IPL PhotoFacial Review Part 2

I rushed out of the house as soon as The Hus got home. No makeup on, except for some lip gloss and a little mascara so I could at least have some sense of self repsect, and not totally feel like a slob. I pulled up to this lovely little Dr.s office. Inside it was nice and airconditioned. It was super hot yesterday, so the A/C was a nice break. I was immediately greeted with a little paper work.  A mini questionaire about my health history and another about my skin condition ie, how easily I burned, etc. I snuck as many pictures as I could.

As I sat there and filled out the forms I noticed how nervous I was. My heart was racing as fast as someone trying out for the olympics. I was borderline shaking. I was SOOO nervous anticipating the pain. I had heard it was painful from some people and heard there was nothing to be afraid of from others. One friend even recommended a Vicodin. Holy moly I was nervous. I tried to pretend I wasn't, as I sat there in the lobby.

 But I definitely was.

After sitting there waiting for about 20 minutes or so, it was my turn to come on back. I was welcomed by a sweet lady, Carolyn. And told her I was suuuper duuper nervous. She was very kind and assured me I had nothing to worry about. I asked if I could take pictures with my iPad for my blog. Which may or may not have been my way to assure she did her very best.
Still nervous I took pictures of Carolyn, seeing that she would be doing the procedure and the machine we would be using.

 Not sure whether or not she knew how nervous I REALLY was, I decided to prove it to her. I went to put my iPad in my purse and then as soon as I set it down it fell out of my purse onto the floor.
Oh, you dropped your iPad.
Whoops! Oh, thats ok. Its fine.
Really? Its fine?
Yeah, the case is made for stuff like this. Totally fine. (*big sigh, fake smile)
(best purchase I ever made, btw.) I saw it at Target for $100 and almost bought one. Good thing I checked online. Amazon. $30 bones. Hello! No brainer. My kids drop my iPad ALL the time, but this totally protects it. From baby slime too.



And then as if that wasnt emabarassing enough I went to sit down on the chair (table?) and sent it spinning as I hung on for dear life and the roll of paper covering the chair, (you know, toilet seat cover paper) went flying off.
"Whoa! Hold on to yourself there!"
"Yikes!" I stammered as I had to regather myself and sit slowly on the chair.
We hadnt even started yet and I was already sweating. How embarrassing. First we talked a little bit about what I wanted to get out of the procedure and then we moved on to the part I was fearing most. The laser. I was so so so so so so scared. She covered my eyes with some cotton roll stuff and then put goggles over that. I imagine the cotton swab stuff was to cover any cracks so the light couldnt blind me too badly. But I did have to keep my eyes closed the whole time, which totally upped the anticipation level and super freaked me out. She started out by doing 4 test zaps. The anticipation was KILLING me!! I was so scared. I heard the whirring of the machine heating up and then ZAP!! Whew! Not to bad. Not bad at all actually. Small, minor, bit of pain, but not really. It felt like a little tiny prick. Each zap was a different setting of strenght on the machine. Starting out on the least powerful setting. Even level 4 didnt hurt that bad.  I mean it hurt a little, but I was totally fine. Then after about 15 minutes she came to examine the 4 spots to see how my skin reacted to each setting so we could determine the apropriate strength for my skin. Level 4 it was, ladies and gentleman. Part of me was kind of proud of myself for having the tolerance for the highest setting. I mean I have given birth before! How hard could this be? We worked the face in rows. Before we zapped each row, I would ice it. After the first row, I had had enough! HOLY GUACAMOLE CANOLE SHIZ BALLS THIS HURT!!!!! Zap after zap after zap after zap. Oh my gosh this hurt! It felt like searing hot tiny needle pricks and a burst of flames. As I lay there just waiting for each zap and hoping it hurt less, but then getting zapped and realzing it only hurt more I started tearing up. It was just intense. Super intense. Intensely, intense. When we got to the halfway point of my face I wanted to cry. I just kept thinking, "wow, beauty really is pain", and "I am such an idiot," and of course.. "this better freaking work!!!"
Finally! 2 melted ice packs and 30 minutes later. We were done. Hallefreakinlujah! Wow! That was WAY more painful than those first 4 zaps led me to believe. As I left the office my face was slightly red and a very sensitive.

You can see the redness in the photo of me leaving the office. Dont worry, Im not driving and snapping. Im still in the parking lot.
Here is what my face looks like today. Still a little red and the sun spots I had before are getting darker. They are supposed to get darker first and then "flake" off. Gross I know.  But Im hoping they just come off in the shower. This whole process should last about a week to 10 days I think.

And then 3 more weeks from then until my next appointment in October. Heres to hoping I can wear makeup soon, beacause really I see myself and think, MAN! How I do I expect to get any respect from the people at the grocery store looking like this! And I can really only post so many photos of my none ready self, before my self esteem starting slipping down the drain. YOWZA. But really, I looke like this about 85% of the time.

Oh and I made this shirt myself. Well, added lace to the sleeves myself, but whatever. It was super easy. If you're curious, post it below and I will do a tutorial.

And to make myself feel better I made some guacamole. Probably the best guac I have ever tasted.

 Looking for the PERFECT guacamole recipe? Here's what you will need.

Avocado
Cilantro
Tomato
Yellow onion
Green onion
Lime juice
Salt
Thats it! No more Pace Picante and an avocado or heaven forbid a guacamole mix. Nope. This will be all you need. And it will be delicious and fresh! Sorry, I dont have a pic. I ate it all.

xoxo, Janean

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Photofacial & Weekend Review

My Dear Lovelies,
Anyone out there ever wanted to have a fancy facial? I know I have. I have just dreamed about going to the spa every week to get a different facial or body wrap or whatever else they claim can be done to make your fat melt and your skin glow. Oh, and in this little day dream, I would be drinking some fancy Italian soda or tropical smoothie in a crystal goblet. Cause, ya know, this is my fantasy. Well, today is my lucky day... minus the crystal goblet. I am embarking on a never before seen or traveled journey for yours truly. I will be getting my first IPL Photofacial, and I can't wait. Here's what an IPL Photofacial is supposed to achieve:

Eliminate your skin discoloration and uneven skin tone with our innovative Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) system. The IPL photofacial is a revolutionary method of photo rejuvenation that improves your skin’s texture, tone and appearance. A series of IPL photofacial treatments will diminish flushing or redness of the skin associated with Rosacea, reduce hyperpigmentation caused by sun damage and age, erase broken capillaries, and smooth roughly textured skin. IPL therapy also stimulates new collagen to form, thereby reducing fine lines, minimizing pore size and mild acne scarring, and increasing skin elasticity.
There is absolutely no down time following an IPL laser treatment, so you can enjoy your daily activities. During your IPL series, you will notice imperfections fade away as a more radiant, healthier and clearer complexion appears. Give us a call in our San Diego Laser Clinic for IPL photofacial treatment today!

After having horrible acne in my teen years and then overcoming it with Accutane, my skin went through a lot. Throw in two pregnancies and crazy hormones on top of that and you have a ripe recipe for some skin discoloration. It doesnt look horrendous or anything but I think that I need the color and the tone evened out.
I am documenting this, so you guys can be along for the ride and hopefully I can give insight into whether or not this works or is the right thing for you. I purchased my facials through a LivingSocial Deal (kinda like groupon) and I will be having a series of 3 facials. All one month apart. Here are some pictures I took today. Completely without makeup so you can see what the befores look like. Bear with me as I bare my face to the world.

Notice the tiny little spots of brown and red? Hopefully those will be gone. Fingers crossed!
I will keep you guys posted!
Moving on to this weekend. Fam came and left. the mini cried and cried and cried, and then got really mad at me, when they drove away. Here's the Ikea guest bedroom they stayed in.

Even though it was sad to see them leave, they left me with plenty to remember them by. I love when my mom and dad come to town. My mom lets me sleep in and gets up with my kids, brings them presents, cleans my house and frequently makes dinner AND does the dishes. And my dad buys lots of groceries and yummy goodies.

I guess if they have to leave at least they left me with a full cupboard and one less trip to make to the grocery store this week. We miss them though! At least the holidays are right around the corner! Which reminds me, I have some costumes and decorations to make!
xoxo, Janean
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How To Make Your Face Glow

Happy Friday Ladies & Gents! (any gents really read this??)
Recently I was asked by a friend "How do you do your make up like that? Your skin glows!" Ha. I was so flattered I was down right embarrassed. I have prided myself on the fact, that I do, indeed, clean up fairly well. I wouldn't say I'm the most gorgeous girl in the room, but I sure know how to put on some makeup. Growing up I had really horrible acne, and I went to the dermatologist all the time. I tried everything under the sun. I am pretty sure I was the first person to try out Proactiv. This was 14yrs ago people... So, yeah, probably the first. At the time Proactiv did not work for me. I tried it all, the natural pills, the face washes, the Retin-A. Heavens. It wasn't until I went on Accutane that it finally cleared up to a manageable position. But even in my late 20's I still struggle with getting great skin. I think though one of the things that helps is my foundation. I dont use liquid foundation anymore.  I used it ALL the time as a teenager. Did they have anything else back then? If they did, I didn't know about it. I have been using BareMinerals for about 10 yrs now. I have tried other things, but this is great for my sensitive skin. I don't break out when I use it and the coverage is fair. The color I use for my fair skin, is in the light range. I switch between the Golden Fair and Fairly Light. Golden Fair more for Summer and Fairly light more for Winter.

I think thats a good base for "the glow" as she calls it. But I also know how to contour. Here are a few face "maps" for where and how to contour. Contouring brings definition to your face. Highlighting cheek bones and all the right angles.

I usually brighten up around my eyes, using a concealer or right now, I use the Revlon PhotoReady Eye Primer & Brightener.

It helps keep my eyeshadow stay on longer, and brightens under my eyes. I put it all over my eyes. up to my brows and under where your "dark circles" would be, if you had any, but none of us do, right?? Espesh when we stay up all night with a screaming baby. Nope, fresh as a daisy.
Then I move onto my blush. Right now, I am using a really peachy color, and a really pinky color. Both by MAC.
The first is blusher, but its older and I think they dont sell it anymore. But it looks like they may have replaced it with Supercontinental.

The pinkier one is Dollymix.

Sometimes I use them separate and sometimes I mix them together. But I ALWAYS go over them with a highlighter. I like to use this very cheap, yet super effective pallet from Elf cosmetics. Its called golden bronzer. It costs $3. THREE dollars people.You can find it at Target. Worth it just for one use. But that wont be the case, because you will LOVE it. I use it it in all the highlighting places, shown in the face map.

And I use the darker colors in the darker spots on the map. I dont do my neck, just cheeks and forehead. And I dont do dark under my eyes, unless Im doing smoky eyes or something.
Then I do my eyeshadow. I try to do lighter colors in the corners of my eyes and at the brow like the picture above. Here is a perfect example. 

Lighter eyeshadow right under the brow and in the corners of the eye. I try to put a little shimmery shadow under the eye as well. Just a tad, and in a golden color. A shadow color I like, is the ivory color in the Inspired pallet, by Revlon.

Then you can put whatever color you are going for in the crease and on the lid. Theres no wrong answer there and lots of freedom. Mix, match, blend, bright, dark. You decide. Next I move on to my eyeliner. I usually go for a dark brown black, or black. I rarely put liner or mascara on the bottom of the eye unless Im going for a more dramatic look.
Here are a few eyeline examples. Some for everyday and some for fun. I like a little variety.

Then I always use an eyelash curler. You can spend a lot or a little, but I tend to lose mine, a lot. So, I buy the cheap ones at Target, for like $3.

The one pictured, is actually elf brand, and it retails for $1.50. Totally worth it.
The mascara Im obsessing over right now, is London Rimmel Extra WOW. I really, really love it. I think it makes my lashes seem longer and fuller. Um, hello. What more can you ask for from a mascara. I found it at Target, I think it was like $7.

Moving on,  I do my brows. You can read about how I feel about my brows here. I am in major love with MAC brow pencil, color: Fling.

 

Your color will vary depending on your brow and hair color, but the girls at the MAC store or counter can help with that.If youre not familiar with how brows should be done, here is a great helpful image.

The first dark line, is where they should start, the white line. is where they should arch, and the last dark line, is where they should end. Oh and word to the wise, NEVER tweeze the top of your brows. Unless, I guess ofcourse they are out of control up to your forehead. In that case, go get them waxed or threaded for guidance, and then do the upkeep yourself from there.

 And last but not least and something super important... Lip gloss. Or lipstick or whatever you use. I dont know about you, but I do not feel put together unless I have lipstick on. I am pink fan, although, I am interested in trying out the nude thing as well. But for right now, I really like pink and coral colors and I really love this gloss from Bath and Body Works. I like that its mentholated and has the perfect amount of shine and color.

Those last two pics are just examples of how my makeup looks when Im all finished so you can have a visual of it all put together.

And heres some music for your weekend. Love me some J.B.


Happy Friday!
xoxo, Janean.


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