Some Outfits and a Blue FOTD

I'm trying to go through my old pics so I can file away things I haven't posted and came across a few outfits that are actually perfect for the dreary, rainy weather we've been having in the midwest lately. Apparently the temperature has risen considerably but for some reason it still always feels chilly because of the moisture and wind. At least there's no snow but for goodness sakes, couldn't we at least get a day or two of sunshine? D:

So yeah, this is my fashion routine for chilly, rainy, yucky weather. Step 1: Long-sleeved top. Step 2: Layer a fashiony shirt on top. Step 3: Jeans or leggings. Step 4: Boots.

I basically go through my whole wardrobe and mix and match this combo nearly everyday, and I RARELY ever wear the same outfit twice. I have a nice little collection of long-sleeved waffle texture tops and turtleneck shirts since I'm always cold so it's not a difficult process really. ;D

Alternately, I often wear some type of cardigan or jacket. In this outfit I'm actually wearing a silk Free People dress with a leopard print sweater vest from Express over it. I added a pop of color with the red wedge peep-toes by Linea Paolo. Red shoes are equivalent to neutrals in my book. They surprisingly go with everything!

This outfit I think shows how I mix and match ideas. The tunic sweater vest and black boots classes up the buffalo check a bit. At least, that's how it works in my brain. ;) The grey waffle shirt underneath was purely for warmth so please excuse it if it's not 100% fashionable. Hehe.

My makeup for that day was turquoise and blue to match my shirt. I'm all for matching eyeshadow to your clothes. Oh, and DSK pearls and bows earrings peeking out!

The close-up shows the oceany, iridescent colors. I'm kicking myself that I didn't write down the exact colors but I'm almost positive I used UD 24/7 pencil in Electric with a teal shadow over it, and NYX Atlantic shadow at the outer corners. Makes me miss blue skies and water, neither of which we have had here! XD

Ok, I'm off to go watch Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater. Mmmm, blue eyeshadow, very Alicey. Speaking of Alice, check out 2 of my new favorite songs which I added to my playlist: 3OH!3 - Follow Me Down and Family Force 5 - Topsy Turvy which are featured on the Alice soundtrack & Hot Topic special edition Alice soundtrack!

Sigma Makeup Brushes Review & Video

Hello everybody! Today I have a review that I think a lot of people will find helpful. Sigma was kind enough to send me their brush set for review, so this gives me a chance to really show you guys not only the Sigma brushes but also how they compare to brushes I own and what I use each brush for. This means that even if you aren't looking to specifically buy Sigmas, you can get an idea of what different kinds of brushes do what jobs.

Here is the set I received. As you can see, this brush roll and set comes with a LOT of brushes, so I decided to split up my video into 2 parts: Part 1 with face brushes and Part 2 with eye brushes.

In the top left corner you can kind of see the retractable kabuki and the black blob next to it is the regular kabuki since there's no slot for them in the brush roll. I go pretty in-depth into each brush in the videos so if there's a specific brush you want to know more about then I recommend watching them.

Part 1: Face Brushes

(182 kabuki buffer brush,  150 large powder brush, 187 duo fibre brush, 188 small duo fibre brush, 109 small contour brush, 190 foundation brush, 168 large angled contour brush, 197 flat top synthetic kabuki, Breakfast With Audrey retractable kabuki)

Part 2: Eye Brushes
(239 eye shading brush, 252 large shader brush, 275 medium angled shading brush, 224 tapered blending brush, 219 pencil brush, 194 concealer brush, 209 eyeliner brush, 266 small angle brush)

My favorite brushes from this whole set are the 150 large powder brush, the 187 duo fibre brush, the 168 angled contour brush, and the 219 pencil brush. These brushes in particular really outperform other similar brushes in my collection or fill in a gap that I didn't have the perfect brush for.

I just LOVE that angled contour brush so much for blush so much! My hunt for the perfect blush brush is over. :D And the white-bristled pencil brush is smaller than the other pencil brush that I own (and love) so it's really great for using on people who don't have a lot of lid space.

Hope this review helps if you are interested in Sigma's brushes! You can purchase Sigma products at http://www.sigmamakeup.com. The exact set I received doesn't seem to be on the site anymore, but it is very similar to the Professional Brushes Complete Kit minus the individual kabukis, the 197 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki, 188 Small Duo Fibre Brush, and 109 Small Contour Brush (which can be bought individually). The current Complete Kit is selling for $69 for the set of 12 brushes and with the brush roll for $89. It may seem pricey altogether, but considering MAC's 150 powder brush and 187 Duo Fibre are each selling for $42 each by themselves... It's a really reasonable deal altogether.


Okay, I have toooooooons of videos that I still need to edit including some Sigma makeup, that hair curling with a flat iron tutorial from a while back, and my experience being the makeup artist for the music video for "What Are We Fighting For?" by Building Rome, so hopefully when I get time to edit more I'll have a lot of videos up sooner than later. So much to share now that I'm back! 

Let me know if you have any questions about Sigma brushes or any makeup brushes in general in the comments.

xoxo

Note: Products in this review were provided by Sigma Makeup for review consideration. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. :)

wowsocool.com Konad coupon code ending :(

Hey everyone. Just wanted to do a super quick post. I just got an e-mail from wowsocool.com informing me that KonadUSA (the distributor) has asked them to stop all their coupon codes since they have gotten complaints from other retailers. Jessica, my contact, said she would give it a day or so to make any adjustments so if you wanted to order some Konad plates or polishes at 30% off, here is your last chance. My code (and all others) expires 3/5/10.

Use code frmheadtotoe for an extra 30% off your order. This includes everything except for their "Build Your Own Kit" set which is already very discounted. Orders over $20 have free shipping within the US and Canada and they do ship internationally also.

As I've noted previously in my side bar, I never got anything from wowsocool.com, only the pride of being able to share this discount with my readers. It's a site that I really loved and had great experiences ordering from since they are the quickest shippers and most reliable Konad retailers I've found online. I hope some of you can order before all discount codes are gone from all konad retailers. :(

I'll actually be ordering some more plates myself. Look at how freakin cute this new one is! I love the bear at 45 degrees to the right. Is he sqatting? Laying down? I don't even know but he looks hilarious.

I also picked up the Sponge Nail Art kit since it looks interesting and an easy way to do gradient nails.

I also grabbed the 2-sided Konad stamper since I think it will be easier to see darker stamps on the green side versus the red of the original small Konad stamper.

And I ordered an extra plastic scraper since I find it MUCH easier to work with than the metal ones they come with. They don't scratch up the plates and hey, always gotta have a spare back-up right? :P

Hubby promised to (attempt) painting my nails tonight so I'll give him plenty of time to practice. Base coat, polish, then top coat honey! 2-3 thin layers! Apply Seche Vite right after the laquer is polished before it's totally dry! He'll be a pro yet. ;D

Click here for old nail posts for inspiration!

Rock & Republic Beauty on Hautelook!

Rock & Republic Beauty is on Hautelook again, and not only that but this time they are selling my favorite blushes again! I am absolutely obsessed with my Contrived Pressed blushes which I own in Call Me (more pigmented Nars Orgasm-ish pinky peach with gold shimmer) and Kinky (matte hot pink) and I am soooo tempted to get more. Here is my previous review and swatches of these blushes. The quality is just superb with these and I am all for high-end blushes since they use more pigment than drugstore blushes so you don't need as many swipes to get the perfect flush.

Not to mention, HELLO, they are 40% off! You get literally twice the amount of product as Nars blushes, for $24 (retails for $40) while one Nars blush is $26. Plus, the packaging is weighty and decadent which suits me just fine, thankyouverymuch!

Eyeshadows, gel eyeliners, lipglosses, and brushes are also available.

I promise I get no sponsorship from Hautelook at all but this is my #1 fav and it's such a great deal so I wanted to share. :D I recommend not passing this one up! I use Call Me in nearly all of my youtube vids too. It was a splurge for me even at 40% off but seriously, these babies will last me a lifetime.


Hautelook is a website signed up for by invite and here is my personal invitation if you aren't signed up already: http://www.hautelook.com/invite/836240 
Note: Hautelook does give a store credit to the inviter after the invitee's first purchase, but as always I only post when there is actually an event I am personally buying from too. Gotta share those good deals! ;)

It's only available for the next 42 hours so hurry if you want it. Hautelook can be tricky since if you try later it's oftentimes sold out and someone else has snatched up your precious item.

Let me know if you picked something up or already own any Rock & Republic items! I love to share joy in finding new favorites. :D

PS. Looks like Rock & Republic cosmetics are going to be phased out. Why does this always happen to me when I find an HG??? Augghhhh! Like I said before, it would be wise to grab this before it's too late. I'm going to go wallow now.


PPS. Just bought x-rated, lust, bedroom, and all nighter. Something is wrong with me. Ok, I really love this blush and I can't bear to pass this up if it goes belly-up! XD

Like A New Life! :D and nails!

I cannot tell you how good it feels to finally wake up in the morning having slept through the whole night and not feeling total, complete impending doom for the coming day. Today I felt like I could breathe. Not just physically, but emotionally too. The sun was shining, and I am feeling 1000x better. Still not 100% energy yet but seriously, the fact that I can sit at my desk for more than 10 minutes at a time and not get dizzy from sickness or medicine feels like such a blessing.

I want to thank everyone who left sweet messages of encouragement and commiseration of having gone through a similar situation of being sick, having bronchitis, or being on similar medicines. It's hard to not feel like I am just being a whiny complainer but to hear such sincere stories about people feeling the same way makes me feel like I'm just human. Truthfully, I've been feeling like some weak excuse for a person lately. :P

Also, thank you so much for being supportive and not angry with me for having been inconsistent with the blogging and responding to e-mails. I've all but given up on formspring (seeing nearly 100 unanswered questions is giving me anxiety) but I'm sure I will get my second wind of answering gusto soon. :D

For now, I'll post something that doesn't need to much explaining... Nails!

Revlon Plum Baby is a pretty pinky-purple cream that has a bit of a retro feel to it but I wasn't feeling it as soon as I put it on. I don't know, I just need my polish to FEEL right and it didn't feel right! Pretty color though. Maybe too pretty. Heh.

Your Royal Shyness is one of my favorite polishes for its pale pink color. I almost wish it didn't have the pearly sheen though. Still on the hunt for the perfect opaque pale pink.

Secret Peri-wink-le is a gorgeous blue cream that my mother-in-law got me as part of my birthday present. Isn't it an amazing color? I thought it would look funny on my skintone but I ended up really loving it so much.

I decided to do a gradient with the blue as a base with NYX Lime Sparkle and Las Vegas for the gradient. This incredible glitter, a present from wonderful Eki, is my favorite new glitter polish for the different sizes of glitters. It's soooo beautiful in person, and this mani reminded me of jellyfish swimming in kelp in the ocean.

I also loved Secret Peri-wink-le so much I used it for a mani on one of my bffs Hannah. (She's the talented friend who is amazingly crafty, gifted, brilliant, and really good at hair. I'm trying to encourage her to create a blog. Shh! Don't tell!) This has China Glaze For Audrey at the tips with leopard Konad using China Glaze OMG and a silver glitter stripe.

This polish was a special gift from the hilarious The Asian Girl from the Gettin' Nailed polish blog. She hasn't updated in FOREVER and she needs to because hers was one of my favorite polish blogs! (Yes, this is me personally pressuring you back into posting. Also HUGE THANK YOU for the polish pressies! :D <3) She heard I was totally crushin' on Chanel Jade and told me this was the best dupe for it. It's Charlotte Russe's house brand in the color Jade. It was kind of a butt to apply since it was so sheer, but it does seem to be the right intensity of Jade and even has the little shimmers. 

I tried to capture the shimmer in photos but failed mostly. It looks messy this close. My fault for yucky application. Also, I hate flash but the shimmers were being really fussy and disappearing in my natural light photos.

Gotta save the best for last, right? This polish is one of those amazing duo-chromes that change color depending on the light and angle you see it at. It goes from a deep purple to an amazing green. Again, it's impossible to truly capture how vibrant and cool this is in real life. It looks so dull on camera! But trust me, it's cool. I feel like I remember an old Hard Candy polish from junior high resembling this...

A close-up shoes the "essence" of the duochrome a bit better.

And, because I'm me, I used L8R G8R, a lime green holographic polish from Chine Glaze to konad leopard print over it too. And again, near impossible to capture on camera but I tried!

So that's it for my barrage of nail pics. Sorry I didn't list the konad plate names. I blame the illness. Being sick makes me unable to look up plate numbers. ;P Bahaha. The next nail pic spam shouldn't be as long since I actually went like, a whole week without painting my nails while I was sick. Pretty unheard of. Also, for some reason I wanted really boring medium pinks when I finally did paint them? Obviously, the sickness affected my brain in more ways than one. Hopefully this will be remedied soon.

Omg, it's so late. I think I'm going to pass out since I stayed up so late watching the Olympics. It royally pooped me out. I'm banking on waking up tomorrow with even more strength, health, and happiness. ^_^

PS. Did anyone else cry at Kim Yuna's gold metal, record-breaking performance? I am so not good with watching people cry, and I love ice skating so much. SO proud of my parent country and Yuna! It was absolutely brilliant. <3