July 29, 2012

Hello beauties! This week is my last week of work before I go on maternity leave. I have done most baby related tasks already so these last weeks would be a good time to chill and rest before embarking on the motherhood road.

It's not as common for me to do a full face of makeup these days as most days it's just too much effort.  But I did this bright look last week sometimes and realized how long it's been since I wore so many colours on my eyes. I had actually missed it! Hope you guys like this too.

Face
F&B foundation - N3
Ben Nye powder
Pink Cult blush (LE)

Eyes
UDPP - base
Delft p/p (DC) - lid
MUFE #9 (lavender)- lightly above crease
Climate Blue e/s (LE) - outer crease
MUFE #83 (teal) - lid
Aquavert e/s (LE) - inner lid
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
MUFE #9 (bright purple) - lower lashline
BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line
Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips
Nars Roman Holiday l/s





Hope you all start a great week!

July 25, 2012

Hello my lovelies! Only 5 weeks to go until my estimated due date. As I get more uncomfortable moving around, I also get more anxious to meet my little bubbah.

Here's my 35 week pregnant bump, starting to finally get very big!



Weight gain/appetite: I've gained 21 lbs as of today. I'm still right on track...but I'm eating quite bit more these days. I eat 4-5 small meals a day and when I'm not eating I'm thinking about food, lol! Still eating very healthy though, only home cooked meals and healthy snacks. I also drink a lot more water than I used to, which I guess it's a good thing. I still have no stretch marks, yey! I hear some people get them later or even after giving birth so I'm not in the safe zone yet :(

Baby Movements: plenty still but I feel them a lot more now and her kicks make me a bit uncomfortable. At my prenatal appointment today, baby was still head down and she's starting to engage which is great!

Exercise: I go for a 30 minute walk every day right before lunch. Twice a week I also go for an hour stroll with hubby. I still attend my prenatal aqua fitness classes once a week and am loving them. Being in water is great when you're far into your pregnancy. My parents have a nice pool so I use theirs when we visit on Sundays as well.

Mood: Generally great despite some bumps in the road (my husband is in between jobs). I'm getting more and more anxious to meet my baby but also trying to enjoy these last few weeks we have just the two of us. I sleep fairly well too for being almost 9 month pregnant which helps with the positive mood.

What I have left to do:
- Pack my hospital bag
- make frozen food once mat leave starts
- stock up on more diapers (I have enough for a month right now)
- read the last two recommended baby books: Mother of All Baby Books and Breastfeeding made Simple. Do you guys have other book recommendations btw?

Baby Stuff: the little princess pretty much has everything she'll need for quite some time. But her mom also got treated to her own gift. This is the diaper bag my office got me as my shower gift. It's by OiOi and I love it! It's huge and roomy and does not look like a diaper bag. And of course I love the polka dots and the fact that it's a messenger style so you can put it on and not worry about having your hands tied up. It also has a second handle which allows you to hold it like a purse:



The interior is all water proof and washable too. It comes with a changing pad, wipe and bottle holder and has enough compartments to fit all my baby on the go essentials:



Hope you guys enjoyed this update. Will do another one at 37 weeks :D

July 23, 2012

Hey guys! This is a look from this past Sunday. Hubby and I were at a condensed prenatal class from 9 am to 4 pm and after that we went straight to one of our friend's son's first birthday party.

It was also a super hot and humid day so I went for warm and shimmering colours all over. I must say though I like my Nars Tinted Moisturizer, once the temperature is above 30C and you have a high humidex, the need for powdering is definitely introduced. I really wish I could find a TM that would withstand this type of temperature but I haven't yet!

I used some of my tried and true products for this look. Most of them I go back to every summer now for over 4 years. One of these products is MAC Rose Pigment, the super frosty yet gorgeous colour you can use in moderation all over your face. If you've followed my blog for a while, you've definitely heard me sing praises for this pigment.

Hope you guys enjoy this look :)

Face
Nars TM in Alaska
Chanel pressed powder - peche
Nars Irresistiblement Bronzer
X-Rocks blush (LE)

Eyes
UDPP - base
MUFE #5 Aqua Cream pot (coral) - lid
MUFE #112 - above crease
Poste Haste e/s (DC) - crease
Smoke Signal p/m (LE) - outer v and lower lahsline
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Rose p/m - damp on lid
Goldmine e/s - tearduct
Dark Diversion f/l (LE) - to line
Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara

Lips
Lollipop Lovin l/s (LE)
Perennial High Style l/g ( LE)

Some pics in natural light:





And some with flash:





And here is a snap of me and Nicholas from his first birthday party. They are always a lot of fun, most kids start bawling their eyes out when ppl sing happy birthday to them. Nicholas seemed to enjoy his though; no crying all day!



Have a good Monday lovelies!

July 21, 2012

Happy weekend loves! I'm at a point in my pregnancy when my sleep is totally messed up. I still sleep very well most night but for some reason I can't stay in bed past a certain time, maybe my nesting is kicking in :D hence why I'm up now blogging.

I went in for a mani/pedi treatment with six girlfriends yesterday afternoon and decided to glam up my face with a bold orange red lips, Chanel Coromandel Rouge Allure Laque and Nars Babe Lipgloss. It was nice to do my face as most of the last two weeks my routine has been to apply tinted moisturizer, cream bronzer, pink lipstick and go!

Hope you like this look :)

Face
Nars TM in Alaska
Ben Nye Powder
Nars Irressistiblement Bronzer
Instant Chic blush (LE)

Eyes
UDPP - base
Saffron e/s (LE - burnt orange red) - above crease
Inglot dark matte brown e/s - crease and lower lashline
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Amber Lights e/s - lid
Stila Jewelled palette - gold shade patted on lid
Blacktrack f/l - to line
LW Smokey Black e/k - waterline
Lancoem Hypnose Drama mascara

Lips
Inglot red l/l
Chanel Coromandel RA Laque
Nars Babe l/g

July 18, 2012

For as long as I remember being into makeup (from tender age of 16), I always loved lipsticks. I started with the brown lipsticks of the 90's, moved on the girlie pinks and nowadays I wear any colour depending on my mood.

I never was a big lip gloss person though, not even in my teens. I like to use lipglosses for layering and seldom purchase "bold" shades of lipgloss (meanwhile I would wear the boldest lipsticks shades I can find). I find with most brighter/darker glosses, there's a tone of "feathering" and fading of the colour even when I do wear a lip liner. So in the end I find bright glosses more fussy than bight lipsticks.

Lately though, especially this hot summer when I cannot be bothered with much makeup, I'm embracing bold shades of lip gloss. One of the very few brand of bolder lipglosses I found works for me is Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss. I find this particular gloss doesn't settle into my lipline despite the bolder shades and does not migrate past my lip line. The wear time is not as good as some of my lipsticks, but that doesn't really bother me.

I currently have three of these babies: Emoi (strawberry pink), Triumphal (shimmer pinky red, this one may be LE) and Excessive (bright tomato red):



Obviously I adore the packaging! Many beauty brands later, I still think Chanel packaging is the ultimate class. I also love the double ended applicator:



Here are some swatches for you, from top to bottom: Emoi, Triumphal, Excessive:



Emoi on my lips:



Triumphal on my lips:



Excessive on my lips:

If you are a lipgloss lover, do you wear bolder shades? What are some of your favourite brands of bold shade lipglosses? Besides using lip liners, what do you do to prevent migrating of the product when wearing the gloss alone?

July 16, 2012

Hey lovelies! Hope you all had a great weekend. It was another busy one for me and my husband but we managed to squeeze in a date night. We went to one of our favourite restaurants in town and then went for a late night stroll and enjoyed a tasty treat from one of the best gelato places in town.

I dolled it up for the date night with my go-to smokey cat eyes. I like the cat affect as it adds more "oomph" to the standard smokies and really elongate and compliment my eye shape. Next time you're slapping your taupe, gray, brown or black shades, try extending the outer corner into a cat eye shape and you won't be disappointed. Use a tape on the outer edge if you have to (I didn't coz I do this look a lot). But the key is to layer the colours gradually and blend first with a small brush (like MAC 219) and then buffing with a bigger domed brush (like MAC 217).

Hope you enjoy this look, have an amazing week :)

Face
F&B Foundation - N3
MUFE Full Cover #6
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Prim n Proper blush (LE) - I know I use this a lot!!
Shell Pearl powder

Eyes
UDPP - base
Feline e/k - to line both upper and lower lashline
Wedge e/s - crease
Nars Bali e/s - lid
Nars Pandora - black shade to create cat eye and blend, white shade on tear duct
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Lancome Black Art Liner

Lips
Nars Sex Machine mvp
Underage l/g





Natural light - as you can see I'm still sporting a sunburn I got 3 months ago in Mexico....damn you sensitive pregnancy skin:



And here's the outfit of the day: Ck striped dress which is so stretchy and comfortable. I'm also wearing flat gray gladiator from Guess. Hair is just air dried and left to its natural wavy texture. It was too hot of a day to bother styling:

July 12, 2012

Hi everyone! Time for anothe pregnancy update, we are now at week 33 which is 8 months and one week. I only have about 6 weeks left till my estimated due date of August 28th.

Here's my bump picture from yesterday:



Weight/body: I have now put on 18 lbs at nearly 34 weeks! Wow, I thought I'd never grow!! My weight is still focused on my bump and nowhere else and I still cary high. My belly button is starting to pop too, lol! My breasts have gone up a cup size unfortunately. I'm hoping they stay where they are now though and don't get any bigger.

Baby Movement: OMG you guys would not believe how much this little one moves and kicks around! I feel like she never sleeps and hope she does sleep when she comes out, lol! She's been head down since week 28 so I feel her kicks right under my ribcage.

Craving/appetite: appetite is all there these days and I'm eating much more than before. My husband is loving it! I still eat very clean though, no fast food or junk snacks. Always home made, even the dessert.

Loving About Pregnancy these days:

- Acts of kindness from family, friends and coworkers. One of my coworkers even threw me a surprise office shower. I received my pretty diaper bag (more on that on another post) as a gift, my boss paid for all refreshments and I had a great time with my coworkers.
- Pregnancy in summer style: maxi dresses are my best friend. Pretty much everyday I get many compliments on my outfits
- Hubby cooking food and baking pies for me. It used to be who did all the cooking and it's nice to have a break from that.
- All the baby kicks, never gets old!

Not Loving so Much:

- The damn heat and humidity! This is the worst summer ever and often, we reach a high of 45C with humidity here in Ottawa :/
- Chest pain, can't do much about it either. It comes and goes throughout the day.
- The waiting game...I wish I wasn't such a control freak and I'd just take things as they come. I wanna know when exactly I'll go into labour, lol!
- Less energy than before...I plan for so much and can never get it all done.

Accomplished so far:

- Nursery complete, all baby gadget and gears purchased. All clothes washed and organized.
- Did the hospital tour and finalized my birth plan. Made it much more generic as I won't know how things go until I go into labour.
- Started on the raspberry leaf tea regiment which is said to facilitate labour. Anyone has personal experience with that?

To do still:

- Attend the prenatal classes (two condensed classes over the next two weekends).
- Pack the hospital bag and have it ready to go.
- Set up the bassinet next to our bed for when baby's still young.

Here you have it. Will update more in the next few weeks in between my usual beauty posts. Hope you enjoyed my pregnancy ramblings :)

July 9, 2012

Hello loves! This past weekend was quite busy for us as hubby and I did our maternity photoshoot on Friday evening and then attended the mehndi and wedding celebration of a very close friend of ours.

Day 1: For the Mehndi, I wore a summery yellow sari with blue/green flowers I had borrowed from a friend. It was quite challenging wrapping it and I think in the end I didn't quite do it right (my first time putting on a sari). For the makeup, I went matchy-matchy with my sari. My indian friends told me that's actually encouraged :D

Face
Lie Watier 12H Foundation/Concealer - Neutral
Sculpt
Prim n Proper blush (LE)

Eyes
UDPP - base
Inglot yellow w/s - inner lid
Biogreen e/s (Pro) - mid lid
One Off e/s (LE - bright green) - mid lid
Prussian e/s - outer lid and crease
Jewel Blue e/s (DC - teal) - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Creme de Miel e/s (LE - light gold) - tear duct
BB Ivy Shimmer g/l - to line
Lise Watier Black Teal e/l (LE) - lower lashline
Lancome Hypnose drama mascara

Lips
Blankety l/s
Chanel Argonite glossimer





And here's some pics of me wearing my sari. My friend's blouse didn't fit as the blouses are always custom made to the woman so I just wore a teal tank top I had under it.







Day 2: For the wedding, I went for more dramatic liner and darker shadows. I wanted to incorporate the traditional Indian wedding colours (gold and red) and this is what I came up with. My Indian friends were pretty impressed actually :P

Face

MUFE #39 (cranberry) - inner and outer crease
Smoke Signals p/m (LE- dark burgundy) - inner and outer crease
Sugarpill Golidlux p/m - mid lid
Solar White e/s - highlight
Lancome Black Art Liner - to line
Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara

Lips
Chanel Romantic RA









And here's the next sari (borrowed from the same friend so it's missing the blouse). I wore the same style tank top as the day before only in red to compliment this sari:







I had quite bit of fun at both events and dressing up for them. My biggest gripe is that I'm VERY minimal with jewelry and no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't pile up the bangles, necklace AND earrings that most Indian ladies too. It was still fun wearing the saris though, it makes one feel like the queen :D

Hope you enjoyed this post. Have you guys ever dressed up in ethnic clothing of a culture that is not your own (like me and my sari here)? Did you feel comfortable or did you think you stood out for miles? I felt like everyone was looking at me as I didn't think my sari was tied right, lol!

July 5, 2012

Hello beauties! I'm not one to really change my makeup looks based on season. I don't personally believe that there are colours of eyeshadow or lipstick that are better for summer than winter. I wear what I feel like, depending on my mood and not the season.

However, I do change my face routine. I switch to a lighter moisturizer, heavier sunscreen (I wear SPF50 on a daily basis) and different texture of foundation. I also wear more bronzers and illuminators. I live in Ottawa, where the summers are brutally hot and humid. A cakey foundation on my face is just not gonna cut it! Here are some of my fave face products:

Foundations: I alternate between these two products. Some days I wear Nars Tinted Moisturizer (shade Alaska) which I've reviewed in details here. It lasts 7-8 hours on me and the finish is gorgeous. Other times I go to my trustee MAC Face and Body foundation (shade N3) as it is also very light and blendable. I do have to set this one with powder though:




Bronzers/blushes: I bronze my skin pretty much every single day. I do switch to darker shades in the summer though. Nars Irressistiblement is gorgeous on light to medium skintones and I adore the terracotta shade. I also use my Too Faced Sun Bunny frequently when I'm too lazy to wear any other makeup. It's shimmery but very flattering. I alternate my blushes based on what I'm wearing but MAC Instant Chic (LE - light pinky coral) gets the most use:



Highlighters: I do not leave the house without my bronzer/highlighter combos. Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmer Brick is gorgeous on its own or over any neutral blush. MAC Sunspill loose beauty powder (Pro) is a beautiful lit from within shimmering golden peach. I absolutely adore MAC's loose beauty powders (but not sure if they're still available). Another summer face is MAC Chez Chez Lame (LE) which is a pale golden shade. Not shimmery, just sophisticated glow:

Hope you find this post helpful. What are some of your favourite summer face products?

July 3, 2012

Hey beauties! After many weeks of work, our baby girl's nursery is pretty much ready. I mean there are some little things that need to be done (like installing shelves for her books, getting clock/iPhone dock...) but I was happy enough with the progress to post the pictures at this point. We've even mounted her video monitor already :D

Colours: we waited on anything nursery till we knew the sex of the baby. Once we found out we were having a girl, we each picked a colour for her room. I picked coral and my husband picked green. So we went with soft coral, sage green and cream shades for her room:




Theme: I didn't want to do the typical girlie pink princess theme. So we decided on owls for the theme. We tried not to over do it though and threw in different animals, birds and flowers here and there. We painted the room with help from my dad and my youngest sister helped us with the wall murals you see in the pictures (the tree and the owls). I think she did an excellent job:



We are also on a budget as my husband is job hunting and I'm going on mat leave soon. So while we splurged on some key items (like crib, drawer chest, stroller,..) I found some great deals by shopping at Winners (the green lamp and the picture frame) and my mom made the curtains for us. We found the glider/ottoman on kijiji for an awesome deal and had the material dry cleaned.



I've organized the boxes above the change table with basic baby supplies; one contains soothers and teethers, the other contains about 30 diapers and the last one has wipes and rash cream stored:



A peak inside her closet, where we installed the IKEA shelves for easier organization. For now I've only hung her 0-6 month dresses and winter suites in there:



I organized things like her swaddling and receiving blankets, bibs, burping cloths, bathing supplies, towels, her Moby wrap and gray Ergo carrier and my own maternity supplies (nursing pads and creams) in here:



I found this organizer at Winners and love it as it has small pockets on both sides. So I put all her socks and shoes in one side and her mittens, headbands and hats in the other.



Finally, the first drawer contents, which is mostly 0-3 months onesies and baby wear. The rest of the drawers contain older size clothings:



We also have bouncer, two different swings, play mat and her bassinet which will not be placed in the nursery. The plan is to have her sleep in the bassinet next to our bed for the first 8 weeks before she can have her room.

Hope you guys liked this post. I'm pretty proud of the nursery and happy to be pretty much done at this stage which I still can move about easily (I'm 32 weeks now).

July 1, 2012

Hello beauties and Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians. We're spending most of the day chilling at my parents by their pool and enjoying BBQ food and the amazing weather. Hubby and I may go and see the fire works in the evening but it really depends on how we feel by then. Living in the Capital, the Canadian Day festivities can get old after a few years ;)

This is the look I did this morning. It's fairly simple but punched up because of the tangerine red lips and the teal liners. Hope you guys like it.

Face
Nars Alaska TM
Nars Irresistiblement Bronzer
BB Nectar Shimmer Brick

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Expensive Pink e/s - inner lid
Woodwinked e/s - mid lid
Coppering e/s - outer lid
Wedge e/s - crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Gosh Copper Girl e/l - lower lashline
Inglot #75 (teal) g/l - to line
Marcelle Power Volume mascara

Lips
Temperature is Rising l/l (LE)
Lancome Miss Coquelicot Rouge in Love
Nars Wonder l/g









In other news, our baby girl nursery is finally done!!! Hubby and I picked up everything that still had to get purchased for her on Friday and on spent Saturday putting the finishing touches to her room. Expect a post this week with nursery details and pictures :D