Nars Sheer Glow update! (My winter shade)

I had a gift card to Sephora so I decided to pick up my favorite foundation. I haven't had a bottle in months because $42 for me is a lot to shovel out for a daily use foundation. Now that I'm not using as much self tanner as I was, I've been using a lot of foundations that are in the NC30-NC35 range rather than NC40. Previously I was using the shade Barcelona in Sheer Glow.. which was the absolute perfect NC40 match. It matched my skintone even better than MAC NC40 did. But this time, I picked one shade lighter.. and that is Stromboli. This shade is the dead on perfect match for me right now. I can't believe how perfect the color match NARS Sheer Glow offers for my skin tone.

I did a few comparisons for you guys.. Since I'm on vacation, I didn't have all of my foundations with me. Just MAC Studio Fix Fluid and Make Up Forever HD. I'm sure Estee Lauder Double Wear in the shade Tawny may come close to these as well.

MAC and MUFE look almost exactly the same. Nars is the slightest more yellow.. and looks the best on me of the three. (I actually think I did a typo.. it may be mufe #125.. the label has rubbed off!)

This picture is taken indoors with flash.

I took a picture yesterday morning after I applied my Nars.. matches my neck perfectly. :)

Cheryl just reviewed Sheer Glow in this shade.. check out her review here!

FOTD: Natural w/ Black Winged Liner + a Couple Vacation Pics!

Hey Everyone!

I didn't really explain that I'm on vacation, but if you've been seeing my twitter updates.. you may of caught on. I'm on vacation in Minnesota visiting one of my really close aunts. She has always been like my second mom and she means the world to me. She has always visited Chicago for every birthday or any occasion that is special to me or my family. She has always been there and I'm so graceful for that. It's really nice to be here spending quality time together.. I haven't seen her in over a year.

Having a picnic in the park..

We went to the casino as soon as I arrived... I looked terrible. lol wasn't really expecting to go anywhere after a 7 hour drive..

Warming myself up by her awesome fire place. lol my aunt loves taking pictures. I blame her for any type of photogenic-ness I have today and for my love for photography. Shes always behind the camera.

Having lunch by the lake

lol, my aunt made me take a picture by this..


I got a free sundae ;)

Wouldn't be Minnesota without some cows!! haha

I'll be sad to leave.. but hopefully I'll be able to visit more often. :)

Here's my face of the day..

I never usually apply my liner like this.. I usually only apply if halfway on my top and bottom lash line.. but I noticed in photos my eyes looked very small. So I decided to apply my liner across my whole top lashline a little thicker than what I'm used to.. to make my eyes look larger and more round. And, apply no liner on my lower lash line to make my eyes look more open. I really liked how it looked and I'm sure I'll be wearing my liner like this more often.

Face:
Prepped my skin with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel (first time using this)
Applied MAC Select Cover Up Concealer in the shade NW25 to my under eyes using my MAC 190 Brush.
Applied NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in the shade Stromboli to my face using my fingers and blended lightly. Then, I buffed it in using my MAC 131 Brush to better blend it.
Applied MAC So Ceylon Mineralized Skinfinish to my cheeks using a powder brush.
Set my under eyes with Rimmel Lasting Finish Translucent Powder (love this!)

Brows:
Maybelline Define-a-Brow Pencil in the shade medium brown

Eyes:
Shiseido Mascara Base
Covergirl Volume Exact Mascara
Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler ;)
Ardell Accents Lashes (I believe #305? They are the halves)
Mary Kay Black Liquid Liner
A very, very light sweep of Urban Decay Last Call eyeshadow on my lower lash line (a plum color)

Lips:
MAC Shygirl Lipstick

NOTD: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Posh Pink!

I had a little extra time this morning, so I thought I'd re-paint my nails. I did my nails on the way out the door yesterday and smudged every single one. It was a pretty deep red.. perfect for the fall. But I couldn't resist using this pretty pink bottle that was sitting on my aunt's bathroom counter. Maybe this will be my last pink polish before I start wearing all of the pretty fall shades. This color is actually strikingly similar to my last Sally Hansen NOTD a few posts below.

This is two coats with a clear Sally Hansen Double Duty top coat.

I'll let you know how this polish wears throughout the week. So far, I really like the consistency, opaqueness and finish. Also, the brush is thick and flatter than the traditional nail polish brush.. which covers more of your nail in once swipe. I kinda like that.





Look who was sneaking up on me...


He wasn't too interested.. LOL



*UPDATE: This nail polish lasted 2 WEEKS! Yes. TWO weeks. I will definitely be repurchasing.

FOTD from September.. & bouncy waves!

Since I have a little time right now I'm going to do a small post. :) I took some pictures the first week of September (wow, how fast did September go!??) and was planning on doing a FOTD post and didn't get around to it.

(Indoors with flash)

PRODUCTS USED:

Face: I prepped my face with a moisturizer. I used Estee Lauder Time Zone Line & Wrinkle Reducing Cream. It leaves my skin feeling very smooth and refreshed and not too greasy. I then dabbed Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer to areas of my face where I have visible pores (Cheeks, chin & nose). This blurs out the appearance of my pores and makes the area look more matte. I then apply with my fingertips MAC Studio Finish Concealer in the shade NW25 to my under eye area. I then apply Make Up Forever HD Foundation in the shade #127 with my MAC #131 Brush. Then, with a fluffy powder brush I apply a cream bronzer to my cheekbones and buff it into my hairline. I used Chanel Bronze Universel. I then apply MAC Improvise Mineralized Blush to my cheeks with a blush brush. I finish off my face with a setting powder. I apply Make Up Forever HD Powder all over my face with a large powder brush and I apply Ben Nye Banana Visage Powder mixed with Ben Nye Neutral Set Powder to set my under eye makeup.

Eyes: With a smudge brush, I smudge MAC Typographic eyeshadow on my top and bottom lash line. Then, I smudge MAC Cork eyeshadow into Typographic to soften the color. With my MAC #266 Brush I apply Bobbi Brown Black Long Wear Eye Liner to my top lid and in the corners on my bottom lash line to accentuate my eye shape. Then, apply Revlon Colorstay Black Eye Liner to my waterline. I apply Covergirl Volume Exact Black Mascara (which happens to be my new favorite mascara next to Lash Blast) to my top and bottom lashes. I finish off with a pair of Walmart False Eye Lashes. I apply another coat of mascara.

Lips: I outline my lips with MAC Stripdown Lip Liner and apply MAC Shygirl Lipstick. Then, apply a coat of LA Splash Sparkling Coral Lip Gloss.

♥

HAIR

My hair is very simple to do. I do this just about every day to my hair. I let my hair air dry when I get out of the shower and apply a little thermal protector to the ends of my hair. I then use my Remington Sleek and Curl Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener to flat iron my roots to about halfway down my hair. At about halfway down a strand of hair (about a 1 1/2 inch strand) I firmly start turning the iron under in a twisting motion until I reach the end of the strand. Just as I would with a curling iron.. just with a little more pressure. I do this to all of my hair and finish my hair off with BedHead After Party and then I flip my hair upside down and spray my hair with Beyond the Zone Flipped Out Hairspray and use my fingers to work it in my roots for lift.

Would I recommend this flat iron? Yes. I do recommend it for a cheaper alternative to a more expensive iron. This iron does a great job at creating waves and curls. I mainly recommend it for that. It's not the greatest at straightening my hair because my hair is thick and long.. and I need a larger iron for that.. or different shaped plates. I like that it is very lightweight and has a swivel cord. It also heats up fairly quick. the one thing I don't like about it is, a strand will get caught in between the plates and get pulled out here and there. But, not bad for $35. I purchased it at Target.