Holy Grail! Too Faced Primed & Poreless Pressed Powder

"Primed & Poreless Powder turns any foundation into high definition makeup. Our high-resolution, reflective, powder technology transforms skin by visually minimizing pores, fine lines and imperfections for an airbrushed looking finish. Our weightless powder can be worn alone, or under and over foundation to prep skin, lockdown makeup and control shine for a complexion smoothing, flawless finish." (From the Too Faced website.)

I doubted it. So many products come with a too-good-to-be-true description and an army of beauty guru's praising them on social media and still don't deliver what they promise once I test them - after spending what I consider to be way too much money for a tiny amount of product. Compared to most women who would classify their skin as "oily", I would say mine is worse. At least this summer. Between the heat and some hormonal issues, my skin has gone into overdrive. I had been using setting sprays and powders in the mornings, going through multiple blotting sheets before late afternoon and returning home after work with my makeup literally sliding around under my finger tips. What could this product do that all the others couldn't?

Answer: everything. 

After seeing one of my favorite Youtube queen's (Claire Marshall - bow down!) rave about this product, I decided to give in and shell out of the $30.00 on Sephora.com. This product does what it says - plain and simple. I don't worry about making my foundation cover every little imperfection because I know that this will finish the job. My huge (and I do mean huge) pores look like a "normal" persons. Plus I'm blotting maybe once at lunch time. If I apply this again halfway through the day, my makeup is still holding strong when I get home at the end of the day. I blot (don't swipe!) this on and trust that it will do what it says. You could have had me sold with that alone, but Too Faced is also one of my current favorite cruelty free brands. Not many high end brands are certified and proudly mark their boxes with PETA's seal of approval. (And yes, I know that PETA is not the strictest with their certifications in the cruelty free world, but Too Faced does pass my personal moral requirements.) The e.l.f. HD Powder claims similar effects and I would just like to go on the record and say that while the e.l.f. powder is much less expensive, it does not even begin to compare. 

Buy it here and thank me later. 

Summer 2013

 

My summer 2013 project.

I wouldn't say that summer of 2013 was the best summer of my life, but looking back at the clips in this video I realize that it was pretty darn beautiful. I have amazing family and friends that I seem to always be surrounded with. New England and the places I traveled to are beautiful. I'm so glad I decided to challenge myself with creating this little video. It helped me practice my editing skills and I must say, I'm pretty proud of it. Of course, my family adored it and immediately wanted to know when the fall edition would start filming. 

We shall see...

Thrift Finds - Diner Sets & Vintage Glass

 The flea market has been full of beautiful 1950's dining tables with matching chairs. Swoon. The coral chairs were around $20 a piece and the aqua set with four chairs below sold for $60. I had taken a look at it during my first trip around the market and asked about it. $75 and the chairs had some pretty large torn bits. But, for a collector with the space, $60 was amazing! My cousin ended up buying the two little aqua and glass lamps on the table, below.

I can't resist colorful vintage water glasses. I got these for $1 a piece. The funky red poodle is actually a vase! I put a gerber daisy in him when I got home and the water slowly leaked all over my desk. I guess the years have made him spring a leak. But, for 50 cents he was well worth it.

The whole huge box of blue vintage glasses was only $5. It had way more than I needed so I gave quite a few to my cousin and am keeping some out to sell sometime this summer. I've been collecting this style of glassware for a while but haven't come across any blue so I was really happy with the price!

Until next time!

Thrift Finds! Vintage couches, Pyrex, and lots of lamps.

The flea market is still my favorite place to be in the summer. (Okay, maybe after the ocean. But, treasure hunting is exciting and the ocean is relaxing so they're on totally different levels.) I've found some amazing things so far this season!

 This crazy 1960's couch was at the Goodwill. The ladies at the checkout were snickering when I gasped at how awesome it was. Everyone there hated it! After I posted this photo to Instagram I had multiple people asking where it was for sale. At least my Insta-friends have taste! This gem did not go home with me for multiple reasons. It was about $150 for both the couch and the lounge chair, it was super uncomfortable, and it wouldn't fit in the car. Not to mention my storage unit is about ready to explode vintage all over the place.

I found this piece of Pyrex at a junk store in South Carolina while I was visiting my grandparents. Since we flew down and our airline only allowed one carry-on item, it stayed down there with them. Next time someone drives to visit my grandparents they're bringing it back for me! I had never seen this pattern before. It's  called Brown Onion and this one had the original caddy. I think I payed $6 or $7 for it.

I spotted this cool drawer unit at the same junk store and snapped a photo for a DIY inspiration. I love that it looks like a tool chest! It was priced really high, but I think I could recreate this with some metallic contact paper or tin ceiling tiles from the hardware store.

These drinking glasses also stayed behind on our visit to South Carolina. I believe they were once sold as promotion jelly jars. I liked the pansy pattern and thought they would be a good addition to my vintage drinking glass collection. From what I've researched, they were made by Anchor Hocking. Although, now that they are in storage in South Carolina I can't confirm! I found them at a storage unit yard sale and payed $2 for all three. I've never come across anything like those sales before. People rent these units and just open up their doors and have little shops inside where they sell things every weekend.

These two lamps were my DIY project for last month. I got them each for under $5 at the Salvation Army. They don't look like much here, but I painted them both black and they turned out pretty cool. If only I had remembered the "after" photo...

 

This giant black and yellow patterned lamp was only $2 at the flea market and I couldn't say no. It is massive and the pattern is really interesting. Some of the black paint is chipping to reveal more yellow where it shouldn't be, but I actually think it adds a cool look to it. 

And, last but not least - the belt buckle. I got this for my brother at a yard sale for $1. We are not Honda fans in car form, but my brother is a fan of their motorcycles and has been on a belt buckle kick lately.

Have any of you been going to yard sales/thrift stores/flea markets lately? I'd love to see your finds!

Losing a piece of me.

This post has been a long time coming. This is my therapy session. It will most likely be a mess of unfinished thoughts. But I'm getting them out there.

Saying goodbye to a pet is such a bizarre experience for those of us who think of our animals as family. People feel sorry, but don't always understand the magnitude of the situation. How unstable and lost you feel. My Pitou was my best friend. I know I'll never have the same relationship with another living thing that I did with him. He was special. And maybe you think that's what everyone thinks of their dog, but mine really was. He took care of me when I was young. When I grew up, I took care of him in his old age. 

Pitou had two near death experiences in his life. The first was a mystery disease that my family refused to give up on. Our veterinarian was all but ready to tell us to end his suffering but we insisted on a referral to another animal hospital who diagnosed him correctly and saved his life. During the time that he was sick, I said my goodbyes and distanced myself. I was younger at the time and it was too much for me to handle. Having him cured was like a new life. The second incident was more sudden and scared me to the core. It's still something I don't like to think of because it tears me up inside. Even with both of these experiences, I wasn't numb to losing him. He lived to be 15 and a half and although I tried to ready myself it still shocked my system when he died.

I wanted desperately for him to fall asleep at home and not wake up. I prayed for it so often in those last few days. In the end, it more or less did happen that way. I'm having a hard time typing this post because when I start a sentence about his suffering my mind tells my fingers to erase the words. It's too damn hard to continue with those sentences.

(Pitou went through a phase of pink mohawks while I was in high school, as seen in the first photo.)

The days after he was gone were so strange. He was sick for a long time and was really all I thought of. I went to work, but that was mostly it. I called home to whomever was around while I was away to check on him constantly. I had to hold myself back from calling too often. I inspected and logged every bit of food, water, and sleep he had. I didn't sleep through the night. I woke up early in the mornings to rest my hand on his side to see if he was still breathing. He consumed my every thought. Friends and family would ask me if I wanted to go on weekend trips with them and I couldn't say yes, even if they were months away. It was hard to say the reason, but I couldn't plan them without knowing if Pitou would be gone yet or not. When he finally died I just didn't know what to do with myself. I continued to worry about him despite my best efforts to believe he was finally resting. The night he was buried I had a panic attack when it started snowing because I didn't want him to be cold. Being his care giver was hard to let go of. 

A couple weeks after he passed, my mom found a bit of his fur in the fence outside our front door. We did most of his grooming's at home and the bits of fur were from his last haircut, which hadn't been for months. Maybe that should have been a nice thing to find but it was like a punch in the gut. I remember holding it crying and saying "he was just here." It was so strange to have seem so gone and to have found this piece of him. I carry that bit of fur in a clear locket around my neck now. I get questions about it more often than I would like. It's getting easier to answer them, though. People don't have to understand. In fact, they don't need to. I'm comforted in knowing that few people have as special of a bond with their dog as I did. 

I had this portrait started before Pitou got sick and it was completed shortly after he died. The timing was impeccable. I have it framed on my desk and am also having it printed on canvas to go in a frame in my bedroom. (The artist, Gia, blogs here.) 

Sometimes getting these words out of my head helps. I still cry. I still feel like I'm forgetting to do something when I have time to relax or go away for the weekend. I still panic when I can't find my locket. I cry when I see dogs that even mildly remind me of him. I'm meticulous about the neatness of his grave, even though I've only brought myself to sit by it twice in the last four months. I cry when I hold my mom's dogs because they just don't feel the same. I still cry when I drive down certain roads because they now hold bad memories. I'll cry when it snows for the first time next winter because I know how much Pitou loved it. But the years I had with Pitou were worth every bit of pain I feel now and there's no doubt in my mind about that.

The official return of summer.

Summer in New England has always meant soft serve ice cream with jimmies. My first cup was a 2013 milestone and now I'm hooked! I've been trying to eat healthier, but I can't say no to ice cream! I know that it's not technically summer yet, but I don't care! Ice cream = summer!

(My best friend Ashley and I had shakes and floats before seeing Iron Man last weekend.)

Oh summer, I hope you stick around...

Thrift Finds!

My favorite seasons are upon us! Spring and summer make me feel alive again! The weather is warm, there are animals all around, and the flea markets and yard sales are in full swing. I've been going to the flea market every Sunday and have found some great treasures! I only happened to snap photos of a few things, but I am going to make a habit out of photographing them all to share. Here's a few of my favorite finds from the past couple weeks.

 I finally found a diner style vintage table! My mom and I stopped in at a garage sale in our town and were browsing around chatting with the people hosting. They were selling a lot of their great aunt's things after she had passed away. I was carrying around a couple clear glass Pyrex bowls and some vintage deer figurines when I bent down to check out a box of jewelry and I saw it. There was a red metal table hiding under a pile of junk. I took a chance and asked and yes, it was part of the sale. The woman was so nice and told me to offer something very low - they just wanted their great aunts things to go to someone who would appreciate them. I ended up getting the table, two chairs, and the bowls and deer I already had in my hands for $25.00. WHAT. So happy! The wood paneling you see in the photo is actually just contact paper. I tore that off at home to reveal the white metal underneath.

The huge frame was found at my towns recycling center. I've been searching for a huge frame to display all my Postal Pix and this will do the trick perfectly! It used to hold a mirror, but the mirror cracked so someone put it in the free room. I will probably DIY it into something similar to this.

This lamp. I mean, are words needed? I took my cousin to the flea market for the first time and we found this gem. We both love E.T. so I knew one of us was going home with it. My cousin snagged it for $10.00 (without negotiating - she's a bit of a newbie, but it was worth every penny!). This is one of those things that is so ugly it's awesome.

I've been wanting a big furniture-style record player for years! I found this one at a yard sale and got it for $25.00. It's a 1960's Magnavox and it sounds amazing! It's going to live in my mom's living room until we find a house because it's too cool to go into storage. 

And last, this huge screen was found in the dumpster behind my office. We work above a coffee shop and the employees had thrown their garbage in after whoever dumped this beauty so it was stained with coffee grounds but I'm going to replace the fabric and it will be good as new! It's six panels and I can't wait to separate a room with it!

Have you been thrifting, flea marketing, or yard saling this year? I'd love to hear about your treasures!