Valentine's Day Goodies

Aloha! 

This past Valentine's Day, I was surprised with Valentine's goodies from my little Valentine, my little 17 month old nephew. AHHHH. He's so freakin cute! Of course, him being 17 months old meant his mama making the Valentine's goodies. Nonetheless, it is such a sweet gesture. Growing older and having kids around makes holidays a lot more fun.

Here's what I got:

 A cute little tin pail filled with chocolate delights, bath salts, a strawberry kit, and a Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick - my first Rimmel lipstick!

Here are multiple shots of the lipstick. Sorry, I was a bit too excited and had to take snapshots of this beauty in all kinds of angles! I LOVE IT. I'm not so much of a bold lip-wearer because I love bold striking eyes. I'm very much into the "Your Lips But Better" color. This color is definitely it!

Swatch

Definitely my new FAVORITE lip color right now. I am so happy my best friend knows me so well. She actually bought this for herself and when she tried it on, she knew she had to buy one for me. She drove to two different CVS'es to find it. THANK YOU! It's the perfect nude pink that I love. Before this, I was in love with the Wet n Wild lip color "Bare It All" (902C). That love came and went real quick. At first, I thought it was a nude pink then I saw (in better light) that it's actually a nude peach. Peach does not compliment my skin tone at all. It makes me look like I have orange lips. I still love my Wet n Wild lipstick. I wear it beneath my L'Oreal Infallible lipstick in "Intensely Mauve." To read more about my obsession with lipsticks and my current collection, click here. Wet n Wild lipsticks have great long wear which aids in keeping my lip color last for hours :] The only downside of the Rimmel lipstick is that it wears off too quickly. Boo. 

I hope you enjoyed this post about my Valentine's Day goodies. I hope your Valentine's Day was a lovely one.

<3 <3 <3

Nails of the Week: Baby Shower - It's A Girl!

Aloha there!

I attended a baby shower for one of my graduate school friends. She's having a baby girl!

Here were my nails for her baby shower:

 I was not sure if my friend with a pink color scheme or purple so I did both!!

Hope you like them :]

<3<3<3

Nails of the Week: Valentine's Day and Nail Salon TRAUMA

Aloha!

This is a late post, but not too late. I'm still figuring out my personal life stuff which has definitely slowed my idea train and writing.  Thankfully, this post is coming only a few days late. Forgive me? :)

These are my nails for the week of Valentine's Day. I call it the "You Make My Heart Race" nails because it resembles the hospital heart monitor.

The picture on the right is my muse. I saw that photo on Pinterest in 2013 and I just had to mimic it for Valentine's Day! The picture on the top left is my recreation in 2013 and the bottom is from this past Valentine's Day. 

It's definitely improved from last year if I don't say so myself?

OH! And please excuse this year's grown out nails. I got my nails done the last Monday of January. My FIRST time getting my nails professionally done. I know, I know, late bloomer, but I absolutely LOVE doing my own nails because it's therapeutic, fun and if I ever get bored of the color or design, I can change it!  

I decided to get gel. I must admit I do love the sturdiness of the gel nail and the nonstop shine it gives. The color I chose was a deep gray with purple flecks that you can't see in the picture. Although I loved the result of the gel, I did get bored of it! The picture above is my third week of having gel nails.

OH OH! My first experience of getting my nails done? TRAUMATIZED! The woman cut my finger right above my cuticle on my left middle finger. I was so scurrrrred. I feared infection. I've heard stories!! Evermore reason for me to never get my nails done...but you know what? I am going to give the nail salons the benefit of the doubt. This definitely won't be a regular thing at all.  The next occasion for me to get my nails done is in April when I go to the Philippines. It gets SO hot that nail polish tends to melt. Hopefully the gel will be able to withstand the heat.

Alright, enough of the babbling.

I hope your Valentine's Day was special with or without a significant other

<3 <3 <3

ItsJudyTime and ThatsHeart Palettes

Aloha!

This post is SOOOO WAAAAY overdue. SO SORRY!

YouTube beauty sensations Judy from ItsJudyTime and Heart from ThatsHeart each launched their very own makeup palette through BH Cosmetics.

I never thought I would do this, but I stood in line for 2 hours to meet Judy and Heart. I NEVER thought I would stand in line for anyone that was not Beyonce or Alicia Keys or anyone of that caliber. But hey! Never say "never"!

DEDICATION
BH Cosmetics had the launch party on December 7 in Hollywood from 1 - 4pm. That same day was the baby shower for one of my most dearest, best friends. Her baby shower was in Commerce from 12-4. For those of you not familiar with Southern California, those two cities are quite a ways from each other. The baby shower ended roughly around 3:20-3:30. A girlfriend of mine and I bolted to my car. I drove to Hollywood. We got there at 4pm on the dot. The line was still long and wrapped around the corner of the block. It was freezing. My friend was miserable, but a trooper (THANK YOU!!!!). 

To pass time, she went to Urban Outfitters down the street. She left me in line for about 45 minutes. It was freeeeeeezing, holy cow. When she came back, we had about another 30 - 40 minutes to wait. We conversed, but the weather was so dang cold, we ended up just standing there shivering.

Once we were inside the building, I grew really excited. Heart stood at one corner by the window in front of a backdrop for photos. She was taking photos with fans individually or in small groups and would chat with them for a little. Sadly, by the time I even entered the BH Cosmetics venue, Heart was ready to go home. To expedite the meet and greet, Heart walked through the line to greet us and take photos with our cell phones. She is really sweet and so beautiful in person. There was not too much conversation between us as she had to keep the line moving. Heart is definitely one of my favorites and it was such a fan girl moment to meet her! I also snapped a photo with her main squeeze Arnold. He is super super nice too! AH! I love when people appear nice and are ACTUALLY nice. Refreshing

After my time with Heart, fans were directed into this other room where I saw Judy and Benji on stage. Just my luck, by the time I get in that room, Judy is also tired. She's pregnant with twins so I totally understand!! Benji made an announcement on the mic saying that Judy is tired, she's been at the event since 11 and that her back is hurting. Apparently, Judy had a mini meltdown :( She did not look happy and neither did Benji. They were just both so exhausted, but sticking through to appease the fans. Total troopers! After my group shot with Judy and Benji (and random stangers, haha), I took a picture with Benji's mentee Chris and Judy's friend, Jhovelle.

Originally, fans were able to go up to the stage and take personal photos with Judy and Benji and chat for a little bit. By the time I got there, Judy had just had her meltdown. Instead of individual photos, they asked fans to huddle into groups of ten (whether or not you knew one another) to take a photo with Benji. I was a little bummed, but I was still very excited to have seen them in person. I was on the floor by Judy's foot, sitting next to Benji. Major fan girl moment. HEHE

Below are pictures of the palette.

Check them out:
www.youtube.com/ItsJudyTime
www.youtube.com/ThatsHeart

<3<3<3

Cotton Candy Eyes: Unfinished

Aloha!

I am so sorry it's been quite some time since I have blogged. It was a myriad of things: personal life stuff, me not having a completely functioning computer, and my lack of inspiration due to personal life stuff.

I'm back and will try to get back into the swing of things!

If you're just finding this entry, I wanted to make clear that I am NOT a makeup artist. I am nowhere near it. I simply have a love for makeup and enjoy practicing putting it on and trying new things.

Last November, I bought this Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box on the Ulta website for $10. I thought it was quite a steal for an Urban Decay shadow palette. Then I found out it came out years ago. Whomp whomp. Haha. Regardless of when it came out, this is my first UD palette. and I am ridiculously excited to play around with it.

 In person, the colors are a lot more vibrant. I was a actually a little nervous when this shadow box arrived. I opened it up and thought, "Will I even know how to use?" "Will I even be able to make it work?" 

One Sunday afternoon, I was home and bored. I had no plans. I usually do not have plans on a Sunday anyway. It is usually my personal day of rest for my body and a break from product for my face. That Sunday, I decided to go ahead and play with the palette. 

This is what I came up with:

 I call it COTTON CANDY!

What I used:
Lid: Scratch
Crease: Light wash of Fishnet
Outter V: Ransom and Peace combined

I forgot to take a picture with the liner...OOPS! HAHA

Again, I'm no expert. I am definitely learning and honing my skills. I really wish my lighting did my eyes some justice. It was much more vibrant in person.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post and I do hope you continue on my makeup journey with me.

Peace, love and happiness

<3<3<3