Getting in Shape at Anastasia Beverly Hills.

I have regrettably been neglecting my brows during the last couple of months. I adore the look of a good, thick set of eyebrows, but some times I feel like my brows are just not the priority when it comes to make up looks. However, wedding time is approaching and I am ready to get polished! The wonderful lady that usually waxes my eyebrows is on maternity leave, so I figured I would go big and visit the Anastasia Beverly Hills counter at Nordstrom to get my eyebrows done according to "The Golden Ratio." I'll admit I can get a bit...protective? about my eyebrows because I usually like to keep them looking as thick as possible so (at the risk of sounding melodramatic) I am taking a leap of faith here and trusting my brows with someone else (hair grows back, right?).

This is me, pre-appointment. Au natural. Brows ready to be tamed!

My appointment was the first of the day, right when the store opened, which provided for a nice, relaxed brow shaping experience. The stylist who worked with me was very, very sweet and she took her time explaining the Anastasia philosophy and each step of the process before she did anything "permanent." That was definitely comforting and overall I loved the service.

Brow shaping accoutrements.

Smattering of products used on me.

Anastasia brow stylists use a set of stencils to generally shape the brows according to "The Golden Ratio" which determines the look and arch of your brows based on your unique facial angles. The brow stylist told me that the best fit for my brows was the Full Arch and I agreed that this was a good look for my brows. The stylist also told me that the stencils are not "one size fits all" but they actually work as more of a general guideline, to give the artist a better idea of the shape your brow "should" have.

Photo from http://www.anastasia.net/ 

I got sneaky and snapped some shots in between brows! Before even applying any wax, the stylist essentially drew out what my brows would look like according to the predetermined stencil. First, she drew out the three guiding points for the brow (the origin of the brow toward the center of the face, the arch, and the end point of the brow) using the Anastasia brow powder in Brunette. Then, she placed the stencil on top of my brow and used powder to further fill in the shape. Next, she took a waxy pencil and drew the boundaries of my brow so that I would get a better idea of what my brows would look like after she waxed.

My brow marked using the three points and filled in. 

THEN CAME THE WAX! The brow stylist commented that the Anastasia wax was probably softer than any wax I had used since it is crafted to be extra sensitive on the face. I have only waxed my eyebrows with Gigi honey wax and the UniKWax wax and I can definitely say that the Anastasia wax was the gentlest wax I have used as my eyes did not water once! After the wax, the stylist placed the stencil over my brow again and filled it in with powder. Lastly, she sat me up in the chair, plucked a few stray hairs and filled in some holes with a pencil. 

The finished brow look!

I am LOVING my brows. I don't think I have ever had my brows look so even! Ever, ever! I think they look sleek and modern and I love them! Overall, I would recommend this brow service if you are looking to shake up your brow routine and want to get a bit frou frou about it (the service at Norstrom's will set you back $30).

I was also curious to try an Anastasia pencil since I have never used any of their products in the past and the stylist recommended the Anastasia Brow Wiz in the shade Brunette. Brow Wiz is a very delicate twist up pencil with a spoolie on the end. I have watched Sam & Nic from Pixiwoo use this countless times and I have always been curious about it's performance on my own brows! I really like the natural look of the pencil and how the color matches my natural brows (the brow stylist used the brow wiz pencil in the finished look photo above). I have always had dark brows, which I love, but I feel I have to be a bit careful to make sure I don't fill them in so much that they look unnatural.

What products do you use for your brows?

Love,

V.

Bonus Bits

• World Cup Qualifiers: Mexico vs. Costa Rica and USA vs. Panama tonight! Watching as I type!
• I have so much to do before jetting to summer wedding #1 in Puerto Rico! How do you all motivate yourselves to pack?
• Xabi is napping right now after a long play session.
• Going to give myself a pedicure post-half-hearted packing session. Stay tuned!

The Olive Branch!

Dear LUSHees and Non-LUSHees,

I would like to take this moment to pay homage to my favorite LUSH shower gel: The Olive Branch. It is described as a "softening, reassuring" shower gel and is made with olive oil, mandarin, bergamot, and vine leaves. I don't know about reassuring, but I think this shower gel is definitely energizing. Now you would expect that from most citrus based products, but the bergamot gives it that extra oomph and is very uplifting. Perhaps what I love most about this shower gel is that the scent lingers on your skin (and also in your bathroom) even after you've showered, so you can still revel in the freshness of it hours after you've used it!

As you can see, I am almost done with this bottle! You can also see a light yellow layer separated at the top of the product. This is the olive oil so all you do is give the bottle a good shake prior to using and the oil mixes back into the product. Seriously, this is one of my LUSH desert island necessities. It is not stripping, but it is only lightly moisturizing so for those of you with very dry skin, this might not hydrate you as much. I think if LUSH made a body cream (or a perfume...) with this scent it would be absolute perfection.

Cheers!
V.

Bonus Bits

• Spain vs. Haiti this weekend at Sun Life Stadium. BOOM!
• Xabi slept through the night without crying! He is a CHAM-PION!
• Currently sippin' on some Vanilla Biscotti coffee.
• Going to pick up my Bridesmaid dress tomorrow evening from the seamstress!
• You know what cracks me up? The phrase "#hashtag"

Guest Post: Ayesha's Make Up Essentials!

Happy Monday!

I am so incandescently happy to be featuring my first guest blog post! I hope to include these posts more regularly here on The Violet Hour so you can get to know the lovely people who bring happiness and warmth to my life on a daily basis. 

(One of) Ayesha's Fave Karaoke Song: Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves"

First up, we have Ayesha: brilliant mind (seriously, there is no other reason I survived Calc II), self-professed cat lady (she writes a hilarious blog about her kitty cat Penny), and one of the most beautiful women I know (no explanation needed!). We became friends in college when we both "worked" as RAs in the best Residential College (JKL! J-JKL! Go JKLephants!). We quickly became inseparable and I know we still have many more good times to share as friends.

Drinking Glühwein Together, Munich, December 2011

At Ayesha's sister, Laila's, Wedding, Louisville, September 2011

Awkwardly Posing in The Nature, St. Louis, May 2010

Thank you, Ayesha, for writing this post, teaching me how to knit, and for being my sweet friend. Enjoy, all!

Love,
V.

P.S. Today's tea meditation: "Delight the world with compassion, kindness, and grace." Do it!
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I’m so happy to be writing a guest post for The Violet Hour!  Vicki is the person who introduced to me the idea that wearing something other than a 5K t-shirt and wearing something more than a mismatched spot concealer on my face could be a positive thing. Several years later, I have an established makeup routine, and I am happy with my face almost every day.  

My Essentials

My thing with wearing makeup is that it's just an enhancer for me.  I like a nice, natural-looking foundation (which is why I went to Bare Minerals; more on that later). I like a touch of blush and a little mascara and not much else.  I was surprised when I laid everything out that I use so much stuff on a daily basis!  Let's go through the list, left to right, back to front.  (Skipping brushes; those are bareMinerals brushes, they're nice).

1)  The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion Scrub
I'm pretty much the opposite of Vicki when it comes to skin sensitivity.  I use this incredible scrub not daily, but around twice a week.  My skin is like this impenetrable thing that doesn't renew itself fast enough, and I just gotta scrub off any dull or dead skin myself.  I'm not flaky, just..... tough-skinned.  Physically, not emotionally.  

2)  Yes to Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturizer
I tend to gravitate toward products that claim anything to do with "anti-acne" properties.  But I'm also aware that moisturizing is important.  So along comes a Yes brand moisturizer that says "clear skin" on the bottle, and the sucker in me grabs it off the shelf.  The only thing is, I don't feel like a sucker when I use this stuff.  No, it doesn't clear up my skin; I have as much acne as ever.  But everything else about this moisturizer is perfect.  The smell, the texture, the effect.  My boyfriend sniffs my face every time I've freshly put this on.  It's good and I love it.

3)  bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer (Original)

I'd never used a primer before I got this sample-size primer in the bareMinerals starter kit. The kit also included the three brushes pictured above, a foundation powder, a Mineral Veil powder, and a "Warmth" powder, the last of which I do not use.  Primers feel great.  I like to wait about 5 minutes between putting on my moisturizer and putting on this primer.  

4)  Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Grape Vine
I'm so into shades in the plum family.  I also love the "sheer color" look that you get from tinted balms.  This one feels soft and not sticky, and the color doesn't pile on if you apply it multiple times.  

Maybelline:  Baby Lips in Grape Vine

5)  bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation in Medium Beige
This is what people want to know about.  Is switching to a loose powder mineral makeup like bareMinerals worth it?  In my opinion, it totally is.  I used to feel equally self conscious with or without foundation on; without it, I would be thinking about my acne, and with it, I would feel overly made up and cakey. The first day I wore bareMinerals morning to night, the most obvious thing I noticed was how it felt.  Or rather, I noticed that it did not feel like anything!   At the same time, I think that (despite its lighter coverage, compared to my old liquid foundation) it gives a polished, "put together" look which is perfect for daytime.  It doesn't cover my acne as aggressively as my liquid did (I previously used Lancome Teint Idole Ultra), but in combination with a good, long-lasting concealer, bareMinerals foundation absolutely does what I need it to do.  In summary, I feel like it looks much more natural than a liquid foundation, it feels like nothing at all, and it stays on all day.  

6)  bareMinerals Correcting Concealer Broad Spectrum SPF 20 in Medium 1
Honestly, it's just a coincidence that I went with bareMinerals for my concealer.  It's just that the shade works for me really well.  I was thinking of going for Clinique, but I ended up with this one.  I apply it just as often with my finger pads as I do with the concealer brush that came with my bareMinerals starter kit.  

7)  bareMinerals Mineral Veil (Original)
I think this gives a sweet, pearly finish to my makeup.  I apply it before my bronzer/blush because I feel like all the "buffing" and blending involved in applying bareMinerals products would erase that color.

8)  Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings in Dark
I have dark, coarse, sparse eyebrows.  It's kind of weird.  So I like to fill them in!  This is not an everyday thing for me, but I do like intense eyebrows.  The Brow Zings includes a wax, which kind of keeps my eyebrow hairs in line and helps the brow powder stay all day, and a powder to fill in sparse area. 

Brow Zings wax and powder
(nail polish = Revlon Colorstay Blue Slate 280)

9)  Benefit Cosmetics Dallas
Vicki turned me onto this product.  I believe this is what people call a holy grail item?  When (and I mean when, not if) I run out of Dallas, I will replace it with some more Dallas.  It's the perfect color, the perfect shimmer, the perfect intensity.  Love love love love love love.  I also love the included brush.

Benefit Cosmetics:  Dallas

10)  CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion in Black Brown
Vicki also turned me onto this product.  I'd been using a Dior black waterproof mascara before, and it was just a bit heavy for everyday use.  Now I feel like my mascara is much more natural-looking and not "makeup-y."

For the eyes

11)  Japonesque Go Curl Pocket Curler
I just hate giant scissory eyelash curlers.  They take up way too much space and they freak me out.  I used to have a little pocket curler like this, then I lost it on a trip, and Japonesque had the best deal on Amazon when I needed to buy a new one.  It does a nice curl.  Sometimes I use it without also using mascara. 

Before Makeup Application

After Makeup Application

I only wanted to do my makeup stuff for this, so I'll just do my hair off-camera.  Thanks for tuning in!  I hope Vicki will inspire all of you the way she has inspired me to be more confident!