Birchbox April 2013 - Women's Health Box

I was ready to bash this month's box, really I was. I find that getting foil sample packets a bit of a disappointment, and I did not get the full sized chubby lip crayon that I was seeing on other people's blogs.  The subscription envy was strong this month.

Let's take a peek at the contents shall we?

Caudalie's Huile Divine - which is their response to the Josie Maran Argan oil phenom
Nexxus Anti Aging Hair serum
Strivectin anti wrinkle eye cream
YoungBlood's Anti Shine Mattifier
3 Weleda Body lotion samples

I hate to admit it but I'm actually going to use most of these samples (save for the hair serum one which sounds kind of hokey to me)

The Caudalie oil smells fantastic even if it is not exactly earth shattering and transformative on my hair. I'll give the YoungBlood mattifier a go in my T zone to see if it can keep my foundation from sliding right off my face after a few hours.  And who would say no to something that might actually help my fine lines and wrinkles.

Not me baby, not me.

So even if the Birchbox this month didn't blow my socks off, it was solid.   And I can deal with solid.

You can't outrun a bad diet

I've been fat a long time, and unhealthy for even longer than that. At my heaviest I weighed 188lbs, and on a 5'2 frame there is no way to shake it where the word FAT did not come out. I stopped shopping in department stores because having to go into the fat ladies section and trying stuff on was just demoralizing. I avoided photos, I ignored my expanding waistline as much as my huffing and puffing at the smallest exertion.

About a year ago my doctor gave me the Come To Jesus talk about my health and future. I was staring down the barrel of Type II diabetes if I did not get my shit together, and my weight under control.
It's kind of amazing how much denial one can be in until someone rubs your nose into your own pile of crap and tells you your choices are killing you.

So I started exercising, a lot. I lost 10lbs and two dress sizes and put on lots of lean muscle over the course of 6 months using P90X and TurboFire from BeachBody. I still feel TurboFire is my soulmate workout, and would recommend both programs whole heartedly.

It took me that long however to realize that you can't outrun (literally and figuratively) a bad diet. Exercise cannot cancel out the crappy food you put into your mouth and those choices are what end up sabotaging your results.

So in October I started a program called Take Shape For Life, which is a diet plan based on Medifast food with an awesome health coach (Shawna Barboni shawnaATbarboniDOTorg) who helps motivate you along the way.

I was and still am conflicted about these kind of diets where you severely restrict your calorie intake using prepackaged food and drop weight really quickly.  I'd done Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers and SlimFast in the past, and nothing was able to keep the weight off.  I always felt these kind of plans were essentially cheating your way to a slimmer body and didn't do anything for your cardio health at all.  In three months I dropped an additional very stubborn 15lbs and another dress size. I wasn't the model Medifast client and I didn't have an enormous amount of weight I wanted to drop. I cheated here and there and I continued to exercise vigorously.

What my time on TSFL taught me is that there is no one solution. You cannot approach it as you would a short term diet, and all your choices, make a difference. My short stint on Medifast helped me look at food as fuel, and use it as a tool to a greater goal. The quick 15 lbs helped to further motivate me and challenge me to take my fitness to another level by starting to run regularly.

My TSFL coach lost over 100lbs, so you can see that it is darn effective.

I still use some of my leftover Medifast meals to help control my eating choices during the week but I'm in a cardio focus these days. It is nice to have the options nearby when I am tempted by my kids' snacks or the drive thru.

I don't feel like I've been cheating anymore by using TSFL to help drop some weight. It has motivated me to become even more active, to push myself farther than I thought I could go, but it isn't the only weapon in my arsenal either.

I'm probably about 15 lbs from my dream body, and currently at my "goal" weight as far as dieting is concerned. I'm going to work on my endurance, muscle tone and overall strength and I figure the rest will be along shortly.

MOVE more, EAT better, BE BETTER.

Double chin city - 2006?

March 2013

St. Patty's Day 10K

Step out of your comfort zone and rock a bright lip for Spring

The weather is warming up, and nothing says sunny longer days to me like a bright lip color.  I used to see other women rock a bright lip stick and think that would never work on me.  Too bold.  Too attention whoring.  Too much.

Lemme tell you, I trained myself to wear bolder lip colors, and now that I have conditioned myself to reach for them regularly, the mental perk I can get from a gorgeous Vivid Rose or a Classic Red lip is fantastic.  Think Marilyn Monroe, Dita Von Teese, Scarlett Johanssen or Gwen Stefani.

The iconic bold lip color is a classic beauty staple that ANYONE can pull off.  Even you Miss Shy Wallflower lady who only wears plain chapstick.   And come on, what guy has EVER thought too himself, wow that is a fabulous nude lipcolor you are wearing.  None.  No one.  Seriously.  There was a scientific study done somewhere.  OK maybe not, but a man will notice a bold lip 100x over a neutral or nude color any day.

Cool toned brights (think more blueish undertone and   less orangey) will make your teeth look whiter and look great on just about any skin tone.  A great one that I really like is the Vivid Rose from Maybelline's Vivids collection.

Anytime you are going with a bold lip, the rest of your makeup should be minimal.  So, neutral eyes and soft cheeks.  The statement lip should be the only thing making a statement.

Step 1 - Pick out a color that you love how it looks in the tube.  Ignore the voice that says "Oh my GOD YOU HUSSY".  Trust me, the bitch don't know what she's talking about.

Vivid Rose with natural face

Step 2 - Wear it as a stain.  This is the most forgiving sheerest application.  Take the lip stick and tap it against your top lip and transfer to the top lip.  This isn't a smear or swipe.  Just tap it on lightly, then rub your lips together to transfer the color.   You can build the color up bit by bit until you get to where you start to feel a bit awkward about wearing a bright color.  Remember, we are pushing boundaries here.  Then go out and run your errands, don't look at your lips too much, and don't think about it.  That wasn't so bad was it?

Sheered out lipcolor as a stain

Step 3 - Wear it as a lipstick.  Swipe it on, blot, and don't let yourself get talked out of it.  Keep in on the whole day, reapply after eating or drinking.  Smile when people compliment your lip color, because they will.

Rinse, repeat, be fabulous.

Step out of your comfort zone,  you can do it.

NOTD: Springtime quick art

Revlon Colorstay in Marmalade, Kiss Nail art polish in White and Zoya Pixie Dust in Vespa on the accent

TUTORIAL: Brows 101

Brows can really add polish to your makeup, and frame your eyes.  Mine are naturally sparse and uneven, so filling them in is a must for me.  Here you can see what a difference a few minutes makes by shaping and doing your brows.  Forget stencils, they are not shaped to the perfect brow for your face shape and can be awkward to work with.

Right side brow filled in and shaped

When picking a brow pencil or a brow powder, go a couple shades lighter than your natural hair color. As you can see here, my hair is black but my brow powder and pencil are a gray/slate color.  The lighter shade will look less harsh on your face then extremely dark brows.  I prefer to use both a pencil and a powder together.  The pencil is used to fill in the gaps and the brow powder is used over the entire brow to darken it slightly.  The spoolie brush is very important to use after applying pencil or powder to brush the color out and blend it in so it looks more natural and remove any stroke marks.

Spoolie brush, brow pencil, angled brush, brow powder

Before you start, map out your brow shape.  Here I am just using the end of my spoolie brush and showing you where your brow should start and end, and where the highest part of the arch should be.  When you pluck your own brows, keep in mind that thinner brows make you look OLDER.  Slightly fuller brows are more youthful so be sparing in your plucking, just pluck the stray hairs that are outside of your natural brow line and avoid overplucking and drawing them back in.  It's not flattering, trust me.

Your brow should start at the line that is matched up with the outside tip of your nose, it should end on the same angle as the outside corner of your eye, and the arch should be highest at the angle that goes through your pupil from the edge of your nose.  You can mark these points with a bit if brow pencil and wipe away the mark when you are done if it helps.

Before you start filling in your brows, use the spoolie or brow brush to brush your brow hairs both upward and downward, looking to see which way looks best for your brow shape.  You don't want to pluck away everything before you do this, one of those stray hairs may just need to be combed into the right shape!  Avoid over plucking from above your brow, the natural arch usually is the best look, just clean up underneath and keep things fuller toward the inner corner with a gentle taper to a thinner outer corner.

Using your brow pencil, and light short strokes, fill in any sparse areas that you need, then use the angled brush and brow powder to lightly darken up your entire brow.

Use the spoolie again to brush through the brow to blend in the color so it looks natural.

An optional last step is to use a clear mascara to brush through your brows and keep them in place.  This may be a good idea if your brows are particularly thick and unruly but I usually skip this step.

Instant volumizer for fine, flat hair

My hair is flat.  Like a pancake.  Getting any sort of volume into it is an ordeal and it can't hold a curl if my life depended on it.  I don't like teasing my hair because trying to run my fingers through it afterwards makes me think it's like a rats nest and who wants that on their head.

I had been hearing about new dry shampoo sprays coming on the market lately but avoided them because of the dreaded grey cast they often leave on people with very dark hair.  I also don't like the idea of going more than a day or two without washing my hair with a liquid shampoo.  I don't trust a dry shampoo to do much more than fragrance my hair.  

Since my hair can get oily and I work out regularly, the idea of using a dry shampoo after a particularly sweat session just icks me out.  That being said I am mostly going to review the volumizing aspects of this product.

You spray it into your roots and let it sit for a few minutes, then work it into your scalp with your fingertips.  I used it on slightly limp hair that hadn't been washed in a day and a half.  After the first couple of sprays it leaves a white powder on your hair but disappears into your scalp as you work it in and it absorbs the oil.  The scent is pretty strong with a vaguely floral tone to it, not unpleasant but if you are sensitive to perfumes this might not work for you.  

After working it into my hair really well,  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my locks were definitely fuller. I'd say as much volume as if I had teased the under layer with a comb, without the damage to my hair.  It also did a good job of both freshening my hair as well as absorbing the oils and perked up my hairdo.

I probably would not recommend this as a full time shampoo because I could see the powder building up on your scalp and that just sounds foul.  I wouldn't use it after a workout unless you REALLY had to be somewhere fast because  not sure it could completely absorb all the sweat in your hair.

Overall a pretty good product that fits into a niche and is worth a try.

DIY: No Sew Two hour TuTu

And now for something a little different.  I am running a 5K this Saturday and for fun I figured I'd wear something kind of colorful and bright.  It's the Run or Dye 5K where they spray you with washable color during the course so I'll be crazy looking at the end anyhow. I had wanted to wear a tutu for my last 5K but didn't get a chance to make one so I was determined to follow thru for this run.  After looking online I found some instructions on how to easily make a tutu, no sewing required!

This would be a great project for little girl's dress up, fairy and princess tutus are all the rage these days I hear.

Required Supplies:

• tulle in whatever colors you like - 8 yds for a grown up, 4-5 for a little girl 
• ribbon or elastic - enough to wrap around the waist and tie a knot
• scissors or a rotary cutter (this is way faster than scissors)

Step 1:  Measure out your ribbon or elastic by wrapping it around the waist of the person you are making it for and mark the inside of the ribbon where it meets so you know how much length the tulle will have to cover

Step 2:  Cut the tulle into strips about 3" wide and half the width of your tulle (about 24").  The quickest way to do this is to fold the piece of tulle in half, then in half again, and cut this folded fabric into 3" strips.  Then unfold the tulle to the half folded mark and cut at that fold.  A rotary cutter makes this part super fast but if you don't have one, scissors work too.  The pieces do not have to be perfectly 3" wide, and they don't have to be even.  Do not spend too much time OCD'ing on how even your cuts are.  Move on.

Step 3:  Once your tulle is cut, take several strips of the tulle and lay it across your palm.  The more strips you use, the more the tutu will puff outwards at the sides, the fewer you use, the more droopy it will be.  I found that using 6-8 strips each time worked the best for the tulle I was using.

Step 4:  Starting at one mark on the ribbon, fold your strips in half and lay it over the ribbon or elastic, reach your fingers through the loop and pull the ends through to form a knot over your ribbon.  Pull it tight and smooth out the tulle.  Continue while alternating colors as you like until your reach the other mark on the ribbon and the length you need is covered.

Step 5:  Wear your tutu and be fabulous.