Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and hope that you all are enjoying a fantastic holiday season. I'm going to be in D.C. until Jan 2nd and hoping to update as soon as I get back home (old sleepy Ottawa!). I have done a lot of shopping so far. I'm so jealous of the American girls as there are so many outlet malls here with so many choices! I haven't bought any makeup yet but the Bebe outlet store has left a big hole in my wallet so I may wait for MAC's BBR collection for my next makeup haul.

See you guys again soon in the New Year :)

I tried this reverse eyeliner look I've been meaning to do for the longest time. I wore this to work so I didn't want to make it too dramatic. My husband said I looked like Cleopatra! Lol, I don't think men really get makeup.

Face
Same as usual
LoveJoy mb
Sunspill loose bp

Eyes
Cash Flow p/p
Goldmine e/s
Star Violet e/s
Solar White e/s
Stila Black Smudge Pot
NYX Black e/s

Lips
Long Stem Roses slimshine

I know, I know! I do too much purples! It's just that purple is the non brainer eye makeup for me. I wore this look to the Festival of Season Gala that my husband had helped organize. The Mayor of Ottawa was there too. Though you know I really wanted to punch him as we're having bus drivers strike her in Ottawa and I kinda see it the mayor's responsibility to resolve the issue and he hasn't done much about it. In fact I saw many ppl give him annoyed looks last night.

Anyway, on to the FOTD. I know there are lotsa products, but it literally took me 10 mins to finish this look:

Face
Same as usual
Pleasantry mb
Pearl Blossom bp

Eyes
Bare Canvas paint
Sunset B. e/s
Poison Pen e/s
Top Hat e/s
Graphology e/s
matte pale pink e/s from an old Elizabeth Arden quad
UD 24/7 pencil in 1999
Stila Black Smudge Pot

Lips
Up the Amp l/s

I've been very busy with work this week so I haven't had a chance to update my blog. Things are just crazy in my office now as it is the end of the year. I will be away for about 10 days during the holidays so I need to make sure that there are no loose ends left.

I just thought I post my wish list from the MAC perm line as of now. I actually haven't been paying a lot of attention to the LE stuff since Cult of Cherry and trying to focus on the perm line, there are some beautiful gems in there, trust me!

Lipsticks
Lovelorn
Snob
Honey Love
Half 'n half

Lipglosses
Prr
Love Nectar
Flusterose
Wonderstruck

Eyeshadows
Blanc Type
Handwritten
Fig 1
Typographic
Plumage (I've been loving the mattes and matte2's lately)

Pro pigments
Grape (I have a sample of this and I'm running out)
Clear Sky Blue

I'm hoping to stick to my perm list and avoid most of the upcoming LE collections. It might be a little bit hard with the Brunette, Blonde and Redhead collection but we will see :)

I also placed an order with Head2Toe website for some ChinaGlaze and Essie nail polishes. I'm a big nailpolish addict but have been wearing OPI for too long so I thought of expanding my horizon. I have placed and order for the following:

CG - Harmony
CG - Admire
CG - Sexy Lady
Essie - Big Spender
Essie - Secret Affair
Essie - Jackie Oh My
Essie - Anniversary Gala
Essie - Watermelon

I can't wait to get my goodies!!

Ok, so I'm on a row with my warm colours. I think the wonderfully cold and -26 deg weather we're having these days is making me want to wear warm toned makeup. I also used my Mehron Palette again today. It's the first time I'm using it under eyeshadows as opposed to pigments and there's still no creasing. I'm so going back after x-mas to get the Pastel Palette! Oh, and I'm not too happy with the blending above the crease, but I kinda got lost admiring the colours and then was running late for work so I just left it as is!

Face
Same as usual
Eversun bpb - to contour
Alpha Girl bp as blush

Eyes
Mehron Tropical Palette - mango and red colours
Goldmine e/s
Amber lights e/s
Cranberry e/s
Embark e/s
Melon p/m
Solar White e/s
UD 24/7 liner in Baked

Lips
Strange Hybrid l/s

I'm still stuck with this wonderful flue :/ However, yesterday I received my new pigments in the mail. Another Temptette (Shayla) and I decided that we swap some of our pigments and I received my share yesterday. The colours are beautiful. I have a lot of purples, blue and pinks so I chose some of her green/gold/copper colours and I'm so happy I did :) So this is a look I did with some of the new pigments. Shayla, this is dedicated to you, I won't let the flue stop me from playing with my new beauties :)

Face
Same as usual
LoveJoy mb
BB Apricot Shimmer Brick

Eyes
Delft p/p - base
Old Gold p/m - inner lid
Spiritualize p/m - outer lid
Copper p/m - crease and outer v
Gorgeous Gold e/s - tear duct
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Copper Sparkle p/m - wet to line lower lashline

Lips
3N l/s

I've been having a lil bit of a rough week. First the stupid burn I got and after that, I caught the flue. I spent the entire yesterday in bed with all the annoying signes of cold; earache, headache, sore throat....:(

But I'm a little bit better today so I decided to do a review of my beloved Mehron Palette. I got the Tropical Palette from a stage makeup/clown store here in Ottawa. I start with the swatches:

top to bottom: dark blue, red, yellow and grass green

Top to bottom: lime green, gray (i don't know why this photographed blue :/), deep purple and a salmon colour.

I'm in love! Thes colours are all water activated and I've been using my fingers (wet) to apply them to my lid as a base for my eyeshadows and pigments. There is a tiny brush provided in the palette but I haven't used it yet. These colours definitely make your eyeshadows pop! I'm in love with the purple, red and the two greens. One advice I would give is to definitely let these dry once you applied them before packing on the eyeshadow/pigment. If they dry properly, they make an awesome base for even the dullest colours and do not crease (well, at least not on me). The one thing you want to be careful is not to wear these if it's raining outside. The same way they're activated with water, they're also de-activated with water and will start to run.

I'm extremly hppy with these though. The palette was about $45 Canadian which will make each colour about $7. I think this is an awesome price compared to MAC coloured bases (paints, paint pots, shade sticks). I still love my MAC but the Mehron Palettes are great products for those who love colour as they come in a great rainbow of shades. I'm already thinking about getting the Pastel palette as well :)

So I did this look today and again I think my camera never does any justice to the bright looks! A few minutes after I took these pictures, I spilled hot tea on my lips, chin and neck and now they burn like hell!! Probably i can't wear l/s for a few days till i heal :( Then i came to work and been working while holding ice on my chin and lips :(

face
same as usual
Soft Flame loose bp

eyes
Fresco Rose p/p -base
Pink Opal p/m - inner corner
Fuchsia p/m - lid
Print e/s - crease
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Lise Watier silver e/l - lower lashline

Lips
Please Me l/s
random pink VS lipgloss

It's been snowing in Ottawa for a few days straight. I'm already tired of winter and it hasn't even really started. I did this look today to cheer me up coz it's sorta tropical. I had to use flash again as it was dark out so the colours are not as vibrant as they could have been.

Face
Same as usual
Stark Naked bpb
Petticoat MSF
(I must say that the combo of Stark Naked and Pettocoat is one of my all time fave)

Eyes
Delft p/p - base
Golden Olive p/m - lid
NYX Turquoise Pearl Mania - Crease
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Solar White e/s - tear duct
Delphic f/l - lower lashline

Lips
Vegas Volt l/s
Sock Hop l/g

So MAC has put out two new collections within the last couple of weeks: Monogram (MAC's anual couture collection) and Metal Urge. Guess what? I have not bought one single item from either of these collections! I know it's shocking to me too!!! I think I'm at a point where I realize I probably have enough makeup. It's weird but I think my MAC addiction is dying (if that's even possible). At least I think that I may be focusing more on the perm line and only pick up LE things that are extremely unique.

Now I wanted to try the new Metal Urge creme shadows but then I hear that they have the same formulation as last year's crap shadows. Those bitches creased on me like no tomorrow so I returned one and gave away the other. The pigments look kinda boring to me except for Spiritualize so I may get a sample of that later. I have 12 full jars of pigments and everything else is sample size. The liquid last liners I'm not a fan of at all, especially hate the brush they come with so this collection was an easy skip for me.

The Monogram collection looked interesting (package-wise) when I looked at the pics online. However, I saw the collection if person today and the packaging doesn't look as good as I thought. Also, I really liked the red lipstick and was going to get it, but I have three red MAC lipsticks (Port Red, So Scarlet and Russian Red) and though I love all three, there are not too many occasions where I can wear red lipstick. So I came to my senses and skipped this collection as well.

So this was kinda my frustration for today. Though perhaps I should be happy as I can now save more money toward other pretty things and also get a chance to play with my existing stash. We shall see...

I have a Too Faced palette from last X-mas I believe that I hadn't used for a while. I'm not too fond of the lipsticks, mainly because I don't want to take the whole palette with me to work just to touch up my lipstick after lunch. The eyeshadows and blushes are very good though. Especially this e/s called Dirt Bag. I'm definitely buying a pot when I run out of the one in my palette. So here's my look

Face
same as usual
Too Faced Blush in Lust is Love
MAC Petticoat MSF

Eyes
MAC Stilife paint
MAC Copperplate e/s
MAC Solar While e/s
Too Faced e/s in Dirt Bag
NYX Black e/s
UD 24/7 liner in Bourbon
CG Mascara

Lips
MAC Swelter Slimshine

I love MAC and their eye products but I'm also a huge NYX fan. For the fellow Canadian girls, you can find NYX in selected Pharmaplus locations. NYX products can also be purchased online at http://www.nyxcosmetics.ca/ or for a better price at Cheery Culture. I find that NYX is perhaps the best value for your money and for those folks who don't want to or don't have the means to drop cash on more expensive brands such as MAC, NYX is a great alternative. Below is some swatches and reviews of some of the NYX products I own.



NYX Jumbo Pencils

From left to right: Horseradish, Purple, Sky Blue, Rust, Pots and Pans



Generan Review: The jumbo pencils make great bases for your eyeshadows. They are very creamy and soft and go on very smooth. They colours are vibrant and come in a large selection. I'm definitely planning on getting more of these. One con though, these are very creamy and hence can crease on your lids. I usually use MAC's Bare Canvas paint as a base, Jumbo Pencil as base for my colours and then my eyeshadow or pigments. I would definitely recommend these to every colour lover out there.

NYX Ultra Pearl Mania



Top row, left to right: Rust, Chocolate Brown, Baby Pink, Lilac, Purple, Yello Gold
Bottom row, left to right: Penny, Lime, Fanta, Baby Blue, Turqoise

(All swatches done with dry pigment and no base)


General review: NYX Ultra Pearl Mania are loose pigment that can be used dry or wet. I usually use them with homemade mixing medium to get more intensity. They are similar
to MAC pigments as in they're also very vibrant but they are very finely milled. You can buy these from Cherry Culture for about $1.99 most of the time. Once con is that these babies come in is very tiny bottle and has an even tinier opening. To make these more user friendly, I emptied the bottles in clear screw top jars I had bought before. My two top picks out of the ones I own are Penny and Lilac.


In conclusion, definitely look into NYX if you want quality product for less. Unlike most drugstore brands, these show up on your skin exactly as they show in the pot. Two thums up!

I have a sample of the Steel Blue pigment since last year and though I think it looks very pretty, I never used it coz it looks chunky in the jar. So I finally broke it out today and using wet, this pigment is very gorgeous, especially over a gold base. I don't think my camera does any justice to how vibrant the colour is.

Face
same as usual
Hard Candy Bronzer
MAC Lovejoy mb
MAC Sunspill loose bp

Eyes
MAC Cash Flow p/p as base
MAC Steel Blue p/m on lid
MAC Golden Lemon p/m in the crease
NYX Black e/s in the outer v
MAC Vanilla p/m to highlight
Lise Watier waterproof e/l in Blue Noir to line lower lashline
CG mascara

Lips
MAC 3N l/s - what the heck will I do when this LE fave product runs out? :(

It looks like so far my blog's been mostly about my looks. I really need to put some other materials in here. On the other hand I do doll up everyday pretty much, might as well share them with others here. That way hopefully I can inspire someone out there and also I won't forget my own look.

Face
Same as usual
Hard Candy Bronzer
MAC X-Rocks blush
MAC Alpha Girls bpb

Eyes
MAC Stilife paint as base
MAC Blonde's Gold p/m all over lid
MAC Humid e/s in the crease
MAC Gorgeous Gold e/s on lid
MAC Graphology e/s in the outer v
Gosh green e/l
CG mascara

Lips
MAC Vegas Volt l/s - still deciding if this is a good colour for me or not
MAC Pink Grapefruit l/g