NARS Illuminator-stunning!

While showing me some of her arsenal used for her clients, my makeup artist friend Batya Wiesner of Makeup by Batya pulled out this beauty!

Wearable alone or with makeup, this is a red carpet secret used on celebs for that ever so coveted glow. It can be used on the face or body. Great spots for face use would be wherever the light would hit: forehead, cheekbones, brow bone, down the nose and inner eye corners. For the body it looks gorgeous on the shoulders and décolleté.

It comes in 4 shades: From a sheer sheen in the color Copacabana to sheer colors in Laguna, Orgasm, Super Orgasm. Those of you familiar with NARS products will know these are

Nail polish holder – thinking outside the box:)

Here are pix of how I store my nail polishes. It is not a large collection at all but they have to go somewhere! I purchase this tiered plastic tray at The Container Store. It was in the kitchen department, I guess for cabinets or under the sink use, but it’s perfect for finding the polish I’m looking for at a glance! You can find it here. I definitely recommend walking down their aisles if you’re in an “organizing zone” and keep your eyes peeled for using something for your needs as opposed to what its meant for:)

The tray also keeps the polishes safely displayed on my shelf-with the high lip all around it that keeps them all in place. I organized them by placing currently used ones at the bottom, more springy and summery colors in the middle and my daughters’ at the top.

MAC lipstick swatches, M.A.C. Red review plus update on my “red lip” routine!

One benefit of having a friend who is a makeup artist is that I get to see more of a variety of colors per product! Batya Wiesner of Makeup by Batya, showed me a handful of her many MAC lipsticks she uses on her clients. Here is a picture of the swatches with the list of colors. Keep an eye out for the color called M.A.C. red and continue reading below! (Same shades, different lighting).

L-R

Crosswires, Ravishing, Lady Danger, Dare you, M.A.C. Red, Rebel, Girl About Town, Chatterbox, Snob, Chic

I also wanted to mention an update on my post on the NARS Matte Lip Pencil I had gotten and been using in the color Cruella. (You can read that post here.)  Basically after searching for “the perfect red” I came across this incredibly smooth pencil and fell in love. The red is a beautiful shade, albeit a tad deeper than the one I had envisioned getting. For an evening out it’s perfect, but I still wanted a brighter, lighter shade for daytime. MAC’s Russian Red, and Ruby Woo, two of the most popular MAC reds for sure, just didn’t look right on me. Maybe it’s the fact that they are Matte so they’re drying and not that easy to put on.

I then started playing around with some lip liners to alter the color of the NARS pencil. Bingo! Instead

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV review (with swatches)

I just got my UD Book of Shadows IV and I am beyond thrilled! So as you guys know I was less than enthusiastic over the new and much hyped Naked 2 Pallete. (You can read that post here.)

The biggest issue for me was that many of the colors were so similar. I like to change things up a lot so I felt it was kind of a waste.

Well, the Book of Shadows IV definitely fits the bill! Its 16 colors (10 are new!) are a mixed variety so I feel that would allow me to play with more looks while still including the colors gunmetal and lost to produce that more neutral

*Update* My challah adventure

If you’ve been a follower for a little while here, you may know I have been trying out different challah recipes. ( You can read the post here.)

I mentioned I was considering meshing two recipes as each had results I loved.

I am thrilled to say (I know it’s just challah lol) I did just that and it came out delicious! I probably will tinker with it a bit more but I really love how it came out.

Here is the recipe and if

Too good-had to share:)

Trend watch – the ankle strap

Attention shoe lovers: a hot trend seen on the runways and celebrities alike is the ankle strap. They adorn stilettos, sandals and wedges. From chunky to unobtrusive, “the strap” brings a sporty edge to any outfit!

Let’s get right into the photos!

On celebs:

Jennifer Aniston at the 2012 Directors Guild of America Awards  wearing Celine ankle strap sandals

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil review

I love love love this pencil! It reminds me of the NYX jumbo pencils.

The color I have is Cruella, and although it sounds evil, it’s does not look ferocious at all! It’s the perfect red (for me at least)! With the help of my makeup artist friend, Batya Wiesner of Makeup by Batya, we concluded that this is the best “red lip” color for me. It’s not too bright and not too deep.

The quality is perfect as expected from NARS. It’s very pigmented but using a light hand you can apply more of a stained look as opposed to all out red color lipstick look. As Batya explained to me, get a really nice “stained effect” make 2 “dashes” on top lip and 3 on the bottom, then purse lips together until color is evenly distributed. Add some

eos and Burt’s Bees lip balm reviews

vs.

After using Chap Stick lip balm all my life (well, as far as I can remember ;)), I was interested in trying something new.

After seeing many raving reviews on the eos lip balms, I decided to try one out. I mean they are so so cute how could you say no?! They come in egg shaped containers that twist off, displaying a dome shaped balm. Brightly colored, each representing a specific flavor, make this otherwise boring product fun!

It ends there for me. I purchased the flavor called Summer Fruit. Bad bad bad. So here it goes.

Firstly the smell is so overpowering. I am not one that is usually too sensitive to scents but this, sheesh. I had to hold my breath putting it on.

The worst part though is

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette review

I just got the Urban Decay Naked Palette 2. I was super thrilled to have gotten it at Sephora.com because they keep going out of stock. They are also sold at Ulta.com and Urbandecay.com. It retails for about $50.

This palette is a follow up to the best selling original Naked Palette. I do not have that one so I can’t compare but here is my review of the product as is.

Packaging: Quite sleek, and it has a really nice mirror for on the go touch ups. The case itself from what I hear is a lot more sturdy than the original. It is now made of tin, I think, and clicks shut, while the other was made of cardboard and closed I believe with a magnet. I also would think that this exterior would be simpler to wipe clean because of it’s smooth texture, as I’ve heard the other material snagged dust and dirt very easily and was impossible to wipe clean.

Pallete: The colors are really beautiful. They are mainly browns, bronzes and taupes in addition to a perfect matte black. This is where my first disappointment comes in. I know that this is supposed to be a neutral pallete but I personally would have loved to see