OoTD: Showers and Faux Leather

My good friend, Laura, had her bridal shower today. She's big into meteorology, so it was proper that it was showering on her bridal shower. Here's what I ended up with as an outfit.

-Shirt: American Eagle
-Sweater: H&M
-Pants: TopShop
-Necklace: He Qi Crystal
-Bracelet: Hamsa evil eye bracelet
-Bag: Rebecca Minkoff MAB mini

My Newest Bag Addition: MAB Madness!

I have had my eye on the Rebecca Minkoff MAB mini for a while. It's a versatile bag that comes in a plethora of colors, some colors are limited edition or seasonal. While shopping with my mom at Century 21, (it's a department store that sells designer brands with prices from 30 to 50 percent off) I spotted in the corner of my eye a Rebecca Minkoff stand. Pushing past the crowds of women, I saw they had two types of MAB mini's. The electric blue and a maroon. A lady grabbed the last maroon one before I could check it out and quickly put it back whispering "there's a hole in it." I couldn't believe someone would destroy such a bag. Being that I'm a blue fanatic anyway, my eyes immediately went for the electric blue. After close inspection of each bag, I chose the best out of the bunch and bought it.

Mind you, Century 21 usually sells discontinued purses, that's why it's relatively cheaper. The original price of the MAB mini is $495.00. The price at Century 21 was $279.97. In total, including New York's tax of 8.875%, I saved $234.00. Which to me, is a pretty big steal. I really don't care if the color is discontinued or not. Electric blue will always have a place in my heart.

What makes me excited about this bag is that it's my first true designer bag. I'm usually very tight with my money when it comes to buying an expensive bag. As much as I want certain bags, I can't justify the price. One of the driving points to purchasing this bag was the fact that I could use it everyday. It's the perfect size to fit all my essentials and more if I wanted to. The leather feels amazing but yet it seems to be very durable as well.

I got rid of three purses to make room for this bag. Beau and I have a rule: buy one, get rid of one. It makes sense, instead of piling bags, clothes and shoes in your closet, donate the ones you hardly look at anymore.

Now on to the bag!

Everything that came with the bag, except Labbit. He's my special touch.

Inside the bag is a card with a Euro looking model on the front. The back of the card has "Call me: 646 420 1475, Vincent" At first I thought some weirdo put his card in the bag in hopes of getting lucky, but upon inspecting it, the print was glossed over and I realized it was part of the marketing for the bag. MAB is an acronym for Morning After Bag. I read online that if you call the number, you get the voicemail of a French guy.

I love the leopard print interior and dust bag. 

There are also four metal studs on the bottom of the bag as well.

Here are the dimensions of the bag:

-13"W x 8"H x 7"D (Considered a medium sized bag)

-Strap drop: 7"

-Shoulder strap drop: 20"

This post was a little lengthy, but I hope you enjoyed it. Do you own any designer bags? What was your first? I would love to know!

Hello and Sneak Peek

Hello all, after the 5 minute thunderstorm I had to run out to grab dinner and play the Mega Millions! It's 500 million people! I also wanted to show you guys a sneak peak of my most recent bag addition. She's a beauty!

For now all we see is Labbit (I love Kid Robot!) and a bit of the purse. Can you guess what it is?

NoTD: Color Blocking

I always loved orange and blue together. Maybe that's the Knick/Mets fan in me! For those wondering, my gel polish manicure turned out to be a fail! After the fourth day, one peeled and this morning the polish on my thumb nail also lifted. I think the manicurist did a bad job, which makes me a little angry cause it was a waste of money. Oh well, can't change what's been done right?

What I Used:
-Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat
-Essie Orange it's Obvious
-Revlon Colorstay Midnight
-Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat

Happy St Patty's Day!

I Have Problems

I've been organizing my makeup drawers and this is currently my lipstick drawer. I couldn't even include my glosses. I think I have a problem.

The dividers I cut myself out myself with a Special K cereal box and Nilla Wafer cookie box. It took me almost two hours to cut measure and cut everything out. I didn't want to spend the money on the acrylic dividers since I am unsure if I want to keep the stand I have now.

Are you a lipstick hoarder like me? If not, what's your cosmetic weakness?

FoTD and Gel Manicure

Every time I go out, I always forget to take a photo of what I'm wearing that day or I go without any makeup on my mug. I gotta change that habit. Today, I got ready to go out, only to decide to hold on my errand run until tomorrow. I thought I looked nice so I camwhored. Can't blame me for being a girl!

What I Used:
Face:
-Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude
-Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Conceal in Nude
-Cargo Pressed Powder

Eyes:
-UDPP in Eden
-MAC Sand & Sun in crease
-L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Ice Latter
-Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara (Regular Formula)
-Revlon ColorStay Gel Eyeliner in black

Lips:
-Maybelline 10 Hour Superstay Glossy Stain in Ruby Indulgence

After my cardio session at the gym yesterday, I decided to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure. Instead of getting a regular manicure, which chips quickly, I wanted to try a gel polish manicure. The color is suppose to last for two weeks without peeling or chipping. It's day two and I have to say, it's nice to not worry about chipping or peeling. One of the cons about the gel polish manicure is having to soak off the polish. It's recommended to go back to the salon and have it removed, but I'll wait to see how I feel in two weeks.

Hope everyone is enjoying the longer days!

Review: Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipsticks

The last of the Maybelline lippies in my review queue! Again another claim of ridiculous staying power. Now, do these lipsticks stay 14 hours on your lips? Not on me, but staying power can vary. The colors I will be reviewing are: Perpetual Peony, Beige Forgood, and Please Stay Plum. 

The packaging is quite cute and you will be able to tell if the lipstick will be shimmery if you look very closely. If you just grab a color without examining the package, you may select a shimmery lipstick when you didn't want one. The cap makes a clicking sound to notify you that it is sealed shut, making it ideal for you to throw in your purse for touch ups.

The staying power of these lipsticks is decent. Applied on bare lips and without any gloss, these lipsticks lasted close to eight hours on me without looking too peeled or chipped. The most noticeable chipping was on the corner of my lips. Some of the color did settle into my lip lines as it dried.

Texture of these lipsticks is similar to other long lasting lipsticks. It applies smoothly, but as it dries you can feel tightening on your lips. It's not really a bad thing, but it may want to make you grab your lip balm and slather it on.

Perhaps the worst thing about this lipstick is the smell! It smells sickly sweet and plasticky. It reminds me of a rejected gum flavor. Be very wary of the smell. At least the smell dissipates once it is applied. Here are the lip swatches below:

Perpetual Peony- Is a bright blue based pink. If you love baby pinks, this will appeal to you. However, be wary that these colors can make teeth look a bit dull at times.

Beige Forgood- Is a lovely nude that leans more on the brown side. There is no shimmer or glitter. Depending on your skin tone, this may just mute your lips or make you look ghostly. 

Please Stay Plum- This plum has the most staying power out of the three since it does stain lips after it has been applied.  I think this shade can be flattering to most skin tones.

Pros:

-Many shades to select from

-Decent staying power, not as long as advertised

-Packaging allows easy transport

-Does not tug on lips when applied

Cons:

-The smell!

-Doesn't stay on as long as advertised

-Hard to decipher from the tube if the color is shimmery or not

Would I Repurchase?

No, I wouldn't. The smell really killed it for me.

NoTD: Essie and Orly

I gave myself a really nice manicure, so I decided to post it. Very spring like I think. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Products Used:
-Revlon Base Coat
-Orly Pixi Stix
-Essie Shine of the Times

No Flash

Flash

February Favorites!

Can you believe it's March already!? These months have been flying by. Anyway, not to delay the post, here are my favorites from last month!

Starting from Left to Right:

1-MAC Tendertone in Tread Gently: I cannot get enough of this balm/gloss. It doesn't deposit any color my lips, but does have a green iridescent shimmer that makes my lips appear plump and glossy. I've been carrying this everywhere with me.

2-Maybelline Superstay 10(hr) Stain Gloss in Pink Plush: This is what I've been reaching for when I want a bold lip. If you want to see the swatches of the colors I have, check out my post here.

3-Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait: Great for everyday wear. This is probably my favorite color out of the bunch I've gotten. When I have it on, the peach color looks very flattering against my skin.

Me wearing Peach Parfait and also my three other favorites!

4-L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine and Bronzed Taupe: I love the texture of these eyeshadows. I found these are best applied with clean fingers and blended gently. They definitely last quite a long time on my lids without creasing (8-12hrs). I would definitely recommend these!  In the picture above, I have both of these on my lids.

5-Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr Cream Shadow in Bad to the Bronze: What a long name! These are great alone or as a base. I usually wear a primer underneath so I don't know how these would fair without. I'm wearing this cream shadow as a base underneath my Infallible eyeshadows in the above photo as well. 

6-Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed: A lovely nude pink blush that adds the right amount of color without looking overdone. When I'm lazy or short on time, I use this in the hollows of my cheeks to create depth and warmth.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!