When the Luminess Airbrush Makeup system arrived, my 13-year-old daughter was all over it. Finally, she said…a gadget for makeup! She wanted to try it out because she has had a hard time with foundation blending on her skin. So I let her try it out first. She spent several hours watching the videos online, mixing colors to get the perfect match and practicing with the airbrush wand.

This is the picture I took of Sami before she started.

We received the Professional Luminess Airbrush Makeup Edition which includes the 3-speed Professional Airbrush system, several bottles of foundation, blush, moisturizer, bronzer, glow enhancer, eyeshadow duo and the learning DVD. Our DVD was in spanish, so we went to the internet and watched the following videos.

Airbrush Makeup Prepping

The first video is a basic introduction.

The second video shows you how to match the foundation to your skin color. Sami and I both needed a mix of 1 and 2 to match our skin tone perfectly.

The last video shows you how to apply the makeup. We found it easiest to watch the video a few times first. Then prepare your kit and watch the video while you are applying the makeup for the first time. Be sure the area is well-lit. This was the first mistake I made when I applied the makeup. I didn’t have a well-lit bathroom and the makeup didn’t look right. But when I moved to a bathroom with better lighting, the difference was huge. It looked much better.

After Luminess Airbrush Makeup

Here is Sami’s after photo.

She was so happy with the results. She didn’t look like she had foundation on and she had no problems with blending at the hairline and her jawline.

Luminess Airbrush Tips

Here are a few notes that Sami said I had to include in the review:

• A bit of the foundation goes a long way. You do not need much.
• Practice, practice, practice. She said it did take a few tries to get it right, but once she did, it is so easy.
• Watch the videos!!! We need to admit that we did try to do this at first without really watching the videos very closely. Don’t try that!! You need the videos. They help a ton!
• How you hold the wand makes a big difference when you are putting it on. Be sure to follow the directions and hold like a pencil.
• The airbrush is really easy to clean and be sure you do it after you use it every time.

Now Sami is ready to try the airbrush tanning system because she loved the Luminess Airbrush Makeup so much.  Here is one last side by side of the before and after of Sami.

Disclosure: We received the Luminess Professional Airbrush kit in exchange for this review. All opinions are 100% my own and Sami’s.

Let’s Talk About Luminess Airbrush Makeup!

Have you tried airbrush makeup? Let me know what your experience is.

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Luminess Airbrush Makeup Professional Edition; A Makeup Gadget originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Instead of sneaking away, I have found that small mini breaks are often enough to recharge my own batteries. I spend a lot of time recharging batteries in all my gadgets and often forget to take care of my own batteries!

Here are a few ways to fit in a recharge break from your technology:

1. No technology at dinner. I will get so focused on writing that I will forget to eat lunch and before I know it, six hours have gone by and the kids are home and the chaos all begins. Turning off the TV, putting the phones away and sitting down to a family dinner clears my mind and puts the focus on my family.

To read the rest of my suggestions, check out my post at MyBlogalicious.

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Taking Mini Recharge Breaks From Technology originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Jux makes my Hawaii memories look even better….

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Memories of Hawaii in Jux originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Every time I see the Toyota commercial, I think back on my life. There were so many memories that I have that involved a Toyota. I have pictures of some of the Toyota cars from my past, but not all. Some of them are from way back in the olden days when we didn’t have digital cameras.

So, here is my life remembered in Toyota cars…

1980

I remember my parents buying 2 brand new Toyota cars. It was the first cars that I really remember well in my life. They bought a Toyota Tercel and a Toyota station wagon (I think it was a Corolla, but I’m not positive.)

My sister and the back of our Toyota station wagon.

1983

I learned to drive in our Toyota station wagon.

1984

I learned to drive stick shift in our Toyota Tercel.

1985

I graduated from High School and by this time the Toyota Tercel had become my car (or at least the car I drove, until my sister learned to drive, then I had to share.)

1986 – 1987

I drove the Tercel to and from college.

1989

I bought my very first car (well, I leased my very own car.) It was a red Toyota Tercel. My Dad went with me so we were sure I would get a good deal (and I did.) I remember buying it from Jack Safro Toyota in Brookfield, WI.

My blue Toyota!

1991

I totaled my first Toyota. Sad….sad…day! Because it was a lease (and this was before gap insurance) we did a transfer of collateral. I now had a blue 1989 Toyota Tercel. I remember trying to drive that car with a broken wrist (right wrist and it was a stick shift car.)

1993

My Dad and I went in together and bought a small Toyota truck. I drove it most of the time, but he drove it if he needed it to haul stuff around.

My black Toyota truck.

 1993

I met my husband on AOL and one of the things we had in common was that we both drove Toyota trucks (match made in heaven). Mine was black and his was blue.

1994

My husband and I bought our first car together. It was a red Toyota Corolla and it’s the car we had when we got married.

Just married in a Toyota. That is me in the wedding dress!

 1996

We had a baby and now the Corolla wasn’t big enough anymore. We needed a Camry.

Nathan asleep in our Camry. He slept often in a Toyota.

1997

Washing the blue Toyota Camry with Daddy.

Jason washing his Toyota!

1998

We moved to Wisconsin and bought a second car, a blue Toyota Corolla.

A Toyota Corolla and Camry in our garage.

1998

My sister moved in with us and she needed a car. We helped her buy a 1998 Toyota Corolla and she still owns that car today and it is still running.

1999

We had a second baby and clearly needed a mini-van. We bought a Toyota Sienna.

Here is a scrapbook page I created showing my husband washing the cars. He was always washing the Toyota cars.

2001

We traded in the blue Camry for a silver Camry. The kids loved helping Jason wash it.

2004

We traded in the silver Camry for a beautiful red Camry.

2007

My husband informed me that I left out one car and it probably was because it was also a red Toyota Camry, so I didn’t realize it was different than the one above when I was searching through thousands of pictures.  There was a 2007 Toyota Camry SE also.

2012

This leads us to our most recent purchase. Another red Toyota Camry….

Cars and Memories

Our latest Camry has so much technology in it and is quite different than that first Toyota back in 1980. But one thing is clear…our cars are more than just cars. They are memories! Every time we bought a new car, we got it all cleaned up and took pictures of it in the sun when it looks the most beautiful.

My son is now 15 and he is learning to drive in a red Toyota Camry. So often as we think back on our memories, we always relate them to which house we were in and which car we had. Toyota has been there through much of my life!

Disclosure: This post is written as part of my involvement in TWIN and the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are 100% my own. #ToyotaWomen

Let’s Talk About Cars & Memories!

Tell me about a memory with a car who remember well.

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• 9 Facts about Toyota from #ToyotaWomen TWIN Camp(techsavvymama.com)

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• Toyota Invites Women Influencers to LA for In-Depth Look Beyond Cars(techsavvymama.com)

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My Life Remembered In Toyota Cars; #ToyotaWomen originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

International Women’s Day

Women who work hard, but can’t earn enough to feed their families; women whose hearts break when they see their children go hungry; women – half the people on earth – who need equal access to the resources that can help them overcome poverty.

Chau Doan/Oxfam America

Alarming Statistics

• One in every seven people go to bed hungry every night.
• More than 40 percent of the world’s population – 2.5 billion people – live in poverty, and many of them are women
• Sixty-six percent of the world’s work falls on women’s shoulders, yet they earn only 10% of the world’s income
• If women were given the same level of access to resources that men have, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%
• Hunger and poverty are about power and inequality, and women and girls face the biggest inequalities of all

What Can We Do?

This International Women’s Day, how about showing women everywhere you appreciate their contributions to our world? Oxfam America is giving you a couple of really easy ways to do this:

1. Send an International Women’s Day eCard to a woman you know, to say thank you for all that she does. Better yet, send it to several women who’ve made the world a better place.

2. Give the Oxfam America International Women’s Day 2012 award (PDF) to a woman you think has made a difference to the world. She could be a teacher, your mom, a non-profit leader, a woman entrepreneur, the neighbor who always checks up on you when you’re ill… the possibilities are endless.

To give your award, just fill out the PDF file with the awardee’s name, and your name and date. You can then save it as a PDF or JPG (JPG if you want your readers to see the actual award) file. Then just publish a post to your blog, or to Facebook (make sure to tag her so she sees it), or wherever you’d like. You can even print it out and give it to her as a tangible reminder of your gratefulness.

Brett Eloff/Oxfam America

If we come together, we may not be able to remove the imbalances between men and women immediately. But we will show women around the world… and in our own neighborhoods… that we care about them.

International Women’s Day Discussion!

That’s not too much to ask for half the world’s population, is it?

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• International Women’s Day Celebration and Care Conference (girlsintech.org)
• 7 Ways to Empower Women and Girls This International Women’s Day‏ (ourordinarylife.com)

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International Women’s Day Celebration – Be The Change you Want To See originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

I’m on another 5 days of the z pack antibiotics.

Maybe we need a good freeze to get rid of all the germs out there.

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More View From My Room, Sick Again originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

SOPA

Back to the issue at hand….SOPA. I am against it. I’m not going to give you all my reasons why because you need to decide for yourself whether you believe it is good or bad. Do the research. As with everything, there are two sides. I don’t take anything at face value. I’m not against SOPA because Wiki went black yesterday and says I should be against it. I’m against it because I have done my research and I don’t like what I see.

Do The Research

I’m not even going to give you links. Go to Google, Bing, Yahoo and any other search engine and put in “SOPA.” You will get enough information to read for the next few weeks. The biggest problem with our country is that some people just believe everything they see or hear. Just because someone said or wrote it doesn’t make it true. It’s not even true JUST because someone studies it and says the statistics say it is so. Research and gather information and then make a decision based on what you know and what you feel.

Making Decisions

I’m a passionate person. When I need to make a decision, I research it thoroughly. I read about every side and everyone’s opinion and the “facts.” Then, I sit with it for a while (if I have the time.) At the end, I go with my gut and most of the time, my gut is right.

Your Thoughts?

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My SOPA Thoughts And Some Ramblings originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

I thought that being quiet meant you were not social. And that was bad. I didn’t want to be a loner. I never admitted that I preferred to be alone. As I got older, I still didn’t admit it, but it was easier to hide

Introverts And Social Media

It wasn’t until I started blogging and getting more involved in social media that I discovered there is a whole world of people out there who are just like me. I truly believe that is why I love social media. I can be alone at home and shut my computer off when I’ve had enough. I can still be very introspective, yet share that with others who understand. When I need to be social, I can get on Twitter or Skype and there is always someone there. It’s like the best of both worlds.

I now know that being an Introvert is different from being a loner. I have 4 kids and only 1 of my kids is more of an introvert. He prefers (and craves) that time  with his own thoughts.

I only wish our society would be more understanding of the Introverts. Not everyone is an Extrovert. If I’m at a party and surveying the situation and figuring out where I fit in, you don’t need to ask me why I’m being quiet. Just let me be. When I am ready to mingle, I will!

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

This post was prompted by the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts. Author Susan Cain explores how introverts can be powerful in a world where being an extrovert is highly valued. Join From Left to Write on January 19 as we discuss Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. We’ll also be chatting live with Susan Cain at 9PM Eastern on January 26.

Disclosure: As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon Affiliate Links:

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• No, The Internet Does Not Make Introverts More Introverted [The Internet] (gawker.com)

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Quiet; Took Me 40 Years To Be A Proud Introvert originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

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Project You Holidaze Issue originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

I have all my tech needs right here in bed.

While I’m sick in bed, I’m not able to write much. I get tired very quickly, but I have been able to do many other things to keep me busy.

1. DVR Catch Up. I’ve watched all the shows I have on the DVR and I’m completely caught up.

2. Read. I have so many ebooks that I have downloaded and never found the time to read. I’m spending a lot of time reading them on my iPad.

3. Blog Post Planning. I have a lot of time where I’m just laying here and thinking and so many blog post ideas have come to mind. I’m writing them all down. I’ve decided to think about my goals and plans for 2012 for my blog too.

4. Blog Reading. I was very behind in reading blogs and there were many blogs in my RSS reader that are no longer active. I went through them and skimmed through my unread posts and now I’m caught up.

5. Update computer. I have checked for updates on software and ran several computer cleaners on my computer to get it running in tip top shape. I just set it up and the computer does all the work.

6. Email Clean Up. I haven’t completely cleaned it up, but I have gone through a lot of my old emails and deleted those that I don’t need anymore and responded to others. I can do this in little chunks of time which is about all I can handle.

7. Calendar Planning. I have a lot of calendars from my kids activities, hubby’s schedule and other things that need to be added to my calendar. I am about half done with that.

My suggestions is to find things on your To Do List that can be done in small chunks of time and do not need a lot of concentration. I’ve fallen asleep a few times while working on something, but it’s ok. Rest should be #8.

What do you do when you are sick in bed?

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7 Useful Things To Do While Sick In Bed originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.