Can You Hear Me Now??

Day 1 of my NO NUDE LIPS week challenge!

I also need to complete this before next week - I have an interview within my department for another position and screaming hot pink lips is not quite the look I'm going for!

I eased into color with this poppy pink shade:

MAC Cremesheen, Speak Louder

It's pink with a bit of red.

It's how I dip my toe into the pool of color without doing a cannonball.

Although it's not retina burning bright for the office, I still prefer to keep my eyes soft and put the focus on my lips. With a pink lip, I love a pink blush.

Eyes: MAC Woodwinked on lid/L'Oreal Smooth Latte (review coming soon) in the crease/UD Foxy on browbone/UD 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner Smog/Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara

Blush: Chanel Joues Contraste #67 Rose Tourbillon

I forgot to mention that to keep the color from moving outside my natural lip line, I paired this with MAC Soar (mid-tone pinkish brown). This is an easy color to wear. When it fades it's not a scary, patchy stain. Also, along with the lustre finish, the cremesheen is my next favorite - it has nice slip and remains comfortable on my sensitive lips when the color sets.

I have a feeling that my lips might get progressively brighter as the week goes on...we shall see! But I think it's safe to say I'm off to a good start

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick, Speak Louder is a permanent color and retails for $14.50/USD. It's sold at fine department stores that carry the MAC line, MAC free standing stores, as well as online.

Best Buys or '11 - Makeup and More!

Some of the best things I bought this year were surprisingly enough not beauty items!

The best non-beauty item purchased last year was my gym membership to the super fancy Equinox gym. 

Equinox, the NY based gym, has three locations in Northern California - one gym happens to be in downtown SF, about a seven minute walk from my office. Yes, I am often late from lunch running back from an after spin, yoga, weight, etc. I even purchased a few training sessions, probably the reason why my cosmetic/shoe purchases for the year were far and few between. It was well worth it because my awesome trainer helped me shed ten pounds. I am half way from my goal of twenty-five, I'll probably have to tack on a few extra pounds since I can't seem to stop eating "Holiday Style". 

This is the most I've ever spent on membership fees but I get free use of towels, the ladies locker room is stocked with Kiehl's bath products, there's a great health food cafe (also pricey) and there's a spa that gives a 10% discount off to members. I am still trying to save up for another massage as I type! I have to say this is money well spent.

This year, I am contemplating re-joining Weight Watchers. Those Jennifer Hudson commercials are starting to annoy me but I cannot snark - the girl worked her butt off on WW and she looks fantastic! I have joined and quit the program three time - this time I need to commit and quit when I reach my goal weight!

The other item came late in the year. It's my first Marc by Marc Jacobs purse. Technically it's not my first - I own a wristlet, a makeup pouch and a super cute medium sized clutch purse. But this it the style of purse I've had my eye on for a few years and I am so glad that I had the will power to apply a Nordstrom gift card I received on my birthday toward this purchase. Usually, I would blow a gift card at the cosmetic counter, naturally but this time I thought I'd REALLY treat myself.

Behold, the Supersonic Snake Printed Hiller' Faux Leather Hobo

I initially had buyer's remorse because of the price tag and also I thought about how much I paid for a purse that's 100% PVC. But it makes me smile when I use it and I get endless compliments from complete strangers on the street. Women talk to me about my purse on the elevator and how they are also obsessed with Marc by Marc Jacobs bags. I'd like to add a Marc Jacobs Stam bag one day but I'd have to save up a long time for that one but come on who wouldn't like to own THAT bag?

Here I am with my bag (for scale):

I don't know why I am not smiling and then I realized this was taken on my way to work. Who is really excited at 6:55 AM to go to work?

I am shocked at how much I can stuff into this bag - it's an awesome work bag!

I thank my good girlfriend, Cindy for giving me the gift card on my birthday. This girl understands my love for high priced goods! I want to also thank my co-worker and now one of my good friends, Rey - she actually picked this bag out for me. I thought it was bit much but with lots of assurance and coercing she talked me into this print!

I am also glad I discovered my new favorite moderately priced shoe line:

Vince Camuto

And these:

Both shoes were under $100 and more comfortable than I thought they would be!

Another great buy: concert tickets!!
Oh and how can I forget the three awesome concerts I attended last year:

(idolator.com)

(laweekly.com)

(idolator.com)

Okay so my pick for favorite makeup item in 2011 has to be my everyday foundation:

Chanel Perfection Lumiere - reviewed here for missomnimedia.com.

I love that you can work the formula with a light hand and wear it like a tinted moisturizer or layer it on a bit more for traditional coverage. This is the first Chanel foundation I have found that matches my skin very well and hasn't made my skin breakout!

Another great purchase for me was the Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Liner:

I wear this liner every other day. I love the formula but I really love this sexy bronze liner color even more. I use to shy away from colors like this because I thought they were too light for my skin tone. Boy, was I wrong. I pair it with strong red lips, as well as with glossy nude lips. This color works for all occasions - it's even stunning just by itself. The fact that it's practically budge proof is just a bonus.

My other favorite easy, swipe 'n go eye product had to be the Chanel touch cream shadow, Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Emerveille - soft peach shimmer.

I thought that this would be too light for me but it lights my eyes up nicely, especially when I need to look awake. I reviewed the product here.

A surprise buy for me has to be the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. okay technically not a new item for 2011 but I did buy the latest color from the Holiday collection, Train Bleu:

A stunning and dramatic eggplant shade.

My everyday favorite shade is Bahama and for a product with word Matte in it's title, it is oddly moisturizing!

It is the perfect pink-brown for me!

One last honorable mention - Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes!

I think I've collected about six bottles in 2011. I need to curb myself but it's tough when the awesome creator, Ji Baek rereleases old favorites, Bib (bring it back) on her site. I never had the pleasure to get my nails done at her nail salon, Rescue Beauty Lounge, even when I was in NYC two years ago. She has since closed her doors down but she still has a legion of fans willing to order as many polishes as Ji is willing to crank out. I'm pretty sure once she shuts down for good - there will be an angry mob with pitch forks outside her door. I'll be one of them!

Hands down these are my favorite polishes over the $8 mark. I can stop buying Essie, Zoya and OPI if I just use RBL but who am I kidding? It took me 25 minutes at Ulta yesterday just mulling over the decision whether or not to purchase yet another Essie polishes. I can happily announce that I put it back and walked away! I was already past my $20 limit!

So as far as Beauty Resolutions for 2012 I think wearing more colorful lips is top of my lips. A close second is shopping for more affordable, drugstore beauty.

Starting this week, I'll do another self-imposed challenge:

COLORED LIPS week!! It'll be tough because I love me a pink nude lip. I know I can do this. The best part of colorful lips is that I wear less makeup letting me shave at least five minutes off my primping time. The worst part is the high maintenance. I'll have to check my lips every hour, especially after finishing my water and coffee.

I have to say last year was a good one - but also a time of loss. I lost a dear friend unexpectedly. Those closest to E are still mourning his loss. But I know a bit of him walks with us daily. That  keeps me going and it comforts me.

So goals set forth: remaining positive in times of struggle, get my financial crap straight, shopping more of my makeup stash hiding in my bathroom (ties with budgeting goal), take up a new hobby (knitting), conquering my fear of making homemade pie dough, becoming more fragrance knowledgeable, make more time for friends, run a marathon (5K or half for now) and basically being the best mom and person my daughter and family can be proud of!

Wow, I didn't think I had that many goals! What are some of your self-imposed goals for 2012?

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.