The Life of A Ladybug

Mother's Day FOTD

For Mother's Day, I decided to try the products from the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Collection (designed by Carmindy from TLC's What Not to Wear).  A full review will be coming later, but, let me just tell you, the products are great!  Quite economical and achieve exactly what they're supposed to - a naturally pretty face, without too many steps or too much time involved.

I forgot to take pictures until we were in the car, on our way to brunch.  But that's okay, because you can see what the makeup looks like in natural light.  As you can see, Sarai managed to finagle her face into the first pic - LOL!  She's so like her mom.  I think it's appropriate that you see a bit of my munchkin in the Mother's Day pic.

Used to achieve the above results:

• Bobbi Brown Luminous Foundation in Golden (applied with Beautyblender sponge)
• MAC Brow Pencil in Spiked
• tarte emphasEyes in Black (tightline)
• Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Instant Definition Eye Shadow Palette in Mountain
• Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier Pencil in Bangalore
• Cover Girl Lash Blast in Blackest Black
• Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sun Glow Powder Bronzer in Summer
• Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Natural Powder Blush in Poppy
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15
• Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Natural Shine Lip Gloss in Sparkling Champagne

For Shannon: The eye look was very easy to achieve!  The Natural Beauty eye palettes come with a plastic insert that tells you where to apply the colors, but for future reference, if you're doing a three-shade look, the basic rule of thumb is to use the medium shade on the lid, use the darkest shade as a crease color and liner (if you aren't using another liner) and the lightest shade as a highlight under the brow.  Then blend!

French FOTD

I'm not looking particularly French or anything, I'm just wearing French makeup. (Or, at least I think they're French - don't shoot me if they aren't.)  Oh, and there are more crappy cell phones pics today - sorry.  I was rushing out of the house this morning.

What I used:

• YSL Touche Eclat in 3 (under eyes and under brow bones, blended with fingers)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep (bareEscentuals Handy Buki brush and bareEscentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer brush)
• MAC Brows Pencil in Spiked
• MAC Paint Pot in Layin' Low (lid and crease), Soft Ochre (upper lid and under brows)
• MAC eyeshadow in Nanogold (over entire lid), Shag (crease)
• tarte emphasEyes in Black (waterline and upper inner lashline)
• Bourjois Liner Clubbing in Absolute Black (used to make cat eye)
• Bourjois Volume Clubbing Ultra Black mascara (one coat on top lashes)
• Elizabeth Arden Bronze Beauty Color Intrigue Bronzing Powder Duo (contour and highlight)
• Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Rose Bronze
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15
• Dior Rouge Allure lipstick in Diorama
• Rimmel Volume Booster Lip Colour in Attract

Yes, I realize Elizabeth Arden and Rimmel aren't French companies (I don't think), but they weren't the majority of the makeup today.

Easter Sunday FOTD

Happy Easter, everybody!  I hope your holiday is blessed.

My Easter dress is a patterned in shades of gray, white, yellow and black and I wanted to do a sophisticated, cool neutral face to coordinate.  I used my Billy B. brushes for the first time, too! What do you think?

What I used:

• YSL Touche Eclat in 3 (under eyes and as highlight under brows)
• MAC Select Cover-Up in NC45
• MAC Studio Fix Liquid Foundation in NC45
• MAC Eye Brows Pencil in Spiked
• MAC Eyeshadow in Modest Tone (brow highlight), Nanogold (tear ducts, above crease), Rich Flesh (lid), Espresso (crease), Dark Edge (outer crease, outer v)
• MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
• Cover Girl Lash Blast in Very Black (two coats on top lashes)
• MAC Blush in Blunt (contour)
• MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Secret Blush (apples)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Warmed (bronzer)
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15
• Stila Lip Glaze Pencil in Starfruit
• mark. glow baby glow in secret

Jardin Aires FOTD (Heatherette #1)

This is my first FOTD using some products from the MAC Heatherette collection.  Here's what I used:

• YSL Touche Eclat in 3 (under eyes and as highlight under my browns)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep (bareEscentuals Handy Buki brush and Concealer Brush)
• MAC Eye Brows Pencil in Spiked
• MAC Pigment in Jardin Aires (over lid and up above the crease)(Heatherette and permanent)
• MAC Dual Edge Eye Pencil in Night Hawk/Front Row (Night Hawk used to make cat eye on top lash line, Front Row to line bottom lash line)(Heatherette)
• Cover Girl Lash Blast in Very Black (two coats on top lashes)
• MAC Blush in Frankly Scarlet (on apples of cheeks)
• MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Eversun (used as bronzer)
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15
• MAC Lipstick in Lollipop Loving(Heatherette)
• MAC Lipglass in Sock Hop(Heatherette)

tarte health couture FOTD

Here are a couple of pictures, so you can see how the tarte health couture products look on.

What I used:

• Yves St. Laurent Touche Eclat in 3
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep
• tarte lock & roll creaseless eyeshadow duo in gunmetal
• MAC Technakohl Liner in Graphblack
• tarte rejuvelash declumping lash exhilirator
• Cover Girl Lash Blast in Black
• tarte cheekstain in full blossom
• Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter
• tarte double dose berry boost & gloss in acai boost

Joyous FOTD

I'm going to try to do a FOTD with each of the MAC Beauty Powder Blushes.  Today's FOTD features Joyous!

Please forgive the puffy eyed-syndrome.  I am battling some kind of mutant cold.

Here's what I used:

• MAC Select Cover-Up in NC42 and NC45
• Yves St. Laurent Touche Eclat in 3 (I think it's the Peach one)
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep
• Tarte EmphasEyes in Black
• Cover Girl Lash Blast in Black
• MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood
• Lancome LUCI Eyeshadow Palette in Ray of Apricot Light
• MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Joyous
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Global Glow
• MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Strobe Rays
• Stila Lip Glaze in Peach

Colored eyes FOTDs

Yesterday, my outfit was black and grey, so I felt the need to add some color on my face, so I didn't look all drab.  It was a great, sunny day.

So, you have a few different faces of Toya here: smiley Toya, goofy kissy-face Toya and Sex Kitten Toya.  Choose whichever one you like, LOL!

What I used:

• Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Golden
• Jane Iredale PurePressed Base in Butternut
• Lancome Sensational Effects Eyeshadow Smooth Hold in Volcano (on lid), Personal Style (on inner corner of lid), The New Black (in crease)
• Tarte EmphasEyes (on waterline)
• Laura Mercier Eye Kohl in Black Violet (to line upper lid)
• Avon superShock Mascara in Black
• Avon Horizon Blush by Jillian Dempsey in Apricot Horizon (deeper shade on apples of my cheeks, lighter shade as highlight on cheekbones)
• Smith's Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm
• MAC Lipstick in Retrofluid
• MAC Lipglass in Full on Lust

Today, it's rainy and cold outside.  I should have worn yesterday's outfit today.  Anyhow, since it's not looking like spring outside, I figured I'd bring a little spring to my face.

So, here's a full face shot, a close-up of the eyes, and a little kiss I'm blowing at y'all - because I love y'all, but also so you can see a close-up of the lip color.

What I used:

• Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Golden
• Jane Iredale PurePressed Base in Butternut
• MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood (as base)
• MAC Pigment in Old Gold (applied wet)
• MAC Eyeliner Pencil in Coffee (to line top and bottom lash lines)
• Avon superShock Mascara in Black
• tarte cheekstain in Sunkissed (applied on cheekbones and on hairline and blended with my finger)
• Bobbi Brown Blush in Clementine (on the apples of my cheeks)
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15
• MAC Lipstick in Morange (dabbed on lightly and then blended with my finger)
• Lancome Juicy Tube in Spring Fling (dabbed on lightly and then blended with my finger)

L.U.C.I. FOTD

So, if you remember, I don't love the Color Fever Photonic Gloss from the Lancome L.U.C.I. collection.  You can read that post here.  However, yesterday I got off at 11 AM, so I headed to the mall to see a movie (Semi-Pro was hilarious!) and, while I waited for it to begin, I went into Boscov's and over to the Lancome counter.  I tried a few of the colors on my hand and really fell in love with the Ray of Apricot Light eyeshadow duo - the bronzy shade is quite flattering on my brown skin and the iridescent white shade is a wonderful highlighter.  I wish the white one was a big as the bronze one, though.  I love that the duo comes in that fabulous case - it's like a cross between a clam shell and a butterfly wing.  It is hella heavy, though, and kind of hard to open, but I guess that can be the price you pay for fabulosity.

There's a wonderful turquoise shade, as well, but the girl behind the counter clued me in - the same shade is part of their regular line.  She gave me a sample eyeshadow quad with the turquoise shade and a sample bottle of Hypnose in a fab gold make-up bag.  The Hypnose is way too sweet for me to ever wear it, but I'm loving the quad and the bag.  I like that girl a lot - I'll be back to see her again!  Not to mention that she had the most rockin' winged out liquid liner - a lot like Amy Winehouse without all the crack whore.

In my opinion, though, the star of the collection is the Color Fever Shine Lipstick in Luminous.  It adds the best pinky-purple shine to my lip when used alone.  I can't wait to see what it looks like layered over another lipstick.

So, today's FOTD is done with my new L.U.C.I. haul.

The smiley picture is particularly for Lilan - LOL!

I love this look a lot - it takes the spring's nude look and kicks it up just a notch.  I'm loving the eyeshadows, but I found that they creased toward the end of the day - next time, I'll layer with a Paint Pot - I think Indianwood.

Here's what I used:

• L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Concealer in Neutral Medium/Deep
• Jane Iredale PurePressed Base in Butternut, applied with BE Handy Buki brush
• Lancome Ray of Apricot Light duo - bronze shade on lids, white shade under brows and on tear ducts
• Avon Super Shock Mascara in Black - two coats on top lashes only
• M.A.C. Sculpt and Shape in Warm Light/Definitive
• Bobbi Brown blush in Clementine
• Tarte Park Avenue Princess Bronzer
• Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate
• M.A.C. Lip Liner in BBQ
• Lancome Color Fever Shine Lipstick in Luminous

Nude FOTD

So, I was rushing this morning and didn't have time to take a proper picture.  Sorry that you're getting this inside the car, half in shadow shot.  I hope you're able to get an idea of today's make-up.  You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Today's make-up:

• L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Concealer in Neutral Medium/Deep
• Jane Iredale PurePressed Base in Butternut
• M.A.C. Paint Pot in Rubenesque
• Tarte Emphaseyes
• Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara in Very Black
• M.A.C. Sculpt and Shape in Warm Light/Definitive
• Bobbi Brown Blush in Nectar
• Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate
• Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Pink Bronze
• Bobbi Brown Glitter Lip Gloss in Buff

My not so beautiful FOTD

So, okay, here you go.  This is proof that, no matter how much you love beauty, there are days when you may look like "hell suit for murder", as my grandmother would say.  I'm feeling like sh*t on a shingle right now, as I have a nasty cold and tummy issues and I didn't get a wink of sleep, as Sarai was up all night, wheezing.  All three of us are feeling ick.  Still, I had to go to work today, so I had to make myself look presentable, at least.  I didn't even bother to put my contacts in - at least wearing my glasses camouflaged the bags under my eyes, somewhat.

On my face:

Estee Lauder Concealer in Deep

bareMinerals foundation in Warm Tan

bareMinerals Tinted Mineral Veil

Stila Kajal Liner in Gold

Sephora Plumping Mascara in Black

Napoleon Perdis Blush Patrol

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips in Bambi