Look of the day - 4 January 2012

I've had a bit too much downtime since my office closed for business during the holiday season; tho, one might not know it, because I've been living under a rock as a result of not working.  Staying up late and sleeping in have been the things I've mastered most these past few weeks.  I've even grown increasingly bored from shopping and my bank account can only handle so much!  You might be wondering why I'm not lazing about on some nearby beach - it's just that I can't really stay out in the sun for too long or I'll burst into flames!  I'm only kidding;)  I can thank the strong dose of antibiotics I am currently taking for keeping me sequestered to my apartment. Reading and watching mindless television has helped to entertain me; I stayed up really late last night and finished Mindy Kaling's book titled Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). Mindy's wit, humor and voice made for an enjoyable read; I found myself laughing out loud a lot, because she has this ability to put pen to paper about the things you're thinking, but are never brave enough to say.  One of the best moments in the book had to be when she told us about the time when she was alone in a diner chatting away on the phone to her mom about how she just got hired to be a writer on The Office; without hesitance an elderly man walked over to her and told Mindy she was being rude and that her voice was annoying him while he dined with his wife.  We were never told how she responded, but I'd like to think Mindy unapologetically carried on due to nailing a job of a lifetime!  Hello old man, get with the times!!

That pretty much sums up my vacation.  I had this goal of writing on a daily basis, but that didn't fully materialise - finding random stuff on the interwebs wins everytime!  Cleaning and organizing reigned supreme for me as well; since I nailed down my job back in June, I really haven't been terribly domestic and such.  And I can't really forget about why I'm here writing about makeup, I mean, I'm here to entertain you as a way of feeding my insane makeup addiction - it's self-serving really;)  Yesterday I took a few moments out of my "busy" social calendar and played with some of the items I purchased on Saturday.

Take a closer look..

I think I've mastered the art of the makeup/no makeup look or me, but better!  If you're looking for amazing tutorials on how to do a dramatic eye, you're in the wrong place my friend.  I can't even begin to tell you how freakish I look with bold makeup and I really don't have the personaility to pull it off - I might as well draw a lone teardrop under my eye.

And here's a look at what I used.

Many of the items I used above are repeats from previous entries and I will be sure to feature the basics as a point of reference in the future for you.

Face:

• Bobbi Brown's Skin Foundation SPF 15 in Warm Sand 2.5 - applied where needed
• MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium - dusted all over
• Bobbi Brown's Concealer Kit in Sand and Pale Yellow - for under eye circles
• Burberry's Natural Bronzer in Nude Glow No. 3 - dusted over my forehead, cheeks and nose
• NARS blush in Gilda - an item from my mini haul at Mecca Maxima

Eyes:

• Gorgeous Cosmetics Shimmer Dust in Sand - applied from lid to brow bone
• MAC's eye shadow in Juxt - blended into my crease and then winged out
• Inglot's AMC Pure Pigment #85 - blended over my lid to intensify the other two colours; here's a really great video so you get the idea
• NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base - why didn't I buy this sooner, it's a lifesaver
• Stila's Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Lionfish - lined upper lash line and slightly winged out
• MAC's Studio Fix Lash Mascara - worn on upper lashes only

Lips:

• My usual staple, chapstick
• NARS Lipstick in Flamenco - I used a lip brush for an even lighter appearance.  It's considered to be sheer, but it's stll pretty rich when applied straight from the tube
• NARS Lipgloss in Greek Holiday - I love changing colours up with this gloss, it's even nice when wearing solo

My New Year's Eve outfit

Last year Scott and I started a tradition of visiting The Waiting Room inside of Crown Casino's main lobby area.  People watching was on the menu for the evening; that's our thing when we go out to get tipsy and there's no shortage of interesting people roaming about on New Year's eve.  Lobbies are transient - most people sought refuge from the hot summer day; at it's hottest Melbourne's temperature hit 34 degrees celsius (93 F) and that was around 5:30 in the evening. Because last New Year's eve was even hotter, I knew I needed to dress accordingly.  Sale shopping convened at the local Gap this past Friday and fortunately I walked away with an outfit for $68 AUS. I don't want to even begin to rant about all of the other things I saw on sale, which included items I had purchased the day the Gap had officially opened.

Question for the Gap: when will you start honoring price adjustments here in Australia?

And without further ado, here's the outfit I wore last night.

I paired this steal with espadrilles (mine are cream coloured) my mom had given me for my birthday - funnily enough, they came from the US Gap.  A belt from SABA in tan finished the look.  I know this look might appear to be on the casual side, but I am still getting acclimated to hot weather in December.

Yesterday I went for a makeup lesson with Mecca Maxima - Cindy worked her magic while I tried to take tons of mental notes about all of her tips and tricks.  Here's a sneak peek…

Stay tuned for my full review!

Butter's The Full Monty - weekly nail review

After last week's faux pas I really needed to make up for my self-induced disappointment.  It took me about five minutes to choose, but I found a worthy contender in Butter London's The Full Monty. There was a moment of desire to incorporate Frilly Knickers, but Mira talked me out of it - thank goodness; she now has veto power and persuasion in my book. The Full Monty is a mix of gold (laquer) and silver (fine glitter, dust if you will) and one would never guess this duo belongs to the glitter family.  That was until I attempted to take the stinkin' polish off yesterday!  Half a bottle of nail polish remover later and semi-conscious from inhaling fumes, I was finally able to move on.

My manicure would've made it through to today had I not decided to play tug of war with my boss' dog; Bella won because I let go as soon as I realized I accidentally scraped my fingernail on the floor due to being quite tipsy.  Alcoholic beverages were involved.  Despite the intoxicated incident, I'd say The Fully Monty is perfect for gold lovers and for people who enjoy wearing holiday spirit on their nails.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Stocking Stuffer pt. 1 - Burberry Lip Glow in Bright Plum No. 17

Burberry's Bright Plum

I've been lusting after a lot of rich berry-hued lip products - it started in Italy and hasn't stopped since and that was about three months ago.  I find it a bit funny that I really enjoy putting on the stuff, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my lips. I've always been told they are by far and away my nicest feature, but your compliments have backfired - I am uber self conscious about them. Tinted chapstick and sheer lip gloss was my staple for years until I decided to embrace something nice about myself. Baby steps have commenced as of late - it started with NARS New Lover, MAC's Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Positively Dashing (released within the Styledriven collection) and NARS Damage.  And now I have graduated and moved onto Burberry's Lip Glow in Bright Plum;  Santa Scott hid this gem in the bottom of my stocking with a few other beauty-related goodies (more reviews to come).

Swatch of Bright Plum

It's been awhile since I attempted to put on lip gloss with a doe foot applicator and this colour was probably the worst choice possible for this particular foray.  Burberry's lip gloss or "glow" has a tendency to be a bit sticky, I noticed this when I tried to pull the applicator out of the tube.  Then I made the mistake of piling too much onto my lips; the gloss proved difficult to move around and it didn't help that I accidentally coloured outside of the lines.  Oh well, that's what the pinkie finger is for - instant eraser.  Once I finally neatened myself up and took one last look, I was amazed by how dark this shade appeared on me.  Don't get me wrong, I was happy but shocked at the same time and I couldn't help the fact that I felt a bit vampy.

Wearing Bright Plum on my lips

The wear time lasted about four to six hours and lip dry out was minimal; but I did smear a bit of chapstick on when the mood struck.  If you're going for a daytime look, dab a bit of this gloss and spread evenly with a lip brush (using a lip brush gives you more control) in lieu of the applicator it comes with.  For night time, amp it up like I did on Christmas day (oops) and add a bit more.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry's Lip Glow:

• $45.00 AUS - yikes Santa Scott!

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 7 out of 10 bags; as much as I love this colour, the price tag and the scent of perfume dragged it down a few notches

Likelihood to purchase:

• I really do enjoy the classic offerings by Burberry, but they are insanely expensive!  This means I can only buy a piece at a time - definitely splurge-worthy!