Music to My Eyes

OK, I just had to do it again, y'all.  I had to get more while the gettin' was still good.  Stila's Countless Pigment eyeshadows have been popping up on sale all over the place so I just had to grab a couple more to round out my collection.  Care to see one of my newly acquired spoils?  Cool!  Spare me a moment while I introduce you to the beauty of Stila's Countless shadow in Lyric.

 

   

Like a beautiful, watercolor painting framed in a bright coral pot, Lyric is a fabulous arrangement of cotton candy pink, carnation pink and a pale orange/coral.  It is highly pigmented and soft to the touch as all three shades yielded ample color with minimal effort.  The shadows have a satin-to-pearl finish.

 

I'm normally not one for pastel-like shades, but my mind is racing with ideas for this one and what other products I can combine it with.  And I just love the inherent ease in applying the product as no more than your fingertips are required - in fact, recommended - in order to achieve a successful result.  And the colors offered?  Wow...

So if you have yet to check these out, but remain curious and/or tempted to do so, now's your chance.  Stila has the full range of colors on sale via their website for more than half off the regular price!  Now you know that's a steal of a deal!  And if you do end up procuring one of these beauties, let me know what YOU think of them.  I think they're awesome!  But, of course, you already knew that.

Stila Countless Color Pigments in Lyric is available at Sephora and beauty.com for $22.  However, they are currently on sale at stilacosmetics.com for $8 each.

Another Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was pretty special as it was my birthday weekend.  Birthday Boy flew in to celebrate with the birthday girl and we had a relaxing, but fun time.  Besides my nails, I kept the makeup to a "five minute face" (eyeliner, mascara, blush and lipstick) and kept my coif in its regular state.  I dunno; I wasn't really up to doing a whole production this go around.  Everything was kept simple as I quietly celebrated another year of life here on Earth.

The night before the big day, he and I went to the movies to see 12 Years A Slave ( a great film, by the way).  Hungry and pressed for time, we decided to nosh at Chipotle Mexican Grill prior to seeing the flick- a well known restaurant chain I'd visited only once before.  I was slightly overwhelmed by the picking and the choosing of ingredients I had to do to fill my custom made burrito, but I ended up selecting chicken/salsa/red beans combo and it was quite tasty.

Birthday morn we made a sojourn down to a local spot for brunch and the spread was tremendous!  I tried not to eat myself into a stupor, but they had so many delectable offerings.  Besides the normal breakfast fare like bacon and sausage, I found myself gravitating towards the tower of mini créme brulées as well as the pan of hot cheese grits and maple fried chicken...

They had red velvet pancakes...

fried salmon eggs benedict...

and funnel cake fries!  I had never even heard of such a thing before, but funnel cake served up like french fries?  I'll take it!

Not to mention the steady stream of "endless" mimosas they had at the ready for anyone who wanted to indulge.  Needless to say, I was one who did.

Birthday eve was a little more subdued in comparison as we trekked over to The Cheesecake Factory where he played coy and ordered a kale salad...

And I had a combination of their Steak Diane and herb crusted salmon with steamed asparagus and creamy red mashed potatoes.  So. Good.

And what kind of birthday would it be without an actual birthday cake?  The choice for the evening: a three layered, white chocolate cake topped with a smattering of chopped walnuts.  Heaven!

So, that's my abridged recap of my born-day weekend.  No real shenanigans.  It was all real simple and easy like.  And I was happy with that.  Had some phone calls and texts from friends and family... and that made me happy, too.

I'm glad to report that I enjoyed my weekend immensely.

Adventures In Nail Art

When I was a kid, I used to love painting my nails and would indulge in the hobby often.  My mom even bought me a cute manicure set when I was still in elementary school.  But as I got older, my interest waned a bit as my ever-busy hands weren't always conducive to wearing (and keeping) perfectly polished nails.  But this weekend is my birthday weekend.  Yay!  And so I am going to indulge; instead of wearing a solid color or simply going bare, I have decided to up the ante and trick out my nails with a design.  After scouring the Internet, I found a basic ombré design that perfectly matched my desire for "quick n' easy".  And I didn't do too bad of a job, if I do say so myself...

For this particular design, I needed at least two solid colors and a sponge.  I knew that I wanted to make my nails looks celebratory, so I added in a glitter as well.  Glitter ALWAYS equals party in my book!

So I chose a black lacquer as my base color and coated all digits in the inky darkness.

Next up was the gradient color, which I chose to be gold.  I deposited several drops of the gold polish onto a mixing tray then took the sponge and dabbed it into the polish until it was coated.

And like a rubber stamp, I pressed the coated sponge onto my nails in a staccato fashion, working my way down while focusing a saturation of gold at the tip of my nails.

 

Next up, I took my beloved gold glitter gloss and put a coat over half the nail.  I then took the side of the brush and scraped it against the edge of my nail so that a concentration of glitter would collect and settle on the far tips of the nails.

I repeated the same design on every nail except for my index finger, on which I omitted the solid gold ombré and just painted a thick coat of glitter over the black base.

On my left hand I continued the design, opting to make my ring finger the all-glitter digit instead of the index.  But then I got another idea...

I switched out the black on my ring finger for a little gold-on-gold action, using the sold gold lacquer as the base and layering the gilded glitter on top. 

So what do you think?  I mean, I like both hands and think they came out cool, but I think I'm leaning towards the left hand as being my favorite.  I think it's the gold digit that's giving it the extra points in my book.  I dunno. 

I DO know that this was pretty fun to do and that it has encouraged me to try more nail art.  In fact, right after I finished I started looking up more designs, which led me to looking up nail art utensils.  Oh, Lord... I do NOT need to get addicted to anything else right now.  I mean, I've been on a makeup tear for a minute and do not need to add nail art supplies and doodads to the list.  No, I must resist!  But I will try another design before too long.  And when I do, I will definitely post it up!

Have a great weekend, everyone!  And, as always, thanks so much for reading!

Pretty In Pink

The holidays are quickly drawing nigh, which can only mean that an immodest amount of sparkly, shiny things are on the horizon.  And that includes makeup.  So if you care to partake in the visual festivities via cosmetic expression then I've got a glitzy pink that would serve you well.  It's a glitter from MAC called Reflects Very Pink.

Reflects Very Pink is described as a "sparkling, fuchsia pink".  It is a delightful shade of fuchsia that honors its pink side a little more than its purple/violet component.  Although listed as a glitter, it is not chunky or rough feeling, but more finely milled like a shimmery dust.  When laid out, it actually looks like liquid silk.  It's that high-reflective quality combined with its smooth feel that makes this a bona fide knockout.  And like most of MAC's pigments/glitters, it comes packaged in a clear, hard plastic vial with a stopper and rubberized, screw-off lid.

MAC doesn't recommend using its glitters on the eyes, but I can so see this in a wicked eye look, complete with dramatic liner and lashes.  The warning is more likely aimed against the use of their chunky glitters, but it would remiss of me not to mention it.  Overall, you can use the glitters in any capacity you fancy and I, for one, would not even hesitate in adding this brilliant pink to my party prepped peepers.  But that's just me.  You know - the rebel.

So if you're looking for a colorful punch of pink glam to add to your makeup arsenal, this shiny baby may be right up your alley!

MAC Reflects Very Pink (the original, 7.5g version shown above) can be found at various discount outlets, including The Cosmetics Company Store, which is where I was able to purchase mine for around $14.  The current, smaller version (4.5g/.15oz) can be found at their boutique stores, Macy's and Nordstrom, and retails for $21. 

A Mean Teal-Green: Number Four-Fourteen

Should I even bother with a formal intro or shall we just go on and dive right into this shadowy beauty?  I'm going to vote for the latter and get this show on the road.  It's mean.  It's green.  It's Inglot's #414.

#414 is a deep, winter-green teal.  This pigment saturated eyeshadow is buttery soft and yields an abundance of opaque color with very little effort.  It is from Inglot's Freedom System line of products and has a pearl finish.

 

I adore this shade of teal tremendously.  It excites me... so much so that - upon sight - the little hamster in my brain started running overtime as I worked to conjure up different looks and ideas worthy of the hue, the results of which will be posted soon enough.  But until then, please take a moment to bask in the graphic splendor of #414.  And if you think it's a looker in the pics, trust me, you ought to see it in person.

Inglot #414 is available at their boutique stores as well as select Macy's and retails for $6.

Tea Tree Oil

Taking cues from the balm cleansers that have been attracting a lot of attention as of recent, one of which I reviewed here, I altered my skin care regimen a smidgen by adding a dab of tea tree oil to my face cleanser.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I must say that my skin has responded in a positive way to the change.

Tea tree oil is well known for its anti-fungal, antiseptic properties and has been incorporated into a wealth of items, including hair products and foot creams.  It is an extract from a plant native to Australia, can range in color from pale yellow to clear and generally has a strong, eucalyptus/peppermint-like smell to it.  For my interests, I bought a clear version that's also been combined with the moisturizing, anti-oxidant Vitamin E.

And so my new, nighttime regimen consists of working a squirt of my Boscia face wash all over my face then adding a drop of the tea tree oil on a linen cloth and scrubbing any problem area with the wash/oil blend.  Now, I've only done this once a week because of my skin being so hypersensitive to things and all, but I've had no allergic breakouts or rashes and my face seems to be liking the recipe.  With the combination of my St. Ives scrub in the morning, I've noticed that the oil has worked harmoniously in keeping small sprouts of would-be pimples at bay and in helping to fade residual blemishes more quickly.  And the added Vitamin E helps in keeping my skin feeling supple after applying.

I'm liking this mix and may up its rotation to, perhaps, two times a week.  But we'll see.  I'm glad it comes in a small bottle too because, along with my other travel-sized products, I'll be able to stay on course where ever I go.

So, if you're still looking to find a suitable skin care system, especially if you have a problem with breakouts, you may want to look into the benefits of tea tree oil.  It works well on a myriad of skin ailments and maladies, but can be a little strong for some so please be sure to test that it won't cause an allergic reaction to your skin beforehand.  Also, when in use, be sure to keep your hands away from any mucus linings on your face/body, especially your eyes and mouth, as it can cause severe burning and is toxic if ingested.  Other than those caveats, I think tea tree is a pretty handy oil to have in your beauty repertoire.