... because, quite frankly, I can't do anything fibery with Callie's invading fingers and habit of eating everything, edible or not.

So I will blog a bit about another love of mine - makeup. I like it. A lot. Despite looking frumpy most days I actually really enjoy being creative with mine and seriously considered doing it for a living before deciding to come up to Alaska, instead, and save makeup artistry for my this-or-bust career. But I have faced some REAL challenges - most notably finding a foundation that is the right coverage, the right shade, and the right texture for my skin that won't break me out. Tall order when you're pasty as I am and quite scarred and ruddy.

For about four years now I have had a love/hate relationship with Aromaleigh Cosmetics. I began ordering from them in 2004, and they didn't even offer USPS shipping to Alaska, it was UPS only (and I emailed about it and I think I single-handedly created a policy) and the selection of products was quite a bit more modest. Kristen, the owner, is constantly expanding and innovating with DOZENS of quality, beautiful products that can suit every taste from grandma to goth. Even the bright, strong, bold colors are immensely wearable because of the depth and quality of the mineral makeup. It's amazing.

The hate relationship came in this way - foundation matching. Kristen offers the BEST selection of mineral foundations of the internet, I am convinced, and they're very simple to understand- named for their color variant, like level 1 nude or level 1 pink (1N or 1P) and graduate all the way up to level 5, in yellow, linen, neutral, cool, pink, and warm with some additional combos of each color in a 50/50 split with linen (which is just a straight beige base). ADDITIONALLY she has some lighter shades for those of us who are ghastly pale, Alabaster and Ghost. She allows for cheap ($2) samples so you can try each and mix and match until you've found your perfect blend. Thing is, so many of us, myself included, have been so confused about our REAL undertones for so long we don't know where to begin, and custom mixing foundation at home seems very scientific and daunting, even though minerals make it easy.

So I muddled along with what I THOUGHT was my correct shade, 1N, for three years on and off. I loved what they did to my skin but it never seemed to match in the sunlight, too dark and too orange. But going pinker just made things worse. So I went back and forth between Aromaleigh and store brands, always coming back hoping to love it but always feeling funky in it. I just never got all the way on board.

Recently, being pastier than ever here at our home I decided to head on an epic quest, once again, to find the PERFECT foundation. I went back to Aromaleigh's site invigorated and ready to try again. I actually READ the amazing forum there which is a WEALTH of knowledge and discovered that the problems I was having with 1N were easily remedied - my skin tone, shockingly enough, was most likely lighter and more yellow, so I needed to try the warm, linen, and yellow blends in that level and possibly lighten then with some ghost (which is pure, warm white) to find the right match. So I ordered some samples. 1W (warm) was too orange still, though better. Ooookay, next. I tried 1YL, a 50/50 blend of the yellow undertone and the beige undertone... NOPE! Too pink. Warily I tried straight 1Y, the yellowest color they offer. Shock of shocks it was a near perfect tonal match but just a smidge too dark. So I tapped a bit of my old 1N into the mix and created, overall, about a 90/10 blend of 1Y/GX, just a slightly more complex version of the yellow shade lightened a smidge with the white. PERFECT.

I was transformed.

All the sudden I remembered why I LOVED makeup so much but had hated it since I hit Alaska. In California I had enough color that store brands were an acceptable match, even with the wrong undertone I didn't look like I was wearing a mask. But when I needed to go more pale EVERY imperfection in the formula was obvious. If the coverage was heavy enough my pores looked huge and I looked like I was made up. The sheer formulas blended better but my scarred, acne-prone skin showed through even with concealer. Pregnancy made my normally acceptable skin much worse, and so the need for good makeup was amplified even more. Aromaleigh is the most variable coverage and perfect shade match available. You can apply it with a brush for some sheer evening up of tone. You can apply several layers with a brush for better coverage. You can apply it damp and get a totally different finish. You can apply it with a flocked sponge and get full coverage in as many layers as you need. And as long as you don't put too much on in each layer? Flawless, you look PERFECT.

It's a miracle company, with MUCH better prices than the other mineral makeup companies but an added bonus - their formula lacks bismuth oxychloride which is what gives most other companies, like Bare Escentuals, their glowy 'white' look and silky texture. Thing is, it's a HUGE irritant to my skin and many others, it makes me break out and turn bright red with rashes, and MOST mineral foundations have a LOT of it. Not Aromaleigh. Additionally, not having this ingredient makes their foundations extremely matte, so you can ALWAYS add a finishing powder for dewy glow or shine, but if you don't want it? It's not there! They also make two formulation, Voile and Glissade. Viole is the stripped down basic formula, good for MOST people. I am one of those rare people that itch and get dry skin with that formulation, so Kristen in her magnanimity created Glissade, a coated version of Voile. Because the minerals are coated they don't interact with skin at all so they CAN'T dry me out and irritate my skin. Thus, Glissade is my formulation.

But in getting into the wonderful forum there and getting inspired by the sheer VOLUME of eye, cheek, and lip colors as well as finishing powers, eyeliners, skin care you name it... I got hooked. With the right foundation suddenly EVERYTHING seemed more fun. I looked flawless and put-together on my canvas, so I had inspiration to add paint again, so to speak. And since sampling is SO cheap and the quantities are SO generous, I made orders for eye colors and cheek colors as well. And you know what? Armed with my proper shade and a new great face they all looked FABULOUS. I haven't had this much fun playing with makeup since I was a teen. Yes, I am short on time with the baby and this one to come, but it feels GOOD to be made up, I feel prettier and less frumpy, I enjoy looking at myself in the mirror a lot more. It's just.... great. A pick-me-up I really sorely needed. It's a fairly inexpensive habit overall, though getting started with the basics again did cost me a bit, but accruing a new eye shadow here and there, or a new cheek color... EASY! Plus Kristen is SO generous and such a wonderful business woman she sends 3 free samples with each order - often with colors I'd NEVER try on my own but most of them look amazing on me! Just another way to broaden my horizons and have even more fun :)

So, I will probably be blogging a bit about makeup here, and with a LOT of fun doing so. It's my current interest anyway, so I feel like sharing my thoughts and experiments with you all. I also started a new gallery called Face of the Day, where I'll post some of my color combination experiments. Bear with me, I always feel fat nowadays and so I am shy about taking pictures of myself, but I WILL make an effort to at least get myself from the neck up.

And yes, a good 50 pounds of weight loss is on my agenda as a to-do before I get pregnant again. Just for my health and comfort, I am lazy and don't exercise but I have had great luck cutting back my snacking and portions greatly the past year or so, which is why I've had little gain this pregnancy. I eat healthy, but usually too much and now I have fixed that. So with God's grace and a little discipline on my part I am really hoping to get down to below or around 200. We'll see what happens. But first thing's first, getting motivated to LIKE and CARE about my appearance again. College and Callie kind of killed it, and it's time to get it back before I descend permanently into frumpy, fat motherhood. Thus far I'm doing good, so I am hopeful this will stick.

So keep an eye out for makeup related blog postings and images, I hope to have at least a look per week! I recently cut and recolored my hair as well as waxing my eyebrows, which I love, so that just contributes to the new look. I am LOVING my short, wavy-curly dark hair. I may darken it a bit more because the contrast with my newly embraced pale skin is wonderful, but having a cut that is easy to style and easy to maintain is just great and makes me feel really good. It IS expensive to get it done at the salon so I have to budget that and all other beauty purchases carefully so Peter doesn't feel the strain, but even being able to just indulge a LITTLE in myself has really made me feel better towards the end of this pregnancy.

Sorry for the novel if you made it to the end. ANY ladies reading this I HIGHLY suggest browsing through the Aromaleigh site. The quality of these cosmetics is better than anything I have tried from Lancome or Chanel, with some products being DIRECTLY comparable but far less expensive due to Kristen's low overhead. Even the brightest colors are just so wearable and fine, they layer like no other, and the investment is totally worth it as they last forever and a day (especially the eye shadows and blushes). Beautiful, affordable, and a company that is just a joy to work with? They get 5 stars from me!