Evening dresses

Sigh... I have been drooling over this dress for weeks now. I want it! Need it! Must have it!

This type of dress is such a classic dress that you can keep for years and years. - And I LOVE pale yellow! One of my favorite colors in clothing for sure.
I'm not too sure about the length of this dress though.. I think I would have wanted it to be longer...? Yes? No? :/


This dress is a BCBGMAXAZARIA dress that you can get from saks 5th avenue.


I would love to have a wardrobe full of classy evening dresses! Too bad I'm not able to wear it that often.
I have been to a ball once and it was amazing! All gowns were sold out by the time I got to find mine, but I was really happy with it.
The only thing that was a criteria for me: NOT a black dress! Girls/women seems to always opt for the black "safe" dress, and this time I wanted something else.

I got several compliments from men that evening commenting on my dress and the fact that it wasn't black! :)

FOTD - Teal eyeliner

A super easy and fast way to add some color and change to your everyday makeup is to add a colored eyeliner.
It's very subtle, but makes a big difference. You should try it!
My favorite colors are teal, dark blue and purple with a neutral eye for daytime, or to a smoky eye for night.

To make that colored eyeliner on your waterline stick, pad on some eyeshadow in the same color on top to set it.
If you have sensitive eyes, be careful about doing this.

This eyeliner is from Gosh.

Project 5 pan!

I have decided to do the P5P. You probably have heard of it, but as project 10 pan? Well, this is the same thing, but only for the serious addicts who needs to ease into it... ;)

The rules of P5P:
- You have to chose 5 makeup items that you will hit the pan on, or finish completely, before you are allowed to buy any other makeup item.
- You also have to show a picture of the 5 items, as proof, how much is left of them now, and a new picture when it's finished.

So these are my 5 chosen items:
From left:

*Chanel Vitalumière Satin smoothing cream compact, 95% left
*Clinique Blushwear, 95% left
*Shisheido foundation stick90 % left
*Elisabeth Arden Shine Pop, 80 % left
*Clinique Superbalm lipgloss, 95 % left



I'm not very good at estimating how long it will take me to use up these products... Have no idea.
It probably wasn't the wisest thing to chose two foundations, but oh well...

Good thing I bought a couple of new things last week that will be sent to me in the next week or so ;)

I'll keep you updated on my project!

Freakin Fabulous!

I got an award!!!! I'm so excited! :)
I got this award from beautiful Liz (Product Junkie). Thank youuuu! ♥

The rules with this award are:
- List five current obsessions
- Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.
- On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
- When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. Don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

Great rules and a great way to tell each other about fabulous blogs!

Here goes! My five current obsessions (some might be very obvious):

1. Reading blogs and watching You Tube videos!
Especially on beauty - and makeup related things (you don't say...). I can easily sit six hours and do this.. forgetting to eat, drink... Good diet though ;) haha

2. White teeth!!
After I bleached my teeth with Zoom I have become obsessed. My teeth can never be white enough and I always look at other's teeth now too.

3. Pearls!
I'm loving everything pearls. Pearl ear rings, pearl necklace, bracelet, ring.. what ever. All size and shape. I love love love pearls. It's actually a part of my wedding theme :)

4. My weight!
I'm obsessing about getting back to my "normal self" after giving birth.. and getting there by the time I go back to work in four weeks......

5. Mac eyeshadows! Just when I think I'm satisfied with the ones I have... I discover new ones I HAVE TO HAVE!


So, those are my current obsessions!

I am passing on the reward to these fabulous people:

Nadia - Love Lipstick and Lime
Anna - The Style Diet
Sarah - Bella Make up
Valerie - Material Instinct
Tina - All the Vanity

FOTD - Purple

Today I wanted to use MAC e/s in Shale.
Hedi (aka Heidipena) reminded me of this color, and this is a color I never reach for. I think it's because I don't like the color in the pan... It looks like a blah purple, but it turns out a really pretty purple on the lid. Combined with other dark purple colors, this is a great look for green and hazel eyes especially as it makes your eyes pop!

What I used:


1. Clinique Even Better (#9 beige which is a couple of shades too light right now)
2. Arteco Concealer corrector in light yellow for under eye circles.
3. MAC studio finish concealer nw35
4. Nars Laguna bronzer
5. MAC Paint Pot in Bare study
6. MAC cream color base in Pearl
7. Mac e/s in Shale on the lid
8. Mac e/s in Handwritten in crease
9. Mac e/s in Smut in outer v
10. Cinema Secret Eyeliner Sealer with...
11. Mac e/s in Signed Sealed for eyeliner, also on waterline
12. Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in #001 Dark Brown
13. Shu Emuera eyelash curler
14. Estee Lauder lashprimer
15. YSL Faux Cils mascara in black
16. Mac blush in Sweet as Cocoa

Brushes and more brushes!

If there's one thing you can't get enough of, it's brushes. - Or maybe you can, but I'm not there yet... ;)

You are not able to apply beautiful makeup without good brushes. I have tried. I have tried applying with my fingers, q-tips, sponge applicators and brushes with nylon/plastic bristles...
So having good brushes is half the job when it comes to applying makeup.

Quality brushes doesn't necessarily mean expensive brushes. Some of my very favorite ones are cheap brushes I got while living in Spain. - It's the gray handled ones in the picture. They were a couple of dollars/euros each and is comparable to Mac's brushes. Had I known they were this good, I would have bought five of each :p
So, if you're from Spain or going to Spain, I got this at Alcampo (grocery store). And the brushes are real hair, believe it or not!

If you still haven't got any quality brushes yet, there are two MAC must-haves:

Mac 239:
This one you use to apply - or pack on color on your eyelid, apply highlight, or an all over eye color shadow (base color).




Mac 217:
Blending brush. After you have applied the color to your lid, this in the type of brush you use to blend it out with so you don't have any harsh lines.




As a makeup artist, you could certainly use 3-5 each of these two brushes.

Train case for freelance makeup artists

Not too many months ago I got a new train case. Then I started watching You Tube videos and was infected by the MAC obsession... and now, six month later my train case is WAY too small to hold my makeup!

If you are an inspiring makeup artist, please invest in a BIG train case! The things that you are going to have to bring along with you for a job is so much more than you think. The worst thing is to pack your train case so full that you can barely close it.. or you need to pack a separate bag with it.

I have been keeping my eye on a couple of train cases a few months now, and after seeing sweet Blair's video on her super cute new train case, I decided I too need this one! Just not in pink :P


This is the one I want.
It has a handle and wheels so it's easy to get around with it and you don't have to carry around a 40 Ibs case on your shoulders...

You can separate the compartments yourself so they will fit perfectly to your makeup.

You can divide the train case into two: a small one with shoulder strap (just like the one I have now) for smaller jobs - or the big one to fit everything for a bigger job.

It has a key lock! Very useful :)




Where to get this train case: Yazmo.com and it costs $ 169.95

Now, you are probably wondering what in the world do I fill this train case with!
Let me just give you a small list of a few items you might not have thought of:

• Foundations in several colors to match ANY skin color!

• Primers (usually several ones)

• Bottles (small ones though) with water, alcohol, brush cleanser, nail polish remover, hand sanitizer, hair spray...

• Facial products: makeup removers, eyemakeup removers, moisturizers for sensitive skin, oily skin, dry skin, cotton pads, a small towel etc...

• Emergency kit for brides especially (they will forever and beyond be grateful if you save the day with this): pain killers, anti histamine (for allergic reactions), tampons, double sided tape, small sowing kit, eyedrops, deodorant spray, tooth pick and thread, fresh mint, band aids.. etc

• Brow kit: tweezers, instand coloring in different colors, small scissors

These are things you are going to want to have.
For a freelance makeup artist, the best way to get work is by reputation and word of mouth. By being prepared for all kinds of situations will show that you are professional and your client will love you and tell others! :)

This is the train case I got now. The picture was taken in February. I thought I had sooooo many MAC eye shadows back then! Ha ha..

MAC palettes - how to fit in most e/s

I got a question from "kristiib" on how you can fit more than 21 eye shadows into your MAC palette once you've removed the divider. So, I thought I would show you all in case others are wondering the same thing:

If you're OCD like me, there's one way - and it only fits 21 eye shadows:



If you don't mind the palette not looking perfectly neat, but pretty neat - this is how you can fit 24 eye shadows:



If the only thing you care about is to fit as many eye shadows as possible, this is how you fit 26 eye shadows:

Counting down to London!

You are going to hear about this many, many, many times... In four months (November) I'm going to London!
And yes, I'm already counting down!
I'm going with a girl friend who is similar to me: we love to SHOP!! We are leaving behind the men and babies and having a girl's weekend with all the works! So, this means I am going to have to be really really sensible about my shopping from now on so I can save up money to do some major damage in England in stead ;)

I also need to make a list of all the must-see places to go and must-have things to get. So any ideas are highly appreciated!

My must-go places so far:
* Top Shop
* Harrods
* Super Drug
* Starbucks!!!!
* Miss Selfridge
* Gucci
* MAC pro

My must-have things so far:
* Clothes in general and lots of it!
* Accessories
* Starbucks coffee!!
* Makeup: Barry M, Sleek, MAC....
* Christmas presents for family
* Makeup for swapping?

Sleek palette - Safari

The Sleek I-Divine eyeshadow palettes keeps on amazing me for it's quality! I just got my new palette that was released in July and is called the Safari Palette.
I adooooore the green colors and in this palette you get four of them!!
There are also four matte colors in this palette; the black, orange, taupe (bottom left) and the greenest green of them all (bottom third from the left).
This time I paid a l o t more for the palette than I did last time, but I figured it was worth it. It's still a cheap palette for $13 if you ask me.


Eyeshadows used:
Green no 4, top from left
Green no 4, bottom from left
Black in outer v
highlight no 2, bottom left, in tear duct

FOTD - Gray smoky

Last night I went to a wedding party. It was outdoors in pouring rain so I knew there was no point in using my flat iron. So, curly I went!
I just got a super cute new top from Gina Tricot in light gray that I wore with a high waist, black pencil skirt and high heels.

Makeup was a gray smoky eye using
Mac Grand entrance e/s
Mac Silver ring e/s
Mac carbon e/s

Lips: Stila Café lip palette

My MAC palettes!!

These are my MAC palettes! My preccccccious! ♥

I have 4 eyeshadow palettes and 2 blush palettes (not all filled).

Today when I was depotting my new e/s and trying to organize them into my palettes, I realized this is not going to work!
I can't have two brown palettes, two palettes with highlights etc..
In total I had seven e/s palettes and that's just too hard to work with. It takes up too much space in my train case. When you want to find the perfect brown, you don't want to look through two palettes to find it.

So, I decided to do what Tiffany D. finally did too; took out the thingy (what's it called?), the e/s separator in each palette so I can fit 21 (or 24 depending on how you place them) in ONE palette, instead of only 15!
All of a sudden I have four e/s palettes instead of seven! :) Yey!

Yes, I do agree it looks a tiny bit prettier with the separator in, but when you have tons of eye shadows, you just want it to be practical.

Highlights/neutrals:
(click for really big picture):

Top row, left to right: Gesso, White Frost, Forgery, Mylar, Blanc Type, Vanilla, Yoghurt
Middle row: Brule, Shroom, Naked (pigment), Lightshade, Bisque, Phloofh, Naked Lunch
Bottom row: Grand Entrance, Retrospeck, Vex, Nylon, Spring Up, Rice Paper, Goldmine

Browns:

Top row left to right: Kid, Era, Woodwinked, Patina, Soba, Charcoal Brown, Corc
Middle row: Seedling, Omega, (forgot...), Satin Taupe, Magnetic Fields, Brun, Soft Brown
Bottom row: Handwritten, Embark, Twinks, Sable, Mulch, All the Glitters, Honesty

Grays/Blues/Greens:

Top row, left to right: Electra, Silver Ring, Copperplate, Apres-Ski, Knight Devine, Print, Carbon
Middle row: Aquavert, Humid, Green Smoke, Sumptious Olive, Club, Lancome e/s, Plumage
Bottom row: Aquadisiac, Big T, Tilt, Moonflower, Deep Truth, Contrast

Purples/Pinks:

Top row, left to right: Sweet Lust, Jest, Gleam, Expensive Pink, Girlie, Sushi flower, Cranberry
Middle row: Purple Haze, Shale, Quarry, Blackberry, Sketch, Smut, Signed Sealed
Bottom row: Star Violet, Hepcat, Plum Dressing

Blush I:

Top row, left to right: Trace Gold, Sweet as Cocoa

Middle row: Plum Foolery, Peachykeen

Blush II:

Top row, left to right: Buff, Blushbaby
Bottom row: Mocha, Pink Swoon, Frankly Scarlet


If there are som must-haves of eyeshadows or blushes that I don't have, let me know!!!!

Depotting boredom...

I purchased 20-something new MAC e/s the past month, some in pro and some in pots -as you can see (I have some more in other palettes in case you were counting ;)). Usually depotting is fun, but not this many :P
Super boring, but love when it's all done and neatly placed in the palette so I can organize them and make it pretty!





Be warned: do not depot e/s if you are pregnant! The fumes are toxic and you really don't want to expose yourself to this!

I'm doing a video -and a blog post on my new e/s (and all my palettes) in a few days.
I ♥ blog posts and YouTube videos on people's MAC palettes and their favorites. Most of my e/s have been bought due to other girls' recommendations. So, I'm doing that!

FOTD - purple eyeliner on neutral eyes

Wow, guys! Look at me going all crazy with colors today! Lol
The colors do come out a little more vibrant in real life though.. in my defense ;)

Eyes:
Mac paint pot in Painterly for base
Mac e/s Brule all over the eyes
Mac e/s Grand Entrance on the lid, in the tear duct and 1/4 underneath the eye (inner corner)
Gosh eyeliner in purple on top and underneath
Mac e/s Purple Haze on top to set it and make the color more vibrant
Dior eyeliner in black to rim the eyes (waterline)
Estee Lauder lash primer
YSL Faux Cils black mascara

FOTD - Brown neutral smoky eye

Easy smokey eye with browns and goldy colors.

Face:
Chanel vita lumiere foundation (# 4)
MUFE concealer palette (#1)
Chanel Libre Loose Powder (# 4 in Doré)
MAC cream base in Pearl
H&M Blush (from my June favorites). In the brightest color.

Eyes:
MAC paint pot in Bare Study
NYX Jumbo Pencil in mocca on lid and under the eye
Max Factor e/s in Pebble applied from crease and up
MAC Satin Taupe on outer lid and half way in + underneath the eye
MAC Woodwinked on inner half of lid + underneath the eye on top of Satin Taupe
MAC Nylon on inner corner
Dior black eyeliner around the eyes (waterline)
Estee Lauder mascara primer
YSL Faux Cils mascara in black

Lips:
My holy grail lipgloss Dior Kiss in Mint Lemonade # 209 (light blue).

Tag: Honest Scrap

This is a blog tag I've seen so many girls do and I love reading it! The last one being one of my favorite favorite girls: beautiful Anna. I absolutely adore her and feel so lucky to know her! Go check out her blog and videos on You Tube - if you haven't already!

The tag is to tell 10 facts about yourself that you don't know ;)

1. When I was 6 years old I was in a music video and standing in front of the camera acting I decided to become a Hollywood star. Yup. Not an actress, but a Hollywood star. Two days after my 18th birthday (when my parents couldn't decide over me anymore) I moved to Hollywood.... True story.

2. I was a single mother for 12 years. After giving birth to him I went back to school and got my high school diploma (you don't need that when you're becoming a Hollywood star!), and continued to study for 8 years at the University of Oslo. Then I met my finace, 3 years ago, and we have a 9 month old baby now :)

3. Oh, and my finace - we met online ;) I flew to Spain to meet him for the first time and it was love in real life too! ♥

4. I have had a HUGE phobia for eyes since I was little and tried to take out my eye after seeing a little girl on TV take her fake eye out. My eye made a noise and I've been freaked out about eyes ever since. I've worked really hard to get over it and it's a little better, but I can't wear contacts or watch people take out theirs..

5. I am a ALL or NOTHING person! Meaning, I can't just own a few MAC e/s. I have to have all! I can't just eat half a chocolate bar, I have to eat it ALL - at once! I can't exercise a couple of days a week, I have to get a personal trainer and work out five times a week.. I can't just spend some money, I have to spend ALL! (my poor boyfriend.. in every sense of the word...lol)

6. I'm slightly bitter about not being a cheerleader or an astronaut.. Both actually. Those are the two things that I'll be talking about in a bitter voice when I'm 90 and in a home...

7. I've been in 5 tv-commercials.

8. I'm 5'7 and wish I was a little taller.

9. I have been a regatta sailor (racing sailboats) for 9 years, competing in a World Championship race among others.

10. I would move to Africa! I ♥ ♥ ♥ Africa. I've been to Sudan, Malawi and Zambia, a total of 6 times. My father has a house in Kenya (hence the wish on my "Wishlist") and I can't wait to visit him one day soon!


Like Anna, I am tagging all my followers!!
Have fun! :)

Makeup storage

In Norway, and perhaps Scandinavia in general, we don't have vanity tables. That's always been a funny American phenomenon for us.
I guess we are not supposed to care so much for makeup that we go out and purchase a piece of furniture to hold something that is superficial like makeup..
Funny thing is, as much as we could all use a vanity table and it being an ancient way of thinking, I think we still feel embarrassed to admit that all our makeup doesn't fit into one little makeup bag.

In my family they know my makeup doesn't fit into a makeup bag, because they see it floating around everywhere. And it's an annoying thing to everyone, including myself.

So, having read MacGal74's blog on how she stores her makeup, I have decided to get the same one (in the picture). It's IKEA's Malm dresser. Nice, neutral and doesn't take up a lot of space.

I cut bangs!

I cut side swept bangs today. Can you tell? Probably not lol
I'm a little chicken when it comes to cutting bangs too short because I still have the post-it note from a couple of years saying:

"Michelle, if you ever want to cut bangs again,
DO NOT DO IT!!!"

Somehow it seems to never work for me.. but I'm a hopeless believer that I can make 'em work this time!! - And if I regret it I still have a year to grow them out for the wedding. All good!


.

FOTD - warm and cool colors

Lately I have been experimenting a lot with different light reflecting products, to see how it comes off on camera. This with my wedding pictures in mind...

The clue is to look glowing and not oily. Big difference. I think the amount of glow is good in this picture.
What do you think?

This is not a trial wedding makeup, by the way ;) Just a very easy, every day neutral makeup look!
I love the cool color of silver mixed with a warmer color like the brown. I could have exaggerated this look a lot more so you could have seen the colors more clearly, but I was just going out so I didn't do that ;)

Face:
Clinique supermoisture makeup foundation
Chanel libre loose powder (in Doré # 40)
Benefit Boing concealer
MAC Cream base in Pearl on cheekbones
MAC soft & gentle on top of the cream base

Eyes:
Actually very similar to the last one.. I didn't realize until now :P
MAC paintpot in Painterly to prime the eyes
Max Factor Pebble e/s all over the eye
MAC Electra e/s on inner corner of the lid and half way in
MAC Handwritten e/s on outer v
Dior eyeliner, black to rim the eyes
Rimmel black fluid eyeliner on top.
Estee Lauder Lash Primer
YSL mascara, black

Lips:
MAC creme cup (surprise!)
Just any clear gloss on top

I want!!

I was just browsing the internet trying to find some nice items to put in my poor attempt to make a header.... when I came across these two lovely treasures! Ah...Love, love, love!! What gorgeous Chanel coctail ring and ear rings! I want it!!! Now!

I found these on Bag Borrow Steal. I don't know a lot about that site, but from what I understand you can rent designer items (monthly) and if you like it, you can buy it! Sounds great to me!!! (except I want to o w n it!)

Would you rent a designer item?

June favorites!

1. Nars bridal palette (Sephora)
2. NYX Jumbo eyeshadow pencils, especially color milk (Ebay)
3. Nars Lagoona bronzer (Sephora)
4. MAC creme cup listick (creme sheen)
5. Chanel powder universal libre, color # 40 Doré
6. H&M Cheek blush, Summer night
7. H&M lip gloss, Sweet marion
8. H&M lip gloss, English Rose
9. MAC Dazzleglass, Goldyrocks
10. MAC Mineralize skinfinish, Soft & Gentle