New Blog Layout: Deceased!

Ok, so you're reading this and thinking, "this ain't new". But if you read my previous post, I tried to do a three-column template, and added a few new cool widgets and then found out my comments link wasn't working. I tried to edit the code, still couldn't get it to work, then noticed a few other things gone awry. Then after having saved my "current" template over and over again, I didn't know how far to go back until it was ok.

So, "ok" is here: back to the two-column layout I had before, minus all the widgets I had working to begin with! All that work for nothing!

So until I get some of my current widgets fixed, THEN I'll try another template. I was trying to go for the same "Rounders 3" layout but that wasn't working for me somehow, so I may end up with a totally different looking blog when all is said and done.

New Blog Layout

I was getting pretty bored with a two-column layout and saw that there was an XML template already created for the "Rounders-3" I already had. So I changed things around a bit. I lost some of my widgets along the way, even after creating a widget of widgets (LOL -- the word makes me giggle); the code disappeared so I've had to hunt down all the code I used again. So I'll continue personalizing my blog along the way. My header is still messed up but I'm working on it. I really like the flower art in the header (reminds me of the simple things in life -- nature, growth, greenery, beauty), so if I can work with this, I will.

I use Firefox for surfing and blogging, then realized that some/most people are probably still viewing this on IE, so I went to take a peek at what you're looking at. I hope it's not totally messed up for you all -- it appears to be ok for now. My site is best viewed on Firefox, so let me know if you're having trouble viewing certain things.

I included a countdown to the 2010 Winter Olympics next year...if you're planning on attending, hit me up and I'll show you around! Vancouver is great, with lots of places to eat (that's all we ever do with friends, hence the weight!). I'm pretty excited to see the world coming to visit!

I now have Top Commentors, and Popular Posts listed. I'm hoping to add a rotating and/or random Blog Archive as well as whatever else I come across. Perhaps a Table of Contents menu too. Another creative outlet for me!

Enough ramblings...on to better posts!

Weight Watching

So, I took the plunge!


I'm done "whale" watching and now am Weight Watching.

Enter: Weight Watchers Online!

Why, oh, why?

Well, I've been thinking about it for a while (registering, not the losing weight part) and I decided, "to hell with it!". I'm done trying to lose weight on my own. It ain't working! I used to be able to eat what I want, whenever I wanted, and I wouldn't gain weight. Although my metabolism wasn't the best on it's own (I exercised, at times like crazy), I still was able to maintain a 125 lb body.

Not anymore.

After having two kids, I'm so fed up with what I'm working with. I'm not talking about wider hips because of childbirth, but a wider butt that I don't recognize in the mirror. For crying out loud, I was a size 4 and now I'm an 11/12! That's just not acceptable!

TMI but, naked, I have a huge dimple in my right thigh. WTF?

So I signed up with WW Online and for $79 CDN for 3 months, I get:

* a tracking journal, for entering all my foods
* WW database of foods and their points
*a Points calculator to calculate points on foods they don't have recorded
* an online community for support
* a resource of articles
* a recipe builder, to calculate points for my own recipes

and a number of other things I haven't figured out yet. But it's a start...I've got to get moving on this!

First things first: gotta buy a new battery for my scale.

A few weeks ago, I tweeted that I broke my scale. It wouldn't go past 149 lbs! In fact, I didn't break it (phew!) but it just needed a new battery (For you Canadians: the President's Choice "Long Life" 9V battery lasted almost 7 years! pick some up!). Now I can confirm again with ridiculous glee that I am in fact 153 pounds of staggering blubber.


So, I'll be playing around online with my fancy, schmancy new tools to help me on my way to a beautiful, more slimmer me.

Oh, so help me, God!

Photos:

Puerto Madryn 2 by flash_mx
Scale 1 by peter_w

FOTD...for no reason!

I got inspired by the beauty blogs I read to do a FOTD.

Ok, first off, I ain't no makeup artist or anything, so this ain't a work of art by any means. I've always enjoyed makeup and love to try new things. If you've read some of my past posts, I've been shopping a lot online and have recent amassed a sizeable collection of samples and full sizes from several mineral makeup companies. I'm currently awaiting my substantial haul (at least to me, a 20+ item order) from cherryculture.com , which I can't WAIT for, with all the NYX items I bought at 50% off during their last sale.

So, here's my FOTD. My son wanted to get in on the action; he's not wearing anything... LOL! I'm not going anywhere special, but thought I'd give this a shot:

Face:
AWG Oil-Control Powder Primer
AWG Hope 3.8 as concealer
Dreamworld Minerals foundation in Nammu
(Cloud formula)
Dreamworld Minerals cream topping in Peanut Butter Cream
(Clay/Silica formula)
AWG Shimmer Blush in Sensational


Eyes:
UDPP as base
Silk Naturals creme liner in Film Noir
Silk Naturals e/s in Brown Sugar
Cover Girl Lash Blast waterproof mascara in Very Black

Lips:
MAC l/l in Plum
Silk Naturals l/g in Skinny Dip

BTW: Dreamworld Minerals is having a 30% off sale, starting today and ending midnight May 25th. Code is MM30, min $10 order. The sale was also my inspiration to keep trying out Ellamae's samples. :)

Oh, To Be in Hot Water!

We live in a civilized nation, where freedom is a chartered right, crime is relatively controlled, and democracy prevails. The trees grow tall around us, providing us oxygen and playful scenery. Roads are being paved constantly to allow us to venture near or far with ease. Indoor plumbing is a given.

We take for granted many things that we expect to be around when we need them. I'm guilty of this too.

Case in point: my hot water tank blew this weekend, and I REALLY missed having hot water to do simple things like washing my hands.

And being a mom, you REALLY miss having hot water to do your mom-ly things.

Several problems I ran into this weekend:

* washing The Little One's diapers:


If you know me, I'm a closet environmentalist. I recycle everything like crazy -- my mom shocked me one day when she mocked me and called me The Recycle Queen...and my mom doesn't say witty things like that! -- I will walk if I can do without my car, I swore off drinking bottled water, I have an "enviroVisa" that subsidizes local environmental initiatives, and so it was natural to start cloth diapering 4 years ago when The Big Kid was born. You need hot water for the washing machine to do its thing (no, I don't know ANYBODY who hand washes those suckers....ewwww!), and I had to boil 4 huge cauldrons of water to get the load at a lukewarm temperature.


* washing my breastpump parts:

I hate sterilizing, so I don't do it often. Instead I wash and soak with really hot water. Had to boil another cauldron each time I did this.

* washing our dishes:

In retropect, I guess we could've used paper plates, but that would defeat the environmentalist in me. Lucky for me, DH washed all the loads of dishes, again heating up several cauldrons of water.

* no showers:

'nuff said. We stunk this weekend! LOL

My husband is a plumber, but that didn't do any good all weekend, since the wholesaler was closed until Tuesday (yesterday), and it was Victoria Day long weekend. He believes that the tank is still under warranty and managed to get another tank to install yesterday. So now we have LOTS of hot water! I can wash dishes with ease again, re-wash my load of diapers, and most of all, TAKE A SHOWER!



Oh, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner....
Water, water, every where!

Photo credits:
Recycle Symbol by chris27
Water Drops by alexfrance
Great Diaper Hunt Icon
by DiaperDecisions.com

And Why I Prefer House Arrest

Being a mom to a newborn and a preschooler is tough, at least for me. Maybe all moms may feel like I do, given the situation, but I swear it felt like today was one of those days where I must be the only mom battling it out.

My preschooler used to go to daycare full-time, but since being home for maternity leave, I have him with me 24/7. So now I have two at home. It was easier the first time around. It was just me and The Kid and we could, and did, go anywhere we pleased, regardless of the weather. I think I even went across the border on our own. Anyways, this time around, I'm not that lucky. I actually can't be bothered! I've got a preschooler, who, thank God, was recently potty-trained. This means that I need to know where every toilet is, and not only that, it has to be clean (I'll take spotless, please!). Here, I'm already limiting myself. Eliminating parks from the picture (forget port-a-potties!), drastically reduces our fun time. If I can do without peeing by a tree, I will, so parks are out most of the time.

So, the sad life I lead, I stay at home most days, biding my time either feeding them, wiping them, cleaning up after them, and, should I be so selfish, spending some time on my computer. I bitch, complain, that I don't get to do anything but stay home and watch the kids, but only because my house arrest is self-imposed.

Well, today, I thought I should get out of the house. With the 1st of June fast approaching, the date the US Border requirement for all persons crossing to possess a valid Canadian passport takes affect, I realize that the Little One doesn't have his passport yet. The application was filled out a month ago, the photos taken shortly afterwards, so all I need to do is go down to the office and apply. And given the wonderful weather we've been having lately, I guess it should be my duty to go out and enjoy what, hopefully, could be the start of our late Spring.

I evidently also promised The Big Kid that we'd actually go to the park too. Woo hoo! [insert sarcasm here]

The application process at the government office went quite smoothly: we waited in one queue for 3 minutes and another queue for 5 minutes. Painless.

Then I thought we could go home. Nope, he remembered what I promised (they always do) and he insisted that we still go to the park. Not to be outdone by him later when he complains about being hungry and thirsty (I'm not one of those moms who knows how to pack in advance), I suggested to we go into the mall and buy some snacks.

With the Little One still asleep this whole time, we manage to make it into the store and hunt around for the grocery section at Zellers. Of course, it's all the way upstairs, so off we go to find the elevators. I'm running around quickly, grabbing some cookies, crackers, chips (healthy menu, yes, but the chips were his idea and I wasn't in the mood to fight it), and some juice that didn't say "simulated flavours" (SOMETHING has to be healthy here).

Then the crying begins.

I haven't even gotten all the items yet. The stroller awning was getting heavier with each added item; should it collapse and injure the baby within, I had to find a basket to toss things in.

Wail, wail.

Meanwhile, the Big Kid keeps dropping his bags of chips (yes, two bags...ain't gonna pass on a multiples deal!) and I swear, I wasn't going to buy crumbs, so I'm chasing him down, telling him to be careful.

Of course, there are no cashiers on the top floor, so I had to head downstairs again.

While at the cashier, arguing over the price of the scanned items (it's the principle, okay, not the money!), a growing crowd, yes, crowd of women were approaching the stroller.

- oh, he must be hungry!
- oh, he's so cute! what a darling!
- poor dear, now, now, no crying!
- is this your brother? how sweet!
- he's not stopping...oh, poor thing!

Back away from the baby! At least this is what I would've said if I wasn't vehemently arguing with a second cashier about my totalled receipt. I would've stood my ground and demanded some money refunded, but as the voices around me grew louder, the pool of sweat accumulated on my forehead and brow, my body temperature rising with each second, and I was burning up like crazy.

Just never mind! I said and grabbed my receipt, bags and the kids and busted out of there.

Out in the sun, the heat melting my makeup even more, I took a breath, closed my eyes, and gulped. What a mad house!

We went back to the car, and with our appetites getting the best of us, we cracked open the crackers, chips, cookies and juice. I nursed the Little One in the driver's seat while I recooperated from the craziness while the Big Kid was content with his Cool Ranch Doritos, sipping lukewarm apple juice. I gorged on Cracked-Black-Pepper-with-Olive-Oil Triscuits (yum..just like a chip..you should try it!).

He didn't forget about the park.

So we went there afterwards for an hour. He met some new friends, which is why we stayed so long. Hubby met us there, on his way home from work: oh, sweet surrender!

The Big Kid didn't even have to pee, even after all that juice.

I was grateful to get home....finally. I got my fill today, experienced the Outside and so I think I'll do this again....oh, next year. Lock the door, close the blinds...I'm staying home for a while.

This year is going to be a long one.

Photo credits:
Handcuffs by foxuman
Frustrated by John De Boer
(both royalty-free)

Another Insomniac Moment

I haven't posted a puzzle in a while.

Here's another one to keep you up late at night!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope this day brought peace and love to all moms out there. For all that they do for us, sacrificed for us, so that we, too, would in turn be as great a mother for our own kids. This is my hope, that I become as good a mother, if not better, as my own mom.

We shouldn't need one day to celebrate mothers: as enduring as their love is, celebrations should take place daily. I still have to be reminded of this, even after I've become a mom myself.

I hope my kids know how much I love being their mom, even though I don't show it every second. My life isn't complete without my kids; hard to imagine life before they came along. I understand, now, how hard it is to be a mom, but it's the best job out there.

So, thanks, Mom, for being you. You are the source of love and meaning and direction in my life and in my family. You've taught me many things, and I am still learning, yet I have not learned enough. Your little ways, nuances, bring a smile to my face, even though I seem to laugh at the things you do, I laugh with love. You are special, one-of-a-kind. No one can replace you.

I'm glad you're mine.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Photo by Craig Jewell
(royalty free)

Do You Tweet?

Yes, I succumbed.

Why do I tweet? Well, I didn't necessarily feel that I wanted the world to know what I was doing every second of the day, but when I found out you can follow celebrities and what THEY were doing each day, that clinched it.

The first person I started to follow was Deborah Gibson, Ms. Debbie Gibson, herself. She was my '80s icon and, in some sense, still is. She will always bring me back to Da Dayz when life was simpler, filled with anonymous crushes, new loves, a black and white world. Ah, so many of her songs bring me special memories. Learning to play on my piano all her songs from her Electric Youth album. Humming Lost In Your Eyes down my high school hallways. Playing and rewinding (yes, I had her CASSETTE single!) One Hand, One Heart over and over and over again on my clunky, yellow Sony Sports Walkman (remember those?)

inside jacket pic from
Debbie Gibson's 1990 album
Anything is Possible

And so, now, I get to see what she's up to. She's recording new songs now, and doing some benefit concerts. She was even in Montreal recently. And it's really her...I recognize her use of language in her tweets (I own an autobiography she wrote early in her career). I've even sent her a couple of Direct Messages, which you can totally do with anyone on Twitter. She will read them (imagine that!), but, granted, she will probably never, ever, Direct Message me back, but maybe, she might Follow me? You never know...

Speaking of Follow-ing. If you don't get the idea of Twitter, you can post very short messages (called Tweets) about what you're up to, about anything, and you can have Followers who subscribe to these Tweets, so they get updated to what you're doing throughout the day. This morning, I had 4 Followers: 3 cousins and a fellow beauty blogger whose blog I frequent. By noon, my Following had grown to 10, the additional six Followers being strangers to me. Strangers. They don't know me, nor do I know them. But, funny, they want to follow my tweets.

Ok, granted, a couple of them WERE marketing a product, but they had a large following as well, so they weren't that creepy (one lady sells cakes and gifts, I think, while the other is marketing a really cool toddler keyboard called myPC I'm actually interested in). One person, I just started following her tweet, so she started following mine. The other 3 people...I have no idea if they're selling anything, but their tweets are kinda cryptic, so how they are interested in what I have to say when I can't say the same about me for them is beyond me.

So, there you have it. I tweet. Not often, just in bouts, but I tweet. It's faster than updating my Facebook status. You can check out my recent tweets along the sidebar here in this blog (titled At This Moment...) so you don't have to join Twitter to see what I've been up to between blog posts. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be in contact with a few celebrities out there too.

Tweet, tweet, Deborah....tweet, tweet!!!

The Take-Your-Picture-Right-Now Tag!

Rules: Take a picture of yourself RIGHT now. No primping or preparing. Just snap a picture. Load the picture onto your blog. Tag some people to play

Oh, God. It's almost midnight and everyone is asleep in the house. I just got out of my son's room after lying in his bed, reading us a couple of books.

You tag me now, Ida?!?

I actually took a few more pictures to see if I can "cheat", sorta, in getting a better NOW pic, but apparently I photograph worse when actually preparing for a shot, so here's the first shot I took:



My hair is atrocious, and my zit isn't concealed (hence the side shot!). At least I smiled for you all!

Who do I tag next? Hmmm.....

IsaLeiese - Simplicity of My Love

KillaCam - Eclectic Beauty

nikkiz - Not Just Minerals

Janice - Injanuity

Lei - Lei's Kitchen

Wanna Win Something Too?

Check out these terrific prizes!

1st Prize: a Limited Edition Shu Uemura "Mika (heart) Shu" Portable Brush Set, a Mika Ninagawa collaboration.


2nd Prize: Jurlique Maintain Balance Introductory Set


3rd Prize: Shu Uemura lipstick holder


How do you win? Click HERE to find out! Good luck!

Images courtesy of Beauty Writer

My 2nd Blog Giveaway Win

Shortly after winning my first blog giveaway with B|u3, I entered another blog giveaway, this time on Jaclyn's website, J. Rose Online, and I was one of the seven winners!

Anyways, I just received my prize the other day. I won the mascara guard and the false eyelash applicator, valued at $11. Here's the link to the announcement Jaclyn made on her website:

J.Rose Online Giveaway Winners

Here you'll even see a video of her pulling my name out of the box.


This is a pretty cool win, as I don't own either of these items. They're so cute: everything's written in Japanese. :)

I have recently found a new love for mascara and was even considering buying a mascara guard for myself, but since I'm pretty slow in applying my makeup (to which my hubby can attest to), I've been getting much better in reducing my mascara mishaps. But perhaps with this guard I'll do a better job in getting ALL my lashes coated, create less of a mess everywhere else, and speed things up a bit too.

As for the eyelash applicator, I don't own any falsies but I will, sometime. I used to think that only celebrities, drag queens and porn stars kept these in their arsenal (given the extravagant versions I've only seen, you'd forgive me for the drag queen/porn star comment). I'm not one to want to draw attention to myself, but the more beauty blogs I read, the more intrigued I am. Like clothing, there are a variety of styles of falsies available, from natural to really out-there, and what's so bad about a my-eyes-but-better look? So, the applicator may come in handy down the road, when I get the courage -- and the occasion -- to don some extra lashes, if it'll help me from looking like Tammy Faye Bakker.

Image courtesy of amazon.com

So, thanks, Jaclyn, for having a giveaway! Although I didn't win some of the other cool prizes (OPI polishes, MAC items, Shisem lashes), I'm pretty happy with these items. I can't wait to put these to use!

Compounding...On The Road

You never know when you're going to learn about something new. Last week, as I was going around doing my daily routine, I did just that.

My Little One has had a case of eczema, and over the past month since reporting it my doctor, it has gotten worse. The 1% hydrocortisone that was prescribed not only didn't work, my Little One now has white, bleached areas on his torso due to the medication. Bleached! I know he's fair-skinned (takes after his Daddy) but he's even MORE white in those areas. Like white leopard spots. Apparently, the doctor says, it wasn't strong enough. Whaaat? Seemed pretty darn strong to me, AND didn't work. Poor guy still had red welts, along with discoloured bleach spots. Not a good way to start Life, hey, Kid?

So we were prescribed another stronger medication of 0.5% Betaderm cream in a 2:1:1 concoction with Vaseline creamy and Glaxal Base cream.

Ever wonder how pharmacies can just whip out prescriptions in their black-hole abyss of shelves full of medications? Ever wonder how they manage to always have everything in stock? Don't wonder....they don't always. I found this out the hard way.

I have a Shoppers Drug Mart literally just behind my house. It's the best thing ever. If I need anything, even a loaf of bread, they've got it. But being the economical person I am, I thought I'd make a trip to Superstore and save a few bucks on the prescription. So I drop it off at 11:45 am and was told it would take 45 minutes to fill. Yikes....so NOT waiting for that, so I headed home.

(click to cue music)

I gave them some time to fill the prescription and returned at 1pm.

"Oh, we paged you and wanted to say we don't have the Vaseline Creamy required for the prescription, so it's not done yet". Did you ever think of calling me on the phone?

"I really need that prescription..."

"Ok, well, give me 5-10 minutes" WTF?....Couldn't you have taken that long to begin with?

So I hang out for 10 minutes, actually buying a few other stuff I needed. When I returned to the pharmacy counter...

"So, we made it using regular Vaseline. But we're waiting for your doctor to phone us back and ok it for us. You can wait or go home and come back once we've okayed this. Or you can take your prescription elsewhere."

Whaaaat?

"No, I can't go home again, I'll wait a few minutes."

So I sat down at a patio set display, looking pretty forlorn, and got to thinking...no, why should I wait for my doctor to call? Good luck with that....I never get a phone call back from her right away, only after a few hours. And to approve a prescription that was modified? If she says Vaseline Creamy , dammit, I should get Vaseline Creamy! Only the best for my baby!

I stomped right back to the counter and asked for my prescription back. The Shoppers Drug Mart by my house is SURE to have this.

(cue music again)

I screech over there in my car and ask the pharmacy assistant there if they have all the ingredients for my prescription recipe. Hmm, they said, we have the creamy vaseline but not the Glaxal cream.

Whaaat?

EVERY pharmacy has to have Glaxal....it's the non-medicinal, hypoallogenic cream that makes up almost all prescription creams. It's like the basis of all pharmaceutical lotions. They don't have this? Is this not Shoppers DRUG Mart? I just bought a huge jug of this at Superstore....perhaps I can aliquot it out for them.



They suggested I go to the Pharmasave not too far away, as they are a compounding pharmacy and will definitely be able to make anything there. Really? Anything? Aren't all pharmacies supposed to be able to do that anyways? They gave me the address and telephone number, and off I was....on the road again, silently cursing Willie Nelson for creating that joyous Road Trip tune. I wasn't whistling this time.

(danggit...different song please...)

I finally got there and they said the prescription would be ready in 15 minutes. No questions asked! No denying their ability to fill it. And they offered to delivery it FOR FREE because I couldn't wait 15 minutes (my babysitting services was expiring, with all this driving around). I can pay upon delivery. What service!

I noticed a sign by the till, thanking me for coming to a Compounding Pharmacy. So there's such a thing? There are not too many things that stump me suddenly. I had to research this when I got home.

(sigh)

A compounding pharmacy (CP) is a pharmacy that specializes in mixing raw ingredients. Apparently 99% of prescriptions are commercial drugs already made by drug companies. Among other things, a CP is great if you:

* can't take large pills. They can create smaller-dosage pills for easier swallowing or even make that in a liquid form, or, yikes, as suppositories!

* can add flavouring to medications if you absolutely can't stand the taste of what you're taking, or your kid will only take bubble gum flavours :) --- Obviously, not on the suppositories!

* remove a non-essential ingredient in medication that you are allergic to like gluten or dyes

* create a drug at a lower strength not readily available (like for infants, in my case)

What a fantastic concept! I guess most pharmacies just count pills or something and don't actually do much mixing (no offence to my pharmacist friends). I guess those at compounding pharmacies are true alchemists, modern day mad scientists, concocting anything needed for ultimate patient care.

I was so impressed with this concept, and the service I got, that I will probably be dropping a few more prescriptions there. You should look into finding one near you...it could save you a trip or two in the future!

Another Monday

It's another Monday, folks, and I've decided that I'm going to make this day work for me, not the other way around.

It hasn't been spectacular, but I've had worse.

The Little One only spit up once this morning and is actually only squawking a little bit in his baby swing. The Bigger One is busy watching Dora and singing to the Little One, much to his chagrin. I played a little Mr. Potato Head, and served breakfast. The only mishap I have to say I had was spilling a little milk making my morning coffee. I found another roll of paper towels in the house (yes!) and hubby took out the garbage this morning before going to work. Not a bad start.

Hopefully, with any luck, it'll end on a good note....but by saying so, I know I'm setting myself up with something.

Bring it, Monday!

Another Adorned With Grace Haul

After playing around with AWG blushes, last month I decided to purchase a 6-pack and grab a couple of GWPs (gift-with-purchase). They came in yesterday!

I love Franchesca's blushes! I was thinking of getting all of her shimmer blushes but thought I couldn't let her matte blushes get away too. And I also had to show SOME restraint, so I purchased a 6-pack instead of the also limited 8- and 10-pack of blushes.

I spent at least $29 so my free GWP was a FS of Illuminated blush. I forgot to swatch it, but it's a neutral, pale golden blush, that can be used to highlight cheekbones or as an overall glow.






Swatches are dry, with no primer, taken in natural sunlight.

Sensational and Ardent are part of the Shimmer Blush collection while the others are not, but the shimmer is still subtle for any-time use.

Sensational would be my neutral shimmer blush, Serene if I wanted a more matte look. Ardent is a great shimmer if I want a bit more colour. I'd use Sultry for evening or if I wanted a bronze just-in-the-sun look. Curious and Sassy are my mauve and pink blushes, Curious being a bit more muted to Sassy's pink. I love Curious, but after trying Sassy out today, it's winning my heart too.

I also bought the Blog Special brush for $5.99. It's a long-handled duo fiber brush similar to the Ingenue Petite Duo Fiber Franchesca carries (but I bought mine at Silk Naturals - it's the same brush). She's testing it out to see if she'll start selling this item in the future. Here's my quick visual comparison:




The new brush is obviously longer, and has a tapered matte black handle and black ferrule. It's almost as long as my MAC 129 blush brush, just 1/2 head shy of its full-length. Sorry for the annoying pink bristles...like I said, I tried out Sassy this morning. I don't know if it's because I just washed my Ingenue brush (I used my dollar store brush guard dupe to dry -- thanks, Janice!), but it appears to have a smaller head. This new brush also shed like crazy when I washed it, so hopefully it won't anymore.

Overall, I like the brush. It feels good in my hand, though I think I'll have to get used to it. The shortness of the Ingenue brush is nice when applying my mineral blushes, but it looks cheaply made (well, it WAS cheaper!). The new brush looks more attractive, though for the length of the handle, it's almost like you should be working with a larger, denser brush. It's easier to find amongst my brushes because it's taller. I'm glad I bought the brush, because it works similar to the Ingenue (which I love!) but I don't know if I would shell out extra money for it (it will probably retail between $7-8) unless I specifically want a longer handled brush. The little-bit of extra denseness you get with the new brush may be worth more to some.

I also bought myself two empty 30g sifter jars, large enough to swirl my brush in. I have my Earthen Glow mineral foundations in Helena and Soon which I have to mix each time, and this will definitely save me some time.

Along with 4 more blush samples, Radiant, Vibrant, Passionate and Felicity (I told you, I love her blushes!), I got 3 free eyeshadow samples in Thoughtful, Optimistic, and Resolute. Swatches to follow in another post.

With every purchase, buyers were given a special Earth Day bamboo brush that has interchangeable heads.

Image courtesy of definingtruebeauty.blogspot.com

And I received a lovely surprise too...a free tube of Luscious Lip Balm, AWG's vegan, organic lip balm. I love lip balms more than blushes, any day!

Stay beautiful!

Swine Flu

No, I don't have it, nor know anyone who does.

But at the risk of being insensitive, I thought I'd post a cute little Winnie-The-Pooh that tickled me pink. If you've read Winnie-The-Pooh stories before, you'll laugh at this. If you don't, I apologize.

I guess I've read too many children's books to not find this funny. Especially those like Winnie-The-Pooh, where everything is always so cheery.

Sent to me by a cousin via email, I make no proprietary claims on it.

Click and enjoy!