"I don't know how you do it, but you're good" A Physician's Formula Review

"I don't know how you do it, Jenny, but you're good at it". My sister would tell me this a lot in the last few years. What was she referring to? My magical abilities to hide my adult acne & acne scaring.

Yes, here I am at 28, and I am still prone to the occasional acne flare up. When my skin is good, it is very, very good, but when it is bad, it is BEYOND horrid. Of course you can't cover everything when it comes to acne, but I have learned how to perfectly mask acne scars and small break outs with out noticing when I buy the right makeup.

Of course Revlon foundation is my favorite of all time.

I could NEVER find a powder to safe my life when it came to setting my liquid. NEVER. Either it was too pasty, or way too orange. I know, but it's true.

One day I was in CVS 6 years ago and seen a product line called Physician's Formula, I thought, hmm, okay, they've caught my attention with the name, so I read the back and figured, this could be good for my skin. It wasn't department store priced, but it was a little more than the other drug store brands, but I gave it a go and bought it anyway.

RIGHT AWAY, I fell in love. I bought the beige pressed powder, because I didn't want to go too light. It was amazing, there were no blotches, nothing, it was an even and natural looking powder, my skin seriously NEVER a day in my life looked that good.


Other times I would buy the Natural glow powder, which was pale, but I would finish it off with a magic mosaic palette in warm beige which absolutely gave me the perfect light and soft NATURAL tan look with out looking orange at all, it was amazing, a makeup that FOR ONCE NEVER made me orange!


I have since been fiercely brand loyal to Physician's Formula and even love their shimmer strips eye shadows when I want to try a different look from time to time. They are honestly the only make up I can wear that doesn't give me the "Tammy Faye effect". I love Tammy Faye by the way, but you know where I am coming from ;)

Today I was ecstatic to see this arrive in the mail:


Who could of sent me such pretty envelopes?! What was in them?

I hurriedly opened them to find that I was LUCKY enough to try the new product line before it will even hit stores!! OH MY WORLD!!! The day after Christmas and it feels like Christmas all over again ;) These are called Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush and Face Powder.


First impression is that I am drawn to the adorable product packaging! Second impression is that I am going to try the lighter palette first. I literally opened it up and tried it out. I noticed right away the light and airy scent of the makeup. I wondered if it was supposed to have this scent, because I sure loved it, I read the paper that came with the makeup and sure enough it has an aroma therapy added to it! AMAZING!!

You all know how some makeups have this funky smell? ugh, does your significant other really want to peck you on the cheek with that funky makeup smell? I hope not, well this is smooch worthy, trust me :) it's not overpowering at all, it has just the right hint of scent.

While I am ogling over the amazing scent, I am pleased with how this actually looks on my face, it has a nice sheer translucent shimmer. BEAUUUUTIFUL!!! I really mean it, BEAUTIFUL! I have bought supposed "sheer shimmering face powders" before only to notice they make my pores pop out like an eye sore. YUCK!! I don't know how Physician's Formula did it, but they did! They managed a product that not only goes on even and evens out your skin tone but NOW also, hides those yucky pores.

I haven't tried out the darker palette yet, but I will in the morning and promise to post a photo to show you just how beautiful this product is and how satisfied I am with it, but first, I wanted to say thank you to Physician's Formula, & Blue Sky Communications for allowing me to try this product before it hit shelves. I LOVE to share product reviews that are review worthy with my friends & readers, and this one was definitely worth blogging about. And if you know me, my dear friends, and readers, you all know I am the first to complain about any and everything I do not like. It's true, I have this built in negative Nancy that likes to complain about products or companies that are foul, so when I rave on about a product, it is because I GENUINELY find no flaw in it and LOVE it. I guess I should also add that anytime I wear Physician's Formula powders of any sort, my face breaks out a lot less if any at all.

So, let's wrap that up into a short version for all of you: EVEN toned skin, HIDES/MINIMIZES unsightly pores, helps conceal acne & the scaring left from old breakouts, and gives you a fresh YOUNG glow all while having an added aroma therapy light and airy scent, rich in omega 3, a known anti depressant that has been linked to the production of Dopamine which promites happiness, feels light on skin, AKA NOT cakey.

Again, Physician's Formula does cost slightly more than other drug store brands, but it's worth every dime to have that even skin tone! I also find, that places like Ulta usually run buy 2 get 1 free deals, as well as local drug stores. Ulta also has a $3.50 off total purchase coupon in every Sunday paper as well which can curb the cost. My gosh this make up never ceases to amaze me! I get excited every time a new line comes out.

I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU, Physician's Formula :) !!! Check out there site while you are added, my user name is girlxmom on the site :)

..and she's built! (the farmhouse bed that is..)

So, the lovely man of mine assembled the farmhouse bed in our bedroom, we'll have to paint it white tomorrow sometime, but I LOVE!! Now to find bedding to compliment the blue walls..hmmm..wish me luck:) Again, excuse the odd angle of the images - my room is small I need a smaller lense camera to capture it.



I can't wait to paint it:D

I also spray painted these photo frames with krylon's ivory paint, it's comparable to rustoleum's heirloom white and 3 bucks cheaper :)

It only took 7 months..

7 months for what? Oh, to decide on what to do with this farmhouse bed we built.
I couldn't tell you the exact month we started, it was sometime after we got our income tax returns. We used the queen plans from Ana White of knock off wood. We ran into some bumps along the way. The center panels in her build directions were not the right size, and instead of buying all new panels, we just cut a small piece to fit. However, we are still thankful for her plans, because WE LOVE IT, even with it's minor flaw hehe.

So there it sat for months, all built, just not assembled, and we couldn't decide what color to stain/paint it. Eventually we settled on white.

Since we are both busy with kids and never having a break, today we finally decided it would be a good idea to get the ball rolling.

So the drop cloth is down, the bed & it's pieces are up, and we shall paint it shortly. I have to tell ya'll, I realllllly love the natural pine look, but we are going to go for white paint. Wish us luck:) She's def going to be beautiful!!

And don't mind the odd angled shots, my camera lens is huge, and my 65 rancher bedroom is insanely small compared to most new homes, so taking a photo of it is a challenge in and of itself:) More pics when it's all said and done!

Mini Session: Baby M & Baby B: Indoors Portraiture

This week, I was thankful to be able to photograph these two adorable little boys. The Christmas baby with Santa hat is a photo I think ALL babies should have for their first Christmas. I have done it with my own children & think it's cute on any baby!

H Family Photo Shoot: Fayetteville, NC

This weekend I had the honor of photographing two lovely families. The rain held out for my last session of the day and I love how they turned out. Take a peek of the "H" Family :)




same photo as first, just different effect:











Such a beautiful family!

My Rustic - CHEAP tree // Living room redo

I say cheap tree, in that all the ornaments were really cheap at wally world. You can hate on wally all you want, but I am in love with wally. With out wally, I don't know how we'd afford to put groceries on the table. Chain groceries stores are just too much for us.

Anyway, I went with a bronzey theme to give it that rustic country look. Of course our real tree was 50 bucks, not too bad, each ornment was 2 bucks, except the reindeers that we got about 12 for 2? and the bronze balls were a box for 5.

My favorite are these stars:


The pinecones are too cute and homey feeling for me (ignore my camera blur, I didn't use the flash and have a shakey hand):


It's starting to look more like a drunken Christmas:


I loooove bronze;)



What's better than a coppery bronze? OIL RUBBED BRONZE;)


And then I ran out of ornaments, and decided I was too cheap to do the rest;) and that MiMi & I will just make some more of those snazzy little ginger bread looking ones, that we did last year this week.

You can find out how here.


I also for the first time in 6 years hung something on my sofa wall, and it semi works. For now, anyway.

Disregard my clutter, my son is into everything these days ;)I know what you are thinking about my "yellow walls" I promise they aren't this yellow in person. The color is actually "ripe wheat" and it's by behr at home depot. I painted them in 2005, and I wish I had all the before pictures of the 65 ranch, b/c you'd be shocked. We bought the home from a military family, who really loved camo colors. The baseboards and walls were HUNTER green and beige, it was just a hot mess. But here is some of the before and afters:

Oh, '65 rancher, you've come a long way baby!

Maybe when I am not so lazy I'll share our bathroom reno, it was a HUGE accomplisment;)

Sibling Photo Session: Fayetteville, NC

I just love being able to take photos of these two, they are so sweet and well behaved :) Sharing a few from last weeks session :)










Schedule your holiday session NOW :)

It's okay to be you.

I have learned in my 28 years that it's okay to be me.

It's okay not everyone will like you, love you, or accept you.

It's okay not to be a size 2, not to be pleasant 24/7, not to be the poster child for perfection.

It's okay to be you.

It's okay if someone says something bad about you, because if you are yourself, and they don't accept you for who you are, it doesn't matter, they are not worthy of your friendship.

It's okay to laugh, cry, or scream sometimes to let it all out.

It's okay to be you.

It's okay to go in public when you don't look your best, just as much as it's okay to go out when you feel on top of the world.

Life is too short to worry about what others think.

Instead, worry about those who actually accept you as is, with all your flaws. (and we all have them).

Learn that life isn't about having a million friends, or the prettiest friends. Life is about the REAL friends you make and the family you are blessed to have.

Life is about being you and accepting yourself.

You don't have to like me, I don't even like myself sometimes, I am a human being that makes mistakes, screws up, isn't a small girl, etc etc.

But I have something more valuable than anything that comes on the outside. I have been given the best gift of all; my children who adore me, the good family and friends I have come to know and trust and above all, the love and acceptance of the Lord. I am blessed, and with that nothing else matters:)

I just hate that it took me 28 years to finally accept myself.

Photo Tutorial: Dollar Tree Hurricane Utensil Holder ;)

I wanted to copy some of you ladies and do the Dollar Tree hurricane/candlestick deal, but my Dollar Tree happened to be lacking in the candle stick department ;)

Never the less, for a buck, I just could NOT pass up buying two hurricanes anyway. All week one sat in my cluttered kitchen, and then I got this idea! I am going to once and for all get rid of that ugly 90's apple utensil holder I have and make something cute and nicer.

See, ugly old holder:


I dug around in my scrap ribbon holder and thought my polka dotted ribbon left over from the pumpkin project would be ideal:

So, I had the hurricane, and the ribbon and I made a bow (excuse my bow, I am not gifted in tying anything)..

Then I gathered my bamboo utensils (you can find these at a cheapy store for a buck or two). and threw them on in.





MUCH PRETTIER! and for a BUCK, I sure can't complain ;) And I am sure you can monogram it in some vinyl and make it even prettier :D