christmas gifts + something a little different :)

This Christmas was a bit different than most years. We often have "faux Christmas" in my family, because for the 6 years I've been with Disney, I've always had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  And I've been very lucky in that last year and the year before, my parents and brother came to visit me for Christmas. However, I actually had Christmas Day off this year, but I couldn't spend it with my family.  Dad did come to visit for a few days the week prior, though, and that was great!

On Christmas morning, I got on Skype with my parents (my brother went to Portland with his girlfriend to spend Christmas with her family), and we opened gifts and Christmas crackers. I was on Skype with them for at least two hours! That really made my Christmas - otherwise, I would really have felt lonely, I think.  I spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies (A Christmas Story at least three times, Home Alone, etc.), and later, went CVS-shopping - as you already know! And of course there were lots of kitty snuggles throughout. :)

Even though I couldn't be with my family on Christmas, I still felt very blessed - and I definitely felt spoiled with the wonderful gifts I received!

stocking gifts!*

I was a bad girl and opened my stocking about a week before Christmas!  I was home sick from work and feeling sorry for myself, and then this box arrived from Mom. I knew it had my stocking stuffers in it, so I opened it! >_< It did cheer me up LOADS, though! Sorry, Mom! hehe

(I bought Jingle All the Way and the Kung Fu Panda set for myself)

from my awesome brother!

bunny lamp from Anthropologie - I think this is my favorite gift!

The green desk chair I showed in a prior post was also a Christmas gift (an early one!) and Dad got me a new printer when he visited me, too - although that's not very fun to photograph, so I didn't! Aaaand I got lots of pajamas from Old Navy -- I looooove Old Navy pajamas!!

I also received gift cards for Anthropologie, GAP, Neiman Marcus (Dior & YSL spring collections, here I come!), and Charming Charlie. I really love receiving gift cards, as they really help to "extend" Christmas past the 25th! :D

If you're curious, this is what I got for my kitties:

bow-tie collars! (They wore these for about 30 seconds!)

Those pillow-looking things were full of catnip - they went NUTS for those!

And now for a little surprise... I uploaded a YouTube video of Sammy & Mouse on Christmas Eve. Just be aware that it was really late at night and I had (still have!!) a cold. But alas, there it is.  And for those of you (*coughRachelcough*) who've been bugging me to make a YouTube video, this is my half-assed attempt. haha ;) I didn't actually intend it for YouTube when I was filming it (usually I just share kitty vids with my family), but thought some of you might enjoy the cuteness.  Enjoy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'm so sad it's over already!

Lots of love,

Jess

Merry Christmas!! + a major drugstore haul

The Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian (that's real gingerbread!)

I've been a bad blogger, but I'm back in action! I hope you all are having/had a wonderful Christmas! I didn't have to work today, but I can't take time off between Christmas and New Year's (Disney policy), so I wasn't able to visit my family (one of the very few negatives of the job - otherwise I love it!). However, Dad came to visit for a few days last week, and this morning I got on Skype with Mom and Dad for about two hours! We opened presents, chatted, played with our kitties - isn't technology amazing? I was thinking I'd feel really lonely this Christmas, but Skype definitely saved the day. :)

My Christmas NOTD - Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips in Peppermint Twist

I'm really excited to show you some of the gifts I received, but my brother's gift is stuck at the post office until Tuesday, so I shall wait (I already know what it is.. hehe). However, after Skype, breakfast, and the Disney Christmas parade, I did go out for a bit on a MISSION (yes, it deserves to be in all-caps) to find the new L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows and Magic Smooth Souffle blushes. *Sidenote: For those who may be wondering, most CVS and Walgreens stores are open Christmas Day (just not their normal hours). I went to one CVS the other night (see my purchases below), and today I went to three more CVS stores on my hunt. Imagine my elation when I saw two huge displays of new L'Oreal products as well as one for new Maybelline products at last. And the displays were fully stocked!! It was a (drugstore makeup) Christmas miracle. ;)

I swear I walked up and down the aisles for 45 minutes trying to raaaationally decide on what to pick up.  I'd originally thought I'd wanted to try the Colour Riche Balm in Pink Satin, but when I thought, "What are the chances I'll like it more than the Candeur Rouge Coco Shine?" it was easy to pass on it.  For now...

Here's what I did end up picking up, though:

• Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 30 Candy Coral and 60 Coffee Cake
• Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Lipstick in I <3 Nude (odd name, since it's more of a pale pinky coral...) *P.S. I hate loooooooooong product names!!

Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral (left) and Coffee Cake

They're like sponge! Sooo fun to use!

How could I resist that heart print??

I love how the Physician's Formula lipstick looks on! I'm not a fan of the outer packaging (looks cheap, aside from the clear lid) or the scent/taste (again, cheap/plastic-y), but I'm very happy with the shade, formula, and that CUTE heart imprint!!

So I bought the above the other night, and what you see below I picked up on my Christmas Day CVS scavenger hunt. ;)

• Maybelline Master Shape Eyestudio Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Brown (potential MAC Lingering dupe??)
• L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Blush in Angelic and Celestial
• L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush and Bronzed Taupe
• Maybellie Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe and Pomegranate Punk 

L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle blush in Celestial, Angelic;

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush, Bronzed Taupe;

Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe, Pomegrante Punk

(swatched in the same order)

Just from swatching (haven't worn them on my eyes yet), the Infallible eyeshadows are definitely similar to the Armani Eyes to Kill range, and the Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows are more like MAC Paint Pots. If I change my mind, I'll keep you posted! I can't wait to use these! The L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle blushes are lovely, too, though I will say I wish there were a wider range of shades - they all looked so similar on the display! Also, while Angelic is matte, Celestial *looks* matte, but actually has sparkle in it (it's weird - it rests on top, while the blush itself looks matte - hard to describe!). It's making me a little nervous looking at it on my hand - sparkly/glittery blushes are not my friend!

MAC Lingering on left, Maybelline Master Shape in Soft Brown on right

These look VERY similar in the swatches. I actually just ran out of my Lingering brow pencil the day before, so this was something I was looking for - I can't believe I found such a perfect shade match! We'll see how it fares on my brows!

I wanted to get these swatches up right away in case you were thinking of purchasing any of these newbies! Obviously, I've only just gotten them, so I can't do any in-depth reviewing just yet, but I will be using them all this week, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Again, Merry Christmas (just 25 minutes left as I'm typing - so sad!) to all of you!

Lots of love,

Jess

chanel spring 2012: rouge coco shines in 68 candeur & 69 flirt

I was so excited to see Chanel's Spring 2012 Harmonie de Printemps collection on shelves - don't get me wrong, I am NOT ready for Christmas to be over, but I AM ready to see the spring makeup collections roll out! If you know me at all, you know lipstick is my favorite beauty product, and nudes and peachy pinks are my absolute greatest weakness. Well, the spring collections seem to be full of them, and full of other beautiful details as well -- Paul & Joe's kitty-themed collection? YES PLEASE! Dior's Garden Party collection with rose imprinted palettes? I'M SO THERE. And YSL is rolling out an utterly dangerous number of new lipstick shades, and even a new line of liquid lipsticks.  #byebyebankaccount

Anyways, I made a pretty restrained purchase (for me!). I was most excited about the limited edition blush, but I was highly disappointed when I swatched it, so I passed (scroll down for swatches). It just looked scarily frosty on my skin. The eyeshadows, Rouge Coco lipsticks, and glossimers were all easy passes as well. It was quite a relief actually, as there's so many things I want from Dior, YSL, and Paul & Joe when those collections release.

Okay, let's get to it then:

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 69 Flirt

It may be too early to be saying this already, but I think these may be my favorite Rouge Coco Shines to date. They're both so wearable and easy to just slap on with any look.  I don't really notice any shimmer, though they are definitely glossy. Flirt reminds me of  YSL's Volupte Sheer Candy #10 Tangy Mandarina, and Candeur reminds me a cross between YSL's Rouge Pur Shine in #32 Frozen Mango and #93 Pink Lychee. Again, if you know me, you know if I compare a lip product to YSL it's the highest compliment I can give as they can pretty much do no wrong in that department.

Here are the other swatches I took at the counter. I got some weird looks taking these pics - ah, so goes the life of a beauty blogger. haha

Blush Horizon de Chanel on left, Tigerlily top right, Rose de Mai bottom right

Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Garnet (love this shade!)

Hope this was helpful!

Thanks so much for reading. 13 days till Christmas! YAY! :D

xoxo,

<3 Jess

fotd, nails, & my november favorites

Hello beautifuls! I hope you're all enjoying December so far. It's my favorite month of the year. I love all the Christmas madness and mayhem - the shopping, the television specials/classic movies, the food, the friendlier-than-usual attitudes (except on Black Friday!!), the decorating, the eggnog! The only thing I *don't* love is living a good distance from my family and the lack of snow/winter-y weather. Bah humbug to that! But nothing can keep me down during the holidays! Is my cheerfulness grating on your nerves yet? ;)

Anyways, I'm doing a bit of a mash-up post today - a FOTD, NOTD, and November Favorites all rolled into one. And kitty pics. Can't. post. without. kitty. pics. They seriously watch over my shoulder to make sure I'm posting photos of them in every post, I swear!

Okay, on with the gratuitous big ol' face shots. Brace yourselves!

FACE

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation

Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Powder

NARS Sin blush + Benefit Heavana (just a little)

Benefit Watt's Up

EYES

Armani Eyes to Kill in Khaki Pulse

Bare Escentuals Playlist: Pumped (crease), One Hit Wonder (highlight), Remix (lower lashline)

Stila Stay All Day Liner in Black

Trish McEvoy 24 Hr. Shadow/Liner in Topaz

MAC Lingering brow pencil

YSL Faux Cils Shocking mascara

Clinique Bottom Lash mascara

LIPS

Candy Doll lipstick in Ramune Pink

 

NAILS

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Green Tea

Green Tea on left, Sephora by OPI Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild on right

I picked up both of these polishes last week. I have Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild on my toes, but I think toe pictures are just... wrong. I'll have to show it to you (on my fingernails!) some other time! ;) I'm addicted to mint polishes, so of course I had to grab Green Tea when I saw it at CVS. Surprisingly, while I have *similar* colors in my collection, nothing was an exact dupe.  It's like a more blue Revlon Minted. It looks similar to Essie Mint Candy Apple as well.

So, seriously, I took photos for a November Favorites post, but I felt like 95% of my favorites were things I've already photographed and/or talked about here.  So instead I'm going to lazy route and making a list. Yay, laziness!

BEAUTY FAVES

• Bare Escentuals The Playlist palette
• MAC Let's Skate & Nubile paint pots (Let's Skate used w/the BE palette is MAGIC, forreal)
• Chanel Beige Lame e/s, NARS Lola Lola e/s (what else is new?)
• Lush Colour Supplement in Light Yellow
• Benefit Watt's Up
• Trish McEvoy 24-Hour Shadow & Liner in Topaz (giving my Laura Mercier Amethyst a run for its money!)
• MAC Lovejoy mineralize blush
• YSL Faux Cils Shocking (only a sample, but it hasn't dried out in weeks of use!), FairyDrops Scandal Queen
• C.O. Bigelow Mentha Supreme 2X lip balm (my favorite night lip treatment)
• Revlon Lip Butters
• NARS Heat Wave lipstick (have yet to wear it, but still!)

EVERYTHING ELSE

• Tokidoki x Hello Kitty makeup bag
• Dove Silky Smooth White Chocolate
• LUSH Snowshowers perfume
• LUSH Angel's Delight soap
• Bath & Body Works Warm Harvest Apple creamy body scrub (I will cry when this stuff runs out!)
• Carmex Healing Lotion
• OPI Rainbow Connection
• CHRISTMAS! EVERYWHERE! <3 <3 <3
• Clarisonic Mia (rediscovered its terrific-ness)
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
• Alaway eye drops -- these are a miracle worker for itchy eyes. I can't survive without this stuff!
• TV: re-runs of JEM and Friends, Once Upon A Time, Happy Endings, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness! --No, I'm not 12! >_<
• MUSIC: Christmas music! Plus the new Howie D. and Drake albums...
• READING: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
• YOUTUBE FAVES: makeupneversleeps (duh!), missglamorazzi, amarixe, thecurrentboobies

Another fave is an early Christmas gift my parents sent - a new desk chair! I love it!

I have a Target throw over it and a Pier1 pillow to cozy it up. If you're curious about the chair, it's called the "Oh" chair by Umbra.  It can be purchased on amazon.com. They have several other colors also.  I think it's such a great chair - and it's pretty affordable for a desk chair, too!

Sammy, dreaming of a white Christmas (no snow in Florida, boo!)

Mouse has some serious Rachel cheekbones - jealous!

Partners in crime, forreal <3

Alright, lovely readers, that is all! Thanks for doing what you do - reading, commenting, all of it. You guys are crazy awesome.

Happy Holidays!

xoxo,

<3 Jess