Mother Love

motherhood + home + family

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS // cosmetic bag

I always think it’s interesting to read other people’s posts on their favorite products, and I’ve actually discovered a few of my own favorites through other bloggers. Here are some of my favorites from my cosmetic bag:

dry brush // I don’t use this nearly as often as I wish I did, but when I do, I love it so much. It can be mildly uncomfortable depending on how vigorous you brush, but it leaves your skin feeling so alive and fresh. I got mine at Whole Foods a while ago, but this and this are similar.

mascara // I have searched endlessly for the perfect mascara, and I finally found it a few months ago. I’ve tried MaryKay, Bare Minerals, and a bunch of different drug store brands and could never find one that was “it.” Somehow I came across the L’Oreal Voluminous Power Volume and it’s just what I want in a mascara.

primer // This is one of my favorite products in my make up bag, but I don’t actually use it for a primer. I rarely use foundation, but I learned a great trick about primer cream from the girl who was helping me with my wedding make up at Bare Minerals. This cream works wonders on erasing makeup, like if you apply too much eye liner or you get mascara smudges your cheek. I use a powder eye liner and so I often have little bits that float onto my skin that are hard to get rid of. I just wipe some of the primer onto the smudge and it takes it right off without having to scrub my skin raw with a wet cloth.

anti-frizz oil // This is another new favorite product that I love.love.love so much. I have thin and fine hair that goes crazy with frizz and fly-aways all the time, and it’s been an endless frustration for me. But this oil does wonders! I just spritz a little bit on whenever my hair starts looking out of control and it tames it right down. Plus, it smells amazing.

texture spray // Like I said, I have fine hair that needs a little help in the volume department. I love using this spray right after washing my hair and just letting it hair dry on my hair. It gives it more body and grit to hold onto once I go to curl my hair or do a braid or anything with it.

face spritz // This one isn’t really a product anymore actually…but I had a friend tell me a long time ago about this facial spray that is good for applying after you put on foundation powder. Just a little spritz helps the powder settle into a more natural skin appearance. I hardly use foundation, but I always use this facial spray once I’m done with my makeup and sometimes just randomly throughout the day to help my face feel fresh. I got this product first at Whole Foods a long time ago, and haven’t been able to find it since! Now I just combine a little water and lavender oil and it has the same effect. This looks similar however.

What about you: what are some of your favorite cosmetic bag products?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

THE THINGS I WEAR // that are always neutrals

I have figured something out about myself: I will never have an exciting sense of fashion.

And I’ve also figured out that I am completely ok with that. I used to try to stop wearing so much black and white and grey and so.much.neutral…but recently I’ve stopped trying to stop. I’ve stopped trying to force myself to buy something with color and have a fun sense of style. I just can’t do it.

I went into major clean out mode the day before New Years, and wiped my closet clean of anything that I’ve hung onto because I “might” wear it someday, but in all reality, never do and never will. My closet is literally now only denim, black, white, gray, a little brown, a little mustard yellow, a little dark green, and one red plaid. And it is absolutely liberating. A few years ago, I went to one of those parties where the lady holds up fabrics and colors next to your face to find out what you should be wearing that best accentuates your skin tone and features and etc. The colors she picked for me? Purple, red, and blue. And I literally started laughing and got into a small argument with her…whether she’s wrong or I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter. Those colors just aren’t happening very often for this girl.

I’ve been obsessed with grays lately, which is funny since a few years ago I thought it was one of the unflattering colors to wear. And denim…I have about five different denim tops that I’ve somehow collected in the past six months, and they are some of my favorite pieces to wear. Black is the color that dominants my closet the most…not because I’m gothic, but just because black always works. It’s the most versatile color and makes me feel most like “me” when I wear it.

Maybe some people think caring about clothes and fashion isn’t something to care about…I guess I feel differently. Not every woman is the same in this, and that is so ok…a person should never ever ever attempt to force themselves to fit into a kind of mold or model just because someone else is a certain way. But clothes and style is something that can be almost like art…it’s a way to create. And to create is a good thing…we were made to create. I’m not big into the whole argument that we all need to “express ourselves” and we should do that however we jolly well please…but in an essence, that is somewhat true. I guess I believe that God placed within each of us different ways of creativity and expression, and for us to do so is a good thing. Some people do that with actual pieces of art or design or photography or woodwork or food…and all of those are good and blessed expressions of creativity.

So back to clothing…as with anything in life, if it’s taken too far, well, it’s taken too far. I know women who don’t merely use fashion as a way to show creativity, but who use it for affirmation or attention. It’s no longer fashion but an idol. I think with any kind of art or expression in life, we can all fall into that trap if we don’t guard our hearts. We can all spend too much time or money or effort on something that is of small value and not nearly enough on the things of big value.

But the fact remains and will always remain that we all have to wear clothes, and for me, that is a fun part of life. I don’t frequent any high-end shops for clothing…Target, H & M, Forever21, and Gap (clearance section, hehe) are the labels you’ll find in my closet, with the occasional foray into ASOS or American Eagle when there’s a good sale or savings code.

Some of my favorite clothing pieces to wear are cardigans, long and loose tops (which for a five-foot-eighter woman is really hard to find…if anyone has a secret source for tops made for long torsoed women, please do share), dark wash denim, and my newly acquired fur vest (that i want to wear with evvvverrrrything).

Here are some of my favorite photos for fashion inspiration:

Images via: 1  2  3  4  5  6  

What about you: do you find yourself trying to fit a certain kind of fashion sense based on what someone else finds exciting or “fashionable”?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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