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 

Spring Coral Maxi Dress OOTD

Spring is here :). Bright poppy, lavenders, fuchsias, violets, yellows and corals, breezy lightweight fabrics, soft but bright pastels, floral prints, lovely sandals, painted toes and bright colors are popping up everywhere. I love the happy and cheerful mood spring puts me in every year. It's unlike any other season of the year. It inspires freshness, lightness and excitement of the new beginnings :). And the blooms, ah the colorful blooms! ......paired with bright lush greenery and the nature waking up after a long sleep......it just puts me in a mood of starting new fresh things I have never tried before. The season just makes me more energetic and inspired. 

While the spring is the season when the weather gets significantly warmer, dressing in layers is undeniably recommendable. While there are lovely, bright sunny days, there are also rainy, dark gloomy and quite cold ones as well .....and often all this is combined in a single day where you have virtually all seasons happening within the 24 hours. So it's best to be prepared, hence the layers. 

That is exactly why I tend to lean towards wearing a lot of maxi dresses during spring season. I tend to love the light fabrics that are bright and colorful that I pair with a neutral cardigan and sandals or wedges. This way I'm still  very much girly and colorful for spring but also warm and comfortable due to the long  dress layers and the cardigan. 

For today's outfit I paired a bright floor length lightweight coral maxi dress with a black lace detail cardigan. A nude cardigan would have worked great here but I need to repurchase a new one since my old one became too big overtime. I figured a black one would still work great and because the dress was plain the cardigan lace detail on the shoulders would lend an interesting touch to the outfit. 

For my footwear I picked a pair of  rhinestone rose detail shimmery bronze flip-flops. I painted my toenails/nails coral to match my outfit and I accessorized my foot by adding a yellow gold sparkling charm anklet. 

For my accessories I wore a nude chain clutch with a golden tassel detail  by International Concepts that I recently got from Macy's for spring/summer. I wanted something lightweight that would allow me to carry bits I needed but also keep me hands free yet still put together. I wore my everyday mix of different metals jewelry that included white and yellow gold and diamonds. 

Spring Coral Maxi Dress OOTD- Cardi: 89th & Madison, Maxi Dress: B Darlin, Footwear: Yoki, Handbag: International Concepts 

My makeup was simple. Chocolate liquid liner and coral lips and cheeks :). I wanted a pop of bright color without going overboard in terms of both my outfit and my makeup so I focused on emphasizing on one main color and adding interesting and complimenting hues and details to it. And that was pretty much it ......

Take care,

Laila 

Final Post-What I ate: March 20th 2016+Weekly Weigh In

Hey there everyone,

Firstly, I want to apologize for the late post. Secondly, I want to let you all know that this is my last post about my weight loss journey for a little while. This week is my birthday week and I will be going away for a holiday/vacation so I want to seriously take a break from everything and I won't be posting on any social media platform for a little while. I might resume my weight loss daily food diary when I come back ....but I did say maybe as I'm not sure yet. Sunday was a cheat day for me and below is my weekly weigh in as well so check that and my comments below if interested.

Here is what I had Sunday:


For breakfast I had overnight 1 cup of old fashion oats soaked in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk and topped with 1 sliced banana and sprinkle of cinnamon.  To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 325

For lunch/brunch I had a slice of Prince cake. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had spicy chicken curry and paratha. To drink I had diet drink and water. Dinner Cal Intake: 816

Today's total calorie intake: 1681

Weekly Weigh In: +1.4 ...... I'm probably better off not commenting in depth here about how I feel about this last week in terms of weight loss progress ...or should I say the lack of, because I'm completely sad, disappointed, angry and upset and the things I would write are probably better left unsaid. For what is worth I hope that I have helped some of you at least a bit in your weight loss journey. If you are trying to loose weight please keep going and don't ever give up. Nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy so if you remember anything from what I wrote in these weigh loss blog posts ....remember that. Thank you for visiting my blog daily and following me on my weight loss journey so far. I know there are quite a bit of you not just from USA but also from all parts of the world. I apologize for letting you down this last past month and a half or so......I know things could have been much better.

Weight loss since the 1st of January 2016: 8.4 I haven't met my goal, although 3 months since the beginning of the year where quite enough time to loose 15-20 pounds if done properly. I feel like I have too much to deal with in my personal life right now which is why I'm taking a break from posting daily. I just think it's not the best time for me go keep posting these right now if I'm unable to do it properly. Either I do things properly .....or not do the at all. I am not someone who likes to make excuses for myself that is NOT how I managed to loose so much weight  ....so I'll come out and say I seriously messed up the last month and a half. And because I cannot be a good example/inspiration right now (judging by what has been happening the last month and a half or so)  to all of you out there who are trying to loose weight I'm stopping here for now.


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

What I ate: March 19th 2016

Hey there everyone,

Here is what I had today:


For breakfast I had overnight 1 cup of old fashion oats soaked in 1 cup of vanilla almond milk and topped with 1/4 of a cup of blueberries.  To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Breakfast Cal Intake: 238

For lunch/brunch I had 2 1/2 of 2 different Mexican pan dulce. To drink I had coffee with creamer and stevia sweetener and bottled water. Lunch Brunch Cal Intake: 540

For dinner I had a small side (1/2 a cup) of Spicy Brown rice & Tofu Stir-Fry with red bell pepper, edamame (soy beans), peas and saffron with a salmon ciabatta burger and couple of cherry tomatoes  .... To drink I had bottled water and Teavana Jasmine green tea. Dinner Cal Intake: 500

Today's total calorie intake: 1278


And that was it for today,
Until tomorrow,
Laila

Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Haul

Hey there everyone,
So the summer is around the corner and the last swimsuit haul I had was about few years back. Since then I have lost some weight and to be honest I needed something different and new.

If you are a big chested girl like I am, you know that finding a good supportive swimsuit can be a difficult task. Even  when I find one that has good support many times it ends up in me not liking the style/pattern/color or ends up unflattering on my particular body type. I wanted something feminine, age appropriate, flattering, cute, happy and yes dare I say sexy and supportive while not too revealing. I was beginning to think this was too much to ask for after purchasing than returning tons of things.

Now, I have been taking my time and seriously shopping around and found my particular swimsuits in Victoria's Secret out of all the places :)). I looked in  barenecessities.com, swimsuitsforall.com, adoreme.com, Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Target, Khol's, J.C. Penney, Sears, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, Dillards, T.J. Max, Amazon.......and few other places so I have kind of went thru all the price points. Ultimately though,  I didn't really care about the price. I just wanted to find a swimsuit I looked and felt great in.....and so after all that search I was passing by Victoria's Secret one day on the way to somewhere else  and randomly walked in not expecting to find anything I particularly liked ......and I didn't actually find a single piece as far as the swimsuits went. The sales person said it was probably a bit too early in the year for them to have the swimsuits displayed on the floor ......but that the new styles are actually already available online.

I did check out their online offerings and actually found a few pieces I really liked. There where very mixed reviews on the items though in terms of quality and fit in general. I am pretty good about my own measurements, bra sizes and such.....I always keep a good track of that and I knew my VS sizing pretty well .....so based on my own previous experience shopping there and sizing chart on their site I choose the pieces I thought would work the best. When it came to quality of VS items it's always a mixed bag for me .....sometimes it's really good, other times it's really bad for what you end up paying. I'm however, always prepared to make a return especially when shopping online .....so I purchased a few swimsuits pieces and waited for them to arrive patiently with my fingers crossed . They had a free shipping and a deal going on few weeks back so I took advantage of that .....but the shipping took over 10 days .....probably because it was free which I didn't like.

The Heavenly Tankini
I only got 2 tops for this one in size 34DD in different animal prints/colors because the bottoms where not available in my size/print/color but both work with black bottoms I already have..... I might still check if they have what works for me in terms of matching the bottoms. These also fit me so well....I'm actually considering getting more colors :). I got both of these in shorter length since I'm only 5.4 tall....and it was perfect length and covered my belly button.

Description

This classic tankini gets the golden touch with light-catching hardware at the front. Adjustable straps let you customize the fit, while removable padding gives you a little extra lift.
* Removable push-up padding
* Underwire
* Pulls on; no closure
* Adjustable straps
* Available in 2 lengths: 22 ½” and 24”
* Lined
* Hand wash
* Imported nylon/spandex

I also chose to use a bikini mixer on their site where they let you mix the bottom and top styles and colors/prints to create your perfect swimsuit.This I found very helpful because I could choose what works best for my body needs and style instead of choosing pieces already put together. Here I chose The Angel Convertible in 34DD an underwire top with good support and Non-removable padding. For the bottom I chose The Heavenly Bikini in small ( I wear 6-10 pant size currently depending on the brand) which was very forgiving and flattering while sucking me in and concealing the bits I felt uncomfortable about......love these bottoms :). I matched the top and bottom print and color for this one. When I finally got to tried them on they fit me perfectly and looked amazing on :).

 

And that was it for my swimsuit haul.....for now :).
Take care,
Laila