Dressing Mama – Putting LipSense to the Test

Five years ago, I sang with a cover band called the Big Wow Band. These guys are quality musicians and a lot of fun to work with. I had the opportunity to fill in for their current female vocalist this past weekend for the Race to Robie Creek after party – and party we did.

What does this have to do with lipstick? Whenever I get to perform on stage, I take that as my opportunity to have a little fun with the things I wear and be a little more bold with my makeup (yes, I am…Sasha Fierce). A few months ago, I sent a note to my friend, Kimberly (a LipSense distributor), about this bright red LipSense color I saw posted somewhere on Facebook called Blu-Red. She gave me some details and a couple days went by and I plain forgot about the conversation.

A couple weeks ago, Kimberly reached out and asked me if I’d like to collaborate. Since the buzz about LipSense has grown, I was really excited to say yes. She sent me the starter kit: the Blu-Red lip color, the Glossy Gloss, and the “Oops” remover.

Being a stay-at-home-mom doesn’t necessarily lend itself to many opportunities to bust out this high-voltage, long-lasting red lip but, when the Big Wow gig came my way, I knew this would be a fun place to try it out.

Here’s the morning’s first awkward selfie:

(…don’t look too closely or you’ll see my not-so-subtle dry shampoo appearance.)

I drank some coffee, I helped unload gear up at the event site, I talked to a lot of fun people, and then I checked in on my lips around noon (12:02 p.m. to be specific).

We scored some free Gatorade from the event organizers and I wanted to check things out after downing some liquid.

Selfie game? Still awkward. LipSense game? Strong. Ceiling paint on nails? Check.

I should mention that, though I brought my Glossy Gloss along, I didn’t get a lot of chances to re-apply it. So. My color was mostly matte throughout the day but it didn’t bother me.

Are you ready for some action?

We sang and sang and sang. For folks that had just run up and down a mountain for 13.1 miles, these people had amazing energy.

I took this photo at the beginning of our third set; my vocal chords were giving out but my lip color was still making a statement (the statement was: don’t pay any attention to the “mom moves” she’s throwin’ down – check out those lips).

After a really, really fun reunion gig with these fellas, it was so great to get home to my little family (there was no cell signal up at this gig – it felt like I was on the other side of the country). I snapped the following photo after the kids were in bed – when I got a chance to fall onto the couch and relax.

Even my Mac Longwear lipstick couldn’t take a beating like this. Yes, after ten plus hours of wear, you can see my waterline but – I’ll take that over having lipstick on my teeth, chin, microphone, or not having lip color at all. I totally get the appeal and I’m excited to pick out a couple more color options – the next on my list is a color called Bombshell – it’s a pinky-nude color. LipSense for the win – I’m hooked.

 

This post was a happy collaboration with Beauty by Kimberly. You can check her out here, here, and here.

 

Annnnnd, if you want to check out the Big Wow Band with their normal (super hot) female vocalist, head over to their Facebook page and keep an eye out for gig alerts!

 

 

Addition – Weeks 7 & 8

Holy Moses. Drywall is hard. Adam and our sweet friends/family have been tackling drywall on the weekends/evenings for the last two weeks; it’s messy and heavy and seemingly endless. Drywall screws are little eagle talons that wait to tear you from limb to limb.

It’s so lovely to see these lights in action. The lighting is bright and warm – a huge change from the rest of the house. We are looking forward to putting in some can lights in the current living room and maybe a few in the kids’ bedrooms.

Aside from a few little pieces (and I mean little pieces – like 2″ pieces), we’re done with drywall. The tape and texture professional (thank the LORD we’re not doing that part ourselves) should be here in about a half hour to get started.

I’m excited to paint. I know how to paint. I can help with paint. We went with Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore for the wall colors and Simply White for the ceiling color. I’m excited to experiment with more color later but, for now, we’re excited about keeping the new space light and bright.

So. Close. Sigh.

-Layne