First of all Happy Independence Day!

I hope you have a great day, and a great weekend.

So I have a BBQ to go to at 3.

I have pale skin, and I need to wear sunscreen or I’ll burn.

Although most foundations these days have sunscreens in them, studies have shown that in order to get the sun protection you need to cake on the foundation.

Obviously, I’m not willing to do that.

Most sunblocks require you to reapply them after a certain amount of time (2 hours for NO-AD SPF 60 Ultimate Sunblock Lotion which I use on my body) or after you have been swimming or sweating for a certain period of time, or after you’ve towel dried.

Some sunblocks, such as Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 45, which I use on my face, recommends that it be reapplied after “swimming, excessive perspiration, towel drying or extended sun exposure.”

Of course that means that I’ll need to reapply sunscreen throught the day if I’m outside all day.

I usually just apply sunscreen on my face once and then apply makeup, although I did apply it over my makeup once to see how it would work, and I was surprised that it didn’t mess up my foundation.

Do you reapply sunblock throughout the day if you’re wearing makeup?

If you do, do you reapply it over your makeup, or wash your face and apply sunscreen, then redo your makeup?

How do you deal with wearing makeup and keeping your skin protected from the sun?

I was searching for a new sunscreen when I heard about Lahaina Noon Hawaiian Sunscreen, which comes in 4 scents - Plumeria, Hibiscus, Pikake, and unscented.

The fact that they were offering free samples didn’t hurt, so I asked for a sample, and ended up with the SPF 30 Plumeria Scented sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection.

The sunscreen applied easily, and was very strongly scented, with a scent that lasts, instead of disappearing.

Unfortunately, the scent was a little too overpowering for me, but if you’re looking for a strongly scented sunscreen, or if you’re looking to avoid the traditional sunscreen scent, then you should definitely give this a try.

It’s been a pretty good weekend so far.

DH won me a Vera Bradley bag after he entered me in a contest at a local florists, and we were chased out of a car dealership by a salesman whining “Come back, what did we do wrong,” after he got on our nerves.

We’re trying to sell DH’s car, so if you know anyone who’s looking for a NHRA edition Trans Am let me know :-).

In other news I have Fuji Apple Tree problems, and Nosy Be Panther Chameleon eggs.

They’re going to take at least 6 months to hatch though - and that will seem like forever!

Rose on the Sarah’s Surprises forums wants to know if you think etailer lotions go bad faster than regular lotions.

And me?

I’m doing everything I can think of (except laundry) to keep from reading the Problogger book.

I just don’t feel like reading anything serious now - I’m too tired.

Oh yeah - the face of the day is all from Alice Cosmetics, except for Redpoint Mascara and MAC lipgloss.

I’ve been testing Alice Cosmetics since Sunday, and so far I’m loving everything.

What do you have going on this weekend?

Oops, I forgot to mention my new Eye Shadow and Eye Makeup Tutorials Lens on Squidoo!

I’d love to see your favorite eye makeup tutorials - you can never have enough ideas for different techniques.

I did end up buying the John Freida Weather Works Weather-Proofing Syle Sealant Creme that I mentioned in Weather Works - Or Does It?

I got the style sealant creme for about $5 for 4 oz at Walmart, and although it’s easier to get too much creme for my long fine hair in the pump than it is in the sample pouch I was using I’m still impressed.

I have noticed less frizz and flyaways when I use the cream, and it’s nice not to have to worry about that on windy, humid days.

I did try a sample of the original formula of the hair serum, and I remembered that I just don’t like the feel of the serum on my hands - even after I wash my hands the serum still feels like it’s there, and I don’t like it.

The original serum was also a little bit too much for my hair, and made it look limp and greasy.

Since I was testing, I also decided to retest a sample of Gloss Me! Hair Serum from The Body Perfumery (which is temporarily closed) that I knew I liked, but didn’t wear all the time.

Gloss Me! provided frizz control similar to the wather proofing syle sealant creme - and it smelled good, but I didn’t like the feel of the serum on my hands when I applied it, and I still had felt like some of the serum was left over after I washed my hands.

What do you use for frizz control?

Do serums bother you, or am I just wierd?

The Venus Week: Discover the Powerful Secret of Your Cycle…at Any Age by Rebecca Booth, MD, is a book which helps explain why women feel better, look better, and respond better to life around a certain time each month.

Dr. Booth calls these days, which are the days a woman is most fertile, The Venus Week, and gives examples of things to look for during The Venus week, as well as things that might supress the benefits of The Venus Week.

In addition to this, Dr. Booth discusses “The Beauty of Venus” and explains why hormonal changes cause women to have hair that is shinier, skin that is clear and glowing, and to have more confidence in themselves during a few days each month.

She also teaches us how to maximize that effect, and to work with our skin to minimize negative effects - for example during the Minerva phase, which is the term that Dr. Booth uses to refer to the week following ovulation dullness may occur due to a drop in elasticity in the skin - therefore during Minerva women should exfoliate their faces daily. During other weeks the face should only be exfoliated once a week.

The Venus Week was an interesting read, and although she didn’t mention beauty as much as I expected from a book that offered “The Venus Week Plan - A complete diet, lifestyle and beauty program that maximizes your Venus and improves your health,” the plan was useful, and I think I would see some improvements if I’ve followed it.

If you’ve read the Venus Week, or if you have any other thoughts about this matter, I’d love to hear what you think about it.

Yup, I ended up with a sunburn on my face!

DH and I went to the Red River Zoo yesterday with my sister-in-law and her two daughters, then Jeff found out that his cousin had bought a swingset like the one in our backyard, so he immediately volunteered to help put it together since he had so much trouble with ours.

Isn’t he sweet? Or crazy, depending on how you look at it.

Either way 6 hours of sun did not agree with my face, so I have a slight sunburn on my face, and on about a two inch area of my left arm. I did use Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion with sunscreen (SPF 15) on my arms when we realized we were going to the zoo, but I must have missed a spot.

I forgot all about my face until it was too late.

Apparently mineral makeup doesn’t help prevent sunburn that much, which isn’t a shock at all.

This one isn’t so bad, so washing with noxema is ok, and I think mineral makeup will cover it.

If it’s worse I usually use solarcain or aloe vera gel.

So - what do you do when you have a sunburn?

This is what I’m wearing today.

I wanted something a little brighter than normal.

Unfortunately none of my pictures turned out .

Bellissima Trucco Minerale Foundation Light applied with flocked sponge
Bellissima Trucco Minerale Blush Baja Sunset
Bellissima Trucco Minerale Eye Shadow in Aruba Sugar Cane and Key West Palm

Bareminerals glimmer in 1908’s used wet as eyeliner
Redpoint Mascara
Redpoint Volumizing Lip Gloss in Cherubic under Maybelline Wet Shine Fusion in Raisin Burst