March Favorites

Here is a list of everything I've loved and/or used constantly this past month! From makeup to movies to music, these are my March favorites:

Beauty Products

Makeup

Rimmel The Max Volume Flash Mascara

Bare Minerals Matte Foundation

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Skinlights

MAC Studio Finish Concealer
 

Hair Products

Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Shampoo

Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray

TV Show: Lost

Activity: watching hockey games

Food: animal crackers

Drink: Coca-Cola

Song: “Get It” by Fort Minor

Movie: Cop Out

Clothing: summery tops

Let me know your March favorites in a comment below!

Stay sunny :)

Spring Nail Polish

Hey girls!

Today I gave myself a manicure and painted my nails with one of my favorite pinky-purple polishes:

I got it from Sally Beauty Supply a couple of months ago. It's a really beautiful, highly pigmented lavender rose color. The brand is Sally Girl Nail Color, and the code on the bottom is EH9 238. It's the perfect size for people who never come close to using up a full size bottle, and the price is unbeatable at around $1 each.

Here's what it looks like with one coat:

& two coats:

I really love this color; I think it's perfect for spring and summer. It'll look especially gorgeous when I get a bit of a summer tan going!

stay sunny!

Where You Can Find Me

Hey lovelies!

If you ever have questions or comments, or if you just want to contact me, I can be reached at the following places:

e-mail: mysunshinesketches@hotmail.com
twitter: http://twitter.com/mysunnysketches -- follow me!

I'm more than happy to give my advice and opinions on any beauty queries you have, and I'm also here if you just want to talk. Hope to hear from you soon!

stay sunny, & never forget how beautiful you are!

Look Naturally Beautiful

Step 1. Take Care of Your Body

No external products will work well if you don’t take care of your insides first! So:

- eat a balanced diet, and drink lots of water every day!
A good tip is to take your weight in pounds (lb.) and divide it by 2 = this is the number of ounces of water you should drink daily! (e.g., 130 lbs/2 = 65 ounces of water per day)

- excercise moderately at least 3 times a week – dance, run, climb stairs, go for long walks, anything to be active!

- visit your doctor at least once a year for a check-up

Step 2. Take Care of Your Skin

- if necessary, visit a doctor or dermatologist to help with the treatment of acne and/or any other skin issues

- invest in a great facial cleanser: I like Cetaphil’s Daily Facial Cleanser

- moisturize your face and body every morning and night

- wear a product with SPF every day, no matter the season or weather!

- remove your makeup every night before bed, or whenever you don’t need it on anymore – don’t ever sleep with makeup on!

- apply a moisturizing eye cream before bed each night

Step 3. Get a Glow

- a natural-looking tan will liven up anyone’s complexion, so book an appointment with a local Spray Tan business or purchase your own self-tanning lotion or spray and do it at home!

- Avoid lying for hours in the sun or using tanning beds – this is bad for your skin and health

- make sure to exfoliate before applying any tanning product, and put vaseline on bony areas like your knees, knuckles, and elbows to make sure you don’t end up with dark patches

Step 4. Makeup

- keep everything neutral and natural – the less products you use while still feeling comfortable with your appearance, the better

Here’s what I recommend using on an everyday basis:

- a highlighting concealer under the eyes

- a light mineral powder foundation

- a blush that compliments your skin tone: I like corals and pinks on fair skin, apricot or peach for medium skin, and plums and reds for darker skin. Of course you can choose any color you like; just wear whatever color makes you feel prettiest!

- apply one or two eyeshadows within the neutral range: champagne, browns, light pinks, peach, etc.

- a coat or two of your favorite mascara (and don’t forget to curl your lashes!)

- add a lip balm or a dab of relatively sheer lipgloss

- if necessary, feel free to apply a shadow or liner to your eyebrows as well

- lastly, spritz your face with a setting spray, like MAC Fix+. This will give your makeup staying-power while also making it appear more natural and dewy

Step 5. Clothes

- buy and wear clothes that suit your skin tone, hair color, eye color, and body shape. There are several great videos on YouTube that can help you choose appropriate clothing to suit your body and style, so check them out if you are unsure what to look for

- make sure all clothing is clean and wrinkle-free before wearing

- always wash your laundry in seperate color cycles to avoid staining or bleeding. Make sure to turn jeans inside out to perserve their blueness. Also turn hoodies inside out and tie the neck strings together. Let blouses, hoodies, and pants hang dry instead of putting them in the dryer.

- buy cute and inexpensive accessories at stores like Claire’s and Forever 21 to spice up your outfits

- invest in a well-made purse! If dogs are man’s best friend,then purses are a girl’s best friend!

Step 6. Be Confident and Kind

The first five steps will be ineffective unless you have confidence in yourself, your style, and your beauty. Remember that you were made uniquely and different than anyone else. Your thoughts and opinions matter, so don’t be afraid to stand up for what you think is right. Smile at every opportunity, and treat others kindly. A kind, self-confident woman will always be beautiful.

stay sunny and gorgeous, loves!

Spring Nail Polish

Hey girls!

Today I gave myself a manicure and painted my nails with one of my favorite pinky-purple polishes:

I got it from Sally Beauty Supply a couple of months ago. It's a really beautiful, highly pigmented lavender rose color. The brand is Sally Girl Nail Color, and the code on the bottom is EH9 238. It's the perfect size for people who never come close to using up a full size bottle, and the price is unbeatable at around $1 each.

Here's what it looks like with one coat:

& two coats:

I really love this color; I think it's perfect for spring and summer. It'll look especially gorgeous when I get a bit of a summer tan going!

stay sunny!

What I'm Lusting After...

Here are a few products I plan on buying the moment Project Ten Pan is over:

1. Neutrogena Micro Mist Tanning Sunless Spray 

2. The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream

or Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

I'm not sure which moisturizer I'll end up purchasing. I tried out a sample of the Vitamin E cream and loved it, but I've also heard that the Cetaphil is amazing.

Let me know your thoughts!

stay sunny :)

Project Ten Pan: Update 1

It's time for a quick update on Project Ten Pan. I've managed to use up two more products, which brings my total to 4. It hasn't been too hard to stop buying makeup, thanks to my tactic of avoiding every beauty/makeup store or counter that I know of.

Here are the two items I've used up since my last project ten pan post:

1. Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 (for dry/combination skin)
Despite it being called a "lotion", this product is actually a liquid very similar in consistency to a toner. It's the second step in Clinique's 3-Step Skincare System, which I have been using for about 4 months now. I'm a Level 2 (there are 4 levels, each designated to a particular skin type), which means I have dry skin in my cheeks and comfortable-to-oily skin in my T-zone. The Clinique lady who sold me the products described the Clarifying Lotion as a "mild exfoliant" rather than a toner. I'm not sure how good of a job it does, or even how it exfoliates, since it doesn't have any beads or anything in it. Also, the smell is a little strong so I'm sure some people would be sensitive to it (it has Menthol in it - maybe that's why?) Not sure if I'd recommend this product.

2. Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Shampoo
This is my favorite shampoo ever!! I've gone through at least 4 or 5 bottles since I discovered it a few years ago. I'm bummed that I don't have a back-up because now I'll have to use a different shampoo until Project Ten Pan is over :( This shampoo gives my hair great volume that's not over-the-top, and most importantly it gives me squeaky clean hair. I have naturally oily hair, which used to become visibly oily within 6 or 8 hours of washing it. With this Herbal Essences shampoo, my hair looks fresh for at least 16 hours (which doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, when you have super-oily hair, 16 hours is awesome). At only $3 or $4 a bottle, I will keep buying and using this shampoo for as long as it continues to work well for me.

I have a feeling (cross my fingers) that Project Ten Pan will be completed within the next 3-4 weeks. Although I've only used up 4 products so far, I have at least 8 products that are right on the edge of being used up. I haven't been using as many face products and wearing as much makeup lately, since I'm trying to clear my skin up for a dermatologist appointment I have tomorrow, so Project Ten Pan is going a little bit slower than I'd hoped. But I'm still trucking along!

xoxo

stay sunny!

40 Beauty Questions

This tag was going around on YouTube a while back, but since I don’t have a Youtube Channel anymore, I decided to do the tag on my blog instead. I also decided to number off the questions, because for some reason no one on YouTube did. I wanted to see if there really were 40 questions. Turns out, there’s 42! Either somebody can’t count, or somewhere along the line they decided to throw in a few extra questions for the heck of it.

Anyways, here we go!

SKIN CARE

 1.How many times do you wash your face daily?
Usually twice, but if I feel like taking my makeup off in the afternoon then three times.

2.What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
Combination. I’m a level 2 in Clinique (dry in cheeks, oily to comfortable in T-zone)

3.What is your current facial wash?
Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (Mild)

4. Do you exfoliate?
Yes, usually every 3 or 4 days.

5.What brand do you use?
Biore Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator

6.What moisturizer do you use?
Right now it's a mixture of Clinique Even Better Moisturizing Gel and the Body Shop’s Vitamin E moisturizer

7.Do you have freckles?
No, but I wish I did!

8. Do you use eye cream?
Yep! My favorite is Neutrogena Radiance Boost Eye Cream

9.Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
I guess my skin is acne-prone. I do get the occasional blemish, but it's not severe or anything.

10. Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
 I used Pro-activ for a year in high school. It worked pretty well, but it was extremely harsh. It was expensive too, and it bleached all of my face clothes and towels!

MAKE-UP

11.What foundation do you use?
 Bare Minerals Matte Foundation or Clinique Even Better Liquid Foundation

12. How about concealer?
MAC – usually Studio Finish, but sometimes Studio Sculpt

13. Do you know your undertone color?
 I’m more of a neutral, but if I have to choose between cool or warm, I go with warm.

14. What do you think of fake eyelashes?
They’re super glam! Unfortunately, they don’t look that great with my small eyes and blonde lashes.

15. Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
 I think 4-6 months is more realistic, and since it’s still sanitary, that’s what I go by.

16.What brand of mascara do you use?
 Right now I’m loving Rimmel The Max Volume Flash (the one in the pink tube!) I also really like Maybelline Define-A-Lash Volume mascara

17. Sephora or MAC?
 I don’t shop at either on a regular basis, but I do have more products from MAC

18. Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
No, because I probably wouldn’t use it enough to truly benefit from it

19. What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
 Brushes, cotton pads, Q-tips, fingers!

20. Do you use a make-up base/primer for the eyes?
 Yep, I use Urban Decay Primer Potion. Sometimes I follow it up with MAC Painterly Paint Pot.

21. For the face?
 I haven’t always liked using face primers, but I recently found a combination that works well for me. I mixed together Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer and Dermaglow Radiance Anti-Aging Primer in an empty MAC concealer tub (yay Project Ten Pan) and I’m loving it!

22. What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
I like light pinks, browns, and golds. They compliment my blue eyes :)

23. Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
I normally use a chocolate brown pencil, but if I’m going out for the night (or I look especially blah one morning) I’ll add winged liquid liner.

24. How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Never with eyeliner pencils, but I’ve poked my eyes with mascara wands quite a few times!

25. What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
 I think they’re fun once you master the application. My favorites are MAC Vanilla and Melon.

26. Do you use mineral makeup?
Yes! I like Bare Minerals Matte Foundation. I’ve never tried mineral eyeshadows though.

27. What is your favorite lipstick?
 Rimmel Lasting Finish Intense Wear Lipstick in Crush and Revlon Matte Lipstick in Nude Attitude.

28. How about lipgloss?
 I love Rimmel Vinyl Bross Mirror Shine Lipgloss in Sunset

29. What is your favorite blush to use?
 I’ll have to go with Nars Orgasm, only because I wear it more than any other. I also really like MAC’s cream blush in Lillicent.

30. Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
 No, I never have.

31. Do you like drugstore makeup?
 Love it! My collection is at least a 50/50 split between drugstore and high-end.

32. Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
I would love to go to one, but I don’t think there are any close to where I live :(

33. Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
I applied to a makeup and beauty school at the end of twelfth grade, but I didn’t end up pursuing it and wound up at university instead.

34. Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
 Definitely clumsy in the mornings! I probably drop half of the products I’m using on the floor at least once!

35. Name a makeup crime that you hate?
I don’t like caked-on orange bronzer. Not flattering!!

36. Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
 With lipsticks, neutral colors. On my eyes, I switch it up, but wear neutrals more regularly.

37. Which celebrity always has great make up?
 i like Hayden Panettiere’s makeup: usually a bronze smoky eye and tan, dewey skin.

38. If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
I cannot LIVE without chapstick! (cherry, to be exact)

39. Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
 I could (like if I was going to the beach), but I’d rather not. A tad of mascara and lipgloss at the very least.

40. Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
 I'd say so :)

41. In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
 The first thing that comes to mind is MAC. It’s the most inexpensive high-end brand, and their selection of eyeshadows, blushes, and lipsticks is fantastic! I also hear a lot of good things about Nars, but haven’t had the opportunity to try many of their products yet.

42. What do you think of Makeup?? It’s brilliant! I think that a little bit of makeup (applied correctly) can do wonders for anyone!

xoxo

stay sunny!

My Beauty Profile

Since I don't have time to write a long post today, I thought I would do a quick Beauty Profile. This way, you guys can have a context for the products I talk about and review, as well as some background information on my beauty issues and product needs.

Krista's Beauty Profile

Skin
Coloring: fair, neutral/warm undertones
Type: combination - dry in cheeks, normal to oily in T-zone

Hair
Color: golden blonde, light blonde (dyed) highlights
Texture: thick
Type: oily, retains water (takes a long time to dry)
Length: medium - an inch below my shoulders

Eye Color: blue

Body Shape: hourglass, high-waisted

Some of my beauty issues:
- getting foundating to stay put on my oily T-zone
- taming and grooming my fast-growing eyebrows!
- reducing/concealing redness around my nose

 Leave your own beauty profile in a comment below. That way, we can answer each other's beauty questions and make product recommendations!

xoxo - stay sunny!

Get to Know Me: Five Random Facts

Five Random Facts (that most people don’t know about me)
1. I’m allergic to pepperoni pizza. I haven’t been able to figure out what ingredient causes me to break out in hives, but it’s definitely in there. It’s not the pepperoni, but something else...Maybe in the sauce? My doctor thought it might have been latex, since the people who prepared the pizza probably wore latex gloves. But I haven’t had any reactions to latex products, so that one was ruled out.

2. I am absolutely terrified of big dogs! My boyfriend has never had a dog and he really wants to get a big one, but I am sooo afraid! German Sheperds and Rotweilers freak me out pretty bad. The biggest dog that I could handle would probably be a Golden Retriever – only cuz they usually look so friendly :)

3. I have an obsession with music from the 90s. Spice Girls, Aqua, Backstreet Boys, you name it. The only CDs I've ever owned are Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and BSB ones.

4. I really don’t like ice cream. I think it’s just the coldness that I don’t like. Now that I think about it, I don’t like eating anything super cold OR super hot. I like my “hot” drinks (hot chocolate, etc) to be around lukewarm temperature. My mouth gets burned by hot foods really easily, and cold foods makes my teeth ache. I don’t even like eating popsicles!

5. I read nerdy books. In the 12th grade, I read the entire “Ender’s Game” series, and the parallel “Ender’s Shadow” series. They’re basically about humans fighting aliens from other planets. Hardcore sci-fi. I actually really enjoyed them though! The author, Orson Scott Card, has written even more books for the series (which I thought were over) so I’m excited to check those out!

xoxox

stay sunny, loves!

Project Ten Pan

What is Project Ten Pan?

 Project Ten Pan is a challenge in which you have to completely use up 10 makeup or beauty products you already own before you are allowed to buy any new ones. The idea originally came from Laura, "Lollipop26", on Youtube. Since she embarked on her first Project Ten Pan mission more than a year ago, it has become a huge hit.

Project Ten Pan has several major benefits. First, it is a huge money-saver: It usually takes at least a month or two to complete, and when you're used to buying makeup frequently, the dollars really add up when you stop shopping for a couple of months. Second, it allows you to rediscover products you fell in love with when you first bought them, but that slowly made their way to the back of your drawers over time. For example, say you use up your Go-To blush during Project Ten Pan - you're then forced to pull out other blushes you might not have used in a while; usually, you wind up remembering how much you love some of those blushes.

Basically, you and your wallet end up happy :)

So, to get to the point: I have finally decided to take up the Project Ten Pan challenge. Usually this happens around the time you come to the realization that you have way, way more beauty products then you could ever possibly need. Sadly, this point has come and gone for me. What can I say: it's called an addiction for a reason, right?

Anyways, Project Ten Pan is now well-underway. I started this past Wednesday, so it’s been four days so far. However, I'm happy to report that I have already used up two items!

1. The first was a Studio Sculpt Concealer from MAC. I scraped out the last smidgens on Friday morning, and the tub is now sitting atop my makeup cabinet waiting to be Back-To-Mac'd.

2. The second item was a Jergens lotion - their "Natural Glow Daily Body Moisturizer" to be exact. I finished it off few hours ago, and now I not only have soft and dewey skin, but I’ve also completed 1/5 of the journey!

I’ll keep you all updated on Project Ten Pan, and in the mean time (since I won't be buying any new products) I'll probably put up some reviews of things I already own as I’m rediscovering the stuff I used to love!

xoxo

stay sunny!