Life in Pictures

 So I have said that I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to make up, in some ways I am very much still behind the times.Here are a few pictures of me in all the wonderful stages of my Make up Journey

 1996 Post High School Graduation "Glamour Shot"

 2012 6 months post bouncing baby boy

2013 searching for something to shake up my make up routine.....this was not it. ;)

 This wasn't it either LOL 

 Spring 2014, getting there!

January And February 2015 Empties!

What did I Use and Abuse for January/February 2015: The Loved, the Liked, and the Moving on!

First up the Loved:

 Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti Humidity Smoothing Milk (self purchased) -  Anti Humidity? In the middle of Blizzard season? I have one word for you STATIC, yup this baby does wonders for those static induced fly away and hat removal poof ball horror moments.

Amika Hair Mask (Birchbox sample)- I use this once a week. It has become a part of my Sunday primp ritual. It smells Lovely, and works so nice, keeps my hair feeling hydrated and full. I will apply in the shower after shampooing, then leave it in while I shave my legs, do a face mask or mani/pedi. Rinse and let dry naturally. I finished this off and immediately bought a full sized one!

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E (self purchased) - I do switch out my hand lotions frequently depending on scent or mood. When my hands just wont soften up, or I get that "my skin is catching on everything" feeling I always come back to this. Slather it on after a good hand washing or shower and it sinks right in, or if you are headed to bed, slip on cotton gloves, (or a clean pair of socks will do in a pinch) and your hands will be nice and smooth the next morning. Works the same great way on feet too!

Palladio Herbal Eye Shadow Primer (self purchased) -  Goes on smooth, doesn't get oily or greasy feeling.And your Eye shadows stay put!

Shiseado Ultimune Power Infused Concentrate (Birchbox sample) - OMG, so light so refreshing and a little goes a long way! I nursed this sample for almost 3 months! It is to be applied before your moisturizer or primer and is supposed to help your skin deal with atmospheric crummy chemicals/ pollution floating about. I don't know if it did that, but it did leave my face  feeling refreshed and smooth. I also noticed I did not need as much primer and I skipped moisturizer entirely while using this. I want more of this, but I cant bring myself to spend the 65-95$ for it!

Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentrate (Birchbox sample) - This little lovely came on the heels of the Shiseado, and it picked up where Shiseado left off! It applies smooth, sinks in quickly, doesn't leave a tacky/sticky feeling to the skin and had a light scent that dissipates quickly. Works great, it has even helped with my permanently blushed cheeks due to my red head/ fair skin genetics! As with the Amika as soon as i finished off the sample I went and bought a full sized one!

Notoriously Morbid Divination Blush in Palmistry - NM is an Indie Cosmetic Company, this is a deep brick red, it is matte and it has loads of color pay off, use sparingly and blend out. Even with my fair skin it gives a wonderful glow and it lasts all day! Once i used up the sample, mainly because of a spill I bought a full sized one 8$ and it has stayed in my "Daily Use Box" ever since. (I have an in depth review coming up on NM, I have been Hoarding their items to do a comprehensive swatch post.)

The Likes:

Juice Beauty Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer (sample swap) - I wanted this to be a Loved Item, I had heard such great things about it. For me it didn't work, it applies nice, has a nice light scent, wasn't sticky or oily. But it made my face redden and get hot, so as a daily use tool it doesn't cut it

Mary Kay Time Wise Moisturizer (self purchase) - This is my dirty little secret....this bottle is about four years old.....It works, it doesn't leave a grease slick on your face, has a light scent, is fabulous for sunburn or wind chapping on your face. At the time this ran out I discovered Embryolisse, and it has a much nicer price point.

Mark Antony Oil of Morocco hair spray (Birchbox sample) - What can I say.....It is an extremely light hold spray. Its only saving grace is it smells wonderful, makes me think of my Strawberry Shortcake s.hampoo and conditioner set I had in the 80's!

Mireness ICurl Mascara (sample swap) - I like it, the wand is nice it doesn't clump or flake off after applying. The irritation was the formula was so liquid-y it got everywhere. I had to do a lot of clean up after applying it. I will let this sit for a bit and hope it dries out some and re-review in a month or two.

The Moving on's:

Dr. Jart BB's (Birchbox samples) - UGH after all the hype, eww Yuck don't like them! I cant bring my self to say anything nice about these, both just sat on the skin, had a greasy feeling and I could not wait to take it off after wearing for the day. Tried them twice, once as full face application, and again as just touching up spots. With the same results. Could not get it off quick enough after getting home.

And there you have it!

All Opinions are my own, all items were paid for by me or were from private swaps. 

An Award? for me?....

It has taken me a little while to get over the shock of receiving a nomination for Versatile Blogger! In January after  posting  "Buying Indie" I was notified I had been nominated by Stufforthings! Shock, Amazement and feelings of Horror soon followed each other to hide under my makeup stand to shiver. Here is the official todo!

A Lil' Makeup Blog was just Awarded the Versatile Blogger Award!  Thanks to a nomination from Brandi over at  Stuff for Things! Brandi has some really great content on her blog about many of our favorite products and brands. I’m an avid Reader of her blog and am truly honored she thought of A Lil' Makeup Blog when she made her nominations! Check her out folks!

When nominated you are to do the following:

• Thank your nominator and post the award on your blog. You don’t HAVE to link them, but it’s the right thing to do – since they just tagged you.
•  Share 7 things about yourself.
•  Nominate 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award, please remember to let them know they’ve been nominated!

So Here we go!

Seven things about me!

• I am a mom to one amazing little boy.
• I am a Henna Artist on a part time basis but would love to make it full time.
• I create historically based costumes for SCA & Rennaisance faires. ( more about that here.)
• I also Tatt a form of hand made lace.
• I hold an Associates degree in Web Design and Interactive media.
• I Love all things SteamPunk!
• Abney Park is my Favorite band and I am usually listening to this in the morning while applying my make up for the day!.

Onto the nominees!

1. Ginny's Tatting
2. Tatting and Not a lot else! 
3. Costuming Diary 
4. BentoLunch.net 
5. Hot Eats and Cool Reads
6. Pinch of Yum 
7. Evolution of a Foodie
8. This Teacher wears Makeup 
9. Biohazardous Beauty
10. indieknow
11. viviannadoesmakeup
12. Lipstick & Libraries
13. Fashion beyond Fourty
14. A Little Pop of Coral
15. Etherealize Me

Weather Tatting, Costuming, Cooking or Make up all of these Blogs offer something Unique to my life. I hope you will check them out!

Buying Indie

Indie cosmetic stores are springing up like dandelions, especially when you realize what a great resource they can be! In the spring of 2014 I was very tired of every eye shadow being *sparkly*, it was so bad I was having nightmares I was trapped in a Twilight novel! It was about this time that the all Matte Palettes started making their presence known. From reviews on Youtube to blog posts Matte was everywhere. Since I am a big fan of the craft site Etsy I began browsing Matte Eyeshadows and thats when I discovered "Indie Cosmetics" (I was so behind the times I didn't even know that "Indie" was a thing!) My First purchase was from MumMum's Crafts I picked up Antique Silk,Brackenridge, and Lucky Shirt in Matte. I also got Deep, and Softly.

all are over ELF Mineral infused Primer. When my order arrived I was very disappointed in "Lucky Shirt" It was no where near as dark as it is pictured on the sellers site. It showed up more Aqua on my skin than Teal so I gave it away before getting a picture of it. The other four colors I am very pleased with. They apply smoothly, last a very long time and are true to their color. After this first foray into Hand/Home made cosmetics I have been hooked. I do recommend you do your research, check for Reviews & swatches on the colors you are wanting to purchase. Read the reviews on a sellers page. Make note of TAT's (turn around time. And most of all remember each item will react/show up differently on your skin than it would on mine, or on whoever else has previously swatched it.

Yes I am Sloooooow. But! New Years Brings a Resolution to get caught up!

Reviews coming on Mum Mum's Crafts,Daphne's Polish,  Ardent Ocotpus, Notoriously Morbid, & Scaredy Cat Cosmetics! All of these lovelies can be found on Etsy.com
 & now you can find me on Bloglovin! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

"Indie" Makeup providers

Just a heads up My next Big Post I will be reviewing some recent Independent Makeup Provider purchases.

The one I am most excited about is from Notoriously Morbid, http://www.notoriouslymorbid.com/! They have wonderfully Ghoulish named offerings and I am in a Halloween mood! :D

A Spring & Summer of Discoveries!

It has been a while since I started  my story about this make up journey. Several things have happened over the past few months that have been pretty exciting make-up speaking at least!

I discovered subscription boxes! This is a pretty cool concept really; you join, pay a small monthly fee and the company sends you a variety box of product samples!

I receive Birchbox and Ipsy. Both are only 10$ and so far I have discovered some very helpful and amazing make up and skin care products!

I also recently got to spend some time in a Physical make up store I got to visit  Ulta! There is a big difference in being able to touch and try cosmetics versus just reading reviews and looking a pictures.

So here is my Favorites List for Spring and Summer!

Face:
K6 Antioxident facial Cleanser - Discovered this through Birchbox. I have sensitive skin, therefore I have a Love then Hate relationship with cleansers. I can use them for a little while..usually about 2 weeks, and then the drying, itching and peeling starts. Happily I started using this in July and here I am 4 months later and I still Love it!

NYX HD Concealer -  I wanted a concealer that would cover the hyper-pigmentation of my freckles that appear every summer. These little babies did the trick nicely! Tap the product on with the doe foot wand then blend out. It also works great for highlighting your brow and/or carving out your brows. They were on sale at Ulta! so I picked up Porcelain and Fair.

Lips:
Bee All Natural lip balm - smooth, ultra moisturizing and long lasting. I discovered this through Ipsy. I love the grapefruit flavor, but if that isn't your style they have several others flavors to choose from!

Eyes:
Revealed & Revealed 2 Palettes by Coastal Scents  - there are oodles of  comments out there that these two palettes are Dupes of Urban decays Naked 1, 2, 3 palettes. I can not tell you that for sure I do not own those. What I can tell you is that with these palettes you wont get bored easily trying out new looks and combining shades!

e.l.f. Mineral Infused Mascara - I have tried other mascaras they clump, the wand is to big, the wand is to small, I keep poking my self in the eye... This Mascara on the first try was perfect, non clumping, the wand is easy to maneuver and it gets every lash on my lower lid on the first try! I just got my second tube because I am nearly out of my first one already.

But what about the rest of my face? My Lip color, my cheeks, Foundation? I am still experimenting these 5 are currently my go to's that I use everyday.