Sixes & Sevens: January 2013

1.23.2013

Archie's Girls

Coming soon!
I'll be making my appointment at my favorite MAC counter to check out the new collection.

1.18.2013

Weekend Mani: Bulter Please by Essie

I'll be attending a few parties this extended weekend, so I decided to go with something festive and bright. This one is new to my collection {which is quite vast} and may be a new fave.

I've been trying to figure out the perfect manicure formula. This time I did:

Strengthening basecoat

Color

Topcoat

Watch Scandal and don't move while they dry

This was last night and my nails haven't chipped yet. Hopefully this works out and my nails last all weekend. We shall see.

Happy Friday!

*UPDATE*
My nails lasted a day and a half.
sigh.

Instant Gratificiation: Face Mask Review

I have been paying a lot more attention to the condition my skin is in. I finally got my face cleared up {dark spots and all} so now I only have to focus on keeping it smooth and moisturized. This winter has been particularly harsh on this one stubborn dry spot right in the middle of my forehead.

So, I thought I'd try a face mask for some extra umph. My first instinct is always Lush when it comes to solving skin problems. Their shaving cream {plus the new 5-blade Venus razor} gave me the smoothest shave ever and their soaps are absolutely delicious. So I searched through their options and found Oatifix.

This yummy face mask is made with oatmeal, bananas, vanilla, almonds, and illipe butter. I had never heard of that last one, but after some deep research {read: googling} I found out it's pretty much the Southeast Asian version of Cocoa Butter. We know our brown skin loves cocoa butter!

Check out their video on how it's made!

Process: I applied it last night before bed. My face smelled like a delicious and healthy breakfast for about 10 minutes while I let it sink in. Then, I rinsed. I sealed in the moisture with almond oil, which is the only oil I'm comfortable using on my acne prone skin. It's very light and doesn't clog my pores at all.

Results: The following day {today} my skin looks and feels amazing. I actually started to put on foundation, and then changed my mind. My forehead spot only needed a little almond oil instead of several layers of a thicker shea butter based cream. I'm all for instant gratification, and it doesn't get better than overnight results! I do wonder what would happen if I open up my pores a bit first with a warm towel, so I'll try that next time. I'm going to keep using this twice a week so it can continue to do wonderful things to my face. I'm hoping my dry spots will be a non-factor in a few weeks.

1.15.2013

Coloring My Smoochers

I used to be afraid of lipstick...well, more so afraid of looking like there was entirely too much color on my face. But I have since learned that girls who look like clowns do not represent the entire make-up-wearing population. Now I'm obsessed. Check out my top 5 obsessions below.

Taupe | Matte

Red Dwarf | Pro Long Wear Lipcreme

Chatter Box | Amplified

Girl About Town | Amplified

Ruby Woo | Matte

1.09.2013

Presents!