lynn in love with beauty products

My posts may be a little wacky this week as I'm taking a little blog-break. However, I lined up some old draft blogposts that never made it to be published and have them scheduled to be posted each day this week. I'll see ya in a week!
------------------------------------------------------------

I just wanted to sort-of round up the beauty posts from last week today with some of my favorite beauty products. These are just as important if not more than the actual makeup.
Having a good canvas to work with much more important the paints you put on it. While I have to confess that I'm not so great about taking off my eye makeup all the time at night, I am a big stickler on hydration and sunscreen which are the most important components to getting good skin.

1. In the morning, right after the shower, I always put on moisturizer and let it absorb before applying makeup. Currently, I am using Estee Lauder's Re-Nutriv "Ultimate Youth Creme"

Yeah, if you look up the price, this stuff is super expensive. I got a jar from my mom for my birthday two years ago and that's the only reason I have it. I have to say however that this moisturizer is amazing. It has changed the texture of my skin, keeping it plump and hydrated while evening out the skin tone and doesn't give me breakouts. I have no idea what its properties are and how it compares to La Mer, the other expensive creme out there, but I know it works for me... much better than Oil of Olay moisturizer that I used to use. If I'm good about taking my makeup off at night, I'll put a layer on before I go to bed as well.

2. Face Cleanser - Two years ago, I converted my husband and I to Cetaphil for our face cleanser and we love it. While it is initially designed for dry skin, my husband and I both have oily skin or at least combination skin and it has done wonders to control it. My theory is that most cleansers usually overdries the skin, and then our skin overcompensates by produce more oil than necessary. This cleanser gently cleanses and leaves skin fresh and hydrated.

3. Sunscreen - I am crazy about sunscreen. A tanned face to me equals to sun damaged face which means early aging. However it is hard to find a good sunscreen that doesn't smell like pina coladas and is super sticky for everyday use. Since I"m rarely out in the sun, I'm glad that my mineral makeup does give me some minimal makeup. However I'm ever out in the sun for a longer period of time, I'll try to slather on the highest protection I can get.

Some of my favorite sunscreens:

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock - I've been using 70, but apparently you can do SPF 100+, I don't think the SPF makes that much of a difference, but that fact that this formula is so smooth, smells clean, and absorbs and dries quickly makes it so much easier to use.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock - The same thing, but in a bottle... You get a great even spray for your face and body which is perfect when you're out a need to reapply. No goopy white messes and misapplications!

Lastly, my new favorite sunscreen for the face was introduced to me by my sister - Colorscience Sunforgettable Sunscreen Powder. This ultimate easy sunscreen to apply to the face. Based on mineral makeup, when applied this sunscreen is very water resistant and last 8 hours. You can get it in 3 different colors as well. It's so easy to use under your makeup and fairly undetectable. I used it for most of our trip to Vietnam for my face.

4. Lastly, my last but most important beauty products is water, water, water. Guys, I used to HATE water and rarely drank it. I think I must have been fairly dehydrated most of my life. However I noticed that I was getting bad headaches and my lips were incessantly dry. No amount of chapstick or emollients could remedy my dry lips. It only now that I've started drinking water that my lips are normal now. Our usual output of liquid through urine/stool output + insensible losses (sweat, fever, breathing) equals to about 2L, which is where that old adage of 8 cups of water comes from. I notice now that if I don't keep up with my water intake, my lips go to heck right away.

okay... that's it folks!! See y'all next week!

lynn in love with grapestomping

hello dears, totally tooting my own horn here, but you are now reading the blog of a grape stomping champion! As our first day of vacation, we decided to go to Grapefest, a local Texas wine festival in Grapevine, TX. Now it was a very hot and sweltering day to be traipsing around a fest, but we heard you could grapestomp which is something I've always wanted to do. It seemed fun, all Lucy and Ethel like... or even romantic like that scene in A Walk in the Clouds. Anyways, off we went to see what it was all about. We met up with a couple of friends, Mandy and Pooja. Unfortunately, Texas wines doesn't seem to be all that good, and the festival was quite dinky, honestly... but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. We drank mediocre wine, chomped on roasted corn and corny dogs... and then found ourselves signing up for grape stomping! They had barrels of grapes lined up, and competitions every 30 minutes. It's sort of a relay with teams of two, each having one minute to stomp, while the other teammate catches the juice in pitchers... then they switch. Whoever has the most juice wins.

We named ourselves Big Feet and stomped away against some fierce competition.... and guess what? Husband and I won our round with a whopping 28 1/4 ounces! We couldn't believe it, and excitedly accepted our T-shirt prizes. However, we had to return in an hour to compete against the other hourly winners for the title of Daily Champ. Lemme tell you guys, grape-stomping is no joke, especially in that hot weather. We manned up, re-hydrated and rested up until our next round. We walked up and our competitors sized us up incredulously. However, I stomped my heart out in my silly white skirt and little feet, and Jon finished us up... and we won!! We were the Sunday champs! We had to return again in yet another hour to compete against the other daily champs for the grand prize trophy. We were exhausted, but showed up. Unfortunately, poor husband gashed up his foot during his turn, and we lost the grand prize by a mere 1.5 ounces.

I absolutely love that my husband and I make the best team :) In life, and in grape stomping. Next year, we're gonna take home the trophy.

lynn in love with chocolate cake and celebration

Despite a rocky day yesterday, nothing ends your day better than chocolate and family. We went out to celebrate my dad's birthday last night, and of course I had to bake something fabulous. My father requested chocolate cake. Baking for my family is always a risky thing as they don't really like sweets and they prefer darker chocolate. Ina Garten is my go-to person for all things baked.... and she didn't disappoint with this awesome chocolate cake recipe.

Not icky sweet, but sweet enough, the frosting is light and delightful. Even my hard to please family approved. What a great way to end the day! Happy Birthday Dad!

my handsome father

TJ is the official candle blower assistant

the whole family

Don't forget my husband!

I had to throw this one in. Epitomizes the Nguyen kids... pure goofiness

lynn in love with dad's birthday!

Happy Birthday to my father!

Probably the one of the best men I will ever know...

I love you!

lynn in love with the children's museum

If there is one picture that could describe my day yesterday, this would be it. It was another Mommy, TJ, and Auntie Lynn day yesterday, and we had a great one at the Children's Science Museum and Nataral History/Science museum in Fair Park. However, my little muchkin sure is active! There was hardly a second when he wasn't moving, fleeting here and there to touch, and learn, and wonder.

Here are some highlights:

the only time he stopped was to stare in wonder at the T-Rex.

We blew bubbles!

and changed colors! that's mommy, TJ, and lynn

Changed into a fireman, while I turned into a bee

..climbed to new heights!

..milked cows, and learned about farming

learned about how to use all that energy to create light

and that's all folks!

We had a great time, but it was equally as lovely to poop out into bed afterwards, one of us with bottle in hand.

lynn in love with makeup essentials

Hey guys! Now that I have my space all cleaned up, I wanted to show you my favorite products. I lo-urve makeup and beauty products! As a so-called artist, I love having a clean canvas of a face and creating my best face forward with just a few swooshes of brushes and colors. Many friends like to plunder into my makeup bags, so I wanted to show you, my readers, my best products.

My makeup style? natural, defined, pretty, economical, efficient. My philosophy is that makeup should bring out your natural beauty and help play out your best features. I also need a regimen that is quick and easy. As a medical resident, I had little time to get ready in the morning, and I wanted a routine that I could easily reproduce in less than 5 minutes. While I sometimes like to play with colors and do more dramatic looks on the weekend, most days, I wear the same natural colors and products.

Makeup Essentials (click on picture to get to links)

Foundation - After moisturizing my face every morning, I start off with foundation. I like my foundation to be as natural as possible, so where it looks like I'm not wearing any base, but my skin tone is even. I love for my freckles to shine through! So I usually pick a foundation that is fairly sheer. The base makeup I have used for the last several years has been Everyday Minerals Makeup. I love mineral makeup because it's very fast to apply, it gives you very natural coverage, and it provides SPF. Because it is a powder base, I don't have to powder and can cut out a product. I love Everday Minerals because they are eco-friendly, their formulas are fantastic, and their products are incredibly affordable. One container of base is $12. They provide 4 different finishes, so you can decide on what kind of coverage that you need. My favorite part of this company however if that you can get FREE trial samples of their makeup, so you can find your perfect shade. No Nancy Gribble makeup lines, please! I use Light Olive in Original Glow for most days, and go for more coverage with a Semi-Matte when I go out.

Concealer - I use Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Beige. This concealer is silky smooth and provides great coverage without being too cakey. I use it on blemishes, undereye circles, and on my lids as an eyeshadow base.
Eyeshadows - I'm generally not too picky on my shadows. I always place a base of light white/bone on my lid and define with either a combo of brown/blue or bronze/slate. I love Bobbi Brown's palettes, but think Estee Lauder and Loreal make great shadows. I haven't used MAC, but I might check out some colors, since they look like they give great pigment.

Eyeliner - Eyeliner and Mascara are probably my two make up MUST-HAVES. Every girl should pick one feature that they love about their face and play that up. I like my eyes, so I focus on these more. I LOVE a defined eye. Nothing too crazy, but I tend towards a 1940's look. My FAVORITE liner is MAC's Fluidline in Blacktrack. This is a gel liner in a vial that you apply on with a brush. You get great control with the brush and get a beautiful fluid waterproof line. I think of it as between a pencil liner and a liquid liner. Bobbi Brown also makes a gel liner, but I prefer MAC's as I think it lasts longer. I apply it with Bobbi Brown's Ultra fine Eyeliner brush.

Mascara - My all time favorite mascara is Maybelline's Full and Soft in waterproof and Very Black. I think this stuff is amazing. It gives lashes length and volume without looking crunchy or leaving you with awful spider lashes. It's naturally fantastic. But what I love most is that it can keep a curl after using a eyelash curler AND it's completely buildable. This mean you can keep building layers of mascara to get volume without it getting clumpy. I need an eyelash curler to get my lashes to do anything but lay straight, and I despise a mascara that makes my lashes limp after curling them. One warning is that when you first purchase the mascara, it will be fairly thin/liquidy. After one week, though, it's good to go and will last you a while. If I'm going out at night, I use DiorShow Mascara only on top of Full and Soft. While DiorShow is wonderfully black, it actually doesn't give you the volume that Full and Soft does.

Eyebrows - I feel that eyebrows are one of the most important things to get squared away about your face (besides good skin, good moisturizers). Your eyebrows can totally define and shape your face. I've been plagued with CRAZY eyebrows all my life. They don't lay straight, the hairs are long, they stop and go as the please. I discovered Pearl, my eyebrow shaper at Jean Phillipe Hair Salon on Lover's Lane, and she has done wonders to my brows. I think it is important that if you have problems brows, you find somebody who not only knows how to clean up your brows but is also a true artist in shaping them. I use a MAC angle brush dipped in dark brown shadow (BobbiBrown Expresso in an eye palate) to define my brows. I've only been doing this for about 4 months, and it has made a huge difference in my face.

Blush - Despite my very round cheeks, I love blush! I love a little dewey glow on my cheeks. I think it makes me looks fresh, awake, and alive. If I do a natural look without makeup one day, as I long as I have brows, a little blush, and a little lip balm, I feel good to go. I have tons of blushes included favorites Nars Orgasm/Deep Throat, Tarte stains, cream blushers and bronzers, but I always go back to my Bobbi Brown blusher in Blushed. It has the perfect amount of rosiness for me. If I want to be extra luminous, I brush on top Bobbi Brown's shimmer brick in rose. Love it.

Lips - Lips is where I get to play with colors! I'm very particular about lip color formulas as I hate the taste/feel of most lipsticks. I tend towards products that have a lip balm kind of feel and I HATE the feel of lip gloss. It's limiting, but I've found some fantastic products. While on an everyday basis I love natural colors, I've been experimenting with more fun bright colors and I'm loving it. I'll list some of my favorites products: BobbiBrown lipsticks and tinted lip balms, MAC and Laura Mercier's lipsticks. MAC lipglass, Bobbi Brown and Kiehl's lip gloss are the only lip glosses I tolerate. Right now my personal favorite color/lipstick is Laura Mercier's Lipstick Shimmer in Plum Wine. It is hydrating and matches everything with its subtle but bright color.

Okay that's it in my essentials makeup bag! After years of experimenting with makuep, I bring you only my favorite and best products!

Remember you can enter a contest to win a free Everyday Minerals Foundation base if you help me organize my own collection!