It's cold and blustery outside and so I'm spending the evening inside with fairylights twinkling and candles burning whilst decorating my home with pumpkins and spooky things ready for halloween. I've started to add little halloween touches to my style and make up for this week which is getting me so excited for halloween!
For my nails, I painted them with two coats of Barry M Nail paint in matte black which gives a great, spooky and almost leather looking effect to the nails. On my ring finger I applied a coat of Essie Vanity Fairest before painting a little black cat face with Orly rage rose gold features and a red heart nose with Nails Inc St James.
On my feet I'm planning to wear my Zara embellished flats with a dark purple slouchy top and my topshop black leigh jeans for subtle halloween style. They have such a cute little face and seem perfect for halloween.
To add a vampy halloween hint to my make up, I've pulled out some purple eyeshadows to smudge under my lower lash line. My favourite is MAC nocturnelle which I wore a lot last year with spidery lashes (See the look here). For something a bit more subtle then MAC Quarry eyehadow is a pretty muted plum brown or for something really bold then MUA purple eyeshadow is a bright electric purple.
What do you think of these little halloween touches?
I love eyeshadow palettes because they work well in my make up kit, you generally get more for your money and they're great to take away with you when you travel! Here are four of my current favourite eyeshadow palettes:
Sleek Oh So Special palette*: As with all Sleek eyeshadows that I've tried, the shades are all really pigmented and the palettes are really affordable for such great quality. I own a couple of other Sleek palettes (Storm and Au Naturel palette) but this is definitely my favourite. The colour selection is beautiful, perfect to create festive make up looks and it is also great as an every day palette. I've been loving wearing this throughout autumn as it contains quite a few matte shades which go perfectly with a bold berry lip.
Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette: This was at the top of my Christmas wish list last year and a beautiful palette full of shimmery rose golds and coppery bronzes. I love using this palette when I want to go for a more girly look, you can create soft pink smokey eyes, or use the muted dusky pink and purple browns in the crease for definition. For a full review and swatches click here.
Nars And God Created the Woman palette: - Like the Sleek palette, the Nars shades are all so pigmented and long lasting on the eyes. Nars eyeshadows are so buttery in texture and all the shades in this palette are perfect for autumn. This Nars palette is great for travelling as the packaging is small and feels sturdy and the shades are so versatile and can take you easily from day to night.
Stila in the light palette: This is the newest addition to my palettes and I've just recently written a full review and swatched the palette here. This has become my current everyday palette. It's perfect for the transition into winter and has a great mixture of mattes and shimmery shades.
I turned the big 2-5 earlier this month! My birthday week was pretty crazy work-wise, but I managed to get the night off to have dinner and spend time with friends. I originally was planning on starting my night off by going to the opening of the 4-day cat cafe "Catfe" pop-up event in Chinatown - if you know me, you'll know that I am a TOTAL cat lady and one of my dreams is to go to a cat cafe in Japan - imagine my excitement when I found out there was a Kickstarter campaign to open one right here in LA! You should've seen me flip out when I found out the pop up event to promote the campaign was opening ON my birthday - it was fate. However, turns out there was a 2-hour wait for the cat cafe which would've made us later for our dinner reservation so we had to pass. My heart aches just thinking about it D':
So to pass a little time until dinner I went and got my FREE Starbucks birthday drink - a Butterbeer frappacino from their Secret Menu in Grande size, of course. Then we walked around the plaza in Little Tokyo. It's such a cute area, I love it there.
We had dinner at this great Japanese restaurant called Honda Ya. I had been there once before alone and was really impressed with the very traditional Japanese decor, the reasonable pricing and variety of the menu, and the quality of the food. Add to the fact that they have a separate area where you can take off your shoes and sit on the floor while you eat, and I knew this was where I wanted to do my birthday dinner.
One thing that I thought was pretty cool was when they brought out the green tea ice cream birthday dessert, they turned off the lights in the WHOLE restaurant (well probably not the kitchen and stuff but at least the whole front of house). I definitely wasn't expecting that. Maybe turn off the lights in the separate area we were at, but the ENTIRE restaurant? It puts the spotlight on you which is a little embarrassing but also made you feel special :)
Afterwards, we went to a nearby karaoke place and had fun singing along to Frozen tunes and songs from our high school years. If you watch the video posted below, you'll see that my sister and I get reallyyyy into our karaoke performances. "Dream On" is also our staple karaoke song although I think "Let It Go" is going to give it a run for its money.
Thus concludes my 25th birthday night! Nothing too crazy, everyone was back home before midnight. I can't tell if this means I'm getting older or just boring haha. Honestly, it was one of the best birthdays I ever had. I feel so blessed that I got to celebrate this milestone birthday in this new city that I love with my wonderfully amazing sister (seriously, check out the video, she's the bees knees) and incredibly amazing friends. Last year in NYC was incredibly lonely for me, so to see the drastic change a year later, just confirms to me how my move to LA was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Not going to lie, turning a quarter of a century is a little scary, but being surrounded by people like this, makes it a little less daunting. Looking forward to what 25 brings!
Be sure to check out my video below!!
Caution for those with sensitive ears, there IS karaoke! :D
I recently came across The Nerdy Girlie's 5 Fandom Friday link up and couldn't wait to jump in on the action so BOOM here I am! This week's topic: My Must See List of Halloween Movies. Of course, my family and I are more TV-oriented people, so instead of movies, I'm going to be listing my Top 5 Must See Halloween TV Episodes! Here we go!
1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Halloween" and "Fear Itself"
While I'm a little more biased towards "Halloween" (and most of Season 2 in general), both episodes deserve recognition as the epitome of a Halloween episode done right!
2. Community "Epidemiology"
They had me within the first 10 seconds with George Takei and ABBA. Before the opening theme even played, I knew this was going to be pure genius - and it was.
3. Angel "Life of the Party"
An overall hilarious episode that I only wish Cordy was still around for - my favorite shenanigan? Hands down, drunk Fred and Wes. Too cute.
4. How I Met Your Mother "Slutty Pumpkin"
Such an iconic episode for the series.
5. Friends "The One With the Halloween Party"
Because my family has to watch a Friends episode for every special occasion. Plus, Joey dressed as Chandler, Chandler in a pink bunny costume, and Ross as "Spud-nik."
Honorable Mention: Supernatural "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester"
Now I really want to go and watch all of these...xD
Autumn is the time of year for wearing berry, vampy nails. Essie Angora Cardi is a great choice if you want something still autumnal but a little bit softer. The dusky mauve colour is really pretty for autumn, I've paired this with a cosy grey sweater (and a mug of hot cinnamon tea!) for a pretty, homely feel.
Essie Angora Cardi has a creamy, non streaky formula that lasts a good 3-4 days on my nails without chipping and as with all essie polishes, the brush makes application so easy with just three swipes up the nail. I have my eye on Essie's in stitches next, which is a dusky dark pink that looks like a similar formulation to Angora Cardi and again would be perfect for autumn.
What do you think of Essie Angora Cardi? (The mug is from Anthropologie last Christmas, I think it was limited edition but this one is similar!) -Edit, the mug is back again this year here!
Whoo!! I haven't done an Ipsy Unboxing/Unbagging video in a while!! I've been stalking my bag via tracking code really hoping I'd get it early this month, but it came late! :( Still wanted to do an unboxing video though so this was filmed, edited, and uploaded all in one day! Phew! Go me! That's something else I haven't done in a while! Hence also why I am wearing minimal makeup and my hair is a nightmare in this video >.<
This is probably my favorite bag (the actual bag itself) that I've received thus far. What I particularly love about this bag is quite simple. I love it's color (this teal is probably my favorite color at the moment) and the chic quilted pattern. I love the Ipsy bags and save all of them using them to store things like pencils to chargers to, of course, makeup. When Ipsy first started, I remember thinking the bags were so tacky and cheap, but now I look forward to seeing what kind of bag I will get almost as much as what products are inside of it. I've really been impressed with the last few bags as they've all been so different and unique and nicely made.
INSIDE THE BAG
"Deeply in Mauve" Lipstick by noyah
Really liked the noyah lip balm I had received previously so I was very happy to see this lipstick in it's oh so adorable mini packaging! The shade is perfect for fall and I love the creamy formula. Knowing that it's all-natural, synthetics-free, and never tested on animals makes it even better! Use FALLinLOVE at noyah.com to get 15% OFF + a FREE lip balm.
Mango Mandarin Hand Cream by Figs & Rouge
This pure and natural UK made hand cream smells great and feels wonderful! It also has the cutest colorful packaging!
Purifying Exfoliant by Épicé International
Can't say much about it at first glance without trying it, but SUPER RANDOM - this fancy-sounding product was made in my definitely-not-fancy-at-all small hometown. When I saw that I was like 'WUT?'
TATTOOED Waterproof Eyeliner by Skone Cosmetics
I can already tell I'm going to get a lot of use out of this. I don't have a waterproof eyeliner or one with a felt tip at the moment so I already like that about it. Also, I swatched it and not only does it not smudge, it has MAJOR staying power. Definitely going to have to break out the makeup remover to get this stuff off.
"XX" Nail Lacquer by Cirque Colors
Not a fan of glitter polish since they are a PAIN to take off, but this one is indeed very pretty and festive. If a special occasion arises where festive polish is needed, I'm ready.
I've wanted the Stila in the light palette for the longest time and after seeing so many positive reviews of this palette I decided to invest. The packaging, although just made from cardboard has a pretty rose embellishment on the front and holds 10 eyeshadows, 4 matte finishes and 6 shimmery. The matte colours are great for blending, I especially love to use the shade 'Bliss' in the crease and to blend out a smoky eye.
All of the shades in the Stila in the light palette are well pigmented, long lasting and easy to blend. Theres a small amount of fall out in some of the shimmery shades but I find they are best applied with a flat shader eyeshadow brush and then it isn't too much of a problem.
The only downside for me to this palette is the eyeliner that comes with it. I've read reviews that it doesn't twist up properly and so had my fingers crossed when testing mine but unfortunately mine didn't twist up or down easily either!
I love every single eyeshadow in the Stila in the light palette, especially 'Kitten' and 'Bubbly' for everyday wear. I know I'll get a lot of use out of this natural palette and it will be great to take away with me for creating day to night looks. It really is a beautiful palette. Have you tried Stila in the light palette?
