NARS Dogon duo FOTD

Well, it's officially been over a month since my last blog post and I won't even try to justify it.  I feel awful, but the important thing is that I'm still here and still have an unhealthy love for make-up.  Therefore, I am going to share with you my latest "going out" look, if you will.  I recently purchased the NARS Dogon duo, which is actually quite nice to work with.  I've had some not-so-great experiences with NARS eyeshadows before, but these seem to be very pigmented and blendable.  

NARS Dogon

I'm sorry I don't have a step-by-step guide to how I created this look, but I will try my best to explain.  First, I patted the taupe color all over my lid with my MAC 239 brush (or any flat shader brush will do).  This color isn't as pigmented so I had to coat it on a few times to get the color pay-off -

Then I took the dark navy color on my 217 brush and blended that into the outer corner, making sort of a "V" shape.  It's REALLY pigmented, so I always tapped the brush off before applying to the lid.  If you're not careful, you can really end up with blue-black eyeshadow all over and then you've created a nice bruise for yourself :)

After both eyes were even, I took the same navy color on a pencil brush (MAC 219) and swept it underneath both eyes.  I wanted something really dark and heavy on purpose, so this color was perfect.  I also took the taupe color with the same 219 brush and went a bit underneath the navy blue to create dimension.

And here's the final look ladies & gentlemen (excuse the hair). . . 

I also used ELF black liquid liner on top and a black MAC kohl pencil on the bottom.  Oh!  And I also applied a pair of corner falsies (MAC #20, I believe) - can you see??

Here's the final look again!  Ok, it may be a bit dramatic for a night out to the movies, but I don't care.  It was really fun and quite easy to do (except those damn false eyelashes..)  You would think corner ones would be much simpler, but they're not... oh well, practice makes perfect!  I hope you guys like and next time I promise to have more pictures to guide you through it.  Take care!!  xoxo

Sunday Night Ritual.. NOTD Removal

Hi loves!  I've had a pretty rough few weeks, I'm not going to lie.. hence the lack of blog posts.  Being couch ridden does not help my motivation to create make-up looks, even though I really want to..  So I've pretty much stuck to nails, hair and skincare for the moment.  This Sunday was no different than last Sunday to be honest.  I stayed off my feet and instead of putting nail polish ON, I've taken it off, but in a slightly new way. 


My June Birchbox came with a couple samples of Deborah Lippman's "Stripper-to-Go" Nail Remover mitts.  I usually just do it the old fashion way with a big bottle of Polish Remover, some cotton balls, and a paper towel (for protection purposes).  But these are just genius!!  Let me know show you - 

Nails from last Sunday (ewww)

 The package (front)

Package (back)

Now, the package says that 1 mitt is able to clean all 10 fingers.  Unfortunately that was not the case with me.  It dried out about 8 fingers in and the material started to stick to my nails.  So I broke out the old polish remover and finished the rest.  See the results below - 

 1st nail in Mitt

 Used up mitt :(

Clean nails!

Even though I was a bit disappointed that it dried out so close to the finish line, I am amazed by this new-found product!  Especially for me, who is pretty lazy about keeping up with nail care, this product is brilliant and I will definitely be purchasing more.  These specific mitts are 10 for $12 and you can buy them at Nordstroms, Barneys, Amazon, and of course Birchbox.com if you are a subscriber.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this product review and let me know if you are loving any different nail removal techniques that are a bit out of the norm.  Oh also, it's Father's Day today and I must give a shout-out to my Dad, even though he doesn't know my blog exists, haha!  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the Dad's out there!!!  xoxoxoxoxoxo

SNR with Ben & Jerry's!

Good evening ladies!  How was everyone's weekend??  Even though it's summer, unfortunately it's June Gloom here in L.A. so it's not really "beach" weather yet (which is okay because my body isn't nearly beach ready).  So, I spent a lot of this weekend staying in and watching movies, but tonight I needed to re-paint my nails BADLY (when it gets to the point where your boyfriend is pointing out your chipped nails, you know it's time..).  So I decided to use the Zoya color that I got in my April birchbox.  I've never used Zoya before but WOW does it go on smooth. Here is "Dove" - 

I also stopped by Victoria Secret to pick up some much needed under garments and, as always, they had 5 for $25.  Gotta love their underwear specials.

Then I spent the rest of the night eating my favorite Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie ice cream and watching Game Of Thrones (I won't spoil it for you, but oh. my. god. am I sad)  I hope ya'll are ready for the upcoming week - I'm not, but who ever is?  :)

Dry Shampoo Test Results

Hola!  So I've been using Umberto Beverly Hill's Dry Shampoo for a few weeks now and although I don't have anything to compare it to, it's actually been quite nice.  My hair is in the "normal to dry" category, so when I don't wash it after 24 hours, the roots become uber greasy and my head looks like an oil slick.  Not cute.  I've been reading about dry shampoo for ages, but I guess have been too lazy to try it.. until now! 

I picked up Umberto at Target for $9.99 (I believe) and it comes in a decent sized can (4 oz).  I apply it by sectioning off my hair into four parts - left side, middle, right side, and back (where my crown is) and spray each section holding the can about 6 inches away from my head.  It goes on white, but once you rub it in (I do it with my hands AND brush), it immediately gives your hair volume and soaks up all the grease.  However, the white residue doesn't completely go away.  I'm lucky enough where my hair is fairly light, so the dry shampoo just makes it look a bit more blonde on top.  I don't know how well this spray would work on darker-haired people.

Here is a picture of my hair at 8:00pm (13 hours after using dry shampoo, 48 hours since the last time it's been washed) - I know, gross!  But I promise, this is a HUGE time saver for those of us who are not morning people... plus I hear it's bad to wash your hair every day, so that's my excuse.  Let me know what Dry Shampoo you love and I'll check it out!

(It was no make-up day) hehe!

Sunday Night Ritual - I'm back baby!

Hi loves!  I hope everyone had a nice weekend.. I know I did :)  Yesterday I went shopping with my boo and then we saw Bridesmaids at Arclight.  If you haven't seen it, please do - it's sooo funny!!  And although we saved all the laundry and cleaning for Sunday, it was actually pretty relaxing.  We even ordered groceries from Yummy.com.. I know, lazy, but it's just one of those days.  


So with all my free time, I was able to paint my nails and went with my go-to summer color "A True Ab-Original" by OPI.  I think I've posted this before, but without the NOTD shot, so here's a picture of it on my pathetically short, stubby nails...

Then I treated myself to a hair mask, since I received a sample in either a Sephora purchase or an old Birchbox.. I honestly can't remember.  It's the Phyto Phytodensium Mask, which you can buy at Sephora for $38, and it's an anti-aging hair mask... so funny to think that your hair ages!  It's actually pretty well-reviewed and I have to say, it's very nice so far.  It makes my hair feel very smooth and silky, but it's also supposed to maximize volume which I haven't noticed yet.  Most likely will do in the morning when it's completely dry.  To be honest, my hair is pretty healthy as I hardly ever color or blow-dry it (I like to air dry if possible), as I can't stand unmanageable straw-like hair.  So we'll see how my hair responds to this mask.

I also applied a fake tanner and foot exfoliant, but I'm not going into more detail as I want to review both thoroughly later in the week.  And I do apologize for being so lacking on posts lately, but I think things are calming down and my posts will start to be more regular like they were.


And now I am waiting for my wonderful English boo to finish cooking our Sunday roast, so we can sit down and enjoy a new Game of Thrones.  Seriously, if you haven't gotten into that show, you're missing out.  Anyway, I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and unfortunately it's back to the grind tomorrow but... at least it's summer!!!!  

Inglot Eyeshadow Review & More..

Hi ladies :)  Over the holiday weekend I attended a lovely wedding in Newport Beach, which happens to be near the only Inglot store in California!  So, of course I went down early to scope it out!  I ended up getting a 10 eyeshadow palette from their Freedom System and a brown eyeliner, because a sister (who will remain nameless), took my MAC Teddy... grr.  Anyway, for those unfamiliar, Inglot's Freedom System is where you can pick any color blush, eyeshadow, lip product, etc and place them in a palette of 3, 5 or 10 (I believe).  This is what I picked up! 

10 eyeshadows for $50 (pretty good deal, huh?)

I do apologize as I don't have the exact numbers of each color and I seriously cannot figure out how to get these suckers OUT of the palette... super easy to get them in, but that magnet is strong!!  But anyway, here is the swatch for the first row respectively over Too Faced Shadow Insurance - 

And the swatch for the second row - 

I looooove the two olive/green colors and I actually ended up wearing them to the wedding.  If I find a good picture, I will definitely post it for you.  However, I must say I was a bit disappointed in the blendability of the shadows.  The colors are fabulous, but I did have a rough time getting a nice smokey eye without blotching.  Has anyone else had this problem??  I wonder if it's just the primer I'm using, but the pigment is great and I'm not going to complain about that.

However, I'm not at ALL disappointed in the eyeliner!  It's so smooth and dark and stayed on forever.  They have a couple Soft Precision brown pencils and I chose #21 which is the darker of the two.  Here is what it looks like - 

I think the next time I visit, I will get a blush palette and some nail polishes.  My wallet just didn't allow me to buy everything since I lost my sunglasses on the boat and had to buy a new pair!!  Which I'm very happy with :)

How did you guys spend your holiday weekend and what do you love from Inglot??  I need suggestions for next time!!

Falsies Trial - Success!

Hi loves!!  After months of trial & error, I finally managed to glue both false eyelashes on successfully and have them last an entire night.  You have no idea how proud I am of myself!  Anyway, I just wanted to show you because I think they are fantastic and I was curious which falsies you prefer??  I used NYX's 110 and they are so long and fabulous, I couldn't have been happier!!  However, they didn't come with glue so I used DUO which dries clear and goes tacky pretty fast, so I was very happy with the overall result.

I apologize for the redness.. my eyes weren't used to the glue and the heaviness of the lashes, so they were watering like a mother for the first half hour or so.  But then I hardly noticed them all night, so it was totally fine.  YAY!  What do you guys think???

Drumroll please.....

And the winner of my 25 followers giveaway is................

ACTIONMAGS

Congratulations honey!!!  I am going to e-mail and tweet you in a few for your address :)


Just to provide some proof that I did NOT pick favorites, I had Random.org choose lucky winner #18, which was Actionmags!!!  

I want to thank everyone who entered and helped expand my readership in the process.  I will definitely have another when I hit 50 (which is coming up!) so tell your friends!!!  And let me know what you would be interested in winning!!  Take care loves :) Xoxoxoxo

Coral & the City

Hi loves!!  Oh my goodness I can't even explain how much I missed blogging these past 2 weeks and I am SO happy to start up again!  And welcome to all my new followers!!!   Just fyi, the giveaway ends tonight at Midnight PST, so watch for your name in tomorrow's post if you entered!!


Anyway, I went to my favorite place in the world last week for work/play, which is why I wasn't able to blog, but I loved every minute of it and miss that town already.  If you haven't been.... go.  I actually got some sun (imagine that.. I live in L.A. and I have to go to Chicago to get a bit tan).  And the best part - I was able to try out my new coral lipsticks since I was going out practically every night!!  Firstly, a couple shots of the Chi...

Secondly, onto the lipsticks!!  I picked these up from Target a couple weeks ago and honestly was a bit skeptical as to how they would look on me since I am the palest of pale, but was surprised how well they actually go with almost translucent skin!  Although coral probably looks best on tan skin, I wore it proudly anyway.  My first purchase was Revlon's "Kiss Me Coral" and if you have tried this one, I'm sure you can attest to how amazing it is.  It's SO bright and stays on forever!!  Well, not forever, but I had to eat a whole deep dish pizza before I noticed it disappearing..

I like to pair this with the Sonia Kashuk Ultra Shine sheer lipgloss in "Cheerful", which honestly, I'm not a big fan of.  It has a brush instead of sponge, which is fine if the formula wasn't so crap.  The gloss just streaks on and it's just not a good consistency at all.  This is what it looks like alone -

Cheerful

Cheerful over Kiss Me Coral

Same lip combo

I also bought Maybelline's "Coral Lustre" which is very different than "Kiss Me Coral".  It's a lot more sheer and shimmery with a reddish tone.  Coral Lustre is definitely more subtle and is a nice color that you can wear during the daytime.  The only downside is that it doesn't last very long.  After a cup of coffee you will definitely need to reapply and about 15 times before the color is noticeable.  I imagine I will go through this fairly quickly, but it's moisturizing and still a lovely color for my complexion.

Maybelline's Coral Lustre

And here are the swatches for you to see up close (Top to Bottom: Cheerful, Coral Lustre, Kiss Me Coral)

No flash                            With flash

(Left to right - Maybelline "Coral Lustre", Sonia Kashuk "Cheerful", Revlon "Kiss Me Coral")

I would say the swatch with the flash is most representative and you can really see the shimmer in Coral Lustre!  What summer lip products are ya'll loving??  

Hi loves!

I'm so sorry for being completely MIA the past few days.. I didn't even get around to doing my Sunday Night Ritual post and I've been kicking myself for it!!  I just wanted to let you know that for the next couple week I won't have a whole lot of time to post, but I wanted to say 'hi' and welcome to all my lovely new followers!!  


Also, for those who know me well, Anthropologie is my obsession and I just found their friggin' wedding line!  Now, I'm not getting married any time soon, but if you are and if you like pretty things, go here -->  www.bhldn.com (pronounced "Beholden")  And here are some pretty pictures for your enjoyment :)  Love to you all!!!!  xoxoxoxo