Queens know Best

With contouring and highlighting at an all time high, there are so many people that are walking around with lines on their faces due to unfinished blending. Not only that there are so many tutorials out there but who can you really trust, I mean sure these people swear they know what they are doing. The question is, do they?

The point of contouring is to get an OVAL face shape. It is considered the ideal shape for make-up and haircuts. Everything is esthetically pleasing on an oval shaped face and if we don't have one we fake it. As I'm sure we have all seen something similar to this on Pinterest, we can see the oval face shape doesn't "need" any contouring and just has highlight. That add a reflective quality that adds depth without over contouring. The chart below shows OPTIONS for corrective contouring and highlighting. Of course, there are more than just these face shape and of course, you might not fit exactly into one of these. Practice makes perfect and the best practice is getting all dolled up to do laundry and chill around the house--that way as you are learning the mistakes (that are basically unavoidable) aren't open to the public. YouTube is a great reference when trying something new with make-up. There are so many out there who claim to know what they are doing, so choose wisely.

I have watched hours of contouring videos alone and, to me, the drag queens do it best. They really get the "science" behind it. They aren't just doing it because Kim Kardashian is doing it. They are doing it to reduce their masculine traits and emphasize the femininity. Let's face it, we all want to do the same thing--whether it is just making our nose thinner or our jaw less square. Their extreme make-overs are perfect for us to learn the extremes and dial it down for what we need (evening out or day to day). The Queens are the Queens.

Here is a less dramatic drag look by Miss Fame, I hope you enjoy this and learn from it as I did.

#Nerd-- Cambria Hebert

I will start by saying that I adore Cambria Hebert’s writing style. She just pulls me into the story and I just LOVE it. As for this book, I was a bit trepidatious because it was jumping on the hashtag craze. Not only did the title give me pause, the plot line is one we have all read before. Hot/popular/jock is forced to be near the nerd/loner/outcast, lo and behold, he falls for her, there is doubt in her mind that he would truly like her--but he does and they live happily ever after.  Since I have read many of her books and I like her writing style I gave it a chance.

#Nerd starts off with Rimmel finding out that she must tutor Romeo, the star player of her college’s football team.  He is close to failing and without a tutor he can’t play, and without tutoring Rimmel will lose her scholarship.

They meet in the library where Romeo is convinced that every other girl besides the geeky thing, with wild untamed hair and glasses is his tutor.  Rimmel lays down the law, he will be doing all the work, if he is late she won’t wait and most importantly NO FLIRTING. Rimmel has more pressing things to do than waste her time with someone who doesn’t want to learn.

Romeo is more concerned with his prospects in the NFL than school; he knows that to get to the NFL it will be easier with the help of the Omegas (the elite fraternity on campus.)  When the initiation starts, the fraternity president is out for blood--specifically his. His challenges are intense to the point of illegal, but the one thing that all rushing the frat must do is sleep with one girl the frat chooses. This should be no issue for Romeo, he could get any girl he wants:  until the fraternity chooses Rimmel for the challenge.

Their tutoring sessions begin to be the talk of the school thanks to a “twitter” feed. Of course they don’t say its twitter but it’s basically the same thing.  They have to more private places due to his popularity and the drama following him. As they grow closer and the Omega challenge still looming over him, Romeo is faced with a choice. Follow his heart or follow his plan?

January Wrap-Up

This month was a slow month and put me a little behind on my goal to read one NEW book a day. It seemed like all I wanted to do was reread my faves and my comfort books. Oh well, reading is reading whether the book is old or new. This month I read 30/31 I wanted to read. Also this year I am being a bit pickier as to which books I allow in my wrap-up. I have a minimum of 250 pages. (At least I should have a minimum, some of the books say one thing on Goodreads and another on AmazonKindle, so who knows which is true.)

January 31, 2015

Binding Vows(MacCoinnich Time Travel 1)by Catherine Bybee***

Taken by Tuesday(Weekday Brides5)by Catherine Bybee****

Single by Saturday(Weekday Brides4)by Catherine Bybee***

Fiancé by Friday(Weekday Brides3)by Catherine Bybee***

Married by Monday(Weekday Brides2)by Catherine Bybee****

Wife by Wednesday(Weekday Brides1)by Catherine Bybee****

Betting It All (Hellfire Rider MC 4)  by Kati Wilde***

Not Quite Forever (Not Quite 4) by Catherine Bybee****

Not Quite Enough (Not Quite 3) by Catherine Bybee****

Not Quite Mine (Not Quite 2) by Catherine Bybee****

Not Quite Dating (Not Quite 1) by Catherine Bybee****

Ghouls Rush In (Peyton Clark 1)  by H.P. Mallory***

#Hater (Hashtag Series 2)  by Cambria Hebert****

The Mason List  by S.D. Hendrickson***

Breaking Dragon (Savage Brothers MC 1)by Jordan Marie***

A Shade of Novak (A Shade of Vampire8)by Bella Forrest***

A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire7)by Bella Forrest****

A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire6)by Bella Forrest***

A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire5)by Bella Forrest****

A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire4)by Bella Forrest****

A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire3)by Bella Forrest***

A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire2)by Bella Forrest***

A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire1)by Bella Forrest***

Outlaw’s Kiss (Grizzlies MC 1)  by Nicole Snow**

Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy 1)  by Karina Halle***

Stepbrother Billionaire  by Colleen Masters**

Raze  by Tillie Cole****

Last of the Bad Boys  by Nora Flite**

Flare  by Amy Isan***

Clipped Wings (Clipped Wings 1) by Helena Hunting****

January 1, 2015

What She Left Behind--Ellen Marie Wiseman

Wow.
Just Wow.

I was not expecting this book to be what it was, probably because I didn't actually read the entire synopsis. This was a book I had to read for my book club and I procrastinated until the day of my book club to read it. Let me tell you though, it was worth the wait.

I thought that the majority of the story was going to be with Izzy and how she was coping with her mother’s insanity. I thought that the letters and journal that Clara had written were going to give Izzy insight to the mind of those less than stable. But that wasn't what happened.

The story is split almost evenly with Clara and Izzy. Clara is 18 years old in 1929, while Izzy is 17 in 1995. Their timelines are worlds apart but finding out what happened to Clara becomes a mission to Izzy. She had dealt with so much in her past that, I believe, finding the answers to someone else’s was cathartic for her.

Clara is thrown into an insane asylum "knowing" that she isn't crazy, however no one listens to her, no one believes her and no one cares. She knows what is true to her and she doesn't forget it, ever. Her story is so painful and beautifully written that just remembering it, I am tearing up again. She fought against so much and received so little, all for love. Love for herself, love for her man and love for her family. (If you have read this you will know which family I am referring to, but don't want to have any spoilers.)

Izzy on the other hand is a foster child who has moved from home to home. She is about to grow out of the foster system when she turns 18. She knows that means she will be turned out onto the streets, yet still she helps out of foster family with the "Willard Project" for the local museum. Her foster family and their friends are some of the people that are helping. The friends' son just happens to be one of her tormentors at school. Izzy has a hard time letting him--or anyone--in. But him more so because he just stands there and lets his bitch of a girlfriend bully other people. To say the tension between the two is high would be an understatement. But Ethan watches her and brings her the journal so that she can finish reading it. He sparked her need to solve the mystery.

Ellen Marie Wisemen wrote an incredible novel, which is descriptive, dark and beautiful all at the same time. Now knowing what happens I can reread this book without all the nerves that I had the first time and will probably enjoy it even more than I did the first time. I will be reading more of her books as well. Hope they are just as good.

The Mason List--S.D. Hendrikson

Her entire life Alex Tanner has viewed herself as a charity case. So as a result she chooses to punish the people who helped her, who helped her father and who helped her mother.  Everything that the Mason’s did she wrote on a list. This was what she owed them, she planned to repay them for everything.

But because of her pent up aggression towards their entire family she continuously pushes away the one person who has been there since she was eight, Jess Mason. He was there at her lowest, and admittedly knocked her down a few times himself, but he always cared for her. Alex on the other hand could not, would not, like a Mason as more than a friend.

The author makes the story interesting and you are invested in her growing up, mainly because the first little bit is a preview into what will happen and you NEED to know what happens. But dear goodness, Alex is just a whiny little B*$%H. In the beginning it understandable, but when she’s twenty and she’s done it for her entire life it’s getting kind of old. I would like to say that she had a great amount of character development but in reality she had a few people basically hit her over the head with 'reality' and her selfish stubbornness. 

Other than Alex’s immaturity the book was a great balance of plot and conflict, I feel as though there are a lot of books now that are just thriving off of drama. I didn’t get a lot of that but with Alex’s immaturity there was some drama but it was necessary due to her characters temperament. 

Gotta reCHARGE my batteries

I have been kicking butt and taking names at the gym...not really but I have been kicking my own butt. Yesterday I went to three classes that my gym offers. The first was at 10 and it was a Weights Bootcamp. The next two were back to back starting at 5, Pilates and Zumba. I woke up this morning and I don't think my butt has ever been that sore. But I planned on going to Cycle Bootcamp this morning, so I dragged my butt to the gym for that.  The stupid thing that happened half-way through bootcamp is that my Fitbit broke. It had been acting selfish and dying at random times. It would hold a charge worth a damn, soooooo I upgraded. Got me a Fitbit ChargeHR!! And since I got a new toy, I needed to ensure that it worked. That meant that I just had to go back to the gym to do a nice easy workout. Started reading a book and before I knew it, the book was done and I had ran 8 miles. Safe to say the Fitbit got all the data too.

Sins & Needles--Karina Halle

I have a really hard time seeing why people enjoy this book. To me it was a book based totally on lies and deception. These are two people who care about one another and yet there are double crossing, betraying and blackmailing. Seriously, not a “feel good book”.  It, to me, was depressing and just aggravating.

But Karina Halle knows how to write a book. Damn, does she know how to write a book. This story, had I not found it disconcerting, was enthralling and beautifully written. The pictures she painted were vivid and detailed. The relationship between Ellie and Camden is a tangled, twisted knot of glorious conflict.  I have read many of her books and most of them I feel the same about, I like the writing style but not the books themselves.

Yay for Karina Halle, but not so much for me.