Wonderfully Wacky-Do and Hair Free Too!
I received an email the other day that made me giggle a bit, absolutely smile an even bigger bit, and ever so pleased to be a bit “Out There”. Here’s an excerpt from the most excellent email below:
Hello Beauty Marked!,
“I have to say that your rather well informed, albeit unorthodox approach to beauty is really refreshing and always a great read. I wasn’t too sure I’d get into the daily beauty affirmations or enjoy the beautiful quotations you have posted as much as I have. They are just so different. But I think the thing I am most pleased about is your inspirational quips that you liberally share. I also love that you are so wonderfully wacky-do, but in the coolest, most well groomed way…”
i just had to share this gem of an email and weigh in to say how much I so appreciate and embrace my card carrying Groomed Wacky-Do status and that I couldn’t ever consider passing up an opportunity to spritz on a fine fragrance, slick on a gorgeously-rich red lippie, have a mani, pedi, blow-dry, brow shape, wax, facial, to meditate, re-align my chakras, have a massage, or to commune with a magnificent crystal. No way José! But the best bit about this email is that you lovelies obviously know it too. I love that! Thanks for noticing and an even bigger thanks for being you!
-BM! xx
The Quick Face.
A Johnny Come Lately I may be, but I just realized that I have a Quick Face makeup look. Do you? It dawned on me that whenever I am in a rush and daren’t go sans makeup, I always tend to grab the following:
- Jane Iredale Pressed Mineral Base (quickly kabuki brushed on)
- Becca Brow Powder
- MAC Club eyeshadow to upper lid
- Blackened Brown eyeliner pencil to tight line upper and lower lids
- Black mascara on curled lashes top and bottom
- Shu Uemura Blush in P Brown 780 (nude/rose bronze demi shimmer)
- The closest nudish gloss I can lay my hot little hands on.
C’est tout! And the bestest bit about a Quick Face is that it is indeed quick. I can do the above in about 5 minutes max. Not bad, ay? All this to say Gorgeous Ones, it’s worth perfecting the Quick Face…because you just never know what adventures lay ahead for you and with the Quick Face you’re sure to look more than a bit of alright in anticipation for every eventuality. We love that!
Some Fabulously Fun Facts About Our Skin!
Did you know:
- That the skin is the largest organ in the human body?
- Skin is waterproof?
- There are approximately 25,000 “good” bacteria per square centimeter of skin?
- Skin on the lips and eyelids is the thinnest and the thickest skin is on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet?
- You will shed approximately 13.5 kg of skin over your lifetime?
- That the skin can sense up to 5 different types of stimulation: touch, heat, pressure, cold, and pain?
- That the skin regulates body temperature?
- The average person has approximately 2 sq. meters of skin covering their body, it weighs about 3.2 kg and comprised of about 300 million skin cells?
- On average each sq. centimeter contains about 10 hairs, 1 sq meter of blood vessels, 100 sweat glands, and 15 sebaceous glands?
Just amazing!
A Great Beauty Buy!
You wouldn’t believe it if you read about it, but the uber cheap facial tissues from the $2 (.99¢ USD) Shop are just brilliant for having on hand when applying cosmetics. Seriously. The cheapies totally leave their more luxe and famed elder sisters in their wake. Who would of thought it? The super soft, thickly plied, much fancier tissues often leave annoying downy bits of fiber on your face which love nothing more than to display their plush magnetism by sticking fast. The more expensive, thicker ply tissues are also not very absorbent when it comes to all things cosmetic. The cheap and cheerful tissue numbers are superb at blotting up the excess oils in makeup, moisturizers, sunscreens, primers etc.. They tend to only sop up excess oils while leaving coveted pigment behind. Cheap tissues also seem to work at their stellar best when peeled down to one ply and used singly. Very cool. I suspect that’s actually due to their sheer lack of fibers of any real discernible ply that make it a near impossibility to leave any behind on your gorgeous face. So do be sure to pop into your local $2 dollar (.99¢ USD) Shop and snaffle up a box of these handy and cheap as chips little gems to keep on the ready just for makeup use. Ooh, do we ever love a nifty beauty bargain buy!
Mojoless Monday?
I know the feeling. I am pretty sure the fact that we are well and truly in the thick of the “Silly Season” isn’t helping much either. With Christmas parties, finishing up (or starting) the last minute shopping, all the stresses of the Season, and tying up the loose ends at work, who could blame us for feeling trés mojoless at the moment? Talk about a daunting time of the year. No wonder we all seem so “over it” before we start. Think of this Get Even More Gorgeous With Beauty Marked! blog post as a not so subtle reminder to Go The Red, Orange, Coral, or Pink Lipstick and be done with it. Seriously. The bright lip works wonders absolutely every time we need a boost. Promise. When wearing a bright lip, your makeup Mojo will come racing back so quickly, you might start to doubt if you ever actually lost it in the first place. We love that!
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…
Dooo Do Do do dooo…I dare say it’s probably worth putting up with my woeful singing in order to get the goss on these divine bits of golden Christmas gorgeousness from The Body Shop. The Golden Sparkle Collection LE Make-Up by The Body Shop is just brimming with gleaming metallic shades contrasted with multicolored gem tones that are fully loaded with scintillating shimmeriness which are sure to set your summer ablaze!
Although only one of the palettes are pictured (sorry guys) there are two special edition Metallic Eye & Cheek Palettes on offer in this beautiful Holiday collection. The Palettes offer four smooth, silky and darn near creamy yet powder eyeshadows (no doubt compliments of the Community Trade Marula oil added to all the products in the Collection to moisturize) and one powder blush to support all the breathtaking eye action above.
Metallic & Cheek Palette 01 (pictured)
Teal Green
Platinum Grey
Quartz Pink
Diamond Pink
Pink Blush
Metallic Eye & Cheek Palette 02
Emerald Green
Bronze Shimmer
Copper Beam
Gold Flecks
Bronze Blush
The other bright stars in the Golden Sparkle Collection are:
Metallic Liquid Eyeliner
Bronze Brown
Gold Dust
Glitter Liquid Eyeliner
Starlight
Brush On Beads
Simmer and Glow
Sparkle Pot
Fairy Dust
Ultra Lip Gloss
Metallic Pink
Molten Copper
The Body Shop Christmas Limited Edition Make-Up Gold Sparkle Collection is in store now until the 26th of December 2007. What beautiful ways to makeup the Holidays!
Times When A Breakdown Is A Good Thing.
I often get asked if it is really necessary to remove all of one’s makeup from the day’s adventures if you are going out for the evening and still wish to wear makeup. To be honest, I don’t feel it is always 100% necessary to remove all of your makeup and cleanse, but if you’ve got the time and energy…go for it! If not, this is when I’d go “the breakdown”. Breakdown the bits of your makeup that are looking a bit battle weary and blot, perhaps powder and reapply. This treatment, of course, doesn’t really extend to mascara as that’s a whole other kettle of fish altogether.
So for everything non-mascara related, just lightly remove or take back by gingerly wiping off with a tissue and or cotton bud. When you’ve done this ever-so-gently, blot your entire face (t-zone especially) with cosmetic blotting paper or film. *whispers* One square of single-ply, super cheap loo paper works fantastically by the way. After you’ve blotted away any excess oil or perspiration that would have naturally managed to creep to the skin’s surface after a day’s wear, just barely powder your entire face (loose or pressed powder is fine). When you’ve finished your ‘barely there’ powder, feel free to reapply your makeup to your beautiful heart’s content.
Carefully breaking down your makeup, blotting, lightly powdering, and reapplying will often give you a nicer looking and longer wearing base for your colour cosmetics than would freshly applied. Go figure? I suspect it has a lot to do with the artful building up of makeup and removing the excess oils, which leave mainly pure pigment behind. (Much like the Beauty Marked! technique for getting your lip to stick.) But don’t be tempted to skip the blot step, because it’s the buildup of oils that actually cause the cakey and flakey thing to happen, which is definitely not the effect we’re after. It’s now, after I’ve done the above, that I adore a quick and ultra indulgent spritz of rose water. Quite frankly, I can’t think of a better and more luxe way to set my makeup. Mmmm.
Now on to the matter of mascara. You know, generally, I am tempted to just leave it alone. I rarely reapply new over old, as that just seems to tempt fate, especially where the potential for clumping and flaking is concerned. But if you reckon there’s only a weensy bit or no bit on, then by all means reapply. Just be extra vigilant for clumps and ensure the lashes stay separated. You can carefully re-curl your lashes with a non clamp-style curler if you’ve got one. If not…use your finger to gently press the lashes towards your lid and hold for about 30 seconds or so before the mascara is dry. Sometimes the finger trick works so well that I often wonder why I bother searching for my curler in the first place, which, oddly enough, always seems to grow legs…especially when I’m in a rush.
So there you have it: Times when a breakdown might just be a good thing. Ultimately though, the most important thing of all to remember is to blot and don’t stress…because you’re beautiful!
