Archive for November, 2008

But it is easy to wear green.  I love wearing green eye shadow.   I love shades of olive and emerald greens.  I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT BE AFRAID OF COLOR.  What some fail to realize that green is a neutral color.  When starting out use a color on the lid, place browns and/or smoky versions of the color in the crease and outer v.

Anytime, I try a new brand of makeup, I must get a teal or green e/s.  So I decided to try Barry M dazzle dusts. I have seen swatches, tutorials and reviews, so I had to get some for myself.  I purchased from asos.com, a UK online retailer.  Asos lists currencies for 5 different countries, so the customer can see the price at the current exchange rate.  Over the last few weeks, the US prices have been lowering, even the shipping cost has lowered.  *Check them out!* (More on Asos in a future post)

I purchased three Barry M Dazzle Dusts, one of which was the Emerald.  The Dazzle Dusts, loose eye shadows, are similar to MAC pigments and NYX Ultra pearl mania.  I think the Barry M marketing photos suck.  I will say, despite the official pics, they are worth adding to the collection. *I will post some swatches soon* A little bit goes a long way.  (Sidebar: the Emerald green dazzle dust was mixed with Moss Scape Paint Pot, so if used with another base it will not look olive green.)

Face

• MSF Dark
• NYX Concealer in Nutmeg

Eyes

• Matte Gel
• L’Oreal De-Crease Base
• Moss Scape Paint Pot
• Barry M Emerald Dazzle Dust
• Purely Cosmetics CTP in Bronzed Brown and Copper
• Glamour Check StarFlash
• Brown side from the L’Oreal Hip Duo Forgiving
• Retrospeck (Highlight)
• Tan side from the L’Oreal Hip Duo Adventurous (highlighter)
• Stila Multi-Effect Mascara in Black
• Urban Decay Gash and Zero Eye Liners
• Too Faced Foiled Liner – Black Beauty

Cheeks

Stark Naked Blush

Lips

• Sweet Tooth T/T

Mix Maven

Thanks to Michelle of All Lacquered Up and Brit of Clumps Of Mascara, I have gotten back into the nail lacquer game.  I had been settling for soft pink tones (a la wedding day colors) or a pinkish purple shade that I wore ALL the time. Even my nail tech guy was bored with my color choices. LOL I decided that this season is a time for change, so I am wearing dark, bold colors for the fall and winter.

I have been quite enamored with NYX nail polishes.  To date I have 5 shades: (NYX Barbie Pink, Salsa,Vamp, Sapphire and Princess) (see pics below)

I had planned on wearing NYX Sapphire, but when I got to my local nail shop, I realized that I left the polish at home. Oh well, time to choose another shade.  I spotted OPI’s Russian Navy. I thought it was going to be a deep purple with a hint of red pearl.  The shade is a navy blue with flecks of reddish (pink) glitter….I can barely see the glitter. I can only see it in natural light with nail very close to my eye ball, which is a good thing.   Mama Maven gasped when she saw the color, “Why are you wearing black nail polish?”  When I told her it was blue, she did not seem too relieved.  Oh well, I am grown A woman!

NYX Barbie Pink and Salsa

NYX Vamp, Sapphire and Princess

OPI Russian Navy

I like the OPI Russian Navy.  I will definitely contemplate wearing it again in the near future.

Mix Maven

Are you Friends and Familied out? Well, I have one more from from Urban Decay.

Urban Decay Family and Friends Coupon Code – FFL30

Urban Decay also offers free shipping on orders $75 and over.

My favorites are:

• the shimmer shadows,
• 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencils
• Grindhouse sharpener

Also everything on Hard Candy dot com is 75% off.  (No code needed for the savings)  Free shipping for orders $50 and over. I have one of Hard Candy’s 9-shadow palettes and I like it a lot.

More Happy Haulin’

Mix Maven

Hey Pumps and Gloss friends,

I appreciate all the link love the Blog gets. *Totally appreciate it*  If you want a spot on the Pumps and Gloss blog roll, send me an e-mail.

Please update feeds and blog roll to http://pumpsandgloss.com.

The contact e-mail is still pumpsandgloss at rocketmail dot com.

Mix Maven

Today was the first snowfall and, of course, I was bitter because last week the temps were in the high 60s and low 70s, plus I had an early morning appointment.   So to make my day go better, I decided to use one of my Nouba eye shadows, #61 (will post swatches).  Since, I have been obsessing on pink e/s, I wanted to get back to the purples, which are my favorite e/s colors….but purple is not even my favorite color! *Go figure*

(All products are MAC unless stated)

Face

• MSF Dark
• NYX Concealer in Nutmeg

Eyes

• Matte Gel
• L’Oreal De-Crease Base
• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Prenup
• Nouba Single e/s  61 on lid
• Ben Nye Amethyst
• Glamour Check e/s
• Purely Cosmetics Cream To Powder in Brown
• Tan side from the L’Oreal Hip Duo Adventurous (highlighter)
• L’Oreal Naturale Mascara in Black
• Duel Edge Eye Liner (Black Funk/Punk Blue) Black side only

Cheeks

Warmed MSF

Lips

• She-Boom lip gelee
• Urband Decay Sparkler Pen – Flare

In other News:

Urban Decay is having a Friends and Family sale from 11-10-2008 to 11-18-2008. The coupon code is FFH30 The discount is 30% off…woo hoo! So stock up for yourself and/or for holiday gifts.

Still working on finding a Wordpress theme that I love that really works well.  I am thinking ‘how hard can this be’, but I think I am getting close.

Happy Haulin’,

Mix Maven

Please excuse the mess.  We are making some changes to the site that we hope will make the site better for you, the readers.  So over the next few days, you may see different things, but please bare with us.

I want to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to my favorite tech support guy (actually he is the Software Developing Genius!!), Mr. Maven.  He helped me get a lot of the changes rolling.  *Kiss*Kiss*Hug*Hug*

I am also working on a Holiday contest, so look out for that.

Thank you for all of your support.

Mix Maven

Get out and VOTE today!

Are you FIRED UP??? Are you READY TO GO??  Well get out and vote!!!  Fire up your Blackberry, iPhone, iPod Touch and/or iPod to entertain yourself while in the line.  Bring a friend, so he or she can hold your place, if you need a bathroom break, bring snacks for your and fellow voters.  Whatever you do, GO VOTE!!  America needs change!

If you need election info – Go to the Election 2008 tab.

PLEASE NOTE: If your name, for whatever reason, does not show up on the Voter’s Roll, DO NOT cast a provisional ballot. Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE and the call center staff will assist you through the process.
See you at the polls,

Mix Maven

I have been totally excited about the Sephora’s Friends and Family 20% off event starting November 6th to November 10th.  The online discount code is FF2008.

Well, I was checking my updated Blackberry Curve, (thanks Brit) and I was too happy to see an e-mail about Beauty.com’s Friends and Family 20% off Sale.   My only beef with this sale is that it excludes NARS. You need the link <— to get the 20% off.  The sale starts @ 12:01 AM, November 5th to 11:59 PM, November 7th. (No time zone was specified)  Remember that every purchase earns a 5% cash back.

Happy haulin’,

Mix Maven

NARS Cosmetics get rave reviews from many beauty addicts.  Prior to a few weeks ago, I only owned one NARS Cosmetic product, Torrid Blush, which I adore.  I usually layer Torrid with MAC’s Refined Beyond Bronzer and Sweet As Cocoa blush….nice combo.

Since, I have been obsessed with pink eye shadows, I decided to see what NARS had.  I checked out Beauty.com because A. I get 5% cash back for every order and B. free shipping over $49, which is not hard to do (especially, if I linger on Drugstore.com)

So I ordered the NARS Duo in Sugarland, but when I got it, the “pink” side looked quite lilac, which is not a bad thing, but not what I thought it would be.  I do think the color is pretty as it has a hint of gold with the lilac.

I was still on the hunt for the pink.  I found a $10 off $60 coupon at Beauty.com. (Coupon expires 12/31/2008 and can be used more than once)  I purchased the NARS Brazil Duo and Pink Panther cream duo, which is absolutely delicious.  The “Pink” side of the Brazil duo is a mauvy red.

In the FOTD below, I used L’Oreal HiP Color Rich Cream Crayon in Unmistakable (Pink) as a base, which is similar to the Pink side of the Brazil duo.  The crease includes MAC Twinks and theBalm ShadyLady Caught in the Act Courtney e/s.  The highlighter shadow is the tan (goldish) side of the Sugarland duo. Liner is Hard Candy Super Slim Eye Pencil. (I love, love, love this liner because the line is not bulky). Mascara is L’Oreal Naturale in Black.

NARS Duo - Brazil (Pink Side)

I do like the NARS shadows that I have, but I do not think I will be purchasing much more…maybe a lipstick or foundation, which seems to be WOC friendly.  But you never know with me, I can be seduced by NARS.  I will keep you posted.

I will post the NARS swatches to the Swatch Gallery very soon.

Mix Maven