First Beauty Tuesday - All About Bronzer

Hi friends and family; I thought once a week would be a great time to post about beauty products and tips/tricks - you know, a few minutes without the guys? (Unless Corey gets on here to let you all know how much he despises loves my 100-bottle nail polish collection). Yes, 100 bottles. I needed 3 Swivel-Store contraptions to hold them all. I started this post Tuesday, but I am preparing for a job interview, so this week's Beauty Tuesday will be posted on Wednesday, and next week we will be back on track.

Let's talk Bronzers today - since I have to buy a new one after mine shattered and turned our upstairs bathroom tile grout a nice shade of...well, bronze. By bronzer, first of all, I don't mean the Jersey Shore spray tan that the girls call bronzer. I mean the face powder (or cream) meant to contour your face; this is similar to blush. Got it? Good.

 This was the bronzer I was using; Mary-Kate and Ashley (yes, Olsen) bronzer. Nice and cheap from Wal-Mart, though I don't really like the brush so I was using a different one.

Since that one broke, I've been using Pur Minerals 'Mineral Glow/Mineral Light' that you can find at Ulta.

The left side is the bronzer, and you can highlight under the brow or above the bronzer near the eye for a nice glow. I am just not in love with the bronze color, so my next beauty store trip will be to get a new shade of bronzer.


So what are my options? There are a thousand (if not more) choices, shades, brands, and consistencies for you to choose from when it comes to picking a nice brown-ish powder for your face. Bronzers range from tan to chocolate, shimmery, not shimmery, creamy, powdery, loose powder, gel, cream stick, you name it, you can get it.

This is Too Faced brand 'Snow Bunny.' For $29, it's up there in price, compared to any drug store brand, but with the four shimmery colors, this bronzer is my all-time favorite. All you have to do is swirl your brush in all of the colors, and do the "3 and E" method.

Wait, I'm guessing you don't know what that is. This website explains said technique: "On the right side of your face make a "3" from your hairline, across your cheek to your nose, and down to your chin. Repeat the same process on your left side making an "E". When you are done both sides go back across your nose and down your neck and chest. There is no need to put the brush back into the bronzer. Again, dipping multiple times will create an uneven or artificial look. "

Works every time!

Below is a list of bronzers I've tried and would recommend/not recommend. Happy bronzing!

1. Bare Escentuals Faux Tan - LOVE! Loose powder with a nice brown color. I'm pretty fair and it is not too dark, so don't be scared that it looks a little like dirt.
2. Bare Escentuals Warmth - Nice, natural color that is a loose powder.
3. Cargo Waterproof Bronzer - nice color, and would recommend if you're going to be in humid weather.
4. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer - a creamy bronzer that smells like chocolate. Delish!
5. Smashbox O Bronze - liquid/gel. You have to work quickly to put the bronzer where you want it to avoid spotty stains. I would not recommend for first-time bronzer use.
6. My favorite cosmetics Brand, Urban Decay, unfortunately hasn't sold me on their bronzers. The color is too light for me, even with fair skin, so I just don't love it.

I don't have the experience with many drugstore brands (Minus the Mary Kate and Ashley brand) - totally love love love, by the way.  What bronzer are you wearing, or don't you? Remember that blush looks most natural on skin that sunburns, and bronzer looks best on skin that tans. I wear both, to accentuate my cheekbones and overall, I can't stand looking too pale.

Tell me about your bronzers, friends!

-Chelsea

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone's 2011 was fantastic, and you're all enjoying the first week in 2012. We rang in the New Year with our families at dinner, celebrated and watched the ball drop with friends, and held a nice lunch at our house New Year's Day. We promised a review of Pioneer Woman's pizza crust; the pictures didn't turn out so well, since the Kitchen-Aid was shaking during dough production. (Good thing Corey had a screwdriver and the manual)! Once the mixer was fixed, and not bucking like a bronco, the dough magically turned into a nice ball just like PW said. After being covered in a little EVOO, the dough was left to do its magic in the fridge overnight. The dough is supposed to make two thin crust pizzas; since we were using a cookie sheet and not a pizza stone like we had planned (not enough time to rinse, dry, and season), we used the whole dough ball for one, deliciously thick pizza. After some jarred sauce, shredded mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni, in to the oven the pizza went. OMG friends, this pizza was delish! Next time we make it, I'll be sure to snap a few pics; one dough ball that we used for one pizza was enough for lunch for 8. Now this would feed more for sure if you had two stones, and made thin crust pizzas.

So with a great start to the New Year, we are doing better with meal planning; I have all the meals planned until Saturday (Miss America night), and we'll be eating healthier, too. Tomorrow is Crock Pot Italian Chicken (found on Pinterest), with chicken, Italian dressing mix, light cream cheese, and a can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup. Also on the menu for this week are homemade chicken nuggets from Paula Deen (pictures to come for sure) - and the crust on them is crushed Baked Lays. I know, right? Yum!

On TV right now is a show called The Big Waste. Food Network chefs have 48 hours to find ingredients for a dinner for 100 guests. The catch is that the food has to come from grocery stores, distributors, or farms that are going to throw out the food. Some farms have 40% waste because people are so concerned about what the food looks like on the outside. 50 lbs of chicken was going to be wasted at a poultry distributor because if one leg is broken, the whole chicken is deemed "no good" by a supermarket. We're sitting here in awe; and are definitely thinking of ways we can not waste our own food, and also thinking twice about what we pick out of the grocery store and public market. If you happen to catch a rerun of this special, I would definitely check it out.

Have a great week, we can't wait to share the chicken nugget recipe with you, and whatever else we've got going on this week!

C&C