The Best Makeup Ever!

OK, so maybe not EVER, but these are the things that I’ve been loving and reaching for most this month.

As I’ve said before, I love makeup. I wear it just about every day, even if it’s just a bit of lipgloss and mascara. I like it simple, understated, and natural-ish.

Over the past few months, my collection has grown a bit, but nothing out of control. (I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to store it all, and I think I’ve found a good solution for me…but I’ll save that for another day.) Anyway, on to the goods, right!

Chanel’s Kaska Beige Quad is on of my favorite eyeshadow quads period. The Armani Heat quad was part of their summer collection, and a newer addition, but I’ve used it quite a bit since I’ve had it, and I have yet to put a dent into it.

I have a love hate relationship with eyeshadow singles. They suck to travel with. They’re easy to lose, or forget about. They hog space. They’re easy to drop…OK, so it’s mostly hate. But the ones I do have, I love, and the goodness inside makes me smile.

The Giorgio Armani Maestro eyeshadows are my absolute favorite (as of right now anyway). I love their texture, staying power, packaging, and color pigmentation. I just wish for the price, it came with another gram of product. They’re fifty cents more than the Chanel singles, and you get about half the amount of product…don’t let the packaging fool you. Looks bigger, but I always check to see how much I'm product I’m getting. All of the shadows are super smooth and are swatched below in natural light with no primer.

From left to right: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner, Chanel Illusion D’Ombre, and Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill. All are amazing, and I highly recommend.

I have a lot of nail polish. I counted today, and I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’m closer to the 200 bottle mark than I thought. I tend to go through phases where I’ll wear the same color family for weeks, then move on to another, but this month, I was a little bit all over the place.

from left to right: Rescue Beauty Louunge Decorous, Dolce & Gabbana Cosmopolitan, Dior Safari Beige, Dolce & Gabbana Drama, and Chanel Rose Confidentiel

I don’t blush pink…or much at all really…but I do prefer peaches and orange colors on my skin tone on general, but these blushes in particular served me well this month.

I swatched the Givenchy Le Prisme Blush separately to show all 4 colors, and then I swirled a brush over all 4 colors, and showed what they look like together. It gives me a really pretty warm glow that I had a hard time picking up with my camera.

I usually prefer lipgloss to lipstick, but lately, I’ve gravitated towards the latter…and I have to say, I’ve been enjoying it.

from left to right (above): Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Intense #42, YSL Rouge Volupte #22, Chanel Rouge Allure #58 Audace, Illamasqua lipstick in Wanton, Nars lipstick in Mindgame, and in front, Guerlain Rouge G in #5 Gracieuse

from left to right (above): Nars Mindgame, Guerlain Gracieuse, MUFE #42, Chaanel Audace, Illamasqua Wanton, and YSL #22

And finally, lipgliss…

from left to right (bottom): Mac Dazzleglass Crème in Radiant Jewels, YSL Golden Gloss in #2, Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Enchant, Mac Lustreglass in Spring Bean, and Makeup Forever Glossy Full Couleur in #3.

The picture is blurry, but the colors are accurate.

That was a long post, but I do hope it was enjoyable! Ciao for now!

Getting My Nail Polish off Of the Floor

I love nail polish. I paint my nails al least twice a week…

And although my current collection is creeping up on the 150 bottle mark, no two colors are identical.

The issue that I’m having right now is that I have no proper way of storing them.

Right now they sit atop two boxes that I have yet to throw out. One the bright side, I can see everything, and can find what I’m looking for pretty quickly.  It’s better than my current makeup solution as far as functionality goes. But it’s ugly…

I’ve seen the type of nail polish racks that look like they belong in a salon, or in a store, but for use in my home, I don’t like the look.

Then there are the ones that you mount on the walls, and even though they take up a lot less space, I don’t like the look of these either, or want my nail polish hanging on the wall.  I would need 2 of them, and the only place that I’d be willing to hang them is in my closet.

Then finally, there are the table top displays. I dislike these least of all, and at around $35 dollars for one that holds about 70 bottles, this is probably the one that I would choose. Well, if I decide not to build my own. I have a bunch of scrap wood, and some left over paint. Hmm…maybe I’ll go do that now.

Oh, by the way, today I am wearing Safari Beige by Christian Dior.

It’s a very pretty safe for work type of color. I’m sure the color isn’t all that unique, but I don’t have anything else like it.

I’m off to go draw plans for a nail polish rack, so I will talk to you in the next one!

Hasta luego!