Smoke Is On Your Eyes

"I can never get it to last!  How do you get it to stay on?" a lot of my friends ask me, after I have "done" their eyes...  If you know me, you know that I'm a fan of eyeliner.

I like smokey, sultry-looking eyes.  Even with no other makeup on, nothing works like some eyeliner!!  The beach, the mountains, waking up, working out, getting off of a plane, 3 am and everywhere in between, keep the eyes going!  If your eyes are defined, then you have a focal point, a place for someone to start when they look at your face, instead of all your features washing out into mediocrity .  This look isn't for everyone, I agree.  But, I like it and you can, too!  Just own it.

This is what I use: L'Oreal HIP Gel eyeliner and Pixi Eye Color Sealer.  I have tried them all, and have a whole drawer full to show for it!  You can spend $30-$50 on the high-end stuff.  I have before and I do for other cosmetic items, but for my smokey-eye look, I have found nothing works like these two items combined.  The Eye Colour Sealer is a tad bit pricey, but lasts forever.  You can find both of these items at Target!

Don't use the brush provided by L'Oreal.  Put a few drops of the Pixi Sealer into the gel eyeliner, mix with a good round-tipped eyeshadow brush ~ Viola!  You got yourself some long-lasting eye definer!  The eyeliner gel is already moist, but the sealer causes it to last.  Get the liner to the consistency of a magic marker.  Test it on the back of your hand first.

Don't try to get a hard, tight mean line.  Use a soft, broad stroke.  Be brave.  Brush it under the lid and a little in the arch of your eyebrow.  If you put on too much, that's fine.  Just use a q-tip to swipe off the extra.

When you go with this look, don't use much other makeup!  No piling on of foundation, opaque lipstick and blush.  Let the eyes carry your look!  You will see a lot of smokey-eye looks with both upper and lower shadow... I actually prefer to leave the upper lid bare or with just a bit of pale, shimmering shadow.

Go with a a bit of concealer where needed, brush on some powder and blush just at the apples of your cheeks.  Use a sheer lip gloss or pale color!   A stroke of mascara on upper lashes only during the day.  For evening hours, add a little bit of mascara to the lower lashes.

Wrap Bracelets

Boho meets elegance.  My sister-in-law had one on.  It caught my eye!  The more I looked, the more I loved....then I asked her "how much?"

Well...I'm sure there will be a knock-off soon at Tar-jay???  One can dream...

The Eat Every Two-Hours Diet

While meeting with a friend the other day, his phone alarm went off.  He showed me the text alert: "2 hrs. Eat #3"  What in the world?  "This is the way I'm losing all the weight!" he tells me, while asking the coffee barrister to please wash a green pear that has suddenly appeared in his hand. 

The diet makes sense, really.  If you keep your food intake continual and regular by eating small amounts frequently, your body metabolism should go up.  The science behind it has something to do with fat stores and whether or not your body feels like it needs to "save up" fat for a potential famine (long period of growling hunger).  So, if you happen to be washed ashore on a deserted island within the next 4-5 hours, you will have the stored up energy your stomach has so politely kept for you!   By quelling your hunger every 2 hours, the body feels like "Oh, plenty to eat today, I don't have to store this energy up, because I seem to be getting food all the time!"  You then become a lean, fat-burning machine.

My enthusiastic dieting friend explained that he divides his day up into two-hour intervals, coming out with a total number of "eats" per day.  I don't exactly remember how many "eats" he got to have, but my guess is that it would vary, depending on the length of your day.

I had always had the facts of this dieting method in the back of my brain, somewhere.  Just not the part about militantly eating at the two-hour mark every time.  I thought I might give it a whirl, already determining if my phone had an alarm application to go off every two hours and how would I be able have nutritious snacks on my person at all times, etc.

I furthered my research by going to the libr- no!!!!  THE INTERNET!  I googled "two-hour diet".  My search returned mostly results pertaining to eating every three hours.  I discovered a book entitled The 3-Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise.  According to Jorge, "The secret lies in eating the "right foods" every 3 hours to stabilize your blood sugar, which controls your appetite. This steadies your moods and boosts your energy all day long.  Proper timing helps increase energy levels, alertness, muscle mass and, most importantly, helps reduce abdominal fat. In as little as two weeks, individuals who eat frequent, small meals are able to reduce cortisol levels by more than 17 percent. Truly amazing, isn’t it? Just imagine what a lifetime of eating this way will do for you."  If you go here, you can watch skinny fit Jorge as he hyper-ly energetically tells us about how to get rid of belly fat by keeping your insulin levels low.  Evidently the diet is working fabulously for Jorge!