May 1, 2010

Sorry this edition of monthly faves is a bit late guys. You all know about the nasty week I was having. But it's the weekend now and I can forget about it for a bit.



1. Orly Luxe
I've been craving warm colours especially corals and golds this month so you will see the theme through this month's faves. Orly's Luxe from their Foil FX collection is hands down the best gold nail polish I ever lair my eyes on. It looks like molten gold but it's pretty neutral, not too warm or too cool. This is one my fave polishes ever. I have a swatch of Luxe here.

2. Sugarpill Goldilux
Speaking of gorgeous gold shades, I also don't think I've ever seen a better gold eyeshadow/pigment than Goldilux. This shade looks hot dry or foiled and it just glistens under the sun. Two thumbs up! Check out swatch of Goldilux here.

3. Chanel Rouge Coco in Teheran
I know you are all tired of me talking about this lipstick, but I honestly cannot get enough. This is a shimmery (but not frosty) shade of light pinky coral. It's beautiful on my skintone and is the perfect spring shade. Check out my swatch and review here.

4. Lise Watier Eye Glitter in Saphir
Lise Watier makes the best glitter liners hands down! They are very high in pigmentation and shimmer. I have about 7-8 of them and Saphir has got to be my most used one (at least for April). It's a gorgeous dark navy glitter liner. You can line it alone or over a navy liner for more intensity. Click here to check out a look I did with Saphir here.

5. Nars Mud Mask
I got a very generous sample of this from my Nars MA as I spend so much money at their counter (lol). This mud mask is the bomb! I use it on my face once a week and my complexion is so much clearer. One of my girl friends just came back from a 2 month trip in Asia and commented on how clear my skin looked right away. You just gotta apply it all over face and neck, let it sit for 20 minutes and then rinse with warm water, voila! My MA gave me three big samples so I'm set for a looooong time but I will get a full jar when I run out!

Have you guys tried any of these products? What are your fave products for the month of April?

April 30, 2010

Hey everyone and happy Friday! I'm in an excellent mood today. I was able to get a good night sleep so I put some thoughts into my outfit and makeup. When you look good, you feel good! You also become more creative with blog postings.

I started BeautySpot about a year and half ago and noticed today that I'm at 291 followers! Initially, I never thought anyone would like to read my rambling. I remember how excited I was when I got my first comment ever (from Shayla of ReveNoir incidentally). I thought it's about time I share some blogging pointers for those new to blogging or those of you who just like to know how I got to where I am (which is really not that far, lol!).

Here we go, these are not really in order of importance:

1. Passion
The first tip is that you have to be passionate about the topics you write about. BeautySpot is a makeup blog. I've always loved makeup, from buying to applying to finding what works best for me to discussing cosmetic topics with my readers. When I wake up in the morning, I get happy right away thinking about my makeup. I think about blog posts all the time; when I'm cooking, in the shower, during lunch break....If you're not passionate about your own blog, no one else will be.

2. Frequent Posting
There are days that I'm so stressed and busy with my personal life that the last thing I want to do is blogging when I get home. But I always try and maintain a pretty consistent blogging schedule despite all. If I find that my posts are lackluster one week (this week for example) due to personal issues, I make up for it next week. Which brings me to the next point,

3. Variety
My blog is mainly to share my FOTD's with you guys as applying makeup is my favourite part of the blogging journey. However, I like to mixe it up by adding reviews, favourites, polls, discussion topics, nail of the day or random thoughts. I find the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones that have variety yet remain on their main topic, I try to do the same.

4. Be Interactive
I try to reply to comments on my blog as fast as I can. I don't leave any comments or question unanswered for more than a day (I try to reply much faster than that). I also love to do topics like polls or cosmetic discussion to know what my readers like or get their opinion on everything beauty. It helps me learn more about my readers which I always enjoy.

5. Comment, comment, comment!
One of the best ways for your blog to get more exposure is to discover other blogs with similar contents and interact with your felow bloggers. We all have busy lives, but this is one of the best ways to improve your blogging skills. I personally have a very demanding day job, a husband (lol!) and a relatively busy social life but I allocate 30 min to an hour a day to catch up with blogs on my blog rolls, comment on fave posts and discover new blogs. You never know how much there's to learn out there till your expand your horizons.

6. Online Community
Being a member of online communities and forums will also help you meet like-minded bloggers which will result in a better blog. You'll learn more about topic trends and what ppl like to read. I'm a regular poster on Specktra and many of my followers found me through there. I also post on Makeup Alley, Makeup Talk and Love, Life Lipstick.

7. Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are sure ways to give more exposures to your blog. I've had two contests so far (one sponsored and one supported by me) and each of them have helped me tremendousely with more followers. I don't like to do giveaways just to get more followers, it's also a way to rewared my readers for their time and interest in my blog.

8. Wording is key
If you go to Google right now and type "Chanel Rouge Coco Swatch", what do you see? My blog is the second one on the list right after Temptalia's. This shows how important it is to tag your posts appropriatley and use key search words. This is especially important if you use blogger which is a Google feature.

wow, that was pretty long! Hope it helped you guys though. I know these pointers helped me :)

April 29, 2010

Sorry for lack of creative looks and posts guys. Like I mentioned in my blog post, I'm having the worst time at work this week and simply cannot think of my makeup too much in the mornings. I'm hoping all that will change by this weekend.

Hope you guys are having a better time than me. Here's today's look:

Face
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye powder
Cantaloupe blush
Sunspille loose bp

Eyes
Rubenesque p/p - base
Woodwinked e/s - inner lid
Bright Future e/s - mid lid
Expensive Pink e/s - outer lid
Prussian e/s - crease and above
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line

Lips
Blankety l/s
Nars Moon Fleet l/g

April 29, 2010

Hey everyone and happy Thursday! I for one am very excited that this blasted week is over. It was not a very happy one for me unfortunately, but there's always the weekend to recover from all the stress.

For today's poll, it's going to be short and sweet. I've been toying with the idea of changing my blog template as I'm getting a lil bored with it. What do you guys think? Should I keep this one or get a totally different one? Also, do you feel like the layout feels a lil crowded? Please let me know if you have any feedback.

April 26, 2010

Hey everyone and happy Monday! We're having another beautiful sunny day here and despite usual stresses at my site visit today, I'm in an excellent mood. I did this light aqua eyes and paired it with my beloved Chanel Rouge Allure Lacque in Phoenix. Can I say how much I love this lipstick? I'm gonna do a full review later this week but I thought i declare my love for it today, lol!

Hope everyone survived Monday. Here's my look, let me know what you think.

Face
LW Portfolio - Light
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye powder
Stark Naked blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Azrael Blue p/m - lid
Sunpepper p/m - crease
Rich Life p/m - outer v
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Gosh Cool Mint e/l - lower lashline
BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line

Lips
Trimmed In Pink l/l
Chanel RA Lacque in Phoenix

April 25, 2010

We're having amazing sunny weather in Ottawa this weekend so naturally I've been outside most of yesterday and also today. We met up with some close friends of our for dinner and then drink last night and I went for my tried and true smokey purple eyes. This time I made them shimmery as well and paired it with matte cool lips (Snob - one of my fave lipsticks ever).

Here's the look. Hope everyone enjoys what's left of the weekend :)

Face
MUFE HD primer 0
LW Portfolio - Light
MUFE HD Foundation - 118 (Flesh)
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Nars Desire blush
Pearl Blossom bp

Eyes
V GPS - base
Stila Jewel palette - black shade on lid and pink shade on inner lid
MUFE #92 - crease
MUFE #9 - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Blacktrack f/l - to liner
NYX Black e/s - to smudge liner
Feline e/k - waterline
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
In Synch l/l
Snob l/s