Guest blogger: Dispatch from the Luckiest Girl in the World

At the risk of sounding like a bad Ashton Kutcher movie… Dude. I kind of couldn’t believe it when I read that I’d won Beautysleeping’s first giveaway (thank you, random number generator!), and I was really pleased that I’d chosen the surprise — I love surprises!

Well I didn’t think too much more about it until a mysterious box arrived in my mailbox. Even then, I didn’t put two and two together. I was confused to find the world’s smallest, cutest Sephora box, containing a Starbucks card… and a note from one of my favorite bloggers, congratulating me on my win! Aha! The box was filled with an assortment of adorably wrapped, color coordinating goodies — each sealed with a K sticker (for Karla, of course). If I were a patient person, I would have thought to take a picture of the lovely ensemble before I ripped them all open… patience has never been my strong suit.

A minute and a half later, I was sitting in front of a pack of amazing, hand-picked-just-for-me goodies, including a Estee Lauder High Gloss (have you tried these? They’re fabulous), a pack of Bobbi Brown blotting sheets, and… the coup d’grace… a brand new YSL eyeshadow quint! I’ve been dreaming about this for months! I think angels sang when I opened the compact!

Beautysleeping, I can’t believe you financed this giveaway yourself. And thank you so, so much for going to such lengths to find this perfect prize.

Karla

What I Learned This Weekend

Lessons:

*  If you ever have a few hours and a few brain cells to kill, try to explain the internet to a 3 year old.

*  Look inside the toaster before you plug it in.  You never know when a sneaky preschooler might decide it needs a rubber band in it.  And then you’ll be sad when you’re eating rubber-scented Pop Tarts.

*  You can be 100% sure that if you put on a clean white shirt either your child or your dog will reward you with a muddy paw or a sticky hand (or both if it’s your lucky day) within the first five minutes.  Bonus smart points for you if you’re such a genius that you go put on another clean white shirt after the first one gets trashed.

Beauty find:

*  My skin is irritable right now due to Retin-A and I’ve been digging through every product I own to look for something soothing.  A friend sent me a sample jar of Shiseido’s Future Solution Total Revitalizing Cream a while back and it’s the only thing I’ve been able to put on my face in the last two days that doesn’t feel like a bath of gasoline and lit matches.  Alas, the full size carries a price tag which I fear would send Boy Scout to an early grave (either from shock or apoplexy) if I seriously entertained the idea of purchasing a jar.  I’ll put it on the list of things to buy if we ever have more disposable income than we know what to do with.  As if.

5 Beauty Products I Do Not Love Right Now

Since I’m a Libra and we’re all about balance, I thought I should share the counterpart to my ‘5 Beauty Products I Love Right Now‘ post.  Without further ado, here are my 5 most recent disappointments:

1.  YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick–For $34 I expected this lipstick to do a lot for me.  YSL says: ”Both light and covering, the cream texture becomes fluid on contact with the lips, for a delightful feeling and an exceptional gliding effect.”  For me that translated to a slimy-feeling lipstick that didn’t provide even coverage for my pigmented lips.  No matter how much I applied there were still patches of my lip color peeking through.  I have to admit that the packaging is dead sexy, but the product itself can’t justify that hefty price tag.

2.  Napoleon Perdis eye shadow–I found a few of these on clearance from Sephora a while back, and I have nothing positive to say about them.  I got a few different formulas in several shades and they were universally awful.  Chalky, unpigmented, and no staying power even when applied over a good primer.  A waste of money even at clearance price.

3.  L’Oreal HIP Color Rich Cream Crayon–These got a lot of positive attention on Makeupalley.com so when I saw them in the store recently I figured I might as well try one.  I chose ‘Meticulous’ which L’Oreal describes as being a taupe shade.  I think I may have mentioned my love for all things taupe once or twice on this blog, so I was fairly excited about this.  I thought maybe it would be a less expensive version of MAC’s Shadesticks.  Except…it really isn’t much less expensive.  It was $11-ish while a MAC Shadestick is $16.50.  It also doesn’t look taupe to my eye…more like a metallic tan.  It is pretty, just not the color I was hoping for.  However, the real problem I had with this was the fact that it wouldn’t blend and turned flaky after it dried. 

4.  MAC Zoom Lash Mascara–I love me some MAC, but this mascara is probably the worst I’ve ever tried.  Turned my poor lashes into a smudge-alicious, clumpy, flaky mess.  FAIL.

5.  Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter–It’s two of the things I hate most in a lip balm:  it’s potted and it’s scented.  I hate dipping my fingers into a pot of anything that’s going on my lips.  I also prefer my balms to be fragrance free, because I have a healthy suspicion of any scented lip product that claims to be moisturizing.  In this case the suspicion is validated because this balm did not moisturize my lips at all.  Quite the opposite.  At $9 a pop I’ll stick to Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer.

Five Beauty Products I Love Right Now

I’ve had a serious influx of new beauty products in the last few months which has resulted in discovering some new HG (that would be Holy Grail for the uninitiated) items.  Some of them I adored after just one use (hello Guerlain Kohl) and some took a few practice runs (Chanel Exceptionnel Mascara, I’m looking at you) before the love started to flow.  Here’s my current top five:

1.  Guerlain Terracotta Loose Kohl–I’m in LOVE.  This is an absolutely amazing eyeliner.  I’m way too much of a klutz to master tightlining, but this makes my eyes look flawless and it’s practically foolproof.  My eyes look so smoking hot I want to make out with MYSELF!  So far I’ve only tried it in black and I *must* try as many of the other shades as I can get my hands on.  If you have any of the limited edition shades (oriental bronze, oriental metal, etc.) and want to part with them for some unfathomable reason, clickity-click on that ‘contact/press’ tab up there and let’s chat.

2.  Bobbi Brown Shimmering Nudes palette–All the reasons you’ve been using to talk yourself out of this palette–it’s so sheer/boring/dupeable–are keeping you from owning one of the best palettes ever.  It’s perfect for a lovely and easy daytime look.  You’re definitely not going to create any over the top looks using this, but if you just want to look polished and pretty this is your go-to item right here.  The shadow formulas are silky and buildable and the shades complement one another perfectly.  I could honestly do without the ‘Espresso’ shade that’s included as a liner but the remaining colors more than make Shimmering Nudes worth the slightly hefty price tag.

3. Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder–I was slightly skeptical when I read the claims that it will reduce the appearance of blemishes and produce a perfect, radiant complexion without accentuating wrinkles.  Until I used it.  The first time I used this I slapped it on bare skin–no primer, foundation, or concealer.  My bare skin is certainly not perfect, at least not yet (come on Retin-A, work your magic!)  I have large pores, blackheads, flakies, and a few blemishes.  After dusting with the HD powder I looked pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.  Not perfect, but close enough for rock and roll.  It really did make my pores practically disappear, minimized the visibility of pimples, and made me look kind of soft and glowy.  Applied over a properly made-up face the effect is even more profound–I look airbrushed.  My only gripe about this product is the packaging.  The tiny canister and sifter top are a headache to deal with.  Good thing the result justifies the means.

4.  Chanel Exceptionnel Mascara–This mascara gives new meaning to ‘false lashes in a tube’.  I have short, stubby eyelashes and this mascara makes them look a mile long.  The applicator is the only one like it I’ve ever seen–alternating rows of combs and bristles.  It would be really easy to overdo it with this, so a light hand and a separate lash comb is in order unless you’re trying to achieve an over the top look. 

5.  T3 Bespoke Labs Featherweight Dryer–I’ve already professed my love for this dryer in a previous post, but it bears repeating.  This. Dryer. Is. Perfection.  ‘Nuff said.  I’m currently test-driving T3’s Medium Duality Iron and some of their liquid styling products and hope they can meet the astronomically high bar the Featherweight has set.  Stay tuned for a review on those products in the near future.

Caylee Anthony Case: Protester Takes Anthony’s Garbage

In what may be the oddest bit of news I’ve seen about this case lately, a protester swiped a bag of garbage from the Anthony home Tuesday morning.  She took the garbage to her own home and went through it to look for any evidence or clues that may be useful in locating Caylee.  Since it was left on the curb, which is public property, it was perfectly legal for ‘Lorraine’ (as she wishes to be identified) to take the garbage.  I’m truly not sure what to think about this.  New low in this case?  Gutsy move?  Just gross?  She didn’t find anything worthwhile, by the way.

More NY Fashion Week Spring 2009: GHD at Monique Lhuillier and Proenza Schouler

More NY Fashion Week Spring 2009 backstage and runway photos from GHD today, this time from the Monique Lhuillier and Proenza Schouler shows.  All the styles were accomplished with their MKIV styler and liquid products, of course.  I have to say that the hair at PS doesn’t do much for me, but I love the red lips.  The hair look at ML is much more my style, not that anyone gives a damn.  Enjoy!

Monique Lhuillier

Monique Lhuillier

Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler

NY Fashion Week Spring 2009: GHD at Alexandre Herchcovitch and Miss Sixty

I received these photos from GHD today showing the hair looks they created at Bryant Park for Alexandre Herchcovitch and Miss Sixty.  The looks were created using the GHD MKIV styler and various GHD styling products.  Pretty hair, pretty girls…makes me wish I didn’t have two thumbs when it comes to styling my own hair.  I particularly dig the model who’s rocking the no-pants look (or are there some very micro-mini booty shorts?  Can’t quite tell) with the floral blouse and the seriously smoked out eyes at Miss Sixty.  As Christian Siriano, my favorite Project Runway alum ever, would say “that’s fierce.”

Alexandre Herchcovitch

Alexandre Herchcovitch

 

Miss Sixty

Miss Sixty

And the winner is…

Congratulations to Karlasugar!!  She’s the winner of the first ‘Shop My Stash’ makeup giveaway!  The lucky lady chose the surprise goodie bag as her prize so I can’t share with you exactly what she will be receiving.  I will say that it’s totally fabulous!  It looks so pretty that I’m going to have a hard time letting go of it, to be honest.  I hope Karla will come and share what she’s won after she receives her package.  Congratulations again, Karla! 

By the way, if you’re curious about how the contest winner was selected I used http://www.random.org/lists/  to select a winner.  I entered numbers 1 through 79 (the number of entrants, each corresponding to the order in which they replied to the contest post) into the list field and let it do its thing.  The randomizer returned with number 2 in first place, and since Karla replied to the contest post second she is the lucky winner!  If you didn’t win this time don’t fret–the ‘Shop My Stash’ giveaways will be a regular feature here on Beauty Sleeping so there will be plenty of chances to win.  Hope to see you next time! 

Here is the list that randomizer.org selected, in case you wonder how close you were to winning:

List Randomizer

There were 79 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. 2
2. 27
3. 79
4. 43
5. 33
6. 55
7. 12
8. 56
9. 50
10. 67
11. 25
12. 63
13. 14
14. 35
15. 22
16. 45
17. 26
18. 7
19. 71
20. 78
21. 64
22. 42
23. 40
24. 58
25. 69
26. 60
27. 52
28. 4
29. 21
30. 47
31. 57
32. 1
33. 8
34. 68
35. 16
36. 54
37. 77
38. 72
39. 66
40. 41
41. 49
42. 15
43. 5
44. 34
45. 3
46. 29
47. 17
48. 19
49. 37
50. 38
51. 24
52. 31
53. 76
54. 75
55. 62
56. 10
57. 39
58. 32
59. 18
60. 61
61. 36
62. 30
63. 20
64. 23
65. 46
66. 65
67. 11
68. 44
69. 70
70. 73
71. 51
72. 13
73. 6
74. 48
75. 74
76. 28
77. 59
78. 9
79. 53

Timestamp: 2008-09-04 16:50:43 UTC

Things That Will Give Me Grey Hairs, #283

This week Poopypants further strengthened my opinion that he will be my ‘breaks bones and gives me heart attacks, grey hairs, and sleepless nights’ child.  And that’s really saying something, because my two eldest offspring have more than their fair share of reckless abandon.  My delicate flowers love nothing better than to climb to the very tippy-top of the highest object in the room and leap off while flapping their skinny little arms.  So far there haven’t been any broken bones or anything, and both girls still look faintly surprised that they don’t have wings each time they hit the floor with a thud.  No amount of logical reasoning, scary threatening, or banshee screaming (we have a lot of that around here) has been able to convince them that their daredevil ways are anything less than SUPER FUN.  I think the fact that it drives me absolutely bananas is just a sweet bonus for them.

But back to Poopypants.  We were all sitting around the other day, still in our pajamas (it was only noon, after all) watching TV.  I don’t remember what we were watching, but there are really only 3 options: Noggin, Noggin, and Noggin.  Oh, and Noggin.  I went into the kitchen to start lunch and walked back into the living room just in time to see Poopypants pull himself up onto the footstool of our large leather armchair by sheer force of will and the skin of his pants.  He scrambled up, sat down, and flashed a triumphant grin that said “Oh yeah, baby.  How do you like me NOW?”  And then fell off headfirst, doing a full backwards somersault that looked like it could have easily broken his neck.  He shook off the hug I immediately scooped him into, got up, and tried again.  And again, and again, and again.  Ad infinitum. 

One part of me was bursting with pride for my just-turned-one little guy having conquered such a large task.  However, I have to admit there was a small part of my mind that was thinking thoughts of a not so charitable nature.  You know, the part of my mind that was thinking of all the things he could now climb onto and then fall off of?  That part (which seems to be a pessimistic truck driver) was thinking something more along the lines of “Shit.  Shit.  SHIT!”  The climbing phase has officially begun.

Mail Call: YSL Rouge Volupte & Ombres 5 Lumieres; Guerlain Loose Kohl

I had a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, so today I filled that hole with a few makeup purchases that I’m very excited about.  One certain winner of the very first Beauty Sleeping ‘Shop My Stash’ Makeup Giveaway should also be excited about at least one of these items…but I’m not telling who or which item.  You’ll just have to wait until Monday for the winner’s name.  *evil laugh*  Here’s what I’ll be getting my hands on in the next few days:

YSL Rouge Volupte

 YSL Rouge Volupte in Sensual Silk #2.  The packaging is what drew me in, but the sheer gorgeousness of the Sensual Silk shade is what finally crumbled the last of my willpower.  Please note that Sensual Silk is NOT the shade depicted in the photo above.

YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres in Tawny

YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres in Tawny.  It’s neutral, it’s in pretty packaging.  That’s pretty much enough right there to convince me.  The fact that it has superb texture and color payoff is just a bonus.

Guerlain Terracotta Loose Kohl

Guerlain Terracotta Loose Powder Kohl Liner in Black/Noir.  I’ve been hearing about these so much lately that I finally succumbed to sheer curiosity.  I’ve always been a sucker for a smokey, mysterious eye.

I can hardly wait for these beauties to show up in my mail box.  What beauty goodies do you have coming to you?