Holiday Nails

I'm wearing MAC Gold Veneer (which doesn't exist anymore) with Butter London Fairy Cake as the accent nail.  I think the metallic non-foil antique yellow gold of Gold Veneer with the glitter of Fairy Cake creates an interesting mix of textures.

natural light

daylight bulb

What's on your nails?  Anything special for the holidays?  How about nail art?  (I wish I had the talent/patience for nail art.  I see so many ideas on pinterest and beautylish.com.)

Christmas-y Eyes of the Day

I felt like doing some Christmas-themed eye makeup today.

BareMinerals Glimmer eyeshadow in True Gold -- inner 1/2 of lid
MAC eyeshadow in Cranberry -- outer 1/2 of lid
Darling Girl loose eyeshadow in 8 Tiny Reindeer -- over Cranberry for some sparkle
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Naked -- in the crease
MAC eyeshadow in Shroom -- highlight on the browbone
Physicians Formula Eye Booster liquid liner in Ultra Black -- upper lashline
Milani Liquif'Eye Metallic eyeliner in Gold -- inner corner
Jordana Made to Last Liquid Eyeliner Pencil  in Jade Jewel -- lower waterline
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil in Covet -- lower lashline

BareMineral Glimmer in True Gold

Darling Girl loose eyeshadow in 8 Tiny Reindeer

MAC eyeshadow in Cranberry

from left: BareMinerals True Gold, MAC Cranberry, Darling Girl 8 Tiny Reindeer, Urban Decay liner in Covet, Milani liner in Gold, Jordana liner in Jade Jewel, Physicians Formula Eye Booster liquid liner in Ultra Black

daylight bulb

I forgot to include swatches of Naked and Shroom.  Dangit.

Aren't these tiny candy cane earrings adorable?  I "borrowed" them from my mom years ago.

Winter Solstice Eotd

I thought I'd do blue and silver eyes to celebrate the first official day of winter.

Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
         NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

Eyeshadows:  Shimmery navy blue from the Josie Maran Eye Love You palette (review)

                     Jailbird (metallic silver) from the Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette

                 Mauve from the LORAC PRO palette in the crease as a transition color

           
              Cream from the LORAC PRO palette under the brow
             

Liners: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eyeliner pencil in Binge
            Milani Liquif'Eye Metallic eyeliner pencil in Silver

Mascara: Benefit They're Real

from left: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, Josie Maran navy blue, Too Faced Jailbird, LORAC Mauve, LORAC Cream, Milani Liquif'Eye in Silver, Urban Decay eyeliner in Binge

Have a wonderful Winter Solstice!

Holiday Decor

I do decorate my house a little for Christmas.

This tabletop fiberoptic tree is the only tree I put up every year.

We have a light-up fireplace insert (We've not had the chimney swept, so we have never had a real fire in the fireplace.  Besides, fire sort of scares me.  I don't like burning candles either.)

Because I don't put up a traditional looking tree, I like lit garlands.  They make the house feel cozy.

Kissing Ball (instead of mistletoe)

The candle was a gift from my husband's brother who lives in Denmark.  The wreath thingy surrounding the base of it came from my grandparents house.  The moose in the snow globe, which was a gift from my parents, is wearing a wreath.  The silver reindeer and berry tree are from Target.

This is a pre-lit garland that I wired some ornaments onto.

Would you expect anything other than a sparkly wreath on my front door?

The gargoyles are wearing their Santa hats!

A story about the fiberoptic tree:  The first Christmas my husband and I spent together (9 years ago!), my family was traveling in Europe.  I couldn't go with them because I was working in retail and of course couldn't take any time off around the holiday.  So, my husband (then boyfriend) and I spent Christmas at his house, just the two of us.  He's a guy, so he didn't have any holiday decorations, and I do like having something Christmas-y around on the actual day to make it feel more special than just a regular day.  So, I secretly brought over my little fiberoptic tree and surprised him when I whipped it out of the box and put it up.  We plugged it in and basked in its glow the rest of the day.  It's a story he still likes to tell (as in "hey remember our first Christmas together when you brought over that tree?") every time I pull it out of the box.

Do you decorate for the holidays?

More Darling Girl Eyeshadow Swatching Fun

I have more Darling Girl eyeshadows to show you today!

swatched dry

From left: Pink Nightmare, Limelight Diamond Dust, Nice F*cking Model, Farmer Ted, Crypt Keeper, Hell Hath No Fury

swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

You can see how differently they perform over a sticky base.

dry

 From left: Pink Nightmare, Limelight Diamond Dust, Nice F*cking Model

over Pixie Epoxy

dry

From left: Farmer Ted, Crypt Keeper, Hell Hath No Fury

over Pixie Epoxy

Pink Nightmare, Nice F*cking Model and Farmer Ted really transform when foiled.

The names of the Darling Girl shadows are so fun and the shadows are beautiful.

Recent Beauty Favorites

Here are a few of my latest makeup favorites:

Maybelline Full 'N Soft Mascara -- This has become my go to mascara.  I can put a thin coat on for more natural lashes, or apply a few coats for lots of volume.  It leaves the lashes soft, doesn't move or flake on me, and isn't difficult to remove.

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse -- I use this foundation much more often in the winter.  It slides off my face in the summer, but it is nice and creamy, which I find works well for my skin in the winter.  Depending on application, coverage can be sheer or almost full.

Maybelline Color Sensational Color Elixir in Blush Essence (review) -- I really like the formula and color of this gloss.  I've been wearing it almost daily because it seems to go with everything and it is so comfortable to wear.

Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette -- I have found this palette to be surprisingly versatile.  The neutrals are wonderful and very wearable for everyday, and the shimmery/sparkly colors are really fun for something more dramatic.  I will admit, the hot pink is so pigmented that it intimidates me slightly.

NARS Blush in Orgasm -- For some reason I've been reaching for this peachy-pinky gold-infused blush lots lately.  I used to wear it ALL the time (I'm on my third one).  I've forgotten how much I like it.  I think I'm going to have to break out the Super Orgasm blush (the one with the gold glitter) for Christmas and New Year's.

Orly Nail Laquer in Shine -- I have been wearing this sparkly foil polish on all ten of my nails.  I think it's an interesting silver with the extra little sparkly bits.

I'm sort of amazed how many Maybelline products I'm using (I didn't even include the Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser concealer which I love and use every day).

Thanks for visiting and have a brilliant day!

Pinky Plum Eye of the Day With Darling Girl Cosmetics

This is Darling Girl Cosmetics shadows in Tragic Romance all over the moving lid with a little on on the lower lash line and Bronze Dawn in the crease.

With flash:

With daylight bulb:

And the obligatory photos to show the sparkle:

from left: Tragic Romance, Bronze Dawn

I love Tragic Romance.

Have a gorgeous day!