A New Addiction

Over the weekend I went to a spa themed bridal shower and it was so wonderful. I forgot how therapeutic a mani/pedi can be. Part of our goodie bag consisted of a few bottles of the new OPI 25th Anniversary Collection nail polishes.

The collection is absolutely stunning and the shades are the quintessential embodiment of fall color. The random mauve shade is a wee bit off and the two white colors are… interesting, but the rest are fail-safe autumn colors that will look fabulous on short squared off nails.

I think the two white shades are sheer enough to be used in a glam french manicure, but I haven’t had the chance to play with them and test my theory.

I feel a little guilty that I’m so intriqued and excited by the chocolate brown, burgudy, and brick reds of fall when we’re in the middle of summer and enjoying shocking bright and playful tones.

Fall is a complete 180 of the electric pinks and neon coral tones, when color will become almost gothic. Mainstream is accepting the idea of black nail polish as fashionable and chic. And if anyone wants to disagree with me on that, take a look at the new Chanel collection. They have released the most hyped nail polish color since Chanel Vamp in the 1990’s.

 

The new color is called Black Satin, and that’s exactly what it looks like. Black Satin is a true jet black with a trace of platinum pearl and a super glossy finish. Again, I think it looks fablous on very short nails because the color is strong enough to make a statement all by itself.

Hot Hot Heat

While I am guilty of this, it annoys me when people feel the need to point out that its hot. I mean, last I checked it was summer on the east coast. Which basically means that hot weather and stifling humidity are a given. Its like women who complain that kohl eyeliner smudges. Its kohl… its entire reason for being is to smudge. Moving on…

What is worthy of comment is how different women handle said heat. With my sun allergy, sunblock becomes my life jacket because I practically burn from just looking outside on a sunny day. Here’s a few other ways that I deal with the summer sizzle:

• On days when the temperature rises over 100 degrees, I don’t allow myself to drink anything other than water. The dehydrating effects of suger and caffeine intensify in the heat.
• Avoid spa treatments for at least 2 hours after significant sun exposure. I’m not talking about 5 minutes of incidental sun, but if you’ve been laying on the beach for the last 4 hours it is not wise to immediately go for a glycolic peel. Your skin with be sensitized from the sun exposure which will increase your odds of irritation.
• *Gasp!* Cut back on make-up, especially formuals that are very dewey or creamy. Oil based products will melt or liquify in this heat and will either seep into pores or melt right off your face in unattractive streaks and blotches.
• If you choose to wear full face make-up in the summer, please wash it off every night before you go to bed. I actually use a heavier duty face wash in the summer to make sure that my skin in squeaky clean and then add supplimental moisture with a light face cream.
• Always always always paint your nails. Its summer and the one time you can get away with bright, outrageous colors like flamingo pink and electric coral. I keep the look toned down and polished by having my nails filed short and squared off. Nail polish is the one cosmetic that won’t melt off you in the heat or clog your pores. And since polish will last a whole week, its a very low-maintenance way to add color to your every day look.
• Go easy on scent. A 108 degree day is not the time to douse yourself in 5 squirts of Calvin Klein Obsession.
• If you’re showing leg, use body oil to moisturize your skin. The sheen that’s left behind is very sexy and makes your legs look longer.

Something of a challenge…

MusicMan and I were randomly discussing how I wanted to rearrange the house when I move in and realized that we had completely different plans. More than that, I am going to loose about half my storage space!!

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent the better part of a decade picking up pieces here and there to create the perfect wardrobe for myself. So first and foremost, I’m not getting rid of any clothes, shoes, or purses.

That leaves the pairing down game on everything else.

Before I start weeding out products, I wanted to create a bit of a challenge for myself. Something the ladies on MUA refer to as the “Use It Up Challenge.”

Basically, you give yourself some sort of incentive to use up as many products as you can within a certain time frame. Its not about wastefully (IE: over excessively) applying your La Mer in order to clear out space. The idea is to take stock of products that are 1/2 empty to nearly gone and just finishing them off. If its really expensive and you’re saving the final application, please save it until you need it.

Here’s an example. I have four bottles of sunblock on a bathroom shelf and they’re all basically the same thing. So I’ll pick the bottle that has the least in it and move that to the front. The idea is to keep using that particular bottle of sunblock until its all gone, clearing up a little real estate on my shelf.

I’m a little unsure on what I want to give myself as an incentive. With all the new collections coming out, I like the idea of rewarding myself with 1 new product for every 2 that I use up.

Here’s a list of things I’m going to start pairing down on:

• Shower Gels and Bar Soaps
• Body Lotions
• Body Splash/Spray
• Sunblock
• Face Wash
• Face and Eye Cremes
• Product Samples
• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Hair Styling Products
• Nail Polish (This is more of a case of tossing out colors that I know I’ll never wear again… like baby blue or colors with huge chunky flecks of glitter)

I also have at least a thousand magazines in my house that I keep for inspiration in make-up, fashion, or advertising. There’s no way MusicMan is going to let me move in 30 copy paper boxes of magazines into his townhouse. So it will be another challenge for me to figure out some method of weeding through these.

Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer

$38 from www.sephora.com

While the original wasn’t enough to sway me from my beloved MAC Prep + Prime, the Green Adjust - Color Corrector kinda rocks my world.

The primer itself fills in fine lines and sun damage while the green color all but erases the hyperpigmentation left from past blemishes and evens out my skin tone. It makes my skin look buttery smooth and creates a great base for power foundation to adhere to. I also love how it seems to control the amount of oil my skin produces.

 $42 from www.sephora.com

The next primer on my list is Smashbox’s Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 With Dermaxyl Complex . You’ve got to love just about anything that gives you that extra dose of spf. I just need to find out if it will make my skin feel oily or not.

Sexy Bridesmaid Dresses

Allow me to indulge in another moment of giddy bridey-ness:

I found the bridesmaid dresses for my wedding!!!

While I have heard horror stories of dresses from hell, I actually want my bridesmaids to look traffic stopping hot.

Believe it or not, this baby is from David’s Bridal. I never thought I’d go for this shade of red, but it is striking and will look gorgeous on my best friends.

There’s just something that’s both sexy and elegant about this dress. I’ve taken a look at it in person… ok, I tried it on. And let me say, it covers a multitude of sins and makes even the smallest pair of boobs look great.

Let me know what you think.

Amandine

Living It and Loving It

I just had the best weekend in a very long time and I'm still enjoying the afterglow. Saturday was light-hearted, playful, and just plain fun.

Outfit:

• Banana Republic black halter with bronze buckle detailing
• Banana Republic knee length skirt. It was a gauzey confection of black and white swirled together
• Calvin Klein sling backs (black)

Face

• DDF SPF 50 
• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - Color Correcting Formula in Green. I LOVE this stuff!! Its my new favorite product. I didn't need to wear anything else on my face to even my skintone or control oil.
• MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Margin

Eyes

• MAC Prep + Prime Eye
• MAC Melon Pigment all over the lid
• MAC Lily White pigment to highlight the inner corner and browbone
• MAC Water Nymph Eyeshadow for the outer corners and crease. This aqua teal is the sexiest color I've seen in a long time
• MAC Delphic Fluidline (A blend of sea foam green and aqua) for the upper lash line
• Benefit Bad Gal liner for the lower inner lash line

Lips:

• Chanel Glossimer in Pagoda

Music Man's band was playing a local event that is basically the combination of an all day summer concert and a carnival. The small child in each of us adored the petting zoo, caramel corn, cherry milkshakes, and carnival games. But as a couple, we cuddled on the ferris wheel at sunset while pointing out different sites and enjoyed a few quiet moments alone.

As soon as we got off the ferris wheel his band called and we had to deal with load-in stuff. I felt pretty being driven across the ground in the little carts to the back stage area where we had an excellent view of Sugar Ray's performance. I took a moment to acknowledge how cute Mark McGrath was circa 1998.

Music Man's set was great. Both the band and the audience seemed really into the performance even though it was so late. Overall it really was a phenomenal day.

MIA

Wow…

I can't believe I still have so many readers after disappearing for a whole month.

I'm sorry for deserting you but I got wrapped up in bridal things that had me completely engrossed. I also took the time to participate in a product review contest that I won 2nd place in. Yay!!

At this point we're really coming along with the wedding. We reserved the church, set up Catholic Marriage classes, and paid for our reception site.

Now that our wedding date has been finalized I feel like I can breathe and focus on non-matrimonial things like this blog.

So looked for new articles coming at you in full force. (And hopefully touching on the topics I promised you last month)

kai

http://www.kaifragrance.com

It began with a sample vial in my Barney's Beauty Bag during their big beauty event. The tropical grren card read, "Touch on pulse points and breathe in beauty." I must say, that was a damn good opening line. And that first wiff of gardenia was infinitely alluring.

Since that day I'm not ashamed to admit that I've indulged in the entire line.

The dry mist oil creates a gorgeous gleam on arms, legs, shoulds, etc. Its always an attractive look in summer. (In moderation) The sheen is magnificent and can easily be glammed up when mixed with a little gold/bronze toned shimmer powder. The ket word here is little. You don't want to create a fake tan.

There's something that's rich and heady about this fragrance. It reminds me of the summer I spent in Hawaii where the heat pushed the scent of tropical flowers over you in waves. This sent is weighty, so its not for those who prefer light watery scents.

Testing??

Hello out there! Is this thing working yet?

Goodbye April

While took the past week off to work on preliminary wedding details, I was shocked to realize that April is over. Where did the first 1/3 of my year go?

As a nod to the fast paced nature of time, I've decided to wrap up each month with a synopsis of things learned. Mostly in a vain attempt to convince myself that I have actually learned something.

1. Stick to your skin care routine no matter what. Around that time of the month, an old friend was in town and we got a little… bubbly. By the time the cabbie got me home I was so exhausted that I went straight to bed to pass out… make-up and all. Not only was my skin visibly distressed the next day, but my white pillow cases weren't looking too hot either.
2. MAC Softsparkle Eye Kohls = Amazing
3. Planning an outdoor wedding reception is a monster pain.
4. The big spring trend that will carry over into summer is neutral minimalism with bright bursts of color. (I will elaborate on this later.)
5. Summer trend I love = Denim Jackets
6. Summer trend I hate = Denim Bags and Shoes

Things to look for in May:

1. My renewed obsession with candles
2. The afore mentioned minimalist look with bold accents
3. "The Price of Beauty"
4. A basic rundown of my favorite lines
5. Greetings from Jury Duty!
6. MAC Pigments (maybe)