Bows and Curtseys

Here is a beautiful lady who has some mad skills with a makeup brush.  She is currently hosting a 2000 follower giveaway.  Here's the link to enter. Don't forget to follow, and while you're there take a peeksy at her stuff.  She is phenomenal

http://www.bowsandcurtseys.com/2012/02/bows-curtseys-2000-follower-giveaway.html#more

BREAKING NEWS-Dreary winter weather wreaks havoc on hair

Ok, it's no secret that it's winter.  It's cold, it's dry, it's no fun. No fun at all.

Minnesota winters are the epitome of hell on Earth.  Granted, this winter has been pretty tame compared to other years, but it is still leaving my hair screaming for some love.  I am one of the unlucky people who suffer from psoriasis, it has calmed down since puberty and even more so when I lost a whole bunch of weight but I still get flare ups, and boy do those suck.  I have tried almost everything that promises to help with the condition.  At first it looks promising but then my body gets used to it, knows that I'm trying to ambush it and then freaks out.   Well, I was shopping with the boyfriend at the Mall of America and he suggested to stop in at Lush to try to find something that helps with the flakes, because he gets a dry scalp too :(  The wonderful sales associate recommended this diabolical duo:

Soak and float solid shampoo

Snake oil scalp treatment bar

I have never tried any products like these two, so it was very exciting to take them home.   Step one is to take the scalp treatment bar and warm it up in your hands. Very much like the massage bars.  When you get an oily coating on your hands rub it in to your scalp.  The smell isn't too overpowering and once you place it in you scalp you barely notice it.  The associate said to leave it in for 20 minutes.  I tend to watch a movie or tuck in my step-daughter for the night and then shower.  I'm sure my scalp appreciates the extra soaking time.

The next step is to use the shampoo bar.  It was my first time, and I used WAY too much of it.  You honestly need to pass it it through your hands about 3 times.  If you add more water to your hair it's suds mania.  The smell is really....pungent. It's very masculine, not frilly or anything.  It smells of campfire and bacon.  No joke.  I was really put off by the smell, but fortunately it doesn't linger on your hair.  Or if it does it is easily masked.

When I used the appropriate amount of the shampoo the results were phenomenal.  I can definitely tell when I deviate from that routine.  I think the main secret is the Snake Oil Scalp Treatment.  When I use it my scalp is a very happy camper :D

The day that I took the MUFE Flash Palette home I knew I needed to play with it and FAST.  I couldn't pick which color I wanted to use, soooooo.....I picked a few....

A few pictures, It was a tribal inspired type look.  I used my MAC 263 brush and focused on line work.  I'm not sure how I feel how it turned out but it was fun to do either.  The next look is my favorite of the moment

Okay, Okay, so the faux hipsters glasses aside....well they're really just the 3D glasses with the lenses punched out.  I really love this look. It's super simple and classy.  I used the coral color from the MUFE Flash Palette and the put MAC Paradisco underneath. then I used MAC Nylon e/s over UD 24/7 liner in Yeyo.  Did a winged eyeliner and your donzo!

Collective Haul-Pic Heavy

Click to view larger pictures

Is it just me or is there nothing better than hauling? Not the show and tell part but the shopping part, then the hours spent playing with the new goodies.  I just love it.  I wanted to share with you what I had purchased on a recent trip to the Mall of America.  Possibly some reviews to follow.  Just sharing the love!  First we'll start with Sephora :D

MUFE #144

MUFE Flash Palette

I am wanting to do a Terminator inspired look so i picked up another silver shade.  It's a medium silver and holy cow is it pigmented.  A never fail with MUFE.  The have such high quality products that I'm ok with the higher price mark.  Next, I bought the MUFE flash palette. At $92 dollars it was really steep and I kept debating on whether to buy it.  I took the plunge and I have absolutely no regrets.  The creams are so pigmented and I thoroughly enjoy the diversity of colors you get with this palette.

MAC!

From L-R:Saint Germain Lipstick, Lipstick+Lipliner,Hip 'N' Happy lip liner

Angled eyeliner brush #263. AMAZING! for Gel liner

Shadows starting from the Top-Clockwise:Patina, Tilt, Pardisco,Green Smoke, Steamy

Swatcharoos! over NYX Jumbo eyeshadow pencil in MILK

My favorite from the bunch of the eyeshadows is Paradisco.  It's a wonderful peachy color with gold-ish sheen. OMG, if you have blue eyes...this color is a must! I haven't gotten much of chance to play with the other ones, but I can't wait!

And the piece de resistance! My first Sugarpill order!

It looks so beautiful!

Bullet Proof e/s, Absinthe and Royal Sugar Chromalusts

Burning Heart Quad <3

I can't rave enough about this company and her products.  The first plus is that the shipping was SUPER DUPER fast....like 2 days. It was amazing!  I purchased the Burning Heart quad and Man, oh Man! Do they live up to the hype.  I do have a problem with creasing but I think it's because they are too pigmented and I don't need to use NYX's Milk underneath.  Every penny well spent.  Royal Sugar is the mose vibrant royal blue, because it's matte it is a little harder to work with but it is definitely doable.  I love love LOVE this stuff and I have my second order on the way! So stoked.

****Other non makeup hauling****

Lush goodies

Snake Oil Hair Treament

Soak and Float solid shampoo

Sweet Lips lip scrub

Lemony Flutter

Here in Minnesota it is winter, even though it's been a wonderful winter it wreaks havoc on my scalp.  I have tried everything and was about to give up when my boyfriend suggested we try to find something at Lush, since he knows I'm such a fan.  The associate paired me with the soak and float shampoo and snake oil. Stay tuned for a full review, it's amazing.  Then I bought the lip scrub and cuticle butter because I have heard rave reviews and couldn't resist any longer.

Phew! That's a bunch. :D I hope you guys enjoyed, any reviews or looks you want done let me know! I'm ready to let this blog take off!

Under the Sea

Hello!

I did this look awhile ago when I first got my Paperself paper eyelashes. Are they practical? No. Will they last as long as the other lashes? hell no. Are they fabulous? Hell Yes! I obviously went for the literal translation of the the under sea lashes. I tried to do a pseudo mermaid look. The sequins and rhinestones representing the bubbles....Ya Dig?

To do this look I mainly used Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette. Ok, I lied I used MAC too :D

For the inner third I used MAC Nylon, then blended it into Shimmermoss, The outer third was the blue from the UD Palette and the purple is from the UD palette as well. I used scotch tape to create the dramatic line and used MAC blacktrack fluidline for the wing look.  OH! Vanilla in the crease as well. Gosh darn it I love that pigment

2011 Favies....Tons-o-pics

Another year down, another year to look forward to.  I swear the older (and hopefully wiser) I get the faster the years go by. I just wanted to share somethings that I have been loving for most of the year.

Stila self adjusting blush-coral

This is a great blush, I don't know how self adjusting it is, because it's the same color in the pan as on my cheeks.  It could very well be because I am as pale as they come and it it "thinks" I need as much color as possible. But it sure is a great color.

MAC eye shadow in Embark

This is a new love for me, I recently purchased this eye shadow and I am in love.  I have been trying to buy more neutral colors and more matte colors. This is a two in one.  It blends very well, but you have to build up the intensity.  But it's just a to die for matte brown, a reddish brown.

MAC eye shadow in Nylon

This is also new to me, purchased with Embark and used together.  Nylon is very much like vanilla pigment but with less gold.  I love using this color over the lid and embark in the crease.  It's not stark like Gesso, and it warms up any look and brightens the eye right up.  I am way late jumping on the band wagon, but better late than never.  Especially in this instance, it is too good to pass up.

Macademia Oil

The next item is a must have for anyone who has hair...I'm not one to spend a lot of time or money on my hair.  I know, I know, I should especially since I flat iron it almost every day.  I was at Ulta and wanted to put a little more lovin' into my hair. The wonderful associate told me to use this in conjunction with an anti-snap serum.  Bada Bing, Bada Boom....Hair as if it was spun silk :D So silky smooth I could die.  Plus she was saying that it is a heat protectant as well. Heck to the Yes!

Juicy Couture-Viva La Juicy

A lot of girls are a one scent type of girl. I however am a bajillion scent girl, I have several bottles of perfume to match any mood possible, floral notes, citrus notes, woodsy notes. Check, Check, and Check. I don't have one signature scent. But I find that I am reaching for this scent a lot more.  Aside from the adorable packaging this perfume is a nice mature smell for me.  Not sure what's in it, but I loves it.

Seche Vite-top coat

I am a freak when it comes to my nails. If there is a chip I have to take it all off and reapply a new manicure. That could be because I am completely neurotic and pick at my nails until almost all of the polish is off.  With this top coat I find that it does prolong the manicure a day or too, but the main reason I buy this over and over again is because it dries so dang fast.  I love doing stamping and new and different ways to paint my nails and nothing drives me more bat-shit crazy is when I smudge them. This cuts down the likelyhood of that 10x fold. Me likey.

That's all from here...for now!  Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's. Be safe!

Epic Beauty Fail

So I'm not one to necessarily say anything bad about a cosmetic item, because just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for anyone else.  The craze with the Sally Hansen stick on things is going strong, and I am a fan of them as well. That's why I had such high hopes for these. Maybe I didn't read the small print, or maybe these just aren't up to par.

These are the Butter London Nail Decals....Nail Stickers. I was super excited because the design of the top one is to die for. I purchased them regardless that they were a little pricey ($10).  I was anxious to use them, prior to buying them I did compare them to my nail beds and they seemed that they would work. Not perfectly but enough to where I would be satisfied. WRONG-O

When I first applied the pinky it turned out ok. The size wasn't perfect, and there were limited variations of size. You only get 6 different sizes which doesn't allow for a lot of allowance for different nail beds. Plus, I was silly and was thinking they were like the nail decals-read like real nail polish-but they are only stickers that last 48 hours. That's it two days :(

Aside from all that which could be seen as a fail on my part, the application sucked. The stickers didn't appear as tacky as I would like but I could make do, the thing that I think is unforgivable is when you need to file down the excess to have it fit your nail. It would give you a rough edge that when you file down you get this ugly white tip, looking like nail wear. That I just can't forgive.

Moral of the story-These suck, I was left disappointed, a lesson learned for $10