Friday Favorites

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad in Decadent

I haven't been straying much from a natural neutral look this week. I have been going back to a new quad that I bought from Revlon ColorStay eyeshadow called Decadent. It is just a lovely peachy tone with a matte dark brown and a cream shadow plus another peach that works really well in the crease. I only wish there was a medium tan shade that was a bit darker than that peach then this would be the perfect quad for me.

I have been enjoying a few jumbo eye pencils from NYX and CoverGirl. NYX has such a great color selection but I truly love the color Rust, Sparkling Nude and Cashmere. Plus Covergirl eye pencils in pink and bronze. Just lovely stuff. And you can use these alone or with eyeshadow. Add to that my 24 Hour Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow by Maybelline in Barely Branded and my look this week is complete.

Nail polishes of the week have been Vintage Rose and Captivate. Just great fall/winter colors. And I am not one to wear red polish but this is a warm red that I don't feel glares on my nails.

Lipstick has been either Fergie Daily or Bebot Love. Both are neutral lipsticks. Fergie Daily is a straight nude lipstick and Bebot Love is a bit darker but not so dark that it looks unusual on the lip. I don't know if I could ever pull off a true dark lipstick.

All in all, it's been a pretty simple week. But I'd love to know what you are loving this week. Let me know.

Eyeshadow of the Day - Friday Edition

Today it is a @BH Cosmetics kinda day. I am using the 88 Neutral palette (palette on left) for the matte colors in my crease. I do not prefer to put shiny, shimmery colors in my crease or on my brow bone, so this palette has very little shimmer and works wonderfully for me. 

The Galaxy Chic palette is the one I used for my lid color. (I used the pink on the far right of the top row called Comet, I think) 



I also had a bit of vibrant pink matte tone from my LA Colors quint in the palette called Wildflowers to warm up my brow bone a bit. (No, it wasn't a shocking pink. I used it in a sheer fashion.)


You can find these wonderful palettes at www.bhcosmetics.com or they are also available on www.amazon.com . LA Colors can be found at your local Dollar General or at their website www.lacolors.com

Eyeshadow of the Day

I post this sort of thing most days on my Facebook page but I thought I'd start adding it here as well. 

Today's eyeshadows are pretty natural. A real peaches and cream look. I used the Lorac Behind the scenes eye primer that came as a sample with my Lorac Pro Palette to prime my eyelids. Then on the eyelid I used the NYX Jumbo pencil in Cashmere as just an extra pop of color under my eyeshadow. You can use jumbo eye pencils and cream eyeshadow, like the Maybelline Color Tattoos to use as a primer. And this really makes your eyeshadow truly long wearing. Then I used the peachy shimmer shade from the L'Oreal Color Reiche on my eyelid. It's in the color Good Luck Charm.  And I used the colors in the Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow quad in Decadent as the crease and outer edge color. It's a real peachy neutral look and I love it. Try it out for yourself. Until tomorrow, stay beautiful. 

Black Friday Haul continued

I've had a bit of a haul lately. I ordered some Christmas presents from Kohl's.com during their Black Friday sales and discovered that they had many of the makeup palettes that I have been really looking forward to using one day.

Here are a few palettes I bought:

• Lorac Pro Palette

• Lorac Unzipped Palette

• The Balm Nude 'Tude Palette

•  Cargo Vintaqe Escapes Palette

They all have a bit of a neutral-ish tones. And I have used the Cargo palette on Sunday using some of the olive green shades. Then today I used the Nude'tude palette. All these palettes have shadows that are so pigmented that you only have to use a slight bit to make your eyeshadow pop. If you are used to packing on the Covergirl eyeshadow, then you need to make sure you use a light hand with these shadows.

The two Lorac palettes, I know I have used them both once, but I only got all these in last week, and I used one for each day. Plus, I was still obsessed with my Galaxy Chic palette by BH Cosmetics. I didn't think I would be liking these really poppy colors but they are truly appealing to me. Love it.

Last Week's Favorites

Sorry that i missed my last Friday's Favorites. It has been so busy at work and with the roads and snow and ice, I've been a bit of a mess. It's been a bit extra stressful in my berg because of the weather. I dislike driving in the snow especially right after it rains or sleets. My car door freezes shut and so on and so forth. It's not fun for me.

Last week was pretty much more of the same as far as makeup goes. I focused in on my CoverGirl eyeshadow quads mostly in the neutral colors. I think I've discovered from my exploration that I am a neutral warm shadow gal. But I do like the cool neutral shadows too.

I did just receive a few goodies that I bought for myself. Early presents, you know. :) I picked up a slew of things from BH Cosmetics during their Black Friday sale. They were calling them Black Friday Steals. How cute is that? I think I got some good stuff. It is all neat. I've never ordered directly from a cosmetics company before.

Here are the things I got during the Black Friday Steals:

• Special Occasion Eyeshadow palette

• Eyes on the 60's palette

• Galaxy Chic Baked Eyeshadow palette

• BH San Francisco Eyeshadow & Blush palette

• BH Malibu Eyeshadow & Blush palette

• 88 Neutral palette

I know, overkill. But It was a great deal and I will really never need to buy eyeshadow ever again now. I used the Special Occasion palette today. The shimmer shades weren't overly shimmery and I really liked the outcome of my first look with it. I just wish it had more neutral mid toned matte shades too put in the crease. My crease can't handle the really dark, dark tones.

That's all for now. I hope you all had a great weekend last weekend and will have a great week this week.

Stay beautiful ... inside and out.

88 Neutral Palette

Sleuthing for favorites --- on a Tuesday!

Hello all you Armchair Beauty Sleuthers! 

It's time once again to post about things I am just loving. Now, I know it is not Friday, but there is no one who can't say I can't do a Tuesday Favorites.

Yesterday I picked up a few things from Walgreens. I got the L'Oreal Infallible® 24 HR Eye Shadow in the color Glistening Garnet and L'Oreal HIP Studio Secrets Metallic Duo in the color Charged.

I really love the copper and bronze look for eyeshadows. And this Metallic Duo just fits the bill. It is so fun and flirty, not that I do a lot of flirting. And that Garnet color really goes well with the darker berry shade in the metallic duo. Just loving this look.

Some coppery shades.

My favorite Maybelline quad is Chai Latte. That is because of that coppery brown metallic shade that is just so appealing to me. I love, love, love it.

I have been dying to get some shadows from Makeup Geek or Mac but that is a bit out of my price range. I did pick up some new stuff on Black Friday that I will do a haul about when it finally comes in. It will encompass higher end makeup, well, more mid-level end makeup. I am excited to try these products.

If I ever find myself near an Ulta, I'm definitely going to pick up that Lorac Unzipped palette. That would be an awesome addition to my collection. And the Naked palette, which is like $50 bucks, is something I dream about. And this Urban Decay palette has two sister palettes, Naked2 and Naked3. Plus the Ammo palette looks divine as well. These are things I will get in my dreams. Maybe some day.

CoverGirl's Flamed Out Shadow Pots

I picked up one of the single shadow pots from the Flamed Out collection by Covergirl. It doesn't have a name (on the Covergirl site it is called Red Hot) but it is in a reddish/pinky shimmer that doesn't overwhelm my eyes and I love using it in the crease as a transition color.

Today I am wearing a brownish pinky/rose eye that I am really liking. I just wish my eyes wouldn't water so much. It makes it uber hard to keep eyeliner on. Not that I use a lot, but I tend to rub my eyes and I am trying to get out of that habit.

A few lip colors that I have loved come from Wet N Wild's Fergy collection. Fergy Daily is my favorite shade. It is right up my alley with it's natural, nude look.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you are really loving the makeup in your own collection. Let me know what things you are really going to day after day that makeup your own daily look.

Friday Favorites - Makeup Edition

Friday Favorites.

Rimmel London

This week it has been all about Rimmel London products. I am just having a happy dance day using their products. I love the number 14 in Kate lipstick. That one is a nude shade a tad bit darker than my own lip color. I also got another Kate lipstick and two in their other line that are all just awesome. And I am not a person to gush about lipstick. And the eyeshadow quads... OH, MY GOSH.... I have been enjoying them so much. Afternoon Tea, Mayfair, Shadow Brun, and English Oak in their Glam Eyes line. I have purchased a lot of their quads and have just loved them all. You have to try them. Then I can't forget foundation. Match Perfection in Ivory is my new go-to foundation. It makes me look like I just have a natural look and not a look where people stare at you saying "You have foundation on!" The other thing from Rimmel that I have been loving is my Stay Matte powder in translucent. It is just a perfect powder for me. I love, love, love it. Ah-Maize-Ing!

Maybelline

I love my Maybelline eyeshadow quads. They are very creamy and lovely and the shades are just awesome. But the packaging annoys me. Each quad is like a tiny teeter totter, slipping and sliding in my drawer. Nothing is stable. Even the older CoverGirl singles do this as well, but CoverGirl has made their new singles in more stable packaging that I really like. Kudos CoverGirl.

CoverGirl

I have been really using my two Smoky Shadow Blast jumbo cream sticks. They are dual ended. A lid color on one end and a crease color on the other. I just love them. I have the pink and beige colors. I have been using them a lot as a base for my eyeshadows. And I wish there was a pink that was a bit more colorful so that I could use it as a stand alone shadow. When I put the pink cream stick on my lid, you can't tell I have it on. But it is great as a base for other colors.

Eyes Lips Face (ELF)

This company has really impressed me lately. I have two different versions of their Little Black Books. One is in Day and the other in Daytime, or Everyday Festival(something like that). They are awesome. Pigmentation is great and the Day palette is just a must for every lady. I would love to have this Day palette in a bigger palette so I can just have more shadow to love. I recently picked up a 100 shadow palette from Big Lots that is in sort of a yellow/rust/green colors. This one isn't as great as the Day palette but if you use the shadows independently, you should be fine. I tried to do a look with a rust and a dark blue and it just came off looking muddy. I did get a Geometrical palette that was in one of their Holiday Gift Sets and that one is amazing as well. I have a small compact and a medium sized one. But their Classic palette in 32 shadows is still my complete favorite.

Haul-age

I did have a bit of a haul this week. I discovered that my Goody's store carried NYX Cosmetics. Who knew?! So I grabbed up a few of the Love in Paris 9 shadow sets. I am excited to try them out. I also snagged some Almay shadows from the sale CVS was having last week. Then from Walgreens I decided to get the Mystery Vanity palette from Profusion. Not sure how these work yet, but am excited to see if they have any color payoff.

That's about it for me this week. 

I hope you had a great turkey day and found some wonderful times with family and friends.

Stay beautiful and if you have any makeup tips, please send them my way.

Friday Favorites

Palettes

I have been really love love loving two particular palettes this week. My Little Black book Day Edition by ELF Cosmetics which is a complete lovely palette of all warm neutrals of both shimmery and matte colors. I totally love it. It was a fav last week and continues to shine in my life. It is my go-to palette for a color to use for a matte crease color or a matte brow bone color. The other palette that I love is the Eyes Lips Face (ELF) Classic palette. This is also a warm color palette that can substitute for my Little Black Book palette in a pinch.

ELF Classics palette

Eyeshadows (Quads, Trios, Etc)

I have been veering toward my Maybelline eyeshadow quads. Chocolate Mousse, Chai Latte, and Opal Lights, are among my favorites. I love those shimmery coppers and browns. Then I am totally in love with my 6 new Avon True Color quads.  Vibrant Spice is one I really like, but the yellow in this quad kinda freaks me out. Mocha Latte and Chocolate Sensation and Berry Love and Romantic Mauves are right up there with my most favorite shadows of all time. I have the Purple Pop eyeshadow quad and I haven't quite gotten enough courage to try that one. The pinks and purples are as advertised, very poppy!

This week I bought my first ever eyeshadow trio from Almay. I got one from the Green eye section and one from the Blue eye section. My eyes are actually Hazel, so I figured they would be lovely on me. And I was right. The two I bought were DA BOMB! The green packaging one was called Almay Intense i-Color Smoky-i Eyeshadow in smoky neutrals.

I have been using mostly Jordana Cosmetics liners that are way cheap from Walgreens. I have various shades but I lean toward a dark chocolate or a warm cinnamon. Sometimes I throw in an eggplant color for good measure. 

The cream eyeshadow Color Tattoos by Maybelline are just fantastic. I have a number of colors. I just picked up Barely Branded. But the Inked in Pink and Bad to the Bronze are must haves.

Have you tried these new eyeshadow crayons in the Catching Fire line? I have two, a green and pink. These are just fantastic. I want to get more colors. And Jordana Cosmetics have a few jumbo crayons in Shimmering Pink and a matte Almond that are just great.

Foundation

I bought my first Rimmel foundation from a line called Match Perfection, and that foundation was true to its name. It was the perfect shade for me. I was shade ivory. I also bought the Stay Matte translucent powder and discovered that these products are now my holy grail foundations. I love, love, love them.

Lipsticks

I also bought a lipstick from the Rimmel Kate Moss collection 14-Rossetto. It is pretty close to my own lip color so I don't feel like I stand out like a blinking sign. I tend to gravitate toward the nude/neutral shades. I do have a few peach lipsticks and a couple of pinks, but most in my collection are nude. I love my L'Oreal lipsticks and have really found some Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Nearly There. It is also a nude. Do we see a theme here? 

The Twist and Shine Lip Balms from Jordana are also a new favorite. Terra Cotta is just a lovely shade as well as Honey Love.

Bronzer/Blush

I have been using my Rimmel bronzer in the color Sunlight most of the time. And then here and there using my CoverGirl bronzer in Copper Radiance. And as far as blush goes, I have either been using my $2.00 LA Colors blush in natural or my CoverGirl blush in Iced Mink or Iced Plum. They are really my go-to blushes. Since my face tends to be on the red side, these don't overwhelm my face with color.

Haulage

I did have a bit of a mini haul this week. You can see the photos above for those little lovelies. I bought the Wet N Wild BB Cream but I am not sure this is gonna work for me. So this is a FAIL in the favorites department. I failed to impress. Due to my red skin, I need a bit more coverage than a BB Cream can provide.

Well, I hope you have a wonderful week.

Stay Beautiful!

Review: Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quads

I have been using quite a few of the new True Color Avon quads and I am loving them all.  The yellow color in the Vibrant Spice quad is a bit weird to me, but everything else is wonderful. 

I picked up six of the new quad formulas: Chocolate Sensation, Vibrant Spice, Mocha Latte, Romantic Mauves, Purple Pop and Berry Love. Today I am sporting the Mocha Latte. I don't tend to follow the numbering system they have on the quads, but that would make a wonderful look no matter what. But I like to pick the shimmery shade to use on the lid and sometimes they have that deemed as a crease color. 

I have heard others complain about pigmentation and chalkiness but I have not found that to be the case with the quads I purchased. The browns and dark accent shades aren't so dark that you feel like Cleopatra and they really do look lovely on the eyes. I am totally impressed. I have chosen to put up a picture of the Mocha Latte quad, but all the ones I got are all equally great. I am truly fond of Romantic Mauves and Berry Love because those colors just look fab on my eyes. And the Chocolate Sensation and Mocha Latte come sliding in at a close second place.

So, if you are looking for some great eyeshadows that pretty much do all the work for you, look no further than the True Color Avon quads. And if you need to hook up with an Avon lady, I can get you in touch with mine easy as pie.

Until next time. Stay beautiful.

Friday Favorites

I haven't done a lot of dabbling into new things this week. So, I stuck to the tried and true. I was really rocking the pink and mauves, copper and browns in the eyeshadow department this week. I waffled between my Maybelline quads, CoverGirl Quads the Disney Villains Look Books and Hard Candy 10 color palettes. But I did throw in a newbie this week. I got a bit of a haul from my local Avon representative, Mary Ann, whom I've known, it feels like forever. I purchased 6 quads in their True Color line and one single shadow in a very cool color called Midnight Sparkler which is a dark green color with a bit of silver pizazz added for a bit of sparkle.

ELF Cosmetics'
Disney Villain's Ursula Look Book

I also broke down and bought the last Disney Villain Look Book that I didn't have in my collection, Ursula. Not sure why I was making this such a standout, but since Walgreens had it on sale this week or $6.50 or something crazy like that, I had to get it.

I have found myself reaching for the Evil Queen and Cruela De Vil eyeshadow 6 pans this week and really creating nice and lovely looks... not evil at all. Ha ha. Cruela really has a nice and neutral palette that I find suits me. (How many times can I say nice?) And the Evil Queen was more of a neutral purple look for me. The Disney Villains have been my go to shadow look this week.

I am totally loving my Chapstick Mixstix in Green Apple and Caramel. Love that Caramel side. And the limited editions in Apple Cider and Gingerbread Kiss are just becoming my go to for lip balms. But I can't discount my new fav, the Sugar Cookie EOS dupe by Walgreens. Love it. I also have a Watermelon flavor I keep at work. Lovely.

Jordana Cosmetics' Twist and Shine Jumbo Lip Balm Stains and Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balms are just convenient and fun to wear. I have some of the nude and coral colors as well as pinks. They are fun and flirty and great for me. I'm a no fuss sort of makeup person. Once it's on, all I want to do is live in it and maybe add more lip balm during the day to keep my lips hydrated.

Well, that's it for me this week. What were your beauty favorites this week?

Stay beautiful!

Book Review: Murder Is Binding (Booktown Mystery)

Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery)

by Lorna Barrett

This is one of those books that you can't read fast enough. This one is a huge thumbs up from me. I loved this book and intend to read all the books in this series. Love, love, love.

Bookstore owner, Tricia Miles, has come to a unique town that has many different types of bookstores: history, cook books, and Tricia's specialty, mystery. It was easy for me to picture this bookstore. It was almost as if I jumped right into the author's mind and received the picture she created for the setting.

The whole mystery behind the death of cookbook store owner, Doris Gleason, really had me guessing. I thought for sure I knew who did it and reluctantly admitted the author got the best of me. Good on you,  Lorna! I love that. Each clue built on another and just when you thought the clues were already placed, another showed up.

All the secondary characters were well drawn and interesting and really key to the plot. There were no characters that didn't have meaning in the plot. I love that this author really thought the minor characters through. From Tricia's cat Miss Marple to the elderly patron Mr. Everett, this cast was stellar. Even Tricia's annoying sister found a place in my heart.

If you are like me, you will come to love the city of Stoneham with all its colorful characters and bookstores. I totally suggest you pick up this quick read and then all the other books in this series. Lorna Barrett will soon be one of those authors who write books and you automatically drop them into your cart because you know this will be one good read.

Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com if you want to pick up a paperback or the Kindle version:

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Binding-Booktown-Mystery-Barrett-ebook/dp/B0013A1IV6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-7&qid=1384190236

Book Review - Diner Impossible by Terri L. Austin and Henery Press

Diner Impossible (A Rose Strickland Mystery)

by Terri L. Austin

Published by Henery Press

This is my first review for the funky and very cool, Henery Press and I am a bit freaked that I have to provide a negative review to such a cool company.

I received a promotional copy of this book via NetGalley and I feel bad that my first review for Henery Press is going to be negative. I had a heck of a time getting through this book. I struggled to read  it. And as an avid reader and owner of over 1,000 books, I wanted flow and colorful characters and a great mystery, and all I got was running from place to place, awkward placings of minor characters into the story and dull dialogue. I wanted to love it, but it fell short for me.

The beginning was slow and never really hooked me into reading further which I would not have if I had just been reading it for enjoyment. But since I was reviewing it, I wanted to give the book a chance. Hooking the reader at the beginning is very important. I understand that this is a second book in a series of Rose Strickland Mysteries but we still need to be reintroduced to characters in every book so those of us who have not read the first book can get enjoyment out of this one.

Rose Strickland, the main protagonist, seemed to meander from scene to scene in a dull trance and from suspect to suspect searching for clues to the murder of a shady lady who was the most finely honed character in the book and she was the dead one.

I wanted witty banter, you know, like Kate Beckett and Richard Castle in an excellent episode of the ABC crime drama, Castle. I wish the cop, Sullivan and Rose could have done a cool investigation together, but they were thrust apart at the very beginning only seeing each other occasionally. So, when Rose suddenly realizes she's in love with said cop, I was like.... 'what?! When did that happen?'

If I was the author, which I'm not so it's a moot point, I would have revised the entire thing. Make it more interesting. Punch up the drama. Really knock my socks off with dialogue  that both cracks me up and makes me see the eureka moment when Rose finally solves the case. I want to cheer her on and I was mostly asking myself... when will this be over?

One of the things that is most excellent, as it is in most Henery Press books, is that the cover of the cozy mystery is fabulous! Henery Press does an awesome job of both promoting their material and really making it eye catching and prodding us to pick up their latest literary offering.

This book won't keep me from reading other Terri L. Austin material. In fact, later in the year I will re-read this and make sure my review is correct. If you love a mystery that is fun and funky, this might be for you. But if you are looking for text in flow that makes you stay up at night to finish it, this might be something you want to pass right on by.

Here is the link to the Kindle version of the book over at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Diner-Impossible-Rose-Strickland-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00GJYBY10/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Friday Favorites

Hard Candy Nail Polishes and Palette in Pinking of You.

I am not certain if I posted at all this week, but I already botched my No-Buy-November by purchasing three eyeshadow singles and two trios from CoverGirl over at my local CVS. But that's okay. I can deal. :)

As for my favorites, this week was a rash of the same things. I wore a really cute nail polish by Essie called Penny Talk the last two days of the week. It is a shiny copper metalic that is amazing. It makes me want to check out more of this nail polish brand. I got it at my local Walmart. But I think you can get them at Walgreens too.

I also wore a nice Hard Candy nail polish called Crush on Raisin. It is sparkly and great. It was a bit of a trial to get off. But that was probably because I had Sinful Colors Amazonian on underneath it. Remind me to remove nail polish before adding more. ;) I also picked up three other Crush On shades, Crush on Ivy, Crush on Pink and Crush on Lava. They are all amazing. I love them. They are one coat polishes. One coat... done.

I really favored my Hard Candy 10 shadow eye shadow palettes this week. The pink palette is pictured above. I was so glad to find this one last week, and it didn't disappoint. I wore shadows from the natural palette, purple palette and pink palette. I will soon venture into the territory of the green palette but I'm easing myself into it.

Copper Chic
Maybelline Eye Studio quad

I am totally loving the copper eyeshadow these days. And Maybelline's Eye Studio in Copper Chic is still a favorite. I am crushing on it big time. It is so creamy. But if you  don't like shimmer shades, you might not like this. My Little Black Book palette in the shade "Day" by Elf is also a big favorite. You can do a million natural looks with this little baby. I love it so. I'm wearing it today, in fact.

I also love my Baby Lips balms by Maybelline, my Lip Butters by Nivea and the Twisted Color Lip Stains by Jordana Cosmetics. They are really keeping my lips soft and hydrated. Oh, and I am also crushing on the Sugar Cookie EOS lip balm dupe by Walgreens. I love it.


And last but certainly not least, I am really loving a new foundation that I picked up last weekend. It is CoverGirl's Outlast 3 in 1 foundation in Creamy Ivory. It has a primer included in it so it really tames my under eye circles that concealer doesn't seem to touch. It stays all day long. It is the only foundation I have found so far that does. But I'm still on the lookout for others.

In the area of candles and wax melts, my current favorites are Faded Denim by Scentsationals, Fall Hayride by Glade and I am loving Rocky Mountain and Cape Cod room sprayers by Air Wick. They are so awesome. Love them. Oh, and I can't leave out my current candle fav, Soft Cashmere Amber by Better Homes and Gardens. Totally is lust for this scent.

I would love to hear what your beauty favorites are. What brushes do you like for applying eyeshadow? I love my EcoTools brushes and the ELF brushes that came with my Disney Villains Look Books. They are great for packing on color. And my EcoTools powder brush is da-bomb!

That's it for now.

Stay beautiful.

October Favorite Things

Yes, it is that time again. My favorite things from the month of October. I had a Friday Favorites post not too long ago, so this may mirror some of those things, but goodies are goodies no matter whatcha do.

Matt Maher and Sarah Reeves

Music

I am really enjoying listening to my local Christian radio station. It has changed call letters so I can't remember their new designation but they used to be WIBI. It could be WBGL. But don't quote me on that. The song that has really caught my attention is Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher. Here is a link to a YouTube video so you can listen to it if you would like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuvfMDhTyMA

My new music find has been Sarah Reeves. She has been on the christian scene for quite a while but I just discovered her. I love the covers she does on her personal YouTube channel, especially one called Oceans. I think I should suggest she do the song, Desert Song by Hillsong. I love that tune.

Lotion and Smelly Good Things

My favorite smell of the month, well, the last two months, has been the scent of Cashmere. I don't know how this smell has eluded me for so long, but it is dang awesome. I love it. I have a small hand lotion from Bath and Body Work's Tru Blue Shea line that is in this Cashmere scent. I picked up this hand lotion for $5 on one of their sales, and I pray that they aren't discontinuing it right when I am discovering it.



Another Cashmere lotion that has been on my radar is Cashmere Glow. It is in the Bath and Body Work's Signature collection. My mom bought a travel size of this scent last year when it first came out but back then my nose liked different things. This year, my nose is loving Cashmere Glow. During that same trip last year to B&BW I picked up a few travel sized items. one was in Honey Autumn Apple, this year they renamed that scent Vermont Honey Apple. So I picked up a bigger bottle of it in September. The fall B&BW scents are really my total favorite lotions. I have the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and the Aspen Caramel Woods.

In the arena of body mists. Twilight Woods from B&BW continues to be my favorite, but Twilight Mist and Vanilla in the Body Fantasies series is a good second. You can pick those up at Walgreens. I got them on sale 2 for $10.

Makeup Stash

I actually have a makeup stash now. It is amazing. I haven't worn makeup in years and suddenly it is my new obsession. These things pictured above are my favorites for the month of October.

Baby Lips

Before last month, I had no idea these even existed. I have nearly every flavor/scent, whatever you call them, in this line. I just adore them. Some of them give me a little tint on my lips and some just provide moisture during this fall/winter time when lips tend to turn to cracking and chapping.

CoverGirl Wet Slicks.Fruit Spritzers

These are a little more pigmented than the Baby Lips, but they provide the same type of moisture for my lips. If you are afraid to try lipstick, then these are a great alternative. Plus, they are in fashion fruit flavors like Watermelon, Fig and Caramel Apple.

Chapstick.

How can you not love Chapstick? It is my go-to lip product on all levels. I picked up this MixStick at Walgreens and it is in Caramel and Green Apple. And I am particularly fond of the caramel end of the stick. Love it. I also got a few limited edition Chapsticks in the flavors Apple Cider, Gingerbread Kiss and Candy Cane.

Maybelline/CoverGirl Eyeshadow Quads

My go-to shadows for this last month have all been along the lines of a natural looking product. It is usually in the family of the mauve, pink, neutral, beige, brown or copper. They seem to look the best on my skintone. I must be an Autumn face type. Favorites here are CoverGirl Country Woods quad, Maybelline Chai Latte and Opal Lights quads plus the Maybelline Eye Studio shadow in Copper Chic.

As for foundation, it has been Maybelline all the way. I picked up a Fit-Me Foundation stick in shade 115 and found it awesome in its convenience. Plus, I also got the liquid foundation in the same number. Then last week, I decided to try me some whipped Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in Light #2. It is pretty neat. And it makes applying the foundation with a brush easy.

Lipsticks

I have a few lipsticks that are really moist and give me a good amount of color. L'oreal's 620 Mica and Wet n Wild's Mega Shine in Barely Legal are the ones I pick up the most these days. But I do like a few other L'oreal shades from the nude section

My go-to blush and jumbo eye pencil has been ones I picked up at Dollar General. They come from a line called L.A. Colors. The blush is called Natural but looks like a dark bronzer. And the jumbo eye pencil is in the shade Sand Castles. I like to use it as a cream base for my eyeshadows so they really pop. The other cream bases I like to use are the Smokey Shadow Blast sticks by CoverGirl in pink or beige or the Color Tattoo paint pots by Maybelline

Face Lotion

I have been using an eye cream which is a generic for some brand, not sure which, made by Equate. And it really seems to be helping my under eye circles. Plus I picked up a sample of Ponds Rejuveness lotion that I use practically every day and night.

Makeup Remover

Neutrogena has been my go-to brand for makeup removing. I have the Oil Free Eyeshadow Remover and the Neutrogena Makeup Wipes. I just finished a blue package and now am using a pink package that smells like grapefruits. I love these things. They make taking off makeup a breeze.

Well, that's it for this month's favorites. I hope you found something in there that was of value. 

Have a great day and stay beautiful.

A Mask, A Haul and a Good Witch.

I tried out one of my sample size masks from Walgreens. It was for one use only. It was by Studio 35 Beauty, a Walgreens brand. It had Dead Sea Mud and Seaweed Salts. I could feel the cleansing working. I loved it. BUT, it only comes as this single use pkg. and if I want a bottle, it is not available. Makes me sad. But it was a good mask and I enjoyed it. Here is a small picture of me in the mask.

No, that is not my Halloween costume. It is me getting all cleansed and gorgeous! :)

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Here is my Glinda the Good Witch palette.

After doing my cleansing mask, I decided to get ready for church and had seen a video that spoke of a makeup palette based on Glinda the Good Witch in the movie, The Great and Powerful OZ. Of course, Urban Decay palettes are a tad out of my price range, so I decided to pile together CoverGirl and Maybelline single shadows to make up for my lack of the Glinda palette. I matched as closely as possible and watched a YouTube Guru Pixiwoo do the look. Here was me attempting the look myself. Do I look good witchy?

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I do have a bit of a haul to report. I was fascinated and intrigued by the CoverGirl Eye Enhancers quads Sugar Coated and Goldmine. So, I had to pick those up at my local Walmart along with a slew of Maybelline quads in browns, golds, pinks, purples and coppers. I am obsessed right now, I tell you. I'm going to have to go on a NO BUY NOVEMBER!

Then at Walgreens I picked up two cute E.L.F. products. The smaller one was three dollars and the bigger one five. I have heard good things about E.L.F. products and I was excited to try more of their line. They are the guys who created the Disney Villain Look Books I spoke about in a previous blog post. They have a whole slew of stuff in Walgreens. So, if you are looking for a makeup product to give for a Christmas gift, Walgreens is the place to be.

Well, that is all for my latest adventure in beauty. I am really honing in my skin care routine. I am moisturizing and using my Neutrogena face wipes and Neutrogena Eye Makeup Remover religiously. I need to remember to use the toner more often.

I have been washing my face with a nifty little bar soap in Lemon Verbina from Yardley London. It is amazing and I love it so much. I used it every chance I get. I also have it in Lavender and Honey Almond. Love it, love it, love it. You have to try it too. I picked this up at Walgreens. You can get single soaps and that was around $1.50 per bar. But so worth it.

That's all for now. 

Stay beautiful.

Friday Favorites in Beauty & Mini Hard Candy / Profusion Cosmetics Palettes Haul

This is my first ever Friday Favorites blog entry. So, please be gentle with me. These are the things that this week have been rocking my world. Plus, I am also adding a mini haul to the mix.

I will start off with the favorite nail polishes of the past two weeks. I am really digging the green nail varnishes these days. And the one pictured here is Wet n Wild FastDry Sage of Days. Wonderful color, great stuff with this one. It's a bit more sheer than the Wet n Wild FastDry SaGreena The Teenage Witch (not pictured) which I wore most of last week. I have also been rocking the purple Halloween themed Wet n Wild FastDry Buffy the Violet Slayer. When I wasn't wearing SaGreena, I was wearing Buffy. So, I am loving on these two polishes. They go on with one coat and if you don't want to do a second, you'd be good to go. But a second really helps with any chipping. My nails are a mess right now and are peeling like an onion and hunks keep chunking out of them. It is not pretty. But these polishes really hide the imperfections in my nail care.

The polishes I have been wearing for the last two days are Wet n Wild Megalast in the gold color called Deadly Dose. It's another color they had out for their Halloween promotions. Love it. I also adore the Gold Album nail color that is in their Fergy line but I have a heck of a time getting that color to come off my nails when I want to change my look. On my middle finger I added a sheer coating of the Spoiled by Wet n Wild in the color I'm Ba-roque. It is very sheer so I had to put Deadly Dose on first and then put the Ba-roque color atop it in a couple of coats to give me a little bit of a featured nail look on my middle finger nail. Barely discernible difference from the other nails but I like it.

 Here are the other products that I have been Jonesing for this week. Two body sprays by Body Fantasies Signature in Twilight Mist (a great somewhat Bath and Body Works dupe for Twilight Woods) and Vanilla. This Vanilla is the best Vanilla I have smelled in a spray in any that I have tried. I just love it! But my current everyday smell to put on like perfume is Twilight Mist. I just adore this dupe and I am a Twilight Woods lover.

These Cover Girl eyeshadow quads have been my go-to look for the last two weeks. These quads are in County Woods, Urban Basics and Coffee Shop. I love the variety of browns and coppers and light amber shades they have in their line. Some people complain about their sheer application, but I didn't find that to be the case for me at all. I just loved using them this week and they make me want to peruse the CoverGirl section and find more lovely eyeshadow quads. I have been using aCover Grl Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm crayon that is in the color Rose Twist. It is pretty close to the color of my own lips if only a share or two darker. This formula is very creamy and lovely. I definitely have to pick up more of these at my next drugstore venture.

I have a bit of a mini haul to report. I picked up three Hard Candy eyeshadow palettes at Walmart recently. They were only $6 each and a great value for the amount of shadow you get. I got the palettes Green With Envy, Naturally Gorgeous  and Smoke Out. I think I need to pick up the pink one in the color Pinking of You because pink has really been a shadow color I don't have much of at the moment.

The U Adore Me palettes 02 and 03 I just picked up from Walgreens. They are made by Profusion Cosmetics. And I picked up their BARE palette of ten shadows and just adored it, pardon the pun. So I figured these shadows would be a good fit for my tastes. Each U Adore Me palette was $2. Who can beat that price? Love!

Well, these are my current favorites and my little mini Haul. Check them out at your local stores and the tell me what YOU think.

Stay beautiful.

Another Mini Haul - Walgreens & CVS

I picked up a few items at both Walgreens and CVS in the last couple of days.

At Walgreens I purchased a $3 Mini Makeup Travel Kit with 8 eyeshadows and 2 blushes. All the eyeshadows are of a metallic glittery kind. I guess I don't understand the whole fascination with everything metallic and shimmering. But there is a good variety of shadows in this kit. I especially like the light and dark copper colors. This kit is by Giordano Colors. It's small and compact enough that you can put in your purse and have a small offering of makeup if the whim should ever suit you. And that mirror is tres great! I love the size of the mirror and will keep it in my purse for that function alone. The fact that I can play with makup only makes this a plus. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Great product. Great Price

Along with that I also picked up a gift pack of 5 scented lipglosses called Midnight Rose scented lip gloss by Mind, Body, and Soul Co. Limited. If you don't like smells to your lip products, you probably won't like this one. While the gloss is good and glossy, the scent about puts you off of using them. I keep thinking that my gloss has gone bad. If it had been unscented, they might have had a winner here. The color pigment isn't too pigmented, it is more of just a gloss to put over a separate lip product.

At CVS, I snagged these two lip balm lip butters by Nivea. I had tried a shimmer stick and the smell really put me off of that one as well. I totally dig the shine of the Nivea Kiss of Shimmer Radiant Lip Care, I put it back on the shelf when I smell the product. Another fail. If I don't want to smell it, I'll never use it.  But it has good gloss and moisturizing effects.  The Lip Butters, boy howdy, these are TONS better. I love the two scents I picked up. They did these lip butters right. Mine are in Caramel Cream Kiss and Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss. Both are lovely, creamy and awesome. Gold star!

These are some great products. Some of the smells put me off on the lip glosses and lip balms but if that doesn't bother you a fig, then these are all winners in my book.