Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey all!  How was everyone’s weekend?  It was good here, just a bit busy.  I know I’m a day late, but better late than never, right? 

My purchases this week are very few.  At Ulta all I picked up was a new nail polish from China Glaze in “Love’s a Beach”.  It’s a neon pink pearl from their “Summer Neons” collection.  It’s really pretty and I can’t wait to wear it.

Then at Target I got a new Mossimo dress in a pretty coral shade and a mint green lacey tank top to wear underneath it, also by Mossimo.  I’d really like a pair of nude heels to go with it but I’m waiting for the ones I like to go on sale, lol.

That’s really all I got this week, next week will be even less, lol.

Moving on, here’s “This Week’s Sales”:

Hautelook:  Diane von Furstenberg (Tuesday); Rachel Roy (Wednesday); Amarita Singh Jewelry Blowout (Thursday)

Rue La La:  Anne Klein Collection (Wednesday); From London with Love:  Bags by Mulberry and More (Friday)

Gilt:  Swarovski Jewelry (Tuesday); Rebecca Minkoff Handbags (Wednesday); Pro Hair Care Shop (Thursday)

MYHABIT:  Mark + James Shoes (Tuesday); L.A.M.B (Thursday); Sonya Dakar Skincare (Sunday)

Sephora:  Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil Stash now $12.00 (limited time); Makeup Forever “La Boheme” Baked Eye Shadow Palette now $25.00 (limited time)

Ulta:  20% off entire purchase with code 70186 (exclusions apply); Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Neutrogena Cleansers and Makeup Removers; Buy 1 Get 1 Free Ulta Cosmetics and Brushes

Finally tonight we have this week’s manicure.  This one is “Vermillionaire” by essie, a red-orange crème shade.  The flower I did myself with a homemade dot tool (a straight pin, the kind with a ball on the end, stuck into a pencil eraser) and a small paintbrush.  I normally only wear orange for Halloween but I figure it makes a great summer color as well.

So that’s it for this week, I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I’ll talk to ya’ll later! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!  How was everyone’s weekend?  I hope it was good.  Mine was definitely more relaxing then the past few ones, that’s for sure.  Now it’s time for this week’s wrap up.

Changing things up a bit, I’m gonna start with my few small beauty purchases this week.  I stopped at Ulta and picked up a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in “Milk”.  This one is a pure white with no shimmer and is perfect as a base for lots of different looks.  I should have bought it long ago, lol.

Saturday we had a grand opening for ROSS Dress for Less here, 2 of them actually. I hadn’t been planning on going but since it was right by Ulta I went ahead and stopped by.  It was packed so I didn’t stay long.  I looked around a bit but didn’t really find any clothes I was interested in. 

I did however find two new perfumes.  One is “Incanto Bliss” from Salvatore Ferragamo which has notes of yuzu, kumqat, apple, freesia, water lily and rose.

The other perfume is “Just Cavalli for Her” from Roberto Cavalli which has notes of Sicilian bergamot, bamboo leaves, jasmine and vanilla among others.  This one I did find out is discontinued so it may be hard to find more.

That’s it for purchases this week, not a lot but what I did get was nice.

Tonight I’m starting a new feature, “This Week’s Sales”.  Each Sunday I’ll list a handful of sales from different places; flash sale sites, other online sites and some brick and mortar stores.  I hope everyone enjoys it!

Hautelook:  Nine West, LEILA Blowout (Monday); Lotus Cosmetics (Tuesday)

Rue La La:  John Hardy (Monday); Judith Leiber, Bruno Magli (Tuesday)

Gilt:  Helmut Lang (Monday); Boutique 9 (Tuesday); Rachel  Zoe (Thursday)

MYHABIT:  Chloe Sunglasses (Monday); Stuart Weitzman (Tuesday); Vivienne Westwood (Saturday)

Sephora:  Philosophy Bath Gels 3 for $33 with code 3FOR33; Free mini Smashbox Luminizing Primer with $25 purchase use code LUMINIZE; Free 3-Day Shipping on orders over $50

Ulta:  $3.50 off any $10 purchase (some exclusions apply) using code 74872; Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Revlon Cosmetics; Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Organix products; Free shipping on orders over $50

Target:  20% off Disney D-Signed and Shawn White collections (in store promo)

Well, that’s it for this evening.  I hope everyone has good week coming up.  I just have to get thru this week then I have a week off!  I’m excited, we’re not going anywhere so I’m hoping to get some tutorials filmed and get up some product swatches for everyone! 

Again, have a great week everyone.  I’ll talk to ya’ll later! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!  I know, I know, it’s been about a month since my last wrap up.  The past few weeks have been very hectic around here but I hope to get back into the swing of things now that it’s seemed to calm down some.

I want to start this week by just saying life is too short, always remember that.  Make sure your friends and family know how much you love and care about them.  This past month we experienced a death in the family when Aaron’s uncle passed away in early June.  Then, a week later, the best boss anyone could ever have, passed away suddenly.  Both were gone way too soon and will be missed terribly by many people.  Always strive to be a good person and make your mark, you never know when you’ll leave this world.

So, now that I’ve depressed everyone, what do you say we move on to happier things?  I’m working on a new segment for the “Weekly Wrap-Up” to replace the weight loss section.  Since I’m mostly maintaining with small fluctuations, I figure there’s not much to report here.  I’m thinking of doing  a segment on upcoming weekly sales, like on Hautelook, Rue LaLa and Gilt (all flash sights for those that don’t know) and also in brick and mortar stores like Sears and Kohls.  Probably also Ulta and Sephora too (these would be online and in store specials).  This would start with next week’s wrap-up, I didn’t think of it in time to put together the sales for this upcoming week.  What’s everyone think about this idea?   I’ll try it for a while and see how it goes.

Moving on to purchases this week, I only have a few.  At Ulta I picked up some Ulta Extreme Wear gel eyeliner in “Strut”, a nice purple.  I have this same eyeliner in “Ink”, a blue, and find that it’s very good for the price. Regularly it is $10.00, I got the new one on sale for $4.00.

I also grabbed a new nail polish, “Vermillionaire” by essie. It’s a bright orange I can’t wait to wear.  I usually only wear orange at Halloween but I think this color is perfect for summer.

The last item I got at Ulta is the Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy flat iron spray.  I usually use Aquage Shine Spray when I flat iron my hair, but thought I’d try this out.  I have the shampoo, conditioner and hydrating mask in this line and so far I like it.  I’ve used the flat iron spray once so far so the jury’s still out on it.  I really like the Aquage stuff a lot so we’ll see if the Organix spray will work well enough to replace it.

At Target I picked up a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable lip stain in “Rendezvous”, a really pretty coral color that doesn’t look to bright orange-y on me.  I also got a Loreal leGloss in “Plum Rush”, a pinky-purple. So far, I’m not liking this one, it has a weird taste and not near as much color as the ads claim.  That’s okay, this one was on clearance for like $1.72 or something like that.  I’m gonna give it another try buy may end up giving it to Scarlett.

The final item I got a Target was a cute turquoise, black and magenta color block strapless dress by Xhilaration.  It’s really nice and casual.  It will probably make an appearance next week as the “Outfit of the Week”.

Speaking of “Outfit of the Week”, since I missed getting it up on Friday, I’ll go ahead and include it here.

Blue top:  Susie Rose (Walmart)

Black skirt:  twenty-one (Forever 21)

Black heels:  Mossimo (Target)

Silver heart lock necklace:  Tiffany & Co.

Gunmetal cuff bracelet:  no brand (Burlington Coat Factory)

Silver tank bracelet watch:  Coach

And closing out this evening is this week’s manicure in “Wavelength” from the Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition collection. This one is a bright pink to coral changing one.  It’s been reminding me of something else since I put it on, I just can’t figure out what.  Don’t you hate when that happens, lol.

Well, that’s it for this week.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I’ll talk to ya’ll later! J

Patriotic Red, White and Blue "FOTD" and "NOTD"

Happy 4^th of July everyone!  I hope all of you are having a great holiday.  I’m getting ready to head out to be with some great friends, but first I just wanted to share with you my patriotic “Face of the Day” and “Nail of the Day”.  Neither one is a full tutorial, however I have included all products used to get the look.  I hope everyone likes it.

On Eyes:

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Too Cool

Hot Topic eye shadow in Red

Crown Brush "Smoke It Out" palette – blue shades plus white

Loreal Carbon Black Intense Liquid eye liner in Black

NYX Slide On eye liner in Sunrise Blue (SL14)

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara in Black

On Face:

Too Faced Primed and Poreless primer

MAC Mineralized SatinFinish in NW35

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Protector Finishing Powder in Honey

MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle

MAC lipstick in High Tea

MAC Tinted Lipglass in Nymphette

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor in “Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi”

Pure Ice in ”Starry Nites”

Kiss brush on nail art in “White”

Again, I hope everyone is enjoying their 4^th of July celebrations!  Have a great rest of the week and I’ll talk to ya’ll later!

Weekly Wrap Up

So yeah, I’m way behind, lol.  How’s everyone’s past couple of weeks been?  They’ve been good for me, just busy, which is why this week’s wrap up is for the past two weeks.  It’s gonna be a bit long so I better get on with it.

Starting with weight loss, I’ve pretty much just been maintaining with a slight fluctuation up and down, not even a pound though.  I still can’t get into a routine lately for working out, I just don’t want to.  I know, I know, I’m going to half to though, if only just to stay healthy.  Anyone have any motivation they can give me, lol?

Moving on to beauty purchases, I have quite a few. 

From Hautelook my Alterna hair care order finally arrived.  I ordered the “Thickening Compound” and the “Straighten Balm” both from the Hemp collection.  I’ve used them a couple of times and half to say I really do like them.   They’re both made from natural ingredients with no gluten, parabens, synthetic color, phthalates, mineral oil, petroleum, DEA, TEA or animal testing so they’re not hard on your hair and they’re good to use on color treated hair.  Like I said, so far they work well, and the price was very reasonable ($6.99/each for the larger 6.7 US fluid ounces size) since it was from Hautelook, so I’m very pleased.

From MAC I picked up a new foundation, Mineralize Satinfinish in NW35.  I just needed one slightly darker for summer since the NW30 made it look like my head was floating above my body, lol.

At Ulta the past 2 weeks I’ve only picked up a few items.  I grabbed 2 of the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Protector Finishing Powder, one in “Honey” to go with my new foundation and the other in “Creamy Natural” to go with my lighter foundation.  I’d heard really good reviews of these comparing them to MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish pressed powders but at half the price.  So far I really like them, the only problem I foresee is that Ulta had them on clearance and I can’t find them anywhere else.  A bit disappointing.

I also picked up an Ulta Extreme Wear gel eyeliner in “Ink”, a nice dark blue.  I haven’t used this yet and I’m hoping it performs better than the Ulta brand eye shadow I got a few months ago.  We shall see.

At Sephora I grabbed a new perfume, the original Michael Kors scent.  I really love this.  I first got this as a sample from a previous Sephora order and fell in love immediately.  The description from the website lists it as having notes of “Dewy Freesia, Tamarind, Chinese Osmanthus, Incense, Fresh Tuberose, White Wings Peony, Blue Orris, Arum Lilies, Cashmere Woods, Musk, Vetiver Haiti.”  It just smells sooo yummy!  I want to wear it every day but don’t want to use it all up, lol.

One last item I picked up at Sephora was a sample trio of Tarte primer.  It has a .25 fl. Oz. “Clean Slate Poreless” 12 hour perfecting primer, a .25 fl. Oz. “Clean Slate Flawless” 2 hour brightening primer and a .09 fl. Oz. “Clean Slate 360° Creasless” 12 hour smoothing eye primer.  I grabbed this because I’m almost out of my Too Faced Primed and Poreless primer and was thinking about trying the Tarte ones.  It was right by the register so it sucked me in. So far I’ve tried the “Clean Slate Poreless” one.  It works well and the formula is nice. I also tried the “Clean Slate 360° Creaseless” and so far, I’m not impressed with that one.  It seems bit watery for an eye primer.  I’m gonna try it again tomorrow.  I’m hoping the issues with it are because it’s new.

That’s pretty much it for beauty purchases this week.  I have a few more items coming this week in the mail that I’ll share next week after I try them out.

Moving on to the few fashion purchases this week.  The first one is at JC Penney I got the denim shorts and green shirt I was wearing in the most recent “Outfit of the Week”,  I also grabbed a second t-shirt while there in purple, all 3 items are Arizona Jean Co. brand.

From TJ Maxx I was trying to find a small makeup bag to keep my lipstick and lipglasses in while we’re at my sister Mallory’s graduation on Saturday (so they don’t melt in the car).  I wasn’t able to find a makeup back but I did find a small Michael Kors monogram wristlet that will work perfectly…for only $35!

Last, from Coach I got a new bag, a Laura tote in foam (a really pretty sea green color).  This was also shown in the last “Outfit of the Week”.  It’s a nice, big tote that holds all my junk with room to spare.

Finishing up this week’s wrap up, as usual, is my most recent manicure in “Spectrum” from the Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition collection.  This one is a blue-to-green changing color that’s really pretty and sparkly.  I wish I could get it to photograph the way the color changes  but no matter how many different angles I tried it just looks blue.  Oh well L

So, that’s it for tonight.  Long, I know.  I’ll be sure not to let 2 weeks go by before doing a wrap up in the future.  It’s just too much for one post.  Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week this week.  I’ll talk to ya’ll later J.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hi all!  I hope everyone’s weekend went well.  It was pretty good here.  Today is my and Aaron’s 6^th anniversary.  Hard to believe we’ve been married this long, seems like it’s only been about half that time.  Here’s what he got me:

Black and white diamond heart necklace--Helzberg Diamonds

He’s horrible to shop for so when we go to Kansas City in a few weeks he’s gonna pick something out at the outlets.

Moving on to weight loss, it’s not going so well.  I’m up almost a pound from the last weigh in.  It’s my entire fault, I admit.  I’ve been eating crap and not working out at all.  This changes tomorrow, definitely.  Back on the elliptical!

As for beauty purchases this week, my “Blizzard” palette from Crown Brush arrived this week!  I’m so excited; the colors in it are so pretty.  Check out a few pictures:

Front packaging

With flash

Without flash

I also stopped by Ulta yesterday and grabbed 2 new nail Sally Hansen nail polishes from the HD Hi-Definition collection, “Spectrum” is a blue-to-green-to-purple changing color and “Byte” is a pink-to-purple changing color.  I also picked up a new lipgloss from NYX.  It’s one of their new “Pump It Up” lip plumpers.  I got the “Lindsay” color which is a light sparkly pink.  It doesn’t really plump, at least not on me, but the color is cute.

Finishing up tonight are my few fashion purchases.  I made a quick stop at TJ Maxx because I was looking for a new pair of sandals.  I did find a cute pair for only $14.99 that are black with sparkles.  If I”d only had an extra $60 I’d have a pair of silver Michael Kors ones but I was good and didn’t spend that much.

I did, however, find a new pair of Coach sunglasses in glittery purple for more than half off what they are in the boutique.  This is the first time I’ve actually found anything Coach at TJ Maxx so I was very excited and snatched it up as soon as I saw it, lol.

Well, that’s it for tonight.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead!  Talk to ya’ll later! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hi everyone!  Well, it’s Sunday again, the weekend just goes too fast.  I hope everyone had a good one.  I guess it’s time for the weekly wrap-up.

First, I just want to wish all the mom’s out there a Happy Mother’s Day!  I hope you all had a great day and got to spend it with the children who love you.  Scarlett gave me a sweet hand-made card and a pen with silk flowers at the top that she made in school. 

Aaron got me the Roped Pave Heart Key Ring from Coach.  I've already attached it to my handbag; I have more key rings then keys so I use a dog leash clip to hang the key rings from my bag.  They also end up with less wear and tear that way.

Moving on to weight loss, I’m still pretty much maintaining, which is good since I have no motivation to actually do anything.  I really need to get back into it though or I’ll be gaining soon instead.  Anyone have any energy they’re willing to give me, lol?  Hopefully this week will be better.

Lastly are my beauty purchases this week.  They were actually purchased last week but delivered just this week so I saved them until today to talk about.

From MAC I got the “’Shop & Drop quad from the Shop/Cook collection.  I know I’m a few months behind on this collection but I didn’t think I wanted anything from it until just now.  The quad has four colors (obviously):  Sugar Snack, a light pink matte; Hypnotizing, a frosted greyed mauve; Power Boosted, a violet veluxe pearl; and Shop & Drop, a deep blue satin.  I’m not going to do a full swatch post on this since I’m so late getting it.  I will say that I do love it, as I do pretty much all MAC eye shadow I get.  The colors are very pigmented, there’s not much fall out if any at all and the colors are gorgeous.  I’m still trying out new looks from it and hoping to come up with something original to show everyone.

Also from MAC I picked up the “Angel” lipglass from the new Fashion Sets.  I already had “Angel” in lipstick form and was quite excited when they released it as a lipglass, below are some swatches the shade, both by itself and also layered over the lipstick.  There’s also a nail polish in the same color that I did not get as I’m not that fond of MAC polishes, you can usually find the same shades at better prices and quality in my opinion.

MAC "Angel" lipglass

MAC "Angel" lipglass

MAC "Angel" lipglass over "Angel" lipstick

My last purchase this week was from Sephora and is the new Tarina Tarantino “Emerald Pretty” palette.  This is my first ever Tarina Tarantino purchase and I am absolutely loving it.  It has 6 full size eye shadows in it with colors named after The Wizard of Oz.  I will have a full swatch and review post on this one very soon so I’m not going to go into much about this other than the colors are beautiful and the formula of the product is so nice and smooth.  Check back soon for my full review on this palette.

 I’ll end this evening as I always do, with this week’s manicure.  This one is with “DVD” from Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition.  This one is a bit hard to describe, the best way I can is to say it’s a very glittery “chrome-illusion” (for those that don’t know from car paint jobs, it changes color as the light hits it from different angles) look with purples and blues.  I’ve had this polish for a while and have never used it because it’s actually very sheer but my girls at work chose this color when I asked them what I should do this week.  I only had two coats put on at the nail salon which gave pretty good coverage.   When I did my toes at home I used three coats and it came out much more like it looks in the bottle.  I like it both ways though and think it’s a really pretty color.

Well, that’s it for this week.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead and I’ll talk to ya’ll later! J

Everyday Natural Brown Tutorial

Hey all!  I hope everyone’s Wednesday is going well.  The weekend’s almost here so in celebration of that I have a new tutorial for everyone, lol.  This is an everyday natural brown look that goes with anything.  Check out it out below and enjoy!

Products used:

Eyes:

Too  Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

NYX “Box of Smoky Look” Palette

Loreal Carbon Black Intense Liquid Eye Liner

Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Liner in Sable Brown (011)

MAC Mascara X in Black

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Liquid Foundation in NW20

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Baked Powder in Soft and Gentle

Stila “Love at First Blush” Blush Palette

Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer

MAC Lipstick in Angel

e.l.f. Mineral Lip Gloss in Pageant Princess

MAC, Sephora, Ulta and Target Haul

Here’s the 2^nd post of the day, one more after this.  As you can tell by the title I stopped by MAC, Sephora and Ulta this weekend and picked up a few things.  Enjoy the video below!

Purple Smokey Tutorial

Happy Wednesday and Happy Leap Day!  The week’s half way over!  To celebrate I’ve got a new tutorial this evening.  This one is new smokey purple from my NYX “Box of Smokey Look” palette.  I think it’s really pretty and hope you do too.  Enjoy and I’ll talk to everyone later! J

Products used:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

NYX “Box of Smokey Look” Palette

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Purple Blaze (SL10)

MAC Mascara X in Black

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Liquid Foundation in NW20

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Baked Powder in Soft and Gentle

Stila “Love at First Blush” Palette in Pink

Too Face Pink Leopard Bronzer

Revlon Colorstay Lip Butter in Crème Brulee

Weekly Wrap-Up

Another weekend almost over and a new week about to start.  Tonight’s post is up a little late.  I just got home from seeing Kathy Griffin do standup.  She was so hilarious and the show was awesome.  And I was with two awesome friends which makes it even better!  We had a great time.  Hope everyone is doing well and had a good week.  It’s time for the weekly wrap-up.

Starting with weight loss this week I’m very excited.  As of this past Monday’s weigh-in I’m down another 3.4 lbs. which brought me to my first goal weight!  Now I’m on to my second goal to lose just another 5 lbs.  After that all I have to do is maintain the loss.  I just want to thank all the girls and guys on my team who are so supportive in all this.  To everyone, not just to me.  You all rock!  And I’m so proud of all the hard work we’ve all put in on this J.

On to fashion and beauty purchases for this week.  There aren’t a whole lot once again. 

For fashion I did get a new Coach handbag.  They’re my obsession as all my family and friends know.  I get invitations to the Coach Factory Outlet online sales so the prices are quite reasonable.  I got a large Sophia in grey with silver hardware and a beautiful amethyst lining.  I’m carrying her already and *love* her.

For beauty purchases I only picked up a few things.  I replaced my MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle and my MAC Mascara X in black since I was out of both.  I was also planning on getting a new MAC lipstick through their Back 2 MAC program, but I forgot how many empties it takes.  For those that don’t know, the Back 2 MAC is MAC’s recycling program.  They accept returns of their primary packaging (the boxes are labeled on the products that qualify).  If you return 6 empty packaging containers to a MAC counter or MAC Cosmetics  online you’ll receive a free MAC lipstick of your choice.  Even though I do have 6 empty containers, I left one at home because I thought it was 5.  So no knew lipstick for me this week, lol.

I also needed some new primer so I bought some Too Faced Primed and Poreless this time instead of the Smashbox PhotoFinish.  I like this one better for some reason, and it’s slightly cheaper which is nice.

And finally, I received my “The Club at Ulta” (their beauty club) certificate and I hit level 6 last quarter.  One of the options for level 6 is a free perfume up to a $40 value.  I picked out Jessica Simpson’s “I Fancy You” and got the 1.7 oz. that is $49 planning to pay the additional $9 but got the whole $49 off!  I was surprised.  I’m horrible at describing scents so I’m not even gonna try, lol.  I’ll just say I think it smells lovely J.

Finishing out this evening is my bi-weekly manicure.  This one is “Stranger Tides” by OPI from their Pirates of the Caribbean line.  It’s a very light sea green cream shade.  Now that spring is getting closer (it’s been in the 50’s here which is not normal for Kansas in February) I figured it’s time to mix in some lighter colors with the dark ones.  I think this one looks very pretty.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Hope you all have a great week ahead and I’ll talk to everyone later! J

Pink and Purple Valentine's Look

Happy Valentine’s Day (tomorrow anyway) everyone!  Love is in the air, flowers are being delivered and boxes of chocolate are all around.  I hope it’s a good day for all my readers. 

For this day of hearts and cupid I have created a cute pink and purple look that’s great for daytime and should still look nice as evening comes along with dinners and movie dates.  It’s sweet, romantic and has some added sparkle.  Check it out, enjoy and I’ll talk to everyone later!  J

Products used:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

Crown Brush “Smoke It Out” Palette

NYX Glitter Mania in Pink (GP04) and Purple (GP07)

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

NYX Slide On Eyeliner in Pink Suede (SL01)

MAC Mascara X in Black

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Liquid Foundation in NW20

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Baked Powder in Soft and Gentle

Stila “Love at First Blush” Blush Palette

Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer

MAC  Iridescent Loose Powder in Silver Dusk (as a highlighter)

Revlon Colorstay Lip Butter in Sweet Tart

Weekly Wrap-Up

It’s Sunday and it’s the Superbowl, neither of which I’m all that excited about, so I’m spending this evening catching up on the shows I have on the DVR.  I’m quite a bit behind due to spending two evenings this past week filming tutorials for everyone J.   Sunday also means Weekly Wrap-Up time!

Starting with weight loss this week, I was very excited to have lost 3.6 pounds.  I really didn’t think that was going to happen, I’d gotten really off track the past few weeks and hadn’t been working out as much as I should have.  I also had not been eating well at all so I expected to at least maintain my weight if not gain a few pounds.

I’ve been back on track this week and have picked up quite a few healthier snacks.  They even taste good too.  My favorite right now is Nature Valley Granola Thins in peanut butter with a layer of dark chocolate on the bottom.  They are yummy and are only 80 calories per serving! 

My one weakness, however, is Dr. Pepper.  This week I sucked it up and got some Dr. Pepper 10 (yes, I know it’s supposed to be “for men” but it tastes way better than Diet Dr. Pepper).  I generally don’t drink anything diet if it has aspartame in it as it is so unhealthy and causes all sorts of bad stuff, but I only bought it for those times when I’m really craving Dr. Pepper but don’t have the extra calories to spare.  Anyway, should be easier to stay on target now.

Moving on to beauty purchases, my NYX “Box of Smokey Look Collection” arrived this week.  I haven’t really played with it much because I’m still experimenting with my Crown Brush palette,  but there’s lots of potential I can see.  The one time I did use it this week it was for a very natural brown look, not the least bit smokey actually, lol. 

This palette is divided into “Classic Smokey”, “Purple Smokey”, “Bronze Smokey” and “Natural Smokey”.  It also has 12 glitter shadows, 16 lip glosses, 4 concealers, 3 blushes and 3 other colors used for bronzer, highlighter and contour.  The colors are nice and pigmented and I hope to be able to create lots of different looks with it.  Check out the pictures of the palette below and it can be purchased here.

I also stopped by Ulta and was lucky enough to be able to grab the last “Love at First Blush” blush (obviously, lol) by Stila that they had left.  I haven’t had a chance to try it yet but the colors are nice.  I also got a similar Physician’s Formula blush called “Happy Booster” which claims to be mood boosting due to some plant extracts used in it.  I’m weary of this because it has a rosewater scent to it which is something that usually gives me a headache.  I haven’t actually tried it yet either though so I’m hoping once it’s applied the scent isn’t as strong.

I also picked up one of Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer.  I’ve heard many good things about this so I decided it was time to try this out.  I had been using Garnier Nutritioniste’s Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller which works pretty good but I’ve heard the coverage of the Maybelline one is better. 

I also got a new jar of Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle night cream and two new EOS lip balms in sweet mint.  I just love both these products.  The Olay makes my skin nice and soft and the EOS does the same for my lips.

Finally, I picked up 3 new nail polishes.  Two were in the clearance bin which was nice.  They were part of OPI’s Pirates of the Caribbean line.  I got “Planks A Lot” which is a light purple and “Stranger Tides” which is a kind of a pale sea green color.

This week’s manicure is the other color I bought, “Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi” by Nicole by OPI’s Kardashian Kolor collection.  It’s a bright red cream shade, perfect for Valentine’s Day which is why I bought it, lol.

 That’s it for this week, hope the upcoming week goes well for everybody!  Talk to you all later! J

Pretty in Pink

The past year or so I’ve been wearing mostly dark, smoky looks which have become rather boring and predictable, so when my new Crown Brush palette arrived last week I was very excited to try out some new looks.  The palette has some really pretty bright and pastel colors and so far I have come up with two new looks to share with everyone.

Tonight’s look I created using 5 of the pink shades in the palette.  It’s a mostly pastel look with a bright pop of pink in the corner.  It’s a very nice day look that can be turned into more of an evening look by just adding a bit of glitter.  Check out the video below to see how to achieve the look.  I’ll talk to everyone later!  J

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

Crown Brush “Smoke It Out” Palette – Pink shades only

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

NYX Slide On Eyeliner in Pink Suede (SL01)

MAC Mascara X in Black

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Liquid Foundation in NW20

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Baked Powder in Soft and Gentle

MAC Sheertone Blush in Pink Swoon

Stila “Empowered in Pink” Palette Blush in Pink

Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer

Revlon Colorstay Lip Butter in Sweet Tart

Weekly Wrap-up

Sunday has rolled around once again and that means it’s wrap up time.  This week wasn’t very productive so this should be fairly short.

In the weight loss department, I was only down 0.8 pounds.  A little disappointing but I haven’t been working out the past two weeks or so.  I don’t expect to be down any this coming week either, in fact I’ve probably gained some weight.  I was so stressed out trying to get the tutorial up all week all I wanted to do was eat, so I did.  I just know that this coming week I have to get my butt in gear and keep on track.  

As a team at work though, we are ROCKIN’ it!  I’m so proud of everyone I work with and am so glad we all support each other every day!

Moving onto beauty items, I only had a few purchases this week but it was more than I planned.  I stopped at Ulta yesterday since I had a 20% off coupon that was set to expire and there was a new Stila blush in the most recent ad.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have the blush in yet so I’ll have to check back.  The only items I ended up getting were a new Loreal Carbon Black eyeliner, some Physicians Formula Conceal RX concealer (I haven’t bought concealer in years so hopefully this is a good one) and I got two new NYX Glitter Mania eye glitters, one in pink (GP04) and one in purple (GP07).  I’m hoping to use these soon with some new looks.  That’s it for new purchases this week, hopefully I’ll have the new blush by next week’s wrap-up.

Finally, my new Crown Brush “Smoke It Out” palette arrived Friday.  So far, I’m very pleased with it.  There are 36 colors in shades of browns/golds, greys/silvers, greens, blues, purples and pinks.  I already have a new look to show everyone with the pink shades that I plan to have up by Wednesday.  The shadows themselves are quite pigmented and don’t seem to have a lot of fall out.  Hopefully I will stay pleased with it as I experiment with the other colors.  Below are some pictures of the palette.  It, along with several others, can be found here.

Without flash, colors labeled

With flash

Well, that’s it for this evening.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I’ve got overtime scheduled so mine’s going to be long, lol.  Talk to everyone later! J