Rosacea - The Struggle is Real

When I was 25 years old, I started having horrible problems with my skin.  I'd always had sensitive skin, but this was a whole new ballgame.   Little crusty bumps that weren't pimples dotted my cheeks close to my nose.  My face turned scarlet red when I ate spicy food or drank alcohol.  Everything aggravated it.  Makeup didn't hide it, and usually made it worse.  I felt hideous.   

I finally went to a dermatologist.  He diagnosed me with Rosacea and prescribed me the metro cream, gave me the pamphlet and that was that.  The medicine helped a little, but it never went away.   I hated my skin.  I struggled for years.  Some times were worse than others.  There were days that my skin cracked open and bled.   Some makeup and moisturizers made it worse.  I could put makeup on my face and feel it turning bright red. Within minutes, I would feel like my skin was on fire and peeling off my face.  The medicine was expensive.   I couldn't afford good makeup.  The cheap drugstore makeup had to do.  I was miserable.

I didn't understand how this could be my face.  The pamphlet said it was most common in "middle-aged" women with fair skin.  I was only 25!!! As I got older, I learned to live with it.  I was constantly searching for something to make it go away.  I bought face cleansers, moisturizers, serums, and continued to use the expensive prescription cream. I spent thousands of dollars over the years, trying to find skin care and makeup that I could use and would hide this awful condition.  I wish now that I had taken pictures without makeup so I could show how bad it looked, but I was so self conscious, I never would let that happen.   I even hated pictures with makeup!  The pictures shown here were on GOOD days with medicine and makeup!!! 

Then the 40's arrived.  The kids moved out and bills decreased.   I found a cream at Sephora that said it would help.  A few weeks and $185 later, I still had some symptoms, but it wasn't quite as bad.   I paid a fortune for a cleanser that said it was gentle and would help also.   Still, the redness showed.  I jumped from product to product, all promising to make things better.  All of them failing miserably.  

No makeup, No medicine! :) 

Then, I became a Younique presenter.  I decided to give the skin care line a try. I mean with a 14 day Love it Guarantee, I had nothing to lose.  If I had a reaction, I could send it back.  At this point, I wasn't holding any high hopes.  I mean if the $185 stuff didn't work, how could a $39 one work? I was skeptical, but willing to try anything. I got the gentle cleanser and Divine moisturizer.  After a few weeks, my skin began to feel and look different.  The Royalty line came out last year, and I added the Charcoal Bamboo Detoxifying Mask twice a week.   Between the skin care and the makeup free of harmful chemicals, the difference in my skin is amazing!!!  Absolutely Amazing!!!   

I'm so very happy to say that I no longer have to use prescription creams.  I no longer spend hundreds upon thousands of dollars trying to find a product to clear my skin up.  I can go out without makeup!  I can wear makeup confidently without it caking into sores on my face.  My face is 100% better!!!  I'm thrilled by the results!  I never dreamed I would have a face this clear.  I am forever grateful to have found Younique!!!

Over 40 and Fabulous

So many people think that as you get older there is a certain way you should dress and look.  I've been given a list of things people over 30 shouldn't wear.   Who's to tell me what I can and can't wear?!?   I mean, what if I just happen to LOVE blue eyeshadow?  and screen print T's,  blingy jeans, rhinestone bedazzled flip flops, and the list goes on and on!  There's more than one list I've been presented with.   And you know what I say they can do with that list?  They can shove it where the sun don't shine!!!

I've been following Baddiewinkle, and I have to say, I really admire someone who is in her 80's and doesn't give a flip what anyone thinks!  She rocks her style and to hell with the haters!  I just hope I can still move around and look that good when I'm 88! LOL  She's a perfect example of someone who doesn't go by any "rules" and stays true to herself.

Just because you're older doesn't mean you have to dress in grey and black and dull colors.  It doesn't mean you can't rock some bright colored makeup and dye your hair the colors of the rainbow!  BE YOURSELF!  You are fabulous the way you are! I was vibrant at 16, and I'm vibrant at 44!!!  I'm not going to fit into someone's mold of what they think someone older should look and act like.  I'm going to be myself no matter what.  If you don't like it, then move along and mind your own business!  I say that with all love.

If people in our society would stop judging everyone and show a little kindness and love to those that are different than how they think they should be, our world would be such a better place.  Can you imagine how boring life would be if we all believed and looked the same?   We would just be robots.

So, next time you look at an older woman dressed in sparkles and sporting bright color makeup that the lists say she shouldn't wear, try complimenting her and watch how beautiful she becomes when that smile lights her face up!!! Admire her self confidence!

And, if you're over 40, go buy that blue eyeshadow and purple lipstick!  Go buy that sparkly pair of jeans and shoes!  Go dye your hair pink, purple, blue, or whatever color you've been dying to try! Rock whatever look you want!  Be you!  I know I will!!!  Who cares what people think?  Just remember, the haters will be over 40 one day too!!! :)

What is it about Lashes?

Eyelashes...everybody has them.  Some more than others.   I was not blessed in that department.  I got stuck with blonde, short lashes that you can't see without mascara.  Every woman I know that doesn't have a lot to work with, wants more.   

We coat them with mascara, we painfully glue falsies on our eyes, we get extensions that are sometimes horribly painful.   Don't get the painful part?  Have an allergic reaction to the glue! OWWWW! We spend atrocious amounts on money on trying to have that gorgeous look only the very blessed have.  

It's just a fact.  Long eyelashes make your eyes look more beautiful.  Every woman wants them.  I am over 40 (and fabulous!) and until a year and a half ago, I couldn't find anything to make my lashes look amazing.  I was spending $30 on Dior Lash Maximizer, and $23 on Too Faced, Better than Sex Mascara a month and that was the best I could do.  Trust me, I tried about every brand there was.   I tried the cheap drugstore brands, the expensive high end brands....And, you still could hardly see them.  

I had finally just resigned myself to the fact that I would never have the gorgeous lashes  I dreamed of.  

Top Row: no mascara, 2 coats of Better than Sex, 1 coat Fibers
Bottom Row: 2 coats of 3D Fiber Lashes

Fast forward to a year and half ago, July of 2015 A friend invited me to an online lash party.  I had never heard of Younique before.  She promised me I would LOVE the mascara. So, I figured what's $30 when I'm spending over $50 a month on mascara anyway.  I'll give it a try.  I was completely blown away!  I couldn't believe it!  The difference it made was amazing.  Woot!!! I was saving money from now on at this point.  The Dior and Better than Sex went in the trash! I joined Younique so I could get another 20% off discount and earn even more free mascara having parties. Now I was really saving!!!

Onward to January 2nd, 2017!!! Younique outdid themselves and unveiled their newly reformulated 3D+ Fiber Lash Mascara:  New brushes, new wands, new formula gel, new fibers! If you don't believe your eyes...BELIEVE MINE!!!  This is the most amazing mascara I have every used! For the first time every, I will leave the house with just mascara on my eyes!  You can see my lashes.   I'm ecstatic.  I want to shout it to the world!  You don't have to spend fortunes on extensions, waste time on messy glue  and itchy fake lashes!   There is a solution!  

It's as easy as this:

Step 1: TRANSPLANTING GEL Apply an even coat of Transplanting Gel to lashes.
Step 2: 3D FIBERS Immediately apply 3D Fibers while Transplanting Gel is wet.
Step 3: TRANSPLANTING GEL Seal the 3D Fibers with Transplanting Gel. Repeat   

                                                                           until you've reached desired fullness.

TIP: For best application, do step 1 and 2 on one eye, move to the next eye and perform step 1 and 2, then return to first eye to perform step 3, and then finish with step 3 on second eye.

Instructional Video Available! Click here!

AND... there's a Love it! Guarantee! If you don't love it you can return it within 14 days no questions asked!  What are you waiting for?  Those long, beautiful lashes are waiting on you at www.lashesandlids.com!

  

Self Confidence

It's something we all struggle with.   Girls with curly hair wish they had straight hair, girls with straight hair wish they had curly hair.  I'm too fat, I'm to skinny, the list goes on and on.   We are all our own worst critics.  I've struggled with it every day of my life.  Well, never the, "I'm too skinny" part.  I've never gotten the joy of being in that position.

We look in the mirror, and we tear ourselves apart little by little.  Our self confidence is gone by the time we walk away.  We look at other people we find beautiful and gorgeous and compare ourselves and then see all the ways we fall short.

When I was in 5th and 6th grade, my tormenters at school called me SFS "Short, Fat and Stubby."  I was the kid who only had a couple of friends, and we were all the outcasts.  My self esteem was very low.  My mom homeschooled me from 7th grade up, and I had a great youth group and friends that didn't pick on me every day.  I slimmed up some as I got through that awkward stage.  I started to feel better about myself.  Then.....

I was 18 years old, I got my first real job.   After a few weeks, I went in to work for the first time without makeup on my face.  I was dressed professionally, had my hair fixed, but I just didn't want to wear makeup that day.  I got to work, and my boss, a man in his 40's, told me to please go home and put makeup on and never come to work without it again.   I was crushed.  I cried all the way home.   I was relieved that no one was home when I got there.   I had a good cry, washed my face, put on my makeup and went back to work and never mentioned it again.   But, every single day since then, first thing to do is put my makeup on.  I became afraid to leave my house without it.    I felt ugly.   I felt like I only could be perceived as somewhat attractive if I had makeup on.  It defined me.  One man's stupid, thoughtless comment, had the power to completely destroy my self confidence at 18.  I mean if a 40 year old man couldn't stand to look at me without makeup, then I must be very unattractive.   I wouldn't even go to the store without makeup.    Honestly, the only time I left my house without makeup is if I was sick and going to the doctor or hospital.  I wouldn't dare let anyone take a picture of me without my face on!  This went on for years and years.  Until about a year ago actually!

No makeup, Just me!

Since I started my journey with Younique, I've been learning to stop tearing myself apart.  It helps that my skin care routine has changed and my rosacea  (another blog for another day) has practically gone away.  I now look in the mirror and find the good things about myself.   I have a beautiful smile.  I have pretty eyes.  I'm me!  I stopped wishing I could change things I have no control over.  I am just the way God made me, and I am beautiful.   I still wear makeup every day, but not because I feel I can't go without it.  I wear it because I love makeup, and I've found a brand that I'm passionate about. But, on that rare occasion when I am in a hurry,  I can now leave my house in a flash with no makeup and not be so self conscious about it.  I can post a picture of my face with no makeup on social media without caring what anyone thinks.  I'm learning to love myself just the way I am.

I know beauty is what's on the inside shining through.  I know that I have a beautiful heart and soul.  I also know the power of words.  Words can hurt.  Words can't be unsaid.  Even if they are apologized for, they are still remembered.   So, wether you're typing a comment to someone, or saying something  face to face, above all else, please be kind.  If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.  If we all spent a little more time spreading kindness, the world would be such a better place.   What you may think is constructive criticism, the person on the other end sees "you're ugly," "you're not good enough."  Why is your place to tell someone what YOU perceive to be wrong with them?  Do you know how it feels to be told "You would be so pretty if you would just lose weight?  Well, I do.  And it HURTS!  Why not just say you are so pretty and leave the IF out of it?  You don't have to SAY everything you THINK!  Stop tearing people down.  Lift them up! Help them see they are beautiful..Just the way they are!

I hope that today, you can go out and tell someone they are beautiful and mean it.  Help build self confidence instead of tearing it down!  Love others and make the world a better place!

Changing my life!

Who knew that $99 and some makeup could change my life?

How did this happen?  A friend invited me to an online lash party.  I bought some of this "magic" mascara and I fell in love with it and wanted to try the other stuff.  I mean, I'm a makeup addict.  I had a Sephora addiction way beyond normal!   So, I went back on to order more and saw this little button that said "JOIN."   Hmmmmm what's the catch?  So, I started reading.  20% discount sounded good.  THEN, I found out, that I could host my own parties, and when they qualified, I got more FREE makeup!!! Hell yeah! Free is always good.  I couldn't believe it.  I read on and found out I only had to sell $125 every 3 months to stay active.   I love makeup so much I could keep myself in business.  Seriously, I just bought the kit so I could get the discount.  I mean, who wouldn't buy a kit with almost $300 of makeup in it for $99 and the promise of 20% off all future purchases?  So, I got my kit, my free website, and then.......I get a message from the lady I signed up under (the presenter from the party that I never had even talked to).  

She wanted to add me to the team chats and groups on Facebook.  Oh sure, ok.  Sounds fun.  I love making new friends.  I get in there and see all these crazy lash ladies posting pictures of themselves with only half their face made up.  HELL NO! This girl did not sign up for that.  I only wanted the discount.  NO ONE sees this girl without makeup.   You see, when I went into this, I had NO self confidence whatsoever.  You're talking about a girl who hardly let her family see her without makeup.  A girl that had been bullied for years and made fun of and felt vulnerable and ugly without her "face" on.   Nope, not happening, not gonna do it.  

Then, my kit arrived.  I was so excited.  I started wearing the makeup and loved everything.  I wanted it all!  But, to afford it all, I had to start selling.  So, with the whole team cheering me on, I posted my first pictures.  Full makeup first.  Next, how about one eye with the new mascara and one eye with the old?  I saw my first party get a good start.  Within the 10 days, I had earned some free makeup!  Yay me!!!  Then, with the encouragement of the girls on the team, I got a little braver.  After a while, I got the confidence to post a before and after photo.  I got the nerve to do a video with no makeup on and tell my story.  I cried in it.  But, that's okay, I was myself.  My teammates became my biggest encouragers and friends.  I have never met most of them in person, but they are always there for me.  Before I knew it, I was posting live videos and sharing with other women with a confidence I have never had.  I learned to love myself just the way I am!  

I was also loving my customers responses.  I realized so many women felt the same way I did.  I love making women feel as beautiful as I know they already are.   We are all beautiful without makeup; however, makeup can give us confidence we didn't have and enhance our natural beauty.   When we feel good about ourselves, we feel empowered.  When we uplift others, we are validated! 

I decided to go to convention and met so many beautiful ladies and learned so much.  I am on a journey.  I have dreams.  I'm surrounded by women that are positive and encouraging.  My life is changing every day for the better.  

So, can $99 change a life?  The answer is absolutely!

www.lashesandlids.com