Skincare and Make-Up

So by now you guys know that I think I am actually partially a nocturnal vampire, who absolutely HATES the mornings! Cue the horror movie, where the vampire melts into a pool of nothingness as the first ray of sunshine beams through the sky...YAAAA, that's how I feel at 6 a.m. A couple of weeks ago, I posted my morning skincare tips, and I mentioned how I am seriously just NOT a morning person- never have been. (Thank God for really great skincare products that help freshen me up in the morning!!) I also mentioned that when summer rolls around, and I have three months off of work, my natural rhythm is to stay up until 2 a.m. and then get up at 11 a.m. WELLLL, that routine is in full swing here, and I am loving letting my body rock the late night hours! OH, and I am loving sleeping in too. SIGH!

One thing that I have to remind myself to stay very disciplined with though during the summer months is my skincare routine. During the school year, I literally have almost every part of my daily schedule down to a five minute range of time based on when things need to be accomplished. (YES, I am a little anal, but having a pretty strict routine curbs my anxiety about completing all of my daily tasks- don't knock it, 'til you try it!) I know that I have to start washing my face and getting ready for …

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Have I mentioned before that I am NOT a morning person?!? OH yessss, I have, and probably will a million more times. It almost kind of feels a wee bit physically painful to get out of bed some mornings, LOL- that's how seriously tired I feel every time I get up! I lie in my bed, as my alarm is buzzing at 6:30 (which is probably late for some of you) counting down from ten to zero about 100 times, thinking that by the time I get to zero one of the times, my body will just spring out of bed, ready to take on the day....UMMMM, yaaaaa, doesn't happen! No wonder I have to count down that many times, because I think I was literally born without a "spring" anywhere in my body. I don't "spring" anywhere until like noon! I kind of admire the people who can just jump out of bed, all perky, raring to go. Notice I said kind of, because I also kind of want to plug my ears when I hear someone who's super chipper in the morning. Like what is there to be chipper about right now?? Please, let me in on your secret- because I don't find anything that chipper until like maybe 10 o'clock! Sure, I act like I am alive and awake for my students, but any adult that knows me, understands that is just an act, HAH! Anybody else feel me??

When I have my summer days off, (YAY, …

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One frazzled day a few months ago I walked into an Ulta store, and I point blank looked at the lady working, and said I want to have GLOWING skin like Beyonce or J-Lo. (Imagine the climactic part in a movie when someone storms in a door dramatically, soaking wet, on a mission, and demanding answers. That was me...OK, that was me, minus the soaking wet, Hollywood actress part. OK, really I wish that was me for dramatic effect, LOL, but it wasn't. I was just the lady who looked like a hot mess.) I could tell the poor lady was suppressing a giggle, because YES that is the most ridiculous statement ever. She probably wanted to say to me, honey, don't we all? In my defense, in the middle of winter in Wisconsin, my skin gets dry, pasty white, and dull- AND, I was having a real breakdown moment where I just couldn't handle that reality anymore! It's like we try and try as women to keep up with our skincare, haircare, self-care, wardrobe, etc.- AND, somedays we feel like we are kicking butt at all of these things- AND, other days we take a selfie with a friend and think to ourselves that's really how I look right now??? So needless to say, the poor woman tried to lead me in the right direction to some products, such as highlighters or better concealers-which I tried, BUT that still wasn't the solution I was looking for.

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Up until six months ago I NEVER willingly chose to wear lipstick. I know that sounds totally crazy since I love all things make-up related- BUT, I would put lipstick on, look in the mirror, and think WHOA who is this clown staring back at me?!? I think my hatred for lipstick started when we would have dance performances when I was younger, and we'd all have to wear the same putrid color of red. Of course, I always thought lipstick looked nice on other girls, but I felt a bit self conscious when it came to my own reflection in the mirror- would all they see are these duck lips walking in from across the room? Frightening thought at the time!

I don't know what spurred me on to try lipstick in my adult life, but I think I am finally to a point in life where I don't care as much what others think, and I'm just trying to do ME! AND, apparently the newest version of me feels like lipstick gives me a little giddy up in my step and a little pep to my daily look. AND, I have actually been wearing lipstick DAILY since I figured out how much I absolutely love it. I giggled at my students, because one day recently I decided to wear more of a neutral lip color again, and they asked me where my lips went, LOL! The things these kiddos notice! AND, for our teacher/student swap day, a group …

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Does anybody else stand beneath fluorescent lights, looking in a mirror, and think to yourself "WHOA girl, where did that new little baby wrinkle come from on your face?!?!" Seriously, I don't understand why EVERY store, restaurant, and business feels the need to overly illuminate their buildings with these wretched lights! I leave the comfort of my naturally lit bathroom in the morning feeling somewhat still youthful and ready to take on the day, and then BAM, I go out in public and feel like I have grown 5 new fine lines in 5 minutes all because of the lighting. I guess the only plus of fluorescent lighting is that it makes me stick VERY closely to my skincare regime. I don't stray from my daily, nightly, and weekly skin care routine EVER in fear that my skin will completely wrinkle, shrivel up, and fall off. UGH!

OK, yes, I am being overly dramatic, especially because I am only 33 years old, and I don't really have thaaaaat many fine lines to complain about, YET...but I want to keep it that way for a LOOOOONG time to come! When my grandfather passed away at 96 years old, he probably had like 4 wrinkles on his whole body...I am seriously hoping and praying that I inherited ALL of his insanely amazing genetic code!! (Please, oh please, Lord!) But on the off chance, that I have been denied his pristine genes, I have been testing and trying lots of different brands and …

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