Made To Mommy

Documenting my new mom life

Stress-Free Makeup Routine

One question I get asked a lot is “how do you find the time to do a full face of makeup?”

The short answer is that I have my husband or mom watch Jadyn for 20 minutes while I quickly do my makeup. 

The long answer is that it hasn’t always been that way throughout the last year. Most days I’m in activewear with a messy bun and glasses getting things done for work, chores around the house, taking Jadyn to activities and running errands.  But now that I’m a mom with a 13-month old, I needed to hone my makeup routine, make it stress-free and easy to complete in 30 minutes or less. For perspective, before Jadyn arrived last year, I could take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour just to do my makeup. Part of that was I would clean my brushes the night before to make sure they were ready for the next day. To save time, I don’t clean my brushes nearly as often. I barely get around to dampening my beautyblender in all honesty. Here are the products I used and the way I applied to get this look:


Face / Lip Products:

Eye Products:

Okay, so first I always do my base/face makeup. I start off by hydrating my skin with the Hangover Rx primer and then curl my lashes. Next up is foundation and concealer, applying both with a beautyblender. Once my concealer is on and blended, I immediately set the concealer with the Born This Way setting powder, followed by the Cover Fx foundation powder to set the rest of my face and blend the foundation down to my neck for a seamless look. I keep the “bake” under my eyes for any eyeshadow fallout so it’s easy to wipe away (same goes for mascara that gets on your cheeks!).

Next I fill in my brows with the Colourpop pencil and spooly them out so they’re pretty even. I don’t use a brow gel to hold them in place because I usually take my makeup off once I get home from my outing. Using the Tarte eyeshadow palette, I do my eye makeup: base is a color closest to my skin, followed by a transition brown in the crease using windshield wiper motions with a blending brush, then I mix two of the pinks together to build up the color in a crease using a different blending brush and lastly I use a glittery gold on my lid. To make the color really pop I spray my brush with a bit of setting spray to enhance the color. I take a clean blending brush to blend the crease colors upward to get a full eye look.

Lastly is the remainder of my face. I wipe away all the bake with the foundation brush I used to apply the Cover Fx powder. Then, I grab a contour brush and apply the Make Up For Ever contour to right under my cheekbones and on my jawline (applying to the jawline helps me look skinnier! 😉 ). Then I apply highlighter on my cheeks, brow and on my Cupid’s bow. Last but certainly not least I apply my lipliner, liquid lipstick and set everything with setting spray.

This is definitely my go-to for quick and easy makeup for a date night, or just running errands.

What’s your go-to makeup routine? I’d love to know in the comments.

The Perfect Spring & Summer Accessory

With spring finally here (I mean, we’ll still probably get rain, but oh well…) I’m excited to start dressing Jadyn in more outfits that are bright and colorful. She has so many outfits that I’m eager to put her in, accessorize and–of course–snap a photo.

One of my favorite Etsy shops to purchase hair accessories for my daughter is Lucy Belly Designs. Owned by my friend Nina, her shop features the most luxurious leather bows, clips and hair ties for little ladies, cuffs for tweens and moms and since she opened shop last year, Nina now offers bow ties for little (and grown!) gentlemen. Nina’s shop is truly amazing.

My latest purchase just arrived yesterday! One of my favorite pieces is the Oversized Jade Bow Mommy + Me set I bought a couple months ago. I purchased it in the color Sky and I can’t wait to match with my little nugget. I also had a custom order made featuring what I like to call a “lady bug” bow. She can make anything custom–all you have to do is message her on Etsy and she’ll work with you to make a one of a kind item.

Here’s my latest trio of Lucy Belly Designs bows:

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This is the Jade bow (named after my daughter Jadyn!) in orchid, the Aurora bow in quartz and the Sienna bow in tangerine. All classic sizes and I’m obsessed with these colors!

Listen, I’m not getting free bows for writing this review for Lucy Belly Designs. I have purchased almost every single one of Jadyn’s LBD bows (except for my baby shower gift set) and Nina’s bows are worth my money. I mean, can you see that I’m obsessed with these?

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She has a special offer going on right now, just in time for Mother’s Day. Use code LBDMOM15 now through May 5th and receive 15% off and ensure on-time delivery for Mother’s Day!

Have you purchased any Lucy Belly Designs bows? Snap a photo and share in the comments!

Lucy Belly Designs Etsy Store Launch!

I am so excited to share the fantastic news that one of my closest friends, Nina, has  launched her Etsy store Lucy Belly Designs!!

Nina designs luxury leather bows for all ages and those who just want to rock a bow or bowtie! A little background about Nina straight from her Etsy page:

I started this shop to give me the creative outlet I crave while still having the flexibility needed to be a full time mom to my baby girl Lucy.

My background is in corporate retail, specifically home decor buying and product development. I started working with leather in 2013, and trained under Beatrice Amblard, who hails from The house of Hermès, for two years. At Amblard Leather Atelier I learned all of the skills needed to create works of art with leather. While I may not be creating handbags (as originally planned), I still utilize these skills when creating my bows. From pattern making to, cutting, gluing, sewing, and finishing; everything is done by hand and with the techniques I learned at Amblard. I use a variety of tools from both the U.S. and France. The luxury leathers I use are also sourced from the U.S., France, and Italy.

Now that you all know we’re having a baby girl, I cannot wait to get my hands on these bows! My little princess will definitely have a better hair accessories collection than I do.

What I like about Lucy Belly Designs is that Nina will craft bows for any age, so you’re not just limited to babies and toddlers. Her designs are reasonably priced, amazing quality and are great gifts!

Bow ties for the little man in your life will be launching in the store soon!

Check out the photos below to see some of the designs and her adorable daughter Lucy modeling the bows!

I hope that you check out Lucy Belly Designs and get your hands on some of these bows!

– all photos courtesy of Nina

Pregnancy Do’s and Don’ts: Part 1

After finding out I was pregnant the first thing I did (aside from telling my husband, of course) was go straight to Google. What can I eat? What should I avoid? Are manicures and pedicures okay? What about wearing makeup? Can I have feta cheese in my salads?

Great thing about Google is that you can typically find answers to most questions. Bad thing about Google is that you can also scare yourself just by reading the comments other moms or moms-to-be have left on certain sites. That’s when I stopped the researching and made a list to ask my doctor at my first appointment two weeks later.

While there isn’t a lot I’ve had to give up there are a few things I have had to completely cut out of my life for the meantime (list to expand per series):

  • Soda. I am the person that enjoys a mini-can of Coke Zero at dinner almost every night. Giving up soda or only limiting it to when I feel really sick has been somewhat difficult.
  • 3-cups of coffee. I’d usually have three cups of coffee per day. Now I’m only allowing my self either one cup of freshly brewed coffee or a cappuccino from my local Starbucks or Peet’s. Why cappuccino? Less caffeine content than in a brewed cup of coffee. Or, if I’m feeling really excited about not drinking coffee (said no one ever), I go for a cup or two of decaf.
  • Tuna salad. I absolutely love albacore tuna. Tuna salad sandwiches and tuna melts have been a hard thing to give up.
  • Moldy cheeses. Yes, this means blue cheese, goat cheese, any unprocessed cheeses… But what about feta? It’s my favorite of the cheeses and can be considered a moldy cheese since it’s crumbly. I asked my doctor and she said that as long as it has been pasteurized (as all milk and cheese products should be while you’re pregnant), then I’m OK to have small amounts. Phew! That was a close one.
  • Wine. Duh. Need I say more? I’m counting down the months to when I can bust out a big glass of red wine and truly enjoy it. That being said, it probably won’t be as exciting as I’m imagining, since I’ll be breastfeeding for as long as possible, and I’d hate to “pump and dump.”
  • High-heeled shoes. Sticking to flats and chucks. Why? Because I can be somewhat of a klutz when I’m not pregnant and I want to avoid any chance of falling.
  • Certain body washes & face washes. I was using Dove body wash for the longest time mainly because I love the way my skin feels afterwards. I then started reading the ingredients and realized they aren’t the best for your skin when you’re pregnant. So, I’ve since switched to Aveeno and I’ve been loving it! The oatmeal wash is absolutely amazing and smells divine. As for face wash, I was using Proactiv for my acne breakouts and have since had to stop due to the Retin-A-like chemicals in it. I’ll go back eventually, but cutting out a majority of processed sugars (except for the occasional Oreo or ice cream binge), my skin is looking pretty good. I’m sticking to natural products as much as I can.

Now, if you know me, you know that I absolutely love makeup. I love watching YouTube tutorials, I have my own makeup blog and it’s a collection I keep up-to-date (my husband collects Lego, I collect makeup of all shapes, kinds and sizes). Makeup – and mani/pedis – were two things I really couldn’t bare to part with. Parting with my acrylic nails was hard enough (due to the acetone nail techs use to remove them), so having to give up my favorite makeup brands was something I wasn’t willing to do.

Lucky for me, since I 99.9% wear cruelty-free and/or vegan makeup brands, I didn’t have to part with any of my makeup products (with the exception of my MAC Russian Red lipstick – which I only wear during winter anyway). The brands I wear most often are tarte cosmetics, Too Faced Cosmetics, Urban Decay and ColourPop. When pregnant, one must steer clear of parabens and phthalates, which thankfully, these brands don’t put in their products! At least, I haven’t found these chemicals when reading the ingredients label.

Manicures and pedicures are also something that I’ve struggled to do less of. I love a good pedicure and miss my acrylic nails, so when I’m able to schedule a mani/pedi, I’m excited. I’ve had to watch out for nail polishes, too. Most nail polish brands feature toluene, phthalate and formaldehyde, so when I was trying to find a subtle pink color, I was looking for brands that carry nail polishes that are 7-free. 7-free nail polishes mean that they don’t have seven harmful chemicals (toluene, DBP, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, TPHP and xylene). The best brand I’ve found that actually lasts a long time and has great color payoff is Zoya. Check them out.

I know this is a lot of information, but I’m curious to learn about what you have had to give up or didn’t give up when you were pregnant! Leave a comment below. 

When is the Perfect Time to Buy Maternity Jeans?

When is the right time to buy the first pair of maternity pants or jeans? That’s a question I’ve struggled with since about week 8. At week 8 you’re not quite showing yet, but regular jeans or pants start to get uncomfortable. That being said, I stuck it out like a trooper till about week 10 when I officially switched to legging central. Luckily, it’s summertime so capri leggings are super lightweight and comfortable. But I am now at the point where I’d like to start wearing jeans again. Enter maternity jeggings. 

I haven’t “popped” quite yet, but needed to buy a pair since pants are just too uncomfortable. Here’s where Isabel Maternity by Ingrid & Isabel come in. Recently launched – and exclusive to Target – Isabel Maternity is a fantastic line. My local Target hadn’t put out the full line when I went over the weekend, but I was able to find a pair of dark wash jeggings that are so cute! I purchased the Maternity Crossover Panel Skinny Jeans in Dark Wash and absolutely love them. For a curvy and short gal, these are the perfect length and very flattering. My tush still looks good.

These dark wash jeggings are still a little too big for me as I haven’t quite expanded enough to really make them fit well, but as an easy an inexpensive alternative to high-end maternity jeans, these are great. They only run $34.99!

The entire Isabel Maternity by Ingrid & Isabel line is trendy and affordable. It features a vast array of styles including dresses, tops, post-partum belly bands and comfortwear, leggings, jeans, activewear, nursing and intimates and more. Once the collection has been out for a little longer – and I’m showing more – I’ll definitely be going back to pick up another pair and a few dresses for wedding season coming up!

What’s your go-to maternity line? I’d love to know! Leave a comment.