What I Got for Christmas

Let me preface this by stating I am the only child and grandchild in a middle class family. I know I've received a lot and it adds up to a high price. I only ask for gifts during Christmas and my birthday, which is in late spring. If I want something that's not money I put it on my Christmas list, and if I want money I receive it for my birthday. I have a large family and all adult members give me gifts. I am fully aware that I am spoiled. I am in no way bragging or boasting about my material goods. I'm not that type of person.

Now that the boring part is over I'll continue with the focus of this post.

Christmas was great. The only thing I could have wished for would be to not be sick, but hey, I'm almost well and everything else was basically perfect. I gave my old camera to my Dad, which included the memory card. I couldn't find the adapter for my 8GB micro SD card, so I have no pictures other than those I took before I handed over the old memory card. Luckily, I did have a chance to test my new camera by photographing my gifts. And yes, I did get basically everything I wanted/asked for.

Happy New Year!!!

Beauty Essentials

Hey there!

I was contemplating how to start the beauty/fashion section of my blog and came up with this. It is a rather generic start in a naturally innovative subject, but it's almost 2am and my creativity is basically shot. Despite the redundancy of this post, I do believe that all blogs should start with the basics before moving on to more complex, and creative, areas, so here we go.

The following products are used in my daily routine. Although I name certain brands, I am not telling you to get this brand and this one only. I do understand that different people have different skin types and allergies that need to be taken into consideration when buying products. And for reference, I am MAC NC47, MUFE Mat Velvet+ in 70, and Caramel/Dark 1-2 in Maybelline; I also have combination-oily skin depending on the humidity.

• Rosebud Salve - I have horribly dry lips in the winter. This product is the only lip product that keeps my lips moisturized and healthy looking. I bought this particular tin from Sephora about a year and a half ago and still have about 25% of the product left. It is reasonably priced at $6 or so, so it's a great investment to add to your collection.

                           

•  Smashbox Sheer Focus SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer - This is such a good tinted moisturizer. It's medium coverage and thick like a foundation, but feels light on your face and blends beautifully. I would suggest that you match your tinted moisturizer to your undertone and not your overall skin tone. For example, I'm reasonably dark, but wear Medium in this moisturizer due to my olive undertone. Dark was way too orange for me. Anyway, tinted moisturizers are an easy way to cover two steps in one, it covers any marks you may have and moisturizes your skin.

• Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner - This stuff is amazing. And honestly, the brush it comes with isn't bad either. This gel eyeliner is heavily pigmented, glides on like butter, and is a great price. I prefer gel eyeliners because it is the line between casual and formal, the perfect formula for the 'put together but not trying too hard' look. 

• Sephora Setting Powder - Setting powders are essential for keeping your makeup looking fresh all day long. This has the added benefit of oil absorption (although I would recommend blotting papers for that purpose). This is very sheer with a satin finish.

• High SPF Sunblock - You may be confused. Yes I am black, and yes I do use SPF 90 sunblock. I know that the high SPF doesn't do much more than SPF 30 but I'm a college student and this was the cheapest. No matter your skin tone, you need sunblock. The women in my family generally don't age very fast, but I don't want to take any chances with being the exception by ignoring sun protection. 

The following products aren't necessary or essential, but I do believe they help to complete a beginner's makeup collection.

•  Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer - This concealer is waterproof, full cover, has an amazing color range, and stays all day. It is rather pricey, but does last 6 months of daily wear. A little of this product goes a long way. I am a shade 14 in case you were wondering.

• L'Oreal Studio Secrets Matte Eye Shadow Quad - Basically any matte eye shadow quad will do. This serves as a natural eye shadow, highlight not only for your brow-bone but also for the rest of your face, and contour color. As you can tell, I use this a lot.

 

                            

•  Rimmel London Sexy Curves Mascara - This is a very good mascara. It makes your lashes look longer and thicker. It does take a while to dry but maybe I'm using it incorrectly. I don't use mascara very often haha.

Christmas in Suburbia

As the air gradually becomes cooler and the days get shorter, I get into a holiday mood. I'm one of those somewhat odd people who aspires to celebrate all of the holidays at least once in my lifetime, but my Southern Baptist family isn't as open minded. Not that they ignore other holidays, they don't want to butcher the religious meaning, which is completely understandable. Anyway, my attempt to celebrate Hanukkah this year was shot down with a simple look. Oh well, maybe next year.

So my family and I decorated the house for Christmas as we do every year. Everything looks warm and festive, and once we get the tree tomorrow, the house will be infiltrated with the sweet scent of pine. My favorite.

I also had to get a new phone due to a freak accident that shattered the screen of my old phone. The camera was it's main selling point so I took some "artistic" pictures of the house. Ignore any bad photography, I'm a scientist, not a photographer...

Happy Holidays Everyone!

All Photos Taken With T-Mobile Mytouch 4G Slide Camera in Macro Mode

Oh...and here's a picture of my shattered phone. At least it cracked in a pretty way.