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

Stila "In the Garden" Swatches

Hi everyone!  All I have today are the swatches from my new Stila “In the Garden” palette.  I haven’t had a chance to come up with any looks from this yet but I hope to have one soon with the pink and blue colors.  Check out the pictures below.

Top row, L to R:  chinois, breeze, bark, freesia, rosette

Bottom row, L to R:  nectar, honey, sage, moss, juniper

Below the shadows:  smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in “starfish”

without primer

Top row, L to R:  chinois, breeze, bark, freesia, rosette

Bottom row, L to R:  nectar, honey, sage, moss, juniper

with primer

Top row, L to R:  chinois, breeze, bark, freesia, rosette

Bottom row, L to R:  nectar, honey, sage, moss, juniper

Below the shadows:  smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in “starfish”

That’s all I have for today, check back soon for some new tutorials, including one or two from this palette.  I’ll talk to everyone later! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

And finally, the last post of this evening, lol.  Like I said, it’s been a hectic kind of weekend.  Friday night Scarlett and I went ice skating since she needed to practice some of her moves.  Then yesterday I was out all day and by the time I got home it was time to get ready for family night.  So now that I’m all caught up, it’s time for the weekly wrap-up!

Starting with weight loss this week I’ve maintained since last week so that’s good.  I’ve been pretty good about eating healthy and working out at least 3 times a week.  I hope everyone is enjoying the “Healthy Meal of the Week” posts and are getting some use out of them.  I’d also like to say again that I am so proud of my team at work.  Everyone has been so dedicated, supportive and just plain out awesome!!

Moving on to beauty purchases, I have quite a few.  I did say that this week would make up for last week’s zero purchases, lol.  I’m just going to recap what I had in my haul video so if you’ve seen it this is nothing new.  For those who didn’t watch the video, enjoy!

At MAC I picked up a new lipglass in “Pink Lemonade” which is a really pretty salmon/coral type color.  Like many lipglasses it is quite pigmented and so far what I’ve tried of it looks really nice.

At Sephora I got a second Stila “Love at First Blush” blush palette.  I got one at Ulta around Valentine’s Day and wanted another since it is limited edition.  However, Ulta never got any more it so I was excited to find one yesterday. 

I also got a small trial/travel size of Benefit’s “They’re Real” mascara.  I’ve been wanting to try this for a while but didn’t want to spend the $22 on the full size.  The travel size was $10 so I figured what the hay and grabbed it.  I’ll let everyone know how it works. 

The next thing I got was my birthday “gift” sample since I’m a member of the Sephora Beauty Insider club and it’s my birthday month.  This year’s sample is a Fresh “Sugar Kisses” mini lip duo.  I’ve never tried anything by Fresh so we’ll see how these work. 

And finally at Sephora since I hit my 100 points on my Beauty Insider card I went ahead and redeemed my points for a Sephora brand lipgloss sample in “Pin-Up Pink Shiny”.  It’s a bright pink but it is a bit on the transparent side so it ends up not as bright on.

My next stop yesterday was Ulta where I picked up a few minor necessities like some more cotton rounds, cotton swabs  and new Beauty Smoothie 3-in-1 in Pomegranate Passion (I only use this as body wash, not as shampoo like can be done).

I also picked up 2 Tarte items.  One is an Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in “Dollface” which is a nice medium pink.   The other was a tube of Gifted Amazonian Clay smart mascara in “Black”.  I’m most excited about this mascara.  I saw it on QVC about a year or so ago and it looked like it was amazing.  I honestly thought the model had on false eyelashes they were so long and thick compared to the “before” pictures.  That was until I actually watched it being applied to the 2^nd model.  It made her lashes look sooo awesome!  I’ll be sure to let everyone know if it works as promised.

I also grabbed a new Loreal 8 hour Infallible le gloss in “Pink Topaz”, a bright hot pink.  These glosses are quite pigmented, more like a lipstick.  I really like the formula and they do last quite a while after being applied.

Next I got some new eye shadow.  Two were just some of the Ulta brand singles, one in “Bayou”, a silvery purple-blue, and the other in “Iceland”, a frosty white, since they were Buy One, Get One.  I also got the “In the Garden” Stila palette which has some really pretty spring colors in it.  I’ll be sure to get some swatch pictures up tomorrow of this.  Now to just work on some pretty looks from this.

Finishing up at Ulta I picked up a fingernail polish from Butter London in “Trout Pout” which is a nice salmon colored cream shade.  I don’t usually buy Butter London polishes, even though they have really pretty colors, because they are a bit pricey for nail polish.  I had some extra money though so I went ahead and decided to try it. I haven’t used it yet but will soon.

The last place I stopped was Target.  I only picked up some more Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser, which I LOVE, and some contact solution.  Kinda boring compared to everything else.

I did get a few fashion items I’ve kept separate from the above items.  At Target I grabbed a new plain white tank top and a new pair of Levi’s “Denzien” capris in dark denim.  And lastly I got a new top at Rue21.  It’s a bright pink with some blues in a leopard/giraffe type print.  It’s just really cute.

That’s it for purchases this week.  I’m really excited about everything I got and can’t wait to try it all out.

I’ll end tonight with this week’s manicure.  This one is “Barbados Blue” from essie.  It’s a really pretty light blue pearl.  It’s the one I purchased 2 weeks ago and I’m very happy with the color

Well, that’s all for this week!  Hope everyone has a great week ahead and I’ll talk to y’all later! J

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

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

Grey Smoky Eyes

Finally!!  As promised, the long awaited Grey Smoky Eye Tutorial!  Sorry it’s up so late but I did finally conquer all the technical difficulties I was having except for one, the very end of the video got cut off but I'm okay with that at this point.  I'm just happy I finally got it finished.

This look is a good one for someone just starting to try out bolder, smokier looks.  If anyone has any questions about any products I use or where I get them leave a comment and I’ll be sure to let you know. 

 And now, on to the pictures, products and video and I’ll talk to everyone later!  Enjoy!

Products Used:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

NYX For Your Eyes Only Smokey Eyes Eye Shadow Palette

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

NYX Slide On Eyeliner in Platinum (SL08)

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 Peach Parfait

The Sickies Are Here

And I’m home with them L.  This is the 2^nd time in a month I’ve come down with something.  I keep telling Aaron it’s his fault since he made me quit smoking.  I don’t usually get sick this often, maybe once a year if even that.  So yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m not smoking now, lol.  Even if that’s not true it’s a good excuse J.

I stayed home from work since it hurts to talk and swallow and my job pretty much consists of talking all day.  I’m also sure my coworkers appreciate me not coughing my germs all over the place.  So, instead of being there infecting everyone, I'm catching up on what I have saved on my DVR.  I’m taking Echinacea so hopefully this all clears up soon.  I’ll be back to work tomorrow, regardless, as its busy season and we can only have one “same day call-in” of personal time a month without it affecting our actual attendance.

In other news, I’ve had a few requests from friends that they want to actually SEE how I do my eye makeup.   Because of these requests I’m trying to figure out the best way to do any tutorials.  The lighting in my house is not the best so finding a good place to film is presenting a problem.  The best lighting is in the bathroom but there’s really no room in there.  I’d like to be able to use my desk downstairs since I have a chair and plenty of space to put my makeup mirror, makeup and camcorder but there is almost no light at all down there.  I’m also going to have to play around with the camcorder and the DVD + RW’s I have for it since I’m quite unfamiliar with reusing one of these discs after they’ve been finalized to be played back on other equipment.  I do plan on trying to film soon, probably a haul video of what I purchase this weekend.  Hopefully I can get everything in place with decent light and a voice that is back to normal, lol.

Until then, here’s another look I got from my favorite beauty blogger, MakeupByTiffanyD.  If you click on the link you will be taken to her tutorial and list of products, which is slightly different than mine.  She calls the look “Changing Leaves”.  I think it’s very pretty and great for fall and winter.   Enjoy!

 Products Used:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

MAC Eye Shadow in Humid

MAC Eye Shadow in Copper

MAC Eye Shadow in Dazzlelight

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

SEPHORA Flashy Liner Waterproof in Moss (17)

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

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

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Cosmo (LG110)

Talk to everyone later!  J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Wow, it’s Sunday already!  Weekends go too fast and weeks too slow, don’t you agree?  Anyway, it’s time for the weekly wrap up.

Let’s start with this week’s results of the Wedding Challenge at work.  I’m down two pounds!  It seems a bit easier this time to stay within my calorie allowances since I have so much support from the people I work with.  We’re such a GREAT team!  Working out is taking some getting used to though.  I totally got off track the past year or two.  I had been going to the YMCA 3 times a week but I got lazy and stopped going.  Then my shift at work changed to me getting off later and I just couldn’t find the time to fit it in.  Now, with the elliptical at home and Just Dance 3, I can’t blame it on not enough time, lol.  The last thing I need to do is find healthier recipes to make for dinner for all of us, if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Moving on to purchases this week, they’re not very interesting.  This week’s shopping pretty much just consisted of groceries and other household or work necessities.  I did order a new some new eye shadow.  It’s a Crown Brush smoky eye palette I found on Hautelook.  Once, I receive it I’ll be sure to post and review.

I did buy one other thing, since Aaron gave me what was left on his Wal-mart gift card.  I picked up the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie.  It’s a really pretty, well, raspberry color, lol.  It’s a bit more opaque than I thought it would be.  All the swatches of other colors I’d seen had been more transparent and gloss-like.  It’s still a beautiful color and I think it should work well with my skin tone.

And lastly this week, here’s the purple smoky eye I was sporting yesterday in support of my Kansas State Wildcats, even though it didn’t help all that much L .  This is one of my most worn eye shadow looks as anyone who knows me knows my favorite color is purple.  Hope you enjoy!

 Products used:

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

Maybelline Stylish Smokes Quad in Amethyst Smokes (06)

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner

NYX Slide On Eye Liner 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

MAC Sheertone Blush in Pink Swoon

Stila “Empowered in Pink” palette Blush in Pink

Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer

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

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Cosmo (LG110)

Well, that’s all for this week!  Hope everyone has a great upcoming week!  Also, if there is anything anyone would like to know or any look someone would like to see, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do.  

Talk to everyone later! J

Welcome to 2012!

Happy New Year!!  Hope everyone was safe last night and all is well today!  I just hung out with my family last night so not very exciting here.  We had snacks and watched the ball drop.  It’s the same thing we do each year.

Today I got the tree taken down and all the decorations put away.  The only things still up are the outdoor lights.  Aaron worked all day today and I’m afraid of heights so those will have to wait.  It looks like the holidays are over.  I don’t know whether I’m glad or not about that.

Anyway, time to start a great new year.  I only made one true goal (not a “Resolution”) for 2012, to not put anymore purchases on my Citi card.  I’m really bad about using it for impulse buys when I can’t really afford something.  So, I took the card out of my wallet and put it away.  I’m only going to make payments on it for the year.  If I can stick to this goal then this November, for Black Friday, I’m going to buy myself a new digital SLR camera.  I’ve wanted one for a long time but never bought one.  I’m bound and determined to do this so wish me luck.

As a smaller goal, I want to build up my savings so that means less spending over all.  This one will be harder I think so I’m not as hopeful, but I’m gonna try.

To finish up today please take a look at my New Year’s look from yesterday.  I figure just because I didn’t go out and do anything that’s no reason not to look all glam and such, lol.  I got this look from one of my favorite makeup bloggers, Makeup By TiffanyD.  If you click the link you can see her tutorial on how to achieve the look as well as her list of products used (which differs slightly from mine).  Check her out!

Products used:

Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer
MAC Eyeshadow in Copper
Maybelline Eyeshadow in Golden Halo (270S)
MAC Eyeshadow in Dazzlelight
Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense liquid eye liner
NYX Slide On Eyeliner in Golden Bronze (SL16)
MAC Mascara X

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 Face Pink Leopard Bronzer
MAC Lusterglass in Venetian Red

Once again, I hope everyone has a great 2012!  Talk to you later J.

Oops, I Lied

Like the title says, I guess I lied.  I meant to have this post up yesterday but time got away from me.  I did a little after Christmas shopping.  Picked up 2 boxes of next year’s Christmas cards for $2.50 a box.   I replenished my collection of gift boxes since most of what I have are just falling apart.  I got 3 packages of 10 for $1.50 each.  I was also able to replace my light up penguin that was stolen from the yard a few weeks ago so that’s a good thing.

I also said I’d have Christmas pictures too but I couldn't decide which ones to put up so I picked the one I thought was the cutest.

Grim and Dune playing in the wrapping paper!  It’s their favorite thing to do during the holidays.

And finally, here’s the promised pictures of my holiday eye makeup.

So that’s my Holiday Look.  I’m thinking the next look I do will be for New Years but I can’t really claim it as mine, lol.  I got the look from another blog I read, Makeup By TiffanyD.  Along with that look I’ll talk about my plans for the New Year J.  I’m not gonna call them “Resolutions” since no one ever keeps those.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble and I’ll talk to you later!