Makeup Storage, Lack Thereof

Lately I have been watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts displaying how individuals are storing their makeup collection. And I have been taking some notes.

As of right now, I am so unorganized with all my stuff. I could never do a post about how I organize my makeup or storage because it's just a big 'ol mess. I've been living with my boyfriend for about a year now. And just the other day I brought some more things over, like my bed. But my makeup vanity/table is still at my mom's place. I've pretty much dominated the bathroom.

Soon enough my bf and I will be re-organzing everything, bringing out stuff together, and his house is a bit unfinished so we'll be painting and decorating as well.

So the past year or so I have been doing my makeup in the bathroom, which there i sufficent lightening. But everything - makeup, face cleansers, moisturizers, hair products, etc - are messily scattered all over the counter, in the drawers, the medicine cabinet, and underneath the sink. Which really is not good because sometimes I forget about my coastal scent palettes under the sink or my bare Escentuals bronzer behind the medicine cabinet.

Truthfully, it's not just my makeup that needs to be organized, I have a lot that needs to be organized and cleaned up in my life. Including my clothes, shoes, perfumes, jewlery (I have a pretty nice jewlery box my mom gave me a few Christmases ago, but the inside should be sorted... and organized! If I didn't say that word enough already).

So in the meantime, I've been getting some ideas from these lovely ladies!

YouTube

Lisa

MakeupByTiffanyD

Deanne5253

LovePeaceandLipgloss

Lollipop26

Blogs

The Gloss Goss

Sweetcheeks

My dirty blue makeup bag with things I use most often

A travel roll stuff with a bit of makeup...

...Which usually hangs on the back of the bathroom door

I should probably get rid of some expired mascaras

A Hollister shopping bag in my closet...

...With some more makeup

Underneath the bathroom sink is another bag of makeup, CS palettes, & a bare Escentuals kit

Later on, once we've "renovated" the bedroom and it looks pretty, I shall do a makeup storage/collection post (not much of a collection). I'll try to take before and after photos, too.

Thanks for reading & have a wonderful day! Muah!

♥M

Mac Haul: Warm & Cozy

I indulged myself in a few new makeup goodies, specifically from MAC Cosmetics. Everything I got - which is not a lot - is mostly from the Warm & Cozy collection, one thing from Love Lace, and nothing from the All Ages, All Races, All Sexes. And as for MAC in Lillyland, I'm really liking a lot of stuff in that collection like the lipgelees and the cremeblend blushes. If you're getting anything, let me know what and if you have already, how it is?

I got three eyeshadows in the limited edition colors of Warm and Cozy: Chamomile, Modelette, and Mulled Cider. I didn't get Embark because I have other dark brown shades that are similar. I did use all three shadows yesterday to put together a very basic, everyday neutral look that I wore to work. I've been wearing these shades for a good week now, and I'm really loving them! I especially like Modelette, a warm mid-tone caramel, as I don't own anything like it.

L-R: Chamomile, Modelette, Mulled Cider

Dreadful swatches

Then I got the Mineralized Skinfinish in the color By Candlelight. It creates a really nice glowy, highlight effect on the cheekbones. It's a shimmery pink with gold veining. I love the color combo, especially because I don't have anything like it. That's just because I only own Cheeky Bronze when it comes to MSFs. I usually stay away from anything with gold in it, I'm not sure why. I think it has to do with my taste in jewlery; I don't like yellow gold, but I like white gold, therefore, silvery colors. I guess. But I am totally happy with this and what it does for my fair-medium skin! It just produces a really nice warm glow. And I will not shy away from goldy colors from now on.

MSF in By Candlelight

Attempt to Swatch this MSF

The last thing from the Warm & Cozy collection I got the nail laquer in Blissed Out. I wore it a couple times (I'll take pictures when I have it on again and post it). It's a really light peachy-nude shade. And it's a cream, so it applies quite nicely, no streaks, and a decent opaqueness after two coats. It's like "my nails, but better". It's simply natural and makes for a very polished look. It is a bit sheer so I would want to use two coats for sure. And it dries amazingly fast! My nails were completely dry within 5-10 minutes after my second coat. The one thing I hate, is waiting for my nail polish to dry.

Nail Laquer in Blissed Out

And finally, I got a lipglass from the Love Lace collection, Icescape. It's a sheer pale pink pearl. If you don't enjoy the pearlized or frosty  shades on your lips, you may not like this.

Lipglass in Icescape

Oh yes, and I also got a MSF Natural in Medium Plus. I should have just went with the shade Medium (which I had and used it all up). That's always an error on my end, is that I often think I have just a bit of a darker skin tone than I actually do. Admittedly I am pale and wish I were just a bit darker. But the Medium Plus will be fine for spring and summer.

MSF Natural L-R: Medium, Medium Plus

C'est tout for now! I shall be back with a couple of reviews from L'Occitane and, of course, Lush.  And maybe a few other posts including some tags, perfume and nail polish collections.

♥M

My Favorites of Oh Nine

These are a few things that I loved and used throughout the past year. You might notice that I'm particular to just a few brands. However, I have been branching out lately in trying new things, new brands. Below I simply linked all of the items to websites when you can either purchase (depending on your region) or find out more information. I didn't really feel like putting up a picture for each thing, hehe, sorry!

Eyeliners

MAC's fluidline in blacktrack

I've finally gave this a shot a few months ago. I tried it a couple times and hated it right away. But after a bit more practice I fell in love. It's amazing formula that, once you've become familiar with it, is so easy to work with. And it's easy to wing out and be creative. I've used it before applying fake lashes and the gel formula hides any gaps I might have missed when applying the falsies.

Eye Shadows & Primers

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion

This stuff is holy grail for eye shadow bases! Highly recommended. The only thing I hate about this is it's stupid packaging. If you didn't already know, a ton of product gets left over in the in the base and the belly of the tube. But I haven't tried it yet with the new curved-tip wand, so maybe it's better.

MAC Eyeshadow refill pans 

I really enjoy a lot of MAC's eyeshadow colors and its different formulas such as Satin Taupe, Bronze, Sumptious Olive, Hush, Naked Lunch, Nehru, and many others!

MAC Paint Pots

These are great on their own and most of them work great as bases. Some days I just use painterly instead of my UDPP.  Some of my favorites are Painterly, Bare Study, and Constructivist.

Mascaras

GOSH Show Me Volume

I haven't actually used it in a couple months because I'm always looking to try new things. But I discovered it in '09 and I remembered I quite liked it, lol. It's also my sister's favorite.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto

I love this mascara for length! It really does lengthen very well. And the formula goes on super nicely. I know there are split reviews on this one, some hate, some love it. I happen to lahve it!

Concealers

GOSH Touch Up Concealer

I have this one in #2. It only comes in #1 or #2. It does a great job for covering up under eye circles. I find it is pretty comparable to Maybelline's Mineral Power concealer (which might be more available to some people and less expensive). I discovered it in mid of '09 and haven't gone back to the Power Mineral. This concealer also does not cake! Whoo hoo!

Cover FX Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer

I have been using and liking this for covering up scars and other dark areas on my face, like around my mouth and nose. It has a built in primer, "water-resistant", opaque formula, and a tiny bit for a long way. I would not use this under my eyes! I have and it just wasn't pretty at the end of the day.

Blush & Highlight & Bronze

TIGI Bed Head Player Blush in Glowing

I bought this blush from a store exclusive to licensed estheticians. You can probably find it at salons and other shops that sell Bed Head. I especially like this shade during the winter when I'm pale because it shows up well, just like a natural, healthy flush. If I'm tanned it will just blend right into my skin and not show up. I enjoy it because it's not your typical pinky or mauve color; it's a tan, somewhat peachy, brown shade (not a bronzer!)

Red Earth Cheeky Flirt Soft Velvet Blush in Cherry Blossom

Well, I got this baby in a clearout sale. I don't know what I was thinking. Now I love it and I'll be sad when I've used it all up. I can't even find where to buy it online. I better start looking for a dupe I guess.

Benefit's High Beam

Lovely highlighter for the cheek bones. And this product is very versatile so you can't go wrong with it! You can mix it with your foundation for a dewy look, mix a tiny bit with concealer for a brightening effect, and use it to highlight the brow bone. I put it on over moisturizer/primer, but underneath foundation (sometimes I'll still put it overtop of foundation before setting). It leaves a nice shimmery sheen without being sparkly or glittery so it's wearable everyday. It'll make you look young and fresh! No lie.

MAC MSF in Cheeky Bronze

This MSF came out in MAC's Color Crafted collection, I believe. It's a really nice highlight color in the summertime, when I have a tan.

Physician's Formula Powder Palette Multi-Colored Face Powder
I liked this bronzer. I didn't try a whole of bronzers, this one did what I wanted so I stuck with it. I have to use something in the summer and into the fall because I wash my face often so it's much paler than the rest of my body, I want it to match. It's also probably due to some SPFs in foundations and moisturizers I use.

Lipstick & Lipgloss

MAC Lipstick in Hue
JLO nude lip? Check! This is my go-to lip shade. It's not to pink, not to beige, a perfect nude pour moi!

MAC Lipglass

I love the formula with these lipglasses and I know some would beg to differ as it's fairly sticky. But it's all a preference in the end. A few of my all time favorite shades would be Underage, C-Thru, and Viva Glam VI.

GOSH On Stage Cool Lip Jam in 106

If you don't like sticky lipglosses, steer clear from this one! I personally don't mind the stickiness, I find they last longer anyway. This is a very glossy, vinyl-like, finish. The colors look really cool in the tube, especially color 106, my fave.

♥M

Update! Happy 2010!

MIA much? My sincere apologies! December has been a rather busy month for me, what with the holiday festivities and a new job that I'm trying to do well at.

So, I hope that your holiday - whatever it is that you celebrate - was magical! My Christmas was great! It's becoming a tradition now, since my sister and her husband bought their house a few years ago, that they'll host a Christmas Eve party. And we invite everyone, friends and family. We had finger foods,  drinks (mmm, tequila sunrise), played games, and good times all around. It's probably my favorite thing about the holiday, our Christmas Eve party.

My sister went to bed at around 2am and was up at 5am, ready to open gifts! I guess some things never change, lol. She's 6 years older than me but I think she's very much a kiddie at heart around Christmas time. Luckily, this year, she let us sleep in until 7am (she called me, my mom, and step dad, then we all drove over to her place, that's where my family and I open our gifts, is at my sister's; we all live away from each other in the same city). Needless to say, after the gifts were opened, we looked and played a little with what we got, and after we had brunch, I went home and took a long nap. Then, my mom made a delicious turkey dinner for the family, some friends, their spouses and kids. There were 14 people in total.

I'll share a little bit of what I received in gifts, starting with my Crock Pot! I had mentioned this in my wishlist post earlier. Yippie! And I also got a few games to add to my collection! Including the Wow version of Cranium, Scrabble, and What's Your Like? I got a book that was also on my blog wishlist, Half Broke Horses. And I got a really nice surprise gift from my mom: a Wii! I was not expecting that at all. I love it! My sister and I exchange stockings, so I also got a bunch of really neat, cute, useful, and pretty things! Perhaps I will feature a few of those goodies in some upcoming posts!

I'm not sure if I'm going to do a month end favorites. I might. I should. If I do it'll be posted later on today or tomorrow.

I also hope you all had a fun and safe New Years Eve! Whether you went out with friends, to a house party, or perhaps stayed in like your good 'ol homebody self, Happy New Year! I went to a friends after work - but get this! I got off work at 12 midnight!! Wtf, I don't know. Whatever. It was still a fun night. We played I've Never... A drinking board game.

So if 2009 was fantastic for you or maybe a rather regretful year, I just hope 2010 will be so much better! I want to make this year a productive one for myself, I've got to get things done in my life! I'm almost 22 years young, and it just seems like time is flyin' by.

I've gotta jet for now! In the new year we can expect more regular posting. Yay!

Happy New Year!

♥M