Reevaluating your life

I think this time of year has most of us thinking about the changes we want to make for the new year.  Whether it be to lose a few pounds or to re-establish relationships it is important to keep in mind what's real.  I typically hear of people making new years resolutions and then later falling off the wagon.  Do what you know you'll be able to achieve.  I think when a person can be honest with themselves they will realize much more success.  It isn't realistic to set unrealistic goals.  I'm all about reaching for the stars and going beyond your limits, but you have to admit, sometimes it just isn't realistic.  I think what helps is to set little goals that will lead you to your bigger goal.  If you want to lose 50 pounds, it might seem really overwhelming and daunting to think of how much you will have to do to lose that weight.  Instead keep that in the back of your mind and focus on just losing 5 pounds to start with.  Then focus on the next 5 pounds.  That way you will eventually reach your ultimate goal, but you won't feel so overwhelmed all the time.  Setting little goals keeps us feeling successful and when we feel that way we are more likely to do more and achieve more.

Now when it comes to people I apply the same philosophy.  If you feel like over the past year you've been losing some of your friendships or it feels like maybe your friends could use a little more attention.  Well try to find that balance.  Sometimes it's easy to overdo an action because you think that will help.  I believe gradually getting to your goal is key to making it stick.  Keep the reality thing in mind.  If you can be honest with yourself and accept that maybe a particular thing is not meant to be, you may not feel so hurt at the end of it when things don't go your way.  This applies especially to people.  Sometimes you feel like you really put your whole heart and soul into a relationship only to have it crumble and fail. That's ok, you're not the only person involved.  The other person has just as much responsibility in the relationship so you should never feel like it's all your fault if you've genuinely tried your hardest.

I hope this helps when you're considering your new years resolutions and the changes you would like to make in your life.  If you take anything away from this, please remember to always ALWAYS be honest with yourself.  If you start lying to yourself, who is left to trust?

Eyebrow threading

So since middle school my mom has threaded my eyebrows for me.  I always got tons of compliments on my eyebrows, but never really appreciated the technique until I was in college.  This happened mainly because  moved away from home and had nobody to do my eyebrows.  I tried waxing them, but the shape just isn't the same.  If you've never had your eyebrows threaded, you must!  If you're dealing with over-plucked or over-waxed eyebrows, just grow them out for a few weeks and find yourself someone who can thread them.  You'll be amazed at how much it changes your face.  All of a sudden it will look like you have really sharp features, it will bring out your eyes like you've never seen before.  My mom still does my eyebrows even though I live about 1500 miles away.  I wait for her to visit and have her shape them and then I just keep touching them up as they grow until she visits me again, or I visit her.  It's just incredible how much of a difference it makes when you get them threaded.  Now I've never paid for the services, but I do know that it's roughly anywhere from $5-$30.  It depends on how much experience the person has and how fancy the salon is.  A lot of Indian women will do threading in their home and charge less.  BEWARE though!  Just because it's really heap doesn't mean it's a really good deal.  Most times, you WILL get what you paid for.  You will walk out with cuts on your face and eyebrows that don't match.  It's tricky picking the right person to do threading.  The problem is that some women learn the technique but have no understanding of what they do.  Everyone has a unique face shape and so they need unique eyebrows to frame the eyes.  Some Indian women will do the same shape on every girl they come across.  The best way to go about this is to see if one of your friends may know of someone.  Or if you see an Indian girl with really nice eyebrows, don't be shy, ask her where she gets them threaded.  Most Indian girls do get them threaded.  It's tradition, and well...we just know better!  Even if you're happy with the shape you're getting from waxing, consider the amount of tugging happening on your face.  Eventually the skin beneath the eyebrow will begin to sag and wrinkle.  This is avoidable!  So take my advice and get them threaded!  As far as the pain goes, it really doesn't hurt very much.  At most you might sneeze a few times and shed a few tears, but overall it's benefits outweigh the cons.  If you live in Houston near the Sugarland area I can recommend my mother's salon.  But anywhere else...go with word of mouth.  If you have any questions please write!

Fix + a good buy or not?

So I finally got a bottle of Fix + not too long ago despite the negative reviews I've been reading.  Now that I've used it for a bit, I'm ready to give you my opinion.  I love it!  I read on a lot of people's blogs that it's just glorified water in a bottle.  However, I think, like a lot of MAC products it contains a lot of natural ingredients and is not harsh on the face.  Ofcourse there are the MAC foundations that make people break out constantly, but those are made for stage and cameras and not for everyday all day wear.  If you'vehad this problem use the lighter foundations and mineral powders that they offer, much better on the skin.  So anyway, I've been putting Fix + on my face after I wash it, and I have noticed a more even tone and less break out.  I'm pregnant right now and my skin is freaking out a little because usually I never break out, but this little baby has my oil glands in overdrive.  I put two sprays on my face each time I wash my face.  It smells wonderful and makes my skin feel nourished.  I also use it to wet my eyeshadows for a deeper color, but I think I can stick to water with that.  Fix + for the average buyer can be a little pricey so use it as part of your skin regimen.  Skip using it to wet your eyeshadows, it really doesn't differ much from using water.  Also, I use it to set my make up.  Now it's no model in a bottle, but it does give my makeup a nice finish.  Sort of dewey.  I use mineralize powder from MAC and the fix + helps it from looking too powdery.  The problem with having olive tone skin and using powders to set makeup is that it ends up looking a little grayish.  There's naturally a nice glow to olive skin and setting powders take that away.  I recommend Fix + as a remedy.  A couple of sprays on the face after you've set with powder and it's dewey and glowing again!  Give it a try.  Let me know what you think.  If you already use it or have been please let me know about your experience.

xoxo,
Karma B

Announcement!

Hey Dolls!  So I wanted to update you guys on what's going on with me.  I started making videos several months ago and then abruptly stopped.  I had every intention of keeping a steady flow of videos coming out.  I love make up and natural skin care and I wanted to share that love with everyone.  There's so many things I've learned over time and want all of you to know so that you can benefit from my knowledge/trials.  Anyway my last post before the recent ones was about a migraine.  Well that day I found out I was pregnant, turns out the migraine was because of the change in my hormones!  Yay!  We have been trying and it's just so exciting.  I'm about half way through my pregnancy right now and I feel great.  I've been eating really healthy and drinking tons of water.  This blog is not about my pregnancy, but I just wanted to let you guys know.  It's been a fun sharing this experience with the handful of beauty gurus that I look up to and are also pregnant right now.  Anyway, so this explains why I look chubbier in the videos!

xoxo,
Karma B

Plum Smokey Eye!

Hey Dolls!  I am a huge fan of smokey eyes, but is it just me or has it gotten really boring with the regular blacks and browns?!  I decided to do a plum smokey eye for the holiday season.  It's a look you could easily wear to a party, or a night out.  Don't restrict it to the holidays though!  It's a beautiful combination of colors that's great for a date night any time of year.  Here's a list of the products I used:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Beauty Marked

MAC Beautiful Iris

120 Manly Palette 

Too Faced Lava Gloss Eyeliner in Black

Sephora Mascara

MAC Blunt

MAC Fleur Power

Lancome Juicy Tubes

Hope you guys enjoy the video!  I think my macbook just doesn't do the colors justice!  So I've put a picture in from a better camera.  I've been having some set up issues with my other HD camera so bear with me while I sort it out.  If the location works the lighting doesn't and vice versa.  I will find a place in my house to make these videos!!  Still with these pictures, it just doesn't do it justice.  Take my word, it looks better in person.  Get the colors from MAC, they're so pretty!

Here's the video:

And if you've gone to my youtube channel you may have noticed a little contest going on!  The password is "Fleur Power".  Watch the contest video and you'll know just what to do with it and how to enter.  

with lots of plum kisses and MAC pan shadows,

Karma B.