My 5 minute face...

      I am excited about this post.  This is what I do most days.  When people ask me to show them how to do their make-up I teach them these steps first. This is my, "5 Minute Face!"

      These are the tricks that I have learned over the years to make myself look like I have spent more time then I really did on myself. Who doesn't want that?

     I am going to show step by step instructions.  Don't be intimidated by how long the post is.  It really is simple and easy. 

      I want to share again then that I learned and perfected these steps by some trial and error.  I had to learn what worked for me and my life.  You should do the same. Go ahead and add or remove whatever steps you want.  I promise I wont be offended. 

     Step 1. Moisturize! You will read this a lot on my blog.  I leaned from a wise women, who we all miss being in our homes everyday, Opera, that the difference between a raisin and a grape is moisture.  I was 18 when I heard those life changing words.  Ever since then I have never missed a day or night of moisturizing.  Even in a bind I will use hand lotion. On a normal day or night I use the basic Oil of Olay anti-aging moisturizer.  It is light and does the job.   

     Step 2. (Optional) Green Concealer.  When the weather changes my skin gets really red and irritated.  This is why I use my green concealer.  I put it on the back of my hand and then spread it it on all of the unwanted red.  

Loreal Magic Anit-Redness is my favorite!  The reason being is that it covers well, you don't have to use a ton, and it lasts FOREVER!

SEE! Redness is all gone!

     Step 3. Yellow concealer. Yes, I love the red lipstick, but Mama doesn't always got the time.  This is called "5 minute face," after all.  That is when the yellow concealer comes in handy.  I use my finger or make up sponge to dab under my eyes.

This is just a cheap palet of cream concealer that I got off of Wish.com.  I love it. If you don't want to wait a month to receive it, most make up brands have their own version of it.

Just dab it on.  You don't want to put it on to heavy or it will get in the wrinkles.

 ( No one wants that)

     Step 4. Foundation.  I use a cream foundation.  (This next step in pink is important for those of you that use a liquid as well.)  I put my foundation on the back of my hand.  The reason putting it on the back of my hand it important is because it makes the foundation the same temperature of as your skin.  It lets the foundation go on much smoother and less streaky.  I then take my make up sponge and spread the foundation evenly on my face and neck. 

 I love this BB magic cream because it color matches to my skin.  

(Again, this is from Wish.com)

 Some people use the paint brush looking make up brush to put on foundation, but for my 5 minute face a make up sponge is so much faster.

     Step 5.  Translucent powder.  It sets your foundation so it doesn't rub off. The reasons I use translucent powder is that it doesn't have in color in it.  I dab it all over and then rub it in with my blush brush.  

Again, trial and error.  If you want to use a colored powder go ahead.  Translucent keeps things clean.

     Step 6.  Bronzer.  I take a small make up brush and lightly rub the bronzer the on the brush.  I then spread the color above and under my cheek bones, temple, forehead, and chin.  Pretty much any where that the sun would naturally color my face.  

Make sure you don't over do the bronzer.  You could end up looking like you were in a tanning bed for a week. (No one wants that.)

Step 7.  Blush.  A lot of people are intimidated by blush and only use bronzer.  That is great, but let me tell you, blush is great for so many reasons. It  defies your cheek bones.  I have a super round face and need all the help I can get when it comes to defying something that isn't there.  Another reason I love blush is it can brighten your skin and can make your eyes pop without having to do to much.  Just my personal 2 cents on why I think blush is essential.  Anyway, I take a blush brush and dab the color on the end.  I then take the color and put it just behind the apple of my cheeks.  

I know that this is a bright color.  Don't be intimidated.  I use a bright color because you hardly need any to have it show up and it lasts forever.  I am all about not having to replace make up all the time.  Why spend the money if you don't have to. 

I have cheeks!

     Step 8. Shimmer.  Not sparkle. There is a big difference.  It is the difference from giving yourself a healthy glow and looking like a crazy disco ball.  When I say shimmer I am talking about an opalescence eye shadow or pallet.  They do not use glitter in the shimmer.  (Glitter can settle in wrinkles quickly. They also get on everything and seem to never wash off all the way.)  Now, I put some on the end of an eye shadow brush and apply it on the top of my cheeks, under the arch of my eye brows, forehead, down the middle of my nose, on my chin and most importantly on the space between my tear duct and nose. I love this step because it really pulls everything together.  

 I use a loose powder eye shadow.  Again, you don't need very much and last forever.

Step 9.  Mascara.  On days that I am keeping things simple and wearing more natural colors, I wear brown mascara.  Black is when I want my eyes to pop a little more without the effort. That is why mascara is amazing! It is tiny effort and giant reward.  

I have tried so many mascara's from drug store to fancy and I have to be honest Loreal is my favorite.  To each is their own though.

     10th and final step.  Chap stick, lip gloss or lip stick.  Again, it depends on what kind of look I am going for.  Most of the time I just use chap stick and then I am done.  For this picture though I decided to dress up a little for you.  I went with a colored lip gloss.  

    That's it!  My face is done.  I know that it seems like a lot.  Let me tell you that it is not. Once you get the steps down you will be able to do them in the car while driving on a bumpy road.  

     I hope that you give it a try and learn to love it the way I do.  

Remember readers, I am might be a jack of this trade, but a master of none.

Breaking out!

     How amazing is it to be 31 years old and to have break outs worse then when I was a teenager?

     I have PCOS (Polly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome,) I was diagnosed with it when I was 25 years old. With the PCOS I get horrible and painful pimples.  There are not a lot of them, but they are big and I hate it.  I feel like I am suffering in my 30's because I didn't have bad skin problems when I was growing up.

     Two Sundays ago I had a pretty bad break out, for me. You have to know that I understand that my breakouts are nothing compared to others.  To each is their own type of situation.  That is why I put emphasis on the fact that it was bad FOR ME. My PCOS had been rearing its ugly head. Not only did I feel like a giant hippo, but my my neck, back, and face were also suffering. Anyway, Sundays are the day of the week that I get to dress up a little more.  The day where I do more then just my five minute face. Oh man, let me tell you it took longer then five minutes to get my face together that day.  The good news is after dealing with PCOS for the last six years I have learned how to hide and conceal those painful dots, and now I can share what I have learned with you. 

     First things first, I moisturize!  Even when I am broken out I never skip moisturizing my face.  I just use an achene moisturizer instead of my normal anti-aging one. 

     Second. I get out my dear friend, my green concealer. They sell it in all different forms.  Personally I prefer the liquid form because it dries quickly.  The cream just sits there and tends to rub off easily.  
     I just put a dime size amount of my green concealer on the back of my hand and take my finger and just dab it and spread it out around the pimple in question.  

     Third. This will sound backwards, but I put a cream concealer over the green.  The reason for this is that it blends way better with the my foundation, and does a better job of covering the green concealer. 

     Forth. I take that paint brush looking make up brush and dab my foundation on the now concealed pimple.  I start in the middle and then spread it out thin.

    Fifth. I take my sponge and put on my my foundation and then take a big brush and use a translucent powder to seal it up. 

    My last and final step. I take a tissue and dab it lightly over my face.  The reason for this step is because I am wearing way more make up then I normally would and I hate the heaviness of it. Doing the tissue trick helps with that.  

     After doing these extra steps, I put on the rest of my face.   Then it is off to Church. 
      
     This process took me forever when I first learned how to to do it because it was all done with trial and error until I found to combination that worked for me.  I will always encourage you to do the same.   Now that I have my routine down it takes me all of 10 minutes.
     
     No one likes having zits.  You might as well learn to cover them up if you can.  At least then you can still feel and look amazing.  There is no reason that we shouldn't feel beautiful.

     Remember readers, I am just a jack of this trade and a master of none.

I know they don't look like much, but they really were big and painful.

   

Seeing Red!

     Who would have guessed that Red lipstick helps hide dark circles under our eyes!    I tried it myself and I couldn't be happier with the results.

     I am someone who has a hard time sleeping.  Not only am I an insomniac, but I have a 3 year old who gets night terrors and a 9 month old who is a 9 month old.  On nights that I can I take sleep aid to help me get about 4 to 6 hours of sleep on the weekends.  Plus, I am 31, dark circles are just a part of my face now.  Oh the joys of being grown up.

     I am normally a Yellow concealer girl myself, but I had a friend tell me that the yellow concealer doesn't work for her. So I went for on the hunt. Where was the first place I searched, like you even have to ask, www.pinterest.com 

     First there were all of these articles about getting more sleep, being less stressed, and try live the life of a Princess who has multiple servants who wipe your nose for you.  You know, real life expectations.  Another one that I read was sleeping with Green tea tea bags on your eyes.  The caffeine is supposed to help smooth out the bags and make the bags less dark.  I am sorry, but I have a hard time sleeping already.  I don't think I would be able to even get the little amount of sleep I already do get with tea bags on my eyes. A lot of people did rave about it, so if you sleep well then go for it, but I was looking for more of a quick everyday fix. 

    That is when I saw it.  A pail face girl holding a bright red tube of lipstick.  Curiosity got the better of me so I clicked on the article.  The next picture was this this girls spreading the lipstick under he eyes! (http://americanoverlook.com/video-i-thought-she-was-crazy-for-rubbing-red-lipstick-under-eyes-but-the-end-result-brilliant/68904)  Then she went on and did her normal face make up, and OM Gosh!  The bags under her eyes were gone.  I mean you could still see some wrinkles, but it is lipstick, not a miracle cream.  The craziest part to me was there was no red to be seen. I am telling you people it was amazing.  What blew my brain even more was the lighter skin tone you have the darker the red is supposed to be.   

     I had to try it myself.  I was so in love with my results.  I found, after trying it out on myself, was if I applied my yellow concealer on top of the red it helped hide the red better.  It made it ended up looking like a salmon color.  

    Red lipstick is no longer just a fun way to make us feel sassy and help make your teeth look whiter.  It also helps you look like you get a better night sleep then you really did.  

     I hope this helps for those of you who feel like that is a problem that was never going to go away without doing something dramatic.  

     Just remember readers, I might be a jack of this trade, but a master of none.
                                                             Natalie

                                                    (My personal results)

"I'm just a girl in the world..."

Let me Show You the Way

I am just a women who loves make up.  I love making my natural beauty shine with a touch of bronzer and mascara.  I love getting all dolled up for a hot date with the hubby.  I also love the days were I don't put anything on my face, except sunscreen and moisturizer, and let my face absorb the sun,and truly feel the rain dripping from my mascarasless eyelashes.  

I have been into make up since I was a little girl.  As each year goes by my passion for it grows stronger and stronger. If I read of a new tecnique to make small lid eyes look bigger I try it. I have to learn how to do it myself.  My face is my blank canvas.  

My biggest obsession lately, and I know that I am not alone, is Pinterest.  I am always learning something new or stopping something that I have been doing for years because apparently it will make my skin fall off.  (Known for being a wee bit dramatic.)  I love learning how to make my teeth look whiter, how to make the age lines disappear, and seeing if a paper towel and egg whites will really get rid of black heads. 

I am starting this blog, not only as an excuse to do my make up all the time, but to show every women out there that make up is not scary.  That it doesn't make you less of a feminist to want to look pretty, and most importantly, I want to teach women to love the skin that they have been given.

We all have flaws that we want to hide from, but those flaws make us  beautiful.  I want to show everyone that we should never hide behind make up, but have our own beautiy shine threw the make up.

I know what I know about make up, and the things that I do know I am good at.  

Let me show you.  Let me do the work for you.  Let me teach you.

Full disclosure.  I am not a professional make up artist.  I am a wife, mom, and basically amazing. (eye roll here)  I am not accountable if I suggest something and it doesn't work for you. I am not a professional. I will never say that I am a professional.  I am just a women with a passion for making my face pretty. 

I just ask as you read this to keep in mind that I am a jack of this trade, but a master of none.

Natalie Willis

(Master of None Make up Mom)