Berry Eyes

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Vanessa

Took this picture on Saturday. I’m loving this rain!

Hello Beauties 🙂
I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend. Mine has been pretty great for the most part; stuff at home is kind of settling down and I’m getting back to my routine. Friday night I had nachos and margaritas with the bestie at a bar called Tequila Hoppers in Montclair, California. This place has the best happy hour ever! We got a huge plate of nachos and a PITCHER of Cadillac margaritas for that we split for $10 each including tip. Now, this place is not a classy joint (the waitresses are dressed as sexy referees most of the time lol), and it’s probably not somewhere you will go to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, but the food and drinks are delish and at great prices. Their happy hour goes from 2:30-8:00pm and the entire menu and all drinks are 1/2 off. Saturday I went to a black and white party that was okay, and today I’ve been a bum in my lounge pants, a hoodie, and slippers allllll day lol.

Here’s the makeup I wore on Friday night:

Products Used (note that all eyeshadows are from MAC):
-UDPP in Sin all over the lid.
-Cranberry e/s all over the lid just past the crease and along lower lashes.
-Slip Pink e/s blended along edge of Cranberry to soften the lines.
-Sketch e/s blended into the outer edge of the eyelid, smoked into the crease and along lower lashes.
-Mylar e/s as a brow highlight.
-Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Yeyo lightly blended along inner corners.
-Revlon Colorstay liquid liner.
-Stila Eye Kajal on waterlines.
-Covergirl Lashblast mascara.

Valerie by Zoya. I love the red glitter :-D.

How did you spend your weekend?

<3V

First Kiss NOTD

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Vanessa

Hello Most Beautiful Readers in the World!

I hope you’re all having a lovely week so far :-). It started raining today, but I’m happy because it’s not freezing! This weather is perfect for going home, putting my pj’s on, and watching sappy movies lol.

I picked First Kiss by Orly last night at Sally’s and had to share it; I’m crazy about nude/light pink polishes right now and this one is perfect. Three coats made the color opaque and it dried pretty fast. FYI-All Orly polishes are on sale for $4.99 at Sallys if you want to pick one up!

What color are you wearing on your nails right now?

<3V

Wine Tasting, Take Two!

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Vanessa

Hello Beauties,
I hope you’ve all been doing well! Thank you for the kind comments and emails regarding my last post. It’s been a tough week, but I’m hoping for the best. I can’t really explain what happened, but I can say that one of my family members reached out for help and we had to get together to offer them support. Although this week took a lot of of me and the rest of my family, we’re hoping that this is the start of a recovery and a better future for all of us.
My bff, Shan, invited me to go wine tasting with her mom and her mom’s friends this past Saturday and I welcomed the opportunity to get away for a day. We went to wine country in Temecula, California, and had a wonderful day! If you’re in the area, I highly recommend taking the drive and spending the day out there. Most of the wineries charge anywhere from $10-$15 for 6 tastings and you get to take home the glasses as souvenirs. Check out the pics:

Starting off the day: Shan’s cat, Jewel, “posed” for pictures and fell in love with my shoes lol.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! If you want more info on Temecula’s Wine Country, check out http://www.temeculawines.org/.

I’m hoping that this week is easier to handle and I will get back into the beauty blogging rhythm. Thank you again for the sweet comments and emails!

<3V

Taking a Few Days

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Vanessa

Hi Babes,
I just wanted to let you all know that I’m taking a few days away from blogging to deal with some tough stuff going on at home. I’ll try to post again this coming weekend, hopefully things have settled a bit by then.

Love you guys!
<3V

Beauty on a Budget: What Would You Do?

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Vanessa

Happy Wednesday, Beauties!

How are all of you today? The weather in Southern California is kind of all over the place. The winds by my work are so strong that they almost knocked me flat on my butt this morning; I just keep reminding myself that we’re actually pretty blessed because we aren’t buried in snow or ice. It still wasn’t fun to walk into the office with my hair teased to high heaven by the winds. I’m combing out the knots in between typing lol.

On to more important things!

I decided to put this post up because I wanted different views on something that I’ve been fighting with myself about. A few weeks ago, I was watching on of Tiffany’s favorites videos and she mentioned how much she loved Origins VitaZing moisturizer because she used it almost as a foundation and hadn’t had any issues with it making her break out. I’ve used the Aveeno calming moisturizer because my skin can get red with certain chemicals and loved that it took the redness away, but didn’t love that it didn’t control oil very well. While walking around Macy’s a few days after that, I picked up a decent sized sample of VitaZing to try out and used it for two weeks.

Well, as luck would have it, I’m hooked, so I picked up another sample that will last me about a week and a half. This stuff is so awesome! It moisturizes just enough, doesn’t make me break out, controls shine, has a slight tint to it that gives me an amazing glow, and holds my Mineralize Skinfinish in place all day. So, you’re reading this thinking, “What’s the problem, Nessa?”

The problem is that it’s $35 and I’ve never spent that much on moisturizer. I’m on a budget while I pay off my car/credit card and save up to move out so that is A LOT for me to spend on one thing. I keep going back and fourth because I’ve never loved a moisturizer so much and my skin has never looked this good before (I’ve gotten a ton of complements :-)). The bottle will last about 6 months or so with daily use, which is how long my current moisturizer lasts (at half the cost). Pretty much the only bad side to this situation is that it costs $35 and that I’m scared I won’t be able to afford it once I move out and be miserable. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it would suck.

What do you think? I’d love to get your opinions!

<3V

Urban Decay 24/7 Stash Pencil, Two Ways!

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Vanessa

Tacos and Tequila :-)…it was an amazing Friday lol.

Hello Lovelies,
I hope you’re all having a great weekend! Mine has been awesome so far; Made tacos and margaritas with my girls on Friday night, went to a baby shower on Saturday, and spent the morning with my sister today.

I picked up Urban Decay’s 24/7 pencil in Stash a few weeks ago and didn’t get a chance to use it until this past weekend. The color is an olive green with soft gold shimmer and it goes on very smoothly on my eyelids and waterline. While thinking of ways to wear it, I remembered how many people have asked me about easing their way into using colors on their eyes that aren’t brown or black. It’s all about baby steps! Starting off with small hints of color let you ease your way into brights and test different shades without committing your whole look to them. Here are two ways to use Stash, one for the color shy and one for those that aren’t afraid of all out color.

Here’s how I use eyeshadow and liner when I just want a hint of color to tie a look together. I just lined along my lower lashes and smudged the color a bit before it set. You can also use neutral browns/greys/blacks on your upper eyelid and a bright color along lower lashes. A great combo that works on just about everyone is a bronze/shimmery brown on the upper eyelid and a bright purple along lower lashes; it brightens up your eyes without having the color take over.

For this look, I used Stash all over my eyelid up to the crease and along lower lashes and set it with Sumptuous Olive from MAC. Topping a liner with a similar colored eyeshadow helps the liner last longer and makes the color really pop. I took the picture outside to capture the shimmer :-).

A pic of the whole look! LOL, see how pale I am? I captured my natural skin color lol. In case you’re wondering, I’m wearing MAC’s Springsheen blush and Smile Dazzleglass.

How do you feel about bright eyeshadow?

<3V

Friday Randoms

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Vanessa

Happy Friday Beauties!
I hope you’re all having an amazing day and that you get out of work on time to start enjoying your days off :-). Today’s post consists random videos that make me smile, enjoy! Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Can you tell that I love Despicable Me?

I don’t know if I’ve shared this, but I have a major…enormous…huge crush on Brandon Boyd. He’s just so…YUM. Oh, and Incubus’ music is pretty amazing as well :-).

For Shannon, because anything having to do with the ocean reminds me you! And it’s an awesome song :-).

I shouldn’t laugh. I really shouldn’t. But I’m going to anyway!

So fun! I love her makeup :-).

I ❤ her! The song is so fun to sing along to.

<3V

What’s in my Makeup Bag? + Everyday Makeup

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Vanessa

Happy Tuesday Babes :-),
Is it just me, or is this week already dragging on? I think I need to win the lotto and be on permanent luxurious vacation accompanied by my bff…cute cabana boys included somewhere in there.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I love smokey eyes with dramatic liner and lots of mascara. Although I love dramatic makeup, I don’t quite have it in me to get up extra early and put all that effort in Monday-Friday. I have to be up at 6 am to get ready for work and would rather sleep in an extra 20 minutes (or sneak a Starbucks run) than figure out an eyeshadow color combo for the day.

Over the years, I’ve mastered a simple makeup look that I can do in ten minutes flat with only the products in the makeup bag I carry in my purse. I thought I’d share what I carry with me and what my makeup looks like normally. Check it out and let me know what you think!

This is a makeup bag that one of my aunts gave me. I remember the day she got the bag because we got to the Chanel counter and she told the sales woman, “Stop me when I get to $500.” I just about died of jealousy. Someday…someday I will do that too lol.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium. Best powder I’ve ever used and has never broken me out.
MAC Well Dressed blush. My favorite blush ever, it gives a pretty pink glow.
MAC eyeshadow in Espresso to fill in my brows (I forgot to take a picture of the Urban Decay angled brush I use with it, sorry!).
Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine. A perfect balm that tastes like marshmallow-y chocolate and heals chapped lips in no time.
A Fluff compact mirror, my bff has the mermaid one :-).
Clean&Clear oil absorbing sheets. Save me from people being able to look at their reflection on my face lol.
Revlon tweezers. You know, for those times that you get in the car and realize that your eyebrows look like Bert’s from Sesame Street. Don’t act like it’s never happened to you.
Small scissors. You never know when they’re going to come in handy.
Time Balm concealer. AMAZING product, never breaks me out, and covers everything.
A clean Q-tip for cleaning up any makeup booboos.
MAC Plushglass in Ample Pink. It goes with everything.
MAC lipstick in Equality; it’s a perfect nude that never washes me out.
Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Blackest Black. I haven’t been without it in 6 years.
Covergirl Lashblast in Blackest Black.
E.l.f. powder brush for applying the MSFN and blush.
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Yeyo. This is an awesome way to brighten up your eyes when you’re looking tired.
Stila Eye Kajal in Onyx.
Bobby pins. You always need them :-).

Here’s how my makeup looks every day:

Products Used:

-Timebalm concealer, MSFN, Well Dressed, Espresso, Revlon liner, Lashblash mascara, and Ample Pink Gloss.

What’s in your makeup bag?

<3V

Zoya Haul and Swatches

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Vanessa

Zoya polishes in Cassi, Dana, Vanessa, Valerie, Ibiza, and Freja.

Hello Dolls!
I hope you’re all having a great Monday! Back at the beginning of the month, Zoya had an offer for 3 free nail polishes, all I had to pay was shipping ($7). I placed two orders and ended up paying $14 for $42 worth of polish! Check out the haul below; the swatches on white paper were taken outside in direct sunlight.

Cassi is a beautiful peach color with tiny sparkles and took three coats to be opaque. I think this color will be great with sandals in spring and summer.

Dana is a deep pink creme that was opaque in two coats. I got this color because it matches my favorite pink pumps perfectly.

Vanessa is a deep berry red creme that was opaque in two coats. I did get this color because my name is on it lol, but I really loved it once I tried it on too. It’s a classic color that goes with just about anything…and what I picked for my current mani/pedi :-).

Valerie is a deep purple with red and gold shimmer that was opaque in two coats. I LOVED this color so much! It reminded me of a more refined version of MAC’s baby goth girl.

Ibiza is a deep blue with really subtle pearl shimmer and took two coats to be opaque. I love the color blue and this would be perfect for a night out.

Freja is a gunmetal grey with subtle shimmer and took two coats to be opaque. I love that this ads a little bit of attitude to any look.

Which color is your favorite? Did you get in on the 3 free deal?

<3V

Pink and Purple Smokey Eyes

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Vanessa

Thirsty?

Hello Beauties!
I hope you’ve all had a lovely day. I’ve spent most of my Saturday cleaning and organizing my closet and shoes…a way bigger task than I thought! I am so tired, but feeling so accomplished and put together now :-).

Last night I went out with a big group of friends to celebrate my friend Dan’s birthday and had an amazing time. I was taking pictures all night only to realize that almost all of them came out blurry (I think it might have been the Tokyo Teas :/). There were lots of drinks, great music, pool, and quite a bit of Karaoke. Overall an awesome night!

I didn’t have too much time to get ready so I had to rush home from work, wash my face, and do my makeup really fast. I wore a black top, dark jeans, and black wedges so I went for a smokey purple eye to complete the look. I should have done fake lashes, but I was trying to run out the door in time lol.

**Sorry about the weird lighting, I’m getting new bulbs for my room because the light always photographs kind of yellow. Any suggestions?

Products used:
-UDPP in Sin all over the lid and along lower lashes.
-MAC Sketch all over lid to the crease and smudged along lower lashes.
-MAC Slip Pink blended into the crease and below Sketch along lower lashes.
-E.l.f. blush in Gotta Glow as a brow highlight and in the inner corners of the eyes.
-Revlon Colorstay liquid liner in Black along upper lashes.
-Stila Eye Kajal in Onyx on waterlines.
-Covergirl Lashblast Mascara.

Here’s one of the few good pics from last night that was taken with my friend’s phone. That’s my friend Carmen with me, check out her amazing curly hair!

What have you been up to this weekend?

<3V