Summer Neon Pleaded Maxi Dress + Neutrals OOTD

I think summer is all about bright colors, beautiful prints and comfy flowy outfits that are breezy and lightweight. The focal piece of my outfit of the day today was this neon coral spaghetti strap pleaded floor length maxi dress by Decree that I picked up a week ago. I loved how comfortable and lightweight this dress is. However, I loved it's bright neon coral color even more :)). There was no escaping getting noticed when wearing it. The compliments just kept coming ......I think I got at least 10+ comments throughout the day from random people I encountered just going about my business. Even people in the traffic!

For my makeup I focused more on my lips than anything else really because again the dress was the focal point here. I did my brows, threw on some brown liquid liner and mascara and figured I'd go with a bright lip :). I chose Morange by MAC- a bright orange red perfect for the summer and this particular outfit. 

Since I first laid my eyes on it I knew this dress was going to demand attention. For that very reason I wanted to pair it with pieces that wouldn't  steal the attention from it but rather compliment it beautifully.

I decided to stick with the all trusty black scheme. Because the weather was all over the place I choose to layer this dress with a lightweight black cardigan by Charter Club. This cardigan really goes well with so many things and I do own it in few different colors. I thought the black paired with the very bright neon coral minimized my bust area which was something I was after. It also was easy to take the cardigan off if it got to hot later on ....of for that matter put it back on. It was fairly light and therefore easy to carry.

After I wore the cardigan I felt like I needed something to accessorize with. After going thru my jewelry and trying different things on I decided to keep up with the black theme and settled on a beautiful lace design bib  necklace by Thalia Sodi. I thought it added a nice interesting touch without overwhelming the outfit. I do own the matching  chandelier earrings but I thought it would have been a bit much to wear both together.

 

For my footwear I chose black Tia sandals by IMPO. I wanted something lacey and strappy but also something sexy  with a heel that would elevate me from the floor. Since I'm fairly short I didn't want the dress to overwhelm me and so I wanted a bit more of height and just enough feet/sandal to show.

I ended up wearing this outfit with my Michael Kors Studded Selma black leather handbag because it just went perfectly with it. And because it was quite sunny I wore my Prada glasses that where not black but did look great with the outfit as a whole.

Until next time my lovelies!
Take care,
Mirela

My makeup collection-organization, cleanup, storage and product expiration

I love my makeup! I think this statement in itself is completely unnecessary considering just how obvious this actually is. I love buying it, swatching it, wearing it .....and of course collecting it. It makes me happy. However, like many of you out there I'm not too crazy about cleanup .....especially brush cleanup which I tend to do every week or so regardless of my feelings about it :)). We all know cleaning your makeup and getting rid of items that you hardly ever use or that have gone bad is necessary. I think of makeup as an investment apart from a creative expression/career tool. I spend a lot of money on it and I don't like to see it damaged and dirty.

Few days ago I decided to roll up my sleeves and get all in there :).... Literally! I try and clean my personal makeup collection every 6 months or so.  If you are a makeup artist and have a makeup kit  (besides your own personal makeup) that you use on other people I am sure you know that all the stuff you use should be cleaned every time you use it. I disinfect everything, clean my powders, lipsticks, palettes, blushes, packaging, bottles, storage units, brushes.... You can find makeup cleaning solutions that are safe to use  directly on makeup in any makeup artist supply stores, for everything else you can use disinfecting soap and water and wipes .... I also get rid of the stuff I no longer use by donating it to someone who will love it more than I did before it goes bad....there is no sense in keeping something you will not use just sitting there taking up space. If you are over it, or it doesn't work for you for whatever reason pass it on or trade it in and make someone else's day better :). It will make you feel better to know it has gone to someone who will use, love and appreciate it .....

If things have gone bad, smell bad, the texture and application is off .....I simply toss it. Makeup does expire! No matter how much you have paid for something or love something it does go bad eventually. The last thing you want to do is keep using that stuff around your eyes, mouth and on your skin once it has gone bad. Expired makeup can cause really bad skin reactions and infections ....so you don't want to go there. Most makeup items will have "use by" or expiry date somewhere on the bottom of the packaging. If not, you can keep your own little inventory purchase/expiration  date chart or  create some sort of tracking method of your own to keep things in check. Some things will still be good after that date stamp providing there is no other types of damage .......but  proceed with caution and keep a close eye on their smell and texture if you decide to still keep using them. When those two start changing its time to say goodbye :(.

Here is a screen shoot of a general rule of thumb on makeup expiration/duration bellow:

I use Alex Drawers from IKEA to keep and store my makeup collection. The drawers are just shallow and deep enough to keep everything organized and easy to find and reach for. I insert plastic drawer organizers/dividers so that stuff doesn't roll around and mix together. The cleanup is a breeze this way. This makes things so much easier and more manageable. A lot of hard core makeup fanatics/collectors/artists use these drawers because they are very convenient for keeping all your stuff organized and in one place. Needless to say hence their popularity among makeup community on social media during the last few years.

Even though I dread going through my ever growing makeup collection simply because there is so much of it. Once I get started I tend to find the whole process quite calming and somewhat inspiring. The whole process takes me about 2-3 hours to complete but by the end of it all when I see everything super organized and laid out nicely, all clean and ready to go all I can do is smile. Looking at all the beautiful colors like that and going thru it all and finding things you forgot about makes you want to just sit there and create even more looks.....I get inspired every time. And while the process is long you can make it more fun and relaxing by turning on some music ...that gets me in the right mood every time :).

Take care my lovelies!
Until next time,
Mirela

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette Review

So for a little while now I have been hearing loads of buzz about the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette. So much so that I actually looked up different product reviewers about it on You Tube at some point. Now if you have been following my work for a while you probably are aware that I in fact am quite a big fan of wine, berry, rose, coral, pink and similar shades containing red in them when it comes to my eyeshadow looks. Not only that but lately I have been loving burgundy hued eyeliners and mascaras apart from my ongoing wine color lipstick obsession.

This is how the ABH Modern Renaissance palette is described online:

 Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette is an essential eyeshadow collection with fourteen shades, including neutral and berry tones.

Includes a double-ended shadow brush. Crease and fade resistant formula stays put for hours.
Mirrored compact slides easily into your bag for on-the-go application.

Shades include:
* Tempera (velvety beige w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Golden Ochre (earthy yellow w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Vermeer (iridescent shell w/ a metallic finish)
* Buon Fresco (antique lavender w/ an ultra- matte finish)
* Antique Bronze (metallic sable w/ a satin finish)
* Love Letter (raspberry w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Cyprus Umber (dark coffee w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Raw Sienna (neutral amber w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Burnt Orange (deep orange w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Primavera (shimmery gold dust w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Red Ochre (sienna w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Venetian Red (crimson w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Warm Taupe (earthy gray w/ an ultra-matte finish)
* Realgar (brick w/ an ultra-matte finish)

So when I first saw this palette the first thing I thought of was fall and it's beautiful colors even though this came out recently, I suppose, meant for Spring/Summer season. To me it just had fall written all over it. Not that that would actually stop me from wearing it now :). By the way, even though I'm a fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills Products in general, this was my very first ABH palette!

At first, I wasn't planing on purchasing it because I would normally use my powder blushes as eye shadows when I was creating any eyeshadow look containing red in it simply because there wasn't a palette out there that catered that specific area. Or if there was I certainly wasn't aware of it. So I usually purchase individual eye shadows or used my blushes instead of purchasing whole  bunch of random palettes for the sake of one wine eye shadow I fancied. I think the closest I had in terms of similar eyeshadow palettes was the Urban Decay Naked 3 which was way more pinkish and quite shimmery and Laura Mercier Artist Palette (Holiday 2013 Edition) but that one leaned more towards purple than anything else. There was also Tartlete in Bloom by Tarte cosmetics palette but for some reason despite all the hype I was not compelled to purchase it because while it had some wine in it it was more of a brown neutral palette more than anything else.

So when the Modern Renaissance by Anastasia Beverly Hills came out .....I was thinking I would have to be pretty impressed by it to order it and actually keep it. However, the more reviews/swatches
I saw the more curious I became and finally couple of weeks ago I gave in a ordered my own ....still expecting to return it.

When I opened it and swatched it I was amazed :).
- The pigmentation couldn't be better. The colors where lovely. I was in love with pretty much all of them and couldn't find one I didn't care for which is pretty rare for a palette.
- The Reds, Bricks, Oranges, Wines, Nudes, Chocolates and Berries where all very vibrant and blended like a dream with almost zero fall out.
- The staying power of these shadows is amazing. They pretty much look as vibrant and pigmented at the end of the day just as they did in the morning when I applied them.
- Every single shade in  this palette works amazingly well with everything/anything else in the palette so you can create soft everyday neutral, dramatic smokey or very colorful creative looks, all with this one palette if you wanted to - without adding any other shadows to it.
- This palette also comes with a  decent size mirror and a decent brush and even though I'm not a fan of palette brushes - if you need one its there.
- The palette is mostly matte because of which it's also very suitable for mature skin.

 I have nothing particularly bad to say about this palette and I'm overjoyed that I actually don't :) because after playing with it a bit and creating a look (below) I'm in love it. I'm  also happy to hear that this palette will be a permanent part of ABH collection as oppose to being just a limited edition item.

I'm not going to go into swatching  here because quite frankly if you look this palette up online you will find swatches all over the place -  the colors simply look amazing on ALL skin tones. I will say though, that while the packaging is beautiful you will need to take care when it comes to keeping it clean due to the texture of the material on the outside of the palette.

As far as the price is concerned ($42), I think it's reasonable for the quality of the product you are getting. I have paid  much more in the past for palettes that where nowhere near this palette in quality and uniqueness.

So there you have it. If you are anything like me and love these types of eyeshadow colors you will be pleasantly surprised by just how much you will love this palette ....I know I was. If you are new to experimenting with color though, this is a beautiful palette to try out. If you are not comfortable going all out with color you can use the shades wet as a liner or apply a small touch of color here and there without going all the way out of your comfort zone. At the end of the day I'm sure you will fall in love with it no matter where you are when it comes to your makeup skills/preferences!

Take care,
Mirela

Classy + flirty! Monochromatic, Floral-Fishnets & Pearls OOTD

Hey everyone,

Black and white combinations of Peter Pan collar tops and dresses have been in fashion for as long as I can remember and I'm sure they are here to stay. I found this Ralph Lauren collar a line, ponte dress few months back and fell in love with it......it is classy, fitted but comfortable and of course black which means the possibilities are pretty endless here :). 

I paired it with  floral patterned  fishnet pantyhose simply because I thought I'd give the overall outfit some visual interest and flair by paring a rather modest dress with an unexpected flirty/sexy detail. The fishnets can be tricky to pull off as classy many times ......but I thought they would look perfect paired with this particular dress due to its length and modesty. I wanted a classy ladylike look that also had a hint of sexy to it without it being too loud. 

I went along with the simple design theme of the dress when I picked the plain black round toe patent heels. I wanted this outfit to be work appropriate but with a touch of   playful flintiness without looking inappropriate. 

Since the dress had a white collar and the rest of it was plain black, I felt it needed to be accessorized somehow but I didn't necessarily want anything to busy, big, overwhelming or tacky. I still wanted that simplicity and classy feel so I thought that adding some pearls would fit the bill just right and keep that white & black theme going. 

And that was pretty much it. I wore this with my Michael Kors Studded Selma leather handbag. 

When it came to my makeup I felt a bit more playful and creative and wanted a look that was unexpected for the outfit. I created shimmery olive and vine cut crease eyeshadow look and lined my eyes with a combination of maroon and black eyeliner and paired that with a nude lip. 

This outfit though would also look great with a simple eye and bold red lip or a smokey eye and nude lip......or cat liner :). 

So there you go, this was yet another outfit of the day from me. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I had fun styling it/putting it together.

Until next time

Take care,

Mirela 

Makeup Haul - MAC, NYX, Model in a bottle, Maybelline

Hey everyone, 

It's kind of ironic that I'm sitting here  this morning looking thru all the new bright spring and summer makeup I recently bought on my table, having my coffee and munching on my homemade cinnamon roll while its raining cats and dogs outside. Yay for spring LOL! 

Since the spring has arrived I have been so into colorful, bright makeup. And not so much eye shadow per se, but rich, bright eye pencils, mascaras, liquid liners and liquid lipsticks. For some reason or another I am preferring softer blush and eyeshadow than normal and am choosing to bring out that spring/summer pop of color in different ways than usual. Besides, bright colorful makeup seems to me all the rage this spring and it's not really hard to predict that this particular trend is highly likely going to spill over into the summer months. 

So I'm going to start with a few staples of mine. Nothing highly exciting but nonetheless essential,  for me anyways.  

The first thing I'm gonna talk about is the MODEL IN A BOTTLE eyebrow sealer. I love this stuff. I have posted a video few years back about it to my you tube channel. It seals and sets your eyebrows so they don't smudge or melt of even get shiny or oily all day until you take it off no matter the season. It works with literally any pencil/powder/gel no matter what the price range of it is. The consistency of it is clear liquid but after it dries/sets there is no budging so even if you touch your brows it doesn't come off on your hands or even clothes.....or on another person's face, should you be kissing or hugging :)). I ordered mine from the MODEL IN THE BOTTLE site directly  because I was running out but you can find these all over the place online. Also, they offer other products as well. I have not tried them out yet but I imagine they would be great as well. 

The second thing i got is also a product I have used for few years now.  It's the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in color 120 - Light/Pale. I think if you are even a little bit into makeup you already know that a lot of people love this stuff. It brightens, conceals and has anti-aging ingredients, it is light weight .....and on top of all this doesn't crease or feel cakey. 

I also thought I would try an eyebrow pencil by NYX, since I heard so much great stuff about these.  I wanted something darker and richer without any red tint in it but not too dark for my completion.  The shade I got is SPE 903 - Dark Brown.

While I was in Ulta picking up the NYX brow pencil I got caught up playing around with stuff in the NYX isle. The bright rich colors made me want to walk out with 3 bags of makeup but luckily I didn't do that. However I did pick up 2 liquid liners from their VIVID BRIGHTS line . Both gorgeous colors. The first one was in VIVID FIRE shade, a pigmented rich bright reddish coral that I absolutely adore. I have created a look I posted to my Facebook page few days back with it. And a second one in VIVID VIOLET shade. I'm still working on a makeup look using that one since there is so much I could do with it and I didn't have time lately .....but I'm just so inspired because the colors are just so  breathtaking. 

I also picked up a NYX liquid  cream lipstick from their NYX LIQUID SUEDE line in color Pink Lust. This color is richly pigmented and perfect for summer with a simple minimal eye makeup. Or crazy in your face bright pink makeup shown below LOL. It goes on glossy but dries to a creamy matte finish. I am obsessed with this shade and don't quite have anything exactly like it in my never ending pink lipstick/gloss collection as of yet .....so I had to have it ..... There are also few more amazing shades I'm still lusting over in that specific line. 

I also got a NYX COLOR MASCARA in shade CM01 - Purple/Violet, I thought it would pair perfectly with the VIVID VIOLET liquid liner and the color is to de for :). 

I also picked up few products from a cosmetic outlet store and pretty much they where all by MAC. It all started  while back. I was looking for a specific burgundy shade of gel liner MAC had last fall or at least something very similar to it but could not really find anything even remotely similar.  I even visited their PRO stores. I ended up searching all over the place and went thru all sorts of different makeup brands but nobody had anything close to what I wanted ....so I ended up finding all these completely unexpectedly while shopping for something totally unrelated at the designer outlet mall in my local area .....finding extra products in that specific shade actually really made my day :). 

MAC FALSE LASHES MASCARA - Artificial Aubergine 

MAC FLUIDLINE EYE-LINER GEL - Looking Good 

MAC LIPLINER - Ms Diva 

I love all of these for fall and winter. I ended up stocking up and getting 2 of the gel liners in the same shade just in case I could not find anything similar when I needed/wanted it again and of course.  I couldn't pass on the mascara.  It goes perfectly with the gel liner. I think these types of shades bring out the best in my hazel eyes. All of these where limited edition of course, except the lip liner which is still sold in MAC stores currently. 

Well, that is it from me at this time for this haul. Talk to you all very soon :).

Take care,

Laila