Updates and Catch ups

No not Ketchup! heehee

Ok this was about a century ago, but I got this really sweet tag from none other than Sara. It's a favorite read tag, so in alpha-order (or the way they show up in my dashboard) these are my favorite reads:



Ella
ESCOURTN3Y
FabBlab
Fashion Euphoria
Just Kiss n Makeup
Made You Blush
The Lancome Blog
The Makeup Snob
too much blush
Zoella

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This week I peeked into Big Lots and sometimes I find a ton of little/cheap treasures and sometimes I find garbage. This time I lucked out and found treasures. Big Lots is a sister to Ocean State Job Lot or the Dollar store, it has limited edition makeup or even current makeup for incredibly cheap prices. I got this Revlon shimmer powder for $2, it is the absolute prettiest gold to put over blush or apply alone for a really sexy glow.




I also picked up this Maybelline super away lip color remover. I thought 'eh whatever' but seriously this stuff is great! You know those long lasting lip glosses that dry up and chap your lips and its impossible to remove the left over glob? Well I gave this a try over my Max Factor Lipfinity 3D and it worked like a charm. Just apply like you would apply a lip balm, leave on for a few seconds and wipe away with a tissue. No color left on your lips and they're not dry to boot!


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I went to the mall with my parents and little sister today and we went into the 'puppy store' and look who was in there! A baby girl Great Dane! I'm not sure if you know this but we have been looking at puppies for almost a year now and we love great danes but we don't know if we have enough room or can really afford one right now seeing as our living room needs all new furniture and my private college tuition isn't cheap. Here's the baby in all her sweet glory!


Look at me, I'm as happy as a clam! But we didn't buy her, she was really expensive, but great danes don't last long in puppy stores, so I'm sure she'll have a good home soon :)

Fall Collection - Obsession Confession

So I’m going back to school on Monday, which happens to fall on the last day of August, which in my head is the last day of summer, which further translates to FALL SHOPPING!

Okay, okay, realistically, I’m not one of those girls who goes out and buys a whole new wardrobe per season, but I certainly like to browse the aisles, see what I have, and what can be updated, and of course pick up a few tid bits along the way.

Currently, and sadly, the weather around here finally got sunny these past three weeks seeing as it has been raining like a banchee all through June and July. It's sad because I have to back to school! But I'm sure I'll squeeze in some last minute beach trips :)

Any who, picked up my September Vogue (read: fashion bible). Didn't get a chance to look through but believe me, I'm on it! Also in the mail came my Lucky, Marie Claire and Allure. I have some serious reading to do this weekend.

So I got this dress at the Cape and I paired it with some slouchy boots.


I've really been into Moroccan patterning lately, I like it on sheer tunics, dresses, and sometimes tank tops. Also, for jewelry I like chunky bracelets, big bangels and stuff but I like them to look rich with gold and silver.


What are you into for this coming fall? I'm dying for some new looks.

Don't forget about my Givenchy Giveaway!

Operation: Nude Shoes

Status: Almost complete.

Now these aren't pumps, but these are peep toe and oh.em.gee! they are so comfortable and uber cute!



I found these beauties while I was at the Cape, and though I've already broken them in, I keep forgetting to share them with you. Sorry! Incase you don't remember my hunt, you can read more about it here.

of course, don't forget about my Givenchy Giveaway!

MORE GIVEAWAYS:
Don't forget Jaimie's spectacular September giveaway! And last but not least, Em's JK giveaway celebrating her 300 followers!
In SweetShuGa's giveaway you get to pick you own MAC products! How cool?

Givenchy Giveaway!

Good morning bloggers,

I finally made it 50+ followers! Thank you for following, reading and giving your feedback. Because of you I continue to blog and I wanted to have a special thank you with a Givenchy Couture Makeup Palette giveaway.

Yup, Givenchy!

Brand new, untouched, and all yours!

To enter, [1] you must be a follower (obviously, since this is a follower-thank you).
[2] Leave a comment on this post telling me if you’ve ever tried Givenchy products, and what are your favorites. If you haven’t, just tell me that you haven’t, it will in no way affect your chances of winning.

Winner will be picked through random.org on September 24th, one month from today.

Good Luck!

New York City Weekend

I know I'm a little late on this, but better late than never...

This past weekend, Chris took me to NYC when I got back from the Cape. We had the best time! We usually try to go a few times a year because we are closet-NewYorkers, it's true I swear it! If we had enough money, we'd totally move out there together. It's just so judgment free sometimes, women walking around with no bras, men walking around in designer shoes and no one needs to feel self conscious because in New York everything is acceptable... at least that's how we feel every time we go.

Of course, we did some real shopping and some window shopping, some general sight-seeing and eating!



[[we stayed at the 60 Thompson in Soho]]


[[Sephora on 5th Avenue]]


[[Sephora in Time Square]]


[[MAC at the Flat Iron Building]]

Oddly enough I did not go into any Sephoras while in NYC, I just didn't feel the urge - is that weird? I knew there was nothing in there that I was dying to have or to try, so I skipped it. I did however go into the MAC store. It was a fair size and the people in there were really sweet and attentive but not in that naggy sort of way. The building that it's in is really cool! It really does look like an iron!

And here are my city treasures:
Victoria's Secret eye shadow quad in Sultry
Victoria's Secret perfect lipstick in Scrumptious
MAC eye shadow in Satellite Dreams
Covergirl eye shadow in Burnt Gold




[[5th Avenue Tiffany's window displays]]


[[in front of New York City Public Library lion]]

The Tiffany window displays were so cute and luxurious all at once that I captured every one! Have you seen Sex & the City? Love it don’t ya? Especially the beautiful library she planned to get married in... well here is the lion of the famous New York Public Library. At the current moment, it was closed for renovation (strange right?) but I have been in there before and let me tell you, it is just as beautiful and just as glorious as the movie makes it out to be.

Hope you enjoyed the photos! I have more, but I didn’t want to boggle you up with the places we ate and the funny signs/things we saw...

Welcome Home!

I'm back from the Cape! If you're ever in Mass, I certainly suggest visiting Cape Cod, but make sure you do it on a nice sunny weekend because truthfully it's very boring on a rainy day. It's always so fun to wear shell jewels and sailor-type clothing when you're there! Oh yes, and be sure to visit the Cape Cod potato chip factory, it's so much fun - it's about a 15 minutes self-guided tour and at the end you eat chips, yummmm...

But as much fun as it is to be on vacation, I did miss home. And what a beautiful thing it was to come home to...



Look what I had waiting for me!!!

A lovely note and surprise MAC eye shadow (Grand Entrance) from Sara, the makeup snob! If you haven't visited her blog, please do, it's a favorite! She is so sweet and a total cosmetic dictionary. During the month of July she had a contest for the most comments, and I came in second, and there wasn't a prisze for second but she sent me one anyway - really wasn't necessary, but ohhh I'm so excited!!! Thanks Sara!!!

Also waiting for me was my 1970s Carousel photo from Tim Irving, he does beautiful vintage inspired photographs. Please check him out on Etsy. I can't wait to find a beautiful simple frame for it.

Peaches-n-Cream

Every once in a while, usually after a beach trip, I like to channel a peach. I’ve always loved Jessica Simpson’s look – glowing skin paired with bold eyes. The nude lips are a plus - they're my love!

21 Questions & WINNER!

So the lovely Anastasia tagged anyone who wanted to do this so I did and I added my own question for kicks and giggles ...and to make it song title worthy :)

1. Things you cannot leave the house without:
keys obviously. and chapstick. sometimes mascara.

2. Favourite brand of Make Up:
L'Oreal

3. Favourite flower:
white lillies (calla lillies to be exact)

4. Favourite clothing store:
TJMaxx and Marshalls and Forever21

5. Favourite perfume:
oh boy, I have a lot... Versace Bright Crystal, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Gucci Envy Me, Paris Hilton Just Me, Calvin Klein Euphoria, Coco Chanel Mademoiselle...

6. Heels or Flats:
heels for work and night. flats for everyday outings.

7. Do you make good grades:
absolutely.

8. Favourite colours:
pink, turquoise, grass green, and gold (is that a color?)

9. Do you drink energy drinks:
Red Bull and vodka baby!

10. Do you drink juice:
yes. apple, cranberry, and orange.

11. Do you like swimming:
I love to swim!

12. Do you eat fries with a fork:
I eat fries with my fingers with extra salt and ketchup.

13. Favourite moisturiser:
Philosophy Hope in a Bottle

14. Do you want to get married later on in life:
yes :)

15. Do you get mad easily:
sadly, yes, but I have about a ten minute rebound rate.

16. Are you into ghost hunting:
no! that creeps me out!

17. Any phobias:
not real phobias, just the normal ones: spiders, dying, etc.

18. Do you bite your nails:
gross, no.

19. Have you ever had a near death experience:
I was swimming in Miami with some strong currents and a lifeguard had to come and save me ;) ...yes this is a true story hehe

20. Do you drink coffee:
not everyday; I like instant folgers coffee and anything Starbucks

21. What makes you feel sexy:
smooth tan legs and high heels


I tag everyone! Yes, I want every single one of my followers and readers to please fill this out, I'd love to know more about you.
Oh, and I leave you to let you know I am going to be on vacation next week in Cape Cod. I doubt there will be any internet, so I wish everyone a wonderful week... gosh I'll miss blogging!

>>update Saturday August 8 @ 1:31AM <<

I WON!!! Brunch at Saks was having a giveaway; the winner gets a photograph of choice taken by Tim Irving. His work is really beautiful - very vintage looking. I chose the Carousel 1970 photo because it deeply reminded me of my childhood summers - hot stale air, ice cream dripping down my arms, and laughing with family. Yay! I'm so excited!!!

Max Factor Lipfinity 3D & 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper

Max Factor is being discontinued in the States! I’ve heard this from a few sources and sadly I’m starting to believe it. I went to my local Wal-Mart last night and most of the products were red lines. I’ve been eyeing the Lipfinity 3D glosses and finally bought one. I like my nudes, so surprise surprise, I bought 700 Work-Out Nude. The color (step 1) is a pretty pale pink, and I have cherry lips to start so this had moderate coverage because this pucker went baby pink after a few strokes. You need to work fast with the color because it dries quickly so work it in and smooth it out; no one wants to see globs! The gloss (step 2) smells really nice, a little like vanilla but not overwhelming.

Here is my review of its wear today, stay tuned for updates!

7:30 Applied the color (step 1) and let sit while I straightened my hair. it felt dry I’ll give ya that, but this was expected from these sort of glosses. 10 minutes later, applied the gloss (step 2).

9:00 Lasted through morning coffee, laughing and chatting with co-workers. Feels like chapstick, isn't drying me out and still looks fresh - though not as glossy.

9:30 Ate a chocolate covered strawberry, yum! Color is still there but a little flakey, time to reapply gloss (step 2).

1:00 For lunch I had a sandwich, and what was left of the color was only a dry outline around my lips in that nude pink. I looked silly so I reapplied both the color and the gloss.

Overall I wouldn't buy this again only because I have a billion nude glosses and lipsticks. The overall quality was good because ya can't expect a long lasting color to be non-drying, at least not for a drugstore brand.



Oh yes, and I went back later and got myself the Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper mascara. I really like it, I've already worn it twice. I like to curl my lashes coat them a hundred times, let dry, comb through and add another hundred coats. It's VERY SIMILAR, if not exactly the same, to Cover girl's Lash Blast. What I find particularly favorable about this mascara is it's lack of flaking! Especially because I touch my eyes a lot during the day so usually I have some flakes around the eye area, but with this one I don't.

Moroccan Flare

The eyes have it!




Sonia Kashuk - Razzle Dazzle 22 eyeshadow duo
Lancome - Kitten Heel color design eyeshadow
Milani - Golden Bronze 33 single shadow
Too Faced - Tropical Truffle Candy Bars eyeshadow

Splurge vs. Steal! :NARS Fathom vs. Beauty Rush Too Too Pink

About a year ago, a girlfriend of mine and I were shopping in Sephora and she just fell in love with Fathom eyeshadow by NARS. It's a beautiful matte pastel pink with fine silver glitter particles. Long story short, she didn't buy it because she couldn't justify the price to the number of times she would use it. Well, my dear reader, I found you a bargain!

NARS Fathom vs. Beauty Rush Too Too Pink


Price: $22 USD
Size: 0.12 oz / 3.5 g
Ingredients: Talc, Polyethylene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Tricaprylin, Ceresin, Aqua (Water), Lanolin (Lanolin Alcohol), Lecithin, Tocopherol, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate, May Contain (+/-): Mica, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Carmine (CI 75470), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Aluminum Powder (CI 77000), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140)


Price: $7 USD
Size: 0.035 oz / 1.0 g
Ingredients: cannot find

The colors are identical and I found that Beauty Rush Too Too Pink Luminous Shadow has more and finer sparkles. Also the color is a bit more pigmented. See for yourself... can you guess which is which?

Cool Zebra

Beach essentials:
Sunblock [Neutrogena], sunglasses [Coach], towel [Betty Boop], magazine [Marie Claire], iPod [nano 4G] and a nice beach bag to hold it all in [Banana Republic].



Also, please check out the giveaway that Sara (The Makeup Snob) is having to celebrate her 200+ followers!!! Wooo! You go girl! Please note that LIZZARD is your referral, thanks ladies!