Brightening the Winter Beauty Blues

First off: NOTD - China Glaze Seaspray

Did this late last night and consequently have some sheet marks, so I'll be adding another top coat sometime today. All the swatches I've seen of this online have leaned more gray; it looks fairly bright on me but I like it. Two coats with one coat of Nubar Diamont on top. 

Tried out one of the Katy Perry shades along with the Black Shatter last week, just on my thumbs (I have to maintain at least a semblance of trying to look professional). Here's Not Like the Movies pre-Shatter:  

And post-Shatter: 

I love it! It looks better than what I've seen online. What surprised me was that it cracks almost immediately. I'll definitely do a full set of Shatter on the weekend soon. I'm glad I pre-ordered this online because I hear it's selling out everywhere--although I did see it at Ulta yesterday.

Speaking of which, I found this in Ulta's clearance aisle while I was there: 

This Too Faced set came in a black vinyl bag and contained an eyeshadow duo, a bronzer/illuminator duo, a lip gloss, a lipstick, an eyeliner, a mascara and a mini tube of Shadow Insurance, their famed eyeshadow primer. I had been planning to get Shadow Insurance because I've heard raves about it. Since all this was just $15.99 on clearance I decided to do the set. I don't think I'll use the lipstick; it's a pale pearly pink shade that will make my lips look invisible; and the bronzer I doubt will work on me but I'm looking forward to trying out the rest. 

Also at Ulta, the most amazing thing happened. 

They're carrying the One Less Lonely Girl collection from Nicole by OPI and Justin Bieber! I grabbed one for my niece, but then somehow I came home with one for me as well; so weird! 

I think this one is called The Shape of My Heart or something...they're all named after his songs as far as I can tell. It's packed with little confetti hearts. Love it. Will post when I try it out. 

None of this will melt the mountains of snow around my house but my mood is definitely brightening. 

A Kind of Weird Dress. And Then, a Highly Anticipated Package Arrives.

Yesterday I mentioned the Kind of Weird Dress I found at Forever 21 this weekend. Here it is:

Kind of weird, right? It was marked down to $15.99 from $32.50 because it is missing its ribbon belt. Today I replaced the belt with a scarf that used to belong to my mother. 

Although the colors worked well, this was ultimately unsuccessful; the belt didn't stay in place. Next time I'll either use a black leather real belt or find some ribbon to thread through the inner loop tube. (I'm sure there's a name for the space that holds a ribbon belt, but I don't know what it is. Anyone?)

This dress is also shorter that what I usually wear. Yes, I know it's not That Short, but it's short for me. And of course the day I choose to wear it, the temp doesn't even hit 20 by 9:00 AM. Anyway, I like this Kind of Weird Dress; I love the color and I love that it's both weird and office-appropriate. Oh, also, it has pockets! I love a dress with pockets.

Trying to make A Face in the mirror.

Okay, but THEN! When I got home tonight, I was delighted to find a package from M Beauty Lounge in my mailbox. It contained these lovely little numbers: 

Yes, yes! It's mini bottles of the OPI Katy Perry collection. Two shimmers (one a duochrome) and two glitters. They're really mini--smaller than I thought, but I would never have used up entire bottles of colors like this, so that's okay. What I'm SUPER excited about, though, is this: 

Black Shatter. It "shatters" or cracks after you apply it. I'll be trying this out tonight. 

Closer shots of the minis: 

Also in the package was a little giftie for someone. One of my "resolutions" for 2011 is to...not necessarily buy things for people, but...I often see things or think of things that a person I know would like; or something that makes me think of the person, and I might say to myself, "Oh, so-and-so would love this, I should get it for her/him, but her/his birthday is eight months away," or "well, so-and-so would think it was weird if I gave this to her," and I leave the thing or the thought and then regret it later.  So now, when I see something someone would like, if it's possible, I plan to grab the thing for the person and either a) give it to them right away, or b) save it for the next gift-giving occasion. Related: I want to tell people, people I know or strangers I see, that I like their outfits/accessories/etcetera. I often think someone looks awesome and I want to tell them but I don't. But wouldn't you LOVE IT if someone came up to you (in a non-creepy way) and told you that she loved your outfit, your bag, your jewelry? I would! So that's another mission for this year. Okay. I'll report back on how this giftie is received. 

Self-Medicating

Well, this was a week. First week back in the office after being away for our big convention. Monday was a holiday, was in the office three days, then I took Friday as a Mommy's Day Off. This weekend I felt...down. Out of it. Disengaged. Blue. I self-medicated with the following:

1. Caffeine. I've been off diet soda for a while, but had two big glasses this weekend to try to keep my mood up in the afternoons. 
2. Crazy nails. 

Picked up these Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickie thingies last week on a fun CVS trip with a co-worker. Home on my own Friday night, I decided to have a little mani party. They were really easy to put on and I think they're a lot of fun. However, I'm already thinking about taking them off! I just want to have different polish on. I'll definitely get these again--although I'll be trying a different brand. Tonight at Rite-Aid I saw the ones that KISS makes (not the band, sadly) and they had better prints at a better price point. 

3. Speaking of Rite-Aid, I headed there tonight after the little one's bedtime in search of goodies. And I found them! 

Wish I could remember which of the (many, many) nail polish blogs I read posted about these. What's funny is how obvious they are about ripping off Tokidoki. The polishes were $1.99 and I got Steal This Teal. Might try it out tonight. I also found one of the new Wet n' Wild eyeshadow trios in Silent Treatment, which the lovely Scrangie posted about recently. They're supposed to be foolproof, but I have absolutely zero eyeshadow application skillz, so we'll see. 

4.  Cheap thrills and floral prints. 

Hit the mall today for some distraction and picked up these lovelies at Forever 21. Now you might think they're both the same, but they are NOT; one is bigger print, one is smaller. At $1.50 each, I couldn't afford to leave either option behind. :) I also bought a Kind of Weird Dress; more on that tomorrow. 

And that bring us to right now, where I'm enjoying a glass of wine and a grilled cheese. I'm hoping to get myself in gear this week...although first I think I need to define what "get in gear" means for me. One thing I definitely will do this week is post my "Things I Want to Do in 2011" list, because I think that will help me work towards accomplishing some of them. 

If you read this, I truly thank you. I hope YOU had a happy, beautiful weekend!

Today!

Today I'm wearing DIAMOND earrings:

And one of the biggest rings I own:

I have confidence! Or at least my jewelry does.

I love this outfit. Love, love, love.

Song of the day: Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush. Warning: this video is BANANAS.

Very excited about my day off tomorrow. Even though it looks like I'm going to spend a lot of it cleaning my house. Watch out, Friday, YOU ARE MINE!



Heartbreak Hotels

I'm back from a week-long trip to Orlando for work. I returned to a sweet toddler, a dirty house, and these little prezzies:

Two polishes from my Three Free order from Zoya, and my new glasses from Warby Parker. I ordered five more samples from WP a few weeks ago and ended up choosing these. Naturally, they were the ones I originally liked the best online but didn't order because I thought I wanted something "quirkier." First thought, best thought! 

Here's a close up of the bottles: 

Drew and Crystal. The third, Edyta, is on backorder. Crystal went on my toes last night and although it's not my usual style, I like it. Sparkly. I didn't do a mani this week because I got an OPI Axxium gel manicure last weekend before my trip!

Mine's the big mitt in the bottom left. I got You Don't Know Jacques! and it's still intact, although the growth space is bothering me. I also scuffed them a little while fishing entry forms out of our big rolly prize giveaway thing at the show. I highly recommend the Axxium if you're planning a trip or just want your nails to look nice for awhile. 

Overall the conference was...well, I'm still thinking about it. First of all, neither of my suit pants fit. I mean, they fit ON me but were too tight and I felt ridiculous. Total VPL. And it was really cold in Orlando almost the whole time I was there. Some things made me happy: 

Florals from home.

Sushi and wine with a dear friend. And then pizza. 

Spokescharacter sightings.

Drinks with umbrellas. 

Next year I hope to be lighter. 

Baby, Now That I've Found You

Ah, the thrill of the hunt. I stopped in a CVS a few blocks away from my usual one and found something I've been coveting for a while:

Milani Jewel FX in Gems. It was on a tiny display that was sitting randomly on top of something else, and it was the last bottle. Meant to be! I know, it's a bit much, but it's really gorgeous and just for special occasions...crazy occasions. Like my BIRTHDAY, for instance. Yes, I'm already planning my birthday mani. Oh the life I lead!

Last day in the office before I leave for our big annual trade show and conference. I'm starting to freak out a bit about leaving my two-year-old for a week. She's been needing a lot lately...more love, more patience, more attention, more behavior correcting...and I hate to think she'll be unhappy or confused by my absence. But I also know she'll have a lot of fun with her dad. And then there's also a side feeling of OMG SWEET FREEDOM!

I chose a comfy, cozy outfit today. I call it Man Repelling on the cheap:

Shapeless, baggy sweater, shapeless boots, dusty blue tights. Love it! PS my boss took this photo for me. He is the best!

Have a great Friday!

Too Much?

Or totally awesome? I got these spring-y socks at the Gap last weekend. Three pairs, one in each colorway. These are my favorites. And no, that isn't a full-length denim skirt. I'm not a sister wife. They're denim(ish) trousers.

NOTD: Wet 'n Wild Morbid. I wasn't sure I would like this, but I do. It looks bright sparkly green in the bottle, but on the nail it's much more subdued...some might say it looks close to Chanel Black Pearl. At $1.99, it's close enough for me! This is my last mani before I get my OPI Axxium Gel manicure on Saturday! I'm going with two co-workers before we head out to our big annual trade show. The gel manicure lasts up to two weeks or longer. Can't wait!

Happy Wednesday!

New Year Odds and Ends

First mani of 2011: Essie Demure Vixen. Soon to be replaced by Wet n Wild Morbid.

New shoes! I've had my eye on these beauties for a while and just happened to spy them at the Clarks outlet on our way out of town for New Year's.

I like their sort of witchy, English boarding school headmistress vibe. I'm wearing them with this:

Drapey watercolor dress, Ann Taylor LOFT. Superpower ring, Rachel Roy. Oh, and you can see the Essie on my thumb in this shot. 

Coming up soon: More unhinged nail follies. Back in 2010, I ordered a mini set of four colors from the OPI Katy Perry Collection and a full-size bottle of the Black Shatter that should arrive soon. I also took advantage of Zoya's Facebook giveaway today and just ordered three FREE bottles from them, only paying shipping. From now on, I'm on a strict NO BUY I swear! Oh, that is until I find Milani Jewel FX Gems in stock somewhere...

And hopefully tomorrow I'll have my Things I Want to Do in 2011 list ready to post.

Hmm, what else? Excited about trying the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart! And I went to the gym today! Not sure if I could be more "New Year's" cliche...

Lastly, dear reader, is it wrong for me to love this bag? Tell me true.

Happy New Year!