Makeup....who has time for that?!!!!

It's been for-everrrrrr since I've done a makeup tutorial!!!  My confessions of putting on a full face of makeup each and every day, no matter if I'm going anywhere or not, may lead some to ask how I have time for it.  Or why do I do it?  Or why am I so vain or maybe self conscious?

To me, makeup is like clothing.  It's part of getting ready.  It's second nature, like brushing my teeth or putting in contacts.  I feel better with it on.  And I've done it for so long that it takes me just a few minutes...maybe 10 or 15 at the very most.

Here is my quick-and-easy makeup routine in its entirety:

My year of makeup and skin care purchases!

So I'm dyyyyyyyying to know how other women compare when it comes to cosmetic and skin care purchases!!!  The following pics, my friends, show the empty boxes from all my skin care and cosmetic purchases from the entire year of 2014. It does not include hair care (I'm lucky to have a sis who is a talented and generous hair stylist, so I get most all of my hair services and products for free!).

Wow, it looks like a lot to see it all in a big pile, doesn't it?!!!  

Luckily I get all of it at a huge discount  (one of the many benefits of selling the product!)! Also, I wear makeup and skin care each and every day.  There were maybe 2-3 days in the whole year that I didn't due to illness or a bad snow storm which kept me from leaving the house.  So this helps explain the volume...hopefully!!

And then I did a little sorting so I could record everything for tax purposes.  And I totaled the cost...yes, with an actual (GULP) dollar amount........   

The suggested retail cost of everything was

$1,208.50!!

I'm very thankful for my discount and my customers....without either of them, I may not be able to justify that heaping pile;)

Do you have a cosmetic brand that you are loyal to?

Is this a "normal" amount of makeup for one woman to use in a one year?

How often do you use skin care?

How often do you put on makeup?

5 Fall Must-Haves!

It's (almost officially) FALL!!!!  You'd think it's been Fall for many weeks based on the retail frenzy of Autumn decor, Halloween candy, and the major clearance of everything Summer!!!!

So here are five of my faves for Fall...

Oooooohhh!!  I LOVE these new nail colors from Mary Kay!!!! MK does not sell nail polish as part of their regular line, so I'm always excited when they bring out some new shades in a limited-edition. I have Night Diamond on my nails now.

This season, they have the beautiful Sapphire Noir and Night Diamond

I swear there's a vacuum inside Bath & Body Works that sucks me into that store!!! And the force is even stronger when the Fall products are out!!!  These are my fave scents right now: Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and Pumpkin Caramel Latte...

Once I make the first pumpkin bread of the season in our house, we have a continuous inventory of it all the way through December!!!  Even now as I'm sitting here typing this, I'm remembering that we cut the last few pieces off of a loaf at breakfast this morning.  Gotta get baking this afternoon!!!

Click HERE for my recipe, modified from one I found online a few years back.

I still haven't found this in my local grocery store yet....but I'm expecting to see it soon!!!!!! My love of pumpkin never gets old including multiple cups of pumpkin flavored coffee!  I recommend following @pumpkinita on Instagram....great photos of all things pumpkin!  The pic of pumpkin Coca-Cola (in Las Vegas apparently) really caught my attention!!

My faves:

Express Low-Rise Skinny

Macy's INC Skinny Jeans Shadow Grey Wash

Kohl's Rock & Republic Kassandra Faded Bootcut

Forever 21 Polka Dot Skinny Jeans - 3 color options

Speaking of jeans, I think I have some online shopping to do;)

Nail Polish Organization

I had WAY TOO MANY bottles of nail polish!!!!!!!  I kept transferring them to bigger containers, trying to find the best way to organize them.  Then it hit me: PURGE!!!  Some were almost 10 years old (can you believe they were still actually good?!!)!!

So I decided I would keep 1) the bottles I wear most and 2) whatever would fit into this handy makeup caddy.  I grouped them by brand instead of color, just because that's how they are at the store and they fit better into the compartments that way.

I ordered this caddy through Mary Kay for a mere $7 (available to order by Mary Kay beauty consultants only). However, there are similar ones available here and here.