Girlfriends and Makeup...

...Need I say more? Girlfriends + Makeup = good times

Last night, a couple of my best girlfriends and I went to the MAC cosmetics store to get our makeup done. Ann made the appointments a while ago and she, Shirley May, and I were all looking forward to it.

Being that I personally don't enjoy "too much" makeup, I was definitely nervous about it. Let's just say I like a more natural look and don't wear that much makeup everyday. I basically wear mascara (granted, lots of mascara, lol I love the look of long lashes!) and carmex on my lips most days, and on weekends I'll add eye shadow, maybe eye liner, and powder. I will admit that when the makeup artist was done with my makeup, I did think it was way too much eye makeup, but that is my opinion lol. I'm sure Ann and Shirley May had their own opinions.

I wish I had pictures of Ann and S. May's makeup up close because their makeup turned out beautifully! Their eye makeup was definitely full of color and ready for summer.

The only pics I have are of the 3 of us at Mall of America afterwards and my "haul". They're not the best quality since they were taken on my phone, but you'll get the point....we all bought a lot of stuff. Yet somehow, I feel like I need to go back to get more...uh oh....

Last night definitely reinforced one of my oldest beliefs...nothing is better than having great girlfriends...

Here are a couple pics of the girls and I with our MAC bags:




Some pictures of the "To The Beach" collection:








And now...drum roll please...my MAC haul and thoughts so far:

Products shown still in boxed packaging:



Products shown with packaging closed (so that you can see how cute this collection's packaging is!). The name of this collection is "To The Beach" and you can see the theme of it from the seashells, starfish, coral, and sea-horses throughout the line of products:



Products open to show color:



What I bought and my thoughts so far:

1) MAC Cleanse Off Oil
- this is an oil based (but mineral oil free, yay!) makeup remover. I saw great reviews on it on youtube, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was very gentle and not greasy at all (I have oily skin). It also didn't irritate my eyes like some other eye makeup removers have done in the past. You put it on dry and massage the oil on the areas where you want to remove your makeup and then add water to emulsify it into a milky-type cleanser and then rinse off. I'm so glad I bought this because I love it so far. Granted, last night was the first time I used it, but with all the makeup I had on my face (especially eye makeup), it took off EVERYTHING! Never in my quest for makeup removers has this happened. My hope is that it doesn't break me out. So far, so good, and by the way, my skin felt SO soft and not greasy at all afterwards. I still used my usual cleanser after this.

2) Powder Blush in Hipness
- one of the things I really wanted to get was a bright, summery blush that would give my face a pop of color. This blush was it. I liked the look of it so much yesterday that I used it today even though I didn't need to get ready. I was just excited to put the blush on again, and that, for me, is a great sign.

3) Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium Dark
- I hate the feel of liquid foundation on my face, which is why I have barely ever used it. When I've wanted some coverage on my face or have zits I want to cover up, I've turned to Bare Escentuals for years. The makeup artist put this on my face and it felt even lighter than the Bare Escentuals powder foundation, which I didn't think was possible. I love this because it gives the coverage I want, while at the same time giving me a natural, glowy look. It feels like I have nothing on and maybe it's just me, but it seems like my skin is softer too after I put this on.

4) MAC 109 brush
- I still need to wash this brush and use it with the MSF (Mineralize Skin Finish), but when the makeup artist used it last night I just fell in love with it. It's a different brush with shorter, compact bristles, and so soft. I was told that it's a great brush for powder, blush, and contouring (not that I know how to contour). For some reason I have an obsession with makeup brushes, which is weird since I probably only need 2 or 3 brushes. I think it's because I like the way they feel on my face, lol. I am washing this brush later tonight and am looking forward to using it tomorrow!

5) Eye Shadows in Sand & Sun (matte, light peachy color) and Firecracker (veluxe pearl, deep hot pink color)
- I don't have much to say about these except that I really like the colors. They're different from anything else I have and I feel like I'll be able to use them with other more neutral colors too, hehe.

6) Lipglass Lip Gloss in Easy Lounger
- this one I'm not so sure about. I really liked it last night, but I used this again today and I didn't realize it had so many glitters in it! I stepped out into the sun, looked at my face, and my lips looked like a disco ball. It also left little pieces of glitter around my mouth where it must've rubbed off and I think it's so annoying when you have that one piece of glitter on your face just sitting there. I'm sad to say it, but this might be going back to MAC. On the bright side, maybe I will exchange it for something else?...

I wanted to end this entry with a quote I found (if you can't tell already, I'm a sucker for good quotes). Basically, like I've mentioned before, I believe so much that a great girlfriend is better than any medicine, any money, and dare I say, any makeup on a bad day. And even better on a good day. So to all my wonderful girlfriends who make me smile, laugh, and snort, this one's for you.

"We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun."

Ma

Mother's Day is coming up tomorrow, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to all the moms, mommies, and mamas out there.

Especially my Ma :)

Since I'm not a mother myself yet, I obviously don't know what it's like to be one. I don't have any amazing revelations to speak of either. Unfortunately, I'd be lying if I said that my mom is my best friend. It just didn't turn out that way, and there's no rhyme or reason to it, it just is what it is. Despite that though, I will say I have so much respect for her and love her SO much, more than I would ever be able to verbalize. The older I get, the more I realize what she, as a woman, has gone through in her life.

I love my mom and hope that as I get older, we get closer. She has done a lot for me and my brothers. She raised three amazing kids (I, of course, am the most amazing, haha) and to this day she still has a goofy, girly way about her. I love that the most about her. She also is somehow in her (ahem) mid-50s and still could pass for someone in her late 30s/early 40s. Soon we will really look like sisters (something she has always told me since I was in high school, lol).

I remember when I was a little girl she tried to do everything she could for us kids. At one point she was working 2 jobs trying to put us all through private school and she would still manage to give us great gifts on our birthdays and Christmas and say goodnight before she went to her night job. I can't say that she was the best cook, but she has definitely gotten better over the years ;)

I remember she always wanted me to be a "girly" girl, especially since I am the only daughter. She loved getting dressed up, fixing up her hair, and wearing makeup, and I guess she was hoping that those genes would pass onto me. What she got was a girl that never wanted to start wearing a training bra and cried to the point of almost puking when she tried to put makeup on me. A girl that voluntarily wore lip-gloss for the first time at the age of 17. To this day, I'm convinced that she got me to start dance classes just so she could cake makeup on my face for the dance recitals and I would have no choice but to oblige. Now, I actually like makeup and fixing my hair, so we get along so much better, lol. I actually remember a couple years ago when I bought her a Bare Escentuals mineral makeup kit and she wanted me to show her how to use it. There we were, in the bathroom of the home I grew up in, and I was putting makeup on my mom and my dad walked by and said, "Oh, so now the daughter is showing her mom how to do makeup" and walked away chuckling. I remember we just looked at each other and smiled. It is actually bringing tears to my eyes right now thinking about it. It's times like that when I get a glimpse of my mom unaltered that I cherish the most. She's this woman that came to the U.S. from the Philippines hoping to raise her children in a place and in an environment different from how she grew up. Like any mother I'm sure, one of her dreams was to have happy, healthy, thriving children. I believe she has succeeded, and will continue to do so.

The older I get,
the more I see
the power of that young woman,
my mother.
~ Sharon Olds

I'd Rather Be In Forks

Today is a very gloomy, rainy day...makes me think of Forks :)

I guess I'll make this my official coming out of the closet for being a crazy Twilight fan. TEAM EDWARD all the way! Period. I am a 12 year old trapped in a 30 year olds body when it comes to anything Twilight. I've read all of the books (more than once) and own both of the Twilight and New Moon movies...I guess I could go on and on, but just believe me when I say I'm crazy about anything Twilight related! I'm sure I will have more posts that mention Twilight, so don't think this is the last you've seen of my obsessed rants. Judge me if you want to, I'm not ashamed! :)

My husband luckily humors my obsession and OK'd my request to go to Forks when we took a trip to Seattle last year. Let me tell you, Forks is a beautiful area and it was great as a fan of the books to go there and see what Stephenie Meyer was writing about. The movies weren't filmed there, but if you've read the books, all the places are there. We went to Port Angeles and La Push too. It was almost surreal how spot on she was. I will say, I wanted to go to Forks because of the Twilight books, but I want to return again because of the town itself. It's so cute and everyone was so friendly. The Pacific Northwest area is just beautiful.

So here I am on this gloomy day with my sweatshirt on (that ironically says "Bitten and Smitten" lol) and thinking of a little town called Forks. Can't wait to go back.

I guess my main point of this post is that age is really just a number. Take any grown woman and put something in front of her that she is obsessed and in love with and she immediately becomes a little girl in heaven.

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." ~Samuel Ullman

Here are some pictures from our trip and some Twilight points of interest, hehehe.

Bella Italia, Port Angeles



Lincoln Movie Theatre, Port Angeles



Could this be the alley? hmm...




Edward? Bella? Are you in there?



FORKS!!!!! This is a much more subdued version of the picture I wanted to take at first sight of the sign lol



The main street in Forks, I think they only had a few stoplights...



Running to "Bella's truck" (yes, I know it's not REALLY her truck, but still)



"Ryan! Take a picture of me on this side too please..."



The Swan Residence



The Cullen Residence





CLIFF! La Push, WA
I think we all know what happens here...ok, well, I for sure know lol



La Push, WA
This log is where I pictured Bella and Jacob sitting (yes, when I saw this, I really did picture "them" sitting there...as in fictional characters sitting there, ok, sue me).



I am not kidding when I tell you that the Pacific Northwest is absolutely BEAUTIFUL...

QOTD (Quote of the Day)

I am determined to try and make regular blog entries, and this is a feeble attempt to make one today since my day was honestly not that interesting (it is a Monday, after all).

I came across this quote today and thought it would be fitting...

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone."
~Jim Fiebig

This just made me chuckle because I can't remember how many times I've been enjoying ice cream and it either spilled on me or on the table or fell on the ground. It really is a feeling of extreme disappointment.

I have a love for ice cream and an even bigger love for gelato. If you know me, I've raved about gelato ever since I went to Italy in 2004. I have yet to find a gelato that tastes that good. Ring Mountain in Eagan, MN, does have really good ice cream and gelato though...hmmm...and it's only a couple miles from my house... (cue the raising of the eyebrow...).

Sadly, the picture of me and my first gelato is not on this computer so I can't upload it right now :(

Instead, I'll leave you with an array of gelato...this picture was taken in San Francisco and was pretty good, I can't remember the name of the place though...

Defying Gravity

How would you define aging gracefully?

Is it looking 10 years younger than you are? Seeing a classy and put together woman in her 40s, 50s, 60s... and still pulling it off? Is it the ability to maintain both beauty and brains for as long as possible?

I'm not quite sure myself, but for right now, I guess I feel like aging gracefully for me would be the accumulation of all of these things:
- looking younger than I am
- maintaining and improving my memory (the people that know me might be chuckling to themselves right now...I have a horrible memory already)
- being a good wife, friend, sister, daughter...someday mother, grandmother...
- laughing every day
- being physically active
- having a positive attitude
- learning from my mistakes, and sharing the wisdom that came from them
- defying gravity as much as possible without surgery (aka hopefully not looking too much like a sharpei and keeping the girls up!)
- learning something new every day
- not sweating the small stuff

I'm sure I've missed other qualities, but for now these are what come to mind. I do know though that aging is a gift. I guess so far I haven't had any problems with aging or turning 30 because my view on it has always been, it's better to turn 30, than not turn 30. I see and hear people whining about getting older and I always think in my head, well what would you rather have? the alternative? It just doesn't seem right to me. Some people don't even live to see 30, and for that reason, all I can be right now is grateful. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure I've done it myself, it's only human to do so. But I guess I try to make a conscious effort to not do it so much.

So now that I am stepping off of my soap box, I wanted to mention that I did something yesterday to address my "defying gravity" portion of steps to aging gracefully. I bought an eye cream. I've been using drugstore brand eye creams for a couple years now (not religiously), but I thought I'd try a department store brand. A friend of mine told me that you should start using eye cream when you turn 25. I started at 27 or 28, so I'm a bit behind.

I decided to purchase Clinique All About Eyes Rich, recommended by a friend (photo courtesy of sephora.com).



I don't have any wrinkles around my eyes yet, but I do sometimes notice dryness on my upper eyelid. I'm using this more as a preventative measure. I tried it out for the first time last night and it's texture is richer than the other brand I had and seemed more moisturizing and not greasy. So far, so good. The products claims are: "diminishes the look of undereye circles, shadows, puffs and fine lines—immediately and over time. Helps boost natural collagen production. De-puffs with calming botanicals. Even strengthens skin’s moisture barrier against common irritants." I guess only time will tell if this product works or not. Ask me in 10 years I guess!

I think another part of being able to age gracefully is maintaining good relationships with the people you love. I shopped with a couple of my best girlfriends yesterday and that always boosts my mood. Girlfriends (especially mine) are wonderful to have for those kinds of stories and laughs that only girls can share together. Very few things in life can beat an afternoon of coffee, conversation, laughter, and shopping with my girls.

I guess the choices we make today will eventually creep up on us in the years to come, which is why I am going to get off the computer, go outside, and enjoy this beautiful day. Here's to aging gracefully...