This week sure has felt like an eternity and was quite a struggle. After Brody was born, I found that I was experiencing some pain that on a scale of 1-10, was an 11. I blew it off, as I absolutely hate doctors. However, by Friday I was to the point of sobbing and made my way to the doctors…who then sent me directly to the hospital for a 2 day stay on some heavy IV antibiotics.

I was a complete mess, as Brody couldn’t be with me in the hospital and the potent antibiotics meant no nursing. Depressed that my son may only want a bottle after the weekend was over and being away from my husband and children that I adore, I sat in my hospital bed lonely and sad.

After a few visits from my family, my boss (and friend) Steve from PMPR called me at the hospital and then graciously bought me an Avent pump system (so that if Brody only wanted the bottle he could still have breastmilk). I swear I adore Steve and his generousity prompted me to think of a way to lift my spirits. My husband happened to pack me some of my favorite beauty and makeup products that I took along with me to the hospital when Brody was born and I decided a nice shower and some makeup would do the trick.

Let me tell you, after using some great beauty products in the shower, then doing my hair and putting on some makeup really boosted my mood. I certainly didn’t look like a glamour doll, but put on enough makeup to no longer look like I was trying out for a part in Night of the Living Dead. Suddenly I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, I felt less stressed and definitely more beautiful. It made me wonder why there isn’t a program at hospitals for long term patients to get pampered. I think something like this would really do a world of good to lift the spirits of those depressed by hospitalization.

Has there been a time in your life when just the simple act of putting on makeup really made a difference in your mood? Tell me your story in the comments.

The makeup products that made all the difference:

Kiss My Face Tinted Moisturizer
Lumiere Mineral Cosmetics Loose Powder
Urban Apothecary Supernatural Sheer Radiance (review to come)
Jane Iredale PurePressed Blush
Tarte Cosmetics Inside Out Lip Gloss
Tarte Cosmetics Lights, Camera, Lashes

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1. To achieve Kate’s new version of the “smokey eye” use the Single Eye Shadow in Prune. This is a perfect plummy mauve base.

2. Then blend Single Eye Shadow in Wallflower, a like pink shade, into the crease. Finish with a gold highlight along the brow bone to make eyes sparkle.

3. For eyeliner wet a fine pointed brush with water and dip it in Odyssey Single Eye Shadow. This warm grey compliments all eye colors and it is not as severe as black.

4. Finish the eyes with a coat of Doll Eye Mascara. (I’ll be receiving this product shortly to review!)

5. For cheeks apply Rouge Cream Blush in Hot Pink on moisturized skin for a warm glow. Apply to the apples with fingers and blend up towards the cheekbone. (See my review of this product here.)

6. Use Tinted Lip Spa in Sake, a pale, pink shade. The subtle lip color complements the dramatic eye makeup. (LOVE this product! See my review here.)

7. Finish off with Black Label Compact, a mineral based powder that provides a natural and light finish.

Visit www.nyxcosmetics.com to see all the products mentioned above.

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Some of my favorite mix and match products are:

* Lumiere Mineral Makeup’s Lavender Pearl along my lower lid with Jane Iredale’s Think Pink eyeshadow trio on my upper lid and brow bone.

* NYX Comsetics Super Volume Lip Plumper and Lulu Beauty’s Velvet Lip Lustre.

* Max Factor Volume Couture for thickness and length and Imju Fiberwig Mascara for even longer lashes.

* Besame Cosmetics Chocolate Kiss Lipstick with their Chocolate Lip Glaze over top.

* Jane Iredale’s Carmen PureMoist Lip Colour with Besame Cosmetics Shimmer Peach Enriched Lip Glaze over top.

* Urban Apothecary’s Super Natural Mineral Powder as foundation and tarte’s tipsy cheek stain as blush.

* Kiss My Face Tinted Moisturizer as moisturizer/light coverage foundation and Lumiere Cosmetics Light/Med. Beige Mineral Powder Foundation as a finishing powder.

I’m sure I could come up with a much longer list, but I’d love to hear which products you like to mix and match to give you a fabulous look!

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NYX Cosmetics Super Volume Lip PLumper is a lip treatment designed to give you 40% fuller lips. Besides being super glossy, it also contains antioxidant Vitamin E acetate to condition your lips and herbs and Rosemary & Jojoba Oil.

The Super Volume Lip Plumper only comes in one shade: clear. The shine is tremendous. It does giving a burning sensation, although its really not that bad. My lips did plump up for about 25 minutes, which I am sure was a combination of actual plumping plus the look of the gloss to enhance its appearance.

While clear gloss always looks good, sometimes I really want color. So I simply dabbed other lip glosses over top and rubbed my lips together. Their normal color was a bit diluted when rubbed into the clear gloss, but it still looked great, making this a very versatile lip plumper. Plus for only $7, I think that is a pretty good deal considering the other plumpers I have tried recently cost double and rendered no results.

Have you tried NYX Cosmetics Super Volume Lip Plumper—what did you think?

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The Powder Blush came stating that the color was “Cinnamon.” However, on the NYX website it shows Cinnamon to be a pink color, which this was not. It was orange in color just as the blush here appears in the picture. Again, I was skeptical about using orange blush, but it really didn’t look that bad. I think it would actually look really good in the summer when I have a nice tan. The orange tint to the powder would give it more of a bronze look. If you happen to have a blue-ish tint to your skin, orange is actually really good at minimizing blue (just as green and yellow minimize red).

Have you tried either of these blushes? What did you think?

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1. Twisted Fayte’s Mega Minerals

2. Bourjois Metallic Eye Liner

3. tarte’s Jake and Samantha lip gloss

4. jane iredale’s Pure Moist Lip Colour

5. Esthetic Plus Slanted Tweezers

6. Max Factor Lash Perfection Volume Couture Mascara

7. NYX’s Tinted Lip Spa

8. Benefit Cosmetics Lyin Eyes

Yes, 8 is an odd number, but those were the products that stood out most as my favorites this year. What were your favorite makeup must-have’s for 2006?

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I received this little blessing a little over a week ago and have had a hard time not applying it everyday (my other lip products sometimes beg to be used).

My Tinted Lip Spa came in Copacabana, which is a nice peach color. It doesn’t color your lips like gloss or lipstick, it just gives your lips a slight hint of color with a little shine while moisturizing your lips at the same time.

For only $6, looking good with healthy looking lips never felt so good.

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When I had thought I had enough eyeshadows, I came across NYX Cosmetics. I don’t get too excited over color when I receive a product, but I received the Trio Eyeshadow in Pearl, Silver and Charcoal; colors I have never used on my eyes before.

The staying power of the pigments in these colors is amazing. When I was trying them out, my husband looked at me quizzically and wanted to know why I was getting all dressed up. I had to laugh to myself as I stood there in a t-shirt in jeans. My eyes did look pretty darn good (if I do say so myself…and I just did).

The most fabulous thing has to be the price. This compact of 3 colors is available on NYX’s website for $7, but can also be found on drugstore.com for only $4.57.

I’m in love with the colors and look forward to buying a different colored set (like the one pictured at the beginning of this post).

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