Mineral Foundation Transformer

Happy Ano Nuevo y'all!

I hope that the new year ushers in new goals and challenges and memorable moments for you all. My new year was spent quietly with my family. While the baby slept me and the hubby and my daughter who woke up to the sound of fireworks, had glasses of sparkling cider.  It was quiet and wonderful as she watched the vivid colors of the fireworks illuminate the night. 

Today I'm reviewing, a God send of a liquid that I purchased on Etsy via AceNaturals that makes any powder mineral foundation into a liquid foundation.  I recently have noticed that even with exfoliating the apples of my cheeks were getting dry patches and it was very revealing when i used my powder mineral foundation.  Even though i do moisturize with Argan oil and prime using mark. Primed for Perfection, my cheeks were still drying out. This was quite disturbing that despite all my efforts my skin still was not receiving enough moisture.  So the search for a liquid mineral foundation began...much to my dismay.  I abhor looking for foundation. It's a lot of testing and disappointment and frustration..not to mention a lot of monetary investment , even if it is samples. One and two dollars here and there really adds up. 

However, I pressed on, looking at sellers on Etsy who made liquid foundation, established indie companies that had their own line of LMF (liquid Mineral Foundation) and much to my dismay were the ingredients. I love PMF (Powder Mineral Foundation) because of the lack of ingredients. I in my current foundation there are 5 ingredients, all safe and lovely. In the light formulation of it there are 6 but again all stuff i trust and know won't harm my skin.  when liquid is added to PMF the issue of preservation becomes strongly apparent. Keeping the soft creamy feel of the foundation also is another issue and blending and not settling in fine lines etc..all the hassles of traditional liquid makeup comes back (of which i heartily tossed when making the switch to MMU year ago).

Ingredient lists get longer and more complex. Not the route I wanted to go. So i looked to see if there was a mist or a liquid by itself i could add to my PMF that would help.  Lots of sites suggest a mist of filtered water to set the makeup, but i hate misting my face.  Not a feeling i want everyday, plus it would ruin my hair in the process. Curly hair gals have enough to deal with. There were a couple of mixing mediums but the paraben preservatives immediately disqualified them.

Enter AceNaturals. Founder and owner of Organic Mobile Tanning, Erik Ace in Miami Florida, is an esthetician student and  handmakes all his products.  He has this liquid that is a mixture of oils which, when combined with PMF, creates a creamy luscious liquid foundation. The bottle of oils sells for $5.99. So, a small investment and oils, which work with my skin such as avocado, carrot and chamomile seed oils- all of which are great for the skin no matter your condition- how could i be dissapointed?

When it arrived in the mail I was so excited! Here is this small bottle of liquid gold that will help my face. The bottle was shrink wrapped and  came with a paper of detailed instructions and a small .15cc measuring scoop for my PMF.  The mixture of oils is silky smooth. When you follow the directions and incorporate with the PMF the result is a creamy, luxe combination of MMU. I didn't think this small scoop of PMF would cover my face but it does! The LMF glides on and sets to a powder finish that is light and barely detectable. My face felt soft, moisturized and lines were not visible. Remember, I do moisturize and prime before.  I also put on a very light dusting of finishing powder. Still had my glow from my foundation and the bennies of a liquid..yay! Great day in the Nation!

Test run was a girls nite with a friend and it was a great test run. My makeup didn't itch, my friend said I had good coverage and it looked great. Wasn't shiny and i didn't feel like i had a layer of stuff on my face!

So this Powder to Liquid Transformer (yes my name for it) gets 5 stars from me!
Check out AceNaturals on Etsy!

My Kobo ereader cover!

Okay I LOVE my Kobo ereader. It is perfect for my needs which are:
1. read a book without having pages to turn and distract infant while nursing.
2. Easily download and read Library digi books.
3. adjust text size and have wifi

Okay when looking for an ereader i wanted something that was almost bare bones and just simple to use. I didn't need touch, cause the boy is getting bigger and arms are getting longer so touch screens are out. Kobo has only one button with four points on it to aid in menu selection, page turning, and adjusting text size and a few other things, but I'm not going into that. If you'd like good reviews please see a YouTube review of the Kobo. Price was a factor too and i got this on ebay for less than $60 including shipping!

It has WIFi which is great if I'm away from my computer and wish to buy a book. It can easily handle epub and pdf formats and digi books from the library which is great! Increasing Library circulation and letting the higher ups know that ebooks at the library are where it's at!  Customer Service is nice too. 

I also love the quilted texture on the back of the reader which helps with gripping the reader. Fabulous! However, being the lover of accessories ..ie I'm a woman...had to dress up and protect (protection being high on my list..hardy har..yes it was there..somewhere...but there) my ereader. So, to Etsy I went.  I did a search for kobo ereader covers and found that seller are willing to customize covers made for the Nook and Kindle to match the size of the Kobo ereader. Yay! It really came down to one seller who had soem striking covers: Dana Designs. She had two that were basically the same thing but with different band colors. One in Magenta and the other in a rich purple. For $24 these are a steal and a treasure!

Dana has been on Etsy since 2009 and is  SAHM to three kids, a military wife, and loves shopping for fabric (sister we need to hang out).In addition to ereader covers she also makes tooth-fairy pillows and coffee cup sleeves.

So my decision came to:

Before purchasing i asked if she could customize it to the Kobo specs and she graciously said yes. Purchased the item included specs and shortly there after I got an email from Dana saying the process would take about 10 days. My reply: I look forward to a surprise in my mailbox.
(I love getting parcels. That and handwritten letters.)

Okay above is Dana's gorgeous pic of the cover. Here are my amateur pics, so hang on and i apologize for the glare ..still figuring out lighting and camera settings.

The item came wrapped meticulously in pink tissue paper with a label of Dana Designs.

After opening the tissue paper and yes i unwrap like a little kid..I did say I love parcels.  Holding the cover in my hands was like holding a beautiful glove. It's a work of art. Beautiful craftsmanship and attention to details and it's just for me.

The magenta stripe has velcro so the cover shuts and protects (see there it is) the ereader. It's cushioned and safe in the custom cut corners and fits in a as snug as a bug in a rug. I can still easily access the Kobo button for page turning etc. On the right hand side there are two little pockets for whatever..USB cords, reading light, paci. Will be handy when i travel with my ereader.

 I am just so happy with this that i had to blog about this bling for my Kobo. If you have an ereader and wish to accessorize it in a decadent way I highly suggest that you go to Dana's Designs and check out her gorgeous stock.

New Blog Layout

New blog layout. Wanted something more clean and open. So to Etsy I ran. Looked and looked. My original thought was to do something with pink in it. But then i found this template by SplendidSparrow.

It had colors I had previously used and was brighter than what i had before. Time to make a change and to purchasing i went. PLUS i LOVE damask patterns! This is just perfect!

I have rearranged some of my gadgets and widgets but i do love the new layout and installing was quite easy. (yes i had my fingers crossed as i clicked on save new template) Even my husband noted the nice change and how it looks some much more clean and open.

The designer Teresa is very nice. Here is a bit of info about her from her Esty page:

Hi there! I'm Teresa -- most call me Reese. I'm a graphic, web & blog designer from the East Coast. I currently work with the Blogger and Wordpress (self hosted) platforms. That being said, I would certainly be able to create design elements that you can implement with other platforms - note me if you're interested.

To view more of my work, please visit me at http://www.splendidsparrow.com - my design site & portfolio, where I offer many more premade templates.

Thank you so much for stopping by.


Visit her website you will NOT be dissappointed. I just have the blog button to change and that's all to that.

Hope you like the new look!