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

Mary Kay Lash Love Lengthening Mascara Review

Mary Kay Lash Love Lengthening Mascara is a product I received in my “Starlet On-The-Go” Kit.  This kit was provided to me for free via Influenster and Mary Kay. Influenster is a program that provides various products to people who use social media to spread news about their various likes and dislikes.

I have been a member of the site for roughly a year and a half. I have only received one other box from the program in addition to this box. Despite the fact that I may sometimes receive products free of charge, I will always give, and have always given, honest reviews.

This mascara came to me in the color “I ♥ Black”. The brush is rubber with small rubber spikes. It is also curved to help curl your lashes.You can curl your lashes if you feel the need, because the brush does not add a huge lift. The rubber spikes start out longer at the base of the brush and get shorter closer to the tip.

The brush. Sorry I'm in these shots, the only camera I have at the moment is an in- laptop webcam

The formula is a damp one that is very pigmented. It also coats your lashes evenly and quickly. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to dry and does not stick to itself, so your lashes don’t stick together. Throughout the day (between 7-12 hours), I experienced very little flaking or smudging.

When worn alone, it provides a good amount of length and volume when worn in two or more coats on the top eyelashes. When worn with Mary Kay Lash Primer, I got a nearly false eyelash effect on my top eyelashes. My eyelashes themselves can be called short to medium length at best.

One coat each of the mascara and lash primer, on one eye

My lashes on their own,meh.

In my opinion, if you are looking for a product that gives you the appearance of false eyelashes Mary Kay Lash Love Lengthening Mascara on its own is not the best value, given that most mascaras only last 3-6 months, unless you wear makeup every day and use this mascara every time you won’t get a lot of use before it expires. If you buy the lash primer, it would definitely give both volume and length. It would cost $30 for the pair.

At a $15 price tag, this one is definitely one to consider if it is in your price range. I think that similar products are definitely available at lower prices. Try Wet N’ Wild’s Mega Length Mascara or Cover Girl’s Lashblast Fusion  or Cover Girl’s Professional Super Thick Lash. Thank you so much for reading and stopping by here at AbilityBeauty. Have a great day!

Thank you Mary Kay and Influenster for providing these products for use and review.

My finished eyes, minus under eye concealer or any other color makeup. One coat lash primer, two coats mascara on the top, one on the lower lashes.

A Pssssst! Dry Shampoo Review and Use Tips

My hair may look like I'm auditioning for a role in Sweeney Todd in the first photo below, but I'm actually waiting for my dry shampoo to work. I use Pssssst Dry Shampoo on the days between hair washing. It comes in an aerosol can and is available at most drugstores or grocery store hair care areas for around seven dollars for a 5.3 ounce can.

In order to use this dry shampoo and most others you’ll need to section off your hair. If you’re like me and have trouble doing this yourself, you can always have someone help or simply comb your fingers through your hair slowly, finding the roots of each section. Spray the dry shampoo in short bursts at the roots. 

                            After spraying your roots your hair will look a little like this

Do this until your entire head( or as much of it as you’d like) is sprayed at the roots. After that, wash your hands and do something else for  10-15 minutes. Just make sure it doesn't involve heat or flame, freshly sprayed dry shampoo is flammable! After it has dried vigorously brush out your hair.

If you don’t feel comfortable using it that way or are in a really big hurry Pssssst Dry Shampoo can be sprayed onto a dry and clean hairbrush and brushed through the hair. This method may not give the same results as the previous one but is easier and faster. It also can make it easier to not have momentarily white roots.

Overall, this product does an excellent job of absorbing excess oils in my experience and opinion. Each larger bottle can last a very long time depending on use. Your  roots will appear white or gray when you first apply this product, don’t worry and let it dry. It needs to be given time to work. The white streaks will brush out. I hope this blog entry was helpful to you. I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a dry shampoo.  Thank you for stopping in! Please feel free to subscribe,comment,or "join" this site. The more the merrier! See you soon! :) -Jennifer

   

                                                   After dry shampoo

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