My Birthday

This past Friday was my birthday, and it was one of the best ones yet. I spent the day doing what I love (makeup!) with old and new friends. After that, my love surprised me with a picnic. Yep, I'd say it was a fantastic day.

These girls helped me out with some work for my website. They were troopers. Everything turned out better than I imagined. My website will be up SOON! I can't wait!

Here's a sneak peek... :)

Before

After

Jasmine

Lindsey

Meghan

My birthday makeup :)

My surprise picnic

It was such a special day. I really do believe this is going to be my best year yet! :)

Take care of your skin. It will love you back!

I was blessed with pretty good skin as far as breakouts are concerned. I will come across a stubborn zit maybe once every few months. Because of that, I have never been one to really take care of my skin. I had the realization a few months ago, that your makeup will only look as good as the skin underneath. You can only do so much to cover a blemish, so the best thing to do is try to get RID of it! Taking better care of my skin is now a priority of mine. Every morning and every night!

Helpful hint: I know lots of girls that sleep in their makeup and just touch up the next morning. This is a huge DON'T. Not only can your skin not breathe, all that dirt and bacteria is trapped underneath that layer of makeup, and you're just caking more makeup on top of it.

Step 1: Remove makeup
Step 2: Use facial cleanser
Step 3: MOISTURIZE!

Like I said, I have dry skin that is not prone to breakouts. If you have oily/combination skin, you need to be more careful of what you use.

My new love is Olay Moisture Balancing foaming face wash. It's for all skin types, and it's oil-free, but it may be too much for oily skin.

I also really like Cetaphil Facial Cleanser. I remember seeing this in my Grandmother's bathroom when I was I was a little kid. One of my friends that battles with acne uses this, so I'd say it's good stuff.

Now, I usually love me some L'OREAL products. Their products are made in Paris, and are pretty much the best drugstore products that you can find. I had heard some good things about their Go 360 Clean deep cream cleanser, so I thought I'd give it a try. (The packaging is really cute, so that was a plus for me! Hehe.) It was HORRIBLE! It made my skin so dry, it was visibly flaking off. Gross! I used it for about 2 weeks, to see if my skin would get used to it. It DIDN'T. Maybe it'd be better for oily skin? I don't know. I definitely give it a thumbs down!

The next step is super important, and it's my favorite! Moisturizer! I use Dry Skin Cream by CVS. It has the exact same ingredients as Pond's, and it's $3 cheaper. It smells so good, and makes my face so soft. I'm kind of obsessed with it and use it way too much. But I just love how it makes my skin feel! :)

I hope this is somewhat helpful! :)

Happy Moisturizing!

Aundi

Make it Sparkle

I have never been a huge fan of glitter on anything, especially on my face. It's too messy, and it's so hard to get off. (Plus, it takes me back to the days of cheer competitions : glitter and sponge rollers!) However, I must admit that it's one of my new obsessions. I discovered a way to put it on my eyes so that it's not overwhelming, and it's easy to come off! Glitter liquid liner! Simply do your eye makeup as you normally would, then apply the liner on the inner third or half of the lid! Gorgeous.

We went out last night, so I decided to do a purple smokey eye -- with a pop of glitter! I got SO many compliments on it. It's so easy. Anyone can achieve the look!

Hugs and SPARKLY Kisses,

Aundi :)

How To Feel Fabulous!

Want to feel fabulous? I swear, all you need is a little red lipstick, and your confidence will shoot up to a 10! Red lips has always been the signature look for beauty and elegance...

I have been obsessed with red lips lately, and Kandee just did a blog on the history of red lips, so I thought I would pass it along...

Somethings amazing happens when you wear red lipstick! You feel the sharp stilletto confidence of all the glamorous women of the 40's & 50's who carefully placed red lipstick on their lips if they were donning a fur and heading out on the town to dance the night away or if they were going to vacuum their living room in their heels, looking as beautiful as ever!

*Cleopatra used crushed Carmine Beetles to dye her lips red. And if red beetle juice wasn't enough she used a base of ants to keep it all together! Talk about the "price" of beauty! yuck. 

*In 1871, Guerlain produced the first official red lipstick! Thank goodness, they put an end to people crushing up beetles and bugs to make their lips ruby or crimson.

*Hazel Bishop, one of the first organic chemists, in 1950, thought of the first smudge-proof, long lasting lipstick that won't smear on clothing or cups. It was a huge success and sales from Hazel Bishop Inc. with it's lipstick increased sales from $49,527 in 1950 to $10,100,682 in 1953. Sadly she lost control of her business, but what she did shows the power of lipstick!

Icons of beauty that truly made a mark with their RED LIPS...

Marilyn Monroe

Lucille Ball

And of course, the timeless Audrey Hepburn

So put on your red lips and get ready to feel fabulous!

Hugs and RED Kisses, Aundi

New Beginnings

I am starting up my very own business as a freelance makeup artist. I am sooo excited to see how God is going to use me through this. I never really saw myself doing anything so "crazy," but so far, I'm loving every minute of it! 

Can't wait to see where this journey leads!

This is Kandee Johnson & me on the day I became a professional makeup artist! :)

Dreams really can come true!