DV8 by China Glaze

I wanted to wear Pia by Zoya which is a deep and vibrant orange with a shimmery finish but I messed up the polish and had to start over. Holographic polishes dry super fast so I just grabbed one and started the whole process all over. You can never go wrong with a good Holo.

Teal and Off the Radar Pigments

I love teal with shades of rust or orange and usually apply the blue along the lower lash line with the orange tones highlighted on my lid space. I wanted to try something a little different so I flipped the script.

What On Earth?

What is this gelatinous blob on my hand?



Lest you think it is a flesh colored snot or some kind of alien DNA, I will reveal that it is actually the BEST FOUNDATION IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD [All definitive proclamations of product superiority are strictly the opinion of the author. That would be me] I have cheated on this wonderful goo so many times with mineral makeup, drugstore makeup and some other higher end brands of liquid foundation but time and time again, I come back to Makeup Forever Face and Body. One would think that I would get it by now and stop looking around for bigger and better but I can be slow on the uptake sometimes. The good news is that I think this time, I am getting it. The proof of this is just above in my all caps declaration of love and when a proclamation is written in all caps, it clearly means that the author means it in earnest.



The consistency is a little weird, as you can see from the picture. I can best describe it as squiggly, slimy stuff. It is not a thick foundation and runs on the thinner side but the coverage is buildable. If you need heavy coverage, this foundation is probably not for you but for anyone looking for light to medium coverage that leaves a fresh, dewy finish then Face and Body is worth a look-see.
I like it for a few reasons. Even though it is not an oil controlling foundation , it holds up very well against my oil laden skin. I can go about six hours of wear before I have to blot or powder my nose. I recently tried a sample of the new makeup by Fresh that has the Umbrian clay; Freshface as I believe it is called. After three hours of wear, my makeup looked like it was melting. I am not even exaggerating when I say that I looked like a wax statue that was left out in the Gobi desert on a warm day.

Another fine point for me is that the foundation evens out my skin tone while maintaining the key word here; skin. My skin looks like my skin but better and that is exactly what I expect in a foundation.

Black Liner and Stilettos

There is not much you can wear with this lipstick other than a nude eye with loads of lashes. It is bold in it's boldest forms and best if you just let the color take the wheel and hang on for the ride.

I purchased this lipstick, Stiletto from the Kat Von D line of makeup and have been dying to wear it out. Today I claim the day as Bold Lips Wednesday. Join me, friends!

Cashmere Cardigan - Orly

I love the look of cream polishes but I have always had issues with the application. Try as I may, I have a hard time with bubbling and texture. Any cream finishes by OPI are a no go for me because I just can't make it happen. I have been having better luck with the cream polishes that Orly puts out. Barely any bubbling on these nails!

Ho Ho Ho... Green Giant!

Today I have broken all my rules. I am wearing a green top, smoky green eye shadow and olive green nails. I can’t begin to tell you how weird I feel. I can’t even say that it was a total accident because unless I was sleepwalking while doing my polish, or picking out my shirt, I made a conscience decision to go with green. I don’t remember thinking it through at all, actually. I just pulled things out and this is where I am at now; looking like the Jolly Green Giant but a more compact version.

I just purchased a few Nfu-Oh polishes from Fabulous Street and I am liking them okay. I have to be honest though, from what I read about them online, I was kind of expecting some instant rapture upon applying these to my nails but nothing of the sort happened. I just. Like. Them. Each bottle was $12.50 and I can’t say that I will be purchasing anymore. We will see. As proven by this post, I often make declarations of what I will and won’t be doing in the future and quickly change my mind.

This is a great color though and very unique. I don’t see many people walking around with baby poopie green on their nails nowadays.

Green Theme

I have been wanting to bust into my jar of Copperized for a while now. I almost used Tea Time pigment again but thought better of it. I figured that people might start to get sick of it. To complete this look, this is how I worked it out.

• Copperized Pigment on the lid and blended up to the crease area.
• Gold Dusk Pigment along the brow bone and blended into the Copperized
• Golden Lemon Pigment packed over Copperized in the middle of the lid and blended.
• Velvet Moss and carbon brushed along the upper lashline and blended upwards.
• Copperized along the lower lash line and pulled down.
• Velvet Moss placed over the Copperized and close to the lower lash line and blended.
• Carbon swept only into the outer third of the lower lash line and blended well.
• X-Rocks Blush
• Bronzibar Chromeglass


I just realized that I mislabeled Velvet Moss miserably. It is not violet whatever but Velvet Moss. Meh… this is what happens when I am rushing out the door while trying to edit pics. Sorry about that!

Continuation on a Theme: Gold Dusk and Tea Time Pigment

Today I wore a really cute yellow and white crochet trimmed babydoll with a jean jacket and some brown cargo type Capri pants. My outfit felt spring-like so I wanted to do bright yet subtle eyes and a glossy lip. I also wanted something that I could do in a few minutes and be out the door since time was of the essence and I needed to get my butt to work: I used the following products to complete this look.

• Gold Dusk Pigment
• Tea Time Pigment
• Espresso Eyeshadow
• X-Rocks Blush
• Tender Tryst Lip Stain
• Secret Crush Dazzleglass

No Accounting For Taste

It seems like my taste in makeup is changing. To revisit my earlier ramblings on the subject of makeup and changing taste, I wonder if it is as basic as laying the blame on my skills deteriorating from lack of use as I had surmised earlier. Could it also be that I am getting a little too old to be wearing crazy colors on my eyes? The thing is, who determines the cut off age of when one must put away their MAC shimmers and reach for Bobbi Brown taupe and mauve? There is definitely a societal pressure that is placed upon an individual on how someone should look whether it is their weight, or manner of dress and of course, how one wears their makeup. How many times have we heard or read about beauty rules and the expectation that woman follow them lest they be accused of doing it wrong? Who made up these rules anyway and why must we as independent women of the modern age feel the pressure to follow these antiquated rules made up by a faceless few?

Why am I feeling uncomfortable in an old and beloved passion? Maybe I am succumbing to that societal pressure to conform. Maybe I am no longer confident in my skills. I was pondering this question yesterday as I was applying my makeup to go to a birthday dinner? Maybe my light application had nothing to do with any of the ideas that I posed above. Maybe it was just too damned hot to wear a lot of makeup and maybe, maybe I tend to over think things a bit too much.

I didn’t have time to take a swatch or product photo as I normally but the products I used to achieve this ridiculously easy look were:

• Naked Pigment [MAC]
• Rust Eyeshadow [NYX]
• Espresso Shadow [MAC]
• Gold Dusk Pigment [MAC]
• Pleasantry Blush [MAC]
• Crystal Pop Gloss [Givenchy]
• Secret Crush lipstain [MAC]

My New Favorite Lipstick

I went to Sephora on Saturday because I am shopping for a new Summer foundation. As usual, I left with a lot more than the summer foundation but what can you do, that place is like a candy store and I walked in with a sweet tooth. One of the products that I walked away with was a lipstick by the new Kat Von D Line. First, allow me to touch upon the formulation of this lipstick. They are like a dream. Yes.. yes… a freaking DREAM. They apply beautifully with a rich, cream finish that is neither too dry or to slippery. I will probably go back and get a few more because I am always in the market for the next best red lipstick and I have found one of the tops.
Despite my predilection for red lips, I chose something a little different. I was drawn to Stiletto which is a bright and completely over the top red-orange cream. I am pretty adventurous when it comes to red lips and my collection is comprised of various shades and finishes but for some reason, I never delved into the world of red-orange tones. This color is not for the faint of heart and should be worn with a bit of attitude but that is what makes the color so great; instant confidence.

My Current Favorite Lip Combo

Love Alert Dazzleglass worn over Tender Tryst Lip Stain from Mac's Rose Romance collection is unbelievably gorgeous. The photos don't even do it justice.

I tend to stay away from lip stains and bought one of MAC’s latest offerings as a lark because I have always liked the idea of a lipstain but was frequently disappointed when I gave them ago. A bunch of collections ago, MAC released some lipstains do what I believe was a ho-hum reception because they were pulled pretty quickly. I purchased a few and was not a fan because of the dryness factor and they streaked badly.

I don’t know what they tweaked but I LOVE these. The color is initially sheer but it is easy to build upon. I was so impressed with the first one that I purchased which was Secret Crush that I went back and purchased Tender Tryst which is featured in this post. My one bone of contention is that they are tiny compared to the previous set of lipstains that MAC released.

Givenchy Pop Gloss - Crystal

This color looks a lot prettier in the tube than it does on the lips. It is a mid tone pink with green reflects that reminds me, in theory, of my beloved and departed Palatial Lustrglass by MAC. Where Palatial's green reflect is more of a duochrome shimmer, this green reflect is a fine glitter.

When applied, the pink sheers out dramatically but I really enjoy the look of the fine, green glitter. This is even prettier layered over a lipstain as I have done over MAC's Secret Crush See Thru Lip Color.







This is how Crystal looks over the lip stain. I like it a lot better this way.

L8TR G8TR by China Glaze

I mentioned that I love Holographic polishes, right? I am just starting to appreciate cream polishes but super shiny, garish and shimmery nail colors have long held a place in my heart. This is a great color and one not to wear if you are trying to blend into a crowd.

Style Warrior by MAC Cosmetics: An Interpretation

Remember my Runway to Everyday videos? Well, this look is along that vein where I tried to make an everyday look out of something completely over the top.



Normally, I do not use this much highlighting and contouring on my face but I wanted to stay somewhat close to the original. I used the following to complete this look:

* Too Faced Shadow Insurance on the lid.
* Bronze CCB patted lightly over the Too Faced.
* Magic Missiles packed onto the lid and blended high into the upper crease area.
* Prize used along the brow bone and blended into the placement of Magic Missiles.
* Bone blended into the inner crease area.
* Antiqued along the outer crease area and blended well.
* Magnetic Fields smoked out along the lower lash line.
* X-Rocks Blush on the cheeks

Tea Time and Mutiny

I know. This is a whole lotta look but what can you do? Sometimes, it is hard to self edit. I picked up Tea Time at my local Cosmetic Company Outlet and I LOVE it. It is a low shimmer, brownish bronze that relies heavier on the brown and I will be utilizing it quite a bit. I am planning a smokey eye for tomorrow using Tea Time and Carbon so we shall see how that pans out.

I left an item out of the picture and that is a teal color Mehron Aquacolor disc. Using the Mehron as a base turned the dial on Mutiny to a bazillion trillian gogogillian. I love it.

Thanks again everyone for being so supportive. Sorry if anyone gets sick of me saying it but to me, I can never say it enough. xoxo

I used the following to achieve this look:

* Mehron Aqua Color in Teal as a base on the lid.
* Bronze CCB as a base in the crease
* Mutiny Pigment packed over the Mehron base.
* Tea Time Pigment worked into the crease.
* Eggplant by Bobbi Brown is defined in the outer crease and blended inwards.
* Naked Pigment along the brow bone and to soften the line of Tea Time.
* Ingenue Blue blended with Plumage along the upper lash line.
* Tea Time Pigment smoked out along the lower lashline.

Golden Olive and Coco by MAC Cosmetics

I have not used these colors in a long time and since I am trying to rekindle my passion for makeup artistry, why not start by breaking out some colors I purchased when that passion was at it's most intense?