December 28, 2011

Oh how amazing it is to wake up on a Wednesday knowing that I'll be off for another week. This has been a much needed break for me and I've been fully indulging in a lot of sleep, eating and lounging on the couch with hubs. This is a picture I took from our living room window this morning:

Isn't it gorgeous? Most people I know hate winter, especially here in Canada, where our cold season is very long. But I'm a total winter baby. I adore snow and pretty icicles and always will.

Anyway, enough of that. I braved the crowds on Boxing Day and hit a few stores. I don't typically shop on Boxing Day but some years I make an exception. Hubby dropped me at the mall and picked me up later so not looking for parking made it much easier. I hit exactly 4 stores: Club Monaco, Zara, Nine West and United Colors of Benetton.

Club Monaco is one of my fave stores for basics. I also like that all their clothes fit true to size. I obviously prefer to shop there during sales season. On Boxing Day they were having 40% off of already reduced items.

I got me this cute fur scarf for a around $50CAD. It has a slit on one side so you can loop it around your neck neatly:

Here it is on me. I love me some fake fur:

I also purchase this pleated dark beige skirt there. I would say 95% of my skirts are pencil style so I was looking for something different. This is mostly wool material so great for winter and it was on sale for around $60CAD:

I like Zara for the variety of trends they hit and I know they are very beloved with the fashion bloggers. I however find them a bit overrated. I think it's mostly coz of my figure most things in store don't fit me right. I guess they just don't make most of their clothes for women with bigger boobs and hips. Half the time I don't even fit in their large shirts and dresses and honestly I'm not THAT large...like a size 8-10, lol!

Rant over! I did like this, oooops, pencil skirt though. I have a million skirts this style in my closed but they all get lotsa love. This one is navy with black colour blocking on the front and was on sale for $40CAD:

Nine West was having a 30-50% off sale so I went in though I was not in the market for new shoes. I scored this gorgeous pair of suede maroon platforms for $50CAD. Love love love platforms and the colour is fab:

Finally, I made my way to United Colors of Benetton. I love that store and think they're very underrated. Everything I've ever bought there has had amazing quality and lasted me a long time. Like Club Monaco, everything in this store fits true to size (for me medium or a size 8). They had 50% off the entire store.

I got me a gorgeous sheer snake print blouse. I love animal prints and this year was a good year to stock up on the old fave print. This blouse was $30CAD:

Did you guys go shopping on Boxing Day? What did you get?

Posted In Club Monaco, Haul, Nine West, UCOB, Zara | 0 comments | edit

December 27, 2011

Hey beauties! I wanted to spend the last few days with family and loved ones so I pretty much took a break from the Blogsphere but I'm back at it again :D I wanted to share my Christmas Eve Look as well as some random holiday photos with you.

I did a brown smokey eye for Christmas Eve and added some Antique Gold glitter to spice it up. I stayed away from doing red lips as I was wearing a red dress. Here's the look breakdown:

Face

Cover FX Primer

MUFE HD Foundation - 118 (Flesh)

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Prim n Proper blush

Shell Pearl bp

Eyes

Painterly p/p - base

Woodwinked e/s - lid

Goldmine e/s - inner lid

Espresso e/s - crease

Embark e/s - outer v

Blanc Type e/s - highlight

Reflect Antique Gold glitter - lid

Lancome Black Art Liner - to line

Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips

MUFE #12C l/l

Honeylove l/s

Chanel Aragonite glossimer

We always spend Christmas Eve at my parents and my mom makes her turkey and has a buncha people over. We also open some gifts then. Here are some pictures from the night:

Me and my two sisters (I'm on the right, lol), plus my middle sister's little pomeranian toy puppy

Hubby, sleepy puppy and me

On Christmas Day, my Guyanese born hubby makes a huge traditional Xmas Day meal and we have family plus friends who's families don't live in town over for brunch. We typically have shots of rum first and then enjoy a big buffet of Pepperpot, Garlic Pork, Fresh bread, various rice dishes, plus green and fruit salads. This was the 4th year we hosted our traditional brunch and we had about 18 ppl over at our place:

Our Christmas tree on the 25th, it also snowed all day, which made everyone pretty happy

Our brunch table almost set up

Me, hubs, my parents and sisters

Hope you all had a merry and blessed Christmas. I will be posting my Boxing Day Haul tomorrow :)

Posted In About me, FOTD | 3 comments | edit

December 24, 2011

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I'm heading out to buy some last minute things for our annual Christmas day brunch. Tonight though hubby and I will spend the Eve with my parents who typically host the turkey dinner. What are your plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

This look is from yesterday which was my last day of work till Jan 3, 2012. As you can see there's lotsa pink going there, lol! But I don't care! I love me some bubblegum bright pinks :D

Face

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Santa Fe

Nars Copacabana Illuminator - mixed with foundation

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Pink Cult blush

Eyes

UDPP - base

MUFE Aqua Cream Pot #20 - base for lid

Plumage e/s - lid

Birds n Berries e/s - crease

Lucky Green e/s - above crease

Blanc Type e/s - highlight

Aquavert e/s - inner lid

BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line

Cargo Swimmable - blue shade on lower lashline

Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips

Bubblegum l/s

For OOTD I went pretty casual as it was a Friday and the last day of work for the year. Bright pink sweater is by Espirit (sooo soft and comfy), straight legged jeans by DKNY and over the knee flat boots by Aldo:

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve with your loved ones :)

Posted In Aldo, Espirit, FOTD, OOTD | 0 comments | edit

December 19, 2011

Hey beauties! I attended our company's annual Christmas party this past Saturday. I dolled up with smokey purple eyes, bigger hair than usual and a chic BCBG dress (BCBG is my fave place for buying dresses). What made the night better was that I won the grand raffle price for the night which was a 42" flat screen Samsung TV!! Yey, I never win anything so this was awesome!

Here's the makeup look:

Face

Cover FX primer

MUFE HD Foundation - 118 (Flesh)

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Azalea Blossom b/o

Eyes

UDPP - base

Blacktrack f/l - base for lid

Nars Pandora duo - black shade on lid, white shade as highlight

MUFE #92 - crease

MUFE #9 - above crease

Feline e/k - waterline

Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips

Nars Sex Machine mvp

Going Casual c/g

And here's a picture of the dress. I cropped my coworkers and boss outta the pic for their privacy. I obviously forgot to take a nice pic of the dress :/

I also sported this blingy holiday inspired nail look for the night. It's one layer of ChG Rodeo Fanatic (dark teal from a couple of years ago) plus two layers of OPI Servin Up Sparkle (I think this is LE from this holiday). I loved how this came out, sparkles FTW!

Posted In China Glaze, FOTD, Glitter, NOTD, OPI | 4 comments | edit

December 17, 2011

OMG Christmas is almost here and this procrastinator has not finished her shopping yet! I always have my tree and decorations up early and then flake up when it comes to hitting the busy malls for gift buying. Gotta get down to it this weekend though.

I kept wanting to include my outfit of the days with my makeup posts and fail at it half the time. But I have for you a buncha looks from this past week. I'm more a of a colourful girl but for some reason last week I was all about the neutrals as you can see. I need a better area for taking pics though, the narrow hallway is not ideal and it's too cold to pose outside, lol!

Here we go:

Cable sweater by Esprit (I love Esprit for their basic winter stuff, I went in there last week and left with SIX sweaters), skirt by Zara (last season), tights by H&M, leopard print pumps by Nine West and necklace by Le Chateau.

Lace applique top by Bedo (I love Bedo and definitely have a problem with collecting lacy tops), camel pants by Dynamite, booties by Steve Madden.

Blush sheer top I found at Winners' (I don't usually like loose styles but this one works for me), suede dress from Le Chateau Outlet, tights by American Apparel, booties by Guess.

This look is from last weekend as you can tell by the casual vibe: long sweater by BCBG, leggings by Zara, vest I found at Winners' and the boots are my beloved riding ones from Italy.

Hope you guys have a great weekend :)

Posted In American Apparel, BCBG, Bedo, Espirit, Nine West, OOTD, Steve Madden, Winners, Zara | 1 comments | edit

December 14, 2011

Hey beauties! Oh I cannot wait for the holidays, how about you guys? I totally feel burnt out and would love to be away from the office for a week...glad that's only 8 days away.

This is one of my go-to looks so you may have seen different variations of it on this blog if you've been a follower for a while. I like the good ole' white eyeshadow, cat liner and red lip thing all the time. Here's my take on it for this week:

Face

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Santa Fe

Nars Copacabana Illuminator - mixed with foundation

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Bite of An Apple blush

Eyes

UDPP - base

Nars Pandora duo - white shade on lid

UD Naked e/s - crease

UD Buck e/s - just a bit of it on outer v

UD Virgin e/s - highlight

Blacktrack f/l - to line

Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips

Nars Dragon Girl vmp

What are some of your go-to looks?

Posted In FOTD | 1 comments | edit

December 13, 2011

Hey beauties! I wore this somewhat dramatic look to a friend's birthday party last weekend. I really wanted to do red lips and be bolder but since I was wearing a leopard print dress I thought it might be too much so I resisted.

Hope you like!

Face

Cover FX Primer

MUFE HD foundation - 118

MUFE Full Cover - #6

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Prim n Proper blush

Shell Pearl bp

Eyes

UDPP - base

Treasure Hunt p/p - lid

Feline e/k - to cut crease and on lower lashline

Nars Pandora - black shade to blend Feline

Nars Cordura - lighter side above crease

Blanc Type e/s - highlight

Stila Jewel quad - gold shade on lid

Lancome Black Art Liner - to line

Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips

MUFE #12C l/l

Blankety l/s

Posted In FOTD | 3 comments | edit

December 12, 2011

Hello beauties! Are you all ready for the Holidays? I personally cannot wait!! My brain is slowly shutting down already, lol! Hubby and I are staying home this year but have lotsa relaxation planned. Nothing better than chilling at home with hubs, eating comfort food and watching our favourite movies and series.

I have for you this week's edition of my Top 5 Products. This week, I will show you my go-to MUFE items. MUFE is one of my all time fave brands as I find overall they offer great quality for face, eyes, cheeks and face products. Once again, I had a hard time picking just 5, but here we are:

1. HD Foundation (118) - MUFE HD line offers a great variety of shades including different undertones. I usually have 6-7 foundation bottles in rotation and 3 years later, the MUFE HD is still my No.1 when it comes to looking great in photos. I always wear this foundation when I know I'll be photographed and my skin always looks flawless. See my full review here.

2. Aqua Cream Lipliner #16 - MUFE lip liners are hands down my fave of all brands I've tried. They go on very creamy, do not budge/bleed and are long lasting. I have a few of them but I picked #16 as it is the perfect bright pink for under all my fuchsia lipsticks. I have a more in depth review and swatches here.

3. Eyeshadow #39 - MUFE has a cult following for their #92 eyeshadow and I find all their matte shades to perform supremely well. The make amazing neutrals and brights alike. My most used one has got to be #39 as you can tell by the picture, lol! This is amazingly pigmented and a little goes a long way. I love this types of shades!

4. Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick #28 - ONce again, MUFE did not disappoint by offering a huge array of colours and finishes when they released their rouge artist intense lipstick line. I find these babies to be slightly harder than my other lipsticks as in you have to press them more onto your lips. But the colour payoff is amazing and I do not find even the matte shades very drying. #48 is my fave vampy red shade and my most worn MUFE lipstick.

5. Full Cover Concealer #6 - this concealer blends so well into my skintone I could not ask for a better product. It's creamy and light yet it does an amazing job of covering my small acne scars. I'm running out of this product and have to make a trip to Sephora ASAP!

Do you guys own any of these products? What are your top 5 MUFE products?

Posted In Favourites, MUFE | 3 comments | edit

December 7, 2011

Hey lovelies! I saw this tag over at the Beautiful Life of a Girl Next Door blog and thought I share with you. It's fun to do these every once in a while :) By the way, definitely check out Sonja's blog. I recently discovered her and LOVE her FOTD's <3

Vital Statistics:

-Name: Saadeh
-Nicknames: None that I can share here, lol!
-Birthday: Feb 5, 1982
-Place of Birth: Tehran, Iran
-Zodiac Sign: Aquarius baby!
-Male or Female: Female
-Occupation: Mechanical engineer, I do inspection of mechanical system/equipment in large scale projects like hospitals and airports.

Appearance:
-Hair Color: hmmm...I think my natural hair is brown with red undertones. I usually dye it a burgundy shade to bring out the red more but currently trying to get the red out to have just chocolate brown hair...so now my hair looks brown with reddish highlights :/

My random hair!

-Hair Length: long-ish (below my shoulders)
-Eye color: who knows!! Looks light brown from far and is olive green from close. I'd say amber or hazel
-Best Feature: I say my eyes, every one else (men and women) says my boobs!
-Height: 5' 7" 1/4 (don't forget that quarter!)
-Braces? Nope
-Glasses? started wearing contacts/glasses when I was 15. I had LASIK in January though so no more, yupeee!!
-Piercings: nope, not planing on getting one either
-Tattoos: None yet. And at this point I may be too old to get my first one.
-Righty or Lefty: Righty.

Your 'Firsts':
-First best friend: A girl called Nora and we met when we were both 5. We'r still in touch though we live in different continents.
-First Award: I think I got a spelling bee award when I was 7.
-First Sport You Joined: an actual sport I would say was soccer. I used to like playing soccer though now I only watch it (the only sport I actually care to watch).
-First Real Vacation: I spent my childhood in Tehran and my first vacation was a week stay by the Caspian sea, apparently I was 2.
-First Concert: NKOTB

Favorites:
-Movie: I'm super picky with movies. My top two are Pan's Labyrinth and Secret in their Eyes
-TV Show: I don't have cable and am not a TV fan. I do watch Dexter, True Blood, Game of Thrones and Mad Men on either Netflix and online though.
-Colors: My absolute favourite is red. I've been told that if I was a colour, I would be red...and I just happen to adore this shade. I also like other colours in the same family like berry, burgundy, plum...
-Song: well this changes all the time, right now i'm liking "Without You" by David Guetta

-Candy: not too big on candy...I like dark chocolate!
-Restaurant: I like little holes in the wall and avoid chains at all costs. I eat mostly at french, Indian, Thai or Chinese restaurants.
-Store: Nine West, Sephora, Banana Republic, BCBG
-Book: I read a lot of biographies or what I call "serious" books. Not big on chic books...LOVE Lincoln's biography
-Magazine: inStyle, Glamour
-Shoes: I wear heels 99% of the time and my faves are stiletto boots, platforms and pumps.

Currently:
-Feeling: Happy! I had a stressful day at work, but cooking with hubs, eating a delicious meal and having a great glass of Shiraz made everything better.
-Single or Taken: Married for over 4 years

Me and hubs, together almost 10 years, married for 4

-Eating: I'm still drinking wine, lol!
-Listening To: "You Got Me" by the Roots
-Thinking About: this tag
-Wanting: to check out Hautlook

-Watching: My screen
-Wearing: my forest green plush robe

Future:
-Want Children? ya....I guess sometimes in the near future
-Want to be Married: Already am
-Careers in Mind: currently quite happy with mine
-Where do you want to live? right here in Ottawa. My parents and my younger sister are here and my other sister is 2 hours away in Montreal. I like to stay close to family.

Me, my sisters, parents and hubs <3

Do You Believe In:
-God: undecided. Definitely don't believe in the God defined by Christianity, Judaism, Islam...
-Miracles: in a way yes
-Love At First sight: No.

-Ghosts: No
-Aliens: lol, definitely not!
-Soul Mates: no, you meet the person who has a lot in common and has similar goals and make the relationship work.
-Heaven: No
-Hell: No, unless you mean heaven on Earth
-Kissing on The First Date: I've always done it...hahaha!
-Yourself: I'm pretty vain so I love myself!

Ok, that's it! You guys are all tagged! If you do this, please post a link in comment coz I like reading these random tags :)

Posted In About me, Tag | 5 comments | edit

December 6, 2011

Hey guys! I could never pick one brand as my most fave but Nars comes pretty close if I were forced to pick. Most of their products just work great for me, so this was another case were picking only 5 items was tough.....so I picked 6, ooop! I know I'm cheating but this is my blog so I'm allowed :P

Here we go:

1. Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (Santa Fe) - I've been a convert of this foundation ever since it was released a couple of years ago. It offers perfect light coverage blends right into my skin (I use my fingers to apply). Shade Santa Fe is a great match for my skintone.

2. Nars Irresistiblement Bronzer - aaaaahhh how I adore this product. It is the perfect bronzer when you want a natural glow vs a baked look. I use this product all year around and every single day in spring and summer. I know Laguna has a cult following (I own that one too) but I personally prefer Irresistiblement. See my full review here.

3. Madly Blush - Nars was made famous with their beautiful and pigmented blushes. It was so hard for me to pick one as my absolute favourite in this category but I have to give it to Madly, which is a beautiful warm neutral seashell pink shade. This blush goes with everything and is perfection on my skintone for a natural look.

4. Eurydice Eyeshadow duo - I think that Nars is genius with his duo colour combos; there are so many beautiful ones too chose from. I'm collecting them all slowly but my most used one has got to be Eurydice. Both the shimmery charcoal and the flatter raspberry side are super duper pigmented and you know I love my berry shades!

5. Niagara lipstick - this pink based coral has a satin finish which means you can go sheerer with one layer or easily build up the colour. Niagara is a sexy coral, bright enough but not loud...I would say a pretty and demure coral yet totally face brightening, LOVE!

6. Dragon Girl Velvet Matte Lips Pencil - I love the convenience of not having to line my lips with Nars chubby pencil and the matte yet satiny feel of these is to die for. Dragon Girl is the most perfect retro red lipstick I've ever had the pleasure of wearing. It's the same shade as MAC Ruby Woo, with a MUCH superior texture.

Do you guys own any of these products? What are your top 5 Nars Cosmetics Products?

Posted In Favourites, Nars | 3 comments | edit

December 5, 201

Hey lovelies! As the holidays are approaching, I had many events to attend this past weekend and ended up wearing my tried and true looks to all instead of experimenting with my stash. There are days when there is so little time to think and be creative but I'm not one to go for boring neutrals. So I thought I put together a list of my beloved makeup looks for other busy social bees out there who want to look glam this season.

Here are my top 5 short cut party ready makeup looks for any time of the year:

4. Cat Eyes + Retro Red Lip

I'm a red lipstick girl and always will be. There's no other colour that gives me as much joy. My all time #1 fave look and easiest way to glam is sporting my most retro shade of red (either Nars Dragon Girl or MAC Ruby Woo). I tend to wear a full on cat eyes with liquid liner like Lancome art Liner with this type of look, line the waterline too and add a tone of mascara.

3. Smokey Purples

There's something alluring about smokey eyes and purples are my favourite way to wear drama on my eyes. I like purples as they are playful yet sophisticated and always get me compliments. Inglot purple gel liner pot, MUFE #92, #9 and MAC Graphology and Poison Pen are my purple smokey eyes holly grails. I usually wear a pale pink lipstick with the purple drama on the eyes.

3. A pop of Bright Pink

I love the bright and flirty fuchsia lipsticks, the brighter the better. I find bright pinks to be an easy face brightening trick for most complexions. I prefer my bright pinks on the cooler side, so Nars Schiap is my all time fave. I keep the eyes neutral or smoke out just the outer edge and let the lips do the talking.

4. Burgundy Eyes, Lips, Anything...

I have a love affair with anything burgundy; on my eyes, on my lips and even burgundy dresses and tops. There's just something about what this colour does for my eyes, it really makes them pop. If you have hazel/amber eyes, try a burgundy liner, warm purple mascara or full on bordeaux smokey eyes and you'll be a convert. Some of my fave burgundy products are Nars Damned velvet pencil, MAC Smoke Signals pigment and Artifact paint pot, MUFE #11 liquid liner.

5. An Overall Rosy Glow

This is my kinda "neutral". And it's not really a neutral, it's just using a similar tone on cheeks, eyes and lips. I tend to do a rose shade for myself as it works best on my complexion which is light medium with cool undertone. I find using rosey shades give me a youthful and fresh appearance, so this is my go to look for daytime events like family brunch or office holiday lunch/secret santa events. I adore MAC Rose pigment, Jest eyeshadow and Nars Sex Machine velvet pencil for overall healthy appearance.

What are some of your go-to glam looks? Do you have more than one signature party look?

Posted In Holiday | 2 comments | edit

December 1, 2011

I was super late for work this morning coz I wanted to wear this fancy outfit. I ended up messing it up and let my hair down in the end...argh! One of those days when things don't work out. But I was happy with my makeup. I did a chocolate brown and strawberry look on my eyes and one of my berry shades, MAC Craving lipstick, on my lips!

It's almost weekend! Hope you all enjoy it. I have a tone of events to attend so it should be a fun one :)

Face

Chanel VA Foundation - BR20 (Beige Rose)

Ben Nye powder

Sculpt

Nars Desire blush

Eyes

UDPP - base

Nars Cordura duo - dark shade on lid

Poste Haste e/s - crease

Blanc Type e/s - highlight

UD Sin e/s - tearduct

UD Bourbon 24/7 - lower lashline

Feline e/k - to liner and blend

Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips

Trimmed in Pink l/l

Craving l/s

I wore this dress by BCBG to work today and got so many compliments on it. I love it as it's very flattering on my big chest yet sits nice on my smaller waist. I'm always looking for styles that minimize my top and this one is perfect! The older I get, the more I want to look sexy without revealing much. It's funny that people are always looking to achieve the hourglass figure and there are a tone of dresses that create that illusion. Yet for us folks with a natural hourglass not too many dresses seem to fit right. Everything seems to reveal too much on top or too loose on the waist....well except for this dress, lol! The tights are by H&M and boots are by Nine West:

Posted In BCBG, FOTD, Nine West, OOTD | 4 comments | edit

December 11, 2011

Hey lovelies! I made this quick pasta dish yesterday and loved it so I thought I share it here:

Cook the penne and reserve a ladlefood of pasta cooking water. Also cook a small head of cauliflower in salted water for 8-10 minutes. Marinate seafood of your choice (I used shrimps and scallops) in a mixture vinegar, bay leaves, cloves, mustard, paprika, cardamom and ginger.

Meanwhile, melt 5-6 anchovy fillets in a large skillet covered with olive oil. Then add a few chopped vegetables (one hot chili pepper, one red pepper, few celery ribs, one onion and 3-4 cloves garlic). Season with salt and pepper and chopped oregano then add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, juice of one lemon, the pasta and cauliflower.

Finally, cook the marinated seafood in another skillet covered with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/3 cup of vermouth and let boil, then simmer.

Add the seafood mixture to the pasta et voila! Enjoy :)

Posted In Recipe of the day | 0 comments | edit