How To Choose The Right Foundation In 4 Simple Steps

As a makeup artist I get asked all the time which foundations I like best, how to make foundation last all day, how to choose the right foundation.

Walk into any department store / Sephora / makeup emporium and the list of options can be overwhelming. 
Half the time the people charged with helping you make the choice are so overly made-up they look like caricatures of themselves, which hardly inspires confidence. If you look to you tube and Instagram you will find the "beauty experts" favor obliterating any concept of skin by slamming so much makeup on the face it almost looks plastic.
And maybe you just want to look like a pretty, normal, lovely girl.

you use the same 4 steps to choose your model's foundation for a shoot
as you do for yourself for everyday wear.

Whether I'm getting a model or a movie star ready for a shoot, or whether I'm just shopping for myself, here are the criteria I look for when choosing a foundation:

1. What finish do you need?

What type of skin do you have? If you are oily you will want a slightly more matte finish or a water based foundation to offset some of the shine you are battling.
If you have dry skin you need a foundation with a glowing, dewey finish to make the skin look luminous.

2. How much coverage do you really need?

Rather than hijacking the face and holding your skin hostage, foundation is supposed to create the illusion of a beautiful, radiant complexion.
If your skin is clear you only need a sheer cover foundation. If you have scarring, uneven skin tone, blemishes that need disappearing then you should opt for a more full cover foundation. If your skin falls somewhere in the middle, you need coverage that falls somewhere in the middle.
The worst thing you can do is overload the skin with a foundation that is far too heavy. Instead make creating lovely looking skin your goal.

3. What is your undertone?

Basically foundations come in two color groupings. There are cool toned foundations, which cover ivory, porcelain and pinky undertoned skins, and then there are your warm tones for girls with a yellow or olive undertone.
If you have a cool toned skin and wear a yellow based foundation it will look awful. The same applies to a warm toned girl wearing a pink based foundation.

4. Find your shade

Rather than testing your color on some remote corner of your jawline, test it somewhere where you can clearly see whats going on, such as your forehead or the front of your cheek.
You should be the same color from your hairline to your chest, and your face shouldn't be any darker or any lighter than the rest of your upper body.

Chic And Healthy Soups To Take To Work (And Make Your Co Workers Jealous!)

This post from Career Girl Daily came into my in box 3 weeks ago and rocked my lunchtime world!

Gluten Free Instant Noodles image from Glutenfreeonashoestring.com
recipe below

I love having soup for lunch in the winter. (or what we jokingly refer to as winter here in Phoenix, where it doesn't actually get too cold!) 

Gluten Free Instant Noodle Cup Recipe From Gluten Free On A Shoestring

But when I'm working I don't want to bring those store bought cups of msg-rich, powdered, just add water soups that are guaranteed to make you swell up by early afternoon, and I don't want to bring Tupperware containers of soup from home to heat up in a microwave either.

Kelp Noodle Pot image via Career Girl Daily

But how about homemade noodle cups with fresh vegetables and a multitude of options?? In a chic glass container? I am so hooked!

Kelp Noodle Pot Recipe from Deliciously Ella

Homemade chicken and vegetable pot noodles from Kitchensanctuary.com

Homemade Chicken And Vegetable Pot Noodle Recipe From Kitchen Sanctuary

The concept with these soups is that you are filling a jar with wholesome goodness and then when lunch time rolls around you just add boiling water, let it steep for a few minutes, and you are good to go!

The Pho Jar image via Career Girl Daily

The Pho Jar Recipe from Minute-Meal.com

They don't just taste fantastic, but they are so visually appealing. 
You feel satiated and satisfied and yet you've had a low calorie, fat free lunch that is both colorful and nutrient rich.

I bought these French Hermetic Terrine Jars at The Container Store. The middle size is perfect for a lunch soup. It's important to get glass jars, not plastic. The glass ones look better and won't stain.

This weekend I'm going back to buy some of these 
Panoply Canisters, because I think they are also made of glass and I think they would look pretty amazing too. 

Panopy Canisters from The Container Store

What I have learned doing these is:
 *You need to soak rice noodles over night. Boiling water on dry rice noodles doesn't get them soft and edible.
*You can make a bunch of these ahead of time (they look super pretty in your refrigerator) and just throw one in your bag in the morning on your way out the door.
*In a pinch if you need more flavor or don't have time to prep a sauce-base you can just throw in noodles, fresh vegetables, some kelp a miso paste.

There are 11 more recipes in the original post on Career Girl Daily

While clicking away on every recipe that Career Girl Daily had in their post I found some fab blogs to follow, including Deliciously Ella, Gluten Free On A Shoestring and Kitchen Sanctuary

If you have some good ideas for a chic and healthy soup recipe, tell me about them in the comment section below!

Clearing The Clutter

So how is your Monday morning looking?
This is how mine is looking.

I was on a fashion shoot yesterday that ran late into the night. You'd be amazed at how many Sunday shoots happen!
Anyway, today is my Sunday, and this is what I'm doing.
I am obsessed with clearing the clutter from every aspect of my life. I want everything to be streamlined and simplified. 
Funnily enough it's taking much longer than originally planned. Somewhere between being a single parent and working non-stop I'm not keeping up to my schedule, but I am getting there one day (literally!) at a time.

As much as I hate tidying and doing housework, I love shopping at The Container Store, so I look at it as a deal - get this room stripped down,/area decluttered and the reward is buying something new at The Container Store.

My office is now a very beautiful grey and white, and I have been buying up white furniture for it from The Container Store, including this really cool White Leaning Bookcase
and a white file cabinet
similar to this one.
The Container Store does not give me free products in exchange for reviews. But I seriously wish they would!!

Anyway, before I get started on the next project I'm going to enjoy a cup of coffee and read some more of the de-clutter bible,
Marie Kondo's fantastic New York Times bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Oh and congratulations to all the winners of the VIP Passes to the screening of The Choice giveaway. I know you are going to love this film! Winners were notified by email, but there is a list of them on the Rafflecopter widget in the blogpost (see here)

Last week I was working with author and producer Nicholas Sparks doing press for the movie, which was so much fun. Everyone loved the movie! If you are in the mood for a good romance, The Choice opens this Friday (February 5th) nationwide.

Nicholas Sparks doing breakfast TV for his new film, The Choice

Happy Monday everyone!

Football Playoffs Party Food ~ How To Make A Charcuterie Board

Are you a football fan?
I love football. I learned American football when I worked the first season of NFL On Fox. Terry, Howie and Coach Jimmy taught me the game back in 1994 and I loved it ever since.
I also love football parties and Super Bowl parties, which brings me to today's post.

A few weeks ago I did a shoot with my very good friends, The Football Bettys, for Emma Magazine.

The Football Bettys are a trio of uber glamorous business women who also happen to be die-hard football fans. They are gorgeous, fun, and all about fashion. Football Betty parties are stylish and chic, and their website caters to the football fan who enjoys a good pair of heels.

Anyway, I need a charcuterie board for a football party this weekend, so I'm doing this one from the Football Bettys.
If you need some chic and fabulous ideas for football playoff parties or for your Super Bowl party, check out their website here

And if you want to know how to create the perfect charcuterie board check out this post from the Football Bettys:

How To Make A Charcuterie Board For Your Football Party

Here at Football Bettys, we like to balance our football party style- sometimes our entertaining ideas are casual and super easy (like our Quick and Easy Popcorn Bar) and other times we like to step it up and make pretty football party food. Yes, we said it: pretty football party food. 

This gorgeous charcuterie board was created by Football Betty Victoria for Emma Magazine's winter issue and there's so much we love about it that we had to share all the details! 

Have you tried ooey gooey crazy delicious honeycomb? It's a luxury item that earns the top spot on our "pretty football party food" list of must haves. Pro tip: once you take it out of the container, place it on a plate or bowl with a rim so the honey doesn't ooze off the board. 

Shoot stylist and party hostess Victoria suggests you start building your charcuterie board with the meat and cheese first since the cheese is usually the item that takes up the most room and the meat can be layered vertically. Once you have these two items placed on the board, you can build around them with the other goodies! 

When planning a pretty football party food spread, we like to use beautiful serving pieces such as the Julia Knight platters and bowls seen in this shoot. These serving pieces are among our favorites for several reasons: the quality is exceptional, the designs are both sophisticated and modern, and many of the pieces are bold in color so they coordinate with our team colors! 

Pears and Honeycrisp apples are perfect for gluten-free guests; charcuterie boards are crowd pleasers just like chips and dip but they're much more fancy and guests always ooh and ahh over them (when they're done well. If you throw some Triscuits and a block of cheddar on a cutting board, you may NOT call it a charcuterie board).

For extra crunch, freeze the grapes ahead of time. We swear, frozen grapes are so good, they can pass for dessert in a pinch (we used chablis grapes-they're delicious). 

How pretty is this??? 

We've served this charcuterie board to guests and get so many compliments on it. 

Pretty Football Party Food: Shopping List

- Pretzilla Pretzel Bites

- Rustic Bakery (flatbread)

- Lesley Stowe Raincoast Crisps

- Dalmatia Fig Spread

- Cypress Grove (chevre cheese)

- Cowgirl Creamery (Red Hawk cheese)

- Savannah Bee Company (honeycomb)

- Whole Foods (olives, fruit, meats)

Pretty Football Party Food: Charcuterie Board Bonus Tips

- Create levels with the items on your charcuterie board- this maximizes space and adds to the overall look 

- Don't forget cheese knives and forks

- Use herbs to add some color and pretty texture

- Offer a variety of crackers- a few hearty types with seeds/grains and some that are lighter in texture

- Fig spread is one of our best kept secrets- it may sound unusual but it's AWESOME

- Pitted olives are a necessity- guests won't have to worry about where to put their pits (or breaking a tooth)

Pretty Football Party Food: Team Players

Photography: Fully Alive Photography

Styling: Victoria Canada of Victoria Canada Weddings & Events

Serving Dishes:  Julia Knight Collection

Wooden board: John Boos & Co  

Flowers: Camelback Flower Shop

Clothing:  Nordstrom 

Location:  Private Residence

As featured in: Emma Magazine Winter Issue