i am officially on youtube (beware!)

I just wanted to get on here really quickly to tell you that, yes, Rachel's constant bullying finally took effect, and I filmed three beauty videos today. >_< The first two were uploaded just now, and the third I'm going to save for a little later. Please note that I'm a total amateur at this (you will be shocked to learn this after watching my expert filming techniques), but I'm going to try to keep at it anyways!

So... you can click here to see my Youtube page.

Or, if you're feeling lazy (no judgement!), you can just watch right here:





Please don't harm yourself after watching. You'll recover quickly, I promise! ;)

Hope you all had a great weekend and a great week-in-progress! I'll be back again shortly with a real post, promise! :)

Love you all and thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Jess

a monday in pictures (w/fotd)

FACE

NARS Sheer Glow foundation

Lancome Star Bronzer in Sunkissed (matte)

YSL Touche Eclat (under eyes)

Benefit Hervana blush

MAC Stereo Rose MSF

EYES

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk

Tom Ford Burnished Amber e/s quad

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Bourbon

Maybelline Master Shape Brow in Dark Brown

YSL Faux Cils Shocking mascara

LIPS

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait*

*Mini RANT! Has anyone seen the ad for Revlon's lip butters? (Click here if you haven't.) Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous ad, but um, that they say Emma Stone is wearing Peach Parfait on her lips in the photo is a joke! It looks much more like Tutti Frutti. I just hate misleading advertising, and I would hate for someone to order Peach Parfait (because I doubt anyone who saw it in person would) expecting it to be a milky coral shade. #endrant

(lol.. what am I doing with my hand??)

Some more lazy Monday pics...

I bought another 3-drawer container and mini storage bin, and took some time last night to organize some loose makeup that was either on the counter or thrown in a drawer.  I wanted another drawer container for storing cream blushes, paint pots/primers, and eyeshadow palettes. And I needed another bin to organize lipsticks (I store them upside down so finding a shade is extra simple) - I'd had quite a few stuffed into a cosmetic bag and it was just too hard to find things that way. 

And, lastly, a few more kitty pics I've been meaning to post for a while...

(Sammy watching jealously as Mouse snuggles in my lap)

I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week as well! I'm off to watch my two favorite Monday night guilty pleasures - The Bachelor and Pretty Little Liars!

Thanks so much for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess

by request: d&g passion duo lipstick in imperial swatches

In my last post, I was wearing the elusive (as in, can't find swatches ANYWHERE) Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion lipstick in Imperial. It was requested that I post swatches - as, like I said, there aren't any anywhere! So here I am, happy to oblige! :)

I wish that D&G cosmetics were more accessible (ordering from Saks online is not my favorite), and easier to find reviews/swatches of -- blind-ordering is so tricky! Luckily, I've been really happy with my most recent D&G purchases - the Classic Cream lipstick in Cinnamon and the one I'm posting about here. :) My only disappoint was the Classic Cream lipstick in Nude, which I just didn't love the shade of on me (it's in my blog sale).

The formula of this lipstick is very creamy, moreso than the Classic Cream lipsticks. It has the same powdery scent, which I know some people aren't fans of, but I personally don't mind it. I also prefer the slimmer, taller packaging to that of the Classic Cream lipsticks.  Sleek!

On to the swatches...

D&G Classic Cream lipstick in Cinnamon (top); 

D&G Passion Duo Gloss Fusion lipstick in Imperial (bottom)

Classic Cream lipstick packaging (left);

Passion Duo Gloss Fusion lipstick (right)

And Imperial swatched on the lips...

To sum it up, I'm definitely happy with this lipstick. I really want to try the shade Darling next!

Have any of you tried the Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo lipsticks? If so, what do you think? 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess

fotd + the cutest baby i know :)

I haven't posted many FOTDs lately, because - not sure if I've mentioned this already, my apologies if I have! - the camera in my phone doesn't like taking pictures of faces right now.  It just can't seem to get the colors right. Product photos and swatches are fine, but for some reason, face pics have been a total pain. :\ Anyways, I tried to tough it out today because I was SO impressed with the payoff of the Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow quad in Moonlit. I couldn't recommend it more, especially if you like taupes and browns! 

 

 

FACE

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation

Lancome Star Bronzer (matte) in Sunkiss

Stila Love at First Blush

YSL Metallic Colorama face highlighter

YSL Touche Eclat (under eyes)

EYES

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow quad in Moonlit

MAC Blacktrack fluidline

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Amethyst

Maybelline Master Shape Brow in Dark Brown

YSL Faux Cils Shocking mascara

LIPS

Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion lipstick in Imperial

A pic of the products used...

I had a really eventful week - I had three separate vet appointments for muh boys (one of which was Sammy's neuter operation - poor guy!), and then Thursday my best friend/cousin and her 8-month-old daughter Felicity came to visit me from Chicago! They just left yesterday and already I miss them loads! :( We had lots of fun during their stay, though - we went to EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and did lots of shopping and eating of course!

I took about a thousand pictures of Felicity, and quite a few videos, too.  I thought I'd share some of my faves. Isn't she ridiculously adorable??

Alright, hope you all are enjoying your night! See you again soon, and thanks for reading!

xoxo,
<3 Jess

spring cosmetics w/swatches (Lancome, YSL, MAC, Paul & Joe) + other buys

I had a December Favorites post planned - photos are taken, etc. - but I was just way too excited to do this post, so... sorry, Favorites, you'll just have to wait... even longer. Oops!

I think it's safe to say that this spring's makeup collections have been my most anticipated of all time.  I usually hate when the holidays are over, but this year I was almost too excited for spring releases to be bothered!

I was really grateful to receive several gift cards for Christmas, and they were used to purchase quite a few of these things. :)  Anyways, let's get on with it!

Um, best Lancome collection ever? I usually barely glance at Lancome collections, but this one is SO AMAZING! Down to the packaging, this collection just blows my mind. It reminds me of Laduree (the Parisian macaroon-makers!). The lipsticks are my favorite they've released as well. And I can't even bring myself to swatch the powder!

I really recommend checking out the collection in person. Everything's really lovely - it was so hard to restrain myself!

Lancome La Roseraie Illuminating Smooth Powder (can't bear to swatch this yet!) 

The lipsticks are must-haves, in my opinion, particularly these two shades.  I'm bummed to have missed out on MAC Flamingo from the Iris Apfel collection, but these two resemble it closely enough to ease my pain. ;) Unlike most Lancome lipsticks, these are unscented. They also contain no shimmer and go on sheer, but buildable. They feel very moisturizing on the lips.

Lancome Le French Touch in 316 Cotton Candy, Lancome L'Absolu Nu in 1141 Sweet Marmalade

Cotton Candy, Sweet Marmalade

Lancome Cotton Candy

Lancome Sweet Marmalade

YSL makes the best. lipsticks. ever. And their Spring collection releases are no exception. I love both of the shades I picked, and Shimmering Coral is probably my favorite Rouge Volupte Perle from YSL so far. I think this range has the best scent, too!

YSL Rouge Volupte Perle in 115 Shimmering Coral and 116 Milky Pink

Shimmering Coral, Milky Pink

YSL Shimmering Coral

YSL Milky Pink

I really restrained myself with MAC - two awesome collections were released, and all I picked up were two lipsticks. *pats self on back* And I'm really pleased with both of them!

MAC Sweet Sunrise, MAC A Perfect Day

Sweet Sunrise, A Perfect Day

MAC Sweet Sunrise

MAC A Perfect Day

The mini Paul & Joe order I placed on ASOS.com just arrived today, actually (it was ordered first!), which is why it's not with the other cosmetics in the top photo. ASOS doesn't ship cosmetics particularly well (loose with some tissue in a box) and it's not the fastest shipping, but at least it's free shipping, so it is what it is. And it's one of my favorite online shops to browse.

Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color in Kitty Cat (ASOS.com)

Paul & Joe lipstick in Sex Kitten (ASOS.com)

Yeah, not ready to swatch those either! >_<

Overall, I'm SO happy with my picks for Spring. I love everything! Of course, not sure I'll ever be able to touch the Lancome powder or Paul & Joe stuff, but I love looking at it! haha

If you're surprised there's no Dior here, that's because I was kind of disappointed in the collection after seeing it in person, and I realized the colors in the palettes aren't ones I'm likely to use often, so they're not worth the price to me.  I am, however, on the prowl for the 3 Couleurs Smoky in Smoky Garden (the green one!), though.

I'm also still looking forward to the second Kitty collection from Paul & Joe that comes out in February, and the YSL Glossy Stains that should be up on Sephora.com soon! Wouldn't it be nice to have a neverending supply of cash for cosmetics?? HA!

Onto everything else...

Wallflowers & room spray (Bath & Body Works)

I can't wait for the new Slatkin & Co. spring candles! They had a few of them available in-store today, and they smell sooo good! I heard they're re-releasing The Flower Shop, which is probably my favorite spring candle - yay!

• Fifi Lapin for Juicy Couture notecards & sketchbook
• Red Velvet Cupcake candle (Target)

I'm a longtime fan of Fifi Lapin. I have several prints around my apartment, as well as her book and two bags from her LeSportsac collection.  So yeah, knew I needed to check out the Juicy Couture shop when I heard they were releasing a capsule collection.  It also included two adorable scarves, but these were more in my budget!

The candle was just an impulse purchase - Target is GREAT for those! haha Seriously, though, sniff this bad boy if you get a chance and are a fan of sweet, baked-good type candles. This one is seriously yum. No idea what the burn/scent throw will be like, but we'll see.

Printed tea towel (Anthropologie)

I wanted something to replace my Christmas-themed hand towels in my kitchen, and I've always loved Anthropologie's tea towels.  This one just really stood out for me.  I really love that I had a gift card for Anthropologie, because this is one of those things that I really love, but never would have normally purchased for myself. :)

Vintage marmalade canister (Anthropologie)

I was looking for something to store my Clarisonic and toothbrush in (my new one doesn't fit in the holder I have now), and really fell in love with this.  Random, right? That's me!

In other news, I took Sammy to get up-to-date on his shots and to be neutered today (Mouse went 3 weeks ago).  He's been so sleepy, poor guy! 

I got the night off work tonight, and I was so glad, because after I dropped Sammy off early in the AM, I came back home and tried to go back to sleep, but Mouse was not having it.  Every 15 minutes, he'd knead me, cry in the windowsill beside my bed, and/or attack my feet and legs. You'd think he was missing his brother or something! So cute. >_< He was so happy when I brought Sammy home. <3

Okay, that's all the rambling for now!  Hope you're all having a great week.  I'm off to go watch some new Tabatha (formerly Tabatha's Salon Takeover, now Tabatha Takes Over). LOVE that woman! Then it's off to bed! My cousin/best friend and her baby are coming to stay with me for five days, and I have so much to do before they get here - ack!!

Love you guys and thanks for reading!

xoxo,

<3 Jess