Thursday, September 24, 2009

Mineral Makeup for Your Birthday

Affordable Mineral Makeup™ wants to celebrate your birthday! Email birthdayclub@affordablemineralmakeup.com with the following information to join the free birthday club:
Name
Date of birth
(do not need to include year)

On your birthday, be on the look out for your birthday gift from Affordable Mineral Makeup™. :)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Win FREE Makeup & Jewelry

I am helping one of my dearest friends, Julie D., celebrate her 40th birthday. She's hosting a huge birthday bash over on her Mom2Ways blog (yes, she's one of my after-infertility-mom sisters, with her family growing through both the blessings of adoption and birth). She's giving away over 20 wonderful prizes to blog readers this month and one of those prizes is a makeup bag stuffed with Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and some Gurrlie Girl™ jewelry. To enter, head over to http://mom2ways.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthday-bash-giveaway-post.html and leave a comment for item 22 (or any other great prizes you would like to win).



Happy Birthday, Julie!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Beauty in the Shadows

Have you ever heard someone describe a time of trial as, “living under the shadow of [xyz]”? My shadows have included infertility, grief, depression, chronic illness and more. I'm sure you can plug in your own "xyz"s; maybe cancer, abuse, loneliness

Job and the Psalmist talk of “the valley of the shadow of death.” Shadows impress a dark picture of gloom and heaviness in my mind.

Hope demands I give shadows another look... [To read the remainder of this article, please visit (In)Courage where you can also enter to win a copy of my book, Hannah's Hope.]


Keep scrolling here for a great list of verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life.

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One way God seems to work in my life is through “theme word seasons,” specific life lessons He wants to drive home with me and situations that bring those themes to light over and over until I finally begin to grasp a small portion of what He longs to teach me. Wait resounded in our hearts through the loss of our business and the struggle for my husband to find a new career that truly fit, all in the midst of infertility's endless cycles of hoping and hurting, wanting and worrying, coping and crying.

Waiting has given way to new horizons, a series of theme seasons too numerous to list here, but with one of the most recent being Hope. And then to Hope, God’s spent this year adding the active pursuit of Joy to my life as well. Here are some of my favorite resources from these three themes:

Wait:
- Hannah’s Prayer Ministries offers support through fertility challenges, including infertility or the death of a baby at any time from conception through early infancy.
- A Graceful Waiting by Jan Frank
- The Wait Poem by Russell Kelfer (Truly beautiful book, with a written message even more powerful than the photos! This poem was life-changing for me and has been impactful in many lives.)

Hope:
- Out of the Valley Ministries, Inc. Postpartum Depression Support
- Grieving the Child I Never Knew by Kathe Wunnenberg
- Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss by me, Jennifer Saake :)

Joy:
- Rest Ministries provides support in the face of chronic pain and illness, including National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week each Sept.
- Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times by Holley Gerth
- The book of Philippians, written by the apostle Paul.

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies” Philippians 4:8-9. (MSG)



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Verses that reflect God's sheltering shadows in my life:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” James 1:17. (NIV)


“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3. (NIV)

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” Isaiah 9:2. (NIV)


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" Isaiah 40:31. (NIV)


"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" Micah 7:7. (NIV)

"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield" Psalm 33:20. (NIV)


"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God..." Psalm 40:1-2, (NIV)

“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light…

“He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead…

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…

“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love…

“You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life…”
- from Lamentations 3 (NIV)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Healthy Passion

It took getting really sick for me to stop and think about making healthier choices for my body. My chronic illness has taken a lot away from me, but it has given me new things as well, including different perspectives on life and even new passions. I would love to have you visit my Harvesting Hope from Heartache™ blog to listen to a radio interview I did yesterday. One of the things I talked about there was how chronic illness lead me to investigate natural beauty alternatives and ultimately to create this Inner Beauty Girlz blog. :)

http://HarvestingHope.blogspot.com/2009/09/crisis-chronic-2.html

Monday, September 14, 2009

Healthy Hair Care

I've been trying to learn about natural hair care for some time now and keep coming up rather short in the information I've been able to track down. Today I happened upon several articles from dkMommySpot and want to link them here as much as for my own future reference as for your information. As I take the time to play and experiment with these myself, I'll post my own update results in the future. :)

How to Darken (and Fight Gray) Hair Naturally with rosemary and sage

Apparently the hair darkening tip led the blog author into trying No Shampoo methods for hair cleaning and she posted several updates:
- Personal No 'Poo Challenge
- Day 12, Is Essential Oil the Answer?
- To 'Poo or Not to 'Poo 3 week update
- Sane Jane or Dirty Hairy? 5 week update, raw eggs, still experimenting
- Almost Threw in the Towel 4-month update, baking soda scrub, apple cider vinegar, and some lessons learned the hard way
Wow, I'm eager to do some more reasearch and maybe give "No 'Poo" a try myself. Any readers with experience in this area?

And one more post on hair from her page is this simple tip for Homemade Hairspray the Really Works

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Save 10 Give 10

From now until midnight (EST) Labor Day Monday, Sept 7, 2009, you can get 10% off your entire order of Affordable Mineral Makeup™ at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com by using coupon code laborday09 at checkout. But the good news doesn't stop there!

You may or may not know that Affordable Mineral Makeup™ donates at least 10% of all profits to a variety of organizations and causes. Typically it is up to the company owner, Tara Burner, to decide where she will direct these donations, but for this special sale she will allow you to specify where the donations from your sale go, from among a pre-selected group of charities, simply by writing the name of the organization you have chosen in the comments section when you place your order.

It's a win-win with a 10% savings for you AND a 10% donation given to the charity you select. Your organization choises are:

Way FM ~ Christian radio
Compassion International ~ releasing children from poverty
Heifer.org ~ helping end hunger
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital ~ finding cures, saving children


In review, go to www.InnerBeautyGirls.com where you will "Shop" through the link toward the bottom of the page. Once you have everything in your shopping cart, head to check out and use coupon code laborday09 to get your 10% off, then in the comments section type in the name of one of the above organizations so they will receive the same amount you just saved as a donation from Affordable Mineral Makeup™! (If you don’t list one of these companies, Tara will pick one and still donate on your behalf.) If you get a chance to drop me an email at InnerBeauty @ AffordableMineralMakeup .com or leave me a note here, I would love to hear what charity you selected when you placed your order as well. :)

So go, shop, save and help now! :)

Tease

I've saved the best for last, at least as far as my personal preferences go. There are 5 new shades available from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ this fall! I've introduced you to a new one each day this week, but this one is my personal favorite. You can see the entire line at InnerBeautyGirls.com by clicking on the "shop" button right now. :)

Tease

Tease is a fun shade of magenta, pink, sheen. Can be applied lightly or in layers or wet for darker, more dramatic look.

$7.79 for 5g sifter jar (1g net product weight) or select from select from 9 other sizing and packaging options!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Drenched

There are 5 new shades available from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ this fall! I'm introducing you to one new one each day this week, or you can jump right to InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" button to see them all right now. :)

Drenched

Drenched is a shade of various pearlescent blues that can go on lightly or apply few layers or wet for deeper more dramatic look.

$7.79 for 5g sifter jar (1g net product weight) or select from select from 9 other sizing and packaging options!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Drama Queen

There are 5 new shades available from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ this fall! I'm introducing you to one new one each day this week, or you can jump right to InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" button to see them all right now. :)

Drama Queen

Drama Queen offers an an array of pink, purple and gold tones.

$7.79 for 5g sifter jar (1g net product weight) or select from select from 9 other sizing and packaging options!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Coral

There are 5 new shades available from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ this fall! I'm introducing you to one new one each day this week, or you can jump right to InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" button to see them all right now. :)

Coral

Coral is a pearlescent coral shade that has many uses. Excelent shade for eyes, cheeks, highlighter.

$7.79 for 5g sifter jar (1g net product weight) or select from select from 9 other sizing and packaging options!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

New Mineral Makeup Color: Smooch

There are 5 new shades available from Affordable Mineral Makeup™ this fall! I'll introduce you to one each day the rest of this week, or you can jump right to InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" button to see them all right now. :)

Smooch

Smooch is a delightful mixture of violet and purple with a touch of sheen.
Can go from light to dark if applied in layers or wet.

$7.79 for 5g sifter jar (1g net product weight) or select from select from 9 other sizing and packaging options!

Sept. Herb Specials

Lots of great deals at Mountain Rose Herbs this month! To see more details about any of these items, please visit http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/cgi-bin/Main.pl?AID=101123&BID=676 (I greatly appreciate it when you always enter the site through my affiliate link) then select the "Monthly Specials" tab near the top of the page. Here are some highlights from this month's discounts. :)

15% Off!
Mint Tea

Contains: organic Peppermint, organic Spearmint and organic Peppermint flavoring.
3 oz bulk
Regular price - $4.50
Sale price - $3.82


25% Off!
Vanilla Flavoring Extract

Contains 35% Organic Ethyl Alcohol
2 oz bottle
Regular price - $12.50
Sale price - $9.37


20% Off!
Illipe Butter

"Cold pressed and rendered from whole Illipe nuts (Shorea stenoptera) this exotic butter... quite comparable to cocoa butter in its constituents, and is beneficial for the treatment of numerous skin and hair disorders."
8 oz container
Regular price - $8.50
Sale price - $6.80


15% Off!
Tea Press/Carafe

"French design with quality stainless steel filter, chrome plunger unit and Pyrex glass carafe."
Extra Large 48oz design
Regular price - $40.00
Sale price - $34.00


20% Off!
Soybean Oil

"High in natural source lecitihin, sterolins, and vitamin E, this oil makes a great base for your products which are being created for outer epidermal healing."
16 oz bottle
Regular price - $6.50
Sale price - $5.20


15% Off!
Spice Bottle

"Historically correct spice jars as they were once used over 100 years ago. These traditional spice jars are manufactured in Spain from 100% recycled glass and each is accompanied with a cork top."
European 90 cc and they hold between 1-2 ounces of dry material and 2-3 ounces of liquid. Dimensions- 1 1/2 x 3 1/2
Regular price - $1.50
Sale price - $1.27


25% Off!
Black Pepper essential oil

1/2 oz bottle
Regular price - $8.50
Sale price - $6.37


20% Off!
Savory, Winter essential oil

1/2 oz bottle
Regular price - $8.00
Sale price - $6.40


20% Off!
Cinnamon (Cassia) Sticks

2.75 inch sticks/contains 3% oil
1 lb bulk
Regular price - $5.00
Sale price - $4.00


25% Off!
Ginkgo Leaf

1 lb bulk
Regular price - $8.00
Sale price - $6.00


20% Off!
Stevia Leaf

1 lb bulk
Regular price - $9.00
Sale price - $7.20


25% Off!
Devil's Claw Root

1 lb bulk
Regular price - $11.00
Sale price - $8.25


55% Off (Clearance)!
Cornflowers (With Calyx)

1lb
Regular price - $40.00
Sale price - $18.00


Mountain Rose Herbs. A Herbs, Health and Harmony C