Thursday, September 26, 2013

Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show Fall 2013

Last Saturday my friend, Jana, and I went to Nordstrom's Beauty Fall Trend Show which showcased the fall's hottest looks in make-up and fashion. Tickets were $20 which gave us early access to the store and upfront seats to catch a glimpse at the top beauty products, trends and fashion accessories straight from the runways of fashion week in NYC. The best part was the fact that you were allowed to use your $20 ticket value towards the purchase of any beauty product. Jana and got there about twenty minutes before the show started and were treated to fresh coffee, breakfast, and free tote bag full of beauty samples. Following the show we had appointments with Philosophy and YSL.

The show was broken into three scenes and was emceed by Nordstrom's East Coast Beauty Director, Laksmi Sam. The show focused on the hottest trends this fall which are redefined smoky eyes, graphic eyes and Bordeaux lips.

The redefined smoky eye was the prominent eye seen on the fall runways and is a little edgy with a touch of feminine aesthetics. This look can be created using black, plum, grey and blue while using a mixture of matte and metallic shadows to create a graphic halo effect around the eyes. Satin matte skin, neutral blush and flesh-tone lips complete this look. If you're looking for an easy way to complete this look, look no further than Clinique. They suggested using Clinique's 'Lid Smoothie' to create a base for your eye shadow. Choose from colors such as Portobello and Stroke of Midnight to create the rest of your smoky eye.
Clinique Lid Smoothie

Clinique Portobello Eye-shadow

Clinique Stroke of Midnight Eye-shadow

Graphic eyes are more a 60's inspired cat eye. They key to this look is a squared-off finish to the top liner. You can line your eyes on just the lid, or finish off the bottom by lining your lashes and smudging them for more of a smoky look. Glowing skin paired with either a nude lip or a deep velvet berry tone makes this look extremely versatile. A great way to complete this look is with YSL's Bold Felt-Tip Eyeliner Pencil.


YSL Bold Felt Tip Eyeliner Pen
The Bordeaux lip is everywhere this fall. It's the go-to color on your lips and clothing. From juicy berry stains to red-velvet finishes, the variation of deep plums, berries, rubies and garnets are endless. One of the lipsticks they featured was Laura Mercier's 'Rouge Nouveau' Weightless Lip Colour. However, you can find this lipstick at any make-up counter or drug store you prefer.
Laura Mercier Weightless Lip Color

Jana and I enjoyed our appointment with Philosophy and were introduced to their oxygen peel. Their Purity face wash not only cleans your skin but also serves as an eye make-up remover and toner. Three steps in one, I'll gladly take it! Their Hope in a Jar moisturizer is heavenly too.
Philosophy Oxygen Peel Kit
Philosophy Purity Face Wash

Philosophy Facial Moisturizer
After our skin was clean and moisturized we headed to our YSL appointment for fresh make-up. I've always been a huge fan of Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer; however, today I tried YSL's 'Youth Liberator' Serum Foundation with SPF 20. I haven't used foundation since my competitive dancing days and I hated it then. I've always felt like it's too heavy to wear, but boy was I wrong. Times have changed. I was amazed by its coverage and how dewy it left my skin. I decided that I will use my tinted moisturizer or BB cream on the weekends and use foundation for work days and special events. If anything, I highly recommend going to one of YSL's beauty counters and give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.
YSL Serum Foundation
We also tried their glossy stains which are amazing!! I'm a huge fan of stains; however, they always dry out my lips and I had yet to find one that didn't until Saturday. These stains give you just the right amount of color and sheen and they don't dry out your lips. They also stay put for hours! I had to remove mine Saturday night with make-up remover. They have a variety of colors to choose from and you can control the intensity of the color by how many applications you use. Love these!!
YSL Glossy Stain
Someone told Jana about YSL's gel eyeliner so we decided to give it a try too. It went on effortlessly and it stays put all day. This is great for an everyday look or you can play with it and create a cat-eye look for a night out on the town. Gel liners are relatively easy to find but you'll notice that they wear off throughout the day so if you're looking for something long lasting this is it.
YSL Longwear Cream Eyeliner
I could go on and on about other things that I've added to my wish list but it would take me hours to finish this post. There was one last trend they showed us with nail polish that was really neat. They created a foiled look with your nails by simply using Saran-Wrap. Begin by painting your nails a dark color of your choice. They used a midnight blue color on the model which was really pretty for the fall. Once the polish is dry take a metallic colored polish and place a few drops on a paper plate. Take a small piece of Saran-Wrap and ball it up to the size of a cotton ball. Dab the Saran-Wrap in the metallic finger nail polish and then dab it on your nails. Once it has had time to dry take a Q-tip dipped in finger nail polish remover to clean up any excess polish around your nail beds then place a top coat on to seal the polish. So fun! I'm a huge fan of Opi nail polish and think Russian Navy would be a great base color and Honey Ryder as the metallic foil color.

Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Labor Day Weekend

I'm a little behind with our holiday post but thought I would try to get it finished before I forgot what we actually did. We debated on whether or not we should leave town for the long weekend but in the end we decided to stay put. It's nice to take advantage of an extra day off when traveling but at the same time it's nice to stay put. It was especially nice not to have to worry with traffic!

On Saturday we took Carter to his last music class. He had a great time and received his first diploma. Labor Day weekend is the last weekend our neighborhood pool is open so we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day and take one last dip in the pool. Carter really enjoyed the water this summer as long as it wasn't too cold. He wasn't a fan of the baby pool at all. I guess it's because he isn't walking so he can't really play that well in the water. He prefers to lounge around in his shaded float, ha. Who wouldn't?
Bye-bye pool!
Saturday afternoon Neil, one of our good friends from our Team Hayes days, came over to join us for football and a cookout. It was nice to catch up with him and enjoy the beginning of the college football season.
Hooray for college football!
On Sunday we packed up and headed to Shady Side, MD. One of Chris's co-workers lives in an adorable house right on the water so we went up for the afternoon to eat crabs, soak in a little sun and enjoy the water! It was a beautiful day and we had great company. We even had an opportunity to take Carter on his first boat ride and he absolutely loved it.
Yum!!
Carter loved riding on Gordon's John Deere tractor.
How stinkin' cute is Carter in his life vest?!


On Monday we decided to take Carter to Chick-fil-A for lunch and then to an indoor soft playground. Unfortunately all of the Chick-fil-A's up here are inside shopping or strip malls. It is so frustrating! I don't know why we don't have a free standing one but if you're looking to make a killing up here I think that would be the way to do it. The closest one to us also has an indoor soft playground and we thought it would be the perfect place to let Carter go! Since he isn't walking it's hard for him to crawl around at the outdoor playgrounds because of the bark and/or sand so this was the perfect place for him. I think he was mesmerized by all the little children running around more than anything else. They also have a little train that runs around the mall so we took our first train ride too. A fun weekend of firsts.
And he's off....

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Let the count down to fall officially begin.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Halloween

I absolutely love Halloween. I love to decorate the house, I love to hand out candy to the little children, I love all the costumes, and of course I love candy. Now that we have a little one it takes my excitement to a whole new level. While I haven't decided on what Carter will be for Halloween, I have already given it a lot of thought! Part of me wants to go the cute route and dress him up as an animal because I realize I have a very limited time frame where I will get to choose his costume. However, another part of me really likes the Superman, Batman and Star Wars costumes too. Decisions, decisions. 

Anyways, I wanted to bring everyone's attention to Pottery Barn's Halloween sale. They have some cute costumes; however, they're a little on the pricey side. Personally I think you can find just as cute ones for a better price elsewhere. However, they have adorable treat bags that are 20% off. I just ordered this one for Carter which I love! It was only $13 and I paid the additional $7 to have it personalized. You also get free shipping!

Pumpkin Pillowcase Treat Bag
I love the buckets too but I figure as Carter gets older he's going to need a lot more room for his candy so a pillowcase is the way to go. I sure hope he realizes that he'll be sharing his candy with mom and dad so he better fill it up! 

Spider Treat Bag
Owl Treat Bag
Last year my mom found the cutest idea for a tomato cage ghost on Pinterest. It was super easy to make and turned out great. Go go the craft store and buy a piece of black felt to cut out your ghost's eyes and mouth. I super glued them to an old white sheet and draped it over a tomato cage covered with white Christmas lights and ta-da! After Halloween I saved the tomato cage and ended up using it at Christmas for a Christmas tree in our front yard. It turned out really cute too.      

It's hard to believe that we're already approaching another Halloween with our little man!        
Our precious little lobster! I'm not sure how we'll top this one. 





We spent Carter's first Halloween in Sonoma.