Madeup

Dress- Vintage

Cami- H&M

Sandals- The Shoes of Destiny

Earrings- F21

Bracelets- Floral: World market, Rasta: Gift from Bri from Chile, Peace: Disneyland

Sometime last spring I gave up my previous makeup regime. I used to love makeup. Like, really, really love it. I wanted to wear it so bad when I was a kid and couldn't wait until my 14th birthday when I was finally allowed to wear it. So much babysitting money went down the makeup drain. I wore a full face, everyday, without fail. Foundation, concealer, powder, blush, eye-shadow, mascara, liner, lip liner, lipstick, and anything else you can put on your face. I was obsessed. I didn't like that I was obsessed with it, and my skin was horrible, but I couldn't break the cycle. Then last spring, I was running late to work and actually forgot to put any make-up on. It was on that day that I realized that hey, I'm not so bad without this stuff. So I swore it off for a week. By the end of the week my skin had cleared up, and I had come to fully accept my natural appearance. So after that I stuck with just wearing a little powder, mascara and some liner, chapstick and the occasional lipstick.

The first pro for this new regime is that my skin is so much better now that I have stopped filling my pores with gunk. The second pro, it only takes me about 3-5 mins. to put on makeup in the morning. the third is that sometimes I forget entirely and I am totally okay with that. yeah I have tiny eyes, and chubby cheeks, and flat lips and a droppy eyeball, but oh well. it's me and I like it. My self confidence has been boosted by this too. Makeup is to enhance natural beauty and not a mask to hide behind.

I've been trying to slowly replace all my old makeup with natural and organic makeup. I use so little that I don't feel guilty for spending a little more than normal on things that are actually good for my skin. I started with Mascara. I use Larenim Mineral Mascara in Jet Black. I love it! My only complaint would be that it doesn't come in a waterproof form, which is annoying because of how sensative my eyes are. If my eyes get watery, the mascara runs and if it gets in my eyes it does burn a bit. But overall I love it. My eyelashes have become stronger and thicker since I switched over (about a month ago) and where I was losing eyelashes before, I am not any longer. Needless to say, I'm a fan.

As for eyeliner I use Honeybee Gardens liner in Jet Set. They have some other colours I'd really like to get as well. Again, my only beef is that this isn't water proof and does smudge a bit, however I'm in love with the liner. It goes on smoothly, stays pretty much all day, and doesn't feel like I'm covering my eyes in goop ( I hate the way other eyeliners feel on my eyes). The liner is very light where as most others I've used tend to be heavier once on. Again I really love this stuff.

As for powder I've recently switched from using Revlon's mineral finish to Zia mineral powder in Pink Tourmaline. Finding foundations and powders light enough for my skin is tricky, even with my poor excuse for a Californian tan. However this stuff is perfectly shaded for me. It's not too pink, or too yellow, or too brown, it's just perfect. it goes on smoothly, covers all those little blemishes and has a very natural finish. Most of the time you can't even tell I'm wearing it. It looks great in all types of light too. I've only been using it for about a week, but so far I love it. My skin is noticably clearer. Plus once you buy a compact, they sell refills so you don't have to keep buying the compact. I really like this. Compacts always make me feel like I'm wasting so much money, here I know I'm not.

As far as lip care, I usually stick with my Highland Mint. You all know how much I love this stuff. However I do use other lip balms. I really like C.O. Bigelow's Lemon Lip Balm which they sell at Bath and BodyWorks. I love the lemony flavour and also how smooth and soft if makes my lips. I tend to get really chapped lips and this helps alot. I also love Rosbud Perfume Co. Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm mostly because it smells devine. I bought mine at Anthropologie, and boy oh boy do I love it.

As for my lip colour I only use two lipsticks. The first is Rimmel's Just So which is really close to my natural lip colour, but gives me an extra pop. This my everyday lipstick (not that I wear it anywhere close to everyday, more like my casual going out lipstick). I also use Revlon's Really Red Matte Lipstick. I do use a liner, also by Revlon, in Red. While I love both the Rimmel and the Revlon lipsticks I'd rather use a more natural brand. Does anyone know of an Organic and natural brand that makes a nice red? Most the ones I've tried have been too brown.

Anyways, Sorry if this seems long but I wanted to let you guys know what stuff is out there that I've tried that works. What cosmetics are you using?