Nordie's Haul

Nordstrom Rack Haul
I heart Nordie's. Nowhere else can you find deals like this. I was able to find this cute Marc Jacobs slippers for only a third of the original price! I also got a great deal on this adorable Kate Spade bag. When times get tough, a girl's gotta go bargain shopping and The Rack is definately a place you can get more bang for your buck.

Stila Haul

STILA BACKSTAGE BEAUTY PALETTES

A note just on packaging. I'm so excited about the packaging on these palettes. They are just beautiful. It comes in this elegant black box. I just had to take a picture of it. Just too cute. The palettes are housed in this patent leather wallet in pewter gray (the runway look) and red (the redcarpet look) . Stila's got packaging down. Oh... forgot to mention that the eyeshadows are very nice too.

2009 Oscars

I'm not much of an award show person and I don't watch enough movies throughout the year to get much out of watching the Oscars however, I love flipping through pictures of the evening gowns. Everyone looked so glamorous and beautiful but I decided to do list of my favorites and my not so favorites for fun.

Oscar Winners:
1) Angelina Jolie: She looked stunning. As always, she picks these classic gowns and is able to make it look incredible. But I was amazed by how those emerald earrings looked on her. She looked amazing.

2) Kate Winslet: She's such a beautiful person and so talented. She looked wonderful in an off the shoulder number. Her hair, her earrings, her gown... everything was perfect. I hope she finally gets an oscar.

3) Anne Hathaway: Most of the time, I kinda find her annoying but she looked beautiful tonight.

4) Penelope Cruz: It looks like a wedding gown but she just looked so well put together.

5) Alicia Keys: I just loved the dress... Pink but classy.

Oscar Letdowns:
1) Heidi Klum: What was she thinking? It was an asymmetric pink mess.

2) Mylie Cyrus: It makes me so sad when young actresses try to dress older. That dress would have been suitable for someone in their thirties but for a teen, it just makes her look like she is playing dressup. Much prefer that Vanessa Hutchins dress, young and flirty and definately age appropriate.

Which ones did you like and dislike?

Crazy

Nars Blush in Crazed

Nars Crazed is crazy. I know that Nars blush in general is highly pigmented. With my Dolce Vita blush, I have to lightly tap with my brush and then tap it on to my cheeks to avoid looking like someone from the Red Light district. But Crazed is crazy potent. I used the same method because I heard that it is super pigmented but when I placed it on my cheeks, I still looked like a clown. I think I'll have to get a stipling brush or a less dense blush brush for this. I love the color. It's so vibrant. I did a swatch and this is the pigmentation from literally one swipe. Amazing...

Comparable Shadows to Too Faced

Left: TF Fawn, UD Sin, TF Bronze, UD Smog
Right: TF Silver and Black Spark, NYX Platinum Silver and Black

So I was so peeved by my Too Faced Smokey Eye palette. These shadows are so unorginal and the quality was so unimpressive. For example, I just looked into one of my Urban Decay palettes and I was able to find colors that are much better in quality that can be used to create the same look.

Day Smoke
So it's not an exact dupe but it's pretty close. For the swatch, I did one swipe of the Urban decay shadows and it showed up pretty well. The Sin didn't really come out on the camera but in person, one swipe gives you a lot of color. For the Too Faced, I really had to dig into it and as you can see, Fawn barely comes out at all.

Classic Smoke
You can probably create the same look with UD oil slick and polyester bride. Or with NYX platinum silver and black. Either way, with the classic smoke, any plain silver shadow and matte black will do because that's all it is really.

Too Faced Smoky Eye Palette

I'm such a sucker for packaging so when I saw this palette, I just had to have it. I figured you can never have too many smokey eye palettes. Plus, it got pretty good ratings on Sephora. It sells for $32 at Sephora and includes 3 smokey eye looks (Day Smoke, Fashion Smoke, and Classic Smoke), 2 double ended shadow mini brushes with a sponge tip on one end and an angled brush on the other end, and three tutorial cards on how to create each look.

The packaging is beautiful. I can't say enough about it. It's just too cute. In terms of the shadows, I'm so disappointed. This is actually my first Too Faced eyeshadow product and I'm hoping it's not representative of their line. The pigmentation is not great, or at least not what you would expect for the price. I honestly have NYX shadows that are nicer.

In terms of the looks, the Fashion smoke is pretty unique but I tried it and I personally don't think it works for me. But I can imagine that it would look great on others. The Day Smoke and the Classic smoke are not very unique at all. Honestly, if you have any black and silver shadow, you can recreate the Classic smoke very easily. The Day Smoke pigmentation is probably the worst of the bunch. I can barely see it on my lid (even with eyeshadow primer).

So overall, if you like palettes with nice packaging, it fits the bill. But for me, it's just not worth it. I actually ordered the New Romantic Unicorn palette from Too Faced before I had a chance to try this one and I'm hoping it's going to be better. If it's bad, I think I'm going to get turned off by Too Faced despite all their cute packaging.

What I'm Using Right Now Tag

I got tagged by Lilyangel for what i'm using right now. Thanks Lilyangel. I've been really enjoying reading the lists and getting too many ideas about things that I want to try.

Shampoo: John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Volumizing shampoo
smells yummy and leaves a nice shine to your hair

Conditioner: John Frieda Brilliant Brunette conditioner

Styling Product: Too lazy to do that on regular basis, I use the John Frieda shine shock sometimes but generally I just brush my hair and leave it as is

Shower Gel: Philosophy Amazing Grace

Body Moisterizer: Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream

Deodorant: Secret in spanish rose

Fake Tan: I don't

Cleanser: Jan Marini Bioglycolic Facial Cleanser

Eye Makeup Remover: Arcona White Tea eye makeup remover

Exfoliator: Avon Microdermabrasion

Primer: none

Foundation: Everyday Minerals in Golden Medium Intensive Formula

Foundation Brush: Everyday Minerals Flat Top Brush

Concealer: Benefit Erase Paste but I much prefer Benefit Boing

Powder: Everyday Minerals Tinted Silk

Blush: My favorite at the moment is Nars Dolce Vita or Oasis

Bronzer: Everyday Minerals Sandy Olive Foundation... This is as bronzy as I get. don't like bronzers very much in general

Highlighter: my skin is naturally oily so I stay away from highlighters. If it use one, it would be either Benefit high beam or Nars albatross

Eyeshadow: NYX champagne, nutmeg and gypsy

Eyeliner: Revlon colorstay

Eyeshadow Base: Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Eyelash Curler: Shu Uemura

Eyelash Base: don't use one

Mascara: currently using Rimmel Glam Eyes but prefer Covergirl lashblast

Lipstick: Nars Dolce Vita is my all time favorite

Lipgloss: Benefit her glossiness in Talk to my agent at the moment

Nail Polish: Lippmann collection in I dreamed you

I guess I tag anyone who wants to share their current faves.