25 days all wrapped up!

It is no secret to my friends and family that Christmas is my favorite time of year. There is something about this time of year, the music, the excitement, the decorations that just brings out the child in me. And as a makeup lover the holidays are a wonderful time for gift sets and new releases in pretty packages. I just love it! So in honor of the holidays this year I am going to do a new look everyday from now (Dec 1st) till Christmas using the All Wrapped Up collection from last holiday season.

The collection came with six mini eye colors in a cute little box that I know keep my earrings in! The eye colors are all named after holiday type things and loving the holidays so much I was a sucker, but I didn't get to enjoy it for the holidays last year because I got it for Christmas. Hence the need to really play and enjoy it this year! Heads up...you can get this collection at some of the BE outlets right now, so if you missed it then go get it.

The colors included are:

Garland and Bauble: 

The Gift and Present:

Mistletoe and Tinsel:

And here are the swatches:

Garland, The Gift, Mistletoe 

Bauble, Present, Tinsel 

the playlist

When bare escentuals announced that they were releasing pressed shadows I was so excited. When they launched and came with a sponge applicator I will admit I was disappointed. One of the main reasons why I was so excited about the pressed shadows was so that I could easily travel with my beloved BE, but with the sponge applicators I still had to bring extra brushes. So when I saw the holiday 8.0 palettes came with a double ended brush I knew I needed them...both. So I bought them at the preview sale because there was no way I could wait to have them.

So I have had both the playlist and the cocktail hour for a while now and I have to say, I have no complaints. While I have not traveled with them yet, they have been my go to eye shadow when I am at all in a hurry. Rather than having to find a bunch of different pots and opening them separately, I just grab this and all the shadows I need for a complete eye look in the palm of my hand. The colors are so pigmented and gorgeous. It comes with, Pumped, Chart Topper, Max Volume, Louder, One Hit Wonder, Most Requested, Remix, Speaker Box. So here are the pictures and swatches of the Playlist. (the cocktail hour is soon to come!)

Also the packaging is beautiful and festive!

Top Row: Pumped, Chart Topper, Max Volume, Louder

Bottom Row: One Hit Wonder, Most Requested, Remix, Speaker Box

       

2.0 Ready Eyeshadows and an Ulta free gift!

I have to start by apologizing for not posting very often lately! I have still been so busy from the move and just when I get my head above water something else comes up, like this weekend I had so much cleaning and updating to do and then I got sick and spent the weekend in bed watching movies.  But I promise I have a ton of photos of the looks I have worn and they are coming soon. So here are the ready eyeshadows I bought at Ulta the second day they came out and the free gift I got. (I talked about the colors I was thinking of buying in this post as well as the swatches)

I bought two 2.0 Ready Eyeshadows in order to get the free gift and the decision was really easy because they were already sold out of one of my top choices(the paradise found.) So I decided to get The Scenic Route and The Vision, and out of the free gift Cheers to a Beautiful Face.

The Scenic Route (Left) and The Vision (Right):

Nirvana and Utopia; Illusion and Mirage

Cheers to a Beautiful Face:
-Full Size Cupcake Lipgloss
-Full Size Original Mineral Veil
-Mini True all over face color
-Naturally Luminous Duo Sample

fashion face: pure happiness

FYI, this is one of a few posts that I started before my life turned upside down. But as I have all the photos already then I will still post them.

From the second I saw this collection I was very intrigued by the purple color (wowza) and once I tried it out in Sephora I needed this kit! But I was trying to save money so I kept telling myself to wait. Until I got the 15% off at Sephora for chic week....I had an excuse to buy it! Here are the swatches of this kit. Of all the fashion face kits this is not one of my favorites. But I do need to play with it some more before I really make up my mind about it.

I wore this kit for only one day and had my ups and downs with it. Sometimes I really liked the way it looked and others I felt too clownish. So like I said I will have to try this one again...but first I have to use all of my new stuff! Here is the look created according to the suggestions with this kit: 

I'm back after being mia...

Sorry to disappear off the radar for a while but I was busy moving halfway across the country and losing my camera cord in the safest place possible. But now I am done with the moving and unpacking (mostly) and have found my camera cord! And all the while I was photographing the looks I wore and new kits that I got. And by the way I moved within five minutes of a Bare Escentuals outlet and there is an Ulta in my backyard, which proves to not be good for my wallet.

So Saturday when I ran to Ulta to get a new eyelash curler with my Ulta coupon, what did I spy with my little eye? The Brand New BE Ready Eye Shadows! Having been so busy lately I had forgotten when they were going to be released! So of course I had to buy some but the woman at Ulta said that if I waited until the next day BE was doing a gift with purchase. So I decided I could wait one day and to swatch my choices to decide over night. So here are some of the new shadows:

The Elements (from left to right: Air, Fire, Earth & Water):

The Scenic Route (from left to right: Breathtaking & Spectacular):

The Paradise Found (from left to right: Nirvana & Utopia):

The Vision (from left to right: Illusion & Mirage):

The Flashback (from left to right: Deja Vu & Amnesia):

And pick up your free gift at Ulta while supplies last: 

new monthly posts & siren of the sea: kit and swatches

I tend to buy the majority of my BE in kits but I find that I only wear the shadows the way that the tip cards say to. So in an effort to branch out I am going to start doing a kit of the month. That means that I will post the kit and the look done like the tip card says too at the beginning of the month and then will see what other looks I can do with it all throughout the month, either using only what came in the kit or by adding some other colors. And as this is the first of the month I have decide to make this my first one!

Siren of the Sea is an old kit that BE just brought back to much happiness! I think this was the first eyeshadow kit that I bought and the kit that started it all for me. It was available at Sephora in the summer of 2009 and as soon as I saw it I had to have it. Right now it is sold out online but keep your eye on it and get it if you don't already have it! Here is the link. These are some of my most worn e/s colors and I am completely out of the lip color that came with it because I wore this so often.

The Kit includes:

• Sand Dune High Shine e/c
• Mermaid e/c
• Hydrating Coral Blush
• Hydrating Mineral Veil
• Lipgloss in Chiffon 
• Double ended Hydrate & Brighten Brush
• Straw Clutch

Swatches left to Right: (dry then foiled) Sand Dune, Mermaid, Coral blush, and my dupe for the lipgloss Glazed Donut

the perfect gift #2: kit and swatches

I absolutely could not wait for the second shipment to come in the mail. I am notoriously horrible when it comes to waiting for things in the mail and this kit was no exception. My first thought on the colors (before wearing them) was that Smitten blush was absolutely gorgeous and the eyeshadows and lip color were just perfect for springtime. When I photographed this kit I forgot to swatch the colors! If you want to see the swatches then just comment below and I will do it otherwise I will let this one slide.

     

the perfect gift #1: kit and swatches

When I first saw this kit I knew that I had to get it and on auto-delivery. For those who don't shop on qvc very often, auto-delivery means that you get four shipments of the kit spread over a couple of months and in most cases the kits include the same elements in different colors with each shipment. Although some of them have the same things such as mascara and mineral veil. This was the first kit I have bought on auto-delivery. 

The kit includes two eye shadows, a blush, hydrating tinted mineral veil, flawless definition volumizing mascara, a big and bright eyeliner and an exclusive new lip color they are calling pretty amazing. (although by the time this is posted the lip color can now be purchased separately on qvc.) And it all comes in a gorgeous hat box. Here is the link to purchase it from qvc.