Mommin' It Up!

January 29, 2014February 20, 2014

#doyourmakeup Get the CoverGirl Bombshell look & $100 giveaway!

As you may remember from my post where I tested ALL THE MASCARAS, I *love* mascara. As a matter of fact, I can’t stop buying them, and I need to do a “Part 2” to that mascara-testing post since I’ve tried at least 10 more since then.

When I saw about a month ago that CoverGirl was coming out with a new mascara, “The Bombshell”, I got ALL EXCITED! I even paid full price for it (well, with a coupon, but it wasn’t on sale) because I couldn’t wait to get it. AND THEN, CoverGirl came out with a whole set of eye shadows and eyeliners to go with. Wheee! AND THEN, my dream came true and CoverGirl asked me to do a sponsored review of these products, make a video tutorial of how I got my Bombshell look, and give you guys a chance to win a $100 Walmart gift card.

Umm…let me think about it…YES I will do that!

I had so much fun reviewing these products and getting my Bombshell look. Check out my video tutorial below and then scroll down for more info on the products and information on how you can win a $100 Walmart gift card…you can get these fab CoverGirl Bombshell products at Walmart and Walmart.com. The Walmart gift card and information have been provided by CoverGirl.

Easy, right? If I weren’t such a TALKER, that could’ve been a two-minute video!

Here’s a pic of me after I finished the video:

What makes this look so quick to apply is really the ease of applying the Bombshell ShineShadow. It’s so much quicker than powder eyes hadow. That’s just one of the many things I like about these products. I tried them each several times before I did my video review so I could make sure and give a very thorough review. Here are a couple more #bombshelling looks:

Bombshelling — Here you can see how the Ice Queen shade of Bombshell Shine Shadow stands out really well on its own!

and

Bombshelling 2 — Here I used a CoverGirl Eye Enhancers powder shadow with the Ice Queen Bombshell Shine Shadow acting as a highlighter and a primer. Love the way they complement each other!

But anyway…enough of my face. Here’s what I like about the products!

CoverGirl Bombshell Volume by LashBlast™ Mascara: I love the step 1 brush. In my experience, the short bristles allow you to get lots of volume without clumps. The brush and formula on step 2 add great length and do intensify the color. The other thing I love about it is that it is extremely long-wearing. Just to show you an example, here’s me 10 hours after I shot that video, in my fuzzy bathrobe…I did NO eye makeup touch-ups that day. As you can see, the Bombshell mascara (and intensity eyeliner as well) still looks GREAT.

Just a note, the Bombshell mascara comes in three colors: Black, Very Black, and Black/Brown. I am wearing Very Black.

CoverGirl Bombshell ShineShadow by LashBlast: I am a sucker for cream eyeshadow anyway, and I am also a SHIMMER QUEEN, so how could I not love these shadows? They really are very, very, shimmery and extremely fast and easy to apply. A little goes a long way, and you can put it on lightly or heavily to customize your look. It stays on fabulously well, and I honestly couldn’t love it any more. I cannot wait to get ALL THE COLORS!

CoverGirl BombShell Intensity Liner: As I mentioned in the video, I love how the short length of the pen and the felt tip make this so easy to apply. And, as you’ll see from my photo above, it is extremely long-wearing. It didn’t budge! The intense dark color is awesome for a dramatic look. It’s a great product. It also comes in another color, Chocolate Kiss, which I think I’m gonna have to procure as well. I’m wearing Pitch Black Passion in the video and in the photo above.

Ok, so NOW you get the chance to win a $100 Walmart gift card so you can go get yourself one heck of a CoverGirl Bombshell look! Here’s how to enter, it’s really easy!

Simply go check out the Bombshell mascara, ShineShadow, and Intensity Liner on CoverGirl’s website, then come back here and leave me a comment on which one you would most like to try and why! One winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, February 5th at 6 pm EST. Good luck and happy BOMBSHELLING!

January 28, 2014January 26, 2014

Sophia and the Bee

Last weekend I did one of the most nerve-wracking things I have ever done as a parent. I took Sophie to the regional spelling bee, where, as the winner from her 1st grade class, she would compete against 13 other first-graders.

We had about 5 or 6 weeks to study, but there were hundreds of words in the easy, hard, and medium categories. We studied hard but it was definitely not possible to review them all multiple times. Which section should we spend the most time on? I wasn’t sure.

Sophie, for her part, wasn’t nervous at all – she was excited! She really wanted to win, though, and knew that another girl from her school was the “one to beat”. So we talked about being a good sport, about doing the VERY best you can, and about the importance of hard work in studying.

When they began the bee, my pulse quickened every time it was Sophie’s turn to spell. I gripped the sides of my chair tightly and I think I held my breath until the word was announced. If it was one I knew that she knew, I relaxed. If it was one I wasn’t sure of, I gripped my seat tighter. Round after round, she hung in there, even spelling tough words like “quite” and “cent” (which they used in a sentence) and pleasantly surprising me. After round 9, only three tiny spellers remained – all girls. I was absolutely thrilled that Sophie had made it so far – I honestly did not know what to expect.

Round ten commenced. The first speller (the one Sophie was nervous about competing against) got the word “dizzy”. The next speller got the word “harm”. Then, it was Sophie’s turn, and I held my breath as the Spellmaster announced: “The word is ‘claim'”. My heart dropped. Not as easy as dizzy or harm, and I was not at all sure she knew it.

“Claim.” Sophie began confidently. “C-l-a-…m-e”. Claim.

I cringed inwardly and put a huge smile on my face as the Spellmaster said, “I’m sorry, that’s not correct.” The smile was because Sophie immediately turned around to look at me. I gave her two thumbs up and mouthed “third place!” as she made her way to sit with me in the audience. I gave her a big hug and whispered how proud I was and she hugged me back and seemed pretty happy.

And she was. As the bee finished up, and the other two girls battled it out (which did not take long at all) she went back up to get her certificate and claim her third place ribbon. She was absolutely beaming with excitement.

And I was of course, beaming with pride.

I was also holding something back. Something I couldn’t let out on at our celebratory McDonald’s breakfast or our congratulatory trip to the Target dollar spot. Something I had to hold onto until I could get some time alone.

The thing is, you guys. The thing is.

Just a short three years ago (and doesn’t time fly? Three years ago I had a newborn and I was a mess!) my little four-year-old Sophie could not walk into a crowded room – not even a family party – without freaking out. Every time a stranger would try and talk to her she’d scream and give them the evil eye. She hated to be the center of attention, and was even afraid of corporate singing, from songs at church to the Happy Birthday song. Her developmental delays were rather severe on the social end of things.

And then. Three short years later. She wins her class spelling bee. No problem being up in front of her peers. And then she exuberantly pursues going to the regional spelling bee, confidently performing in front of her peers and a bunch of strangers through ten rounds of head-to-head competition. She happily accepts applause and stands in the limelight when she’s given her ribbon. She bears defeat with grace.

If you didn’t know Sophie when, you might not understand how overwhelmed I was when all of this hit me in the face. If you’d told me three short years ago that this would happen I don’t think I would have believed you. Even though I always believed Sophie would overcome her delays, I didn’t realize – I didn’t know – I didn’t know that the real Sophie, the one buried beneath her delays, was so outgoing, confident, and capable.

And I came to understand it by and by, so that I wasn’t really surprised to see her do so well up there at the spelling bee.

And when it hit me that I wasn’t really surprised, because this is who Sophie is, that’s when I lost it.

God has done amazing things in my daughter’s life. I couldn’t be more thankful or more proud to be her mother. I couldn’t be more thankful to taste and see that the Lord is good!

January 27, 2014January 27, 2014

Two Shimmery Eye Looks to Warm Up Winter

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a #doyourmakeup review…let’s just say I jumped at the chance to review some gorgeous new shimmery eye colors from Mary Kay. These samples were provided to me to facilitate my review but the opinions on them are all my own.

MK new colors — Behold the shimmer! New Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors in Sparkling White, Glistening Gold, and Shimmering Lilac.

I gravitate toward shimmery eye colors in general, especially to highlight my browbone, although I do have a few matte colors to balance things out. These new mineral eye colors from Mary Kay are a shimmer-lover’s dream! They are perfect for day or night, because they are pretty light colors so the shimmer isn’t too intense. I tried out two new looks featuring these shades and some of my classic favorites. The first is called “Sugarplum Fairy” – a great purple shimmer that goes perfectly with this icy cold weather we’ve been having!

For this look, I used four Mary Kay mineral eye colors – the new shimmers Sparkling White and Shimmering Lilac, and two of my favorites that I already owned, Sienna and Sweet Plum.

Sparkling White Shimmering Lilac — Sparkling White and Shimmering Lilac

Sienna Sweet Plum — Sienna (matte) and Sweet Plum (shimmer)

To get this look, I applied the Sparkling White on my brow bone and on the inner corners of my eyes. Then, I brushed the shimmering lilac all over the lower lid. I put the matte Sienna in the crease and topped it off with Sweet Plum in the outer corner of the crease and lash line. I lined my eyes with Mary Kay eyeliner in black and used Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara in black as well. Easy and shimmery, I love this look! Even though it uses 4 colors, it really does not take long to do. The beauty of Mary Kay mineral eye colors is that a LITTLE goes a long way.

And now, for my next look! I love this one because it adds a little WARM shimmer to these cold winter days. It’s an especially great look for those of us with blue eyes because the colors really make blue eyes pop.

It’s called “Golden Blaze” and it uses three of my classic favorites Amber Blaze, Hazelnut, and Espresso, with the new and gorgeous shimmer color Glistening Gold.

Glistening Gold Amber Blaze — Glistening Gold and Amber Blaze (shimmers)

To get this fabulous look, I applied Glistening Gold all over my brow bone and on the inner corners of my eyes. Next, I applied Amber Blaze heavily all over my lower lid. I used Hazelnut in the crease to define, and the darker Espresso in the outer corner of the crease and lower lash line. Once again, a little goes a long way, and this eye shadow look took just a few minutes to do.

Mary Kay eyeshadow has been my favorite for years, and these new shimmery shadows remind me of why. Great, long-lasting color and eyes that really stand out.

Wanna grab these colors for yourself? Click on over to MK Director Bobbi Hosmon’s site and check them out! Priced at only $7 each, they are a great deal and will last you for-ev-er! PLUS if you register on Bobbi’s site and enter code MOMMINITUP in the comments box, you’ll get 25% off your entire order! So you can pick those eye shadows up for only $5.25 each or get 25% off anything you like. Woohoo! You guys know I love a deal and this is a great one. (If you need more color suggestions, Crystalline is my all-time favorite for brow bone, and Chocolate Kiss my all-time favorite to define!)

Happy shopping…what’s your favorite Mary Kay product?