Drugstore Makeup Look - Tutorial

My Drugstore Makeup Look

I finally filmed a makeup tutorial! I apologize for the not so high quality video; I just used my iPad. But not too bad for a first time.

This makeup look is very wearable with fairly neutral colors. It is also has nice skin coverage for acne and scaring.

Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Products Used (in order of appearance)

Rimmel London Stay Matte Primer

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel (I know it seems odd, but it is a great dupe for the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer but a lot cheaper!)

Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin in Buff

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer in Light 

Maybelline Age Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Brightener   

Revlon Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in Transparent 

Elf Eye Primer and Line Sealer (I used the eye primer side)

Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows in Bella Champagne, Bella Bronze, and Bella Ivory

Sephora Collection Smart Liner (This is the most non-drugstore product I used. A good drugstore dupe is Milani Eye Tech Perfection Liquid Eye Liner)

Makeup Geek Gel Liner in Immortal

Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit in Light

Milani Brow Shaping Clear Gel 

Rimmel London Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze 

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso 

Wet N Wild Fergie Center Stage Collection To Reflect Shimmer Palette in Rose Champagne Glow

Elf Makeup Mist and Set Spray 

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara in Blackest Black

L’Oreal Paris Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Mascara in Blackest Black

NYX Megashine Lip Gloss in Salsa

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Jordan

CHEAP Homemade Laundry Detergent

I kind of consider myself a wanna be hippie/crunchy chick. I love the idea of using essential oils for health, eating fresh and locally grown vegetables, drinking raw milk, and using yoga and meditation to clear my mind and heal my body. Now I also love eating a sleeve of ultra-processed Oreos while watching YouTube on my iPad...but I digress.

My point being that for something natural to become a part of my everyday living, it must also be fairly easy and affordable.And I have found a new natural AND cheap homemade product to add into our lives

Introducing Homemade Laundry Detergent.

This recipe is what I followed. I found all of the ingredients at my local grocery store. All together, the products probably cost around $18. But this makes 5 gallons of laundry detergent AND besides the bar of soap, the other products cold probably be reused for countless more batches of detergent.

Here are the key players, plus water and a few drops of Lavender essential oil

This is what it looks like after you dump everything into the bucket

This is what it looks like after sitting overnight...it becomes very gelatinous. 

Yes, we store it in a big Walmart bucket in our closet...keeping it real showing the messy closet. 

We keep a small bucket in the laundry area with a measuring cup to pour the detergent into the washing machine.

This works just as well as store bought detergent, and for a much lower cost. You only use a small amount of the Borax and Washing Soda, so those boxes will take a long time to be completely used up. I don't think I will ever go back to buying laundry detergent when this is so easy and cheap!

Let me know if you try this out! Or if you have anymore homemade replacements for this wanna-be hippie to try :)

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Jordan

The Godsend of Concealer - Glamoflauge Concealer Review

As someone who suffers from acne, scaring, and other skin imperfections, a concealer is a borderline necessity in my makeup collection. And I've been on the hunt for a FULL coverage concealer that doesn't cost a billion dollars for the past 6 years or so.

And I've finally found it.

Introducing: Glamoflauge Concealer from Wal-Mart

This concealer is designed to cover up anything from acne to tattoos. So I thought I’d test out that theory on my brightly colored lotus flower on my ankle

The following pictures have no filters or editing. 

My lotus flower tattoo! Ignore the dry spots...didn't want to moisturize and affect the concealer. 

After tracing and coloring it with the concealer pencil.

I do not use the pencil when I am concealing acne, but I thought I would follow the instructions to a T when covering up my tattoo.

Ignoring the fact that this is tanner than my leg and needs some ankle blending...pretty nice!

See? If my legs weren't so gosh darn pale it would be invisible! (I use the shade "Light", which matches my face much better than my leg.)

In my daily routine, I use this on top of foundation to cover the stubborn acne on my face.

You can find this at Wal-mart for only $6.00 or so! Not bad for the amazing coverage!

So if you’re looking for a full coverage concealer on a budget, look no further and run, don’t walk, to pick this bad boy up.

Love and Blessings, 

Annmarie Jordan

P.S. You might need to try Wal-Mart a few times to find this. It seems light it is almost always out of the shade I need. Apparently others have found my Holy Grail of concealer as well...

Photoshop Beauty?

Photoshop beauty is a topic I'm sure we've heard about many times. The idea that no one looks as pretty as the girls on the magazines covers, including those girls. This is because programs like Photoshop make it so easy to change your eye size, skin smoothness, and even your makeup. 

While my title icon is a dramatic edit of my original face, below is a more subtle, yet still just as fake, example.

Observe:

Exhibit A (Pre-Edit)

Naked-faced me-my zits, freckles, premature wrinkles (thanks to high school tanning), and
round cheecks

Exhibit B:

Look, I'm pretty?

Yes, the slimmed face, make-up, teeth-whitening, and skin smoothing is all from an app. (It's Perfect 365 if you're wondering). 

Just playing around with this app made me realize how easy it is to make yourself appeal to society's idea of beautiful. But you know what? Screw them! Those cover girls aren't even as flawless as they look on the magazines! Play with make-up if you want, or don't. Cut your hair, rock your zits do whatever you want! Because no matter what, you're beautiful. 

And remember, according to the big guy above: 

Love and Blessings, 

Annmarie Faye

Chocolate QUINOA Cake!

Yes, you read that right. A cake made with quinoa. Not quinoa flour, but cooked quinoa.

And it actually tasted good. Even my picky husband agreed!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this super food, quinoa is a grain that is packed with protein. There are a myriad of health benefits in this food, some of which are explained here. I try to get quinoa into as many meals as I can, but this is my first quinoa dessert!

I used the cake recipe from this site. The link will have the specific measurements. I ate mine without frosting (it was SO rich, which is saying something from me!), and Brad used some canned frosting we had lying around.

1. Cook 3/4 cup of quinoa in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water. Turn it down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or so.

This is what the quinoa should look like once it's completely cooked. 

 2. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla extract to blender and blend for 10 seconds or so.

I used almond milk, but any milk you have on hand will do. 

This is my homemade vanilla extract! Mmmm I love real food :)

This is what it looks like after it's blended. 

3. Add cooked and cooled (or warm if you're impatient like me) quinoa and a melted butter/coconut oil mixture and blend until smooth.

Coconut oil is another super food that has many health benefits as listed here. It's also very easy to employ in your diet, as it can be used in place of oils or butter in cooking. I used a mix of butter and coconut oil in mine, but just butter will work too.

This is what coconut oil looks like out of the container, but it melts very easily. 

This is the mixture. I melted the butter in the microwave, and just put the coconut oil in
afterwards. It melted with a little stirring. 

I'm very bummed I didn't take a picture of the mixture when it was done. It is a dark yellowish color. I have to admit, I was getting a little unsure as to whether this was really a good idea for a cake or not.

4. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar (or another sweetener) and salt

5. Add the wet ingredients from the blender and mix.

6. Put the batter into a parchment-lined pan.

See, that batter does turn out normal-looking!

7. Bake for half an hour at 350 and voila!

Mmmmm cake :)

I was so impressed with this cake! It was moist, chocolaty, smooth and delicious! While I was unable to bled the quinoa 100% smooth, there were only very smart parts where I could tell the texture was a little different. There was no odd taste or anything though. The man had no idea I cooked up one of my weird health foods until I told him there was quinoa in it! I will be making it more often to indulge my sweet tooth while pumping by body full of vitamins, nutrients and protein.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

P.S. This is also GLUTEN FREE for all of my readers avoiding gluten, Boo yah!

Shout Out to the Mother's In College

Last year on Mother's Day, I wrote a tribute to my mother entitled Things My Mother Has Taught Me. This year, I didn't want to be redundant and rave about Jan again (not that she doesn't deserve it, because I did rave about her on other social media and on FaceTime today). I want to instead write a shout out to all the mothers who are currently in college. 

College is hard yo. It is a struggle to balance "real life" with "school life". The seemingly endless studying, papers, online discussion boards, service learning hours (if you're a social worker), and interning are overwhelming. And I'm saying that as someone who is very blessed to be mainly focusing on school at this time. 

I cannot IMAGINE doing all of the above, and more, while also raising a child (or a few). I cannot fathom timing out my studying in between my little chubby cheeked baby's naps. Or finding daycare for the random class scheduling that college seems to entail. Or trying to do all of that, while also financially supporting your family.  

I especially admire those non-traditional students who are coming back to college as someone who many be out of their twenties by a few years. College is hard no matter what age you are, but coming back to a room of late-teen/early twenty-somethings must be scary. As well as having to take care of a family. You've got a ton on your plates, and I commend you and appreciate sharing the classroom with you. 

So here's to you, college mamas! I know you know this, but furthering your education will benefit your children and family in a plethora of ways. And I look up to you. 

Very glad that this is my only baby right now! Even she makes it hard to study sometimes
when she insists on being on my lap no matter what. ;)

Love and Blessings, 

Annmarie 

Christian vs. Christ-like

I've struggled with this for most of my life. I want to be a "good Christian." I look at other people that I consider "good Christians" as role models. 

Mrs. so-and-so gets up early to have quiet time with God every morning. 

That guy volunteers at a homeless shelter two evenings a week. 

She holds small groups at her house for the young women in church. 

He hasn't missed a Sunday service in years. 

Not that role models are a bad thing. I have learned a lot of ways to get to know God better through my brothers and sisters in Christ.

But when I am looking for a role model, I don't often look to Jesus, the only perfect person to walk the Earth. 

Why do I not look at the guy who loved everyone, even (or especially) his enemies?

Why do I not look at the guy who died so that one day I can fiesta with him and his dad up in heaven?

Why do I not look at the guy who ate with sinners, tax collectors, and lepers?  

I'm not sure. I don't know if it's because that seems unrealistic to me. Or maybe it's easier for me to feel like a good Christian by adding an extra bible study in instead of by by loving EVERYONE, including those who seem unlovable. 

But this is my declaration to try and live as a Christ-follower instead of a "good Christian". Maybe if we tried to do this, Christians wouldn't get such a bad (and most often rightly deserved) reputation. 

End rant. 

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Jordan