A couple of todays purchases and my face today!

Hey Everyone!

Happy Friday.. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far! Friday is always me and my moms day together and we always have lunch and visit the shops. We went to TJMaxx to browse.. and they had LOTS of clearance. All of the winter gloves, scarves, coats, sweater and boots are now clearance and everything was priced really good. I saw a few things I liked.. but figured in the end that I don't need it.

I ended up only getting this Michael Kors Cosmetic bag set. It's a large, clear zip bag and a smaller one. I figured it would be good for traveling (hair products, iron and such) or to toss a lot of my cosmetics in. There's really nothing to it.. but I love the size of the bag and MK just happens to be my favorite designer.. HA.. and it was only $20! Not bad.

Also stopped by ULTA to use my $3.50 off $10 coupon and pick up my favorite mascara (Covergirl Lash Blast) and since Covergirl is Buy one, Get one 50% off, I picked up Covergirl Professional Super Thick Lash Mascara. I've been wanting to try it for a couple of months now because of the very good reviews (and it claims to be smudgeproof). Also, I noticed all of the N.Y.C cosmetics were clearance?? Haven't researched it yet.. but is Ulta possibly not going to have N.Y.C anymore? Most of the good stuff was gone.. but I managed to get my hands on a couple of Creme Stick blushes in the shades "South St. Seashell 647U" and "Urban Spice 646U". I haven't tried these before.. but I just recently saw these featured on someones (can't remember who) blog as one of their favorite products from 2010. Hopefully they will deliver! I'll have full reviews of the N.Y.C blushes and the CG mascara up soon!

My face isn't too exciting today.. LOL I thought I looked horrible and I was having a pretty bad hair day.

FACE:

Maybelline FIT ME Concealer #20

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW25

Revlon Colorstay Makeup #Warm Golden

MUFE HD Creme Blush #10

YSL Eclat D'or (highlight)

Rimmel Stay Matte Transparent Powder (under my eyes to set concealer)

EYES:

Sephora Glittering Sand No. 9 Eyeshadow (all over lid)

Urban Decay Twice Baked Eyeshadow (crease)

MAC Point Black Liquidlast Liner

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

BROWS:

ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit #Medium

LIPS:

MAC Stripdown Lipliner

Wet n Wild Just Peachy Lipstick

Revlon Life's a Peach Lipgloss

What are your plans for the weekend? :)

NOTD: Sally Hansen Grey Area + Glitter Tips with LASplash Glitter!

Here is what two coats of Grey Area looks like on my nails. It isn't the most flattering picture of the nail polish.. I had done the two coats before I went to bed and I woke up with very dull, nicked up nails.

The color is a very deep gray, that almost looks like a navy blue (as opposed to Rimmel Steel Grey that almost looks purple). The formula of Grey Area is a little on the thick side. Once the color hit my nails, I had to coat my nail quickly because it seemed to already start to dry. With two coats, the color is completely opaque. Like I said, I had done my nails at night.. even though I let my nails thouroughtly dry.. because of the thick formula, my nails ended up nicked in the morning (This can obviously be avoided by using a top coat).

I decided to put my LASplash glitter to some use from my latest drugstore haul.. So I applied a third coat of nail polish and quickly dipped my nail in the glitter. I blew off the excess glitter and let them dry completely and applied a top coat.

I really liked the color combination of the glitter and nail polish. I'll definitely be doing this mani again in the future!

Have you tried doing glitter tips? What technique did you use?

Who's the Cutest Morkie puppy in the world!!??!?!? *PIC HEAVY*

HAHA! Okay, so you guys are going to get really sick of seeing my pup all of the time. But really, I can't help it. Half of the time I want to lock him up in a cage and the other half of the time I want to put him a hot dog bun and eat him because of his cuteness!!!! Thinking about it now.. why do people associate eating with cute? "You're so cute I can just eat you up." Sometimes when George does something cute I just feel the urge of a superhuman power to squish him in a little ball and toss him in my mouth like a gumball and rub my tummy in satisfaction. Maybe it's my compulsive overeating talking. LOL.. Does anyone agree with me? Please make me feel better about myself.

Anyway.. onto Rocky in his new basketball gear. I got this cute little Chicago Bulls jersey (Woo! Chicago pride!!!) Christmas time at Marshall's for around $5. It's an XS and was too big for him at Christmas time.. now it fits him perfectly!

"I hope I'm going to get a treat for this, Mom!"

"Do you like my sexy chest hair?"

"Turn my head like this?"

"Turn it more??"

"I think I need to be groomed.."

♥

How to Highlight your face! + Swatches of ALL of my products!

 Hey Everyone! While I was browsing my blogger dashboard at all of the new postings, I came across a new post from Kandee Johnson that was titled "How to Highlight Cheekbones like a Pro". I thought I already knew how to highlight my face.. but once I read her post.. I had actually learned a lot! I just started using her method and it's been working great. I thought I had to share with you guys..

Kandee's method for highlighting is applying a cream highlighter with your fingers on top of your cheekbones after all of your makeup is finished. Then, SET your cream highlighter with a powder highlighter! She mentions the best brush to use is a Duo-Fiber brush (such as the MAC 130 or 131) because it doesn't pick up very much color. By using a regular blush brush.. you will end up with too much product on your brush. (I've done this way too often and looked like I was punched with a bag of glitter. Lol!) You can also use a fan brush.. it's designed to not pick up as much product and it's shaped perfectly so when you pat the brush down on your skin, it will apply the product in a thin line (on top of your cheekbones). 

*Why is this news to me?? I never thought about applying a cream and powder. Yes I do this for blush sometimes and I of course do this for my foundation. But It never crossed my mind to do it for my highlight as well. Also, I don't use a highlight often.. but I now know that you only need the thiniest bit. As I watched Kandee apply her highlight.. it was like an AHA moment. She did so little work and her cheekbones looked amazing! And, even though her makeup was matte looking.. her highlight made her face appear dewy and fresh. I always knew how to apply highlighter and where to apply it.. but I didn't know how much and where to stop, blend, etc. You only need to pat it in a small area above your cheekbones (the highest point of your cheek that sticks out) so in certain lighting, the light will catch your cheekbones and make them look more defined. 

You can view her tutorial written in her blog post along with her favorite products by clicking here. But! I highly suggest you to WATCH the video! Click here to watch the video.

Also, I included swatches of all of my highlighting products for you guys!

 Swatches from Left to Right: Yves Saint Laurent Touche D'or Golden Touch for the Face (LE). This has been released on a few different occasions with the last release for the Holiday 2010. It's a liquid highlighter pen with a brush applicator (just like Touche Eclat). It has a thin creamy consistency and gives a nice glow to the skin. The color is a pearly, shimmery golden pink. Product info here.

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat #1 Radiant Touch. A liquid highlighter pen with a brush applicator. A creamy liquid consistency that is a luminous peachy pink with no pearl or shimmer. Product info here.

Yves Saint Laurent Eclat D'or Face & Body Highlighter. Gel textured with lots of gold pearl and iridescence. I've had this for a while.. I'm not sure if it is Limited Edition or if it was discontinued. I can't find any information on it.

Benefit High Beam. A pearly light pink liquid highlighter with a nail polish-like wand applicator. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: NARS Albatross Blush. A powder blush that appears white in the pan, but applies as a finely milled golden sheen. Product info here.

ELF Gotta Glow Studio Blush. A dupe for NARS Albatross. The products are pretty identical in color.. but the consistency of the ELF blush is more powdery (lower quality). Product info here.

MAC Vanilla Pigment. A soft white pigment with a golden yellow pearl. It is similar to both NARS Albatross and ELF Gotta Glow.. but it is more intense and the white color is more prominent. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Medium/Natural and Shimmer (LE). A duo powder compact with one side as a setting powder and the other side is a highlighter. The highlighter is a frosty pinky peach.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish New Vegas (LE). A frosty yellow gold powder with gold shimmer veining. This shade has not been re-launched by MAC since the original launch in 2007.

MAC Honour Powder Blush. A subtle golden peach sheen with slight gold shimmer. I love using this all over my cheeks because it isn't very intense. Makes for a great highlighter, esp for darker/tan skin tones. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: Stila Rose Gold Illuminating Finishing Powder. A sheer, frosty pinkish peach baked powder. I can't find any information on this powder. It may be discontinued? 

Hard Candy Honeymoon Blush Crush Baked Blush. A frosted peachy pink baked powder. Available at Walmart.

MAC Natural Flare Beauty Powder. A frosty peachy pink shimmer powder with fine glittery golden reflects. This was a limited edition product at MAC.. I believe it may be available at MAC Pro. I'm not 100%.

I love all of my highlighters and use them all from time to time. I'm not sure if I can pick out a favorite. I am interested now in purchasing MAC Hush or Shell cream colour bases. 

I hope you found this post helpful! Share in the comments what your favorite highlighters are or the technique you use for applying your highlight!