The fish and snakes are moving!

That’s right - I’ve decided that the fish and the snakes need their own home on the web.

From now on you can read about my fish at the Northern Lights Aquatics Blog, or at the Northern Lights Aquatics Forums, which also feature the Fargo/Moorhead Fish Keepers Forums.

You can read about the ball pythons and panther chameleons ( I know, I haven’t told you about the chameleons yet, have I?) at the Northern Lights Reptiles Blog.

I hope to see you over there.

Posted in Life, Snakes, Fish | No Comments »

Aqua Tan Self Tanning Treatment

I have to admit it took me a while to try Aqua Tan.

I only try one product on my skin at a time - that way I can tell you if a certain product is causing me problems without having to guess which one of the two is.

By the time it was time to try Aqua Tan it was Christmas, and I didn’t want to test sunless tanner on my face in case I ended up with nice orange streaks or an unnatural looking tan on my face right in time for the holidays.

I’m sure the family would have talked about that for the rest of the year

Fortunately, I didn’t have anything to worry about.

The Aqua Tan Self Tanning Treatment Clear applied smoothly and streak free, with no orange.

One day was enough to give me a touch of color that looked natural - not fake.

I kind of felt silly that I hadn’t tried it earlier.

Here’s what the Aqua Tan website says about the Self Tanning Treatment for faces:

AQUA TAN™ Clear Self Tanning Treatment for faces was inspired by the beauty and purity of water. Light and clean it is ideal for faces. As exfoliating ingredients in facial skin care products cause self tanning to fade most quickly from the face, AQUA TAN™ Self Tanning Treatment is the perfect solution for at home tanning touch-ups. Now you can sport a healthy glow every day. Exquisitely packaged in unique luminescent cobalt blue and silver airless atomizer bottles. Specifically formulated to match one’s skin tone naturally. Perfect for both men and women. Designed for discriminating clients.

Aqua Tan®ª Self Tanning Treatment Clear, lightweight, bursting with powerful antioxidants and skin pampering botanicals. Formulated to match one’s skin tone naturally. Free of messy bronzers, stickiness, starchy odors. Refreshing scent. 500 sprays, approx. 170 applications. Dermatologist Recommended.

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MAC Electro-Lush Lipglass Review

MAC’s Electro-Lush Lipglass is a creamy blue pink tinted lipglass.

This is a beautiful color, and it lasts for several hours on my lips.

The lipglass has a faint hint of vanilla, which isn’t noticeable after the first minute or so after I apply the lipglass.

Although the lipglass is slightly sticky, it’s not too sticky.

I also haven’t had any trouble with the lipglass tube leaking, even though I’ve been keeping it on it’s side most of the time.

I’ve had that trouble with other brands of lip gloss in the past, and it’s messy!

Overall I was very pleased with the MAC Lipglass, and I love the Electro-Lush color.

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Ferro Cosmetics Review

I’ve been wearing Ferro Cosmetics mineral makeup for about two weeks now.

The cosmetics provided great coverage, although the radiance foundation was a tad too dark for me when I applied it with a flocked sponge.

However, it was the perfect color when I applied it with a kabuki brush.

Although most mineral makeup companies say to use a brush to apply mineral foundation, I use a flocked sponge so I can get more coverage, and I know a lot of other MMU lovers do as well.

I really liked the fact that the Ferro Cosmetics jars came with instructions printed on the lid that said “Shake minerals here, swirl brush & tap of excess. Sweep on for fabulous coverage.” Although most beauty junkies know how to use mineral makeup, a lot of women don’t - so it’s nice to have the steps explained somewhere where you can’t forget them.

I tried the ultimate foundation and the radiance foundation in palest honey.

Both foundations felt smooth going on, and had enough coverage to cover the broken capillaries on my nose, and any spots that were present.

Ferro Cosmetics makeup doesn’t include bismuth, talc, or other known irritants, so if you have sensitive skin, it should work for you.

In addition to the foundation, I also wore the sheer crystal mineral veil.

Although this is white in color, it doesn’t go on white, and unless you apply way too much, you should get a nice mineral veil sheen, with no noticeable paleness.

I also tried the eye candy shimmers in chameleon, and february.

Unfortunately february doesn’t appear to be available, but it was a beautiful pale lavender with a bluish undertone. I thought this was going to be just another purple eyeshadow when I saw it, but I was really impressed when I tried it, and I absolutely love the color.

Overall I was highly impressed with Ferro Cosmetics.

They are only the second mineral foundation I’ve found that has enough coverage to cover the broken capillaries in my nose.

If you’ve tried Ferro Cosmetics I’d love to know what you think, and what your favorite colors are.

Posted in Beauty, Reviews | 5 Comments »

How often do you play with your makeup?

I’ve cleaned out my makeup case a couple of times this year, so I was pretty surprised when I was searching for something and found a lipstick that I don’t remember having.

I tried it on and it was a beautiful color (Myabelline Wet Shine Fusion in Raisin Burst), it felt good on, and I couldn’t remember why I never wore it.

The next day I tried it on and I remembered why I didn’t wear it - it was way too dry for me unless I wore lip balm underneath it.

I know there have been tons of other makeup items I’ve bought that have been too dry, too sticky, too dark, or too light for me, and while I don’t advocate playing around too much with foundation colors unless you have very good eye or a close friend that will tell if you your foundation matches your skin before you leave the house, playing with you makeup can be a good thing.

You can mix lipstick colors together to make a color you like, add a darker lipstick to a too light lipstick or vice versa to make a color that looks right for you.

You can mix eye shadow colors together to make a new color, or if you have mineral shadows or blushes you can mix the powder with lipgloss to make a colored gloss, or even mix it with clear nail polish to make a colored nail polish.

Of course I know all of this - but I rarely try it.

I did try mixing a pink mineral blush with lipgloss, and it felt kind of grainy to me, so I never tried it again.

I haven’t been brave enough to try the nail polish mineral makeup trick though.

How often do you play with your makeup?

Do you try to make colors that don’t work for you work by layering colors or products?

Do you periodically go back and try makeup that you haven’t used for a while?

Or do you just give up if it doesn’t work the first time?

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