Sorry still no videos.

I am sorry everyone. My husband is been gone all week and just got home for this weekend. Then he leaves again next week so we have been busy this weekend going out with friends and things. I promise to post the videos on Monday. I still have a little bit of editing to do, as soon as that is done I will post.

I hope everyone is having as good of a weekend as we are!

 

<3 Andi

Coming up next: Wedding Makeup.

     Hi everyone! I just finished my wedding makeup video where I show the look that I did for my wedding. I have gotten a lot of compliments and questions about it. So I figured I would help all of you soon to be Mrs. ladies out there.

 

Here is a picture from my wedding day.

Please ignore the mess in the background, I was in a panic to get ready before the rain came again.

Here are some pictures from the look today.

 

  

     I am really excited about this video. I will probably post it either later today or tomorrow early. It is actually pretty long, I mean it's a whole wedding look, so I am going to break it up in to sections. Man I have a lot of editing to do. Look for it later!

<3 Andi

Bonus: Why to Use a Shadow Primer

     This video was originally going to be included in the video from yesterday but I decided to make it it's own video.  Here I show what using a shadow primer, such as a MAC shadestick or paint, does.

For my healthy meal today I made a homemade veggie soup. It actually didn't turn out that well, so I won't share the recipe, LOL. I just took all of the vegetables that I had at home and threw them in a pot with a liter of water and a couple of bullion cubes, and viola! Dinner, for the next 3 days, haha. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't as good as I had hoped. I wish I would have had some carrots to add and maybe some celery, but oh well, maybe next time. Plus, I didn't have enough bullion cubes, so I added this weird Cuban spice that my husband uses to cook Cuban food.

What is your favorite healthy thing to eat?

New Video: A Fun Eyeliner

     Some days girls just want to have fun... with their makeup. Even days that you might not be doing fun things, like work for example. You want to wear something different than your normal look, but you don't want to look over the top.
     In this video I show how to make a colored liner wearable for everyday life. The best part, you don't have to go out and buy a million different colored liners just to be able to wear different colors, because honestly how often are you going to wear a bright green liner. With the technique I am showing today, you can just go over a liner that you already have, like a brown, with a colored eyeshadow. In the video I use a navy blue but this look can be done with other colors that you have as well. I have done this with purple, green and blue.

The same look done with green shadow, MAC Eco Green.

Sorry I made the pictures so big. I wanted you to be able to see well enough. 

A tip I forgot to add in the video: If you are using a lighter color like a green, make sure, after you put the green on, to go back with your brown liner again and just line the part right along the crease. You don't want a thick line at all, you just want a dark lash line to make your lashes look thicker.

You may notice I refer to a blue color that I had already showed, but I cut that part out. I was referring to Blue Calm, by MAC.

What I used for my eyes

The Navy Shadow- Sapphire by Bobbi Brown
The Flesh Colored Shadow- Modelette by MAC
Highlight Shadow- Champagne by Bed Head

Brushes
224- used to apply highlight and base shadow color
219- used to apply highlight to tear area
217- used to blend shadow
228- used to smudge liner
265- small angle

I hope you like the video.

     So my healthy idea of the day today is to drink lots of water. There was a point in my life, a couple of years ago, where I drank almost a gallon of water every day. I know that was a little excessive, and there are some who say that is too much water.  I honestly felt great during that time. When you drink a lot of water you feel better, it makes your skin better, everything just works better. You lose weight.
      Here is what happens in your body when you drink enough water vs. not drinking enough. If you aren't constantly replenishing your water, your body starts to store it just in case. The water sits there in your body and fills with toxins. Just think of sitting water, it gets murky and gross. When you start to replenish the water regularly your body realizes that it doesn't have to store as much water so you lose all of that water weight. Actually, at first you may get sick, I got a pretty bad cold. Think of that dirty water again. All of the dirtiness settles when it is sitting, but think what happens when it gets flushed out. It gets all shaken up again. Well all of the toxins get shaken up in your body and make you sick.         Once all of that dirty water is out though you start feeling great. You may not even think you feel bad now, but you can definitely feel a difference after. You feel great.

If I were...

I first saw this questionnaire on my fellow Andi's blog, Saltwater Dreams. I have since seen it on other blogs as well. I am planning on doing a video today, but my cleaning lady is coming and I can't actually do it until after she leaves. Because of that it won't be ready until tomorrow anyway. I have been wanting to do this for a while and today seems like as good of a day as any.

If I were a month, I’d be August.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Friday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be sunrise.

If I were a planet, I’d be Venus.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a star fish.

If I were a direction, I’d be left.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be an big kitchen table full of food.

If I were a liquid, I’d be a wave in the ocean.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be an opal

If I were a tree, I’d be a Willow.

If I were a tool, I’d be the small screw driver, to do all of the detail work.

If I were a flower, I’d be a spotted orchid.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be the calm before the storm.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a violin.

If I were a color, I’d be royal purple.

If I were an emotion, I’d be content.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a grapefruit.

If I were a sound, I’d be a Dave Matthews Song.

If I were an element, I’d be air.

If I were a car, I’d be a convertable VW.

If I were a food, I’d be Spaghetti Fra Diavlo.

If I were a place, I’d be Traverse City, Michigan.

If I were a material, I’d be cotton.

If I were a taste, I’d be spicy.
If I were a scent, I’d be the smell of something good cooking in the kitchen.

If I were an object, I’d be my husbands jacket, to keep him warm.
If I were a body part, I’d be the eyelashes.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.

If I were a song, I’d be Lie in Our Graves, DMB.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be a comfy, but cute, pair of flats.
What would you be?

If you are looking for a good beauty/fashion blog, check out Andi's blog, Saltwater Dreams.


Oh and I almost forgot. My healthy lunch idea for today is a grapefruit (my favorite). Yum!

See you tomorrow!

I am really excited.

Ok, so I promised some youtube videos and I am delivering. I am really excited that I figured it all out. Today I did one hair video and one makeup video that are similar to the looks that I did in this post. These are just my first two, I promise that I will get better, but check them out! Of course if you have any looks that you would like to see me do or any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

So here is my video debut. Drum roll please.

and the second one.

     I hope you all like it!

Just a Healthy Tip Today

I had coffee with a new friend and German class today so I didn't have the time to dedicate to a makeup tip. Also, this is my off day for washing my hair. All I did this morning was brush it and I am sure no one is interested in seeing me do that.

     But as promised (mainly for myself) here is a healthy lunch idea.
I cut up one cucumber and 3 small tomatoes and put them in a bowl. Then I added a small amount of olive oil and a bigger amount of red wine vinegar. I don't have exact amounts as this is done to taste. Then I salt and pepper it. I ate one bowl of it for lunch along with a fresh baked pretzel (the wonders of living in Germany), and saved the rest for a side with dinner. The longer you let it sit in the oil and vinegar the better it tastes. Usually, I would also add 1/2 an onion, but I was out of those today.

     I also drank the same tea from the other day. You can find that recipe here. 

The lunch was so delicious that even Georgie wanted some.

Strong brows

     My natural hair color isn't very dark so of course neither are my eyebrows. Right now my color is a little darker than I am naturally, but even when I am blond or red I darken in my brows. I don't like to color my brows with hair color when I do my color because, in my opinion, it looks strange. I would rather do it myself with eyeshadow.

Here my left brow is done but not the right. You can see how much more defined the eye is with it. 

 

Start by brushing the brow into place.

 

I like to start with the color in the high point of the brow, in order to define it. Then i do the thicker part.

I use MAC Espresso Shadow and a small angle brush.

 

I connect the outer part to the high point and curve it around.

 

The finished look.

All you need is a brush that looks like this. It doesn't have to be a fancy one. 

     If you read my post yesterday, you saw that I am trying to keep motivated to eat better. I have decided that every post that I do I will include a healthy recipe or idea that I ate that day. This way I can help keep others motivated and keep give myself a goal to keep up. 

     Today for lunch I had a yogurt with fruit. I took a small container(150g) of organic plain yogurt and cut up 1/4 mango, 2 strawberries and 1/4 kiwi into it. The rest of the fruit I cut up into a fruit salad for dessert after dinner tonight. 

 

Delish!

A Sign

     Today is Fat Tuesday. In honor of Fat Tuesday I had planned on eating a really fattening pasta for lunch, my left overs from last night. It was delicious and I was so looking forward to eating it. I figured that after today I would start a diet. I always find lent to be a good motivation to eat better.

Here are some pictures of my delicious lunch...

on the floor. 

     When I was walking over to the microwave it just slipped out of my hand. I don't know what happened but needless to say, I didn't get to eat my pasta. 

     So I took it as a sign. I was supposed to start my diet today. So instead I had a half of an avocado and a homemade detoxifying tea. It was actually almost as delicious as the pasta. Well, at least that is what I tell myself.

I am including the recipe for the tea here for anyone who would like to try it. I got the recipe from an Ayurvedic cookbook called, Eat-Taste-Heal. I have been making this tea every now and then for the past couple of months and I enjoy it a lot.

Here is what you need.

• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1/2 tsp Coriander
• 1tsp Fresh Ginger, grated or pressed
• A Squeeze of Lemon (put in while it is steeping)
• Filtered water (makes up to 4 cups)

 

A Tea Press

 

A Garlic (Ginger) Press

Or you could use a grater, I think I get more of the juice this way.

You mix all of the ingredients in the Tea Press

 

And let it sit for 2-5 minutes, with the press half down.

     If anyone is interested in being diet/workout buddies, let me know. We can keep each other focused. Also, is anyone planning on giving anything up for lent?  I am not particularly religious but I always give something up. This year it may be chocolate... Don't quote me on that. I still have a few minutes to decide.

V-day Hair and Makeup

     Sorry I'm late. I am really annoyed at my computer/blogger/picasa right now. I put up two posts Saturday night and the pictures all worked fine. When I went to make my post yesterday before my company got here the pictures weren't working. So I spent all of the time redoing the pictures again, and had no time to post. This morning when I went to post again, same thing. So I finally fixed them for good this time. Fingers crossed. So if you checked out my posts yesterday or this morning, please try it again. I think everything is figured out.

There was a question in a comment from my last post about air drying my hair, asking what products I use to air dry.  It really depends on how curly/wavy I want my hair to be. If I want a lot of hold or for my hair to be more curly, I use Aveda's Retexturizing Gel. If I just need a little hold or am wearing my hair more wavy than curly I use Aveda Confixor.

     Hair

     As you may know, I don't have a hairdryer yet. I think I have been doing pretty well with out one. I am planning to get one, but hopefully I will only use it when I need to leave the house in a hurry. I say hopefully because I will probably fall back into the habit of drying it each time, but for the health of my hair I will try not to. 

     

     Yesterday this is what I did.

Here is how you can get this look.

1. I used about a quarter size blob of Aveda Retexturizing Gel. Scrunched it through my hair and then brushed it through to spread it out and make sure it was even. 
2. Next, I divided my hair down the middle (If you like your part to the side then you can do it to the side) and divided each side into about 4 separate sections.
3. Each of the sections I twisted tightly, away from my face. See image A.
4. Through out the drying process I keep checking the sections and retwisting them if I needed to. Also image A.
5. After the hair was dry I shook out the twists. First by placing my hand under the hair, at the scalp and shaking, see image B. Then on the outside, placing my finger tips on the scalp and shaking. See image C.
6. Then I scrunched a couple of times. Image D.

A

 

B

C 

D

Make Up

 

Face

1. I used Aveda Tinted Moisture in Beechwood (yes I'm really white!)
2. Next, for my dark circles, I covered them with MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW20.
3. The blush I used was a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush, Coral.

Eyes

1. I covered the entire lid with MAC shadow stick, Beige-ing.
2. Then I went back over it with shadow, All That Glitters, which is a peachy color, also by MAC.
3. Next I lined my eyes with a Tecknakohl MAC liner in Photogravure, a very dark brown, and smudged it with MAC brush 228.
4. I went back over the line with MAC shadow, Espresso, a dark brown, with brush 265. From the high point of the curve of the lid I feathered the shadow up a little on to the lid and out into the crease. 
5. Using MAC brush 272, I blended Espresso into the crease.
6. Then I lined the outer half of my eye again with the same liner, as close to the lash line as I could.
7. I went over that line with MAC shadow Typographic, a very dark grey, almost black.
8. For the highlight, I used BedHead shadow in Champagne.
9. Finally I used a couple coats of Lash Blast in very black. 

 I hope everyone has a great week. 

Happy Valentine's Day

     This year, for Valentine's Day, JP and I are having another couple over for dinner. We celebrated our anniversary/VDay a few days before. We have never been big on going out on such a Hallmark holiday to fight through the crowds anyway, and it's not big here in Germany anyway. Of course people still celebrate it, but not like in the States.
     Our new friends are coming over and we are going to have some chili. Yum! I actually made it tonight so that tomorrow when they are over all that I will have to do is reheat it. Plus, chili is always better the next day anyway.

     I guess I will take this time to tell you about my new blog. I wanted to have a place to write about my new experiences and share pictures with my family and friends. I also didn't want to crowd this blog with so many personal things that the fashion and beauty element of it was lost in the mix. Here is where I will keep you updated on my life as an American living in a foreign country and all of the craziness that goes with it. If you are interested check it out. At least check out the chili recipe that I made tonight. It was really good (we ate it tonight too).

Now on to the fashion and beauty then (:

     I am planning on dressing up a little tomorrow, and since I am not leaving the house I don't have to worry about keeping warm. Here is what I am planning on wearing.

The dress and belt are BCBG and the sweater is ATL.

The shoes are L.A.M.B.

I am going to wear brown floral tights.

     I will do another post tomorrow that shows the makeup and hair that I plan to do to go with the outfit. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day. 

Here is one of my Valentine and me, on our first Valentine's Day three years ago.

Air Drying

    So my hair dryer doesn't work here. It runs on the wrong voltage. So for the past month that I have been living here I have been letting my hair air dry. I have a couple of options when I do this, wavy or more wavy. If I don't do anything to it except for brush it when I get out of the shower it turns out wavy. By using a little product and scrunching through out the drying process it comes out extra wavy.
    Today I am wearing it extra wavy, we are going to dinner for our anniversary.

    I know a lot of people are interested in trying to let their hair air dry sometimes for the health of their hair, so here are my tips on how to do it.

1. You have to have the right texture of hair. If your hair gets too frizzy or doesn't have any curl this won't work for you. 
2. Use a very light weight gel when the hair is wet.
3. As the hair dries, periodically, take the time to scrunch it with your hands.
4. This takes much longer than drying with a blowdryer, so make sure you have the time to let your hair dry completely before you need to be somewhere.
5. If part of your hair is curlier than another part, take sections of the straighter part and twist them into tight twists. This encourages them to curl more. You have to be observant of which direction the curl wants to go and curl it that way. 

I hope everyone is having a great hair day!