Bridal Makeup Trial Run

    My soon to be sister-in-law asked me yesterday if I would do her makeup for the wedding. I'm totally stoked about it! Totally fitting to the situation, Sam Schuerman posted a youtube video of a bridal look yesterday. I decided to take it for a trial run today to make sure I'd be able to do a good job at it. I absolutely love how it turned out! It's very delicate and feminine, and not too "made up". I'll post the video link below if you'd like to check it out.

• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation
• Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
• NYX Stay Matte Not Flat powder foundation
• NYC 'Sunny' bronzer
• Essence 'Adorable' blush
• Physicians Formula Happy Booster translucent powder
• Sephora eyebrow pencil
• Essence eyebrow gel
• e.l.f eyelid primer
• Urban Decay 'Booty Call' e/s (Naked 2)
• Urban Decay 'Buck' e/s (Naked 1)
• Urban Decay 'Naked' e/s (Naked 1)
• Urban Decay 'Virgin' e/s (Naked 1)
• Urban Decay 'Chopper' e/s (Naked 2)
• Urban Decay 24/7 liner 'Bourbon'
• Urban Decay 'Darkhorse' e/s (over liner)
• Essence False Lash mascara

Happy Beautifying Lovelies!!

(Sam's Video)

Products I'm Using Up

    I don't really want to call this a "Project 10 Pan" because I intend to use these products completely up, not just "hit pan". Nor does this coincide with a "no-buy". (I am on a no-buy, but for other reasons). I'm not trying to go through these because I hate the product or anything like that. There are varying factors in this, as I will state below. Does anyone else have any products there are trying to get though right now? What are yours?

• Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser (35% left): I'm trying to finish this one up because I have another I want to use. I bought the Morning Burst kind, and I prefer that to this original one. I do like this face wash, I just don't want to try to go through 2 at once.
• OPI Top Coat (55% left): I enjoy this top coat, but now that it's half gone, it's very hard to get the product on the brush. I have to tilt the bottle to do so. I now have a bottle of Seche Vite, and that stuff is AWESOME. So I'm finishing this top coat so I can use the other.
• B&BW 'Be Enchanted' body lotion (65% left): I have SO many lotions that's it's a bit ridiculous. I decided to just pick a bottle and stick with it until it's gone. 
• Philosophy 'Happy Birthday Beautiful!' body wash (65% left): I recently purchased a bottle of B&BW 'Pink Chiffon' body wash that I want to use, so I am finishing this one up first. This is actually very good body wash, and it smells just like a birthday cake =)
• NYC 'Sunny' bronzer (15% left): What?! Why is this here?? Well, because I already have a back-up lol. I also have 2 other bronzers I use occasionally. So I'm sticking strictly to this one until it's gone. 
• Rimmel Match Perfection concealer (5% left): I thoroughly enjoy this concealer. I however just picked up Maybelline Mineral Power on clearance at Target that I'd like to use. I figured this is almost gone, so I may as well finish it before I start a new one. 
• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation (25% left): You know I adore this foundation, I've blogged about it many times. This is actually my 2nd one that I'm working on. I started using Neutrogena Healthy Skin not too long ago, and I REALLY love that foundation too. I decided since I now have 3 foundations I'm cycling though, I need to finish one altogether. This having the least amount of product in it, got to be the chosen one. 
• Sephora eyebrow pencil (55% left): I just want to be done with this pencil. I have been working on it for months now. I bought another eyebrow pencil I like better, so I am just ready for this one to be gone. 
• e.l.f Eyelid Primer (2% left): I'm just trying to finish this off because it's on it's last leg. I don't know if there is even 2% left in here; I maybe have 3 uses left.  
• (not pictured) Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara (??% left): I have no clue how much is left in this mascara, it's literally about gone. I can probably use this 2 or 3 more times and that's it. Great mascara, but I won't be buying again anytime soon, I have too many others to finish up first. 

Those are the things I am currently working on. How about you? Have a great day lovelies!

New Hair & A Look of the Day

    I have been wanting to do hair extensions for quite some time now. However, I can't afford the beaded ones, or to go to a salon every six weeks. My solution? Clip in extensions I can do myself. I can wear them when I want, or take them off when I don't want them. It's not such a big commitment this way. I also don't have to have them readjusted as my hair grows out. The extensions I am wearing I purchased at Sally Beauty Supply. They are the Euronet 18" Clip In Extensions by Remy. My color is Blonde Frost. I do have a Sally's card which saved me $10, plus there is an extra $10 off right now, so these were $99.

• Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer
• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation
• Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
• NYX Stay Matte Not Flat powder foundation
• Sephora eyebrow pencil
• Milani blush in Luminoso
• MAC Painterly Paint Pot
• (From Naked palette) 'Sin'  eye shadow on lid
• 'Naked' eye shadow in crease
• 'Virgin' eye shadow as brow highlight
• Maybelline Master Drama eyeliner in Made of Steel on lower waterline
• Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara

Too Faced Beautiful Dreamer Collection

    As you may, or may not, remember, I received this as a birthday present way back in November. I promised then that I would do a little review on it, and am just now getting around to it. This collection is available at Sephora, for $46.

According to Sephora's website:

"This six-piece set features two limited-edition mirrored compacts, Shadow Insurance Candlelight for crease-proof, fade-proof intense color pay-off with a subtle warm shimmer, a full-size Lashgasm mascara, and a full-size lip gloss in a sexy, crystal pink, all packaged in a pretty pink bag fit for a princess. "

• First off, this makeup bag is SO cute! I especially love the swan on it. I did not keep the products in it however, I now use it to store my cotton balls (cutely, of course) in my makeup area. 
• The shadow Insurance Candlelight is very nice. It has a luminous sparkle  to it, unlike the original. I don't think that it holds up any better than Urban Decay Primer Potion, or my $1 ELF eyelid primer, at that. I do enjoy this product, but I don't see myself going out and buying a full size. This retails for $18. 
• The eye shadow quad is GORGEOUS! The packaging on the compact matches the makeup bag, and includes a mirror. I love that there is a matte brown shade included in this quad. I generally use a matte brown in my crease, for blending. I find a lot of quads now-a-days are all shimmer, frost, or glitter. There is not enough matte out there, in my opinion. So thumbs up to Too Faced for matte eye shadow! I think this keeps this quad very versatile, and great for everyday. I love the pink shade, but I don't find that it actually shows up pink when applied. It's just more of a sheen, but it is a great highlight. You also have your choice of 2 colors for the lid: bronze, or light gold. The quality of these shadows are what you would expect from Too Faced: great pigmentation, and not at all chalky. The shades names are: Teddy Bear (matte brown), Blonde Ambition (light shimmery gold), Totally Toasted (shimmery bronze) and Satin Sheets (pale champagne pink). Most Too Faced shadows are cold in palettes of 9 shades for $36, so I would guess the retail of this to be about $19 or $20. 
• The blush and bronzer duo is great too. I do find it very similar to the ELF blush/ bronzer duo. So if you are looking for something similar at a fraction of the cost, I'd check that out for only $3. The bronzer in this duo is matte (yay!!) and not at all orange looking. It is called 'Sun Bunny". The blush, called 'Who's Your Poppy", is a very shimmery peachy poppy color. It's amazeballs! I love this blush!! I wish it had a bit less shimmer, but it doesn't stop me from using it. It's almost like using a blush and highlighter all in one. 'Sun Bunny' retails for $29, and 'Who's Your Poppy' retails for $19.
• The lip gloss in this set smells and tastes amazing. The problem with that is when I wear it, I end up licking it all off because it tastes so good. LOL The color is a nice sheer pink with loads of glittery shimmer to it. It's called 'Pink Swan'. I think it's a great gloss for a night out. This particular color, or packaging, is sold individually. A regular Too Faced lip gloss retails for $19. 
• Lastly in the collection is a full sized LashGASM mascara. I have been really trying this out a lot, and I would say this is a very good mascara. It is a bit too wet for my liking, but I don't find it OVERLY wet, if that makes sense. I like that the brush is very skinny. It helps to get those lower lashes without making a big mess. It also helps to really get into your lash line and give those lashes a good coat. I don't find that it flakes off, or is overly clumpy. I would considering buying this again, as I do really enjoy this mascara. LashGASM mascara retails for $21.

Overall you are getting about $128 worth of makeup for $46. Deal? Absolutely! I truly love this set, and would recommend it to anyone. This is still available through Sephora if you are interested in checking it out for yourself. Click HERE to get more information. 

My Valentine Look

My Loves

Considering it is Valentines Day, I though it fitting to tell you all about the 5 men in my life, all of whom I love VERY much. These guys are my whole world, and I am thankful for every minute with them.

This is my husband, Nick, and I. We met when I was 17 years old, and started dating when I was 18. We have been together since June of 2003. This June we will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary. We don't have a perfect marriage (as no one does), but I enjoy the journey of our life together. My husband works very hard, and also goes to school full time, but he has made it possible for me to be a stay at home mom for the last 7 years. There are things he does that drive me up the wall (and vise versa), but I don't know if I could imagine my life with any other person. It would probably be very boring ;)

These little hams are the reason I have been a stay at home mom for so long. We started with the oldest, 7 years ago, and then they just kept on coming! My 2nd son (in the yellow) was a preemie, born 6 weeks early. He only weighed 4 lbs., 7 oz when he was born. He caught up very quickly however, and now he is thriving. He is the sweetest, most lovable, caring little guy I've ever met. Never a day goes by without him telling me, "You look beautiful today mommy". My oldest has to be the smartest kid I've ever met. He learned to write his name when he was 3 years old. By the end of kindergarten last year he was reading at a 3rd grade level. He never ceases to amaze me with the things he can read, or the things he has learned. My first 2 were born one day shy of 14 months apart from each other. One is 7, the other is 6. My littlest dude is defiantly Mommy's Boy. When he was born we had some complications, that could have very quickly killed the both of us. He was actually born blue, and not breathing. After all the trauma and shock of bringing him into this world, he and I have quite a bond. My husband says I can't get enough of the baby, and he's right; I can't. No matter how big he gets, he'll always be my baby boy. He will be 2 this May. My 3rd boy is the one that gives me the most trouble. He is 3 now, and I've always said 3 is much worse than the Terrible 2's. He likes to test his boundaries a lot, and gives me many gray hairs, I'm sure. But this kid has a smile on him that will melt your heart. He keeps our life interesting, and keeps us on our toes though!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentines Day, and are enjoying it with the ones you love. 

Why So Many Nudes??!!

    Yesterday I decided to take a little time for myself, and off I headed to the mall. That in itself just spells bad news for my wallet. Of course I ended up at Ulta (don't I always?) While pursuing the aisles I came upon the new Physicians Formula Nude Eyes Shimmer Strips. It was so cutely packaged, so pretty, I had to have it. So I did. When I got home I went to find it a home among my collection. As I'm doing so, I realized I just bought ANOTHER neutral palette. What the F*** is wrong with me??!!! I have so many nude, natural, neutral palettes and the like already. *Sigh* Houston.... I think we have a problem. Here's a look into my Hall of Shame.

Wet n Wild singles in Nutty & Brulee, Ulta Baked Duo in Natural Beauty, L'Oreal Hip Duo in Bustling, CoverGirl Tapestry Taupe, MAC Naked Lunch, MAC Satin Taupe, ELF duo in Butter Pecan, and Revlon Nude Slip. 

Too Faced Natural Eye palette, NYX trio in Aloha/Mink/Deep Bronze, Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells, Wet n Wild Vanity palette, Physicians Formula Nude Eyes palette, ELF quad in Butternut, Too Faced quad from the Beautiful Dreamer collection. 

Urban Decay Naked palette, Urban Decay Naked 2, and Coastal Scents 88 Warm palette.

    See what I mean? If I ever say to myself,  "I need another brown eye shadow", I hope I have enough sense to slap the shit out of myself. Does anyone else have an abundance of neutral eye shadows? Do I need to check into rehab? Heaven help me..... =D

My Look: 'Amateur Attempts' Recreation

    Today I attempted to recreate a look done by Misty a.k.a 'Amateur Attempts' on youtube. She is a lovely lady I discovered through the Beauty Broadcast community. She used the MAC eye shadow 'Club', but I used my dupe in the Wet n Wild 'Comfort Zone' palette. I absolutely LOVED how this turned out, and will defiantly be wearing this look again! I will link her video below so you can check it out.

Face:

Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation

Maybelline Mineral Power concealer

NYC 'Sunny' bronzer

Essence 'Babydoll' blush

Eyes:

MAC 'Painterly' Paint Pot

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - light cream shimmer all over, lash to brow

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - red/brown/green duochrome , outer and inner thirds of lid

Wet n Wild Vanity palette - matte tan color, blended into crease

Maybelline Line Stiletto liquid liner

Maybelline Falsies Flared mascara

Happy Beautifying! 

Misty's Video, where I got this look from =)

5 Pink Lipsticks

    Taking a break from nail polish in the 5 Series, I have some lovely pink lipsticks for your enjoyment today. All of these are available at your local drugstore. By the way, do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of your own mouth, IN FOCUS? I think I took about 50 pictures, and got 1 good one of each shade. Holy mackerel. LOL

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - Strawberry Shortcake

NYX Round Lipstick - Thalia

Rimmel Lasting Finish - Airy Fairy

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - Sweet Tart

Rimmel Lasting Finish - En Vogue

Strawberry Shortcake / Thalia / Airy Fairy / Sweet Tart / En Vogue

My Look: Rustic Punk

Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation

Wet n Wild bronzer 'Reserve Your Cabana'

Wet n Wild MegaGlow powder 'Catwalk Pink'

Maybelline Eye Tattoo 'Pomegranate Punk'

NYX trio 'Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze'

'Golden' lightly in crease

'Rust' on lid

'Walnut Bronze' on lower lash line

Urban Decay e/s 'Foxy' as brow highlight

Wet n Wild cream liner in black

CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara

Revlon Lip Butter 'Pink Truffle' 

January Favorites

    It's now the 6th of February, and I'm just now doing last months favorites. Slacker much? Now that I'm working every morning during the week, I've been doing very quick, simple, neutral eye looks. I do have a few things that I reached for over and over again throughout the month however.

• Maybelline Line Stiletto liquid eyeliner (still perfecting that cat eye liner)
• Maybelline Falsies Flared mascara
• MAC Painterly paint pot
• Original Carmex (my lips are sooo dry!)
• Urban Decay e/s in Naked
• Urban Decay e.s in Sidecar
• Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural (pretty sure this is now my Holy Grail blush)
• Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze  (looks AWESOME paired with Sidecar!)
• B&BW lotion in Pink Chiffon 

Simple, Sexy, Smokey Eye

Products Used:

Maybelline Eye Tattoo - Audacious Asphalt

Urban Decay 'Pistol' e/s (Naked 2)

Ulta black kohl eyeliner

Urban Decay 'Blackout' e/s (Naked 2)

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara

1. Apply the dark gray base to your lid and into the crease.
2. Take a small amount of the base and run it about halfway in on your lower lash line.
3. Apply the gray shadow over the base, and blend the edges well to create the smokey look.
4. Line upper lash line and lower water line with the kohl liner.
5. Use a pencil brush to smudge it out, and draw it out into a cat eye shape.
6. Top the liner with the black eye shadow for staying power, and extra smokyness.
7. Curl lashes, apply mascara.

P.S. How do you like my green eye? lol

   

5 Green Polishes

China Glaze - Westside Warrior (1 coat)

China Glaze - Cha Cha Cha (3 coats)

Wet n Wild - Caribbean Frost (2 coats)

Wet n Wild FastDry - Sagreena the Teenage Witch (4 coats)

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails - Mint Sorbet (3 coats)

    Both China Glaze polishes were part of collections that are not in the core collection. Westside Warrior (which is such an awesome olive/army green color) was part of the Metro Collection. Cha Cha Cha was part of the Island Escape Collection. Both are available online at Head2Toe Beauty for $3 each. 

    Wet n Wild: Caribbean Frost is part of the Wild Shine line. It is widely available at any drugstore. The cheapest place being Walmart at 93 cents. Sagreena the Teenage Witch is part of the Fast Dry line. (I don't personally find it very fast drying). The are also widely available at about $2. I do find this particular shade very sheer and streaky. It took my 4 coats for this swatch, and it could have used another. 

    Sally Hansen: Mint Sorbet is another readily available drugstore polish. This one will run you about $2.50. I like the formula of this polish. It spreads very nicely, and is opaque in 2 coats, as noted above. 

    Which polish sparks your interest the most? My pick from this bunch? China Glaze: Westside Warrior. 

Have a wonderful weekend lovelies!!