Chanel Makeover

Last weekend I headed down to Neiman Marcus in Austin to try out the Shu Uemura Face Architect cream foundation, after seeing it look gorgeous and flawless on other bloggers. Initially I headed to the Shu counter where the MA appeared busy and preoccupied, and told me she had someone coming to get their makeup done in 5 minutes but she could match me in two. She applied 584, I believe, and it looked... okay. The color was perfect, but it looked a little mask-y and heavy, and as I walked around afterward I noticed it sinking into my pores and just looking more and more disgusting. She hadn't prepped my face or anything first, so that may have been part of it. I was not. happy.

I wandered to Guerlain where I didn't see anything that grabbed my eye, and after all I had only come to try the Shu. But I was so disappointed I was determined to find something else that worked for me for a foundation with medium-full coverage, a dewy glow, and that felt like real skin. Recently I bought and subsequently returned the Bobbi Brown Stick foundation because it looked nice, but I could feel it all day on my face. Yuck!

So I headed to the Chantecaille counter to try Future Skin. A super helpful MA offered to match me, even though it wasn't her counter, and before we did that I told her exactly what I was looking for in a foundation. She said, "I know exactly what to use. I'm in Chanel. Come around the corner and we'll get you fixed right up." (or something to that effect!)

So that started my hour+ full face makeover at Chanel. My MA, Deidre, was amazing, and very knowlegeable. She put me in the Vitalumiere foundation in Nude, which I still think may be a bit dark for me, but I'm please nonetheless. I won't go over every little thing that she used - or maybe I will, but I scanned my face chart in for you so you can see the deets.


Forgive the color quality of the face chart as it was indeed scanned in, the lip color was NOWHERE near that red. At all.

She prepped my face with their luxury line of skincare, Sublimage. The Sublimage Fluide has just come out and so that was what she used. Looooooove. Why, oh why, is it so expensive? $295 is outrageous. But it feels amazing going on, and kept the makeup from sinking into my pores, which I've been told is a hydration issue. I'm seriously, severely lemming the Sublimage Fluide. She also used the eye cream and maybe the serum, but eh. The Fluide is what grabbed me. Damn good salespeople! It's also so new they didn't have any samples, so boo! :(

She used a light layer of the Vitalumiere and then did something I've never had an MA do before: she used concealer to cover the redness in my cheeks, instead of building up the foundation. I quite liked that! For this she used the Correcteur Perfection Long Lasting Concealer in 10 Beige Clair. I loved this concept so I picked up the concealer. For a finishing touch she used the Double Perfection powder makeup in 10 Vanilla. I also asked her to contour my cheeks and she did that artfully with the Tweed Pink blush and the Desert Corail bronzer, as well as the new Empreinte de Chanel highlighter.

For my eyes, Deidre did a green/brown smoky eye that I was rather impressed with, and while I don't like greens on my eyes at all I did think the look came together nicely. You can see which individual shades were used on the face chart. I'd have preferred a plum/brown eye, personally! What I loved was the liner, which she smudged out on my lower lash line making for a gorgeous smoky eye. This considering I usually HATE liner on my lower lash line. She used the Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 20 Espresso, then smudged it out with Mahogany shadow. Mahogany is VERY similar to my Paul & Joe Bitter Chocolate, so I wasn't tempted, but I did like the idea of a waterproof pencil liner, so I picked that up. I'll definitely have to try smudging it out with Bitter Chocolate.

My MA finished off the look with Tulip liner, Tazmania Aqualumiere lipstick, and Constellation Glossimer. It was a very pretty rosy pink lip but with the smoky eye I would have liked maybe a nude? It looked lovely when it all came together though.

A quick warning about Neiman Marcus, particularly this location. They did not have the foundation or powder in stock, but they started to charge me for it anyway BEFORE telling me they didn't have it in the store; they were planning to send it to me. Sorry, but I don't play that way. Tell me if it's out of stock and I'll decide what I want to do, like oh, I don't know, go to NORDSTROM, wait till later, or come back when it's in stock. I don't like people assuming what I want to do and trying to charge me without letting me know. I also know people who have had this happen to them in the ladies' clothing dept. there so just be careful that you know what they are charging you for. I guess they're just trained differently. I only took home the liner and concealer.

Anyhow, I also got a little GWP baggie that is super adorable that came with samples of the Sublimage eye cream, serum, and cream, as well as a foaming cleanser, a perfume sample, and a teeny, tiny foundation brush that is probably more cute than useful, but I guess it could be used to smooth out your concealer.




Anyway, on to the photos! I know they're not great since I took them hours after the makeover. My eye makeup was getting a bit smudgy from runny eyes, the foundation had worn off around my nose area, and I had no lip color on at all, plus my hair was being rather dwingy. Actually I was pretty tired and ready to wash my face, but I did want to take a few photos to capture the look she did. I took a lot because I loved how my cheeks turned out! I actually regretted not getting the blush, highlighter, and bronzer a bit. Oh well! Also, the photos are a bit yellow since they were taken in the bathroom, and if you wouldn't mind excusing the clutter, I'd appreciate it. :)









I only got one closeup of the eye, but this photo didn't turn out so great either. You get the idea!


Lastly, I just wanted to share that I did get the foundation and the powder foundation, but not at NM. I actually got these at Nordie's. I love how light colored the powder foundation is so I wanted to give you a shot of that:


Hope you all are having a great Friday. I'm personally a bit anxious about this weekend as I have the big responsibility of dogsitting not one but three pups, but I will definitely try to churn out a few posts this weekend!

Mobile uploads and random updates

Since I started my weight loss journey in earnest about a year ago (April of 2009), I've lost 18.5 lbs, and only about 2 of those recently. However, I have been working out with my Leslie video and have stepped it up to 3 miles a day, 4 on weekends. I haven't seen the weight just falling off yet, but I'm only on day 12 in a row of working out. I feel great, though, and I can see myself toning up. (I'll get to the point in a few minutes here.)

This weekend, I popped down to Austin to get some new pants and a quick makeover. The first stop was Neiman Marcus in the Domain, where after washing up in the bathroom, I had my makeup done at the Chanel counter with a very capable MA (more on that later). The point of all of this is that I haven't felt comfortable taking a full body photo in years. Years. But while I was in the restroom at Neiman's, I looked in the huge mirror and I felt for the first time in years that I did not look fat. My outfit wasn't particularly cute or original, just loose gray pants and a black dolman top with flip flops and a headband, and of course my Marc Jacobs bag(!), but I did not feel like I looked fat. Not skinny, just not fat. Just normal. I think it must be the toning going on because as I said I haven't just had pounds and pounds drop off, but I felt very, very good about this.

Here's my iPhone shot:



This was a great feeling. And since I had my camera out and no one was in the bathroom I took a couple more shots for you, since the resting area itself was kind of ridiculous:

A huge vanity (so obviously necessary in a public restroom):



The sitting area, which looks like a waiting room somewhere much fancier than a restroom:


The restroom area itself with full wooden doors on each stall and lovely faucets:


I know, I'm a dork. But it's all a bit lavish, don't you think? Neiman's doesn't skimp.

In other news, I got two pairs of pants that night in a size 18 at Torrid. They are absolutely fabulous and I will be so sad when I have lost enough weight that Torrid's clothes will no longer fit me because these pants are so great. I think they go down to a size 12 or something there, so I have a ways to go. It's their Basic Black Pant which fits like a dream and is very slimming (and stretchy!) - love them!

Two more quick random updates - I know I told you I hated the bangs because I couldn't get them to do what I wanted, but I recently got them reshaped so at least they will look nicer as they grow out. Here is how they look fixed - sorry for the quality of the shot:


Also, I have been wearing a ton of headbands lately and behind my ears started to feel hot and itchy after a few days of wear. I realized that many of my headbands have metal bands and I have a severe allergy to nickel. These generic metal bands must be loaded with it, because the rashes behind my ears are awful; they are red, bumpy, hot, itchy, and scaly! I'm skipping the metal bands for a few days, and when I go back to wearing them I am going to coat them with something first.

Last photo, and I will leave you with this - just a basic everyday look for me, with quite a bit of blush (and I am also flushed in this photo) - my customers are always asking me if I'm hot!


Take care all - have a lovely Tuesday! By the way, this post got published before it was ready so if you saw it then, I apologize. I'll be back later with my Chanel makeover - I loved it!

Jill Stuart 101 Pink Bloom Shimmer Powder

Hey all! Well, I got the Jill Stuart 101 Pink Bloom Shimmer Powder. I snatched this little limited edition gem off eBay for about $45 (including shipping). There are several out there right now from a few different sellers, so if you're interested, they are available. So, do I NEED another highlighter? Um, no. But it's Jill Stuart. And it's limited. And it's pink with platinum shimmer. Do I really need any other reasons? I don't even USE highlighters every day, but seriously? Do I need to explain myself here?

When I say "platinum shimmer" what I mean is that the tiny sparkles, which I think go all the way through the powder, even under the overspray, are partly gold and partly silver, or somewhere in between - they reflect a bit of each. So I went with "platinum" for my description. I tried to capture this in my swatches below. The powder itself is a pale pink with a very soft texture that should be interesting to use and hopefully not too crumbly.

I'll say that this is pretty, and not too OTT. I will have to let you know when I actually wear it, instead of just staring at it like a damn fool. It might even be nice as a highlighter for the eyes, so that's something else to try. I'll shut up now and just let you enjoy the photos.









Hope you enjoyed this!

Second attempt with contouring...

Sorry these photos aren't the greatest. The lighting was funny on the day I took them: it was either too blue or too yellow, and I can't do much to adjust it where I am. However I did want to share my second attempt at contouring with you, since I think it turned out much better this time. I didn't have much other makeup on this day, either, nor was my hair fixed - obviously!

Front view:

DSK Jewelry - Rose AB & Bow Earrings

When I saw these earrings on the DSK website, I fell in love and knew I had to have them. Bows? Check. Pink? Check. Silver? Check. AB crystal? Check, check, check! These are so adorable. I snatched them up and paid for priority mail and got them in a few days' time. Love.

Here are a (unnecessarily large amount) ton of pictures of them:






And, I know it's blasphemy to change these lovely earrings, but I had to put them on thread earrings because those are SO comfortable to wear, especially when you are on the phone all day at work like I am! You don't even feel like you are wearing earrings. Not quite as cute as the originals, but so comfy!


Gotta say, I love DSK! Hope you liked these, too!

Paul & Joe Mesmerize 001 Palette - EOTD

I really love using the Paul & Joe Mesmerize palette - I'm not sure why I even doubted it, thinking it would be boring at all, or that you could easily find other colors to do the same job, because it is not; it is actually very unique! It is a new favorite for me, and blends beautifully. The mid-tone mauve is really gorgeous on the eye, and makes for a perfect crease color. It would also make a lovely "prime eye" color, (and I am actually thinking of doing a prime eye tutorial soon). The light lilac/lavender is actually lovely as a highlight but I also had on Benefit's Highbrow as a highlight/base, so I worked the lilac shade a bit lower (not RIGHT under the eyebrows). Of course the dark navy is lovely but didn't come across as complex on the eyes as it did in my swatches and photos. I applied this in my outer V and blended, blended, blended. I recommend using a very light hand with this color as it is so intensely pigmented.

Anyhow, I didn't focus too much on the rest of my makeup that day, and I had no lipstick on, but I wanted to show you how the palette turned out. By the way, for those of you that hate a ton of photos of the same thing, I admit I do do that, but it's because when the lighting is wonky I want to give you as many different angles as possible to get the idea of what it looks like under different lighting, because that's what I would want to see. Here are a several(!) photos of how my Paul & Joe Mesmerize eye palette look turned out -










For this look I just used P&J's Mesmerize palette, Benefit Highbrow, Serge Lutens mascara, Anastasia brow powder, Guerlain Parure (powder) foundation, and Smashbox Smashing Emotion blush

With the blush, I tried contouring as outlined in Rae's (theNotice) contouring tutorials, and it came out ok. Not great, but I will be working on it a bit more to perfect it. Her videos are a great help, so check them out! This was the first day I actually tried it, and I think I brought the color up a bit high/low on my cheek as it's hard for me to ignore the apples. I find them to probably be a better feature to emphasize, at least at this time, for me. It's hard to find those cheek hollows when your face is so round and fat! ;) Smashbox's Smashing Emotion is a great color for this, though it is unfortunately discontinued.


By the way, I hope it was clear which part of my face was attempting to be contoured and which was my natural red ruddiness showing through. I tried to circle here where my natural coloring falls. I realized after posting this I must look like an idiot with redness all through my cheek. Though I did still blend a bit high. ;)


Hope this helps someone! Enjoy!

If Burt's Bees and Softlips had a baby...

...it would be this:


LypSyl is smooth like Softlips, less minty than Burt's Bees and not nearly as "hard" (texture-wise) but still a tad waxy - in a good way; it's very effective for overnight relief. I love it! For 2.99 at your local CVS or Walgreens, how can you go wrong? Especially if you're a balm addict like I am. I also love that the tube is oval shaped as it conforms to my lips better. It has a lever (the orangey-yellow thing you see at the top left) that slides the balm up and down, not a twist bottom, which I like very much. I'm not going to rave on and on about how soft and smooth the texture is, how well it stays on, or anything like that. Yes, I can see that it has mineral oil and petrolatum, but those don't bother me that much. Just check it out.

Here are the ingredients (I apologize in advance for any errors since I did type this out):
Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Paraffin, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Ceresin, Beeswax, Flavor, Certified Organic Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Bixa Orellana Seed Extract

Compared to Burt's Bees (from the Burt's Bees website):
beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, lanolin, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil

Softlips (for the vanilla formula, from the softlips website):
Active ingredients: Dimethicone 2% (Skin protectant), Octinoxate 7.5% (Sunscreen), Octisalate 3% (Sunscreen), Oxybenzone 3% (Sunscreen)
Inactive ingredients: butylated hydroxytoluene, cetyl alcohol, ethylhexyl palmitate, flavor, menthol, myristyl alcohol, myristyl lactate, myristyl laurate, myristyl myristate, ozokerite, squalane, vitamin E, white petrolatum

Now, the Burt's Bees formula is probably the best as far as natural ingredients go, and the Softlips has sunscreen (SPF 20), but I do really like the LypSyl. Like I said, it's sort of a hybrid of the two. I can say from my own experience how well it performs.

Hope this helps someone... like all you balm addicts out there!