Getting to Know You Tag

I figured I should do another one of these tags since I'm a new blogger! I grabbed this one from Makeup and Beauty Blog, which is a blog I adore!


Things I’m passionate about

• My boyfriend :)
• Baking sweet treats
• Education
• Nail polish
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• Fuzzy blankets

Things I’d like to do before I die

• Go to Italy/Egypt/Morocco/India (and eat everything in sight while there)
• Get my master's degree
• Become an influential and inspirational teacher
• Get married and have a family
• Buy a house
• Perfect my French macaron technique

Things I say often

• Bummer, dude
• I want ice cream
• Can you open this for me? My nails are still wet
• But CSI is on!
• "Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit..."
• I'm tired

Books I’ve recently read

• All the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
• The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
• Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
• The Psychology of Dexter by Bella DePaulo
• The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch (currently reading)

Songs I could listen to over and over

• "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey
• "Somebody to Love" by Queen
• "I've Just Seen a Face" by The Beatles
• "Breakeven" by the Script
• "Firework" by Katy Perry
• "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga

Traits I’m attracted to in my best friends

• They like to bake, or at least keep me company while I bake, and then devour whatever it is we made!
• We like the same movies
• They like to go shopping
• They are supportive of my goals
• They're not afraid to call me out on my shit!
• They are generally a positive person

Hopefully you got to know me a little more through this! I'd love to see your top six too! Fill it out in the comments or on your blog, and tag it back to me!

Top Ten Tag!

I was just browsing beauty blogs and found this top ten tag from Prim and Polished, so I thought I'd fill it out for fun!

1. Favorite Cuticle Cream: So far I've been using Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, and it was working well for me for a while, but since winter's dry weather began it hasn't been cutting it anymore. I'm on the lookout for something more hydrating! Prim and Polished suggested California Mango Mend in her top ten, so I'm going to try to find that!

2. Favorite Cuticle Something Else (lol): I don't really use a lot of products on my cuticles, but I use Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover every once in a while!

3. Favorite Perfume: I don't really wear perfume, but my favorite of the two bottles I own is definitely Armani Code. I love the sleek purple bottle, and it just smells sexy!

4. Favorite Lip Products: I too will break this down into categories like Prim and Polished because I'm also nuts!

Favorite Lip Balm: I use several, but mainly Mary Kay and Burt's Bees.
Favorite Tinted Lip Balm: I have been using Burt's Bees in Honeysuckle for a while because it is really hydrating! I would like to get another color though because the light pink really doesn't show up.
Favorite Gloss: I LOVE Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss! I have it in three colors: Peony, Fire, and Hot Pink. I love how pigmented they are, and they feel really smooth and hydrating. They are a bit sticky, and if I'm wearing them when it's windy outside, I have to hold my hair back so it won't stick to my lips! But I love the color and the sparkle, so I will definitely buy more colors!
Favorite Lip Stick: I'm not a huge lipstick girl, and I haven't yet ventured into the high-end lipstick world, but I do like Revlon Moon Drops lipsticks (in Orange Flip and Lilac Champagne).

5. Favorite Nail Polish Brands: I love several, but my collection definitely contains mostly Essie, OPI, and China Glaze because they're so easily available!

6. Favorite Top Coat: Seche Vite has been the first top coat I've run out of and repurchased three times! I don't like how it thickens, though, and I don't find Restore to work very well, so I may try something else soon.

7. Favorite Hand Cream/ Lotion: I just bought a small tube of Philosophy Hands of Hope, and I really like it so far! I like how it doesn't leave my hands greasy or sticky, so this will find a permanent home in my purse. At night I slather my hands with a heavy coat of Almond Oil hand cream from the Body Shop, because it's too thick and creamy to use during the day, but I LOVE the way it smells!

8. Favorite Base Coat: I've been using CND Ridge Filler base coat, but I think I will try CND Stickey next because I've heard good things about it.

9. Current Favorite Nail Polish Collection: The one that I most recently bought the most colors from is probably China Glaze's Metro collection, but I loved OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection from last spring, and am highly anticipating their Spring 2012 Holland collection!

10. Favorite Facial Moisturizers: Still searching for that perfect one. I currently am using Say Yes to Carrots night cream and Neutrogena Oil-free Moisture during the day, but both make my face feel sweaty? Although this doesn't quite fit the category, I must take this opportunity to rave about Clinique All About Eyes eye cream! I put this on twice a day, because I struggle with dry skin and bags under my eyes. It makes my concealer glide on so much more smoothly!


I had fun filling out this little quiz, and hope to do more again soon! I'd love to see your answers, so please either write them in the comments or on your own blog!

Sick Day, Just Lipstick

I've spent the past two days (and will likely spend the next two days) home with a very sick 9 year old girl. Today I didn't even leave the house! I spent the day reading and playing go fish, so I didn't put any makeup on or get out of my pajamas. I wanted to get a quick post up though to keep the momentum going.



I've been curious about this NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream for a while, and grabbed one the other day on my Ulta run. I picked up the shade Antwerp, which is a bright, warm-toned, almost bubblegum pink. Application is easy because of the soft spongy applicator, like a lipgloss applicator. I LOVE the way it smells - like vanilla frosting! It needs a moment to set, but once it dries down, it becomes matte. I had about 4 hours of wear before it wore off when I ate lunch.

Overall, I really like this lip cream, and since it's pretty cheap I will definitely pick up some more colors! What do you think about a matte lip? Would you wear a bright pink lip like this?

Let's start the new year off with my declaration of love for nail polish and makeup!

I have become increasingly obsessed with nail polish over the past year or so, in large part to the blog that started it all for me: www.alllacqueredup.com. From there, I discovered www.temptalia.com, which sparked my interest in eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, etc. I am not a makeup or nail polish expert by any means, but I enjoy experimenting with new looks and collecting interesting new colors and formulas of nail polish and makeup. So I thought I'd start this blog to document my frequent polish changes and makeup looks of the day!

To start off with, I have Revlon Starry Pink on my nails. This is one of the shades that put Revlon on the map for me, and I scoured several Walgreens in my area to find it. It feels very wintery to me, with its almost-white pink jelly base sprinkled with small silver glitter and larger silver hex glitter. I'm normally not a huge pink nail polish girl, but I love how unique and interesting this one is. I've worn this a few times so far this winter and it wears without chipping for a few days. I always change my polish after 2 or 3 days anyway because I get bored! This photo shows three coats because the jelly base is slightly sheer, but I think it looks pretty that way.








I'd been lusting after the Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow Quad in the Elements for about a month or so now, and I finally nabbed it at Ulta yesterday with some Christmas money. I have two of the Duos (in Enlightenment and Escape) and I LOVE the formula, so I knew this quad with these interesting colors needed to be mine.

First, I prepped my eyelid with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original. I swept Earth, a matte gray sage color, across the whole eyelid, then blended Fire, a matte rusty orange color, into the crease and up. Then I blended Air, a shimmery taupe highlighter, into the browbone and inner corner. I really love how it kind of came out looking like a sunset on the horizon! I did not use Water, a shimmery teal blue color, in this look because this was just a casual daytime look, but next time I'll use Water on the lower lashline. I love the way these shadows applied. They are very pigmented, and practically melted into the skin.

I used NYX eyeliner in Gray to line my waterline (although this photo was taken after a whole day of wear, so it's no longer visible) and on the top lashline. I don't love the way the gray eyeliner became a bit invisible against Earth, so I might try a brown or olive green liner next time. (Black liner looks too harsh on me, unfortunately.) Then I swept my eyelashes with CoverGirl LashBlast mascara in Black.


Have you tried the Bare Minerals pressed powder eyeshadows yet? How would you wear these colors?