NYE MAKEUP and CHRISTMAS TREE

Hello little Elves...I have been absent from the blog world for a while it seems. With the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season, it is easy to do! I had a fab Christmas. Santa was VERY good to me this year. Some more mentionable gifts are Tory Burch flats and a Michael Kors purse. Love Love Love and Love! I will do a post soon showing everything I got for Christmas.

Sooo...NYE plans changed. After spending a huge amount of money over Christmas and burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to cancel downtown. Instead, we are having drinks and appetizers at my place and then going out by the beach...which just happens to be walking distance from my house. I still think it will be a great time! Noelle, the best friend, aka Beautygirl24 is coming to go out with me and we will most definitely take pictures! I went to the store tonight and got loads of champagne, noise makers, fruit, ice and all the necessities to ring in the New Year right.

I wanted to do a test run of my makeup tonight and I am happy with how it came out. I wish the glitter would show up more in the camera because I used gobs of it..but you get the idea...I used several new makeup products I bought recently from Sephora with Christmas gift cards :)

I did a "professional" foundation routine for this look. I wanted a matte and dewy face all in one and I find the way to get that is patience and quite a few face products.

Face: Benefit: primer, erase paste, boi-ing, lemonade, eye-bright Mac: foundation in NC25, blush in pink swoon, highlighter in pearl Nars: Face powder in Beach; MUFE: Bronzer in #4, HD powder...phew that is a lot of products..I don't do this everyday, but for special occasions, this is the way to go..trust me..your face will look flawless in pictures...

Eyes: Midnight Cowboy by UD, Smog by UD, antique gold glitter by Mac, black cream el by Loreal Paris, zoom lash mascara by Mac...on NYE I am slapping on the falsies

Lips: Mac pro lipcream in Overtime, MUFE aqua waterproof lip pot in #6 and a tad bit of Mac dazzleglass in sugarrimed.

I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me peeps..this makeup will take you all the way through midnight and the next day!

Here is a close up of the lips...This is waterproof makeup, so buyer beware..if you do get a Mac prowear ls and the MUFE lip pot, be sure you are in love with the color, because it will stick around whether you want it to or not!

This is the necklace I am wearing on NYE..I love it!

This is my lips AFTER scrubbing the product off and there is still color deposit. 

Christmas Tree: 

I wanted to do all gold and off white this year. I decorated the tree with some of my pearl necklaces, hair clips and star fish from around the house. I was very happy with how it came out :) 

Time for bed now...:)

Happy Happy Happy NYE!

NYE 2011

My past NYE's to say the least have been a bit on the blaze' side. Five years ago, I went home to spend it with the best friend and she ended up with the flu and I ended up having a silly panic attack over some ridiculous thing- we were both in bed by 9:00 p.m. Four years ago, I was laying in bed sick with the flu. Three years ago we had gone downtown with two of our "friends" who happened to be dating at the time. We lasted all of 30 minutes downtown due to the "friends" getting into a fight and before I knew it, we were headed back home. I spent 12:00 a.m. in the back of a smelly cab. Two years ago, we had just moved into our house and I had to rush home from work at 5:00 p.m. due to my evil boss not allowing me to get off early and scramble to get ready. We ended up down the street at a bar..eh it was OK. And, last year, we went to a friend's party, but for some reason I was just not feeling it and also had to work that day (with said evil boss) and was just super tired by the time 12:00 a.m. rolled around. This year I refuse and i reiterate REFUSE to have a lame one. 

I booked a hotel room downtown and now that I work for a normal, nice boss..I can leave pretty much whenever I want that day. I also work downtown, so after work I will just walk to the hotel and start getting ready. The boyfriend, the best friend and the best friend's boyfriend are meeting me in said hotel room. I plan on the night consisting of lots of: Champagne, glitter, cheesy 2011 glasses/hats, fireworks and a big ol' smackaroo at midnight!

 This is the hotel we are staying at. :)

Downtown San Diego

Last NYE in downtown

Cheers! 

Love this outfit!

NYE is the only night you can get away with glitter galore without looking drag!

This is how I did my makeup a couple NYE's ago....

And last NYE...

This year I'm thinking possibly a red lip...but who knows how I will feel that day. I always love doing glitter on NYE! 

SMoooooooocHHH!

I hope you all have an amazing NYE and an even better 2011! Celebrate it up right. Life is short. Enjoy every single moment. :)

A little HOLIDAY HAUL

I made a little trip to the mall today and picked up a few items..Nothing too crazy..just a few things. To my surprise the mall wasn't too packed with Christmas shoppers. Thank goodness! I dragged...and I mean dragged the boyfriend with me. Big mistake. He was one whiny bird. But I did treat him to lunch after at the Nordstrom Cafe' and I got my favorite meal! A cup of the tomato basil soup and the blackened salmon caesar salad. Yummm! So onto what I got.

EXPRESS

London Sweater in Gray. I loveeee this sweater. It runs big! But that is what I like about it. It hangs off the shoulder and I am going to wear it more as a sweater dress. I will layer a longer black top underneath and pair it with black opaque ankle tights (also bought at Express today, but we all know what those look like, so I'm not posting a picture) and a pair of black leather boots.


MAC

Russian Red lipstick. I have been wanting to try this one for a while now. It is a good Holiday lipstick and a great one to do "Old Hollywood/Pin-up" looks with. I had 6 items to take "Back to Mac", so I decided to get this ls since it was "free" anyway. There are ways to tone this ls down too. You can dab a bit of white shimmery es on the center of your pout and it makes it more of a hot pink lip. You can also just dab it on and mix it with another ls. I think it will work great with See Sheer ls. You can also layer a sparkly gloss on top, which will tone down the harsh matte look if this one is a little too va-va-voom for you.

MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NW25. I usually wear NW30 when I have a bit more color on my face, but I am looking pretty pasty these days, so had to go a color down. I love this foundation. It is medium to full coverage and goes on extremely smooth.

That is it. Not the most exciting haul, but I really did get items that I know I will use and wear a lot. I might do a post on my makeup look tonight. I'm going to wear the Russian Red but as I said, tone it down with a couple of makeup tricks.

Happy Hauling dolls!

Oh Happy Days....

I still need to post a "haul" that I did while in LA...but have been a bit slacking in uploading the photos, so until then, I have been itching to do a new post. Getting into the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to share some people/furry things that make me "happy as a kid on Christmas morning" ;)  (This is in no particular order)

1. My dog Oreo. Let me start this by saying that I am absolutely obsessed with dogs. I have always said that when I reach Heaven, it will be doggie Heaven. They just make me smile all day long. I found Oreo 3 years ago when I was desperately searching for a little dog to call my own..to be a part of my family. I stumbled upon backpage.com and it was love at first sight! He had to be mine and I had to be his. He has been licking my face ever since. :)

This is a picture of Oreo aka Cookie aka Boo aka Snoopy aka Mr. Man aka snarffles aka fluffy butt..you get the point...when we first got him. He was only 4 months old :) 

This is Oreo at the Petco Costume Contest. He has his tongue out 99.99% of the time. As I am writing this, he is on his back, snoring with his tongue hanging out. I just love this little man with all my heart <3

2. The boyfriend and HOPEFULLY soon to be fiance' James. Again..hint...hint..hint...I met James my freshman year of college and I just thought he was the sweetest, most funny guy that I had ever met in my life. He has the kind of personality that just lights up a room and makes the entire room laugh. He has done so much for my family and I and I will be forever grateful for that. We can drive each other up the wall sometimes, but at the end of the day he is my little love bunny. Gag..hehe ...but seriously, he completes me. (He has asked me specifically not to post a picture of him on this blog..for some silly reason..so the picture below will have to do. I have called him Goose for years. It started as silly goose and was shortened to goose and it has stuck ever since. :) )

. 

3. She's my best friend...Noelle. I have mentioned her a million times in this blog. She gets me..I get her...there is no drama..no fakeness....it is pure, simple friendship and love for one another. :) She completes me as well. :)

4. Last and certainly not least is my parents. I "lost" my Dad a couple years ago to cancer, although I don't feel like I lost out on many things with him even though I was only 23 when he passed. He was the best Dad a gal could ask for. He did anything and everything for me and he was one of my best friends. Noelle and I were just laughing the other day about some of the silly stuff we would ask him to do and he would do it for us ;) A day does not go by that he is not on my mind. Before he died, he wrote me something he called "Lessons of Life"- He wrote certain things he found valuable and things he made mistakes in doing and wanted to pass the knowledge onto me. I didn't see this until after he was gone. My Mom had it framed and gave it to me as a present the Christmas after he passed. I was lucky to have many special years with him. He isn't lost to me...I always say that we are all just visiting here for a while...a blink of an eye really...My Mom is one of my best friends. She is a birdy who loves fashion and vino ;) I learned a lot of my ways from her. We have a good time together, especially as I have gotten older. She cracks me up without even knowing she is being funny. She is very genuine in everything that she is and does. I love them both with all my heart and am so blessed to have not only such great parents, but as I got older, great friends as well. :)

This is my Dad's senior high school photo. So handsome :) 

This was taken the Christmas before my Dad got sick. :) Happy times.

What or who makes you "as happy as a kid on Christmas morning"?

LA MAKEUP

So...the trip to LA was so much fun! Here is a quick recap: Hotel Palomar, Beverly Center, Santa Monica, Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood bar hopping, Wax Museum, Roosevelt, Fine Dining, Rodeo Drive, Sephora, Beauty Bar (This was the CUTEST bar I have ever been in ...ever! I have pics to post of this one in the next blog...It is an old, retro beauty salon turned bar, where from 9-11:30 p.m.,you can order a Martini and a Manicure for only $10.00!), Irish Pubs and the list goes on. I did not want to leave and come back to reality! I still have to upload all the pictures we took, but I do have a few on the MAC Book of the makeup looks I wore while I was there..so I figured I would share that and do another blog on all the sights and shopping.

Night One: Hollywoodland

 

I was going for an "Old Hollywood" with a modern twist. I did simple eyes with heavy black winged liner and some highlight and a sheer redish-pinkish lip. 

Makeup used: Revlon Photo Ready foundation #5/6, Boi-ing concealer in #2, UDPP, UD Naked, MAC Nylon (inner eye highlight), HIP black cream eyeliner, Loreal mascara, Fakie eyelashes, Elf bronzer and blush combo, MAC Pearl (for highlight above the lip), MAC See Sheer ls and MAC dazzleglass in Sugarrimmed.

Night Two: Santa Monica

 

I really had no idea how I was going to do my makeup, so I just started doing it and went from there. I ended up with a more "rocker chic" look this night. I did a smokey cat eye and a nude-pink lip. It was also raining that night, so I wore my hair in a poofed pony-tail a la Eva Mendes. 

Makeup Used: Everything is the same as listed above, except I used the two darkest shades in the UD Naked and Pink Swoon blush by MAC and Lady Gaga ls by MAC. 

I missed this little blogging world over the long weekend! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I will post a blog in the next couple days with the goodies I bought while in LA and some sight seeing pics. :)