It’s that hour of the morning.  Coffee has been gloriously sipped and I’m now awake for the day.  Not much is going on.  It is biting 15 degrees outside.  I need to do some grocery shopping, baking and writing.

Ahhhh. I simply cannot function if I do not have my morning cawfee!!!

Is it that important to get out of bed at this early hour and get ready and dressed?  Yes. It is.  Because the simple act of putting my face on is the one act that will make me feel good about myself.  I like the whole process of “getting ready”.

For me, it is methodical.  I’m careful about what goes onto my face.  I’m thoughtful about what hair I’ll wear and I ponder which clothes to wear.

It keeps me from feeling bad. It’s empowering!!!!

So, come with me.  And I’ll show you how I get ready.  I started at exactly 7:20 in the morning.  By 8:20 I was dressed. This is my hour to polish off my shine!

Watch how I go from…well, THAT–to THIS!!!!

Face washed and moisturized.  Primer goes on first. Today I’m using Hard Candy Primer. At eight bucks a pop, this is better than many of the high-end primers I’ve used in the past.

The tiniest amount of this primer is all you need for a great finish.  I let it “set” for about five minutes before moving on! 

And while primer is soaking in, I’ll treat myself to a game of Candy Crush!

Bonaparte can’t stand when I play these games. He said it isn’t normal. OBVIOUSLY!!  I’m not normal–what did he expect???

Now it’s time to brush Well-Rested in the blue corners of my eyes. Oh well, I’ll just swipe the brush all over my eye.

I’ve written about Well-Rested way too many times but it’s such a great product.  I can see that I need yet another repurchase. I’m not a powder person but this powder is so finely milled and it does a great job of concealing that blue tint that you get by the eyes!

Oh..almost forgot to condition my lips!!  It’s funny because at first, I wasn’t crazy about this product but now–I use it every single day!  It does a great job of conditioning dry lips.  Skin Actives Liquid Rainbow. The can be purchased on the Skin Actives website!

I’m not one to go crazy with bright eye shadow so I stick with neutrals. Today I’m using a very neutral and very inexpensive palette by Revolution. It was all of seven bucks at Ulta.

As you can see, I’ve hit pan on a couple of the shadows in this palette. The shadows are extremely silky-textured and very well-pigmented.

A softer and more natural look. Maybe I’ll add more!

The brows.  I need to replenish this Dip Brow pomade from Anastasia.  Not only have I hit pan, but I’ve had it for so many years that it probably has makeup mites in it and they are probably eating what is left of my brows off my face.  But this brow product is just so gooooood!

This brow product retails for $18 at Sephora. It’s a great deal considering I’ve had this for a few years and have hit pan recently.  I’m sure this is so old that it’s expired and contaminated–I’ll keep using it!

Uh oh.  Thank Goodness my guru Wayne Goss doesn’t subscribe to this blog. He would be so angry with me because I still need to blend my eye shadow and clean up my brows.  Don’t worry Wayne, I’ll fix this mess!

Next is mascara.  I’m reaching for the first one I grab.  Today it’s Lash Paradise. Not my favorite. Everyone makes a big deal out of this $9.99 dupe for Too-Faced Better Than Sex mascara. First of all, NO mascara is better than sex. OK?  Secondly, this stuff dries out after the first two weeks and it flakes—but I bought it, so I’m using it.

Lash Paradise. Hey, this has a huge following of mascara lovers. I’m not one of them.

Eyeliner after mascara!  I’m using Tarte’s liquid liner. The tip of this is excellent. I think this is the ManEater liner. I can’t remember.

I’m not a big fan of Tarte Cosmetics–but the brand’s eyeliner and some of the mascaras are great. This liner is one of them!

Now—in between each “step” I reach for this little spray bottle. It was once filled with product to set my makeup.  I refilled with tap water and spray my face for hydration.  The indoor heat during the winter months wreaks havoc on my skin and dries it to no end.

Truth be told, I don’t know how much cucumber, green tea and vitamins were in this before I used it up–but now there’s tap water and I can’t tell the difference.

Oops!  Time to get back to Candy Crush.  I love hearing the Candy Crush man talking dirty to me.  He tells me I’m “Tasty”!

Is it his voice constantly telling me I’m tasty or is it the fact he’s in uniform?  But I’m Candy Crushin’ on Mr. Candy Crush!

Back to the face.

Lately, I’ve been getting into this color corrector palette from e.l.f.  Surprisingly, it’s an e.l.f. product that has a good amount of…. product!  And the creamy texture of the correcters is very mature skin friendly.  I dab a bit of green on my nose and cheeks because that’s where the redness is.  Then I dab a bit of yellow under the eyes.

I have such a passive/aggressive, love/hate relationship with e.l.f. but this is a good product. I think it’s $6.00 or $5.00.  I like this. 

Time to see how many people unfollowed me on Instagram.  Honestly, between being unfollowed by people I thought were my “friends” and those who follow-to-unfollow, my fingers are kept busy unfollowing them back!   A friend of mine unfollowed me yesterday because she had too many followers.  I unfollowed her back. I have the app! She’s still my friend too!

Seriously, I can’t stand that.  It is so unethical.

Back to the face.

Foundation time.  Today I’m wearing Wet n’ Wild’s Photofocus foundation.  The availability of shades isn’t that great—so I blend two of them together.  At less than five bucks for a bottle, this is still a fabulous find because it is one of the best foundations out there.  It’s matte but doesn’t dry to a chalky or drying consistency. It bends in so well to your skin.  I use a large spoon brush to blend this in because it does a better job than a blending sponge.

A combo of Nude Ivory and Peach Natural make for a good foundation shade for me.  Hands down, this Photofocus is one of the best foundations ever!

Ugh.  The lighting in the room is horrific but trust me, things ARE starting to look pulled together!

But, I blend really, really well. Then when I’m done, I spray my face with the water before moving on to the next step which is…

This–I love this concealer. It glides on and is so hydrating and not drying.  It hides what you need to be hidden and brightens at the same time.  Seven bucks at Walmart!

Concealer.  I don’t even know why this is concealer it’s more like a brightener but his Maybelline Age Rewind is better than a ten-dollar meal at Taco Bell—it’s that good!  Applying this over the foundation also ensures that my redness will be securely hidden.

Concealer to brighten my cheeks, nose and forehead!

Contour after concealer.  OMG. I love contour.  I started using it about two years ago.  My first was the contour/highlighter duo from Marc Jacobs Beauty—but as my skin become drier, I switched from powder to cream. And my two favorite contours are the Fenty MatchStix in Amber and Charlotte Tilbury’s Ibiza. Both are super creamy and do a great job. Today I’m using Ibiza. And, might I add, this Ibiza stick is hard to come by. I waited over a month for Nordstrom to restock and today I see that it is sold out on the Charlotte Tilbury site!

I’m very concerned.  I just went on Nordstrom’s website. They are out of Ibiza. WTF?  It’s sold out on Tilbury’s site?  Why don’t they start making more.  I should have bought two of these but at $45 per………

Dammit. I’m so unpopular. I got another unfollow on Instagram.  Oh well, back to my face!

I’m a living work of art–or I look like Howdy Doody’s mother–take your pick.  Don’t worry, all this contour will be perfectly blended with a sponge!I’ll tell you, this Real Techniques blending sponge is great–and Chippy hasn’t eaten it yet!

Blush—isn’t it funny how we cover up our natural redness only to eventually apply various shades of blush?   I’m using another Charlotte Tilbury product—Beach Stick in Las Salinas. It’s a nice flush of color!

The Las Salinas Beach Stick gives a nice flush.  Also $45.  Tilbury has great products but they are so expensive!

Blending the blush in with a brush.  My hands get such a workout from blending all these products into my face. I wish my body got such a workout!

More water to the face.  Grabbing my NYX highlighter a bit on the apples of the cheeks (Thanks to reader Hipchick66 for that tip) and on the nose.  Almost done.

NYX Bright Idea highlighter is fantastic. It gives the faintest highlight and illuminates the face so subtly.  Goes on creamy too!  It was eight dollarzzzzzz!

Lips are last.  I apply lipstick after getting dressed because when I put a sweater on over my head, lipstick always transfers on.  Today is three colors.

First I line my lips with NYX Wonder Pencil…

elf lip pencil, NYX matte lipstick and Revolution lip gloss. All lower-end brands…

The NYX  Matte lipstick in Nude is applied first…

….followed by a fill-in with the elf pencil and then..

the Revolution lip gloss to finish it off..

A berry, berry, nice lip look!

That’s not the end–now I’m ready for hair!

Today it’ll be Model Model’s Shine Meadow, A longer length non-style, style!

I’m all blended and hair on. I’m ready to roll!

Hair in place and I’m good to go.  Let me turn my phone off.  That Candy Crush Man is making me excited and the last thing I need is for my wonderful husband to accuse me of having an affair with Mr. Candy Crush—he already feels I’m addicted to this phone as it is!

Overall, it took an hour to achieve this look. However, I did dawdle with the Candy Crush man and Instagram!  

And the new velvet pants I purchased at Old Navy, A plaid blazer, a scarf, no socks even in the snow, a hat and a positive attitude and I’m off to run the day’s errands!

The cordovan loafers match the pants. Cordovan–why isn’t that lovely color more popular? I didn’t match the shoes to the bag today…

And I’m off!

Thank you for joining me in my endeavor to get ready!  I also want to add–I still have lines on my face–no amount of makeup is going to erase those lines and wrinkles–but the key is to BLEND that foundation and other products so that they don’t look cakey–because if the products look dry and cakey, it’ll accentuate the lines we have.

Anyway, when I arrived at Wegmans, the song “Escape” came on the radio. You know it as The Pina Colada Song.  I have to say, it’s one of my favorite pop songs of all time. So I stayed in the car to listen to it.  Do you ever do that?  A song  comes on the radio that you love and it comes on as you are ready to park your car. Do you stay to listen?  I do!! XOXOXOXO!!!