What I Loved in December 2011

Well it's official, it's January 2nd, 2012...the holiday season is officially over, you can get on with your lives now and safely return to the mall or Target. Some of you may be relieved, and usually I'm in that boat, but because I have a little girl I'm a bit sad knowing we have to take down our cute, fake tree! Oh and I'm now a fake tree promoter - save a tree and clean up couldn't be easier. Want that tree smell? Get some a pine scented candle or a home diffuser, our scent was courtesy of L'Occitane, Winter Forest.

I need to get off my lazy butt and start writing again. So here's a short and sweet post of what I was loving in December.

The Naked 2 palette is a no-brainer, I am now trying to NOT use this palette everyday. I put myself to a mini-challenge about two weeks ago: eye looks created exclusively with this palette, here's a featured look. It is truly worth all $50 - especially if you never purchased the first palette, like me. Seriously, I am still shocked that I never regretted passing on it! This is the first time I can actually use all the shades in one palette. The only thing that annoys me is that it contains three shadows I currently own: Half-Baked, Verve and Suspect.

The lipsticks featured are bright, bold colors. For the first time in a very long time, I was craving a bold colored lip. I wanted pigment and not just gloss. I saved the gloss for a pink nude look (NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, Bahama with UD Lip Junkie, Naked).

Here's a closer look:

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick, Speak Louder (cool, poppy, blue pink) $14.50
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Train Bleu (eggplant) $24
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, Cruella (scarlet red) $24

And here's a swatch lineup (with flash):

Right now, I have been allowing my lipstick to dictate the rest of the color scheme on my face. And yes, I have discovered that I use less makeup when I wear colors this saturated. The problem with these lip products is that they can be a bit drying. So I apply a light layer of Kiehl's lip balm underneath these colors. This makes the colors settle just a bit more comfortable. I have discovered using a pearl lip gloss, NARS Luxor lightens up the deep shade of Train Bleu.

As for the fragrance samples - it's a new discovery for me. I am having so much fun discovering so many different fragrance profiles from independent and niche companies. From the high price luxury brands, like Chanel, I am discovering boutique exclusive scents. Chanel's Coromandel is something I am currently obsessing over. I am not a fan of Coco Mademoiselle or any of the others in the collection found in most department stores or Sephora. Coromandel is from the Les Exclusifs de Chanel - 13 rare fragrances created by Chanel master perfumers.It is a woody oriental fragrance with notes of benzoin, incense and wood - this scent was made to evoke the lacquered coromandel screens Mademoiselle Chanel surrounded herself in. On my skin, I'm hit with more of an amber note and the dry down is pure benzoin but I also detect an almost vanilla scent - it's gorgeous and my nose is buried in my wrist most of the time when I wear this.

Yes, this makes typing on a keyboard at work difficult!

The other samples featured are Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur, a gorgeous spicy oriental scent consisting of cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, tonka bean, sandalwood, lavendar, bergamot, cedar, guaiac wood (on me it's all cloves and woods - it's a very sexy scent) and Sonoma Scent Studio (a new love). SSS is located in Northern California, about 2 hrs north from me. Laurie Erickson, is the nose behind this independent brand. Laurie uses the finest ingredients - natural and synthetic. These are highly concentrated perfumes (20-24% fragrance) and trust me, you will get longevity out of these fragrances. The best part is that these perfumes retail from $40-$42 for a 17ml bottle. Fig Tree and Egyptian Musk Oil are my two favorites at the moment. Fig Tree opens very green with just a tinge of coconut. It also has notes of patchouli, tonka, musk, vanilla and cedar. It evokes a late summer feel when I wear it but since I live in the foggy bay area - it's great year round! Egyptian Musk has notes of patchouli, sandalwood, some florals. It is what I would think if someone would ask me how clean skin smells like but without any soapiness. I ordered the oil version of this scent because it's a higher concentration - I get a little more of an animalic note without it going to a fecal category. I know that may sound gross to some but trust me you'll understand if you have been smelling lots of musks, like I currently have.

For more info on Sonoma Scent Studio please, PLEASE, please click HERE.

I think 2012 will be a very FRAGRANT year for me. I am really loving this new world of scents, especially when I have discovered sites that offer samples and decants for a fraction of the price of a full bottle. If you can snag a sample of a scent - try to get as many as allowed. I cannot tell you how long a sample can last! Also, most of the fragrances I am falling for can easily sell for $120 for 50ml.

I find it really challenging writing about fragrances - I don't think I can do a full review on a scent like some of the fragrance bloggers I admire. What I can offer is simple descriptions and feelings experienced while wearing certain scents. I think this will be difficult at first but I just have to push through it.

One of the best advice I received was from an independent filmmaker I P.A.'ed for - "the first 100 pieces you write will be shit but after that it'll just come easy" Okay well I hope the first 100 makeup posts I've written weren't shit but I think you know what I mean.

I'll still review makeup, noteworthy cocktails and beautiful shoes. Because if I didn't, well this would be a very DULL blog!!

I want to also keep up the practice of wearing more bright lip colors - I like that I can my makeup done even faster! Which means more sleep!

Do you have any beauty resolutions for 2012?

Blackout - last look from the NAKED 2 Palette

Okay here it is - my last look using Blackout from the UD Naked 2 Palette. I know that a black matte shadow isn't really life shattering but one that's easily blend-able with maintaining lots of pigment is great to have in a palette!

I used Pistol, gray taupe metallic shimmer, on my lid. Tease (taupe) in my crease, I then used Blackout as my outer - V contour shade. I also blend it with Tease in my crease and I also blended it along my lower lash line. NARS Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Veneto, matte black on my top lash line only.

I know it's very basic and neutral, which could read as BOR.IN.G! But sometimes that's all you want - just neutral, polished and could be slapped on the face in 5mns flat!

I think this challenge was a misnomer - each look didn't take more than 7mns to put together. This palette will really speak to the beauty novice or just plain lazy girl!

Now that I've completed my mission I find myself wondering what to use as my eye shadow and yes, I'm still reaching for this palette to play along with my MAC, NARS and Edward Bess shadows in my collection.

The good news: they are all getting along nicely!

With the holidays literally around the corner, I'll be taking a small break - posting here and there so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Holiday!

Take this time to hug your friends and family just thirty seconds longer, slow your pace and take a stroll down the street to admire holiday window decorations, smile at strangers, drink hot chocolate, yes, eat that second holiday sugar cookie and just be thankful to wakeup every morning!

Because this is what the Holidays mean to me and I hope it does to you.

And yes, it is okay to take advantage of holiday sales just for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Coming Soon to a Drugstore Near You!

This week I review a new dry shampoo from Suave.

It's supposed to be comparable to Bumble's dry shampoo but I've never tried there's. So I compared it to another leading drugstore brand.

Read more here.

Busted and Verve EOTD

Here's an eye look that took me no more than 5 minutes:

A very lovely plummy brown with a metallic shimmer finish. I blended Tease in the crease and Foxy and Bootycall on my brow bone. I lined 3/4 of my upper and lower lash line with MAC Eye Kohl pencil in Coffee, a black brown. I smudge a bit of Busted on top of the Coffee liner on my lower lash line. I added layers of Armani's Eyes to Kill Mascara to finish my eye look.

Also used Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes in Brunette.

On my cheeks - NARS Sin, berry w/gold shimmer and Casino bronzer, deep brown w/gold shimmer, to contour. I used NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama - neutral pink brown, UD Lip Junkie gloss in Naked, neutral pink.

Sorry, if this is starting to be played out but here's one more look:

Verve - a greige oyster shell shimmer:

To take it up a touch, I added Siren 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Liner (teal w/blue shift shimmer), also by Urban Decay. This is when I love a teal liner - it really pops against a neutral shadow, especially for us dark brown eyed girls!

As usual Tease (taupe) is my crease color. Yes, this really is a no-fail crease color. It adds enough color contrast to an otherwise metallic/shimmer lid.

This was part of an informal department holiday cocktail party and I must say it did get me in the right spirit. The only problem was that I couldn't stop thinking about that afternoon beer waiting for me at the pub next door and it was only 8am!!

Don't worry, I got one last look and then I'm done with this palette, I promise! You have to admit that it's pretty impressive that I went this long with just using one palette exclusively...

What I Want for the Holidays....for Miss Omni Media

Happy Friday!

I was asked to participate in a very fun post, which was pure fantasy for me. It's a yearly post for Miss Omni Media - they ask their writers for 5 items on their wish  list. Each day till Xmas they feature a Wish List.

Here's my list, which caused Mr. Lex to laugh in my face:

The only thing I see myself successfully purchasing on my own - is that fragrance bottle, travel sized version of course and perhaps a week and a half in Italy (I'd have to combine Rome and Florence into one visit, instead of a full month languidly moving about the country).

The Louboutins, the Dolce and Gabbana suit and that gorgeous Chanel purse will always be on the wish list of my dreams!!

Read more here....