Life and Babies!

This isn't a makeup related post but don't worry, I have one. I just wanted to let give a quick update on my life and why I'm not updating like I used to... you know, 9 months ago. I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy on 8.31.11. I'm very blessed to have my two kids but I'm also very busy (and tired!). This is a huge adjustment for all of us. I'm not putting the blog at a complete standstill. Despite having a new addition to our family, I try to keep some things the same. I think it makes the transition easier. And for me, I love my blog. I love makeup. It's a guilty pleasure that I'd like to hang onto for a bit longer. So while I won't be posting often, I'll still be here and hopefully you'll keep reading. Thanks for reading. :)

Smith's Rosebud Salve and a personal update!

I picked this up when I was at Sephora in late April. If you have ever been, you notice that there's tons of product minis that surround you as you wait in line... suckering tempting you to buy something else. This salve was among them and I figured I'd try it for $6 USD.

Under normal circumstances, I get dry, cracked lips year round. Part of the problem was that I didn't drink enough water. Well, for the sake of my pregnancy, I stopped drinking juice entirely and vowed to only drink water. Okay well, that's kind of a lie because I do have a glass of orange juice here and there. Still, that's a huge step for me.

The other problem is that I had no lip care routine. At all.

Smith's Rosebud Salve

Since I purchased this salve, I was sure to use it everyday, and I still do. There is a subtle rose scent, nothing harsh or offensive. Every time I feel it's no longer on my lips, I reapply. And let me tell ya, it works. I noticed a difference on my first day of use. My lips were by no means cured within the first 24 hours or anything, but they felt noticeably softer. A few days (and a good exfoliating) later, I had healthy lips again. Hooray!

Sorry, I touched it!!

The thing is, I need to reapply several times throughout the day or else my lips begin to feel a little dry again. Nothing horrendous, though. I apply extra at night, before bed. I also noticed that it helps with other dry areas of my body as well. For example, my knuckles. My poor knuckles take a beating from constantly washing dishes. This stuff takes care of the dryness. I almost forgot to mention that in the description on Sephora's website, Smith's claims that it can be used for diaper rashes. I have an almost two year old who still gets them. I feel like maybe I should try it?? We'll see...

All in all, I think this is a fabulous product. $6 is a little hard to swallow for .8 oz. (in other words, a somewhat little tin) of product. I've made a pretty big dent in it already but then again, I use it frequently. But because it works so well for me, I would most definitely buy this again. In fact, I'd buy two just to have a back up. I'm going to try the strawberry balm next.


A little update on me:

I know I'm not a big poster these days, but life happens, you know? I can't believe I'm having my son in September! This pregnancy has gone by so fast. I'll be 26 weeks on Sunday. That means, I'll be officially starting my third trimester the following Sunday. YIKES!

That's my belly at 25.4 weeks and there's my daughter!

Vanilla Truffle and Baby News!

Seriously. I can't get enough of the stuff. The nude of all nudes, I think. This is my first lipstick ever from Estee Lauder. Actually, the last time I ever bought anything from the brand was in high school. It was a bronzer... a loose bronzer and I remember loving it. Since then, I haven't shopped from them.

Vanilla Truffle is limited edition in the US and it carries a quasi-hefty price tag of $24. The color itself is gorgeous. I would say that it leans on the peachy side but I still found it to be flattering on my cool skin. The formula is very creamy, opaque, and long wearing.

The problem? Well, for starters, I'm not into the packaging. It looks more tacky than luxurious, in my opinion. Not a huge deal, though. It sure and heck didn't prevent me from buying it. The thing I really didn't like about it was the smell/taste. It has that cheap floral-play dough smell that you'd usually find on a drugstore brand lipstick. In all fairness, I usually don't get too offended by stinky cosmetics. It's not something that would keep me from using the product if I really like it so I'm thinking that my increased sense of smell (since being pregnant) has something to do with it. I'm not completely sure. Still, when paying $24 for a lipstick, I expect the smell to be something glorious.

With all that said, the good and the bad, I would buy this again just for the fact that they nailed the color AND the formula. Maybe they could just work out the smelly smell.


I also wanted to tell you guys that I'm having a BOY!!! A little boy!! We're so excited. Now we have a complete family. Isn't he cute?! ;)

Just a little update!

I am so sorry I haven't been an A+ blogger. I've been so exhausted through this pregnancy which is why I think I'm having a boy. I was like Superman when I was preggo with my daughter and now I'm beat! Either way, I get to find out Thursday at my ultrasound. I'm so excited! :)

Anyway, I have some cool stuff I wanted to share with you guys. Like the Estee Lauder Vanilla Truffle lipstick that I have coming in the mail maybe tomorrow. I've been dying to get my hands on this sucker from the moment I saw in featured in so many blogs. So many UK blogs. Unfortunately, it's not a permanent color in the US, but it's LE right now so I snatched it up!

I'll be posting more soon, promise!

My BIG announcement!

I cannot tell you how badly I feel for putting my blog on hold. I kept hinting that there was a really good reason for my absence... and there is! I'm a little pregnant!!! Okay, not a little pregnant, I AM pregnant! I'm expecting my second baby in September so my little girl is going to be a BIG sister!

So this is why I've been so neglectful to you guys and I'm very sorry. I was extremely exhausted through my first trimester but I've slowly been getting my energy back these last two weeks or so. And again, this isn't my first baby. I have the responsibility of keeping up with my home while chasing around a 20 month old. Believe me, she's not easy to keep up with! Also, from being so drained, I haven't felt good about my appearance -- with or without makeup. It's hard to feel inspired when you look like crap, hah.

HOWEVER, I have all of these news goodies that I want to share with you. I just want you to know that this blog isn't going anywhere. I haven't forgotten about it or you. :)

Sorry!

Hey, lovelies. It's been a WHOLE week since I last posted. Eeek! My daughter came down with the flu so I've been spending this last week just cuddling with her and pampering her. I have a new post for tomorrow that I'm excited about. It's a lipstick.... here's some hints: it's MAC, it's nude, it's new, and uh... I love Gaga! Any guesses? Haha! Enjoy your weekend! :)

Um... gorgeous, much?

I am LOVING this promo picture from the Make Up For Ever Tres Vichy collection! Normally, I'm not the type to wear bright, bold colors but I'm feeling inspired! What do you think?

Happy New Year! Giveaway ends TONIGHT!

Hey girls, Happy New Year! I just wanted to let you know that my giveaway ends tonight. Also, I wanted to apologize for being a bad blogger in these recent weeks. I have a really good reason but I can't talk about it yet!

This year has been amazing for me. New home, my daughter's first birthday, her second Christmas, and the privilege of having the best friends and family. Also, 2010 is the year that I really got into beauty and all that it entails. I discovered beauty blogs and blogging and through this process, I have met some wonderful people. Thanks to the beauty community, I have learned so much: tips & tricks, brands I never heard of, and BRUSHES. Yeah, brushes! I never used them and I now know that I've spent years doing makeup the hard way.

In this upcoming year, I'd like to spend more time dedicating myself to this blog. More posting, more topics, and more giveaways!

Anyway, I hope you all have a FABULOUS year in 2011!

Four days left!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did! My daughter had such an awesome Christmas and it couldn't have went any better. So, here's the bad news. I went to my grandma's for Christmas and I left my good camera there! Booooo! She lives about 45 minutes away and we just got hit with a blizzard so I probably won't be able to get it back until this weekend. Unfortunately, I had pictures on it for the blog that I didn't upload yet. The good news? I have a back up camera so I have plenty of things coming up this week!

In other news, there's just four days left to enter my giveaway before it ends on Friday, December 31st! If you haven't entered yet but would like to, CLICK HERE!

Merry Christmas!

Good morning! I just wanted to wish my lovely readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Currently, I'm waiting for my boyfriend to wake up so we can open our presents. I have to make the coffee first. It's like he can smell it brewing so he knows it's time to get up. I'm excited to watch my daughter open her gifts. Last Christmas, she had just turned four months old, so this year will be a lot more fun for her. We have a few places to go and a lot of people to see so I better start getting ready. Before I end this post, I'd like to share a picture of my daughter in her Christmas dress (her hair was still kinda wet!). She's such a cutie!

Hello, hello!

Hey lovelies, I just wanted to touch base with you. I haven't been paying much attention to my blog in the last week but it's because (as I said in my last post) getting ready for Christmas has been extremely hectic. I'm a last minute shopper... that's totally my fault. Anyway, I took some pictures for a little review but I'm not telling you what it is! Okay, I'll give you a hint. It's a MAC lipstick from the permanent line. It is a 'my lips but better color' and it has a matte finish. Any guesses? :)

Beauty Resolutions

Beauty Resolutions 2010

This is the time of year when we take a moment to reflect on our lives, how quickly it's passing us by, and how we can make it better. I'm 110% guilty of conjuring up unrealistic resolutions for myself. This year, I decided to take a deep breath and set small goals for myself. For example, I'd like to find a part time job. Not just for the extra cash, but to better myself and make new friends. I also have a short list of beauty related resolutions. Here's my list of things I'd like to rectify:

• I need to do a better job of washing my brushes. It's a bad habit to let them go for long and it's unsanitary. I use brush cleanser between washes but seriously, I need to step up on this. By the end of the day, however, it's the LAST thing I feel like doing.
• I need to broaden my horizons with color. In 2010, I discovered lipstick. All of the colors, formulas, brands, everything. Now it's time to play with eye shadow a little more. I'm guilty of being a neutrals kind of girl, which is perfectly OKAY! However, I think it's time to experiment more with my individuality and just have fun rather than hanging onto my earth-toned safety net every single day.
• I need to stop torturing my hands. My poor hands. They're so dry and cracked. The problem worsened when the cold weather rolled around, but constantly washing dishes and handing bleach (among other cleaning supplies) is where the problem started. Aside from that, I don't give them much TLC other than occasionally using hand cream.
• I need to give my skin a break more often. I wear makeup every day, 'nuff said.

So, that's my list. Is there anything on yours?

Source(s): Image is from self.com

So excited!

The UPS man just arrived at my door not even five minutes ago with a package! I wonder what's inside?

It's the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. III, of course! I was actually surprised because they didn't send a tracking number or anything. Oh well, at least they ship FAST! 

The first thing I noticed was that this sucker has some weight to it! Anyway, I just got really excited when it came. I lovelovelovelove shopping for others. I used my 100 point beauty perk to get a deluxe sample of the Make Up For Ever HD finishing powder (that one's for me! haha). I'm afraid it's going to dry me out because it's made from 100% silica, but I'll let you know how it goes...

Anyway, make sure to enter my giveaway! Click here!

My Halloween and blog stuff!

Hello, beautiful people! How was your Halloween? Did you dress up or do anything? I had every intention of dressing up, but I just didn't have time. Yesterday was a very busy day for me. I had house work, house work, house work up until 3 pm, then had to get my daughter fed, bathed, and into her costume so we could goto my mother in law's for a get together. I will say that for the sake of festivities, I put on some extra eye makeup. I thought I looked like a hooker. Wasn't happy about that. Anyway, we had some family over and Kristen's little cousin, Dino, who is five months old. We took them for a little trick or treating. It was a lot of fun! Kristen ended up being a butterfly. A cute butterfly, I might add!

Kristen from this morning, haha

Anyway, I decided to start a new series on this blog. I don't want to tell you what it is yet, but I'm hoping that you'll like it! First post will be up later on today. Enjoy your Monday! Or at least try to... hahah.

Totally Random Stuff (MAC, Olivia Wilde)

Sorry I've been neglecting this blog. It's been a week or so since my last post. I said I was going to do some looks with the UD Naked palette and although I had a lot of fun playing around with it, I didn't have time to take pictures or write about it. My daughter came down a nasty sinus infection that she passed on to me (with love, I'm sure). We were both pretty miserable this past week. She's getting a lot better, and so am I, but I still can't breathe (and it frustrates me that I have to blow my nose every thirty seconds.... don't my sinuses realize that I spend time on my makeup?!). Anyway, this is going to be a sort of random post...

First off... did you know that you can give product reviews on the MAC website?! This MUST be new... I'd be an idiot not to notice (although being oblivious to the obvious is in my nature). I'm now sure how I feel about this. I took a quick look at it and from what I see, you can't review a specific shade. For example, you can't review Twig (Satin), you can only review lipsticks in general (so you'd have to mention the details in your review). I think that's kinda-sorta lame. I know MAC lipsticks rock.... but how does "XYZ" pan out? Know what I mean?

Anyway, speaking of MAC, I got a few things from there. When I was little and I'd get sick, my mom used to get me Barbie coloring books and a fresh pack of crayons. This is the same concept, except that I get stuff from MAC. I'm just very, very bad....

MAC Hue (Glaze)

Most of what I got isn't coming in the mail until Friday or Saturday, BUT I did get a lipstick from the counter. I decided to opt for Hue. This is my first time experimenting with a Glaze formula. I had some idea of what to expect. I knew that it would be a more glossy finish and that the color would be very sheer. In my opinion, I really like Lustres best, since you can start out light and build up the intensity as you please. Yeah, that's pretty nice. So, I tried out today and I really liked it. It's a very pale nude-pink. It didn't wash me out and I can see this complimenting most skin tones but you have to ask yourself: do I prefer colors on the sheer side or colors that are opaque? If you prefer the latter, opaque colors, this isn't for you. Another thing, I think this color in particular is fabulous for gals with light colored lips. Mine are very pigmented, quite red and because this is a glaze, I have to really put in the extra effort to hide the natural color of my lips. From now on, I'll be sure to wear a liner with this color. Still, I'm really warming up to this color & formula -- I just used to opting for formulas that pack a bigger punch.

It took numerous swipes to get this swatch

Lastly, I'm a major (I mean, MAJOR) fan of House. It's definitely one of my favorite shows. One of the characters, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde), is incredibly beautiful. I just can't help but to admire her natural beauty and gorgeous makeup. I saw a picture of her today and I just felt like I needed to share it (picture taken from here):