guest post {makeup 101 - lipstick finishes}

Makeup 101- Lipstick Finishes (Guest Post by Kindly Unspoken)

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be guest posting for Gina today! I’m Cara and I blog over at Kindly Unspoken. My posts mostly revolve around makeup and fashion, but I also have a serious sweet tooth and a love for baking, so I often share my favorite recipes as well. In addition to blogging, I work full time as a marketing professional, I’ve been a police wife for 7 years now, and I’m a mother of two adorable and rambunctious boys, ages 4 and 6. If you want to learn more about me and my blog, please drop in and say hello!

Makeup 101- Lipstick Finishes

As a lipstick lover, wearing lipstick seriously comes as second nature to me now- but I’m often reminded that not everyone is as familiar with all the different types and finishes, or fully comfortable in knowing how to wear them. So today, I’m going to be talking about the five main types of lip products out there, tips on application, and my favorite drugstore products of each. Let’s Get Started!

Lip-gloss (Sheer)- Sheer Lip-gloss of course is sheer in color, but adds a nice sheen and highlights the natural color of the lips. This is a great product for beginners and typically comes with a long tip wand or tube for easy application. This product can be worn alone or applied over lipstick finishes. I recommend this one by Wet n’ Wild for the perfect, glossy sheen.

Lip-gloss (Color Formula) - Color Lip-gloss, on the other hand, comes in a variety of shades and again adds a nice sheen to the lips while adding gorgeous color to the lips. This product is still fairly forgiving in the application process, and you can easily wipe off mess-ups if you “color outside the line”. NYX carries the absolute best butter glosses that look so gorgeous on the lips. My favorite is the shade cotton candy. 

Creamy/Satin Lipstick (Non- Matte) - Non-Matte Lipsticks (my favorite) are soft on the lips and super easy to wear. Unlike matte lipsticks, these lipsticks have a silky, sometimes even glossy, finish. These lipsticks come in a wide variety of color, and pair nicely with a full face of makeup. Unless you are working with a super dark shade, lip liner isn’t necessary when wearing this type of lipstick. If looking to add more sheen, lip-gloss (sheer or color) can be added to enhance the overall lip look, and make lips appear fuller. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks are my favorite in this category, as they have such a soft, velvety texture on the lips.

Matte Lipstick- If you’re looking for a more intense, full coverage lipstick, matte lipsticks are the thing for you. These lipsticks are shine-free and give a rich color payoff that is long-lasting. Matte lipsticks come in a variety of shades, and you will often find more intense, bold shades in matte lipsticks. These lipsticks are versatile enough that both risk takers and beginners will be able to find the perfect shade. While a fairly easy application, lips do need to be well-moisturized before applying a matte finish. In my opinion, Jordana carries the best selection of matte lipsticks, and at under $2 each, who can argue with that?

Lip Stain- Lastly, lip stains are the most long-wearing formula of all mentioned and “stain” your lips with an intense pigmentation of color. Typically, these products come in packaging similar to lip-glosses, and are applied with a precise applicator wand. The product will first appear as glossy and wet on the lips, but within seconds will dry to a matte finish. As with matte lipsticks, lips need to be well moisturized when wearing lip stains, otherwise any bit of dryness on the lips will show through. Smooch Proof Liquid Lip Stain by NYC Cosmetics is the best of the best in the drugstore market. This stuff will last ALL day and night- seriously, I love it!

For comparison purposes, here’s a shot of all the products (from bottom to top: sheer gloss, color gloss, satin lipstick, matte lipstick, lip stain)

So there you have it- the five main lipstick finishes! I hope this post was helpful in understanding the differences between each, and I hope if you haven’t already that you’ll give these products a try! I promise you, there’s the perfect lipstick out there for each of you just waiting to be found! ;) 

Let me know what your favorite lipstick finish is in the comments, and be sure and give my page a visit to check out Gina’s guest post on my blog today!

Have a great Wednesday!-Cara

guest post: how to practice gratitude

Hi everyone! It is my absolute pleasure to feature Abigail from Acreage of Grace on the blog today. She is a fellow Nebraskan and small town gal, and someone I have enjoyed getting to know through the wonderful world of blogging. I know so many of us have a list of blogs that we frequent… Acreage of Grace is one of those for me! 

How to Practice Gratitude In Order to Truly Appreciate Blogging

I very recently started a blog (May 10) and I have read so many “How To’s” about gaining success as a blogger.  How to reach 1,000 Followers on Instagram, How to Utilize Pinterest to Increase Pageviews, How to Use Automated Social Media Apps To Increase “Interaction” with Followers. I appreciate EVERY SINGLE ONE of these articles and continue to seek guidance and tools to help me be successful. I would not say my blog is a “success story” just yet, but I am proud of the articles I write and the social media presence that I have. So here is my “How To” article.

Maintaining a blog is hard work people! Deciding to start a blog and then actually DOING IT was a 3-5 year process for me. Which is saying something because I usually just go at things on a whim and see what happens. But for me, my writing is very personal, so it took a lot of encouragement from my friends and family as well as a total lifestyle change for my family before I was comfortable following through on this dream (click HERE to learn more about that process).

“I can write,” I thought. “I love to take pictures.” “I can totally start a blog.” Though it is helpful to enjoy writing and taking photos, blogging is SO much more than that. I have a degree in Public Relations/Advertising and have worked my entire professional career to promote other companies and products. But the amount of promotion I have done for my blog over the last two months has seemed much more time consuming and so much more foreign than what I am used to. Being a “newbie” blogger, there is so much I still don’t know. Because of this I have made some mistakes along the way (I posted a #FollowFriday on a Thursday….embarrassing).

One of my blogging mentors Chrystie V. over at www.livingfornaptime.com lives by the 80/20 rule. You should spend 20% of your time creating content for your blog and 80% of your time promoting it. I am a full-time stay at home mama and a majorly part-time blogger. Finding time to write and promote has taken a great deal of planning on my end and also a great deal of grace from my husband and children. After blogging for only a couple of weeks I got VERY wrapped up in the numbers game. How many pageviews did I have that day? How many new Instagram followers did I have? How many new Instagram UNFOLLOWERS did I have (totally didn’t know this was a thing until I started blogging :( ).

But then, per usual in my life, I had a great discussion with one of my best friends. She said “Abigail, you need to remember why you started blogging in the first place. What were your goals and objectives? With those goals and objectives, do these numbers you are worrying about really matter?” Wow, talk about some straight truth to knock you back into place. Oh my goodness I have great friends (thanks Laura)! I am not going to lie and say I don’t get excited when I have a great pageview day, or I don’t love seeing new social media followers. But I also am not going to get wrapped up in the comparison game and believe that I am any less of a person because I don’t have the type of “following” that other bloggers may have. We are all different and have wonderful things to offer the blogosphere.

So here is a list of the items I have purchased for my blog in chronological order:

-Blog Design: I know a lot of people would tell you not to waste money on paying a designer. And I know there are a lot of nice templates out there. But I started from 0% knowledge about blogging and knew the only way I would truly do this is if someone made it simple for me, and if I was super proud of the design of my blog. It was going to be really hard for me to promote something I wasn’t really proud of.

-New Laptop: We went from a laptop to a desktop family computer a couple of years ago, and I knew with spending more time “working” from home, I would need a laptop to move from one room to another. I also enjoy the laptop because I am able to go downtown to our local Christian Coffeeshop and write every now and again.

-Thank you cards: This is the third and final thing on my list folks and honestly probably the most important. I had my blog logo printed on shimmery white cardstock and I write personal cards to family and friends who have been supporting me through this journey. I started out doing this as something nice for the recipient, but it has ended up being so gratifying for me. With every single card that I write I find myself remembering WHY I decided to start blogging and WHY I am so grateful to have a blog and WHY the time and effort I put into something that brings me no revenue is so so SO good for my soul. I don’t know a person in the world who doesn’t enjoy a good old fashioned thank you every now and again. Rather you decide to physically write thank you cards, or maybe you decide to send an email or a text or give someone a call or take them out for coffee. However you decide to thank the people in your lives for their support is up to you. It has been so great for me to sit down and identify the people that I want to thank and exactly what I want to thank them for. The cards take so little time and effort, but I have been given numerous compliments from the people I have sent them to.

In summary, here are the three key points in How to Practice Gratitude in Order to Truly Appreciate Blogging:

-Remember your WHY. Striving for and/or reaching your goals and objectives gauges your success, not your numbers.

-”Comparison is the thief of joy”- Theodore Roosevelt said that one and I think Theo had the right idea.

-”There is always ALWAYS something to be thankful for”- Ann Voskamp. Ann is my writing inspiration. Check out her blog over at www.aholyexperience.com and also read her book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are- I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, but really her writing is food for the soul. Write thank you cards, make gratitude lists, count your blessings. Make sure to remember the benefits and blessings your blog is bringing to your life or the lives of others.

Thanks so much for reading my article. I truly appreciate it! If you would like to read more, please check out my blog Acreage of Grace at www.acreageofgrace.blogspot.com. You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

We're Back!

Hello! It feels nice to be back on the blog after a little hiatus. Things have been crazy around here and so while I gather my thoughts, I wanted to bring in a guest blogger.

Hi, I’m Brick! This is my first blog, ever.  Bear with me, it’s hard for me to type with my huge paws. So are my ears, but oh well.

I found a picture that my mom took of me the other day. She always snaps pictures when I am busy trying to eat my rope, so it's not very good. Oh well, at least you know what I look  like.

The last few months have been crazy. For starters, my mom moved in with my dad. I don’t know what is going on exactly, but she is here all the time now. Also, there are so many new things to smell. Every day, new boxes arrive in the mail. Mom gets super excited, but then she won’t let me have any of it. It’s pretty annoying. I tried to help her unpack by eating all of the paper, but apparently that wasn’t right either. She freaked out, like usual.

Also, Dad gave Mom his closet and she put all of her clothes in there. And get this… I’m not allowed in there anymore! She is absolutely ridiculous. I think the rule is stupid, so I try to go in there every day anyways.

Anyways, I stayed with my grandparents out on the farm for a week. Not sure where mom and dad were. I kept hearing them talk about a wedding but I still haven't found time to look up what that is. I missed them when they drove away, but then I forgot immediately and chased squirrels for several days. I also rolled in mud whenever the opportunity presented itself. What a week! When I finally saw them again, the first thing I noticed is that Dad is now wearing a ring. I tried to tell him I didn’t think he seemed like a jewelry guy, but he is adamant that he wears it every day. He must be going through a midlife crisis. Wait, how old is my dad? Eh, I’ll figure it out later.

On to more important things. Mom moved my bed to the other side of the room. For like 30 whole seconds I had no idea where I was supposed to sleep.  I heard her tell Dad it made the new curtains look better in the bedroom when my kennel (I hate when they call it that! As if I’m some sort of animal) isn’t blocking the window. She is so selfish sometimes. I guess she does feed me every night though. She’s okay.

Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to bring this up.  Last week, mom and dad came home and were excited and kept talking about something called a “furminator.” I ignored them like usual because most of what they say is super boring. Then dad gave me a bath (hate those) and they started using this “furminator” device on my awesome hair. I’m kind of upset because I was just getting it to where it was super long again, and I felt like it was a good Fall to Winter transitional look.  But.. like usual, they ruined it for me. Now, my shedding is reduced by 90%. (I know because I dug the brush packaging out of the bottom of the trash. There were coffee grounds everywhere, it was wild.) I guess it’s all for the best because now Mom isn’t complaining to Dad as much about my hair being on the floor right after she vacuums (more on that next time, what a frightening machine!)

Anyways, I am hoping my mom reads this post when I am done because my 1^st birthday is coming up. Coincidently, it is the same day as Christmas. If they try to combine my gift I am going to absolutely freak.

Alright, well this took me almost 8 hours to type since I just learned computers exist today. My dad is going to be home from work soon and that is my favorite part of the day. I need to get to the door first because Mom always tries to beat me to Dad for the first hug. Like I said before, she is kind of annoying. 

Gotta go!