'Tis the Season for Beauty Sets

'Tis the Season for Beauty Sets by geemia on Polyvore.com

So, maybe it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but tell that to the English!  Christmas decorations are popping up all over!

That was a joke, I'm aware that Thanksgiving is strictly an American holiday.  I don't know why you people don't think I'm funny, damnit.

In any case, all the Christmas hubbub in the retail industry just makes me excited for the days when I'll be strolling in the malls back home, where I'll be assaulted with "Feliz Navidad," crowds of eager shoppers, and christmas decoration overload.  You know, all of the 6 full days I'll have in America before Christmas.  Everyone close to me knows that their gifts are going to come in the form of the souvenirs I've picked up on my Euro trip, which is a shame, because I love combing through gift sets and crowded stores.  No, seriously, I do.  And for a girly girl like me, the beauty gift sets are the most fun to peruse.

These are my suggestions for you if you're looking for a set for the makeup obsessed girl in your life...if she has the same exact taste as me.  But my choices have foundation!  If she's constantly on the search for the perfect mascara, Sephora's LashStash kit gives her a dazzling array to try.  If she's a big fan of the Nars line, give her the famous Orgasm set, with two blushes, one of which is the namesake, and the namesake gloss.  Or maybe she's whining about how her makeup brushes suck and scrubbing them in the sink with her hands (Ahem, me a half hour ago), so she'd love a brush set in an oh so cute bag from Mac's Tartan Tale line.  

I for one would be giddy to find any of these sets under the tree.  I've chosen from my two favorite brands, Mac and Urban Decay, as well as from Sephora, Rock for Ever, and Nars (I still haven't tried the orgasm line yet, but I want to!  There are only so many times you can type orgasm without feeling weird!)  If you want to know what any of the sets are, their prices, or where you can get them, just clicky-click on the picture!  Ta!

My Makeup Bag's Wish List

Just a few things I'm dying to add to my makeup repertoire this summer.

Nars Orgasm Illuminator

Nars The Multiple in Orgasm

M.A.C. Viva Glam Lipstick in Gaga (Lady Gaga's shade!!)

Urban Decay Stardust eyeshadow in Atmosphere

OPI Nail Lacquer in Ogre-the-top-blue

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Lust (the purple in the middle)

M.A.C. Eye Kohl in Smolder


What beauty buys are you craving?

Beauty Blitz

So, every day on my blog you see me with generally one of two hair styles and no makeup. This is an accurate representation, to be sure, but it hides from you the fact that I'm actually quite obsessed with experimenting with hair and makeup products. I can spend hours in an Ulta and end up justifying buying way too much. In fact, there's an Ulta about twenty feet from my second job...and I need to be careful not to blow my paychecks there.

In any case, most of my experimentation comes from inspiration. Last night we went out for Christine's birthday (yay 20!), and I decided to try out some makeup that I saw on Project Runway (I caught up on about three episodes on Friday night).



For those of you who watch, you probably remember that this is Seth Aaron's former model. The makeup artist gave her an extreme smoky eye that extended all the way up to her eyebrows. I thought that was pretty sick. Erin took pictures of me attempting it.





The end result.

I decided to give my look a little more dimension by layering the smoky color over a funky purple. I used L'Oreal High Intensity Pigments Bright Shadow Duo in Reckless, using the brighter shade, and layered Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Gunmetal Over it. Instead of using eyeliner I lined my bottom lashes with the same bright purple, and then used Cover Girl Lash Blast Luxe mascara. I was pretty pleased with it.

In case you were wondering, the messy pony is on purpose, I used a liberal amount of Sexy Hair's Soya Want Full Hair, hairspray, teased it, and pulled it back.



Baker's sequined leggings. F21 white tank. Calvin Klein black tank. Hot Kiss Booties.

Kept the outfit simple and let my makeup do the talking. Though I got several comments about the leggings. Someone called them "Lady Gaga pants" (YES!), a friend of mine said she couldn't stop staring at my butt (awkward), and a random frat brother gave me the shiniest pants of the night award. Win.



Me and friend J.R. being cute. Hope your Saturday night was fun too!