Christmas Party Pics! & J Simpson Ken Paves Extensions Review (A much delayed post)

I had an amazing Christmas this year. I spent it with my boyfriends family, and later on with my family. The weekend prior to Christmas, we went to a nice Christmas party at a bar/restaurant, but I felt TERRIBLE. My throat was progressively closing up, and it was so sore I couldn't speak or swallow my own saliva the whole nigh. So I missed out on the dinner/dessert and drinks. :( It was still a really nice time.

This is the gorgeous tree my boyfriends mom decorated

George and Me at the Christmas party!

My future mother-in-law and Me :)

And you all know I was wearing my extensions.. and curled my hair with a flat iron.


I attempted to take pictures of my makeup, but I got really shiny and gross by the time I got home.




What I had on:
MAC Select Cover up NW25
YSL Touch Eclat #1
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Tawny, mixed with Make up Forever HD #128
MAC Blot Powder Medium Dark
NARS Lovejoy & Albatross Blushes
MAC Refined Golden Bronzer

Sephora strass #05 eyeshadow all over lid
MAC Folie eye shadow in crease
MAC Carbon smudged in lashline
Stila Eye Kohl in Amethyst smudged into lashline
Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara
Ardell Lashes (can't remember the #, they are only half strips)

MAC Stripdown Lip Liner
MAC Creme Cup Lipstick
MAC Like Venus Dazzleglass


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Jessica Simpson HAIRDO (Ken Paves) Hair Extensions
I had some requests asking me if I tried these. And yes, I tried the synthetic hair extensions, as well as the human hair extensions. I purchased them off ebay for a fraction of what they were being sold for at my local ULTA. I think they went to clearance because I don't see them anymore.

Here are my thoughts:
21" Human Hair Extensions in the shade R10 Chestnut
I had these in my hair everyday for a year.

Here are the PROS:
- The extensions are layered, so it blends in VERY well with your real hair unlike other extensions that hang like strands
- They were thick and gave my hair lots of volume
- After dying them, the condition still stayed great
- Very minimal shedding through shampoos
- They stayed good through lots of heat styling and styling products
- It held a curl well, unlike many I've tried
- You can style it as you would you real hair. For example, I would wash my hair, apply hair gel and diffuse it with the extensions in my hair and it looked exactly like my real hair.

CONS:
- The piece was too large for my head, so it hung onto my neck a little (this may set me back from purchasing it again) Its suppose to be form fitting.. but it wasn't for me.
- It is heavy, so it puts strain on your roots

Here is a picture of me wearing them last year straight:


Here they are curly:


This is how short my hair was without them (picture taken the same week) gahh my hair was so fried!!


Now, the Synethetic 23" Wavy Extensions in R6 Dark Chocolate

PROS:
- Super long
- Very silky when you first buy them
- Layered to blend in with your hair
- Not overly shiny like a lot of synthetic hair, so you couldn't tell it was fake
- The piece fit my head well, unlike the human hair piece
- Light weight
- Curls stayed in place, even when washed

CONS:
- Can't heat style it or put products in it
- Lasts only for a couple weeks or less with daily wear
- Once you wash them the consistency turns coarser
- They don't last longer than 2 weeks. They turn to ratty barbie hair.

I would recommend these if you're going to wear them for a special occasion or event to look your best. Because they only look the best the first few times you wear them.

I don't have many picture of me wearing these. But here is one:

horrible pic.. ignore the pimples. lol

If you have any other questions about these just ask!

Fashion Trend: Fingerless Gloves.

I am loving the fingerless glove trend. I really want the ones from Topshop, but they don't ship to the US. :( (12/30 - woohoo I was wrong, they do ship!!) I don't own any leather ones.. just knitted ones.







These are the ones I purchased from forever 21 this past month..




Do you own any fingerless gloves? Where'd you purchase yours?

Stila Good to Glow - A Steal!! + Swatches!

Stila Good to Glow Illuminating Finishing Powder Set

Last week when I was waiting in checkout at Sephora, the $10 price tag on these baked powders caught my eye. I made the super quick decision in purchasing it. That's $5 each for a huge Stila baked powder. Pure Awesomeness. The lighter color (rose gold) is a shimmery light pink.. it reminds me of a MAC MSF. Perhaps Porcelain Pink? But prettier in my opinion. The darker color (bronze) is a beautiful red bronze. The pigmentation is wonderful, especially on bronze. You only need a little bit. I'm already thinking about buying backups.. but these things are SO big, I can't imagine using them up. Definitely recommend these!

Click here to view product info on Sephora.com
Click here to view all of Sephora's "Sweet Steals" under $10

I might just try to grab the NARS concealer duo if they have it at my Sephora :)

Dyed my hair & added 18" long extensions!

I used Garnier 100% Color in #501 Medium Brown

My color was fading A LOT so I decided to dye it again last Friday. I used the same color, but I know I didn't keep it in my hair long enough to get the actual color I was suppose to. I only used one box and I concentrated mainly on the top half of my head where my hair was the lightest shade of brown(where I had my bleach accident) and didn't focus much on the bottom half of my hair or underneath. I massaged it into my hair & left it in for 20 minutes, rinsed & shampooed.

It turned out the way I wanted it to :) A medium/dark brown that's a little lighter on the bottom. Some of my old highlights underneath are still visible.. and I really like that. I'm thinking about adding a small handful of golden blonde highlights underneath my hair.



This was my hair after BEFORE i dyed it:


I liked it but it was fading fast and my roots were growing in really dark.

I also purchased a pack of extensions from my local Sally's Beauty Supply. I got the Euronext Remy 18 inch Clip-Ins in Dark Brown. It was $89.99 or $79.99 if you have a club card. This is the 2nd time purchasing these. I had trimmed my older ones and they are now the same length as my hair since it has grown. I really like them. They feel natural, last a long time, you can color them (I've highlighted them and they still stayed good), they are light weight and the clips stay in my hair very well (I've had bad clips that would slip right out). I had them previously when my hair was a lot shorter and I thought that there wasn't enough hair & it looked stringy in my hair. So I would always put my hair halfway up in a clip so you couldn't tell. But this time around it blended so nicely and it was a perfect amount. It comes with 8 pieces.. a few longer rows and a few 1 1/2" strands. It's a good amount of hair and I used all of the strands because my hair is so thick.

For reference, I've also purchased Satin Strands a few times and I like them too, but you have sew in your own clips, they're heavier and in my past experience they would always go flat. I did like them though, but their color choices for brunettes is kind of poor. I have also purchased Sassy extensions and It was a complete waste of my money because they are incredibly thin & I doubled the tracks and they were still too thin. It looked like thin strands coming from my hair. I ended up tossing them after 1 use.

My best friend has tried all of the brands that Sally has to offer and she agrees Euronext are her favorite. In addition from the brands I tried, she tried the Revlon ones (which turn to ratty barbie hair after a few uses) and the Paris Hilton extensions (which also turn to ratty barbie hair after a couple uses).

Here's a picture with them clipped in and curled with my flat iron.