Random Thought - 2

What's in My Makeup Bag - 2

I tend to swap out my makeup bag often. I try to rotate through products so that I use up what I have because I obviously have way more makeup than I would ever need (I know, it's a real problem). Sometimes you can completely forget about things in your collection so every once in a while I'll go and change out one or two things. In doing so, I realized that things have switched up quite a bit since my last "what's in my makeup bag". Ergo, I am here sharing this with you! I've been obsessed with the Hourglass Immaculate Foundation since I bought it. I did a full review of that here if you want to know more, but in short, it's amazing for oily skin. Along with that, I've also been using my NARS concealer which has been a favorite as well. I'm sure I'll repurchase this again and again. For the eyes, I've been hooked on the YSL Classy palette since I got it. It's so beautiful for a smokey brown eye that is impactful without being overbearing and the slate blue color gives it a little edge. Really beautiful. I have swatches here if you want to see more on that. To finish the eyes, I have been putting a little bit of M.A.C's Powersurge eye kohl on the outer third of my waterline. It's a really pretty bronzed gold color so it's not too harsh. And of course, every look needs mascara. I have been using my Covergirl Lashblast for a long time and every time I buy a high end mascara, I use it up and never repurchase because although they're nice, they're just not so amazing that they're worth the price tag. So, I'm always back to using my tried and true Covergirl. The YSL Babydoll mascara, however, totally has me addicted. It's so good. I'm totally going to repurchase this one. I'm a little nervous that I've just cost myself by going and buying this mascara because it's one of the best I've tried and now I don't want to live without. It's volumizing and separating with a little bit of length as well. The wand is a thin long brush with short rubber bristles and it's flexible. Because it's thin, it makes it easier to get all the way into your inner corner for all those tiny lashes and really make an impact. Highly recommend that one! After that, I move onto my brows. I love Anastasia brow products. I finished up my Brow Wiz pencil so I went back to using the powder. They're both fantastic. And lastly, a little bit of blush to perk up the face. I'm using the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed. It's the perfect neutral color - like a rosey brown. I love the Tarte formula because it's nicely pigmented and it will last all day without moving or oxidizing on your skin. Then, a little bit of Dior balm on the lips and I'm out the door. I'm loving all of these products so much, I think I might keep them in my makeup bag for a while. When I think of it, this is actual a good representation of my current favorites. The color palette is also perfect for transitioning into fall. What colors and things are you using to get yourself ready for the colder days?

Click through for complete product list...

Ponytail Revamped

As much as I love makeup is probably how much I dislike hair. I've never been really great at doing hair. It's just not my thing. Most days, it's just left natural and down and other days when I'm in a frantic rush, it gets pulled back into a ponytail. I always hate how ponytails really do look like you didn't have time to finish getting ready. Or like you just came from the gym so when I spotted these ponytail cuffs, I was thrilled. They're just these metal or plastic cuffs that come with a hair band attached so that you can wrap it around your ponytail and jazz it up a bit. You look so much more pulled together without any added effort. I also think it gives your ponytail a little bit of an edge which I think is perfect for fall/autumn by revamping an age old hairstyle. It kind of reminds me of a real life version of Princess Jasmine's ponytail at the end of Aladdin when she's in that red outfit and has her hair up with the gold cuff around it. Remember that? Yeah, so I'm really loving this. I found quite a few at Nordstrom. They have different colors to choose from. I bought a black one for myself, but I think I'm going to go back and get a few others. They have solids and some in colors with gold trim.

Until next time. Kisses, J

Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream - Review

Picture this. Los Angeles, CA. Tuesday. 7:30pm. Sephora. I'm killing time browsing the aisles of cosmetics and I come across the endcap where these babies stood with the word "new" written in red on the panel below. Are you catching my drift here? I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Of course I had to try them out! And I mean "them" as in plural. I tried on all six colors in this formula. These Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Creams are said to be a highly pigmented cream to powder formula. None of them have any shimmer in them. I drew my top favorite shades of the six here, but Sancerre is my favorite. It's this pink/red color and is gorgeous. They come with a flexible doefoot applicator which I found easy to use and didn't need a brush to correct any mistakes. Just be sure to start applying at the center of your lips so that the most color goes down there and then you can spread it out along the perimeter of your lips without making a mess. The pigment really is highly pigmented. It's ridiculously opaque in one stroke. It feels like a creamy matte texture/finish. It just has a slight sheen from the cream formula. I'm not really sold on the "powder finish". To me, it just felt like a really creamy lipstick. It's actually bizarre that it comes in a lipgloss looking tube, but feels and applies like a lipstick. What?! It's almost as though they melted a lipstick and put it into a tube. Crazy! And, for being that semi-matte finish, I was really impressed that it wasn't super uncomfortable. It didn't dry up on my lips or feel tight. I also didn't find the need to apply a lip liner. It stayed in place quite nicely. I had been previously eyeing the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks, but I sampled it in Sephora and really did not like it for me. It actually felt really similar upon application to these Bite Lip Creams, but it dries and sets on the lips. That's great for long lasting color that won't rub off or move, but I felt like it sucked all the moisture out of my lips and they just shriveled up. If you don't have issues with lip stains or long lasting lip products of that nature, you may like that because they do have beautiful colors and great pigmentation, but I am personally really picky with needing lip products to hold moisture. On that note, these Bite Beauty Lip Creams are definitely being added to my collection. I'm genuinely impressed. I'm loving this concept and like the look of a creamy lipsticky product! Beautiful! Like I said, Sancerre is my favorite color, but they also had a deep wine called Port and a deep burgundy color called Bordeaux which are both fantastic Fall colors. I also thought the bright pink was gorgeous. I tend to gravitate towards that color all the time! That one is called Moscato. All really beautiful and worth checking out!

Talk soon, J

p.s. check out my instagram for swatches of all six available colors here & here.

** Update **
I did notice that over time, these formulas tend to dry out. I would be sure to screw the cap on tightly and to store them appropriately. 

Hall of Fame - Dior Eyeshadow

While I was configuring my drugstore eye post from yesterday, I realized that I have some definite holy grail, all-time favorites from high end brands because these were the ones I kept referencing and comparing everything to. These are the ones that set the bar that I judge from. I have a definite few favorite brands, but there are three that I go back to time and time again. I will talk about the other two soon, but I wanted to start with Dior first. I started using Dior products back when I was in college and have been hooked ever since. I remember the first palette was a limited edition one with plums and light pinks. I practically wiped it clean. These Dior 5 Color Eyeshadow palettes have been my absolute must haves ever since. The packaging is beautiful. They come in a velvet pouch with the Dior name embossed on the top. The actual compact has the 'CD' initials underneath this clear blue overlay that is reflective and gorgeous with the "Dior" name layered on top in silver. Basically, it's really nice. The inside of the compact has a layout to fit five eyeshadow colors. I love that they're embossed with stitch lines like a quilted bag or something. And when you look at the shapes of the outer four spaces, they look like cut diamonds. Like you could place it on top of a ring. That should hook in every girl right there, huh? But, it doesn't stop there. The colors are long lasting and nicely pigmented. They blend effortlessly and the shimmers are of the most beautiful. It's really fine and elegant. What makes these staples for me is that I can get a really complete look out of these palettes. The color combinations are designed really well that I get use of every shade and I can create a few iterations of a look in one palette. No color ever goes to waste for me in these. And, I always hit pan and finish these up which always really says a lot for someone who has so much makeup. Rosy Tan is my favorite from the permanent line. It looks basic, but it's so beautiful for a feminine neutral look. I always look forward to limited releases too. I hope they come out with some great ones for holiday!

Kisses, J

From the Drugstore - Eyes

I haven't been blogging for a really long time, but from the small amount of time that I have, you can probably already tell that I love high end products. I just love the experience in the store and the beautiful packaging and the gorgeous formulas. I really do believe that you get what you pay for a lot of the times. Sometimes fantastic ingredients and well done formulas are just expensive, but it's not to say that you can't find some great things in the drugstore. So, I thought I'd do a little series of my favorite drugstore products starting with eye products. I wanted to show here the products from the drugstore what I actually use. Not just show an eyebrow pencil just to show one because I haven't found a drugstore eyebrow pencil that I love and feel is interchangeable with my current high end one. There are things that I could pick out if I had to, but I didn't want to show things of that nature. I wanted to put together the products that get used in my day to day life. These products get used up often and are completely interchangeable with some of my high end products. I would recommend them day in and day out and if I blind tested these with a high end product, I'm not sure I could tell the difference because these work so great. So, let's talk about my picks and just FYI, they're in no particular order...

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector - Review

I have to say that in the world of beauty, we're constantly being bombarded with a million iterations of the same product. It gets to be slightly confusing. With contouring and highlighting becoming more and more prominent, every brand on the market has come out with shimmery highlighters. I've tried many and there are others that I do love, but the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector has to be my favorite shimmery highlight products out there. It's actually referred to as a 'luminizer' which is probably a better description for what it really does. This beauty of a product is a liquid shimmer. It comes in four different shades (I use moonstone) to accommodate multiple skin tones which is always nice to see. I'll get the fact that it's a pricey item out of the way now. It is expensive as Becca is a luxury brand, but I promise you it is worth it in quality as well as quantity of product. One bottle will last you forever! And then some!

Mendhi

I feel like it's been a little while. I'm starting to feel strange when I go a few days without blogging. But, it's been a busy few days! A cousin of mine was married last weekend so we had events starting on Thursday up until Saturday. If you follow my Instagram, you'll have seen some pictures from the day of the wedding. It was a lot of fun! I also got to see my favorite cousin (yes, I play favorites) who was whisked away after the weekend and I miss her already! I'm not sure that I've mentioned before that I come from a mixed background. My dads side of the family is Indian so this was an Indian wedding.

Drumroll Please

Hi there. So.... recently I was nominated for a Liebster Award. At first I thought, 'Say whaaa???". Upon reading up though, I found out a little more. The Liebster Award is passed on from one recipient blogger to another. Who knows where it really started, but the idea is to pass it along to a great new blogger that has less than 200 followers to bring awareness to us new folk. I think the thought of this is really sweet and I was so humbled to be nominated by two lovely ladies. I was first nominated by Lexi from Introducing Lexi and was shortly after nominated by Isabella from Pinkie Promise. Many thanks to the both of you for reading my blog and thinking I'm at all cool enough to have this passed onto me. Lexi is around my age, girly, super fun and was recently engaged (congrats!). Isabella is first and foremost a Harry Potter fan (yes!), but also talks beauty and all that good stuff . Be sure to check them out and say hello. 

OK, on with what this entails. First things first, I must share 11 random facts about myself! I have already done 25 random facts here, but I figured I could spare a few more...

1. I've never curled my lashes before

2. One of my favorite books is actually a children's 

book - The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 

3. I like to wear socks to sleep which pretty much guarantees I 
find one hiding in the covers every time I change my sheets....

4. I'm 5'2".... Quite small

5. I can do basic sewing, knitting and crocheting. Clever, eh?

6. I started learning how to drive when I was 15 in a white 

1986 Toyota Cressida with burgundy interior. Classic

7. I love tea. It makes me feel like home so every time I go on 

business trips I order tea before bed. (Lol)

8. I need the assistance of glasses or contacts to see as I have 

awful vision (socks, crochet, glasses and tea?! I'm an old lady at heart)

9. I've always wanted to learn how to fly planes (how badass is that?!)

10. I have a lazy eye. You can't really tell, but sometimes you can spot it 

in a picture or if I'm really sleepy it starts to get worse and stray (such a nerd).

11. I don't have any tattoos (I'm not that badass. Lol)

The second part is to answer 11 questions given from the nominator. I decided to answer both Lexi's and Isabella's. Click through for the Q&A...

Random Thought - 1

I tend to have a lot of random thoughts. I'm sure we all do. So, I thought (another thought) that it would be fun to share them here too with you. I usually don't post at the end of the week, but I think this could be a fun little something before we all have to jump start the week! So, you might see more of these if all goes well. We shall see :)