Product Review: AMAZING Younique Mascara

YOU GUYS!

My friend Karen Teuscher is a Younique consultant and sent me their Moonstruck 3D Fiber Lashes to try and it's AMAZING. 
Look here for product, buy from link below.

I don't have great lashes, but I don't have bad lashes either. They're just kind of not there when I don't have mascara on and are pretty normal when I do. BUT THIS STUFF. Just look...

with

with and without

with

without 

Notes:
The process is in three steps. There's a black gel that's a super fancy mascara that the stick fibers to. The fibers are in another tube and go on like you'd put mascara, then the gel is put on again to seal the fibers. It's SO easy!

You can see how much longer and fuller my lashes are! I figured when I got this I'd use it for special occasions but I wear it every day now. I've cried with it on and it's great! I've danced and sweated for hours with it on and my lashes got a bit clumpy, but I think most mascaras would.

I'm super low maintenance when it comes to make up removal, so I just use a wipe and I will say it does take a little more doing to remove the fibers than normal mascara, but not enough to turn me off.

The gel sticks to skin more than my usual mascara, so if you get it on your fingers or your brow, you work a bit to get it off. Again, not enough to turn me off.

Application can take some finessing, meaning the fibers are little pieces of, duh, fiber, and you need to distribute them evenly and coat them well with the gel, but this is an observation, not a condemnation.

At $30 for a three month supply I figured I'd use this sample and be done and suggest that you buy this if you have the money, but that as a grad student I probably wouldn't get worked up about putting it into my budget. I'll probably be singing a different tune in a few months. THIS STUFF IS GREAT.

My friend Dom yesterday stopped me mid sentence to tell me how amazing my lashes look.

Should you try this stuff? YES. If you purchase from Karen I could get a bit (yes, of course I do, so do it!)

Go HERE https://www.youniqueproducts.com/KarenTeuscher/presenter/myparties and buy this stuff. It is great.

How I'm going to stay sane...

I just started Grad School Year Two. The worst! This is the year people gain 50 pounds, or lose 50 pounds, or lose their hair, or gain a therapist (no shame, just saying). It has very great potential to be very very rough. And Grad School Year One had such harrowing experiences as Pneumonia! Snowed In! All The Late Night Sewing In The Land! Wicked Tendonitis! I've already had such lovely Year Two experiences as Build a Vest in a Day! Stay Late On Friday of a Three Day Weekend Sewing for Saturday! Spending First Saturday On a Film Shoot!

So...what am I going to do about it? Take care of myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Physically:
YOGA! I do yoga, on DailyBurn.com
I do yoga first thing in the morning because if I don't, I won't. I've done this for a week and my achey hips feel better and my tendonitis doesn't seem as bad.
Also, food. I'm going to eat it, three times a day. This was a resolution from last year of undergrad, and it's a good one.

Spiritually:
SCRIPTURE STUDY! after yoga? 30 minutes of Isaiah.
Also, Institute every Wednesday night.
Also, church, every week and all the things.

Emotionally:
NO MEN, for the semester, at least. Having a partner would make all this much easier, but I've been realizing that for the past two years the ups and downs of searching for a partner have not been great for my emotional health. I need a break. I'm on a boy diet. Not looking, not interested, leave me alone, but let's be friends!
Hobbies! I got a Kindle so I can read! And I'll go to derby and do other social things.
Friends! I have them, I love them, I want to be better friends with them. Old friends, new friends, friends are where it's at!

So that's the plan, and don't worry men of the world, maybe I'll get back in the spirit when I graduate and have more time to deal with the shenaniganery of dating.

Why I'm attractive 4.0

I have natural french tipped nails and give amazing back scratches.
I've helped dry wall a ceiling.
My hair is the softest.
I hem pants like it's my job, bc it is my job.
I can type so fast.
I make pancakes in bulk.
I'm not scared of the dark, or heights.
Cleaning kitchen floors relaxes me.
I grew up watching WWII movies and so can speak intelligently about The Dirty Dozen, Great Escape, Patton, etc etc.

Other reasons all me should be in love with me can be found here.

In case you were wondering..

about my life right now.

-I finished my first year of grad school.
-Our sleepy little summer shop put up and took down Next To Normal and it was phenomenal.
-Laura and I built two jackets for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I'm sad not to be in Cedar for the summer for the first time in four years! but I've loved learning from Laura and watching all the movies while we tailor and I think of my lovely USFers often.
-I've been discovering beautiful PA! The woods around these parts are beautiful and I've gone walking and hiking alone and with friends recently. Sublime.
-I leave for London in two weeks! I'm so busy with work that I've barely had time to turn my mind to it! I am getting excited though! I'm doing my project on Beau Brummell and so am reading a biography and studying up on Savile Row. It will be amazing!

Other than that, I keep on keeping on as the independent, professional, LDS woman that I am! Life is pretty good. I want for very little. 

Square Toed Shoes

these are worse

than these

but these are the worst

just wear round brogues and make me happy. 

I like this guy's opinion "Wear Round Toed Shoes"
and this guy's list "11 Out-of-Style Trends You Should Phase Out of Your Wardrobe"

all of this reminds me that I need to get back to my shoe book...which will certainly be very biased and contain no square toed shoes...or I'll have a blerb in the back for other, inferior toe varieties. 

Sherlock: His Last Vow

:::Yes, I did burn what I was crockpotting bc I couldn't spare the time to turn it down during the episode.
:::That buxom Scottish vixen. I felt bad at first, then terrible, then not so bad anymore
:::I TOLD YOU Mary was a bad guy, or rather I hoped she wouldn't be...and she technically wasn't?
:::If I ever get shot I don't think my mind palace will save me, but perhaps my love for Martin Freeman will.
:::People are arguing that CBS's Elementary is more human and likable and has more room to grow, but if getting more glimpses into Sherlock's crazy childhood mind palace sociopathy and then having him kill a man to make John's life better isn't human I don't know what is. And then accepting an assignment whose goal is to kill him isn't loyalty and love, I don't know what is.
:::I have a TV with bad sound and picture so I understood almost nothing that was whispered, nor could read anything Magnussen remembered so I'll definitely have to rewatch this.
:::So...Sherlock's no longer "The Virgin"? I mean...
:::Will The Woman come back? Her episode might still be my favorite...for entertainment value. This one ranks second for emotional damage after Fall.
:::I felt bad for Martin, I mean John...so so bad. I was absolutely heartbroken, but then somehow everything turned and I don't feel bad any more? Well done boys.
:::Martin Freeman is perfection. I know Cumberbatch does well too, but I mean, come on.
:::A real Cumberbatch Christmas!
:::I thought the Rolodexes were fishy...
:::Will we ever know what "Red Beard" is?


I have no idea how this show can sustain itself bc the stakes don't seem to be able to get any higher, but I have faith in Mark and Steven.

"Dress"

I've been patterning pants among other things this semester and learned about "dress".

Dress is adding 1/2" up and out at the bottom of the front left pant curve (crotch). I've spent my fair share of time in men's dressing rooms, changing them in the dark, and discussing and washing their underwear, but after a long week "dress" just really got me. I couldn't stop giggling when my tailor quantified amount of dress. The ladies in the BYU shop should just shake their heads at how far I've fallen.

FYI: Dress is specifically on the left because the way flies are constructed more often than not makes the left side preferred, but a bespoke pair of trousers can easily accommodate right dress.

Yes, this is highly euphemistic and yes, this is the old-timey technical term. 

Sherlock: The Sign of Three

:::Best middle episode yet. I don't feel like the premiere counted as a real episode, it was so out of the norm.
:::I laughed, I cried, this is Sherlock.
:::I like Mary more and more every time I see her. She is perfect for these guys.
:::How will the series change now that they're married?
:::How will the series change now that she's pregnant?!
:::Benedict Cumberbatch.
:::Martin Freeman.
:::Whatever can the finale be about?

New (to me) Musicals: The Last Five Years, Drowsy Chaperon, & The Light in the Piazza

I love musicals, but have realized recently that I know next to nothing about the more "modern" pieces, basically anything after 1965 (and the likes of Phantom and Les Mis). This summer I really dug into Sondheim and still have a few of his to listen to/read (next is Assassins!), but now I'm working on all the others people talk about of which I know very little. To this end I started a Spotify playlist and took suggestions and am working my way through cast recordings.

I can't tell you who wrote what, or what themes or motifs are shared between composers and lyricists, but I bet you can't tell me how the House of Worth changed from Charles Frederick to Jean-Phillipe, or why 1879-1882 is so unique, so here is a (not entirely) lay person's responses to my first three "new" musicals.

Last Five Years
::: hopeful and heartbreaking
::: lovely instrumentation, accessible and light
::: I can actually sing these songs and not feel like a total hack for trying.
::: sharp, clever lyrics
::: poignant and sincere messages

The Drowsy Chaperon
::: I went on a few dates with the real Janet Van De Graaff's cousin
::: that first one has nothing to do with the musical
::: neither does the second
::: seems like Millie had a baby with R&H's Cinderella
::: what a romp
::: showy and exactly what a musical should be, by its own admission
::: seems like fun to costume :)
::: I imagined my friend Carter playing the narrator

The Light in the Piazza
::: I actually saw this on PBS years back
::: just me, or was it just a lot of screaming ballads?
::: I liked little bits here and there, but the whole thing kind of bled together
::: I did stop and think that "Let's Walk" is not bad

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse

:::I totally called that they used the kidnapper double in some way!
:::Oh John...mustache.
:::Mary is the lady cop in Case Histories!
:::I really like Mary, I hope she's not a bad guy.
:::Were those Benny's real parents? I think so...lemme check. Yep.
:::Was just flipping the switch off the bomb brilliant or stupid?
:::I think I need to watch these with other people...I have more violent reactions with other people around, but only if they're totally quite and only react to the same things I do.
:::Lastrad's looking good...and hugging Sherlock was the best.
:::Mrs. Hudson's lookin' good.
:::I thought Sherlock's being gone for two years seemed like a huge gap...then I realized I had a literal puddle of tears on my computer after the last episode of series 2 in 2012. That did take awhile!
:::I still want to know why his shirts are always so tight. I'm not complaining, but they're beyond a simple European cut.
:::Sherlock can kiss me on the cheek.
:::I need to watch this episode again, about three more time.
:::Martin Freeman is perfect, perfect.

Animated films I'd totally be down designing real costumes for

Anastasia, duh.
Rumor has it this is being workshopped in Russia, but news has been silent recently. I'd love to get my hands on it and actually make it period appropriate. Can you imagine the ghost ball fantasy?! Or the Paris costumes?! 1917 and 1927, awkward but fantastic years! Russian national dress!!! I'd die and go to heaven. Also, Rasputin's song.

Frozen
Of COURSE they're making this into a stage show. Computer animation is making leaps and bounds, but their textile rendering still leaves things to be desired. I will say Hans' satin lapels really struck a chord with me, as did Elsa's ice outfit (the most magical of quick changes!). The idea of Fantasy Norway is so intriguing and I'd love to make the women's clothes actually appropriately cut. I swear...do they even know how clothes are put together?! And all of the princely outfits and lovely rustic leathers on Kristoff and delightful winter folkwear on Anna.



Ok, that's only two...mostly because all the other Disney Princesses have been done and if I did them I'd totally mix them up! But for real, these two would be amazing! Maybe Brave as well...KILTS.

Shelby 7ish years ago...

A video popped up on my newsfeed of a friend from 2007 and I hardly recognized him, which lead to my going through my old Facebook albums. I give you THEN AND NOW!!

Homecoming 2006...Senior year. I would be at BYU in a year and wanting to get married in two...thank goodness I was not a teenage bride. Those two years did not help much. But 7 years did! (if I do say so myself). Oh the wonders of a college education in hair, make up, and costumes (and some toning at the gym).

Top 10 Entries of 2013

These are my favorite contributions to this blog in 2013, no particular order.

Nightmare Jobs
The Mill on the Floss aka I love my brother SO much
Retro, Vintage, Antique, and Extant
Cities to Live In (or rather "in which to live")
fun little Q&A (some answers have changed already!)
Watson Face
How to Catch a Wedding Bouquet
Dating
Old-Timey Love
Opening Night Dress 2013: The End

Resolutions 2014

Be fearless.
Be kind.
Be studious.
Be proactive.
Be flexible.
Be patient.
Be considerate.
Be brave.