Tips for Life

As many of us are adjusting to this stay-at-home lifestyle, there are a few tips and tricks to think about and maybe you can come up with your own ideas and it will lead to a light bulb moment in your life. 

Yes, as the nation is opening up their stores and businesses again, we are still encouraged to stay home if the trip is not necessary and when we go out to cover up looking much like a ghost at Halloween to protect ourselves from viruses.

Here are a few tips based on things I have discovered since being home and contemplating where my next soiree will take place and should we wear masks and gloves or just a whole bed sheet over our bodies.

You may notice that sizes of liquid or cream products are getting smaller while prices stay the same or are a bit higher. Be mindful that you can buy the smaller sizes and simply conserve and not use as much of the product and, yes, add water to make it last. I personally go by price and add water to the product to stretch its life and I don't have to worry about making space to store dozens of the same household product. 

For your household and bath products, you may like a certain name brand but see that a generic brand is a larger size and cheaper. In most cases, that cheaper brand is watered down. The solution? Buy what you like and prefer, however, once you use about a quarter of the liquid or cream product, even for shampoo, fill it with water yourself. It still works just fine and it will last a lot longer than normal especially when you notice the stores are raising their prices and providing either the same size or a smaller size of the same product.

Now, you can't do the watering down bit for your expensive beauty creams. I get it. But you can use a bit less or skip a day or two in your beauty regimen. If it's a product you cannot do without, then dump the stuff you rarely use or just like the packaging or the scent but it really doesn't do anything in particular to boost your appearance. You can dump those products for now unless you have the dough to splurge, then go for it. But, the point is, to stock up on your essentials only, those must-haves in your beauty cabinet. For me, I can't do without my Natura Bisse products, they are essentials in my life. What about you? Make a list of your essentials. If you can afford it, then buy a box full of the product and store it on a shelf in your closet or pantry. Then, if any future governmental lockdowns occur, you're covered.

Your makeup? Yeah, that's a bit more difficult since you have to use what works and you cannot make it stretch by adding water. It will ruin the product. Now is the time to make that list again and see what your essentials are in that beauty bag. Yes, cost is a factor, but you have to think about availability if the stores have a shortage and are slow in restocking the shelves. 

Even when you order online, it make take longer for your essentials to arrive. So again, take stock, what do you need to survive? Me? Yeah, I need my Clinique foundation plus specialty products like Kett cosmetics. Again, go online and buy a box of the stuff you wear all the time. Store it in your closet and you're done. Your eye makeup should be the same; stock up on essentials. On my days at home I am pared down to a bare face. If I am only going to the grocery store and have to wear a scarf in case I need to cover my nose and mouth, I have a minimal makeup look. Otherwise, I like the full face makeup for shopping or making an appearance at the office or on a Zoom meeting camera - yeah, full face makeup is essential.

Okay, let's talk about that Zoom video conferencing app. Most offices now require a weekly Zoom meeting or whichever video conferencing application they are using, even with remote learning. There are YouTube videos telling you how to have your computer camera at about eye level and not too far above your head. If you place the camera too high, your roots will show as well as what is on your lap, whether it's the cat or your lower half exposed to prying eyes. Plus, you do not want to be straining your neck trying to look above you at the camera. You really want to try for about eye level and tipping your chin downward a bit.

Always have a place ready to go for video conferencing whether in business or in your personal life. Sit as close to a wall as possible, your back to the wall, so if you get up and run around, the camera will not have that wide angle and see everything. Only the wall will show. It's fine if you want to back up your chair against a bookshelf to display your Oscar and Tony awards, but again, be mindful of what is on camera and that most sessions are automatically recorded. Even if they are not, any member of that video conference can do a screenshot and your image can be saved and downloaded onto anyone's hard drive.

Wear your regular makeup and foundation, but adjust your foundation color. If you have light skin, go a bit darker than you normally wear because the camera will pick up on light. If you have darker skin, choose a foundation a bit lighter than you would normally wear. Wear your normal eye makeup and blush, but maybe tone down on the lipstick. You don't want it smearing or appearing on your teeth as you talk away during a video conference call.

Place lamps, depending on brightness you may need a few lamps, directly behind your computer screen, where the light emits from behind the screen. You want the light source directly on your face, from the front only. Close all windows and shades to control the light source. If you only want to use natural light, that's fine, but be sure you are facing the window, do not have the window behind you.

Adjust the camera and video settings on your computer and choose the ones most flattering to you. Test your camera and lighting before you go live to see if everything looks okay. Do not feel self-conscious. Just be yourself and smile. Most people will not have these important tips I am providing here to you right now and will look bad on camera. But for those who read this blog? You'll be fine. Don't be embarrassed, drop that, just have fun with it.

I hope these tips have helped and remember that we are all going through the same difficulties and have had to adjust and we will continue to evolve and make this life better for everyone.

#fashion #style #makeup #kett #clinique #naturabisse

#vogue #decor #home #celebrity #hollywood #zoom

#videoconferencing #zoommeetings #homeoffice

#shelterinplace #bardot #beaches #ocean

#movies #television #magazines

Easy Feng Shui

Feng Shui interior decorating can be as complicated as you want to make it. I prefer the Western type of Feng Shui which is applying an easy template to your home. If you have multiple stories of your house, the template would apply to each floor. Don't mix Eastern and Western styles of Feng Shui, pick one and use it throughout your house or apartment.

The Western type is an easy template you can use for your home or apartment, no matter if it's one story or more, you use the same template aligning the bottom of the template to where your front door is located. In my opinion, you don't have to purchase anything or worry about buying a compass to figure out which room faces which direction.

You'll want to start very simple and basic, and if you want, delve deeper into the finer points of Feng Shui later on. It can be a bit of a rabbit hole and could drive you nuts. The intent is to create a peaceful and harmonious home where every room flows into the next without distraction or clutter, keeping the energy flowing smoothly throughout the home.

First thing is to declutter your house. Start making piles of what to donate, what to keep or store away in plastic bins for future use or posterity, and what to throw out in that garbage bin. No clutter is the first rule. Clear space now in your home, pick up stuff off the floor, clear tabletops except for one or two decorative items. Family photos can go on a shelf in your bedroom or home office. But still, keep out only  a few nice photos in pretty frames, store the rest. Then hit the kitchen area and clean up everything. No dishes in the sink or drying on the counter, pick up everything and what you don't want, throw it in the trash. Declutter the pantry by storing items in baskets or varying sizes of tins of the same color or style. Keep an abundance of food items in your fridge or pantry to create more abundance in your life. You don't have to over-spend or buy what you can't afford. Just don't have empty food shelves in your pantry or fridge, because you want to attract abundance and not appear to be existing in a "lack" mentality.

Put away any clothes or laundry in the bedroom and place into a hamper and declutter the bed and bath areas. Cleaning your home generally will create a restful environment and energy will not be caught up in a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. Do not over-decorate a bathroom. Keep the colors neutral, like a soft lemon yellow, beige, grey or wood tones, natural bamboo, real wood and stone, no black colors if you can avoid them and no extra mirrors.

Experiment with creating a friendly entryway that can be in green or teal colors with beige as a suggestion to invite family and friends into the home. Your home still can be functional while you're doing Feng Shui decorating.

Pictured below is an easy to follow template for any home. The lower edge of the template equates with the wall where your entryway door is, not the door to the garage or back door if you don't use your front door. It is aligned with your front door, so the bottom of the template includes your front door. I do not suggest investing in anything pricey, like, don't repaint all your walls or buy new furniture. This is just to get you started using what you already own. If you buy anything new, think about the color and design and where it will be used.

You can use the template for each floor of your house or apartment. Remember, it stretches out along the entire wall where your front door is, so, depending on your floor plan, it will encompass the entryway, bedrooms and maybe a bathroom. The middle or center of your home from wall to wall will be the family sector with earth tones, maybe your living room or office, even closets with blankets and linens. Throw out anything old and stained and keep things fresh and clean. The upper left corner is your wealth sector even if it might fall where a bedroom might be or maybe a family room. Think about what images or decor means money to you. Use rich blue and purple tones, gold tones or real gold or gold-plated items and a silver box for coins. Anything that means prosperity to you can go in that section of your house, even photos of a beautiful castle or a beautiful ocean with a yacht sailing along peacefully.

If, for example, your "people and travel" sector is in your bathroom, then avoid black and stick with gray tones, natural wood vases or for a soap dish, use natural bamboo, wood or beige tones or soft yellow. If your bathroom falls in the money and wealth sector, then bring in forest green tones and natural green plants, and wood elements.

Experiment with the energy in your home and use Feng Shui as a guide to a peaceful house. Start looking at various decor ideas online and you'll see what vibes with you. Don't let this rule your roost, however, have fun with it and don't stress out. It could lead to a whole new interest and hobby.

#fengshui#home#decor#stylesheetdaily#style#fashion

Eye on Spring

There are a lot of new trends on the fashion runway showing the makeup looks for Spring 2018 and some are very wearable, others, you need to be either very young or very dumb and follow every fad out there. Extreme makeup can be worn if you are young and have very good skin, since metallic eye shadows, glosses, and bright colors will only highlight your skin flaws. Other than that, you may look stupid if you are over 25 and wear extreme makeup providing you are willing to be stared at, like artists, actors, models, painters, you get it, not really for the average person shopping at the dollar store.

That being said, please never do this new trend. It looks like a plastic surgeon's laundry marker that's still on your face drawing out exactly where he needs to do his nips and tucks.

Other trends are very wearable. It's basically concealer matching your skin tone, add soft eyeliner and shadow, and then a dusting of light color on your face along with a natural lip color. You can add more color to your lips either day or night, depending on your style.

At Sonia Rykiel, all neutral shades to highlight
clear skin. Add basic mascara with eye shadow
on the top lid to the brow bone and along the
bottom lashes, then add peachy lipstick.

Margot Robbie wears eyeliner on the top lash,
a light dusting of eye shadow, minimal color on the rest
of her face.

You can wear this look from Manish Arora if you are very young
and have clear smooth skin, otherwise, the bright color
will emphasize your flaws. This may not be the look
you want at the office, but it's a fun daytime look
for browsing the shops on Main Street.

Have fun experimenting with different makeup as you learn to develop your own style.

#stylesheedaily  #fashion  #beauty #marilyn

#spring  #makeup

Happy New Year

It's 2018 and now is the time to get rid of the stuff that isn't working for you anymore and bring in fresh and new ideas that will make this year more prosperous than ever.

A trick practiced by many is to think about how you want 2018 to read by the end of the year. What things would you like to write down in that diary that you were proud of and accomplished for yourself. That can help you plan your time and not think about making resolutions but actually jotting down some ideas without getting caught up in details at this point. An important point to remember is to not be so strict about it. You can change your mind, you can introduce new ideas as you progress through the coming weeks of the new year.

Jot down your daily routine and find where your obstacles are. Is it being focused on just getting out the door? Do you need to schedule more time in the morning to do some stretches and meditation first? Are you too busy for a good lunch and just grab some awful burger and fries? Do you overeat at dinner and need to schedule more small meals during the day? How about incorporating an actual to-do list for your work day so you can prioritize what needs to be done and what can wait. Most people lead very busy lives and just taking a beat and stopping and thinking about where they are tripping up, can make a big difference in getting organized. 

How about writing down your disappointments that happened last year, what happened and why. Is it something you can fix this year? If not, then you need to chock it up to experience and move on.

Are you still smoking? Now is a
good time to transition away from
that unhealthy habit.

How about writing down what your ideal day would look like? I realize if you are tied to a job you may not have much choice. But you can still incorporate more of your own unique personality and choices in what you want to do with your own time throughout the day and into the weekends.

Time to throw out all that old makeup that you've had forever and is dry as dust. Soak those brushes in a glass cup using your favorite liquid makeup remover or pro brush cleaner. Soak them overnight and thoroughly rinse them with water and wipe off the excess water with a towel and let them air dry. Toss that mascara if it's over three months old and any makeup you have not used in a year since it probably means it was a bad purchase. Sometimes I just keep extra makeup as a backup in a pinch, but for the most part, I do not hoard makeup or products I am not using and don't intend on using. Don't feel bad about tossing anything you got free with a purchase. Try the products and if they don't work for you, throw them out immediately.

Lay out your outfits and see what isn't working anymore and either toss it or donate it. If you lean towards either dark or light colors, then make sure the color schemes can easily be mixed and matched which will save time and you can start to develop your own unique style with colors and fabrics that make you feel good when you wear them.

Clear out the clutter in your house by making piles of what you want to keep and what gets donated or thrown in the trash. If you are unsure, don't get all upset over it. Just throw things in boxes and stack them in an empty corner in a spare room or in your closet and deal with it when you're ready. Having items in boxes that you are not sure if you will ever use again or just want to keep out of sentiment, will at least get them off the floor or from being scattered around your house. Like if you have a bunch of shoes you no longer wear but don't want to part with them, throw them in a box and store them in a closet or under a bed. If you have trinkets or photos you don't want to necessarily part with, then throw them in decorative boxes and stack them in a corner of your bedroom. Keep out a few things on display and rotate the items throughout the year. This way you can see what you really like and what isn't your style anymore and you can donate them to charity.

Have fun this year and remember, if you make mistakes it means you are trying new things which will only enhance your life now and in the future.

#stylesheetdaily  #vintage #organizing  #newyears  #happynewyear