Small Business Saturday

Standing in line for a 50 inch screen lap top at WalMartBestBuyTarget for $187.95 at 7:30 PM on Thanksgiving (Grey Thursday) not your thing? Do you like sleeping in on a Friday morning when stores observing Black Friday opens it's doors for business at 12am?

Are you anti-establishment and like to support small businesses? Prefer to give a gift that is handmade in America? Specifically, a garage in Daly City, CA?

My husband is a small business owner (265 Design) so this is my effort to bring him some Holiday business. And it also ties into the theme of my beauty blog.

How about purchasing this makeup/fragrance tray to organize your ever growing stash of beauty arsenal:

Or planning to do lots of entertaining? How about a cheese tray that celebrates your home state:

Not from California? That's okay, here's Oregon:

In fact, my husband, Joel, can take special request online - in fact he has done boards in the shape of Brazil and Switzerland. These make an awesome gift for that person that in missing or would like to pay tribute to their hometown!

In addition to being carried in small, special boutiques around the Bay Area, Joel has been asked by Old Navy to design and build a few wooden/steel benches for their flagship store here in SF and also Chicago.

See even Old Navy wants to support local artisans! A bit ironic, I know but even a corporation can appreciate a small business owner.

For more info about Small Business Saturday, click here.

For prices and other fine homemade wood items, please see my husbands website HERE.

How I Relax for the During the Holiday Season

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is marks the start of what can become a very overwhelming Holiday season for some. I will find myself becoming very anxious and stressed, especially if I am hosting a family holiday meal. So I just wanted to share my secret of relaxing this time of year, well I turn to this activity the dates back to 3rd century BC two times a week to keep me grounded.

I am very thankful for my family, friends and you the reader for taking the time to read my ramblings about beauty and life in general. I am very blessed to be here with you all!

Eat and drink responsibly!

This Week on MISS: Turn Your Facebook Cover into a Work of Art

This week on missomnimedia.com: NARS recently has launched a fun and exclusive Facebook App to help launch the NARS/Warhol collaboration for the winter season. I always wanted a silk screen print of myself like Bianca and Debbie.

Finally, I got my chance:

To read more and for a visual explanation - click here.

It's a lot of fun and the possibilities are endless!

MISS Guest Post for the week of Nov. 5

I have been experimenting with different skincare lines periodically for the sake of beauty writing for MISS. Because of it, my skin is starting to show signs and not in a positive way. This week I share the skincare I turn to when my skin starts to freak out on me.

To read more, click here.

I am pretty sure I'll try the next miracle serum that gets thrown my way and I'll never stop using this lotion.

Feminine Palette by Urban Decay

Last week, I featured the Danger Palette from Urban Decay's Holiday 2012 collection. Lucky for you, well mostly for me, I scored the Feminine Palette - second palette from the collection. This one features softer shades that evoke romance and femininity, dreamed up by the folks at UD of course! I love the lace graphic on the exterior and the sexy faded purple and fishnet inside. And again, you can pop out the shadow holder to use this as a travel pouch.

On to the shadows:

Again, this comes with a travel sized Lip Junkie Lip Gloss, this one is nude pink brown in Wallflower. This is a great nude gloss for those with naturally dark pigmented lips like mine. I'm really starting to be a fan of their glosses. However, I really need to apply with a light hand - more than two layers and it feels gloppy on your lips. God forbid you are stuck in a wind storm and your hair isn't in a ponytail. I don't mind the slight tingle and mint scent but sometimes the scent is off to me. I don't know what it is but sometimes it smells that it's expired. But it doesn't last long - then again, scents are always subjective and debatable. 

Don't listen to me....

Obligatory arm swatch:

Bordello: pale mauve with gold micro-glitter
Skimp: pale, buttery yellow shimmer
AC/DC: smoky, grey purple shimmer
Gunmetal: cool metallic charcoal shimmer with silver micro-glitter
Hijack: dark metallic teal shimmer
Lost: metallic golden brown shimmer

Even though these shadows have been reformulated, there's no absolute guarantee that the shadow with glitter will not have any fallout. I do experience fallout when using Bordello and Gunmetal. I always make sure I have some makeup removing wipes/swab on hand when using these shadows. Wouldn't you know, I love them paired together!

I love how Bordello (lid) looks more pink on me and the cool tones of Gunmetal (outer-v) just softens the look. I finish with NARS Eyeliner Stylo, Carpates and lots of black mascara. On my brow bone, I used Foxy (from the NAKED 2 palette but also part of the permanent shadow collection). Since Bordello is pretty light in comparison to some of the other shadows I use, I need to pack at least two layers of color on my lid to get some show up on my skin. Again, don't forget to have those wipes within arms reach.

My other favorite combo is AC/DC and Lost, which is a deeper color combo. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of this look. I'll have to post one sometime soon. I also need to try Skimp and Hijack together. On top of a good lid primer, you will get over 8hrs of wear time. This will last me through work, gym workouts and just decompressing after a long day. 

I like this palette a lot, it's definitely a softer alternative to the Danger palette. Now I just need the Fun palette and my collection will be complete. Well until there's a new Urban Decay palette I just have to have. I probably should mention that I'm constantly stalking ebay to try to score the new Vice palette for a few dollars less like I did with the Feminine palette. 

Feminine Palette retails for $36/USD and can be found at Sephora boutiques, as well as online at www.sephora.com or www.urbandecay.com. This can also be found at select Macy's department stores that feature an Urban Decay counter.