"The gods of moralistic religions favor the successful and the overachievers. They are the ones who climb the moral ladder up to heaven. But the God of the Bible is the One who comes down into this world to accomplish a salvation and give us a grace we could never attain ourselves."
- Dr. Tim Keller
My
husband and I had our first daughter, Evelyn, in 2013.
She was my little best buddy.
My life as a stay-at-home mom was a breeze—a continuous joy with my constant
companion.
Then
in 2015, we had our second daughter, Lorraine. My first baby was smooth
sailing, and all was still well with two children…until they both quite
insistently decided they needed me to be Wonder Woman, Super Nanny, and Judge
Judycombined. It was when Lorraine started developing her own personality as a
toddler that I finally recognized that I did not have this parenting thing in
the proverbial bag. When preparation, negotiation, and kid-friendlyreasoning ceased
to prevent torrential meltdowns, I knew we were in trouble.
There is nothing
like having two tiny divas in your house to remind you that you need God every day.
Maybe He softly grinned
in my direction once this new stage started because it was obvious that I could use a sturdy stream
of humility. Up to that point, I had little understanding when friends would express
stress and sadness about being stay-at-home moms. It was hard to comprehend why
anyone had trouble regulating their little ones. Before then, I didn't have much sympathy for fellow moms having an awful day because
I did not understand the real depth of that concept!
Without
Jesus reminding me that loving and raising my children should be a priority, I
would raise my white flag. Without Jesus, I would have a hard time forgiving
all of the kicking, screaming, “deadweight” tantrums that, quite honestly,
embolden my innermost desire to have a date night on the curb in front of my
house—with a giant iced coffee and a box of assorted donuts. Being a mom will
always have facets that make me feel like turning in my “mom badge,” but I have
God to help point me to the Scripture passage on loving my children, or how
important disciplining my child is, or how I am loved unconditionally in my
failures for the thousandth time—at just the time I need it most.
A
perfect mom, person, or even a clown for that matter, does not exist. The only
place that truth can bring me is back to is reality; reality that free-willed
children produce the humility I once flouted. I cannot even attempt to look put
together in all aspects of my life now. It is awful, but it is building
character.I hate it, but in a strange way I am thankful for the encounter. It
makes me feel as if I am incapable of doing anything correctly, but also
reminds me that I am a sinner by default in need of Divine assistance.
In
a mother’s world of comparison, being reminded that I am not in the running for
Mom of the Year or World’s Most Even-Tempered Mom, is not
the worst thing for someone who has a tendency to slap on the pride when my
life is going smoothly.
It's a good thing that I cannot venture to be good
enough, accomplish enough, or be perfect enough to earn good standing with God…because
He knows I could never achieve it. Having relationship with God doesn't
make my life suddenly carefree, but it does give me growth, comfort, and
strength to carry on.
"Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by."
Mom guilt. It will punch you in the gut, put you a sleeper hold, and make you smell it's stinky armpit if you allow it to grow in your life. Until recently,mom guiltwas an abstract idea. Once a child reaches the age of social interactions and begins some form of independence (around three years old for my child), mom guilt becomes a battle.
Did I give up too quickly when encouraging her to eat that blasted green bean?
Did I just flush discipline down the drain when I chickened out, and didn't spank her in the mall?
Am I doing something irreversibly wrong when I give in, and let her watch one more movie?
Particularly in the mind of an insecure mother, there are a million "what if's." I was feeling so beat down; feeling like I am not providing, doing, beingenough for my child. However, the heart of this insecurity, fear, and guilt is love. The love I have for my daughter is good. But somewhere along the line, I allow my genuine, fierce love for my child to be manipulated; Manipulated by becoming so preoccupied in my mothering role, that I forget Who loves her more.
There is nothing my child can do, experience, or become that Jesus can't heal. If I daily choose to believe that, I can live a life without fearfor my children.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
(If you do your makeup differently than what's suggested, that is okay! Make up routines and "ride or die" products evolve, so use the tips you like and leave the rest!)
We've laid out the basics of makeup, so now we are ready to cannonball into the application! I've written some small blurbs with some product suggestions, but YouTube is your friend! I've learned a considerable amount of makeup knowledge from experienced beauty vloggers.
Take a ladybug's size of primer and rub it onto your clean face. It should go on smoothly, and cover your whole face easily. Wait about 30 seconds to let the primer set. I usually get to work on my eyebrows while I wait! Primers have different jobs, so make sure you find one with the specifications you are looking for (i.e., matte, natural, smoothing, or glowy finishes).
If you want to use moisturizer instead of primer that is totally okay, too. The bottom line is to make sure your skin is a hydrated canvas to work on!
Choose Your Own Way
Some people prefer liquid foundation, and some prefer powder, so choose your own beauty destiny!
Squirt a ladybug's size of liquid foundation onto your fingers or the back of your hand (one or two pumps). I like to make small dots on each main area of my face, so that I'm sure to have it spread evenly. Start in the middle of your face, and work out from there. You have the choice to apply it using your fingers, a liquid foundation brush, or a damp beauty blender sponge.
While using your fingers, use more of a caressing motion. While using the damp beauty blender or foundation brush, use a dabbing up and down motion or a buffing motion. Go over your face a few times, checking all of your features to be certain there are no visible edges to your liquid makeup (I'm having high school flashbacks, here). The hairline, ears, and jawline are the most common places to find a portion that is unblended, so be diligent there.
Concealer goes on all of those places that you want to mask or achieve a uniform color. Discoloration is normal for women around the base of our noses, sides of our mouths, and on our under eyes. You can apply concealer with your fingers, a concealer brush, or a damp beauty blender. With your fingers or a concealer brush, smooth the liquid around where you want it to go. When using the beauty blender, use those dabbing up and down motions.
After applying your liquids, it is a very good idea to set them with a powder. It may seem like a lot, but you don't want to give that liquid any room to budge!
Use a translucent powder, if possible, or a foundation powder if that's the only powder you have on hand (I lost my translucent powder, so I'm riding the foundation powder train with my liquid until I buy a new one). Translucent powder is colorless, and simply sets your makeup to last through the day. Some women like to only set (or bake) their concealed areas, and leave the rest without any powder. Trial and error is your close companion when it comes to makeup, so figure out what you like!
After you finish concealing, let it set about 30 seconds to dry. If you're using a loose powder, tap a dime size of foundation into the lid, pick up some powder with your brush, and tap off the excess back into the lid. If you're using a compact powder, swirl your brush around a few times in the powder, and go to town. Use a larger size brush for this, and work in buffingmotions or dabbing up and down motions. Start in the middle of your face, and work out to the edges, covering your entire face. Powder is very build-able, so you can easily add more powder to take it from a sheer coverage look to a full coverage look.
Contouring your face brings back the dimension you lost when applying a that flawless foundation. Contour is adding dark tones back to your skin. The hollow of your cheekbone, the jawline, the hairline of the forehead, the sides of your nose, and the temples are the most common places to add contour. Contour comes in liquid or powder, and can be applied with your fingers, brushes, or damp beauty blenders. The key to a good contour is to BLEND. Nobody wants harsh lines on their face, so take time to blend, blend, blend. There are contour kits that are very highly acclaimed that you can check out that provide darker contour colors, as well as various highlight colors in one compact case.
Note: If you are going to use a cream contour, do not set your liquid foundation directly after you apply it. Wait to apply translucent powder until after you apply your cream contour/highlight. Powder should always go at the end!
Highlighting, just like contouring, is going to enhance the natural dimension of the face.
Highlight uses light colors to make features pop!
The top of the cheekbone, the center length of the nose connecting up to the forehead, the under eye, the cupid's bow, and just below the contour sitting on hollows of your cheekbones are the most common places to apply a highlight.
You will have already used concealer on your face, but can experiment with what areas you want to use both concealer and highlighter on. Use a concealer that is two or more shades lighter than your skin tone to highlight, a light pressed powder or liquid, or the contour kits discussed in the above contour section.
A lot of women like to add a glowy highlight on top of their regular matte highlight (like Champagne Pop). Typically, highlight is applied by brush, fingers, or damp beauty blender.
Blush is the completing element to a flawless face. Blush comes in liquids (although, that is sort of foreign to me) and powders. The standard powder blush is applied with a brush--dabbing on the apples of the cheeks and then gently sweeping towards the temples. The blush that you're sweeping should be swept directly between your contour and highlight on your cheekbones-- adding the perfect splash of color.
That was a whirlwind of material to go over, so here is a selection of solid videos that showhow to apply what we've covered today! Every suggestion may not be right for your skin type, or the look you'd like to achieve, so don't be afraid to watch a varied selection of videos by different vloggers! Take what you like, and leave the rest.
Happy watching!
[Kelly Strack] Foundation Routine for Flawless Skin
[Jaclyn Hill] Dewy Luminous Skin + Tips for Oily and Dry Skin
[Jaclyn Hill] How to Contour
[Jaclyn Hill] How To- Contour Blush Highlight, & Bake The Face
[Jaclyn Hill] How To Cream Highlight & Contour
[Jaclyn Hill] Easy Fresh Face Makeup Tutorial
[StillGlamorUs] Foundation for Bad Skin Days
[StillGlamorUs] Pro Makeup Tutorial For Beginners
[Teaira Walker] Flawless Full Coverage Foundation Routine
[Hot & Flashy] Makeup for Over 50's (Start watching at minute 4:30)
Preface: If you don't wear makeup, don't want to wear makeup, and you feel 110% doing that- then you go, lady! Every woman is beautiful just as she is, but for those of us who want to enhance that natural beauty- keep reading! :)
Most women want to improve their makeup KNOWLEDGE and ROUTINE. Unfortunately, morale and wherewithal can take a nose dive off of a 60 foot cliff after another drugstore liquid liner lets us down. As women, we want to feel and look naturally beautiful. It can be FRUSTRATING when the result of our hard work leaves us feeling like we'll never get it right. At some point in our lives, we have all looked in the mirror an hour after applying our makeup, wondering what dark hole our liquid foundation crawled into. If any of this resonates with you- you are not alone, my friend! Makeup, like any other thing worthy of admiration, takes time, effort, and knowledge.
Girl, TRUST me when I say I used to have BAD makeup. I have been there. I have a picture or two documenting the sultry cat eye I so desperately sought after...except, somehow, I ended up portraying more of a drug induced Cleopatra. But hey, I kept trying. My brothers told me I looked awful (and they were right), but I kept trying.
It took me years to feel proud of the look I can create now, with lots of cakey concealer and eyeshadow crinkles along the way. This series of posts is all about passing down my makeup know how--helping you to create a polished, flawless, natural looking face.
If you're looking for a quick stop for upping your makeup knowledge game, strap on your helmet because the information moped is punching down it's throttle!
So, let's start with the BASICS!
If you want quality, in most regards, you have to pay for quality. There are some things (I'll get to that on another post) that you can skimp on and buy at a drugstore, living happy as a clam ever after. However, if the flawless faces of red carpet celebs is what you've been wishing for, you've got to go for high end products.
Sephora is the jam to my toast, and everything I list for you can be found there. Just like building up your wardrobe, you wouldn't buy everything you need all at once. There are definitely staples to buy, but your credit score (and significant other) will thank you if you pace yourself.
My super quick guidelines for Sephora purchases: read descriptions to see if that product will help produce the look your going for, read user ratings to see if any red flags come up, and do NOT buy a product with less than 4 star reviews without trying it out in the store first. It's your money, spend it on a sure thing!
The FACE is your BASE.
Not the eyes or the lips, but the FACE! You cannot skip the FACE if you want to look foxy fabulous with a smokey eye and red lips. Why? Because your face will be incomplete. The FACE is the whole canvas. I could draw some gorgeous eyes and a beautiful mouth on a white canvas, but it would be lacking depth and richness.
So, that's where we're gonna start. I'm gonna lay out the product basics here, as well as give you a step by step look at my face for each product.
As it turns out, my period gifted me with a raging pimple on my face just so you could see how this whole wild scheme will turn out.
PRIMER:
(Only moisturizer here, zero makeup, and my angry period pimple.)
Primer is a base that you put down under your foundation. Primers can have different functions such as, reducing the look of wrinkles, redness, and pores. Application goes on smoother, and they also can add a glowy look to your skin. I don't use primer everyday, but I do use one if it's a date night or special occasion. I have my eye on a new one, so maybe I'll be posting about that soon!
Quality moisturizer can really be a decent substitute for a primer. The more hydrated your skin is, the better your makeup will look. I went with the simple moisturizing route today.
CONCEALER:
(Where did that pesky pimple go?? It's almost undetectable!)
Concealer is my holy grail product. You give a woman good concealer, you give her the keys to a flawless face. I don't mess around with concealing the red/pink areas of my face, or the occasional pimple, or just the areas of my face that aren't one beautiful uniform color. I use a full coverage concealer by Makeup For Ever, and it is THE ONE THING I always have on my face (unless I'm trying to get some sun). It's waterproof, and basically bulletproof in my book. If you get redness around your nose/mouth area, age spots, or even light scars- this concealer will change your game, honey! Three hours later you'll look in the mirror and wonder how you got so sexy.
POWDERFOUNDATION:
(Okay, now really... where did that thing go??)
For my daily routine, I'm happy simply using concealer and then setting it into place with powder foundation. I always, always, always use powder foundation to set my liquid foundation and/or concealer. It is uber important to get a high quality powder foundation. 1) It stays on your face. 2) It lowers your chances of breaking out vs. drugstore versions that tend to clog pores. 3) It will keep the shine down. I currently use Laura Mercier powder, but I've used NARS loose powder and enjoyed that as well. Like I've said, look it up at Sephora, read descriptions, read ratings, and don't settle for a rating under 4 stars.
BRONZER/HIGHLIGHTER:
(I have to admit that I filled in my eyebrows here, but I had to. Forgive me, or else!)
If you apply all of the above makeup to your face, you will still wonder where you went wrong. Why?
Because all of that gorgeous uniform color, doing its job, takes away the dimension of your face. By adding bronzer and highlight, you bring back that dimension and enhance your natural features.
I go for more of natural glow, so I don't feel it's necessary to produce those harder bronzer contours.
For the past few months, I've been using the Makeup For Ever Pro Sculpting Duo, (used above) which is a bronzer and highlighter pallet. I like that because it's a two in one and adds a dewy look to my skin. I've been occasionally enjoying the Too Faced Soliel Matte Bronzer, as well.
BLUSH:
(I added mascara and a neutral lip to complete my look...so sue me! Okay, don't.)
Truly, I cannot omit blush from my routine. If I use bronzer and highlighter, I have a deep, deep compulsion to add blush. I feel like the bronzer and highlight feel dull without adding some pop of color. Blush does a fantastic job of making your face look vivid and glowing. My favorite blush right now is Tarte 12-hour Amazonian Clay Blush. I can't guarantee that it will stay perfectly for 12 hours, but when my face is looking less fab a few hours later, I add a few poofs and it returns to it's former glory. (No filter needed, people!)
*LIQUIDFOUNDATION:
I'm gonna be honest, liquid foundation has not been an active member of my squad for a few years. I don't need it (because my concealer is the bomb.com), but I've been using Makeup Forever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Liquid Foundation for the past week and have been loving it. It gives me a little extra coverage and smoothness to my face.
Liquid + powder vs. strictly powder foundation really comes down to personal preference.
BEFORE & AFTER
(because my husband insisted that everybody loves a good B&A)
Next time, I'll go elbow deep in explaining the APPLICATION of these products and how simple this whole crazy makeup thing can be!
