October Favorites

Makeup:
Foundation - Make Up Forever HD Foundation
Concealer - Benefit Erase Paste
Primer - Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer
Highlight - Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
Bronzer - Gosh Bronzing Powder
Lipstick - Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids in On Fire Red
Blush - Smashbox Blush Rush in Heartbreak
Eyeshadow - L'oreal La Couleur Infallible in Goldmine
Eyeliner - Gosh Eyeliner Pen in Black
Mascara - Smashbox Hyperlash Mascara in Blackest Black
Makeup Setting Powder - Make Up Forever HD Powder

All these products together create this look:

Hair:

Curling Wand - NuMe 25mm Magic Wand in Pink

Flat Iron - NuMe Vintage in Hot Pink

Extensions - Bellami Hair Bambina 160g 20" Clip-In Extensions in Dark Brown (2)

Shampoo - AG Keratin Repair Refuel Shampoo

Conditioner - AG Keratin Repair Restore Conditioner

Oil - CHI Silk Infusion

Heat Protectant - TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray

Hairspray - Aussie Aussome Volume Hairspray

This is with the Bellami Hair Extensions in and using the NuMe Curling Wand

How it looks all down, with looser waves. 

Angel for a Day

Happy Halloween:

Beauty Breakdown: 1

Beauty breakdown is a new series I am starting involving a random picture from Pinterest, or a celebrity, and giving you tips and tricks that I find within that picture.

This picture was found on Pinterest:

She's beautiful isn't she? The makeup artist did an amazing job with her. Her brows are filled perfectly and don't even get me started on the amazing highlighting and contouring job! Okay... I for myself started! 

The Face:

When it comes to the contouring, it is bolder than normal! It begins with the typical E3 format! 

For those of you who do not know, the E3 is when you create an E on one side and a 3 on the other. You start on your forehead near the hairline, work your way around to under the cheekbone, and back out and following the jawline, just like you were drawing an E (or a 3 depending on what side of the face you are on). Then, they added extra contouring around the chin to really emphasize it! Next, they proceeded to contour the nose by taking a bronzer (or darker foundation) down the sides of the nose, and bringing them together at the bottom to form a "v" shape. You can see it was also used on the neck and on the collarbones. This helps create definition.

For the highlighting, the makeup artist stuck to the basics, but like the contouring, made it bold. When highlighting, you should apply a highlighter, or a lighter foundation, to all the areas where the sun hits. This includes: 

- Forehead

- The Bridge of the Nose

- The Cheekbones

- The Chin

- The Undereyes

When doing the undereyes, to make it appear more natural, create a triangle shape. Apply highlighter to the outer corner of your undereye to the inner corner. From there highlight straight down to the tip of the nose, then connect it back up to the outer corner, and fill in inbetween. 

The Eyes: 

One thing I am jealous of is her beautiful blue eyes! To make those blue eyes pop the makeup artist applied brown eyeshadow to the lid and crease, and mimicked it under the eye as well. Brown is opposite on the color wheel to blue which causes the controversy and makes the eyes appear brighter! 

Her eyes are not particularly small, but a trick that has been discovered is to apply white eyeliner to your lower waterline to make your eyes appear bigger.

- Samantha

Winterize Your Hair

The cold weather can really drag the life out of your hair. The lack of humidity that comes with winter, this causes breakages, fly-aways, and a dry scalp. With the proper hair care and products, you can defy the will of winter. 

Preventing dry and dull hair:

Twice a week apply a hair mask to strengthen and hydrate your hair. To minimize the typically heat-related damage, wait until your hair is at least seventy percent dry before you blow dry it. Blow drying your hair can cause it to be quite dull, and it takes the life out of it. After blow drying your hair, mist it from the root to the tip with a heat protectant spray. My personal favorite is TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray. 

Dry and Dull hair quick fixes: 

Just brush your hair. It is as simple as that. Brushing your hair redistributes the natural oils from your scalp throughout your hair, adding shine. It is a tip I learned from Jen Atkin. If you want more of a polished look, placed a dime-sized amount of hand cream or olive oil onto your ends. Do not apply to much or your hair will appear greasy. 

Preventing fly-aways:

Use a moisturising shampoo and conditioner, and apply a leave-in conditioner from midway down your hair to your tips. If you were to apply it at the roots, it would leave your hair feeling,and appearing greasy. The moisture will help neutralize the electrons that cause the static electricity that forms the fly-aways in your hair.

Fly-Aways quick fixes:

A lightweight hairspray will do the trick. The polymers located in hairspray will help keep the fly-aways in place. Nourishing your hair will keep them annoying fly-aways away!

Flat Hair? Mist strands from root to tip with a volumizing spray, then repeat only at the roots. Next, blow-dry your hair upside down. Afterwards, twist your hair into a loose topknot until your locks cool, allowing the roots to set. 

Itchy, Flaky Scalp? Treat your hair with some treatments such as a hair mask. The scalp is an area often overlooked.

The Three Upsides to Winter

Okay, as much as we hate winter for taking a toll on our hair, it has its benefits as well... Three to be exact:

1. Sleeker Strands: The lack of humidity ensures that we have no frizz
2. Vibrant Color: No soaking up of sun rays, no chlorine, or salt water, your hue, whether natural or fake, will be richer.
3. Fast Showers: No need to shampoo daily - unless you've worked up a sweat. 

I Got Bored

Snowfall

It's snowing, and for some odd reason I decided to take selfies! 

Eyebrows: Thick or Thin?

Some people look better with thick eyebrows, and some people look better with thin. Personally, I find I look better with thick. Having an oval face, I believe it fills it in nicely. Whereas, other people with smaller faces need to be careful, because having thick eyebrows can easily overcrowd the face.

My thin eyebrows: (May 2013)

My thick eyebrows: (October 2013) 

See how they make my eyes pop more, rather than making them sink into my head? It is up to you to determine whether having thick eyebrows is going to be beneficial to you or not. If not, do not waste your time growing them in. It typically takes about three months and is a real pain. 

To see the tips and tricks I learned while growing mine out, check out my blogpost by clicking here.

Model's everywhere are even growing thick eyebrows. It is in style. 

Feel Better on a Sick/Cold Day

First of all, although you may feel horrible, there is no reason you need to look it. If you see how you look in the mirror it only makes you feel worse. So act like its a normal day and doll up your face.

Stay bundled up. Even though you may already be sick, you should still make sure you do not make it worse. 

Drink your favorite tea, and enjoy a magazine. The tea will soothe your throat. I personally drink Meyer's Herbal Lemon Tea... I am a sucker for citrus! Reading a magazine is just something that keeps you uplifted, and hopeful. It prevents you from being pessimistic. Which only makes sick days seem more like hell, and who wants that? 

Make sure to get your nutrients. I use the NutriVerus powder by Mannatech, and blend it into a fruit smoothie. In which I include peaches, mangos, raspberries, strawberries, orange juice, and lemon juice. 

Take advantage of your sick day, and use it to treat yourself! 

Feel better

- Samantha 

Coupon Code: Dial-A-Smile

I do not own this picture

Lots of YouTube gurus have been raving about White Lightning's Dial-A-Smile at home teeth whitening system. With results that are as good as these, how can you not want to try it? Good news: I have discovered a coupon code for it that adjusts the price from $399.00 to $69.00. WOW At that price, you cannot say no. If you are like me and cannot resist this price, go to the White Lightning Website and add this item to the cart. To get the discount, enter the code: CIAKit 

I hope you will enjoy your soon to be whiter than ever smile. These are two different instructional videos on how to use the product, and the results of how to do so. 

The Temptations of Sin

Of course sinning is fun, if it were not, the Devil would not be able to tempt us. 

Throughout the Books of the Bible there are many guidelines that we as servants of the Lord must follow. It is often tempting to step outside of those boundaries, but I warn you, we must not. We all have... that is a given, some more than others. I have done quite a few sinful things in my past that I was unsure that I could be forgiven for, yet, here I am sitting in my chair purely as I am writing this because Jesus has forgiven me for my sins, and died for me; he died for all of us. 

I cannot be the only one that believes that the phrase, "the devil made me do it," is getting quite old. That is honestly just an excuse that many people use to justify falling into temptation or losing control of themselves and their spirituality. The devil can only tempt us, he cannot force us to do anything. He, however, can make the temptation so strong that it seems nearly impossible to resist. You just need to pray to God, and ask Him to continue to walk ahead of you, creating the proper path to follow. It is true that the enemy is searching the Earth looking for innocent and vulnerable people to destroy. What is also true, is that Christ is here also, in spirit, until His next return. Christ is living within each of us. The power of a born again child of Christ, has the power of God living inside of them. 

Like I said, temptation is not uncommon. In fact, every person gets tempted. "But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." James 1:14 (NIV) When tempted, we need to pray. Praying is our time when we connect with God. It is like a safe haven when I, personally, feel that no harm can come to me. It strengthens me, and helps me to resist temptation. You are never too busy for God. In fact, we are servants of God and everything we are doing, we shall do for Him. We obey the ten commandments, we are kind to our neighbours, and we serve. While I am on the terms of being kind to others, it is important that even when we are not being tempted, to help those surrounding us get through temptation. Like it states in Hebrews 2:18 (NIV) "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who was being tempted." If we have suffered in the past, we must try to help others to avoid making the same mistakes we have made. We would like them to do the same for ourselves, not? Just as we would like to have others to help us, we need to help them. It is about being selfless and spreading love to others. God's children shall not hate. Hatred is an emotion that is not allowed once we pass through the gates of heaven. 

James 4:7 (NIV) states to "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." With God, the devil does not stand a chance against you; he will flee from you. With God you are stronger than you are by yourself and you are stronger than the devil. With God at your side, nothing can defeat you, or bring you down. God will lift you high. When the day comes when we pass on we will realize that the bodies we are in now are ruled by sin. Hence why, as our bodies lie underground, our spirits lift us up to God, and we are no longer slaves to sin, "because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." Romans 6:7 (NIV) The death that Jesus Christ died, he died to sin, and because he has already died, he cannot die again, therefore death no longer has mastery over him. He has overcame it when he raised from the dead. The life Jesus lives now, he lives to God. In that same we, when we die, we can count ourselves as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not let sin reign over your body, it is only mortal, where as if we accept an eternal life with the Lord our Saviour, we are not. As it also states in the Book of Romans, within chapter six, do not offer any part to sin as an instrument of wickedness. A good example of this is fornication. Sex, although in today's society it seems otherwise, is sacred. It is only meant for within the covenant of marriage. It is honestly a beautiful thing, however, it is only meant to be shared with one other person, not dozens. Instead of offering yourself as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourself to God as those who have brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:11 (NIV) 

Summary - 

Do not feel as if you are a failure or weak if you are being tempted. Everyone gets tempted. Resisting the temptation before you actually do the sin is the key. Doing so, you cannot be alone. The power that you have when you walk with Jesus, and submit yourself to God, you are stronger than the devil, and he will run from you. Seek others for guidance to withstand temptation, and also do the same for others. We are stronger when we are not alone. Like it repeatedly states in the Book of Proverbs, the wise seek counsel. Temptation is not easy to overcome, but with the help of others who have went through similar temptations, you can overcome it. 

On that note I will leave you with this Bible verse: 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 

Be strong, loves. If you need help resisting temptation or just need someone to talk to I am here. XO

Inspiration: Remember Why You Started

Whenever you feel as if you are about to quit something, just try and remember why you started. It is so simple, I cannot believe that I have never thought of it before. Thank you, pinterest.

5 Must Have Photography Apps

These are my five must have photography apps for my iPhone 5. I know that Andriod offers some of them, but not all, although I am unsure of which ones. Not all of the applications are free, but the ones that are not free are worth the cost.

The following apps are not in any particular order:

Afterlight ($0.99)

If I were only allowed to have one editing app for the rest of my iPhone days, this would by far be it. Honestly, this will be the best $0.99 you have ever spent in your life, well at least in mine. Afterlight is the perfect app when it comes to editing, especially for instagram photos.
In this app you can do things such as increase the brightness, straighten out the photo, add filters, and so much more. It comes equipped with over fifty-five filters. That is amazing. My personal favorites are Leila and Coral.

A sample of some pictures I have edited with Afterlight:

You can purchase this app from the iTunes store by clicking the following link: Afterlight

Diptic ($0.99)

Diptic is a fantastic photo collage app where you can choose from a variety of different collages. You can also remove borders, add filters, make funky shapes, and add texts. 

You can purchase this app from iTunes by clicking the following link: Diptic

Photo Wonder (Free)

PhotoWonder is an app that makes me wonder how I managed to edit selfies without it. This is one app that I know for sure is available on the PlayStore. The best part about this app, is that it is free! With this app you can fix your makeup, get rid of those blemishes and dark undereye circles that we all hate. It also has some amazing filters that I sometimes choose over the Afterlight filters which says a lot. 

Here is a sample of a selfie I took that I used this app to remove the undereye circles. I probably could have done more, but I did not want to make it look too to fake:

 To download this app from iTunes click the following link: Photo Wonder

iPhoto for iOS ($4.99)

Apple does it again. They took their amazing computer app and turned it into the one of the most downloaded apps on iTunes. This app has basically all the same features as the computer application, just in a more compact version. To learn more about this app, click here. 

To purchase it from iTunes please click the following link: iPhoto for iOS

PicLab (Free)

Last, but certainly not least is PicLab. Have you ever seen those pictures of scenery with writing in the middle (typography) all over Pinterest and Instagram... if you even know what I am talking about? It is done with PicLab. The good news is, there is a free version, but the features in it are very limited. The paid version is called PicLab HD ($1.99).

This is one I just drew up quick to give you an idea of what typography is. My friend an I were two-stepping to drink in my hand, and as you can see in the picture, we actually had a drink in our hand, so it only made sense for me to put the lyrics on this photo. 

To download PicLab (Free Version) from iTunes please click the following link: PicLab

To download PicLab HD (Paid Version) from iTunes please click the following link: PicLab HD

-Samantha

Copyright: All of my professional photos contain a watermark. There will be no claiming my work to be your own. 

Do Not Let Your Past Control You

Your past is nothing but a memory that cannot be changed. It is just a story that you tell yourself over and over again. Once you realize that all that it is, is just a story it will no longer have any power over you. 

Why waste your days reminiscing about the past when you can be creating better memories today? 

Look at your past and learn from your mistakes, forgive everyone (including yourself), and live in the moment.

If you find yourself hooked on your past with someone rather than the person that is standing in front of you today, maybe they too should be put in the past.

Do not let your life go back reminiscing on the past and dreaming of the future because you will just find yourself wasting away today... A day you will wish one day you wouldn't have wasted. We do not have much time here on earth and we need to be spending it serving our Lord, so we can spend a happy and eternal life with him. Don't waste a precious minute looking at your past. Pay more attention to the current, because even though you may not realize it, tomorrow, today will only be a memory. 

- Samantha

Motivational QOTD

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars: you have to let go at some point in order to move forward." - C.S. Lewis

Our Father's Love Letter

So I had this message forwarded to me as a text and I nearly started crying. Please read this, it is life altering: 

A Letter from our Father -

My Child,

You may not know me, 

but I know everything about you. 

(Psalm 139:1)

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. 

(Psalm 139:2)

I am familiar with all your ways. 

(Psalm 139:3)

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. 

(Matthew 10:29-31)

For you were made in my image. 

(Genesis 1:27)

In me you live and move and have your being.

(Acts 17:28)

For you are my offspring. 

(Acts 17:28)

I knew you even before you were conceived. 

(Jeremiah 1:4-5)

I chose you when I planned creation. 

(Ephesians 1:11-12)

You were not a mistake, 

for all your days are written in my book. 

(Psalm 139:15-16)

I determined the exact time of your birth 

and where you would live. 

(Acts 17:26)

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

(Psalm 139:14)

I knit you together in your mother's womb. 

(Psalm 139:13)

And brought you forth on the day you were born. 

(Psalm 71:6)

I have been misrepresented 

by those who don't know me.

(John 8:41-44)

I am not distant and angry, 

but am the complete expression of love. 

(1 John 4:16)

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 

(1 John 3:1)

Simply because you are my child 

and I am your Father. 

(1 John 3:1)

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. 

(Matthew 7:11)

For I am the perfect father. 

(Matthew 5:48)

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. 

(James 1:17)

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. 

(Matthew 6:31-33)

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. 

(Jeremiah 29:11)

Because I love you with an everlasting love. 

(Jeremiah 31:3)

My thoughts toward you are countless 

as the sand on the seashore.

(Psalms 139:17-18)

And I rejoice over you with singing. 

(Zephaniah 3:17)

I will never stop doing good to you. 

(Jeremiah 32:40)

For you are my treasured possession. 

(Exodus 19:5)

I desire to establish you

with all my heart and all my soul. 

(Jeremiah 32:41)

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. 

(Jeremiah 33:3)

If you seek me with all your heart, 

you will find me. 

(Deuteronomy 4:29)

Delight in me and I will give you 

the desires of your heart. 

(Psalm 37:4)

For it is I who gave you those desires. 

(Philippians 2:13)

I am able to do more for you 

than you could possibly imagine. 

(Ephesians 3:20)

For I am your greatest encourager. 

(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

I am also the Father who comforts you 

in all your troubles. 

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

When you are brokenhearted, 

I am close to you. 

(Psalm 34:18)

As a shepherd carries a lamb, 

I have carried you close to my heart. 

(Isaiah 40:11)

One day I will wipe away 

every tear from your eyes. 

(Revelation 21:3-4)

And I'll take away all the pain 

you have suffered on this earth.

(Revelation 21:3-4)

I am your Father, and I love you 

even as I love my son, Jesus.

(John 17:23)

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. 

(John 17:26)

He is the exact representation of my being. 

(Hebrews 1:3)

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, 

not against you. 

(Romans 8:31)

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.

(2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 

(2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

His death was the ultimate expression 

of my love for you. 

(1 John 4:10)

I gave up everything I loved

that I might gain your love. 

(Romans 8:31-32)

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, 

you receive me. 

(1 John 2:23)

And nothing will ever separate you 

from my love again.

(Romans 8:38-39)

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party 

heaven has ever seen.

(Luke 15:7)

I have always been Father, 

and will always be Father.

(Ephesians 3:14-15)

My question is…

Will you be my child? 

(John 1:12-13)

I am waiting for you. 

(Luke 15:11-32)

Love, Your Dad

Almighty God