Bling!

I love jewelry, but up until now I never really felt like spending money on it while shopping... I always gravitated towards clothing or makeup. I also didn't have a very good storage system so the jewelry that I did buy would be scattered around in different places or hidden away in a jewelry box so I never ended up wearing it. 

Recently I've had the urge to spruce up my jewelry collection and to add more bling to my outfits. Naturally, I have gone on a jewelry craze and I also got this cute jewelry holder to organize it all. I love it because it leaves everything out where I can see it, so I'm much more inclined to pick things out to wear!

Asos.com has the most amazing jewelry collection, most of which is very affordable, and this is where I got most of my goodies. I thought I'd show you some of my favorites out of the bunch that I got. 

ASOS enamelled ring with metal surround

I love this ring! It can be dressed up or down. 

ASOS skinny bracelet with hanging rose charm & skinny bracelet with skull charm 

These are separate bracelets, but I like them together. It's kind of girly meets punk. They're also a bit big on me so I'll have to figure out some way to get around that. 

Talullah Tu Swarovski skull stud earrings

I've wanted these for ages ever since I saw them on Tanya Burr's (pixi2woo) channel. These are the true definition of bling and they look so good on!

ASOS set of three pretty rose stud earrings 

These are so cute. I love the colors that they come in; the red ones are my favorites.

ASOS set of four vintage style rings 

All together they may be too much for me, but in pairs or even separately I think they'd be nice.

ASOS anchor stud earrings 

Mayan earrings from Francesca's Collection's

I absolutely adore these, they're so colorful and unique

Yellow flower ball necklace from Francesca's Collections

This necklace is so delicate and pretty, and surprisingly the yellow matches well with a lot of things 

And last but not least,

AE hematite cluster studs

As you can see I like a lot of different styles of jewelry. I did get a lot of gold and black, which I love because it's so classic. I also liked a lot of things with skulls, which is something I wouldn't normally go for, but these particular ones caught my eye =)

I hoped you guys enjoyed this, and I'd love to know what your favorite jewels are and how you organize them!

Beautiful burgundy

Dark nails are so appropriate for the fall/winter season. I picked this nail polish up over a year ago and it still remains one of my go-to cold weather nail colors.  

N.Y.C. LINCOLN CENTER

Best of all its cheap and easily found at drugstores! Its seriously the perfect deep burgundy color, kind of vampire-esque and I don't hate it. The color makes your hands look clean and chic. You do need two coats of this to get good color, but it is not streaky and the quality is quite good. The finish is super glossy, even without a topcoat. 

I think these N.Y.C. polishes are so cute - each of them in the collection is named after an area in New York City. I will definitely repurchase this over and over again =) 

What fall nails have you been loving?

A lovely skin cleansing duo

So you all know I'm obsessed with my Origins checks and balances cleanser. A few days ago I got down to the final bits of it, and instead of buying a different cleanser to indulge my inner product junkie, I went and repurchased my old one. 

Now I love this cleanser, but I probably would have been tempted to try out new products if it weren't for the Sephora face complexion brush I bought a few weeks ago. Let me tell you, it was as if these two products were made for each other, and I just could not resist getting a second one so I could keep using them together. 

The face brush itself is soft and easy to use. The cleanser I have already raved about. And together they are a team of face washing goodness. On its own the cleanser lathers beautifully, but when used with the brush it creates an even foamier product that leaves your skin squeaky clean. Though the bristles of the brush are soft, they still work well as exfoliators, leaving my skin so so smooth. 

I think that adding a brush or some kind of exfoliating cleansing tool like a muslin cloth or a sponge makes a big difference to any skin care routine. I used to use The Body Shop's little facial buffer sponge, and I liked it, but this is way better because the handle makes it easy to hold, and the bristles are easy to clean. The gentle exfoliation is good for everyday use and I think gives a lot better results than those cleansers that have the "gentle exfoliating beads". It helps me maintain the softness of my skin throughout the week so I find myself using my St. Ives apricot invigorating scrub a lot less. 

I think the scrubbing action also helps get the cleanser deeper into your pores - I've noticed that my blackheads have been kept at bay, but I probably need to use it for longer to really see the difference. 

All in all it's like washing your skin like you would brush your teeth - kinda weird but I really like it!

What do you think about facial brushes? 

A blush love...reignited

A few days ago I was rummaging through the drawers that hold my makeup, and I found this bad boy sitting in the back of one of them:

KORRES BLUSH - ORANGE

I used to use this all the time and I was absolutely obsessed with it.
Then, while I was on a vacation, I dropped it.
A once beautiful blush now looks like this, and has since been pushed aside by other, more visually appealing blushers.

It's a sad sight to see, and I realize that it is stupid to avoid using a blush that I love just because it is now in ten pieces instead of one. I cannot bear to throw it away and get a new one because I hate to waste things andd it was damn expensive ($24 @ korres.com). For now I have just been carefully dabbing my brush into it and using it as I normally would, but the powdery remnants are way too messy. I am trying to look for one of those cheap plastic makeup containers to keep it in - goodbye simple chic packaging =( 

Anyways, onto the blush itself. It's freaking amazing. I know it looks pretty scary in the pan, and with a name like "orange", I don't know how many people will be wanting to put this on their face. Even when swatched the color doesn't seem like it would be too flattering on the cheeks. BUT, when you put this on it is absolutely gorgeous. It's a bright coral-peach, much more than just orange, and it gives you the most amazing glowing from within, bright, cutesy cheeks. It works in the winter to give a just came in from the cold look and also in the summer for a bright peachy glow that looks great with a tan. 

This blush is super pigmented and has teeny tiny micro-glitter particles in it which is probably what produces the incredible glow. It is one of my favorite blushes ever and probably one of the most unique colors that I own. Ahh falling in love with it all over again =)

Happy thanksgiving! I am currently overdosing on pumpkin pie as I write, it's great. 

  Have you guys ever broken your makeup? What do you do with it? 

Update and a little wishlist

Yes, I changed the name of my blog. Sorry about that, I had never been crazy about my old blog name and I thought of this one randomly one day and thought it was cute, so I went with it! I guess that's the beauty of blogging, you can make it whatever you want =) 

Anywho, recently I have been enjoying going through Laura, lollipop26's old blog posts. I expect many of you are familiar with her blog and youtube videos, and if not - shes amazing! Sadly, she has decided to take a break from blogging, but good thing for me I can always go through her old posts to find some inspiration. After spending a good hour on her blog - as you know, blogging can be seriously addicting - I ended up with a wishlist that would not suit well with my bank account. Here's a few of the things I'm lusting for: 

COASTAL SCENTS NEUTRAL PALETTE

NARS LOVEJOY BLUSH 

Such a pretty nude/rose color!

NARS ALBATROSS HIGHLIGHTER

I love my hush cream colour base as a highlight, but I'm curious to try this talked-about NARS one

REVLON COLORSTAY

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I always thought that colorstay would be drying and cakey. After reading Laura's review of it, I really want to try it out!

MAYBELLINE MINERAL BLUSH 

I've never used a mineral blush before, but these look like a good place to start 

All images taken from Google 

And of course on top of all these things I want a MAC lipstick, eyeshadow, and blush in every other color - I mean hey, it's a wishlist so it can be as long as I want, right? 

For those of you who celebrate thanksgiving, I hope you have a happy one =) Tomorrow is the start of my break! I can finally have a moment to relax and there will be plenty of time for blogging, so keep posted. 

What have you been lusting for?  

Brit Wit Cream Blush

Hello all! Hope you are enjoying your weekend =)

Today I wanted to share with you my love for a particular cream blush by MAC, 

BRIT WIT 

It's a beautiful pinky-mauve color that I think would work great for the fall/winter season. Cream blushes are great because of their texture - they add pure color to your cheeks without the powdery mess. This means you can build it up to the intensity you want without worrying about cakey-ness. The dewy finish is perfect for winter time when you don't want your skin looking dry. MAC cream blushes in particular look and feel quick sticky, so you might at first be hesitant to put them on your face. However, I can say that once you have blended it out onto your skin, using a brush or with your fingers, it is weightless and smooth to touch. 

Since Brit Wit is in the category of plumy pinks that are a little darker/more intense than I usually wear, I will wear it alone, without any color on my eyes and with a natural lip. Sometimes I also wear it with a subtle light gold eyeshadow like LORAC's serenity, which is in the same color family as all that glitters by MAC. I love the gold and plum combo! 

The camera isn't picking it up as well as I'd like - in person the color is slightly deeper.

I'd really love to get some of the other cream blushes by MAC... any suggestions? =)

Hopping on the NARS train

As I previously mentioned, I recently got the NARS essential eye palette - which I found, after doing a little research, retails for around $50-60 at some places, so getting it in the sephora exclusive set is an amazing deal! 

Anyways, I was super excited to try out the eyeshadows so today I experimented with this little beauty here:

GALAPAGOS

It's a deep chocolate brown with specks of chunky gold glitter, which is not as noticeable once it is blended out on your eye but does tend to get all over your eye area. 

For me, it's no consequence as the eyeshadow delivers jaw-dropping pigmentation and is a beautiful color for warming up the eyes. I used it in the crease, with naked lunch all over the lid. I opted for a more toned down, neutral look so I blended it out quite a bit, but with just a couple of taps on your brush you can get the same intense color that you see in the pan, on your eyes. 

Some of the other eyeshadows in the palette are a bit chalky, but after using galapagos and a few others, I can understand why NARS is charging $23 for a single eyeshadow. I'm really excited to try out the rest of the eyeshadows in other looks so I can show you how those fare.

I really want to pick up some other NARS palettes as I think they are the best way to try out a bunch of different eyeshadows for a reasonable price. 

What do you guys think - are NARS products worth the money?

DIY French Mani

I love getting my nails done, especially getting french manicures, and now I've found a way to get them without going to the salon. I've tried other french manicure sets that give you a neutral shade, and then a white - but the white had a normal brush that you use in conjunction with the stencil stickers that they give you. Those ended up a pain in the @$% and just a mess. 

The Rimmel French Manicure pro and the French White Tip pro combo is the first set I've used that gives you the white polish with the thin brush that salons use. 

It took a little practice at first to get the line right, but now I think I've gotten down the right technique to get a nice line. Doing my right hand is still a little hard, but overall the nail polishes are relatively easy to use. With a little seche vite on top, this french manicure has some serious lasting power - sometimes up to a week without chipping, which says a lot because I usually don't go a day without chipping my newly salon-manicured french nails. 

Here's the end result, 

It might not exactly match salon quality, but for eight bucks I can get a pretty, long-lasting french manicure whenever I want, as many times as I want. I really recommend this to anyone who wants to try it, but if you're someone with shaky hands, it might be easier to just go to the salon =). 

Haul: Sephora and MAC

I recently received my order from the Sephora friends and family sale (code: FF2010). I also visited a MAC store this past weekend while I was visiting a friend in Boston. Here's what I got =)

BEAUTY IN A BOX: NARS JUNKIE 

This is a Sephora exclusive limited edition set by NARS that is $121 in value, but retails for $69. I really wanted this because I wanted to try out the popular NARS products without buying full size versions that I would probably never finish. 

It includes:

 ESSENTIAL EYE PALETTE

This palette comes with 5 powder eyeshadows, and one cream eyeshadow, unconditional love. This was what initially turned me onto this set as I have been wanting to try the eyeshadows from NARS and this palette contains so many pretty neutrals as well as some darker shades for added drama. It's beautiful, compact, and I'm sure I will be obsessed with it.

ORGASM MULTIPLE, OPHELIA LIPGLOSS 

I'm excited to try the famous NARS orgasm, which comes in a mini sample size tube. Ophelia is a berry colored sheer lipgloss, which is not a color that I would normally go for, but hopefully I will find a way to make it work. 

LAGUNA BRONZER

This bronzer comes in the cutest mini compact; it's prob the size of an eyeshadow. 

Also from Sephora I got:

L'OCCITANE SHEA BUTTER HAND CREAM

I got the smaller, 1 oz, one that cost $10. I just started using it, and so far I think it's amazing - it's like a thick balm so it doesn't leave your hands feeling greasy and it keeps my hands soft and smooth for hours. 

TOCCA GUILIETTA PERFUME

I've been wanting this for so long - I've sprayed this in Sephora enough times to know that I love this scent. It's very sweet, floral-y, and refreshing, not to mention it comes in the most beautiful packaging ever. 

SEPHORA COLLECTION FACE COMPLEXION BRUSH

I've always been intrigued by the Clarisonic, but don't think I could ever pay that much for a skincare tool. So, I opted for a much more affordable option - the sephora face complexion brush ($5). The bristles are a lot softer than I thought they would be, and I can't wait to test this out with my cleanser

I also got these samples from Urban Decay that I thought would be fun to try out:

From MAC I got 2 things from the permanent collection and one thing from a Tartan Tale

PATINA AND CLUB EYESHADOW

Patina is a taupe beige color with gold shimmer. I also find that it has a slight pink tinge running through it. Club is a multidimensional eyeshadow that looks kind of mucky in the pan, but I think the blue-green-grey-brown mixture will make a unique smoky eye for going out. 

BLACK SWAN PEARLGLIDE INTENSE EYE LINER

This is one of the pearlglide eyeliners from the Tartan Tale collection and it is amazingg. It is a black with "pearl" in it which really just looks like blue glitter, but it actually shows up when you have it on your eyes. The quality of these liners is great - they're super creamy and give intense color that stays on all day. I really think the liners are the stand out products of this collection and I am tempted to go back and get a backup of this one and some of the other ones =X

Hope you guys have a great weekend! =)

October Favorites

So here is my first monthly favorites post. I really had to cut out a lot of products because I had talked about them before, but I do still love them nonetheless. Monthly favorites are probably my favorite posts to read/watch - I just think it's fun to see what other people have enjoyed using and there is always a good variety of products. So I hope you enjoy my favorites for this month!

 Clinique's Superbalanced Foundation

This foundation is great. I barely use my concealer anymore, because the coverage of this foundation is perfect for me, not too light but not heavy at all. It has a natural finish, and lasts for the whole day. When I put it on, it makes my skin feel super soft and smooth, which I think is because the formula is made for combination skin so it will not dry out your skin. It is very buildable, but I don't like to use a lot because it can get cakey looking if you use too much. I love applying it with my sigma 187 brush, but on days where I'm in a rush, using my hands gives me just as good of an effect. 

 Margin blush by MAC

This is one that I rediscovered in my blush collection. It's a warm, peachy bronze color that has a slight sheen to it. It doesn't look like much in the pan, but on the cheeks it is beautiful and gives you that warm, sun kissed glow. It's extremely pigmented so I only do 2, max 3, dabs on my brush. 

 MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush 

This is such a versatile and easy to use product, which is why I love it. I use it as a highlighter along my cheekbones, brow bone, and down my nose. It's an easy step to add to any makeup routine - just dab it on with your fingers and you have instantly glowing skin, which is great for now because the weather is getting colder, and my skin is getting more dry looking. You could also use this on your eyelids, but it kind of just slides off of mine and creases - maybe if you set it with a powder it would work. 

Groundwork paintpot

I love all paintpots in general, they make amazing eyeshadow bases. I really love the color of this one, it is a flat brown shade and actually looking at this picture it doesn't look very flattering. However, it makes a great base for neutral looks; it brings out the color of the eyeshadows and makes a neutral look a little more vibrant. I also have been recently wearing it just on its own; it gives me a really simple smoked out eye. I also love the texture of the paintpot on its own - sometimes I hate the look of powdery eyeshadow. 

Naked Lunch and Wedge

I love this eyeshadow combo: naked lunch all over and wedge in the crease - neutral, easy, and very pretty. The matte texture of wedge really compliments the shimmer in naked lunch and I like to use wedge as a crease color with a lot of different eyeshadows.

Clinique Brush-on Gel Liner

I'm obsessed with gel eyeliner and I have been using this one a lot. It glides on extremely easily and is very gel-like. It may even sometimes be a little too "wet", even the slightest dab will place the color on your eye, which can be a problem when it's early, you're tired, and your hands and not the steadiest... Nonetheless it stays on forever and I really enjoy using it.

My last thing is Revlon Soft Nude lipstick

I just wanted to say that I have been using this all day, everyday. The end. 

Hope you enjoyed that :) What have your favorites been lately?

Review: Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins

I have been on an Origins kick lately and so I was really excited to try out the High Potency Night-A-Mins cream ($36, origins.com). The product claims to boost the skin's nocturnal nature to help repair the damage of the day and rebuild the skin. "Worn out cells are gently released to reveal brighter, more youthful texture and tone." After using this for the past 2 months, I do believe that I have stumbled upon another brilliant product by Origins. 

As with many Origins products, this cream is formulated with a wide assortment of natural oils - cinnamon leaf oil, orange peel oil, and orange flower oil among others. But, the key ingredients boasted by this product are the vitamins B-complex, C, E, and A. Vitamins in topical skin creams have been shown to have a powerful effect on the skin giving it that radiant healthy glow, which is why so many skin care items have been including them in their ingredient list. Vitamins C & E are powerful antioxidants that when combined can be highly protective against sun damage. This doesn't mean skip the sunblock, but it's nice to know that my night cream is working to build up my skin's defense. Vitamin A is important for keeping the moisture and glow in your skin - even if levels drop a little below normal you could start to see dry, flaky skin coming around. It also has great positive effects on wrinkles, acne, and even psoriasis. Vitamin B-complex forms the basis of your hair, skin and nail cells so it is very important and most people get enough of it through the foods they eat. Putting this on your skin, however, enhances the appearance of your skin even more, giving it a healthy, plump look. 

The overall effect? I think it works really well as a night cream. The consistency feels and looks thick on your fingers, but once it is rubbed into your skin it is quickly absorbed and feels weightless leaving your skin extremely soft and supple. It has made my skin look and feel a lot healthier, and it has kept my skin from drying out in this blistering cold weather.You only need a small amount of this for your entire face, and for the size of the jar I think it is well worth the money. I was kind of hoping that it would have some effect in getting rid of my acne scars because of the vitamins in the cream, but they do not appear to have gotten noticeable lighter. The smell is of oranges and citrus, which I love, and I am really very pleased with the product overall =).