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Archive for the ‘Personal Triumph’ Category

Personal Triumph: Smokey-ish eyes in 60 seconds

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Getting dressed up is becoming more and more challenging- as the bump grows and motivation to experiment with new and unique outfit combos wanes. So I am putting the pressure on my makeup to communicate the look I am going for now more than ever.

I was never much of a smokey eye girl. If anything I would go slightly heavier on the liner and then stick to my beloved Stila Kitten shadow or something equally golden and light for the rest of the lid, loving that natural glowy effect. But now, I am getting slightly more daring- somewhat freely applying deep shades of black and smudging to my heart’s content. Now don’t worry- we aren’t talking Taylor Momsen raccoon eyes here- much more subtle but still, in my opinion, substantial.

There are two products that I have fallen in love with to master this new makeup phase I am in:

If you have 60 seconds to spare: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Anthracite:

A perennial makeup artist favorite, I apply this creamy formula with a pointed, domed concealer brush along the lash line, and then blend up. I add as I go, smudging away until I have a nice gunmetal layer of color just up into the crease below my brow bone. And this stuff does NOT move. If I were going out for a big crazy night, this would be my go-to. The operative word here being “if”- the craziest my nights have been as of late involve when I decide to stay up past 11 to catch The Daily Show. I am serious.

If you have 15 seconds to spare: Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier Pencil in Noir:

Could. Not. Be. Easier. The super soft pencil swipes right on, just quickly sweep back and forth along upper lash line and smudge up with the smudge nubbin (yes, I am deeming that the official name) to get that masterful messy effect. If you want more rock & roll, just keep depositing color from the pencil and smudging. When you get the effect you want, take the nubbin and brush it along lower lash line so the leftover color just so slightly smudges under the eye and voila- done.

Personal Triumph: Brushing for 2 Whole Minutes w/Oral-B

Monday, October 18th, 2010

I never realized how long 2 minutes could really be until I started making a concerted effort to brush for the recommended length of time. I would test myself- timing myself on the cable box, walking away to brush- and sure enough, failed every time. So when I heard about the Oral-B Pulsonic that helps out with timing by beeping every 30 seconds until you covered every quadrant of the mouth, I had to give it a try.

The brush is sleek, it doesn’t ruin the semi-streamlined design of my countertop like some clunky older electric toothbrush models I tried did.  And just like I used to love a gold star on my report card, there is something about that double-beep congratulating me for completing a successful 2 minute brush that kind of makes my morning.

One small step for my daily routine, one giant step for my smile.

Personal Triumph: Black Tie Hair

Saturday, August 21st, 2010


All my life, a formal event meant one thing to me: a professional blowout. There was no question here- even if I was at a blacke tie wedding in the middle of nowhere (and I have been to MANY of those), I did my research to find any excuse for a salon in the area and made an appointment 4 hours before the bride was slated to make her walk down the aisle. I just couldn’t even fathom doing my own hair and having it look black-tie worthy.

But- thanks to a crash course in all things beauty when I filmed 28 episodes of Beauty BFF for MSN, at my cousin’s wedding in Atlanta last weekend I had a burst of confidence that propelled me to go it alone. Confidence and complete exhaustion (thank you, tail-end of first trimester!). And I got more compliments on this ‘do than I have ever gotten on a fresh and smooth blowout.

So, here is what I did (and I apologize for the not so great photo- hindsight being 20/20, should have asked my husband to get a better angle, but we are still in that “oh wow look at how your belly protrudes, we must get a photo to document this” phase of my pregnancy):

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