Make-under

“Throwin’ out her blush stick and makeup/ Cuz she don’t need it anyway/ Silk skin, pretty face…”
– Blu & Exile, No Greater Love

It’s about that time to change my makeup routine. Mainly I’m talking about foundation. I usually wear a lightweight makeup on a daily basis. Light coverage because my goal is not to cover up, but to even out what I perceive to be redness on certain parts of my face. I also have yellow undertones and I think that tends to make me appear sallow and splotchy. I have freckles as well, so I don’t want to cover those up. Just make everything nice and neat, ya know? At the moment I use Prescriptives Virtually Fresh makeup in Antelope.

The pros to my makeup: It gives that lightweight coverage I want and provides SPF protection. The cons: Washing it off every night, it costs about $30 and as the weather changes, my skincare needs change. Lately, I feel like my makeup looks a bit off color. This happens when your skin color changes due to tanning or lack thereof.

Luckily, I’m not one of those people who MUST wear makeup to leave the house. It’s mostly habit, but not a necessity. I generally have good skin that is even in texture and without blemishes (until that time of the month, when I can expect two to three pimples to pop up).

Luckily, I’ve found a new product that I’m falling in love with: Philosophy’s The Present. Billing itself as “clear makeup”, The Present provides moisture and an airbrushed appearance. Oh, and it made my skin feel super soft.

Not that it costs much less than what I’ve been using, but it feels good on my face and helps control the oiliness of my skin. I think it’ll make a nice addition to my makeup bag for the times when I’d rather do without the “real” makeup.

I’ll still be rocking my bronzer (although I’m thinking of going more pink for fall), mascara  and light lips on the daily, adding in shadow and liner when I want my eyes to pop.

In case you’re wondering what else Bourgie uses, check out my makeup bag’s most used items:

Prescriptives Sunsheen Bronzer in Medium
Clinique Cream Liner in True Black
Benefit Bad Gal Lash in Black (although I’m dying to try it in plum!)
Clinique Blushing Blush in Iced Lotus (used as an eyeshadow)
Clinique Eye Shadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge
Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick in Sugar Rush
Clinique Soft Shine Lipstick in Honey Gloss
Nars Semi-Matte Lipstick in Pigalle

Obvy I like pinkish colors. They help me not to feel overdone. However, you can overdo pink and come out looking like a baby hooker. Not a good look.

Spotlight: Goddess Zuri

PREFACE: You may not know it, but Bourgie is a natural gal. I mean, besides a little hair color, my hair is noy chemically processed. I went natural in college, junior year. Cut off my shoulder-length, permed hair and traded it in for a few inches of curly, kinky coils. That was just when folks in NC started catching on. See, many of us Black women have no real memory of our hair in its unprocessed state. I know I had a perm in 2nd grade then, (don’t laugh) a curl. Yeah, you laughed anyway. I was nervous at first, to rock the new style. Then I found joy in running my hands over and through my hair and feeling the wavy kinks. It had life. Character. Style!

However, I like to switch the style up (like Banks told me). Now I primarily wear my hair blown and pressed a la the Dominicans. Still, whenever I’m nostalgic for that yummy feeling of touching my OWN natural texture I wash and wear.

Spotlight: Celebrating that life, character, style and pizazz that natural hair projects is a line of apparel and accessories called Goddess Zuri. As GZ’s creator, Candace says, “Goddess Zuri products are designed to celebrate natural beauty with edge, attitude and confidence.” Honestly, who doesn’t like a cool, funky tee?

I’m getting one. This stuff is Bourgie Approved™! Please check out the site and the merchandise. The site features “Beau-Tees”, “Royal-Tees” and “Naugh-Tees”. You can guess which are my favorites. One hot “Naugh-Tee” is simply known as “Big”, allowing the wearer to proclaim her um, preference. LOL.

Here’s a peek:

I LIKE MINE BIG!

Get it?

Kalifa Hoops

Njeri Hoops

Wisdom Tee

As a future lawyer, I feel like it is my duty to admit any possible bias before putting you on to Goddess Zuri. If you ever check out my “about me” section, you’ll know that I went to UNC Chapel Hill for undergrad. What you don’t know is that I met the creator of Goddess Zuri there, we lived in the same suite freshman year! I just found out about her business endeavors a little while ago and bookmarked the page. Now I’m sharing it with you, not because I used to share a bathroom with the creator (who is a great person and never left her shower caddy in the way), but because she has some cool products to offer with a great message: natural beauty is where it’s at. That being said, Go HEELS!