3 Things I'm Liking in August

I don't do a lot of shopping, but I do occasionally find products that I end up liking alot. Lately I've been really enjoying some beauty finds..... so here are 3 products that I'm currently liking:



1)  Stila Stay All Day Foundation & Concealer  I had never tried any foundation from Stila before, but last time I was at Sephora, one of my favorite beauty consultants there did the Color IQ matching on me, and this foundation in 4, Beige was on the list.  She applied some on my face at the store, and the color was a good match.  I'm sometimes weary of trying new foundations because you get them home and they look completely different on your face, but I'm still liking this one.  It comes with concealer on the lid which is handy and goes perfectly with the foundation.  It also comes with a brush, but I haven't actually used it yet.  It has buildable coverage, is oil free,  and it lasted all day on my face. 

Stila Stay All Day Foundation & Concealer

the top concealer part



 

2) benefit the Porefessional  Also got this at Sephora. It's a great face primer that feels nice and creamy and does seem to reduce the appearance of pores on my face. I'm not sure if I'm just weird, but it seems to smell nice as well.



benefit the Porefessional


 

3) Bare Minerals Purely Nourished Moisturizer with RareMinerals ActiveSoil Complex for combination skin (they also make one for normal to dry skin which I have never tried) .  Also bought this at Sephora, but Bare Escentuals has it as well, of course.  I was looking for a non-greasy every night moisturizer and this fits the bill.  It feels great on my skin and is lightweight. It's $28.00 at Sephora, which considering the cost of some of the other moisturizers they have, is a pretty good price.  What I like is some of the things it doesn't have:  no sulfates, no Parabens, no synthetic Fragrances or dyes, no Petrochemicals or Phthalates, no GMOs or Tricolosan.  I don't have to use a lot of this each time, so it last a while.  The only thing, is that it doesn't have sunscreen and not all of my foundations have it, so I use it nightly, but not during the day.  I did see on the Sephora website that there is a bareMinerals Advanced Protection SPF 20 moisturizer available.

(BareMinerals Purely Nourished Moisturizer)

 



Birthday Thoughts -30s

My birthdays seemed to get less exciting after I turned 25.  So when celebrating my birthday recently, instead of thinking about being "another year older,"  I focused on how blessed I was to live to see my 30s since not everyone gets that honor and being thankful that I had people that genuinely care about me, to celebrate with.   Just in time, a friend posted an article from Glamour Magazine's website on Olivia Wilde's Dos and Don't of Turning 30.  I found it pretty fitting!

http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/2013/08/olivia-wilde-s-advice-for-turning-30

I enjoyed her article and think she had some good tips.  One of my favorites was  the "Don't cut your face."  It seems like you can't turn on the radio without a commercial about a plastic surgery clinic coming on telling me about end of summer deals on tummy tucks, breast augmentations, and face lifts.  They all mention their great "payment plans" too.  It's almost a fad now. I understand that there are people who need reconstructive surgery because of accident, illness, or various other reasons  or the lady with back problems that needs a breast reduction, but I would guess that the majority of people getting these procedures, do it for purely aesthetic reasons.  I guess it I just find it un-necessary.  Most people are proportional and uniquely pretty.  A size 2 woman is probably not going to have 38D's naturally, but she's more than likely proportional and looks great the way she is. 

My other favorite thing she mentioned was "Don't feel pressured to pop out kids."  This one hit home. I love kids!  I don't do well with babies mainly because they look fragile and I'm afraid of them getting hurt,  but well-behaved toddlers and older....love!  They're cute and fun, and most by that age can communicate fairly well...so I don't mind spending time with them at all. I love my niece and nephews to the moon and back.  I just don't have any of my own and have no desire to pop any out right now.  I've had people at the grocery store check out line or friends with kids give all kinds of strange responses after they ask how many kids I want to have or when I'm "planning on popping out some kids." I've received gasps and looks of disbelief.  A lady once told me "oh, you'll change your mind soon,"  while another said "your eggs will start going bad soon sweetie, you should have them sooner rather than later." Did I miss the part where it said having them was a requirement?  A friend once asked "who is going to take care of you when you get old if you don't have any kids?"  Ironically she put her mom in a nursing home after her father's death a few years ago. With 7 billion people on the planet, I'm pretty sure the survival of our species is not dependent on my having kids, so I wish some people would stop reacting as such. 

As a recently married woman, I was single for most of my 20s, and I can tell you that most women in their late twenties or early thirties that are single, have enough people pressuring them about finding Mr. Right, getting married, settling down, having a family,  and whatever else they consider a necessary step to being their idea of a "happy woman."  ....That's aside from the usual pressures to be a more responsible person, have things figured out, stay fit or recover her high school figure, and be on the way to a successful career by the time you reach 30.  I guess my questions would be: What happend to people following different paths through life?  Why are people so concerned about the life other people choose to live, and not understanding when it doesn't match their own?  and my big one would be,  Do men feel these same pressure put on them?    

What is a Spangliano?

Literally, it's a made up term I use to describe myself.  My parents are Spanish and Italian....making me a Spangliano, but since that would be a really short blog post, what the title refers to is to what I'm like...an introduction of sorts.

[Right before a lunch date with my husband]

My friends describe me as friendly and bubbly. I consider myself a complex person. Not sure if that's correct word to use. I don't mean it in a intellectually intriguing way. What I mean is that I tend to like various different things, which often have absolutely nothing to do with one another or go together in any way. I'm random maybe??

I work as a water Microbiologist and have always been a science nerd. I enjoy life sciences more so than Chemistry and Physics.  I don't consider myself a fashion connoisseur, but I've never worn a pocket protector either.

[I have no idea why I held my tea box up in this photo]

I like spending my spare time enjoying the company of my family and friends, reading, and catching up on favorite tv shows. I do have a few hobbies and interest, but I sometimes hesitate to mention them because it feels like some people expect you to be an expert at all of them, and I am a guru/expert at none. 

More about me:

• I enjoy paper crafting, and baking...I find them to be very relaxing and it gives me a chance to express some creativity. 
• I tend to be a bit of a make-up junkie- love trying new colors and products. I absolutely love browsing through Sephora.
•  I enjoy wine...usually reds, but can't resist a good Moscato either. A good Sangria is always among my favorite drinks.  
• I like traveling and visiting new places.  Budget and schedule don't allow for as much of that as I'd like, but I enjoy discovering new places,shops, and restaurants locally too. 
• I'm very accident-proned, and have been as long as I can remember.
• Love getting random snail mail or emails from friends.  Seriously! It makes my day!
• I have the ability to fall asleep almost anywhere, anytime I choose. I'm not narcoleptic, just a "gifted sleeper."
• my mom's perfume and the smell of an old book are 2 of my favorite scents in the world.
• Spanish was my first language.
• My favorite color is Red. It's my power color ;)
• I like sudoku puzzles.

                                                       [With my husband, Mike]

I recently married my best-friend, Mike, after a 3-yr relationship. We have 3 "furry kids."  Salma, my 9 y/o American short hair cat that I've had since college; Jack Black, our 2 y/o Vizsla, who I believe will always have a puppy-personality;  and Zena, a Russian blue mix we rescued, who is more Jack's kitty than ours.


[Salma napping]

                      [Jack Black and Zena]


I decided to start a blog mainly to have a outlet to express opinions, ideas,and share thoughts, life happenings, etc.  We'll see what comes up.



Side note: Writing/grammar is not my forte'.  I've never won a spelling bee, but I do consider myself a decent speller. Please do not write/comment to me just for the sole purpose of playing English professor. I'm sure there are people in blog land more grammatically-challenged than me. Maybe check if they would appreciate assistance.