MAC Pink Nouveau

I was sucked into the MAC counter on a particularly rough day and seeking a bit of a happy purchase, I went straight for the lipsticks. With every day wear on mind, I sought out a spring-time, bright and bubble gummy lippie. I've realized that perhaps my dreams of being The Girl with Red Lips isn't very realistic, but perhaps I can still be The Bubblegum Bitch.

For one reason or another, around four years ago, the entire beauty blogging/YouTube community were all simultaneously under the impression that MAC was the end all be all of great high end products. My thoughts were similar, taking after an older sister who only purchased foundation from MAC (as did I at the time). Young and naive as I was, I was soon well educated on the world of beauty- the highs and the lows. With that came the knowledge that perhaps, MAC was not the only place to seek out a cute bubble gum pink lipstick. But it was a place to start.

On camera, this runs a bit darker than in real life, however it still gives the same effect. After a hand full of swatches (literally -- my hand was covered in pinks, purples, nudes) it was between this and Snob which I might have to pick up during another thera-- I mean shopping session. The finish is Satin and surprise! It's only my second MAC lipstick, next to a coral named Chatterbox. I was after a similar shade to the Rimmel Lip Butter in Bubblegum but with perhaps a longer wear time and more matte finish. Not exactly what I was looking for, it still gave me a smile to last the rest of the day.

A thing about prices. As expected, high end will obviously be more expensive than the drug stores, but I believe a splurge every once in a while is never a bad thing. Not to mention, I had a bad day and a gift card. Happens to the best of us.

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The Body Shop Moringa Body Butter

Just a mini post today as I get my (blog) and self sorted for the month of February. My mom passed this little one down to me the other day and I gotta say, I'm not at all a fan of the smell. Does it work as a moisturizer? One of the best I've tried but I would not at all buy this one again. However, they have tons of options for smell and they're currently having a half off online. 50% off all products online, so hurry over and grab something nice for yourself! Offer ends tomorrow (February 6th) so hurry on. Happy shopping.

The coconut sounds lovely...

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Monday's Muse #4

Another bit of spring-summer type inspiration for you all, today. I love the Cali-boho feel I get from each of these... and the bit of inspiration from the closets (to redo my own!) Have a lovely Monday. x

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January Favorites

Essie 'Snap Happy'
Essie 'Vanity Fairest'
Yes to Carrots Lip Butter (mint and pomegranate)
Burt's Bees Lip Balm
Aesop Parsley Seed Cleansing Masque
L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes
MAC Bamboo

While being a drizzly, dreary and overall exhausting month, there were many good parts as well. Some of these products helped me get through long days, early mornings and too short weekends. I have a creeping suspicion that red is just... my color... for my nails, if you get what I'm saying? To be honest, it feels rather natural to have red on my talons. I've been sporting Essie quite a bit. Vanity Fairest also hopped in my basket recently and I've been loving it. Something about having natural, light pink nails makes me all giddy inside. The Aesop Parsley Seed mask is one for the books, kids. It feels so refreshing, purifying and cleansing. I love this on a dull night. It gives a funny effect on your face too, so you can scare your family. I've love plopping on chapstick lately and must have fifty of these types running around. In my purse, backpack, bedside table, makeup bag, vanity, kitchen closet, etc. They're everywhere. Mint is my favorite type as well. Lastly, we have this lovely MAC eye shadow that I adopted from my mom's drawer. After many years of no use, she's given it over to me and.... *gasp* now I own exactly one MAC eyeshadow. Shame isn't it? This one is really nice since I go for that natural look with a little definition on the eyes most days... They call that the lazy look, don't they? Well, I guess that's how it's going to be for a while since I need all the sleep I can get.

Some miscellaneous favorites would be Good Will Hunting and Crash. To be honest, they are both my favorite movies. I can't stop talking about them. I caught both on netflix over the long weekend and.... sigh, I just love a good heart wrenching, tear jerking movie. And I really dig Matt Damon's middle part. So hot. Other than that, I've been reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro... It's interesting to say the least, a little slow right now. Maybe I'll do a follow up on that. I've also been in love with Kid President and his pep talk video.

What are some of your favorites from January?

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AnnaSophia Robb in The Carrie Diaries or... Shakira...

What you'll need:
Hair dryer
Detangler (if that suits you)
Tresemme Flawless Curls Mousse (first time trying, don't have an opinion on it yet!)
Moroccan Argon Oil (for extra shine)
1/2 inch curling iron (mine is a $15 Conair)

Towel dry hair, apply mousse, bit of argon oil. Make sure to scrunch with your fingers. My hair is naturally this curly, so I have no other advice than this!

Blow dry hair on low heat setting. Scrunch hair in fingers and apply heat directly that way.

I had my curling iron set at 17 but also turned it down to about 13.

After you've blow dried your hair completely (don't apply heat if your hair is still wet, it'll cause more damage!) then begin to part your hair. From the bottom of my ears up, I put everything into a bun on the top of my head.

From here you can begin to use your curling iron to create small curls. I suggest taking a piece of hair about a centimeter in width. Once the bottom layer is finished, begin to make another layer from the tops of ears up. Place in bun on top of hair and begin to work. Remember to switch directions (away from your face and towards your face) for a less artificial look. Without switching, you will probably end up looking a bit like Taylor Swift (and no one wants that...)

The finished look! This took quite a bit of time for me because I have so much hair but it stays put for a while and I know I'll be able to get two or three days worth of wear out of it.

I spritzed a spray of Argon Oil to the ends of my hair on both sides for more shine.

Let me know if you recreate this look!
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Aesop Parsley Seed Cleansing Masque

Some Sunday's will always be reserved for laundry, watching the whole first season of The OC, and face masks. Unlike others, this was exactly what I did with my last Sunday. I ordered this babe of a mask a few weeks ago. Along with Antipodes it was one of the first brands I couldn't wait to try. After a run (one of my new years resolutions-- wahey, I did a post about it here!) I took a hot shower, threw on my robe while I adorned my face with this mask and caught another episode of the teen 2005 hit. I've read quite a bit on it but never expected it to feel as it did. My initial reaction was that it smells very citrusy which was an absolute plus to me. I adore the scent. My second reaction was that the texture was very thin, easy to spread, and it's brown in color. Upon application it dries faster in some places than others and it felt tight on my skin after a couple of minutes. It creates a silly look (as seen above) with my skin looking like I may have come down with a serious case of some infection. In coordination with other masks this is a great one, for sure. Because my skin has been in good shape recently (not sure what's up with that.... maybe I can attribute it to my healthy habits!) I didn't see a real difference in it. Although, my few healing blemishes seem to have gone down in size and redness.

The price was a stinger for this one. At $37, it wins second most expensive face mask I've used. As the product is supposed to be applied in a very thin manner, I can only hope this one will last for a while. My thoughts are similar to the aura manuka honey mask... Love it, just hope that it lasts for a good time span before having to consider raking out another bit -- plus shipping. Boo!

Do you have any other favorites from Aesop? I've heard so much but have no idea where to start!


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Monday's Muse(s) #3

As it's nearly spring time, I've started thinking about trends for summer. That's how my mind works in this fashion business type deal. I've picked a few of my favourite pieces over the last few months for bathing suits. I was immediately drawn to the high waisted bottoms + simple top, along with boho types. Fringe on tops, simple florals, polka dots, plain black. All are on par in my book. 

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All credit to photographers and models, etc. None of the pictures above are mine.