My Product Picks for 2011

The year brought me lots of great things. Especially discovering new beauty items, even if I had to travel half way around the world for it. Below are my picks for top beauty products of 2011....Plus trips and experiences and discoveries of new products that I know will be a staple not only in 2012 but for a long time to come!

Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year! 

Hello 2012! I look forward to many great things this coming year!

Check back next year on my blog for beauty goodies to come!

xoxo,

Lynn

My first Birchbox- April 2011

Many orders of Glamour Doll Eyes

Crown Brush sets

MAC Wonder Woman collection

New lip product from Bare Escentuals

Awesome Buxom Primers

Inglot 5 Paletter I got in IMATS Sydney 

Of course, the most sought after product this year: Revlon Lip Butters:)

Happy New Year!

Glitter & Gold Nail of the Day

Can't believe 2011 is almost over! This will be my last nail post of the year. I've been craving anything gold & sparkly lately. So, while I was at Ulta, I was on the hunt for that perfect gold color- nothing that is heavy glitter but sparkly enough. I found the perfect combo with Butter London's West End Wonderland and The Old Bill. 

The Old Bill is a nice satin, rose gold tone nail lacquer. West End Wonderland has a gold, red glitter running through it. The glitter isn't chunky- very fine, the kind of glitter finish that I like. And if you look up close, you can really see the red specks of red glitter. These two together make a great nail combo- perfect for the New Year!

I decided to sneak in a simple eye look I did today while I briefly went to work. I finally used my duo shadow from Hard Candy called Rush Hour. One side has a peach tone and the other side has a dark shimmer brown. When applied to the eye, it isn't actually that shimmery. I added the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette color in Blackout to give more definition on the outer crease/lash line. I skipped the mascara...(would be lazy removing any trace of it later). I finished the look using the Bare Minerals READY SPF 15 Touch Up Veil in Translucent and lips with Revlon Color Burst Lip Balm in Pink Truffle.

Wow 2012 is almost here! I'm excited are you??? I will be doing my last post for 2011 tomorrow...and ending the year the my beauty picks for 2011!!!!

What made your list this year?


Where to buy info:
Nail lacquers can be purchased here: Butter London or Ulta or Nordstrom
Each nail lacquers retail for $18 US each. I almost forgot to mention, I got both the Butter London polish at Nordstrom the day after Christmas because there was a special going on that day- Buy 2 get 1 free:) The third free one that I got was HRH- didn't include on this post because they were out of stock so it's being shipped to me:)

Hard Candy eyeshadow duo can be purchased at Walmart That's where I bought mine, not sure where else it's available.

Bare Minerals READY Touch Up Mineral Veil in Translucent is available at Sephora online & in-store. You can also pick it up at Bare Escentuals on-line or at a boutique near you...

Revlon Color Burst Lip Balm in Pink Truffle can be purchased at your nearest drugstore: CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Target...These are getting harder to find so you may have to check out several stores in your area.

ok....will end it here...I hauled some new drug store beauty stuff earlier today and will post those tomorrow!

Hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

xoxo,
Lynn

Face of Australia's Winter Bronze Nail

Today's featured nail polish hails from down under. I was inspired to paint my nails a bronze shade while I was putting up the Christmas tree. There was a ball ornament with shimmery tones to it that made me think of this nail polish. I haven't posted (yet) my beauty haul when I went to Australia- I will do soon!

I got this nail lacquer from Target in Australia and at the time since it was spring (late September), the metallics were coming out for the upcoming summer season. This nail lacquer is from an Australian brand called Face of Australia and the shade Bronze is from their Molten Metallics collection. I forgot how much this retails for - sorry!

I love this bronze shade which has a hint of rosy/peach tone that runs through it. It's a pretty metallic bronze, not the usual dark brown shade that I think of when I hear the color bronze. I used Essie's Fill the Gap as base coat, 2 coats of Bronze nail lacquer and CND Air Dry Top Coat.

Face of Australia in Bronze, with flash

2 coats, natural light

P.S. Please excuse the bad nail job....I was inspired late at night to paint my nails and this is how it turned out.

Has anyone tried Face of Australia nail polishes? Any suggestions?

Till next time,
L

My Holiday Wishlist

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I just feel happy to have my loved ones with me. One of my favorite things to do is cook. Food plays a big role in our home during the Christmas holidays. I truly enjoy baking a whole lot for my family. Anyway, I'm trying to say that I'll be posting a variety of things on my blog that is non-beauty related and more holiday...ish... Of course, beauty hauling will be posted!

Can you believe Christmas is only a week away? 

Every year I make my Christmas list. This year it's no different - except that I have a new list! Ha!

Since I bought most of what I'd like for Christmas this past July during Nordstrom's Anniversary sale, I don't really have a lot on my wishlist. 

So, here we go....

TOMS Shoes....Love this color combo. The best part: with every pair purchased, TOMS will give a  pair to a child in need. I thought that's neat...It's a great to give back to a child. TOMS product can be purchased online. Or can be found at your local Nordstrom. This pair retails for $54 and it's the Classic Pink Pop Herringbone style.

Michael Kors Charlton Crossbody Bag
Michael Kors is one of my favorite designers from sunglasses to wallets to clothes to handbags.  This is such a cute bag- perfect for everyday doing light errands so you don't have to carry the usual large handbags. And I love the bright pop pink of color. This bag can be purchased at Nordstrom online or in-store and comes in a variety of colors.

Another Michael Kors bag made it to my wishlist. I actually spotted these in person at  Macy's. The bag that I saw was a medium size (same as these). This is the Michael Kors Jet Set - Medium Travel Tote Bag.  The bag retails for $248. It's perfect for travel as  you can fit basic essentials in the bag. This style comes in a large size as well. I prefer the medium size because it's perfect for an everyday work bag. 

Kiehls Creme de Corp Soy Milk  & Honey Whipped Body Butter-creamy and perfect for winter dry skin. I have used the regular Creme de Corp before and absolutely love it! This particular one comes in different sizes and retails between $35 to $47. Kiehls products can be purchased online or in-store.

Origins Gloomaway Grapefruit Body Souffle. I haven't actually used this particular body souffle from Origins and I'm curious to try. I like the regular body souffle so I'm hoping this one will be a hit as well. This retails for $28. Origins products can be purchased on-line or in-store.

Wow that's it! That's all on my wish list...Fairly short but simple. Or expensive:) Ha!

Hope everyone is having a great week. I'm off to shop for some gifts today.

What's on your wishlist? 

Till next time!

Nail of the Day: Chanel Storm

I realized I haven't posted a nail post in a while. I got this Chanel nail lacquer a while back. While I was going through my nail stash, I found this lodged at the very back of my nail drawer. And what perfect timing. I love to wear dark polish during Fall/Winter season. This is a beautiful color. I really love to wear a variation of purple year round. I didn't want to do this post at first because I'm afraid this nail lacquer is not available online or in-stores. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is a limited edition shade. 

Nevertheless, this is a beautiful blackened purple shade. There is a hint of deep purple/burgundy shade within the darkness of the black. With flash you can clearly see the purple with pink shimmers. In natural light, it comes off dark but when you look closely, it gives a hint of color. 

Above: with Flash

In natural light

At the time of purchase, this retailed for $23 and I purchased it at Chanel online. Although this shade is no longer available, there are plenty more to choose from on Chanel's website.

Till next time!

xoxo, Lynn

P.S. Next post will be my nail polish picks for Fall/Holiday/Winter. Stay tuned!