June 29, 2011


Hey beauties! I haven't had time to do much makeup this week so far. I've had early site visits pretty much everyday and it's been so friggin hot and humid that overall I'm just not that inspired to even wear eyeshadows. I still do my nails though! I don't think anyone has ever seen me without nail polish on, lol! Last night, I layered some OPI Silver Shatter over Essie Lapis of Luxury. I was initially very turned off by the whole crackle/shatter trend but I do like the silver shatter. I find it much more "chic" than black or any other colours:

nails

And for my super easy makeup, I just wore MAC Pro Longwear (in NW25 - which matches me again now that I'm tanner), Nars Irresistiblement bronzer and Deep Throat blush on my face, Lancome Hypnose mascara and then BAM lips with Chanel Coromandel Rouge Allure Laque:

look

Hope you enjoyed this random post. Will try to get more inspiring looks in soon :)





June 28, 2011


Hey lovelies! I thought of doing a series of my favourite summer products now that the hot weather is on full swing. I will try to do at least one product per week and see how many we will get to by end of summer. And what other product to start with but a bronzer:

nars1

I purchased Nars Irresistiblement this spring and cannot stop using it. I literally have been ignoring all my other bronzers since. Irresistiblement is described on Nars website as "golden Terracotta" but to me it doesn't look golden at all. I would personally call it peachy caramel which is a shade that works great with my cooler complexion (MAC NW25). It also has a matte texture that I now prefer and is very buildable depending on what brush you use and how much of it you pick up. I would say this bronzer works divine on fair to light/light medium skintones with cooler undertones. Here's a closer look:

nars2

On NW25 skintone
nars3

I love that Irresistiblement is not brown so it looks super natural and healthy on vs making you look tanned. I have been looking for a peachy bronzer forever and this product has become my HG. It looks a bit orange in the pan but don't worry, it translate to the most unique shade of peachy bronze on the skin. I encourage all bronze phobes to give this bronzer a shout! I love it in combination with peachy, coral and golden blushes, it gives that amazing summer glow. It looks divine with Nars Deep Throat, Gilda and MAC Instant Chic and Cantaloupe as a few examples.

Here I'm wearing it with MAC Instant Chic blush on top:

summer

Hope you guys find this review helpful. What is your favourite bronzer?

June 27, 2011


Hey beauties! Today's a crazy busy day for me at work as we just have moved into the new location and everyone is running around trying to unpack. It doesn't help that summer is generally a busy time in my department anyway and all this move and packing/unpacking isn't helping. Oh well, this is a short week so I shall survive.

I did a glimmering gold smokey look for a big family party this past Saturday. I got a lot of compliments from the ladies on it too, quite few wanted me to do their makeup, lol! I hadn't work my MAC Reflects Antique Gold pigment in a bit and I love the affect of it layered over rusty gold base base like MUFE Metal pigment #3.

Hope you guys enjoy this look. Happy Monday :)

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
MUFE HD Foundation - 118 (Flesh)
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Prim n Proper blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Dirty GPS - base for lid and lower lashline
Nars Star Sailor duo - gold side on inner lid
MUFE Gold Metal p/m #3 - lid
Wedge e/s - above crease
Espresso e/s - crease and outer lid
NYX Black e/s - outer v
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Lancome Black Art Liner - to line
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
MUFE 2C l/l
MUFE Rouge Artist Intense l/s #29

1-25/6/11

2-25/5/11

3-25/6/11

Outfit of the night is this green shift dress I got from Le Chateau probably 6 years ago. As you know I love form fitting shift dresses and this one also fits no matter how much weigh I put on/ or lose. The strappy heels are from Nine West:

me

And bonus picture of the night, me and my forever young looking parents <3

parents

June 24, 2011


Happy Friday my lovelies! My office is moving to a new location today so around here is absolute chaos. We've been packing for months now and finally it's over. We're also all off at noon today so a bunch of us are going for lunch as soon as the movers come in. Also, hubby won tickets for Cirque de Soleil showing tonight and the two of us and two friends are going to see it later this afternoon. We have a great box seating too which makes it even better.

This is a look I did in a rush yesterday. It took about 5 minutes to put the whole thing together. It's nothing special and you can see how my hair is still wet (I was rushing to breakfast meeting with my boss). But I thought I post it anyway. Hope you guys like this and have an amazing weekend.

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Santa Fe
Ben Nye powder
Stark Naked blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
UD Toasted e/s - inner lid
UD Baked e/s - lid
UD Hustle e/s - outer lid and crease
UD Naked e/s - above crease
UD Virgin e/s - highlight
Dark Diversion f/l - to line
UD Baked 24/7 liner - lower lashline
Chanel Rouge Noir Inimitable mascara

Lips
Trimmed in Pink l/l
Chanel Emoi gloss

1-23/6/11

2-23/6/11

Oh, Ottawa's anual Rib Festival or as we call it RibFest is on right now (June 22-June 26). As the name suggest, this is a street event of rib and chicken cook-off. Every year a panel of judges selects the best tasting ribs and us people sample as many as we desire for a great price. I went in with a bunch of coworkers yesterday and we had an amazing time. I got a combo of ribs, pulled pork and chicken plus beans and salad:

chickedn

And here's a phone pic of me and some slightly intoxicated coworkers enjoying our fatty meals, haha:

ppl

12:17 PM

June 23, 2011


Hey beauties! I'm was NOT having a good day yesterday. One of those days when I want to kill off every single man on Earth, lol! I had to walk out of a meeting with a senior client due to his being inappropriate....looooong story! Anyway, then I got back to the office all frustrated, checked my emails and found out I'm double booked yet again for tomorrow. I'm getting quite tired of this whole being understaffed business. I called my boss and he got an ear full but he'll get some more tomorrow (I'm having breakfast with him).

All that aside, I did like my makeup today. I find that I don't do a lot of full on bright looks anymore so it's nice to bust out some colour once in a while. Hope you guys like the look. Oh, and my bangs are growing out again, debating whether I should cut them again or let it grow out for the summer. What do you guys think?

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua - Beige Tendre (B20)
Ben Nye Primer
Bite of an Apple blush

Eyes
Rubenesque p/p - base
Inglot AMC 60 - inner lid
MUFE #18 e/s - mid lid
MUFE #99 e/s - outer id
MUFE #75 e/s - crease and above
Creme de Miel e/s - tear duct
Solar White e/s - highlight
MUFE #92 e/s - lower lashline
BB Chocolate Shimmer g/l - to line
Diorshow mascara

Lips
Temperature Rising l/l
Exxxhibitionist kissable lip colour

1-22/6/11

2-22/6/11

Natural Light shots:

3-22/6/11

4-22/6/11

5-22/6/11

June 22, 2011


Hey beauties! I did yet another burgundy look, I just am in love with this shade and of course with my all time fave MAC pigment, Smoke Signal. I really gotta do a top 10 or top 5 fave pigments post. But I know already Smoke Signal is #1, it's definitely my most used shade.

In other news, I fell off the exercising wagon last week and I'm not happy about. I need to restart on my 30-Day Shred stuff ASAP. I made it to Level 3 but then got lazy. I need some motivation. How do you guys stay motivated to exercise? I eat really healthy and don't easily get tempted with fatty food but I do occasionally get lazy with the workout :/

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - Ivory Beige
MUFE Full Cover - #6
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Pink Cult blush

Eyes
Painterly p/m - base
Vanilla p/m - lid
Smoke Signal p/m - crease
MUFE #39 e/s - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Lancome Black Art Liner - to line
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
Inglot red l/l
MUFE Rouge Artist Intense in Moulin Rouge

1-21/6/11

2-21/6/11

3-21/6/11

4-21/6/11

June 21, 2011


Hey lovelies! I have another summer dinner recipe for you today. I make this salad in larger quantities and also take with us to the beach on the weekends. Reading on the beach and relaxing is one of my all time favourite summer activities and nothing makes it better like good light meals to munch on.

Here's my Chicken Potato Salad Recipe:

food

Cook 1 1/2 lbs of red potatoes in boing salted water for 10 mins. Transfer to a colander and then add 1/2lb of green beans to the same water. Cook for a couple of minutes, then drain. In a large bowl, mix 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tbsp of chopped capers, 4 tbsp of chopped parsley, peel and juice from one lemon and add the potatoes and beans to the bowl. Mix all together and season with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl, beat an egg. In another shallow bowl 1/4 of flour with salt and pepper. Dip two 6-oz pieces of skinless chicken first in flour mix, then in egg mixture then in flour again and fry in a hot skillet for 8 mins. Transfer to a cutting board and cut in diagonal strips. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to the hot skillet scraping up the brown chicken bits. Remove from heat and add a tbsp of chopped capers and some lemon juice.

Serve the salad with the chicken strips and the lemon broth sauce drizzled on top. Enjoy!

June 20, 2011


Hello my lovelies! This is one of my favourite looks that I do when I want to look put-together and it always earns me a lot of compliments (from men and women) as it makes my eyes pop. Now, having hazel-amber shade eyes, the best colours for me to make them more golden/green are warm purples and mauves or any red base dark colour. However, the technique I'm using here will work on any eye colour and will make them stand out. It's more about lining and less about particular shades.

You want to use a peachy shade on your lids, define your crease very lightly and focus all the attention to the liner. Use a light skintoned eyeliner to trace your lower lashline (in my case I used Stila Topaz k/l). Then line your eyes (upper and lower lashline) with your favourite black liquid liner. Then use a black kohl pencil to tight line your eyes fully. Finally add mascara and voila!

Hope you guys liked the mini tutorial and this look. Here's what I used:

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - Ivory Beige
MUFE FUll Cover - #6
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Nars Madly blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Chanel Regards Perlees quint - peach shade on lid
UD Naked e/s - crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Stila Topaz k/l - lower lashline
Lancome Blacck Art Liner - to line
Lise Watier Noir Intense e/l - waterline
Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips
VGVI SE l/s - the perfect mauvy pink that I just re-discovered in my sea of lipsticks!

1-19/6/11

2-19/6/11

3-19/6/11

Oh and I wore this breezy scarf dress to a stroll and dinner downtown with hubby on Sunday. I picked it up in a random store last year in Baltimore but it's so comfortable and perfect for summer. I wish I could get away without wearing a bra but I cannot unfortunately. The dress would have looked much better without my bra showing from the back. The leather sandals are from Gap:

ootd

June 20, 2011


Happy Monday lovelies! Let's start this week by a tag post, shall we? The lovely Maya from Pretty Things has tagged me on her blog post. Her blog was one of the first I started following and still one of my faves so check her out :)

So here we go:

Shampoo - I try to change my shampoo once every 6 months. My hair is colour treated and I use Kiehl's Sunflower shampoo. Works great and smells amazing!

Conditioner - I use Kiehls' Sunflower conditioner which I also adore. Additionally, I deep condition once a week using Moroccan Oil Hair Mask.

Styling Product - I have naturally wavy hair and don't really use styling product. I put some Moroccan Oil oil on my hair fresh out of the shower and that's usually it. I've been using this stuff for over 2 years now and my hair has never looked better.

Shower Gel - I have various products in my bathroom but my favourite one and the one I always go back to is Bliss Vanilla and Bergamot shower gel. LOVE this stuff!

Body Moisturizer - I use both Kiehl's Creme de Corps (smells like honey..mmmm) and Bliss Vanilla and Bergamot in rotation. I can't even pick one as my fave but the Kiehl's is thicker so you need more time for it to absorb.

Face Moisturizer (Morning) - Right now I'm back to the Clinique 3-step system so I use their Dramatically Different Lotion. So far so good, my skin is looking better than usual.

Face Moisturizer (Evening) - I don't use anything at the moment...oops! Can you guys recommend something good to me?

Deodorant - right now I'm on Dove Ultimate.

Fake Tan - I've been loving Clarin's Instant Smooth Self Tanner. Best product in the market. I usually spray tan but this stuff is good when I do last minute tanning at home.

Cleanser - I use Marcelle's water based makeup remover and Clinique's Toner

Exfoliator - I've been a faithful user of St. Ives Apricot exfoliator for years. I use that stuff on my face. For my body I use Bliss Vanilla and Bergamot Body Scrub. I'm just a sucker for that scent, haha!

Primer - Been loving Nars Pore Refining lately!

Foundation - oh Lord! I always have so many in rotation! Right now I use Nars Sheer Glow (Santa Fe), Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (B20), MUFE HD (118), MUFE F&B (#32) and MAC F&B (N2) depending on the occasion and how hot it is!

Foundation brush - I either use my fingers or grab my trustee MAC 187

Concealer - LOVING MUFE Full Cover Concealer in shade #6. Great formula and cover everything amazingly!

Powder - I use Ben Nye Translucent powder (HG for 3 years) every morning and if I get oily in the afternoon I touch up with Chanel pressed powder in Peach.

Blushes - These days I go mostly for Nars Madly or MAC Prim n Proper

Bronzer - Toss up between Nars Laguna and Nars Irresistablement. Depends whether I want shimmer or not.

Highlight - Been loving BB Nectar shimmer brick, Nars Copacabana Illuminator and MAC Chez Chez Lame powder

Eyeshadow Base - The one and only MAC Painterly paint pot, I'm on my third!

Eyeshadows - ok, there's no eyeshadow I use every single day. I would get bored! I do use MAC Blanc Type as my everyday highlight though...I also use UD Naked Palette a lot!

Eyeliner - Recently been loving MUFE liquid liner in #11, still in love with my BB gel liners especially Cobalt Ink, Ivy Shimmer and Chocolate Shimmer...and let's not forget about my beloved Lancome Black Ink Art Liner.

Curler - don't use.

Mascara - I have about 8 in rotation but mostly use Lancome Hypnose and Diorshow

Lipstick - depends on my mood, there's no single answer. I wear Nars Heat Wave and Baroque at least once a week though

Lipgloss - not much of a gloss girl but these days I occasionally wear Chanel Argonite and Venus glossimers, Nars Babe l/g and MAC True Babe l/g

Nail Polish - I change my nail colour everyday and have soooo many faves! I wear brights, nudes and neons in the summer though. I've been loving Essie's Brazilian Summer collection this week.

So I'm a bit too lazy to actually tag anyone but I do love reading these. It also helps me find new products based on what people love. So please consider yourselves tagged if you're reading this. Let me know in comment if you're going to do it so I check out your blog for this post :)






June 18, 2011


Hey lovelies! It's been so hot around here that I don't even feel like doing my makeup. So I've been sticking to neutral eyes and bold lips most of the time. I felt like doing smokey brown eyes on Friday though and achieved the look I wanted with my beloved Urban Decay Naked Palette. I'm sure I've done looks similar to this before but it just works. I love using MAC Dirty GPS as base for looks like this. Makes the whole look more put together.

What are your plans this weekend? I spent most of Friday evening with a close friend (dinner, shopping, drink). Also hubby and I are doing some home reno (building a bedroom in our basement) so we're working mostly. Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua - Beige Tendre (B20)
MUFE Full Cover - #6
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Prim n Proper blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Dirty GPS - base for outer lid
UD Sin e/s - inner lid
UD Darkhorse e/s - lid
UD Buck e/s - crease
UD Naked e/s - above crease
UD Virgin e/s - highlight
Lise Watier Smokey Black e/k - to line
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
Blankety l/s
Glamour for All l/g

1-17/6/11

2-17/6/11

3-17/6/11

4-17/6/11

When it's hot out, I style my hair away from my neck and face. I'm a huge fan of braided styles especially when the temperature rises. I did a half back side french braid. By half french braid I mean you only add hair from one side (the bottom in this case) instead of both sides. If you know how to french braid you'll understand what I mean. I started from right above my left ear and ended right above my neck. I used a couple of bobby pins to hold it in place and added a tiny bit of hair spray. This style looks best on wavy hair so use a curling iron or flat iron to add waves if yours is straight (I have naturally wavy hair). I have a LOT of hair and this style still held all day! I always have better luck when I come up with styles last minute, lol!

hair

Hope you like the hair of the day too :)

June 16, 2011


Hey lovelies! This past weekend I purchased a sexy one piece swimsuite from American Apparel. They had a promo in store which allowed you to pick a nail polish with purchases of over $50.

I picked up a nail polish called Mannequin. I kinda was hesitant about it but OMG I love this shade on. I have a lot of flesh toned nudes but this one is by FAR the most flattering on my skintone. It's a light nude with obvious pink undertones which are much kinder on me than the peachy or beige undertones most nude polishes have. The formula was amazing. I did two layers and each layered applied super easily. I've also had this one for 3 days and no chipping yet (I don't use top coats).

Here's a swatch for you guys:
aa

What is your favourite nude nail polish?

June 15, 2011


Hey lovelies! I've had one of those days when I wanted to rip someone's head off, lol! It was just super busy at work, I had many scheduling conflicts, was stuck outside for 2 hours in a 35Deg day and didn't even get to eat lunch! I just spent 20 mins on the phone with my boss venting and now feel a bit better. I love my boss, lol! He's always good to talk to at times like this, takes the stress away after a rough day.

I did this green and gold look yesterday. I'm starting to warm up to greens it seems. I also wanted to wear a gold eyeliner for the longest time so I thought why not pair it with green eyeshadows. I used MAC's Gold pigment (metal) and their gel mixing medium to create the eyeliner.

Hope you guys like this look :)

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Laura Mercier Silk Cream Foundation - Beige Ivory
Ben Nye powder
Nars Irrésistiblement Bronzer
Chez Chez Lame powder

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base for upper lid
MUFE #22 (emerald green) aqua cream - base for outer lid and crease
Inglot AMC #59 e/s - inner lid
Kelly Green p/m - lid
Goldmine e/s - crease
Velvet Moss e/s - outer lid
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Gosh Velvet Green e/l - lower lashline
Gosh Golden Cadillac e/l - lower lashline
Gold p/m with mm - to line
Diorshow mascara

Lips
Honeylove l/s
Nars Moonfleet l/g

1-14/6/11

2-14/6/11

3-14/6/11

And here's another outfit of the day for you. I'm on fire with those, lol! Shift navy dress is from Mexx (from 2 years ago), necklace is by Aldo and the nude pumps are Steve Madden's. I adore this shift dress, I pretty much live in this style of dress (they work great on my curves) but this particular one is my fave ever!

ootd


11:40 AM

June 14, 2011



Hey my lovelies! This is a look from this past Sunday. We spent pretty much all day with our closest couple friends. Went for an amazing brunch at a vegan cafe, then my friend and I went shopping while our hubbies golfed. Then finally we went back to their place for movie, BBQ and chattery. Nothing like good times with good friends.


Anyway, a soft rose/bronze look is one of my favourite ways to wear my makeup when it's warm out. I like that it's not boring neutral yet it glows coz of the bronzey hues. I love MAC Bronzilla l/s layered with Chanel Pleasing glossimer for a sparkly yet elegant bronze lip. MAC X-Rocks makes an amazing rosey bronze blush. You will see the same bronze/rose theme on the eyes too!


Hope you guys like this look :)


Face

Nars Pore Refining Primer

Laura Mercier Silk Cream Foundation - Beige Ivory (testing this)

Ben Nye powder

X-Rocks blush - I love this in the summer, it's my rosy bronzer!


Eyes

Painterly p/p - base for upper lid

Shiseido Hydro Powder e/s H4 - base for lid

Jest e/s - inner lid

Rose p/m - lid

MUFE #39 - outer lid

Coppering e/s - crease

Blanc Type e/s - highlight

MUFE #11 l/l - to line - looooove the MUFE new liquid liners!!

Chanel Rouge Noir Mascara

Lips

Bronzilla l/s

Chanel Pleasing glossimer




1-12/6/11





2-12/6/11





3-12/6/11





For outfit of the day, I was wearing this light white cotton dress I found at Winners with wide belt bought from Aldo a few years ago. My husband is a big fan of summer dresses and so he was loving this look. Oh, the sandals are from Steve Madden, they are the most comfortable sandals I've ever owned. I've been wearing the hell outta them!





ootd

June 13, 2011


Happy Monday my lovelies! I have for you one of this past weekend FOTD's. I went to a lunch date with hubby and then attended WestFest (an outdoor music/art festival) and had a blast. I wanted to wear smokey eyes but I also wanted to keep it low key so I reached for my beloved Nars Dogon duo. I cannot rave enough about this eyeshadow duo. No matter how I wear it, I always look put together with minimal effort.

How was you guys weekend? And is anyone already looking forward to the next one? Lol!

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua - Beige Tendre (B20)
MUFE Full Cover - #6
Ben Nye Concealer
Nars Laguna Bronzer

Eyes
Delft p/p - base for lid
Painterly p/p - base for upper lid
Aqua e/s - inner lid
Nars Dogon duo - dar shade on lid, light shade in crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Lise Watier Black Teal e/s - to line
Lancome Definicils Pro mascara

Lips
Trimmed in Pink l/l
Chanel Emoi RA Laque Extrait

1-11/6/11

2-11/6/11

and one in Natural light:
3-11/6/11

And outfit of the day is a maxi print dress from Charlotte Russ and leather flat sandals from Gap. This was so comfortable and easy, breezy. I love maxi dresses in the summer:
ootd

June 12, 2011


Hey lovelies! I did this full on purple look that is similar to a smokey purple look I did a while back. I wore this one to work though so it's not quite as intense. How's everyone's weekend so far? Mine was very relaxing, I spent a lot of time chilling with hubs ad I had really missed him when he was gone these last 10 days.

Hope you guys like this look. And hope you're not suffering from Sunday evening blues like I am.

Face
Nars Pore Refining Primer
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Santa Fe
MUFE Full Cover Concealer - #6
Ben Nye Primer
Chanel Plum Attraction JC
Azalea Blossom b/o

Eyes
Painterly p /p - base for upper lid
Inglot Purple g/l - base for outer lid
UD Morphine e/s pencil - base for inner lid
Stars n Rockets e/s - inner lid
Purple from Stila Doll'd Up palette - lid
Graphology e/s - outer lid
Prussian e/s - crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Chanel Cassis e/l - to line
Diorshow mascara

Lips
Up the Amp l/s

1-9/6/11

2-9/6/11

June 10, 2011


Hey beauties! I'm so happy it's Friday finally. I mean I always love fridays but especially since hubby's coming back from a week-long conference. I've had a tough week and it's nice to see him and vent my heart out, lol!

I played with my nails last night and decided to layer some Essie Mesmarize over my one day old Zoya Lola mani. It came out as this funky half moon which I kinda dig. I think I will do this more often with other colours. Check it out:

nails

I also did a super simple FOTD as again we were attacked by a heat wave and I wanted to stay simple and glowy. This is the second time this week I do this look (or something similar):

Face
MUFE F&B - #32
Ben Nye powder
Nars Irresistablment bronzer
Azalea Blossom b/o

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
UD Half Baked e/s - lid
UD Smog e/s - outer lid
UD Buck e/s - crease
UD Naked e/s - above crease
UD Virgin e/s - highlight
MUFE Aqua Cream #20 - to line
Lancome Definicil Pro mascara

Lips
Chanel Antigone RC Shine

1-8/6/11