A Valentine's Wish...

While my son is on his extended morning slumber, which never happens.  I caught up my blog reading first with the Stylish Housewife .  She posted her Valentine's Day Gift Guide for Her...  I couldn't help but notice the Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch so I did some searching...again...  It's been a lemming of mine for quite some time now.  $199-$250.  Not bad, but not good for me either!

My watch just broke...  (Well it probably just needs a new battery.  shhh!)  I still wear it everyday and still look at it for the time.  Every day all day it is 12:16.  Which I looked up (googled) of course...

Proverbs 12:16 "A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult."   Interesting...

In all fairness I did drop it a couple of years ago and the glass face chipped on the corner.  And I only have the one, no backup time teller for this lady...

Isn't it just beautiful?!  How do I get my Valentine to give this to me?  lol

I sent 3 emails to my husband at work throughout the morning on various price points and places in which he could purchase.  Too strong of a hint?  :)  Um, no replies.

I've never worn rose gold before, it probably will look amazing won't look good with my skin tone anyway.

Dare to Dream!  *le sigh*

Fossil has some blush and pink aluminum alternatives...  But at $135 I would rather spend another $60 for the Rose Gold...

and I just like the face of the the Michael Kors so much better :)

What is on your Valentine's Day Dream Wish List???

UPDATE:  I received this text:  "Are you Serious?  $20 for a pink watch?"  And there you have it.  Dream was dashed.  lol  Birthday?  Mother's Day? 8 year wedding anniversary?  I will keep tying ;)

Stranger Tides

A couple of weeks ago I walked into Walmart and saw some bright yellow stickers out of the corner of my eye...  Instinctively knowing and never one to pass up a sale, a sauntered over to check.

Clearance, Buy 1 Get 2?  How do you refuse a sale like that?  Granted most of the colors were maroons and bright oranges, colors that I wouldn't normally go for but I settle on the best 3!  2 colors from the OPI Texas Collection and what is that color on the end...  Stranger Tides?!

The OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection was/is by far my favorite of all time.  I liked every single color in the collection equally.  The murky dusky pastel shades called out to me as well as the silver shatter!  The shatter craze never really hit me but I from time to time will still extend a mani out a day or 2 with the silver shatter.

And here we are almost 8 months later and what do I stumble upon a clearance, Buy 1 Get 2 free? Sheer craziness!

 Stranger Tides

Guy Meets Gal-Veston

 Don't Mess with OPI

I was also very excited to pick up a fun coral and my favorite shade of green...

So here is Stranger Tides in all of it's glory.  I just love this dusky greenish grey color!  "It was never really a good seller, " the manager of the salon said.  Really?  It was hands down my favorite of the collection!  The brush isn't my favorite on this one as since it sat around for all these months, probably a tester of sorts but it smoothed out with the second coat to an awesome finish.


So here is a blast from the past!

 Sunlight

Natural light

Love love love!  And getting it on clearance was amazing as well.

Make sure you check out the salon in Walmart.  You never know what clearance OPI you might stumble upon...

MyGlam!

And my goodness am I behind on posts!  Stop taking pictures and starting blogging lady...

MyGlam finally graced me with it's appearance a couple of weeks late after an unfortunate misshap with their shipping company.  Some people received 2 and others had to be issued refunds...  Oopsie.  Just a tad bit worried here...

But alas it arrived at my door, no sweat, in it's shiny, glammie parcel!

The "theme" for this month of January was Back to Nature.

I now have 3 Freeman Peel-Off Cucumber masks in my possession.  Good stuff though!  I use it a couple times a week already.

Here is the contents of the cosmetic bag, which you can never have enough of in my opinion.  Some oil always spills or a matte black eyeshadow never fails to explode in mine.  Oh yeah and zippers always break!

It had a weird toxic chemical smell as soon as I opened the pink mailer.  Since it has been out exposed to fresh air, the smell has dissipated some what but it was a crazy strong scent!  It is lined in a plastic waterproof layer which is probably where the smell originates.

Ahh...  Sheer Cover.  Some 6 years ago I ordered this off an infomercial.  Not sure why.  I was always happy with the Bare Minerals that I had ordered from an infomercial a year previous.  Sheer Cover was awful for me.  Didn't like the concealer, didn't like the mineral foundation that I applied with the super scratchy foundation brush.  I returned it immediately.

To be fair, I wasn't savvy in makeup application all those years ago and I probably slathered the stuff on, saw a streaky unblended mess and the color match was horrible.  The great thing about Bare Minerals, it's fool proof.  In fact, I was looking through a photo album recently and I looked really nice when I wore Bare Minerals.  Hmm...

this did come at a good time as I have been wanting a creamy concealer ever since the Urban Decay makeup artist did my face at Ulta.  She used the concealer sticks CIA and FBI on the redness around my nose and cheeks and it really smoothed everything out.  Actually she never applied foundation.  I just realized that.  I probably should get those!  lol

theBalm is well what it says it is... the balm.  This is Shady Lady in Luscious Lani.  It's a shimmery champagne pinky peach if that is descriptive enough for you.

Here's me wearing it with L'OREAL Infallable in Continuous Cocoa on my upper and lower lash line.  Just a quick day look before heading out.  I just love those Infallables!

I'm thinking it might be a nice cheek highlight?  But theBalm shadows have that velvety buttery smooth formula like Urban Decay which I just love.  I have theBalm and the Beautiful palette which I keep meaning to do a post on.  :)  I picked it up at Marshall's for $19.99.  Awesome price.  I'm glad to have another theBalm shadow in my collection.

Ahh...  The much anticipated wen!  wen is one of those products that I have wanted to try for years now.  Yep, watched the infomercial a thousand times.  I'm a bit of an insomniac apparently.  I guess I shouldn't wonder why I am tired all day long!  I have tried and used Hair One that you can find at Sally Beauty for around $10.50 I believe.  On QVC you can grab 16 oz duo bottles for $39.90 with $6.72 S&H.
But it's available on Easy Pay!

I used wen this morning and I can honestly say that they are about the same.  They both make the hair smooth and soft. I did wash my roots and scalp with my LUSH shampoo bar.  I have an oily scalp and I know from experience that I would be greasy by the afternoon.  Hair One does lather up a bit meaning not suds, but there is a workable like lather.  Wen didn't at all.  However,  I really didn't know how much to use.  I think I remember Hair One needing 10 to 15 pumps?  I may not have used enough of the wen sample as I would like to "stretch" it as long as possible but I surmise there is enough for 3 washings.

I think I am leaning towards liking wen as I did like the scent of a lot better.  But it is so flipping expensive for my life right now!  I did pick up the L'OREAL EverCreme Cleansing Conditioner for $2.50 (on-sale $6, and I had $3.50 in ECB) so I will review all 3 and give you my thoughts.  I like the idea of being sulfate free.


So what do I think about MyGlam.  I'm not really sure.  


In terms of value?  I received a $4 sample of wen (calculated based on the price per ounce based off the QVC price of $29.90 for 16 oz bottle).  The Freeman Cucumber Peel Off Mask retails for about $4.50.  They do go BOGO a couple times a year at the drugstores.  A full size Shady Lady eye shadow is $16.  The Sheer Cover Concealer duo is available on HSN for $19.99.  Shipping is free and you get a cosmetic bag.  So based on an approximate value of $50, I paid $10.  That's a pretty good deal.


As a company?  A bit sketchy as I was charged early to mid December and didn't receive it until last week.  I have found with the other monthly subscription boxes I receive, they charge when it ships.  They did send an email in apology for the late shipping and the mistake that was made.  It is their second month in business and it was an unfortunate error.  Doo doo happens.  


There you have it.  Did you get a MyGlam bag this month?  What did you think?

Aimee's Nails 300 Follower Benefit Giveaway!

Aimee is having an awesome giveaway on her blog Aimee's Nails for reaching 300 followers!!!  Yay!!!

She is giving away some Benefit!  Double yay!

Make sure you check out her blog  She covers all beauty topics as well as nails!

A Comparison: Illuminating Primers

I know what "they" say, "they" being the experts...

I have oily combo skin, large pores, fine lines, aging (gasp!  I said it!) skin...  Shimmer accentuates all of those things I want to hide.  Shimmer is not supposed to be for me.

Hogwash I say!  I need a glow, a lit from within brightness.  The matte look doesn't do anything for me or for most people and dewy skin is young skin! 

I have found three products which gives me dewy younger looking skin.  From left to right:  Missha  BB Boomer, Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Primer, and L'OREAL Magic Lumi.

Let me start out by saying and I think I have said it quite recently, I love my winter skin.  It is quite "normal" and I can wear many things now that would literally melt off in 2 minutes during the summer heat.  Now is the time that I can use primers and shimmers and not have to worry about my oil slick appearing only minutes after I am done applying my face.

Out of the 3, Missha BB Boomer is the most moisturizing as it says on the front.  The first time I used this I was a shiny oily mess in less than an hour.  But I put my regular skin prep on, serum, lotion, primer...  I have since played around with it and my face needs no further moisture when using this product. In the winter, I can use this over a light serum, in place of a moisturizer and it lasts beautifully for a few hours.  It stays tacky and if used under a BB cream it will also stay tacky so it absolutely needs to be set with powder.  If you have dry dull skin, this would be perfect for you!

Tarina Tarantino is second in the moisturizing department.  I can use this up until the early summer with no problems.  I like to add it to my foundation/BB cream to thin them out a bit and make them less cakey in the finish.  I have used this as a primer and it does work, but I tend to get oily sooner than if I mix it with a foundation.  It doesn't provide "slip" as a silicone primer would.  However it mixes nicely with a foundation to give it a more dewy appearance.

L'OREAL Magic Lumi is a more recent addition to my collection.  It is lighter in consistency, as in less creamy, and it dries completely, no sticky/tackiness.  I've worn it as a primer, mixed in with my foundations/BB creams and smoothed it on as a cheekbone highlight.

Here they are swatched out from left to right:   Missha BB Boomer, L'OREAL Magic Lumi, Tarino Tarantino

This is heavy swatching and lightly blending so that you can see the color in them.  From left to right again, Missha BB Boomer, L'OREAL Magic Lumi and Tarino Tarantino Pearl Glow.   Totally blended in, they all 3 of them give a subtle glow/dewiness to the skin.  None of them have chunky glitter or an obnoxious shimmer like let's say Revlon PhotoReady.  The shimmer doesn't settle into pores or fine lines.

I like them all but I lean more towards Tarina Taratino as it is the one I most reach for, probably because I have had it the longest and used to grabbing it and mixing it in my foundation.  Missha BB boomer is just a tad too sticky for me and I probably won't repurchase it unless my skin changes and I lean more to the dry end of the oil producing spectrum. 

The L'OREAL Magic Lumi is easily accessible and least expensive option and I think since it dries completely, I might be able to wear it in the summer.

What is your go to illuminating product?  Do you like a dewy or matte finish?

a-england Iseult

a-england was having a sale and free international shipping so I jumped on that one really quickly!  I bought my 3 favorites that I have been wanting for a really long time but couldn't justify the price.   So happy to have these in my collection now!

From left to right, Iseult, Lady of the Lake and Tristam.

I absolutely adore Iseult and the formula is perfect.  It is a shimmery pearl like pink.  Just gorgeous.  2 coats.  Soft pinks are not usually my first choice but when I saw the silvery shimmer in this one, I knew it was going to be perfect.  I just love it and this polish is an instant favorite.

Fun with Sugarpill!!!

All day long I have been crossing off things from a list that is a mile long... all of which was supposed to get done for 3 weeks now!  Oops...  One big thing on the list was to clean out my makeup "room."  Yes it has turned into an entire room at this point.  Originally my makeup collection was housed on some shelves in the bathroom but I figured that the moisture probably wasn't the best thing for eyeshadows and powders so I moved everything into the spare bedroom.

Today was a big organization day and I feel like I accomplished nothing!  Well something.  I took some pictures and played around with my Sugarpill palettes that I bought off of a blogsale back in November I believe.  ( I did more than that, I swear!)  They just look so awesome in the pan and they are wicked pigmented!

I picked up Sweet Heart and Burning Heart.  These are colors I probably have no business playing around with but makeup is supposed to be fun right?  The answer is of course YES!

I love the packaging on these.  Smooth cardboard, magnetic closure and a nice sized mirror.

Sweet Heart 

Burning Heart

As you can see these are pretty much brand new aside from some light swatching from the previous owner.  These are no joke in the pigmentation department.  I didn't bother swatching them out for you since they are not a new product and you've probably seen them in their glory millions of times.

Here is a look I did based off a youtube video I saw by saaammage.  My eyes came out nothing like hers as I used a different brown.  Which I will get into in a bit!  Normally with bright shades like these, I safely layer them over a darker base, normally black but I felt like trying something different.

Here's what I did:

I put UD Primer potion in Sin all over the lid.  From the WnW trio Sweet As Candy, I took the brown crease shade and put that in my crease as a transition color.  Then I took NYX eyeshadow base with Pearl on the lid and inner corner as I couldn't find my NYX jumbo pencil in Milk.  Guess it's time to pick up another one of those.

I took Tako (white) from the Sugarpill Sweet Heart palette and placed that over the pearl base leaving the inner corner/inner 1/3 of the lid for Buttercupcake (yellow) from the Burning Heart palette.  I then took Poison plum in the outer v and crease. 

I also took Poison Plum down under the lower lash line.  I lined my top lash line and lower waterline with a PF black liner.  I then added some WnW loose glitter Lilac Frosting (was on clearance at CVS for 75 cents over the summer) in the center of my eyelid using some Pixie Epoxy.

In other news...  I used a sample of AVON Genics treatment cream last night and I put it on again this morning after washing my face as I wasn't planning on going anywhere today.  Can you say wow?  My complexion was totally even today, no crazy redness in my cheeks.  I don't know if it has a self tanner in it or what but it made a very noticeable difference in my skin overnight and throughout the day.

So far I'm blown away at the results.  I'm going to continue trying out this week.  But so far, super job AVON!

EOTD & NOTD!

Well the eyes are from today and the nails are from yesterday.  I filed down my nails and they are ready for a new color! 

This is Orly Sweet Peacock that I received from my Secret Sanata Amanda from Mad Manis.  It is a really cool polish.  It basically only needs one coat.  Such a solid formula, no streaks/brush marks.  Wow!

I decided to layer WnW Blue Wants to be a Millionaire later that night which is a favorite of mine to layer because of the tiny holographic glitter sparkle it give off!

I wish I got a photo of this in the sun!

Eyes were pretty simple.  I just swept L'OREAL Infalliable eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe across the lid, blended it out with WnW Trio Sweet as Candy brown in the crease and blended that out with the cream colored shade on the browbone.  I used a brown Revlon kohl liner to line my upper lash line and lower water line and I used the Bronzed Taupe as a lower lash liner.  Mascara is a layer Revlon Grow Luscious and a layer of Rimmel Lash Accelerator.

Right before the picture I put on some Neutrogena Overnight Lip Repair which really paled out my lips.  lol 

I'm going to be "experimenting" with darker lips soon.  I've been inspired by Mercedes of Mercedes Makeup Obsession.  I do have a few what I would be considered as red as I would go but I think a true red is in my near future!