Irish traditional singer Iarla Ó Lionáird has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard, and he can do some amazing things with just his (magical) vocal cords. All three of his albums are getting heavy play as part of my "Study Music" playlist, but this is probably my favorite song of his...
Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!
I may or may not have been procrastinating today, with the help of the new MAC Custom Palette maker thingy. (Thanks to retail_therapy for the idea!) I only picked shades I don't currently have, which is why the combinations may seem a bit odd.
Have you played with this feature yet? What do(es) your palette(s) look like?
After dragging my arse out of bed at 6:30 am to let the dogs out (I'm dog-sitting this weekend, woooo!), I didn't really want to bother with loads of makeup for a day of studying (but I still wanted to play!), so I kept things pretty neutral and dug out probably the most iconic my-lips-but-better shade around... NARS Dolce Vita lipstick!
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base; Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; MAC Oil-Control Lotion (t-zone only)
Face: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain; BE Mineral Veil (as base layer and finishing powder); BE foundation in Fair (as foundation and concealer)
Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Stila Precious Pearl palette - the light pink all over lids, the darker pink in the crease, and the white on the browbone
Lashes: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara (black)
Liner: MAC Liquidlast liner in black, applied to the upper waterline with a 209 brush
Cheeks: BE blush in Aubergine (contour) and Kiss (lower apples of the cheeks)
Lips: NARS Dolce Vita lipstick, topped with MAC lipglass in Liqueur (from Cult of Cherry, if I remember correctly...), applied lightly with a lip brush
I love this lip combo - it's completely wearable and very autumn-y, and if you apply the lipglass sparingly, it doesn't get sticky at all (yay!). I've also become fonder of pink eyeshadows - I can see the pale pink becoming a morning staple to make me look awake and attentive in a 9am class or lecture! The blush is a lot heavier/bolder than I'm used to wearing, and applied lower and more dramatically, but it turned out alright - a bit more blending might be in order, though! Using Liquidlast on the upper waterline was a good choice and a bad one - it stays like *nothing* else - I had no flakes or smudges or anything, even after (naughtily) taking a nap in full-face! But next time, I'm sticking with the brush in the tube, because good golly Miss Molly, there is nothing worse than trying to get Liquidlast liner out of your 209 brush - mine's still black! Argh! Back to the drawing board, I suppose...
P.S.: If you want a super-amazing actual dessert wine, check out Brachetto d'Acqui (red) and Moscato d'Asti (white). They are deliciously perfect, whether you go for the sparkling or still versions.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday night was big party time for me. Why? Because it was the BONES season premiere! I got super-addicted to the show last fall (it took like half an episode for obsession to set in!) and then lured my family and friends into loving it, too. So much so that my mother decreed that we would host a dinner party and get even more people hooked on Bones. "It's going to be bigger than the Super Bowl Party!" she proclaimed. And so it was. But I needed a nice face of makeup for the evening, so I took the opportunity to play with my new Bobbi Brown palette. This look uses the cool eyeshadow quad, which I think is quite on trend for Autumn/WInter '09 - the colors are very similar to the MAC Tone: Grey shadow quad, although (astonishingly for Bobbi!) quite a bit more shimmery. The shadows are just ever-so-slightly more blue than they appear in the photos, mainly the eyeliner shade (Navy matte).
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base; Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; MAC Oil-Control Lotion (on t-zone only)
Face: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain; Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil (as base layer and finishing powder); Bare Minerals foundation in Fair (as foundation and concealer)
Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Bobbi Brown Navajo metallic shadow all over lid to browbone, BB metallic shadow in Rockstar on outer half of lid, BB shimmer wash shadow in Gunmetal in crease, BB matte shadow in Navy as liner on upper lashline
Lashes: BE Buxom Lash mascara (black)
Cheeks: BE blush in Lovely (as contour) and Kiss (apples of cheeks)
Lips: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks in Blushed Rose
Oooh, and I even did coordinating nails! I was so proud of myself, because I am super nail-inept! I used Boys in the Bottle polish in Mark in the Dark, a dark green/teal/blue shade that matches the Gunmetal shadow almost exactly.
I'm really liking the neutral looks I've been doing lately - my sister was like, "Wow, your makeup looks natural for once!" (thanks a lot, sis!) - but I'm itching to do something crazy and bright in the next few days, so keep your eyes open for that. In the meantime, thanks for reading!
As mentioned previously, I went to the mall on Monday to relieve my internet-less boredom (fourteenth-century didactic poems weren't doing it for me, somehow), and picked up a few makeup goodies. Thanks to my lovely Bobbi Brown consultant Kyra, I got myself a pre-ordered Bobbi Brown/Nordstrom's exclusive palette for Holiday 2009:
It features a warm quad and a cool quad of shadows, each with a variety of textures, and a Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks in Blushed Rose.
I also got two lipsticks from the MAC Hi-Def collection, Sharp Focus and Resolutely Red:
(My third Back2MAC lipstick was another tube of Lovin' It, for my sister - see how much I love her? I spend my MAC empties on her! - who's dyeing her hair redder... it's a great shade for redheads!)
I tried to do swatches for the Bobbi Brown palette, with no luck - I could *not* get my crappy camera to get the shades anywhere close to reality, even when I messed around with colors and contrast and whatnot in my photo editor. It all just looked blah, so I gave up. I did manage to get a decent shot of Resolutely Red, though. I feel like it's a pretty wearable red for MAC - slightly darker than Russian Red, and creamy rather than matte (so less high-maintenance), but still bold and vivid enough for those of us who love our red lips!
Thanks for reading/looking, and enjoy!
There is FINALLY internet at my house. I am thanking the gods of telecommunications, I can tell you that! Anyway, in my still internet-free state, I made a quick trip to the mall earlier this week to pick up the new Bobbi Brown palette (the Nordstrom's exclusive one) and do some Back2MAC-ing (three lipsticks!) I'll give those lovelies their own separate post, though. Since I can't possibly go to a makeup counter without *wearing* a ton of the stuff, I had to do something with my face. My look was pretty basic and neutral and otherwise unremarkable, but I thought I'd share, since I used the Laura Mercier lip stain that was featured in this BellaSugar post.
Base: Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base; MAC Oil-Control Lotion
Face: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain (under eyes); Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil (all over, as base layer, and as setting powder); BE foundation in Fair (as foundation and concealer)
Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Bobbi Brown shimmer wash shadow in Nude (all over lid and up to browbone); Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany (along upper lashline)
Lashes: BE BuxomLash mascara (black)
Cheeks: Bare Minerals blush in Kiss (light shimmering pink)
Lips: Laura Mercier Lip Stain in English Rose (applied with a lip brush, I think)
I think it's actually quite a good name for the shade - it really seems to fit, somehow. Although I don't look particularly English or rose-like, hmm... Anyway, thanks for reading!
Still no internet Chez Bailaoragaditana, even though Verizon people were supposed to come today! Argh! The neighbor's internet is just not cutting it anymore! I did go out for some tapas and churros this afternoon in DC, so... I had an excuse to put on makeup! Yay! This particular look was inspired by the colors of the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, using products called Marrakesh, which were in turn inspired by Marrakesh! It's very meta, no? :-p
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base, Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream, MAC Oil-Control Lotion (t-zone only)
Face: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain (under eyes); Bare Minerals Mineral Veil (as base layer and finishing powder); Bare Minerals foundation in Fair (as foundation and spot concealer)
Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Stila shadow quad in Marrakech: darker pink on inner third of lid, gold on outer two-thirds of lid, dark brown in the crease, light shimmery pink as highlight up to the browbone
Liner: MAC Fluidline in Blitz & Glitz on upper lashline and upper waterline, applied with a MAC 209 brush
Lashes: Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara (black)
Cheeks: Bare Minerals blush in Lovely
Lips: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks in Velvet Plum; Global Goddess Moroccan Mystique Lip Veil in Marrakech
I'm quite pleased with how well this turned out, to be honest, because I was worried about the darker pink shadow - pink isn't the best color for me (since my skin is pretty naturally pinkish to start with), plus it has these flecks of silver glitter (I hate glitter with the fire of a thousand suns!) which I was afraid would get everywhere, but they didn't! The lips are a little more plum-wine-y than they look here (a bit more brown, maybe?) but overall it was a good intro-to-fall-in-DC look, I think.
Now, in totally unrelated but really adorable news, my two Siamese cats have trained *themselves* to use the toilet! It's quite amazing, really, and they've been doing it for a few months but I've never been quick enough with my camera... until today! So, behold: Empress the amazing self-toilet-trained cat!
She hasn't learned to wipe yet, but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time! She even sniffs around to make sure she hasn't left a mess, which is certainly more than you can say for some *human* toilet-users!
Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and hopefully I will have real internet access soon (damn you Verizon!).
Another tragically short post - I'm piggybacking the neighbor's wi-fi, because a huge oak tree fell in our front yard late Sunday night and took out our telephone and internet lines! It's been more than three days without internet and I'm going crazy! We went to dinner at a family friend's house, and I had about ten minutes after my shower to do something with my face, so I decided to keep it super simple! The only really exciting part of this look is the blue eyeliner (which is one of the things I exchanged for when I returned my face & lip primer potions from UD). The lighting is slightly wonky as usual, although I really have no idea how I managed to get two *completely* different types of lighting from one photo session in the same place at the same time. (Seriously, there's like three photos with *cool* tones despite *warm* lighting. Le sigh.)
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base; Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; MAC Oil-Control Lotion (t-zone only)
Face: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain (under eyes only); Bare Minerals Mineral Veil (all over); Bare Minerals foundation in Fair (all over and as concealer); Mineral Veil again (as finishing powder)
Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash shadows in Nude (all over lid) and Woodrose (lightly at the crease)
Liner: Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in Binge (blue), applied with a MAC 209 brush; I extended the line into the inner corners of the eye, and drew a line beyond the outer ends of my eyes as well
Lashes: MAC Plushlash mascara (black)
Cheeks: BE blush in Lovely
Lips: Laura Mercier sheer lipstick in Bare Lips; Urban Decay Ultraglide gloss in Video
I quite liked this look, actually, and it held up very well throughout the evening (I'm still wearing it as I type, some 8 hours later). It's been kind of nice being internet-less for a while, because I am super way more productive that way (fewer distractions!) but I've missed Sugar and a few other awesome sites, so here's hoping the Verizon people show up tomorrow as promised and fix my bloody internet already! (Is it weird that I haven't missed the phone at all??) In the meantime, thanks for reading, and hopefully I'll be back soon!
This has been going around, and it's a fantastic procrastinatory activity... so I'm totally there! :-p
SKINCARE
1. How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice - morning and night. More if I'm doing exercise or sweating heavily, though.
2. What skin type do you have?
Oily. Like, OPEC-member oily. It's improving, though.
3. What is your current facial wash?
I'm partial to MAC Green Gel Cleanser, and mark (by Avon) That's Deep cleanser.
4. Do you exfoliate?
Yup - normally twice a week.
5. What brand do you use?
Exfoliating grains from mark - I have both kinds, and I alternate them.
6. Is it really important to moisturize?
Absolutely.
7. How often do you moisturize your face?
Twice - morning and night. (Or really, whenever I wash my face - so more if I'm exercising or whatever.)
8. What moisturizer do you use?
For day: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base (under makeup, and followed by MAC Oil-Control Lotion) or Simple Oil-Control Moisturizer (if I'm working out); sometimes mark For Goodness Face SPF30. For night: mark Matte Chance.
9. Do you use sunscreen?
During the day, always. It's usually in my foundation, and I have about 5 million bottles and tubes of Neutrogena, too.
10. What is your favorite skincare line?
Bobbi Brown and MAC. And Simple, which is fab for the price. Garnier Pure is awesome too, but I can't get it in the US. :-(
11. Do you give yourself regular facial treatments?
Yeah, once every week or two.
12. Do you have freckles?
Ugh, yes. Damnable Irish ancestors...
13. Do you use eye cream?
Yes - Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream for day, and some random Garnier stuff for night.
14. Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
Moderately so. It's very annoying. And I'm prone to stress-induced jawline acne, which is no fun at all.
15. Did you ever have to use Pro-active?
Nope.
16. Do you use a mask? And what do you use?
I'm rather fond of the Tea Tree and Blue Corn masks from the Body Shop, as well as the mark Shine Fighter mask.
17. Which celebrity do you think has good skin even without makeup?
Anne Hathaway.
18. One skincare routine that is a MUST for you?
Makeup removal and cleansing. Every night.
19. Why do you think we should take care of our skin?
It's the largest organ, and it holds everything else in! Plus, if you're literally uncomfortable in your own skin, it isn't going to be so nice!
MAKE-UP
1. What foundation do you use?
At the moment, MAC Studio Moisture Tint, most of the time. And MAC Studio Sculpt the rest of the time.
2. How about concealer?
MAC Studio Sculpt.
3. Do you know your undertone color?
PINK! It's practically my overtone color too. In MUFE foundations I'm just between 107 Pink and 110 Pink Porcelain. How sick is that?
4. What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I wish I could apply them properly! I can't, so I mostly stay away, but I think some people are really good at them and I envy them greatly.
5. Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes, and this is probably the ONLY expiration date guideline I follow! :-p This is mainly because my mascara is pretty used up and gross by the end of three or four months anyway, so it's not really any heartbreak to toss the stuff.
6. What brand of mascara do you use?
My everyday for the past two years has been MAC Plushlash, but lately I'm absolutely loving BE BuxomLash and Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!
7. Sephora, drugstore or departmental store?
Sephora, department stores, and MAC stores and counters everywhere (I've shopped MAC in three countries and counting!)
8. Do you use MAC?
That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?
9. What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
Brushes, brushes, more brushes, the occasional powder puff, and even less occasionally a finger or two.
10. Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Religiously.
11. For the face?
Not always, unless we're counting the Face Base and oil-control weapons.
12. What is your favorite highlight powder?
I'm not a huge highlight type, but I quite like the lighter portions of my Mineralise SkinFinish powders for that job.
13. Contour?
MAC Sculpt & Shape.
14. What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
MAC Era. The best nude/neutral shade EVER.
15. Do you line your eyes?
Is the Pope a Catholic?
16. Tightline?
About half to three-quarters of the time, I'd say.
17. Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
Gel, and pencil. Liquid liner is one of the few makeup techniques that escapes me utterly and completely!
18. How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Never.
19. What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
They're SO PRETTY! But... I still remember that incident in 6th grade when one of the cats spilled my sister's loose shimmer powder shadow ALL OVER our bedroom.
There were sparkles for years!
20. Do you use mineral makeup?
Yes.
21. What is your favorite lipstick?
MAC Marquise D' and What a Do!
22. How about lipgloss?
Urban Decay Ultraglide in Video.
23. What blush do you use?
MAC powder blush.
24. Type or brand or name?
Pink Swoon or Peaches, depending on my color scheme for the day.
25. Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
No, although I am deadly tempted to if I can find Port Red anywhere...
26. Do you like drugstore makeup?
Not generally. I do like Revlon lipsticks, though, particularly the new matte collection!
27. Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
Do you know how hard I had to resist signing up for those Bobbi Brown makeup courses this summer?
28. Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Not if I'm awake.
29. Name a makeup crime that you hate?
Wrong color foundation, too much bronzer, badly-applied false lashes, dark liner with a pale filler color, badly-done brows... the list is endless!
30. Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
All of the above! It just depends on the occasion.
31. Can you share a make up trick that you know?
Apply gel liner with a pencil - dip the pencil into the liner, and draw your line, for super-duper intense color with more lasting power. (Retail mentioned that ages ago, and I have loved it dearly ever since!)
32. Which celebrity always has great make up?
Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, America Ferrara, Penelope Cruz.
33. Can you make a "cat eye" wing?
Yes!
34. If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Concealer/blemish cover-up stick.
35. Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
Yes.
36. Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
Depends on the day, honestly.
37. In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
MAC, or Bobbi Brown.
38. Would you ever consider permanent makeup?
Permanency defeats the point of makeup. Also, tattoos are scary. (As are needles.) So no. Never ever!
39. Have you ever worked in a cosmetic line?
No, but I wouldn't say no if I got the chance!
I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you haven't done this yet, go on and fill it out!
Another very quick look - I actually did most of this (including the pictures) in a moving vehicle on the way to the family farm! So some of the pics are a teensy bit blurry, but hey - I'm catching up on my laxness, no? It's a pretty basic neutral look, as I figured I didn't need to impress/scare any relatives with crazy purple eyeshadow, and I didn't want to have to worry about it all falling on my face during a hay ride or something... So, without further ado:
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base; Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; MAC Oil Control Lotion
Face: MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC15; Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Porcelain/White (eye area only); MUFE Hi-Def finishing powder
Brows: Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar (darker shade)
Lids: Too Faced Shadow Insurance; Stila pan shadow in Wheat (all over lid), Stila pan shadow in Golightly (along upper lashline), Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Navajo (browbone)
Lashes: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara (black)
Cheeks: Bobbi Brown matte blush in Desert Rose
Lips: Stila Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain; MAC Suntints lip balm in Full of Grace (small amount, dabbed on lightly)
And bonus photos of two of my cousins (one of whom bears an uncanny resemblance to Enrique Iglesias...) learning to spin on my mom's spinning wheel:
(He's adorable, but he's not the one who looks like Enrique...)
He, however, does.
Anyway, five-minute posting time is over (yes, I've given myself a time limit for these things, or else I'd never sleep!), so I'm off again. Thanks for reading, and continue to enjoy your (long or not) weekend!
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