Why I Love Makeup

I'm sure some people who have read my other blog or know me in person wonder why I'm so interested in make-up. There are several reasons I love cosmetics.  Their ability to transform faces  and to be a catalyst for endless creativity. All of the  beautiful colors and finishes combine to make an amazing and nearly endless  coloring book for those who may have outgrown a traditional one.

Makeup doesn't  require one to be a certain size or of a certain income level . Many products can be used in several ways,so very little goes completely to waste. As I've gotten older, makeup has for me become less about vanity and more about creativity and privacy.

 As someone with a disability who needs help with a lot of personal care related activities and doesn't get much privacy in many parts of her day, makeup is loved as something I can do entirely on my own. To many this may not seem like a big deal, but to someone who might need a lot of help with tasks that most people take for granted, having an activity that you enjoy that you can do on your own is very liberating.

Yes, I appreciate every bit of help I've ever gotten but have always wondered what it would be like to do things like have a shower with no one else in my bathroom. I'm also well aware there are people with similar situations (new parents for instance), but unlike parents of young kids, I've never known true privacy. This is a loss yes, but not the end of the world. For at least several hours a week, I apply, talk about, or write about makeup. For me this is like visiting a candy store for work , I love it.

 Whether it is make-up, art, or a sport-whatever. I encourage you to find something  you enjoy and spend time doing it at least a once a week. Perhaps even find a way to make it part of your work.  As you grow more confident in your  "hobby" you may very well grow confident in other things. Give it a try and most importantly...have fun!

Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful day!

Jennifer

Mary Kay Cream Eye Color Review

Some months ago I got a chance to try a handful of Mary Kay Cosmetics for free. I was able to try these products via the "voxbox" program from Influenster. Each box is complimentary and can contain a variety of products, but this one contained all makeup, which is always fun in my opinion.

"Violet Storm" in its pot

One of the cosmetics I received in my box was a Mary Kay Cream Eye Color in "Violet Storm". This is a color that I find ABSOLUTELY stunning! I love purples and the consistency was at first very creamy but over time it has dried to a slight putty like texture. It can be made more malleable again by placing a bit between your forefinger,middle finger, and thumb. Move these fingers together to try to warm the product.   You can apply cream shadow with your fingers or a brush. I apply  potted cream shadows and blushes with my clean fingers.

The color and consistency of these products are lovely but I prefer cream shadow to come in pencil or stick form. I find it easier to control the application and I find them  generally more sanitary than potted ones. Pencil shadows can also do triple duty as liner and base for looks using powder shadow.

This shadow is available from Mary Kay for twenty-two dollars. I feel that although this is a very nice product, the price is a bit extravagant if you need to use your fingers to apply it. It tends to apply in a slightly

A swatch

patchy way as well, regardless of the method used to put it on.  You may have to work with it  to apply it evenly and could be left with a lot of excess product  on your fingers if you take too much from the pot.

In my opinion, this is not the best choice on which to spend $22.00. Although the color beautiful and the consistency very creamy, getting even application and color takes a lot more work than I feel a cream shadow should take. The price is a bit too dear in my opinion because of these things. These are just my experiences and opinions though, your opinion and might be different from mine. I hope this review was helpful to you.  Thank you Mary Kay and Influenster  for providing the products for review. Thank you for reading! Have a great day!!

Jennifer

On the eyelids

Hi There! :)

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog AbilityBeauty.  Yes, this is a reboot of a blog I started in 2011, but I am now able to blog much more consistently and add photos and video! This blog will be an accompaniment to my YouTube channel of the same name.

My name is Jennifer Burss. I’m 35-years-old,a freelance writer by trade, and I live in Michigan with my wonderful husband Sam.  I started AbilityBeauty  because as a teenager with cerebral palsy I would see beautiful makeup in magazines and being demonstrated by makeup artists on television and in a lot of cases think, “How can I do that with my fingers and hands?”.(My CP affects my legs, arms, hands, and fingers)

Being the creative person I am, I started to experiment with ways to apply makeup and skincare products and get decent results.  I used these techniques to apply products from high school onward. I started both my YouTube channel and this blog to help share what I have learned over the years.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t consider physical “beauty” anywhere near the top of my list of important qualities. In fact, I believe how we feel about ourselves and the way we treat others as far more important. Makeup, to me is simply one method we can use to express ourselves and create. I also believe no one should be excluded from any method of creation or expression based on what they are able to afford or what they can or cannot do physically. There’s more than one way to do almost everything!!

Both here and on my channel I try and will try to give as many application tips and alternate product suggestions as possible. I can’t always know what is best for every situation. In the end, we all need to do what is best for us. If I suggest a method or product and it doesn't work for you, please feel free to do whatever does work best for you. I hope we can all enjoy this blog and have some fun!  Thank you so much for reading and watching! Have a great day!

Love,

Jennifer