Favorite Looks of 2011

     On this (basically) last day of 2011, I thought it would be fun to compile my Top 10 Favorite Looks of 2011. A couple of these were actually not featured on my blog, because they were before I started blogging, but I love them anyway. All others will have links below to see the original post. Did your favorite make the list?

My Look: Ego Boost

    If you follow me on Facebook, you would have saw my post earlier about what happened at the MAC counter today. The MUA told me my makeup looked beautiful, and asked if I was a MUA myself! I was so excited, my heart stopped. I also got a new reader out of it, so: Hey there! Thank you so much for making my day! xo

Post Christmas Update

    I know, it seems like I fell off the face of the Earth. Christmas has a tendency to do that to me. Between my husbands family, and my own, we have done 7 Christmases, with 1 more to go this week. It's ridiculous.
    The kids, of course, made out like bandits. They have to be about the most spoiled kids I've ever met. (Lucky ducks, LOL) Big items they received were: Yamaha 4Wheeler ride on for the baby, DS games, The Real Lightning McQueen, Rocky the dump truck.... the list goes on.
    What did I get? The hubbs got me a beautiful pair of gold hoops with little blue dolphins on them. (He said he picked them so the blue would match the tattoo on my neck. He actually thought about it. Love him) I also received a couple good books (I'm a big book worm). A new makeup mirror, and a Konad nail stamping set. It's SOO cool!!!! I've played with it a little bit already, and can't wait to show you all some cool nail designs =)

   I also got some Christmas moolah. I trekked out to the mail today and did a little shopping. At Ulta I picked up 2 more Lip Butters in Creamsicle and Cupcake. I also grabbed a couple China Glaze polishes from my Lust List for 50% off. I picked up Below Deck and Senorita Bonita.  The also had one of the Ulta Exclusive Holiday polishes for 50%, it's called Ultimate Holiday. This polish is amazeballs. It's a gold, holographic glitter. Beautiful!

   At Forever 21, i got a tunic, a skirt, a necklace with a diamond high heel, some earrings, and a headband. 

That about wraps up Christmas here in our household. I hope the holidays were good to everyone else also! Be back next post with a makeup look. Love to all!!

A Little Confession... and a quick FOTD

    Are you ready for it? .... I purchased my first MAC products. *GASP*  I heard it, I heard your shock. I know, I know, I'm all about the drugstore and the penny pinching. However, I wasn't really penny pinching. I was spending money on anything and everything, just to have it. It all adds up! Then it sits in my collection, sometimes I use it: sometimes I don't. It's a waste of money for me to just do that every week. I decided if what I really want is MAC, then I'm going to buy it. It is expensive, so I am limiting myself to one thing each week. However it will be things that I ACTUALLY really want to own, and will use. So I justify myself ;)
    So what did I get? Well last week I purchased Satin Taupe eye shadow. This week I got Naked Lunch eye shadow. So far.... I love them as much as I knew I would. After looking at swatch after swatch of Satin Taupe, I was worried it would be too dark, or too brown. But it's really not. It's a beautiful grey/purple/taupe mixture. I like it on the lid, I like it in the crease, I like it all all over. I'd bathe in it ;) Naked Lunch is a soft cream/peach/baby pink combo. It's kind of hard to explain. It makes a nice brow highlight, but also a nice neutral lid color. I think both are definite staples in any MAC collection.
    What will I get next? Probably All That Glitters eye shadow. I don't know. I think what I'm actually going to do is save my money and place a bigger order online so I can get my shadows in refill pans (they are $4 cheaper) and put them in a palette. We shall see!

Keep reading after the jump!

Beauty Academy Awards 2011

    All products mentioned are from my own collection. You may feel there is something better in each category, but I can only go by what I actually own =) As with the regular Academy Awards, there will be a handful of nominees in each category, and an overall winner. This is just for fun, this is not a totally serious thing. I thought this would be a fun way to do my year end favorites. Enjoy!

My Look: Purple Love

    All of my pictures turned out pretty darn awesome today, so there is going to be LOTS. I hope you all like looking at my mug ;)
    I am off to my mom's for Christmas Festivities this evening, so I had to get all dolled up. You know me, I love me some PURPLE. So get ready for some purple love pic spam.

Wet n Wild Color Icon Trio Review

    I have 5 of these trios now, and I thought I'd do an in depth review of them. Overall I really really love these trios. The pigmentation is amazing, and they are only $2.99. I have gotten some on sale for less also. All of the trios are labeled as "browbone", "crease", and "eyelid" instead of having shade names. Individual reviews are in order from my favorite, to least favorite. I say least favorite, but I LOVE all of them (that I own).

Walking on Eggshells

    I can't say enough about this one, I LOVE it! I think everyone should own this trio. If you don't have it, go get it. NOW. Stop reading, go to Rite Aid and buy this right this second. Are you back? You made your purchase? Good, things are well in the world again. All kidding aside, the colors in this are gorgeous. They will look great on any skin tone. The browbone shade is a shimmered cream color. The crease shade is a shimmered bronzy brown (very pretty). The eyelid color is a frosty pink champagne color. This is a great trio for a neutral look, or on a day when you want a softer look. I will defiantly repurchase this again, and have bought it as a gift for other people.

Silent Treatment

    This is the 2nd trio I ever purchased (on recommendation from Emily of Beauty Broadcast). This reminds of of the I'm getting Sunburned, but a different cooler toned version. The browbone shade is a soft baby pink. The crease shade is a VERY DARK, VERY pigmented sparkly shade, more charcoal colored. The eyelid shade is a metallic lilac/taupe color. This trio is great because you can use just two of the colors for a nice day look, but you add that crease shade and BAM! Beautiful smokey eye.

I'm Getting Sunburned

    I just received this for my birthday (thanks Jaimee!) After playing around with it, I love it! All three shades are shimmer (most of the trios are). The eyelid shade is a gorgeous bronze. Gorgeous probably doesn't even cover it. The crease shade is also a VERY DARK, VERY pigmented sparkly brown, with a hint of a red undertone. Very much like Silent Treatment, but more brown than charcoal. The browbone shade looks like a bubblegum pink in the pan, but comes out more sheer and wearable. I enjoy this trio thoroughly.

Dancing in the Clouds

    This one is part of the LE Dream Weavers Collection. On an off chance I picked this up at Rite Aid, and it wasn't even by Wet n Wild stuff. I looked for more, but there were none. Oh well, it is the only one I wanted anyway. I have to say I am a little disappointed. The one shade that drew me to this, is a let down. The bright purple crease shade is just not very pigmented. It does ok, over a purple cream base, but you really have to dig into the pan. The eyelid shade is a very nice rose gold color. The browbone shade is a light dusty gold color. These two eye shadows are nicely pigmented, but that purple is a real bummer.

Spoiled Brat

    This is the 1st trio I ever bought. Not long after purchase I dropped it and completely lost the pink eyelid color. It was a VERY bright magenta pink. It actually looked like crap on me, and I didn't know how to use it at the time, so I'm not too disappointed it broke. The browbone shade is a silver color that reminds me of a silver foil nail polish. It's very cool. The crease shade is a very pigmented black with silver sparkles. I use this shade a LOT to go on top of my eyeliner. That black is probably my most used Wet n Wild shade. It's worth the price of the trio itself, it's a really good black.

    So that's my review on what I have. All are winners in my book, except that purple. What are your favorite trios? Which ones should I pick up next?

Gift Guide for the Makeup Junkie Teen in Your Life

    I had a question from aunt this morning, on some gift set ideas for her teenage sons girlfriend. I thought to myself just now, what a good blog post! I previously did a Christmas Gift Guide, but those were things you or I may want. Teens don't necessarily need such lavish things, maybe they just need a "start up kit". Do you have a makeup loving teen in your life? Here are my suggestions to her, and maybe you will find the perfect thing for that special teen in your life also.

My Look: Feeling Festive

    I was feeling especially festive this morning, so I'm all decked out in red. I have on a red top I picked up at Goodwill. Also black skinny jeans, and red heels. To top off my red outfit sundae, I am wearing China Glaze Ruby Pumps. So after all that, you may be saying to yourself, "I thought she doesn't do red?" Well, I don't, normally. But sometimes something just sumps out at me and I go with it =)

It's A Nude Slip Thing

    There is this Revlon single, Nude Slip, that I have been lemming for quite a few months now. However, I don't like the idea of spending over $4 for a drugstore single eye shadow. I was at my local Walgreens lately, and if you've been there you'd have noticed they have a LOT of stuff 75% off. Well, lo and behold, that little Revlon beauty was on sale for $2.59, with an extra dollar off at the register. Score!!

My Look: Pretty Preppy

    My usual morning routine consists of this: Wake up 6:30 am, get kids up and ready for school. 7:10 am, put kids on bus, go back to sleep. Sometimes I don't go back to bed, sometimes I am a normal human being and I get ready for the day. Today happened to be a normal human day, lol. The best part is, I always look my best when I have 2 hours to myself to do nothing but be pretty.

Mani: Rainbow in the S-Kylie

    I've posted before about this glitter polish, Rainbow in the S-Kylie, and how it is a dupe for Rainbow Connection. If you couldn't get your hands on Rainbow Connection, run on over to your local Walmart and find this polish! This is part of the Kardashian Kolors collection, and is exclusive to Walmart, for $7. (Rainbow Connection is $8.50) This polish is made up of blue, silver, yellow, orange, green and red glitter.
    Application of this polish is typical for chunky glitters. You can apply it to the nail, and push it around with the brush to wear you want it. I used 2 coats for this mani.
    I layered this beautiful glitter over Pure Ice All Nighter. I used 2 coats for this french tip, before applying the glitter polish. I really enjoy this polish. I'm not a huge red fan, but this such a perfect mix of red and burgundy. This is also available at Walmart for about $2. I topped all with a coat of OPI Top Coat.

Happy Beautifying Lovelies!!

Tag... Would You Rather?

 I stole this from The Ice Queen, and thought it'd be fun for Monday Blog Hop =)

1. Would you rather lose your lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, eyeliners or all of your eye shadows and palettes?

I'm going to say, lipsticks. I have lipsticks, love lipsticks, but out all mentioned I use them the least. I love my eye products way too much to part with them.


2. Would you rather chop off all of your hair and not be able to grow it or never be able to cut it, again?

OMG, I'd rather never cut it again. I am growing my hair out now. It's probably the longest it's been since 2nd grade. I hope I never cut it short again!


3. Would you rather only have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

Geez, I don't know. I'd like to say pink, but my fave blush (Luminoso) is sort of coraly. So I guess I'll go with coral.


4. If you had $1,000 to spend would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

These questions are too hard. I hope I get an A+ haha. I'm going to go with clothes. Clothes are so much fun to buy (not that makeup isn't) and I bet I could buy an entire Goodwill with a grand.


5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eye liner or eye liner as lipstick?

What? That's just weird, I don't think either would work. Lipstick as eyeliner is my vote.


6. Would you rather only be able to shop at Sephora or MAC?

I've never shopped MAC in my life. While there are a few things I covet from MAC, I'm defiantly going with Sephora. Much bigger brand selection.


7. Would you rather wear only one eye shadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

Lip color, hands down. I wear different eyeshadow daily.

8. Would you rather wear Winter clothes in Summer or Summer clothes in Winter?

Summer clothes in winter. I love my cardigans and boots, but I like dresses and shorts way better :P


9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year around?

Bright nails all the way. I love, love, love me some bright nail polish!


10. Would you rather give up your favourite eye product or your favourite lip product?

Lip product. I don't necessarily have a fave lip product, so I don't know what it would be. I'm an eye product junkie, as you all know.


11. Would you rather be able to only wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

I want to say pony tail, I really do. But my go-to is always a messy bun.


12. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I couldn't give up painting my nails. Ever. I will be 85, and painting my nails. Guarantee it. Look me up in 60 years =)


13. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in, every day?

Oh Lord. I'm in the throws of an eyebrow situation right now. Damn you tweezers for letting me pluck the hell out of my eyebrows! I wish daily I could just tattoo them on LOL. I'd rather Sharpie them in everyday than have none.


14. Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

The dilemma of my life haha. I guess I'd rather give up nail polish, but it wouldn't be without a fight! I need my makeup to feel like a functioning member of society. Losing all my makeup... the very idea makes me vomit in my mouth a little.


So, did I get an A+?? =) Hope you all had fun getting to know me a little bit. Happy Monday!

5 Products I Use Daily

    I saw Emily (from Beauty Broadcast) do this post a couple weeks ago, and thought I'd put myself to the test. This was actually pretty hard, because I change things up almost daily. So I challenged myself to determine 5 products I use EVERY single day.

1. Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation. Are you sick of me talking about this yet? haha. This is my Holy Grail foundation. I love it, and have already repurchased. I love the coverage, the feeling, and how it applies. I will buy this again, and again, and again.
2. Rimmel Match Perfection concealer. I really enjoy this. I like that it is a liquid, it comes with a built in brush, and it covers well. I will repurchase (soon, I'm almost out).
3. Sephora Eyebrow Pencil. I got this on sale for $1, and since it was clearanced out, will probably not be able to repurchase. I friggled up my brows quite a few months ago, so the need help daily. LOL
4. Mary Kay Mineral Powder. I use this, and this only, for 3 straight years as my foundation. I now use it to set my face. However, it is $18. My MK rep is out of the biz now, so I will not be buying it anymore. Not that I dislike it, I'm just going to try something new, and cheaper. I've purchased Dream Matte Powder, and am going to give that a whirl.
5. NYC Sunny bronzer. Another one I never shut up about. I rarely use another bronzer, and it's always in conjunction with this one. I usually use it to contour, but sometimes use it alone. I love that it's not orange looking, and it is a matte finish.

*Honorable Mention* ELF Eyelid Primer.  I use this 99% of the time, but sometimes I do use my Urban Decay Primer Potion, or something different. This product is a great buy for only $1.

What are your 5 Daily Products?? Happy beautifying lovelies!

My Look: Peasant Soup

I found a couple of good finds at Goodwill the other day. This shirt was $1.50, as were my shoes. I usually don't find anything good at my Goodwill, so it was a good day. I really like this peasant top, I think it's super cute =)

Top: Forever 21 via Goodwill (brand new)

Jeans: SO by Kohls (1+ years old)

Shoes: Rampage via Goodwill (brand new)

Detail of my top

Has anyone else found anything good at Goodwill lately?

I'm A Dirty, Rotten, Little Cheater....

    No, this has nothing to do with my husband LOL. I'm supposed to be on a 6 week no-buy. Reason being: I'm off work for the next 6, well 5 now, weeks. What am supposed to do when the hubbs gives me money for shopping?? I can't turn it down, so I cheated. I cheated on my no-buy. Oh the shame! I'm hanging my head, and hiding my tail between my legs now.

So what did I get?

At Walmart:

• Wet n Wild nail polish - Wild Card
• Wet n Wild nail polish - Night Prowl
• Wet n Wild nail polish - Bijou Blue
• Wet n Wild nail polish - Blue Moon
• Wet n Wild 8 pan palette - Petal Pusher

At Rite- Aid:

• Revlon nail polish - No Shrinking Violet (75% off)
• Revlon nail polish - Plum Night (75% off)
• Revlon Lip Butter - Peach Parfait
• Revlon Lip Butter - Berry Smoothie (Buy 1 get 1 50% off)

    I've been dying to try the Lip Butters. I LOVE them! I've worn both of them already today, and I can't decide which one I like better. I know I have a couple more on my Lust List, but I'm pretty sure I want them ALL. Sad, I know.
    So there's my little cheating haul. Do I feel real guilt? Hell to the no. haha

If All My Makeup Disappeared....

What 10 items would I repurchase??

My Look: Warm and Cozy

Green With Envy

     I don't believe I've ever worn plain green eye shadow before. Hmmm... nope, don't think I have. I have this Wet n Wild single in Envy that I've been wanting to try, so I decided now is the time! I also used my Comfort Zone palette again today (love!) This is what I came up with....

Charlize Theron (Dior Ad) Inspired

   I saw this amazing ad picture in a Wall Street Journal magazine. I don't know about you, but I think Charlize Theron is incredibly beautiful, and just exudes sexiness. I love this look because there is no defined eyeliner, or overly intricate eye look going on. It's mostly about her amazing, glowing skin.

    Obviously I do not look the Charlize, nor do I own any Dior products. I used what I have, on my own average face. I really like how my recreation turned out, and can see myself wearing this often. I just can't get over how beautiful this woman is, the glow to her skin makes her look even more amazing. Enough of my girl love, LOL.

Top 10 Nail Polish Picks for Winter

    When I think of winter colors, I think: blue, silver, red, green, sparkly. These are my picks (from my collection) of nail polishes I'll  be rocking this winter.

My Look: A Good Frost

   In Michigan here today, it is a nasty disgusting day. It's been raining since last night, and the weather calls for snow, as we are under a weather advisory. Really? Why oh why do I live here?? My entire driveway looks like a swimming pool, and I'm petrified my basement is going to flood again. Ugghhh....

    I am done with my November schedule, but wouldn't you know it, I did Too Faced Tuesday today, lol. I guess technically the month isn't over until tomorrow anyway.  =)  Today's look is brought to you by Too Faced Natural Eye Palette.

Random Thought

    I watched a video by Beauty Broadcast a while back (if you don't follow or watch her, you MUST) where she had her husband do her makeup. It was frickin' HILARIOUS!! I asked my husband if he'd do it for a blog post, he declined. He's no fun haha.
    My 6 year old asks me all the time if he can do my lip stick, and do my hair, etc. My random thought is this: perhaps I will let him do it this weekend and have one awesome post from it all, and hilarious quality time with my son.
    Thoughts? Should I be scared? LOL

November Favorites

    As you know, I have been going by a schedule this November. It is located to the right hand side of the blog. Anywhoozle, I thought it would be fun to pick ONE specific color, or whatever, from each palette that especially loved using this month. Also, my favorite look from every category.

Drugstore:

• ELF 32 palettes- Brights. I love the bright purple in this palette. It has nice pigmentation, and love the color of it.
• Wet n Wild gel liner - I am still getting the hang of gel liners, but I really enjoy this. It is easy to apply, and it is VERY black.

Birthday Weekend- Look 1

Urban Decay- Naked Palette:

• Darkhorse - I used this color again today (but no sun doesn't help to get pics). I love this deep brown. It has some shimmer to it, which takes the deepness down a bit, I feel that way anyway. 
• For some reason I only posted one Naked palette look all month, weird. 

The Sunday Nudes

Urban Decay- 15th Anniversary Collection

• Evidence - I LOVE this blue! It's so deep and dreamy. 

I Love Urban Decay... Here's the 'Evidence' 

Too Faced

• Push-Up - This is such a cool color. It's a rosey gold, pinkish, bronzey bundle of awesomeness. This is in the Natural Eye palette. 
• Don't Call Me Poppy - I am really enjoying this poppy, pinkish blush. I have this in a duo from my Beautiful dreamer collection.

Birthday Weekend - Look 2

Coastal Scents

• It's so hard to explain colors in CS palettes, as they have no names and there is 88 colors in them. I especially like the teals I used for my Eagles look this month, but the whole palette is amaze-balls. 

My Look: Philadelphia Eagles

    What I've learned this month is that I love a lot of things in my collection. It was hard to force myself to use something on some days when I wanted to use others, but I'm glad I shopped my collection. It was fun to do something, and use something, different everyday. Will I post everyday next month? Probably not. I will do a schedule again in the future, but not next month. My favorite palette to use all month, hands down? Urban Decay 15th Anniversary. I was excited every Thursday because I couldn't wait to use it.

    What were your favorite looks this month? Happy Beautifying!

Monday Mani: Holly-Day and Twinkle Lights

    I have a China Glaze mani for you lovely people today. I actually did this mani about a week and a half ago, but never posted it. These 2 polishes are from the new Holiday collection. I got these 2, plus 1 other, together for $7.99 at Sally's. The Set included Holly-Day, Twinkle Lights and Poinsettia (which is red).
    I like the application of all these polishes. Holly-Day goes on nice and smooth. It is a great Christmas green, and I will defiantly be wearing it again in December. Twinkle Lights is by far the queen of this holiday collection. I have it layered here, but it is beyond gorgeous on it's own. It can be opaque in 3 coats. It's so twinkly and sparkly you can't help but stare at it all day long.

I had to boost saturation a bit to show true color. This is pretty darn close.

Twinkle Lights is composed of green, red and gold glitter particles. Kind of chunky, but not really. Average size glitter flakes. It is a topcoat eater, as a lot of glitters are. 

Look at the shine on that! Beautiful!!

Visit Nikki's Mane Blog for info

If you are joining from the blog hop, leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by! Have a wonderful day, and Happy Beautifying!!

My Thanksgiving Look & Mani

    I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and survived Black Friday shopping. We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year. Lots of family to talk to, lots of food to eat, I had a great holiday. My husbands grandfather has a slot machine that all the kids play with. My littlest guy had a blast with that =)  I did NOT brave shopping this morning, that just too much craziness for me. Here's my look for Thanksgiving dinner. (I apologize, my camera is dead, and my phone is taking crap pics lately)

Look of the Day & A Nail Mail Catastrophe

    I had decided recently that I absolutely, without a doubt, needed to get the WnW Comfort Zone palette. Whew! I got it, so now I can sleep easier at night ;) I love, love, love it! The olive shades are gorgeous, the bronzes are beautiful, and every shade is super pigmented. There is a shade on the bottom right that is duochrome, which is totally rad (I'm sorry, I'm a child of the 80's). It looks green, but it swatches a reddish brown. I actually lined my lower lash line with it today, and it had green flashes to it. Complete awesomeness, I'm tellin' ya. Below is a picture of the palette, with the colors numbered for clarity.

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• #3 in crease, blended out with a bit of #2
• #1 as brow highlight
• #6 packed onto the lid
• #8 smudged on lower lash line
• Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara

    As for my Nail Mail Catastrophe... I ordered a couple more China Glaze polishes, this time from Head2Toe Beauty (shipping charges were WAY better, by the way). My beautiful babies came in the mail today, yay!!! I ripped open the box, and there inside were my beauties, rolled in bubble wrap. When I ordered from TransDesign, they were in little China Glaze boxes. Anywho, I picked up one of my little bubble wrapped presents, and one of my polishes falls out and splats on the floor. They weren't wrapped all the way, just on the sides!!! Of course it was my 'It's Alive', which is hard to find and totally awesome. The neck snapped right off the bottle. Unbelievable! I had to go find a polish to dump, rinse the bottle, and re-bottle it. The only bottle I had was an OLD Wet n Wild with a crap-tastic brush. I'm totally bummed. Lesson learned I guess, always handle your babies with care :P

    I hope every one of you has a fabulous Thanksgiving, and treasures every moment spent with family and loved ones. One of the things I am thankful for this year, is this blog as my creative outlet, and all you beautiful people out there who actually read it =) Love to all!! <3

Too Faced Tuesday

    I had a lot of sleep to catch up on last night, and after all that I didn't feel like getting pretty today. I really just felt like sleeping some more. Add that to the fact that it is raining cats and dogs here, and you have this:

Scary, I know ;) Here's what I used today...

Face:

• Mary Kay mineral powder
• NYC Sunny  bronzer
• ELF blush in 'Tickled Pink'

Eyes:

• ELF eyelid primer
• NYX jumbo pencil in 'Yogurt'' (on lid only)
• Too Faced Natural Eye palette- "Velvet Revolver' in crease, 'Nude Beach' as brow highlight, 'Silk Teddy' on lid.
• Wet n Wild cream liner on top lash line
• Wet n Wild pencil liner in Charcoal on lower lash line and waterline
• Essence All Eyes on Me mascara

Happy Tuesday lovelies!

P.S. Results of the poll are in. 66% who voted would like to see more outfits, so I will post some when I think they are special enough =)

Swatchfest: China Glaze 'First Mate' & 'Lorelie's Tiara'

    This is my 2nd time joining in on the Monday Beauties Blog Hop. I enjoy it because I can check out a lot of other blogs, and people can find me also. I'm am finding some VERY nice people through the blog hop =)

Click HERE to learn more about the Blog Hop. 

On to my manicure for this Monday. I am recently developing an addiction to China Glaze polishes. I don't know what my deal is, all of a sudden I am on a nail polish kick. Whatever, I enjoy it LOL. I ordered a couple polishes from TransDesign last week. Let me say this about TransDesign: they're shipping is super quick, I received my package in 2 days. However, shipping is expensive. I may check out Head2Toe Beauty next time.  I ordered a couple polishes from the Anchors Away collection, and I also have a couple from the new Eye Candy 3D Glitters collection. Today I am wearing First Mate, and Lorelei's Tiara. 

First Mate is an AWESOME dusty navy blue. I absolutely love this polish. It is a one coater, but I did 2 just because. This was in the Anchors Away collection, but is now in the permanent line. I topped this with a coat of OPI top coat. 

Look at the shine!

Lorelei's Tiara is amazing. I can't stop staring at it's sparkly deliciousness. This is from the new Eye Candy collection, which was designed after Marilyn Monroe (right up my alley!). This polish is a beauty, you really need to see it in person to appreciate it as my pictures do it no justice. This is 2 coats, and 1 layer of OPI top coat. 

    As you can see, I had acrylics put back on. I got sick of dealing with my glue-ons, and committed to acrylics again (what was I thinking?! haha) I love my long nails though, so much fun to paint! ;)  I hope you are all having a fabulous Monday! Happy Beautifying lovelies!

I've Got My Cat Eye On You

    I have been totally loving cat eye liner lately. Only problem is, I still kind of suck at it! It's a work in progress, we will say haha! Once I decided to do a cat eye today, I decided to go full on kitsch, and put on a bunch of leopard print too. Let's get on to the look meow. I mean, now. =)

Face:

• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation
• Mary Kay mineral powder
• Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
• NYC 'Sunny' bronzer, for contouring cheek bones
• NYX blush in 'Pinched', apples of the cheeks
• Wet n Wild MegaGlo powder 'Catwalk Pink', for highlighting cheek bones

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Wet n Wild single in 'Brulee', all over from lid to brow.
• Matte tan color from an older NYC palette. Applied increase, really blended through.
• NYC bronze eyeliner pencil, lower water line
• Wet n Wild black cream eye liner. Top lashes, winged out dramatically. Also tight line.
• Wet n Wild black eye shadow, over top liner and smudged slightly on lower lash line.
• Essence False Lash mascara

Lips:

• LA Colors nude pink lip liner
• NYX lipstick in 'Summer Love'
• Sephora lip gloss in 'Litchi Shine'

Shirt: Mossimo by Target. Cardigan with belt: Walmart. 

Jeans: Wallflowers via Meijer. Shoes: Body Central. Earrings: Glitter

Have a lovely leopard day! 

Conference Call on Line 1

        This evening I have parent- teacher conferences at my boys school. So, I'm in mommy mode today. =) I opted not to go too crazy with color on my face today, I want to look like a responsible parent (appearance is everything  right? ;) ) To be perfectly honest with you, my son's teacher scares the poo out of me, lol! On to the makeup! I used my usual on the face today, so I will skip typing that part.

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• 'Chase' in crease, blended out the edges nice and soft.
• 'Vanilla' as brow highlight. Blended down into crease color a bit.
• 'Midnight 15' as lid color.
• Urban Decay 24/7 in 'Demolition' - lined upper lid, outer half of lower waterline.
• 'M.I.A' over top of liner with an angled brush to set.
• Too Faced Lashgasm mascara. I got this in a kit and am trying it out.

Cheeks:

• ELF Golden Bronzer, lightly all over
• NYC Sunny bronzer on contours of cheeks, blended up to the temples
• NYX blush in 'Pinched' on the apples, blended slightly back.

*Earrings are from Forever 21

Mother - Son Dance pics

   I'm a totally goof, I totally forgot to post pics of the kids and I all ready for the dance! Funny thing happened while there: Someone brought out a GINORMOUS beach ball for the kids to play with. Of course all 50+ little boys were fighting over it. Well my oldest son got knocked in the chin and fell on the floor, and POP! his loose tooth fell out. LOL He came running over to me smiling from ear to ear, blood dripping, "Mom!! I lost my tooth!!!" What are the chances? I forgot to bring my camera into the dance (duh! mommy brain...) I do have a couple pics to share though.

Myself and 3 of my little guys. The littlest one didn't want to get in on the picture. 

This is the picture we had taken at the dance. Excuse the glare, it was already in a frame. 

c/o Scott Hall photography

Jaedon, after the tooth fiasco. It's so weird seeing him with a 'window' lol

   That's it for dance pics. We had a really great time. Jake (my blonde one) is a really shy guy, but he was running and dancing and talking to kids, the whole time. That had to be the best part for me. They both actually wanted to dance with me (gasp! that won't last long enough). All in all good time, can't wait for next year!

I'm Getting Sunburned

    Today is drugstore product day. I received the Wet n Wild trio "I'm Getting Sunburned" for my birthday, and I've been dying to do a look with it. I only used 2 colors from this trio, but I like the soft, subtle look it gave me. I'm feeling extra lazy today, so it worked out just fine.

Face:

• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation
• Mary Kay mineral powder
• NYC Sunny bronzer
• CS blush - terra cotta color (I used a very light touch)
• no concealer today, I didn't feel like it

Eyes:

• ELF eyelid Primer
• Pink color labeled 'browbone' on lid
• Bronze color labeled 'eyelid' in crease. Feather out edges
• Wet n Wild single 'Brulee' as brow highlight
• Wet n Wild purple eyeliner. Lower lash & water line. Outer half of upper lash line.
• Essence Waterproof mascara
• LIPS: NYX lip gloss in 'Perfect'

Do you have this trio? How do you like to wear it? Don't forget to take my poll at the top left-hand corner of the page. Happy beautifying lovelies!

Ulta Cosmetics Review

    You may recall a couple months back I had an Ulta haul (my first, and my first blog post also) You ca see it HERE. I have now had over 3 months to play with it, and wanted to do a deeper review. I had bought the Getaway Glamour palette for $18. It is still available at Ulta.com .  I was SUPER excited about this, being my first ever Ulta shopping trip and purchase.

    This palette includes 38 eye shadows. The shadows are kind of hit or miss for me. Some of them are REALLY great. (I especially love the color Silk). Some of the others just have shoddy pigmentation. You really have to dig, and then they don't want to blend. The more neutral shades are a lot better than some of the more colorful shades. I don't know, I guess this is actually kind of common for any brand brand really. You have studs... and duds. After purchasing higher end, and cheaper, products that perform much better I just don't reach for my Ulta shadows much anymore. I should play with them more often. There really is a great variety of shades in the palette.
    There are 8 lip colors in this kit. I do actually enjoy the lip colors very much. They are all nicely pigmented. Not the greatest staying power, but I never have much look there (except for Rimmel Lasting Finish). The biggest issues I have are: 1) You have to dig your finger in to put it on, then you have messy fingers. 2) The palette is big, you can't through it in your purse for a lip touch-up. There is an actual tube gloss in this set also, which is very nice. It seems very berry colored with glitter. It comes off more sheer, which is just fine with me. Others may not like that however.
    Getaway Glamour with 2 sets of "stripe" bronzers ( I don't know what to call them, there are stripes of bronzer) These are actually very pigmented, but one set is much too dark for me. I should try it as an eye shadow. There is a "stripe" blush, and also a pressed powder. I haven't used them much, so I can't really review them.
    Lastly, the brushes. The brushes in this palette were absolutely crap-tacular. The lip brush is limp and frays. The sponge tip basically disintegrated. Total bummer there.
    All in all, what you get for the price is not bad at all. There are some letdowns in here, but not all together bad. Have you tried any Ulta brand products? What are your thoughts?

What Beauty Means To Me - My Story

    I am a mother to 4 young, crazy, boys. My life is very stressful sometimes. Up until about 3 or 4 months ago, I lived in pajamas. Getting makeup on and wearing nice clothes was reserved for the rare night out. We all know how it feels to be in a "slump". I've been there, for 6 years. I am a stay-at-home mom. Why do I need to get dressed, right?
    Finally one day I looked in the mirror and just thought to myself, "gross!" I looked like hell, and it made me feel like crap about myself. I realized being lazy with myself, made me feel lazy all day. I never wanted to do anything. I didn't want to take the kids anywhere, I didn't want to clean, I didn't want to cook a nice meal. I just felt "blah" about all aspects of my life, because I put no effort into anything.
    I started getting into makeup and fashion a little bit sometime in the middle of this summer. I started trying new looks on myself. It was fun to do, and I liked the results. I have since learned A LOT of new things, and how to look nice even when I feel "blah". I also started to do something with my hair every day. It started off as "What is the point of having a nice face, if I have a rats nest on top of my head?". It's amazing how long my hair is once I got it out of it's ratted up bun/ cage. I have good hair! Who knew? Now I want to do something with my hair every day, not only to coordinate with my face, but because I have such nice long hair.
    My dear friend Kassi inspired me with my wardrobe again. I put away the pajamas, and dusted off my closet door. So many pretty things in there just waiting to be worn! Kassi has an amazing blog (you can read HERE) and it lit the fire to make me want to look presentable everyday. I wear heels most days (even stay at home days), I wear dresses, skirts, tights, leopard print. Clothes are so fun!
    Here is what I learned after putting all this together: I am happy with myself. I've never said that in my entire life. I have confidence in myself. Girls, putting a little effort into yourself can make a world of difference! Your most important asset is yourself, so invest in YOURSELF. You are stuck with you until the end... enjoy who you are! Do I need to dress up and put on makeup everyday? No. I do it because it makes me feel better. It makes me want to accomplish things. I give myself time every morning to get ready. After that I am ready to attack the day. Who cares if I never leave the house on any given day? The point is I made an effort, and it made me happy. I want to make a nice dinner now. I want to do things with my kids. I want my husband to see how sexy I am, because of how sexy I FEEL.
    My marriage is on a HUGE upward swing. Now that I invest in myself, I invest in our relationship also. It's all because I feel confident and happier with myself. I flirt with him, I kiss him more. I'm an all around nicer wife.
    My point to all of this is: You are a beautiful woman. Invest in yourself, you are always worth the time. Pull that pencil skirt and heels out of the closet on a Tuesday, put on some pink lipstick and do it JUST BECAUSE. You don't need an occasion to feel amazing. You should feel that way every single day. =) Do you need expensive things? No, absolutely not. Most of my best clothes came from the Goodwill. Makeup-wise, you can pull off a bombshell look for $15. I intend to prove it in the very near future. I bet we all have something in the closet we stare at longingly, but never wear. Put it on! Who cares if you only vacuum the living room in it?
    I truly hope all you beautiful women take time to take care of yourself every day. It is worth it to be happy with yourself. All aspects of your life will benefit from it. When you are happy on the inside, it always shows on the outside, and that's something no makeup can do. Have fun being beautiful you!

    Please feel free to share your story. I read every comment, and I enjoy knowing others are happy in their lives. If you are in a "slump" share that story too, I can relate to you!

Monday Mani: China Glaze 'Awakenings'

     For today's mani I have an awesome China Glaze polish. This is actually the only China Glaze I own right now, but it was love at first swatch. 'Awakenings' is suh a pretty fall color, but is awesome enough to wear anytime. It is mostly a rose color, but it flashes to gold, and purpleish in the light. Application is a dream, and it is opaque in 2 coats.

Happy Beautifying!