A friend of mine hates her job because of the actual work itself. She’s been looking for another one for a little while and can’t wait to switch. A couple days ago she calls to vent that she was reprimanded at the office and how bad she feels about it. “They don’t value my work there.”

What? Who cares? Isn’t she the one who values the work the least? But there is just nothing like planning on dissing and getting dissed first. …

One time, like a million years ago, I broke up with this guy because he had started acting like a douche. Went from being awesome to vagina windex just like that. He was so upset, tears in his eyes and the whole deal. Relieved and flattered, I agreed to stay together. Very next day, I kid not, he broke up with me. Just wasn’t into it anymore. WTF?

Maybe it’s control. Thinking that by one’s negative opinion of the other person or situation they have control over it and to loose it is devastatingly surprising. You can’t hate me, I hate you first!

Maybe it’s just the blow to the ego in general. No one likes to be told they suck. I think if a stranger on the street who has never seen or spoken to me before looked at me and said, ‘You’re Dumb’, I’d be pretty sad.

Whatever it is, it’s poetically hilarious. My friend did eventually remember that she was going to end the job anyway, and could loosen her emotional clutches from their grip on the day’s reprimand.  Oh yyyeah, that’s right. F- ‘em. Idiots!

We had a nice tension-releasing laugh and little happy-making chemicals started greasing up the brain again.

We may have the vastest array of opinions and stances than any other culture, and while that causes complications, it also keeps our stars spangling. Show some spirit spunkie! And what’s a better way to celebrate the nation’s birth than to assert your independence and do something a little different this weekend?

The following are some makeup ideas that it’ll really set your face apart from the fireworks.

-Glitter lid. See the previous post 80s Makeup For 2010 for a good how-to.

-Super bright lip gloss. Pink and tangerine are great summer BBQ colors.

-Red+white+blue themed eye shadow scheme. Sounds heinous, I know, but this chick pulled off a pretty sassy look on her youtube tutorial.

-Body shimmer. Fabulous for beach and lake body bearing environs. Use a shimmer lotion along the collar bone, shoulder caps, and like a straight line down your arms and legs. Add a little shimmer fairy dust to your cheekbones too.

-Blue mascara. Making  a come-back in general, blue mascara is a subtle and cute way to show some 4^th of July enthusiasm.

Have fun! Just be sure not to light yourself or others on fire (it’s terribly hard to cover burn scars), and I’ll be back blogging on Wednesday!

P.S. In case you didn’t notice, this photo is of a dummy. It’s not a real person. No one got their face blown off to take this picture.

Makeup brushes. How pretty they are, standing in a glass cup on the bathroom counter or slid neatly into the specified loops of a travel case.  Actual usage however may not be so pretty…. Many find that they just sort of take a brush and use it for whatever purpose they seem fit. Which is totally fine, as long as you’re getting the look you want. They are designed, however, for some specific moves.

Blush Brush: This can be flat or round with tapered bristles or flat bristles. These options are choice, and nothing else. Go to a store that has a lot (like a department store or Sephora) to see which you think works best with your face and how you apply it. Bigger and fancier is not always better.  This one is by Laura Mercier.

Kabuki or Bronzer Brush: This is more stiff and plush than a blush or powder brush. It’s use is for a more specific and intense version of whatever you’d like to apply in that width. Personally, I find the distribution to often be more even than with the blush or powder brush. This one is by Smashbox. Many have stubbier handles.

Concealer Brush. These are synthetic bristled brushes that come in a variety of sizes depending on the use. For under-eye circles you may want a medium one and for pimple a very small one. A lip bush will also work like a small concealer brush if you want to save a few bucks. The small one is by Laura Mercier and the medium one by Benefit.

The Fan Brush: This brush is definitely the most intriguing looking. It’s uses can vary, but primarily it’s used for cleaning up eyeshadow powder fall-out. Some like the shape to add highlighter to the top edges of the cheekbones too. It’s probably one of the least necessary brushes for everyday at-home makeup. This one is by Sephora Collection.

Paddle Eyeshadow Brush: This flat and rounded brush is great for applying eyeshadow all over the lid. Use it as you would like painting a picture; a flat brush to fill in space. It’s also great for brushing highlight color downward from the brow bone. This one is by NARS.

Hard Angle Brush: Short and stiff, this brush is wonderful for filling in eyebrows as well as blending powder or pencil eyeliner. I use this brush tons! This one is by Makeup Forever.

Eyeliner Brush: Angled, pointed, or flat this brush is softer than the hard angle brush and used for cream or liquid eyeliner. What version you like depends on what’s easiest for you to use. The pointed one is by Shu Umemura, the angled one by The Balm, and the flat one by Bare Escentuals.

Blender or Crease Brush: True to it’s name, this brush is for blending and creasing. The point is great to draw the crease line while the feathered sides blend it in. Or you can draw a more precision line with another brush and use this one to blend it. Same is true for blending along the lash line, etc. This one is by Stila.

Those are what I find to be the basics, excluding the fan which I threw in just to demystify it. By the way, there is no shame in checking out the craft store for great paint brushes that come in exactly the same shapes and sizes as the brushes above and not even close to the same price tag- especially the eyeliner brushes.

Blablablabla. All out and no in. Lectures are not a form of leisure conversation or bonding-promoting experience. However well intentioned an agenda, you may need to lay off it before things, and you, start getting ugly. Being a non-stop issue evangelist is worse than being a ditz when it comes to detracting from your appearance. At least a ditz isn’t offensive or annoying, or plain confrontational.

What does one want to get out of it anyway? A convert? Is there some rush of adrenaline when someone is finally convinced that, yes, yes, yes, that’s it! What if that person agrees the whole time for the sake of nicety? Is that conversation worse or better than one with someone who’s reluctant to believe? Is it that there is some do-gooder reward? A pat on the back and a high-five for getting someone to finally see the error of their ways and get them on the right track?

Ya see, the thing is that vehement, ardent lectures drive wedges between people.  Who is right or wrong is not even relevant to the outcome if the outcome is to have a friend, lover, or even someone just to like you. If you tend to feel that a particular issue must be understood, practiced, and continued to be proselytized by the recipient of your lectures, than you must not care about your relationship with said person all that much.

Evaluate this concept and I promise that you’ll be prettier.

Today’s post is a late post since a wedding I was working this morning turned into a wedding I was working this afternoon. So these things go.  Hopefully I’m not screwing up anyone’s makeup and beauty tip schedule.

Before I get started on makeup for any bride, mother, maid, or model I always prepare the skin first.  A painter wouldn’t start a masterpiece on a torn, cracked, or dirty canvas-and your makeup will definitely be a masterpiece.

1. Remove all bits of old makeup. Unless you’re going for a grunge makeup look, it’s always best to have a fresh start.

2. Exfoliate any dry bits of skin that hang, dangle or crust with a washcloth or exfoliator pad like Buf-Puf.

3. Moisturize the skin. I feel this needs to be done at least in certain areas of pretty much everyone. It really takes a super oily person not to need any lube on at least a few patches. Use sunblock if you plan to be in the sun.

4. Apply a vitamin E lip balm that’s not too greasy. By the time you’re ready to add lips it’ll be nice and soaked in.

5. Check for eye and nose boogers.

6. I like to include eyebrow examination and grooming in this category. You can view my previous post Making Face: Eyebrows! for guidance.

Before:

After: