Makeup. I love it. Sometimes, I love it even more than shoes and handbags. I don't wear a lot of it, but when I do, oh how I love to play!!!
Someone recently told me I had a glow to my face. My first thought was 'Am I sweating? It's only 40 degrees..." She proceeded to complement my skin and my eyes and I was so joyous I bought her a coffee. So ladies, (and gentlemen if you care for beauty products), I will share with you what I shared with my friend. This is what I'm using and loving today - hope these work for you too.
Trish McEvoy 24-hour shadow and liner in Topaz
Best product ever! This is so easy to apply you could (and do) do it with your eyes closed. You can swipe it across your lash line lightly for a splash of color and sparkle - or blend it in with a thin pencil and create a smokey eye. The topaz color is dreamy and looks great on most skin tones - the charcoal is great too!
Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials
One of my all time favorites and must haves! This creamy base is applied to your entire eyelid and evens out skin tone while creating a smooth surface for eyeshadow. On low maintenance days, I wear it alone and it brightens up the eye beautifully.
Bobbie Brown Pot Rouge for lips and cheeks
I use a smidge of this on top of a bronzer for an "Oh I just heard a naughty joke" kind of blush. It stays put all day and doubles as a quick lip gloss too. So many colors to choose.
Kiehls Lip Balm #1 scented
Throw this little tube in your car and use it all the time. My favorite scent is cranberry and I swear it lasts through summer and fall - you only need a smidge and your lips feel perfectly pouty. Hint - I've also used it on my cuticles in the winter - great results!
Shu Uemura eyelash curler
The mother of all eyelash curlers - ladies this one takes the cake. Sadly, it is no longer available for purchase in the U.S. Thank goodness you can buy it online via their website. Definitely worth the shipping and high cost - nothing else helps open the eye like THIS eyelash curler. Trust me, I am eyelash challenged and this may be one of the items I'd choose on a desert island....
On one final note, I have to give a shout out to the wonderful ladies at Blue Mercury in Lake Forest. No, I do not get any kickbacks (sadly.) Simply put: the staff are all so helpful, knowledgable and simply fun to be around. Everything but the almighty Shu Umera eye lash curler can be found over there. Check them out!
May 16, 2011
why do guilty pleasures make us feel guilty?
Chocolate milkshakes. Oreos. No, Double-stuffed Oreos! Sitting up in the middle of the night finding great bad movies on cable! Vampire Diaries! Tosh.O! Perez Hilton! Fashion websites! Facebook!
My list of guilty pleasures is longer than I care to admit. But here I am, admitting it. My name is Nina and I have many guilty pleasures. I am tired and sick of feeling guilty about them. They are pleasurable, after all. But then they aren't. They have layers of shame around them that are begging to be discarded like a Northface on a spring day. Said spring day in Florida, perhaps. I digress....
How can all these 'activities' feel so good while simultaneously making me feel guilty? Easily - none of them are particularly good for me. None of them promote a healthy lifestyle. Especially eating double stuffed oreos at two in the morning while watching my recorded Vampire Diaries. OH MY!! My heart be still. But isn't it healthy to feed into our cravings every now and then? Yes. Sometimes it just feels good to act naughty.
I understand the guilt. Oreos undermine weight-loss and my workouts, as does staying up late. Bad movies and CW television do absolutely nothing for my aging mind but perhaps keep it stagnate - maybe watching Bravo actually kills brain cells. Who knows? Internet browsing and Facebooking certainly wastes my time and keeps my productivity at bay.
I wear guilt like a second skin. I grew up a Catholic school girl with a Jewish father. Guilt and I are fantastic companions. But, I'm done. I'm breaking up with guilt when it comes to these said pleasures. Guilt can take a hike and look me up on Facebook in 20 years! I don't engage in the naughty all the time. Everything in moderation will be my mantra. I can indulge and buy expensive make up and skin care products from time to time. I can dance to 80s house music without embarrassing myself on occasion! I can listen to Gaga in the car and sing so loud I can't hear trains coming once in a while. Okay, maybe I shouldn't do the latter.
My point here is I am giving up the guilt and bringing on the pleasure - sometimes. I'm declaring a boycott to the phrase 'guilty pleasure' and encourage What Not To Wear marathons everywhere! I've earned the right to slack every now and then, trade in Newsweek for People and NPR for AltNation. Now, if you see me driving, singing and swerving while leaving a trail of cookies in my wake, I most certainly will feel shamed. And guilty.....
My list of guilty pleasures is longer than I care to admit. But here I am, admitting it. My name is Nina and I have many guilty pleasures. I am tired and sick of feeling guilty about them. They are pleasurable, after all. But then they aren't. They have layers of shame around them that are begging to be discarded like a Northface on a spring day. Said spring day in Florida, perhaps. I digress....
How can all these 'activities' feel so good while simultaneously making me feel guilty? Easily - none of them are particularly good for me. None of them promote a healthy lifestyle. Especially eating double stuffed oreos at two in the morning while watching my recorded Vampire Diaries. OH MY!! My heart be still. But isn't it healthy to feed into our cravings every now and then? Yes. Sometimes it just feels good to act naughty.
I understand the guilt. Oreos undermine weight-loss and my workouts, as does staying up late. Bad movies and CW television do absolutely nothing for my aging mind but perhaps keep it stagnate - maybe watching Bravo actually kills brain cells. Who knows? Internet browsing and Facebooking certainly wastes my time and keeps my productivity at bay.
I wear guilt like a second skin. I grew up a Catholic school girl with a Jewish father. Guilt and I are fantastic companions. But, I'm done. I'm breaking up with guilt when it comes to these said pleasures. Guilt can take a hike and look me up on Facebook in 20 years! I don't engage in the naughty all the time. Everything in moderation will be my mantra. I can indulge and buy expensive make up and skin care products from time to time. I can dance to 80s house music without embarrassing myself on occasion! I can listen to Gaga in the car and sing so loud I can't hear trains coming once in a while. Okay, maybe I shouldn't do the latter.
My point here is I am giving up the guilt and bringing on the pleasure - sometimes. I'm declaring a boycott to the phrase 'guilty pleasure' and encourage What Not To Wear marathons everywhere! I've earned the right to slack every now and then, trade in Newsweek for People and NPR for AltNation. Now, if you see me driving, singing and swerving while leaving a trail of cookies in my wake, I most certainly will feel shamed. And guilty.....
May 9, 2011
my mind's eye mania
With humiliating realization, I've discovered who I am in my mind and who I am in the mirror are very different, but necessary people.
Chatting with a friend I met in my early 20s, I came to a startling revelation. We hadn't spoken in a while, and when I informed him I have a step son attending Columbia, he said "That's wild. Is there not a part of you that still thinks of 20 year olds as part of your peer group? I still do. I am not suggesting I try to keep up with them, but that their lives are not far removed from mine."
I chuckled and nearly snorted because I couldn't agree more with his pondering. However, their lives are significantly removed from mine. In my mind's eye though, I am 25, vibrant, hip, edgy - you can't put anything past me. But in reality, I'm a bit hazy, try to retain a smidge of hipness, a bit soft cornered and, well, you still can't get anything past me! My point here is this: my mind tells me one thing, but my reality is quite different.
For example, in my mind, a favorite friend an I are strong, lean bad-asses while throwing uppercuts, side-kicks and cross hooks in a kick boxing class at the gym. 'Au contraire, mon frere!' said the reflections in the mirror. You know that mirror, right? The one that makes you look more middle aged than you really are, the one with the awful lighting that shines brightly on all your imperfections. The mirror that must be from a fun house because it's making you look uncoordinated and awkward. Yep, that mirror reflects two girls whose tomato red flushed faces and flailing fisted arms are screaming 'get out of this class now!'. GAH!
Oh, and how about the window at the grocery store? What a delightful looking glass that turned out to be Saturday morning. Mind's eye had me looking put together in my good to go jeans and new favorite spring jacket. Make up-check! Hair done-check! Mind's eye had me looking and feeling calm and cucumber cool. Reality window? Crazy mom walking chicken quick, eyes darting to and fro hoping to get a first communion card and a gallon of milk before the clock struck 12! What the heck is going on? And where did those lines around my eyes come from and why are they so obvious in the sunlight and can someone throw me a bottle of eye cream?????
How reliable is my mind's eye? Poor, tortured Hamlet saw his dead father with his mind's eye. Am I actually delusional? I started asking favorite friends and neighbors if I am alone in this Mind's eye Mania and thankfully found I am not. Everyone I spoke with said the same thing: They are all a younger age, coordinated, smart and savvy in their head. And isn't that what really matters? Maybe, when reality hits us with a mirror, we don't need to reconcile the inner 25 with the outer 40 something. Maybe that's what keeps us going, keeps us trying new things and forces us to challenge ourselves. I think my mind plays back the true me, the inner me and that allows me to feel my best even when mirror-me is taking a day off.
On the other hand, maybe that's my mind's voice talking and feeding me heaping scoops of what I need to hear.....Regardless, I think I'll take it!
Chatting with a friend I met in my early 20s, I came to a startling revelation. We hadn't spoken in a while, and when I informed him I have a step son attending Columbia, he said "That's wild. Is there not a part of you that still thinks of 20 year olds as part of your peer group? I still do. I am not suggesting I try to keep up with them, but that their lives are not far removed from mine."
I chuckled and nearly snorted because I couldn't agree more with his pondering. However, their lives are significantly removed from mine. In my mind's eye though, I am 25, vibrant, hip, edgy - you can't put anything past me. But in reality, I'm a bit hazy, try to retain a smidge of hipness, a bit soft cornered and, well, you still can't get anything past me! My point here is this: my mind tells me one thing, but my reality is quite different.
For example, in my mind, a favorite friend an I are strong, lean bad-asses while throwing uppercuts, side-kicks and cross hooks in a kick boxing class at the gym. 'Au contraire, mon frere!' said the reflections in the mirror. You know that mirror, right? The one that makes you look more middle aged than you really are, the one with the awful lighting that shines brightly on all your imperfections. The mirror that must be from a fun house because it's making you look uncoordinated and awkward. Yep, that mirror reflects two girls whose tomato red flushed faces and flailing fisted arms are screaming 'get out of this class now!'. GAH!
Oh, and how about the window at the grocery store? What a delightful looking glass that turned out to be Saturday morning. Mind's eye had me looking put together in my good to go jeans and new favorite spring jacket. Make up-check! Hair done-check! Mind's eye had me looking and feeling calm and cucumber cool. Reality window? Crazy mom walking chicken quick, eyes darting to and fro hoping to get a first communion card and a gallon of milk before the clock struck 12! What the heck is going on? And where did those lines around my eyes come from and why are they so obvious in the sunlight and can someone throw me a bottle of eye cream?????
How reliable is my mind's eye? Poor, tortured Hamlet saw his dead father with his mind's eye. Am I actually delusional? I started asking favorite friends and neighbors if I am alone in this Mind's eye Mania and thankfully found I am not. Everyone I spoke with said the same thing: They are all a younger age, coordinated, smart and savvy in their head. And isn't that what really matters? Maybe, when reality hits us with a mirror, we don't need to reconcile the inner 25 with the outer 40 something. Maybe that's what keeps us going, keeps us trying new things and forces us to challenge ourselves. I think my mind plays back the true me, the inner me and that allows me to feel my best even when mirror-me is taking a day off.
On the other hand, maybe that's my mind's voice talking and feeding me heaping scoops of what I need to hear.....Regardless, I think I'll take it!
May 4, 2011
really rihanna?
I’m a mom, that’s who. Again, I say, I like her songs. I like Eminem and even Dr. Dre, both whom have pretty offensive lyrics and language woven throughout their songs.
But when my niece started belting out lyrics from her latest hit “S&M” I had to question my liberal views on the music industry.
The lyrics, sung by aforementioned niece, and now my favorite daughter (thank you very much favorite niece!) are as follows:
“Cause I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it
Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But chains and whips excite me "
Um, okaaaay? Does Rhianna have every right to sing about whips, chains and the smell of sex? Sure she does. Does the radio have every right to play it on the radio during waking hours? Of course! Do I have the control and right to change the station? Yes I do! However, what is a Mom to do when your child is exposed to the song or video when you're not around?
While I was slightly stymied when my daughter asked me what "S&M" was, I don't feel it's enough of a reaction to disallow her from listening to the music. Sometimes I think the more you take something away, the more they want to find out about it. I turn it off sometimes, telling her I don't like this particular song. Having said that, I don't think the song is harmful, or hurtful, or influential in anyway.
So then why the blog, why the comment at all? I think it's just the ick factor. It's the 'Is it really necessary?' factor. It's the, 'Do i really care that you like whips and chains Rhianna?' factor. It's the 'While I don't usually get bothered by music lyrics, this made me cringe because I hate that my kids are exposed to some things before I'm ready to allow it' factor.
Really Rihanna?
May 3, 2011
and so it begins...
So, I tried to be witty and charming while composing my first post. I wrote, rewrote and then decided to knock it off and just say welcome and hello. My friends have called me Neen forever, so much so that Nina just doesn’t sound right coming from their voices. And ‘Neen’ is usually accompanied by a ‘you know....’ For example, “You know Neen, I’m not sure you want to wear the printed pink wrap skirt anymore,” or “You know Neen, I don’t think I can make it to the Vic with you Friday night,” or “You know Neen, she says its great in theory, but she wouldn’t be caught dead out past 11:00....”
Admittedly late to the whole world of blogging, I start today at the request of some very dear and encouraging friends that seem to like what I have to say and enjoy updates on certain things I say and do. Boring to most, but maybe interesting to the few who will read on.
I was a writer and PR gal in my former life and am dabbling again with freelance writing in between walking my dog, being milk mom at school and getting my hair colored.
I hope to write about what my girlfriends and I like to talk about - our life, our kids, our loves, our gripes, our wrinkles (oh just wait), where to go, what to do, when to do it, books, MUSIC and last and CERTAINLY not least, how to make it all REAL, authentic, fun....and funny.
So, (and you'll note I like to begin and end with so) here goes it. Hope you'll come along for the ride!
March 9, 2011
While I Want the Sun, I'm Not Exited For Spring...
I'm really not. Warmer weather means short sleeves and brighter colors. Warm weather means shedding the parka that currently hides all my flaws (except for my laugh lines) and covers my tush. Warm weather means that my closet needs to be cleaned and it is one of my least favorite chores.
I don't know about you, but I am a reader of all articles that begin with "Top Five Spring Favorites," and "What You Must Have in Your Closet This Spring," and "THE Spring Coat." I somehow find temporary satisfaction and inspiration while reading said articles. So, then what happens?
I get cold feet. I start loading my online shopping bag with new tees and boyfriend jeans and peep toe wedges and scarves. And then, I read my email, answer phone calls and leave my lap top. I get stage fright when shopping for myself. Why? What is this about? Why can't I take the leap? This wasn't a problem in my 20s. Is it that I feel guilty about spending the money? Is it possibly that somewhere in my subconscious that I enjoy complaining about what I don't have?
I'm not sure, but I do know that when it comes to the kiddos, I can load a virtual shopping bag, press submit order and smile in delight in the time it takes to type SOLD! Why is that so easy?
A friend suggests that it is overwhelming to shop for yourself all at once and it's better to buy a few pieces at a time. The old "Rome wasn't built in a day" theory. Another maintains it is easier to shop for our children because they are easier to fit than we are.
Whatever the reason, I'm hoping for more cold weather so I can hide inside my parka. In the meantime, maybe a few tee shirts will find their way to my house....
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