Early May 2014 Garden

Let's see what's been blooming in the garden, shall we?

Bergenia "Pink Dragonfly"

Brunnera "Jack Frost

mixed Grape Hyacinths

Violets

Tulips

Pulmonaria "Raspberry Splash"

close-up of Pulmonaria (aka Lungwort) flowers

mixed Hyacinths

mixed Daffodils (the one in the middle was feeling shy, I guess)

Hellebore (I don't remember the variety)

Hellebore (aka Lenten Rose) bloom

Ok, this hosta isn't blooming, but the water droplets look so cool.

I have an old English D (for the Detroit Tigers, of course) that my parents gave me.

Thanks for joining me on today's garden tour!

Naked Palette Tutorial (Pic Heavy)

A warm golden smoky look courtesy of the Urban Decay Naked palette!  Perfect for a night out. Or a night in.  Or a trip to the hardware store.

I had a request from the lovely Gin from Siren Makeup to do some tutorials.  So here is my attempt at one.  I hope you like it!

I started by priming my eyes with LORAC Behind the Scenes eye primer.

I used Half Baked all over the moving lid up to the socket.

I placed Buck in the crease and outer corner.  Actually, I guess it's more the socket, but I always call it the crease.

It always looks weird at this point.

I used Naked to blend out Buck, blending up towards, but not up to, the brow.

I used a pressed powder to blend out Naked under the brow.

I used Smog in the outer corner and blended it with Half Baked.

I spritzed a flat brush with E.L.F. Mist and Fix and applied Darkhorse to the upper lashline.

I used Darkhorse and Half Baked under the eyes.

I lined my lower waterline with a black liner (Tarina Tarantino's Tommy Jet Hyperliner), and added mascara (Maybelline's Full 'N Soft).

I used some concealer to sharpen the line of the outer v, and I filled in my brows.

Finished!

Shadows used:

Swatches:

from left: Half Baked, Buck, Naked, Smog, Darkhorse

Doing a tutorial was a little easier than I thought it would be, so I will definitely be trying to do more of them.  Perhaps with fewer pics though, because I'm afraid this one was too photo happy.

Have a wonderful day, and thank you for visiting!

April 2014 Favorites

This is going to sound cliché, but I can't believe the month is over.  April just kind of got away from me.  Maybe it's because I'm so busy checking every day what is new in my garden.

Favorites of the past month:

Kat Von D Chrysalis Palette -- I've been wearing this almost everyday since I got it.  The packaging!  The colors!  The quality!  Did you know Kat Von D's line is made by Sephora?

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm Stain in Rendezvous -- A shimmery somewhat sheer orange with a great balmy texture.  Plus, it leaves a light stain on the lips.

Pretty Necklace -- I have no idea what to call this piece of jewelry, so "pretty necklace" will have to suffice.  I bought it years ago, and I don't remember what the stones are (most likely cubic zirconia, but possibly a pink topaz).  It's kind of dressy and fancy with the stones the climb up the chain, but I've been wearing everyday with my casual clothes anyway.

Betsey Johnson Hopeless Romantic Bucket handbag -- I've gotten tons of compliments on this bag.  It's large enough to carry a bunch of stuff, but not so big that it's like a piece of luggage.  I do wish the shorter strap with the studs was slightly longer so it's easier to put the bow back in place after the bag has been opened.

Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Fierce Blue -- This is a great eyeliner.  It's incredibly creamy and smudgeable (is that a word?), but once it sets it's not moving.  It a very dark almost black navy blue with blue shimmer.  I wear this frequently on my lower waterline.

Here I am wearing my favorites:

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm Stain in Rendezvous, Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Fierce Blue

A non-favorite: the chilly weather.  It's been at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than average recently.

Thanks for reading!

Caturday

Time for cat pics.

Charlie spends an inordinate amount of time in the Zappos box.

Emma loves her bedtime basket.

I'm not sure how she can sleep with that giant penguin watching her.

Happy Caturday!

Warm Silver EotD

I am enjoying the Kat Von D Chrysalis palette immensely.  Today I used some of the silver colors, along with the warm dark tan and the dark (almost black) matte navy blue.

You can see a wee bit of sparkle on the outer corner.

From the Kat Von D Chrysalis palette:
       Melancholia (metallic platinum) on the inner 2/3 of the lid
       Tornay (very dark matte navy blue) on the outer 1/3 of the lid and lower lashline
       Lunar Lights (light pearly white silver) in the inner corner
       Glasswing (warm medium tan) in the crease
Tarina Tarantino Hyperliner in Tommy Jet (black) on the waterline
Fresh Supernova Mascara

from left: Melancholia, Tornay, Glasswing, Lunar Lights

I can't quite get over the awesome packaging of this palette.  Those are skulls on the wings.

Have a gorgeous day!

Throwback Thursday with Too Faced

I have decided to do a "Throwback Thursday" series.  I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the ancient cosmetics in my beauty vault.  I'm thinking it will either help me get rid of some old, unusable stuff, or simply decide to be a collector and give up on getting rid of something and just keep it for sentimental reasons and stop feeling guilty about it.  Most of the products I have that are rather old were gratis from when I worked in the cosmetics industry.

Today, we have the Too Faced Quicky Chronicles face palettes.  There were maybe ten of these released, but I only have four in my collection.

My favorite is probably "The Sweet Tarte" because of the art on the cover (plus the colors are nice).

Anyone remember these?