Stila Cyber Monday Warehouse Sale

Stila is currently holding their Warehouse sale online. A decent amount of products are available.

XOXO, M

Urban Decay Naked Palette Neutral Look Tutorial

I did a neutral look tutorial with my newly acquired Urban Decay Naked palette.


What's On My Face?
Base: Face Atelier foundation in Wheat
Eyes: Urban Decay Naked palette, Bobbi Brown black gel liner,  Maybelline Stylish Smokes quad brow shade
Cheeks: Canmake cream blush #01, Benefit blush in Coralista
Lips: Benefit lipstick in Lady's Choice, Eve Pearl gloss in Menage

XOXO, M

Sabon 25% Discount

Sabon online is offering 25% off their entire collection, free shipping with orders over $100. Offer is valid through November 30, 2010.

Shu Uemura Black Friday/Cyber Monday 20% off $50

Shu Uemura USA is offering 20% off and free shipping with any purchase over $50. Enter promo code "WISH2010" at checkout. Discount is valid through November 29, 2010.

XOXO, M

Giorgio Armani Beauty Friends & Family 20% off $75

Giorgio Armani Beauty is offering 20% off plus free standard shipping with your $75 purchase. Use code "FRIENDS" at checkout. The sale ends on November 30, 2010.

XOXO, M

YSL Beauty 20% off $50 purchase

YSL Beauty is offering 20% off and complimentary shipping with any purchase of $50. Use code "FRIENDS" at checkout. Offer is valid until Tuesday, November 30th, 2010.

Good time to stock up on luxurious YSL skincare or some rouge voluptes.

XOXO, M

Urban Decay Naked Palette Quick Review + FOTD

I held off on the Urban Decay Naked palette for many months because I wasn't sure if I needed it. I love neturals and own so many that it was hard for me to justify the purchase. I eventually gave in two weeks ago after seeing it and swatching it for the billionth time. I compared it with all the neutrals in my stash and is happy to say that it's a great addition to my collection.


The packaging is simple, a magnetic flip case with a velvet/velour like cover. I'm not too fond of the fabric but it beats the paper packaging they have on several of their other palettes.


There's a mirror inside, it's not big but can come in handy. The palette comes with 12 shadows, a mini primer potion, and a dual ended (Zero - black and Whiskey - brown) 24/7 liner pencil. I'm sure you've all seen tons of swatches on this palette so I didn't do a swatch shot. If you're interested in seeing them here then let me know.


I did a simple look with the shades Virgin, Sin, Darkhorse, and Toasted.


I'm still playing around the the color combinations and the possibilities are endless. The shadow quality lives up to the Urban Decay standard, they're smooth and easy to blend. It's a very convenient palette containing all the shades you'll need from day time neutrals to night time smokies. This may be the first Urban Decay shadow set that contains all wearable colors, at least for me. Some of the others I couldn't quite pull off. Overall, this palette gets a double thumbs up from me.

XOXO, M

Make Me Blushhh 2nd Anniversary Giveaway

My little blog turned two a few weeks ago. Thank you all for reading and for supporting me along the way. I prepared two gift satchels for the occasion.

To enter:
- Simply leave me a comment telling me your favorite cosmetic/makeup item of the moment. e.g. "I can't live without lip balm right now!"

Terms & Conditions:
- One entry per person
- Deadline is Sunday, November 28th, 2010 (11:59PM EST)
- I will choose the winners at random (2 winners)

Good Luck

XOXO, M

Alexis Bittar Sample Sale 2010

New Yorkers, The Alexis Bittar Sample sale will be upon us very soon!

Dates: December 2, 2010 - December 4, 2010 (Thursday - Saturday)
Hours: 9:00AM - 6:30PM
Location: 300 W. 22nd Street (by 8th Avenue)
*Cash only*

I go nuts for this event every year! Alexis Bittar is one of my favorite jewelry designer (I think I've mentioned this on multiple occasions). I'm not the only one who thinks he's incredible, Bittar won the CFDA "Accessory Designer of the Year Award" earlier this year. Alexis Bittar is known for his lucite and semi precious stone pieces. They can go from the every day to over the top dramatic. Stop by the sale, you won't regret it!

Happy Shopping!
XOXO, M

Paul & Joe Pearl Powder #3 Silhouette Review, Swatches, FOTD

I don't normally buy loose shadows as they tend to be messy. That being said, I still talk myself into getting them from time to time when I spot a pretty one. I saw this Paul & Joe pearl powder on the sales assistant and it looked so lovely on her that I couldn't resist!


This is #3 "Silhouette", a very pretty taupe shade. Paul & Joe pearl powders are finely milled loose shadows that apply with a beautiful shimmer. It's a sophisticated shimmer, not glittery. They're very soft and easy to blend.


The powder appears dark in the pot but really isn't. I really like the shade and how build-able/blend-able it is.

The pearl powders are $25 for .17oz which is probably enough to last you a life time. This is definitely a splurge item. You don't need it but it's nice to have.

I did a quick look with this powder combined with a simple gold...


I used Esprique Precious Liquid Eyecolor Stylish in GD002, a pretty gold shade, as my base. The liquid shadow creates a semi tacky base for the loose shadow to stick onto. I then blended in the Paul & Joe pearl powder from the outer corner inwards. I used a touch of MAC Phloof eyeshadow as highlight on the inner corner.


I cat lined my eyes :3 a tad more dramatic than what I usually do


Finished off with some VOV lashes, Benefit Coralista blush, and a unknown pinky Coffret D'or lipstick


This look goes with the fall/winter gold toned trend that I'm seeing everywhere. You can use a red lipstick to make it more dramatic and party ready.

XOXO, M

OPI Suede You Don't Know Jacques Swatches, Review

Being a big fan of the original O.P.I. You Don't Know Jacques I went out and got the "Suede" or matte version of it too. This also happens to be my first matte finish polish!


The matte finish didn't really appeal to me. I still like my polishes shiny, maybe that'll change after I try some other shades? The suede formula is thicker than what I'm used to. Maybe it's just this shade? The golden brown shade is pretty but doesn't resemble the regular You Don't Know Jacques. I couldn't leave it just matte and ended up using a shiny top coat.


The polish is a little harder to remove as well. You can actually remove the top layer which leaves you with this metallic silver shade. I just thought that was pretty neat :)

XOXO, M

Guerlain Holiday 2010 Les Ors, Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild, Swatches, Quick Review

Guerlain released the Les Ors Holiday collection about a month ago which included several luxuriously packaged pieces decorated with the Guerlain bee. The jewel like collection is a visual feast in terms of packaging. It's gold, in a classy sense, and in no way gaudy. The bee itself adds a whimsical touch, not too cute or childish. This is something that Guerlain always excelled in, producing rich looking pieces that exudes old school class.

The collection includes the following:

• Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder Face and Body - Finely milled light reflecting loose powder packaged in a luxurious spray bottle
• Meteorites Perles d’Or - Holiday meteorites
• Meteorites Poudre d’Or - Meteorites in pressed powder form held in a decadent compact decorated with Swarovski crystals
• Midnight Star Collect d'Or - A tube filled with skin enhancing capsules capped off the the bee insignia
• Ombre Elcat 4 Shades #410 Velours d’Or - Eyeshadow quad with a gold shade, two purple shades, and a black liner shade
• Le 2 Volume in 13 Or 2 Nuit Mascara- dual ended mascara with black on one end and gold on the other

I went to Saks specifically to look at the Velours d'Or quad ($56. The texture is luxurious as usual but the colors didn't blow me away, they almost come off murky.


The standout shade of the quad has to be the gold!

I later wandered over to Bergdorf's and found myself in front of the Chantecaille counter. The counter is located right by the escalator when you arrive at the beauty level.


I've been wanting to see the Tiger in the Wild palette for quite some time now. The "persimmons" shade in the palette is actually a cheek color but you can probably use it on the eye too.

The shadows aren't deeply pigmented but they're exceptionally smooth and buttery in texture. They blend easily and give off a beautiful shimmer.


It's a sophisicated quad but the colors aren't special. It's really the texture and subdued shimmer finish that stands out. At $78 the palette is not easy on the wallet. If it's any consolation Chantecaille shadow sizes are on the large side of the scale.

XOXO, M

Holiday Sales: Too Faced Friends & Family, iMomoko Thanksgiving Special, Sephora VIB In Store Special

And the sales continue...


Too Faced Friends and Family from now until November 17th, 2010 enter code 10GIFT at checkout to receive 20% off your entire purchase.


Receive 15% off your entire purchase at iMomoko by using coupon code THANKS2010, sale ends Nov.25th,2010!. They are currently taking pre-orders for Jill Stuart and Lunasol holiday sets.


The 20% in store special for Sephora VIBs started Thursday November 11th, 2010 and runs through this weekend. Use code VIB20 online if you can find the goods on their site. I stopped by the store today to pick up skin care essentials for my mum and auntie plus a set of Clarisonic delicate brush heads for myself. It was chaotic in the stores I visited and I expect it to continue this way throughout the weekend. I was kind of disappointed that the counters weren't fully stocked, the Givenchy stand was completely out of eyeshadows and blushers. I'm not sure if this is the case with all the stores but the two I went to appeared as if they were robbed.

Happy Shopping!

XOXO, M

P.S: I'm sick for the 4th or 5th time since September so I'm a little slow with emails these days
P.P.S: Thanks for those that bought from my Blog Sale!
P.P.P.S: 2nd Blogversary Giveaway is coming up soon :)

Gold with a Dash of Purple FOTD

Gold and purple is a favorite combo of mine. It's got somewhat of a regal quality to it, or so I think.


I normally just blend the two shades together but this time I opted to use the purple as a liner on my lower lash line. I used a pale pearly gold on my lids with a soft bronze on the outer corners.













Unfortunately I can't list out the products I used on my eyes since they're unknown shadows from the 100Yen shop. The purple liner is by MAC, the name rubbed off the pencil. You really don't need specifics to recreate the look, anything similar would do. I'm using Jill Stuart Fresh Apricot blush on my cheeks (only the pink shades) and a reddish pink Coffret D'or lipstick.

I noticed that there are lots of gold toned shadow palettes released for the holiday collections. I was really tempted to get several but decided to go through my collection and use something I already own. I do find myself reaching for golds an awful lot lately, not sure if it has something to do with the season or if it's random. Is there a shade you constantly reach for this season?

XOXO, M

Henri Bendel Friends and Family 2010

Henri Bendel kicked off their Friends & Family sale today! Take 20% on a single purchase in stores and online. Enter Code "FRIENDSFAMILY" for online purchases. Note that it's single purchase so gather everything you want and check out only once. I highly recommend going to the store if you can, they just have more selection and variety there.

I can't wait to stop by this weekend! They have a great cosmetics section but they really shine in the accessories department.

XOXO, M

My New Toy: Canon S95

People always ask about the camera I'm using and the answer is that it's ever changing. I have a serious camera obsession which makes me upgrade fairly frequently :) My newest toy is the Canon S95.


I had previously owned a Panasonic LX3 but sold it recently fully intending to upgrade to the new Panasonic LX5. When I realized that the LX5 I ordered was on backorder I tracked down the new Canon S95 with HD video to try. I ended up liking it so much that I returned the LX5 and kept the S95. The compact packaging really won me over. I own a DSLR so I don't want a bulky point and shoot.


I'm really glad that I went with the S95. It's sleek and slim with some great manual functions. It's capable of shooting high quality pictures (shoots both JPG and RAW) and HD videos. It retails for $399 which is $100 cheaper than the LX5. As much as I like the Leica lens the LX5 comes with, I didn't find the image quality noticeably higher to warrant the extra $100.


Here's one of the test shot I took on the first day. This was taken in not so great indoor lighting condition. The camera does well under low light settings. I thought the picture came out very clear and the colors are vivid. In case you're wondering about the food, I had made bulgogi and tofu with kimchi on the side for dinner that night.


And here's me fidgeting with it :) I've been bringing it with me everywhere.

I'll be posting more pictures from this camera on my photography blog and the food blog that I'm working on. I haven't had the chance to really play with the video but will do so later. Here's a video someone else took using the camera's tilt shift mode, isn't it cute? I'll probably do another post here with some more test shots for you guys to see.

XOXO, M

ZOYA Buy One Get One Offer 2010

 

ZOYA is having a buy one get one event this week! Use code BOGO5 at checkout. Offer is good until November 5th and is limited to US residents only.

I haven't tried any ZOYA polishes and I'm going nuts trying to pick a few shades to try. There's a 5 bottle cap! Any suggestions?

XOXO, M

KOSE Softymo White Cleansing Oil Reivew

A whitening cleansing oil? At this point it's safe to say that there's a whitening line for every type of beauty product in Asia.


Softymo's (a sub-brand of KOSE) White Cleansing Oil is a budget friendly cleansing oil at about $10-$12 for 230ml worth of product. You can find it at Sasa.com or at your local Japanese/Asian market. It comes in a see through yellow plastic bottle with a pump top. The packaging isn't the prettiest but it's practical and gets the job done. The formula is semi dense and I thought it felt rather heavy on my face. It emulsifies nicely and removes makeup very effectively. It has a oil like scent that I'm not really thrilled about. I'm even less thrilled about the blurry vision it causes when it gets into my eyes. If I don't rinse it out thoroughly then it may cause further irritation. It contains mostly mineral oil which may not sit well some skin types.

Oh, right, let's not forget the whitening bit. I didn't notice any noticeable changes in my skin tone.

Verdict
To sum it up, it's an affordable and effective makeup remover but not recommended for those with sensitive eyes or can't tolerate mineral oil. I won't be repurchasing this since it just doesn't sit well with my eyes.


I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween full of fright (the fun kind) and sweets. I don't really dress up for Halloween anymore but do enjoy looking at others that do. I went out to take pictures and ran into a Predator in Central Park :)

XOXO, M