March 28, 2013

Another month had gone us by! I gotta say 7 months so far is my fave babyhood age. She's so interactive and cute at this age...I mean she's always cute but now it's a whole other level.

Baby Stat: Sofia is 20lbs now and I know she's quite bit taller than last month; I just haven't measured her. She's mostly in 9-12 or 12month clothing. I had to put away quite bit more stuff that's small for her. Makes me sad a bit :(

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Heath: Poor baby had another cold two weeks ago which seems to have subsided now. She's still teething badly but no teeth in sight yet!

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Eat: Sofia is eating a lot more food now. We introduced yogurt yesterday and she's loving it mixed with oatmeal cereal for breakfast. She also took on her sippy cup quite well and likes her water cool. I puree most of her veggie and fruits but use store bought baby meat. She likes pretty much anything we give her but avocados, bananas, yogurt, chicken and peas are her faves. I haven't done finger food yet as I'm worried she'll choke coz she has no teeth!

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Sleep: She's been sleeping through for the most part since she turned 6 months (usually 6:45 pm to 6:30 am). We went through a week of middle of the night pooping but thankfully are out of that phase now. She takes 2 naps per day which are 1-1.5 hour each.

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Milestones:

- crawling backward and army crawling
- she gets on all four position and then drops back to the floor
- she understands simple commands like "no", "kiss", "eat" and responds to her name being called.
- drinking water from a sippy cup
- separation anxiety has passed now. She's content to play in her jumparoo or on the floor with her cubes.

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How I'm doing:

- still exercising quite a bit and just started Zumba to add some variety to my routine.
- sleep is getting better. I'm mostly off my sleep meds and my anxiety has subsided
- I'm breastfeeding full time still but she's spaced out her feeds. It's now easier for me to leave her with someone and get a few hours on my own.

Hope you guys enjoyed this update :)




March 24, 2013

Happy Sunday guys! Spring is already here but there are piles of snow outside so I'm not ready to bust out my spring wardrobe (and makeup) yet. It just doesn't make sense in our current weather condition.

At "in between" times like this, I always go back to tried and true makeup items. Nars makes awesome eyeshadow duos and I would like to own them all one day. For now, I've been going back to my Dogon duo. Dogon includes a dark navy side and a duochrome gray/silver/green side. The duochrome side is what sold me. It's like MAC Club but much softer and I'd say more sophisticated.

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I also used Nars Never Say Never matte velvet pencil in this look. I sing praise of these pencils all the time so I won't repeat myself. Never Say Never is a beautiful pinky purple that brings a little bit of spring into any makeup look and is universally flattering.

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Swatches on my bare NW20 arm

I used these two items for the first day of spring visit to my parents. Another way to wear Dogon is the smokey version with dark shade on the lid blended up and duochrome shade in the crease. I just thought this version was more daytime appropriate:

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Hope you guys enjoyed this post. What are some makeup items you have on rotation right now?

March 17, 2013

Hi guys! My parents throw a huge Persian New Year party each year around this time and as it is always with Persians, more is more. There were about 70 people at their house enjoying good music, awesome food and great conversation. We ended up leaving earlier than everyone else because of the bebe (who wanted nothing but sleep, lol) but we still had a great time.

Here's a picture of my little family from earlier that night:

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As you all know my glam go-to look is red lips. I decided to use my beloved Chanel Coromandel Rouge Allure Laque (sadly DC'd) for this look and pair it with soft eyes. I have many red lipsticks but seem to always go back to either this one or Dragon RAL. Here's a list of what I used:

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For Face: Used Marcelle BB Cream (shade Light to Medium) as my primer and MUFE HD Foundation (shade 118) as my foundation. I contoured using Chanel Notorious powder and then applied MAC Bite of an Apple blush (LE - red coral) on the apple of my cheeks.

For Eyes: Applied MAC Painterly p/p as base and the applied the white and green shades in Chanel Regard Perlee quint (LE) on my lids. I blended the harsh lines above the crease with MAC Wedge  and deepened the outer v softly with MAC Cork. I used MAC Blanc Type as browbone highlight. I lined lashline with MAC Added Goodness fluidline (LE - taupe) and finished with two coats of the L'Oreal mascara.

For lips: I lined and blended my lips with Annabelle Cherry first. I then applied Chanel Coromandel Lipstick and added Nars Babe lipgloss to the centre of the lips.


And a couple of pictures:

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What are some of your most glamorous lipsticks?

March 13, 2013

Hi ladies and gents! You may recall I made an excited post about Sephora's Princess Series - Jasmine a few weeks ago. Well, the Storybook Palette was released online while we were on vacation in the Caribbean and I just ordered it online then. I received it last week and only now got a few moments to blog about it...sigh, life with an active baby :D

Here's a super simple look I did with the palette:


For Face: Used Marcelle BB Cream (shade Light to Medium) as my primer and Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (shade BR20) as my foundation. Then I applied Nars Deep Truth blush on the apple of my cheeks.

For Eyes: Applied MAC Painterly p/p as base and lined and blended my eyes with Chanel Cassis eyeliner. I patted shade Master (deep purple) on the lid and shade Lapis (bright blue) into my crease. I blended the harsh lines above the crease with shade Blue Oasis (pale aqua) which I also applied to lower lashline. I used shade Sand in Glass (pale yellow) as tear duct highlight and Ali Ababwa (vanilla) as brownbone highlight. I lined lashline with Lancome Black Art Liner and the waterline with Stila Topaz kohl liner. I finished with two coats of Annabelle Le Big Show mascara.

For lips: Applied MAC Pink Nouveau Lipstick.


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This palette comes in a beautiful packaging with the outline of princess Jasmine on the cover. I'm a huge Aladdin fan and mainly bought this for collective purposes. It doesn't hurt that it comes with 15 beautifully pigmented eyeshadows, a bronzer and a blush. I found the general quality of the palette to be pretty good. There are some shades (maybe 3) where you will definitely need to tap your brush instead of swiping but not the majority.

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I also adore the versatility of the palette and the fact that they are bright and neutral shades in there. The bronzer and blush are excellent quality. Both are very pigmented and long lasting. I find the bronzer i=a bit golden for my late winter complexion but it will be great in the summer.

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Have you guys purchased this palette? What are some of your favourite makeup palettes?

March 8, 2013

I was organizing my closet and makeup stash yesterday to add some items I had recently purchased when it dawned on me: now that I'm in my 30's I seem to have a set style finally. I experimented a lot more when I was younger but I now seem to gravitate toward particular cuts and colours and only add new touches here and there.

Here's my style philosophy:

1. Be proud of your shape and flaunt what you got: I have a zillion shift and form fitting dresses, pencil skirts and fitted tops. I would describe myself as a "shapely" girl. Shift dresses look great on curvy figures without showing much and they are my staple. You'll never catch me in something loose fitting unless it's belted.

2. Know what colours work on you: most of my closet is neutrals in form of many well loved LBD's, white tops and beige/gray skirts. I rarely ever fully dress in neutrals though. My favourite colours to wear are shades of red (crimson, burgundy, berry), royal blue and purple/plum. These colours just make the most of my complexion. I stay away from green, yellow, copper and brown.

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Wearing my favourite - form fitting dresses in shades of black and red

3. Not everyone has to be a denim and T kinda girl: I have a total of 4 jeans and barely any T's. I don't even own a lot of pants. I'm not planing on adding more to these except to replace to jeans/pants that are now too big (I dropped a couple of sizes recently). I know most people feel their best and most comfortable when wearing casual pieces, but I'm not one of them.

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This is pretty much as casual as I would go...and not often

4. Minimal accessories: I love scarves and hats and wear them often. However when it comes to jewelry, I'm very minimalistic. You'll rarely ever catch me wearing earrings, necklace and bracelet let alone sport the "arm swag" trend. I would wear one statement piece and leave it to that. I'm a fan of dainty pieces when it comes to jewelry and less is more to me.

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I love hats of all kind!

5. Hairstyle is key to making an outfit: instead of focusing on jewelry, I focus on hair. My signature is usually windblown and down. But I will do an updo, braids, high pony, straight hair...depending on what I'm wearing, the neckline of the top and the general mood I'm going for.

6. Wear heels: I don't care that I'm 5'7" tall; I still wear at least 3" of heels most of the time. I prefer my posture that way and most of my clothes look better with heels.

7. You don't need to follow trends: I'm well aware of trends, but not all will work for me. I was all about the burgundy shades and velvety textures this fall but you would never catch me dead in combat boots. Trends should fit into one's style instead of one's style fitting into trends.

8. Makeup world is your oyster: I have my tried and true combo of black cat liner and red lips but I'm a makeup lover and will always experiment with different looks.

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A bright and colourful eye makeup or my beloved red lips

Do you have a set style or are you in the experimental phase? How would you describe your personal style?

March 6, 2013

Hi guys! Sorry for the two week absence but we just got back from a trip to Georgetown, Guyana to visit the inlaws. They had not yet met Sofia so this was long overdue. She turned 6 months old while we were there and so this is my first opportunity to update as we just got back on Sunday.

Baby Stats: Sofia is 6 months and 10 days old. She weighs 19lbs and her height is 69 cm. She's still in 75 to 90 percentile for her age and sex. She definitely got taller while we were away and I see it in how her pants fit.

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Eat: Sofia is now on Stage 1 solids. She typically has 2 meals per day but I'm starting to increase it to 3 as she seems to want to eat more. She loves pears and papayas as well as her brown rice cereal mixed with banana. She actually says "nom nom" as she eats them looool! She is not a fan of avocados or sweet potatoes though. I need to find a veggie she likes. I think I'll give her green peas next.

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Health: nothing major she's healthy and bubbly. She did get some mosquito bites while we were away but they're slightly fading now. My heart breaks everytime I see the bite marks :(

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Sleep: her sleep got very messed up while we were away but she's getting better slowly. Last two nights she actually slept through till 6 am (from 6:30 pm) without waking up. I'm hoping that is a permanent change. Her naps are more all over the map though. Some days she takes long ones some days she's a cat napper.

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Milestones:

- Rolls from front to back now as well as back to front. She does it very quickly too.
- Experiencing some separation anxiety. She does not like it when I'm not in her line of vision.
- Sits on her own now for a few minutes.
- Puts her toes in her mouth from lying position; this is of course her new favourite thing.
- Recognizes people quickly. The ones she knows get a smile right away others have to wait a few minutes before they see her grin.
- Started sleeping through the night.
- She hits her toys together, maybe soon she can clap?
- She loves loves loves to play; it's fairly easy to get her to giggle.


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How I'm doing:

- Still exercising very regularly. Working more on the abs now and thinking of getting Tracy Anderson's DVD.
- Sleep is hit and miss for me. I'm trying to quit my sleep meds which is not easy but I'm getting there.
- I'm getting better at socializing with friends and leaving bebe with the hubs. She takes the bottle easily and loves her daddy almost as much as me ;)

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday :)