A Month of Thanks, Week One.

I don't want to post these daily.  I feel like that'd clog up your feeds and make you thankful that I could get hit by a bus any day.  These are pulled straight off of my Facebook.

• Day 1: First & foremost, I am thankful for my health and life, even with cold and sinus problems abound. It could certainly be worse and I am very aware of that.


• Day 2: I am thankful for my jobs and my career. I am by no means well off, but I can pay my bills and feed myself.


• Day 3: I am thankful for my true friends. There are a handful of people that I know, within reason, always have my back.


• Day 4: I am thankful for Lisa Butters, who has proven time and again that all I need to say is "I need you" and she will be by my side, no questions asked. Girls like her are few and far between. ♥


• Day 5: I am thankful for my dog. There were times that I wasn't sure he'd survive the life he's led. He is my baby and my life would be very different without him.


• Day 6: I am thankful for my family. We constantly fight and I certainly do not see eye to eye with them on pretty much anything, but I know they care about me.


• Day 7: I am thankful for new beginnings. I am leaping head first into a new chapter of my life and I am so grateful to know that I have these new opportunities in love and life before me.

The next few won't be so serious. Probably silly things like, "I am stupid thankful for tea. Tea rules." *sips her latte*

She is leaving me soon to live with her father, but I am thankful for my furry little lover, Ickis, too.

REVIEW: Beauty Without Cruelty!

I am extremely excited to be reviewing these products from Beauty Without Cruelty.  This is a brand that had brought to my attention, and I was, of course, very intrigued.  There aren't a lot of full color cosmetic lines out there that are cruelty free and vegan.  If you'd like to know where BWC came from, read their bio here on their page.

So what did they send me?

L to R: Natural Cream Concealer in Fair, the Natural Infusion Lipstick in Deep Plum & the Aromatherapy Skin Care AHA Facial Cleanser

Let's start with the concealer.  It's creamy, it's rich, and precise in the best way possible.  I've never used a pencil concealer like this and I really appreciate how easy it is to conceal around my nose around it, as this is where some of my serious redness is.  It's also easy to use under the eyes and blend out with my C425 Tapered Concealer from Crown (they're a match made in heaven).  It's available for $15.95.

The lipstick is hydrating and very pretty.  However, because it's hydrating, I suggest using a primer or a good lip liner first, and like you should with any high contrast lip look, set the edges with concealer or powder.  I love the color payoff, and the color in general of Deep Plum.  There aren't a lot of vegan lipstick lines with this many colors.  Even the packaging is absolutely adorable.  They are $22.95 each.

The face wash is amazing and also breaking my heart.  I was using it morning and night, but I'm going to have to reduce this to just morning because I'm starting to get a little flaky around my chin, sadly.  Other than that, I have no complaints about this cleanser and I love how soft my skin feels after I use it.  This item could possibly become a holy grail item, as I plan to repurchase.  It runs for $11.95 for 8.5 fl oz.

Overall, I'd have to say that I am very satisfied with Beauty Without Cruelty.  The prices teeter around the lower side of high end, or the higher end of drug store for the most part.  The products are good, and even better, they are vegan!  I definitely recommend trying something from Beauty Without Cruelty today!  You can start by entering the giveaway on my youtube!  ;)

FTC:  These items were sent to me by BWC's PR department for use and consideration.  I was not compensated for this review.  These are my honest opinions.

Debating "Business Expenses" for 2012 [To Airbrush or Not?]

I am in a huge debate with myself. I have spent the last 24 hours agonizing over what I want to do as far as professional supplies for the year. Should I just get brushes and stop at that? I've already decided on the Mr. Bunny set from Sigma. Even though I like the Mrs. Bunny Kit's colors, I have to go with the obvious and more professional option. I am really excited to be able to add a 100% vegan brush set to my colletion and be able to also offer that to clients.

For those of you on the market for vegan brushes, they also offer a travel size kit for only $59, so that may be a better option for those of you who are looking to spend less than $100. You can check out the full Bunny Collection and all of it's vegan offering's here. I know it can be difficult to find vegan brushes that aren't compromising on quality; which is silly. Why should vegans have to compromise on quality just because we don't want to hurt animals?



So the next item I've been debating with myself about is the Dinair. I feel like my work and what I can offer clients will be limited until I have all of the tools necessary to the trade, and a good airbrush set is essential to a fully functional kit. The price tag isn't pretty, but if I'm using it on paid events, I'd be able to make the money back very quickly. But that comes to the next issue.. over saturation of the field. There are so many people in Cincinnati calling themselves makeup artists. I think that's another huge reason I need the Dinair. Being able to offer airbrush not only gives me an edge over competition, it also shows that I am professional and serious about what I'm doing. I've invested my time and money if I have airbrush to offer.

I would love to hear feedback from fellow makeup artists who have struggled with the choice of whether or not to invest in and offer airbrush to their clients. I'm mostly hoping it's not going to be a wasted purchase in the area I'm in. However, I won't be in Cincinnati forever, and I'm sure bigger cities offer bigger opportunities (but with bigger competition, I'm sure).