style inspiration

while i can appreciate fashion in all its genres, i myself am very eclectic in my personal style. i also dress depending on the context. for instance, at work i am more polished in my appearance and i prefer simple, clean lines. think charlotte york or forever 21's love 21 line.

in summer, i love the romantic look of bohemian or preppy beach wear. something like freepeople or a+f or hollister.

for an overall look i seem to have found a favorite in korean/japanese street wear. the look is so relaxed, comfortable, effortless and stylish all at the same time. oh, how i wish i had narrow hips and less of a booty to pull off more of these looks. sigh.

here are some of my favorite korean/japanese street style looks for spring/summer...

celebrities whose styles i like:

vanessa hudgens

mila kunis

jessica alba

audrina patridge

rachel bilson

nicole richie

oh, miss piggy, you slay me.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but from time to time it may be necessary to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." - Miss Piggy

harder than i thought

Man, this project 10 pan is ridiculously harder than I thought it could be. That's pretty sad to admit. Surprisingly, you know what's been tempting me yet eluding me at the same time???

The impossible hard to get my hands on Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in #070 Soft Nude. I have been to several Rite-Aids, CVSs, Wal-Marts, and Targets and every store has sold out of this shade. I have been reading rave reviews about this newest line from Revlon and in particular this color and I just want to take a quick peek at it, that's all I swear!, but I can't seem to find it anywhere! Sigh, it's meant to be I guess.

project 10 pan

When I was unwrapping my new cosmetic items and trying (unsuccessfully) to find a nice home for them, I realized I seriously need to purge some make-up items. Now, purging is not a new concept to me. I have done this before with items I know I don't touch often, if at all, and have gotten myself down to bare bones (in my opinion) of my make-up collection. Pretty much everything left is MAC save for the few face items that my face will just not agree with using MAC. Yet still, STILL, I have too much!!

Enter Project 10 Pan. What is Project 10 Pan? Well it's an idea created by another make-up blogger/youtuber, Lollipop26. Basically what you do is you choose 10 items in your current stash and use it all up before you're allowed to purchase a new item. It's kind of like rediscovering your old favorites while saving money at the same time.

So I am going to start this Project 10 Pan... with a slight twist. Since some of the items I have chosen are relatively old, I mean old to the point where I should maybe just throw it out, I am going to start throwing something away with every pan I hit. So here's my first stash...

It's a few more than 10 products, but since the pan is already peeking in some of them items, I didn't want to feel like I was cheating. Again, there is nothing wrong with these items. They were and are still some of my very favorites but for the obvious reason that I have too much to choose from, I sometimes neglect them. Here they are in the order they appear on the image...

1. Stila Lip Glaze in Creme Bouquet
2. Smashbox Lipgloss in 35mm
3. Bonne Bell Lip Definer in Spice
4. Trucco Lipstick in Ingenue
5. Lancome Juicy Tubes in No Reserve
6. NYX Sheer Gloss in Nude
7. Stila Lip Gloss in ???A51?? (shimmery pink)
8. MAC Shadestick in Taupographic
9. MAC Shadestick in Pink Couture
10. MAC e/s in Satin Taupe
11. MAC e/s in Phloof!
12. MAC e/s in Jest
13. MAC Warm Eye Palette: Pasheema, Retrospeck, Bitter, Sable, Cranberry, Mover Shaker
14. NARS Orgasm

Honestly, these items have to be the oldest items in my stash and probably the most I had when I first started with make-up. I am thinking the lip stuff may be just done in general, but I don't have the heart to toss them without giving them a few more chances to wow me. So there it is, the supply I will be using for the next few weeks until each and every container is empty. We'll see how this goes and if I will crack and use something outside the stash. Anyone else willing to take on this challenge? And I am being realistic, this will be a challenge!

p.s. that bright neon green in the palette? yeah, that's just gonna get tossed.

fashion fades, only style remains the same.

Finally got around to seeing this movie. Loved it! Audrey Tautou is one of my favorite foreign film actresses and what a treat to see her in such an iconic role fashion wise. I have to say, way better than the Shirley MacLaine Lifetime Movie gig. I love how effortlessly chic Chanel was. Even back in her time when women still bound themselves in suffocating girdles and buried themselves under a mountain of gaudy jewels. Her personal style is so timeless, if worn today, it would still look fashion forward and not dated.

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel 1883-1971

Shoe Organization

So I was looking through my iPhotos and came across this pic. I realized I never used it for the post I intended regarding shoe organization. I got this idea from countless celebrities during "MTV Cribs" episodes.

Instead of photos or Polaroids in front of each box I have sort of a shoe album for easier visibility of what I have. I like this method of storing shoes because my closet is your standard closet, not a walk-in so space is very limited. I also like using same size boxes because it stacks much neater and appeases the OCD part of me. ;P Of course for certain brands I keep the box because they're so cute themselves. I will keep an original box if the shoe can't fit too.

Also, I simply loathe, detest, despise, cannot stand it when I walk into a closet and smell feet. UGH. It just grosses me out and triggers the gag reflex. So inside the Tupperware boxes I also keep the "Do Not Eat" silica packets to keep moisture out and a slip of dryer sheet so that things stay as fresh as possible.

To maximize space, I switch out seasonal shoes by storing out of season shoes on the top shelf of my closet while the in season shoes are stacked like so for easy access. I buy these containers for $1/ea. from places like the DollarTree, 99 cent store, or WalMart will sell it sometimes in a bundle.

So there's a glimpse of how I organize my too little closet and fit all my treasures in. I hope this gives any OCD fashion fiends out there some ideas!

MAC + Gaga = heaven

What a match made in cosmetics heaven! I was just telling my hubs the other day that there hasn't been an artist that has been inspirational to me since Gwen Stefani. We're talking high school here. So it took a little over a decade for someone to impress and wow me as much as Gweny Gwen Gwen and before that Madonna. I guess I have a thing for platinum blonds.

So when I heard that The Lady was getting in on the Viva Glam action, I was so excited that I am going to break my long standing "No Paying Retail" policy to snap up what she's hawking. And if she makes purses, perfumes, clothing, and shoes you can bet I will jump on that band wagon too. I am that obsessed!

Fashion Shift

Obviously there's been a little hinting here and there on some of my posts of outrageous fashion steals. That coupled with the lack of beauty related deals, I have decided to start posting more fashion related shopping excursions as well since they do go hand in hand with my beauty shopping trips. My stakeouts are relatively the same with clothes, shoes, etc. as it is for makeup; Nordstrom Rack, TJMaxx, and Marshall's. I will be adding a new stakeout, which is undoubtedly everyone's favorite place...Forever 21.

Now many people compare this chain store to others that may appear to be similar, such as Wet Seal, Charlotte's Russe, Windsor of the more recognized companies and smaller ones such as Papaya, Rue21, Fashion Q, etc. However, in my opinion Forever 21 supercedes all these places in trend awareness and quality. A very few will beat in price though. For instance Windsor will be higher in price, but the quality of the fabric does not compete well with F21. And Papaya may be cheaper, but again, the quality is not as great. I used to wander into these other places, but have since stopped because I just could never find anything I felt worth buying. I would always hear myself saying, "I can find something way cuter for better and cheaper at F21!"

My favorite part about Forever 21? Their inclusion of all fashion styles. You can find items in their stores that are comparable from Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle, etc. to Guess, Bebe, etc. to Urban Outfitters and the lists go on. If they search hard enough, they even have items to please the Hot Topic customers. Not to mention their men's line. I also love that they've added Faith 21 and now they have their H81 expanded to encompass tweens. It makes up for them getting rid of their infant line. That line was so adorable! They need to bring that back and add toddlers too! They've truly become a one-stop shopping experience when you include their beauty, accessories, shoes, and handbags.

I don't really have complaints about their Return Policy, because I already know it going in. So I make sure that what I buy, I really really like or at least know of someone who would. I mean that is about the smartest thing a retail clothing store could think of; all income.

My favorite F21 OC stops? I am going to list them in rank from most visited/favorite to least:

1. Anaheim (2 story)

2. The Spectrum

3. The Block

4. Fountain Valley AKA Fashion 21

5. Fashion Island

Location has no bearing on my decision whatsoever as the closest one I live near is at The Block or Main Place and I don't even have that one listed as a fav. They seriously need one closer to me, like at The MarketPlace or The District. The deciding factor is store size. The Anaheim one is the mecca for me because of it's size. This location holds all of their lines on the bottom floor and the entire top floor is dedicated to reduced price items. Lots and lots to choose from. Love it!

There is only one place that I will stop in if Forever 21 is lacking or is in the trend lull between seasons, Fashion Young. This place has tons of items comparable to Forever 21. The con? It is way too cluttered! All the newest and best pieces are in the first and last few rows of the store. Everything in between is a literal hot mess!

Well, this is just my opinion on Forever 21. Either you love it or hate it. And when you hate it, don't hate the lovers. Not everyone will have the same shopping taste or wallet size for that matter. Some people shop there because they love it, some because they have to, and some for both reasons. So when you have your opposing opinions keep that in mind.

So here's my current Forever21.com shopping cart... (I always have a running one!)

(click to enlarge)

New Adventures in Cosmetics!

So one of the sisters and I (did I tell you? I have 4 sisters.) are on Winter Break from school. We were sitting around thinking of what to do to make some mula...you know, because we desperately need some. So we decided to do retail, not buy, sell. But we weren't quite sure what we wanted to specialize in. I, of course, am very fond of make-up and she has a knack for fashion. So we took a brief trip to the wholesale district in LAlaland to see what was out there. We went into several boutiques, I don't know if you've been there, because by several I mean city blocks worth of them. We only had a short window (1 hour) to do some window shopping, pricing, etc. and found some ideas. But, we were so excited about our plan we were instant open targets for the vendors. On the drive home we decided to return another day and spend more time working on our game faces.

This idea is to update my bucket list post. HAHA. Let's see if I actually follow through this time huh? What to do, what to do...make-up or accessories or both?

She's aliiiiiiiiiiiiive!

Hello? Anyone still out there?! Just checking in, letting you all know I'm still here. Just hanging in there! I have about 8 weeks left at my job and then I get the big fat boot to the arse! I have a Pro MUA class scheduled for this Summer as well as a Set Hairstyling class. After that, I go on vacay until I start big girl school at CSUF in the Fall! 

The special occasion for the FOTD is I entered a youtube contest using MAC Pigments only. What I used:

Face - 

The Fabulous Fake Tan by The Body Collection

Perricone MD Active Tinted Moisturizer (custom blend light and dark)

Get Even 02 Pressed Powder by Benefit

Cheeks -

Royal Flush Pigment by MAC 

Vanilla Pigment by MAC

Brows -

Wheat Brow Finisher by MAC

Charcoal Brow Shader by MAC

Eyes -

Wrinkle Injection by Too Faced

Soft Ochre Paint Pot by MAC

Melon Pigment by MAC (lid)

Ruby Pigment by MAC (crease)

Royal Flush Pigment by MAC (between crease and highlight)

Jardin Aires Pigment by MAC (highlight)

Vanilla Pigment by MAC (tear duct)

Blacktrack Fluidline by MAC

L'Oreal Original Voluminous Mascara in Black

Lips -

Clear Gloss by Smashbox

Ruby Pigment by MAC

peace!

Basically, the economy sucks ass.

Hi all, I know I have been neglecting this blog but (here's my whiney excuse) the current state of the economy has had an immediate impact on me and my family these past three months. Wha, wha wha. Sick of hearing this, huh? Me too. I'll keep it short and save the melodrama for the prime time news. 

I worked for a bank which was seized by the government and shut down in the last quarter of 2008. We (we meaning my husband and I because, yes, we put all our eggs in one basket and BOTH work for the same company but trust me there's a cute love story there) have been waiting in anticipation of being told what the future holds. Well, the bombs were dropped this past week and among the majority of our country, I will no longer be employed by the end second quarter 2009. Luckily, my other half is still employed. Needless to say I have been stressed. I am prone to anxiety attacks and I have been having the mother of all attacks recently. With the tremendous support of my nearest and dearest, I am coming out of this with a smile and a plan. So until I can execute said plan and the metaphorical dust settles, I will be dropping lines here and there when I can find the time. Please excuse my absences and any forthcoming wham-bam-thank-you-ma-am posts as I will be using le MacBook for more important tasks...

Ultimate Traincase!

So I was casually thumbing through the lastest Sears Holiday catalog and my thumbs did a screeching halt on the page containing this...

The Original Pink Box

$89.99 @ Sears vs. $99.00 Retail

O-M-G! Where have I been!? This adorable little "tool box" has been around for ages apparently and I have never seen it before tonight. I am in LOVE. If you guys have the "been there, done that" tude with this box, please please forgive me for so being behind the times but I cannot get over how cute this is. My sister just bought me a MAC train case I have been eyeing for months now, so my desire has been satiated but boy, er girl, is this tempting!! Talk about sturdy too! I mean, it won't be the best for travel (metal detector and all) but it sure does make an awesome weapon. Just try and steal this from me!

Season's Change!

Well it's official. Officially coooold. With that in mind, I am in the process of reshaping my brows. Ah, I could hear the collective "ughs". Yes, I just started this painfully slooooooow process and I am already feeling like it's taken way too long. I like a thicker set of brows for Fall/Winter, while my brows seem to lose some weight for the Summer. Think Brow Bikini Diet! I guess it keeps me warm. I kid, but I do change them with the seasons. Same with my hair, it's usually lighter in the Summer and darkest in the Winter.

Here's what they look like so far. Please excuse the dorky photo, I was bored and messing with my Insight. ;p What do you think? My thinnest, would be the photo on my page, at the top to the right.

How about you? Do you change your brows with the season? Or are they the same year round...since you started grooming them that is.

Nordstrom's Half Yearly Sale!

It's going on now! Cosmetics is not included, but gorgeous Fall Boots are! I am behind on birthday presents this year and took one of my sisters shopping for her birthday gift. How late am I? Her birthday was October 14th! Bad sister, I know. This year on the top of her wish list was Uggs so we decided to hit up the Nordy's sale. Our cousin gave us a great tip to shop for Uggs in Children's shoes. First we scoped out the Women's Uggs and nearly fainted at the $159 price tag. Then we strolled over to Children's and found them there for only $89! That's only $10 more than Emus! The salesman told us that the only difference is the heel in the Women's is about half an inch higher. Um. Hello? Hi, Mr. Uggs? Are you saying that we are paying $70 for half an inch??!? Turns out 3 in Children's is a 6 in Women's. Luckily Children's Uggs go up to 5 or Women's 8 so I got my sister the caramel Uggs. Then I decided it was time to update my Bearpaw's (aka Fuggs) to real Uggs and got me a chocolate colored pair. The Children's Uggs are more fitted too, so I no longer have big floppy clown feet! Yay for small feet! I can't wait for it to get a bit chillier so that I can justify wearing them all day everyday! Locate your Nordstrom and go check out the sale!

Madonna, Justin, Britney, oh my!

I went to the Madonna concert on Wednesday at Dodgers' Stadium in LA and it was beyond fantasmic! I heart Madonna almost as much as my Gweny Gwen Gwen as I grew up listening to her in the 80s. Even after so many years of not hearing her songs, as soon as I hear one the lyrics just fly out of my mouth like I just sat up all night memorizing them! She was looking something fierce for almost being 50! Her body was so fit, she made me regret the Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake I had after lunch at the Corner Bakery...for a minute! I was planning on skipping the opener and just coming for the main show but rumors began to swirl that JT and Brit Brit were making an appearance! I am sooooo glad that we decided to leave on time! There was MAD traffic and we were stuck on a normally 15 minute stretch of the 110 freeway for about an hour and a half! I kept checking in with my friends who were already there only to be surprised with the news that the show hadn't even started. When we got there 2 hours later we only had to wait 10 minutes before the show started. I guess there was some techi drama and the show was postponed three hours. All this is probably old news by now but I started this post the day after the show and am just wrapping it up now so bear with me! I hadn't been to a concert since Gwen Stefani's 2006 Harajuku Lovers Tour (I think) so it was exciting. I saw some minor celebs like Ryan Seacrest and Tila Tequila... 

Although Madonna's new tunes are good, I still love me my 80s Madonna! Britney did a cameo and was looking like her old self but her "performance" (if you could call it that) was a bit disappointing. I thought for sure she'd rip off that unflattering outfit and wow us with a chiseled body and disgustingly awesome dance moves but nope. She just kinda wiggled like that shy, uptight girlfriend you drag to the club once in a while. Justin, however, was O M G. If I ever saw that smile in person! *SWOON* Now, HE, performed like he was performing with effin' MADONNA. Hey, Brit? Yeah, that other blonde lady? That was M-A-D-O-N-N-A! All and all, I had a blast and BIG THANKS to my sister Hanh for taking me. She could have taken anyone and she chose me! Awww, I feel loved! Check out youtube for snippets of the performances. My seats were field level, stage right but my camera sucked arse and couldn't zoom and or focus worth beans.  I got bit by the concert bug though and am scoping out the next one! Gwen, are you ready yet!?

Tick-tock, tick-tock
Look at your watch now
You're still a super hot female
You got your million-dollar contract
And they're all waiting for your hot track
What you waiting for?

It's a Girl Thing!

My little angel, Phoenix, at 20 mos. already gets the fun of make up. Every morning as I perform my ritual she comes tearing into my room and tells me to scooch over on my vanity seat so that she can get in on the action. I have a designated blush brush that I give her every time and this old Victoria's Secret gift box with embroidered glittery dots that she thinks are eyeshadows and she just sits there with me applying her "make up". It's the sweetest thing to watch. My husband doesn't agree though. He just doesn't get that make up is ingrained in us girls! LOL. This weekend, my heart and I had a girl night and I let her do all the make upping. She also does free lance if you're interested. Email me! Don't worry, I'll teach her about blending later. ;p

OCBB on Hiatus!

Sorry for the lag on posts gals! I have good reason! This past Thursday, the Hubs and I celebrated our 4 Year Wedding Anniversary! Yay for us! We spent two days and one night in the beautiful city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. It was so serene there! I haven't been in a town that moved at such a slow pace in a really long time. It was nice to be away from the buzz of Orange County and to relax in a beautiful small beach front city. It was gawgeous dahlin!

I loved the hotel we stayed at, Pavilion Lodge, it had very contemporary decor. The color palette is a cool green and blue combo to elicit a very tranquil environment and it worked. My favorite part? Complimentary Continental Breakfast! Your girl, LOVES to eat! And croissants? Tres magnifique! Love them! The whole experience was just loverly! We had a blast! The ONE thing I highly recommend is for everyone to stop at Lloyd's of Avalon Confectionary and get one of their candied apples! OMG! To die for! Only one slight mishap...when Dramamine says to take a dose 30mins to 1 hour prior to activity, ya do it! Yours truly, took it 30 mins into the ride, and the results, not too thrilling. We definitely will be back soon, we are going to bring le bebe with us next time because we missed her terribly! Good to be back though, back to work! 

Happy Sunday!

Hope everyone's havin' a fine Sunday!!

Makeup ARTillery:

Face: 

AcneRecovery Daytime Repair Lotion

Perricone Active Tinted Moisturizer in 01 & 03          

bareMinerals Tinted Mineral Veil          

NARS Blush in Orgasm   

Eyes:  

MAC Brow Shader in Soft Charcoal on brows  

MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved on both lash and water lines

MAC E/S in Satin Taupe all over lid

L'Oreal Original Voluminous Mascara in Black

Lips: 

Carmex Original Click Stick

DIY Palette Remix!

So I got a bug up me arse the other day and decided to clean up my make up stash. I pulled out some eyeshadow and blush palettes I received as a part of the Ulta Color Blockbuster in 2005 or 2006. I was going to trash them because since I removed them from their original train case to store other goods, they kinda got pushed to the non-premium make up train case. Once there, I decided to trim the flimsy plastic palette trays so that they would fit better and instead they have gotten completely messy due to over exposure to the everyday tussle I put them through. They also have huge gouges in them since there's really no way to protect them. Anyway, they sat on my nightstand for a couple of weeks, pleading to me because they knew they were on the verge of being trashed. And of course I procrastinated because I couldn't reason with throwing away perfectly good products. Enter my creative side. Sorry for no "before" photos. I was on a mean mission before I realized I should have taken some.


I carefully popped out the eyeshadow pans and with the tacky glue still intact, I placed them in a blank CD jewel case. Of course, these jewel cases come in tons of colors now, so you can customize it with your own personal style using different colors. You can also place your favorite stickers or print out some graphics and photos to personalize your cases even more. Heck you can even bling it out with some of those mobile photo rhinestones! All I had around were old clear empty cases, but you get the point! I also thought about creating a menu, but these Ulta shadows had no names or numbers, so eh, what would've been the point??



Here's what the old empty trays look like...



Next were the blushes... Wonder why I only have two pans??



Because your dorkness was in a big ole rush and made a couple of boo boos...


The blush pans were bigger and weren't as stable as the eyeshadow pans. They were also glued in better so they bent when I put too much pressure on them. They literally caved under the pressure! Poop!


So there you are! This nifty little DIY idea saved me from trashing some great shadows. These new "palettes" are now going into my office back up make up kits! Ew, speaking of work... The wonderful three day weekend is officially O-V-E-R, ovah! Hopefully you all had a fantabulous Labor Day!


P.S. And I thought I was so super duper smart and came up with this idea all on my own, but of course, some people on youtube have come up with it already! HA HA! So click here, to watch EnKore in action! You really can find everything on youtube!

Cosmetics OCD!

I can't decide if this is my best fantasy or my worse nightmare! The mountain of products! AH! The clutter! OY! I am so organized it's not even funny. Honestly, it's borderline neurotic. I self diagnosed myself with OCD and watching "MTV's True Life - I have OCD" has confirmed it. Among my things, there is systematic order as well as organized chaos. In can be a blessing and a curse. I am a living contradiction! However, I have come to terms with it.