How to choose....

Hey there!

I wanted to give you guys a little more depth and understanding on how to choose everything from your primer to your powder, simply and easily. This won't be a very long post, but hopefully it will be informative. And make sure to go and check out the #ImperfectBeautyBasics video I just put up that corresponds to this post. 

Choosing your primer can sometimes be frustrating, and many times people leave it out altogether, but I would highly recommend that you use a primer. Not only does it ensure that your moisturizer keeps moisturizing your skin all day, but it provides your skin with a clean and smooth surface for your foundation. Yes, even if you only use mineral make up or powder foundation, you can use primer, and it is, in fact, recommended. I never used primer for the longest time, and then I kept hearing about all these women in Cosmo, Elle, Vouge and on TV talking about using a primer under their foundation, so I decided to give it a try. I loved it! It makes my skin look and feel amazing and since using a primer, I haven't had as many breakouts. The only breakouts I get now are hormonal breakouts. It's been amazing for me. If you don't want to use a primer, that is perfectly okay, but I would definitely recommend it. 

In order to choose your primer, you have to decide what needs to be "corrected" with your skin. 

Here are some examples of what primers do, and which primer can do it for you, both drugstore and high end.

Dewy: 
Drugstore: L'Oreal LumiMagic
High end: MAC Prep&Prime Skin (Original)

Satin:
Drugstore: NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer
High end: Illamasqua Satin Primer

Matte:
Drugstore: Stay Matte Rimmel London
High End: BECCA Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

Longwearing:
Drugstore: Revlon Photoready primer
High end: Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer

Color correcting: (S/N: There are MANY different types of color correcting that can be done with primers, but I picked two that I have tried and liked and that are for all range color correcting)  
Drugstore: Physician's Formula Correcting Primer
High end: Stila One Step Correct

Hydrating:
Drugstore: Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer
High End: Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer

Waterproof: 
Drugstore: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base
High End: Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer

SPF:
Drugstore: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Primer SPF 15
High End: Shiseido Refining Make up Primer SPF 21

Poreless:
Drugstore: Garnier's 5 Second Blur
High End: ProAirbrush FX face primer SPF 20

Phew! That was a lot. So the good news, is that foundations are much easier to explain and sort out. There are, I would say, three different types of coverage: light, medium and full coverage. And there are three different types of products that cover: mineral make up, foundation, and BB cream. 

Mineral make up has a very light, build-able coverage. It feels very light on the skin, and many times is very healthy for your skin as well because many of the ingredients are natural or naturally derived.  

BB cream is a very light to medium coverage that normally has a moisturizer, primer, foundation, sometimes color correcting, and even anti aging benefits. Some even have SPF in them! BB cream is a great option for college kids, for everyday wear, summertime, moms, and teachers. It is very fast to apply and looks very natural on the skin. And because it has so many ingredients, it covers so many steps, so you can even skip concealing, priming and moisturizer and go straight to the brows, blush and mascara. You don't even need to set the BB cream with a powder if you don't want to. 

Foundation itself comes in the three different coverage levels. The best way to find out what type of coverage a product is is to do your research! I have made this mistake many many times, I watch a commercial for a new product, see that Olivia Wilde or Emma Stone or Kate Hudson or P!NK has flawless skin, and think, oh wow, that looks amazing. I go and buy it, and it doesn't work for me. I don't have naturally perfect and flawless skin. So the Revlon Nearly Naked, didn't sit well on my skin, and I don't have normal skin, so the Covergirl Clean line doesn't look nice on my skin after an hour. This happens all the time. So now, I do my research. I look at other blogs, the actual website, and even YouTube videos for inspiration and information.

Things to look for when researching your product:

Look for if it says what skin type it is geared for; dry, normal, oily, or acne prone skin. Some foundations will be geared towards dry to normal or normal to oily skin. These foundations are great for seasonal transitions. if you have normal skin, then getting a foundation that is for normal to oily is great for the summer because then you know it won't melt off your face once you get a little sweaty, and vice verse, a foundation that is for normal to dry skin is perfect with people who have normal skin and become dry in the winter.

Honestly, I have a few foundations that I use. I have a few because my skin changes through the year. I have "normal" skin during the winter and very oily skin the rest of the year. So I have some foundations for winter and some for the rest of the year. 

In order to match your foundation to your body, you need to swatch it. there are a few different ways you can swatch foundation. if you are looking to invest in a foundation, then head over to a Sephora. They will use the Pantone Color IQ on you. It takes a picture of your cheek, your neck, and your chest in total darkness, allowing the device to reveal your TRUE shade, unfettered by light. They will then help you find a foundation at the Sephora, or they can tell you what undertones you have and you can go to a drugstore and find your shade. 

There are three different types of undertones. Yellow or warm, cool, or pink and neutral or mauve. These are very important to knowing what foundation shade you need. If you have pink undertones to your skin, and you put a yellow undertoned foundation on top, you will look yellow, not natural. You can make yourself look sick or even a little jaundice. Not a pretty look. 

If you don't want to go to a Sephora, I would recommend going to a drugstore a physically swatching the product. If you don't see a tester in your shade, you can ask a cosmetics rep to make a tester for you. The LAST thing you want to do is test out a swatch on yourself on a nontester. Many people have skin sensitivities that result in rashes, hives, or pimples. You don't want to have a scented perfume, or have any sort of bacteria on your hands and then put it into the foundation because the next person to buy that foundation might have a skin sensitivity, and now you've contaminate the whole bottle of foundation. I recommend going to a drugstore because they always have testers out. A store like Target or Walmart might not be willing to make a tester for you because you are taking away a bottle that they can sell. I actually have had a Walmart employee yell at me before for opening a bottle of foundation to smell it. It was embarrassing and frustrating, especially because I hadn't ripped off any packaging or contaminated the bottle. She told me I either had to buy the product or leave the store because I had technically just stolen the product because I opened it with the intent of not buying it. I didn't leave the store, but I have been weary of buying at Walmart ever since. 

So, now that we know how to swatch responsibly, where to swatch. Make sure you have a proper mirror with you so you don't have to rely on the warped mirrors that are sometimes on the displays, and swatch on your cheek (with no make up on), down onto your neck and then onto your collar bone. you don't have to use a lot of product. And you aren't doing a full face of make up either. Just 1 inch swatches. By the time it is on your body, it should blend in perfectly. if it doesn't match your face, that is okay. You want it to match your body. A lot of people use moisturizer or some product on their face and not on the rest of their body so their faces are always a couple shades lighter than their body. It's normal. 

That is how you find your perfect match. 

Now for concealer. This is a relatively simple one. Once again, you have to know what you want from your concealer. Do you want to highlight under your eyes? Do you have dark circles to cover? Blemishes? These are key questions to ask when you talk about a concealer. 

This is what you need to know about concealer:

If you have dark blue marks, circles or bags to cover, use an apricot, salmon, or orange toned concealer. 

If you have purple marks, bags, or circles, use a yellow toned concealer. 

If you have red marks or blemishes, or veins, use a green toned concealer. You have to make sure it is a blend-able concealer, otherwise it will show trough your foundation. 

If you are using a concealer that is colored, make sure you conceal first so that your foundation will cover the color completely. 

I think that is everything you need to know about the basics of making your face look flawless. There are so many options, and you might have to play around a bit, but if you know what you want and you know what kind of look and lifestyle you have, you will be able to waste less money and start looking your best faster. 

If you want me to break down the concealers and foundations like I did for the primers, let me know. 

I hope this helped. If you want to contact me, make sure you visit my links on my sidebar and make sure to go read the disclaimer so that you are informed about my blog. 

Have a great day, make sure you come like, follow, and subscribe to all my social media sites. 

Warm wishes. 

Jolly Ol' England

Cheerio!

Yes, that was quite cheesy, hopefully you will get over it within your lifetime. If not, leave a comment down below and you will get extra love from me. Though, that too, would probably be cheesy. Sorry. 

Anyway, so today was a trip to the great misty country. No, not Scotland, the other one. Yes! Great Britain. The good ol' GB. I don't think anyone calls it that... awkward.... moving on. 


For today's #EatAroundTheWorld meal, I chose something very simply, yet delicious, and of course, added a bit more simplicity and a twist. Fish and chips! But not just fish and chips, Bubbly Fish with Two Tone Chips and Fresh Veg. Yes, that is a long name for the recipe, but it's more a meal than anything else, so hopefully it works for the situation. I think if Rachael Ray can pull it off in her cookbook then so can I. 

I used a couple of cheats for this recipe, actually. The first, Fish Crisp. Yes, good old Fish Crisp. I used the beer batter kind. Only, I didn't have any beer, being on a budget and all, so I used seltzer water instead; which is exactly why it is called Bubbly Fish, because I had to use some sort of fizz, and "Seltzer Battered Fish" didn't sound very appetizing or fun. 

Yes, this is me cooking with HelperBaby on my shoulders 

I also am not some great master chef who spends hours in the kitchen everyday perfecting her recipes, which means I used frozen veggies(though not pureed like in the traditional meal) and I used store bought mayo. I know, lazy, lazy Caitlynne. 

Let's get on with the recipe so that I can get on with sleeping. Because boy, am I exhausted. 

First thing's first: always look at your meal and prioritize. What takes the longest? Is there something that takes a long time to heat up, or preheat? Is there something that can cook and I don't have to watch it?

In this meal, that was our Two Toned Chips. I call these Two Toned Chips because they are sweet potato and russet potato fries. I cook them in my Actifry. This is seriously one of the best inventions ever. I am a huge food person, as you might have already guessed, and part of that is loving things that are crunchy and deep fried. Now, the Actifry does not deep fry things, more like lightly fries things. Which, in my head, is great, but in my heart, makes me cry. While I will always love a deep fried mozzarella stick, the Actifry does an amazing job. It can make sauces and even whole dishes in it, and when it comes to french fries, it's the best. The french fries in the Actifry take 23 minutes. You use about 1 TBSP of oil altogether, and they come out crispy but soft on the inside. So good!

Two Toned Chips:
2 medium russet potatoes, washed and cut into sticks or wedges
1 large sweet potato, washed, cut into stick or wedges
Canola oil
Salt
Pepper
Curry Powder

One of the key things about this recipe, isn't just that it doesn't have any splattering oil, but it is so much healthier because of the small amount of oil that is being used, and because we leave the skin on our potatoes, amping up the nutritional level. 

Also, I soak my potatoes after they have been cut up. I put them in a large bowl of water and let them soak for about an hour before I start actually cooking. this helps remove as much starch as possible and allows the potatoes to brown on the outside, even though we are frying them with a method that doesn't use a lot of oil.

After the potatoes come out of the Actifry, they are screaming hot, so make sure to be careful, but season them liberally with the salt, pepper and curry powder. I like my fries to have a kick to them. If you aren't a fan of curry, them you can skip it, but it is so unique, and really gives this traditional dish a twist. 

Bubbly Fish:


This is so simple, it hurts. And yes, I completely cheated, but I like to think that a few cheats here and there won't ruin my reputation. 

A happy smile after dinner; she cleaned her plate!

2 fillets of haddock, cut in half horizontally
Beer Batter Fish Crisp
1 can of club soda
salt
pepper
paprika
4 TBSP canola oil (or another oil with a high smoke point)

All you have to do is add the can of club soda to the beer batter and whisk them together. The batter is so light and fluffy, I couldn't get enough! Then I add in 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, along with 1.4 tsp paprika. If you like your fish to have a bit of zip, you can add 1/8-1/4 tsp of cayenne here, that would taste amazing. 

In order to make sure your oil fries your fish correctly without your fish being oily, soggy and limp, I only do two at a time, and I don't add all the oil in; it's a TBSP of oil for each fillet half. I add the oil into the preheated pan (I put my pan on Medium) and gently lower the fish fillet in away from you so you don't burn yourself. Then I cook them on each side for about two to three minutes. I like mine dark golden brown and very crunchy, but if you like yours light, then go for less time. I put a paper towel on a plate and let the fillets sit for as long as I cooked them for. 

While those are sitting, I can make one of the easiest sauces on the planet: tartar sauce. 

Scratch Tartar Sauce:

1/2 cup light mayo
2 TBSP relish or diced pickles
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp lemon juice

Yes. that is all that is in tartar sauce. Mix all these ingredients together and you will have enough for a family of four or five to have a generous scoop. I only use 1 TBSP on my fish. 

The last step is the veg

A cheeky rip off of classic mushy peas... peas and corn with salt and pepper. 

Yes, this is the simplest thing by far. Simply steam your peas and corn in a steamer, then put them into a serving dish and spray with all natural cooking spay. Mine if canola oil, but whatever you can get is good. Then season with salt and pepper. 

That is it for this meal. The dog is begging to go out, and the bed is calling me. I hope you guys have a lovely week, and hopefully i will see you tomorrow!

If you have any comments, requests or suggestions, make sure to check me out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, pr leave a comment here. And if you try a recipe, use the hashtag #EatAroundTheWorld to let me know what you though of it and how it turned out! I would love to see pictures! 

See you soon! Warm wishes

Mexican Fiesta!

Hello everyone!

Today on our #EatAroundTheWorld week, we are doing some very simple Mecian dishes, including super simple ground pork taco filling, mango salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole. 

I hope you enjoy these super easy and simple recipes from my kitchen. 

Mango salsa:

1/3 of a ripe mango
1/2 a yellow pepper
1/2 jalapeno (seeded and de-ribbed if you want it mild, or are cooking for children)
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 a ripe tomato
2 tsp fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp white vinegar

 Chop all of your ingredients into large chunks

Throw them all into a food processor and press "chop" until it becomes the consistency you like

Serve with your Mexican favorites!

You see how easy that is? All of these recipes for the day are like this. It is just good, wholesome, simple cooking, that anyone can accomplish with the right tools and ingredients. I love cooking food like this, and I try to whenever possible. It is so fun to see the bright colors, smell the aroma in the kitchen,
and hear the silence after you let everyone dig in. Mom
made this? 

Yes. Oh, and hell yes. 

Our next recipe is just as simple! 

Pico de gallo:

1 ripe tomato
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno
1 tsp garlic
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 lime, juiced (aka the juice of 1 lime)
1 TBSP fresh cilantro

 Place all your ingredients, cut up into large chunks, into a food processor. Chop into thick chunks. I simply washed my food processor out with dish soap in between dips, but you can make these days in advance if you don't have the time/energy to stand in the kitchen and make salsas one after the other. I would recommend that the guacamole is made the night of, so that it doesn't oxidize, otherwise, all these salsas can be made in advance. 

Also, this next stp completely depends on what is happening in your area, but in our home we compost. So I leave the clean compost bin out on the counter the entire time I am cooking so that all the peels, shells, rinds, seeds, piths, and ribs can go into the compost without me having to touch the cabinet to get the bin out every five seconds. It helps me keep my work area clean and helps me keep my mind on composting, otherwise, like most people, I forget. 




Small batch Guacamole:

This is perfect for a family of four or five. There might even be cries of outrage at the end of the night because it will have disappeared magically during dinner. I served this to HelperBaby and my hubby, while I was cooking as an appetizer of sorts, so that HelperBaby wouldn't get mad over the fact that there was food that she couldn't have yet. I served all the dips with the Tostitos Baked Scoops, a very healthy and delicious alternative to regular tortilla chips. 

2 ripe avocados
1/2 yellow onion
2 TBSP fresh cilantro
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt 
The juice of half a lime

 Place into food processor and chop until creamy.

Serve as an appetizer, snack, or with your main meal. 

Avocados are a great source of healthy fat and the freshness of this guac is sure to please. 

 

Cilantro-Lime Quinoa

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
3 TBSP fresh cilantro
1 lime, fully juiced and zested






Simply place the quinoa and the water into a pot and set on medium high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until the water is fully absorbed. This normally takes about 15 minutes. this serves about four to five people. 

After all the liquid is absorbed, chop the cilantro and lime zest together and add in the mixture as well as the lime juice to the quinoa. Stir well until full combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Yes, quinoa is that easy! It is such an amazing super food, a great grain, and so delicious, even my hubby likes it! We have quinoa over rice most days, and rice is reserved mainly for Chinese or Japanese night. Quinoa is too versatile and too fast and delicious to pass up. We buy ours in bulk from Costco, this way it isn't as expensive, and it lasts us quite a while. But, if you are not accustomed to buying in bulk, I would recommend Bulk Barn so that you can decide how much you want, and you aren't paying for the packaging. Just remember to grab a directions card! 

The rest of the meal is very straight forward. I served warm whole grains tortillas with ground lean pork seasoned with home made taco spice. Warmed black beans, Firey Habenero cheese (normally I wouldn't buy pre-shredded cheese, but desperate times called for desperate measures), lettuce, tomato, yellow pepper, diced jalapeno, and 1% sour cream. 

 I hope you enjoyed coming to Mexico with us today! Again, these dishes are very simple, fresh and filling. I am not claiming to be a personal chef, or an expert in authentic Mexican cuisine, I just know what my family and I like, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Thank you for reading, and come back tomorrow for another day of great food and some beauty reviews. 

Warm wishes.

This week on the Imperfect Parent...

Hey all!

I wanted to give you an update and let you know about a few things that are happening around here. First off, the reno is done! Finally! and I am in a new setup with an amazing camera and and a new veal for cooking, baking, DIY, and blogging. I am so excited to share this with you, and I can't wait to get started. 

This brings me to our update section. I am adding a new tab to my blog called Weekend Update (yes, after the SNL sketch) to let you know on Sunday what has happened the past week and what I am doing for this next week. This allows me to let you know if posts will be up late, and what DIY, food, etc I will be doing.

That brings me to what I am doing this week. I am pretty excited about this, so hold onto your seats! We're going in!

I will be doing an Around the World for dinner this week! My family really LOVED this week's menu plan, so I'm excited to share it with you!

Our weekly menu:

Monday: Mexican Fiesta! 
Tuesday: Classic English Pub Grub
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: A Bella Notte in Italy
Friday: Thai Wonderpot
Saturday: Shwarma on the Grill
Sunday: Leftovers

I hope you enjoy this week of recipes. All of this food is healthy, balanced, and 100% satisfying. 

I hope you have a wonderful week, and keep coming back! 

Warm wishes. 

Hey All, Just an update

Hello all ,

I just wanted to get you up to date on what is going on in my life. My computer somehow died, and as that is, I am unable to do full reviews and videos. It takes me a long time to actually be able to film and edit videos, especially because I am having trouble with lighting and such. I am working on getting all of this fixed. Until then, I will be doing nothing for the next week and a half. This is very frustrating, but I am doing the best I can with what I have. I will be back around May 11th, but in the meantime, enjoy my old videos and my old posts, and hopefully the next time I see you lot will be when I have a new setup and a new lighting and sound system.

I hope you all forgive me and I hope to see you very soon.

XO Caitlynne