Makeup Look: MAC Fabulous Felines-Burmese Beauty Palette

   MAC for Brown Eyes

Green has a way of making brown, gray and blue eyes pop!  This look is pretty versatile and can be worn either day or evening.  You can make this look more intense by building the color or choosing a darker shade of a similar color.  If you want a less intense look, just do the opposite.

For the eyes: I used the MAC-Burmese Beauty palette.  I applied Skintone 1/3 of the way or my lid up to my crease. I also applied a little near the tear duct area and just at the corner of the inner lower lashline.  To the middle of the lid, I applied Burmese Beauty up to the crease and out to the corner of the eyes.  Next,  I added Showstopper to the outer corner.  I lined my water line with a black eyeliner and then lined by lower lashline with L'oreal color rich crayon Authentic(dark green). I used another cream crayon type crayon in a lighter green over Authentic for intensity.  I lined my upper lashline in black,only at the corners with slight wing and added black mascara to my upper and lower lashes.

For the Cheeks: I used Milani Sunset Beach mineral powder blush(orange-peach).  For the lips: I used MAC lipstick Shy Girl(nude pink) and MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass gloss(pinkish-tan).

You can re-create this look with varying shades of the colors I used, or you can use the same technique and try different colors! Remember, I only mention the name of the brand in case you want this exact color, otherwise, you can use whatever you have to get this look.

Fashion Fun: Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Roses Alma Please

(source)

I'll take that!  This bag is so cute!  It's a Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Roses Alma.  I'm pretty sure this bag costs a little more that what I'm willing to spend (about $2,700), so what I sometimes do is see what top designers are doing and try to find something similar at a much lower price. Sometimes my hunt to find something similar leads me to find something completely opposite, and I end up creating my own look. That's the cool thing about fashion, you can interpret it however you want!

Hopefully this bag will miraculously appear on my doorstep, or as a gift on my birthday.  Until it does, I will be on the lookout for a look-a-like (not to be confused with knock-off) bag!

Accessories: Storage Ideas To Bring Some Order To Your Accessories

Have your accessories taken over your closet, vanity or dresser?  Have you stuffed them away into cute little boxes or or cubbies that make it difficult to even see your collection?  While perusing the web, I found a wonderful website that has tons of reasonably priced storage ideas for accessories and more! 

My biggest storage issue right now, is my purse collection.  I've somewhat given up on my shoes, so I moved on to the next biggest space consumer in my closet other than my clothes.  My purses are stacked in my closet and hidden away in cubbies and this makes it extremely difficult to find anything!  I love the over the door idea for handbags. This will get a cubbie off of my closet floor and will allow me to actually see my collection with ease and I won't have to go digging around to find the purse I'm looking for.   I need to purchase one of these asap!

As far as my jewelry goes, it has pretty much taken up any workable space I have left on my dresser.  I have necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings everywhere.  The wall rack will get my necklaces off of my dresser and I can even put my bracelets and rings on top.  The earring holder is slim an unobtrusive and will definitely be able hold all of my earrings.  There might even be a few slots open for me to add a few new pair!

The name of this wondrous website is www.stacksandstacks.com.  I 'm so glad that I ran across this site, because they have given me hope where I believed there was none in getting my stuff organized.

What are some of your organizing ideas or tips?  Do you have any DIY ideas?  Let me know, I'd love to hear about them!

Fashion Fun: Riding Boot And Over The Knee Boot Trends

I absolutely love the trend of Riding boots right now!  It's funny how fashion really does cycle itself.  I have an old pair of gray riding boots that I picked up and at the time it wasn't really a "trend", I just really liked riding boots. Now that they have cropped back up as one of fall's hottest boot trends, I am all the way in on this one!  These are a few styles that I have my eye on.  I know for certain I won't be able to purchase them all, but I will most definitely have a pair of one of these boots in my closet soon!  I found a website that has a pretty decent boot selection with affordable pricing.  The name of the site is endless.com  I can't wait to get a pair of these babies! Below are few pair of some really fun high fashion boots.  They are the boots of my dreams!

Hairstyles: Giving The Braid Out A Try

   

I rarely wear my hair down because I'm in the process of growing it out, and so I am very protective of my ends.  So, just for fun, I decided to let my hair out to play with a braid-out.  If you don't know what a braid-out is, it's where you braid your hair, leaving it in for a day or longer and then you take the braids down.  You end up with waves and curls or whatever your hair type gives yuh!  You can do this on wet or dry hair.  I did it on dry hair.

How I Did It:

After washing and deep conditioning my hair, I blow dried it into 8 sections with a leave-in conditioner (Kinky Curly-Knot Today) and a bit of shea butter.  I then braided the sections and added a little more shea butter to my ends.  I kept my hair braided for 2 days and then I un-braided it.  I styled it with my fingers by separating some of the curls.  I was careful not to disturb the curls much because I didn't want my hair to frizz.  

Overall, I think it came out pretty good!  When I start wearing my hair down more often, this will definitely be one of my go to styles!

My Makeup:

Lips:  Mac - Brave Red

Cheeks:  Mac- Ambering Rose

Eyes: Maybeline Eyestudio creme liner - Blackest Black and Maybeline Falsies Mascara - Blackest Black

5 Tips To Choosing A Great Manicure Salon

Before you take a seat in an unfamiliar manicurist's chair and trust him/her with the care of your nails, there are a few thing that you should check for.  With horror stories of fungal infections and cuticle destruction,  you owe it to yourself to verify the licensing and the cleanliness of the the salon you intend to patronize.

1.)  Verify that the displayed license has not expired.
You can also ask to verify the identification of the person who claims to be the person holding the license.  I do not mind asking to see a photo I.D.  A professional manicurist would understand this request.  If the manicurist refuses to provide you with this information, it may be that he/she simply feels uncomfortable with showing you their I.D. and at that time, it's up to you to decide if you feel comfortable or not with receiving service.

2.)  Observe how and what is used to cleanse the foot baths.
The foot baths should be cleansed thoroughly with disinfectant between each use. All towels used for your session should be freshly washed and free of any stains.  This includes the towels that you may rest your hands on feet on why being prepped.

3.)  Request that your manicurist's hand be washed.
Before your manicurist begins your session, make sure that he/she washes his/her hands with soap and water or that he/she snaps on a fresh pair of gloves.

4.)  Ask how and what is used to sanitize their tools.
 All non-disposable tools should be washed with soap and water and should soak in a disinfecting solution for at least 20 min.  Request a new or cleaned soaking container be used for your session, to insure that the tools being used for your session aren't soaking in an old solution that has been used for previous clients.  All other tools should be brand new, such as nails files and buffing blocks.  If possible, bring your own set of tools to use including your own nailpolish.  If the salon has been careless with the cleansing of their tools, providing your own can save you from acquiring a fungal infection.

5.)  Do not allow your manicurist to snip your cuticles.
Cutting your cuticles can make them vulnerable to infection and can cause them grow back rough and ragged.  Instead, instruct your manicurist to use cuticle softening solutions and then gently push your cuticles back.

I hope these tips can help you to find the perfect manicure salon that you can trust!

DIY Manicure: Take your French Manicure From Drab To Fab

Mani-Madness

This isn't my best DIY manicure, however, when I actually take my time to do it right, which I didn't, it comes out pretty nice!  This is an easy way to give your regular french manicure more oomph!

First:

Prep your nails with by applying a base coat and allowing it to dry.  Then, use french manicuring tape or scotch tape (I used scotch tape) to isolate the tips of your nails.

Next:

Paint the exposed part of your nails and allow them to dry for 5 minutes or so.  Your nails should be mostly dry but this will depend on the nail polish you are using. I used 2 coats of Icing[Chase Me]. It's a matte turquoise color.

Last: 

Remove the tape and apply a thin line of black nail polish above the turquoise color.  Then, apply a thin line of silver nail polish above the black and let your nails dry for another 5 minutes or so before applying a clear topcoat. That's it, you are done!  For the black and silver colors,  I used Kiss nail art polish.  It has a very think brush used for nail art.  You can find these at any beauty supply store and some drugstores.

Hope you liked this and that you give it a try.  Use your favorite colors and come up with you own color combination!