FOTD 11/20/2012: Playing with Fire!

Shiseido fire, that is. :-D
This is my first time breaking out this new trio and I'm impressed.




These shadows are softer than I expected, but still yummy none the less. You can see where the lightest shade crumbled a bit when I swatched it.



Sorry about the hair. It's my day off so I haven't done anything with it.






Product roundup:
Face:
Guerlain LdP 31
Benefit erase paste
LM translucent powder
Illamasqua tremble

Eyes:
UDPP
Shiseido Fire Trio
Mac blacktrack fluidline
Lancôme Hypnose drama mascara

Lips:
Nekkid!!!

Thanks for looking!

-Cassie

FOTD 11/16/12: YSL Rouge Pur Couture in #203 Rouge Rock

I think something may have taken the place of RubyWoo as my favorite red, and this is it. I hate that RW is so damn drying but I just couldn't find anything to compete with how flattering the color was on me.



Until now, that is.
It is not drying in the least, stays incredibly creamy and it has this gorgeous luminosity to it, while still having a matte finish.

Here's a quick FOTD featuring my new BFF:


I know you're jealous of the fantastic runway hair that I'm sporting. You don't have to lie.




The boring product breakdown:

Face:
Cover Fx Clear prep fx mattifier
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau in 31
Benefit Erase Paste in Fair
LM translucent setting powder
Shiseido High Beam White
Guerlain terracotta bronzer in 02 blondes

Eyes:
UDPP
UD Naked palette- sin, naked & buck
MAC black track Fluidline
Diorshow Blackout wp mascara
Anastasia brow powder in strawburn

Lips:
MAC liner in brick
YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 203 Rouge Rock

This pic was on a different day but was after about 4 hours of wear and a meal. I was extremely impressed.




Thanks for looking! What is your favorite red lipstick?

-Cassie

Sephora Hauls: Friends & Family and VIB

It's that time of year again. Where the sales run rampant and it's hard to say no. This is evident in the amount of purchases I've made lately. I'm sure my bank account will hate me for it at some point but I have lot of new lovelies to play with so I'm currently okay with that!

Friends & Family Haul:






I've already been using these products for a couple of weeks now and some are instant loves.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 3.5- I'll do a full review on this soon but I am very disappointed in this foundation.
Lancôme Hypnose Drama Waterproof mascara- <3 The first mascara that I have repurchased in a very long time. Full review to come.
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Mat in Rouge Rock- After one use it became my favorite red lipstick. Beautifully matte but not drying in the least.
Clinique Take The Day Off Eye makeup remover- This a staple product. I use it every day and rebuy it often.
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Stawburn- This is a great match to my red hair!
Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo- This is the best one I've used so far but the scent is very strong and that turns me off from it.
Yves Saint Laurent Glossy Stain in #4- This shade is lovely! Slightly vampy but wearable for every day. I'm a fan of the formula as well.







L to R- YSL Rouge rock, YSL Glossy Stain #4 one layer, two layers



VIB Haul:





Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trio in Fire
Sephora Pro Smudge Brush #11
BECCA beach tint in Dragonfruit
Guerlain Lingerie Du Peau Foundation in 31 Ambre Pale
Illamasqua Rubber Finish Nail Polish in Prosperity and Devotee
BI 100 point reward- Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray


I also placed a second last minute order to purchase a secret Santa gift and I also threw in another YSL glossy stain (#10!) three more shades of Illamasqua rubber finish nail polish and Diorshow iconic Mascara for me.


What about you? Have you started partaking in any of the holiday sales yet?

NOTD: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in No Hard Feelings

I quickly repainted my nails the other night after a trip to Walgreens where I picked up this polish.
The color is a very pretty shade of lavender but it would be more appropriate for spring time than the 32 F weather we're having right now but it was new and I needed to try it out right away. This polish was opaque in two coats but was a little watery on the first coat.

Just a quick shot with slightly wet nails and I haven't cleaned up my cuticles yet.


Sephora by OPI base coat, two coats of No Hard Feelings and Essie Good to Go Topcoat.

Do you do your nails in whatever color suits your mood or are you more influenced by the seasons?

NOTD: Nina Ultra Pro in Burnished Bronze

I picked this polish up last week at Sally's and had to use it right away. It's Nina Ultra Pro and the color is Burnished Bronze, which is a perfect shade of orange for fall.

This is actually the first time I've bought a Nina Ultra Pro polish and I must say, I do like it. The brush is wider than any others I've tried and this particular polish is almost opaque with one coat!
I wore it for four days already with no chips or flaking and the color is lovely so when I removed this color, I put it right back on with a matte topcoat.

I'm wearing Sephora by OPI basecoat, two coats of Burnished Bronze and one coat of OPI top coat, followed by OPI drip dry drops.



Unfortunately I got some bubbles in the base coat and I didnt even realize it until I was applying the topcoat.


Here's a shot of round two with one coat of Burnished Bronze and followed with a matte topcoat. I already have a knick on my index finger, which is the downside to using a matte topcoat.



What color nails have you been sporting so far this autumn?

Birthday Haulage: Sephora, Giorgio Armani and Torrid

I'm 26 now and can officially say that I'm in my mid-to-late-twenties. I feel more like 35 every day so I guess 26 isn't all that bad.

My orders all showed up about a week after my actual birthday. All I did on the actual day was go to work. I have discovered that adult birthdays are nowhere near as fun as children's birthdays.
Back on track... I had orders from Sephora, Giorgio Armani and Torrid.

Sephora & GA Packages:





Swatches:

Direct sunlight


L to R:
Rouge d'armani pink 502
GA ETK 27
GA ETK 6

Shade


Clothes from Torrid



Black/white polka dot chiffon top
Pink lace inset top
Lace print leggings
Black ruched sleeve blazer


I'm very happy with all the things I bought myself for my birthday! :-D Have you bought anything that you love lately?

Well, hello there!

It goes without saying that I kind of fail at keeping up with my blog, but the other thing is that I fail at life in general for 2012. This year has been an absolute whirlwind and it's still not over yet.
I lost my mom, I'm going through the divorce process, the kids and I moved in with my dad, I now have a full time job and I have put back on all but about 5 lbs that I worked so hard to lose a couple years ago. That, my lovelies, is just the short version. I'm not a "woe is me" type of person, but I'm putting all of that out there so that I can take control of my life again. There have been so many changes.. some good, some bad and some that were just changes.
I have accepted the fact that there are many things that I can no longer control, but I am restoring order to things that I can. The two big ones are keeping my spending under control and getting back to a healthier me. This blog will take a slightly different turn with the nature of my postings but will still be heavily focused on all things beauty. I may have lost a lot of things, but my love for all things pretty has not waned one bit!



Thank you, if you made it with me this far. Have you made any big life changes this year?

Product Roundup #1: Foundation

My Foundation Stash

**Missing from photo is Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation

The average person has one bottle of foundation that they wear everyday. The makeup junkie tires of the same thing very easily and likes variety. This is where my stash comes in. I also know that my foundation shade changes quickly, and depending on how my skin looks I like different amounts of coverage.


Produit: MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15
Description: HG worthy in summer, too dark for me in winter. Full review here.
Décision: Use it up! Mix with Revlon Colorstay for maximum coverage in winter.

Produit: MAC Matchmaster Foundation shade 1.0
Description: You can find my full review here.
Décision: Use it up! Great for my oily skin!

Produit: Revlon Colorstay Foundation for combo/oily in Ivory
Description:
Décision: Use it up!

Produit: Revlon Photoready Foundation in Ivory
Description: By itself this foundation makes me look straight-up Cullen-esque. Lots of shimmery, sparkly skin. Can be mixed with Revlon Colorstay for a dewy look that lasts all day.
Décision: Undecided. I might keep it to mix with CS or I might get rid of it.

Produit: Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation in 784?
Description: Light coverage, looks blotchy on my skin. Full review coming soon.
Décision: It's gotta go.

Produit: Stila SPF30 Oil-free Tinted Moisturizer in Bare
Description: Evens out skin tone without greasies.
Décision: Use it up!

Produit: Sephora tinted moisturizer in Light 15
Description: Might be oil-free but still feels greasy on my skin.
Décision: It's gotta go.

Produit: Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in 13
Description: Covers a little better than a TM but has a very strong perfumey scent.
Décision: It's gotta go.

Produit: Bare Minerals Matte Foundation in Fairy Light
Description:
Décision: Use it up!

Produit: Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Fairly Light
Description: I used this for years but I don't feel the love any more. I think I've developed an allergy to the bismuth in it as well.
Décision: It's gotta go.

Produit: Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation in Blush Ivory
Description: Possibly on it's way to HG status. Nice natural look on skin, slightly dewy without sliding off of my face. Full review to come!
Décision: Use it up!

2012 Low Spend Outline

Happy New Year!! Lord knows I'm ready for a new year and a whole new me! 2012 will be bringing a lot of changes to my life and as far as make-up goes, I'm kicking off 2012 year with a low-buy!

Photo from wallpapers cafe

I considered doing a no-buy but let's be honest, I would fail miserably at that. At first I was just planning to do this for myself, but now it seems to be necessary to use up what I have in my stash. I want to weed through the random products to figure out what I love and try to stick to those products in the future. This is going to be all-inclusive for any beauty related products, everything from skincare and makeup to bath products and nail polish.

My Rules:

• $20 per month to spend on anything that I wish. This amount does not include pp funds, gift-cards, reward dollars or swaps. The monthly amount is accumulative so if I do not spend my $20 in January or February, I then have $60 to spend in March and so on. This amount does NOT count toward replacing an empty staple product such as moisturizer, cleanser or shampoo.
• Foundation- May rebuy ONE liquid foundation if I decide it's HG worthy. Rebuy TM when depleted.
• Primer- Will purchase 1 new primer, Biore Facial milk, before warm weather arrives. Must use up all other primers before purchasing any others.
• Mascara- Only 2-3 open tubes at a time. May rebuy one base/primer as needed. 
• Lipsticks- NONE. Use what's in stash.
• Powder- Need loose setting powder before summer
• Lipgloss- can replace Buxom Trixie with dupe but no new shades, I just don't wear them that often.

Image from improvizations.com

The Exceptions:

• Sephora 20% off or VIB events: can stock up on staples, ONLY buy items I've been lemming for long time.
• Ulta: Only use coupons to stock upon staples or long-time lemmings.
• Urban Decay Naked 2 palette: purchase whenever it comes in-stock and I have funds.

I'm hoping to get up posts containing pictures of my entire stash this month, before I start purging out things I don't need.
**The following posts are not up to date yet, it will take me a while to inventory and take pictures of my entire stash**

The Product Roundup AKA My Stash:

Base Products:
Foundation
Concealer/Corrector
Primer
Powders

Cheeks/Face:
Blush
Highlighters/Bronzers

Eyes:
Palettes
Eyeshadow Singles; loose and pressed
Eyeliner
Mascara
Brow products

Lips:
Lipstick
Lip liners
Lip glosses and balms

Skin care:
Body wash and cleansers
Facial cleansers
Masks, scrubs and treatments
Moisturizers and lotions

Hair care:
Shampoo and conditioner
Styling products
Brushes and tools

Tools of the trade:
Cosmetic Brushes
Eyelash curlers
Tweezers

Nails:
Polishes
Base Coats/top coats
Remover/oils/tools


Have you ever successfully completed a low or no buy? Do you have any make-up related resolutions? Any tips for me make it through the year successfully?