Paperself Paper Eyelashes

I'm really looking forward to wearing these paper eyelashes by Paperself on my birthday this weekend, 25!!!  I have really sensitive eyes and allergies so wearing lashes tends to make me a bit nervous. Hopefully since these are paper, I'll be able to push and curl them up so that they aren't tapping against my lenses. I'll post photos if Subreen and I can get them on without destroying them!

Back to Reality With New Makeup

New York was amazing, I seriously can't get enough of that city. Even though Hurricane Irene put a slight damper on our trip, we still made the best of a stormy situation. The two days we were "stormed" in we watched several movies, had late night dance parties, ate way too much takeout, drank way too much vodka, and had some much needed bonding/relaxation time. It was so good to see Leah, Subreen and I missed her so much. Coming back to Charlotte and getting back into the swing of things was difficult. I loved having public transportation right outside my door and always having something different to do. I'm truly ready to move and I refuse to let anything get in the way of that. NYC 2012! At the moment, I have my sights set on transferring to the 5th Ave. or Soho locations. Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip:

Subway riding.

Search and Destroy in St. Marks.

Just like last year, Times Square tourist photo!

Beauty Bar in Union Square. Buy a $10 Martini and get a manicure!

Hot & sweaty in the Times Square Sephora.

Spent, but still looking fab.

Playing with light.

The sun came out on our last day.

♥

Our last day Subreen and I had a late flight so we made sure to do some serious shopping before we left. Sephora, H&M, and Inglot got the bulk of my money but I left with some awesome purchases. I got this palette from Inglot that I custom created. All the shadows including the pan came out to about $45.

The last time I was in NYC, I told myself that I was going to make a palette and I'm so happy I was able to do that in store. The pigments are fantastic! They also have US shipping now which they didn't have before so anyone interested should check it out! Another line that I love that we don't carry at our location is Illamasqua.I bought these two items:

Blush: Tweak  Lipgloss: Intense Lipgloss in Hermetic

The blush is a reddish pink (matte) and the lipgloss is a rich burgundy plum. Those two have been my staple items over the past few weeks. I'm ready for Fall so that I can wear a dark lip on a daily basis.

It's Almost Vacation Time!!!

This time next week I'll be in NYC with one of my best friends and fellow Makeup Artist Subreen Davis! Expect a post filled with makeup, clothing finds, and random night out photos. I'm even bringing my Holga to get some film photos as well. I haven't worked with film since College so I'm really looking forward to that endeavor. I'm SO excited, I haven't been to NYC since last July and that was for work! We'll be there August 26th-29th. Bring on the drinks and the abundance of good looking men ;-)

New Hair & Bright Lips

Fresh faced and feeling good.

Anyone who knows me well knows that when I have short hair, I enjoy with getting it cut, and pretty often at that. I love different variations of the pixie and mohawk. I love volume, and I love the low maintenance of it, especially in the summer. I love being able to have it messy and unruly on the top while being slick and chic on the sides. 

I do have to rave about my new favorite lipgloss- I have it in on in the photo above! While browsing through Target with my mom and sister in the cosmetics section for an absurd amount of time, I came across this lipgloss that caught my eye. I work at Sephora and I still always find myself browsing through drugstore makeup. I have a soft spot for pink lipglosses/lipsticks, I have to make myself not buy them because I have WAY too many as it is. It's Revlon's Colorburst lipgloss in Hot Pink (go figure).

Hot Pink is the first color on the left. 

This lipgloss is just. freaking. awesome. I have tried so many different lipgloss and I had this one for about three hours on busy Saturday and wasn't able to touch it up until I took my break and I still had a subtle shimmer on my lips! The Revlon Colorburst gloss is moisturizing, and the color you see in the tube is the same color payoff you'll get on your lips. Complete lip gloss love.

*The lipgloss runs at about $6.75*

Spark-tacular!

I've never been a nail savvy girl. I tend to keep it simple only really polishing my nails for special occasions, dates, etc. However, I do have an obsession with filing my nails. I will stand (hiding really) in corners of the store for minutes at a time and file my nails. I keep the Diamancel nail file in my brush bag and it beats any other file I've used. The most current animation in the store is all about nails: nail glitters, nail art pens, nails stickers, really cute stuff. I had to force myself to polish my nails the other day and I ended up using one of Sephora by OPI newest Top Coat Spark-tacular. 

I LOVELOVELOVE this polish, it's chunky and medium sized multi-colored glitter and it's amazing! It's very similar to the high end Deborah Lipmann nail polish Happy Birthday but ours is $9.50 and Deborah's is $16. The only downside is that I tend to be rough on my nails and I did three coats of Spark-tacular along with a regular top coat and just in daily activities it's started to chip at the tips of my nails. I would definitely suggest using it mostly as a top coat to prolong the wear of the glitter.

At least it looked good for a few days!

Penelope Cruz on V Magazine/Life Update

I love the styling and the makeup in this spread with Penelope Cruz. Androgyny along with the glamorous aspect is just gorgeous. 

I've been really out of it the past few weeks due to my car accident, my Honda is no more but I'm alive and well. Yesterday was the first day I was able to walk without limping or needing a knee brace and I'm very grateful for that. My knee is still really stiff and when I try to stretch it out it hurts like a bitch but I'm making progress. I feel lucky that I live in South End because I've been able to get around without any problems, besides taking the wrong bus. 

light rail sceneries.

I feel like when I move back to New York next summer  I'll  be prepared because I don't think anything is less enjoyable than walking around with a massive recyclable bag filled with groceries in the Southern summer heat, there really isn't anything cute about it but hey, it's necessary! Along with walking around in the heat, I haven't been wanting to wear a lot of heavy makeup or makeup in general. I eventually end up sweating most it off even when I douse my face in makeup setting spray. I've been doing a defined brow and a cat eye with a waterproof gel liner and that's been my go to look along with a bright lip. I've been wanting to experiment with new looks and photograph them but by the time I get home, the only thing I want to do is shower and go to bed. Hopefully, when it cools down somewhat I'll be able to get back into the swing of things.