Favorite Beauty Products - Makeup edition

Whether I'm pregnant or not, these are my top three beauty products.  I try to stick to a pretty simple makeup routine because if I make it complicated I'm less likely to do it, but I know I feel so much better if I just put something on, even if it's just mascara.  First up, Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream. This is a pretty new product for me, but I loved it from my first application, and it hasn't disappointed yet!  My OB wants me to wear something with at least SPF 30 on my face (apparently pregnant skin burns more easily) and since my motto is the simpler the better I wanted some sort of multitasking tinted moisturizer, and this is what the kind people at Sephora helped me find.  I tried on a few different kinds, and this has the best shade for my face, plus some of the others don't go up to an SPF 30.  It's heavy enough to provide coverage and make me feel like my skin is flawless, but light enough I don't ever feel like I've got a makeup on, just a nice moisturizer.  Plus it's a major multitasker, moisturizing and protecting and a bunch of other things that are mostly mumbo jumbo to me. 

 My second favorite product is clear mascara.  I always use Maybeline's Great Lash because it's easy to find in the drug store, and it does it's job, which is not on my eye lashes.  No, my friends, I use this product on my eyebrows.  Now, maybe I'm the only one, but I have seriously unruly eyebrows.  They hairs tend to go every which way, so I used to spend time with a nice eyebrow brush trying to get them to all go the same way.  Then, an hour later they'd be all skiwampus again.  (Is skiwampus one of those made up words?) So, then I would take hairspray and spray my eyebrow brush, and it worked in keeping my eybrows in place, but they would be crusty from the hairspray.  So, finally I heard about clear mascara, and I've never looked back.  My eyelashes stay in place all day and I feel more put together.  This is one of my most basic products, I'll use just this and regular mascara on my easiest days.

And finally, NARS eyeshadow base.  Did you know that eyeshadow base even existed?  I didn't for a long, LONG time.  I would get so tired of my eyeshadow either coming off halfway through the day, or just creeping into my creases so it looks like I drew lines on my eyelids.  And I thought, hey, they should make something that takes care of that problem, like an eyeshadow base.  So, I went to Sephora to look for an eyeshadow base, but in my typical Sephora fashion I got so distracted by all the pretty! new! products that I forgot about the eyeshadow base.  Until I got to the checkout line where they were giving it away as their sample!  It was fate!  I took it, I loved it and went back probably the next day to buy the full sized version.  Or maybe I ordered it online because these were the days before we had our very own Sephora in Utah.  You know what?  I wear eyeshadow a lot more now that I have this base.  It works perfectly, it's easy to wash off, but doesn't let my eyeshadow disappear or smudge or smear all day long.  Love it. 

What about you?  What are your live without beauty products?  I'm still looking for the perfect mascara.  One that's not too goopy, but I don't have to put on several coats, but also comes off easily when I wash my face at night.  Suggestions?

Low moment or highlight?

I had an experience this past weekend and I'm not sure if it qualifies as a pregnancy highlight or a pregnancy low moment.  Shawn and I were on our way to my family cabin 90 minutes away to do our annual Memorial Day Weekend cleaning and special this year, to rebuild the deck.  About halfway through the ride I was so uncomfortable that we had to stop just so I could get up and walk around, so we decided to stop at the Walmart.  And since we were there and their garden section looked well stocked we decided to get a watermelon and honeydew plant.  And then we decided we had better get a card for our nephew's high school graduation.  And then. . . and then. . . and then. . . we ended up doing a lot more shopping! Well, even after walking around my maternity jeans just weren't cutting it.  They felt too small (HELP!  I'M EVEN GROWING OUT OF MY MATERNITY CLOTHES!) even though they're the over the belly kind, so I put the panel part under the belly, but that's STILL uncomfortable and cutting into my belly.  So, since we're in walmart, what do I decide to do?  I bought a pair of sweat pants.  Yep, I stopped halfway to my cabin and bought new clothes since the old ones were uncomfortable.  I've decided, there's nothing to be sad about, the new pants are the most comfortable ones in my closet currently, and it's a funny story.  Definitely a pregnancy highlight.

Grateful. . .

Today I am grateful. . .

. . . for a body that is healthy and strong enough to carry a baby.
. . . that it was easy for Shawn and I to get pregnant.  We were so worried that it would be hard, and I'm so grateful it wasn't.
. . . that pregnancy is nine months long, giving me enough time to prepare mentally, physically and spiritually.  (I have 4+ weeks to go, and while I'm prepared spiritually, and almost mentally, the physically part is still a work in progress!)
. . . for a husband who has supported me in every way, has lifted my spirits, taken care of me, loved me, and listened to my concerns both valid and irrational.  In every ways I couldn't do this without him.
. . . for family and friends who have shared in our excitement and joy.
. . . for a generous friend and sister-in-law who have kept me in clothing during my pregnancy, even down to a maternity swim suit.
. . . for modern medicine that allows me to see my baby at 20 weeks and lets me listen to her heartbeat.  That's my favorite part of every appointment, hearing her heartbeat calms any fears I may have.
. . . for a loving Heavenly Father who is trusting me with one of His children to raise on this earth.  I may not have any idea yet what it means to be a mother, and I may not truly understand for years to come, but I am grateful to get the opportunity to find out.

Big, Bold and Beautiful?

I'm well into my third trimester of pregnancy and I'm at the point where I'm starting to grow out of even my maternity clothes.  My favorite black work pants and the comfortable maternity jeans no longer fit.  So, I'm feeling big and with only about 6 weeks to go I don't want to spend money on any new clothes.  I did read on a fashion blog that in your third trimester you should concentrate on accessories.  So, a few weeks ago I took myself off to Target to see if I could find any cheap accessories that would be bold enough to make me feel different yet not so bold I feel like I'm pushing too much, uncomfortable.  And do you know what I came away with?  Well, two pairs of earrings sat in my cart for a while as I did the rest of my shopping and then were returned to the shelf as I thought things like "what will I wear them with?" and "I can't pull these off!" I did keep a cute beaded headband that I love to wear.  And here it is two weeks later, I'm feeling less and less confident in my clothes, and I still don't have any cute accessories.  I just don't know how to do it!  Any advice for how to accessorize?  Should I worry about if things "go" together or just find pieces I love? Where do you buy accessories?  I don't want to spend a lot of money only to discover I'm not bold enough to wear something, so I thought if I start with Target or Forever 21 I can branch out to more expensive pieces when I've built up my confidence.  Help!

Shaving. . . while pregnant

As well as being long, hard and tiring, pregnancy has some truly funny moments.  I'm so much better at complaining about not feeling good than I am at remembering or documenting the funny or good things, so here's a funny pregnancy moment.

Yesterday morning I decided to do the ultimate girly thing and shave my legs.  Under "normal" circumstances shaving legs is not such a big deal, but as I get bigger and as moving gets more difficult, normal things like painting toe nails and shaving legs become "big deals."  I feel frumpy so much I want to feel sexy and beautiful and put together when I can.  And for the first time in YEARS I nicked myself while shaving.  Not one of those little nicks that you forget until you put on lotion and then forget again until the next morning.  This was one of those nicks on the ankle bone that would NOT STOP BLEEDING.  I do my best over and over again to stop the bleeding, but then every time I put my foot on the ground the blood welled up again.  And since my balance now includes balancing a watermelon, two feet on the ground is a necessity.  All I need is a little bandaid so I can keep getting ready.  But unfortunately the bandaids are in the guest bathroom, down the hall, near the living room, where my husband is meeting with two other men from our church.  At this moment I seriously debated whether I could do the naked dash to the guest bath without being seen, and decided no, it was not possible.  The next debate was about a robe vs. fully dressed, and the image of me with my watermelon sized belly dashing down the hall in a robe that may or may not close at the front was not one I wanted to share with these men, so fully dressed it was.Which then turned into the comedy of trying to get dressed while simultaneously trying to NOT get blood on any of my clothes, and balance my ever changing body on one leg.  I'm finally dressed, I've succeeded in not staining the carpet or my clothes (not as much can be said about my towel), I wipe the continuing flow of blood from my ankle and start my waddle to the bathroom when I notice that the living room is dark and my husband is asleep on the couch.  ASLEEP!  After all of this effort to get dressed and I could have waddled out in my birthday suit!  Oh well.  That might just be the last time my legs get shaved until July when I no longer have to worry about the watermelon sized belly.  But I'm definitely lobbying for a pedicure since I can no longer see my toes let alone cut my toe nails. 

My week in photos

Just to be fair these are last week's photos. And I'm testing this out from my phone during lunch, so I'm not sure about the final outcome. 1) Flowers for our yard. 2) Lunch at Nauvoo cafe where this sweet roll screamed my name and was worth every bite. 3) My dog has to sit next to me on the couch when he's being naughty. 4) Not my yard, Temple Square is at it's height if beauty after my lunch with a good friend on Thursday. 5) We found Robin's eggs in our grill Saturday night when we went to grill some burgers. No wonder cats like our back deck lately! 6) Sneak peek of the nursery. The chair arrived on Friday and Saturday's project was hanging the curtains.