MARILYN FEVER!!!

A very important thing happened in makeup history today.

The Marilyn Monroe Collection by MAC came out!

I have always been a huge Marilyn fan so when I found out that MAC was doing a Marilyn collection, I knew that despite my very meager budget, at least a few of the products would be mine! I vowed to only eat canned tuna fish and cereal if it would allow me to lay hands on this collection!

But by the time I was able to get online and check it out, the entire collection was SOLD OUT! I immediately called my local MAC store and they did have a few pieces left in stock. Let me reiterate that the Marilyn collection came out TODAY and it is selling out faster than you can say hot cakes! I was able to get my hands on three beautiful items, but lets be honest here, it really wouldn't matter if they were the ugliest shades I've ever seen. It's MARILYN MONROE, people!

What's better is that I actually do love the colors I got! 

Now, I really do wish I was a die hard Marilyn collector who would never once touch the items, save them in a shadow box under archival lighting, and later sell them for a million dollars, but I just can't help myself! I've already tried everything on and I shall be wearing it all as often as possible!

And I think that when the products run out I will always keep the packaging as my own personal little collectors items. Think how cool and retro they will look 20 years from now!

And now, without further ado, here are some pics of the little beauties!

How wonderful is this packaging???

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in The Perfect Cheek

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in Legendary

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in Legendary

Marilyn Monroe in The Perfect Cheek

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in Legendary

Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in The Perfect Cheek

These shades look quite muted on camera and in person, but on fair skin they are actually very pigmented! The Perfect Cheek has a nice plummy undertone and Legendary is a beautiful soft peach.

Marilyn Monroe Dazzleglass in Phiff!

Of the two Dazzleglass shades in this collection this one had a very slightly peachier sheen but it is essentially a clear with high shimmer

Top to Bottom: Marilyn Monroe Dazzleglass in Phiff, Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in The Perfect Cheek, Marilyn Monroe Powder Blush in Legendary

Photo update the next morning: Using The Perfect Cheek blush and Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious with Pfiff! on top

Fall Beauty

I love the changing of seasons and the opportunity to try new things with hair and makeup! This morning was one of those amazing mornings where the sun was ultra bright, the wind was blowing everything about, and it was hard not to smile at the pure joy of it! Because there was that perfect mixture of coolness and warmth in the air, I was inspired to create a makeup look that would blend the cooler tones of Fall with the warm ones. And pretty much like clockwork, when Fall comes around, I start itching for red hair and Brittany was happy to oblige me! Keep reading to see what I used to create the look.

I love how this hair color changes in different lights!

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough As Taupe, Urban Decay Smoked Palette using Kinky, Freestyle, & Mushroom applied with the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner for Hazel Eyes  applied with the Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque and Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light Sheer Tint

 

glominerals pressed base in honey light applied with the Ecotools Kabuki Brush, & mark bronze pro applied with the Real Techniques Blush Brush

Origins blush in Autumn Glow (discontinued but you could use this instead) applied with the Real Techniques Multi Task Brush & Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Stonewash (discontinued but you could use this instead) applied to brows with the glominerals Dual Brow Brush

Origins Flower Fusion lipstick in Tulip & Almay One Coat Get Up & Grow Mascara

What makeup colors say "Fall" to you?

Stormy Day Makeup

I realize this may be somewhat abnormal, but sometimes I like to match my makeup to the weather. Or my mood. Sometimes the weather and my mood match, and that makes it even better! For instance, one morning last week I woke up and saw these beautiful, bright, yellow rays of sun coming out from behind a big, ominous looking cloud. So that day I wore a silvery grey eyeshadow all over the lid with a pop of bright yellow at the inner corners. It makes me happy, what can I say! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of that day's makeup so I can't share that with you, but yesterday dawned a very, dark and stormy day. And it pretty much stayed that way all day. So, I decided it was the perfect day for a dark, blue smoky eye and I had just the palette in mind to complete the look: The Smoked Palette from Urban Decay!

 Here's what I used to create the look:

1. MAC Paint Pot in Painterly smudged all over the lids with finger

2. Avon Big Color Pencil in Night Glisten scribbled on the lower half of lid and then blended in & upward with the glominerals texture eye brush

3. Urban Decay shadow in Evidence pressed into Night Glisten with the Real Techniques Shading Brush, then blended upward with the glominerals texture eye brush

4. Urban Decay shadows in Mushroom & Verve blended together from the crease upward with the glominerals texture eye brush

5. Urban Decay shadow in Freestyle blended into & above Mushroom & Verve to blur the dark line with the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush

6. Urban Decay shadow in Kinky pressed under the brow line with the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush

7. Urban Decay shadow in Verve tapped into the inner corners with the Real Techniques Shading Brush

8. Urban Decay shadow in Evidence smudged 3/4 of the way under the eye with the Real Techniques Shading Brush

9. Loreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara on the top & bottom lashes to finish it off

I wonder what tomorrow's weather will be?

Top 10 Makeup Items I Would Repurchase

Lately I've seen a bunch of people blogging or YouTubing this Tag: Top 10 Items I Would Repurchase. As usual, I love seeing what makeup goodies other people can't live without, so I was inspired to create my own list. The premise behind the tag is that these 10 items would be the first things you would repurchase if somehow all your makeup had been lost, stolen, broken, etc.
At first it was really hard to narrow the list down because one of the things I love about makeup is changing it up every day! But when I went through everything, I did have some clear cut go-to items that I really would not want to be without. These are also the items that I am most likely to travel with when I am only able to pack the essentials. I did cheat a little bit and put two items per category on some things, since the shade I wear depends on how light/dark my skin is at the moment!
So without further ado, My Top 10 Items I Would Repurchase are:

1. glominerals pressed base in golden light or golden medium
2. glominerals camouflage concealer (for the face) in golden or natural
3. Bobbi Brown Corrector (for undereyes) in Light Bisque or Light to Medium Bisque
4. mark by Avon bronze pro in Pro Golden
5. glominerals blush in bellini or glominerals cream blush in guava
6. MAC Paint Pot (eyeshadow primer) in Painterly
7. Almay One Coat Get Up & Grow mascara
8. Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nudes Palette (but since it was limited edition & can't be repurchased, my close 2nd choice for eyeshadow is) glominerals Alloy Eyes Collection (both palettes contain shades that I use to fill in my brows too, so they do double duty!)
9. Physicians Formula Eyeliner Trio for Hazel Eyes (a brown, black, & purple/pink)
10. MAC Viva Glam V if I want a nude lipstick, Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie if I want a pink lipstick

Hope you enjoy this list and I would love to know what your Top 10 Items would be, so leave me your list in the comments below!
Also, leave me a comment if you'd like an individual review on any of the products listed here!

glominerals pressed base & glominerals camouflage

Bobbi Brown Corrector & mark bronze pro

glominerals blush & MAC Paint Pot

Almay Get Up & Grow, glominerals Alloy Eyes, & BB Stonewashed Nudes

Physicians Formula Eyeliners, MAC lipstick, & Revlon LipButter

I Love Purple!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love purple. It's a little bit of an obsession. I love every shade variation from pale lilac purple to the deepest plummy purple. Purple clothes, purple decor, purple earrings, and of course, purple makeup! ;) If I stand facing a wall of makeup, my eye will always be drawn to the purple shades first. So, imagine my delight when i came across the most gorgeous purple lipgloss I've ever seen! Quick disclaimer: this gloss was part of Revlon's Fall collection last year, BUT it is still available online here: Revlon ColorBurst lipgloss in Decadent

if you have a purple obsession too and feel that life would not be complete without this particular shade!

A little more current shade of lipstick and one that I believe is a part of their standing collection is

Revlon lipstick in Berry Haute

This is a gorgeous matte shade but it's very creamy and not drying at all. In the tube it seems like it would be way too purple to pull off but on the lips it takes on more of a berry pink hue. I don't know about you guys, but when I'm feeling down, a bright happy shade of lipstick is just the thing to perk me up, and I love Berry Haute for that! In the below pic I am wearing Berry Haute topped with Decadent gloss.

At what age does one become too old for Purple lipstick? (never, is my answer!)

And here is Berry Haute smudged into the lips with my finger, no gloss.

And for the finishing touches in your purple repertoire, I give you

Wet 'n Wild MegaLast nail polish in Through the Grapevine

 I know you might scoff at Wet n Wild, but this new formula is very longwearing and they have a great selection of colors to choose from!

And that concludes this little Ode to Purple! 

May your weekend be long, joyous, and filled with all things bright, beautiful, and violet!

My New Favorite Drugstore Lip Duo

Revlon Balm Stain in Precious & Rimmel Stay Glossy in Non Stop Glamour

 It was a happy accident when I saw these two little beauties lying side by side in my makeup bag a few weeks ago. Having bought them at different times and at different stores, it was like a little makeup fairy sprinkled a little sparkly dust my way!
As soon as the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains came out, I was hooked! The colors are rich and creamy and extremely long lasting on the lips without being dry in the slightest and the hint of mint flavor is a lovely little perk as well. These balm stains have become my go-to lip product of the summer, especially when I'm working and I don't have time to reapply my lipstick. I've amassed quite a little collection of them over the past few months because I thought that they were going to be limited edition, but now it seems they are part of the regular Revlon collection so I needn't have scrambled to collect them!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Anyways, back to the review... Even when the sheen wears off the balm continues to feel soft and smooth. I love the brighter colors like Smitten and Lovesick for those days when you don't have time to do a lot of fancy eye makeup but you want to perk up your face. The staying power of the brighter/darker shades is amazing and so nice because they don't feather out at all! More often than not, however, I find myself reaching for Precious because it is the perfect nude shade for me and matches with everything. It looks almost grayish in the tube but comes off as a soft fleshy pink. Not too brown, not too Barbie! I will say that this shade doesn't quite have the staining power that the darker colors offer but again, the balm  itself keeps your lips feeling soft and smooth for hours and this is a great one to swipe on when you're in a hurry and don't have time to carefully apply a lipstick in the mirror. But for a little extra pizazz, a juicy layer over the top is nice too! And that's where my other little discovery comes in; Rimmel's Stay Glossy Long Lasting Lipgloss in Non Stop Glamour. This gloss is not sticky or thick at all and just gives the lips a gorgeous plump and healthy look. It has a nice goldy shimmer to it without being glittery, and it is indeed very long lasting and smooth without any noticeable flavor.
Just a couple of days ago I introduced one of my sisters to this combo and I am hoping that she loves it as much as I do! What lippy pretties have you loved this summer?

Me Lucky Charms! (because Multigrain Cheerios just doesn't have the same ring to it)

I had an epiphany this morning as I was munching on my breakfast of almond milk, Multigrain Cheerios, and banana. I don't miss milk! Over the past few months I've been cutting back on dairy.

Now, before you start thinking I'm little miss uber health nut, I must admit that my initial reason for going low-dairy was because my friend had started doing it and she was looking quite svelte! I thought to myself, she looks amazing! If I cut back on dairy I'll look like that too! (I was quite certain that her new fit self was all due to the dairy cut back and had nothing to do with the countless hours she spends in the gym. The LIES we tell ourselves to avoid cardio!) But I digress. It was a real eye opener to realize just how much dairy I was consuming on a daily basis even though I had always thought that the dairy I was eating was the healthy kind. You know, organic skim milk with my cereal, Activia yogurt (because it has probiotics!), string cheese for snack, large dollops of not regular sour cream, NEVER regular sour cream, but LIGHT sour cream (because the light sour cream makes you skinny, right?), 2% shredded cheese in casseroles, etc, etc... By the way, I am neither a Dr. nor a health expert by any means and many people are able to eat dairy and remain perfectly healthy! For me personally, though, as I began to wean myself from all of the above a wonderful thing happened! Not only did a lose a couple of pounds (I'm not talking 20 lbs here people, like 3!) but I started to feel lighter in general! I noticed that my perpetually doughy face was less puffy, and best of all my belly didn't feel icky and bloated (ugh, has there ever been a more disgusting word than bloat!). It seemed that I didn't feel as sluggish and lackluster as usual. I also noticed that when I did allow myself the occasional Dairy Delight Day, I would feel the previous symptoms return. Belly ache, puffiness, fatigue... Let me just say that having a little bit of relief from those ailments really gave me the incentive I needed to continue on my low-dairy journey.
 I still, however, allow myself moments to splurge. For instance, I have a long-standing love affair with Talenti Gelato (specifically but not limited to the Double Dark Chocolate one!) This gelato is so delightfully yummy that I really couldn't care less that it will give me a stomach ache. The pain is worth every creamy bite! In fact, I feel that it is my duty to regularly consume this treat because if I didn't, how else would I store my beauty goodies? ;)

Talenti Gelato containers used as makeup storage

All of a sudden I've realized that I should've titled this post "How do I love Talenti Gelato, Let me count the ways!"
SO! In conclusion, while I am always looking for ways to skim a few pounds off the old belly, my foray into the low-dairy world has become more about feeling good and less about the cosmetic benefit. I now love substituting dairy milk for Almond Milk specifically the Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Breeze (try saying that 3 times fast) and also, when I'm not indulging in Talenti Gelato, the Chocolate Almond Breeze flavor. It's yumm-O and satisfies my ever present chocolate cravings! I haven't really explored any non-dairy cheese options but if any of you have, do tell!

Yes, the Talenti container is empty because they don't stay full for long in my house!