Make-Up Shelf Life~ Renee Arnold

Makeup does not last forever. It might be hard to believe, but there does come a point when your makeup stops being effective and can do more bad to your face than good.

For example, mascara should never be kept more than two or three months. When the brush is used and put back in the tube it collects bacteria that lingers there and then is put back in contact with your eye the next day. Lingering bacteria can cause pink eye, redness or itchiness. If you develop any of these symptoms, makeup artist Pati Dubroff recommends throwing away all of your eye makeup that has come in contact with your eyes since the redness started, and if your eyes are still irritated two days later, see an eye doctor.

Foundation should be replaced at least once a year unless it's unopened – then you can hang onto it for a few years. Keeping foundation and using it for too long can reverse its effects, causing skim breakouts.

Eye shadows and eye liners stay good for about three months. These too can cause bad eye irritation if the bacteria comes in contact with your eyes because it has lingered for too long.

Lastly, makeup tools can last for years as long as they are still in good shape and not fraying. To keep your brushes in good condition, you should cleanse them every two weeks using a gentle shampoo and letting them dry upright. Cheap makeup sponges should be pitched after two uses because the little sponges suck up too much makeup and are home to bacteria pits. Disgusting right?

Now that you're aware, use these tips to make sure your makeup is helping you, not harming you!

Photograph property of Lilies Among Thorns Magazine. Photograph taken by Abby Whear.

How to Draw Rapunzel~ Hogan Stevens

**I use two different pencils: HB for the start, and then 2B when finishing the look.**

First, start with a circle. Make sure you use the HB pencil for starting out because the led is softer and therefore erases easily.

Now let's draw a rough outline of her jaw and chin...Her face will be turned slightly, so her chin will be more to the left. Leave the ear off for now. We'll get to that in a bit.

Sketch in her eyes. They sort of resemble orange peels, right? The one on the left will be slightly higher than the other, though they are pretty much the same in appearance.

Go ahead and fill in the eyes, drawing the pupils quite large. Make notice just how the orbs of her eyes are positioned.

Also, darken the upper lash line.

Add some eyelids just above her lashes. Now, notice I've also added a vertical line, which is in the middle of the face and curves from her forehead toward her chin, though it stops just below her nose. The horizontal line at the bottom of this vertical one helps me estimate where I'll put her lips in a bit.

When drawing the nose, make sure your strokes are gentle. Don't try to draw in the whole nose--with nostrils and tip and everything. Just adding the hint of an outline is all you need.

Now for the mouth. Starting at that line we used to indicate the position of her top lip, go ahead and sketch that in. The right will curve longer than the other and move slightly upwards. After you're satisfied with the top, fill in the bottom lip. Rapunzel will be smiling in this drawing, so her lips will be parted to reveal some of her teeth.

Instead of attempting to draw the teeth themselves, simply darken the shadowed area of her mouth, leaving white the parts that indicate her teeth.

Once you're finished with that, you can go ahead and erase your helping lines for the mouth and nose. I went ahead and drew a very faint line on her forehead to indicate where her eyebrows should go, and then I carefully drew them both in. Her left brow will be slightly obscured by a lock of hair, so go ahead and quickly sketch that in for later. Notice at the very top of the forhead where the hair starts from.

Go ahead and finish what you've started and draw in the other swoop of hair at the right, erasing the last of the circle. The right swoosh of hair goes down to cover her ear, which you can now draw in, connecting it with her jaw.

Finish up the hair. Rapunzel's hair is very flowy and long, so we'll try our best to convey that here.

I've sort of started on her neck and shoulders...

...and now I've gone ahead and drawn them out. Her gown has a bit of lace about the collar, and her shoulders and rounded.

That's pretty much it! Now, take your darker 2B pencil and begin the process of darkening her lines. Go boldly over your lines, erasing any of the mistakes you made earlier, and shade in her eyes and mouth nicely.

There you go! My version isn't a perfect replica by far, but at least you can tell who it is!

...right?

It's Rapunzel. :]

　

Did you know that Hogan doesn't like roller skating?!

Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall & Debby Jones ~ A Book Review by Michelle Pell

Lady in Waiting ~ Jackie Kendall & Debby Jones

Becoming God’s Best While Waiting for Mr. Right

*Expanded Edition: Includes Journal and Study Guide

5 out of 5 Stars

Original Text:  Waiting for God’s best can be hard, but if your single days are spent preparing for the day you will marry, they can be some of the best years of your life. Using the story of Ruth in the Bible, authors Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones present practical advice about becoming ladies of reckless abandonment to our Savior, diligence, faith, virtue, devotion, purity, security, contentment, conviction, and patience. But obtaining all these virtues may seem overwhelming. That is why the authors depicted how to put each one of these virtues into practice through Ruth’s amazing story. This book opened my eyes to the amazing woman of God Ruth really was. I learned about her commitment to her mother-in-law, her diligent service, her faith in God, and her pure attitude toward the opposite gender.

Study Guide: In the back of the “Expanded Edition” is a powerful study guide. It takes each chapter and gives scripture references along with thought-provoking questions to help you dig deeper into the Book of Ruth and the rest of God’s word. Purchasing the “Expanded Edition” is worth it just for this aspect.

Forty-Day Meditational Journal: “The purpose of the meditational journal,” say the authors, “is to introduce you to a fresh and exciting way of enhancing your personal life and enriching your spiritual journey.”

Keeping the Ropes Attached~ Rachel Melillo

When I was in high school, I went on a day-trip with my youth group to Gordon College to spend the afternoon with a select number of teenagers interested in leadership in their youth group. I went—excited about the prospect of being on the high-ropes equipment and learning more about becoming a good leader.

                When we got there, we were given a quick introduction to the equipment and how it worked. MY first quest was walking across a narrow bridge. I estimated it to be one of the easier tasks, so I chose to do it first. When it was my turn, I started climbing up the tree to get up there. About halfway up, I got stuck and couldn’t see a way to climb any higher.  I looked down trying to see how far I was away from the ground, only to see that I was a good eight feet away from solid ground. Feeling that there was no way to turn back and no way to press on, I panicked. A couple people on the ground tried to give me directions on what to do next, but I couldn’t figure it out based on what they were saying. Finally, I managed to get to the next step and up to the top with help from the trained leader holding my ropes so that I didn’t fall.

Lesson 1: Trust the One holding your ropes.

                I got up to the bridge and took the first step across. The narrow, wooden bridge wobbled and I panicked. However, with the coaching of the trained leader, I continued to walk to the other side.   A couple times, I started to lose my balance and he pulled my ropes tighter to make sure I didn’t fall.  The gesture felt like a distant hug, though the person making the effort seemed far away, the action still had the intended effect.  However, if my ropes weren’t on right or had some problem, I could have fallen about two stories and gotten seriously injured.

Lesson 2: Make sure your ropes are strong.

                Finally when I made it across, I was instructed to go to the middle of the bridge. At first, I looked at the guy like he was crazy—why had I made it to the other side just to go back to the middle.  Trusting him, I took the few steps to the center of the bridge.  His next words were even more difficult to swallow, “Now I want you to fall backwards in a sitting position.” What!? He wants me to fall? I thought. 

Sometimes we have to do things and go places that are hard. They don’t make sense and they seem crazy to us. But as long as your ropes are strong and attached to God, He’ll make sure you’re alright.

Lesson 3: Don’t be afraid to trust God and do what He says.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

                                                Psalm 9:9-10