A Fancy Face of the Day

So, this look isn't particularly fancy, but the makeup I used is.  No drugstore products used for this FotD.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Loveliness

I acquired the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette recently (yay for birthday presents!), and have had a couple of occasions to play with it.  I am actually still(!) sick, so I haven't been wearing much makeup at all over the past month, but I did put some on last week and came up with this look.

Birthday Face of the Day

It's my birthday today!  I am now 38 years old.  I still don't feel like a grown-up.

Surprisingly, I didn't do anything fancy with my eye makeup today.  Instead, I'm wearing some matte neutrals from the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette.  I did put on some nice pinks on my lips and cheeks that I thought looked nice with the fuchsia shirt I am wearing.

I look overly serious for my birthday.

On my eyes:
   from the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette
         --- Righteous (matte cream) all over the lid up to the brow
         --- Tyranny (matte tan) in the crease
         --- Furious (matte black) as liner on the upper lashes

   Mally Voluminous Mascara

On my cheeks:
    from the Tarte Pin Up blush palette
         --- Whimsy (matte cool pink)

On my lips:
    Sephora Lip Glitters Retractable Pencil in Pink (glittery cool pink)

from left: Urban Decay Righteous, Tyranny, Furious eyeshadows, Tarte Whimsy blush, Sephora Lip Glitters in Pink

Here's a pic to show the sparkle in the Sephora Lip Glitters lip crayon.  Pretty!

I'm not doing anything particularly interesting for my birthday.  I had a bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese for lunch, which was nice.

My husband and I celebrated my birthday on Sunday, and I will celebrate with my parents later in the month when they come to Detroit to go to the opera.

I decided to buy the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette after reading that it was pretty similar to the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (which I don't own) and it went on sale.  It's quite a nice little palette!  I'm glad I jumped on the Tarte Pin-Up blush palette when I did instead of waiting for the Sephora 20% off sale.  It is now out of stock on the Sephora website, which I figured would happen. Hopefully they will restock it because it is a really great palette.

Google knows it's my birthday.  Cool or creepy?

Have a wonderful day, and thank you for visiting!

Movie Night

My husband and I probably go to the movies once a year, so when we do go I like to, y'know, look nice and stuff.  Not as fancy as when we go to the opera, mind you, but nice.  We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which was really fun and quite good.  I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it, but we are regular watchers of pro-wrestling, so we wanted to see Batista (Dave Bautista, who played Drax the Destroyer) do some acting.  Plus, the film is based on a Marvel comic, and my husband has several of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics in his collection.

This is mostly a beauty blog, so here are the pics of my face wearing makeup:

Eyes:  From the Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette --
                    Instigator (antique metallic gold) all over the moving lid
                    Gangsta (shimmery chocolate brown) in the crease
                    Miss Sparkles (glittery black) in the outer corner and lower lashline
                    Dainty (matte cream) under the brow and in the inner corner

from left: Instigator, Gangsta, Miss Sparkles, Dainty

          Sonia Kashuk Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Ebony along the upper lashes
          Tarina Tarantino Hyperliner in Tommy Jet (black) on the lower waterline
          L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

Cheeks: MAC Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden (shimmery bronze)
            theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter (shimmering champagne)
            Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface (matte cool pink)

Lips: Cargo Plant Love Lipstick in Lindsay (creamy pink) (this is pretty ancient...)

from left: MAC Refined Golden bronzer, Mary-Lou Manizer, Tarte Dollface blush, Cargo Lindsay lipstick

I attempted to take photos of the dress (from Target last year) I was wearing, but did a fairly poor job. I'm not sure why I didn't just get my husband to take one of me...

It has some cool patterns.

Yes, this is my bosom.  Ahem.

I wore some metallic gold wedges, which I believe are also from Target.

We had a great time, and really enjoyed the film.  It was quite funny, but it also had a poignant moment where I started crying and had to get out some Kleenex.  I would totally recommend going and seeing Guardians of the Galaxy!

Okay, my hair is a little unruly.  In the summer I put some leave-in conditioner in it and just let it do it's thing.

What's the most recent film you've seen in the theater?

Look of the Day Gemstone Series: Garnet

The gemstone that inspired today's look is January's birthstone, garnet.

Garnets can be found in all colors of the rainbow.  According to the American Gem Society, the stone was named for its resemblance to a pomegranate seed (pomegranate's scientific name is Punica granatum --- so, it makes sense: granatum --> garnet).  There are six different species of garnet that differ from one another in chemical composition, but share similar physical characteristics and crystal forms.

According to Wikipedia, garnets have been in use as gemstones and abrasives since the Bronze Age (c. 3000 - 600 BC).  Crushed garnets are sometimes used to create "garnet paper", a kind of sandpaper which is primarily used for woodworking.

source: American Gem Society

Almandine garnets are most commonly used as gemstones, and they are the red color I imagine when I think of a garnet.

source gemselect.com

From the LORAC PRO Palette, I used the shadow called "Garnet" as it is the deep red color of an almandine garnet, and because it's named garnet.  ;)

I used Garnet on the outer 1/2 of the lid, crease, and lower lashline.

I used Nude on the inner 1/2 of the lid, under the brow, and in the inner corner.

I used Milani Shadow Eyez in Almond Cream on the lid as a base.

I added some of the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Glistening Garnet for a little extra color in the crease.  Yes, I also used it because it is named Glistening Garnet.

I also used L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara, Sonia Kashuk gel eyeliner in Ebony on the upper lashline, and Tarina Tarantino Hyperliner eyeliner in Tommy Jet on the lower waterline.

I kept my cheeks and lips neutral choosing Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed, Milani Color Statement Lipliner in Nude, and Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Plump Perfect Lipstick in Perfect Blossom (discontinued).

Swatches:

from left: Milani Shadow Eyez in Almond Cream, LORAC shadow in Nude, LORAC shadow in Garnet, L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Glistening Garnet

from left: Tarte blush in Exposed, Milani lipliner in Nude, Elizabeth Arden lipstick in Perfect Blossom

I think this is actually quite a wearable look.  The "Garnet" shade from the LORAC PRO Palette has enough brown in it to make it seem more neutral than it looks in the pan.  It may be my favorite color in the PRO Palette.

Thanks for checking out my garnet inspired look today!

Opal

Diamond

Citrine/Imperial Topaz

Emerald

Tanzanite

Ruby
Amethyst