How not to look like a drag queen when applying makeup.

Gain Knowledge on how to keep from looking like a completely different person. Do you wear too much foundation? Is it too dark or too pale for your face? Do you try new eye shadow looks and it ends up looking horrible? In this article you will learn how applying the wrong blends of eye shadow or the wrong color foundation is a common mistake when doing your makeup and what to do to fix it.

Over the past years, make-up has developed more and more. People have came up with new ways to be different. They create different eye shadow looks and have their whole face looking so glamorous. Some even post their work on YouTube for others to try out. Most beginners try to recreate but it never turns out right. 

How do I know what foundation to use?

First you have to think about your skin type. Whether your face is naturally oily or it is mostly dry, there is a foundation for it. It is not all about brands, cheaper brands from Walmart can be just as good as brands from Sephora. When you apply foundation, it does not take much for good coverage. Most people pack it on and it can result in their face looking caked or the foundation cracking on the face. The best cheap foundation I use is Fit Me Matte Poreless, and the most expensive brand I have used is Kat Von D for a long-lasting stay. 

How do I get the right color?  
When going to purchase foundation, most places have ones you can test on your skin. You get a little on your finger and place it on your face. If you already have makeup on and do not want to mess with it then place it on your neck and see if it matches. You want your foundation to match your neck because that is where most people have trouble blending. It is either too orange and leaves a weird neck line or it is too pale. When you go to take a picture with flash and you look like a ghost, then it is most likely too pale for your face. You should go up a shade until you find the perfect one that matches your skin tone.

Why Eye shadow?

Eye shadow is applied to create the illusion that someones' eye is bigger or smaller depending on how they apply it. It can also compliment the color of someones' eyes. If you have brown eyes, gold or light browns bring out the color more and if you have hazel, it makes the green stand out. For blue eyes, burgundy or violets can make the blue flourish.  Some people like to go beyond those options and use bright and wild colors. In the end, eye shadow really adds depth and creates more attention to the eyes. 

How to apply a fun eye shadow look.

When getting ready to apply eye shadow, you must first think about what colors you want to match or will it go with your outfit that day. What palettes have good pigment, bright colors or nude colored palettes. What are the best brushes to use with each shade you apply. Brushes are a huge part of the perfect look. Here is a step by step of a eye shadow look I have done before and loved.

1. use the concealer of your choice, I prefer the Tarte Shape Tape concealer, and spread it on your eyelid evenly. Use a beauty blender or brush to spread out.
2. use a flat type brush and pack on a dark purple in the upper lash-line, I use the Morphe James Charles pallet shade Escape. Blend upwards with a fluffy brush.
3. go in with a light purple, shade Single, and blend in the crease and with the dark purple shade still blending upwards. 
4. pack in an orange ,shade 518, into the crease. It is a big jump from purple to orange so pack on slowly and lightly. Blend upwards using back and forth strokes.
5. once the orange and purple are blended, go in with a yellow, shade Bee. Blend yellow up below brow bone. Make sure there is a transition between each color. It should look like a sunshine between the yellow and orange. 
6. blend everything more, add more color if anything looks faded. then add a shiny purple, shade Artistry, to the eyelid where the dark purple is. 
7. Clean up around eyes and apply foundation.
8. For the lower lash-line, use a small fluffy brush and add the dark purple lightly. go in with the orange and then yellow. You do not want a strong pigment. 
9. Finally, apply mascara and add lashes if wanted. 

Practice makes perfect

Just remember to keep practicing. You may still mess up ,but that is fine. You do not always have to make it look exactly like the video or the way my image looks. You should add your own spin to it and make it yours. So continue to try new looks and do not be afraid to try bright colors. Using the techniques I explained, you can confidently walk around with the hottest look.   

 

How to Bake Cream Cheese Pound Cake Cupcakes with Royal Icing

Learn to bake delicious cupcakes and top it off with sweet icing!

Do you ever crave sweets and want to bake something that you don't bake very often? I often get a sweet tooth and bake anything that sounds good. It tends to happen more often than I'd like! Read this article and it will teach you to make something very tasteful. This recipe may end up being your top notch bake good.

How Do You Prep to Bake a Cake?

When prepping to bake a cake, have a clean space to work in. Get the correct cake pans that is needed. Also, make sure you have the right ingredients and the right measurements. Not having those things can make a bad and not very tasteful cake. Lastly, make sure to turn on the oven ahead of time to speed up the process so you can put the first batch in right away.

The Ingredients are the Most Important!

When getting your ingredients at the store or you may have them at home, make sure they are the brand the recipe calls for if it specifies. Believe it or not, it does matter! The ingredients this recipe calls for is:

1. 1 1/2 cups butter, softened (notice that it didn't say salted or unsalted)
2. 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3. 3 cups sugar
4. 6 large eggs
5. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6. 3 cups all-purpose flour
7. 1/8 teaspoon salt (when adding salt, you normally don't need salted butter)

Before starting to mix the ingredients, make sure the butter, cream cheese, and eggs are all at room temperature. It makes them mix easier and faster.

Clean your space: 

After each use of each ingredient, throw away what needs to be thrown away and put the ingredients back in their place. This can help by saving time after you get done baking to put away the ingredients and to help keep your space you are baking in clean.

What to Mix? When?

When baking a cake, the mixtures you do one at a time and the order you do it in does matter! I never understood this until I really started baking. Have your electric mixer ready. Also, as said before, make sure you pre-heat your oven before you get started. This speeds up things a little faster!

• Beat the softened cream cheese and butter at a medium speed for two minutes or until creamy. When creamy, gradually add the sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the sugar is good and within the mixture. Add the six eggs one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears. Add vanilla, mixing well. 

• Combine flour and salt; gradually add to the mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Make sure it is the perfect, creamy batter. 

• Place cupcake liners in the cupcake pan. Fill the cupcake liner up a little more than halfway. Bake 35 to 45 minutes. When cupcakes are done, place them on a cooling rack. Repeat until all batter is gone.

Royal Icing

The icing is the perfect addition!

While letting the cupcakes cool and in the same electric mixer, you can now start on the icing. This icing is very sweet and makes a lot, so you may want to half the icing recipe and only ice a few of the cupcakes. If not, make the whole recipe!

The Ingredients:

Decide if you want to half the recipe or make the whole recipe. If halving, half out each ingredient needed.

1. 2 lbs. powdered sugar
2. 5 tablespoons meringue powder
3. 2 teaspoon vanilla
4. 1/2 to 3/4 water

Instructions to Mix the Icing:

• Mix the powdered sugar and meringue powder together.

• With mixer on low, add 1/2 cup water and vanilla to the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Let mix really good.

• Add remaining water until mixture reaches a thick, honey consistency. Turn mixture speed to medium and beat for two to four minutes until thick and fluffy.

After the Icing is Done:

When the cupcakes are cooled, add the delicious, sweet icing to the cupcakes. If interested, you can add food coloring to the icing to make different colored icing. 

I hope the instructions to both of these recipes will help in any and every way to make delicious pound cake cupcakes with sweet, creamy royal icing. 

How to Improve as a Counterpuncher in Tennis

How to improve your strengths and weaknesses if playing as a Counterpuncher in Tennis.

What is a Counterpuncher?

The greatest strength of a counterpuncher tennis player is their consistency. This type of strategic player acknowledges that the majority of points won in tennis are because of opponent errors. To counter this, a counterpuncher focuses on simple low-risk shots to lull their opponent into making an error. A counterpuncher will keep their returns as lobs in the back of the court. These types of shots allow for a smaller margin of error for a counterpuncher. A more skilled counterpuncher will move from high and deep balls to strategically placed lobs that make their opponent run all over the court. A counterpuncher is the most patient and calm of any of the strategic playing styles of tennis.

Steps to Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

1. Record the player during a match
2. Watch the match a couple of times
3. While watching the match, take notes of common errors
4. Document any strategy that helped win a point
5. Notice if form dropped at any point- if so, why?

Watching ones gameplay will allow a large insight into a strategies strengths and weaknesses, especially if making note of everything listed above. 

How to Improve as a Counterpuncher

• Identify the weaknesses of the strategy 
• Improve on the weaknesses
• Identify the strengths of the strategy
• Improve the strengths 

Identify the Weaknesses of the Counterpuncher

1.  Net Game
2. Continuous Forward and Backward Movement

The net game of a counterpuncher is a very neglected area of their playing. A counterpuncher's comfort zone is the baseline, so being rushed to the net will increase the margin of error for a counterpuncher. With a low margin of error being the counterpuncher's entire strategy, the net becomes the main weakness for a counterpuncher. 

Forward and backward motion is challenging for any player and rushes a variety of shots instead of just the deep lobs that a counterpuncher prefers. A lob in tennis has the lowest error percentage of any other shot. Forward and Backward movements will not always allow for the counterpuncher to hit a lob, making the counterpuncher's probability of error increase again. 

Improve the Weaknesses of the Counterpuncher

The identification of the strategic weaknesses of a counterpuncher allows plans to target the weaknesses and eliminate them. In order to stop the net game from being a weakness, the counter puncher will need to practice their net game and rushing of the net. There are ways to do this on and off of the court. When on the court, a counterpuncher can strengthen their net game by swapping between baseline and net for every point. This will give more experience at the net and more familiarity- leading to a lower error percentage for the counterpuncher. Off of the court, sprinting will help the counterpuncher reach the net faster. Being able to reach the net faster will allow the counterpuncher to take their time on how they hit their return. With less of a rush on their return, the percentage of error will, again, decrease. 

Continuous forward and backward motions increase the pressure on a counterpuncher, making the counterpuncher branch out from their normal lob shot. To decrease the pressure on a counterpuncher, they will need to become more familiar with the movement. To become more familiar with the forward and backward movement, all the counterpuncher has to do is repeat the motion. This can either be done by having someone hit short balls followed by deep shots on the court or just by working out by sprinting forward and backward.

Identify the Strengths of a Counterpuncher

1.  High Endurance
2. Great Placement of the Ball

A counterpuncher is used to long rallies of patiently waiting for their opponent to mess up. This has led to an endurance unlike most other strategic playing styles. A counterpuncher is not scared of continuously running side-to-side returning every shot. While all playing styles in tennis require some endurance, a lot of the other styles focus more on sprinting. Sprinting tires a player out more, allowing the high endurance of counterpunchers to become an extreme advantage.

A counterpuncher uses the placement of their returns to their utmost advantage. Through the placement of their balls, a counterpuncher is able to run their opponent all over the court and tire them out.  Their placement of the ball also allows for the counterpuncher to have a lower percentage of out balls. Without accurate placement, the
counterpuncher would not be able to rely on their lack of errors to win a match.

Expand on the Strengths of a Counterpuncher

Endurance is something every athlete works towards as it allows them to outlast opponents. Counterpunchers outlasting their opponents is essential to the success of their playing style. Therefore, endurance is very much valued. In order to strengthen endurance, the counterpuncher can do long distance running. In terms of increasing endurance, long distance running is the easiest option. Another common way tennis players increase their endurance is through swimming laps. It is important to remember that running and swimming need to be completed daily to increase endurance. Increasing the length ran and the number of laps swam over time will help to increase one's endurance even more. 

The placement of the ball in tennis is not something that can really be practiced off of the tennis court. A tennis ball machine and a traffic cone can increase the accuracy of a counterpuncher's ball. Setting up the traffic cone in a target area will help to visualize the area where the ball should go. Using the tennis ball machine can give a rapid and accurate placement of a ball for the tennis player to continuously practice their placement. If one does not have access to a tennis ball machine, anyone, experience or inexperience, can toss the ball to around the same area for the counterpuncher to practice returning the ball in the same area every time. Spending lots of time practicing aim will gradually better the accuracy of one's returns.  

     How to barrel race 

What is barrel racing?

Barrel racing is a sport that involves you, your horse, and 3 barrels. The 3 barrels are in the shape of a cloverleaf. Your horse can either run to the left or right, whichever works for them and they are comfortable with.

What you need to barrel race?

In order to barrel race you need to have a saddle pad, saddle, a bit, reins, bell boots and splint boots. The saddle pad is to protect the horses withers so when you ride them the saddle doesn’t rub the hide off the horse.  You have to put different bits in the horse's mouth to see which one they work best with, that when you go to a horse show they will work right. You also need a tie down to put on the horses nose so it will keep their head down when they ride. 

Things to wear to a barrel race

There are different types of barrel races, horse shows all you have to wear a T-shirt and boot cut jeans. Sometimes if it is a fundraiser show they will give you a shirt and you have to wear that shirt in order to run. Normal horse shows you don’t have to wear a hat but sometimes they require you to wear one. You want to also make sure you have boots to ride in. 

Essentials you will need at the show 

I always make a list of things that I need before I start loading my horse trailer up. It is just the basic things that I take every time, unless it is a big show I will need extra stuff. So my list normally looks like this: 

• Water bucket
• Bell boots
• Saddle pad
• Saddle
• Bits
• My boots
• Whip
• Money
• Horses 

I always make sure I have those things because it would not be a good show day if I did not have some of those things with me. 

 What to do when practicing 

Normally when I practice, I always long trot my horses 3 times each way around my arena. Then I loap them in circles until I think they are good and warm. Then once I am done warming them up, I set my barrel pattern up and take them around it 3 times. Here are the steps I do when I am practicing:

1. I take the horse to the right, make him turn the barrel 2 or 3 times around then trot him to the next barrel and do the same thing. 
2. Then once I do that 2 or 3 times I walk him around the arena so he can cool down.
3. Then I breeze him through it once to see how he improved. 
4. After that I walk him around one more time, then proceed to walk him through the pattern slowly. 
5. Then I am done. 

Basics of barrel racing

In order to barrel race, you have to make sure you know what you and your horse are doing before you attempt it. It takes a lot of practice to get it down pat. You have to make sure your horse knows which way to turn around the barrel the right way. If your horse turns to the right, you are going to make one right turn then two left turns. If you turn to the left you will turn once to the left then two right turns. The pattern is never the same size anywhere you go. So it is important that you practice your horse on the pattern of different sizes. The pattern that we use is called cloverleaf. 

Safeties of barrel racing

Most people wear helmets when they ride because barrel racing can be a dangerous sport. Your horse can slip and fall on you. They can throw you into a fence, over a fence or under a fence. So to keep yourself safe wear a helmet. Another one is people put rubber bands on their feet to keep their feet in the stirrups so they do not come out. Then people also wear knee braces over their knees to protect them from the barrels because the barrels, most of the time, are metal. 

How to improve your mistakes

If your horse is not working how you want it to work, the main thing to do is go home and work very slowly to fix the mistakes your horse was making. I normally use a bit that I do not ride them in at horse shows to practice them in it. The bit I use is called draw rein bit, it makes my horses more bendy in the neck. That way around the barrels that will not be so stiff. I use split reins to work them in, I just do the basic workouts, for instance: legging them up, side passing them, bending their heads back towards my foot, then I make my horses bend their head down to touch their chest.

How to Cook a Steak on the Grill

A basic guide to grilling steak on a grill

Cooking a steak on the grill is a key element at cookouts, Family BBQ's, and American dinners all over the country. It is not a difficult process but one you should plan out, especially for your first time attempting, so all of your efforts are not wasted on an inedible piece of meat.

Picking The Cut of Meat to Cook

Steak is cut from a cow in many different forms and since they are such a large animal there is a large number of cuts you can choose to grill. Your options you can pick will rely greatly on your butcher or supermarket and what they offer to sell you. Some meat markets have pre-cut steaks already packaged for sale or will do custom cuts by request where you can have them cut you a steak any way you like.  Some options of cuts include but are not limited to rib eye, sirloin, flank, and filet Mignon. Also, when choosing your cut of meat, you will need to consider how many people you will need to cook for as some cuts can get very expensive. Filet mignon is an extremely high-quality cut, but if you're cooking for more than a couple of people then you may want to consider a cut such as sirloin which is still a good choice and will not cost you as much money.

Preparing the steak for cooking

When you are ready to grill the meat, it is crucial that you prepare and season the steak to ensure a flavorful steak. How you season the steak and how much seasoning you use is ultimately up to you. Some people chose to be very conservative with their seasoning, such as just a pinch of salt and pepper, and let the natural flavor of the meat come out while others will cover the meat in their own blend of spices or a store-bought mixture. Set the meat out, covered, at least 30 minutes before you gill to let thaw and reduce the chance that the outside burns before the middle is done. This time is also perfect for seasoning the meat because you will want to have time to sit on the meat for 20 minutes prior to grilling. Allow the meat to soften on the outside before rubbing the seasoning in to allow it to stick to it better and not just fall off.

Prepare the grilling surface

When grilling, juices from the meat, fat, charred meat, and other substances will fall off of what you're cooking and onto the cooking surface. This is normal but over time it can become pretty disgusting, especially between times of using the grill when it is allowed to dry and harden. In order to have a sanitary and safe steak you must clean the grill.

Steps to cleaning a grill

1. Turn all the burners on high for 10-15 minutes.
2. Turn the gas off and scrub the grate with a grill brush.
3. Spray a grill cleaning compound on the grate and allow to soak according to directions on bottle.
4. Scrub the grate one more time with the compound still on it.
5. Rinse and wipe the surface with a wet cloth to remove any bristles that was left by the brush.
6. Brush the surface with vegetable or olive oil using a basting brush to prevent future sticking and build up. 

Cooking the Steak

Grilling the steak is where you can go from having a great steak to having an undesirable one, and it can be the easiest time in the process to mess up . First, you must decide how "done" you want your steak to be cooked. There are different options for you to chose from which range from least to most cooked. Three most popular options are rare(135°), medium(160°), and well-done(170°). Rare will be the juiciest and most flavorful, but it will have the most blood still in it.  Well-done will be dryer, but it will be completely cooked with no blood.  Medium is a well balance choice that includes a little bit of both rare and well-done.

Steps to grilling

1. Turn the grill to high heat for 10-15 minutes with no meat on it.
2. Place the meat on the grate and make sure not to move it once its on.
3. As soon as the meat is placed on the grate, turn the grill to low heat.
4. In a spot on the grill where there is no meat, turn the heat on high.
5. Flip the meat after 5 minutes to the new hot spot and immediately turn to low.
6. Flip the meat every 3-5 minutes keeping the heat on low during the remaining cooking time.
7.  Periodically check the temperature with a meat thermometer until the inside of the steak reaches the temperature you consider done.
8. When the steaks reach the correct temperature, place them on a room temperature pan, rub a small about of butter on them, cover the steaks on the pan with tin foil for 5-10 minutes to allow them time to "rest" and soak all the juices back into it. 

The Finished Product

There is nothing more satisfying than being able to grill a great steak all on your own with ease. This basic tutorial will get you started, then you can take over and experiment on your own with different rubs and techniques to make your steaks like no others. Before no time you'll have a reputation at the cookouts for the best steaks and have people begging you to teach them.

How to take the perfect photos

Learn how to capture pictures the right way

Are you wanting to learn how to take the best photos? Have the best lighting? Photography is a way of expressing your inner self and a way to capture moments that you can keep forever. You’re able to grasp a moment in a simple click.

Taking photos/ and or videos is a connection that happens between you and your camera. Most people take pictures to keep memories and to also see the full potential of taking someone else’s picture. Such as taking senior pictures. You have to have the right lighting, the right scenery and the right angles. Such as going outside and having the sunset in the background.

What is Photography?

Photography is the “Art or practice of taking and processing photographs.” It is considered one of the greatest art forms. You can take something so simple and turn it into something more and that is art.

Capturing the right moments

1.    You have to have the right lighting, and or props to be able to get the best photo.

2.    You have to make sure you have the right backgrounds in order to have the best outcome.

3. ]   You have to be able to make the client comfortable in order to have a connection with them so they are able to have a fun time as well as you.

4.    Picking the best lens and angles are a huge factor, you have to make sure you get their best sides and are able to let their natural beauty shine through.

5.    Lastly, you need to make sure that you edit the pictures with a more warm tone and natural lighting.

The right angles / scenery

When you’re trying to take pictures, you have to make sure that the lighting and settings on your camera are set at the right one and that the zoom isn’t on. You need to take the pictures in a portrait mode if you’re wanting to make the image blur in the background, this gives a blurry effect and focuses on the model. When I take senior picture or graduation pictures, I always had my camera set on all natural, meaning no zoom, or flash. This allows the photo to be more natural. When you take pictures, finding your rhythm or angle can be hard sometimes because you have to find their best angles for the best pictures. Finding the right scenery is very important because it can make or break a picture. Finding an old barn, or going to the beach are my favorite kind of pictures to capture. You have the authentic and rustic vibe when you take them at an old barn and you have the beautiful waves crashing in the back of the picture when you go to the beach.

Barn Lighting

When you take pictures at a barn, or more rustic place, taking the pictures at sunset make the best pictures. When you have the sunset in the background

of the barn it makes the saturation of the pictures intensify all on its own.

Beach Lighting

Taking pictures at the beach can be more tricky because of the wind that comes off the waves. You never know what the pictures are going to look like until after you sit down and look at them. Right as the sun is at the horizon and going down and the sky reaches a grey, that is the best time to take pictures. It allows you to have more of a dark toned picture, but at the same time, it’s some of the best pictures.

Materials

1.    Camera

2.    Props

Baseballs, Softballs, Big letters, Big numbers, Lights, Hammock, Stool, Chairs

Using Props

When using props, you have to make sure that the prop doesn’t take away from the photo, that the model is always the main focus. So be very careful when you use props, just for the mere fact that you don’t want the prop to outshine the model. Using a simple hammock, or a chair to sit on is the simplest prop. You are able to capture the model and emphasize the photo by keeping it on the simple side.

Head Shots

Head shots are my favorite to take. Capturing the natural beauty in someone is why I take pictures. You have to make sure that you can see the bone structure and figure out which angles suit the model best. Aiming your head down will make the picture seem more “droopy”, but if you keep your chin up, you will see a big difference. This allows the picture to be more broad and makes it more confident in a sense.  

 

1.    Aiming the camera down and the models head up allows more of the face to be shown

2.    Taking a side picture allows the jawline to be the main focus

3.    The upward angle shows more of the bottom of the face

When taking pictures, find the best angles, the best scenery, and use props that make the model stand out and shine more. Find moments of the model laughing or messing around, because those are natural photos and it allows everyone to see how down to earth someone is and you are able to capture it. Photography is art, so take your picture!