Sweet N' Sexy Tutorial

Hi hi! I bet ya'll thought I forgot how to do makeup.  Don't worry, I didn't.  I've just had allergies and then beel ill.  It's time to get pretty again, kids!

So, obviously, start out with your products.  MSC Optimus Primer eye primer, NYX White shadow base, MSC Dame, Hello, Sweetie, and Mune Glow. UD 24/7 in Perversion, IT Cosmetics Hello Lashes, and MUFE Smoky Lash.

Brushes! I only use three today.  An angled shadow brush, a floofy shadow brush, and a relatively pointed crease brush.

Prime your lids.  Add the shadow base.  Line your lower lash line pretty heavily with UD 24/7 Perversion.  You want it DARK.  Oh, and have coffee, so you don't make the face I'm making.

A close-up of how opaque you want your shadow base.

Start out with Dame.  You're going to use your floofy brush for Dame.

Pat Dame pretty heavily on the inner third of your eyelids.

Now take your pointed crease brush and Hello, Sweetie.  I love this pigment.  It's a pressure sensitive pink that reminds me of cherry blossoms, and it's a matte.  Yes, friends, I use a matte on a regular basis.  MSC's matte base goes on like BUTTAH, though, so I don't seem to have texture issues like I do with other mattes.

Pat Hello, Sweetie on GENTLY on the rest of your lid.  You want to retain that light pink color. Once you've done that, take the point of your crease brush, and apply pressure to the outer third of your lid so it darkens up.  Don't worry, the pressure-sensitive transition from the two colors is pretty seamless, so you don't really need to try and blend.  If you did, you'd lose the light pink.  You're going to pull Dame evvver so gently into Hello, Sweetie, too.

Now your Mune Glow and angled shadow brush.  Mune Glow looks off white in normal lighting, but in direct sunlight it gives off this coral orange hue.  Trust me, it's understated and positively STUNNING.

Run your Mune Glow from your inner duct to your brow.  Don't pat this color, you want to swipe.  That way there's no fallout into the Dame/Hello, Sweetie combo that you have to try and deal with.  You can *very* *gently* pull a little of it down into Dame/Hello, Sweetie in order to avoid a line of demarcation, but remember that Hello, Sweetie is VERY pressure sensitive.

Add your mascara(s).  I was experimenting today with two different brands that I've gotten super lush results with... the outcome was that I don't like to blend them.

The final look!

A nice shot of that dark eyeliner.

Here's lookin' at you, Kid.

A very good closeup of Mune Glow!

I promise I won't stay away so long the next time, and remember...

Stay Madd, Darlings!!!!!

Pneumonia in mom and the special needs child.

Pneumonia is not an easy ailment to deal with.  It leaves you breathless, exhausted, with your head swimming from a lack of oxygen.  You wheeze like an old ford truck on a frosty morning, and you bark like a seal when you cough.  Every muscle hurts from the coughing.

So what the hell do you do when you're coping with this little slice of medical hell and you have a special needs child who demands alllll of your attention allllll of the time?

Number one: Take your damn antibiotics.  Put it on the same timer that your birth control pill is on, take it when you make breakfast, but make sure you take it.

Number two: Pre-made foods are not the devil.  Frozen french toast, bagel bites, and canned ravioli are all acceptable food mediums with which your little darling can paint the room.

Number three: Dora.  Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  The Cat in the Hat knows a lot about that.  These will be your friend whilst you convalesce on the couch, still wheezing like that old ford.

What to do when your little darling demands to be on top of you, because you're an attachment parent and have worn said little darling since day one, and it's now year three and he thinks he still has to be touching you or on you at all times?  You begin the weaning and self-soothing process.

Fair warning, this may involve lollypops as rewards.

The long and the short of it? Take care of yourself.  Your kiddo, while being special needs, IS CAPABLE of playing on their own, soothing on their own, eating on their own, and pottying on their own, when you need them to be.  The NF1 makes Bug a very dependent child in many ways, but these coping mechanisms, while not necessarily the ideal activities for every day, will make it possible for you to take care of yourself while still providing the basic necessities for your child.

Oh, and one more thing - going over all the therapy techniques that are required by the therapists that you see three times or more a week?  Those can slide a little too.