Tuesday, March 29, 2011

NOTD 03/28/11

I'm in love...

...with a nail polish.

Essie Topless & Barefoot. I'm so glad I finally tracked this down on Ebay. I should have bought a backup. It's perfect, from the application to the final result. I love it.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

My Go-To Products...Revisited!!

Alright, so the last time I did this tag was almost exactly a year ago today. If you want to read that post click here.


Favorites


Favorites by ep3074 on Polyvore.com


Primer: To be honest, I really don't wear a primer on my face every day. I do use Urban Decay Primer Potion or MAC Bare Study Paint Pot on my eyes daily, though.


Foundation: I've recently been trying out a sample of Makeup Forever HD Foundation. I love it, I'm going to try MUFE Mat Velvet + next. But my go-to foundation has been a mixture of Revlon PhotoReady and Revlon ColorStay. Whew...that's a lot of foundations.


Concealer: Hands down the best concealer for under eyes is Bobbi Brown Corrector. My shade is in light bisque. If I really look tired, I'll throw some MAC Select Cover-Up in NW20 over that, with Bare Escentuals Well-Rested to set. For blemishes, I usually grab Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Concealer.


Setting Powder: I always use my NYX Twin Cake Powder in Natural.


Blush: One of my favorite combos lately is MAC Ladyblush Creme Blush with NARS Sex Appeal Blush over top. I also reach for Physician's Formula Happy Booster in Natural often. It's cute, it smells good, and it has cute hearts all over it.


Bronzer/Contour: I use Physician's Formula Healthy Wear Bronzer. It's very subtle and light.


Highlight: My favorite highlight for this time of the year is (and has been for a long time) MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Perfect Topping. Love!


Mascara: I absolutely LOVE Makeup Forever Smoky Lash. It's the best mascara I've ever used. But I don't want to waste [all $22 of it] at work so I use LOReal Voluminous daily. It's a great mascara but it does tend to transfer on me.


Eyeshadow: I have been trying to use up my Ulta Truffle Eyeshadow for...well ever now. It's on my P10P list so I'm dying to get done with it. It's pretty, I'm just becoming bored of it quickly. I also wear MAC Brule everyday. And I like to throw a Bare Minerals shimmery shadow like Nude Beach or Queen Tiffany, on top once in a while.


Eyeliner: Again with the P10P, I'm trying to use up my Urban Decay Bourbon pencil as well as my Rimmel Black Magic liner. But I do find myself reaching for MAC Dipdown Fluidline a lot.


Lipstick: I use a lot of different lipsticks, usually whatever is in my purse. I like MAC Viva Glam Gaga II, MAC Creme Cup, MAC Shy Girl, Revlon ColorBurst in Baby Pink...just to name a few.


Lip Liner: The only one I use throughout the week is Jordana Easy Liner in Rock 'n Rose.


Lip Gloss: Oh geez...MAC Viva Glam Gaga II, Revlon ColorBurst in Crystal Lilac, NYX Sweetheart, Revlon Super Lustrous in Lilac Pastelle and Peach Petal...the list goes on.


Brows: Now that I'm blond, nothing.


Brushes: Sigma ss217, Sigma ss239, Sigma ss187, Sigma sswhatever-the-straight-eyeliner-brush-is-called, Elf Blush Brush, Elf Angled Eyeshadow Brush, Elf Powder Brush, Alicia Silverstone for Eco Tools Powder Brush...


Nail Polish: I wear all of my nail polishes...which is a list way too long to list. Some of my favorites include Essie Nice is Nice, OPI Melon of Troy, China Glaze for Audrey, Rimmel Steel Grey, OPI Sweetheart, Essie Playa del Platinum, Essie Topless and Barefoot...I guess I'm into nudes right now...there's about a gazillion more. I love my CND Stickey Base Coat, too.


I decided to add Perfume: Vera Wang princess is always a favorite, SJPNYC is a good spring scent, I love the VS Pink Body Mists in Bold & Playful and Warm & Cozy...and I can't forget my favorite, Viva La Juicy!


Well, that's all, and it's a lot.


What are some of your go-to or favorite products?


-Liz


collage from my polyvore :)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

NOTD

So, funny story...

I am such a lunatic that I rushed to the post office right after work on Tuesday, then straight to my mom's to put our chimichungas for my sister's birthday in the oven just so I could run to JcPenney real quick because OPI Nail Polish was BOGO1/2OFF. You know, because I am in desperate need for nail polish. Obviously.

I grabbed my youngest sister and in three quick jerks of my poor little steering wheel, we had landed in the parking lot. I darted to the back of the store where the salon (and nail polish) are located. Al was close behind. Kathryn, the birthday girl, met us up there about a minute later and we all scoured the racks of the new Texas Collection as well as some permanent shades. I was so excited I didn't even let the pushy (and clearly bored-out-of-her-mind) sale's associate bother me. After about 14 minutes of picking polishes up, putting them down, picking them up again, and convincing myself that I in fact, do not have the exact same shades already at home, I found the two #winners.

I had chosen two from the Texas Collection, the first one a jelly shade called Big Hair, Big Nails. The second (and the whole reason for this lengthy post) was a gorgeous baby blue with silver micro-shimmer named I Vant to be A-Lone Star. It was unlike anything else I'd owned. It was perfect.

My sisters both purchased two of their own favorites, one of Al's happened to be I Vant to be A-Lone Star as well. Both of them also had some of my older polishes they had borrowed to return to me. It was like Christmas.

After we stuffed our faces and laughed hysterically at our dinner conversations involving the infamous Aunt Wendy, pretended we didn't eat a giant piece of cheesecake, and watched Kathryn open gifts on what seemed to be the longest lasted birthday in history, it was finally time to go home. Since it had been pouring rain, I put all my bags and purses, leftovers, change of clothes and everything else I had brought on me so I'd only have to make one trip to the car. [This really doesn't have anything to do with rain, I despise making more than one trip-ever.] As I was dumping everything into my car, I felt one bag slip out of my hands. Was it my bag of dirty work clothes? No. How about the sealed Tupperware with Mexican food enclosed? Nope. It was my bag of nail polishes!

I didn't think anything of it until i got in the car and started smelling a very strong, very distinct chemical smell. I knew, at that time, that something awful had happened. Please don't let it be one of the new bottles. PLEASE dont' let it be one of the new bottles. It was I Vant to be A-Lone Star.
I Vant to be A-Lone Star


I sprinted in the house and immediately started grabbing the non-broken polishes. Note: putting bottles covered in wet nail polish under cold water only makes it dry faster. Kathryn and I stood at the counter with the nail polish remover, cleaning off 8 or 9 bottles, trying to avoid the shards of glass that were nearly invisible. Thank goodness she was there, I needed the support.

Luckily, I'm a genius and I asked Al if I could "borrow" her bottle so I could at least get some swatches and a week's mani out of it. Good idea, me.

So there it is. The sad, sad tale of the nail polish that might have been. Traumatic I tell ya. But the poor little bottle is better off, I like to think she's on a farm somewhere, where she can roam free with all the other broken polishes.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Nail Polish Storage

One of my pet peeves is trying to dig through a drawer full of nail polish to find one color that you really want to use, which, let's face it, is always on the very bottom.
Enter nail polish rack. It's the perfect solution. I see a lot of people on YouTube store their bottles on these racks, which can be found on Ebay and other websites. I got mine from The Supply Source for around $48.00 (including shipping!) Ebay has a few for different prices, but the shipping is usually around $20.

The nail polish rack I bought is made of acrylic so it's very sturdy and durable. The rack has 6 shelves, with a lip on each so the polish doesn't fly off, and it holds 90 standard bottles. Mine happened to hold 101 because I have some minis. It also has a hole to mount the rack on the wall, I'm sure I'll get to that eventually.

Being that I have OCD, I had to sort my nail polishes by color. Talk about annoying...where does mauve even go? Brown didn't come after pink in my books...
But I did the best I could with all most of my colors, and I'm ashamed to say I need to order another rack. :/ What can I say? I have a sickness.

If you want to know any specific color, leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you!

With Flash

No Flash
I know off the top of my head I'm missing several of my favorite polishes because my sisters borrowed them. I can remember
China Glaze - For Audrey
Sephora by OPI - Mermaid to Order
Hard Candy - Beetle
OPI- Big Apple Red

I'm sure they "borrowed" more that I just cannot remember!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! I know I'm definitely glad to be done organizing these and now it's so much more easy to pick a specific color to use!

Friday, March 4, 2011

My Weekday Water Challenge


I don't know why, but I love challenging myself to little trials that I know I am capable of completing. This week was all about water.

I know that some days I don't drink enough water. I remember one day specifically where I couldn't recall if I'd had any water at all. That's not okay...so I thought I'd test myself.

The rules were originally that I was only allowed to drink water for 7 whole days. Obviously, I would still be eating my regular diet but replacing all my Diet Vernor's, Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry, apple juice, milk, and wine throughout the week with nothing but plain old ice water.
Through the week, I made the decision to change the timeline from 7 days to 5. It's not because it was getting too hard or that I was craving anything-just that I had a miserable week and really wanted to relax this weekend with a cup of coffee and, of course, a champagne toast for my boyfriend's brother's 21st birthday!

In exactly 25 minutes, my ban on all liquid of taste will be lifted. But, surprisingly I do not have the urge to go crazy and down gallons of Kool-Aid with the refrigerator door open.

Here's what I've learned from this short experience of mine:
  • It's a lot easier falling asleep every night (this is my biggest benefit by far)
  • I haven't had a single headache
  • Nothing quenches thirst better than ice water (plus you burn more calories drinking ice cold water!)
  • My skin started to clear up
  • I'm sure glad I bought that Tervis Tumbler ;)
But during the later part of this week, when I became bored with plain, tasteless water, I did notice myself eating when I was actually thirsty just for the flavors.

I've come to the conclusion that I know I feel better when I drink more water. Some of these days I had around 90oz and felt amazing. I'm not going to completely swear off all other drinks, but I will drink them sparingly, as a treat more than replacing my water intake with them. I did have a glass of unsweetened tea today, (which I allowed myself since it is mainly water) and found it took care of my boredom issue...so that may replace a diet pop here or there, which is certainly more healthy.

I'm really glad I challenged myself to this, and I am making a commitment to drink a lot more water than any other drink now that I know how it makes me feel.

Have you every challenged yourself?
Do you drink enough water?

-Liz