Holiday Soiree

Our spa holiday party was last week & since most of my fabulous readers don't live in glorious Baltimore- I wanted you all to still feel a part of it! Here were some of our treats to our guests: my beloved Thymes' Frasier Fir votives & candy cane bark. Stayed tuned for the tutorial on the bark, they were super easy & make the perfect party favor!

Warm spiced {& spiked!} apple cider resided in the snowman decanter. Champagne with a splash of cranberry{this concoction is called a Poinsettia} was our signature holiday drink.

For some reason my dipped pretzel rods are always a fan favorite- which are so easy to make & customize as to theme or holiday. Our Becca Make-up Event was that same weekend, so we left our display out so our guests could play with the products.

A closeup of the spice cupcakes in poinsettia baking cups, which were iced with buttercream frosting & dusted with opal sanding sugar. I piped a red & white striped dollop of icing in the center just to be fancy!

The small, but mighty La Papillon Beauty Team! From left: Esthetician Lisa, our Diva of Dermatology Dr. Noelle Sherber, yours truly, Esthetician & Spa Manager Brianne. Brianne is sporting the easy holiday hair look I taught her- stay tuned for a tutorial on that as well!

It was a super fun evening & a way to show our customers how much we appreciate them! Every guest also left with a sample of Kinara's Red Carpet Facial Kit. It is an at home facial peel system that we just got in & absolutely love! After all, we want all of our clients' skin to be Merry & Bright for the holiday season!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

LORAC Bejeweled Day & Night Jewelry Box

It's that time of the year *swoon* when some of my favorite lines launch their holiday collections! Armed recently with a 20% Sephora coupon, I did some major damage online. On my list of acquisitions: Lorac's Bejeweled Day & Night Jewelry Box Collection{$56}. I must say when I opened the box my first thought was, " Holy Toddlers and Tiaras!" It looked a little bit more, ahem, elegant online.

I wanted to keep an open mind, as I adore Lorac's buttery shadows. Opening the drawers my hopes lifted a little when I spotted the sparkly day & night palettes.

Upon lifting the top of the Steel Magnolia themed jewelry box, there was a bronzer meant for a giant & 2 rather frosted lipglosses.

Just to be honest, I do love some sparkle as seen here on my cell phone case. The shadow palettes were beautiful on the outside.

But when I opened them, I was disappointed to see how small the actual shadows were. I would have preferred less shades, for a little more product.

Lorac's shadows are lovely. I'm sporting some of the coppery colors from the Day compact.

The Night compact's color shades.

Here's a closer look at the gorgeous shades & actual size, which as you can see most shadow brushes wouldn't fit into completely! I felt like this entire collection had been put into production in a big rush. Quality of product aside(because it is there), this kit just isn't user friendly. Giant bronzers, tiny shadows- the layout is off. The box is not what I would call a keepsake, either. If you want tons of options, in one time use sizing- buy it. Otherwise, skip this one as there are tons of winners that I'll be showing you this holiday season!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Holiday Beauty Blogger Giveaway!

Can you believe the holidays are right around the corner? I can't! Yet my list of gifts to get keeps growing by the minute & we all know that can add up.  So myself, along with some of my favorite fellow beauty bloggers teamed up for an amazing Holiday Beauty Blogger Giveaway! That's right, a $500 Visa Gift Card is up for grabs!  If you win, it will definitely help you get those gifts for loved ones- just make sure you treat yourself to something fabulous & of course beauty related! Good Luck Beauties!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Theatre of the Nameless

You girls know I feel naked without my cat eye. Ever forget your watch or your cell phone at home & you feel lost without it? That's sort of the feeling. I turn to my little black cake liner from Illamasqua every morning to finish my peepers. I've read articles about the line that say it's for 'after hours' wear- for those a little more on the wild side. I say bring it. Theater of the Nameless is their latest collection.

The collection includes their Intense Lipgloss in Facade(top) & Belladonna(bottom). The lipglosses remind me a bit of the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' Lip Tars in their opaqueness- they are incredibly intense pigment wise, but feel light as air & super silky on the lips. Belladonna is a gorgeous pink that would brighten any complexion. Facade I could see intimidating most. A trick I use flesh colored glosses for is to tone down other lip shades. Professional Make-Up Artists often use concealer to soften shades or in steps to create the perfect nude lip, Facade would be perfect for this.

Theatre of the Nameless also includes their New Masquara in Raven & Precision Ink in Havoc. I'm quite picky about my mascaras{I know- shocker!} The brush on the New Masquara is fluffy & fabulous catching all of your lashes- lifting them up, as well as opening the eye.

The Precision Ink glides on quite effortlessly & boosts some serious staying power. Sorry for the lazy eye shot, but I had to take one for team because it shows the rich mahogany shade with a hint of plum. Auburns & redheads run, do not walk to get this liner. It was made for you! I'm smitten with line in general- it makes me feel a little naughty. I often hop over to their website just to get my creative juices flowing. Whenever I'm working with a client who says I can't do make-up well or I'm not good at it, I always remind them that make-up should be fun. It's a means of self expression. Besides they're very few mistakes in life that can be rectified with a simple swipe of cleanser! I say be bold.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

*Items gifted for review

Nars Arabian Nights

As a make-up artist, I tend to steer away away from pink shadows. Often pinks, when used near the eyes can make them look bloodshot. However, upon spotting Nars' limited edition Arabian Nights {$45} trio I was pretty enchanted.

I had held off scooping it up until I swatched the palette at Sephora. The colors appeared like regal jewels on my finger tips & the collection had to be mine!

The next day I eagerly delved into the compact, ready to create a major bejeweled smokey eye. The oddest thing happened. After applying my standard eye shadow primer, I patted the magenta shade on inner portion of my lid. What appeared? A deep, matte black color. No sparkle whatsoever. Confused I tried the purple shade on the middle of my lid- matte black again! Just to round out the trio I tried the deepest shade on the outer corner of my lid. Want to guess? This picture shows all three shades applied, which all look the same. Not one to give up without a fight, I attempted again without the primer, thinking that might have thrown the colors off. Nope. Still matte black appeared. I have no idea why this happened, but I must say I was extremely bummed. Alas, these shadows are not what they seem- I'd recommend taking a pass on this one.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Class

This week I went to a Thanksgiving Centerpiece decorating class at my favorite floral studio, Crimson & Clover. Seriously could you ever be sad being surrounded by such beautiful flowers? This bounty was ours for the taking in terms of selection for our arrangement- my eyes went straight to those gorgeous coral roses!

I went with Mrs. Everglam {my nickname as she's always so stylish!} to the class, she's moving to Chicago *sigh* in just two weeks... I'm trying to soak up every moment I can with her! With white wine at our side we began the arranging process.

Each student had the option of choosing a longer style centerpiece or a more modern arrangement in a square glass vase. Mrs. Everglam & I both went with the longer style, which you can see at right started of as a brick shaped piece of oasis. We started by using greens at the bottom to cover the oasis base. Then we selected the top focal point flowers- I went with these mint green hydrangeas. I wanted to go with white hydrangeas, but was told the white tend to not be as hardy. From there, we kept inserting smaller blooms until the centerpiece became full & lush.

It was fascinating to see everyone's pieces evolve & take shape as the night went on. Here was the work station at the end of the night with everyone's arrangements.

Mrs. Everglam went with a vibrant burst of autumnal colors, sprigs of berries & even a pomegranate completed the look.

Here's my masterpiece! I love it- yet it's not at all what I originally thought I would do. It's funny how the arrangement took on a life of it's own. I would love to tell you the names of the ball things & the drapey stuff- but alas I have no idea what they're called!

An aerial shot of the centerpiece to show off the two gilded pheasant feathers I added for a little sass! I hope you & those you love having a Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Make Up For Ever

Let's face it: most lips products, no matter how much they promise to say put- just don't. Often brides ask how to boost staying power & I offer a layering process of stains, lipstick, setting powder ,etc... However gloss, by its very nature & texture glides off the mouth. Think of how often the average female chats, sips her Starbucks & nibbles- it's asking a lot for a product to hang on through oil & vinegar salad dressing! Make-Up For Ever's aqua creams are impressive in that department. So when I saw an ad campaign featuring their Aqua Lip pencil I knew I had to try it out! The color in the campaign looked nothing like the photo in person- so I would look at these liners in the store to make your selection.

I ended up picking #2c, a nice neutral pinky nude. I always go with liners that are your lip color with a little bit more oomph. This is due to my kindergarden teacher Mrs. Carson who always had a magenta clown like outline around her lips that scarred me, but I digress. Unless you sport a signature red lip, nude liners will always take care of you! I fill in the entire lip & top with whatever gloss I'm feeling that day. This liner doesn't dry out your lips the way most long wearing do. I thought it held up very well. But the true validation of this was running into my sister & her commenting on the shade. It had been 4 hours after application & I had just finished lunch. Sold.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M