Today's Mani Monday is a Halloween nail art look that I've always wanted to do: Candy Corn! I've honestly never been a fan of eating candy corn but I love their iconic shape and color. Since I've grown out and filed my nails to a more pointed shape, I thought it would be the perfect look to spend the last few days before Halloween.

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share my first venture out again after being sick, which was such an amazing blessing: getting to visit the Too Faced headquarters! I've got to say, as a beauty blogger and flat-out makeup lover, there are few things that inspire me more than to get to see first-hand the passion and creativity of those behind the products that make it to counters. This visit to the fun, sparkly, PINK offices at Too Faced definitely didn't disappoint. With my bff photographer extraordinaire Kassia (all these photos are big-time credit to her, she's basically made of angels and unicorns) in tow, we set out to enjoy all the pretty at the event!

The intimate event was to reveal Too Faced's Fall 2013 release which I cannot wait to share with you. Definitely the big highlight was this Pretty Rebel neutral-with-sexy-punches eyeshadow palette. Sooo creamy and pigmented, and just enough edginess to inspire something different each time.


Check out more photos of the event below!

Hey everyone! You may have noticed that I've been MIA lately because I decided to give myself a full break for healing from my cold which was stubbornly not going away and also because I've recently had a couple of dear friends from my hometown visit. I wanted to share with you a few casual photos that my amazingly talented pro-photographer bestie Kassia took at Disneyland (you may remember her work from these posts including my wedding) and share with you the winner of my recent giveaway!

Hey guys! I wanted to review a product that I've had for a while and have been generally happy with, but never got around to sharing it with you for a full blog review until now. It's been some time since I've done a foundation review and I've been on bit of a drugstore foundation kick lately so I thought it would be perfect timing to share with you my thoughts on Revlon's Colorstay Whipped crème makeup. Check it out below!

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share a product review of an eyeshadow quad that I was really excited to try. If you've followed me from the beginning of my blogging days, you may remember that I had a love affair with Revlon's now discontinued Colorstay quad in Copper Spice. When Revlon repackaged their Colorstay quads, I saw some very familiar colors and wanted to see how the quality compared with my original favorite! Did it live up to its predecessor? Let's take a look.

Hey everyone! I hope your 2013 has kicked off with an amazing start! Before we go steamrolling into everything this year has to offer, I wanted to wrap up the very last of 2012 with December's collective favorites. :)

Hey guys! Today's Manicure Monday post is dedicated to the newest polish in my collection, Revlon 250 Rich Raspberry. This is my first time trying out Revlon's new Colorstay line of nail varnishes and I was really looking forward to seeing how it would wear since I've heard so many positive reviews.

This particular shade is one that I haven't seen any reviews of and I was drawn to the creme finish with slightly purple undertones. I don't have any colors exactly like this in my collection, especially after the pre-move cosmetics purge of '12.

The color is gorgeous and classic and I definitely love it, but I honestly have mixed feelings about certain aspects of this polish.

Hey everyone! So a couple of weeks ago I was browsing the Sephora sale section, as ya do, and came across some lovely train cases that were on sale. I have been keeping my eyes open for a nice basic train case for a while so I decided to make an small order.

Little did I know that evil Sephora had planned a 15% off VIB coupon to be sent out only a week later! Needless to say, I decided to do a double order and wanted to share with all of you what I decided to purchase. (It may include some paper, plastic, and even a laser gun. Bwahahaha...)

Video, a full list of products, and what's on my nails below!

I'm so glad it's almost April! This month has marked a clear change from Winter to Spring and some of my favorites have followed accordingly. For one, my skin has gone a little crazy (for reasons I talked more about in the video) but I've also transitioned some of my favorites into brighter, Spring-appropriate shades.

After doing the "Confessions of a Shoeaholic" tag video, I went back through my old photos trying to think of if I had ever posted an outfit with my beloved hot pink heels. It seems I haven't done a proper outfit post in so long that the neon beauties got left behind! It's a good thing I happened to take them to my trip to LA last year for IMATS along with my dear Kassia who makes photos magical.

The biggest key to wearing such a loud statement shoe is to go neutral for the rest of the look. Grey tube dresses and flowing blouses make for breezy, comfy summer outfits that are refreshed by the bright heel. If you look closely, you can also see some subtle complimentary color blocking going on.

I'm sure most of you have heard tons of hype about several new drugstore products that have launched recently. In addition to Revlon's Lip Butters and L'Oreal's Infallible eyeshadows, Maybelline has also come out with a new cream shadow product that had me literally going to 4 different stops around town to find!

Here's what I picked up during my hunt below:
PRODUCTS MENTIONED:

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow (999 Eternal Black, 889 Midnight Blue, 891 Continuous Cocoa, and 888 Iced Latte)
Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo Eyeshadow (Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze)
Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Plum Wine
L'Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Black
Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow in Sunbaked Neutrals
Sonia Kashuk Large Crease Brush
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Revlon nail polish in Scandalous

ON ME:

Victoria's Secret Shirt (similar/similar/similar)
Ebay scarf (similar/similar)
Square ring is from Hautelook (invite here)
Nailpolish is Urban Outfitters polish in Hangover (similar/similar)

The black furry thing is my dog, Cherry. :) You can see more of her in my Bday vlog here.

So here are the new Infallible eyeshadows I picked up:
Clockwise from left 891 Continuous Cocoa, 889 Midnight Blue, 999 Eternal Black, and 888 Iced Latte


And here are swatches. You can see the silver glitters in Eternal Black. Midnight Blue and Iced Latte both have a pretty metallic sheen to them while Continuous Cocoa is more of a satin-matte finish. All are incredibly pigmented and long-lasting.



Here's an alternative swatch image screencapped from my video footage. You can see how Iced Latte has a gold tint to it which is why I love it so much!


The next item I wanted to highlight are the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows which are a long-wearing cream shadow similar to MAC Paint Pots.


Here are my swatchs for the 2 colors I picked up. I only got the 2 most neutral shades because those are the ones I thought I would love the most, but they also do come in several more brighter colors including orange, turquoise, purple, and burgundy.


I have worn these for the last couple of days (ever since I bought them) and they have been stellar in terms of wear. They do dry pretty quickly so I actually prefer using my fingers for application versus a brush to get maximum smudging control. When I swatched my hand yesterday, these didn't come off until I used cleansing oil to remove them at the end of the day! This is something to note for those of you who tend to have issues with, say, NYX Jumbo eye pencils creasing. You'll probably need a waterproof makeup remover to get these off at the end of the night but they last throughout the day which is precisely why I LOVE them!

I want to test some of the other items in my haul out more before I give them a full review but I'll try to put them up here on the blog soon!

Hope you enjoyed my haul and let me know if you picked any of these items up as well, or if you have suggestions of other items I should try. :)

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are at home, relaxing with your loved ones and enjoying the holiday break. Tonight I'll be heading off to a couple different family Christmas get togethers, but I wanted to quickly post this year's Naughty & Nice list!


You may remember last year's list where I came up with my top 5 disappointing products and top 5 most loved products for this year and I wanted to continue the tradition.






1. Suave Dry Shampoo $3
Initially a medium-hit, this affordable dry shampoo ($3) is readily available at mass retailers and comes in a 5oz container. The smell is actually quite nice, like candied grapefruit, but the big miss is that by the afternoon my hair would become greasy again. Unacceptable in my opinion!


2. Covergirl Lashblast Length Water-resistant mascara $6.23
This mascara was a huge let-down for me. I was hoping for clean, long lashes and instead got wimpy lashes that neither held curl nor lengthened my lashes much. There is no volume added to speak of and it just did none of the things I look for in a mascara. Remember ladies, there is a big difference between water resistant (boo) and waterproof (yay)! Waterproof holds curl, water resistant does not.


3. B&C Pore Peeling Tsururi $9.80
After testing this out incorrectly the first time, I tried it out again with tips from helpful youtube comments who could read the instructions. ;) Sadly, even after massaging this nose mask as instructed, I found no difference in the state of my blackheads. I don't think I would repurchase this, plus is smells pretty strongly of glue and chemicals. I'd rather use my Queen Helene Mint Julep mask!


4. Shiseido Tsubaki Head Spa Extra Cleansing Shampoo $12.60
This shampoo was very liquidy and hard to manage. It doesn't spread well though the hair and smells very strongly, reminding me of tea tree oil. It left my hair stripped to the point where my conditioner couldn't compensate and my hair just felt drier. I'd skip this and try a drugstore option instead.

5. Barielle Intensive Hand Treatment Cream $20
This hand cream came with cotton gloves and the idea is to apply this at night to supposedly wake up with soft, supple hands in the morning. Instead I had waxy, coated hands that didn't feel super hydrated. The product just didn't sink into my skin even with the cotton gloves on all night. I'd rather stick with my beloved Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy instead.

It's time for another monthly Hits & Misses roundup! This month includes plenty of lip products to keep those puckers nice and moisturized during the frigid cold. I woke up this morning to snow on the ground, which may be our first tangible snowfall this year. Burrr, I'm so glad I don't have to drive a terrible distance through bad road conditions anymore like I had to for my last job!

In the video I also talk about my new blush obsession (seriously) which you can check out below:

B&C lip cream in Peach (lemon/apple) <-- peach is out of stock everywhere I looked :(
Blistex Deep Renewal Lip Balm
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in Exposed
Jeune d' age Organics eye cream
Lancome Le French Touch Absolu lipstick
Darkness Lashes in WXOS (drugstore options Maybelline / Modlash / Ardell)

For some reason I feel like I have been drawn toward more natural makeup lately with the shorter lashes and neutral-colored blush. It's so weird because I've always been a pinky-peachy type of blush person! Maybe the weather has also caused me to be lazy with my makeup and just grab my go-to favorites but I must say, it will be very difficult in the future for me to find an obsession beyond the Naked palettes, Tarte blush in Exposed, and Revlon Lip Butters.

Speaking of Revlon Lip Butters, I've heard some comments from people saying that it dries their lips out (Maybe similar to how the Lancome one dried my lips out?) after a couple hours of wear. I haven't had this problem personally but I just wanted to bring up the possibility in case it's been an issue for you. Everyone's chemistry is a bit different so feel free to have an open discussion in the comments.

I also wanted to bring up a lip balm that others love but I've actually had a terrible time with: EOS lip balms.

I love this color but it's definitely a bright one. It's more barbie pink compared to the fuchsia look of lollipop so I'd consider it a statement lippy.









This lipstick is my favorite of the bunch since it's the perfect everyday lipstick for my skintone. It's very wearable and looks good with any makeup. It is slightly more saturated in real life than in this photo.