MAC and Chen Man!

This is the heart-hidden surprise from the picture I posted yesterday!!
MAC Cosmetics partnered with Chen Man to form a collection called Love and Water. Chen Man is a fashion photographer from Beijing, in her photography she combines her camera skills with her computer photoediting techniques. She says that she was inspired by her infatuation with love and water, yin and yang, and pink and blue.

 





These are the two ads for this collection and the pictures are of Chen Man herself.

And these are a couple of her works in photography.

So let's get on with the product that I purchased from this collecion.

The one that I got is a mineralize eyeshadow duo, which is available in three colors: Supersweet, which is bronzy, gold mélange, pink on one side and the other is a golden pink; Pink Union, half is a taupe, lavender, brown mélange and the other half is a solid dark violet; and Love Cycle has part light blue, white, dark blue mélange with the other side being a solid royal blue. And just so you know, mélange means that it's a mixture.

 I thought that the sleeve that Chen Man created for the box was pretty so I just had to take a picture and show you guys. As you may be able to tell, I bought the Pink Union color. I love purple in pretty much everything. Ha ha. This duo is great, they go perfectly together and they are so smooth! Which is odd for a mineral eyeshadow. Very blendable and very pretty.

 Though I do have to warn you to be careful when applying it, there are a lot of sparkles packed in here and most fall to your under eye area, so I recommend holding a tissue or something underneath while applying. If not, then apply your eyeshadow before any face make-up so that you can use make-up remover to nix any extra sparkles underneath, where they shouldn't be. :)

Here it is swatched. This duo is absolutely buildable and wonderful! :) I did like the rest of the collection, but I don't think it's for me. Very pretty though. You all should take a peep at this collection. :)

Pink Union dreams, Annie <3

Haul/Review Partayy!!

I know, I know, I'm like a week late. Things have just been piling up around here. Here is a picture of the overview this post, except for a fantastic mascara! The heart is covering up tomorrow's post topic. He he! 

And since 2:52pm yesterday, I have been entering a contest and trying to purchase a purse. Both were for the same purse. (The website completely sold out in just about 14 hours!! So they're on backorder.) It's a purse that Kandee Johnson designed with Imoshion, which is a vegan leather handbag brand and has been featured pretty much everywhere. Kandee Johnson is a youtube make-up guru and celebrity make-up artist, on top of this she's a mom to 4 children! I love her videos and have been following her since her Selena Gomez tutorial in 2009. She is sooo talented and super nice, I wish I personally knew her because she's just a burst of energy!! Here is her youtube channel and her mommy blog. This purse is super cute! I am in loveee with it. It combines leopard print, studs, hot pink, and a pop of turquoise. I know it sounds like a hot disaster, but it isn't, it is really pretty and cute!!  Click HERE to see her make-up blog (it's a link to the post to enter for this purse, but you can just click Home to see her other posts). The contest ends April 5th 2012!

Of course on the left is the frontal view of the purse and the turquoise tassel, 3 studs on the two front pockets, and by the way, there are a ton of pockets, and I mean a ton!! In the middle picture is the inside again more pockets. And on the right is the purse and the matching cosmetic bag that comes with it. :) I am so excited to get this purse!! :)

Lets proceed with the haul/review. <3

Up first is the Chocomania Body Scrub from The Body Shop. I purchased the small size which is $6. Now, this is a negative for me. I find that if I use it after I use soap, then rinse, it makes you sticky. Even if I wash afterwards, I'm still sticky. Not typically desirable. But if I scrub after using it, then I'm fine...and I mean scrub... I'm not a big fan of it though. :/

On to Purity Made Simple from Philosophy. The 16oz. is $32. I loveeee this cleanser. It is so amazing! This is such a staple in my nightly routine. It removes even the toughest make-up so easily and quickly. This is a makeup remover, cleanser, and toner, all in one bottle. :) And I forgot to photograph the bottle, so here's the sample package, but you can see the full size bottle in the overview pic at the top. Ha ha.

I present to you, drumroll please, Sugar Chick from Philosophy. I purchased the 16oz. for $16 because they were on sale, but they're normally $22. I love this scent! It smells sweet, but now overpowering. Their description says "sugar coated marshmallow" which is initially a turn off for me, but I love smelling their stuff. So I did and it smells slightly lemony, and agreeably, sort of like peeps...but better! This soap cleans really well, like all of their other cleansers. If used as a shampoo, the scent lingers for a while, but in a wonderful way. As a body wash, the scent disappears once you hop out of the shower. Plus it's sparkly, I can't wait to try this in a bath!

The ladies at Philosophy in Nordstrom gave me a sample of Vanilla Birthday Cake, which I already had smelled since this was Sephora's birthday gift last year and I did not like it then. The full size bottle is $16 and only comes in this one size for sale. I decided to try it out again, and it smells the exact same, the scent smells quite pleasant in the bottle, but once you use it in the shower, it just elevates. I just really do not like this scent.

Here is a summer must have, the Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant/Anti-perspirant. This not only makes you sweat less, but you don't need very much of it! This was about $19. It also makes my underarm hair grow quite a bit slower, which is great in summer since they're always exposed. Ha ha! It has a twist top, which I do like, and a twist up bottom.

Last and absolutely not least is the best mascara I have ever used so far, Eyeko Skinny Brush Mascara for $19 at Sephora stores. This mascara gives length, volume, and definition. What's cool and different about this one is that it's in a squeeze tube, which you don't generally see, but I like it. :) This mascara is formulated with Pro-Vitamin B, Natural oils and waxes, which all prevent eyelashes from breaking and also promote lash growth. This mascara doesn't smudge, crumble, or flake off at all. Period. No exceptions to that, no "for up to 8 hours", it will not until you take it off. The little thing that looks like a cute guitar pick is actually a smudge shield which you hold behind your lashes. Of course the wide part goes at the base of your eyelashes. I love this mascara and I can't wait to try the other two that they have. I hope the Sephora here gets the Curvy and Fat brushed mascaras soon! :)

Wonderful smells, pretty purses, and wonderful lashes, Annie

A little bit late

Hey there! I know I'm a little late, but I will have a new post upthis week. It is of course, a mini haul/review. And surprisingly, it includes a couple negative. But the positively discussed ones are so fantastic!! :)

 Almost posting, Annie :)

DIY Chocolate Bath, yumm!!

Hey there! So here's the DIY post I was yammering about last night. :) Though I didn't quite post this in the evening...it's now 5:15am. Oopsie. Ha. I suppose I will get started on how to do so. *Of course if you are allergic to any of the following ingredients, do not use them!

What you'll need:

1/4 cup of honey

2 cups of milk

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

*I used Hershey's Cocoa Natural Unsweetened, but any will do, I prefer organic seeing as I will be sitting in this and don't really want fillers,etc. etc., I also used an organic honey for the same reasons.

What the ingredients do:
*In case you don't care about what they do, proceed below to the Mixing section. :)

Of course the cocoa powder softens your skin nicely, plus it moisturizes and re-mineralizes the skin and metabolism.  The chocolate also improves mood by producing more endorphins, hormones that generate feelings of well-being.

You could also just use milk. This was of course made famous by Cleopatra, she is said to have used camel's milk. She took milk baths to soften and improve the appearance of her skin, however, she used purely milk without the water, seeing as that would take quite a bit of milk, I decided to cut the amount (and cost) down, ha ha. The milk and honey supply a lot of nutrients to your skin along with proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and calcium and is also quite hydrating.

Mixing:

First, measure out 1/4 cup of honey, I just poured it into one big microwave safe measuring cup (didn't want to dirty too many dishes). Now, add in your 2 cups of milk. Then microwave the ingredients for 2 1/2 minutes. The reason for microwaving is because it makes adding and blending the cocoa powder easier. Remove from the microwave and whisk until frothy.  Add in your 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and whisk again until the cocoa powder is dissolved.

Bath Time!!:

Fill your bathtub with about 75% water, while the water is running, pour your mixture under the faucet. The running and warm water makes the mixture nice and frothy.

Now, dim the lights, possibly burn a candle or two, and just sit back and relax with a good book or magazine. *For an extra luxurious touch, take some dark chocolate to enjoy eating. I recommend Divine brand chocolate. <3

Sweet chocolaty dreams, Annie

HEADS UP!!

Woahhh! I have a new blog post coming at ya soon. You should read my post that will be up tomorrow.
 It's about a chocolate DIY thing, nooo, it's not dirty, it's nice and squeaky clean. :) ...well, maybe not. You kinda do have to wash after. ha ha , well in case you're wondering what it is, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow evening...more like this evening, but you know. It will be up earlyish evening. :)

Heh heh heh...secretive blog posts...Annie :)

Heavy Metal!...Cosmetics?!?!

Hi everyone. I'm really sorry about not posting last weekend and to apologize somewhat in advance for not really posting this weekend either. I have come down with the flu and I'm behind on a lot of things, obviously, including this.
 
    So I did happen to read an article about there being some heavy metals in beauty products, to which I was alarmed because these metals are not listed on labels, are very harmful to the body, let alone that we apply these to our faces! So I'll include this article so you guys can throw out these products if you own them and hopefully avoid purchasing them. This article actually made me want to buy certified "green" or "eco-friendly" products... kind of. I still love my MAC mascaras, and the only product of theirs that had an issue was a certain kind of blush, which I never use, except my different kind in Azalea Blossom.
   I was alarmed to see these metals in higher end brands: Clinique, Sephora, MAC, and Benefit. But I was also glad I don't use any of these products except for the Benefit Benetint. Which was obviously disappointing, seeing as I really like this product. But just knowing what is in it, was enough to make me immediatly throw it in the trash.
  So finally, here is the article!

Shocking right?? I do wish they would have listed all 49 of the products that included the heavy metals. So disappointing to me just hearing that some of my favorite brands have harmful products in them. Hopefully these brands realize this or will do something to put an end to the use of these.

I'll try to do a new post next weekend, but I'm not sure what over. That will be determined last minute. Hah!

Keeping your face from harmful metals, Annie