A Good Way to Start the New Year!

We started at the end of February, days before the Oscars (be still my heart: "but it IS Colin Firth!").  One of the most popular posts was the one on the Oscars.

As I look back at last year, I'm so glad that the year is over.  We overcame so much.  Our daughter had had successful tricky surgery and was recovering.  I had surgeries and many things went wrong health-wise.  My boys had their health issues.  Suddenly we were a family with embarrassingly bad health luck.  You certainly don't want to walk (or get wheeled into) a hospital with the receptionist looking up at you and starting to enter data into her computer before you even get to the desk!

We had blessings as well.  Ok, I'm not happy that the house is a mess and the remodeling is not anywhere near complete, and you can't find anything you're looking for.  But my middle child got married and I was able to fly (for a price, a HUGE medical price) through twelve time zones for the wedding.  I was able to meet the bride and get to know her and her family.  I never thought I'd make it to Asia but somehow I did.  Secret: it was never even on my bucket list! 

I started a blog, yet months before, I didn't even know such an animal existed.  I've made my family happy because they get a bit of a break from me when I'm writing.  They don't need to answer so many questions or feel guilty that I'm in bed almost 24/7, usually alone and too sick for any company.  

I'm thankful for the friends I've made on twitter and the friends I've reconnected with on Facebook. I can't believe that I can actually SORT OF use a computer and the Internet, thanks to the iPad given to me just weeks before my daughter was first hospitalized.  By her fourth or fifth hospitalization I pulled the monstrosity (the dreaded iPad) out of my bag that I was dragging around with me from hospital to hospital.  When my daughter got stabilized one night - and I dared not move away from her bed - I pulled that sucker out and tried to understand what all the hype was about.

 That, in turn, led me to the family then trying to get me in sync (HaHaHa: a computer pun!) with the 21st century and gifting me with a computer of my own, again!  I kept breaking them, through no fault of my own!  It was a hard and frustrating road and still is.  But I'm doing it and I thank you, those who read my blog regularly, because suddenly I feel as if I DO belong to the human race and may actually have something I can contribute to it.  So, take a bow and curtsy for my thanks to you all.  And I've managed to learn how to sort of use twitter, though that's very much a work in progress.

And in that thankful spirit, to start the year off, I'm doing a picture-heavy post of some of the highlights of this year, a retrospective, if you will.  Enjoy!  You've been part of this, whether you realize it or not!

We talked about holistic medicine in addition to traditional, Western Medicine, but more still to come!

I lambasted the CDC, the NIH and the so-called specialists who were really our enemies in too many instances and proved to be more so on December 20 with the Ampligen hearings (fiasco).

My heart was broken when the posts I worked so hard on became unloved stepchildren and didn't get as much attention from viewers as those dealing with makeup and skincare.  I love both subjects.

We talked a lot about family and the benefits of laughter.  I love this because you can finally see how loony my family truly is: hubs and daughter after two sips of champagne, laughing their fool heads off as they tease me about my taste for contemporary Russian pop and my trying to get them to love it as well, though they can't understand the lyrics (blah blah, blah blah, blah blah!)

At last our first spring together came, and we had beautiful tulips, hyacinths, and other flowers from all the bulbs hubs and I planted when we talked about fibro-brain on this blog.

We celebrated what was for most our first Russian/Ukrainian Easter together, one that falls on the "wrong date" most years...

A two-fer: We talked about insomnia and my daughter was home from the hospital, finally. (Knock on wood for both!)

We enjoyed learning about the makeups that worked well with our funky skin and were easy to apply, like the  BB creams and the CC creams (One link and another link product, Trish McEvoy, as well as pampering)

We spoke of Brain SPECT scans scans and lamented that they had gone by the wayside for fibro  and CFIDS/ME/CFS

And a new miracle cream, Heal Gel was found in Britain which did miraculous things for the  hardiest of scars, including my daughter's.  (A new review, updated and detailed soon to come!)

We talked about makeup techniques, brows 4, brows 3, brows 2, brows part 1 and time savers.

We shared holiday tips on how to survive and we looked forward to the New Year.

 And so, Happy New Year (and a Happy New Year in Russian too!)

And we made it through the holidays and somehow survived!  Here's to starting the new year, 2013, on the right foot.  Here's to all having everyone's health improve.  Here's to all laughing as much as possible and having much love in your lives.  And here's to getting to know you.  

Ciao and paka!

Three Fibro-Brain-Proof Beauty Products

The funniest thing happened to me the other day: I ran out of time, as well as steam, when getting ready to see my surgeon about a breast biopsy.  Now, getting to go anywhere takes me a good three hours - thanks to my CFIDS/ME/CFS and fibromyalgia-addled brain and body.  Consequently, I try to get as much done as possible ahead of time, now 24 hours ahead.  Yes, folks, that's how long it takes to make me look anything approaching human!

So the day before, I put out as many items ahead of time as I could, including the toothpaste and toothbrush, right through which shampoo and conditioner I would use, as well as the clothes and boots I'd wear.  (I'll take a Christmas party in whatever shape I can find it in!)  However, when it came to falling asleep that night, I was absolutely bound and determined to fall asleep.  I really didn't think I had it in me to make it to the appointment without any sleep.  By 1AM, I was in desperate straits and decided to sneak in an extra muscle relaxer capsule.  Imagine my surprise when hubs woke me up at 6:30AM  - as requested - in order to start the whole ordeal.

NOTHING helped hubs nor me in the getting-me-up-out-of-bed department.  I was limp, dead.  Worse, all sorts of crazy things were happening to me, including the fact that I was still fighting a bug.  But the "best" part? Even my face was having a hard time waking up - not my legs, mind you, but my face!  I got a bad case of pins and needles. What a dilemma!  I thought back to what I usually do when I come down with pins and needles, but even with my mind definitely in fibro-form, jumping on my face didn't sound like a good option, nor doable when I thought about it.  By 9AM, hubs was desperate to get me out of bed.  Imagine the horror when he realized that I was bound and determined to do my hair and makeup, despite the fast-moving clock. It was time run amuck at its finest and I couldn't think straight: fibro-brain (and a bit more) at its finest.  

But because of said fibro-brain, I ended up discovering that:

• Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 can stand alone without scaring too many people off.  In fact, my skin was in good enough shape that I forgot to put on a proper foundation!  I've now absolutely fallen in love with this tinted moisturizer which I'd always thought I could only use as a primer.  Thank goodness for brushes: had I used my stippling brush (beautifully washed the night before) I'd have thought that I HAD used a foundation.  
• Eyeliner Cream Shaper For Eyes: this goes on so "creamy-smoothly" (as the Clinque website describes it) that it took only a moment to put on my eyelids.  And best of all, there was no smudging.  I use the brown and it supposedly has a hint of shimmer but it's ever so slight which simply gives eyes a nice pop and definition.
• MAC Eyebrow pencil in "Fling": this has got to be the easiest eyebrow pencil around, small, and no need for a sharpener nor angled brush, which I'm always losing.  I need to order a second one for my bag.  It looked perfect after I got home when I got a good look at what others had seen.

 

Between these three bits of makeup, there was no sign of any hyperpigmention: what is there was deflected by the three products used.

Sometimes fibro-brain can work in your favor!  Who knew?  I have finally found the holy grail for a minimum when too exhausted and finding myself with no time or energy.  Yes, I added a mascara and a quick blush, but the HERO products I used the other day were the ones I described above. 

And yes, sweet daughter of mine: "Mumsy" DEFINITELY misspoke when telling you she needed an "autopsy" done.  Sorry about the momentary scare I gave you!  We'll have to let the world know about  some of my other notable malapropisms, some real doozies!  Yes, they are indeed almost up there with Yogi Berra's!  (BFF: please do stop laughing! You know I've done MUCH worse!)  I should give a prize to the big one I used in this blog - more than once! - a few months ago.  I've not corrected it because I've been waiting a long time for someone to catch it and say something!

Anyway, as always, I hope all are doing their best, only better!  (Fibro-logic at its best.)  Ciao and paka. 

Brushing Up On Your Makeup Skills

Laura Mercier and Chanel brushes and cosmetics

Since starting on one of my newest medical adventures, that of the hypothyroidism, (and another one of the battles described at this link as well) I've had a real problem with my face, the color of it, that is.  Fortunately (I suppose), I've always had to use foundation, so it hasn't been a problem to use a foundation now.  When I was young I needed it to cover my (many) freckles.  As I've aged it's been to cover freckles PLUS the hyper-pigmentation.  (OK, it's "age spots," shudder!)  The final nail in the coffin has always been that I've needed foundation to cover a bit of redness anytime I've ever been exposed to the sun in any shape, way or form.

However, since the thyroid problems began, my skin has been playing even more tricks on me.  Too often I turn ghastly pale.  Other days, I seem to have a yellowish cast.

Another however: a biggie!  I'm finally happy that in the past decade or so I haven't been able to make it to any store to buy foundation.  I need to order over the Internet and THAT becomes iffy at best, not to mention a bit expensive.

But finally, I have an upside!  No matter what color my skin, I have a shade I can work with.  Talk about an extreme case of making lemonade out of lemons!  Now I no longer need to feel guilty about having so many foundations.  Furthermore, because my skin is dehydrated one day and too oily the next, I have all the types of foundations to choose from as well, from powders to creams to liquids.  My only problem: making the right decision as to which foundation to try on my face on any particular day.  As many who are plagued with CFIDS/ME/CFS and/or fibromyalgia, I have a huge problem with decision-making.  (I can just hear hubby breaking out into hysterical laughter when he reads this last statement about decision-making.  Hey, Hubs! I'm a Libra who has to analyze everything ad nauseum, remember?)

At any rate, I had an appointment with my GP the other day.  Understand (if you will, please), that since I almost never go out, I try to make going to any doctor's appointment a dress-up day if at all possible.  But as I said, my face has been tricky lately. Too often I find that my foundation looks like a mask on my face. I've always maintained that makeup is only flattering when the skin underneath looks good and that bad color or pallor makes for Halloween-type looks.  And if you want to try to get away with the "no-makeup" or "flawless" makeup look, well, fuhgeddaboudit, as Robert De Niro would say.

However, yesterday was a success with the makeup job and yippee!  I'm delighted because by all rights it should have been a "mask" day.  However...

I love and have an obsession with makeup brushes.  (Yes, I've always maintained that I'm an odd duck!)  To make things worse - or much to hub's chagrin - I have an embarrassingly large collection of brushes, especially for someone who doesn't go out very often.  But I suppose where some people love crayons, I love brushes. While some can paint on canvas, I can't replicate a drawing of a basic tree.  So, makeup?  That must satisfy some sort of wish-I-were-an-artist part of me.  (Get back on topic, I know!)

Yet of all the brushes I own, I've never had a proper foundation brush. I've always thought my fingers were superior to any brush out there.  And I've been so very wrong.

I finally broke down and bought a couple of foundation brushes, stippling ones, and have used them three times thus far.  The verdict: I absolutely love them.  No mask-look on my face!  Each time, with the "before," my skin looked horridly pale or awfully red.  By the time I got the foundation on and blended, blended - and then blended some more, as Laura Mercier would say - the foundation became part of my face, only vastly improved.

So if you're having the same problems I've encountered and:

• want good coverage because of discoloration (breakouts, freckles, acne scars or *agh* age spots)
• want skin which looks rather youthful despite the DD
• want an even, air-brushed finish
• want a "fail proof" application despite shaky or inexperienced hands
• want to look age-appropriate without any wrinkles getting caked (*agh* again!)
• and want that "flawless" and "no makeup" look...

... Then consider getting a foundation stippling brush.  I'm "over the moon," that I finally did so!  The stippling brush is the one which has the little light ends and because of the combination of natural and "faux" fibers, it consequently has a light touch which lends itself to layering foundation, if need be.  It gives a very well-blended look with a wonderful sheen, with no streaks at all, of course!  I was naughty and treated myself to a Chanel foundation brush and I just happened to "find" another stippling brush in the Laura Mercier Ten Essential Brushes Collection which I purchased earlier in the year.  I'm sure any good quality stippling brush designed for foundation will give you great results as well.

So, if you're well enough to get out to go to any Christmas or New Year's Eve parties, even though your skin is telling you to stay home, these foundation brushes may be just the ticket to make yourself look and feel awfully special!  If your skin needs tender loving care, a foundation brush may be your best friend for looking even more "invisibly" sick!  (Groan?)

As always, I hope everyone is feeling their very best, only better.  Ciao and paka!


(NOTE: Top picture background is Laura Mercier's Ten Essential Brush Collection makeup kit in red, which included the gorgeous translucent handled brush pictured as well.  The black handled brush is the Chanel foundation brush.  The CC cream (review here) and one of the Chanel liquid foundations are also pictured, review of the Chanel foundation coming up soon.)