The Ugly Sweater Party Has Been Cancelled

*I like to keep this blog G-rated, so this post has been edited for television.

[Thank] you, weather! It's a [thankful] seventy-three degrees outside? How in the [heck] is anyone supposed to get in the [gall dern] Christmas spirit wearing [fashion] shorts and flip flops? Somebody's gonna have a [cluckin'] heatstroke hanging the [pot clam?] icicle lights! [Flibbertygibbit blargle blargle harumph]!

Clearly, I have a career in dialogue editing before me.

In all seriousness, though, it really is 73-degrees down here in the ninth cir--Deep South, and the heat is truly putting a damper on my holiday fun. As I type, I'm in tissue-thin short sleeves, no socks, and my hair is off my neck. I've gone back to the tinted moisturizer to keep from sweating off foundation, and that's with the air-conditioner running. Sure, the tree is pretty in any temperature, but I felt downright stupid setting out my snowmen figurines and snowflake stocking hangers. I know it's not his fault, but when I see the weatherman, I can't help but picture him green, furry, and wearing a pathetic Santa suit.

So, Southern brethren, I've put together a list of things that might help us, at least, fake a white Christmas; kind of like how S.A.D. sufferers use their little light boxes. Good luck! Now, does anyone have any peppermint-scented sunscreen?

Photo Credit: Think Geek

Nothing says "Christmas" like handfuls of fluffy, white, snow. Heck, there's even a song about it! Fake it till you make it with this wonder of science! Just add water, and watch drifts of snow magically form! Like regular snow, it doesn't last forever (it dries out, so you can reuse it). Unlike snow, it doesn't make the best ice cream, so don't eat it.

Photo Credit: Best Buy

You know, I have a fireplace. It's beautiful, and one day, maybe it won't be hotter 'n Hades outside, so I can light the darn thing! Until then, I have this delightful, realistic (?), facsimile of a roaring fire. Unfortunately, I look like an idiot trying to roast chestnuts over the tv.

Photo Credit: Bath and Body Works

If you can't be cold, you can at least smell the cold with this chilly candle. Heck, I might light mine when I get home, pour a mug of hot cocoa, snuggle up on the sofa with the puppy, and sweat off fifteen pounds of water weight.

Al Gore, I totally blame you.**

**not really.

Week of Naked 2 Challenge!: Day 5

Woohoo! It's the last day! I made it! Five different looks, using different combinations of shadows, showing each shadow at least once. Y'all may not be impressed, but I'm ridiculously proud of myself. This was harder than I expected it to be.

For those just tuning in to our blog, already in progress, I've been field-testing the Naked 2 palette for range and versatility over the past week. Some people may be looking into purchasing one for themselves or as a gift, given it's the (ridiculously early) holiday season. Swatches are nice, but sometimes it's more helpful to see things in action. Hopefully, this helped.

So, today's even-more-casual-than-usual Friday at my job, so I tossed on some jeans, a Doctor Who tee, and a hoodie. I look freaking fifteen years-old. Seriously, I ran by the mall, and security watched me like a hawk. I felt very uncomfortable. However, because I was dressed so casually, I kept my makeup looking very natural. In fact, I'd call it a "no-makeup" look. Light foundation, concealer, minimal cream blush on cheeks, tinted lip balm, brows, and this eyeshadow look with mascara. Easy peasy.

Indoors

Natural Light

This was done by simply applying Foxy from lid to brow, then Tease in and just above the crease. I used a flat brush to wiggle blackout along my upper lashes, not really focusing on a line, but mostly filling in-between the lashes. I ran Tease along the lower lashline. Mascara is Buxom. No highlight. No inner corner. Done.

Seriously, I hope this helped somebody. I've got another really fun palette to show you next week--inexpensive, and a great stocking stuffer!--and a glittery holiday nail polish to review. Stay tuned!

Week of Naked 2 Challenge!: Day 4

If you're just joining us, I thought I'd spend this week field-testing the Naked 2 palette, so that any of you guys interested in possibly purchasing it could see in action before plunking down your cold, hard, cash on one. These aren't necessarily tutorials or "looks". This is, literally, just me putting my makeup on for the day. It's about as "Reals World" as you can get. Anyhoo, I hope this helps you decide if the range of colors and versatility are what you're looking for.

I spent today singing, so I went for a vaguely theatrical Fall look.


Indoors




Natural Light

 Yes, I will clean up my brows! Okay, for this look, I used Snakebite all over the lid, then Suspect just above the crease, then Half Baked over the Suspect, Busted on the outer corner and lower lashline, and Blackout in the crease. Once that was blended, I dusted Bootycall on the browbone and in the inner corner. Liner is UD 24/7 in Zero. Mascara is Buxom. And that, folks, is half the palette in one look.

Week of Naked 2 Challenge!: Day 2

As a public service to my lovely readers, I thought I'd test the range of the Naked 2 palette by using its shadows exclusively for a whole work week. That way, anyone interested in picking up this popular, yet pricey item can make an informed decision on whether or not to plunk down fifty bucks, or use a rare holiday coupon on it. These are not tutorials. This is strictly real-world field testing, and I hope you find it helpful.

Yesterday, I wanted a no-fuss look. Today, I wanted something slightly more sophisticated, but still not over-the-top.

Inside

Daylight

For this, I used Bootycall all over the lid and as an inner corner highlight; then Pistol in the crease, outer corner, and up to the browbone; Blackout in the outer corner and crease; Verve as brow highlight. I ran Pistol under the lower lashline, then Blackout just under the outer corner of the lashline. Eyeliner and Mascara are Buxom.

Week of Naked 2 Challenge!: Day One

It's that wonderful time of year, when the temperatures drop, caloric consumption explodes, and high-ticket items can be purchased with coupons! Ah, Christmas!

Seriously, though, Sephora will be sending out coupons, most likely, and Ulta has already started. If you have any "you've got to be kidding me" items on your shopping list, the holiday season is one of the rare times you might be able to snag it at a discount. Now, I know that one of the crazy popular items last year was the Naked 2 palette, and that its popularity hasn't really waned. Some of you are probably eyeing it, but wondering if it's worth the money, or if you could use it.

I can't tell you.

See, the shadows are amazing, but color preference is up to the user. I like it a lot, but that doesn't mean you will. In an effort to help any of you who are curious about the versatility of the palette, or how the shadows look in a real world setting, I've decided to field test the palette for a week, with a different look each day. That's how much I love you guys. These are not tutorials or even looks you might want to copy. This is just to check the range and appearance of the shadows, and see how well they work together. Also, is it even possible to get a week's worth of different looks with the palette? I don't really know. I've never tried.

So, without further ado, here's today's look. I wanted an "I just threw this on" look today. I've been cleaning house all morning, and was only going to wear jeans and sweatshirt to record today. My hair's in a ponytail, and I went with tinted moisturizer instead of foundation because I'm currently broken out to heck and back. I'm pretty. A full-on eye look would just be silly.


Right Eye, Indoors



Left Eye, Outdoors

For this look, I used Tease from lid to a little over the crease, YDK on the outer third of the eye and crease, Busted on the outer corner, crease, and under the lower lashline, Chopper on the browbone and inner corner. Liner and Mascara are both Buxom.

One day down, four more to go!

Pretty, Pretty Princess: Sephora's Cinderella Collection

What girl doesn't want her Cinderella moment? Whether it's your wedding day, a new job, or the day you're finally able to fit into your skinny jeans or manage to remember to line both eyes (hey! Some days, that's an accomplishment!), we all want to feel beautiful and special. Well, Sephora and Disney have teamed up to create a line of products that celebrate the princess that lives in each one of us...even us big, grown-up girls.

The collection consists of an eyeshadow palette, an eyeshadow quad, a set of four lipsticks, a set of six nail polishes, one perfume in three different bottle options, and a compact mirror. Prices begin at $19 for a rollerball and go up to $175 for a Swarovski crystal encrusted fragrance bottle.

Here's the kicker: right now, you can only get these online, and only if you're a Beauty Insider. Everyone else has to wait until October for these beauties to hit stores and become available online. Of course, October is almost here, so that's not too bad a wait time.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you: The Cinderella Collection!

This set of twenty shadows features shades customized to the original Pantone colors from the Disney film. The palette runs $55, and is paraben-free.

If you're more into smoky looks, this pretty, paraben-free palette will only set you back $30.

This set of four paraben-free (loving that trend!) lipsticks come in glamorous silver packaging, and feature names such as Lady Tremaine and Pumpkin. At $25, this could make a wonderful Christmas gift, or even be broken down into luxe stocking stuffers.

If you like glitter, here's a set of six mini-polishes in pink, blue, silvers and golds. If you don't like glitter, you might want to skip out on this. $24.50, and easily broken up into smaller gifts for co-workers, classmates, or bosom buddies.

So This Is Love is a 1.7 oz fragrance that is housed in a gorgeous bottle, reminiscent of Cindy's pumpkin coach. According to Sephora, the perfume features notes of Fresh Aldehydes, Plumeria, Dewy Hyacinth, Tuberose, Sheer Jasmine, Solar Accord, Musks, Plum, and Creamy Woods. It retails for $58.

A roller ball version of the fragrance is available for $19, and while the packaging isn't quite as opulent, it's still very pretty and elegant.

Of course, if opulence is what you're going for, you can't get much more extravagant than a Swarovski crystal-embellished bottle. The fragrance is the same, but this version will cost you $175.

Photo Credit (This and All): Sephora

Lastly, a princess needs a magic mirror. This one may not have special powers, but it certainly is magical to look at! This $20 beauty mimics the iconic clock from the film. 

Overall, the collection is enchanting. The makeup doesn't really strike my fancy, but that mirror and rollerball are calling my name. Personally, I could never spend $175 on, essentially, a pretty bottle, but the price points, on the whole, seem reasonable. I know I'd be thrilled to find any of these items under the tree this Christmas, and hope this is a good omen of holiday sets to come this Winter. Look for the collection in stores in October.

Audience Participation Time!

Question: How many of you subscribe to Glossybox? Any of you trying to figure out what to do with the boxes once you've unpacked the goodies? Bueller? Bueller?

The actual Glossyboxes are baby pink, high-quality, heavy-duty cardboard gift boxes with lids. Think of a photo box, and you've got the basic idea. These are not cheap boxes; in fact, a similar design at The Container Store will run you $9.99. In other words: I don't want to throw them out. That's like throwing away money, and that is just something I can not abide.

My current plan is to use the boxes as organizers. I've taken all my nail polishes out of the dump bag they were in, and replaced them--standing up--in one of the boxes, then set that box in a drawer. My other box is housing all of my small travel palettes and a few loose items that were floating around in another drawer.

Nail polish is almost sort of organized. Apparently, that red has given up on me...traitor.

All of my small travel palettes, plus some loose items and tools.

And here's that same box in it's new drawer home. Hmmm...maybe I could use another one for larger palettes...

My July box will probably end up...holding loose craft items, maybe? I need a sewing box, so that might work, for now? After that, I could store them to use as Christmas gift boxes, but then what? I don't have any photos to store, so...decoupage? Anyone up for an art project?

Seriously, I don't want to toss them out, so do you guys have any suggestions? Leave them in the comments, please, and maybe we can discuss them when the July box rolls around. Thanks!

Eat Your Heart Out! (And Brains, and Liver, and Spleen...)

You know, I racked my brain trying to figure out what to get Thomas for Valentine's Day. We don't normally do a whole lot for the "holiday", since it's only a hop, skip, and jump from both Christmas and our wedding anniversary. Still, neither of us likes for the day to go by completely unnoticed. Granted, last year's was about as unromantic as they come--with a, literally, ticking time-bomb of a television, a hurried and painfully expensive trip to Best Buy, and cold take-out from Olive Garden--but we tried. We had fancy cupcakes from the cool bakery in town, exchanged gifts, and watched a movie on our brand-new, not about to explode T.V. All in all, I'd call it a win, but I digress.

Anyhoo, I didn't know what to get Thomas. It needed to be small, inexpensive, and thoughtful. What would Thomas like that was small, inexpensive, and thoughtful? OH! I know!!

Photo Credit (This and Below): ThinkGeek

Zombie Bon-Bons!!!!!!!

They're bite-sized, only $9.99 per box, and full of (cherry-flavored) braaaiiiiinnnnssss. Who could ask for anything more?

Unfortunately, by the time I saw this, I'd already ordered his gift. Blast.

Oh, well. There's always next year.

BONUS! I just got an email from JewelMint, where you can get a free Be Charmed Ring with any purchase TODAY ONLY. Add the ring and any other piece of jewelry to your cart, and enter GIFTRING at checkout. Plus, you'll get free rush shipping, so your pieces should make it to you by Valentine's!

Photo Credit: JewelMint

Dream a Little Dream Of Me: Too Faced Glamour To Go

We had some of the most adorable trick-or-treaters Monday night! We also had one who's parents need a stern talking to, but I'll get to that later. First, the cutie-pies!

The Dread Pirate Li'l Bit
This little guy was, maybe, two, and all decked-out with a fake beard and everything. Mom and I asked him if he could say, "Aaarrr," and the poor baby just froze. After a couple of minutes (there were other children getting candy, and the runt got pushed out of the way), he mustered up a pretty decent, "AAARRRRRR!!" with all his might, and proceeded to use his Nerf sword to beat the ever living crud out of Thomas (who was hooking up the sound system and had his back turned--never knew what hit him!). Then he rushed to the candy and started taking out every piece in the bucket until his Mom picked him up, apologized, and ran off. The baby pirate pillaged the treat bucket! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.

The Internet Meme
I still have no idea who this guy was. A teenager shows up in an inside-out, backwards t-shirt, with some sort of leg-like, wing-ish contraption taped to the back. I asked who he was, and he just sighed, rolled his eyes, and said he was an internet meme, like that explained everything and I should have known better. I still have no clue. Any ideas?

The Fairly Odd-Parents
I got this one!!! Two teens--guy and a girl--showed up in green and pink hoodies, with pink wings taped to the backs, yellow construction paper crowns, and plastic wands. The boy looked less than thrilled. I guessed, and they lit up like the Fourth of July. I have a feeling no one else on the street had an inkling of what they were supposed to be. Thing is, the costumes were pretty spot on. Good job, kids!

Ghost Rider
This kid. This. Kid. This...adorable?...child showed up three times. He only got candy once, and was quite honest about having gotten the candy the first time. He just wanted to keep reminding Thomas (dressed as Ghost Face) that he was watching him--complete with the hand gesture. His costume was cool: leather jacket, all black pants and shirt, orange-painted hair, and chain whip. Thing was, the chain whip was real, and our 8 year-old crime fighter didn't seem to realize (or care) that swinging it around was a bad idea, especially when there were crowds of people he could hit. I think he just didn't understand how dangerous that "prop" could be. He was extremely well-behaved, aside from that.

All in all, Halloween was a complete success. The yard looked fantastic, and loads of parents appreciated having a cool photo op for their tiny-mites. It's all down now, but that just means it's time to start planning for next year!

It also means that it's now, officially, Christmas. Well, at least according to the local mall. The festive cherry picker was out yesterday, allowing the seasonal elves to deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la-la-la...it's too early.

It's not just the mall, though. Trees have been up at Walmart for months. Michael's started putting out Christmas decorations while putting out Halloween. MAC has already sold out of some of their holiday items (within mere seconds of sending out the email notification that they had even arrived! I'm sorry about that. Guess that's one I can't review...), and for about three weeks, I've been sitting on a Too Faced "holiday" palette, waiting until the actual "holidays" to review it for you guys. I guess that's now, huh?

I'm just going to cut to the chase on this one. If you need a stocking stuffer for Mom, Sis, teenage (or older) cousin, wife, girlfriend, or sweet Aunt Sue, this is it. If you are constantly on the go, and need a little touch-up palette to toss in your purse, this is it. If you just want a no-brainer way to put on makeup in the morning, this is it. This is one darn nice palette.

Too Faced has released a brand new Glamour To Go palette in conjunction with their Dream-themed Holiday campaign. If you're not familiar with Glamour To Go, they're pocket-sized palettes that are positively stuffed to the gills with goodies. Small palettes, small pricetags, tons of looks. This is the first I've ever owned, but I've been looking at them for years, and they're freaking awesome. ($22, Too Faced)

Look: The Dream Edition is roughly the size of a credit card when closed, and about the tickness of an Android phone with case. It will fit in a pocket, but not discreetly. It's sturdy, black plastic with excellent clasps, so no worries of spillage. The inside lid houses a large mirror for ease in application. The outside of the lid is my only complaint. It's a little kiddie-ish, with a plastic bow and sticker label. Still, it's an attractive, well-made case. 7 out of 10.
  

Photo Credit: Too Faced

Products: Eight not-tiny eyeshadows take up the upper level, and a good sized-blush (slightly larger than the one in the Urban Decay Face Case palette), bronzer, and lipgloss reside in the lower.

The eyeshadows are arranged in such a way that complimentary shades are grouped together. Now, there are several other combinations than just these, but if you don't feel like thinking, you can count on this palette to do it for you. Lighter color is first, followed by crease.

Peachy Beige and Metallic Gray: This is a pale pink with glitter chunks (but no fall out!), and a soft, sueded, silvery gray.

Champagne Sparkle and Black Shimmer: Pale yellow with gold sparkle, and rich black with multi-color sparkle.

Purple and Matte Brown: The purple is so gorgeous that no picture does it justice. It's an irridescent purple with a little blue shimmer running through. The matte brown looks like a square of Hershey's chocolate.

Light Brown and Plum Brown: I don't know what they're talking about, calling the light brown "brown". It's really a shimmering rose bronze, and the plum brown is a soft brown with plum shimmer. Eyeshadows: 8 out of 10.

Blush--Sheer Coral: This is very sheer, so it takes a little layering to build it up to the right color for my pale skin. It is lovely, though; a peachy pink with a fair amount of shimmer for a natural flush that slightly sparkles. 7 out of 10.

Bronzer--Sun Bunny Light: I'm in love with this bronzer, anyway, so having it in a travel palette is just the icing on the cake. It's a gorgeous, fair bronze, with just a hint of pink shimmer running through. It look amazing on, and I can't say enough good about it. 10 out of 10.

Lip Gloss--Bright Pink: This is a non-sticky, Barbie doll pink with golden shimmer to warm it up a bit. It's not the longest-lasting, but it looks really sweet and innocent when applied with a (clean) fingertip. Yummy vanilla scent. 8 out of 10.

Final Verdict: 8 out of 10. Toss it in your purse with a mini-brush kit, and never worry about looking good again!