Smart, Clean Make-up tips for women....and I suppose for men too if they desire.

Why am I posting so much today? I don't know, why don't you ask me a question I might be able to answer?

I know there are probably a lot of people out there that will find this stupid, but I also know that there are a lot of girls and women that have NO clue as to what the proper use of make-up is. I witness make up violations every day just walking down the street. Make up was not created for people to see how much they could pack on there face at one time, nor was it created to completely alter the appearance of your face. It was made simply to enhance the natural beauty of your face. 

Okay the first tip for ideal make up is to make sure you consistently buy new make up, there's nothing worse than a make up drawer full of spilled powder eye shadows and crusted liquid foundation on the sides. Clean make up will help keep your face cleaner and free of toxins and oils that come along with aged make up. Every time you open your foundation bottle or mascara tube, oxygen enters and grows bacteria over time. A little bit of bacteria isn't bad but after prolonged exposure it can be very harmful to your face. Clean makeup can also help reduce the oil/acne prone breakout spots on your face. Keeping make up clean includes periodically washing out the sponges and brushes you use to apply this make up. 

Once you make sure everything you have is clean and ready to be used, you want to make sure you are using the right type of make up for your skin in the first place! When buying foundation, don't buy three shades darker than your natural skin because you feel your face is whiter than your neck and needs to be evened out, or because you think it will make you look tanner. It will just end up making you look stupid. The best way to determine which shade is for you is by going to the make-up counter at your local department store and testing a few different shades. Just apply a small streak of the three shades you think are closest and whichever one blends in your skin the easiest and the best is your correct shade! Also with eye makeup if you have oily eyelids, don't use liquid eyeliner! It will definitely crack during the day, instead consider buying some eye lid primer which can reduce the amount of oiliness. With mascara, if you have short thin eyelashes, don't buy the ultra-bulk-length mascara because it will NOT enhance your eyelashes, it will just make them clumpy and look like you have yucky black twigs sticking out of your skin. 

Foundation/compacts/bronzer etc are the hardest to get right. Mainly because they cover your entire face and there's more surface area to even out. However using foundations and bronzer's correctly can make or break your entire look. Therefore it is VITAL you do not over-do it, which many girls do. The first thing you want to do is make sure you wash your face. It is always best to begin with a clean face. Then splash some cold water on your face to close up your pores which will minimize the amount of toxins that enter your pores.  Use a clean round or triangular sponge and dab a little foundation on the 5 key spots. Each cheek bone, tip of the nose, forehead, and chin. Use the least amount on your nose. Then gently rub it in evenly around your entire face. DO NOT OVER USE THE FOUNDATION. I cannot express that enough as that is the main mistake women make. You don't want to look like you are wearing a white or an orange mask. Make sure your neckline is rubbed in. Next take a thin curve-cut brush and apply minimal amounts of powder foundation to the key areas of your face that are problematic. Last use a flat brush to gently sweep bronzer in the hollows of your cheeks. I find it works best if you make a "fishy face" by sucking in your cheeks, then you can easily see your natural cheek bones to apply the bronzer. 

Eye Liner and Eye shadows. This tip is generalized since really the way you should use these two things completely depends upon your natural facial features, skin tone, and facial structure. Again the main key is to avoid over using. Eye liner is not necessary on the top and bottom eyelids. The only time that should be okay is when you are going out somewhere formal or to a club at night and are creating the smoky eye effect. When using eye liner on top, do NOT create a thick line, It should be 2-4 mm thick. Eyeshadow were created to exaggerate the natural "shadows" that your eyebrow bone create. You should use a lighter color on the entire eyelid, something like nude, light pink, gold, or cream. Then take a darker color, purple, gray, green and blend it from the outer corner of the eyelid. It should stop about 3/4 of the way. Leave a slight hint of the lighter color in the crease of the eyelid. Next use gray, brown or some darker color on the underside of the bone. 

Mascara is a whole other ball field. When applying the first coat, try sort of shaking your wand, in a vibrating movement it will help to cover the entire lash. Only apply one coat then wait about a minute before applying another one or two coats. Once again for emphasis, DO NOT OVER DO IT. Okay I'm done saying that now. But seriously don't. You don't want clumpy lashes! If that happens use a eyelash brush to separate the lashes. 

And Wah-La! Beautiful Make up! :) For any questions or comments or requests let me know!

Fitness

It's a huge topic that most people deal with atleast once in their lives. Many people deal with on the daily. It's pretty complicated I think. It takes so much will power and determination. It would be so simple to just not go to the gym one day because you don't "have time" or you "will just run extra tomorrow." And it's SO easy to get into this kind of habit until you stop going altogether. Then your diet goes, then your self-esteem, then your happiness.
That's basically exactly what happened to me. I was always the skinny girl through elementary and middle school. And I never had to work for it. And I know most people are super skinny in middle school but it was like I was the one who didn't have to work for it and could eat whatever, whenever. So I got hooked on the belief that that's how my body would always be. So I took up Cross Country in middle school anyways because my best friend was on it and I thought it would be fun to be a part of a team. So I had an active habit up until freshman year. Then I quit XC and took up soccer because I had played a little bit, but once again my other best friend was on it so I thought I'd do it. Then after freshman year I became burnt out, I could no longer eat whatever I wanted consequence free. I gained weight, curves, love-handles, a pooch, and some thick legs. I wasn't happy with myself at all. But I didn't believe there was anything I could do about it. It was actually only about a month ago that I got back into the running habit. I rediscovered the wonderful "runner's high" and I've already lost some weight! My shape is back and it feels so powerful to be able to say "yeah I go to the gym everyday and work-out and run."

 I think the reason most people aren't really successful when they try to get into the running habit is because they expect to look like this after one or two gym visits. Most people also don't understand that you once you achieve your ideal weight and fitness level you have to work to either keep improving it or to maintain it.

I've been reading this book called "The Complete Book of Running for Women" by Claire Kowalchik and it has been so helpful for me in understanding some of the ways my body works compared to men's bodies and how to best deal with all kinds of situations most women deal with when working out and running. It deals with topics about things like physical/mental benefits, male/female differences, motivation, running safely, nutrition, pregnancy, menopause, purchasing equipment and products, strength training, stretching, racing, marathons, preventing injuries and SOOO much more. Anyways moral of the story I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a serious athlete, and by serious I mean dedicated. You don't have to be able to run three miles right off the bat, you don't have to be talented or coordinated, just have to have will power :) But if anyone has any fitness questions/comments or would just like some tips, I would be extremely happy to help, just leave a comment below.