Honestly, everyone has skin problems. You just have to know your skin and use only what you need to.
Example, the only makeup I wear is on and around my eyes. I don't use foundation or powder or anything. My face can get oily - I wash it at night and when I wake up. Because I know my face can get oily, I use moisturizer without oil or grease or whatever in it. (Clinique "different moisturizing gel" works wonders, even my boyfriend likes it, lol).
I really think the less crap you put on your face the better - I barely use anything and I almost never break out. If I break out, I make sure to wash that area in particular, and occasionally use a clarifying "lotion" (also Clinique).
I don't have any classic remedies for clearing up pimples or whatever - the best thing to do is to just keep your skin clean. I hear, though, toothpaste helps dry them out/clear them up quickly, etc.
-Siren =)

On your cell phone? Sweetheart, that would make ME sound bad and I've been in national competitions. I love my voice, but I recorded it myself once and cried because I thought I was terrible. Then I had it recorded with professional equipment, and I was like "...oh. I guess I don't sound that bad...cool..."
To hear your own voice properly, you need like, actual recording equipment. Talking and singing are way different recording-wise, and cell phones don't do justice to singing, no matter how good you are. If you're good, it'll record buzzing because there's too much resonance. If you're bad, it'll record you worse.
You probably don't know what your own voice sounds like, but if it sounds bad to you and you want to improve it, voice lessons will definitely help, as long as your teacher knows what he or she is doing. I teach a little - one of my students had a range of about an octave. But supporting right and opening up she had about two octaves.
Voice lessons improve everyone. I was once not nearly as good as I am now, but I improve constantly, and it's a good feeling. Lessons are definitely not on the cheap side if you have a good teacher, but I think they're worth it, if it's what you love.
Part of it could be your age, too. If your voice is a bit airy, that's normal and it should go away as long as you don't ruin your chords. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I say go for the lessons.
Good luck!
-Siren =)

I use clinique "dramatically different moisturizing gel"
They have a lotion, too, but it leaves my face a little oily and I have issues with that.
The gel's great though.
-Siren =)

To hear your voice the way it really sounds, you need recording equipment - not a recorder. Recorders are evil and they never record singing well. Trust me on this. I cried because I heard a recording of myself once. Lol.
No, people do not hear their own singing voices accurately. Part of the problem with listening to yourself while you sing is that your voice resonates in your head and it alters the way you hear it. The resonance disrupts it all.
Chances are neither perception is accurate - the recording or the way you hear yourself.
Doesn't it suck?
-Siren =)

Different guys like different types of girls. What you want is a guy who likes you. DON'T change yourself to get guys.
Trust me. It doesn't work. You won't be happy with someone who likes something you're really not, or even something you almost are, but aren't.
You sound a lot like me - I was a tomboy from about 8th grade down, except for 7th grade when I tried to dress like the popular girls and hated myself for it. You don't need to be anything but who you are. You can try dressing a little differently if you want - that's not changing your personality, just your look - for a change. But do it for YOU. Dress differently because YOU like it, not because you think guys would like it.
You can't determine what all guys like just from a few opinions. Trust me here. Be who you are and let a guy find you who likes you for you.
As far as "what guys don't like," it could be that the guys you know have known you forever - they probably think of you as "one of the guys". That happened to me, and it sucked, until I lost weight, learned how to apply makeup, and they realized "whoa, she's a GIRL!"
So yeah. It's all up to you.
-Siren =)

It's probably because it took that long to warm up your full range. I've had days where I sound like three different people. My chest voice sounds like HUGE and scary, and my midvoice sounds airy, and my headvoice sounds like I'm a 30-year-old singing professional opera.
Do you warm up before you sing? Like, do you sing scales? If not, that's why. I sound totally different warmed up than I do singing cold. I'm a vocal performance major in college, and my voice still sounds airy sometimes when I'm not warmed up.
It may also be a matter of the D5 and up not being fully "in your range" just yet. I mean, like I said, I could sing F6s and G6s when I was like ten, but they didn't sound full or rich at all. They were notes, but they were weak and thin. Now that they're really in my range - I worked up to them - I can sing them full out and they're just as loud as my C6s.
Patience is a virtue. Age also has a bit to do with this. How old are you?
-Siren =)

You wanted to know why your higher notes sounded richer by the end of the rehearsal? It probably took that long to really warm up your whole range - looks like you have almost three octaves. That's pretty big. I have about a three and a half octave range, and I don't feel totally warmed up until I've been singing for at least an hour.
I just got my top octave solid - it takes a lot more air and a lot more support than you think to be able to really sing those notes. But NEVER push your voice to do things it isn't comfortable with. (I'm sure you know that, I just felt it was necessary to restate.)
When you warm up, always touch on your high notes, but if you feel your neck tense, stop singing up there and work your way all the way down to your last comfortable note. If you know that a note is "supposed to be" comfortable in your voice, and you feel like you can't quite get to it, take a break and drink something warm, or drink room temperature water. If you can't hit your low notes after singing high for a while, you probably strained your voice.
Really, those high notes will take time to work into your range. I mean, I've been able to sing F6s and G6s forever, but not full-voiced. I turned 18 in october, and I can JUST now sing them full voiced.
Don't push your voice - be patient. Try to keep the feel of your mid-range notes and bring it up into your head voice (just think of that).
If you have a voice teacher, this is an issue you might bring up with him or her.
Also, if you really are a mezzo, your high notes probably won't sound as rich as the notes in your midvoice. The high notes sit in a different place, and they feel really tiny, but they should also feel focused. Unless you turn out to be a dramatic soprano, high notes don't sound "rich". I'm a lyric - my high notes are loud, but they're not rich like my lower register, when I tap into my chest voice.
In any case, touch on those higher notes when you feel warmed up, and make sure you go all the way back down. Don't push your voice, and take care of it.
Hope this helps a bit - good luck!
-Siren =)

Heh, I know how that is. I forced myself to stay awake all night for my music history final a few weeks ago.
Drink coffee/something caffeinated. Exercise helps give you energy (if you exercise right), listen to music with a dance kind of beat and maybe move to it a little.
My best advice is - don't think about "oh look how late it is." Just think of whatever time it happens to be as "just another time." That's what I did and before I knew it it was time to go take my test, lol.
Write. Draw. Play games. Try your hand at writing a song - something you have to concentrate on, so you can't just like sit there and do stuff. Force yourself to use your brain, but not to the point that it wears you out.
Also, make sure you don't get too warm. I dunno about you, but when I'm all comfy and cozy I wanna fall asleep.
Good luck!
-Siren =)

That sounds familiar.
I was with someone for almost two years, and then I went to college. I started meeting new people, and the connection I felt like I had with him faded fast. He, too, said things like he doesn't need friends and he just needed me. At the time I was 17, too, and I did NOT feel comfortable having someone cling to me and depend on me.
In the end, I broke it off. I'm with someone else now and I beleive breaking it off with the other guy may have been the smartest thing I ever did.
What was hard was realizing that I wanted to break it off, mostly because I knew what he would be like without me.
Your guy sounds exactly like that guy I was with. Where breakups are concerned, you've got to be a little selfish. What would be best for YOU? If staying with this guy is going to kill you, then don't do it. Definitely don't stay in the relationship for his sake. If you stay, stay because YOU want to.
From what you said, though, it doesn't sound much like you want to. You don't sound like you're ready to be tied to anyone.
If you break up with your boyfriend, it may hurt everyone for awhile, but eventually he will get over it, and eventually you will come to terms with what you did.
If you don't, you may be miserable, especially if this guy who gets you excited and makes you smile decides he doesn't want to wait for you and you lose your chance with him. Your boyfriend may be happy, but in the end, if you think about it, if he figures out that you're not happy, he won't be happy either.
The choice is yours, but in your shoes I think I would try to talk it out first - explain to him that if he doesn't start trying harder to spend time with you, and if he doesn't work at the relationship, he's going to lose you. If he's not aware there's a problem, he can't fix it. Give him a chance to fix it, and if it doesn't work, then you can give up on him.
Unless, of course, the spark is already so far gone that you don't think he can revive it. That was the case with me. If that's how you feel, you may have to grit your teeth and tell him you want out.
While you may love him, you're not married to him. You can get out if you need to. Keep that in mind, and when making your decision, keep YOUR best interest in mind. Not his.
I hope this helps - good luck.
-Siren =)

Heh. That all depends on how heavy your period is. I've had sex on my period, and it was fine. But then, I don't have very heavy periods, so there really wasn't much of a risk of it getting everywhere.
I personally think it doesn't feel as good, but I've heard some people say it feels better. I think it's an opinion thing.
You can do it if you want, or not.
Hope this helps answer your question.
-Siren =)

You're right, that is a tricky situation. I've got a question for you, though - how well do you know this guy?
If the answer is "not too well," maybe you should change that. Ask her for his contact information, let him know who you are, and go hang out with him sometime. Be honest, and tell him you're a little freaked by your girlfriend possibly moving in with a dude. He SHOULD understand.
You should trust your girlfriend, but you should also know this guy if this is really going to happen.
If he's her best friend he must be trustworthy, but you should discover all that for yourself. Get a feel for the guy and all that.
If the case is that you do know him pretty well, and you're just nervous about her moving in with a guy, tell her about your worries. Or arrange for a meeting with the three of you and talk about what's bothering you and see if they can't reassure you.
I hope this helps, good luck with everything.
-Siren =)

I hope you mean wander, otherwise this question is utterly confusing.
Assuming you do, you have two options.
1) you can be honest and tell him "I'm on my period, so maybe you should stay above my waist," or "Um, it's kind of a bad time of month..." or something of the like that tells him you're on your period, or you want him to stay away from that area.
You can also
2) Just keep pushing him away and make him wonder what the hell is going on.
I reccomend the first option. Honesty really is the best policy in this case. It's not like guys don't know girls have periods. If it grosses him out, he's too young to have sexual contact anyway.
If the case is that you want him down there and you're on your period, you need to tell him you are anyway, but you can use tampons. They create much less of a mess, are much less noticeable, and you can do the whole sexual contact thing anyway as long as he doesn't try to stick his fingers in there. Lol.
Really, your best bet, I think, is to tell him "I'm on my period, let's wait a few days."
Hope this helps!
-Siren =)

Haha. That comment about mono at the end made me laugh. It is mean, but you have every right to feel that way.
I hate to say it, but it sounds to me like she's really not worth your time. She doesn't sound like she's looking for anything serious, and if she "just wants to make out," let her. It sucks, but you really have no say in what she does with whom anymore. You sound like a caring kind of guy - she may realize in the end that she made a huge mistake breaking it off.
What you'd have to decide then is if you want to risk her hurting you again or not. Relationships involve risk anyway, but there is a certain amount of control you can have over the situations you let yourself fall into.
She still wants to be friends? That's cool, but only agree to it if you feel you can talk to her now without feeling awkward or making her feel awkward.
The ball's in your court, so to speak. What happens is pretty much up to you now. Honestly, though, I say move on. This girl sounds like she doesn't know what the hell she wants, and if she's willing to break up with a good guy to "just make out" with others...
Good luck
-Siren =)

She probably doesn't know what to say, lol. My ex IM'd me like a day after I broke up with him and I didn't feel like I could talk to him normally.
As for calling her, I'd call her and ask her to e-mail you about it, and specifically mention that you DON'T want her to tell you on the phone. Remind her that she gave you quite a few reasons and you're confused if she decides to come back with an "I already told you why I broke it off" kind of response. If she can't talk to you on AIM, phone would probably be harder. Give her a bit of slack - it's not easy to break up with someone.
Glad my advice helped.
-Siren =)

It honestly sounds to me like she doesn't know why she broke up with you. She gave you so many reasons, it seems like she's not sure which one's real. Either that, or she doesn't have nerve to tell you the real reason.
It's also possible that all those reasons are true and she's just trying to overjustify herself.
I can only speculate, though, since I don't know either of you. What you might do is ask her to think about it, and tell her you can handle hearing the real reason - you just want to know what it is.
As for her still caring about you, does she still contact you? Do you contact her? It's hard to say with the information I have.
People are complex. We have "instincts" and often feel a "need" to do what we "think" is right. She may have just followed her gut instinct on the breakup and be completely unable to explain it.
For now, I would ask her once more to explain her reasoning to you - maybe in an e-mail instead of talking to you. Sometimes, it's easier to talk if you're not talking directly to the person.
Make no assumptions, but don't push her if she admits that she's not sure of her reasoning.
I hope this helps!
-Siren =)

Wow, this sounds way too familiar for my comfort. I feel your pain in all seriousness.
I had a guy cheat on me, lie to me, and then lie to me about lying to me and cheating on me. Since then, I've been literally unable to trust any guy, even guys I end up in relationships with. I dated a guy for almost two years and never totally trusted him.
I'm with someone else now, and I've gotten to the point that I just don't care about relationship drama anymore, and I'm forcing myself to blindly trust him the way I used to trust everyone.
He's right in saying it isn't fair of you to compare the two of them, but I can understand that you can't help it.
You've gotta think, though. Use your brain, sweetheart. Not all guys are the same. If they were, how could anyone find someone they wanted to marry? There are quite a few happily married couples out there - my parents, for example, have been happily married for 30 years.
As my guy put it, "you could assume that he's just like all the other guys you've dated, and that he's not worth trusting, and over time you'd see that it wasn't the case. Or you could just accept the fact that he's different, and in time you'd see that you put your trust in the right person."
Believe me, I know it's easier said than done, but it's doable. It just takes willpower.
In your shoes, I think I would talk to this guy and tell him what you're feeling. Let him know you're afraid to be hurt again. Let him know you're afraid you'll push him away when you don't want to. If he knows you don't want to, he may be more willing to be more active in helping you overcome this fear.
There's unfortunately no easy way to do this. You're gonna have to do a lot of talking to yourself, and to him. Your best bet is to include him in what's going on in your mind (if you haven't already), and maybe just take a chance and jump into it...just take it the speed you want to. This is your issue to work through, and depending on the kind of guy he is, he may be able to help you work through it.
If you wanna vent/stress/babble to someone, really, I know how you feel. My AIM screen name's SirenCytherea - I'm almost always on line.
I hope this helps, and good luck!
-Siren =)

Okay, for those of you who said that's a dipthong, a dipthong is a combination of two pure vowels (Ah, Eh, Ee, Oh, and Ooh) - example: "Sky" the "y" in "sky" is a dipthong because it combines the sounds "ah" and "ee". Even the word "I" is a dipthong. There are tripthongs, but I won't get into that. (I was just forced to take a vocal techniques class I didn't need, so all this is pretty fresh in my brain).
Anyway, to answer your question, that IS vibrato, and singers don't "do" it. When a good singer sings, the air they put forward kind of...reverberates within their vocal folds, and like, spins. It's hard to explain. You have to feel it to get it, kind of. Anyway, the spinning and the placement of the voice causes vibrato.
You can NOT force this to happen. You can injure your voice by forcing something you don't have naturally. That's like me (I'm a soprano) trying to sing tenor.
I can do it, but it doesn't sound good, and it's unnatural. It SOUNDS forced, and anything that sounds forced vocally sounds bad.
If you don't have vibrato naturally, don't force it. It'll come in time if you learn to sing the right way.
I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but it's true. Good luck with your audition!
-Siren =)

Pay a little less attention to the rhythm and more attention to the notes and how the song makes you feel.
Keep the general idea of he rhythm, but loosen up. Be freer with the notes. You're telling a story - talking about someone you cared about, whom you miss. As I said, no one's gonna be concentrating on rhythm when they're singing about something of that nature.
Don't swing the rhythm - that's like, making two eighth notes a dotted eighth and a sixteenth (Kind of) - just loosen it a little. Take some liberties.
Go with emotion before anything else.
Good luck!
-Siren =)

Those are quarter note triplets. If it makes any sense, each quarter note takes up the time of two normal (eighth note triplets), and the whole "quarter note triplet" thing takes up the span of two beats.
For this song, though, you don't have to be exact in the rhythm, like, at all. That's a rather emotional part of the song. No one will be thinking about rhythm when they're deciding to say goodbye and let someone go, lol.
But yes, they are quarter note triplets, they take up the span of two beats.
You've heard this song before, correct? (If not, go listen to it and pay attention to the way the singer gets through those measures. Follow along in your piece.)
Really, though, just let the emotion guide you. The rhythm will come naturally if you let it.
Good luck!
-Siren =)

I would honestly go for a Honda - Accords and Civics run between like $22,000 and $24,000, I think, so they're within your budget.
My mom has had her '91 Honda Acccord since around then, and it still runs beautifully. I say any car that can handle MY driving is a good car.

I'm a laid-back 26 year old with a Psychology BA, starting my MA program, and working my way into the field as quickly as I can. It took me an extra Bachelor's degree (in vocal performance and creative writing) to figure it out, but I was put on this Earth to help, to heal, and to love.

I have made the decision to dedicate my life and career to helping others. I am here to do just that.

I've been a member since 2004, and since I signed up, I've gone through quite a lot and learned quite a lot from it. I'm here to give guidance where I had none; no one should have to go through the difficulties I went through alone.

Feel free to visit my website/blog, if you want to read my experience with domestic violence and my thoughts on it.

***While I do tend to answer mental health and other health-related or medicine-related questions, I am by NO MEANS a licensed physician or practitioner of any sort. Any and all advice I give for these questions is from my own experience or studies.***

If you need to get a hold of me quickly, my screen name on AIM is SirenCytherea. Just let me know you found me here.

I'm a strong believer in the idea that there are no stupid questions except the ones left unasked, so, please, keep an open mind, heart, and mouth.

Siren

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