The ladies over at Chic Critique are sponsoring a Blog Your Face giveaway. All posts have to be up by 5:00 EDT today to be considered for the giveaway, and, as you can see, I’m barely squeaking in. However, if you didn’t make the giveaway deadline but think this sounds like fun, then feel free to join in and blog your face on your own blog. Here goes for me.

This is my BEFORE picture. I had my husband take this picture last night because no one is up at my house to take a picture of me before I put on my makeup. Still, the regimen is the same…almost.

Said regimen includes Mary Kay (I’m a consultant) TimeWise 3-N-1 Cleanser (Cleanser, Freshener, and Exfoliant in one nifty little product). Last night, I used a Clarins (gasp!) acne treatment next. (I had it left over from before I started using Mary Kay.) I don’t know if you can tell in the picture or not, well, at least not in this smaller version anyway, but there is a nice little zit trying to form on my nose. Trust me, in the larger version, it looks like a blinking sign! Go figure! Thirty-seven, scaring the heck out of 38, and I still have the occasional zit.

Next was my Mary Kay TimeWise Night Solution, which is supposed to renew my skin’s cells at night while I sleep. How wonderful! I normally have another step before this, but I have been out of a product for a while. Hmmm…I think I need to contact my MK consultant! Hah! Just kidding. Seriously. I AM my best customer! Anyhoo, that product is the Mary Kay Even Complexion Essence. As I have begun that process called..shhh..aging, I have begun to develop some redness on my face, specifically on my cheeks, close to my nose. This product helps even out your skin tone.

Okay..next step. Mary Kay TimeWise Moisturizer and then on to the eyes. Mary Kay TimeWise Targeted Action Eye Revitalizer. You can’t really tell so much in the picture, but there are some dark circles under those eyes. This product helps with that. I admit I was skeptical when that product came out, but it works! The reason you can’t see the dark circles in the picture is because I have been using this product for sometime now. I then use the Mary Kay TimeWise Firming Eye Cream. It goes under the eye area to help with the elasticity of the skin under the eyes. It helps combat those pesky little laugh lines and also has a moisturizer. Lastly is the Mary Kay Targeted Action Line Reducer. It helps tighten up the skin where wrinkles have begun to form. Me, personally, I use it to help tighten up those craters that are forming on either side of my mouth. Again, it really does work!

I was going to post step-by-step pictures of the transformation process, but, again, no one up to help me document, and I simply didn’t have time to set up the tripod and all that jazz. So, it’s just a before and after picture for me. Sorry!

First things first. Gotta’ put some MK Yellow concealer on those dark circles under my eyes. If you don’t have Yellow concealer, you have to get some. That stuff is your best friend for dark circles and redness. It actually works better than concealer the same color as your foundation in my opinion. Of course, I use a yellow-toned foundation, so I guess if you used a pink-toned foundation, it might not work as well. However, a little tip here. According to Robert Jones, who is a makeup artist “to the stars,” and MK’s glamour consultant, everyone has yellow undertones in their skin, no matter how slight. He says that we should always strive to push our makeup towards the warmer (yellow, olive, etc.) tones because it makes us look younger. Pink undertones cause us to look older. As someone who started using MK foundation in a pink undertone, I have to agree. The foundation seemed to match perfectly. For about a year after starting with the MK makeup, every time I would finish with my makeup, I would look at myself in the mirror and think, I look old! Finally, I read this tip from Robert Jones and tried another color in a yellow undertone. (I am always practicing with new MK makeup on myself so as to better be able to help my customers). Voila! I was convinced! I am much happier now. Okay, that was quite long-winded I know, but I hope someone will find it helpful.

Where was I? Oh yes, concealer. So I put yellow concealer on the dark circles and any blemishes. I then use my MK Medium-Coverage Foundation in Ivory 100. This is the lightest shade they make. What can I say? I’m a fair-skinned kinda’ girl. Oh, I forgot something. I also put MK eye primer on my lids after the concealer so it can dry adequately while applying foundation. I do this because my eyelids tend to get oily and my eyeshadow still looks fresh at the end of the day if I use the eye primer.

The above makeup combination is a typical day for me. Occasionally, I might switch out depending on what I am wearing (this is not necessary), but as a general rule, with one exception, this is it.

Eye Color. All MK, of course. Spun Silk (cream/shimmer) applied on the brow. Hazelnut (brown/matte) applied on the lid. Jungle (green/matte) (the dark side..it’s a duet with a light and dark). Next is eyeliner. MK, too. Typically, I wear Sable (now called Brown or Deep Brown, I forget which). Today, however, because I was wearing a green shirt, I wore Sage (green-now called Olive). I do apply it to the top and bottom. Above and below the lash lines. I then use MK Ultimate Lash Mascara in Black. My cheek color is Safari Sunset (another duo-I use the brown side). I then top it off with MK Ivory 200 Dual-Coverage Powder Foundation (applied with a powder brush) to set my foundation and blush. Lastly, the lips. I am wearing MK Neutral lip liner (which I always wear, lip liner that is), MK Apricot Glaze lipstick, and just a touch of MK Lip Gloss in Gold Rush applied in the middle of both the upper and lower lips.

Okay, if you’re still with me after all that, I think we’re all done here.

A few weeks ago when I began the Bible study on which I am currently working, I posted about Abraham. I had hoped to post more about him, but, as of yet, that has not happened.

My bloggy friend, Jim Jordan, over at Moral Science Club posted a comment on my Abraham post. He included a link to a lesson he taught on Chapter 22 of Genesis when Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It is a really great read! I encourage you to go check it out.

This morning I was supposed to be going to the doctor at 9:30 to discuss a prescription I take regularly for acid reflux. About 15 minutes before I was planning to leave, the doctor’s office called asking if I could come later in the morning. Apparently, they have a new computer system and in the process of trying to work out all the kinks, they overbooked their schedule and had two people scheduled for the time slot in which I was supposed to come. I was annoyed to say the least.

Now, the truth is, it wasn’t that much of an inconvenience for me to come at a later time. I did have something else planned during the later appointment time, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t delay. Some days, I might not have been able to rearrange my schedule, but this wasn’t one of those days, and yet, I was still annoyed. I had my day planned out, and I didn’t like their office coming in and changing things on me.

I started thinking about this later. I wonder how many times God tries to interrupt our days, but rather than seeing the interruption as the divine appointment that it is, we simply become annoyed because things are not turning out the way we had planned. I wonder how many people have crossed my path who might have been touched by Him through me, but whom I didn’t see because I was too busy and didn’t want to be bothered. How many blessings have I and others missed because I was annoyed by a scheduling change and unwilling to go with it?

This is another reason that having our quiet, alone time with Him is so important. We must be ever vigilant about developing a personal, intimate relationship with Him so that we are in tune with His will. This equips us also to better recognize when those divine appointments come.

The book of 1 Kings, verses 11-12, tell about how when Elijah was in hiding, God told him that He was going to pass by. A great and powerful wind came and shattered the rocks on the mountain, but the Lord was not in the wind. Next came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After that was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. Elijah knew that the gentle whisper was the Lord.

Spend time with Him. Make it a priority so that you, too, can recognize and hear the gentle whisper. That annoying interruption just might be God Himself.