I think this is one of my favorite looks that I've done. It's just a very easy, fresh look using natural colors. I used my "backwards application" experimental technique again, meaning that I sweeped the second color into the inner corner of the eye instead of the outer crease.

The shadow colors I used were NYX Golden Dune, Loreal Infinite in 310 glistening sea, and NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter for the brow bone.

Lips were Dior Crème de Gloss in color 255, a light pink, slightly frosty lip color. Can I just say I LOVE Crème de Gloss? It feels so light and creamy and you can make it opaque like lipstick or sheer like gloss. Also, no stickiness. One of my favorite lip products.

I think I used Stila Rouge Pots in Sweet Pea for the cheeks. It's a hot pink mousse-type cream blush that I got recently and I really like the formula! But I have a thing for PINK blushes. :)



A closer look...


For some reason, I woke up and my hair was super wavy. I took a shower the night before and slept with my hair wet and this is what happened the next morning. Totally weird. My hair isn't pin-straight, but slightly wavy naturally. I usually need product in my hair or heat-styling tools to get it this way so I was pleasantly surprised. I even had a random full curl in the back!



Now that I've covered the "head" I need to mention the "toe" since I bought another pair of shoes. I know, I have a shoe problem but I need to grab what I can when something comes in a size 4! Here are my beloved black Minnetonka boots. Kinda hard to put on with its all suede interior, but they are soooo comfy. I'll definitely be wearing these all year round.

Outfit breakdown:
sweater dress - SJP Bitten, cardigan - Old Navy, leggings - Target, thigh-high black socks - TJ Maxx, boots - Minnetonka




The hubs ninja'd his way into the photo.



And just for fun, another one of my favorite recent purchases. Silicone ice molds. Hehe. It looks like dentures floating in my drink. You can find the teeth at Urban Outfitters and the stars at Bed Bath & Beyond.



That's all for now. Let me know what your favorite pair of shoes are, or ones that you are pining to get. :)

Out of all of the NYX shadows I got from my last haul, I think Morocco is one of my favorites. It's just such a gorgeous, glowing iridescent bluish purple. Purples are warmer so they are easier for me to wear, but I feel like a lot of blues wash me out. Morocco is great for people who have a tough time wearing blues because it's a nice balance of depth and warmth for asian and deeper skin tones.

This was a look I actually did for New Years so it is perfect for going out for a festive night. Just a little smokey, just a little shimmery. Not TOO heavy, but sweet and sexy.

I used NYX Morocco for the lower lid/crease color and NYX Opal for highlight. NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese was used for brightening the tear ducts, with MAC fluidline in Blacktrack for liner and false lashes to bring more impact to the eyes. Lips were NYX Circle round lipstick (nude color) with a clear gloss and Revlon Sugar Sugar lip topping to the center of the lower lips to add a bit of sparkle.




A close up to show how pretty this color is!


For my hair, I used Garnier Fructis Style Surf Hair Texture Paste on dry hair which I had previously posted about here. As before, I really love the beachy waves I get from using this product. It also smells really nice. I just need to wash my hair after using this for the day because the matte texture stays in there after the nice volume goes down from sleeping on it. Oh, and I had China Glaze OMG nails with this look. It was lovely together!



Speaking of China Glaze Holographic nail polishes, here are the pink holo swatches I promised.

Tickle My Triangle from the Kaleidoscope collection

I LOOOOVE this color! It has larger holo particles than the OMG collection but it still has the beautiful rainbow sheen and is totally smooth. Not chunky like glitter at all. Sadly, this chipped on me quicker than my OMG polishes but I've heard opposite reviews from other places so maybe this application was a fluke. This polish dries really fast too, so it's easy to apply. That's why I love China Glaze!

low light


bright bathroom light


QT from the OMG collection

QT is a little darker than Tickle My Triangle and obviously has a smoother color. It's a sophisticated holo compared to some of the other colors. These are crappy pictures, but I wanted to capture the rainbow effect. Still quite pretty, right?
low light


slightly brighter light

after Konadifying! only my second Konad attempt using plate M38 (or actually mine was a fauxnad B29.) I ordered more plates so hopefully they will come soon! Tips were NYX Girls Special Glitter Nail Polish in CN229. And I'm holding a Hello Kitty vinyl figure from Urban Outfitters. ;)



Until next time, let me know what your favorite smokey eye color or holo nail color is. I'm off to look for Lancome lipglosses from Marshall's now. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

This was a look that was obviously inspired by some new clothes I got. I really love this teal silk blouse and long purple cardigan combo. I know lots of people think matching eyeshadow to clothes is a faux pas, but I actually LOVE to do it. I think it can make your whole look pop.

For this shadow blend, I used NYX purple, wild fire, and opal for the highlight. Lips were a warm coral shade... I think it was J. Lynne smooth color lip cream in Rosalind. This was a bit of a backwards way of applying the shadow but I am pretty happy with how it turned out since you can really see both main colors when my eyes are open. Just some experimental fun I guess! (I apologize for the red eyes ahead of time. I've been very tired lately.)




Also, I really love arts and crafts. As a designer, I really enjoy working with my hands and that includes painting. I found blank white (no eyes, white hair, white face, white body) My Little Ponies on the Hasbro website and I was totally excited to custom paint ponies for my closest girl friends. I wanted to post these earlier but as they were Christmas presents, I had to hold off.

Here they are! Hand-painted using acrylic paints with rhinestone eyes. "M" has gold leaf on the legs and "H" has nail-art jewels on her side. I also gave them eyeshadow because these are fancy ponies!




I also wanted to mention that I'm thinking about selling eyelid tapes. Would you guys be interested in buying? I've had a lot of queries from girls who can't find tapes in their area and I'd be willing to ship worldwide. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Love you guys!

Here's a couple of very different looks I've sported lately. I recently had a commenter accuse me of always using the same technique with different colors. Not that this is really in defense of that (since I took the photos before the comment was made) but I suppose it is proof that, no, I don't always do my makeup and shadows in the exact same way! I do love to experiment and that includes two of my favorites, the sweet look and the smokey look.

First off is a look I call "Sugar Plum" as it is a mix of pinks, purples, and a hint of innocent sparkle.

Eyes:
NYX trio in Team Spirit - Lilac color
NYX Purple single shadow
NYX cherry (with a very light hand)
NYX Vanilla Sky for highlight
Revlon colorstay eyeliner in Vixen (plum)
NYX jumbo eye pencil in cottage cheese

Lips:
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in a nude/clear color
Revlon Sugar Sugar Lip Topping in Snowflake

Face:
NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter

Sorry, but I can't seem to remember what blush I was wearing! Possibly NYX Powder Blush in Pinky.





My second look is a sultrier Smokey Evergreen eye. I used Revlon Bedroom Eyes powder liner in Jaded as the basis for this look and I really love how it turned out. It's actually really simple to do and a little sexy but still appropriate for daytime.

Other than highlighter I really only used that one color using what I'd call an "almond eye" technique. I didn't really shape the shadow other than to follow the curve of my lid. If you have an almond on its side, the highest curve would be where the shadow hits highest, 3/4 out from your lid. This look emphasizes the crease (or tucked eyelid for monolidders) and lets the smokey eye peek out when you blink. Apply the green shadow and highlight under the brow.

The most important part is to take a good blending brush and blend the green shadow up so that it looks soft. Use the same green shadow to line the bottom lash line softly. Fill in your brows to balance the dark eye, add black liner and mascara and you are done!





Oh, for this look I also definitely used J. Lynne mineral foundation, blush (Crush), and lipgloss (lip glaze in Julianne). Here are some swatches.




Also, Jennifer lip glaze pic. Fun coral pink color which I love not just because it has my namesake!

I'm loving my Jennifer lipgloss! Weeee!


Dang this is a long post, but I also wanted to add my Solotica Hidrocharme Branca (Ice) since it's been so long. This is with the Smokey Evergreen look.


From afar...


Hope you aren't too freezing where you are. It's 8 degrees Fahrenheit here right now! RIDICULOUS!

xoxo

I've been a little obsessed with the China Glaze OMG series of holographic nail polishes recently and had to get a few for myself. The photos online looked so amazing and believe me, these do not disappoint. The effect is just like the photos. You remember those metallic, holographic snap bracelets from when we were little? It reminds me of that. In other words, deliciously fresh and yet nostalgic at the same time. How lovely.





I originally saw omg which made me want to buy them, but I have to say, l8r g8r hit it out of the ballpark for me. I LOVE this color! It's so wearable for being such a unique color, and this shade has the whole rainbow spectrum holo in real life. QT (which I tried on my toes) isn't quite as rainbow-like. It is more of a pink-mauve with holo mostly in a pink spectrum. Those swatches will come soon when I try them on my fingernails.

I also recently found some fantastic leopard-print slingbacks from Amazon.com. Again, they are VanEli brand. I never had VanElis before my brown spat-boots and I am so impressed with them. To find something fashionable and affordable (on sale!) in a size 4 is definitely something for me to celebrate about. Not to mention, they aren't crazy high so they are comfortable and work-wearable to boot! I have a feeling these won't leave my feet come Spring.




I just love buckles and buttons, don't you? :D

If you haven't already heard, there is a friends and family sale going on at http://www.maccosmetics.com for 25% off everything (excluding VIVA GLAM products) with the code MACFF9. Offer is valid through 11:59pm EST on January 8th, on orders shipped to US and Canadian addresses only.

Also there is FREE STANDARD SHIPPING with any USD $60+ purchase.

I'm so tempted but I must hold off for the Hello Kitty line coming up!

So like I mentioned before, I've gotten way behind on FOTDs. I've taken photos here and there and haven't been posting them so here is a little spam of random looks from the last couple of months. I tried to list what colors I wore, but I honestly can't remember all of them! So here goes....

I recently got the opportunity to try out a few makeup products from an awesome mineral makeup company, J. Lynne Cosmetics. The very sweet founder of the company, Jess, has a passion for making cosmetics that are all-natural and eco-friendly. I think that is so awesome! Nothing better than a product making you look and feel beautiful while not irritating your skin or the environment right?

I usually only wear mineral foundation since I'm pretty paranoid about breakouts and I have to say that I didn't have a problem with this foundation at all. It was just as good (if not better) than Everyday Minerals and a huge part of that has to do with the tons of shades available and the system used to know what each shade looks like. The website has a grid of shades from cool to warm and porcelain to deep.

I ended up receiving shades Light Neutral 2.3, Light Warm 2.4, Medium Neutral 3.3, and Medium Warm 3.4 and I can go Light Warm 2.4 or Medium Neutral 3.3 depending on how I'm feeling that day. It's pretty spot on though! Either shade looks totally natural and I'm floored at how easy it was to find the right color the first time. For reference, I am between MAC NC 25 and 30 and and use Everyday Minerals in a mix of Fairly Light Neutral and Golden Medium. I also use 2 colors because I have summer and winter shades and I mix the color in between. The weight is similar to EDM's intensive foundation, which I like. I don't feel like a shimmer ball with this stuff but it is still very natural. 



Here are the blushes. I absolutely love these colors! I don't even know if I can choose a favorite. These photos came out a little darker than in real life. Sweetness kinda reminds me of EDM Apple blush and Crush is a gorgeous warm pink with a slight shimmer.

Soft Silk Mineral Blush