good to glow

i can't say it enough times: SEPHORA IS KILLING ME. there are so many, many, many things that i want--but sadly, i am waiting for K's trip in december so we can shop together. let me tell you, it's torture, but i know that we will have so much fun and i can't wait for the big haul. SERIOUSLY. CANNOT. WAIT. however, i just got the bare escentuals precious diamond beauty duo to tide me over.

it's such a lovely color--it's like a combination of the line's bare skin and true gold colors. so pretty and so sparkly. you're supposed to brush it on shoulders, arms, décolletage or legs--i think this would be perfect for summer because it imparts a little bit of color and shimmer--but it got me to thinking this could be the perfect bronzer. to put it mildly, i am pale--i use the lightest bare escentuals foundation in fair--and i find most bronzers are too flat and muddy so the thought of putting them all over my face turns me off. instead, i used this yesterday, mixed with my mineral veil. at first, i used a a too-heavy hand and sort of looked like the oscar statue, but once i blended it just left a pretty glow. i feel like this is the perfect bronzer, and the brush is absolutely amazing--worth the price of the set alone!

ready to sparkle?

i love too faced cosmetics. they are so fun and girly. the best part? there is so much sparkle. it's so pretty-pretty princess meets studio 54. every year around holiday time, they always catch my fancy with their whimsical palettes--even though i've sworn off palettes. but this look is exactly why i love them so much. this is just so pretty and awe-inspiring in its intricate sparkly detail. sigh. what can i say? i wish i could wear this in real life without looking like a drag queen. i even like the lipstick too!

goldilocks and the mascaras

i kind of feel like the goldilocks of mascara--right now, nothing is good enough. diorshow blackout? too messy. diorshow regular? meh after the beautiful, striking blackout (why does it have to be so messy?). lancôme hypnose? i was loving it, but now for some reason, the color is getting on my lids and i hate that--it's a huge pet peeve of mine. bare escentuals big tease and magic wand brushless mascaras? i hate them so much, and it pains me to say that because i pretty much love everything in the bare escentuals line.

so i am kind of at a loss--and tired of spending $25 on mascara. i could go back to lancôme definicils, but like i said, i am tired of spending $25 on mascara and not being thrilled with the results. is it too much to ask for a good mascara that isnt a ridiculous price? i dont really balk at the price tags on beauty products--i know that with these sometimes you have to pay the piper, although there are really good products to be found in the drugstore-- but the prices of mascara kind of bug me, especially when you have to constantly replace. so i decided to try and old drug store staple: max factor 2000 calorie. i remember using this years ago and liking it, but we'll see. at this point, nothing mascara-related is making me happy. and if i end up hating this, oh well--it cost me $5.

hits & misses

i hit sephora today--and i promised myself i wasnt going to buy something (there was some ritual and a blood oath involved). i really just wanted to peruse, touch, try everything before i went on a big haul. the good news? some of the things i thought i initially wanted somehow pale in reality--as opposed to the perfect beauty of the sephora catalog. the bad news? i remembered a whole passle of passel of products i wanted. i guess it was selective amnesia--and i am going to blame the selective amnesia on my wallet.

the nars night snow eyeshadow i'd been dying for? pretty, but i probably have 2 or 3 things like this. plus it might be a little too sheer. i am looking for a bright, winter-white. the too faced sparkler glamour gloss? pretty, but not what i expected. it wasnt as glittery as i thought (i know, i have problems--dont judge). the benefit miss popularity highlighter? this was the only product i could see myself buying, but it also wasn't what i expected. it was a dry, powdery highlighter and i like a cream formulation so much better. plus, i have a mark i-sheer cream eyeshadow in glacée with is a much cheaper doppelganger.

however, i finally got a chance to checkout the nars orgasm blush. i tried looking for this in september, but i couldnt find it in any sephora--they all said coming soon. and quite frankly, i forgot about it (i know, i am disappointed in myself too) until i was in sephora today. to be honest, i didnt have high hopes for it, which might explain me forgetting about it (again with the selective amnesia) because i wasnt particularly impressed with the orgasm lipgloss (i had a bare escentuals doppelganger, which i think is much better). well, i was wrong. this color is so so so pretty--and exact cream-to-powder translation of the best-selling blush. i can't wait to buy it--it will be the first thing i snatch up!

diamonds are a girl's best friend

i was really excited about this new fragrance from emporio armani until i saw that beyonce was featured in the commercial. i wont lie, i was very turned off by it--i have nothing against her, i have her CDs, i've seen her in movies, she's a pretty girl, but she is a little overexposed. besides, wasn't she the inspiration behind tommy hilfiger's true star fragrance?

be that as it may, i smelled it and i became obsessed. regardless of whether or not beyonce was featured in the commercial, i had to have this. had. to. have. it's such a pretty fragrance--and the one word that comes to mind to describe it is sparkling. i dont even know how that is possible, yet it's so effervescent and fresh. featuring an intriguing blend of lychee, raspberry and rose, it's a modern floral reinvented. oh and let's not forget the faceted, diamond-inspired bottle that's oh-so chic!

skin science

i've said it before and i will say it again: i can't believe that in all the time i've been obsessed with products, i've only just discovered avon. seriously--avon is one of the biggest companies out there and has so many great items. why wasnt i using avon before? it makes me so sad to think how i've been missing out.

i've been using thermafirm since the summer and i love, love, love it so when i saw that allure magazine (i think it was two issues ago) heralded the anew ultimate age repair elixir as a beauty breakthrough i couldnt wait to try it. coincidentally a few days later, i got the night cream and i was not disappointed. it has the richest texture, and it just glides on so smoothly. it's absolutely amazing. i've used it both night and day and it never feels greasy or goopy. the best part? it repairs skin while you sleep and stimulates proteins that change the way skin ages. basically, it's a lot of scientific mumbo-jumbo supposed to keep skin looking younger and firmer. i dont really understand how it works, but dont really need to as long as it takes care of my skin. you dont need to be a rocket scientist to know that's a good thing--and this is definitely a must-have!

saks fifth avenue in a bottle--really!

i'm always looking for a new fragrance--and every season the search changes, but one thing always stays the same: there's such an emotional connection with scent. we're all looking for the one scent that defines us, capturing who we want to be and even how we are perceived by the world (or maybe that's just me!).

there's something so unmistakably personal about fragrance--sometimes it arrives in a room before you do. it can be the first thing people notice or simply what they remember about you.

i recently got my hands on Bond No. 9's Saks Fifth Avenue for Her and it's EXACTLY how that department store should smell like--or at least how you imagine it would smell like. smooth, sophisticated and subtly glamorous, it's a chic blend of gardenia, jasmine, vetiver and vanilla. it's so lovely and gorgeous that even though i am not a lady who lunches--now, at least, i have the luxury of smelling like one.

sephora is killing me

i got my sephora holiday catalog last thursday and THEY ARE KILLING ME.

i know it's not personal and they dont mean to, but they are. THEY ARE KILLING ME.

i want everything. i look at it every day and i put post-its on everything i want. needless to say the catalog is covered because i want EVERYTHING. i am not exaggerating.

and the fairies are so pretty--it's really a work of art. now i know i can't stroll into the office with the obviously fake eyelashes and confetti on my face, but i am in serious awe of the beautiful images and the amount of work that must have gone into that shoot.

the brilliant sorceress and snow sprite spreads in particular are especially torturous. i am dying, dying, dying to get my hands on Too Faced Sparkle Glamour Gloss, Nars Eye Shadow in Night Snow and Benefit Miss Popularity. they are all so sparkly and pretty--and i am a sucker for shimmer and sparkle.

i am seriously restraining myself from hitting sephora and there are at least 2 near my office and one near my apartment. self control should be a gift with purchase.

skin so dry

in all the time i've been obsessed with beauty products--and that's pretty much been my whole life, i can't believe that i am just now discovering Avon. where have i been? and more important: why wasn't i using this brand? right now there are a lot of Avon products in the rotation--and i am loving them all.

but first thing's first: the weather is getting colder so the office and apartment building are blasting the heat (note to office and apartment building, it's not THAT cold so STOP IT--today it was in the 60s!), which is taking its toll on my skin. i feel parched and dehydrated no matter how much water i drink--guzzle, actually.

it's making me seriously angry.

right now i am in such bad shape that simple lotion is not enough--because i like the scented lotions and i know that these are always a little less emollient. so i've had to take it to the next level. i'm layering Avon's Skin So Soft Bath Oil under lotion to lock in moisture--plus, oil has to be more hydrating. i also like bare escentuals dry oil spray, but i ran out (sidenote: i never run out of ANYTHING so i must have really liked this), which sounds kind of sad, but is actually good because then i probably wouldnt have tried the Skin So Soft and discovered that i love it.

after only three days on the Skin So Soft regimen, i think i can safely revert back to lotion, which is great--because really, do i need another step?

'tis the season!

the holidays are almost here and it's the best time to go makeup shopping. i know that sounds shallow, but it's not--it's practical. this is the best time to get all those cute, limited-edition sets. yeah, yeah, i know the true meaning of christmas and i can't wait to celebrate with loved ones, but this is a makeup junkie's favorite time of year.

i've been doing a little retcon at sephora.com and i am almost afraid i won't be able to control myself this year. i am making my list and checking it twice--there are so many, many things i want!

i wont lie, i also love the way the holiday sephora girl looks with her sparkly green eye makeup--i know this isn't something that i can test at the office, but it's so pretty. it might just be perfect for new year's eve...

all made up?

i am obsessed with that pretty, no-makeup makeup look--all the cute girls on tv are sporting it. i can't seem to get it no matter how hard i try. well, that's not exactly true--i can create it, but by lunch it looks like i am not wearing any makeup, which is completely infuriating because it takes a considerable amount of time to get that no-makeup makeup look. ironic, isnt it?

it's all about clean skin, flushed cheeks and a pretty pout. but unlike all the girls on tv, the difference with me is, i dont have makeup artists running around after me and touching me up. if only! and i guess i could do that on my own, but it seems like a silly waste of time in real life. i cant spend half my life in the bathroom or any shiny reflective surface fixing up my face when there is so much life to live, work to get done, friends to appreciate and the world to see.

i guess i will just start with reapplying lipstick after lunch.

lip lip hooray

it's been a while since my last post--staying on top of the fall tv season, catching up on my magazines and hanging out with friends has kept me pretty busy. but i had to come out of my cozy little hibernation to wax poetic about Shiseido The Makeup Automatic Lip Crayon in LC3. i have more glosses and lipsticks than any girl has a right to, but it is my right and i will continue to amass as many as possible, as i am in search of perfection.

this glides on so smoothly; it's a pencil but it has the look of a gloss. and the color? the color is so sweet and luscious--it stains your lips like you just ate strawberries or were eating a popsicle. it's lovely and bright, but so pretty and natural at the same time. i definitely need to pick up some more--and so do you!