{Beauty Tuesday} Beef Up Your Brows

A good friend of mine generally refuses to date girls who don't have cute noses. The nose is the first thing he notices on a person, and he blames it on the fact that everyone in his family was blessed with the same cute nose (including him). Likewise, though my policy isn't quite as strict, I don't usually find myself attracted to men with terrible eyebrows. I tried explaining this to a different friend the other day and she told me it's just because I have such great eyebrows myself. To that I responded, "Yep. Probably!"

The natural shape of my eyebrows: looong, full, and cowlicked in the center

I'm proud of my eyebrows like a mother is proud of her son on graduation day after four long, tough years of spending more time smashing mailboxes than reading textbooks. I've mentioned before that my eyebrows caused me significant trouble until only a few years ago when I finally figured out how to manage them. I do still have a cowlick on both eyebrows that causes the hairs to stick out from my face and turn toward the bridge of my nose, but with a few minutes of extra care each day I'm able to make it look less like a wannabe-unibrow. Today I thought it'd be nice to spotlight the only desirable facial hair that could possibly grow on a young lady.

For the eyes, all you need is a quick swipe of mascara.

Using a flat slanted brush, fill in sparse areas with brow powder that matches or is one shade darker than your natural eyebrows. Please don't use black powder unless your eyebrows are actually black already. Even then, I suggest a dark brown powder. (Hint: You can use a matte or slightly shimmery eye shadow in the right shade, too.)

Dip a clean spoolie brush in a non-sticky, preferably water-based gel. You don't want anything with a super strong hold, because your eyebrows will look stiff and may flake...which is gross.

Use the spoolie to comb hairs into place. Always comb up and out, never down. Downward strokes drag your face down and make you look like a sad dog. Upward strokes lift and brighten your features. It's true - eyebrows make a huge difference on the way your entire face looks!

Finish with a dusting of soft pink or peach blush. Suck in your cheeks to find the hollow, and make strokes from your ear toward your mouth. Use a more narrow angled brush to contour instead of overwhelm (the big fluffy one can be saved for translucent powder all over your face).

Happy browsing...

wink.

P.S. Enjoy this song.

Getting Over You

       There are certain turning points in everyone's lives that require them to take a good hard look at where they are, where they've been, and where they are going. It may be a single moment in which this occurs, or it may take place over the course of a good solid year. This past month has proved to be a significant "Whoa" period that has forced me to stop and examine who I am as an individual and member of society. First and foremost, GROSS: I am an adult.
       As I've begun to start the slow and dreadful process of accepting adulthood, I have found the task of Getting Over Myself incredibly complex. Thankfully, I was able to come to terms and maintain a healthy relationship with my current self a few years ago, but what's really been difficult is finding peace with who I was as a child. Mom used to call me Chunk most of the time and loves to relate the story of how my normal infant size transformed into "rolls and rolls and rolls" practically overnight to the general population. I swear that woman would put a photograph of my doughy baby gams in Times Square if she got the opportunity. To paraphrase, I was a pretty darn chubby kid. And I had huge eyebrows that would never cooperate and stick-straight hair that I hated brushing and the most hideous button nose. Guess what? None of that has changed. Except for the fact that I love it all now.
       I'm not sure where that happened. But Facebook Timeline is good for something. I was looking at pictures that I've had posted since 2008 and was uncharacteristically fascinated by the changes I've made in just 4 short years. Please don't think I'm self-absorbed! As I mentioned earlier, I'm at the point where I'm refiguring myself out. And as they all say, history repeats itself. So I'm trying to avoid the bad and recollect the good.
       I started using Facebook in eighth grade. Just in case you didn't know, eighth grade sucks. There's no getting around it. Without explaining further than Iwasapatheticbabywhofeltsorryforherselfanddidn'tgiveahootabouttherestoftheworld, I was a total wreck until probably the middle of ninth. Furthermore, I was up and down like a ship on the high Atlantic until my glorious senior year, which was just plain awesome. Here is Facebook's rendition of Lexi Brontosaurus Rex (yes, that's really my middle name) Hewitt's metamorphosis:
 

With my great pal, Emilee, at a rockin' party in 9th grade. Note the overtweezed eyebrows and awkwardly unkempt haircut. This was the first time I had ever chopped my hair off, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it.



At a cabin with my family, June 2009. I discovered that it was okay to not wear makeup at all times, and LOOK! My eyebrows started coming back! My marshmallow nose started to become less of a nuisance at this point.

Throughout my sophomore year I grew out my hair and favored blunt bangs. This photograph was taken in July 2010, when my family visited Las Vegas for my stepsister Mookie's baptism. I have to say, I thought I was all that and a bag of Cheetos.



Shortly after the previous picture was taken, I met and began to date a good young man named Joey, who is now on a mission to the Phillippines. Our relationship lasted a year, and then in August 2011 I parted with him just as I had once again parted with the majority of my golden locks. Both were positive changes.



My best friend, the beautiful Miss Brittnie, let me model for her so she could test out a new camera in the winter of 2011 (our senior year). Lipstick is the best thing that ever happened to me. I mean, seriously. I have no less than 8 classic bullets of lipstick - and counting - leave alone the few dozen lip glosses adorning my bathroom counter.



Remember those skimpy little eyebrows? No more. These babies are practically my signature. They've always been fairly dark, particularly compared to my naturally blonde hair. I'm considering naming them...just like my two frog socks, Romanov and Patrick.

I had never dyed my hair, but over Spring Break I was feelin' feisty and went ginger. Now, it's not too far-fetched: my dad is a full-fledged flaming redhead (with his new full beard he looks like a classy leprechaun) and I've always had some red in my hair. This photograph is from Senior Ball, just before graduation. That handsome man is my aforementioned Russian acquaintance.



        Today, I am satisfied with myself. I am blessed with compassion and health and a good head on my shoulders. My world is full of genuinely noteworthy people, and each one has contributed to the stronger, happier little lady I am. Finally I've gotten over myself! In reality, it's not worth so much time and effort to make excuses for yourself or to try and be someone you're not. Who cares if I'm eighteen? I'll always be a kid. And this kid is proud of where she is, where she's been, and where she's going.

Happy discovering!