New Bronzer and Powder!

Long time no blog!  I blame it on this awful winter we had.  I hibernated and did nothing all winter long!  Slowly I've been getting back into the groove of things ... hitting the gym again, venturing back out into the city to see my gal pals, shopping :)

I guess the upside to not feeling motivated to do anything all winter is that I wasn't blowing dinero on makeup.  Wait no, of course I bought makeup!!  Just two things:

1. Bobbi Brown bronzer in Bali Brown - I bought this after my mom and I got our makeup done at the Bobbi Brown boutique in Montclair, NJ.  The makeup artist used this bronzer on me and I loved it.  It looks pretty natural and not too orange.  It has also has little speckles of glitter to it, so there's a touch of shimmer. 
2. YSL Poudre Compacte Radiance (color #4) - I finally finished the Chanel Poudre Universelle that I was using (didn't like it, didn't help with oil control!), so I was perusing the web and reading makeup reviews trying to find another powder to help tame my out of control shine.  

It came down to this YSL powder and the DiorSkin Touch-up powder.  I tried both at Nordstrom (or Neiman Marcus) and I decided I liked the YSL better.  I mean they were pretty much the same.  Maybe it was the pretty gold packaging :)

Speaking of gold packaging, I've been wearing this Guerlain lipstick lately (#140).  How pretty is this lipstick case?  It looks and feels so .. luxe!  I love it.  The color is a perfect semi-sheer peachy-pink.  It's perfect for just a little bit of color.


That's all for today ... ciao!
Lisa

Dieting Again

After a month of gluttony (ramen, pizza, McDs, more munchkins than you can imagine)  I am back on the  5:2 diet.  By the way, did you know Dunkin Donuts makes red velvet munchkins???  They taste just like the chocolate ones so nothing major.  The nice gal @ my local D&D saw me eyeing them and when I asked about them she gave me three to try ... for free! Yes I saved like $0.50 but felt nice :)

Anyway this is week 1, day 2 of the 5:2 diet... so far so ... okay.  I had a lunch of a low cal ham & spinach "salad" (not really a salad, just greens + cold cuts with no dressing), and a side of black bean salad and some chickpeas. 233 calories.  What do I with my remaining 267 ..............

Tomorrow I shall go back to running.  Thinking about signing up for the Jersey Shore half marathon in April... hmmmmmmmm! Anyone wanna join????

I know this 5:2 thing sounds absolutely bonkers but it works for me - I have a tendency to overeat so this at least lets me indulge the rest of the week, provided I be "good" on the first two days of the week.

Lisa

Birchbox

I received a Birchbox subscription as a gift and while at first I didn't get what the fuss was about, (it's a box of beauty samples delivered to you every month) it was nice to get a monthly surprise in the mail.

Birchbox is awesome if you're a frequent traveler -- my travel makeup kit is filled with all my Birchbox goodies. 

My favorite items to date:

1. Dr. Jart BB cream - this is actually amazing and is what I wore when I was in South Carolina this past summer. It held up well under the intense Carolina sun and you could barely tell I had anything on (I hope)!  Bonus: SPF 45.  Gotta slather on the SPF to ward away wrinkles! LOVE THIS and will be buying a full size.

2. The Balm Hot Mama blush .. I do feel like a hot mama with this on.  This is similar to Nars Orgasm but a tad lighter and not as pigmented which I like.  Looks so natural.

3. Argan oil - I had been dying to try Argan Oil so I was excited when I got a little vial of this in one of my Birchboxes.  I have really oily skin but I dabbed a little of this all over my face and my skin drank it all up. A dusting of powder over it and I was good to go! Argan oil is wonderful. A little goes a long way and it can be used on your body and hair.  Multi-purpose!  Love!   

So those are my favorites to date.  Below is what I got in the November box - some "buffing beads" which you mix with your regular facial cleanser to turn it into a mild exfoliant; a pencil highlighter (will not be using this, I have no idea how to use highlighter); a mud mask; some tea; body lotion and a perfume sample which I instantly regretted spritzing on.  It gave me a headache.  Smelled too sweet.

That's all for today.. I had to re-write a little of this because my changes DIDN'T SAVE!! Argh.
Oh well.  Ciao, chicas!
Lisa

Sephora sale!

OMG OMG the Sephora VIB sale is here!!! 

I will definitely stock up on my everyday bronzer and mascara ... But what else!! Another rep lippie perhaps :) 

1. Bronzer - I am running low on my Guerlain bronzer 
2. Mascara - love my Lancome Hypnose Waterproof!

What are you all going to get???

Lisa

Red Lipstick!

So .. I have a thing for red lipsticks - it just looks so striking when you see a girl with a bare face and a shock of bright red lips!  A la ... 

 and  

Anywho I can't seem to stop buying red lipsticks despite the fact that I rarely use them ... Here are the four I have (left to right: Trish McEvoy "Kisses," Shiseido "RD 514,", Chanel Rouge Allure "Passion," and Revlon "Coral."  My favorite of the four is probably the Shiseido because it's more of a plum-y red.  

The Chanel is a true, in-your-face fire engine red, a touch on the pink side.  The Revlon is a coral, orange-y red that I wore maybe once during the summer (before I probably swiped it off).  I'm wearing the Chanel lipstick in the pic on the right.  Now that I look at this pic it does look more pink, actually ... 

I'm wearing the Trish McEvoy today and I should probably take a picture but I am not so good at selfies ;)

I love red lipsticks.  I VOW to go through all four of these lipsticks this year!!! I just have to remember to take it EASY on the blush :) 

What are your favorite red lipsticks?  How do you ladies feel about wearing it?  Trashy?  Elegant?  

Is it OK to wear red lips during the day or for PM only???

Lisa

Wedding day makeup & hair

It's been a while, blogger land!  Lots of fun goings-on have occurred in the past few months, most especially Maria & Arden's wedding!  Maria & Arden were married in my hometown borough of Queen (holler!) and it was a beautiful ceremony followed by some serious dancing. 

Arden if you're reading this, JD envied your moves :)  Maria if you're reading this, I envied your curls!!

Speaking of curls I have finally found the perfect curling iron - it's a 1 1/2" curling iron made by Hot Tools.  It's expensive but Ulta had them on sale a while ago so I bought it!  And it's perfect.  Just the perfect width to give you beachy waves! I used to have a 1" curling iron but I found it gave me beauty-pageant curls ... anyway here it is - go get it!  

Back to the wedding!  I was in a rush that day so I didn't get to mess with my hair much ... I parted it in the middle, because I wanted change, but change sometimes isn't all that good eh... not happy with the middle part but oh well!  How pretty are Iris & Yvette!  Yvette had some serious Great Gatsby-hair, loved it!!! 

On to makeup ... oh man, I decided to be a little adventurous and glued on some false "wispies" - you know, the individual false lashes.  They are HARD to put on but after a few tries I got it!  I trimmed them a tiny bit because they were looking very long.  In the end I was happy with them!! I put just 1 on each eye.  

My face as always was a shiny disco-ball.  I give up, nothing works!  That Rimmel anti-shine powder I wrote about a while ago only works for the first 30 minutes after you apply it.

That's all for tonight, ciao!

Lisa

Felicity's Beauty Routine

Look what I found on NYMag.com - it's Felicity's beauty routine! (hello, she uses the same eye cream I do!)

Keri Russell just gets beautifuller and beautifuller.  How gorgeous is she on the Americans?



Before. 

7:00 a.m.  I usually wake up around 6:45–7 a.m. My skin is super dry so I try to use rich moisturizing products. I cleanse my face withEve Lom Cream Cleanser. It just melts everything off, yet leaves my skin fresh and moist.

7:03 a.m. I’ve also recently used the Josie Maran Argan Balm to remove stubborn makeup. It's really great and hydrating. I always use my Shiseido Benefiance eye cream, and I switch between La Mer Crème and a cream by Astara, which is all natural and very rich. I always have the lip balm stick by Dr. Hauschka on hand; it's my favorite because it's not too glossy or slick, so I can dab it on top of lip color and it won’t make it bleed.

7:07 a.m. I always put on a little makeup during the day, because just a touch can really make a difference and lift my spirits. I use a bit of concealer under the eyes — I like the Lorac yellow one. It cancels out any redness or shadows. I like to even my skin tone a bit with the Luminous Foundation by Stila; it has nice coverage and it's moisturizing. A touch of blush adds life to the face. Recently, I’ve been loving Butter London’s cream blush in Abbey Rose. Sometimes mascara gets smeary on me so I use Diorshow waterproof. Lately, for my lips, I’ve been into Palm Beach lipstick by Laura Mercier. It’s a sunny, pretty coral.

7:12 a.m. For my naturally curly hair, I’ve been blowing it out to get a straighter texture and I don’t shampoo it often, maybe every four days.