December 2014 Favorites

Favorite TV Show

Once Upon A Time: I remember when this tv show first came out, I was excited to watch it, and I watched several episodes, but I got turned off because I felt like it was too over dramatic, too much like a soap opera. Then recently I had watched several youtube videos of people saying their favorite TV show of the month was Once Upon A Time. People were singing it's praises. One girl, I don't remember who said she loved the storyline between Emma and Captain Hook. She thought they made a good couple, and she showed a picture from the show and Captain Hook looked really cute. I decided I should start watching that show again. lol! It is On Demand, and also I found it on Netflix with all the episodes! The beginning of December I started watching from the first episode. I haven't watched all of them yet. I'm still on season 2. The show is still on air, and the new episodes will begin in March, so I have plenty of time to get caught up. I have always loved fairy tales. I love it when people rewrite fairy tales, and put a new spin on them. This show puts a reality element to the stories. It is like a soap opera, but I think it is well written, and has good acting. My favorite character is Emma, which is Snow White's daughter that is supposed to break the curse. You know when you see a character in a movie or TV Show or book, and you want to be that character? Somehow they inspire you? That is what Emma is like for me. She is strong, and can tell if someone is lying. She is not quick to believe in fairy tales. She is one tough cookie!

Favorite Movies

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1: This is the first part of 2 for the last book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. I remember when I read these books, I read them aloud to my mom and we both would be so excited and the endings of each book, we had to hurry and read the next one. The books end on cliff hangers. It has been such a long time since I read these books, that now when the movies come out, I don't remember what will happen so I'm still feeling suspense while watching the movie. This movie actually gave me chills because it was so moving to me. This is around the same time that the protesting was going on in New York about the man that got choked by the police officer. I felt like this movie correlated with that somehow. I guess just that people were standing up for what they believed in. The ending was so surprising to me! I won't say what happened, I'll just say that it made me jump! I think the movie should have ended then to make it a good cliff hanger.

2. Sleeping Beauty: This movie was available On Demand, and my mom wanted to watch it with me. This was one of my favorite movies as a child. It had been awhile since I've seen it. I love the three fairies! I like the part when they bake the cake, make her dress, and clean the house with magic. I also like the Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty music. I think it is so cool they took the ballet and put words to it. I think this is a romantic, beautiful tale. I think you should be careful what age you allow a child to see this movie! Malificent is pretty scary! I remember this movie was like my first horror show as a child. It was nice seeing this movie again. I love watching TV shows and movies with my mom.

Favorite Songs

1. Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat

2. Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me

3. Ariana Grande - Love Me Harder

4. Meghan Trainor - All About That Base

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Christmas Time Is Here

6. Christina Aguilera - This Christmas

7. Demi Lovato - Wonderful Christmas Time

8. Celine Dion - Oh Holy Night

Favorite Nail Polishes

1. Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Holiday Rebel: These are red and green glitters. I wore it over a black polish, Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Inkwell. It is just a festive kind of polish for Christmas time. 

2. OPI Nail Laquer in I Snow You Love Me: I think I got this last year. I think it was in the Mariah Carey collection. They are huge glitters. It reminds me of a big snowflake. I wore this over a light blue nail polish, Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Cinderella. It was a nice winter nail look.

Beauty Favorites

1. Too Faced Beauty Wishes & Sweet Kisses: Too Faced every year comes out with the coolest makeup palettes at Christmas time. This year I decided to get most of them. I didn't get the Carousel or the lipsticks. This palette has three eyeshadows from the popular Chocolate Bar Palette. It smells like chocolate! They are really good quality eyeshadows. It also comes with the Chocolate Soleil bronzer, which I have already mentioned in a monthly favorites. I think it is a good bronzer to contour with because it is matte and several tones darker than my skin color. It is very pigmented. It also comes with the Snow Bunny bronzer, which has shimmer and is a pretty highlight. Then it comes with a lip gloss. Each of these things are sold separately, so if you are like me and don't have any of these things, you will like it. 

2. Too Faced Sugar & Spice Palette: This has the same gold glitter and the inside is like the other palettes. This is a great neutral palette. It has good quality eyeshadows. I really didn't need another neutral palette, but I knew this would have good quality eyeshadows in it.  The 2nd row, 3rd color is a dupe for MAC's Woodwinked. 

3. Too Faced Everything Nice Palette: Again, this has great quality eyeshadows. It has a pink and a peach blush, the Chocolate Soleil bronzer, and a highlight. There are three brushes. I don't like the big brush. I don't find much use for it. The two little brushes are good. Underneath the brushes is a book that gives you some look ideas. I like the design on the front. I think I will get a lot of use from these palettes.

4. Elf Hydrating Under Eye Primer: I find that Elf products are either a hit or miss. Sometimes I find jewels. This is a jewel! It is great to have something to hydrate under the eyes and make the concealer go on smoothly without creasing. I like the ingredients it has too. It has Vitamins C & E, Shea, Green Tea, Aloe, and Ginko Biloba to nourish and condition the skin. It is supposed to reduce the appearance of fine lines, puffiness, and wrinkles. I think this does work!

I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year or whatever holiday it is you celebrate. It is good to have a fresh start that the new year brings. May God richly bless you! 

Blogmas Day 5: Butterbear

Playmobil Advent Calendar: Santa's Workshop

It's a dolly and a stroller! The doll has little buttons down it's front that you can't see in the picture.

Playmobil Advent Calendar: Christmas in the Park

It is a red purse for the mom. You can fit both the handles in her hand, and it is opened so you can put something in it.

These are two different angles of the same bird. I love the attention to detail!

LUSH

Butterbear Bath Bomb: Isn't this the sweetest thing?! It smells good. I think I can smell cocoa and butter. I don't smell the vanilla. When you put it in the bath it immediately starts to bubble and fizz. Little brownish yellow blobs come out. They feel like oil. It didn't leave my skin smelling like vanilla. I thought this was just ok. I'm not terribly impressed to be honest. I have to say it did do a good job moisturizing my skin. So if your skin is dry, this would be a good product for you. The Butterball is the same thing, and it is available year round.

This is what the website says: "Sweet, soothing waters. One of our favorite year round best-selling Bath Bombs, Butterball, has been transformed into a cuddly bear - just for the holidays! We know luxuriously long soaks in hot baths are a favorite winter pastime, but they can leave skin feeling a little dry. Butterbear's generous helping of cocoa butter ensures skin stays soft and hydrated, regardless of how long you spend soaking. The comforting, blissful vanilla aroma lingers softly on the skin long after the bath."

NOTD: Nails of the Day!

I did my nails last night. The bottom black coat is Sinful Nails Inkwell. The top coat is red, green, and gold glitter by Sinful Nails called "Holiday Rebel." I wanted to wear something festive.

October Favorites

Happy Halloween! Here are my favorites for this month!

Favorite Movies

1. Hangover Part 3: This movie is so funny! After watching the movie I was thinking about some of the scenes, and I was still laughing! I've seen the first two movies, and I liked those too. I thought maybe the third one wouldn't be as good as the first two, but it was a good ending to the trilogy. They had the dad from Roseanne in it. He played a bad guy. And the funny lady from "The Bridesmaids" movie was in it. I love her. Her name is Melissa McCarthy, and she is hysterical. I have loved her in every movie I've seen her in. The plot is that the crazy one of the bunch, Alan, has taken a turn for the worse and he needs an intervention to be taken to rehab. He agrees to go if all of the "wolf pack" comes with him. They are then kidnapped by these bad guys, and hold one of them hostage until they find Chow. Chow stole gold from them. It's all very wacky, and they get into all kinds of adventures. It is like the first two movies.

2. The Conjuring: This was really scary! It is based on a true story that happened in the early '70's. It had a good story, and good acting. I was scared after seeing the movie at night in my bed. I thought something that happened in the movie might happen to me. If you like scary movies, you will like this. If you like getting scared.

Favorite Brush

Ecotools Airbrush Concealer Brush: This is a fluffy brush that really is nice to blend out concealer. It is soft. What I find that works the best is to put eye cream on first, and then put on an under eye concealer. Then I blend it out with this brush.

Favorite Beauty Products

1. Seche Clear Crystal Clear Base Coat: This picture is no good. Sorry about that. I heard about the top coat by Seche Vite. It's very popular. I already have a top coat that I like that I am still using, but I needed a base coat. I found this at Sally's Beauty Supply Store. Since everybody seems to like the Seche Vite top coat, I thought the base coat might be good. It is good! I want to try the top coat.

2. Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel in 140 Fall Mood: This color is so beautiful! I wore it for most of the month of October. Normally, when my polish starts chipping, I will remove it and put a different nail polish on, but not with this one. I kept reapplying it. I think this is one of my all time favorite nail polishes.

3. Victoria Secret Pro Smooth FX Lip Scrub & Balm: I have had this for a long time, but I haven't talked about it. The bottom of the container is a sugar scrub. The top has a flap that lifts up to reveal a lip balm that feels medicated if that makes sense. I noticed when I reapplied my makeup during my break, that my lips looked dry. I didn't want to reapply my lipstick, I wanted to make my lips look good and scrub off the dead skin. So I brought this with me in my makeup bag. You can make lip scrub yourself, but it is nice to have this little container with everything you need. The scrub tastes so good! I hit pan on the lip balm.

4. Bath & Body Works Body Wash in Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin: I have been using this whenever I take a shower. I wanted something fall scented to use. This stuff smells so good. It has cinnamon and pumpkin, and it also has an apple scent to it. It is a good quality body wash too. I have the lotion and the spray, too.

5. I decided to paint my nails black for Halloween this week! I actually have never worn that before. I don't usually wear dark nail polish. I saw Elle Fowler (she's someone I'm subscribed to on Youtube), she had black nail polish and then a glittery top coat. She might have even put rhinestones on her nails because they were really "blingy." I liked the way it looked, so I tried to copy what she did. I'm not exactly sure what nail polish she used. For the black I used Sinful Colors Nail Polish in 1130 Inkwell. For the silver glitter top coat I used L'Oreal The Magic Top Coats in 803 The Sparklicious. And then I used a gold glitter top coat, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in 600 Spark in the Dark. I think it turned out cool. I got a lot of compliments from kids at work.

6. Wet 'n Wild Nude Awakenings: I bought this in the Spring. It was one of those limited edition palettes that was hard to find. I finally found it in a Fred Meyers in downtown Portland. There was like, one left or something crazy. This reminds me of the Urban Decay Naked Palette. I wonder if Wet 'n Wild was trying to dupe it. This has beautiful colors. I have a description of each color. I'm not sure where I got it from, but it was probably from another blog. I'm sorry I can't say what blog it's from. On the left side the browbone color is a matte light beige. The eyelid color is a light, cool brown. The crease color is a matte, medium warm brown. I use this color a lot. On the right side the browbone color is a shimmery, reddish brown. The eyelid color is a dark, cool brown. The crease color is a shimmery, light navy. The definer color is a shimmery, dark navy.

7. Boots No.7 Stay Perfect Blemish Cover in Extra Fair: TheDailyCupcake loves this concealer and is always talking about it in her videos. I had to go to Target and get one to try out. She uses this on her blemishes. I think this does work good. It is in a lipstick type tube.

8. L'Oreal Colour Riche Eyeliner in Black/Brown: The picture is blurry. On one end is the pencil which is very pointy and easy to use. The other end has a smudger so you can blend out the eyeliner. I think this color may be more flattering on me than black eyeliner.

9. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk: I used this for a lot of my fall makeup looks this month. It is a great base. It is a darkened red-burgundy with a shimmery finish. It is a pretty, fall color.

Favorite Songs

I don't have that many favorite songs to share with you this month. You should check them out on Youtube if you want to hear them. I like looking up the lyrics to the songs too.

1. Worn by Tenth Avenue North
2. Work B**ch by Britney Spears: This is a good song to exercise to.
3. Broken by Lifehouse
4. Amie by Pure Prairie League
5. Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift (ft. Ed Sheeran)
6. Still Into You by Paramore
7. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
8. Happy Together by The Turtles
9. Whole Wide World by Mindy Gledhill: This song I hear a lot on Youtube videos. Normally when a video has music, I will mute the sound, but I didn't with this song. I thought it was pretty.

I hope you enjoyed reading and seeing my favorites for the month. What were your favorite things?

Nails of the Day: To Buy or Not to Buy

I got a pretty lilac color nail polish recently. It's Essie To Buy or Not To Buy. I wanted to see if anyone thought of a creative way to wear this, so I searched google images and found this beautiful French blog. I went to copy the nails and I found the perfect shade for the peach ring fingers, Essie A Crewed Interest. I was trying to figure out what polish the French blogger used and it was in fact Essie A Crewed Interest! For the ring finger she put on the bottom of the nail a glitter polish that I don't have, China Glaze Techno. I used Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Opal Glitter. Here is the French blog I copied: http://www.beautybypoc.fr/2012/02/16/essie-to-buy-or-not-to-buy-a-crewed-interest-navigate-her-printemps-2012/

Here is what it looked like on my nails:

I love the pretty, feminine Spring look.

April Favorites

I have a lot of nail polish favorites this month. I've been getting into doing my nails lately. I like doing different nails and accent nails. I'll show you what I have been doing this month.

1. I had heard about Revlon Sunshine Sparkle being a good nail polish to get. It is a bright yellow color. It didn't have enough sparkle in it, so I put Essie Luxe Effects in Shine of the Times over it. It has sparkles with yellow in it. This is a pretty look when it is sunny outside and you want to wear something to sparkle in the sun.

2. Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat: I love this! It works well as a base or top coat. When my watch was causing green marks on my skin, a friend told me to put clear nail polish on the watch to prevent the marks. I used this and it worked! I thought that was a cool trick. When I run out of this I will buy it again.

3. From left to right, Sinful Colors in Opal Glitter and Zoya Professional Lacquer in Bevin. The Zoya nail polish I got in one of my Birchboxes. This color has lasted so long on my nails without chipping! I love it. I normally don't wear blue on my nails, but this color is actually pretty. On my ring finger nails I put a glitter top coat.

4. Essie Nail Lacquer in Tart Deco: I put this on my toe nails. This month the weather has at times been sunny and hot so I actually could wear sandals! It was a miracle! If you live in Oregon, you know how nice it is to not have rainy weather. We celebrate the sunshine. This is a pretty orange color. Some might say it's coral.

5. From left to right, OPI Nail Lacquer in Italian Love Affair and Essie Nail Lacquer in A Crewed Interest. On Eleventh Gorgeous they showed a nail trick where you choose two colors that you think would look good together and then you alternate for every two fingers, and then do the opposite to the other hand. For example, I would have pink on one thumb and peach on the other thumb. Then on one hand I would have peach on the pointer finger and middle finger and pink on the other hand. Does that make sense? Basically, you're just mixing the colors up on the hand and opposite for the other hand. I think these colors look pretty together and it reminded me of Easter eggs.

6. Now on to non nail favorites. I love this! It is Got2b Glossy Anti-Frizz Shine Serum. I like this better than the Jon Frieda Frizz Ease. It doesn't leave my hair oily. It has just the right amount of consistency and takes away my frizz.

7. I tried out these two concealers this month. From left to right Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Fair and Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory. I like both of these. I heard about the Eraser being good on YouTube videos and I wanted to try it out for myself. I think it does a good job covering dark circles. I like it better than the Dream Lumi, but the Dream Lumi is good at highlighting.

March Favorites

This month has gone by so fast. Here is my round up of beauty favorites.

1. EOS Lip Balms in Strawberry and Mint: Awww, don't they look cute! They look like Easter Eggs. Well, these are actually lip balms. I keep the mint one on my makeup table and use it before I put on my makeup to help prepare my lips for lipstick. I keep the strawberry one by my bed.

2. Maybelline One by One Volume Express: I like to try out different mascaras. I liked this one because it does a good job at separating the lashes.

3. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 in Shell: I ran out of my Laura Mercier foundation, and even though it was really good I wanted to try something new. I had seen the Estee Lauder one talked about a lot by Samantha Schuerman (she's a youtube person). She has acne scars, but this makeup covers beautifully on her. I think it does the same for me. You have to be careful with how you apply it though, because it can look cakey. I like to use my fingers to make it blend in nicely.

4. Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Cinderella: This nail polish is so cute! It is light blue and normally I don't wear blue nail polish, but this actually was pretty. Whenever it hits the light there is a pink sparkle to it. I got a lot of compliments too.

5. Chapstick Fresh Effects in Refreshing Mandarin and Invigorating Green Tea Mint: The EOS Lip Balms aren't as moisturizing as these are. My lips were feeling really chapped and I got these little guys. I keep one in my coat pocket. They give a cooling effect on the lips and make them feel really good when they are chapped. I keep the other by bed.

6. Pixi Eye Bright Liner in Nude: I learned about this in the Audrey Hepburn Tutorial by Lisa Eldridge on Youtube. She put this in the waterline. This helps makes your eyes look bigger and more awake. It works better than using white liner, because it looks more natural. I got this at Target. It is expensive. I don't remember how much it costs, but it is worth it. It lasts a long time, and makes your eyes look beautiful. I think it costs $17.

7. Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Brown: I can't believe I haven't listed this in a favorite blog yet. I use this stuff all the time. Whenever a look calls for gel liner I use this. It isn't as harsh as black. It is very easy to apply. I use my Ecotools angled brush. I have had this for a long time and it still hasn't dried out. I love it.

8. Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Not Just Nudes: I use this whenever I'm using a look that calls for a Mac Paint Pot. It works just as well, in my opinion. I always wear a primer underneath, and it doesn't crease. Some people don't like the illuminance cream shadows, but they work fine on me.  The lightest shade is a dupe for Mac's Bare Study or Painterly Paint Pot, the second lightest is a dupe for Rubenesque, the fourth shade is dupe for Indian Wood and the darkest shade is a dupe for Mac's Constructivist. They work well under eye shadows as a base.

9. Bare Minerals Multi-Tasking Mineral in Clear Radiance: This is a beautiful highlighter. Whenever a look calls for Mac's Soft and Gentle I use this. It has a pretty pink glow, but it isn't a blush. And it isn't glittery. It's the perfect highlighter.

10. Maybelline Expert Wear Blush in Pinch O' Pink: This is a bright pink blush. It looks flattering on my skin color. When a look calls for pink, I usually use this. It is very pigmented so use a skunk brush.

11. Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony: This is a beautiful lip gloss. It is a sheer golden pink with gold/multicolor glitter. It is a dupe for Nars Orgasm Lip Gloss. It is pinky-peach with gold sparkles. This is my favorite lip gloss.

12. Wet 'n Wild Color Icon 8-Pan in Sand Castle: I think this has been discontinued. The middle shadows are so pigmented, it is crazy. I have to just put a little on my brush. The colors in the corners are more like highlighter shades. There are so many dupes in this palette. The darkest shade is a dupe for Urban Decay's Toasted. The 2nd in the middle is a dupe for Mac's Amber Lights. The 3rd shade in the middle is Mac's Antiqued. The darkest color is also a dupe for Mac's Bronze. The top color in the middle is a dupe for Mac's Charcoal Brown. The darkest shade is Mulch. The darkest shade is also Sable. The top color in the middle is a dupe for Satin Taupe. The second shade is Sugar Shot. I don't have the colors they are supposed to be dupes for, this is just what I've seen people say around the internet.

I hope you had fun reading my favorites. What are your favorites for this month?