Would you rather?

Hello lovely people! I'm super busy this week, but I decided to indulge in a momentary lapse of work ethic to squeeze out this fun tag:

1.Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice make-up or Nice hair and no make-up? Definitely nice hair and no makeup for me. I do love both, but lemme tell ya, a greasy ponytail looks like crap on me. If I have freshly washed hair framing my face, I am comfortable slapping on a bit of chapstick and rolling out.

2.Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out? 

I would much rather have my lashes fall out any day. False lashes can be made to look natural and beautiful, but rare is the person who can draw on eyebrows and have it look classy!
 
3.Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life? 

This is a really really tough one. For the last few months, I've been eyeing a lot of brands from Sephora such as MUFE, Bobbi Brown, YSL, and Dior. So as of this point in time, I would rather only shop at Sephora. However, deep down, I know that MAC is special; as Laura (Lollipop26) put it, the thrill of a MAC haul is truly irreplaceable.

4.Would you rather wear lipgloss/lipliner look or 80's perm?  
Well, I actually had an 80s perm in the 4th grade. I love the idea of curly hair, and so I say why not! After all, an 80s perm is just a perm, and I can style it anyway I please!
 
5.Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush? 
Put me down for overdone blush, because it wears off over the course of the day (more like 1 hour for me!). But a foundation line? That's just bad makeup skillz.
 
6.Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public? 
Um...I'd rather stay home when faced with those two choices. But fine, if I had to choose one, I'll choose biker shorts because I can get on a bike and make it look like I'm normal!

7.Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered? Weird tan lines would be fine, because its circumstantial. Bad orange-y spray tan is just an obvious goof up. I think in general, I'd rather have beauty errors due to circumstances, not bad technical skills!
 
8.Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color? 
Bad hair color, because it can be fixed straight away. A bad haircut spoils my mood for months!

9.Would you rather have youtube or twitter taken away forever? 
Twitter (I never use it as much as I should really).

10. Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara?  
I'd be very sad if I had to face such a decision. But...I'll let the brushes go, because there are ways to use sponges and fingers to apply makeup. There's no alternative to mascara.

Alright people, its your turn now. What would you rather do?

An acquired taste

Three months ago, my friend gave me a certain cult product that she absolutely hated. According to her, this blush simply did not show up on her skin (which is about an NC15 I'd wager).

It was NARS Orgasm. Now even if someone gives me a product that they personally don't like, I love receiving it because A) it might work on me, and B) I may have a great time reviewing a dud for you guys.

As you can see, she had hit pan on the blush, not because of utter devotion to the product, but because it took a tremendous amounts of swipes to see any color on her cheeks:

After using this product for 1 month, I completely agreed with her. It sucked. I started visualizing blog posts titled "Are you faking Orgasm?". But over time, although it was nothing more than a subtle sheer shimmer, my hand kept reaching for the big O. Was it because of its reputation? Was I just giddy that I was wearing NARS Orgasm? (ok yes a little). Or, was I truly enjoying this peachy pink shimmery blush?

In the second month, I began to admire the versatility of this blush. It paired just as well with smokey eyes as it did with a boring all-over-the-lid-out-the-door eyes. 

But my respect turned into love in the last 3-4 days. This weekend, while visiting my sister in London, I regularly did my mom and sister's makeup. The two women's complexions range between NC30 - NC45. Orgasm looked amazing on both of them even though they have vast differences in skin tones and age.

I have to hand it to NARS. They have hit upon a blush whose shade and texture truly works across all ages, colors and makeup looks. Well done Orgasm. It took me a while to get it, but I finally got it. And it was goood. ;)

I'm off to London and Redecoration

In less than 12 hours I'll be aboard a flight to London to celebrate my sister's graduation. While looking through pictures of my last trip to London (2006), I cringed and realized I have learned many deep life lessons:

1. Don't dress like a dork.

2. Don't get excited about touristy things like red telephone booths. 

3. Buy a better hand bag.

4. A crappy ponytail is not to be worn anywhere outside of a shower stall.

5. If you have no sense of fashion or interior design, find a friend who does. Then go shopping with her.

That is exactly what I did last week. My fabulous sister-in-law visited us and redecorated our living room in...get this...1 day flat. She makes decisions lightning fast and can spot fabulosity on a budget. Check this out:

This is a wall right outside our kitchen and facing the dining table. We can use it as an extra buffet table or to showcase our keepsakes. Pieces are from from IKEA, Pier 1 and TJ Maxx. One awesome tip I picked up from her is to find accessories at furniture showrooms!

This is the wall facing opposite the first picture. She made use of a lot of accessories we already had, such as the console table and all the accessories on the table.  The wall piece is from Pier 1.

This dining table is between the walls shown on the first two pictures. The mirror is from TJ Maxx.

This is our main living area. We already had the furniture and most of the accessories in the built-in bookcases. Most of these items were simply rearranged. These accessories are from our travels, Pier 1, Ten Thousand Villages, and India.

We added a tall vase from Pier 1 in the corner, and placed some fillers in there. 

I feel like I'm all of a sudden in the lobby of the W Hotel. I also clearly understood what style of decoration I really truly love. I always thought I was a fan contemporary, but what I really love is modern ethnic. I love pieces that have modern shapes, but the color palette, texture or print is warm and ethnic. Thanks for making our place so chic Fal! You need to go pro! 

Body Shop Roseflower Blush in Fuscia

I never go into Body Shop. It's not that I don't like it; it's just that I am totally unfamiliar with their products. Furthermore, since they are a standalone store, the chances are low for me to just explore their counter like I would if I was in Sephora or a department store. Thanks to a giveaway I won a few months ago from Emily's blog, Body Shop now has an admirer in me.

Meet the Body Shop Roseflower Blush in Fuscia:

In the pan, it is a lovely true rose color, and who can resist that beautiful rose imprint? 

On the skin, it gives a flattering flush of color that lifts my whole complexion. I am confident that this color would work on everything from porcelain skin to tanned beauties.

My camera didn't capture this, but the blush has loose gold bits in it. At first I was sure that this would result in a glittery mess on my cheeks but instead, it creates a perfect sheen on top of the blush. Its like I'm using a blush and a highlighter in one step.

One negative of this blush is the amount of fall out you see when you swipe the brush across the pan. Seems like you are wasting a bunch of product, because its like swirl, swirl, get tons of product on the brush, tap tap, 50% of product ends up on sink/towel. But that aside, this blush is gorgeous, works in all 4 seasons, and is now my gateway drug into the wonderful world of Body Shop.

Do you guys have any Body Shop favorites?

My Summer Foundation Routine

It is burning up in here folks! I don't know about your neck of the woods, but mine are positively steaming. So in hot weather like this, I am completely unmotivated to go through a whole foundation face routine unless someone is actually looking at me besides my poor little lab rats (I'm a nerdy neuroscientist FYI). So these days, I have a very simple face routine:

1) Apply MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation
2) Repeat as necessary throughout the day.

MAC Studio Fix Powder gives medium to heavy coverage, depending on how much you build on the product. On super hot days, you can even use a small amount as a blotting powder.

If MAC SF Powder was a man, he'd be steadily dating the Coastal Scents Large Synthetic Buffer Brush. Heck, he'd have proposed by now. I've been using this pair for a while now and I'm completely happy with how quickly this big soft teddy bear of a brush covers my face and lets me get out of my hot-as-heck bathroom that much faster!

 Awww look, they are cuddling!! (Why do I anthropomorphize my makeup?)

I love the big flat shape of this brush. Plus, because it is uber soft, I can stipple away to glory with no "ouch that pricks!"

So on weekdays, I heartily recommend MAC SF Powder Foundation paired with a soft stippling brush. Carry the compact with you because this makeup does not like to stay for more than 3-4 hours. 

On weekends, when I'm hanging out with homo sapiens as opposed to rodents, I go with Revlon Colorstay (applied with a sponge...sparingly!), topped off with Coastal Scents mineral veil. That puppy does not budge. 

What is your summer foundation routine? I heart product recommendations. :-)