I’ve really been feelin’ pasta lately.
Today’s lunch centered around whole wheat pasta that I topped with shrimp. I also steamed some cauliflower that I then mashed with a fork and stirred into marinara sauce before pouring it over the pasta and stirring everything together.
The cauliflower gave the marinara sauce a thicker texture that I really enjoyed. If you hate cauliflower, this might be a good way to try to incorporate it into your diet since I couldn’t really taste it!
Questions of the Month: March
This month’s “Questions of the Month” feature focuses on two beauty products since I’ve received a few repeat questions about my mascara and sunless tanner.
Heeere we go!
- What kind of mascara do you use?
I used to be a die-hard L’Oreal Voluminous mascara fan. I still absolutely love that mascara, but for the past two months, I’ve been using Almay Get Up & Grow mascara and I am obsessed with it.
I tried it on a whim when I was going through some of my mom’s makeup over Christmas and it was love at first swipe.
It’s not clumpy and the brush coats my eyelashes better than any other mascara I’ve tried in the past. It should be noted that while nearly every beauty magazine and billions of women seem to love Maybelline Great Lash mascara (the one that comes in the pink and green tube), I think it’s horrible, so if you prefer that kind of mascara, we may not share similar taste.
- Do you use sunless tanner? What is your favorite kind?
I do, but not that often. I am currently rationing my all-time favorite sunless tanning lotion, Dove Energy Glow, because it was discontinued. I absolutely LOVED that lotion and am on my very last bottle. It was perfect because it added subtle color gradually and didn’t smell horrific. If there’s a sunless tanning lotion out there that smells good and doesn’t make you look orange, please let me know!
As for sunless tanner for my face, I use L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted One Day Gel.
I cannot find it in-store anywhere in Ocala, so I have to order it off Amazon, but it lasts for a long time! A tiny drop goes a long way and blends into my skin without looking artificial, orange or thick. I put it on after my face lotion and love the lightweight feel.
Past Questions of the Month:
- February 2013: Creating workout images, favorite crock pot, timing circuit workouts
- January 2013: Tips for new bloggers, wrist wallet for running fuel, 5K training plans
- November 2012: Red lipstick, vitamins and non-healthy living blogs
- July 2012: Sadie’s harness, half marathon training, peanut butter
- March 2012: Heart rate monitor/running watch, roasting vegetables, planning workouts, protein powder
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you regularly wear mascara or sunless tanner? What are your favorites?
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I never wear mascara anymore because I can never find a good kind that won’t get black all over my skin around the eyes. I need to listen to and take suggestions!
I have the same problem! I love Almay as well and their waterproof mascara is great for smudge free around the eye.
I am guilty as charged with the pink and green tube mascara…I just can’t help it. But I have fallen in LOVE with the Loreal Sublime Bronze tan towelettes. I use them twice a week at night and they are amazing. I highly recommend trying them, especially if you need a quick glow!
Everyone I know loves that mascara, but for some reason it just doesn’t look good on me! I will have to try those towelettes!
I was one of those magazine readers who tried the Maybelline green and pink after all the praise it got and I can’t stand it either! Very clumpy and messy. I’m a Covergirl girl!
I am in LOVE with L’oreal sublime bronze lotion, I didn’t know that towelettes existed, that’s fantastic! The lotion goes on smooth and doesn’t make me orange, but I think towelettes would be super convenient. Thanks!
They’re amazing! They don’t make you look orange at all and you only need one towelette each time.
Ill have to try that mascara I get a new kind every time in hopes of liking one and they just never turn out right!
Is your skin acne prone by any chance? I’m looking for a sunless tanner for acne prone skin! 🙂
I swear by my MAC mascara. It is the best one that I have found. It lasts the entire day and it’s not clumpy. It makes my lashes look full. I love it 🙂
I am as pale as it gets. Growing up I used to wish I could lay under the sun and turn into a bronze goddess instead of a lobster. Now, I’ve finally started to appreciate my fair complexion so I don’t use any self-tanners. But to give my face a subtle radiance I use the Josie Maran Argan Illuminzer. I mix it in with my tinted moisturizer and I LOVE the results. 🙂
I use Jergens Natural Glow for fair skin. I don’t think the smells amazing, but it doesn’t stink, I don’t feel like I look orange, and my skin feels really soft after using it!
I have yet to find a sunless tanner that doesn’t make my pale skin look like an oompa loompa! 😛 As for mascara, I really like CoverGirl LashBlast Volume mascara (the orange tube). I have really watery eyes and use the waterproof version and it works wonderfully! I’ve also used L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara and that works well too!
Mascara yes, tanner no. Long story short, tanner shade changes depending on the time of year! I went to school wit some very orange legs one day….never again!
My favorite way to incorporate cauliflower into my diet is in cauliflower pizza crust!! Yum!! 🙂
I am obsessed with Diorshow mascara which I apply after using lancome cillis booster. Since using that mascara I’ve gotten so many compliments and I love how my eyes pop!
I always wonder- for those of you who use a face self-tanner only (not all over the body), do you blend it into your neck and ears? If not doesn’t your face look darker than the rest of you?
I definitely blend it into my neck!
I see that mascara is waterproof. Curious as to what do you take your makeup off with? I’ve tried to just use facewash, but it usually doesn’t work that well for me, I need something prior to remove the makeup.
Try Bioderma! http://www.amazon.com/Bioderma-Crealine-Micelle-Solution-500ml/dp/B002WDIPR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363716431&sr=8-1&keywords=bioderma
Absolute holy grail product. My skin has improved so much after using it, there’s no fragrance, and it’s super gentle! It’s actually supposed to be a facial cleanser on it’s own but I use it after my regular facial cleanser to make sure I get all my makeup off
I’ve tried so many different kinds of make up remover with absolutely no luck. I finally fell in love with Clinique makeup remover. It is great!
The purple Clinique remover? That stuff is liquid gold!
I love the blue-green Clinique Remover!
I have used Jergens face and body lotion but my issue is makeup… what do i do about foundation? Julie~ do you use mineral makeup or tinted moisturizer
I’m so glad someone else thinks Maybelline Great Lash is awful! I think it’s the worst mascara I’ve ever used and it baffles me how it always makes the best mascara lists! I love Loreal Voluminous and Maybelline Lash Blast Fusion. Tarte Lights Camera Lashes is awesome too, but it’s a little pricey!
Yes!! Me too!!!
I read a beauty tip recently to use black mascara on top lashes and brown on bottom, and the only one I could find in true brown was Great Lash. I used it yesterday and gave it another try today and it’s so awful that I was almost late pulling thick clumps out of my lower lashes. AWFUL. On my top lashes, I am obsessed with this after getting one in my Birchbox: http://www.birchbox.com/shop/modelco-fibre-lashxtend Model Co Fibre Lashxtend. It makes my lashes look long, long, long without no clumping or wet, goopy lashes.
I have tried EVERY self tanner in the book, from low-end to high-end….and I love St. Tropez for its color, but it STILL has that gnarly smell! And the inital colorguide stains my sheets over time. Still use it when I need a super dose of color. BUT! I just discovered the Loreal tanning wipes, and they are PERFECTION! Totally clear, so NO staining, a perfect color, and if you want to look SUPER tan, do two nights in a row. Everyone at my gym thought I had been on a weekend vacation! The only self tanner I can actually use before I start my day, and I don’t feel like everyone around me can smell me! The price is SO right, especially since I subscribe through Amazon and it’s under $8 per box, delivered to my door. I typically use two (sometimes three) wipes a week to keep a consistent color. OBSESSED.
If you’re willing to splurge a little bit, Givenchy Phenomenon mascara is the absolute BEST and I’ve tried them ALL. Typically, one bottle costs $30 but it lasts quite awhile. Instead of the regular brush, this one is essentially a ball with spikes. It doesn’t clump, and gives my lashes incredible length. I’ve gotten all of the girls I work with hooked! Splurge on this one time and I swear you’ll never go back!
I’ve never found a good sunless tanner. I’m pretty pale so I almost always come out looking orange. The tanning bed is the only solution for me (and I know that’s bad!). If you find something that works, please post! 🙂
I sell for Mary Kay and LOVE their I <3 lashes mascara. I used to always where waterproof mascara and then I learned that some of the ingredients in waterproof mascara can actually dry out your lashes and make them thinner(like tar) and really you don't need waterproof mascara if you will be bawling(like a funeral or wedding day). Mascara is the one thing I make sure to wear everyday!!
I'm also naturally pale and have tons of freckles and I live in Ohio so the natural sunlight doesn't hit me all year round, so self tanner is a must for me. This may sound weird, but I actually use an indoor tanning lotion called Black is Back. It's got a lot of bronzers in it and ,like most indoor tanning lotions, it is silicon based so it doesn't make me feel greasy and it gradually makes me darker. When I frist started I used it everyday for 2 weeks and now I use it about 2 times a week to maintain the color. It also smells AMAZING!!! St. Tropez is also a good one for when I need an extra boost…it has more of a brown base than orange, so no oompa loompa-like skin!!!
Julie and all comment readers, PLEASE try Armani’s Eyes to Kill mascara. I got it for my birthday and I have never looked back!
The new Jergens formula actually smells good – my boyfriend even commented on it, haha. And it works well on my skin tone. I’ve also used Kate Somerville tan towels… They’re good, but suuuuper pricey.
I’m on a never ending battle for mascara. Maybe ill have to try that one!
I love the new Covergirl Lashblast Clump Crusher mascara (green tube). The original orange Lashblast works ok, but this new one is perfection! L’Oreal Voluminous mascara is one of my all-time favorites. I also use Jergens natural glow. I’m very pale and it doesn’t look too orange, but I only use it about 2-3 times a week instead of daily. They recently reformulated it to get rid of some of the odor too! It still smells a little bit but not as strongly as it used to, and I think the scent is more pleasant now, like caramel sort of. I love your makeup posts! I’m a die-hard makeup junkie and love when my friends let me take them makeup shopping 🙂
I love Maybelline Great Lash!! However the best mascara I ever used was a birthday gift and it was Chanel Mascar, seriously I wish someone would buy that for me again! I never use tanning lotion, I did for a bit in college and felt like I was orange. I have looked for the L’Oreal one but can’t find it anywhere! Do you use to everyday?
I love, love, love St. Tropez! I haven’t used self tanner is well over a year, but when I did, St. Tropez seemed to be the winner.
My favorite mascara (and only one that doesn’t make my eyes water outside) is L’Oreal Voluminous. I have used it since 7th grade and always love the way it sits, and how it curls my lashes! Love brown and black. I don’t do self tanner, but have in the past. I did sublime bronze too!
I am also not a fan on the great lash mascara, never works well for me. I’m using Mary Kay mascara called lash love and I love it! It’s not cheap though. 🙁 I’ve also heard that benefit’s they’re real is great too. As for tanner I usually use jergen’s which looks great but it does smell awful. I usually put some sort of scented lotion on after to mask the stench. 🙂
I’d have to agree with you about Maybelline Great Lash, that stuff is total crap. Although, I’ve used almost all of their other mascaras and they’re great! I use Nature’s Gate Glow Body Lotion Light as a self tanner and daily moisturizer. It’s great because it just adds a hint of color gradually, plus it’s made with natural ingredients 😉
I thought I was the only one who did NOT like the mascara. I put it on because I kept seeing it all over magazines and it was clumpy and my eyelashes looked like sticks! I don’t get it!
It gave me total stick lashes, too!
I love the CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara, it adds lots of volume and length without flacking or being clumpy. I’m like you and I HATE that Maybelline mascara.
As far as taking make up off, I swear by olive oil on a cotten ball, I do it before I was my face and night and it gets all my eye make up off, I use waterproof mascara and eye liner, and it leaves my eye area nice and moisturized before bed.
I noticed that Jergen’s has come out with a gradual tanning lotion that doesn’t have any scent…I’m going to have to try that since I live in WI and I’m in a wedding May 11th…hello glow in the dark legs!
I love the St. Tropez line of self tanners and its available on amazon as well!
I love that L’Oreal mascara as well, but since trying out the Maybellin Colossal Volum’, I have to say that I’m definitely a convert. It makes me look like I’m wearing falsies, and lasts all day without giving me racoon eyes.
I have been looking for new mascara because I always try new brands and never really LOVE what I use. I just bought the Almay Get Up & Grow and I’m excited to use it! Thanks for the recommendation!
I’m with ya, I just can’t stand the pink and green tube! I thought I’d try it since it seems to have stood the test of time…but I think the wand is super small and did nothing for me.
I LOVE Badgal Lash by Benefit. The big honkin wand does WONDERS! I’ve also heard that Tarte’s “Lights, camera, splashes” 4-in-1 mascara is pretty miraculous. It’s going to hopefully be what saves me from looking like a horror show on my wedding day.
As for sunless tanners. I also loved the Dove but found that Jergen’s Natural Glow Express smelled better to me and worked a little bit faster than the Dove and I wasn’t an oompa loompa afterwards!
Enjoy you pasta…looks yummy!
I love Tarte lights camera lashes mascara from Ulta! No clumps and holds all day
I don’t wear any makeup or use sunless tanner, but somehow my legs stay tan all year round? I constantly get compliments on the evenness of my skin tone on my legs and people ask me if it’s a fake tan.. it’s not 😉 just residual from summer!
I am loving reading all the answers to these questions! I use mascara almost daily. Even if I don’t put any other makeup on, I generally wear eyeliner and mascara. I use Maybelline, but I am definitely going to have to try that Almay! I use a sunless tanner in the spring and summer. I like Jergens. It’s just for a subtle change though.
I hate the Maybelline Great Lash, too – and I use Clinique for everything. I don’t really use a tanner lotion tho. It’s kind of weird to look too tan in NY in mid-winter!
I am obsesssed with L’Oreal’s power volume collagen mascara. It makes my lashes super thick 🙂 As for self tanner, I barely ever use it (because I always forget) but I use Jergens
I’m a big L’Oreal Million lashes fan…we don’t have Almay here but it sounds good! I’ve got pale white Irish skin so any form of tanner makes me look altogether silly! 🙂
When I can I get my eyelashes tinted every couple of months so then during the week I don’t tend to wear mascara but if I have a social event on I will generally always wear it.
I love St Tropez for an instant tan but I also have a bottle of a tan building moisturizer from Ella Bache I keep forgetting to use.
So this is not exactly on topic, but I thought I’d let you know that after reading one of your posts about Smashbox primer, I ordered some. I am OBSESSED with it! Literally the day I started wearing it, my boyfriend (who is a TOTAL guys’ guy) made several comments about how amazing my skin looked. So thanks 🙂
Do you regularly wear mascara? Yes! I love trying new mascara and it is crazy how some are so great while others are a clumpy nightmare! I love cover girl brand!
Sunless tanner? I spray tan. Does that count? I am super duper pale, and I never tan in the sun! I live in Miami so I do like having a little color. I do not get orange and it last forever (ok, 7 days) so a double win! I will try the L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted One Day Gel because I wash my face so often that my spray tan comes off in a day or two.
I used to use sunless tanner in high school but it would get on clothes, and after moving to Charleston I realized I’m not ever going to really be tan so I should just love my skin the way it is!
I know it’s cheap but I love the Jergens Natural Glow. It works like a charm, and for me it really does look natural! As for mascara, I love the Maybelline Falsies…but I pretty much use anything that is on sale!!
My favorite mascara is Benefit Bad Gal Lash. It’s a little pricey but I love it! I don’t wear mascara everyday so it lasts awhile. On the other hand, I don’t like Benefit’s They’re Real mascara at all!
I swear by Bare Escentuals Buxom mascara… I love it! It doesn’t clump and lasts forever. I buy it at Sephora and it’s $19. I saw your comment above about eyemakeup remover, Clinique is definitely the best, but when I’m in a hurry I just buy the Almay eyemake remover pads.
I use Jergen’s Natural Glow and Clinique for self tanners, I’m not crazy about either of their smells. I need to find this tanning towelettes!
My favorite mascara is CoverGirl Lash Blast- The orange tube!
My favorite facial self tanner is Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow wipes.
I still have no found a self tanner for the body that I really like, I use the jergens gradual self tanner lotion but am not that thrilled with it.
Thank you so much for this post! I have recently moved across the country to Florida and do not have any friends here yet and reading your blog makes me feel like I am having a
“girl chat” regularly and is one of the happiest parts of my days!
That pasta looks delicious!! I usually add pureed beans to my pasta sauce which makes it ultra thick and filling. I’ll have to try cauliflower next!
I’m on the hunt for a good tanning lotion as well since I’m a dark shade of bleach white and my irish skin doesn’t exactly tan very well. If you find one please share. Thanks!
I’ve been loving the benefit mascara ever since I randomly bought it last month. It makes my lashes look huge.
Bath and Body Works offers a really great sunless tanner for $15. It’s an orange bottle and it truly doesn’t smell bad at all- it also never gave me thick, smelly streaks. I’m from Minnesota so I use sunless tanner about 8 months out of the year… it’s the best one I’ve found! On Amazon!
I just use the simple jet black covergirl. $5.00… not too shabby.