Turn, Turn, Turn

There is a season, and the season is FALL! Won't be official, I guess, for a few days, but you could feel it in the 50 degree air this morning.

I did, in fact, wear clothes and perfume and makeup during the summer, but nothing felt terribly inspiring to post about, I guess. But pulling out the tights and faux-leather jacket today put a spring in my step. Also put on a new Boden dress, which is always a cause for celebration.

For the makeup, I reached for some items I haven't used in a while -- my Urban Decay Naked I palette and a strong red lipstick.

Face -- Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid makeup, Make-Up Forever Primer (under the eyes) and MAC concealer. NYX Pinched blush.

Eyes -- MAC Paint Pot in Painterly (as base), Urban Decay Half Baked (on lid), Urban Decay Smog (in crease), Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Liner in Perversion, Urban Decay Super Curl Mascara.

Lips -- MAC Cremesheen lipstick in Dare You and Lustreglass in Ornamental. Revlon Colorstay liner in Natural.

Perfume -- Black Phoenix Trading Post Hair Gloss in Implacable Beautiful Tyrant (Golden amber, frankincense, white ginger, and oudh) and Nocturne Alchemy Bastet Amber perfume (Royal Amber blend with guiacwood, benzoin, and frankincense).

Where's the lamb?

Posting here from the unending winter of 2012-13 -- apparently we have even more snow coming this evening. March's lion nature seems to be hanging on as long as it can.

I was sitting outside yesterday, though, keeping an eye on the kids playing in the yard and enjoying some sunshine and the tiny little signs that the garden is coming back to life. In addition to some crocus clusters, a few intrepid daffodils, and some little buds on the hydrangeas, there was a smell in the still-chilly air hinting at good things to come. And thus I tried to imagine Fantasy Perfume #4 (I think 4, who knows).

Dried grass, dried leaves, warming dry earth, cool air, crocus, and crushed rosemary and bay leaf.

Love, Sydney

A little girl in our town suffered a serious brain injury over the weekend, sustained while out enjoying sledding in the snow. The whole community has rallied to her family's request to keep Sydney in our thoughts and prayers, and we were asked today to wear her favorite colors of light blue and purple as a show of solidarity. Facebook has been lighting up with photos of children and adults dressed in blue and purple in her honor. So I decided to wear this sweater set and some purple eyeliner for her. Even my perfume picks up the theme -- BPAL Two-Barred Flasher, which has a strong blueberry note and lilac, along with orris root, galbanum, white tea, and bergamot.

Thinking about Sydney and her family and sending tons of love.

Hair Today

Finally got myself to the salon today after a way-too-long absence. As always, the wonderful stylists and staff at Zing! did absolute wonders. Thank you! I feel like a million bucks.

Cream of the Crop

Greetings, Earthlings! I managed to get through the holiday season without too much disruption/overeating/family feuding. Have started off 2013 with a new affection for Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners, and I look forward to getting ever more bold and beautiful with them.

As a little holiday gift to myself (of the one for you, one for me variety), I ordered the Ocho Loco eyeliner set from UD. Although I already owned two of the eight, it was still a good deal. I also decided to treat myself to a little "mystery bag" that promised extravagant goodies for $14. I think my decision to avoid subscription box services has been a good one, since my few months of Birchbox were ultimately a let-down, but it's still fun to get the occasional assortment of samples. It was a very good gamble, because among the items were a good-size sample of their new Beauty Balm, a full-size Naked lip gloss, and a 24/7 eyeshadow pencil. I've been messing around with this stuff nearly daily since, and really enjoying adding a little fun to my look with a non-neutral eyeliner on days I can get away with it. A separate post waxing about the awesomeness of the black matte Perversion liner will be forthcoming.

Today I used the eyeshadow pencil for the first time, which came in Rehab, a brown-taupe. I love the color and was amazed by the long, immovable wear when I swatched it (I did all the pencils at once, and then gave the baby a bath, marveling at how the stuff DID NOT BUDGE and had to remove it in the morning). Now I must say that I'm not the biggest fan of eyeshadow pencils. First of all, cream eyeshadows generally don't work well on me and tend to crease or fade. Second, I find the fat pencil format hard to work with. It's neither thin enough to use for precision application, nor blunt enough to get a good wash over the lid. I managed to dab it around and use my fingers for adequate blending, but it seemed like a lot of work. I think I'd rather it came in a pot or pan format. This is easy to transport, though.

I also busted out one of the Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows in Barely Beige, which I'd bought a few months ago and found a little too frosty. But Temptalia had reviewed some of this line positively recently, so I thought I'd give it another try today. I applied with a flat brush and blended with my fingers.

Results: it's 4 hours into it, and nary a crease and no fading, so perhaps I finally have gotten the application correct. I think it's important to use a base or primer of some kind and to apply the product in sheer layers and build it up as needed. Will play around with the creams and pencils I have some more, and see if I can get them to perform this well. I have a few NYX eyeshadow pencils too that I've never been able get to work well so I'll experiment and post my results.

Face: CoverGirl NatureLuxe Silk Foundation in #319 Flax and CoverGirl concealer. NYX Blush in Pinched.

Eyes: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly as base, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeshadow Pencil in Rehab on outer lid, Maybelline Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow in Barely Beige on inner lid, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeliner in Hustle, NYX Propel My Eyes mascara.

Lips: MAC Viva Glam VI.

Scent of the Day: BPAL Pussy (from the moths and butterflies collection, you deeves) which is Orange blossom honey, brown sugar, saffron, tonka absolute, and tobacco leaf. I've always thought of this as a summer scent, but it's working beautifully on this cold and sunny day, warm and cosy.