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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Self Defense

This is a non-makeup post.
Last night, I did something I'd been saying I wanted to do for years- took a self defense class. What a night! 2 and a half hours of learning how to get out of threatening situations, and even the chance to ask the teachers what to do in specific scenarios. I asked about what to do if someone comes up behind you when you're unlocking your car door, and the senseis (is that the plural for sensei?) jumped at the opportunity to teach me ways to inflict pain using my keys. They told me that if your keys are already in your hand, you're in great shape. An easy thing to do (as a part of several other techniques that I'm not skilled enough to describe) is to throw your keys in their face to distract them. If your keys are on a lanyard, hold onto the lanyard and your keys will come right back to you. I'm so going to buy a lanyard for my keys. I always feel a bit vulnerable when I'm getting into my car at night.

A little bit about me: I'm not a large person by any means. I stand at 5'3'' and weigh about 105 pounds. I'm a small (but feisty) thing. My independent nature means that I often venture places on my own, so it's not uncommon for me to be alone at night in an unfamiliar city. I've certainly felt apprehensive while walking around alone at night.

Last night, I learned how to do things that I still can hardly believe I'm capable of. The idea that little me can get a large man with an aggressive hold on me to the ground without breaking a sweat blows my mind. I plan to take more self defense classes, because knowing that I can potentially get myself out of a threatening situation is quite empowering. Hopefully I'll never actually have to use any of the techniques I've learned so far, but it's nice to know that they're in my bag of tricks.

I highly suggest taking at least one self defense course, so you can confidently embark on all your sparkly adventures.

Have you taken any self defense courses? Any thoughts?

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I meant to post this a while ago...Brazen glitter gel

In my last Brazen order, I received a nice surprise- a green glitter gel.

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When first applied, it looks like this:
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Then it dries and looks like this:
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I haven't played around with it much yet, but I was impressed by how well it stayed on after it dried. I rubbed my finger back and forth across the swatch, and hardly any of the glitter budged. I love that it has such great staying power, I just need to figure out some looks to try it with.

Warm Wishes- LOTD

First of all, yesterday was the 1 year old birthday of my blog! Happy birthday, dear bloggy!
Yesterday's look was full of warm, glowy goodness, inspired by the sunshine outside (finally!) and an awesome lip gloss.

All photos in natural light

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I'm sure you've already guessed that it's from Brazen. It's the La Femme lip gloss, and I'll post more comprehensive swatches in a few days.


Now for the eyes:

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I used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Wish- Aromaleigh (Inner half of lid and outer half of lower lash line)
Dormant Dream- Aromaleigh (Outer half of lid)
Buxom Insider Eyeliner in Pearl (hints of it on inner corners and lower lash line)
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara

For the record, I was throughly unimpressed by the Buxom Insider Eyeliner. It has absolutely no staying power. I applied it about three times over the course of doing my makeup, and it still disappeared by the time I took pictures. It applies beautifully, but smudges and fades quickly.

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Annnddd, an almost face shot.
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Blush: Rococo- Aromaleigh
Lips: La Femme- Brazen Cosmetics (applied sheerly)

I love the glow that I get from Rococo. It's been my favorite blush for a while. However, Super Orgasm from Nars is also rockin' my world right now (so shimmery!).

Since the Buxom eyeliner was a disappointment, do any of you have suggestions for a good white liner?

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Brazen Burlesque Swatches

In my last Brazen order, Sandi was kind enough to send me samples of a bunch of lip glosses, including Burlesque. I had been eyeing Burlesque (the name alone made me want it), but the photos on the etsy listing made me skeptical about just how wearable it would be. I'm happy to report that it is indeed quite wearable! Don't let the extreme pink of the gloss in the pot intimidate you! When it comes to lip color, my comfort zone consists of red, red, and more red. Pink usually doesn't enter the equation. I think Brazen is going to change my concept of lip color, because I'm loving playing with shades that I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. So, on to the swatches.

All photos in natural light.

As always with the Brazen Passion Pot glosses, it can be applied sheerly or opaquely. The sheer application is great for a quick wash of color.

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Sheer application:
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Opaque application:
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Rumor has it that Sandi will be introducing lip gloss in tubes (instead of pots) soon.
Do you have any glosses from Brazen? Any favorites?

I have seven more glosses to swatch for you, so stay tuned!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Brazen Cosmetics Cherry Bomb Swatches

I can't believe how much I'm loving the lip glosses from Brazen. I've NEVER been a fan of lip gloss, but these babies are rocking my world. Without further ado, I would like to present Cherry Bomb.

All photos in natural light.

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It can be applied sheerly or opaquely, which makes it quite versatile. It looks and feels nice either way.










Thursday, March 17, 2011

Sweat, Sunshine, Happiness

Is anyone else having their butt kicked by this week? I know I'm getting close to the end of my energy reserves, I'm running on Cherry Pepsi right now. Warning: I almost never drink caffeine, so I may or may not be in a strange state of mind at the moment.

No makeup today, so how about a picture of me makeup-less, sweaty, bug-bitten, and thrilled with life?
This picture is from a little more than a year ago, taken while hiking a mountain in one of my favorite places. Can anybody guess where that is? If someone gives me the right answer, I might scrounge up some sparklies to send your way.

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mister Golden Sun

The weather has me feeling lethargic today, so I decided to try to perk myself up with a sun-inspired look.

I used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Ringoffire- Aromaleigh
Swelter- Aromaleigh
Heat Wave- Aromaleigh
Spectacle- Brazen Cosmetics

Photos with flash.

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How do you perk yourself up when the dreary weather gets you down?

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I'm a little obsessed with Brazen...

Yes, it's another Brazen post. And 1 or 2 more Brazen posts are on the way.
There's something about Brazen that's simply fun.

So, I have swatches of the Cirque collection for you. The shiny box the collection came in says, "Inspired by the glamour and drama of the spectacular Circus! You can capture the death-defying beauty with the entire set of coordinating shades."
The collection comprises 5 shades: Show Off, Spectacle, Cirque, Side Show and Main Attraction.
Yes, I just said "comprises". You can take the girl out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of the girl. Fun fact: I once worked at a newspaper as a writer and copy editor.
Moving on.

Photos in natural light, swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

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Top row (L to R): Show Off, Spectacle
Second row (L to R): Cirque, Side Show
Bottom: Main Attraction

And now for the shade descriptions, courtesy of the Brazen facebook page.
Show Off: Hot pink-ish vibrant coral with mega gold sparkle.
Spectacle: Spectacle: multi-toned electric yellow with gold sparkles, hint of gold sheen and pink glitter.
Cirque: Blue/Green sparkle with tons of pearl.
Side Show: Bold shimmer purple with green duochrome sheen.
Main Attraction: Medium reddish brown with red and gold sheen.


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Show Off


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Spectacle


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Cirque


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Side Show


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Main Attraction


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Brazen really knows how to do pinks. I adore Show Off. Side Show is a very interesting shade, it's hard to capture its depth in the photos. Spectacle is a very spunky yellow. Main attraction is very pretty, it's definitely a far cry from a flat brown. The only shade I was underwhelmed by was Cirque. It just didn't apply as nicely as the other shadows. This might be because it's nearly matte. I rarely use matte shadows because I don't like the way they apply, does anybody have any suggestions for working with matte shadows?

Friday, March 11, 2011

In my thoughts

All those affected by the earthquakes, waves, mudslides, and related events are in my thoughts. Hopefully, the aftershocks and such will end soon, so that recovery can begin. My love goes out to all.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Two things:

1) I WILL find my sd card reader today. It's been hiding from me, and I have pretty pictures that I want to share with you! More specifically, my second Brazen Cosmetics order.
2) I suggest that you fly over to toofaced.com
They're having a pretty fabulous vintage sale over there. The Pixie Pin-Ups set is $15, the Glamour To Go- Fairy Edition is $10, and a bunch of other things that I'll let you check out for yourself. I picked up the Pixie Pin-Ups set, as I had been regretting not purchasing it. The concept alone has me enamored. I have a fascination with pin-up and fairies.

If you hear from my sd card reader, tell it to magically resurface!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Winged Tease

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend! This post is going to be a short one, of the look I did last night. I'm doing a weekend-long swing dance event, and this look held up nicely to about 4 hours of dancing.

Photo with flash
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I used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel Creamliner (Black)
Tease-Brazen Cosmetics
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara

I'm trying to improve my winged liner and gel/cream eyeliner skills, I think it worked out quite nicely in this case, especially considering that it was the second time I'd ever used a gel/cream eyeliner.

What's your favorite product to do a winged liner with?

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Wet n Wild Sweet As Candy Swatches

When I was in Rite Aid a few weeks ago, I picked up the Wet n Wild Sweet As Candy Color Icon trio. I bought this particular one because it seemed like a great palette for a pretty, but brainless look. Sometimes, I just don't want to have to think about colors and would just like to throw some pretty colors on and call it good. The pink in this palette is really what did it for me, though.
I can't say much on wear, because I haven't used these shadows yet. They applied nicely for the swatches.

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Swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, photos in natural light.
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The pink is so pretty! I'm quickly becoming obsessed with pinks these days.

What do you think?

Public Service Announcement:

Be careful when walking on slippery surfaces in the rain. If you're like me, you'll end up catching a few feet of air before slamming into the ground flat on your back.
Luckily, I do not have a concussion, and a doctor was able to get my spine and everything realigned with some popping, yanking, and stretching. Now I'm just significantly bruised. Monday and Tuesday I was more or less afraid to move because my back hurt so much.

Tomorrow I'll post something with pretty pictures.