Editions of Me

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in "Skinny Jeans" Zoya nail polish in "Dove"

Wearing light colors today, since I've been wearing some pretty intense stuff all week. But couldn't resist the pop of color either. - UDPP Original - UD e/s in Buck all over the lid - UD e/s in Naked to soften the line - Sugarpill e/s in Midori in the crease - Palladio Herbal Precision eyeliner in Dark Chocolate - UD Supercurl mascara

Never worn RED eyeshadow before; decided to try it. - UDPP Original - Concrete Minerals Hearts applied wet all over the lid - UD Creep in the crease and blended into the outer corner - UD Virgin as a highlight - Tarte emphasEYES Amazonian Clay shadow/liner in black along the upper lash line - UD eye pencil in Zero smudged into the outer lower lash line. - UD Supercurl mascara

The date has been set. The goal has been set. I'm training for this marathon. Yes, the full marathon. I know, I try to do it every year, and it never works out, but this year? My best friend Rebecca is training too! And we're both starting out at the same level, so we can encourage and motivate each other, and hold each other accountable. Becca's never run before, and I've run but I keep having to start over from ground zero, so we really are both experiencing this together. This is going to be a life-changing thing for us, and it's awesome that we'll be doing it side by side :)

I totally love this beauty blog called The Painted Mask, because dolcearia just does WONDERFUL things with makeup, both "beauty" and "art." Yesterday she posted this look called Candy Wrapper that I totally fell in love with, and since I have all the same things she used for the eye look, I decided to try it too: - UDPP Eden - Sugarpill Chromalust in Tiara applied wet all over the lid - Sugarpill Dollipop applied on the outer half (blending the midline) - Sugarpill Poison Plum in the crease and along the outer half of the lower lash line - Sugarpill Tako as a highlight and to soften the crease - UD eye pencil in Zero along the upper lash line (my addition) and the lower waterline - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara Cheeks: - UD Afterglow Cheek Tints in Greedy (Yeah, I wear this one a lot. Reminds me of BeneTint, but easier to use) Lips: - UD Lip Junkie lipgloss in Jilted

Totally had Pink Floyd's "Hey You" stuck in my head while I was doing my makeup this morning Eyes: - UDPP Original - Concrete Minerals Lolita on the inner half of the eyelid - Concrete Minerals Temptress on the outer half of the eyelid, applied dry first as a base, and then applied wet on top; also applied wet along the lower lash line - Concrete Minerals Black Metal in the crease - Concrete Minerals Croma to soften the crease - Palladio Herbal Precision eyeliner in Black Onyx along the upper lash line and lower waterline - UD Supercurl mascara Lips: - UD Pocket Rocket lipgloss in Jesse Face: - UD Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer in Bodyguard - UD Afterglow Cheek Tints in Greedy - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus - MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

La Fresh Eco-Beauty Wipes - A Review

This look incorporates colors from Sweet Libertine's Purple Prose eyeshadow set . (Psst! Everything in their shop is 30% off right now!!!!!) - UDPP Original - Camisole all over the lid - Raisin Girl in the crease and slightly in the outer corner - Filigree to soften the crease - UD eye pencil in Rockstar - UD Supercurl mascara Face: - UD Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer in Bodyguard - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus - MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder - MAC Fix+ Spray with Lavender Cheeks: - UD Afterglow Cheek Tints in Greedy Lips: - Urban Decay lipstick in Naked

I'm not labeling these "Try this look" because I was just having fun and seeing how colors work together, and seeing what I can come up with. I'm posting them just so I can sort of keep track of them (like an artist's notebook or something =P): Attempt 1: I've had this color combo stuck in my head all week, and didn't have time to try it until now: [Sugarpill pressed shadows: Afterparty (inner), Tako (middle), Dollipop (outer), Poison Plum (crease) UD eye pencil in Perversion] Notes: VERY opaque pigmentation! I chose Perversion because it would also be very solid black. I'd like to try this again but make it look more like a gradient than three blocks of color - need to blend better. Couldn't come up with something for the lower lash line to go with it. Attempt 2: Trying to do something Giants-inspired :) Though, when I get my Sugarpill Burning Heart palette, I'll have a REALLY bright orange! [Concrete Minerals Napalm all over the

- UDPP Original - Sugarpill Chromalust in Tipsy on the inner third of lid - Sugarpill Chromalust in Junebug on middle third of lid - Sugarpill Chromalust in Magpie on outer third of lid - Sugarpill Chromalust in Lumi to blend into the crease - Sugarpill pressed shadow in Bulletproof in the crease - Palladio Herbal Precision eyeliner in Black Onyx along the upper lash line - UD eye pencil in Mildew along the lower lash line - UD Supercurl mascara on the upper lashes - Clinique Bottom Lash mascara on the lower lashes Face: - UD De-Slick Mattifying Gel - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus Cheeks: - Maybelline Dream Mousse blush in Peach Satin Lips: - MAC Cremesheen lipglass in Partial to Pink

Let it be known that today, I joined the ranks of "people who can run a mile without stopping." I know there are a lot of people who can do this, so I'm not THAT special, but there are a great many more people in the world who can't, so I'm still pretty proud of myself. In fact, I ran a mile and a HALF! This was part of the Couch to 5k program. This was my first time running for so long without a break, and I was really nervous about it even as I was doing my warm-up, but then I DID IT, and I'm so happy! :)

Wearable Orange Lipcolor (I definitely had to resist titling it something like, "Orange you glad....")

- UDPP Original - Concrete Minerals e/s in Vegas on the inner corner - Sugarpill Chromalust in Paperdoll on the rest of the lid - Sugarpill pressed e/s in Poison Plum in the crease - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara

Red lipstick and falsies! MAC Dare You Ardell Accents 305 MAC Viva Glam I Revlon Fantasy Lengths 99501 MAC Dubonnet Ardell 108

This morning, I had no idea what I felt like wearing. And then Sugarpill's Dollipop was calling to me from my eyeshadow drawer. I did a similar look a little while ago using Decora (and grays from the Naked palette), which is bright, but not nearly as bright as Dollipop - honestly, my photos do not do this color justice :) This also uses the Naked palette, but uses brown instead of gray. - UDPP Original - Sugarpill Dollipop on the inner half of the lid - UD Darkhorse on the outer half and just on the outer corner of the lower lash line - UD Virgin to soften the line and highlight the brow - Sugarpill Bulletproof in the crease - UD eye pencil in Zero along the upper lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara Face: - UD Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer in Bodyguard Cheeks: - UD Afterglow Cheek Tints in Greedy Lips: - UD Lip Junkie gloss in Crush

I fell so totally in love with the shadows that were used in this blog post that I went out and bought two of them, plus another two coordinating colors. This is my first MAC eyeshadow purchase in YEARS (I know, surprising, right?), so I was super excited. Of course, this may just open the floodgates and my eyeshadow collection might triple. (No, it won't! I promise! Well, sort of.) Eyes: - UDPP in Greed - MAC Tilt all over the lid and along lower lash line - MAC Shroom to soften the line and highlight the brow - MAC Contrast in the crease - Tarte emphasEYES Inner Rim pencil in black along upper lash line and lower waterline - Tarte Lights! Cameras! Splashes! waterproof mascara (I heard it was going to rain today) Face: - MAC Prep+Prime Skin - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus Cheeks: - UD Afterglow Cheek Tints in Greedy Lips: - UD Pocket Rocket lip gloss in Jesse

I knit this using under 3.5 skeins of Paton's Wool in Water Chestnut, on size 11's. This was a SUPER quick knit, and not too hard to follow. I think that the way the instructions were written could have been simplified a lot more, but on the whole, it was easy. The lace pattern was actually really easy to memorize, and the only part that seemed to drag was the ribbing on the neck (and I've had worse). I have to say, the armholes are HUGE until you pick up stitches to do the ribbed edging. I was quite worried it'd end up looking like some sort of muscle shirt, but once you do the sleeve edging, it makes it look more like a normal sleeveless sweater. I do wish the shoulder tops had more support, though - it is still pretty heavy, despite the lace and large gauge, and it really pulls on the shoulders. Something a little more solid would've been nice. Sorry for the crappy resolution photo :)

I discovered Concrete Minerals when someone I was swapping with included a sample of their shadow, Wicked , with my package. I know there are a lot of crackpot mineral companies out there, so I didn't want to just start slathering it on. I looked them up and fell in love with the color selection, as well as the fact that you get such a generous amount. (Their sample sizes are the same amount as other brands' FULL size products!) Today's look is a purple-y taupe: - UDPP Original - Lolita  all over the eyelid as well as along the lower lash line - Croma  to blend out Lolita into the crease - Jezebel  in the crease - UD eye pencil in Zero along the upper lash line - UD eye pencil in Uzi smudged into the lower lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara on the upper lashes - Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara on the lower lashes Face: Urban Decay's Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer in Bodyguard Cheeks: Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin Li

I was messing around with my Picasa album viewing settings, and I think it broke the links to a bunch of photos I've used for old posts. I'm going through to try and fix as much as I can now, but I've got hundreds of old posts, so they might take a while. I'm working backwards. Thankfully, my recent entries seem to be okay, but if you're trying to look at an archived post, just bear with me - I'll get around to fixing the photos

Pink is Possible! One Way To Wear Urban Decay’s New Roller Girl Palette (click to read)

Urban Decay's Roller Girl palette (new for Summer 2011) contains and brand-new exclusive shade called Verve, which is a shimmery sort of light gray-ish taupe - a really beautiful color. I wanted to try it out with some other colors I had. This look is inspired a little bit by soap bubbles. Or maybe that cellophane stuff they use to wrap gift baskets. Anyway, it's meant to imitate iridescence :) - UDPP Original - Verve e/s all over the lid - Shattered e/s over just the outer half of the lid - Psychedelic Sister e/s in the crease - Binge eye pencil along the upper lash line - Supercurl mascara

I'm a Painted Ladies blogger!

My last day off... *tear!*... using the Greed and Lust 6-color palettes: - UDPP Original - Sparkly lavender-gold from Greed all over the lid - Sparkly dark gray from Lust in the crease - Shimmery vanilla cream from Lust to diffuse the crease, and highlight the brow - Sparkly black from Greed to line the upper and lower lash lines (applied dry, for a softer line) - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash Mascara

Today's look uses the Petal Pusher 8-color palette: - UDPP Sin - Pinkish purple on the inner third of the lid (aka, "eyelid color on the left") - Dark purple on the middle third of the lid (aka, "crease color on the left") - Sparkly black on the outer third of the lid and in the crease (aka, "definer color on the right") - Shimmery pink  on the browbone (aka, "browbone color on the right") - Sparkly lavender along the lower lash line (aka, "definer color on the left") - UD Supercurl mascara

Thanks, Bust Magazine, for introducing me to Ruche ! Ruche is what I would call Anthropologie-but-affordable, AND they carry plus sizes!!!! It's like a dream come true for me, except that they don't have a storefront where I can actually go and try stuff on. I just ordered this dress for prom (chaperoning senior ball, and I need a "little black dress" anyway): Midnight Perfection Curvy Plus dress Their lookbooks consist of outfits I would actually put together - top and pants, or top and skirt - that aren't too complicated but are beautiful and romantic and vintage. Nothing that would take too much effort, aside from the actual purchasing of the pieces, which is the type of style I like - I'm not the sort of person to go crazy with layering pieces or tying something around my waist or shoulders just so  or what have you. I like to just put things on and go, and a lot of the outfits are just that, only those "things" are really gorgeous.

Today's look uses the Comfort Zone 8-color palette: - UDPP Greed - Dark peachy-gold on the lid (aka, "eyelid color on the left") - Black olive green in the crease (aka, "crease color on the right") - Mossy green on blending out the crease and onto the browbone (aka, "eyelid color on the right" - don't you wish WnW would just name their damn eyeshadows? ) - UD eye pencil in Zero along the upper lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara (Yes, I know, WnW has their own liners and mascara, but... I have no interest in those.)

Today I used Cool as a Cucumber, as instructed, mostly because I was faaaaaascinated by the color combo as it looks in the pan. - UDPP Original - Extra steps: I also applied the browbone color (pale mint green) to the inner corner of my eye, and used a pointed smudge brush to apply the crease color (dark plum) to the lower lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara

No beer, no bikinis... my spring break this week consists of quality time with my makeup stash. But in honor of the annual week of debauchery that so many young people celebrate (and I do NOT count myself as a "young person" anymore), I've decided to delve into my Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon shadows. I've had this stash of WnW trios, six-color palettes, and their new eight-color palettes for a while now, but haven't gotten around to using any of them yet because, well, they're overwhelming! Not because they're bright (Me? Afraid of bright colors? No way!) but because they're arranged to go together, and some of them, I think, do NOT go together. But having them grouped as such (and they even have "crease" and "eyelid" and "browbone" pressed into them!) makes it hard for me to color outside the lines, and since I haven't swatched any of them either, I have no idea how they look. (One of my eventual projects is to

The second 15th anniversary UD item: I ordered it the day it was available, because 1) I want to collect all their 15th anniversary items (I already have the pencil set), and 2) I was in the market for a cool makeup bag anyway, and probably would've spent the same for a Tokidoki or Harajuku Lovers bag. (I need to LURVE how it looks, or I won't use it. So it needs to be awesome-looking. And this one is.)

This is one of my favorite things to do every day: It's my job in the morning to take care of Jolie before I go to work - I need to change her diaper, give her a bottle, and then move her from our bed to her crib. (She sleeps the night in our bed because sometimes she'll wake up in the middle of the night and get scared if she's all alone in her crib and we're both asleep, but if she's in our bed, she'll see us and go back to sleep. But in the mornings, if she's still in our bed, she'll wake up really early and try to climb all over her dad and wake HIM up, whereas she will sleep another few hours in her crib by herself, and not be scared since there's some daylight.) Jolie's usually pretty conked out when I change her diaper and even when she's taking her bottle, but as soon as I pick her up and bring her back to her crib, all hell breaks loose, and she will cry and cry because she does not want to be left alone. (It's usually still

Okay, so it's more teal than aquamarine, but the rhyming makes for such a cute title :) - UDPP Original - Sugarpill Chromalust in Darling all over the lid - Sugarpill Chromalust in Royal Sugar on just the outer half (on top of Darling) - Sugarpill Chromalust in Stella in the crease - Sugarpill Chromalust in Lumi in the crease (on top of Stella) and blended upward) - UD eye pencil in Binge along the upper lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara in Blackest Black (had to distinguish this time, because they DO make a navy blue Buxom Lash, which might actually work, but I don't have it to try out, so...) The rest of my face: - MAC Prep & Prime Skin - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus - UD Afterglow powder blush in Score - UD Urbanglow cream highlight in Moonshine (atop the cheekbones and outer corners of eyes) - UD lipstick in Midnight Cowboy Happy spring break Friday!!!!

To celebrate UD's new spring palettes (Feminine, Dangerous, and Fun), I am posting five days of looks using only the shadows in the palette and the pencils and primers they come with. (And UD's Supercurl mascara.) I'm using the Fun Palette this week, which comes with Original Primer Potion, Oil Slick eye pencil, and eyeshadows in Woodstock, Baked, Uzi, Sin, Flipside, and Psychedelic Sister. Here's Day 5: Double the Fun Was attempting to create my own duochrome look :) - UDPP Original - Psychedelic Sister  applied all over the lid and slightly above the crease; line blended out using a flat, wide smudging brush - Sin  applied lightly on top of Psych Sis on just the inner half using a fluffy medium blending brush. - Flipside  applied lightly on top of Psych Sis on the outer half using the same brush - Psych Sis applied wet as eyeliner along upper lash line - Supercurl mascara

"The miracle isn't that I finished. It's that I had the courage to start."  - John "The Penguin" Bingham I'm really stoked because San Jose Fit starts this Saturday - it's a 28-week training program to get ready for either a full or half marathon. I know, I sign up for this every year and I never make it all the way through, but at least I keep trying, right? It will take a lot to make me give up on my dream of completing a marathon (and someday, before I die, running a Boston-qualifying time).

I totally fell in love with Temptalia's Bronze and Blue look yesterday, that I wanted to try it myself. But I don't have all the same products (just the two UD shadows, Flipside and Haight), so I decided to do my own version using all Urban Decay products: - UDPP Greed - Sin shadow pencil on the upper lid (crease and upwards) as a base - if I did this look again, I would probably skip this step though. - Flipside eye pencil on the lid itself as a base, into the crease - Smog e/s on the inner third of the eye - Flipside e/s on the middle third of the eye - Haight e/s on the outer third of the eye and in the crease - Foxy matte e/s to blend the crease and as a highlight on the browbone (blend well!) - Cobra e/s (from the Black Palette) to line the lower lashline - Bourbon eye pencil topped with Cobra e/s to line the upper lashline - Supercurl mascara

To celebrate UD's new spring palettes (Feminine, Dangerous, and Fun), I am posting five days of looks using only the shadows in the palette and the pencils and primers they come with. (And UD's Supercurl mascara.) I'm using the Fun Palette this week, which comes with Original Primer Potion, Oil Slick eye pencil, and eyeshadows in Woodstock, Baked, Uzi, Sin, Flipside, and Psychedelic Sister. Here's Day 4: Sari Silk Reminds me of gorgeous silk fabric used to make Indian saris - UDPP Original - Woodstock  all over the lid - Sin  in the crease and on the brow, blended into Woodstock - Baked  applied on top of Woodstock in the middle of the eyelid and along the lower waterline - Oil Slick eye pencil along upper and lower lashlines - Supercurl mascara

It's Wednesday, aka, the hump in the middle of the week that we need to get through to make it to the weekend. Also, it's the Wednesday before spring break, so it's the hump in the middle of the week that I need to get through to make it to my week off! Thus, bright colors are needed. - UDPP Original - Sugarpill Chromalust in Absinthe on the inner third of the lid - Sugarpill Chromalust in Hysteric on the middle third of the lid* - Sugarpill Chromalust in Royal Sugar on the outer third of the lid - Sugarpill pressed shadow in Poison Plum in the crease - Sugarpill pressed shadow in Tako to blend it out (lots!) - UD eye pencil in Perversion along the upper lash line - Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash mascara * Everytime I think of this eyeshadow, I think of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song of the same name, and sing it to myself in my head. I <3 YYYs! Is it the weekend yet? I'm ready!

To celebrate UD's new spring palettes (Feminine, Dangerous, and Fun), I am posting five days of looks using only the shadows in the palette and the pencils and primers they come with. (And UD's Supercurl mascara.) I'm using the Fun Palette this week, which comes with Original Primer Potion, Oil Slick eye pencil, and eyeshadows in Woodstock, Baked, Uzi, Sin, Flipside, and Psychedelic Sister. Here's Day 3: Super Sparkle Yeah, there's a reason why I never wear Uzi. And that reason? Is all over my face. - UDPP Original - Uzi  all over the lid - Psychedelic Sister  applied lightly into the crease and along lower lash line - Oil Slick eye pencil along upper lash line - Supercurl mascara

I think I tend to get less work-appropriate as time goes on. I am just in love with bright colors. This look uses Sugarpill's Decora and the Naked palette. - UDPP Original - Sugarpill Chromalust in Decor all over the lid - Gunmetal applied lightly with a fluffy brush on the outer half of the lid on top of Decora - Creep applied with a fluffy crease brush in the crease - Naked applied with a wide smudger brush on the brow, blending the line - UD eye pencil in Zero along the upper lash line - UD Supercurl mascara