Two Fall Manicures

Today for the first day of Autumn, I decided to share two Fall looks. The first one is purple and golden tan. I used the same colors as in the giveaway, plus a antique gold frankenpolish under the glitter. This look was for my daughter, it reminds me of harvest fruits and wines.

The second one was a variation of the gradient accent and fox hunt ruffian look. This one is a little cleaner, but incorporates brown glitter and striping polish. I like how it matches my necklace while keeping the rest of my outfit neutral. 

What colors make you think of Autumn?

Fall Fashion Giveaway

To celebrate my new blog I decided to have a few giveaways through the holidays. The first one is a fall fashion theme inspired by Pantone's Fall Fashion Colors of 2013. While not exact colors, the scarf reminded me enough of the color palette to build this package around it.

Included in this giveaway are; zigzag infinity scarf in fall colors, olive leather and brass bangles, Ultraviolet plumping lipgloss from Julep, and a trio of Julep nail polish in Otte- camel cream, Kylie- raspberry/plum shimmer, and purple/pink/silver glitter. Mix and match or wear individually for a fun fall look.

This giveaway has ended with three entries, a drawing chose my sister Donna. Only family member entered this time.

Julep's Supernova Mystery Box and Retied Colors

Julep is retiring a large selection of colors and has them on sale. Many of them I have received in mystery boxes and special sales. The colors in my collection that are no longer available are: Sheryl, Gloria, Maya, Annette, Vanessa*, Otte*, Kylie*, Glenn*, Stephani*, Kai, Morgan, America*, Catherine*, Drew, Kaylen, and Leila. There were a few from my wish list, sadly I don't have the funds to purchase them right now. I had hoped that one or two would come in my mystery box, but I received some other colors instead.

I received another set of hand, nail, and feet masks and another kit for treating my hands; glycolic hand scrub, rock star hand lotion, and the oxygen nail treatment. I'm thrilled with the second kit, I already use the hand scrub and the O2 treatment. The colors from back row, left side are; Blakely- holographic purple, Lacey*- metallic navy duplicate, Morgan- discontinued metallic purple, Clio*- purple/pink/silver glitter duplicate, Joanna- lavender shimmer, and the exclusive Estelle- black with colored glitter. Front row left are; Veronica*- duplicate rose cream and America*- red/blue/silver glitter.

After pulling out the duplicates I had Estelle, Joanna, Blakely, and Morgan.

This increased my purple colors yet again. Just a few months ago I only had one purple nail color. You might remember that I am not a huge fan of purple. I am trying to keep an open mind. They are all different although Blakely and Reese ( two center) have the same transition from purple to green.

The color I have fewest in now are green, which makes not being able to buy Haylie, Fiona, and Sofia even sadder.

I have not worn Kai yet, but here is Madeline as an accent to China Glaze Diva Bride. I bought both sea salt polishes together. I will have to try Kai as well as my other new polishes soon.

* You will note that several colors have stars. Watch for these in future giveaways.

Make up and aging

After five years of working 3rd shift, I finally switched to 1st shift. I really like being awake and enjoying daytime, even if it means early hours. I get up at 4:30 am, shower and wash my hair, then do my make up, drink coffee and watch videos while it dries. After so many years of rarely wearing make up, I have noticed a few things. I'm starting to get my grandmothers droopy eyelids. Her's were so droopy she could hardly open them. She went to have them fixed but the plastic surgeon over did it and she could not fully close them and had to use eye drops routinely. Sounds scary, I wonder if laser would be a safer option? At this point my droopy eyelids only effect the way my eyes and eye shadow look.

I had to look up several videos for droopy/hooded eye make up tutorials. Even still I find that subtle and neutral looks are easier for me. I did get to try a shaded fall look on Alex today. Alex has the biggest, boldest almond shaped eyes. I used a soft plum on the lid, a dark plum in the crease and outer lid, then blended a gold on the inner lid. I used a pink highlighter on the brow bone. Although I kept it much more subtle than you normally see today, it still had a lot of drama. I remember when I was young I used navy and pink for dramatic eyes. It doesn't work for me now. I have also found that I need to keep my foundation and concealer light under the eyes or it cakes in the creases. Luckily the mineral water I use to set my make up helps reduce caking.

I have also struggled with finding fashionable clothes for plus sizes. Two years ago I discovered Catherine's and it was so nice to have clothes that fit. It was refreshing, although a good chunk of their stock was matronly. Last year I discovered Dress Barn and was thrilled not to have to dig through their clothes for something I would wear. I also found that they had more choices in pant length. I can wear heels again. This month I have been struggling with a costume for Alex. The largest corset I could find is too small, so I had to find a jacket to cover the back. I was disappointed as I hoped it would also be able to double for cosplay. Today while watching vintageortacky on youtube she recommended Hipsandcurves.com they sell corsets, costumes, and lingerie for plus sizes. In the future, if we want to try to put together a costume there are more options available to us. I want a Steampunk costume.

Cameras, lenses, smartphones, light boxes and blogging.

I lost my camera while packing for the wedding. Luckily I had my trusty smartphone and was able to capture a few images. Some of my pictures on my blog sucked though. Not that they always look great, but they are usually passable. I have been meaning to get a light box for awhile now. For the Sept. Birchbox review I used some elements from a light box to get usable pics with my cell phone. Basically I used a lamp and white board behind it.

The good news is I found my camera! I had it with me the whole time, it was in one of the end pockets in my purse. The batteries need recharged, why can I never find a battery charger when I need one? I have bought six of them over the years and given strict instructions not to move the last two. Well that worked out great!

I have found some interesting functions of my phone. I recently supported two smartphone camera lens projects on Kickstarter. The first is a micro phone lens it increase to 15x, I hope to get in on the next one that increases to 150x. This one is currently closed, but can be seen here:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/968523355/micro-phone-lens-cell-phone-based-microscope

The second is for a macro lens that increases to 4x, they may work on one for 10-15x in the future.This one can be seen here and currently has 14 days left to get in on it.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/76865543/the-easy-macro-smartphone-lens

What I found out about my camera phone is it zooms up to 4x. I'm not sure if you loose picture quality with it or if you can use it in conjunction with the lenses. These are pictures taken with the zoom.The cat did not want the camera pointed at his eye.

It has other focusing, lighting, and color options. I used my fingers as an easy and consistent subject. I believe I have the lighting options labeled correctly. When used effectively my phone can take decent pictures.

daylight

 cloudy

 incandescent

 florescent

 4x

 sepia

 mono

 negative

 solarize

 aqua

I priced cameras while mine was missing and part of me wants a nicer one, but what I should really be concerned with is creating a light box. 

Florence a name with meaning

I decided to test out Florence as an accent nail to a Veronica and Otte skittle mani. I wonder if Grandma would approve?

Another look from last month uses Reece and Padma. These don't scream purple to me and Reece has such depth to it.

I believe I failed to post Madeline and Kai when I received them. They both have sea salt finishes and work great alone or as a pair for a baby shower. I will try to use Madeline next

First Ipsy Bag

I received my first Ipsy bag today, but sadly most of it is going to my niece this month.

The bag is blue and black and it came with two Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, a Pop Pouty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance, It's So Big Volumizing Mascara, Nyx eyeshadow in Golden Poppy, and a Starlooks eyeliner pencil in Obsidian. 

The lip pencil will look pretty on my niece, which is one consolation for not having it for myself. I will be keeping one of the eye gel sets. I can't wait for next months.

September 2013 Birchbox

This month is Birchbox's 3rd Anniversary. To celebrate 100 subscribers were sent 1000 point worth $100 on their website. Sadly, I was not one of those chosen. My box arrived in time to add the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel for sensitive skin to my spa day. It was less about relaxation and more about those pesky details like waxing my legs, removing callouses on my feet, and I wanted to doing finger waves on a day no one had to see me. The peel worked right into the routine. I could feel it working, but it left no redness. I will keep trying to see if it improves my skin.

The other products were: Beauty Protector Shampoo and Conditioner, Soak Rinse-Free Wash, and Ruffian Nail Lacquer in Fox Hunt- red orange shimmer.

I sampled the polish over my existing polish in a Ruffian style. It coordinates nicely with the red to orange gradient and looks better in person. It has good coverage and dries fairly quickly. It is a great color for fall. I can't wait to try it on its own.

The waving attempt did not go very well as I currently have too many layers. I did get one good wave at the top. Maybe next time I will just roll it, or maybe pin curls for something different. 

First Booty Bin

I signed up for Booty Bin after seeing the Steampunk themed box. The reviews for the following box were disappointing. I needlessly worried about staying subscribed, I'm glad I waited it out. The theme was Fantasy, one of my favorite genres.

Elves, fairies, and pixies- well the ears would work for all three anyway. Pixie stix and Link evolution sticker. We have eaten almost half the pixie stixs before I could get pictures taken. Danny has claimed these.

Card and figurine games- Magic the Gathering (Charles collects these cards), The Hobbit Heroclix, and World of Warcraft miniatures game (I will have to google these)

Lords, knights, and warriors- Game of Thrones the Imp, pimp sticker, viking and knight rubber duckies, and weapon eraser tops. This grouping is my favorite.

Booty Bin costs $10 more than Loot Crate, but the last two months were comparable. We will have to see this months Loot Crate to compare but I really like this box. 

September 2013 Upgraded Julep Maven Box

My maven box came today as well. I had upgraded to the full Cityscape collection. The colors are great for fall. I had to get Florence as it was my grandmothers name. It also came with the matte primer and an oil cleanser. I will try them soon, I just have to find somewhere to go. I added on Reese and the polish remover wipes. The extra was a sample of the wipes. I had received some before, but did not realize the purchased packs were so much bigger. The sample has one pad, while each purchased pack says it has ten pads, one for each finger. My camera went missing while I packed for the wedding. Until it finds its way home I will be using my camera.

Florence- a nude creme, Candace- brown micro glitter, Catrina- golden yellow, Tatiana- burnt orange micro glitter, Karmen- red micro glitter, Reese- purple to green micro glitter, Padma- dark eggplant, Kristy- deep midnight blue, Josephine- dark gray, teal, and Daria- charcoal gray creme. I just can't get a decent pic with my camera.

 My Julep collection so far

I have Glenn on my toes from the wedding and put Karmen over it on the big toe. It reminds me of ruby slippers. I can see myself wearing any of these colors this fall. I put on Stephani last night and tried a design inspired by Robin Moses. I will have to try one of the new colors later this week. 

September 2013 Birchbox Man

This was our first month to receive Birchbox Man. I don't think the boys were too thrilled with it. The travel guide is for somewhere we are not likely to go to, Los Angeles, and it is not exotic and interesting either. I have a travel guide for Budapest and it is an interesting read. The passport case was not as bad, I have always wanted to go to Ireland, until then it will hold registration and insurance card for the car.

While I lost the fight getting the boys to shave, I do like the shave cream. Ernest Supplies is a 3 in 1 shave cream. It conditions, protects, and soothes. The packaging is great with its reclosable cap and small travel size. It has a nice neutral scent so I could use it too. It will go to my nephew. I'm still fighting the hair styling battle. The Hanz de Fuko Quicksand sample would be great in Charles hair. It absorbs oil like a dry shampoo and adds a beachy texture like a sea salt spray, all rolled into a clay based balm. I'm tempted to try this on myself. Danny has said he will use the face and body cleaner, finally some progress.It is a nice sized sample too.

I'm not sure if the boys will read the magazine, it is not on the computer after all. I will send the card in and maybe read it myself.

Weddings and everything that goes with...

Joyce, my nieces, and I drove down to Missouri for my cousin's wedding. It was emotionally charged as I had not seen any one from my dad's side in 25 yrs. Joyce had seen Grandma a few years back and had her feelings hurt. I also did not have the fondest memories of her growing up. Before I go any further, I should say that that has changed.We showed up early and visited with Crystal while she got ready. I'm sure it was awkward for her as well. Not only had we not seen her since she was two, but she was nervous about the wedding. My nieces did get to help the wedding party with their make-up.

The mother of the bride standing in blue

 the father of the bride, love the hat Uncle Tom

 Uncle Mike, some of the ladies in front were Grandma's sisters

 bridesmaides

 Grandma Deloris Damewood

 Mother of the bride and groom

 can you see the groom on the right?

 trying to get drinks served, it was a hot day

I have to admit, I did have a melt down at one point and had to go and collect myself. Grandma recognized me right away and hugged me, I'm not sure if Joyce got upset. We are both very sensitive and it doesn't take much for us to feel rejected. That comes with having an absent father. You might note that he is not in any of the above pics as he did not come. His mother is the only one who has been able to maintain a relationship with him. Joyce was not thrilled with being introduced as Donnie's girls, to her it seemed too impersonal. 

We did enjoy our visit we stayed with Tom and Shirley after the clean-up that felt like it would never end.* Mike and Grandma came to lunch the next day. I will have to make an effort to keep in touch. Especially with so many not doing the best. 

* Note to self plan a clean-up crew with muscles when planning for a wedding. Take home containers for all the leftovers are also helpful. Who drops off a cake and doesn't leave a box to take it home.