The Humility of Spring

According to the calendar, Springtime has begun. Spring is a time of fresh starts, new beginnings, things being made new once again. The excitement of these things gives us hope towards the future and renews the feelings of being alive! I was born in the month of April and I feel the vigor of things changing in the course of my blood. To me, there is nothing better then to awake from a long winter of darkness into a world that is warming and life awakening before our very eyes!

In March we usually take a trip to South Beach for a small vacation. This year we kept it local due to many circumstances. So we opted for few days in Chicago, our home away from home. 

Chicago is known for being a beautiful city with world class shopping. I always allow some time for that whenever I visit. But my favorite thing to do is eat my way through the city. This particular trip, since we were chasing that 60º weather on Friday, I was compelled to visit the Garfield Park Nature Conservatory. 

The first thing I noticed as I walked in was the SMELL. Wow, did my senses feel robust from all the plant and flower aromas!! I honestly felt like life had been infused back into me. The warmth and humidity was also welcomed. 

John and I spent a long time sitting on a bench in the middle of the tropical foliage meditating and breathing in all the life around us. I felt euphoric, calm, satisfied and peaceful.

The last green house contains the flower exhibit and is a spectacular assault to your senses when you haven't seen large amounts of flowers for MONTHS. The colors are so vibrant, the smell is intoxicating and it is so hard to leave!! I heard a mother tell her daughter it was time to go, and the little girl begged her Mom to stay. I felt the same exact way.

As we were about to exit, I was drawn to a deep yellow colored flower. Its leaves were nearly perfect and unfurling, like nothing I had seen before. I snapped a picture hoping I could capture the magic I saw when I looked at it. To my surprise, the picture seized the gracefulness ....

 

The flower is called a Ranunculus asiasticus. I kept looking at it, stunned by how the  leaves were perfectly folded, layer by layer.  The flower had a deep rich pigment that reminded me of a summer night sky. Simple, delightful, and humble, these are the things that made it superb!

As I think more about the flower, or nature in general, I think there is a great lesson to be learned, and that is one about HUMILITY. This flower knows it is not a rose, that is does not have the alluring fragrance of a lilac or a lily. It will never be a cute little violet or seductive orchid. If all the plants and flowers wanted to be each other, then Springtime would lose it's brilliance and the magnificent show we see each year would cease to impress. Nature knows the true balance of existence. No single thing is boastful of its place, rank or importance in the grand scheme of things. Aristotle said "The whole is greater then the sum of its parts". This speaks to being humble. Together, they make something spectacular without even knowing.

The humility of the flower shows us that perfection can only come in the form of doing what we were made to be, what the divine wills us to be, and that is ourselves. He created each of us to be uniquely admirable. When we are humble we have no worries of being unnoticed, overlooked, and no need for praise. Humbleness is true greatness and nature shows that to us daily, all in the leaves of a modest yellow flower.

P.S. Thank you to my friend James for inspiring me to finish this post :)

My five minute makeup

There are many perks about working from home. My top 3 are not having to drive into the job, not having to get out of pajamas the entire day and not having to wear makeup! I really enjoy not having these things on my mind and agenda first thing when I wake up, it's such a luxury!

 

My New Makeup Bag all organized and clean!

I've never been a person that wears makeup everyday, and in the summer, I pretty much only wear lip gloss and mascara. With that being said, I still LOVE playing with makeup and experimenting with looks. I am a big fan of the 5 minute makeup routine. I like a natural and effortless look for days that I'm not going to some kind of event. Here are products I use for that fast non-fussy look. 

My makeup staples

FACE: For the skin, I'm an avid MAC cosmetics user. I've tried other products over the past 10 years, but nothing covers and last like theirs do, so I've always stuck with it. I can always find a shade that matches my skin tone. I use MAC Select Cover Up under my eyes in shade NW35. It's a light weight concealer that blends invisibly and helps lighten up my dark circles and it lasts all day without creasing. For the rest of my face, I use MAC Studio Fix which is a powder and foundation all in one. It has a smooth powder consistency, goes on matte and your skin can breath! It's not heavy at all, and it gives awesome coverage in one step! In the winter I'm an NC43. Lastly, I usually use a bronzer to give a little contour to my nose and cheek bones. The one pictured above is from Ada Cosmetics and the color is Golden Bronzer which I received in a Birchbox package a while back. It's a mineral product and I really like it so far, the color is a peachy bronze. For my checks I use Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in color Adventurous. 

Tarte Blush in Adventurous

Eyes: I keep it very simple when it comes to my eyes. I think the #1 thing that people forget about when it comes to enhancing your eyes is all the HAIR that is around them. I'm talking about eyebrows and eyelashes. To me, these are the most important part of your eye. If they are not well manicured, it doesn't matter what kind of eyeliner or eyeshadow you have on, it just doesn't look well groomed. Define your eye by shaping your eyebrow. I use Too Faced Brow Envy shaping and defining kit. It has a brow wax, highlighter, two different powder colors, tweezers, brow brush tools, pencil and even 3 different stencils to help you achieve your desired shape if you need assistance. The next step is curling your lashes. For mine I use the Tarte Picture Perfect eyelash curler. And to length my eye lashes I use Tarte Light Camera Flashes mascara. I actually like Tarte Light Camera Lashes a little better then the this one, because I like the brush that comes with it and that formula actually lengths my lashes, but I'm overall happy with the quality of the product.

Lips: I'm mostly a gloss kind of girl, but lately I'm so into a pop of color on my lips. I'm not a fan of anything sticky, cakey, drying or lip products full of chemicals and fillers. I'm totally in love with Tarte's lip products! The quality of the ingredients and the fact that they actually condition my lips have me sold! Tarte Lip Surgence Matte Lip Tint is my new favorite! I've been wearing it a lot in the color Fiery. Since it's a tint, it stays put, but it's so hydrating and has a touch of mint. I also love Tarte's lip glosses which are also the bomb and come in a variety of colors, plus they have maracuja oil! 

And that's it! So here's my after pictures. The left side of my face is with makeup, the right side is without. Please keep in mind that I put makeup on at 10:00 p.m. tonight to demonstrate this look and the lightening is not the best, these pictures are all unedited. The night before I was out all night dancing. I'm a little dehydrated, and very sleep deprived, lol! There is not a terribly huge difference but that is the look I like to go with for day to day. I like to enhance what I have and go bold for special occasions. 

What are your daily products? I'd love to hear your feed back! Does anyone know of a good eye makeup remover that is naturally derived and approved by ophthalmologist? Please leave your comments below!

 

 

Polar Vortex Shopping Haul!

Brrrr! This weather is really beating us down here in Michigan the past few days. We're experiencing a Polar Vortex and it's not going to leave anytime soon. Lake Effect snow, strong winds and dropping temps (which is pretty much typical winter weather) has given  most of us cabin fever! 

The view from my back porch this evening

The weather was not going to stop me from getting out of the house! I let my husband drive us into town which is a 20 mile ride. We could go no faster than 40 mph with the slippery road conditions, but we made it! I don't see how people in Michigan, especially northern, buy vehicles without 4 wheel or ALL wheel drive, to me it's a MUST. We grabbed some lunch at one of our favs, Red Ginger and headed to browse the stores.

The 3 line highway was deserted

POLAR VORTEX HAUL! lol!

 

• Rebecca Minkoff Flirty Bag: ok, so how cute is this BAG! I'm not really in the market for a new one since I bought my LV (review on that purse here), but when you run into a deal too good to pass up, you don't pass it up! This is a leather cross body that's quilted. It has polished studs on both sides of the purse and a chain and leather strap. It also has a leather tassel on one side. It's a classic petite purse. Currently it's sold out on Nordstrom's. I love her handbags, they give an elegant and edgy look. I scored such a deal, that I bought two of these bags. If you'd like to purchase the other one, you can at my eBay listing HERE.

• This duo OPI pack I scored for $7.99. The shades take me to the summer, which I'm SO needing right now. The bottle on the left is called Did It On 'Em from the Nicki Minaj collection. You can see a full review of the polish with swatches here. The other color on the left is labeled "Frog in my throat". I tried to Google it to no avail. After a little research, I found out it's completely mislabeled (OPI doesn't make a color called that!) It is actually called Just Spotted the Lizard from the Amazing Spiderman Collection. More views and pics on this color here. This particular color is an amazing dup for Chanel's color Peridot which was a limited edition and not available anymore. You can pay the high dollar for it on eBay if you want it though. I totally scored!! 

• If this doesn't scream summer I don't know what does! Neon all lace Jessica Simpson panties! They are shockingly colorful and pictured in a coral, purple and pink. I took the first picture without a flash and the second picture with a flash to show you just how vibrant the color really is. I would love a bathing suit in these shades. I prefer the airiness of lace and mesh underwear. I hope these are as comfortable as my Wacoal Women's So Seductive Hipster Panty that I can't live without. Just a little Valentine's gift to myself. These retail for $12.99 and I got them for $2.99. 

That is the end of my shopping haul. Feel free to leave me a comment or question below. I hope you all have a great weekend, stay warm!  

Anti-Aging Secret...Hydrate your skin!!

It's winter! If you live where I live, you either love it or loathe it. I must admit, on days like today where the weather is in the single digits and the wind chill is -15º below zero, all I want to do is snuggle in my blanket next to the fireplace and watch movies all day. We are all drawn to the heat like a moth to the flame!

But with that heat comes the winter DRYNESS. Cold air has low moisture hence, your skin and body gets depleted of water, making dry itchy and flaky skin! Today I'm going to share  my tips and tricks on how to keep moist supple skin throughout the winter. This is my winter skin MUST haves that I use daily. So if you're in the market or looking for something new or better, here are my reviews. Click on the products to be directly linked to the websites.

Winter Skin Savers!

1.  Organix Hydrating Moroccan Argan Oil Dry Body Oil: This best thing about this dry body oil it is fact that it penetrates the skin immediately, so it's not greasy! My Mom bought me this as a gift last year and I really like it. I use this when my skin needs some extra love and my body lotion is just not enough. You can buy it at most drug stores, and big chain retailers. $6.99
2.  Eminence Blueberry Shimmer Body Lotion: Luxurious!! I love Eminence products because they are 100% organic and the quality is very apparent from the moment you use them. This particular lotion has blueberry juice, shea butter and pineapple extract. It also has an additional bio complex which gives it extra antioxidants. Mica is a mineral that gives the shimmer to the lotion. I will warn you, once you try this lotion, you'll be addicted!! This is an indulgence worth every penny, smells wonderful! You can find this line in Spa's only, follow the link above to find your local retailer. $36.00
3. Clairsonic Mia 2: Sonic Frequency is what sets this brush apart! The frequency is what deep cleans the skin, the brush does not rotate. It is considerably more gentle and way more effective then others on the market. It's clinically proven to give you 61% more vitamin C absorption after each use, definitely an awesome stat! I personally have been using it for a year once a day and I have nothing but rave reviews! I have sensitive skin and have had no issues, just great results! You can use any type of facial soap or cleanser and the brush is replaceable and should be changed every 3 months. You can also buy different brush heads ranging from delicate to deep pore for your specific skin needs. Sold in most departments store, Ulta/Sephora or online at their website. $150.00
4. Spa Sister Parlour Bag with Shower Cap: I'm a 'shower everyday' type of girl, which is really hard on your skin in the winter (hence so many products to re-moisturize!) but I've learned to wash my hair every other day this winter for a few reasons. If you have color treated hair, your color fades faster. It also tends to be drier in general when you wash everyday, then add in the dryness of the season and your scalp and hair is going to be as dry as the desert! So, let some of those natural oils be and don't wash your mane everyday. I know this can be hard if your hair is fine and straight (mine is full and curly). This cute shower cap is easy to throw on and made of a thick durable plastic. Also comes with a travel bag which is convenient for people on the go!! I found mine at my local TJMaxx. Find a cute pattern that makes you smile first thing in the morning! $2.99
5. Organix Coconut Oil Mist: If you must wash your hair everyday, put some nourishment back in it and get this spray! It's totally weightless and non-greasy for all hair types! Made with coconut oil and bamboo extract, not only does it hydrate but it gives your hair a subtle healthy shine. I was worried that it would indeed be greasy and leave my hair slimy, but it's completely amazing. The smell of this stuff will transport you to a tropical island in the middle of the winter. Found at most drugstores and big box retailers! $6.39
6.  Tarte Maracuja Oil: Time to repair your face from whatever might ail it! This is the best kept skin secret, and it's time I share it with you. It will not cause breakouts and it wonderful for all skin types. I know you're probably thinking "oil on my face?" but the oil does seep in (a little goes a long way) and will leave your skin feeling as soft as the day you were born once it does. The oil is 100% organic and I urge you to do some research on maracuja yourself. It's so rich in vitamin C and essential fatty acids that there is nothing else in nature that could pack a more powerful punch, it's our own version of 'The fountain of youth'. Every 50ml has 45 of the superfruits in it. I've had my bottle for over a year and practically have a full bottle left! If there is only one thing you get serious about, it should be THIS product!!!! Sold at Ulta/Sephora and the link above $46.00
7.  Juice Beauty Exfoliating Cleanser: This is another organic product. Completely soap free and made from pineapple enzymes, aloe, shea, algae, avocado oil, chamomile flower and sweet almond oil. Everyday is a spa day with this product! Little jojoba beads help gently exfoliate your skin without being harsh. It's really the perfect every day cleanser, mild enough for everyday use! Get it at Ulta or online. $22.00

 I hope you try some of the products or get curious to do some of your own research on taking care of your skin in ALL seasons. In winter and summer, it's apparent to give your skin some extra love. There are so many products on the market claiming to do this or that, and I have tried many, but the products listed above have proved themselves and are a part of my daily regime. Once winter leaves, I'll show you new products that are in my everyday skin rotation.

The anti-aging secret is to take care of your skin, period! Stay away from products that have harsh chemicals and soaps and try to use products that are as close to nature as possible! Remember to keep that thermostat down in the winter and instead layer up on the blankets to avoid drying yourself out! Keep showers short and not too hot when possible. Run a humidifier to get some moisture back. And last but not least, DRINK WATER!!!! 

Thanks for reading!