Christmas 2010, pt 2: Beauty Bounty
My obsession with makeup is no mystery to my family and friends, so I always get all sorts of beauty goodies as Chrsitmas presents. And I made out with a bonus this year (haven't gotten one of those in a while!), so I decided to add a few items to my stash. Behold this year's bounty:
MAC #35 lashes and lip gelee in Bubble Lounge, 3 Make Up For Ever aqua creams (shades 5, 14, 15), a Benefit creaseless cream shadow in Get Figgy, a set of 2 lip glosses and 2 nail polishes (including black polish, which I've been dying to try!) and to top it all off - a Sephora gift card. Am I loved, or am I loved?!
Today, I tried out a subtle eye look with the MUFE #15 aqua cream spread all over my lid, and up a little past the crease. I toped it off with a thin layer of Benefit's creaseless cream shadow in Get Figgy on my lid, patted gently into my lash line. I love how effortlessly these two formulas blend and fade into each other.
Labels: Benefit, MAC, Make Up For Ever
Christmas 2010, pt 1: A Family Feast & Grandma's Store
The Holidays always go by much faster than I want them to. This morning, I had breakfast with my sister and new bro-in-law, shopped for roadtrip snacks with them at Ranch 99, then hugged them both goodbye before they drove back down to So Cal. After four fun-filled days with them and the rest of my family, I have serious family withdrawal. These pictures won't help with that, but a Holiday this fun deserves a photo diary for sure. Here's part one.
We went to visit my grandma, which was a special event because she met my sister's hubby for the first time. She busted out all of her favorite stories of us (some complete with accompanying baby pictures) and even showed off this gorgeous shot of herself as an eighteen-year-old (I'd do the same if I were this cute at 18!).
My grandma has a perpetual garage sale jam-packed with all kinds of goodies, and these are the stairs that lead to it...
I sort of feel like Ariel in her treasure trove as I make my way through all the items up for sale.
My grandma is the sharpest 85-year-old out there -- she has a store to keep herself busy.
And we all go home with various knick-knacks after a visit to the store. My brother-in-law scored big time on his first trip!
For Christmas, my huge family packed itself into my auntie's cozy home. We ate, drank, played games and cooed over the cutest babies in the world, like our cousin Nathaniel. He hates socks like me!
Skyping with family in Germany
Nathaniel's "baby" twin brother Manuel modeled a new hat he got from my mama, and he loved it! It was a perfect note to end the party on.
Pajammy Jam Jam
A week ago, the BF and I kicked off the holiday house party season with a Pajammy Jam with friends we've known since high school. As you can imagine - So. Much. Fun! I was a little torn about wearing makeup in my PJ's, but in the end, decided to wear bedtime-themed makeup: Too Faced cream eyeshadow in Bedroom Eyes, NARS blush in Super Orgasm (hahaha). I topped off the look with my MAC Blinking Cool lashes, because once I start putting on makeup, I can't stop!
We had a girls-only White Elephant gift exchange, which meant there was a crazy array of makeup up for grabs. And I totally scored - got the
Urban Decay Eyshadow Ammo palette. Looking forward to strutting my showdowed self at all our upcoming parties!
Nice & cozy.
We played 'Face the Cookie' from A Minute to Win It. This game is even harder (damn near impossible!) with fake lashes on.
Can't remember why we started doing this, but I know this was the first of many attempts at "being cheerleaders" that night!
Expect multiple posts featuring this bad boy in the coming new year ...
Labels: MAC, Nars, Too Faced, Urban Decay
Dancin' Days
Learned a few lessons at my office holiday party:
1. If you spend the majority of every day running around like a crazy person IN FLATS, it's probably wise to avoid wearing 4 INCH HEELS to a party, especially if you plan to dance. (The feet/calves/shins/etc just don't bounce back like they used to!)
2. Hair sticks to shiny foreheads in a most gnarly (almost offensive) way. Bring Boscia blotting papers with you to any function that involves dancing like you mean it.
3. Just because you're a newbie doesn't mean you can't make friends at the party, or become even better friends with the ones you've already made (by having your own private parties in the photobooths or inappropriately sprawling out - as a group - on the couches framing the dance floor)
Standout Products -
Eyes: Bliss (formerly Red Cherry?) lashes, #42, Korres Eyeshadow in Dark Grey
Lips: MAC Dare to Wear lipgloss in Ban This
Face: NARS Blush in Sin
Labels: Bliss Lashes, Korres, MAC, Nars, Red Cherry
Pearl-iscious
photo credit: maybelline.com
I'm digging the new ads for
Maybelline's Color Sensational Pearls Lipstick. I'm thinking of picking up a few tubes to try out, but thought I could re-create the look with two of my favorites products. One's an oldie: Stila High Shine Lipcolor in Diane. The other's a newbie: Korres' Lip Butter Glaze in Pomegranate.
Both formulas are very moisturizing (a neccessity in this butt-freezing Bay Area weather) and both impart *just* the right touch of color to be be equally useful in daytime and nighttime scenarios.
I started my blending experiment by dabbing Diane on my whole lip -- not necessarily being neat about it, either. One thing I love about pearly, glossy color is that it can be applied haphazardly and it actually looks better that way. Then I applied a dot of the Lip Butter Glaze in the middle of my lower lip.
Then smeared the colors together with my fingertips. And voila! Pinky, pearly color. I'll compare the wear-time of this combo with a tube of Maybelline's Color Sensational Pearls, and will holla back!
Labels: Korres, Maybelline, Stila
