Recent OOTDs!

Courtesy of my Instagram, here's a few recent mirror shots of some outfits. Nothing extravagantly fancy, basically because most of them were taken on days that I was heading out to do Christmas shopping (which I can happily say is done!). :)

^This was what I wore on my American Thanksgiving. I went downtown to meet with Christine for the Givenchy event and then Larry took me to a restaurant that offered a Thanksgiving dinner to Americans living in Toronto. :D

Sweater: Old Navy
Jeggings: Paris Blues
Shoes: American Eagle
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC

To see more pictures, please keep reading.

Keep reading!

OOTD: Mixing Neutrals 11/7/12

First things first, I've been making a few changes to my blog! I've changed the header once again, but I've also added buttons for my social media links on the bottom of the page. I hope this makes it easier for you to navigate through my blog and find different ways to interact with me. :)

Now, onto yesterday's outfit!

Sweater tunic: Old Navy
Jeggings: Paris Blues via Alloy
Bracelet: Ardene
Necklace: House of Harlow 1960
Purse: Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC in Taupe

Shoes (not pictured) were leopard print flats from American Eagle.

^ And that was my FOTD. A neutral eye and mauve-pink lips!

Victoria Day OOTD via Instagram!

Yesterday was a holiday here. We celebrated Victoria Day! It's not celebrated everywhere in Canada, but it is in most of the provinces and all of the territories. It's similar to Memorial Day as far as how people enjoy cookouts and fireworks. Ah, I love being an American in Canada. I get to celebrate all kinds of different holidays! :)

I went out for a coffee at Starbucks with my husband and a friend that was visiting from Ottawa, before coming back to my condo to enjoy the fireworks. Being on the 19th floor gives us quite a view, so my husband and I watched about thirty different firework displays! The photos are from my Instagram. I'm "wendybanner" on there, if you want to add me!

Cheese!

Who doesn't love mint and leopard? Together? Even better!

Mint v-neck: Target
Leopard print scarf: H&M
Skinny jeans: Paris Blues
Shoes: I have no idea! :(

NARS Danmari Palette

As you saw from my haul that I posted on Sunday, I got the Danmari palette. Here are my pictures and swatches!








To see the swatches and a quick eye look, please click below!

Keep reading!

St. Patrick's Day Inspired FOTD

A week from today is St. Patrick's Day! So I thought I'd play around and come up with a green look. The pictures of the look itself came out looking a little blurry/washed out. Sorry about that! It's overcast today and I had to use my flash.

I used: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Horse Raddish, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero, Smashbox Bionic mascara, MAC Vanilla Pigment, and my Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. 3.

Using Horse Raddish as a base, it makes the green shades stand out more. I used Kush on the lid, Loaded in the outer corner and crease, and Suspect as the transition color. Vanilla pigment was used as my brow highlight and to brighten my inner corner.



When I do colorful eye looks, I always go with a nude lip. In this case, I used MAC Viva Glam Gaga 2 lipstick and lipglass duo.

I definitely think I'll be wearing this look if I go out anywhere next Thursday! Nice and festive! :) If I do, I'll try to coincide it with an OOTD post. What are your plans for the holiday? Does your city do anything special to celebrate?

Burmese Beauty Quad EOTD

I'm really feeling the MAC Burmese Beauty quad lately!

I apologize for having to use flash, but I took it around 10pm last night. :(

I used Rubenesque paint pot as a base. Skintone 2 is on the lid, Burmese Beauty is in the crease, with Prized as the brow highlight. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Rockstar is what I used on upper and lower lashliners. Showstopper is the only color from the quad that I didn't use, but I just wanted a light neutral look because I was just hanging out with family and running errands!

Here's the eyes and lips from the outfit that I posted yesterday. If I had thought about it (or had a working brain), I would have taken a full face picture. You're not missing anything exciting. All I had on my face was a tinted moisturizer, MAC Hang Loose blush, Benefit High Beam, NARS Laguna bronzer, and MAC Impeccable Brow pencil in Taupe. :) The brow pencil will be shown in a later post, because my friend bought me a few MAC items for my birthday and I'll share the swatches with you. Yep, she knows the way to my heart. Haha!

I used Benefit's Creaseless Shadow in Strut as a base, UD Vorpal (S&M) was used as the lid color, and MAC Carbon was for the outer corner and to darken the crease. The CoverGirl liner was used for my waterline. I used CoverGirl LashBlast mascara to finish the look. I combined Maybelline's Nude Glow with MAC's If It's Pink Dazzleglass Creme on my lips.

Completely forgot to add the gel liner to the picture above, so I'll just show an older one. I used this on my upper lash line.

The flash didn't help at all. You can see the colors more realistically in the picture below.

It's darker than I usually tend to wear, but I went out at night. I find you can get away with more at night. :)

Instead of lipstick and then gloss, I did the opposite. I wanted the glitter, but not as much of the shine. So I dabbed a nude-pink lipstick over the gloss to tone it down.

And there you have it! That was my FOTD for Sunday. :)

Look #2- Silver Starlet

Here is my second look for the Maybelline Dare to Inspire Contest. Thank you to those of you that have voted and keep voting on your favorite looks each day! I thought I would try one of the marbleized eyeshadow duos. I'm trying to do these looks with as little of the products at a time as possible. No one wants to go out and buy three different palettes just to get one look! I feel like the whole purpose of the packaging of these is to get that point across! I cannot complain one bit about the color combinations that Maybelline has chosen!

I prepped my eye using MAC's Painterly Paint Pot. You can do this using just your foundation or concealer, if you don't have any other primers.

Using an eyeshadow brush, I used the right side of the duo Silver Starlet first. These eyeshadows are powdery, so I sprayed my brush with MAC's Fix+. You can use a spritz of water or a bit of Visine to get the same effect. This way the shadows go on a little easier with less fallout and it gives an extra gleam to the light color of the shadow.

Using my crease brush, I dipped it into the silver side. I used a windshield-wiper motion to blend it into the crease. I used my tapered pencil brush to get a more precise angle on my outer corner, but that is optional.



I used the XXL Pro 24 Hr Bold mascara. Step 1 adds the volume. Step 2 is a waterproof coat that seals in the volume.

I then used the Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Charcoal to line my upper lash line. This is a very neutral look that you can wear day or night!

Green With Envy

Here is my first look for the Maybelline Dare to Inspire contest! You can find out more about the contest in my previous post.

UDPP to prime my lids, a fluffy eyeshadow brush, a tapered crease brush, a tapered pencil brush, gel liner, volume mascara, and the Green with Envy quad!

After priming my lids, I used the eyeshadow brush to apply the third color from the left to my lids. Using the pencil brush, I used the last color for the "v" on the outer corner and blended it in. With the crease brush, I used the second color and used a windshield wiper movement to blend it. I chose not to use the highlight color on the left, because it would have added too much shimmer to my liking.

I coated my lashes with the first end of the mascara and allowed it time to set. Then, I applied the second end.

I used the gel liner in black to liner my upper lashes. I'm still not very good at working with gel liner, but this formula is easy to work with. I'm getting better with practice! I used the brush that came with the product, because shocker of shockers...it's not that bad of a brush!

For a daytime look, I skipped the gel liner on the upper lid. I don't like to go really heavy on eyeliner during the day. I added it for a nighttime look, making this a very easy look to take from day to night!

Don't forget about the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner Giveaway in my other post! :) Also, I'll be sure to review the products in a later post.

P.S.- Again, I was sent these products to create tutorials and review from a marketing company!

Green With Envy- FOTD

I thought I would do a green eye look today in honor of the holiday! :) I decided to kick it up a notch and go bold!


1. I primed my eye with my Painterly Paint Pot from MAC.

2. I then applied my lid colors with my Sigma SS217.

3. Then, I made the outer V with my Sigma SS219 and smudged it in. All of these colors are in the Coastal Scents 88 pc. (Matte) Palette.

4. I applied my crease color with my QUO crease blender brush. The color is from my Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette. Absolem is their original shadow Homegrown.

5. Eyeliner and mascara was then applied. Really easy look!



On my lips is MAC's Colour Me Coral lipstick and Elizabeth Arden's Crystal Clear lipgloss.

EOTD!

Currently doing: watching YouTube videos
Currently thinking: how many text messages I may have on my uncharged phone :P
Currently feeling: worried
Thought I'd do another eye of the day. I'm at my MIL's so I only have the makeup I came here with. I only travel with neutral colors unless there is a special event planned. The crease is a bit darker in real life, but the flash washed the colors out a bit.





Items Used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Benefit Creaseless Eyeshadow in Busy Signal as the base
MAC Wedge on the eyelid
MAC Handwritten on the crease
MAC Shroom as the highlight
MAC Handwritten for lining the bottom eyelash line
Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara

And on my lips (not shown), I paired it with a nude pink:

Hello Kitty Pink Fish Tinted Lip Conditioner

EOTD! Green With Envy

Currently watching: youtube
Currently drinking: water
Currently feeling: panicky
Just playing around again! I realized I hardly ever play with greens anymore! It used to be one of my favorite colors for the eyes, so I decided to focus on that love again. So here is a look working around green and a random makeup tip at the bottom!








Products Used:
MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot
Coastal Scents 88 Pc. Palette- last green
MAC Melon pigment
CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus eyeliner in black
Rimmel Glam'Eyes mascara

TIP: To help you get a nice sharp corner on your outer eye area, take a piece of tape. Get some of the sticky feel off by putting it on the back of your hand and peeling it off two or three times. This way it's not too sticky when put around the eye area. Put the tape right around where your eyebrow ends and angle it to the corner of your eye. Then, put on your eyeshadow as normal. Pull the tape off and you are left with a perfect V. You can blend it in a little more afterward to soften it up, if need be. I use this method all of the time when I'm in a hurry!