Unfading [beauty]

I get a lot of questions every day about my recommended beauty must haves, so I decided to make a list for you!

Skin Care:
Simple SkinCare Moisturizer
Simple SkinCare Foaming Facial Cleanser OR Moisturizing Facial Cleanser
Simple SkinCare Makeup Wipes


Thoughts: I really like Simple because it's not harsh on skin and it's really effective at getting makeup off. A lot of chemically heavy skin care products cause me to break out or make my  skin tone uneven. Simple is gentle on skin and makes my skin 100% better than when I've used brands like Neutrogena.

Makeup:

Actually in love

TooFaced Tinted Beauty Balm //Snow Glow
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion //Sin
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner //Trooper
TooFaced Brow Envy Brow Shaping & Defining Kit
Clinique Black Honey Lipstick
Besame Lipstick in Red Velvet
Urban Decay Naked 3 palette
Sephora Volumizing Mascara //Black

Thoughts: If the Kat Von D tattoo liner was the only thing left in this world, I could be happy. My eyeliner is sharp enough to cut down anyone who stands in my way #fierce.

Perfume & Lotion
Daisy by Marc Jacobs
Pink Chiffon from Bath and Body Works

Thoughts: Pink Chiffon is my go-to body spray and Daisy is my "nice" perfume. Much love.

Tools
TooFaced Teddy Bear Hair brush set
BeautyBlender
ELF concealer brush
ELF setting spray

Thoughts: We all know how I feel about the Beauty Blender. #happy


Love abundantly,
Juliana


"Embrace the glorious mess that you are." -Elizabeth Gilbert

Super short post today, but I just want to take a minute to talk about my fabulous find.
These are currently the new craze in the nail world and they are called Jamberrys--or "Jams", according to Kay. They are vinyl nail wraps and are supposed to last for 2 weeks, according to the powers that be. I've used nail 'stickers' before--specifically the Formula X ASAP nail stickers--and they flaked and were just as unreliable as regular nail polish.  So I was really skeptical when Kay got me some for Christmas.

I'm legitimately in love. The wraps go on so easily and they are smooth and actually feel secure on my nail. I keep doing that thing that engaged people do where they hold out their hand so everyone can see the ring, except I'm doing it with my nails.

I really love the fact that I don't have to spend endless hours painting teeny snowflakes on my nails. Heck, I love the fact that I don't have to use paint at all. The Jamberry process is paint free, clean and so super easy. I think I might be hooked (I'm sorry, bank.)

(The nail wraps I'm wearing in the picture are called Let it Snow.)




Love abundantly,
Juliana

"The smallest thing, when done for God, is priceless." -Theresa of Avila

Sweater: New York and Company Jeggings: New York and Company Vest: Old Navy

beautyblender

I was so hesitant to buy this product. I'd read amazing reviews about it but the cost ($19.95) was terrifying. Who pays $19.95 for a sponge? The sponge itself was created and patented by the amazing Rea Ann Silva, a professional makeup artist and beauty expert. Essentially, she's living my dream life.

Anyway, I finally decided to go for it and buy this famed product after seeing positive review after positive review about it through Sephora, Pinterest, and other beauty bloggers.
The instructions on the beautyblender are to thoroughly wet the sponge, towel dry it and dip it into your foundation of choice.

Wow. Let me tell you--this sponge is wonderful. I barely use any of my BB cream and I look like I have even, beautiful skin. The stippling motion suggested by the beautyblender, coupled with its design, make it the best tool I've ever used for foundation application. I legitimately look like I photoshopped my face.





I'm not lying to you when I say I've been breaking out all week and I have not retouched this picture in any way!

This product is well worth the splurge and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a flawless foundation application!

Love abundantly,
Juliana

I've been dying my hair since high school--the first time I dyed it, it was bright Ariel red. Then I covered that with black for my high school graduation. Eventually I settled on auburn and have been dying my hair with L'Oreal Preference 4R since I was a sophomore in college.

I love doing hair and makeup as a form of artistic expression. So, two days ago, I decided to make my hair my art form of the semester.

Sunshine yellow and cotton candy pink

 So, I took myself to my good friend Amazon and bought the three things I was going to need to go through with this adventure: two jars of Manic Panic semi-permanent hair dye and the Manic Panic FlashLightning kit.

I bought Sunshine Yellow and Cotton Candy Pink (which glows under UV light). My *glitzperation* for this hairstyle is the fabulous Kerrie Roberts and her ombre hair on her My Heart's Lifted album cover. I knew when I started that I didn't want my pink to be as bright as Kerrie's so I chose the paler color of CCP.

This was by far the most intense thing I've ever done to my hair and the moment I put the bleach into my hair, I knew there was no going back.





I honestly couldn't be happier with the way
my hair turned out. I especially have loved seeing people's faces as I walk by with my
sunshiney hair!

Remember, keep your face to the sun and you
will never see the shadows. (Thanks Helen
Keller!)


Love abundantly,
Juliana




"But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings" ~Malachi 4:2

Welcome to my first *glitterpost*! Essentially a *glitterpost* contains a haul, a tutorial and some musings from your friendly coffee addict, moi! Enjoy!

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I did an almost two-week stint with no makeup. It was harder than I expected, and my confidence and my own opinions of myself were challenged almost daily. I'd been feeling quite self-actualized before this challenge, but afterwards, I realized there had been a lot of things in me that I hadn't been challenging.

 Day One

It sat there mocking me.

I don't think I'd fully accepted the reality of the challenge I had just accepted. I kept looking wistfully at my makeup stand, hoping against all hope that somehow staring at it would make it magically transfer to my face.

Protip: it doesn't actually work that way.

All in all, day one wasn't too terrible, as my hair actually looked pretty good. So I felt naked and exposed, but I didn't feel ugly.
Maybe this wasn't going to be hard after all!



Day Two
I woke up. I made the mistake of glancing in the mirror. To my dismay, pimples that had not been there before had popped up all over my chin and cheek area. Immediate reaction was to reach for the cover-up but I stopped myself.

I think I saw hell flash before my eyes. It looked a lot like a makeup-less wasteland.





Day Three
I found that I had begun to care less and less about my appearance in general. So I rocked the hobo look. Yes that is a blanket--I was freezing.

At this point, I really honestly felt like crap and I didn't know how I was going to make it through the next eight days. People had already begun to ask me if I was sick or if something was wrong. I was ridiculously annoyed--this is just my natural face, people! Then I remembered that very few people had ever seen me without makeup on and I had to remind myself to be a little kinder to them.

But I still couldn't find it in me to be kind to myself.

Days Four-Six and a half

Honestly nothing too eventful happened on these days. I still felt like crap, but my skin was starting to look tremendously better. Kay told me it was because I didn't have any chemicals crowding my pores to make me break out and suggested I do it for Lent as well. I debated slapping her.

At the end of day six, I went to a meeting, where someone I'd been working with for over a year sat down, looked at me and hastily apologized that he thought I was Juliana. He was thoroughly embarrassed when I informed him that I was, in fact, Juliana.

Day Eightish 
It's a blur of makeup-less torture. But I've figured out how to still look cute and not completely be a bum.


Day Nine
Almost there. Freaking thank you, God. The retreat is tonight. Only a few more days and I can be pretty again.




Day Eleven


The retreat is over and I can wear makeup again. But this weekend was pretty great--I clearly can see the deep self-hatred I have if I don't fit an arbitrary standard of perfection. I can see that my worth isn't tied to my physical beauty, but my heart and soul. My worth is in the Lord, who made me beautiful in His Image.

Lessons Learned: my worth is inherent. I am beautiful because of my soul. I am loved.

Now all I have to do is start believing it. Yikes!  Wish me luck!

Love abundantly,
Juliana