MAC Holiday 2013- DIVINE NIGHT

Hello and Happy Halloween everyone!
MAC swatches can be spooky, right?

no?

Ok, so here are the items I have from a part of the the new MAC 2013 Holiday Collection- Divine Night. As soon as I receive any other holiday collections, I'll of course share!
**check out al the rest of the MAC Holiday Collection in my new post HERE 

These are just the pieces I have. I don't have the complete collection, but you can see every product from Divine Night, and more on each product here (Nordstrom).

So this collection is made up primarily of MAC Mineralize products: 6 Mineralize Eye Shadows, 3 Mineralize Blushes, and 3 Mineralize Skinfinishes. If you've followed me for a while, you probably remember all of my rants about the MAC Mineralize Eye Shadows. I either like them or I hate them. I never really love them, but some are definitely better than others. But the ones I don't like? Totally horrible. Haha, so maybe I'm being dramatic, but that's just my thoughts.

The Mineralize Eye Shadows in this collection mostly fall into my "like" category. I like these that are two (or more) SOLID colors totally separated.  The ones I despise are the swirly ones. Ok, so let's just jump right into it!

So I have three of the six eye shadows...

Mineralize Eye Shadows, $23.

Tonight's Temptation

outside: black with pearl base, inside: royal blue (frost)

Captivating

outside: bright white gold base, inside: deep gold (frost)

Until Dawn

outside: soft gold base, inside: purple taupe (frost)

There are three more shadows-
Exquisite Ego (outside: Bronze base, inside: soft white champagne)
Past Midnight (oustide: Blackish purple with violet pearl base, inside: soft white pink frost)
Gilded Night (outside: Bright gold with silver pearl base, inside: black with pearl frost)

I reallllly want to check out the Gilded Night because I'm a sucker for black shadows, and the black and gold combo is just gorgeous. The purple one (Past Midnight) looks good too. I'll have to check those out in person before I actually purchase though.

Next up, the Mineralize Blush. I have one out of the three.
I actually have always been a fan of the mineralize blushes for the most part. However, I just realized my preference for these is the TOTAL opposite of the eye shadows! I actually prefer the swirly ones (ones that look like swirled paint), whereas I sometimes have trouble using the more solid ones (like these) as actual blush because they're so frosted. So for these, I like to wear them lightly over a bronzer for a light glow when I don't mind a bit of frost on my cheeks. Or maybe even over another blush for a bit of a glow. For me, personally, I definitely would not apply these like a typical blush. It would just be too much frost. But the colors are pretty!

Mineralize Blush, $27.50

Talk of the Town

warm brown base with yellow bronze (satin)

All of the blush shades are described as a "satin". Well, let me tell you, there is NOTHING satin about this shade...haha. It's probably the most frosted blush I've ever seen with actual sparkle in it as well.

There are two more that I don't have- one that is a bit more violet, and one that is a bit more coral.


Next, the Mineralize Skinfinishes. Again, I have one out of three.
The one I have is very smooth with a lot of sheen. Not chunky and shimmery like some.

Mineralize Skinfinish, $33.

Perfectly Poised
outside: bronzy coral with golden tones, inside: creamy beige with pinkish purple sheen

I mean... is it me or are these getting crazy expensive? Seriously I'm waiting for the day when they hit $50 a piece...haha

A few eye liners...

Fluidline, $17.50

Macroviolet
deep smoked violet with red pearl

Kohl Power Eye Pencil, $17.50

left, Orpheus
right, Raven

Now for the lip products...
(two of five lipsticks)

Lipstick, $16.50

left, Private Party -dirty plum mauve (satin)

right, Flair for Finery -cool pink nude (lustre)

Both of these lipsticks are gorgeous. I think Private Party would make the perfect dark, berry lip without looking too matte or intense. Of course, Flair for Finery is a shade I would probably wear a bit more because nudes are just easy to me. However, not all nudes are great. This one is actually really nice and wearable because it's not too matte or "paint-like". This one has a nice gloss to it and lets a bit of your natural lip color shine through so it doesn't give you that zombie effect. (Halloween reference ftw)

aaand their corresponding glosses...

Cremesheen Glass, $22.

top, Private Party

bottom, Flair for Finery

Finally, one of three nail lacquers...

Nail Lacquer, $ 17.50

Military - black matte with silver suede pearl (frost)

This looks like a super pretty one. I'll wear it soon and update this post! Not about to mess up my new manicure. :)

So as always, you can check out the entire collection HERE (Nordstrom).

So what do you all think about this collection? Anything you're particularly excited for??

products provided for consideration by MAC with no agreements or obligations to feature or review
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Some Fall Weekend Fun... And OOTD

So I was looking through our photos we took over the weekend and I had to share...

On Saturday, I wore my new over the knee boots (that I'm absolutely obsessed with) and noticed my outfit was a really easy and classic Fall look. So Brad and I ran outside real quick and took some photos for an OOTD.
Meanwhile, Waylon was running around the backyard playing like crazy. We recently had the backyard at our new house fenced in so he could run around without us worrying about him taking off. So we probably spent half of the weekend in the backyard playing with him.  Of course, I took some precious photos of him.

So here's a few of them... Enjoy Waylon's cute-ness (and the bow-tie)

Weird action shot...haha Waylon was taking off toward the camera.

And here's the OOTD...

Weird time of day to take photos out there. But hey, I don't have all day to wait for the sun to go where I want it. We had a puppy to play with, people.

The ones inside actually came out better! haha

 Just a super simple look. Just realized I'm wearing all my favorite things... My favorite sweater, favorite scarf, favorite jeans, boots, and bag.  Crazy.

details:

Banana Republic sweater, Paula Bianco infinity scarf, 7 for All Mankind skinny jeans, Franco Sarto boots, Louis Vuitton Speedy 35, Ray Ban sunglasses

So did you all do anything fun this weekend?? Don't miss my new makeup tutorial I posted yesterday! Check that one out here.

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Bold Blue Winged Liner Makeup Tutorial

Hello and Happy Monday, Loves!
To brighten things up on this dreary, rainy Monday, I thought it only appropriate to bust out my fun new cobalt blue liner.
I love wearing bold color in a way that is still super feminine, glamorous, and flattering. LOVE wearing fun-colored liners this way!
So I filmed all the steps so you guys can see how I do this makeup look from start to finish. It's definitely a go-to look for me.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Products Used:
Sigma Eye Shadow Base in Persuade
MAC eye shadows:
Vapour
Sunday Best
Cork
Soft Brown
Contrast
Laura Mercier Cream Liner in Cobalt
Maybelline Great Lash in I See Blue
Chanel le Volume de Chanel
NARS blush in Madly
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Bite Beauty Lipstick in Blush
NARS Lipgloss in International Velvet

(not shown)
Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ liquid foundation
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Undereye Eraser in Brightener
Sigma Brow Powder in Medium

Inside My Most-Used Makeup Drawer...

Hello and Happy Friday, Loves! I'm so excited the weekend is finally here!

So today I thought I'd share with you all a peek into my most-used makeup drawer. If you've seen my most recent Makeup Collection/Organization video (check that out here), then you know I have a problem a lot of makeup. *I realize that one is a bit old (and filmed at our old house), but while the cabinets have moved and my set-up has changed, the inside of the drawers are organized EXACTLY the same.

Seriously, it's a lot. I have all of that obviously because of what I do on YouTube and my blog, and while I have a ton, I like that I can feel ok about it because I have it managed in a nice and organized way.
However, on a daily basis, there's no way I'd want to find what I need and get ready from those drawers. So in my little pretty vanity, there is one drawer. It's the perfect size to hold lots of products that I can access quickly and easily day-to-day.

So I thought I'd share with you all how I organize my most-used makeup! It's kind of a combo because it's also a great peek into some of my favorite products I most often reach for.

I hope you all enjoy it!

What I wore in the video...

shades:

Chanel blush in "Rose Ecrin"

Chanel eye shadow in Fauve

Formula X nail polish in "Curiosity"

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A Few Home Updates From Target

Tar-jay has done it again. Well, technically I have done it again. I should know better than to look through the home section at Target and expect to leave empty-handed. I can always find a little something. It's actually kind of ridiculous how much we have in our home that is from Target. Many of my absolute favorite things are from there.

I definitely didn't expect to find 2 (well technically 3) things that have been on my wish list for a very long time.
Do you guys do that? Make tons of lists? I do. I kind of have a list-making obsession. One list I have for home stuff. Sort of like a more long-term list of things that I want to keep my eyes open for. If you've been reading my recent posts, you may have seen me mention our foyer rug quite a bit. Or I should say rugs. I swear, it's different in every post. I've switched the rugs around in there more times than I can count. Mostly because it's a super high-traffic area (right at the bottom of our stairs) so it takes a very specific type of rug to actually work there. Waylon is the main issue. It either gets bunched and curled up (because he crashes into it and pushes off of it at the bottom of the stairs) non-slip rug pad and all, or matted looking because of the constant vacuuming (he sheds like crazy). So it takes a particular type of rug to work there. Check out my most recent rug post  here.

So I needed something large (but not too large), something that wouldn't slide around, something that would hold up well, and something that actually looked nice.
Kind of a tall order. Oh and let's not forget how tough it is to actually find affordable larger rugs in the first place.  I wasn't actively searching for one. Mostly because I've had zero luck. So I figured I'd just make do with what I had (which wasn't working very well) for a while until I eventually came across something that would work.

So Brad and I were at Target (I think shopping for pretty boring things like toilet paper and lightbulbs), and we passed through the rug aisle on the way to the home accessories (because I've always got to check it out to make sure I don't miss anything fab), and this baby was there...

It's called the Nate Berkus Arrowhead rug (5'x7') and was $149.99 (although it's on sale now, so I think I'm going to see if I can get a price adjustment in the next few days).

The size is perfect.

It's a wool/jute rug and feels like it will hold up really well in the space. You can even flip it over for a different look (it's the opposite colors on the back). The look is right, the material is right, and best of all, it's Waylon-friendly.

Because of the rougher texture, I think it's going to hold up really well. Because it is wool/jute, it's a little scratchy. So I definitely wouldn't recommend this in a living area or an area where kids would be playing on the floor or where you'd want a softer feel. However, in an entryway, it's pretty perfect.

As I mentioned before, Waylon's shedding forces us to vacuum daily. No joke. Black rugs are usually not conducive to light-colored pet hair, but I love how this one disguises it well.
This pic below is the rug right after being vacuumed. It has a natural, wooly texture with different lighter-colored fibers sort of woven throughout.
So even if there was some stray pet hair (or hundred), you wouldn't notice it.

I just can't get over how great it works here and for the size, I think I got a super great deal.

K, one more shot then we'll get on with the rest of my finds.

This one shows another point I forgot to mention... It ties in really well with the rug in the adjacent living room/my office. That was another difficulty in finding a rug. I didn't want one that was too plain, but I knew that it needed to sort of complement the neighboring rug that was so close by. This one doesn't compete at all. I just can't get over what a lucky find this was. The other rug is from Rugs USA.

So the next few things have been on my long-term list for, well, a long time. A few years ago, I was on the hunt for black lamp shades with gold lining on the inside to go with the lamps in the family room. Well I ended up finding a medium sized one from Target with silver lining, but no luck with the gold. Unless I wanted to pay an arm and a leg and order them from some specialty website.

So I think I audibly squealed or made some sort of embarrassing sound when I saw these right after finding the rug on the same Target trip. Best. day. ever.

Yep. Waylon hair. He's totally worth it though.

Since our family room is very light and bright, they added the perfect amount of contrast.

Hey, a Pretty Little Liars marathon was on all day. Don't judge.

So what do you guys think? Any amazing Target finds lately??

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My Thoughts on My Recent Sephora Purchases (REVIEWS)

Happy Monday everyone!
Today, as promised, I'm sharing with you all my thoughts on some of my recent purchases shown in my last Sephora Haul video.

Super excited to share with you all some of the great (and not so great) things I've discovered lately. Sort of like a big "combo review".

Warning... This is a HUGE video! Seriously, there is SO much we have to talk about. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Products reviewed in the video...

What I wore in this video...

Chanel shadow is in shade "Fauve"

Chanel lipstick is in shade "Secret"

Formula X polish is in shade "Curiosity"

Dior Gloss is in shade "Nuit Boreale"

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Favorite Fall Candles, Fall Home Decor Tour, & Homemade Applesauce

Hello Loves! So today I'm bringing you the "home" installment of my Fall Trends video series! This video was so fun to do...

So you'll get the scoop on all my favorite Fall candles, a peek at all the Fall decor in my home, and I'll even take you into my kitchen to whip up a super easy homemade applesauce recipe (seriously, easiest and yummiest stuff ever). 
Hope you guys enjoy it!
Also, be sure to check out the fashion and beauty installments of my Fall Trends series below!!

Fall Trends Vol. 1: Fashion, Haul, Wishlist, & OOTD
My Boot Picks for Fall, OOTD, & Fall Trends Vol. 2
Fall Trends Vol 3: Beauty Picks for Fall & OOTD

So we'll make the applesauce together in the video, but here's the recipe in case you want to see it written out...

Easy Slow-Cooker Applesauce

10 apples (I used Honey Crisp apples), peeled, cored, and sliced

3/4 cup sugar

cinnamon

Put apples in the cooker, put sugar and cinnamon over the top (I sprinkled enough cinnamon to cover the top of the apples in the pot).

Cook 5 hours on high, and stir them up when done.

**You can also make apple butter by adding a stick of butter to the recipe

**You can make mini apple pies by taking the finished applesauce and spooning just a bit into a flattened, raw, canned "refrigerator biscuit" (like Pillsbury Grands), folding the biscuit over, sealing the edges, and cooking according to the biscuit can directions.

NEW Sigma Advanced Artistry Brush Collection

If you saw yesterday's video, you already got a little preview of the newest brush collections from Sigma...
Well, today I wanted to do a post to accompany my thoughts in that video with some more detailed photos of each collection, as well as some more in-depth info.
*Don't miss some discount details for these kits at the end of the post!

So if you've been with me for most of my YouTube days (can't believe it's been 5 years!!), you know that I've been a fan of Sigma since the very beginning. I love the quality of the brushes and all the different options. So many unique brushes for every makeup technique you could ever imagine.

But I feel like they kind of read my mind with these though... haha. More on that throughout the post...

So the Advanced Artistry Brush Collection is made up of 3 kits, containing 6 brushes each:

Here's a closer look, as well as my more in-depth thoughts on each...

Spot-on Concealer Kit, $63.

brushes left-right: "Airbrush Blender- F63", "Angled Pixel Concealer- F69", "Detail Concealer- F71", "Angled Buff Concealer- F66",  "Pin-Point Concealer- F68", "Soft Blend Concealer- F64"

You all may have heard me say in videos several times that I often reach for eye shadow/eye liner brushes to use for concealer. I think there are SO many different types of concealers and different ways to use it, that there shouldn't be one particular type of concealer brush. This kit has so many different types that work well with liquid formulas, creams, and all serve their own unique function. Some place concealer more precisely, whereas some work to blend the product over a larger area. Love this.

I've actually had the chance to use most of these, and I'm LOVING the F63 and F69 for small red marks and blemishes and the F64 for blending my under-eye concealer.  

The Perfect Blend Kit, $63

brushes left-right: "Buff and Blend- E39", "Highlight Diffuser- E71", "All Over Blend- E37", "Diffused Crease- E38", "Exact Blend- E32", "Pointed Crease- E48"

 This kit is great for me because I'm always reaching for the same few blending brushes to not only blend, but to actually apply color to the crease/lid as well. So I'm loving that these are different than the traditional fluffier blending brushes. They're all very dense, yet soft, and really blend out harsh edges of color well.  However, they all actually apply the color to the crease area really well too (some more precise than others for every look you'd want), which to me, is important in a blending brush because they apply the color so evenly and soft around the edges in a way where you don't actually have to blend so much. Make sense? Totally does to me...haha. But these are really nice.

Extreme Color Payoff Kit, $63

 Brushes left-right: "Firm Shader- E57", "Firm Blender- E44", "Wide Shader- E59", "Pencil- E30", "Short Shader- E20", "Cream Color- E58"

This may be my favorite kit. All of these are like cousins of the E55 and E60... Brushes I reach for the most often when I apply color. I've used every single one of these and they definitely live up to their claims. They're all really dense and tapered just right so that they grab a lot of product and transfers the color to the lid so easily. My fav of the bunch is the E59.

 You can also purchase all three in the collective Advanced Artistry Brush Collection for $175 ($189 value).

You can check out every collection HERE and SAVE 10% on your entire purchase by using the code "FALL2013" valid through October 31st!

So what do you guys think? Which kit is your favorite?? Anyone else get as excited as I do for new brushes???

Brush sets provided for consideration by Sigma Beauty with no agreements or obligations to feature or review. 
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