living artfully

beauty favorites: october

Heading back to work in October meant some major changes for me in my beauty routine. Now I have to worry about having an efficient and effective morning beauty routine. I don't want to waste my time with crappy or ineffective products. So I was happy in October to try a few new products that have made the cut. 


 
As you may have already heard, I absolutely love having painted nails. Now that I'm back to work, I wasn't sure if I'd still find the time to paint my nails a few times a week like I did over my maternity leave. But thanks to a top coat that dries in just 45 seconds, I can paint my nails before bed without worrying about scuff marks. I totally love the Kensington Caviar quick-drying top coat from Nails Inc. It's ten dollars, so it's on the pricier side of top coats; but I think it's completely worth it since it works so well. And besides drying my polish super fast, it gives this awesome glossy shine. As for the colors I painted my nails in October, I'm loving nudes, dark neutrals and dark reds for my fall nails. 



The look on the left is Essie Recessionista, a creamy dark maroon red from their fall 2012 Stylenomics collection. It's a tricky shade in that it looks much darker on the nails than in the bottle. It's such a beautiful creamy color on the nails and is just dark enough without ever looking black. I have a couple of polishes that look similar in the bottle, but none of them dry to this pretty shade.

The middle look is Modern Love by Deborah Lippmann, just released this fall. For an unexpected twist, I am wearing it as a French manicure with black tips instead of white. I absolutely love wearing nudes and prefer polishes like this that are fully opaque. This one has a beautiful mauve-ish almost-greige look to it, which makes it feel updated. It would be gorgeous on its own but I love this edgy French.

The look on the right is OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know, from the spring 2012 Holland collection. It is far and away the prettiest brown shade I've ever worn. It's the perfect medium-tone brown with gorgeous gold micro-shimmer. The gold shimmer gives it so much dimension, especially when it hits the light. This has now become one of my favorite OPI shades ever.



This month I started using a new eye product that has quickly become a new favorite: the Revlon ColorStay liquid eye pen in blackened brown. I haven't worn liquid eyeliner since high school and never thought it looked very good on me. Turns out the problem was the tip applicator in the tube style liners; they're just too hard for me to apply. But the pen style? For me, it goes on so smooth and even. When I want a defined eye that doesn't smear or wear off throughout the day, this is the answer. The blackened brown is dark without being harsh, so I love it with light eyeshadows as well as smokey looks. I found myself reaching for this eyeliner almost every day.

And for lips, this past month I pretty much constantly wore the nude shade in my new Smashbox Image Factory Lip Enhancing Gloss duo. The nude color is called "chic" and it's the perfect shimmery neutral for my skin. The red "luxe" color is also gorgeous. And though luxe is a really deep color, I like it because it's buildable; one thin coat gives the perfect hint of color for day and a thicker coat is great for an evening look. I am really impressed with the formula on these glosses. They feel moisturizing and decadent on the lip without ever feeling sticky; plus there's no weird smell or taste to these glosses. I'll definitely be purchasing other Smashbox glosses.

So those were my must-have products for the month of October. Have you tried any new beauty products recently? Anything you love?

hugs, sharyn 

beauty confession: nail polish

My love for scrapbooking and the related supplies is no secret. But scrapbooking supplies aren't the only things I collect. I'm addicted to nail polish!



This month my nail polish collection passed the 100 mark... and I needed to upgrade from one rack to two. I've been collecting nail polish for over ten years, so this is nothing I've acquired over night or anything. But I know for most people this would be just way too much polish.

As a new mom, I never imagined that this season in my life would include indulging in my nail polish obsession. But it's a disconcerting feeling when nothing in the closet fits and you start having unexpected fears about being frumpy and never being able to lose the baby weight ever. Now thanks to an amazing top coat that dries in 45 seconds, I can paint my nails pretty much whenever and feel a little more put together. When I need a little boost, nail polish has definitely been doing the trick for me.

I love having a variety of polishes to choose from; and while some colors may be similar, no two are really the same. In true nail-polish-addict fashion, I sometimes look at my collection and think I have every possible color I'd ever like to wear. But then a new line is released and I feel like I must have a certain color because I have nothing like it! Not too different from the feeling us scrapbookers sometimes get when a new collection is released ;) And crazy as it may sound, my collection is nothing compared to nail bloggers or other ladies who post videos of their collections on youtube. 

So yes, nail polish is my guilty pleasure. Freshly painted nails make me smile! So how do you feel about nail polish... love it or hate it? 

hugs, sharyn

beauty favorites: september

In September I came across some great beauty products that I've added to my rotation of favorites. Every fall, no fail, I always want to switch up my makeup routine and hairstyle. Maybe I miss the thrill of back-to-school just a little! Whatever the reason, it's a great time to re-evaluate your beauty products and introduce new colors and looks.

Once September hits, I'm usually over the bright nail polish colors of the summer. I retired my coral polishes and picked out some great dark and moody shades for the fall. One of my favorite things to do is alternate wearing a dark polish and then wearing a nude or neutral polish.



The look on the left is Essie Over the Edge with a layer of Butter London Gobsmacked on the accent nail. Over the Edge is a gorgeous gunmetal grey with a hint of metallic finish. I love that it shines without being frosty. Gobsmacked is part of Butter London's new Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, and is a charcoal grey glitter in a sheer grey base. Gobsmacked really does its best work as a layer over a solid color, as its sheer base never really becomes opaque, even after multiple coats. Just like Over the Edge, I love that Gobsmacked is grey without being metallic or silver. Such a beautiful pair.

The middle look is a new favorite neutral: OPI My Very First Knockwurst, which is part of OPI's brand new Germany collection. Knockwurst is a creamy nude with pink undertones; you wouldn't think of it as a pink unless you compare it side-by-side to a more beige nude. Nudes are difficult because the wrong tone can make your hands look dead. So this may not be the nude for everyone, but I love it on my pale skin. For a little interest, I did an acccent nail with a coat of Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me, a chunky gold glitter topcoat with micro and hex glitter.

And the look on the right is Essie Damsel in a Dress, a shimmery eggplant purple that is now one of my top ten favorites. It's a dark purple that never reads as black and never appears frosted. I don't typically like true purples because they seem too "young" for me, but this plummy shade looks really sophisticated.



This month I picked up a new eyeshadow palette, the first time I've done so in ages. I'm a loyal user of the two Urban Decay palettes: Naked 1 and Naked 2. But something about Tarte's limited edition Call of the Wild eyeshadow palette really caught my eye. It's available in store at Ulta and online at QVC, and is not sold everywhere that Tarte is sold. Call of the Wild features some neutrals, but doesn't appear to have any exact dupes from the Naked palettes. I am currently loving a neutral eye with the shades in the pans on the left top, middle top and in the elongated pan on the left. And the burgundy on the bottom middle is absolutely gorgeous for a little more drama.


Lastly, I've introduced a new product to my haircare routine that I've quickly come to love: Aveda's Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother. This product does double duty, acting as a heat protectant for styling tools and it also keeps my hair silky, reduces frizz and adds a little shine. My color-treated hair has a bit of a wave and can feel coarse, but this product makes my hair feel incredibly soft. It's pricey but I have hair down to my chest and only need a small pump of product to get great results. 

Have you recently found any great new products? Trying out any new looks for the fall?

hugs, sharyn