Merry Christmas! Am I late?

I really wanted to post yesterday but I was so busy, but I hoped everyone had a lovely Christmas!
In case you haven't noticed, my blog is COMPLETELY different. I mentioned that the pink was tiring on my eyes, and I was just NOT happy ( *     3     * ).... I just sort of threw this together for now, I made the banner in about 5 minutes, but when I have time, I'll make something better. ohoho. I really just needed something simple that didn't make me want to throw up. If you liked the old layout better... I am so sorry...

These are photos I took, of myself, in the car, on Christmas... It wasn't even bright outside and I look washed out. Excuse: I took it with my camera phone.

It really didn't feel like Christmas this year. I was somewhat disappointed... Oh well, at least it will be snowing this week! 

Here was my family's Christmas tree. You see how it's lopsided and just... strange looking? Well, it's a funny story. It's supposed to be a 7 foot tree (synthetic), and my dad threw away two parts. So we had to improvise! We took a mini tree and put it on the 1/3 we had left of the other tree! Strange that it kind of worked... that's also why there's different colored lights on top ( >       w       < ).

Also, here are my Christmas nails! Hmmm, they're very uninteresting in photos, BUT I assure you, they look a lot better in real life because of the pretty sparkles. I used FIVE different nail polishes to do this look, all by China Glaze. I'm sure you're not interested in which ones so I won't bore you with names.

This is my "Christmas" outfit:

Every single piece down to my feet is Forever21. Yes, that is in fact a cape I am wearing. The red purse is from Kohls, and I'm sure you guys remember my fox tail form H&M. I finally figured out a way to post up pictures of my outfits without showing off my mirror. Cropping. Yes. It seems so simple now. (By the way, it's really not, look at all those edges I was too lazy to fix).


ANDDDD this is my last picture for the day, I wanted to show you guys my sister's cool mirror. I like to do my hair in her room. Hohoho :D.

So a bit about this blog... I've been trying my hardest to be more consistent on this blog. I also want to let you guys know what's going on with my blog. As of recently, it's been mainly a beauty/cosmetic blog, however, I've been slowly trying to make the transition to do a lot more fashion. Here's a fact you most likely do not know, A Haute Passion started out as a purely fashion blog. That's right. Before the makeup was launched, I cleared this blog of all my fashion posts, restarting with an entirely different view. So, this blog will function a bit differently as well the formatting and overall appeal of the posts. Of course, I still love makeup and will continue to do reviews and such. This afterall, IS a beauty blog. I have been recently been reevaluating just how much of it I have, and will do a blog sale in the near future. I've realized that while I love makeup, I can still run a beauty blog without hoarding, ya know what I means? I hope you guys will stick around with my new transitions!

I think I'm just about tuckered out now. I had work today and I have work in the morning too. I have the photos taken for my "Holiday" giveaway, so look forward to that soon!

Hope everyone has a good night! And I'd love to hear about your Christmas! Get any cool presents? Any makeup?? ( n ______ n) 

Merry Christmas Eve! (Some Early Christmas presents!)

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve! And I can't believe it's raining... =(
I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas as well as share some early presents (most of which I bought for MYSELF yesterday.... I can't help it!). So this is a bit of a haulage post to share some buys I bought while "Christmas Shopping".

First are a few clothing pieces I got for myself. I like to buy a lot of plain pieces that are versatile. You can never have too many plain tees, so I bought two simple burnout material tees from PacSun, one gray and one white. I wish I could devise a better way to take photos of clothes...

I also got this plain tan skirt from Forever21. It was so cheap! I'm planning on wearing it as part of my Christmas dinner outfit with a red top.

My favorite clothing piece is probably this nautical-esque top from H&M. This was also a great bargain. It's not so interesting laid out like that, but is really cute on tucked into a skirt!

Also at H&M, I found the popular fur shawl! I was wondering if these came in multiple colors? I've read various blogs and the colors of other bloggers look a bit different. Anyways, I was lucky that my H&M finally stocked these.

I was debating if I really needed it since I already have two fur shawls. The two in the back are from Foreign Exchange, and the H&M one is in the front. I think I've decided to keep it because it's made nicer than the other ones. The fur is softer and the material is thicker. It also lays across my shoulders better than the other two.

Next, I went to Nordstrom Rack and bought two pairs of shoes. I really like the look of the chestnut colored sherpa booties over skinny jeans. They're also very comfy =). The black flats are by Steve Madden and I'm still debating whether I should keep them. I've been wanting a plain pair of studded flats for awhile, and they were pretty cheap.

Lastly, I bought two new fragrances. I got the Pink Sugar set from Sephora and the Live Pink fragrance from Victoria's Secret. The Pink Sugar one is VERY sweet. I bought the VS one simply because of the cute packaging... Other than that, I will most likely stick with my Viva La Juicy perfume.

On to early presents!
I received my present from my coworker and one of my best friends early.

My friend Carina got me really cute presents! She got me a very sweet teacup from Anthropologie with tea, sugar, and biscotti. I love biscotti! I don't like Earl Grey tea, but I'll try it anyways. She also bought me a notebook from Anthopologie. I'll be using it for class notes =). I was also very surprised to find a Givency eyeshadow palette in it! It's very small but very expensive. I'm scared to use it and ruin it! Lol (*-*)

One of my coworkers also got me a very nice present. I recieved a Hickory Farms Sausage and Cheese set (don't laugh! I LOVE this stuff, I could eat it all day). He also gave me a mug with a bunch of goodies and candy inside. The cutest part of the gift were the handmade glass ornaments (he didn't make them though). I've put them on my tree already.

Have you guys ever gone Christmas shopping for others only to end up with things for yourself?? 

*I've been despising the look of my blog. New layout coming soon! 

$10 NARS Deals at Sephora

Sometime last month (?), or maybe it was just a few weeks ago (time escapes me), I ordered a couple of NARS goodies after discovering they were only $10 on Sephora. I bought NARS' Duo Eyeshadows in Cheyenne and Wicked as well as their lipgloss in All Night Long. I believe that the duo eyeshadows are now sold out but the lip gloss is in stock. >(^o^)> I'm not sure what possessed me to make that emoticon.

 

Wicked, All Night Long, & Cheyenne 

Shown above is Wicked. This was really just an impulse buy because I can't pass up a good deal. Other than that, when will I ever wear lime green eyeshadow?

Cheyenne was more up my alley. It comes with a bronze-gold as well as a reddish copper.

 

 Wicked duo, Cheyenne duo (The copper color is not true to life, it appears more of a cool brown in photos, but true copper face to face... )

Cheyenne duo, Wicked duo

Like all other NARS eyeshadows I've tried, I'm again amazed by the amazing texture and pigmentation. They are always smooth and the colors are always vibrant and pigmented. I haven't actually used Wicked yet (bad I know, considering I received it so long ago), but I reckon the white will make a nice highlight, while the green will make a nice partner to keep the white company in it's lonely case. I did end up using Cheyenne, using the gold all over the lid and the red copper into the crease. Verdict? Amazing color payoff, horrible look on me. That's right. I don't even know why I attempted to use this duo, I KNOW that copper and reddish colors look HORRENDOUS on me. There's just something about coppers that make me look plain gross and a bit evil. I'm not joking. I just can't pull it off, I can't really explain it, but I just look BAD. B-A-D. Get the picture? So, two out of four colors isn't horrible is it...?

Moving on (since I'm getting oh-so-huffy)...

All Night Long was another impulse buy. I always wear nudes, but couldn't resist the cheap pricetag on this deep colored baby.

All Night Long  is a wonderfully smooth and pigmented berry color. It looks like a deeper plum in the tube but applies like a light berry when swatched. I haven't tried it on my lips because I'm still getting over my experience with Turkish Delight (YEESH Note: Splotchy color, horrendous taste, bad smell). BUT, sources have informed me of the majesty that is this lip gloss (translation: it's wonder in a tube).

Bottom line, I like the products (with the exception of the way copper looks on me), but truth be told, these have been sitting in the back of a drawer ever since this swatching session.

THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!

A Fast Approaching Christmas

I've suffering from a huge case of blog guilt. I've been so inconsistent with posting =(

This winter break has been busy busy busy. Christmas is only FOUR days away! It's really hit me today, and I'm feeling very unprepared. I'm just not ready! I'm thinking I should postpone Christmas until next month.

JOKING. <3

I really need to switch into full gear and get all of my presents together and wrapped. Mental note: That's my goal for today. =( Laziness is kicking in.

This blog needs some more loving too. Thanks to all those who subscribed even though my posts have been scarce! I had some items ready for a Christmas/Holiday giveaway, but I didn't have time to take pictures and edit, and all that jazz. Would you guys mind if Christmas comes a bit late on my blog? I'm hoping to get the giveaway up and going soon, even though I wanted to announce the winter on Christmas. =/

Anywho, there's no sign of snow here or indications of a white Christmas, but I've learned to quit boo-hoo-ing about it.I can still dress like a fur trapper can't I?

This is actually an outfit from a few days ago, as I've decided to be a bum at home and "get things done". Scoff.

Me thinks I need to clean my mirror. >///<

Fur shawl: Foreignexchange.com
Olive anorak jacket: WetSeal
White off the shoulder tee: American Eagle
Black jeggings: Unknown =(
Suede over the knee boots: Colin Stuart (Victoria's Secret)
Black shoulder bag: Asos.com

Fur shawls are all the rage this season. Well, fur in general is. Everyone has the H&M version, but I couldn;t get my hands on one. Luckily, I found a site (foreignexchange.com) that sold them, AND they were 50% off at the time. Sadly, I couldn't find it on the site again. I ordered both colors, the tan/brown pictured, and a grey toned one. Although I love them, I find it very hard to keep them in place as I would like because the small clip underneath is relatively useless. I'll survive. I'm also wearing another cardigan but I figured I didn't need to mention it since you can't even see it.

I've been stuck in a bit of a rut with fashion this rainy, dull season. Neutrals, check. Boots, check. Dreary mood, check. I need to incorporate a bit of color in my life. It's hard when I dress to fit the mood and weather!

On another note, I've been having some hair (in)decisions. I'm planning on dying it lighter, but am caught between going to a hairdresser or doing my usual box color. I called Vanity Junkie to make an appointment for all over color today (my giftcard for $70 expires Christmas), but they're all booked up this week. So, that's a big waste of money. Oh well, I didn't like their overpriced and shoddy customer care anyways. I also have a strange fear of letting other people mess with my hair (hence the at-home box dyes). I'm thinking light brown or medium brown. Thoughts?

I'm really liking lovely Mila Kunis' hair here:

and this random girl's photo:

I'm afraid to go that light though, so I'm thinking those shades, just deeper.

Ok, seriously though, I'm going to be productive and wrap presents.

... or I'll just online shop.

Sally Hansen Your Skin Foundation & a tool to find your shade

Probably one of my biggest makeup obsessions are foundations. Even if I find ones I like, I'm constantly buying more because I have this tendency to try more. Even If I find a great foundation, I still buy more. A few months ago I picked up Sally Hansen's Your Skin foundation. It's gotten a lot of rave from the beauty community but as soon as I heard about it, there was news that it was being yanked out of the market. People found it on clearance at Ulta, so I rushed over but only dark colors were left. I searched and found it on places like drugstore.com but passed on paying the $13-15 with shipping, especially since I couldn't see the shades in person. Luckily they recently introduced in into my local Rite Aid. Looks like it's not being discontinued at all. The other problem was finding a shade match. In the states, you'd be hard pressed to find drugstore tester bottles. The frosted glass packaging made it even harder to find a match.

So I did what I always do, I refer to Temptalia's foundation matrix. Temptalia's blog has this really cool feature where readers contribute to a large table so others can find their foundation shade. They categorize the chart using MAC NC/NW as universal indicators, and then they list foundation shades that they use that correspond to that, The first page gives you the option to pick your skin tone (Pink-Cool, Yellow-Warm), as well as your shade.

 You can then scroll down the list to find the foundation you want on the left side and then find your MAC shade at the top to find the foundation for you. This is what the chart looks like when I scroll down:

I'm about an NC30 in the winter and NC35 (sometimes I'll even reach NC40) in the summer. So, I opted to buy Creamy Beige.

Creamy Beige is actually a perfect NC30 match (the first photo washed out the actual color), however, I'm still planning on buying Sandy Beige because Creamy Beige is still a tad light for me right now. I must say that I really like this foundation. It's medium coverage and looks very natural and flawless on my skin. It is a bit thick, so you have to make the extra effort to blend. It is rather creamy and smooth, which is a must for foundation. I've tried applying it several ways. I don't like the way it looks with my fingers, so I actually prefer to use either a stippling brush, or better yet, my ELF studio flat top powder brush, which makes it look its best. I end up with a nice almost-airbrushed look, but with a texture that still looks REAL.

Here are some reviews from makeupalley.com.

I'm very pleased with the outcome of this product, so I'll be buying the darker Sandy shade, as well as the airbrush foundation Sally Hansen and Carmindy have came out with.

Have you guys tried this foundation? What do you think about Temptalia's foundation matrix?

A Quick Look & Update (Cure your money troubles!)

Finals are over and I finally have a day off from work. My stress is residing and my nails are getting a break from anxious nail biting. JOKING. I don't bite my nails. It's unattractive and gross (tell that to my 8 year old self). My Christmas shopping is partly done, so I don't have to worry about that much either. What does this all mean? MORE BLOGGING! (Hopefully). Sadly, I didn't have time to do November favorites this month, but I have an upcoming post later this month about my favorite products of 2010.

 

 I just wanted to post a  quick look showcasing two items I've blogged about this earlier =). I'm wearing Eyeko's 3-in-1 cream as a highlight (as requested by a follower) and NARS' Essential Eye Palette.
Quite pointless as you can really see the eyeshadow, but I made an effort to sit in front of my window so you can see Eyeko's cream in action.

Other products I'm wearing: I don't remember. This is what I get for not posting things right away.

Another photo just for kicks.

Anywho, I wanted to ramble a little but about a website I've been loving. I've been suffering as a serious shop-a-holic for awhile. I'm talking about getting multiple boxes delivered to me just about every single day. It got to the point where the UPS guys knew me by name. November was an especially bad month. Those friends and family sales did not treat me kindly. However, I learned about this website (I may be a tad late) that would help me cure my shopping addiction (well at least control it)! It's called mint.com.

Mint.com is basically a financial tool. You can link all of your bank accounts, credit cards, and loans into one place. YES. This is a safe and secure website. It's recommended by a lot of top companies (like Apple). By linking all of my accounts, I can monitor everything in once place. It evens gives you a net worth! You can also add assets such properties and cars. What I really like about the site is the budget feature. All of your transactions are put into categories (you can categorization yourself as well) and you can put budgets on them. Example: I put a limit of $100 for makeup/beauty this month (I've been pretty good so far, even passing up some great deals, which I NEVER do). It also texts you or emails you when you are nearing a budget. Another awesome feature is the "goals" feature. You can set goals for yourself, such as saving money for a vacation, and set how much you want to contribute a month. Right now, my goal is to pay off my credit card (YIKES).

This is what the homepage/dashboard looks like:

Photo taken from Google, this is not my account. 

This website has been helping me so much. Just looking at the budget freaks me out, so I've sustained from buying a lot! This month, I even set a budget just for Christmas gifts. Other budgets I use include fast food, shopping (clothing), restaurants, etc. This website is truly amazing, and it's helping me financially in so many ways. I highly suggest you try it out!  (Note: I didn't find out my credit score, because that costs money, so you can just skip that). 

Do you ladies have any financial-savvy tips for budgeting you'd like to share? Do you limit your cosmetic spending? 


Toodles for now! I hope to be back soon with another post!

Makeup Forever Aqua Essentials Kit: Keeping me Weather Proof!

As promised, I'm going to try to get a lot of my Sephora haulage from the Friends and Family sale last month done. I've photographed and tried the majority of them. All that's left is finding the time to write a full article on everything! I have to leave out some things I'm returning however, because I feel like it's not even worth mentioning (AHEM NARS' Turkish Delight).

I had been wanting the Makeup Forever Aqua Essentials Kit ($69) for well, forever (Well, that's a lie, maybe for about two months). It's a Sephora Beauty in a Box exclusive that combines a lot of top selling "waterproof" products into one handy kit. I finally pulled the trigger during the sale because the price was brought down to $55. I felt like it was a really good deal because you get these full sized products:
Aqua creams in 13 Warm Beige and 15 Taupe
Aqua Eyes eyeliners in Mat Black 0L and Dark Grey 21L
Aqua Smoky Lash in Extra Black
Aqua Lip lipliner in Nude Beige 1C

Tell em what else they get!!
...And a little bitty bottle of Sens Eyes eye makeup remover. Yay...

I had been wanting to dry MUFE's Smoky Lash for awhile, so I felt it was a good idea to go with waterproof since I'm always walking in the rain.

If you open the box flap, All Sephora In A Box sets come with instructions for different looks. Useless.

And the makeup remover was so dinky I forgot to picture it alone, but here's a picture I took of it earlier:

First up is the mascara. The wand is a typical wand, nothing special to ooh and aah about here. I don't really know what to say but that I was very disappointed. I had read such lovely reviews on this "amazing" product, but I didn't get it. It does make my lashes nice and dark, but It also made them tragically clumpy. (Is that what the reviews meant by volumizing?). I can only suffice using it for about a coat and a half, the second coat is clumpy. The thing with the layering, is I love to layer. I tried it a few times with this mascara but it was just so unattractive and my lashes lookes heavy and had virtually no separation. I'm thinking about trying the regular formula since it's a cult fave.

 

 Taupe and Warm Beige

I was really excited to try out the Aqua creams because I've been a bit obsessed with cream shadows lately. It's also a deal sweetener that they're neutrals. I like the idea of just slapping some cream shadow all over the lid and calling it a day. Taupe is a nice golden brown, and warm beige is a shimmery highlighting-esque color. They look pretty nice swatched, but that's about it. I was very disappointed with these creams. The Taupe applied very unevenly. It looked splotchy on my lids and the pigmentation wasn't as good as I would have liked. I had to slap some eyeshadow on top of it to make it wearable. As for the Warm Beige, it wasn't very unique, just the typical shimmery highlighter. The consistency was oily. As for wear time, they were faded by the end of the day. The Taupe made my lids look messy, and the Warm Beige was barely visible. All in all, I won't be buying any more of these. 

 Nude Beige Lipliner

Dark Grey and Mat Black Eyeliners

Nude Beige lipliner, Dark Grey and Mat Black eyeliners

I don't find buying new lipliners very important. I use the same lipliner everyday (Sephora's Nano Lipliner in Native Nude), and I always rebuy it as well. I gave this MUFE one a try since, well, it was included. The color is a little darker than what I normally go for. I usually look for lipliners that will lighten the color of my lips, and this one is just about the color of my lips. It's smooth and nice for when I'm not doing nude lips. I also "overline" my lips to make them appear more full. This color makes my lips look very natural, but I don't think it's very long lasting. Nice nonetheless

As for the eyeliners, both glide on very smoothly. I've been using the Mat Black pretty often. It's a simple pure black that's long lasting. I don't think it's by any means "waterproof", but I didn't expect a miracle. I actually don't like the Dark Grey. It swatches nicely, but it doesn't show on my eyes very well. It's not as smooth as the Mat Black and I can barely see it when I line my eyes. 

I think the consensus for the SensEyes makeup remover is that it's pretty bad. Especially when it's paired with the mascara. But to give it credit, a good amount of my eye makeup removers had to work EXTRA hard to remove the Smoky Lash. 

Overall, I don't think the set is worth it. Even though the price is amazing for full price products, I was disappointed with 5 out of 7 products. I did like the eyeliner, but my Urban Decay Zero or Korres Black work just as well. I was considering returning this kit, but I'm lazy and feel a little guilty since I've tried all the products =(. Hopefully I'll find some good uses for them.

Do you own any of these products? What do you think?

A lot of Random Babble (& an OOTD).

Hi guys! It surprises me whenever I see my last post updates. I always feel like it's only been days since I've last posted, but I guess not =(. I've been getting ready for the end of the term, and finals is next week, so THAT'S always fun. I figured it's high time my blog got some extra loving. The weather's finally picking up again. By picking up, I mean the rain has receded for a bit. It was actually sunny the past few days! The temperature's also feeling a little warmer. It's low 40's now instead of a period of high 20's we had a few weeks ago. We had snow before Thanksgiving! The bad part is it looks like it might not drop low enough to get some snow in time for a white Christmas.

Enough about the weather! (Even though I guess it's semi-relevant to this post since I've been layering like no tomorrow).

Talk about a dirty mirror (and a dirty room at that). Well this is embarrassing.


Modal top from Victoria's Secret
Perplum knit blazer from Urban Outfitters
Pacsun jeans
Wet Seal boots
Bag from wholesale-dress.net (Alexa Mulberry replica)
Fox tail keychain from H&M

Black coat from H&M
Scarf from Nordstrom

I feel like everyone and their mom has this blazer, well at least in the petite bloggers community. It's knit so it's a really easy fit. The coat is a great fit too. It's so hard for me to find coats that fit my narrow shoulders and small frame. I'm only 5'2! To contrast the fitted jacket, I decided to play on different shapes with a loose baby doll modal top and cinched my waist with a skinny belt. Of course I'd also have to wear somewhat corresponding boots. Everyone has those Target boots (Steve Madden lookalike) boots from last year, but I couldn't get my hands on them so I snatched up an el cheapo pair from Wet Seal. Faults: They make sounds like I'm wearing heels, even though they're not heels. As for the bag, I've been searching high and low for a cheap version of the Alexa Mulberry (Remember when I got a blue one from Forever21? Well I wore it once, my sister borrowed it, then never gave it back). I think I got the bag for about $17 shipped which is an amazing deal. I kind of "weirded-it" up by adding the fox tail. Didn't you hear they're in though? I do get some strange inquiries on it though (As in: What is THAT?)

This season has made me feel very ho hum. I can't put outfits together and I'm always in a rush! Boring much?

I hope you ladies are all doing well! And good luck on finals if it's that time for you!