I Have a Chanel Robot Obsession...

They are just so cute...

Storage Spotlight, Literally...

I do so love the spotlight effect, and I do so love my new Muji 5 drawer storage!

This one just holds my Dior and Chanel, I really like the the way the "special" pieces look like they are on display...

I think that pots of BE it would look really lovely in the top drawer as well, especially if they fit completely with no gaps. Hmmm, we shall see....

Naughtiness and Loveliness

and a bit of gloriousness....

Like a dutiful member of MUA I took advantage of the Zoya promotion and it is love.

Lisa is a sparkling bottle of red yumminess while the pinky gold  Happi and the orange goodness of Gwin will look most awesome as spring approaches...

In addition to my rules of 2011 (rule #4 -no more lipstick/gloss) I also have budget that I would like to maintain....Starting next month, LOL

I really thought I would refrain from the Peacocky collection but I saw Princess A. who I haven't seen for forever and a day and we just had to play...Enchantee is the perfect pale pink lip while So Vain is the perfect pale coral lip...

A lovely little spree...

May I Have a Chanel Robot, Please?

At Last a Dior Counter to Call My Own...

I have found my Dior home counter and it is a lovely thing, however the location is all kinds of skeeve..

The Macy's at Tyrone Square. 

The levels of wrong in that sentence... two of my least favorite places are the home of the best Dior counter ever! 

So I went to play with B. (a Dior make-up artist) on sat. and also to meet her "boss" R. who is awesome! I brought some of my Sleek palettes to show B. and let's just say R. about lost his mind over the gloriousness of the Circus palette. 

I sort of went in looking a bit like a French cancan dancer and B. created an amazing face that went with how I looked perfectly. She used colors I already had to show me different ways to use them.  I loved the lip she created or the couture lip as she called it. B. said every woman needs a lip color that no on else has...She layered Evening Rose (it's a glittering tube of cranberry yumminess in real life) over a coral but keeping with my "rules" of 2011 I said let me go home and see if this gloss over Lancome's Chris & Tell creates the same effect...(it does but I sorta of want the Dior Andalouse  anyways(fail))

She also used the Sculpting Powder in 040 Golden Carmel as my blush and was very patient with me as I tried to grasp the concept of flipping the brush depending on what cheek I am doing. I have been meaning to buy this for some time as C. likes to swirl all the colors together for a bronzey blush while B. likes to maintain three stripes on the brush for a more sculpted look. I see myself using it both ways...

Yes, it is a lipstick, but no it doesn't count, as it was a tester given to me by R., because they are being discontinued and reformulated, and he is not sure if Pink Empress will return!!! LOL

While B. and I were playing R. was doing the make-up on this lady whose husband was throwing her a Mad Men 50th birthday party...from her hair,to her vintage dress, to her jewelery, to her awesome make-up set off by Pink Empress she looked lovely! I was like I must try that color and it was the pink perfection that I just adore..

A lovely Dior spree...

The Face of the Matter or Face Quest - 2011

I am on a quest to find the ultimate face foundation for me....I have been an devotee of Bare Escentuals (golden medium) for ages but I have always wanted a liquid foundation as well, especially in the cooler months...
I immediately run into problems on this quest because I detest products that have sunscreen in them,,,
A -Because I can smell that beachy scent or I think I can.
B- Because I know it has sunscreen and I am absolutely convinced that I can feel it.
C- I resent companies putting sunscreen in their products as I feel it should be my choice whether I want to use sunscreen or not.
I decided to go see D. at Sephora and try some foundations. I tried Nars Sheer Glow (santa fe) on one side and Laura Mercier Moisturizing (sunny beige) on the other. I liked them both but felt that the LM was a better choice as it felt more moisturizing however after using it for two days I came to the conclusion that it was too light as well as just not feeling good on my skin. It might sound silly but the best way to describe it is it felt icky , a feeling that it just does not feel nice.
Last weekend while playing with R. at Chanel he used Pro Lumiere (2.5 - soft beige) and while I would agree that the color match was good and the effect was lasting, again I could not get past the sunscreen smell. He even gave me a sample bottle to try and no just no. I feel like I am back coating the young Beast Child for a day at the beach.
So back to Sephora I went to return the LM and my eye was caught by the new Josie Maran Argan Serum Matchmaker Foundation (light/medium). 

Awesome
Amazing
Gloriously Lovely
I love this to the moon and back...It has Argan oil which I adore  and it really does adjust to match my skin color, I will be curious to see how it works after a weekend out at a soccer tournament. In addition  it feels wonderful on. I love a face where your skin just looks amazing but not a face of skin perfection. Put down the coconuts for now as  I have found the Holy Grail, however as the year progresses I might find my self on the quest again as one just never knows.
I also got a Dior Skinflash to keep in my bag for a little boost during the day...

Sometimes Being a Follower is a Lovely Thing...

As I fall off the cliff and into the sea this lovely palette will be falling with me....

I love this and I can see how some are "losing their dam* minds" over it...A few years ago I had the Urban Decay Ammo palette which I just adored and used til I "hit" pan on several of the colors. Ammo is also a palette I would consider re-buying if I ever have a chance to get it for a song..
This Naked palette will have the same place in my heart I think. So far I have used it a couple of times and have been pleased with each use. You truly can just randomly allow your brush to pick up whatever color it desires  and viola you have created a lovely look! The eyeliner and Primer Potion are just like "yeah whatever" but still rather lovely..I saw on Sephora the price went up and the palette now has a brush instead of the eyeliner which is not "yeah whatever" but more like seriously not cool and definitely not lovely...
The spree also included Rosebud Salve in a genius tube. The Pillow Talk lipgloss by Too Faced and a pot of Laura Mercier powder with a mini face brush  were my choices for the Happy New Year  2011 code.
A truly lovely and awesome spree...

"The Beauty Rules" for 2011

While there are a few regrets from 2010's year of beauty, all in all I think having some sort of guideline does give me pause before willy-nilly going on a spree...

First, I will try to stick with the following three brands...

 Dior and Chanel for the majority of my purchases.

MAC for "fun".

(Although I do adore my BE it just seems I am creating another ombre palette of colors, therefore I will place BE on injured reserve status)

Second, I will continue my ban on drugstore items unless of course they are from the UK 

Third, will continue to try and fight the hype and frenzy certain brands and products reach***

Fourth, the lipgloss/stick buying must be curtailed. While I would be devasted to see "pan" on any of my "powder" products, mainly because it would look really ugly I do need to use up my lip products before they go bad....So unless the color is just totally unique I am quite sure that I have something that will be virtually identical.

Fifth and Final, I will continue to find and use only what works...Not "force" products to do what they cannot do on their own.

***Ummm, major "hype/frenzy" palette should be arriving on Tuesday..am ashamed (not really)

The Spree's of 2010

Let's Welcome 2011 With a Spree

How yummy are these colors?

So I had a little Christmas money left and thought I'd go see R. and M. up at Countryside...

First stop was at Macy's where I picked up the Green Design quint by Dior, it has been taunting me since last summer when T. did my eyes with it...

Then on to Dillard's to play with R. and M.!

My first words to R. were "convince me I don't need the spring quad" and he burst out laughing..."ahhh but that's my job!"...So he put it on and it was lovely but we both agreed that I can easily recreate it with what I have at home.Of course P. had to come floating by to wave the summer pamphlet in front of me and my lust was renewed again for Chanel summer...I also tried the  Espiegle blush on one side and then we both agreed we must try the Guerlain spring pan of color gloriousness on the other...Let's just say the Guerlain blush is really pretty but it also really is just another variation on the "in from the cold" look. The Chanel blush however is a rather deceiving and an awesomely glowy little pan of peachy pink loveliness!!!

M. who works for another line was adamant that I try the Peche lipliner with the Aragonite lipgloss over, she filled in my lips with the liner instead of  just using it in the "traditional" manner and R. and I both were like you/I need it...

I was also happy to see W. at the Dior counter and we had a nice long chat about what's new, what's coming, and what's going away and of course no visit with W. would be complete without me getting a small reprimand for my slackerly skincare ways, LOL...

All in all a rather glorious little spree to welcome the New Year and a lovely visit with some of my favorite make-up people!!!!

My Most Awesome Lovelies of 2010

My 11 loveliest lovelies of 2010....

I absolutely adore Steam Cream from their adorable tins to the amazing product. I think that there is nothing better than this for a blast of long lasting, lovely smelling, super moisturizing cream. Shea butter continues to rule  in my skincare arsenal and I just adore the creaminess of Shea Terra's Nilotica shea butter. I always am talking about both of these products to anyone who will listen...

Thierry Mugler's Bleu Glacis remains my favorite eye concealer, I wear it under my make-up, over my make-up, and just to brighten my under eyes during the day. It truly is an amazing product...

Chanel's Clair eyeliner and MAC's Dirty greasepaint are both such awesome liners. I adore the way Clair takes away the redness when I have allergy eyes and oh how I love the swampy gloriousness that is Dirty...

I think the Sleek Storm palette is without a doubt one of the workhorses of my collection and I truly believe that if that palette was all I had in my shadow wardrobe it would be enough...But since  I do have more shadows I really think both Dior's 5 Golds and Chanel's Ombres Perlees  complete the trio of awesome 2010 eyeshadows..

Lancome's Chris & Tell remains the ultimate coral Palm Beach set shade and the Buxom Laura gloss and London lipstick whether worn separately or together create the loveliest pink/fuchsia lips...

There have been some awesomely lovely pots and pans and tubes that have come into my collection in 2010 as well as a few regrets but all and all 2010 was a rather awesome year for beauty...

So How Did That Work Out For You?

A year ago today I wrote...

Why...

I am slightly obsessed with make-up, I love the colors, the packaging, the names....I like to read about it, I like to wear it, and I love to look at it. However I need to hold my self accountable for my sometimes foolish obsession.
I have decided to try to follow some rules this year....
There are really only a handful of brands I truly find lovely and I plan to stick only with them.
I will stop wasting time and money on drugstore items as I am always disappointed, and frankly the packaging is often (always?) ugly.
I will not get caught in some hype/frenzy over a product or a brand.
I think these three rules alone will serve me well this upcoming year, well we shall see...

I do believe I pretty much stuck with the brands that I think are truly lovely and re-discovered an old friend in Chanel..

I stand by my position on the drugstore and while I was "pwned" earlier this year I have not wasted any more money on drugstore items..However I am still adoring all my UK drugstore lovelies...

I think I pretty much avoided the hype and frenzy this year although one of my favorite 2010 items was the MAC Dirty greasepaint stick. I remember  saying to A. I want to try it because I keep on reading about it on MUA.

2010 Breakdown

Added to Collection on the Left 

Swapped or Gave Away on the Right

 27 *Cheek & Face *33 

11* Eyeliner *9 

67 *Eyeshadow* 76 

 16* Lipgloss* 9 

 1 *Lipliner *0 

 22 *Lipstick *8 

           1* Multi-Use Palette *1