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I recently spent a few days in Las Vegas, as I do every year. This trip I had changed up the way I packed my makeup, came up with some new ideas after the fact and decided to do a write up on it. This will be done in two parts with the 2nd part mostly for me to look back and remember what I came up with and the dos and don'ts for next time.
I normally like to pack 90% of my makeup in my hand carry bag. I've heard many stories of how luggage has been misplaced and how people had to do without for a day or more. I could do without clothes as I normally pack an extra set in the hand carry and have found that most items can be hand washed and will dry overnight. I cannot do without my makeup though.
My TSA approved items:
Other items that I put into my hand carry:
This is what was inside the TSA approved bag:
Items packed into suitcase:
Now for my Las Vegas haul. I don't have it pictured here but I did a big haul at Trader Joe's. I bought mostly nut mix, wasabi nori snacks and kitchen towels. At the outlet mall, I found a couple of bargains at Loft Store.
I was really disappointed that I didn't find anything of interest at the two CCO stores. I was looking forward to buying some make up there. While I was in Las Vegas, Urban Decay was running a 20% off sale so I ended up purchasing from them. I hadn't originally planned on purchase Vice 2 but since it was 20% off...
Does this count as part of my Las Vegas haul since I did online shopping while in Vegas?
Stay tuned for part 2 of this travel makeup post with reminders of dos and don'ts for myself. Hopefully you'll find some of it useful too.
*Kat*
Every day, many people throughout the world are diagnosed with breast cancer. This disease affects both women and men from all walks of life. I am sure it has affected someone you know. October has been designated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The purpose of this annual campaign is to promote awareness of breast cancer, as well as its detection, treatment and research for a reliable and permanent cure.The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness.
I know that there are other bloggers out there doing similar posts and tags in support of this cause. Some, like SlowBro-Gal is doing it on several social media platforms and is doing a post a day, which is too ambitious for me to do. I still wanted to do a post but it will be only this one post. I will also be wearing pink every day for the remainder of this month to show my support and post pink items.
So, onto my pink items:
Going clockwise, starting in the upper left corner is a reader eyeglass and lighted magnifier set. There was actually two pairs of glasses in this set although I have only one in the picture. I love that the frames have a pink undertone with the pink ribbon design on the frame templates (aka arms).
In the upper right corner is Skechers GoWalk Deluxe sneakers. This is the special pink ribbon edition. There were actually 2 different styles, one was this slip on one and the other a lace up one. I really preferred the lace up one but they didn't have it available in my size.
Next in the bottom right corner is a pink t-shirt. All of the items in this post happen to be pink and connected to pink ribbon, supporting breast cancer awareness except for this item. This particular t-shirt does happen to be charity related though. This is actually the charity t-shirt for this year's 24 Hour Television "Love Saves The Earth" charity. It is an annual telethon in Japan which raises funds for various organizations that aid the sick, handicapped, natural disasters around the world, etc. In fact in 2011, the proceeds went to helping rebuild various prefectures who were damaged during the Tohoku disaster.
In the bottom left corner is the Brush Away Cancer brush set from Crown Brushes. It's a nice set with good quality brushes at a very reasonable price.
Last, is a pink ribbon ball point pen. It's a nice pen which I think is good quality. The weight of it is a bit heavy and it writes really well.
In total, I have 5 items. In Japanese, the word for 5 is "go". With this in mind, let's all get pro active and get up and "go" and do something this month in support of breast cancer awareness. Some things that I have done in the past include making purchases in which a portion of the proceeds will go towards an organization that helps fund breast cancer awareness, set up fund raising efforts at work and have participated in the Susan G. Komen walk for a couple of years.
If any one is interested in doing this, I tag you to do it. Please make sure to comment here and post your link so that I can see your beautiful pink items. Although I was going to post items that were pink and hadn't intended to have all the items that I posted to be charity related, it ended up being that way.
*Kat*
I just received my Sephora package today (although it arrived on Saturday) and in it were 2 new Urban Decay palettes. One is the Vice 2 palette and unfortunately, I can't review it since it's not mine. It's an order for someone else but I did order the Anarchy Face Case.
Quite honestly, I don't normally like to order palettes that include lipsticks in it because I tend not to use potted lipsticks. I also don't like the fact that they are usually open pans and the powder from eye shadows and cheek colors can fall into them.
Anarchy Face Case doesn't include lipsticks in a pan. It is a two-tiered palette in which the eye shadows are on the top tier and the cheek colors are on the bottom tier with a slot for an eyeliner pencil and lip stick. The lip stick also peeks out into the top tier. There is also a mirror on the lid of each tier.
Eye shadows from left to right: Redemption, Fray, Vaporize, Provocatuer, Revolt.
Cheek colors from left to right: Fetish, Quickie, Craze (highlighter). There's also a 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion and a full-size Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Scandal.
Three eye shadows on the right, starting with Vaporize are very glittery and remind me of the moondust eye shadows. In fact, when I first opened it, I thought that two of the colors were the same as the moondust shadows that I have.
As you can see, the are not the same.
Swatches were done with no primer.
Eye shadows, in same order as in the palette:
Lip Color and Blush:
I was a bit disappointed with Fray and Provacateur. Fray comes out a bit chalky on me and even the eye shadow itself was a slight bit crumbly. Provacateur also was slightly crumbly. Both are not as nicely pigmented too and needed several applications to get it to show up the way it does in that swatch. The other 3 colors are really nice and buttery.
I use the Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Lovechild and love the formulation. The only thing that I'm not thrilled about is that you need to use a pencil sharpener in order to get more of the lip color. I would love the packaging if it were like Tarte and Clinique in that you can twist up the color. The cheek colors were very nice. I'm not sure that I would use Quickie since it's quite a strong pink color. It was also very pigmented so you need to use a light hand in applying it. I love Fetish! It's a color that I would definitely use. I don't use highlighters too much but I think that Craze would be quite easily wearable. I didn't swatch Perversion as I don't normally use eye pencils and I think that Perversion has been in other palettes before so swatches should be available.
I'm looking forward to playing the Anarchy Face Case.
Did Urban Decay tempt you with their new recent releases?
*Kat*
This is just a quick update to the "new" gel nail manicure that I posted about here.
It is now two weeks since I did the manicure and I'm happy to report that there is no tip wear or chipping. However, it did start to lift at the cuticle line and peeled a bit just before I took pictures.
Overall, I'm really happy using gel nail polish. It stands up to my nail abuse. I have really soft nails, which bend and tear easily. Using gel nail polish helps to strengthen my nails so that they can grow longer.
*Kat*
As with many places, this summer has been quite hot and humid. Wearing the foundations that I had normally been wearing wasn't working out as it would melt off. In the past I had used Bare Minerals foundation and loved it until it started emphasizing the signs of aging, mainly fine lines. I was worried about purchasing it and not liking it so I decided to go the inexpensive route and chose Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation. If I didn't like it, then I wouldn't feel so badly about not using it.
I must say that I liked it a lot! I was surprised by how nicely it sat on my skin. I felt that it gave decent coverage and held up for most of the day. I only had to touch up under my eyes and my nose, which is normally what I have to do anyway--usually at the 8 hour mark. I decided to and give Bare Minerals a try but was disappointed that I couldn't find a good color match and it seemed to bring out my fine lines. Since I'm going to be using this powder foundation only for the summer, I decided to stick with Maybelline. The color that I originally got was Natural Ivory, which was slightly too light. I went and picked up Nude but that was a little too dark so I mixed the two and found it blended to a nice match. The two Maybelline foundations still came out to less that I would have paid for Bare Minerals so it's a win for me. The only downside is the brush that is included. It's a bit scratchy and I prefer to use the brushes in my collection.
I can't wait for it to cool down a bit.
*Kat*
I realized today that I haven't done an EOTD post in a while. I've been really boring the last few months using only the same eye shadows and blush. I recently purchased some new things from a blog sale, in which there were several Addiction eye shadows. I am so happy to have acquired them and the people doing the blog sale were fair in their pricing and so very helpful and quick. There are still quite a few items available so if you're interested in checking them out, please go here to sgbeauty sales. My main contact person has been Elaine, who I got to know through blogging, twitter and instagram. A super sweet and beautiful person.
On to my EOTD...
Products Used:
UDPP Original Eye Shadow Primer Potion in Original (not pictured)
Addiction Single Eye Shadows in Horizon and Blue Moon
K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner in Black
I first prime my eyelids using Urban Decay Primer Potion. It's the best eyelid primer for me. I was looking at the newly released Anti-Aging primer but the SA at Sephora told me that if I'm using a firming eye cream, then I'm getting more benefits from that than I would from the new primer potion and that I should just stick with the original, which I like so much. (Thank you SA for saving me $28.00.)
I then applied Horizon to the inner 2/3rds of my upper eyelids from lash line to just above crease. Blue Moon is applied to the outer 1/3rd of upper eyelids and blending it in towards the middle. Lined my upper eyelid and outer corner of lower lash line using K-Palette. Using Blue Moon, I go over the eyeliner on lower lash line and blend it in towards mid eye. I also applied Blue Moon to the outer "V" and blended it in.
It's a very simple eye look but I was pleased with the results. It's a softer look than I normally wear but I didn't feel like it was too soft on me. In fact, when I walked into the MAC store this afternoon, my regular SA there saw me and he said that he really liked my makeup today. That was definitely an ego booster!
The other Addiction eye shadow that I had purchased through this blog sale was Deep Forest. I had debated about it but I'm so glad that I did because I found out recently, after I purchased it, that it will be a discontinued color. I found this information out from Rouge Deluxe's blog post.
Have a great week everyone!
*Kat*
I know that I am a bit late to the game on doing this review as I know that quite a few other bloggers have done reviews. I still wanted to share my own thoughts on it though.
Clarins Double Serum:
According to the box, what it is:
I am really liking this serum. I find it to be lightweight yet hydrating. It absorbs quite easily into my skin. I have found that if I follow the instructions and use two pumps, it will be way too much product. I use only 1 pump and it's enough for me. The only thing that I don't like about it is it is a bit on the pricey side. I'm just about finished with my first bottle and have already purchased a back up.
*Kat*
