NOTD: Nude Shimmer

This is actually my "Nail of the Week", as I've been wearing it since Tuesday (Well the shimmer came Friday, but you get the idea).
It is a combination of Wet 'n' Wild Private Viewing and Pure Ice Nasty Girl; I love it!

I picked up Private Viewing (left) after Maquilagem Masstige gave it such a good review.  It looked like my perfect "mannequin hand" shade, so I decided I had to have it.  Wouldn't you know, it matches my skin almost perfectly!  Normally I hate nude polishes but this one was a pleasant surprise.  Anyway, Maquilagem Masstige was right about the lasting power- I'm going on 6 days of wear, and no chips, just slight tip wear.  You can see in these pictures how great it still looks.

I added the Pure Ice in Nasty Girl on Friday.  Nasty Girl is a light, super sheer pink shimmer.  It gives off hardly any color, mainly just shimmer, which I love.  It's a great topper to my favorite nail polishes.  I had the idea on Friday to add it to my manicure of Private Viewing.

The result-

It makes the nude polish more exciting for me.  (PS: see how even after 6 days there are no chips?  And I'm not super cautious when it comes to maintaining my manicures, either.)

Anyway, both of these cost $1.99- Pure Ice is sold at Walmart only (I think?).

Thanks for reading!

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EOTD: Teal and Gold

Hey everyone!  Happy almost Memorial Day.  I have to work all day tomorrow so it doesn't really feel like a holiday weekend to me, but that's ok!  It's finally feeling like summer here in the midwest, and I'm so excited to finally be bringing out more fun colors.  My "colors of the summer" are definitely going to be blues and turquoises, which is strange for me.  I've always, always been a true purple eyeshadow fan. I'm glad to finally be breaking out of my normal routine, though!

Anyway, this is a look I did a few days ago.  It started my current obsession: lining my lower waterline!  I did this when I first started using makeup, and then I stopped maybe 2-3 years ago because I thought I couldn't pull it off/it made my eyes look funny.  Well, the last week or so I've just fallen in love with it all over again.  :)

What I Used:

-Almay Bright Eyes eye base (all over lid, browbone, and underneath eye)

-MAC Dazzlelight eyeshadow (all over lid and browbone)

-NYC Waterproof eyeliner in Teal (upper lashline)

-Clinique Quickliner for eyes in Roast Coffee (lower waterline)

-ELF Eyeliner/Eyeshadow stick in Pearl/Glow (I used the Glow part- the eyeshadow- to highlight just under my eyebrows, the inner corners of my eyes, and underneath my lower lash line)

-Rimmel Glam Eyes mascara in Black

I love the pop of teal.  I used to think teal didn't look good with my eye color, but I think this deepened shade brings out more of the blue in them.

Oh, and before I go, I have a question.  :)  

What is your "color" for the summer?

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Tag! Would You Rather?

The sweet Lovely Moon tagged me for this game of "Would You Rather".  :)  Normally I'm not one to actually fill these out, but I'm currently blanking on post ideas and I love reading these on other blogs.  Thanks for bearing with me while I'm in-between posts!

The Rules:

1) Copy this picture and put it into your own post

2) Answer all the questions

3) Tag as many people as you like

4) Tell them that you've tagged them

5) See what they answered!

Be extremely beautiful or extremely intelligent?

Extremely intelligent

Go without brushing your teeth for a year or go without washing your hair for a year?

Washing my hair- I can go a night without brushing my teeth, but much more than that and they just feel too yucky.  Although my hair would feel pretty darn gross too without being washed for several days!

Be Rich or Famous?

Rich.  I would hate the publicity that celebrities get.  I used to think it looked great, but now not so much.

Have an amazing shoe collection or an amazing makeup collection?

Makeup.  I love shoes, don't get me wrong, but I don't obsess over them quite as much as I do makeup.

Be able to sing or be able to dance?

Dance, I think.  My sister is the singer in my family, so I'll let her shine.

Be stranded on a Desert Island or in the Desert?

The desert- the thought of an island seems TOO isolated.

Have a Computer or a TV?

Computer

Wear spots or stripes for the rest of your life?

Stripes (I hope they're navy blue and white; I love nautical stuff!)

Drink out of a Teacup or a Mug?

Teacup, although I never drink out of either. :)

Receive a bunch of Flowers or a box of chocolates?

Flowers.  I love my chocolate but flowers are just so gorgeous.  And thoughtful.

Have a hug or a Kiss from someone you love?

Hug. 

Wear Converse or Stilettos?

I never wear either, but stilettos?  I don't know, I think high heels make me feel so feminine!

Meet Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson?

Johnny Depp

Be a Fairy or a Mermaid?

Fairy!

A Coffee or a Cup of Tea?

Tea

Pink nails or Blue nails?

Blue- hopefully it's sky blue!  I'm in love with that nail shade ATM, although I've yet to buy one.

Live somewhere sunny or somwhere cold?

Sunny.  I miss the California sun.

Have an amazing house or an amazing car?

Amazing house.

Be kind or funny?

Kind.  Being funny can only get you so far.

Eat Sweets or Cake?

Sweets.  I have a ginormous sweet tooth.

Hold a Tarantula or a Snake?

Snake.

Wear a neclace or a ring?

Necklace.

Laugh or Smile?

Laugh.

Be hated or be a hater?

Be hated.  Although hate is such a strong word.

Wear Pearls or Beads?

Beads.

If you had to choose, lose your sight or your hearing?

Hearing.

Have lots of money or lots of friends?

Lots of friends.  

Love or be loved?

I don't know; I think you need one to have the other.

I tag:

everyone who wants to participate :)

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What are some of the Sweetest Things your spouse/SO has said to you lately?

This is a little off topic but I was thinking about this today.  Or, I guess thinking about what my husband said to me. I needed to borrow his SUV yesterday to pick up a bike for one of my kids.  My car doesn't have much room.  He reluctantly let me borrow it and he took my car to work.  He came home from work last night.  He said "it was kind of refreshing driving your car to work today, would you mind if I took it tomorrow?"  I was a little shocked by the request since he was reluctant to trade for the day in the first place.  (Also he has a fairly new suv with all the bells and whistles and my car is old and has no bells and whistles).  I said "Why?" He didnt' want to answer me at first so I just told him "I don't care go ahead".  He sat there for a minute and said "I liked taking your car it smells like you.  I like that especially when I'm driving to work"

I was not expecting that answer but it made me happy.  So now your turn, What is the last sweet thing your spouse/significant other said to you?  This is meant to be fun and maybe even get us thinking about our partners.  And please nothing to graphic lol.  :-)

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Outfit of the Day!

Hey girls,

I wore a really simple romper the other day and it looked super cute (if I do say so myself! Hehe).

Romper- Garage
Sandals- Aldo
Earrings- local jeweller
necklace- Forever21
Sunglasses- Diane von Furstenberg

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Sheknows.com is raising money for Children's Miracle Network and you could win a prize!

I've been a member of www.Sheknows.com The main reason I initially joined was for the "points and prizes".  By reading articles on the website, following them on twitter, reading newletters you choose to sign up for, etc you get code words you can enter for points.  Save your points up and trade them in for free prizes. 

I also love entering their contests. http://www.sheknows.com/contests They have big and little prizes.  One thing I like about entering their sweeps here is that they give you the odds and you can enter as much as you want.  If you enter a certain contest 5 times it may say "you have a 5 in 834 chance of winning". 

The main reason I was inspired to write this post today was because I found out they are collecting donations for the "Children's Miracle Network"  http://www.sheknows.com/donate

The Children's Miracle Network is a network of hospitals that help children.  Places Like Children's Hospital UPMC in Pittsburgh.  When you donate you are entered into a grand prize drawing for a trip for 4 to Disney World in Orlando for 5 days.  They also have daily prizes.  You can donate as little as $1 and you get to choose the hospital you want your donation to go to.  I think this is a great cause.  There are so many families that rely on these hospitals for their children.  I donate to this cause anyway but it's an added bonus to have a chance at a great prize. 

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Free Books for Bloggers

I became a member of booksneeze.com.  I had received my first book and reviewed it.  If you read my blog you know that I'm always looking for a way to get something for free or at a bargain price.  I don't mind if I have to work for it a little bit. I started wondering, are there any other programs like booksneeze.com out there?  Completing some searches I found a few.  I'll share them with you, because, well, that's what my blog is about.  Letting you know about Good Freebies, Fun sites to visit, Sweepstakes I find, review of products that fit a budget and whatever else might save you money.

www.booksneeze.com
Christian books



Litfuse Group
 

Waterbrook Multnomah 
Christian books

Navpress
Christian books

Harper Collins First Look Program (temporarily not available)
You don't have to be a blogger to be involved in this one.  I did this one for a while and received many very good mainstream books from them.  You can choose your genres that you're interested in.  I reviewed books like:  Football Hero by Tom Green (very good even if you're not into football, i think I cried once or twice), Ever by Gail Carson Levine, Seeker #1: The Quest Begins by Erin Hunter and many others.  The message on the First look page says they are on Hiatus while they "create and even better book program"


As I find more I'll list them.  I'm also looking for main stream publishing companies that have blogger book review programs that aren't necessarily christian books.

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New Rock Band Worth Checking Out

If you're into rock music like me then I found a new band you might be interested in.  The band is called:
Hail the Villian
They have a cd coming up that you can pre-order for $11.99 on their website: Hail the Villian online store
They are touring with a few other big rock bands Like Lacuna Coil, Three Days Grace and a few others.

Their First single is: Take Back the Fear
You can listen to their music on Myspace:  http://www.myspace.com/hailthevillain
Facebook: Hail the Villain on Facebook
And their also on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/hailthevillain

CD is due out June 8th 2010.  listening to them I'm put in mind a little bit of Adema and Static X with their own element in their.  Not sure but I like it!

I was not paid or offered any compensation for this post.  I love music and incorporate into many aspects of my life. When I find music I enjoy I like to share it with people.

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$10 and $20 Vera Bradley bags (could be free bag only pay shipping) today

I love designer items but not the price.  So, I try to find them at my price.  Not always easy to do.  I'm a member of Ruelala though and they list their upcoming "boutiques" they have coming up.  Today one of them is Vera Bradley bags.  They have several Vera Bradley bags and pouches for only $10, $20 and $30.  If sign up for a free account with Ruelala you get $10 free just for signing up that can be used to buy or towards the Vera Bradley bag making them even cheaper.  Here are some they have on their Vera Bradley Boutique today:  http://www.ruelala.com/invite/abeechan

 This one is called "Vera Bradley Night Owl Shoulder bag" and is only $10 today in the Boutique.  (Sign up for the account and it's free you just pay for shipping with the $10 sign up credit they give you)

This one is "Vera Bradley Cupcakes Green Sleek Wallet" $15 in the boutique today (only $5 plus shipping with the $10 account credit)

 This one is "Vera Bradley Puccini Maggie Shoulder Bag" For $20 today in the boutique.  ($10 plus shipping after free $10 account credit)

To sign up for a free account and get $10 account credit sign up here:
http://www.ruelala.com/invite/abeechan

The boutiques are usually only open for a day or two and have limited quantities of each item so If you're interested in something you need to grab it.  Tomorrows boutiques are: Paige Premium Denim, Miraclesuit, Allrounder by Memphisto, and Curtis & Co

**so excited just got the Night Owl Shoulder bag!  With the credit I had in my account ($10 from sign up and $10 from a referral) I got the bag for free and still have 5 cents in my account)*** 

UPDATE Received my Vera Bradley Night Owl Shoulder bag today:  6/5/2010 and it is super cute!

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Skincarerx contest winner! :)

CONGRATS T0...ASHWINI!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my contest.

 I hope to hold more contests this summer 

so hopefully you will have a chance 
to win something in the future! :)

Ashwini please contact me at saritadunstan@hotmail.com 

and send me your e-mail so I can get you in contact
with the company for your $100 gift card!

Thanks everyone!

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Review: NYC Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil

For some reason I just discovered these pencils- I'm probably way behind, but I had honestly never seen them until yesterday!  The only places I know of that carry NYC in my area are Target and Walmart.  When I came across them at my Walmart, I got really excited.  :)  Urban Decay 24/7-looking eyeliners for $3.99 with a $1.00-off coupon?  Yes, please.

I got mine in Teal, which is exactly that- a darkened blue-green with just a small amount of sheen.  No shimmer.

See how smooth they look?  They perform just as smoothly, too.  The packaging looks cheaper than Urban Decay's 24/7 pencils, but that's to be expected at $3.99.  I'm not one to get hung up on that though.

I was really impressed by the staying power these had on my hand.  The left swatch is normal; the right is after letting it sit for 10 seconds and lightly rubbing my finger back and forth against it.  How did it last on my lids?

Without a base, I noticed some teal in my crease after about 1 1/2- 2 hours (Keep in mind I have pretty deep-set eyes and not particularly oily lids).  However, with a base- I tested this all day today- I found no creasing whatsoever.  The eyeliner stayed put on my upper lash line and looked just as vibrant this evening as it did this morning.  Nice!  I did only test it on my upper lash line, though- I rarely wear much eyeliner on my lower, so I'm not sure how well these would work in the waterline, either.

I did just do some reading up on MUA's reviews of this, which you can find here:

http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=77212/Waterproof_Eyeliner_Pencil_-_all/New_York_Color/Eyeliner

Most of the comments were good, and a lot of people thought it really worked well on their waterlines.  

For $3.99, I think these are a really affordable, good quality eyeliner for anyone who likes Urban Decay's 24/7, L'Oreal HiP, or Milani Liquif'eye.  They are super-smooth to apply, and they hold up to 8+ hours of wear- as long as you use a base.

Another plus:  If you can find them, they also come in a decent variety of colors for a drugstore eyeliner: Black, Dark Brown, Mink, Smoky Plum, Moody Blue, Sky High, and Teal.

Oh and one more thing- you can do like I did, and use the $1.00 off any NYC product from Allyou.com (That I posted about here).  That brings the price down to only $2.99!  You can't use more than one of these at once, but I'm sure you can print out multiple and use them at different times.  

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My Recent ELF Order- Haulage To Expect!

My next package from ELF will be a bigger one, mainly due to the 10 free mineral eyeshadows I got with my $20 purchase.  I'm very excited!  I've only ordered once online from them, but I had a great experience- they got everything right and I received it the very same day FedEx said I would.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to a few things in particular that I'm getting, so I decided I'd just fill you all in as well.  :)  This list is in order of what I'm most excited for.

Mineral eyeshadows in: Earthy, Elegant, Sweet, Socialite, Wild, Confident, Natural, Caffeinated, Royal, and Trendy.

Studio Cream Eyeliner in Midnight

Studio Eye Transformer

Nail polish in Dark Navy, Innocent, Mint Cream, Smokey Brown, and Moonlight.

Studio Powder Brush

Studio Concealer Brush (I wanted the small angled brush but they've been out of stock forever >:(! )

All Over Cover Stick in Light Beige 

Natural Radiance Blush in Shy

Tinted Moisturizer in Light Beige (I have this already and love it, so long as I use it with powder.  I've used up over half of mine and will need more soon!)

Expect some major posts to come when I get my package!  I'm excited to try these out- especially the cream eyeliner and eye transformer.  The latter looks interesting/weird to me.

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Sweet Blogger Award!

I've never been nominated for a blog award- or thought I would be, for that matter.  So imagine my surprise when I found that the lovely Maquilagem Masstige had awarded me the Sweet Blogger award!  Thank you so much girl!  I'm honored.  :)  I can honestly say that makeup and blogging have become such wonderful hobbies for me, and it's amazing to be in a community so inviting.

The Rules:

* Give this award to 10 sweet bloggers.
* Make a post about the award including the picture and mention the person who gave it to you.
* Put the award on your blog.
* Let your nominated 10 know you've awarded them by leaving a comment.

I nominate these ten deserving bloggers for this award:

-Lisa and Beth at Drugstore Divas

-Recessionista at Nouveau Cheap

-Jeweled Thumb at Jeweled Thumb

-Fern at Fern Laura

-Luna at Lovely Moon

-Heather at Eyeconic Makeup

-Jolie Laide Girl at Jolie Laide Girl

-Natalie at Miss Natty's Beauty Diary

-Stacy at Organized Beauty

-Caitlin at Chrysanthemum

:)

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Affiliate Site to help monetize your blog

I was fortunate enough to happen upon a twitter party tonight.  hosted by@savvyblogging During the twitter party I learned of a few good resources and picked up a few tips.  One of which was an affiliate program called Escalate Affiliate Network



Hop over to the site and check it out. I'm going to give it a try for a little while. If you're looking for a way to monetize your blog it may help.  I'm just signing up myself so I can't really say how much money you'll make.  I'm looking over some of the advertisers though and looks pretty good.  That's why I decided to sign up.

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L'Oreal Fairest Nude lipstick makes me swoon!!

I think I have finally found the perfect nude... ummm how many times have I said that? But, this time it's REALLY true! I picked up the L'Oreal "Fairest Nude" and oh my goodness... it's beautiful and very wearable!   I really don't have the coloring to pull off a true nude without looking like death or a wannabe "adult entertainer". This color is more of a light mauve pink than your traditional "nude" but that's what makes it so stunning in my opinion! The texture is very smooth and creamy and no weird streaking here. It glides on beautifully. The only flaw is the scent... I find it kind of gross to be honest. It's very strong. I can't really describe what it smells like but I'm not a fan. The packing of it is just ok but that's just me being picky and it doesn't really matter because the color is so lovely. I think the "L'Oreal" embedded into the actual lipstick makes it look kinda classy. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that this color is going to become a staple in my purse for a long time to come. I have nothing be wonderful things to say (except the scent)!

This lipstick was $8 (and change) and can be found anywhere where L'Oreal is sold.

LIPSTICK/SWATCH WITH FLASH 

LIPSTICK/SWATCH WITHOUT FLASH

Have you tried this yet? No? You better! :)

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