Thursday, December 30, 2010

Impressed with e.l.f.

So for the heck of it and because I hear that e.l.f. actually has some pretty good products for the price, I decided to do my first e.l.f. haul. I checked for reviews before I purchased an item off the site to make sure I wouldn't get anything that was flat out disappointing. Every item I bought was priced from $1-$3 and I was so happy about the pricing of their items that I got doubles of a lot of the products. So cheap!!!

I purchased the Eyeshadow "C" Brush ($3)  from their studio line as well as their Complexion Brush($3), which is also from their studio line. I was pretty impressed with the softness of the brushes, I am in love with the "C" Brush. I think I'll order more backups of this brush for sure since it's become the one I reach for the most. I like it better than the Sigma SS239.

Second item I purchased was their Mineral Eyeshadow Primer($3), which I heard was pretty good. I've been using it for a couple weeks and it really does do the job of keeping my eyeshadow there and keeping them from creasing. I will definitely repurchase this just because it is so cheap and it works just as well as my other primers.

Third item I purchased was the Mechanical Eyelash Curler($1). For a buck, its not bad, but my Shu Uemura eyelash curler still performs the best in my opinion. I got two of them so I might keep one curler in my car, at work, etc. just so I have an emergency eyelash curler laying around when I need it, lol.

My next purchases were all blushes/bronzers
Here are the e.l.f. Studio Elushes($3 each):
Left to right, top to bottom:
Blushing Rose, Pink Passion, Candid Coral, Peachy Keen
I realize the camera washed out the colors a bit, because they are darker in person. My favorites are Blushing Rose and Candid Coral and the only ones I would consider repurchasing

-Blushing Rose is a dark rose color with gold shimmer(Looks like a plum color in the pic, but it is not)
-Pink Passion is a matte hot pink, much brighter than in the picture
-Candid Coral is a dark peachy color with golden shimmers
Peachy Keen is a true peach color with golden shimmers, the least pigmented of them all in my opinion.


The last item I purchased was the e.l.f. Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder($3). This is the item I'm probably the most happiest with aside from the e.l.f. Eyeshadow "C" brush. The bronzer is a beautiful color that does not make you look orange, it's a lovely glowing tan color. It's the only other bronzer I like besides my Too Faced Snow Bunny. The blush is very similar to Candid Coral, but with a stronger gold shimmer. It's just a beautiful healthy peach color. I love love love this product. I can't believe it was only 3 bucks. I will definitely be repurchasing this one as well.


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Gift from a Friend

I received a suprise gift in the post from my friend! She wrapped it in lovely paper as well. It completely made my day :)
 In the package is Dr. Jart's Premium BB Gold Label
I'm excited to try this out!!! I always heard great things about BB Cream, but I had no clue how to choose a good one out so I'm pretty excited about this because my friend said this is the one she highly recommends and uses herself. A big thanks to my friend!!!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Christmas Want #2

River Island Helix Fleece Lined Boot

french cutie

gaspard ulliel. gorgeous.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Christmas Want #1

Dr. Marten
50TH ANNIVERSARY 1460
Cherry Red - Pebble
UK 4

I want a pair of these boots so bad. They are out of stock on the website and I can't find them anywhere else. If anyone knows where I can still get a pair let me know!!!!!!


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Coastal Scents: Shadow Worx Matte Eye Primer

I have just finished up my bottle of urban decay primer potion and the truth is I really don't feel like paying that much for another bottle, so I've been on the hunt for a cheaper alternative that works great too. I've heard a lot about the e.l.f. eye primer and so I ordered one of those online, but it isn't here yet. I also ordered Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Eye Primer. I know they have a shimmer one, but I prefer something with a matte finish. I've been testing it out for a week now and I've grown to love it. Here are some observations I made about this product compared to the UDPP.

- More oily texture than urban decay primer potion

- I immediately noticed that they made my eyeshadows pop more than the UDPP (I don't know if that's just because it somehow just works with my type of skin, I have normal to dry skin)

- It is packaged in a squeeze tube rather than that stupid genie bottle that UDPP comes in, which makes it much easier to use the product. (I heard UDPP has come out with a squeeze tube now)

- Price for one tube of 0.676 fl oz is $14.95 (+$1.73 USPS First Class Mail shipping cost for me) while the cost for the Urban Decay Primer Potion of 0.34 fl oz is $18.00. The Coastal Scents primer is pretty much twice the amount of product you would get from UDPP, but at a cheaper price.


With that in mind, I'm set with sticking with the coastal scents primer rather than purchase another urban decay one. I'm really liking the results I get from the primer because they are comparable to the results I got from UDPP, even better than UDPP for me, but again that just might be for my skin type. Anyhow, I definitely think this is worth a try because I don't feel it would be a product that will disappoint.


Swatches by request:
Left: Urban Decay Primer Potion (what I managed to scrape out)
Right: Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Eyeshadow Primer

And here's a picture of them both blended out 

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Victoria's Secret single eyeshadows

I've been using all my Victoria's Secret secret reward cards on their single eyeshadows, which I have been using every day. The colors could be a bit more pigmented, but they are all gorgeous colors and I love them nonetheless. All the colors are very sexy and I stuck with the neutrals. I may pick up a few more if I find some other colors I like.

Left to right:
Top: Private Beach, Lose Control,
Middle: Provocateur, Between the Sheets
Bottom: Champagne, Pose 


Here are the swatches, Left to Right:
Top: Champagne, Provocateur, Private Beach
Bottom: Pose, Between the Sheets, Lose Control

Champagne: A shimmery champagne color, pretty straight forward
Provocateur: Shimmery copper bronze shade.
Private Beach: Mauve-y light brown shade
Pose: Matte taupe
Between the Sheets: Shimmery brown with gold flecks
Lose Control: A chocolate brown, darker than Between the Sheets, with silver flecks


I've been using my Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Primer with these eyeshadows (Definitely use a primer with these eyeshadows) and I also find that my Eco Tools 5-piece travel eyeshadow brushes work better with these eyeshadows than my sigma brushes.

My first drugstore lipstick!!

I've always strayed away from drugstore lipsticks mainly because my lips have always had bad allergic reactions to everything! I usually only do MAC for lipsticks, however, I'm not sure why but it seems my lips have toughened up a bit and are a lot more tolerant of different products now. With that said, while I was in my local walgreens to pick up cotton pads I decided to try a new lipstick. I specifically had the Maybelline Pink Please in mind because I hear so many good reviews on it and I must say I absolutely love the color. I'm kind of impressed with the quality of it since it is was only 6-7 bucks. I also like the fact that it doesn't dry out my lips like some of the MAC ones do. I'm so glad I decided to try it!

Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Pink Please


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sitting at my computer sipping a warm cup of earl grey with honey, no milk this time because I wasn't feeling it. I did a bit of online Christmas shopping which saves me lots of time because I don't want to waste hours looking through stores. I actually rarely do "organic" shopping anymore lol. Everything is online and I'm lazy.

For the longest time I've been trying to find a replacement for my MAC plushglass in angel cream(bottom) because it was limited edition and I can't get it anymore. I picked up the MAC cremesheen glass in partial to pink(top) because it came close.

However, looking at the swatches, you can see partial to pink(left) is a bit rosier or peachier than angel cream(right). So I am still on the lookout, but I like the cremesheen glass. I ordered a limited edition dazzleglass creme in perfectly unordinary(will post pics of when it arrives) and I'm hoping it will be more of a pale pink than the cremesheen glass.

I want to find the exact color, willing to take suggestions!!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Eat, Eat, EAT!!!

So I am sittin in my bed watching TV, eating a bowl of pasta and enjoying a nice glass of wine and thought about how completely unoccupied with dieting and losing weight I've been for the past few months and I absolutely love it. The funny thing is I haven't gained any weight. I eat what I want at whatever time I want, but I make sure I don't go overboard. I make sure to eat healthy and not take in too many heavy foods and  I just feel a lot better just doing this then going on no carb diets and counting every calorie I take in. If I feel like eating, I eat and if I don't, I don't. Simple as that. I want to be able to enjoy life and food is of course is an important part of enjoying life. This does not mean go out and stuff yourself with French pastries and cake. This means enjoy eating without feeling guilty while keeping in mind that you are nourishing your body, and one's body can not be properly nourished with strawberry ice cream and macarons...a little here now and then doesn't hurt though :) I love that I am not restricting myself to a suffocating diet anymore!

Eating healthy > Eating less

And here's a picture of kimchi pasta just because I LOVE IT!!!! I know some of you may think it sounds gross, but don't judge until you've tried it. I am a kimchi monster!!!!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Post Thanksgiving Pounds :))

I had two Thanksgiving dinners this year!! Twice the food, twice the weight gain!! I had Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's side of the family on Thursday and hosted another dinner for my mom on Friday. With the long break last week due to snow, I feel well rested and thankful for what lies ahead. I hope to land a new job soon and look forward to Christmas. My honey and I also had our 2nd anniversary, but celebrations are postponed because of our busy schedule and the fact that our anniversary happened to coincide with Thanksgiving.

A recent online order purchase from asos.com. I got this coat in grey. I fell in love with the puffed sleeves and high collar <3


This month I've been loving:

-Stella by Stella McCartney
-Coconut Oil and Rose Water as a moisturizer
-Earl Grey Tea with milk and honey
-Flawless you forever floral blush in Romance
-House training my dog



Update on my experiment:

I have not used shampoo for about three weeks now. There was one exception when I went to get my hair trimmed, but other than that I've been shampoo free. However, I have wash my hair with a baking soda and water mixture to keep my hair looking clean. I do that 1-2 times a week and hopefully I can cut it down to once a week. Other than the baking soda, I only wash my hair with water, brushing thoroughly from scalp to the ends of my hair with a natural bristle brush. I do this for about 10 minutes to distribute the oil in my hair evenly as well as brush out as much excess oil and grime possible. Sounds gross I know because that's exactly what I thought when going into this experiment, but so far it's not as bad as I thought it would be since I've gotten used to the routine now.  I haven't seen drastic results in my hair's health yet, but I have noticed that my hair is a bit less dry and tangly. I'm happy enough with the results to keep going with this experiment. I don't know why, but doing this no shampoo thing kind of feels refreshing and to a small degree makes me feel liberated.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Woke up this morning to a gorgeous surprise! First snow of the season, looks like Seattle might have snow for the holidays!!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Review: Flawless You Forever Floral Blush

I've been using these Flawless You Forever floral blushes for a while and I must say I am pleased with them. Not only are they pretty, but they have excellent pigmentation. I have two of the blushes in the colors Autumn(left) and Romance(right). The blushes can be purchased at flawlessyouforever.com at $19 a blush


Somehow this picture uploaded upside down, but here we have Romance on the left and Autumn on the right. The FYF floral blushes come in this pretty rose-carved design which was the biggest reason why I purchased them. I didn't want to fork up the money for Lancome's Le Rose Deco blush.

Romance is a soft rosy pink color which at first glance may look like it wouldn't show up on my skin, but like I said before these blushes have excellent pigmentation. It is composed of rose, mauve, peach and light pink color bits, which could be combined together or used separately as eyeshadow. The light pink color could work as a highlight. Some of the colors that make up this blush are shimmery while some are matte, so when combined an applied it will leave a slightly shimmery look.

Autumn is a peachy brown color and looks really nice for fall/winter when my skin looks pale and dead. Gives a beautiful wash of color on the cheeks that reminds me of autumn leaves. It is composed of medium brown, peachy brown and golden brown bits, some of which are shimmery. Again, I'm sure these color bits could be used individually as eye shadow.

Here are the two blushes swatched. Autumn(left) and Romance(right).
As you can see they are really pigmented and of course you have to apply these with a light hand, especially Autumn. The colors look prettier in person and I didn't have the best lighting since it was already dark outside when I took this and my camera flash sort of washed out the colors. I definitely recommend trying out these blushes, they are absolutely adorable in appearance and fun to use. I would repurchase these simply because I love how they are carved into a rose, but the quality in my opinion is good too.

MAC viva glam gaga lipglass

I loved the Viva Glam Gaga lipstick so I had to get the lipglass as well. I purchased a few of them since they are limited edition and they arrived by post yesterday!! I almost planned to return this because I ordered them online then went to the MAC store and swatched it on my hand and thought whoa this is too hot pink, but luckily I decided to try it on before returning it and ended up loving it. Here is a pic of the gloss over the Viva Glam Gaga lipstick. Sorry lips are chapped from cold weather, but I wanted to put a picture up so here it is!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

OPI Lincoln Park After Park Dupe

I remember picking up this polish, Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Purple Rain, from a BOGO deal and just tested it out today on a finger and realized how similar it was to OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. Guess no need to purchase the OPI!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Mickey's ghastly haircut

Unfortunate news, Mickey's hair became matted beyond repair and so I had to cut off his hair. It will take 2-3 months to completely grow back which is a shame, but at least his hair is nice and untangled. It hurts me to see him with such an ugly haircut, but its just hair. Poor poor Mickey :(
I also had to take him to get his rabies shot. The vet weighed him and it turns out he only weighs 3.4 lb. I was kind of surprised because I thought he would weigh at least 5, but I guess I never checked. I was really sad I had to cut off his luscious thick hair, but he has been acting a lot more lively ever since I chopped off his hair so I guess it's not so bad.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

New purchases and new experiment

I was on the lookout for the perfect leather shoulder bag...and I found it!! I got it from asos.com for about $129 I believe. It's my new everyday bag and it matches my fall attire so I'm pleased with the purchase. I wear it across my shoulders which is so nice because now I have my hands free to hold my phone and coffee. I was so tired of purses slipping off my shoulder!!


New nail polish color! Butter London in Fash Pack. I got it because I wanted a Chanel Particuliere dupe that wasn't as pricey. I got this polish for $10, which is still kinda pricey in my opinion, but it was the closest match I could find. I like the color very much, but it seems to chip easily.


Got a new hairbrush because I heard natural bristle brushes are better and gentler on your hair and my hair has been very dry and brittle lately so I purchased this brush off of amazon.com for about $15 and I've been loving it ever since. The one I purchased below is the Denman large natural boar bristle cushion hairbrush.

The natural bristle brush is supposed to help hair look shiner, massage the scalp and reduce hair breakage.



Stella by Stella McCartney. Notes are rose oil, peony, mandarin, rose absolute and amber. This is my go-to fall scent. I absolutely love rose scents, I'm always spraying rose water on myself because I love love love rose and I wanted something that smelled sophisticated and rosey, but not powdery. This is my favorite rose scent!! well at least so far it is. I love YSL Parisienne, but it is a tad sweet so I like Stella more. After smelling it on me I instantly new, like Coco Mademoiselle, this perfume will be a staple.

Victoria's secret sweater purchase, the cotton cable dolman-sleeve sweater in blonde heather like in the picture below. I've also tried out some of victoria's secret's eyeshadows. I got the silky eyeshadows in champagne, between the sheets, and lose control. They are all various shades of brown and after trying them out I think I want to try more victoria's secrets eyeshadow.

I've been wanting the Urban Decay Naked palette, but I do not want to pay the money for it since I have so many neutral colors anyway so I got the NYX nude on nude palette instead. It costs much less and the colors are great, not too shimmery. It is a very small palette, but I think it's perfect for travel. I ignore the two lip gloss colors though, they look and feel waxy.



ALSO, I ordered some Babyliss hot rollers. I don't have a picture, but I'll put one up later when I receive them. I've been wanting a hot roller set and just gave in and bought one because I don't want to perm my hair again since i damaged my hair severely, but I still want to be able to have that natural wavy hair look. Hopefully I get the results I want from this hot roller set.






Now on to the new experiment...


I've always been a hygiene freak, so naturally I could never skip a daily full shower. Lately, however, my hair has been extremely dry with a serious split end problem. I have some hairs that are split four times in one hair!!! Another problem is that my hair just seems to be dull, lifeless, limp and flat.

So...

I've decided to go on the "no shampoo" hair method. Sounds gross I know, but I'm feeling brave and I don't know if it's just because I'm feeling restless, but I want to do something different. However, I will probably gradually transition into it instead of dropping shampoo cold turkey. I've heard that your hair looks pretty bad for about 6-8 weeks, but after that your hair's oil production stabilizes. The method is supposed to result in healthier, shinier, thicker hair.

Shampoos these days contain too many harsh ingredients that don't do much for hair. They strip your hair of it's natural oils and this whole "wash your hair everyday" might just be a marketing scheme for hair product companies to boost sales.

I've decided to do it...with a few adjustments. I heard you can wash your hair with baking soda and condition with apple cider vinegar to keep the hair looking less messy, so I will definitely do that. I think I'll also spritz my hair with rose water because I always want my hair to smell good :) I don't know if I'll give up shampoo completely, but I do know right now that I want to reduce shampooing my hair so much because it seems to be making my hair more dry and brittle. I'm kind of excited about this :)))

The colder season has also given my extremely dry skin so I've been moisturizing with coconut oil and it is super amazing. I definitely recommend it. I will probably talk more about this later.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

what an uneventful day...

Halloween 2010 - Vampire

This morning I woke up with an allergic reaction on my face, more specifically the area above my lip was covered in red splotchy spots! It was on my right elbow too. It's gotten better now, but I stayed at home today since I have no need to go to the office this week and I can just do my work at home. Our remodeling is all done and I was taking a bath in our new jacuzzi for the first time last and decided to throw in a bath bomb. I'm prety sure the bath bomb is what caused my allergic reaction because that was the only thing I did differently from my normal activities. I guess there's a lot of aromatic oils and such in the bath bomb and thats probably what set it off. Oh well, I'm so used to these allergic reactions since I've always had really sensitive skin.


With the remodeling done now, we're working on cleaning everything up and making everything homey again. It's been a very uncomfortable past one and a half moneths living in the basement while the house was being torn apart and put back together. Now that everything is done I feel so relieved and I'm so thankful for the final product.


I've been using rose hip oil on my face at night for the past two weeks and although I hate the feeling of putting oil on my face, the results have been pretty good. I feel like there's no dramatic change, but my face overall seems brighter and maybe more even in skintone. I'm pleased with the results so I'll keep using it. Hopefully it is not the cause of my allergic reaction today, but I doubt it since I've been using it for a while now. I've still been using my Thayer's rose water toner as well, I absolutely love that stuff.


I am looking forward to the holidays and eating lots of yummy sweet things!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Small purchases

Got a small bottle of Eau Roma Water to keep in my bag. Hopefully it won't irritate my skin. If so then I'll just get a spray bottle to carry some of my Thayer's rose water toner around with me.

Amazing perfume find. I love this scent and I love the simple red bottle! (vanilla, jasmine, blackcurrant)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

trying out some new products form FYF

Ordered Floral Blush Blossom in Romance and Autumn from a company called FYF (Flawless You Forever) www.flawlessyouforever.com Can't wait to try!!!
I sense another LUSH purchase coming up too :P

Remodeling.

Left work early today and thought I'd do a little ramble on here. The home is being remodeled so I'm having lots of fun shopping for tiles, paint, new furniture, etc. Thought I'd share some of my Fall Favorites. Not numbered in order of importance or anything I just felt like numbering :))



Shoes


(1) Matisse Westfalen oxford booties
I got these recently on ovestock.com and I just love them plus they are quite comfortable despite their height. Thought I'd post a pic since I haven't yet.


(2) Frye Engineer boot in black
I love wearing these with skinny jeans, skirts, dresses, everything. They just add the right amount of toughness to everything.


Clothes & Accessories


(1) Express (minus the leather) moto jacket in black


(2) Banana Republic Trenchcoat


(3) Chunky circle scarves (from various places)


(4) Goorin Brothers Bowler Hat


(5) F21 Cocktail Rings
(6) Oversized dolman sleeve sweaters (from various places)


(7) Jeggings!!


(8)Knee High socks


(9)Rose-themed items


(10) iphone 4



Makeup


(1) Too Faced Snow Bunny Bronzer


(2) NYX megashine lip gloss in beige


(3) Korres lip butter in Wild Rose and Mango


(4) Stila Pretty in Paris travel palette


(5) LUSH Fresh Farmacy cleanser & Fever massage bar


(6) OPI Skinny Dip'n in Lake Michigan & Tickle My France-y


(7) NARS Angelika blush


(8) Benefit Benetint (of course!)


(9) L'oreal HIP color chrome eyeliner pencil in violet volt & black shock (goes on smoother than MAC pencils)


(10) Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner




I got to pick all the new furniture for our house and I can't wait to get my new vanity!!! It's gonna be so preetttyy. The living room and kitchen are almost done and I'm satisfied with my choice of cabinets and granite :)) I got to choose all the bathroom tile too and that's gonna be done soon too!! The remodeling has been so exciting, but tiring as well since I live out of boxes. The carpenter is building new shelves as we speak. I should probably post before and after pictures if I can.








ALSO...I am a big perfume person and maybe I should list my top favorite perfumes now that I've made recent additions to my collection.


My Favorite Fragrances


(1) Chanel Coco Mademoiselle:
I absolutely love love this smell and it literally lasts all day. I love wearing this on nights out. It's a sophisticated oriental scent. Makes me feel feminine and elegant :)))


(2) Stella by Stella McCartney:
This is more of a woodsy rose scent. I love rose scents, but I have to say this is the best one yet. Not too sweet, just how I like it. A great every day scent for me.


(3) Burberry Brit
I don't really like sweet perfumes but this ones isn't sickening to me because it seems a bit more complex. Perfect for fall and winter. It's a warm scent that reminds me of sipping hot chocolate next to a fire while its snowing outside. Lasting power is not bad


(4)Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne
This is a rosy floral scent. I love rose scents which is why I bought this perfume, although I think it could smell just a tad bit more rose and a tad less fruity. It's a great light everyday scent. The staying power is not that great, but thats probably because I'm comparing them to the Chanel perfumes.


(5) Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka
A very unique smell and one that I disliked at first, but it's quirky scent grew on me. It's a sweet and spicy scent, but one that is completely different from anything else I've smelled. It gives me a mysterious and earthy feeling.

Monday, September 13, 2010

A couple pics of my puppy Mickey!!

collective haul over a long break...



I've been MIA from my blog for a long time and so I wanted to share a bunch of shopping I've been doing...a lot of shopping for sure.

I've beem going blush/bronzer crazy lately and so I've vowed to not buy any more of them. Let's hope I can keep that promise.

Top to bottom, left to right: Nars Angelika, NYX Pinky, Too Faced Snow Bunny, MAC Pink Swoon.

I bought all these blushes/bronzer after reading reviews because I didn't want to waste money since some of these products were pricey. Turns out the reviews were correct and I am very happy with these purchases. I was looking for the perfect pink blush, but I ended up loving all three pink blushes I purchased. Nars Angelika has a beautiful gold shimmer, NYX Pinky is a very cheap matte barbie pink, and MAC Pink Swoon is a more subtle matte pink. I recommend any one of those three blushes. Along with hunting for blushes I was looking for the perfect bronzer for my skin color since I'm on the lighter size. Too Faced Snow Bunny is now my official HG bronzer. I gave up on bronzers long ago because they always looked too orange or muddy on me, but this one is perfect!! I'm so glad I gave it a try :)
Close up of Nars Angelika in all its shimmery glory

A small NYX haul because I wanted to test out their lipglosses as well as some eyeshadows for halloween. The eyeshadows in the left photo are rust and amber gold, beautiful rich colors. Below those is a lipliner in rose, which is a perfect natural light pink. In the photo on the right I have NYX blush in peach, which was a total waste of money because its chalky and doesn't show up. Then below those I have the NYX megashine lipglosses in Tea Rose (top) and Smokey Look (bottom). I also have the lipgloss in 129 beige which I use almost every day now, but I didn't post a pic.


When it comes to lip gloss I always stuck to high end brands like MAC because I had one bad allergic experience long ago with a drugstore lipgloss which made me fear all drugstore lip products up until now. I really love NYX lipsticks and lip glosses. You do have your hits and misses, but there are some colors in their lipstick and lipgloss lines that I absolutely can't live without now. Examples of those are the NYX round lipstick in Thalia and the NYX megashine lipglosses in 129 beige and smokey look. It's no wonder they are so popular.

I'm in love with Viva Glam Gaga and so I decided to try the Cyndi Lauper lipstick too. It's a very wearable red coral color, however, I still love Viva Glam Gaga more.

The Stila Collectible travel Palette No. 2 "Pretty in Paris" I bought because it was only $10 and the colors were something I could wear at the office. I use this palette a few times a week for my neutral work look. A good buy in my opinion!

My first Korres lip butter purchase was in pomegranate, which is a coral color. One of my favorite items to keep in my purse. Then one day I walked into Sephora and saw that they had many more color selections so I picked up Mango (left) and Wild Rose (right). They are sheer and not as dark as they are in the pot. $10 each. Mango is a sheer peachy summery color and Wild Rose gives a very sheer red stain. I love them both so much!!! They are perfect on those days when I want a little color but don't feel like reaching for a lipstick. I wore these often in the daytime during summer


I did an Everyday Minerals haul. From top to bottom, left to right: Glow Blush in Charm & Hypnotize (which are also swatched on my hand); ultrasuede, snow leopard, sugar skulls(free sample), fools gold, summer bronzer (free gift), twinkle twinkle little bat. I've swatched all the eyeshadows and the colors are very pigmented and bright, but I haven't really used any of them yet. The summer bronzer, which was a free gift is nothing special. I would not reccomend this bronzer because it is not very pigmented and ends up looking orange when built up.


I also went a little brush crazy over the past few months. I bought five Sigma brushes (top two pictures), left to right: Sigma Duo Fibre F50, Sigma SS239, Sigma Short Shader E20, Sigma Small Tapered Blending E45, and Sigma Pencil E30. All five of these Sigma brushes are excellent quality, very soft and not prone to shedding. I am very anal about my brushes being soft so it's always the first thing I look for in makeup brushes and Sigma brushes definitely pass my test.

I also bought various Coastal Scents brushes from their pink series (bottom left and bottom right pictures), left to right: Pink Oval Synthetic Concealer Brush, Pink Semi Firm Pointed Crease, Pink Angle Taklon Liner Brush, Pink Duo Fiber Powder Stipper, Pink Kolinsky Lip Brush, and the Pink Kabuki Brush. The brushes overall are not bad. The ones I wouldn't recommend from the batch I bought are the pencil brush and the kabuki brush. They both are very scratchy and I never use them. The brushes overall do shed which is annoying, but for their price I don't mind.

I also bought three Everyday Minerals Brushes (middle picture), left to right: Long handled kabuki, flat top brush, eye kabuki brush. These brushes are so incredibly soft and dense. They have not shed at all in my use. I use the long handled kabuki and the flat top brush for putting on pressed mineral powder foundation. The flat top brush also works well for bronzer application. The eye kabuki brush is a little too big, but I like using it for blending the entire lid.

Last one I promise, but I also purchased brushes from the EcoTools line and I'm so glad I did because I absolutely love their bronzer and powder brush. I use them literally every day. EcoTools makes the softest brushes I have ever felt. I also got the Alicia Silverstone 5-piece brush set with bag. My favorite brushes from that set are the duo fibre brush and the blush brush. The bag it comes in is really cute too. I know I don't have pictures of these brushes but that's cuz I haven't cleaned them and I seriously use them like crazy.

Plus I got a free brush from Sigma, its a short travel sized blending brush, Sigma Blending E25. I haven't used it so I can't say anything about it, but I liked all the other brushes so I probably will like this one too.

So if I were to recommend any makeup brushes my must haves would be:
*Sigma for eye brushes
*EcoTools Bronzer Brush
*EcoTools Powder Brush
*EcoTools Blush Brush
Sigma or EcoTools Duo Fibre Brush
*Everyday Minerals Long Handled Kabuki

Made a couple fragrance purchases. Just got Chanel Chance because I've been wanting it forever and cause I love Coco Mademoiselle so much. It was very expensive, but I used a 15% off coupon on fragrance.net so I was able to purchase it for $98, which is still A LOT, but better getting some dollars knocked off than nothing. I also got Burberry Summer earlier in the summer season because I just wanted a light summery scent and because it was only $33 on Amazon. I have come to the conclusion that Chanel makes THE BEST perfumes!! (Or at least my favorite ones)

Bought 3 OPI colors. Left to right: Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, Skinny Dip'n in Lake Michigan, and Tickle My France-y. I am in love with the last two colors and wear them constantly. Skinny Dip'n in Lake Michigan is a shimmer peachy nude while Tickle My France-y is a no-shimmer beige-y nude, perfect color for fall. Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous is an extra shimmery gunmetal, which looks great, but not something I can wear every day.

Lush haul!!! I got the Fresh Farmacy cleanser, which is a very gentle and very pink cleanser. It has chamomile, rose and tea tree oil in it. What I love about this cleanser is that it doesnt dry out my face. Then I got 2 massage bars. The first one is the Fever massage bar, which smells like jasmine, rose and sandalwood. Smells like heaven and melts like butter! The second one is Shimmy Shimmy bar which is a sparkly heart shaped bar that smells like vanilla and leaves you all glittery when you use it. I absolutely ADORE LUSH
Forever 21 jewelry haul. I've never been much of a jewelry girl. I just like having simple silver pieces here and there, but lately I've had an itch for CHEAP jewelry. Here is the collection I've gathered from F21 recently


I made four shoe purchases. the first is from Aldo. Strappy platform shoes that go perfectly with black mini skirts. Pretty comfortable too.

My second shoe purchase is the Frye Harness 12r boot in tan. Beautiful high quality boots, but they have been a pain in the ass to break in. Especially tough on my right ankle bone for some reason.

Some plain brown sandals from F21 that I wore daily during the summer. I have a hard time picking out sandals I like because I like simple styles and these days they have so many complicated strappy things that I really can't imagine myself wearing.

A cute Juicy Couture handbag. It's cute, but I don't really like it that much. It looks good in the picture, but the way the bag is built is really weird. I have a hardest time searching for things in this bag for some reason. The handles also wore down pretty quickly which was a disappointment.

Free Pink Tote from Victoria's Secrets. I love free stuff

Two really cheap circle scarves from F21 in mustard and beige. I think they were under $5.

Four jacket purchases from H&M. Two hooded trench coats in tan and black as well as two blazers in gray and black. I get very cold so I love buying things to layer on.

Urban Outfitters purchase. A faux leather hooded bomber jacket. Not as shiny as in this photo. Love this to death! I have a real leather jacket I got from Express from a couple years back that looks kind of like this one minus the hood and it was twice the cost of this, but I find myself wearing this one more.
I'm bad I know, but I got another faux leather jacket, this time from Express. It is the "(minus the) leather moto jacket." I wanted this one because I really like the motorcycle/biker look and it goes great with girly dresses and heels when I go out on weekends.

Another Urban Oufitters purchase. I got the Frye Engineer boot in black (I love Frye boots!), a white button-up shirt that was on sale, and a white vanity mirror. I also got this really cute vintage vanity tray, but it is on backorder :(
I HAVE TO QUIT SHOPPING NOW!!!

We're remodeling our house and so I get to pick out different pieces for the house which is fun. Getting a whole new kitchen, bathroom and all new floors. I'll also be getting a new vanity set!!!!

I think I'll have another update right after this to show you my puppy!!! Mickey!!! He has moved to the garage for the remainder of the remodeling so that he won't have to inhale all that dust while the contractor is working.

My honey backed my car into an Escalade so now there is a dent on the rear bumper.
I am in love with jeggings.

I decided I want to be a vampire this halloween.

I have skipped the gym for a really long time now.

I have not been feeling very healthy for about a month now, I think I need to go through a cleanse or something.

I recently gave Mickey a funny haircut but its growing out now.

I got the Remington 3-in-1 hair styler and now use the wind tunnel thing daily instead of the diffuser for styling my digi perm.

Thats all I can think of for now for whats been going on lately.