swatchfest: my favorite red lipsticks (& kitties)

NARS Heat Wave

I recently acquired NARS Heat Wave lipstick after seeing it on about five different bloggers, looking absolutely mind-blowing on each of them. I knew I had to add it to my arsenal, however small it is, of must-have reds.

I also picked up MAC's Such Flare from the Glitter & Ice collection, as it reminded me of a cross between Ruby Woo and NARS Jungle Red, two of my other faves.

As it's been over a year since I did a post about red lips, I thought it was time I re-introduce my faves, including my two newest additions. You can read my past posts about red lips here, here, and also here.

NARS Heat Wave

NARS Jungle Red

MAC Such Flare

MAC Ruby Woo

MAC Lady Danger

And swatched on my hand...

TOP: NARS Heat Wave, NARS Jungle Red

BOTTOM: MAC Such Flare, MAC Ruby Woo, MAC Lady Danger

I realized after taking all the photos for this post that I forgot to include Chanel's Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon. I store it, as well as some of my other Chanel lipsticks, in a mug on my dresser, away from my other reds! I wanted to give it a quick mention anyways, as it's a gorgeous red, and very different from the others I own. It's a deep, blood red, with a thick gloss-like consistency.  It's a bit difficult to apply because of the formula, but it's really stunning nonetheless.

I also forgot to take a photo of all the lipsticks lined up together. Total blogger fail.  I may have to update this post later to amend those two errors. :P

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! One of the downsides of working at Disney is that I always have to work Thanksgiving and Christmas - but it never gets me down for long. I love the holidays too much! Also, if you're wondering, I didn't do Black Friday shopping (I worked 10 hours on Thanksgiving and got home, exhausted, after midnight - all I cared about was sleep!), but I did get some Christmas shopping done over the weekend.  Lots of the Black Friday deals were still in place, too, so I'm glad I didn't waste my time/energy!

Next up *crosses fingers* will be my November favorites! I wanted to take pics earlier today, but it was cloudy and raining all day, so that was a no-go.

Oh, and before I go, kitty pics!

See you all soon, and hope you're having a great week - and getting into the holiday spirit, wherever you are! :D

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess

happy (huge) HAUL-idays! yay for corny puns!

I'm a crazy shopping machine during the holidays. But I just can't resist all the awesomeness combined with great sales and coupons. Plus, I like shopping for others, too, and in shopping for others, I always manage to stumble upon things that I want, too.  Oy. Anyways, here's the damage I've done in the past few weeks:

• West Elm: Santa mug (20% off), Owl mug (20% off), and fox ornament
• Ulta: Revlon Peach Petal nail polish, Revlon Gum Drop scented nail polish, Macadamia Deep Repair Masque (can't wait to try this!) --$5 off $15 coupon (these items didn't total $15, but I also got a gift *shh!*)

• Bath & Body Works: Slatkin & Co. Toasted Pistachio Delight candle, Iced Gingerbread foaming hand soap, Fresh Balsam wallflower (shaped like a Christmas tree!) --$10 off $30 coupon

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Bath & Body Works has upped their game 200% this year. The gingerbread soap smells EXACTLY like sweet, spicy gingerbread men - I LOVE it. And the candle? Pistachio with a hint of strawberry and cream. If you like Laura Mercier's Pistachio line, you'll love this. And even if you don't, seriously, give this a whiff if you can. So, so yum.  The Fresh Balsam plug-in was necessary - I don't have any "holiday" plug-in scents (had Vanilla Bean Noel and Winter Candy Apple, but used both already). I was having a tough time deciding between Spice and Fresh Balsam, but when I saw the tree-shaped one, my mind was made.

• Howie D, Back To Me --my favorite Backstreet Boy's first solo album! Mom pre-ordered this for me - thanks, Mama :)
• Drake, Take Care --been a fan since his run on Degrassi - I loved his rapping then, and I still love it now... 

I don't buy music all that often, and I tend to gravitate towards female singers, so two albums by fellas in one week is a pretty big achievement for me. So far, loving them both. :) And yes, I still buy CDs. I mostly listen to music in my car, and don't want to mess with my iPod. 

• Happy Endings: The Complete First Season -- one of my favorite shows at the moment. I only saw two or three episodes of the first season, so I want to catch up!
• Book of Dragons/Gift of the Night Fury (two new How to Train Your Dragon shorts) - HTTYD was my favorite movie from last year, so when I saw this on the new release display, I threw it in my cart without thinking - hope it doesn't suck!

• Tokidoki x Hello Kitty cosmetic bag 

• Forever21 for Hello Kitty cosmetic bag (only $6.80!)

So, funny story, I picked up the tokidoki x Hello Kitty cosmetic bag from the Sanrio store, and then, browsing the mall, I noticed a Hello Kitty display at the front of Forever21. And... I bought another cosmetic bag. Just what I need! >_< I'll probably save this one to use for traveling. So, I walk into the mall owning zero Hello Kitty makeup bags, and I walk out with two. The end. 

• Butter London Leopard Nail Skin Stickers

I have a love/hate relationship with nail stickers (cute designs/easy to remove but also chip easily, complicated to apply), but these Butter London ones were so screamingly me that I couldn't resist. We'll see how it goes.

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters in Tutti Frutti, Creme Brulee, and Gumdrop 

Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti

Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

Revlon Lip Butter in Gumdrop (reminds me of YSL RVP in Celestial Mauve!)

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait 

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait (sooo much prettier on than I expected!)

• MAC Sheen Supreme in Gotta Dash (back2Mac'd for this - gotta love free lipsticks!)

MAC Sheen Supreme in Gotta Dash

MAC Gotta Dash; Revlon Tutti Frutti, Creme Brulee, and Gumdrop

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Eggnog

Revlon Eggnog wand + swatch

Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in Eggnog

• LUSH: Gingerbread House Tin -- contains So White and Cinders bath bombs, Gingerbread House and Candy Mountain bubble bars. I love that it can be re-used as a bank! Although I like the idea of storing my holiday bath products in it each year, too. :) 

contents of the Gingerbread House Tin

• LUSH: I Love Juicy shampoo, Vanilla Dee-Lite lotion sample -- I Love Juicy is one of the best-smelling shampoos I've ever used. Plus, it works magic on my hair! I've skipped using Moroccanoil several times this week because my hair was already soft and smooth without it! After shampooing, I use Aussie 3 Minute Miracle and I'm good to go.

• LUSH: Rocketeer, Golden Wonder, and Twilight bath bombs; Snowglobe soap sample (really big for a sample!); Dorothy bubble bar (this one and The Comforter are my all-time faves)

I'd never been a huge fan of bath bombs. However, I've recently gotten into watching demonstration videos on YouTube... and now I'm hooked. I used Golden Wonder the other day and it blew my mind! It was like a night sky, complete with little golden stars (made of soap) and planet-shaped spheres (also soap). How freaking cool. Watch this video (not mine) and you'll see what I mean:

Please, sir, may I have another?? (I presume Mouse liked it, too, as he stared from the side of the tub the whole time, and dipped his paw in several times - he's never done that before!)

Okay, so that is the end of my wee little haul (psh, NOT!). If you can believe it, I've actually managed to buy gifts for other people, and some Toys for Tots gifts, too. Yes, going broke is clearly my goal.  Anyways, I hope you all are having a great holiday week so far.  NO Black Friday shopping for me, my friends! I hate crowds and lines as much as I hate bad grammar/spelling (which is a LOT). I'm all about Cyber Monday, though! What are your shopping plans, friends? Do tell! :D

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
<3 Jess

P.S. I had such a great weekend - some family came to visit, and we went to Sea World (my first time since I was little!) and Benihana for dinner. I was so spoiled! I took loads of pics - I'll be doing a post very soon. :) <3 Shamu <3 Okay, I'm done now for real. Love you ladies!!

pics from the weekend (w/2 FOTDs and OOTD)

Hello lovely readers!  I had a nice little weekend. I did some shopping, watched Crazy Stupid Love (loved), did some more shopping, chatted with my fave girls on Twitter, took a nap, caught up on my fave shows, etc. That's a perfect weekend, in my opinion! ;) I also made a Christmas list on Kaboodle. I love making lists, and I've been using Kaboodle for several years now. You can find my profile here. And if you're curious about what's on my Christmas list, you can see it here. No makeup, if you can believe it! Two reasons for that: 1) I'm very instant-gratification/impatient when it comes to makeup. If I reeeeally want something, I can't bear to wait till Christmas! 2) I'm too excited about spring makeup collections (seriously - Dior, Lancome, Guerlain, Chanel... they're *all* amazing!).

If you can believe it (I can't!), I didn't even buy anything from the Sephora VIB sale (or from the Friends & Family sale!). That doesn't mean I haven't bought any makeup recently, but yeah. Shocking for me.

I thought I'd share my FOTDs and an OOTD from my weekend, and also random shopping pics and kitty pics, too.  Enjoy!

From Sunday...

FACE

LUSH Colour Supplement in Light Yellow

Chanel Bronze Rose (minus the pink) as setting powder/bronzer (didn't like the effect of this - it looked too powdery/cakey!)

Laura Mercier Canyon Sunset Cheek Melange

Benefit Watt's Up

EYES

MAC Morning Frost paint pot

Bare Escentuals Playlist palette

YSL Shocking liner in Ashy Black

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Amethyst

MAC Shadestick in Nurture (inner corners)

MAC Lingering brow pencil

Benefit They're Real mascara

LIPS

YSL Rouge Pur #148 Tea Rose

Still loving the Lush Colour Supplement - and no breakouts! Yay! :)

From Monday...

Can you spy a curious little Mouse in the background?

FACE 

Bourjois Healthy Mix (51)

MAC MSF Natural (Medium)

Chanel Tweed Brun Rose blush

Benefit Watt's Up

EYES

MAC Let's Skate paint pot

Armani Eyes to Kill Khaki Pulse

Chanel Vert Khaki

Chanel Beige Lame

MAC Midnight Blues fluidline

Trish McEvoy shadow/liner in Topaz

UD 24/7 shadow pencil in Sin (inner corners)

MAC Lingering brow pencil

Benefit I'm Real mascara

LIPS

MAC Patisserie

Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in Eggnog

DRESS, NECKLACE, BRACELET: Target

SWEATER: Forever21

PERFUME: Laura Mercier Vanille Gourmande

Say hello to my little friend! ("put me down!")

SHOES: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

Some random shopping pics...

Seriously, more Lush?? Of course.

I'll show you what I got from Lush in the next post. I'm such a tease, right? ;)

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre #108 Ochre Rose

Tried on this YSL lippie that I'm pretty sure I need at wanted to get a pic of it ASAP, hence the off-center shot. It's so awkward trying to take a macro lip shot in the center of a mall! haha I planned to buy it this weekend, but I didn't (long story). But I will.  Soon.

stuff I liked at Urban Outfitters (the box in the center contains 3 owl-shaped lipsticks - eep!)

stuff I liked at Sanrio: leather wallet & tokidoki for Hello Kitty pencil bag - think I need these!

Look what I found - finally! - @ Target! Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters! <3

I literally squealed when I saw this display at Target (it was in the aisle in the Revlon section, not on an end cap, as I'd expected). One thing to note, though, is that it doesn't look like Target will be carrying Creamsicle, Cupcake, or Red Velvet, as they were missing from the display. Actually, I count 13, and I believe there are 20 shades total, so I guess there are four other shades missing in action as well.  But the ones I mentioned are the only ones I cared enough about to notice! ;)

I swear, this was not posed - he really slept w/the tree skirt as a blanket! so cute <3

Mom dubs this one "I am Sammy, King of Boob Mountain."

See you soon, and thanks for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess