Stained

It seems that every magazine I look through has all these ads for lipstains. Drew Barrymore is advertising them for CoverGirl  and each makeup brand is coming out with their own variation of a lipstain.

I feel like it's one of the new makeup trends and decided to try it out. I wanted something that was a nude color, very natural. I went with Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstain in the color In the Buff. It had a pretty natural pink cap and I thought I'd finally found my light nudish pink. Well..unfortunately it wasn't the pink I imagined. Its more of a deep nude with some reddish undertones. I felt like I had just drank some Kool-Aid. It felt very light on my lips and lasted a long time and didnt come off. I did not like however that it made my lips dry after I put it on. It also accentuated the lines on the lips. So my advice is not to wear it alone. I'm going to continue to play with it, maybe use it with some gloss or a light lipstick. I will not however be using it alone.

First product to be crossed off my wish list.

The X Factor

Carrie: Later that night I got to thinking about the x-factor. In mathematics, we learn that x stands for the unknown, a+b=x, but what's really unknown is what plus what equals friendship with an x. Is this an unsolvable equation? Or is it possible to transform a once passionate love into something that fits nice and easily onto the friendship shelf? I couldn’t help but wonder... can you be friends with an x?


Ohhhh the grand question! But not quite the question I ask myself about this next product. After researching what Sarah Jessica Parker actually uses to create the look of Carrie Bradshaw, I went on a hunt to find those products myself. I posted a video on a previous post with SJP's makeup artist and learned that the mascara she used was in fact from Mac!


So on a day that I needed a little shopping pick-me-up, I went to Macy's to find the mascara she used. I always had this admiration for how great her eyelashes looked and am always trying to find a lipgloss that will give me her signature lip look. SJP uses the mascara, Mascara X. Now I always tend to forget that I have no lashes and need to curl them and put on alot of mascara to get the look I want. Mascara X gives a softer more natural sort of look. It gives some length and volume and surely does not clump. This is perfect for those of you who already have semi long lashes and are looking for some accentuation. I use it in combination with another mascara to get MY desired look which is anything but natural. The interesting thing about this mascara is that it contains product to help strengthen and condition your lashes. Total cost $13.

Let's Pucker

Everyone has at some point encountered an Avon lady.  I have been given the pleasure of meeting quite a few Avon ladies, like the one lady at the church who all the sisters buy from, or the abuela who has her collection of Avon creams, or the beauty shop owner whose daughter sells Avon out of her salon. These are all based on real people I've encountered or heard about but since as long as I can remember my mom would always come home with her Avon bag of new stuff she'd just ordered. I enjoy a lot of their products and was actually where my eyeshadow curiosity began when I was a teenager.

I have stumbled upon another one of their great products recently and must share it with you all! It is the Avon Twist and Glide lipgloss. It's a twist lipgloss with a plastic applicator, not one of those normally spongy ones. I thought at first it would be weird to apply my lipgloss with this plastic thing but it worked like any other. Another benefit of the plastic applicator is you can clean it off with some water to take off the left over lipgloss, or if you mix lipsticks like I frequently do, you can remove the other colors. Your next application is that much easier and you dont have to worry about the other color bleeding in. I love how Avon lipsticks and lip glosses always leave your lips feeling super smooth.

I have two of these glosses in the colors Coral and Chocolate. Find an Avon lady near you!

Eat, Pray, Love

This summer I decided to create a reading list of all the books I'd been wanting to read but never had the time to. In my list of books was this now turned favorite Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Seeing as the movie was going to come out this summer I wanted to read it to have an understanding when I went to see it. Always fascinated by the clever cover, I finally picked it up and am now reading it for the second time! It will even be the first book to be read in a newly formed book club of my friends. Fascinated by Gilbert's journey to achieve balance in her life through travel and meditation, this book offers up some great life quotes on love, spirituality, and your sense of self.


This being a makeup blog, how could I possibly relate this book to beauty and beauty products. Well I can!! Throughout my time reading the book, I marked quotes that were profound, funny, unique, or gave me that magical "a ha" moment. Gilbert's conversational and candid way of talking made me feel like she was just discussing her life over some Starbucks.


If you dont know anything about the book, on her quest for balance in all aspects of her life, she travels to Italy, India, and Bali. In Bali, she meets this Brazilian woman who runs a multinational corporation and she describes her as "intensely sexy" and this is where my beauty tie in occurs.


The Brazilian woman, Armenia says the following quote:

"Well , I always tried to look nice and be feminine even in the worst war zones and refugee camps of Central America. Even in the worst tragedies and crisis, there’s no reason to add to everyone’s misery by looking miserable yourself. This is why I always wore makeup and jewelry in the jungle—nothing too extravagant, but maybe just a nice gold bracelet and some earrings, a little lipstick, good perfume. Just enough to show that I still had my self-respect.” (pg. 265)

I loved this quote! There is no need to always look miserable despite what you may be feeling inside. Sometimes the best pick me up is a little makeup. A little concealer here, a little blush there, mascara to brighten those sad eyes, and always always some lip gloss. The show must go on!!

Here's a link to the movie that comes out August 13!!! 

Eat Pray Love trailer

A link to the author's website

Elizabeth Gilbert

absolutely alluring..

My summer began with a trip to Chicago with my faithful traveler and best friend. Loving the city life as much as we do we set out to experience as much of the city as we could. We not so secretly wish that our present lives would be engulfed and rapidly changed into the big city life we've always dreamed of.

Well, during my very first trip to Chicago, I wanted to take everything all in. The life, the food, the city culture, and of course the shopping. Michigan Avenue became my frenemy. I loved looking at all the designer stores and shops. Instantly I was whisked away into a state of "I wish"into a sort of whirlwind romance. I call Michigan Ave. a frenemy because we seemed to walk up and down it  for miles on end, shopped for a little, walked some more, and well..my feet hurt.

The reason I recap this moment is just a few days ago the August issue of Allure magazine arrived in my hand. Of course I love this magazine for the latest in beauty trends and beauty bargains. I thought to myself as I drank my strong Pilon cup of coffee, how great would it be if I was reading this magazine, with my coffe, my Fox and Obel Apple Jelly with toast, and my girls in the balcony of a cute downtown Chicago apartment. *wishful thinking* I know, especially with a teacher's salary...but a girl can dream.

This issue has some great features and prompted me to create a small wish list. I hope to blog about them in the near future.

*MY WISH LIST*
1. Maybelline Volum Express Mascara: The Falsies
2. O.P.I Designer series nailpolish, all shades
3. Essie Nailpolish, all shades
3. Clinique Different Lipstick in Angelic
4. Covergirl Smoky Shadowblast
5. Sarah Jessica Parker's new perfume SJP NYC
6. Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in Glacial Blue

Get Carried away...

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Jessica Parker especially in her role of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. I love her very Carrie makeup along with the makeup they use in the show and the movies. My favorite parts about her makeup are her natural gloss and her great lashes. I love light pinks and nude colors for my own lips, anything else on me makes me look like a clown.

I found this video from BellaTV which interviews SJP's personal makeup artist and she gives insight into how to make SJP into Carrie Bradshaw. She gives the main products that go into the making of Carrie. I really enjoyed this clip and hope you do too!

SJP Makeup Video

Sunkissed and Sparkling

Being a Florida girl, a beautiful tan is almost a requirement. Its like "you live in Florida, why are you so white?" So this summer I committed myself to getting a tan, because I tan easily. Since I haven't been brown most of my makeup is lighter than I should have for someone who has a tan. Of course Bare Minerals came to my rescue yet again in the form of an all-over face color called Citrine Radiance. It came as part of a holiday kit called the Jewels Collection. It is a shimmer dust color that you put all over your face. Since my tan was pretty golden, just a lil bit of foundation under the eyes and the shimmer did the trick to look like I had put on makeup. All I had to do was my eyes and it took a FRACTION of the time to get ready. Its a great alternative over the summer because its so hot and its not like your face is melting off with all of the makeup. Its light and fresh and you sparkle, which we all know Sparkle and Glow is key!