was "I don't have one and I don't need one."  As I stood there trying to wrap my brain around this answer I quickly asked her what she was doing asking for my help.  She quickly replied back "I wanna cover this crap up."  I typically do follow the golden rule for retail "the customer is always right", however, at this moment I knew in my heart that no amount of concealer, foundation, powder or smoke and mirrors I could offer was going to help.  I looked her stern in the eyes and explained that make-up is not the solution. A heavy dose of  moisturizer and sunscreen were needed.  Well, unfortunately for both of us she did not want to hear it so I did my duty and quickly color matched her for foundation.  Guess what? She hated it because the lesions were still very noticeable.  And try as I might nothing I did made them disappear.  I succumb to these nasty little things and told her that this can only be fixed with a skin care regime and as of right now there is nothing else I can do.  I still remember watching her walking from counter to counter and getting the same response.  And this leads me to the title of this blog.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

And right now I am challenging all of you to pick up your sunscreen and slather it on.  Look I don't care if you make it Mary Kay or not (I would hope you do, it's a great product and my review for it will come later this week), just please do yourself a favor and wear it.  It's not like I'm asking you to work out for an hour everyday.

Melts in your mouth not in your...

I spent a whole week deciding what my first review should cover.  I mean what's a girl to do when her bathroom, closet and dresser drawers are filled with lotions, mascaras, eyeshadows, and about every color of lip gloss one could imagine?  Well, with this heat I decided on a wonderful smudge proof, melt proof apply in the blink of eye Mary Kay Cream Eye Color.  This little magical pot contains quite a punch.  Not only does it stand up to the heat and laugh at it square in the face, but it's quite versatile and and easy to apply (great for the makeupaphob). 

These little gems come in five colors (apricot twist, pale pink, beach blonde, glacier gray and iced cocoa) and cost $13.00 each.  I know in this day and age $13.00 can seem a little steep, but what you don't realize these are not just an eyeshadow.  I have used these an eyeshadow primer, eyeshadow and eyeliner.  Let's think about this now...each one of those products can range from $6-$17 plus and I got all of that for $13.  Here's the best part though, even in this wild, insane inferno heat the cream eyeshadow stayed in in place like a good puppy.  It did not venture down south and give the dreadful raccoon look.  It even kept my regular mineral powder eyeshadow in place "NO CREASES"

Each of these colors can be applied with your fingers.  Yes, that's right you finger painters...no brush needed.  You can layer the colors for a multi dimensional look or just use a single color to get out the door quicker than you can say "hot as he** outside".  If you do wish to use one of the darker colors as an eyeliner just use an angle brush.  Well the heat has officially gotten to my head and a nap is calling my name.   Please check out this great product at my website www.marykay.com/sarahschneider2012.  Because this is the review of the week I am running a BOGO at 25% off deal on these little guys from 7-7 thru 7-14.  Please e-mail me at sarahschneider2012@marykay.com for more information.  If you host a party, you can earn these for free.  Until next time...stay cool!

marykay.com/sarahschneider2012

First things first...

I can't tell you the magical moment I realized I was in love or should I say infatuated with anything pertaining to skin care or make up, what I can tell you is one of my fondest memories growing up was always looking through and playing with my moms make-up.  I vividly remember looking over every jar of cream, each tube of lipstick, and all of her eyeshadows.  Not only did I get to rummage through these treasure chests called cosmetic bags, but I was also given the opportunity to apply all of these transformation tools to my mom.

Friday and Saturday nights were the highlight of my week growing up.  My mom and I would play "make-up".  I would carefully apply her serums and facial creams to her face in preparation for her makeover.  After the prep work the fun really began.  Using the colors my mom already had I would give her an absolutely new look.  And I'm sure you are thinking what a wonderful mother to subject herself to bright red rosy cheeks and and caked on purple eyeshadow.  This is not the case.  As Monet, Picasso, Cassatt, and Rembrandt all picked up their paint brushes and just let things happen naturally I did the same with a set up make up brushes and so began my love of make-up and anything related.

And so begins my blog...My goal is to educate, enrich, and enlighten woman, about make-up and skin care.  Before we go on much further I will make it known that I am a Mary Kay consultant.  So yes, my reviews, tutorials, and tips will involve Mary Kay product.  I love the product especially after it has helped me with my acne that I have suffered most of my life.  If you have any request about a certain look, product or any questions please feel free to ask me here, or email me at Sarahschneider2012@marykay.com  I look forward to this adventure.  Don't forget to friend request me on facebook for daily specials and deals.