This One's for the Girls!!!

(Boy Oh Boy...have I got an awesome "just because it's Monday, and the weekend is over...but DPD is here to rescue your Monday morning and make it all better" surprise for you! As the on-site make-up artist for the Domestic Prima Donna 2010 Spring Line Ad Campaign, Alexis Scanish Stringham was constantly breaking out new products and toys that made the make-up chair a really fun place to be. I am always peaking in her make-up kit to see all the new and exciting stuff on the market. We begged, we pleaded, and we finally convinced Alexis to join us on the DPD Blog as a guest blogger to share her top 10 make-up bag must haves for a 5 minute look. Neither DPD , or Alexis have been paid to endorse any of the items below.)

Every woman wants that quick 5 minute make up routine that will give them the "I woke up this beautiful" look. Some of us just need a map pointing us in the right direction to the most essential products we need to get our personal make-up kit started.

My name is Alexis, and my passion is making women look as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. The folks at Domestic Prima Donna have asked me to put together my top ten list of products every make-up wearing girl needs in her cosmetics bag. Now, there are many amazing products on the market right now...these just happen to be a part of my current beauty regime. I have provided both a spurge item, as well as a budget saving alternative of each product for your consideration.

1. Moisturizer: As winter approaches, our skin tends to dries out considerably, and often requires a bit of extra help to combat the elements. This is where moisturizer can come in handy. Moisturizer can also serve as a great base for the make-up application process.
Splurge: Aveda tourmaline charged hydrating creme
Budget Saver Alternative: Olay Definity

2. Mascara: For a brightening effect that will make your peepers pop, mascara is a must!
Splurge: Chanel Exceptionnel De Chanel Intense volume and Curl Mascara
Budget Saver Alternative: Covergirl Lash Blast Luxe

3. Face Powder: For matifying an oily complexion and to give an even tone, face powder is the answer to your prayers.
Splurge: MAC Pro Invisible Set Powder
Budget Saver Alternative: Physicians Formula Magic Mosaic Pressed Powder

4. Brows: For sparce brows or more definition, brow definition powder is a face framing step that will give you a pulled together look in seconds.
Splurge: Benefit Browsings

Budget Saver Alternative: Ardell Brow Defining Powder

5. Highlighter: Used on the brow bone, high cheek area, bridge of nose and chin…highlighter is a great product for brightening the face and bring out your best features. Use sparingly…less is more.
Splurge: Benefit High Beam
Budget Saver Alternative: Covergirl single pallet white eyeshadow

6. Lips: a well defined lip can present a more youthful appearance and can be an easy feature to accentuate with either bright colors (with a lighter eye) or lighter colors paired a smoky eye.
Splurge: Bare Escentuals Buxom Lipgloss

Budget Saver Alternative: Cover Girl Outlast All day lipcolor (really does last all day AND comes with an awesome gloss that I like to sometimes used all by itself)

7. Blush: For brightening/defining cheekbones, blush is a great add to your 5 min make-up regime
Splurge: Benefit Coralista (great color for most complexions)
Budget Saver Alternative: Revlon Colorstay Mineral Powder

8. Liner: Open up and define the eye area, play with a pin up winged look or just rim the waterline for an instant awake and ready to tackle the day look!

Splurge: MAC Fluid Line Pots
Budget Saver Alternative: Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker

9. Eye shadow: If you have an extra minute or two, and would like to better define your eye area AND express yourself with color..Eye shadow is the way to go. I am a HUGE fan of large expensive multi-color pallets, as well as the 3-4 basic neutral color pallet that you find at most drug stores
Splurge: Coastal Scents 78 Pallette
Budget Saver Alternative: Loreal Infinite’ in 4 color pallet

10. Foundation: to conceal flaws, get an even skin tone and have a base for your eye shadow, foundation is your best friend.

Splurge: MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation
Budget Saver Alternative: Cover Girl Tru Blend

Hope all you beautiful DPD blog reading ladies out there find this helpful! Remember, makeup should be fun, and an expression of who you are...not a daunting task. Therefore, branch out and try new things. The only way to find a product or look you love is to experiment. Happy experimenting!!!

God Bless -

Alexis

Licensed make-up artist and skin care specialist, Alexis Scanish Stringham and her husband Trevor live and work in the interior of Alaska. A New Jersey native, Alexis and Trevor are currently stationed in Alaska serving with the United States Air Force.

DPD Online Boutique Launch

Mark your calendars - Domestic Prima Donna online boutique officially launches on November 1st ,2009.

I got a peek at the website yesterday!
It is wayyyy more cool than we are...haha! In fact, I'm not sure I am even cool enough to shop there (I love 80's hairbands, and have nerf wars with my husband and kids. Don't judge!), but I digress.

Don't stop praying for us DPD readers!

Crazy Love -Chapter 6

(Alright! Big Daddy is back...with his take on Ch 6 of Crazy Love.
AWESOMENESS!)

Chapter 6 of Crazy Love written by Francis Chan talks about being in love with Jesus, and the things that you do when you are in love with someone.

When my wife and I were dating she lived in Baytown, Texas and I lived at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. It was about 841 miles from my dorm parking lot to her front door. It did not matter that it took 12 hours of driving to get there; we made the trip at least once a month each. We would leave right after work on Friday, and drive all night just to get to spend 24 hours together, and then turn around and drive the 12 hours back. It did not matter what the cost of gas was at that time, or what else might be going on that weekend….we just made the trip. It was that important to us to spend time with each other. We spent countless dollars on the trips for just a few hours a month.

How often would you say you find yourself driving to, thinking of, spending dollars on (you get the idea) the Lord and furthering His kingdom?

He is the only one worth more devotion in my life than my wife and kids, yet it seems at times I devote next to none of my time and love to Him compared to all the other stuff in my life. I have let my wife down countless times, and she has done the same to me. He never has. I cannot escape the fact that the flaws in our relationship are 100% one sided, and yet He loves me and continues to do great things to and for me. How great must His love be for me? So complete and perfect that He sent His only Son to die for me….for me! Francis Chan talks about our inability to love Him the way He calls us to loves Him. I can relate to the passage on page 99, I want to want Him…but I find myself continually struggling with looking and focusing on myself and my problems. It is impossible to love God and long for His company when I am focused on myself, and yet I can’t seem to escape it. I was talking to my pastor the other day, and he said that “sometimes it is important to do the right thing (pray, read, and talk to God)… even when we are not into it”. I think that there is a lot of truth in that. I am not saying that we need to just fill a square and do all the right things, while we rot inside. I am saying why not allow God to keep His promise, and “use all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)? God is so big and powerful that He can use those minutes or hours that you spend faking it to plant seeds. I find that the more time I allow myself to skip my relationship time with God, the more I have to fake it in all my other areas of commitment. God wants more from us.

I know a lot of people struggle with wanting to want a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God…including me. The truth is that it is a choice, just like the one to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. The bottom line is it is only as hard as you make it…and let me tell you sometimes I make it near impossible. My two road blocks that I continually struggle with are the over whelming feeling that I have failed God and so why try anymore, and focusing on anything other than myself. I know that these sound like the same problem, but they definitely are not. When I focus on me and my problems, I don’t even have God in my peripheral. It is only when I can focus on Him rather than myself that I can even come close to a relationship with Him. Sounds easy right? So, why is it so hard? Focusing on Him requires me to quit thinking about me and start thinking about Him.

What does God love? What does He care about? Who did God place in my life to today so I could tell them about Him?

Thoughts?

Jesse