Weekend in Downtown Chi + Sprinkles Cupcakes!! (Pic Heavy)

Me and George decided to spend the day downtown together and get some cupcakes! Sprinkles cupcakes are our absolute favorite and when we heard that one was opening in the Summer of 2010.. we were ecstatic!

Here are some photos I took from the day..

Some views of the city streets..

 My makeup had all melted off by this time..

Sprinkles! There was a bit of a line.. but we only had to wait 15 mins or so.. which wasn't bad at all!!

We bought a 1/2 dozen. Top L to R: Peanut Butter Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Red Velvet

Bottom L to R: Black & White, Milk Chocolate & Vanilla Milk Chocolate. I love the Vanilla Milk Chocolate and the Peanut Butter Chocolate. Soo yummy!!

After Sprinkles, we went to Greek Islands for lunch/dinner. (Yes we totally did dessert first)

I had lamb. I don't really like lamb.. but I have a taste for it a couple times a year.

♥

 We decided to take a little drive to the lake to relax and sit by the rocks..

He was staring at the dragonflies flying over his head LOL.. They were literally all over the place. You'd literally get smacked in the face by one while you were walking. Plus, there were TONS of mosquitoes.. so we decided to take a rain check and just go home..

The mosquitoes this summer are the WORST they have ever been!!! I barely ever want to go outside! :(

How's the weather treating you?? Hope you all had a great weekend!!

A Day at Brookfield Zoo with George! (Pic Heavy)

George and I decided to go to the Zoo Sunday.. It was his first time (and my second) going to Brookfield. We had a really fun time and couldn't wait to go again in the future! I took TONS of pictures.. but mainly of the animals. I won't bore you with too many photos of animals.. but I thought I'd share a few.

Here's me and George by the pond. I was not this tan at all! It was extremely sunny and for some reason I came out orange in this picture. :( It would of been cute if It wasn't for the weird lighting.

I told him to pose. LOL

George really liked watching the wild dogs.. I think I got a pretty cool shot of this little guy..

The giraffes were so adorable..

We spent a while watching the monkeys.. they were very entertaining.

I couldn't stop laughing at the sloth. I couldn't believe how slow they actually move! This little guy was totally in slow motion.

Another one of me with terrible lighting..

And the petting zoo!

George was teasing these little coons with goat food.. Poor things. I told him to stop.. 

George was teasing the ducks too.. you can tell the one in the left pic was pissed! LOL

This picture makes me laugh.. I walked over to find George talking to this goat and he had his front legs perked up on the fence to get closer to him. 

 George feeding the goats..

 Me feeding the goats..

Lol, he took a real liking to this little goat..

Well, that's pretty much it! What'd you do this past weekend!? Anything fun???

Friday's FOTD! Neutral Browns/Taupe..

 

Face:

Clinique Pore Minimizer (After I moisturized, I applied this on my chin where I have larger pores)

MAC Studio Fix Fluid (2/3 parts NC30 & 1/3 parts NC40)

MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW25

Chanel JC Powder Blush "Orchid Rose"

MAC "Sunbasque" Powder Blush

NARS "Albatross" Powder Blush (Highlight over my blush and on the bridge of my nose)

Ben Nye Neutral Set Powder (Dusted all over my face and under my eyes)

Eyebrows:

MAC "Cork" Eyeshadow

Eyes:

MAC "Cork" Eyeshadow (all over my lid & smudged on my lower lash line)

MAC "Honey Lust" Eyeshadow (on my lid up to the crease)

Urban Decay "Twice Baked" Eyeshadow (above my crease, mixed with Cork)

MAC "Ricepaper" Eyeshadow (highlight on my brow bone)

MAC "Coco Bar" Liquid Last Liner

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

Falsies cut in half

Lips:

MAC "Oak" Lip Liner

MAC "Shygirl" Lipstick

LA Splash "Sparkling Coral" Lip gloss

My crease color was a lot more vibrant and defined looking in person. The color was actually applied a little over my crease.. which is something I haven't really tried before. I really liked the way it looked. It looks a little washed out in the photos. I was going for a look I saw in my Scott Barnes "Face Forward" book.

Kind of similar to this look... but with slightly different colors.. not as matte.

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty (Inspired by Carmindy) Makeup Review and FOTD!

Every once in a while I like to browse product reviews on makeupalley in each category descending from the largest amount of reviews. Last month I found myself taking extra time to look through the highest rated drugstore foundations. That's how I came across Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Foundation. I never heard of it until that point. I know I've seen the "Natural" section before at my local CVS Pharmacy, but I never looked at any of it. Why? Because "Naturals" honestly didn't sound very appealing to me. It automatically makes me think of products that won't have good coverage or products with little to no pigmentation. Call it Cake Face Beauty and I probably would know all about it. Haha! I'm joking, but what's sad is it's probably true.

When I started reading reviews, I quickly realized this foundation is no tinted moisturizer. Several reviews claimed this foundation has an excellent medium coverage.. and compared it to several high end foundations. It's rated a 4/5 based on 326 reviews with a buy back rate of 70%.

Click the screenshot to be redirected to makeupalley's review page for this product!

There are 12 different shades.

Based on reviews, I had it in my mind to get Sandy Beige or Tawny Beige for my MAC NC35-40 skin-tone. I'm usually NC40 all year round, but lately I haven't been self tanning as often as usual. So I've been wearing NC30-NC35 a lot. I knew if the color runs a little light from a NC40, it's no big deal. Just as long as the undertone is correct.

I even read that some NC40's were wearing True Beige and Golden Beige. Golden Beige is a little on the grayish side, so definitely a neutral shade for those of you that don't have much yellow. True Beige definitely has a pink tone to it.

Anyways, once I arrived to ULTA I couldn't find Sally Hansen products anywhere! I was about to leave and I decided to check the clearance rack real quick for good deals. And what did I see? ALL SALLY HANSEN PRODUCTS WERE CLEARANCE. In a way, I was excited because they were half off & in a way I was like "Come on Seriously? You're going to discontinue something good?"

Rest in Peace my beloved Maybelline Shine Free.. We were best friends in high school.. We had plans!! We were supposed to do everything together!! *tear*

Lmao, last night I was talking funny because it was late, and now it's my lack of sleep.

Soo, I ended up getting both Tawny Beige and Sandy Beige. They were I believe.. $6.99 each.

Once I got home and swatched them on my hand, I right away favored Sandy Beige. It's lighter than Tawny Beige and has more of a golden yellow tone to it. Tawny Beige looks almost identical except it is slightly darker and has a slightly.. reddish tint to it? It still has a yellow tone to it, but not as prominent as Sandy Beige. Sandy Beige is more for the lighter NC40's that can go down (nc37) instead of up (nc42).

This picture is taken in a room with fluorescent lighting - no flash


Same room as before, but an area where there is less light - no flash


Comparisons of MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC30 and NC40 to both Sally Hansen Foundations. (The photo is taken with flash)

Application & Review

I've tried two different methods of applying the foundation. I've tried it with my fingers and I've tried it with a MAC 131 Brush. I highly favor the brush method for a flawless look. I found the coverage to a definite medium plus coverage. I found the coverage is similar to MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation. The texture is very creamy and applies very smooth. It reminded me a bit of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk texture wise (thin, not heavy, runny, yet creamy). The end result is a beautiful airbrushed look with a slightly dewyness. I did not find this foundation to be too oily. After I've applied the foundation, I set it with a blot powder and re-blot once later in the day. My makeup stays put till the time I go to sleep. I wore this foundation practically my whole Vegas trip and I loved it (even in extreme heat). Love this stuff & will repurchase.

Here is what it looks like on my face. This picture was taken in the daylight with no flash.



This is basically my plain every day look..

Face:

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty your Skin Makeup in Sandy Beige

MAC Select Cover up Concealer NW25 & a smudge of Lancome Effacernes Concealer

MAC "Pleasureful" Blushcreme

MAC Blot Powder Med. Dark (a light dusting all over my face)

Brows:

MAC "Cork" Eyeshadow

MAC "Girl Boy" Brow Set

Eyes:

MAC "Cork" Eyeshadow (smudged into upper and lower lash line)

MAC "Coco Bar" Liquidlast Liner

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara Black

Lips:

MAC "Pleasureful" Blushcreme

LA Splash "Sparkling Coral" lip gloss

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty products can be purchased online at CVS.com, Rite-Aid.com and Drugstore.com.