Give Me Mascara, Or Give Me Death!

I don't wear a lot of makeup, but what I do wear is vitally important to me. On any given day, you can find me sporting eye shadow (probably black - sorry, Whitney!) and mascara, and no other products on my face. I was blessed with a pretty good complexion - aside from a shit ton of freckles in the summer, my face is generally clear and creamy- so I don't see a need for concealer. I'm also from the 'eyes or lips, never both' school of thought, and as you've probably figured out, I opt for eyes. Every time.

Before you e-mail me, this is not a knock on those who wear a lot of makeup - if it makes you happy and it isn't harming anyone else, go for it. I, personally, feel like a rodeo clown wearing anything but eye shadow and mascara. (Me. Individually. Not you. You probably do not actually look like a rodeo clown.) I feel so strongly about this that on my wedding day, when my trusted friend, bridesmaid, and makeup artist Mandy came at me for the 83rd application of lipstick (that a few vocal people told her I HAD to have, whether I wanted it or not. For the record, I did not.), I told her that if I saw that tube of rouge ONE more time, I was breaking it and her hand in two pieces.

At 29, I know my strengths. My eyes are one of them. And mascara is basically liquid gold. It's priced like it, too. Every month, I spend roughly $20 on a tube of the miraculous stuff, and by the next month, it's clumpy and gross and I have to buy more. I cringe spending the money, and generally refuse to pay a cent over $20 for makeup. But I do it because I love it. So much so that if my house were to ever tragically go up in flames, I would save the husband, the dog, my wedding ring, and my Maybelline Colossal Volume Express mascara. It's THAT important.

Recently, my friend Sarah began selling a Younique, a line of skin and beauty products that are cruelty free, gluten free, and some products are even vegan friendly! As a vegetarian who loves her dairy products, the vegan friendly claim didn't hold as much weight for me as the cruelty free did, but I was intrigued nonetheless. Younique's signature item is their 3D fiber mascara that touts itself as their best selling product. And as we've discussed, luscious lashes are very, very important to me.

So I gave it a try. Sarah had it to my door in 48 hours, and I was eager to try it out. I won't lie, though, I was a bit skeptical at first, because I've always gotten compliments on my Maybelline eyelashes. I didn't think there would be much of a difference. Plus I thought the pricing was a tad high ($29 +shipping/tax) and probably not worth the switch. Boy, was I wrong!

Here I am showcasing how my skin is nearly perfect even without makeup:

 

                                      

Ignore the puffy nose - I had sinus surgery in March and now permanently look like I've been in a bar fight. Maybe I should talk to Sarah about some concealer after all.

And then the mandatory coat of black eye shadow and Maybelline:

 

                                 

I was not joking - I rock that yellow tube of liquid gold!

Still suspicious (sorry, Sarah!) of Younique being any better, I broke it out and gave it a shot. It comes in this really cool case that I must admit, looks a lot nicer on the bathroom counter than what Maybelline's bright yellow tube does:

I followed the instructions that came with the 3D Fiber Lashes, which basically said to apply the gel first to the entire lash, then while still wet, apply the fibers from the middle of the lash to the end, and finally, apply one more coat of the gel to seal it all in. Before you go any further, I am going to have to remind you that 1.) I'm taken, 2.) Science has not yet cloned my amazing eyes, so no you can't have them, and 3.) Be jealous:

After the 1st application of gel

After the fibers

                                                                 Final product: luxurious, luscious lashes!

                                                                              More of fabulous me -
                                                      I tried to take a sultry photo, but I couldn't stop smiling!

I am officially a believer! Worth every single solitary penny. Did you hear me? EVERY penny. Especially if I take a few pennies out of my husband's guitar fund. #SorryNotSorry.

While it is my general policy to not share any secret that might make another woman look better than me, I am breaking my rule one time and one time only. You can contact Sarah here to find out more about Younique and all of their products. I'm sure she'd be happy to sell you makeup as a gift for me, too. She has my address and everything.

In conclusion: Younique is fabulous, I'm pretty fabulous, and I'm also accepting applications for my next product spotlight. Send me something amazing and I'll post pictures of myself wearing it. Win-win!

29 Candles

I turned 29 this week. And it didn't kill me. I've always anticipated that day (and the day 365 days from that day) to be filled with tears. This birthday was the day upon which the realization that I was in my LAST year of my 20s hit me.

29 is a tough pill to swallow. We have this unspoken, but very real pressure to have our crap together by 30. Our 29th birthday signifies that we have only one year left to be set in our professional field, married, owning a house, and caring for a dog and a couple of puke-y floor lickers. Or any applicable combination of the above.

We're told our whole lives that at 30 we have to be real adults. So upon turning 29 and realizing that we don't have it all together, we crumble. I woke up Monday fully expecting to be in a sorrowful, teary mood. But I wasn't. Weirdly enough, I feel empowered by being 29. And if I'm being completely honest, still a little scared. Because while I have the proverbial spouse and a mortgage that people tell us we have to have to be a whole person, there's a lot I still have to get done by 30, starting with the following:

1. Being comfortable with another person's pain: I attended a church seminar over the weekend that was designed to give insight into our own personalities, and those of our church body. At one point, the speaker said 'You can't be everything to everyone. You need to tell people that you're comfortable with their pain." The audience all laughed at this statement, assuming as I had that he MUST be joking. Only he wasn't. He explained that in church and more widely, in life, that people aren't going to like things you do. Some might even tell you that. But you don't have to change who you are or what you believe just to make someone else more comfortable. This really hit home with me, as I haven't blogged in 6 months because of something someone said to me. I have been blogging for over 7 years, and I have over 10,000 unique visits between my two blogs. In those 7 years and 10,000+ visitors, ONE person has said something negative to me about my writing. One. For 29 years, I haven't been comfortable with another person's pain. But today, and for the days that follow, I am. At least I'm going to try really hard to be.

2. Learning to not be friends with everyone: This one is a biggie for me. As I mentioned earlier, I am a people pleaser. So I want to be a friend to everyone. But I'm also an introvert, which makes being a friend to everyone absolutely exhausting. I never want to be rude or cold, but I have to do a better job of guarding my time, heart, and life. And that means I have to stop accepting applications for partners in crime. The truth is, all of my friend slots are full. With the best friends out there. They know my story inside and out, and I know theirs just as well. I have 7 confidants who are ready to help me hide the body and bail me out of jail at a moment's notice. You don't get more partner-in-crime-like than that. It's taken me 29 years to assemble the best, funniest, kindest, truest human beings that I choose to invite into my inner circle. I don't think an 8th person so perfectly matched even exists.

3. Being a better wife: Let me be very clear: I'm a good wife. Like, a really good wife. I'm hot, I'm sweet, and I'm obviously talented - what more could he want? While all this may be (read: is definitely) true, there's always room for improvement. Even for me. For the next year, and years to follow, I'm going to let more things go (figuratively, not my hot bod), and I'm going to make sure he knows how much I love and appreciate him EVERY day. It's become frighteningly easy to just assume he knows how important he is to me, and by the time I'm 30, I plan on making him absolutely sick of hearing how amazing he is.

4. Forgetting all of the 'deadlines': Before I was married, that was the goal everyone placed upon my life: to be betrothed as soon as humanly possible. Once I said 'I do', the new goal seemed to be to start having kids. At 29, I've yet to produce an adorable tiny human, but I have kept an adorable not so tiny, not so human 2 year old Boxer alive. That's something to celebrate, right? We, collectively as married adults, have chosen not to have a baby quite yet as our hands our full with the aforementioned dog, and we're okay with that decision. The rest of the world is just going to have to be okay with that, too.

5. Being a ME pleaser, not a people pleaser: I have lived my life being so scared of offending someone, that it has paralyzed me. Because of this, I have my feelings hurt way more often than I should, and it manifests by me changing to please someone else. When I'm consumed by what everyone else thinks, it leaves no room for me to think about who I want to be. Ryan tells me all of the time when I'm obsessing over this that there is a very short list of people in this world who I need to please. This year, I'm going to whittle that list down even more. By 30, Jesus and I are the only two people who will get a say in who I am. And Ryan. And probably my mom. And the dog...dogs are excellent judges of character. At least mine is...