If you're like me, eyebrows are pretty intimidating. I'd see people with incredible brows, and think... well, they are lucky, but that's just out of my control.

I knew the makeup counters sold eyebrow pencils, but I had this mental picture of what I thought a penciled in eyebrow would look like. If you want to see what I was thinking, just Google "bad penciled in eyebrows."

No thank you!

But I was curious. My hairdresser is one of those people who has perfectly beautiful eyebrows, and she had told me before that 'doing her eyebrows' was something she could not do without. I was still skeptical.

This all changed last year when we were in Vegas for WPPI. We were at the Fashion Show Mall in Vegas at the Chanel makeup counter of Saks. I needed a refill of something from there. While I was waiting, I noticed that the person who was checking me out had perfect brows. I swallowed my pride and fear and tentatively asked her, "Do you think I should be penciling in my eyebrows?"

She said an enthusiastic YES. At first I thought it was just a sales pitch to sell me a $50 Chanel Eyebrow Pencil, but then she said, "And actually, let me tell you a secret. Go over and buy the thin one from Clinique. It's cheaper and better."

So this is what I bought:

I went right back over and got a 'tutorial' from that same lady who told me about it. This pencil is SUPER thin so it is so forgiving. I wear the lightest shade, and then I use a toothbrush (hey, it works) to brush over my brows when I'm done and blend it in. This eyebrow pencil is so thin, I think anyone can give it a try. And it's a bargain too :)

If you still aren't sure where to start with your eyebrows, I have another tip to share. While I was in Vegas this year and got my makeup done, the makeup artist used these handy dandy little eyebrow stencils to do my brows.

She laid this stencil on my eyebrows and filled in. For me, she used the petite arch and it looked pretty close to how I try to do my eyebrows on my own.

If you aren't doing your eyebrows, give it a try! It's easier than you think! Trust me. :)

A few weeks ago I shared the first step in my makeup removal process, Albolene. As I mentioned, I can't sleep in my makeup anymore. I used to sleep in my makeup with no problems, but once I started taking it off at night, I sleep so much better. I hated the feeling of waking up with yesterday's makeup on.

So, a quick recap. Albolene goes on my eyes, is tissued off.

At this point, I get all Noxzema commercial and lean over the sink and splash water on my face. Then I take 4-5 pumps of my facial cleanser into my hands and rub it into a lather.

Here is my cleanser of choice: CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser. Again, this was recommended to me by my dermatologist, and you can buy it over the counter at Walgreens. You can also order it online.

I can't speak to the eye-makeup removal power of this cleanser, because I use Albolene before to remove my eye makeup. It is a very gentle cleanser, and it doesn't burn if it gets into my eyes. Contrary to what the name says, it doesn't actually foam or lather up very well. I think it is because it isn't a soap based cleanser. It also doesn't have a soapy smell to it, which is new to me. My previous cleanser I used (Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser) had a wonderful soapy clean smell.

But it leaves my skin feeling better than the Neutrogena did. My skin feels clean, but never tight or dry. I feel like this cleanser is GOOD for my skin. I always pat my face dry and follow up with a good moisturizer. I'll share my moisturizer in an upcoming post!

A Vegas tradition for me is going to get my makeup done professionally. I love makeup and I do like doing my own makeup, but there's something so fun about letting someone do it who is a professional.

This past week we were in Las Vegas for WPPI (huge photography convention) and we got an invitation to a exclusive little get together that our album company was putting on in their 30th floor suite at the MGM Grand. The invitation said "dress smartly" so to me, this seemed like as perfect of a time as any to get my makeup done!

I had planned to have the makeup artist do a smoky eye and wear a nude lipstick. Because I *know* when you do a strong eye, you need to do a nude lip.

Earlier that day, I was walking around the tradeshow and someone came up to me and said, "Cat! Where's the hot pink lipstick?! I almost didn't know it was you."

At that moment I realized that I think the Dior Fuchsia Star Lipstick is going to have to be a permanent thing for me. We were walking with our friend Millie at that time and I stopped, wiped off my nude lipstick, and put the fuschia star back on. As Millie watched, I finished putting it on and then much to her horror turned on her and said, "Now you!" That was a funny moment of the day.

So anyway... the makeup artist that I worked with was the one at our hotel, Aria. This is the second time I've had my makeup done here and my experience this year was better than the previous time. Yippee!

I brought some ideas from my Pinterest makeup board, and from that we made a plan for my night on the town.

We chose to do a really strong smoky eye and because browns look so good on me, she 'smoked it out' (her term, not mine) with browns instead of grey. Sometimes a smoky eye done with grey ends up looking bluish on me.

I *love* fake eyelashes and wish that I could wear them in my everyday life. Does anyone have any success with that? PLEASE share your tips (brands, where you buy, glue) in the comments if you do.

Side note: I know that I am not wearing fuchsia star lipstick in this picture. When I got back to the room after getting my makeup done I wanted to see what red would look like, and that's what I had on in this picture. For the night on the town I definitely switched to ol' reliable. :)