So, if you missed anything, here’s some of the best of what’s happened on Makeup Files this week:

Makeup Files Now Open to Sponsored Advertising!

I opened up sponsored advertising for Makeup Files, including an affordable ad spot for $2 a day for small businesses, bloggers and Etsy stores (and anyone else.)

Enter to Win a Bottle of Harvey Prince Eau Fling Fragrance

Makeup Files currently has a giveaway for a 1.7 oz bottle of Harvey Prince Eau Fling perfume. The giveaway ends December 8th, 2011!

Nails of the Day: Layla Magneffect Double Dose

Heard of magnetic nail polish? That’s what makes the Layla Magneffect nail polish special. I tried out two shades: Velvet Groove and Golden Nugget.

Apartment Gnome Wants You to Smile

Apartment Gnome, the unofficial mascot of Makeup Files, has a message for you that’ll make you feel good.

Face of the Day: Blue Leopard Print

I go way outside the box and apply some blue leopard print makeup on my temple. And then I went out that way.

And on a lighter note…

(ANTM Spoiler Alert)

Have you been watching America’s Next Top Model lately? They’re down to the final three for the All-Stars season: Allison, Angelea, and Lisa.

The season finale is next week. Who do you want to win?

My answer:

Allison! I hope she wins! She deserves it.

While I like many different book genres, including horror, thriller, fantasy and romance, my mind has definitely been in the realm of romance lately.

Maybe I need to go on a date.

I thought I’d show you what I’ve been reading lately. Maybe you’ll get some ideas!

Secret Protector by Ann Voss Peterson

I’m reading this one right now. I’m about halfway through. So far so good!

Secret Protector is from the Harlequin Intrigue line. It features mostly suspense with a dash of romance for good measure.

Gray Scott is hired to be a secret bodyguard for a wealthy woman, Natalie Kendall, who’s in danger. He needs to protect her from…something. I don’t know what the ‘big bad’ is yet, but I have my suspicions.

I chose to read this because it’s set during Christmas and I’m all about the holidays right now.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

As you can see, I got The Sugar Queen from the Barnes and Noble bargain section. But don’t let the low price fool you: this book was awesome.

Josey Cirrini comes home one day to find a local woman hanging out in her closet (where Josey likes to hide her mass of sweet treats and women’s magazines from her terrible mother). The woman, Della Lee, asks to stay and, in the meantime, helps Josie break out of her shell and get what she wants. Including the super hot mailman.

My favorite part of this book is the magic. It’s a completely normal book except that some of the characters have certain traits that add a small fairy tale spin to the book. (Like a cab driver that can never break a promise. Ever.) Yet it was all completely realistic.

As You Wish by Gabi Stevens

When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought “Why did they put a topless woman on the cover?” On closer inspection, I realized it was a man. Honest mistake! I mean, look at his flowing blonde hair.

Speaking of realistic fairytales, As You Wish is about a woman born without powers into a magical family. But, when she turns 28, she’s told that she’s now a fairy godmother.To help her discover if becoming a fairy godmother is the right choice, Reggie Scott enlists the help of a mysterious handsome man to help her do some research. But he has his own dark secrets…

This book was great. It was just what I wanted to read at the time: romance with realistic fantasy.

Bayou Bodyguard by Jana DeLeon

Romance? Check. Old plantation mansion with secret chambers? Check. Adventure and suspense? Check. Yeah, Bayou Bodyguard has everything I like.

Another thing I like? The main girl in this story, historian Justine Chatry, isn’t a woe-is-me helpless woman. She is strong! She reminded me of a female Indiana Jones.

Plus, a hot guy to keep her safe as she researches an old plantation house with a dark past.

Yep, another Harlequin Intrigue. I’ve been reading quite a few of those lately.

One Day by David Nicholls

This one was a little harder for me to get into. One Day is the talk of the town right now because it was made into a movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess (I haven’t seen the movie yet. Have you? Was it good?)

The book follows friends Dexter and Emma through the years. Every chapter is from the same date in each subsequent year. Fair warning: this is a cry book. You’ll probably cry. I did.

Though it took me a while to get into it, it was still well-written. The characters and situations felt very realistic, as opposed to the other books on this list. I don’t think I’d read this one again, but it was a fun journey.

What are you reading right now?

Do you have a favorite new book you can’t put down? Did you read one of the books on my list, too? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Well…let me be more clear: I got an email from SHAPE Magazine that made me freak out.

See, they’re having a 2011 best blogger competition. They have 20 bloggers in 6 different categories.

And, what do you know? I’m nominated as a best beauty blogger!!! By SHAPE Magazine!

As you can imagine, I’m super excited. And they told me that my readers had nominated me. I had no idea! So, that’s a BIG thanks to those that thought of me and Makeup Files.

It feels so good to be recognized for what I’m doing here and appreciated for the blog I’ve been working on for 3 1/2 years.

(They pick a winner from each category, and then a grand prize winner that gets a paid web series for SHAPE!)

Want to show your love for Makeup Files?

I  would just LOVE it if you’d vote for me. That would totally make my day. You have until October 28th, 2011 to vote. And if you want to recommend your friends to vote for me as well, I wouldn’t object.

All you have to do is hop over to the voting page, click “Vote for this blog!” and then pick Makeup Files out of the list.

As thanks, here’s a cupcake:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Photo credit: Clever Cupcakes

A tag is when a blogger gives a task for other bloggers to do on their own blog. Today’s tag is a list of Top Fives for me to answer. Since I like talking about the things I love, I was more than happy to fill this out.

Beverages

1. Pop. Anything carbonated, really. I like fizzy bubbles! But I especially like carbonated lemonade.
2. Grape juice. I went through a grape juice phase where I had a gallon a day. Yeah, that’s a lot of calories. But so tasty!
3. Hot cocoa. Luckily, Swiss Miss makes a sugar-free hot cocoa mix, so no harm done to my diet.
4. Hot apple cider. With cinnamon! And clove!
5. Skim milk. I could drink this all day long.

Snacks

1. Betty Crocker fruit snacks. I’m talking Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit by the Foot and Gushers. Best ever. They aren’t bad for you, but I eat a box in a few minutes. So eating these are on hold until I know I can be responsible with them.
2. Dill pickles. So salty and tart and yummy. These are good because they’re barely any calories.
3. Sweet and Sour Filled Twizzlers. Ugh, I could eat a whole bag in one sitting. Which is why I have to lose weight in the first place. One of the reasons, anyway.
4. Fresh fruit. Strawberries (or strawbs, as I call them), grapes, pineapple, mango, apricots, nectarines, peaches, bananas. I could go on.
5. Dill Pickle Chips. I don’t mean actual pickles, but the pickle-flavored potato chips. Old Dutch makes the best Dill Pickle Chips, but they’re a Midwest company and I don’t live in Minnesota anymore. I miss Old Dutch.

iPhone/iPad apps

1. Slacker Radio. It’s an app for the Slacker internet radio station. I listen to their “Todays Hits” station all the time.
2. Audiobooks. You can listen to free audiobooks from a huge list of books. I’ve been listening to “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.”
3. Netflix. You can watch Netflix instant streaming movies on the iPod Touch and iPad now. Thus, awesome.
4. C25K. If you’re doing the Couch-to-5K program, this app helps. It gives you audio cues of when to walk or run and lets you listen to music at the same time.
5. FitFu. It gives you micro-exercises and senses your movements so it knows if you’re doing your crunches or squats. And you earn achievements for exercising and can level up. Like a video game!

Movies

This is a tough one… I like so many movies… Let’s just say these are some that I really like.

1. You’ve Got Mail. This is the movie I’ve seen the most of any other.
2. Hot Fuzz. I could watch this every day. I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The best Freddy movie. Teens stay in the sleep-problems section of a mental hospital and learn to enter each other’s dreams to fight Freddy as a group. Awesome.
4. I Love You, Man. So hilarious. Paul Rudd is the hottest ever, and I really identify with his character in this movie. Jason Segel is awesome too.
5. Clue. Classic comedy that gets better every time I see it. Another good one I could watch every day.

Books

Another tough category.

1. It by Stephen King. I first read this when I was in 6th grade, I think. Then I read it again. And again. And again. I love it. The movie’s awesome too.
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I’ve read this so many times. I love all of the stories of the two generations of Chinese women, both in America and in China.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This was the only book I was actually happy to read for school.
4. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. A story about books and mystery.
5. Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes. Ten years ago my 12th grade English teacher kept insisting that I read this. I finally did, and that started my love for contemporary romance/chick lit. Thanks, English teacher!

I didn’t include book series into this list because, well, it would make it that much harder. Just know that I love Harry Potter and The Hunger Games with all my heart.

Now it’s your turn

I’m tagging all of you! If you have a blog, do this post there. Give your own answers to these top-fives. (And let me know when you do!)

Don’t have a blog? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments below.

Books are awesome. I get them from the library. I buy them in the store. I download them for my Sony Reader.

One problem that had been plaguing me for a while, though, is my lack of places to read. I can read in bed, but I’d prefer not to. I can read at my chair in the living area, but it doesn’t have adequate light. I like reading while in a bath tub, but my apartment only has a shower stall.

In the end, I decided to create a dedicated reading area in my apartment. I got a big arm chair (with fold-out footrest) at a garage sale and put it next to my gas fireplace.

There’s a nice, warm lamp on the mantle for good lighting, and a blanket and pillows for comfort.

And thus I’ve dubbed it the “Reading Nook.”

It’s solved all of my “where do I read?” problems. And it makes me happy.

What makes you happy?

See, EverydaySale.co.uk, a popular UK sales website, listed what they consider the Top 50 Beauty Blogs of 2011. In the world. And guess what?

Makeup Files is on the list!

EverydaySale.co.uk separated the 50 blogs into 5 categories. Makeup Files was listed in the Stylish Visual Beauty Blogs category in 5th place out of 10.

It means a lot that they liked the way my blog looks.

And, even cooler, I’m in the same category as Karen’s Makeup and Beauty Blog. I consider Karen my blogging role model. To be only 4 spots below her means so much to me.

This is a good day. A good week!

It seems that things are really working out for the blog lately. Earlier in the year, BeautySchool.com listed Makeup Files as a top beauty blog to watch in 2011. And now this?

Exciting!

But how true is that portrayal?

Recently I spent all day at a public event at the local fair grounds. As I looked around at everyone who showed up, I came to a startling conclusion: most people aren’t super beautiful.  In fact, most people are funny shaped, overweight, have bad hair or bad clothes or can’t wear makeup correctly to save their lives.

There were hardly any “beautiful” people there.

Then it got me thinking about all the other public functions I go to. It seems that this wasn’t a fluke. No matter if it’s a summer concert or a walk around the park, most people aren’t stunning. They’re normal. They might not dress right for their body shape. They may have bad skin or a nose too big for their face.

But here’s the thing. I’m not complaining about the lack of beauty. Rather, I’m complaining, just a bit, about how unrealistic Hollywood is. I always knew it was the case. Can anyone really be as beautiful as Angelina Jolie?

Still, I was under the impression that at least 30% of regular people were super hot. It turns out, at least in these parts, that it’s more like 3%.

That leads me to a few conclusions:

• It is completely normal, and even, dare I say, beautiful to have flaws. Overweight? Perfectly fine. Have small eyes? You’re normal!
• People should quit hoping to be like one of the “beautiful” people and instead focus on being the best person they can be, inside and out.
• If you do your hair well, choose clothes that flatter your figure, learn to wear makeup right, and smile, you will be prettier than 90% of the people around you.
• Quit having low-self esteem about being ugly or fat. Look around you. Are these other people really better looking than you? Probably not.

Original photo credit: World Economic Forum

It feels like I live in the hospital!

Because of that, it seems like everything I’ve learned this week has been hospital related.  Here’s what I learned:

• People really come out of the woodwork when you’re in the hospital.  My brother goes in for brain surgery and all of these people come to see him afterward.  Tons of friends and relatives, people he never suspected would come at all. It’s nice.
• Hospital food isn’t so bad.  Like school lunch food, hospital food is often made fun of for being nearly inedible.  The food at the hospital my brother and dad are at is pretty darn good.  Granted, I am getting sick of eating it as it’s been over a week now, but it’s a lot better than I thought it would be.
• There are great nurses and not-so-good nurses.  I’ve run into the full range of nurses while visiting at the hospital.  Some nurses are super attentive and nice and work to make the patient feel good.  Others really don’t give a care.  Let’s just hope to get a good nurse, shall we?
• Brain surgeons are pretty anti-social.  It seems like the best surgeons really don’t like talking to people.  They’re not like Turk or The Todd from Scrubs.  That’s fine, though.  He doesn’t need to be a good talker as long as he’s super good at taking out brain tumors or clots.
• Friends and family can be pretty awesome.  Besides coming out of the woodwork to visit hospital-bound people, friends and family are also offering all kinds of help to me and my mom, the non-hospital-bound people.  They offer help, support, food.  It’s nice how much people care.

That’s it.  I’ve learned a lot about hospitals.  That’s for sure.

What have you learned this week?

Photo credit: JoyofLife

Perhaps I need some warm milk with honey in it?

Here’s what I learned this week:

• People are rude when they can’t understand you.  I’ve been having to make calls for my mom because she has bronchitis and people have been rude and hanging up on her from her scratchy voice.  Not nice at all.

Kenny from Survivor

• I heart Kenny from Survivor.  He’s a gamer.  He’s super cute.  He’s totally rockin’ the strategies.  Yeah, Kenny.  *swoon*
• There’s so much I want to achieve.  Miss Corinne brought up goals this week, and it got me thinking of everything I want to do in my life.  I made a huge list of things big and small, and I plan on checking them off as I achieve them.  Yay!  Life goals!
• Saying “thank you” is about more than just being polite.  A lack of a thank you when I’m really going out of my way for someone makes me NOT want to do it.  Maybe I’m the one being lame, but it’s just a thing I have.  If you’re not even going to thank me, then why should I even bother? (There’s exceptions to that, though.  Like charity.)
• I love reading.  I think it’s more than that.  What’s a deeper affection than love?  Is there such a thing?  Well, if there is, I have it for reading books.  I’m currently reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Breaking Dawn.  Yes, two at once.  Yes, both Young Adult.  That’s just a coincidence, I swear.

What have you learned this week?

Photo courtesy of CBS website.

I’ve read many times that it helps to reflect back on the day/week/month that you had and think about the things that you learned.

They could be something about your soul, your goals, your life, your friends or family, or even simple trivial things.

We all need to reflect.  All of us.  So I’m going to take the first step and reflect on the things I learned each week.  This’ll happen on Saturdays, usually.

I implore you to join in.  In the comments, on your own blog, in your diary, whatever.  It’ll help you.  I swear.

What I learned this week:

• A change in scenery can affect your skin.  I’m from nice, humid Minnesota, but I’ve been living in dry Montana for a little over a year now.  Holy cow, it’s had an affect on my skin.  My face is so dry and feels terrible.  Moisturizer that used to work just fine in Minnesota doesn’t seem to work at all here.
• The word “fey” means fated, bewitched or magical.  My mom and I have been playing Boggle like crazy for months.  You can learn a lot of cool words, especially when someone likes to make a bunch of them up.
• Barack Obama is the new president! This was the second presidential election I could vote in and this is the first time that the person I voted for actually won.
• You can find something you have in common with everyone.  Is there someone in your life that you don’t particularly like, like a friend’s new boyfriend?  Yeah, I’m sure there’s something you have in common with him.  Find it and you’ll get along with him a lot better.
• If you want to change, do one thing at a time.  Don’t try to change a few things at once or you’ll have a higher chance of failure.  Take me for example.  Instead of trying to get myself to eat right and exercise, I only focused on eating right.  I’ve lost around 15 pounds and have kept up with it for almost two months.  Now I can start thinking about exercise, since eating right has become a habit.

What have you learned this week?  Did you have any big revelations, or just some tiny thoughts?  Tell us about it!