CONFESSIONS of a 50 Y.O Makeup Junkie...

Why hello there!

How are y'all doing today?

It's just me, your friendly, LAZY blogger:)

What can I say.........

I've been getting a few things ready for my friend's shop AND for some reason,

I've had a run on tutu orders.

The Beach Gypsies are back in business!! 

 I think. LOL

But more about that another time.

For today it's a beauty blog..........

for us chickies who are over the magic number of 50.

(And everyone else, too:)

So let's get to it!

I really am a makeup junkie.

But fortunately, I am a CHEAP makeup junkie!

And when I love something, I will use it to death.

(Or at least until something else catches my eye;)

HOWEVER,

this time, I feel really good about what I have chosen

AND

I have been using this stuff for quite awhile now.

See what you think..........

First up is SKINCARE!

OOOOOHHH.......this is a biggie for us over 50 chickies:)

Some things go unspoken but assumed.

Like...........SUNSCREEN!

~Considering the fact that I grew up BAKING in Michigan as a teen,

and have lived in South Florida (ahem.......the sub-tropics, technically)

for just over 20 years, I know a bit about sunscreen.  

Actually, I know about the PRICE you pay for baking in the sun,

which led me to know a little about sunscreen:)

Here is what I have to say about it...........

Use ingredients that have it added so when you forget, you have some help.

If not, use at least 30 SPF.  50 SPF if you really want to.

But most dermatologists will say the 100 SPF is just hooey.

Don't ditch your 30 and run to the store for 100 thinking it's better.

That's just good ol American marketing at work!

I like SunBum, Australian Gold and Neutrogena.  But that's just me:)

But here's what I really want to show you and it's for every day skincare.

For less than $40.00, 

y'all can keep your skin soft and mostly wrinkle free!

* Prices above are approximate, within 20cents, from Amazon.

Let's face it.........most of us are fighting dryer skin in these magical years.

And wrinkles.

So those are the issues I'm addressing here.............

#1 Coconut Oil  

I've talked about this (as everyone else has) many times before.

But in a nutshell, it's the BEST I have found for removing makeup (especially eye makeup),

moisturizing skin all over your body, and adding shine to hair.
Oh.......and it is a FABULOUS shaving cream:)

Seriously!  

I use the brand pictured above 

but just make sure you get any extra-virgin coconut oil.
I also use Lou-Ana, found at the grocery store.

#2 Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum

It's actually a very light cream in a tube, but we'll go with serum;)

Now, it boasts the claim that you will see improved skin in seven days.

And guess what?????

I DID!!!  I really LOVE this product and slap it on AS WELL AS coconut oil.

#3 Pond's Cold Cream

 If you are buying expensive cleansers, you're kinda crazy.

Sometimes you have to give Grandma credit for her soft skin back in the day.

My absolute FAVORITE cleanser is Pond's Cold Cream.

Again, I'm SOOOOOO SERIOUS!

Makeup...........

For simplicities sake, I am sharing my number #1 favorite drugstore line.

After that, I'll show you a few favorites from other lines.

But for me, the winner in the all-around make-up line,

the one that makes you say your friends are crazy for buying expensive stuff is.............

NYX.  (NEVER to be confused with NYC makeup)

I was a bit of a M.A.C junkie..........and I still could be.

(more about that later:)

But this is a copycat line that is significantly cheaper!

My advice is to go to Ulta for your NYX.  

They carry a HUGE selection and drugstores are only just adding in bits and pieces.

In the above photo, you will see the items I use.  

Shades are individual but I can say I like the brown, purple and black eyeliner,

 mascara in jet black, blush in desert rose

 and the lipstick is awesome in Audrey, Tea Rose or Natural!

Honorable mention goes to:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, 

which I also use with the desert rose blush.

Since my eyelashes seem to have disappeared, 

I use a primer before my mascara.

My fav is M.A.C Prep + Prime.

Lip Pencils........

You're gonna love these, cause they are awesome and even CHEAPER than NYX,

 which are pretty cheap:)

ESSENCE Lip Pencils (at Ulta) are $1.49!!!!!

And their lipstick is pretty great too...I like Natural Beauty.

Okay, I think that covers makeup:)

Moving on to HAIR.........

Mine is short these days.  (Very short!) 

So I wear it piecey and I like it soft and shiny.

So.........Garnier Fructis is my choice, partly because of the AMAZING scents;)

I love Pixie Play for the tousled/messy look:)

And next to Coconut Oil, I am in LOVE with shine serums.  I use this one,

 but most work great.

And not just for hair.........they are AWESOME for dry skin too, everywhere:)

Okay BEAUTIES, I'm done.

Rambled enough.

Showed you how cheap I am:)

Shared my confessions with you.

Hope you enjoyed this and found something you want to try also!

Suzanne

Wait.........I forgot to show you what I'm excited to see.

M.A.C Cosmetics CINDERELLA line, coming out this week.

So pretty............

Aaahhhh...stay tuned.  I'll be sure to let you know if I try it;)

Lucky Charms and more from a controlling mama bear. . . .

yes, i admit it.

i can be just a wee bit controlling sometimes.
like every good mama bear,
sometimes a bit of meddling/controlling is what's needed:)

but in a good way, of course.

so what have i done now?

well, as i mentioned before, my daughter will most likely be

moving to Chicago in the next year.

and like any good mama,

i'm checking out neighborhoods, safety, weather. . . . .

and churches!

it helps that there is a good Bible college in the city,

with church recommendations.

it helps a LOT!!!!!

2 of the recommendations sound very promising. . . . .

everything i would love for her to have in a church.

but one in particular jumped out at me right away.

Willow Creek Community Church Chicago.

yesterday i received an email re: today's sermon topic, "Simplify"

here are the questions they will be asking. . . . .

Question. What's the most important thing in your life? 

Follow-up question. What would the people who know you say?

 and here is a bit of the rest of the message from Pastor John. . . . . 
"Sadly, I find in my own life that these answers can sometimes be different. I really wish they were the same. I wish that the thing I most longed to have preeminence in my life was obvious to everyone else, but that's not always true. I may be alone in that, but I doubt it. 
 So if the answer was the same, and the most important thing in your life was obvious to you and others, what would that look like? If your answer is your family, how would others know that to be true? If your answer is God, what attributes would be present to show it?
 This Sunday we will be teaching about how we simplify one key area of our lives, while also showing how important God is to us."

i love simple, biblical messages that give you something practical to take into your week.
i can't wait for us to try Willow Creek Church!
sometimes, being a meddling mama is a good thing:)

don't forget that another episode of The Bible is airing tonight!

today on CBS Sunday,
they interviewed Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, 
the creators/producers of the series.

GREAT interview if you can catch it again somewhere.
but when asked if the idea for the mini series was hers,

Roma Downey said "not mine.  God placed the idea in my heart".  

well said!
When asked why they made it,
Mark said he believed that even if someone doesn't go to church
or isn't particularly religious,
everyone should hear the stories of the Bible.
i like that too!

*********************************** and no, i haven't forgotten that today is St. Patrick's Day.
to those of you who are Irish. . . .Happy St. Patrick's Day!
we don't do anything to celebrate it, although when my girls were younger,
we might color our food green and stuff like that.
but some things even i can't resist.
like a good excuse to have a nice big bowl of
Lucky Charms.

aaaahhh. . . . . i love me some marshmallows in my cereal!!:)

the Grand Ol' Opry sent this photo out today with the message

"Hope you're wearing your John Deere green!"

(you might need to like country to get that:)

Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Suzanne

Summer FUN.....

before i start on summer fun...

yes, i have a new blog look.

the name comes from my other, usually neglected blog.

i'm merging them and running with the "cool mom" name.

because i'm bored.

and because i found i was putting things on my blog

 i could often care less about.

seriously.

(bad as that sounds:)

now i have to say, i wouldn't want to be a

"cool" mom according to the world's standards.

but when my daughter's friends said that all the time,

despite me being one of the stricter moms,

i took it as a TRUE compliment:)

we had tons of fun while keeping our

morals and values intact.

so i'm taking my blog back with a fresh twist.

i figure it will keep me young...and maybe a tiny bit cool......

if i lighten things up and have FUN.

and what is more fun than SUMMER???

and i have some fun stuff for you!

we did a lot of simple, cool stuff in the summer.

and now with the handy internet,

i've put it all together with the amazing ideas found on there

just to bring you......

i truly believe with all my heart that summertime

with kids is something to look forward to.

now, i don't have the ideas or resources that some of the biggie blogs do,

but i can still pass on a few ideas.

and if those ideas help just one mom have a GREAT day

with her kiddos, 

it was well worth it.
and with over 1000+ hits on my blog every day,
there has to be one mom to say.....
COOL!:)

and by the way, summer fun is not just for kids.
it's for moms, too:)
i don't have a set schedule of when i will post for summer.
i don't do well with schedules.
(they tend to freak me out:)
plus, i have to blog about all the OTHER things that make me happy,
like decorating, eating, sleeping, eating, shopping, eating.....
(notice a trend there;)

but i do have some stuff ready for tomorrow
so don't be a stranger.
and don't feel you have to be a young mommy.
the last thing i would want to do is narrow down
my reading audience to just one age group.
which is why i promise to shake things up a bit every now and then!
in the meantime, i want to share a book that inspired me
and helped to make our summers fun.
if you see it, grab it.
it was just full of fun stuff to do!

warm summer hugs,

Suzanne