Fabulous Friday: It's OK to be pretty

I was watching a show on T.V. the other night and this woman actually said "I don't want to be pretty!" Not only did she go out of her way to not be pretty, but the word actually made her squirm in her chair.

At first I was just shocked. What kind of woman doesn't want to be pretty? But, as I listened to her reasoning, it really did make sense. Well, in a skewed vision of what pretty is, it made sense.

She is an incredibly educated, dedicated to her work kind of gal, and she thought that being pretty would mean she would have to spend all day at the mall only worrying about what she looked like, instead of spending all day in her science lab trying to come up with alternative energy. (I'm pretty sure we can thank reality television for that) And let me just plug in here that I would take the mall over a science lab any day, but that's just me.

OK, moving on. The point is that by the end of the show, she had come to realize that she could be pretty and put together and still have a high IQ.

How we look on the outside doesn't determine who we are on the inside, but looking nice on the outside can sure help us feel better on the inside.

This is exactly why we do Fabulous Friday here at The Best Me. We are both busy moms who firmly believe that when you look and feel put together, your day runs smoother and your happier. I'm not talking about putting on a whole face of makeup and curling your hair everyday, although if you have time and energy for that every day I say go for it! I'm talking about taking a shower before noon, putting on clothes instead of sweats, and taking a few minutes to brush your hair instead of throwing it in a pony tail. And maybe some of that extra stuff too, cause we kind of think it's fun.

So here is my two cents on eyeliner. In my opinion, most women should not be wearing black eyeliner or black mascara. If your going for a dramatic look or work in theater, than it would be the best option, but for everyday it's too harsh. After all, the point of wearing makeup is to look like your not wearing any right? And if your caking black all over your eyes than trust me, you look like your wearing makeup.

So, what color should you wear. Well, when it comes to mascara, look for one that is dark brown or even brown black. Taking it down just a notch will give your lashes a more natural look. And when it comes to eyeliner, well the point of eyeliner is to make your lash line look fuller, so any dark color could work. This is where you'll be wanting my secret formula to know which color you should use, but instead I'm just going to say "sorry, it's trial and error time."

Don't panic though, you don't have to go buy 10 different eyeliners to see which one works. I don't actually use an eyeliner pencil at all. What I do use is this angled brush.




I use the brush, a dab of water and eye shadow. And I'm guessing that if you already wear eyeshadow than you have a couple different colors on hand that you can experiment with. If not, Sally Beauty Supply has little individual eye shadows for .99 cents that would be perfect if you want to try a few new colors without spending a fortune. My personal favorite is dark purple.

I started doing my eyeliner this way because it's a lot more versatile than a pencil. For instance, if you want a more dramatic look like you would get from liquid liner, just get the brush really wet but, if you want a more smudgy pencil look than you'll want it just barely damp. And sometimes, for a really natural look I don't get the brush wet at all.

OK, now that I've talked your ear off let me show you what I mean. This is me with black eyeliner and black mascara on. It's not so awful that I'd be embarrassed to walk down the street or anything, but when I look at this picture I see the makeup and not my eyes.



This is the exact same day (same eyeshadow and everything) but with purple liner and dark brown mascara. For me this is a lot more natural and I feel like It's me that looks good and not my makeup.

This is a close up of my purple liner for anyone who might have run away scared when I said that. Really I love it, and I dare you to try it.

OK just one more thing and I'm done. I did say most women should not wear black, not all women should not wear black. Some of you can totally rock the black and look awesome. If you honestly feel like that is you, than disregard everything I just said. If your not sure though, try something new and see what you think.