Palette Love

I, literally, have a major compulsion with buying palettes.

I don't know exactly why this is BUT it probably has something to do with the multitude of colors and beauty products combined in a cute, portable (even purse-sized) compact. As I'm sure you can tell, I adore palettes hence why I have over 20 different types.

Here are a few of my faves occupying space on my vanity table:


Sephora Collection Color Palette - I am a huge fan of the Sephora Collection for numerous reasons but the main one is the price. This palette was only $30 and is well-worth that small investment because it contains 32 eye shadows, 16 lip colors, 3 blushes and 1 shimmer bronzer.


Lancome Absolu Voyage Makeup Palette - How handy is this cute little thing right? I got this at the duty free shop about 5 months ago and am still surprised that it was only $66. The palette contains a concealer, powder, blush, 6 eye shadows, a black kohl liner, mascara, a lip liner and 3 lipsticks.

Tarte "The Jewelry Box" Palette - I've mentioned this palette before on my New York recap post here but this palette deserves quite a bit of praise. I purchased this when I was on my trip for only $58 and, for those that know the Tarte line, this is a wonderful deal. It contains 32 shimmer and matte eye shadows, a bronzer, a highlighter, 8 lip glosses, 5 liners and a gold necklace (not shown here).

Sephora Loves Canada Minibag Palette - This palette is super tiny and actually fits right in the palm of my hand and best of all, it can be tucked into a small clutch bag when out for an evening. It contains 9 eye shadows, 4 lip glosses and 1 blush that are all either pink or nude tones. A huge bargain at only $18


Tarte's Ten Limited Edition Collector's Palette - I wanted this palette for eons and finally purchased it on Wednesday with a gift card. I will say this palette is a bit expensive ($57) but again, if you're familiar with the Tarte line, than you know the shadows are long lasting and created without parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes or fragrances. This palette is gorgeous as all 10 shadows are limited edition shades and the palette also has both a brown/black duo eyeliner and a mascara sample.


Dior Travel Studio Makeup Palette - I blogged about this already a while back as Allan picked this palette up for me as a surprise but I can't sing its praises enough. This palette is light-weight and contains everything you need to create your perfect look. It has a foundation, 3 eye shadow duos, 3 lip glosses, one mascara, 1 eye liner and 1 lip liner.

Last but not least, the Spehora Collection Color Flip - As you can see, I only paid $18 for this bad boy. It's a very well designed palette as each level contains something new and you flip back and forth between the levels you need. It contains 8 eye shadows, 8 lip glosses, 1 blush and 1 bronzer. I am so in love with the turquoise color from this palette and can not wait to wear it!

I should probably mention that my next giveaway will include a selection of different palettes, following this theme so stay tuned ladies! On another note, what do you think of these palettes? Have you used any of them before?

Ciao

My First-Ever Dior Surprise....

My last post ended with a regret. I know, not a great way to end a blog post.

My regret was NOT purchasing this gorgeous Dior palette I saw at the Duty Free Shop on the way to New York. When I saw it, I thought, "I can't buy something here in CANADA when I'm going to NEW YORK..." So I left the shop, empty-handed, thinking that worst-case scenario, I can buy it on the way home at the airport.

BUT....

They didn't have the palette in New York. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. So imagine my surprise when I saw it sitting on the kitchen table this morning, while making coffee. (Gotta love the boyfriend who actually remembers the exact palette you want AND buys it on his way home from a business trip.....Ahhhhh, I'm a lucky girl.)

Ladies, this palette is FABULOUS. It's called the Dior Travel Studio Makeup Palette and it contains everything you need for a perfect on-the-go style. The kit contains three different shimmery color combos for eyes, three lip glosses, a beautifully smooth powder foundation, an eyeliner, lip liner and the essential Diorshow mascara. (Such a flawless combo.)

If you're going to splurge on a palette this year, (or any year for that matter, since Dior comes out with multiple travel palettes...) definitely grab this one. At only $65, you are getting an amazing deal!

xo

The Shortest Vacation Part 2

Were we ever tired the next day...

All that walking around REALLY tuckered us out so we slept in, ordered room service and finally left the hotel room around 11:30 am. First stop was, of course, Manhattan but, particularly, 5th Avenue.

As my to-do list said, I was desperate to see the Tiffany's on 5th Avenue. So, we hopped on the subway and arrived at 5th Avenue about 20 minutes later. If you aren't too familiar with 5th Avenue, this is the street that has everything from Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, MAC and even an Bergdorf Goodman. (They say that this strip is the most expensive shopping street in the world.) Having said that, IT WAS SO BUSY!! It was filled with tourists all doing the same thing as we were: window-shopping and celebrity seeking. I, of course, was pretending not to be interested in whether or not there were famous people around but, come on, I wore my sunglasses for a reason. ( I was really trying to find Beyonce or Sarah Jessica Parker...) Either way, we found the Tiffany's store, which is 6 floors high and still has it's original elevators and walked into the coolest store called Henri Bendel, this trendy boutique that carried everything from handbags, to jewellry, to dog collars. I was IMMEDIATELY drawn in this store because they had the most AMAZING ballerina display. They were literally hanging from the ceiling. Check this out:

From there, we went to the Financial District by the World Trade Centre to seek Century 21, the biggest discount designer department store, ever. This shop was packed! You could hardly walk around. It was much too busy to actually shop but Allan lucked out and bought two blazers for only $80 a piece. (Regular price about $300 a piece.) Amazing.

From there, we went to this little diner/deli for a sandwich and, of course, beer. We downed out drinks and food/fuel, only to carry on to the Flatiron District because this is where the Museum of Sex was. Yes, I really really really wanted to see this exhibit and even printed off coupons for it. It was a blast! There was tons of people and even had a cute little bar in the basement called the Aphrodisiac Cafe. I highly recommend this place if you ever go. Check it out here

After this, we were sooooo tired. We walked outside and all we wanted was a dive bar and an alcoholic beverage. So, within stumbling distance was this pub/restaurant that advertised creole food and whiskey. We were sold. We walked in and the entire restaurant was covered in plastic SO we take a seat at the bar. The bartender, this cute bubbly brunette, promptly said "we have no food and no draught beer." So, I , of course said, "do you have vodka?" A quick nod was all it took and Allan and were downing doubles within the next 10 minutes. The bartender, we'll call her Jane, was hilarious. She's pouring us shots like crazy and my doubles turned into vodka on the rocks, without the rocks. We left about two hours later and could hardly walk. It was excellent.

That night passed by in a blur. We went to a comedy show after the drinks, then for dinner, then to a bar called Houlihan's. We stumbled back to the hotel around 3:00 am and promptly passed out, sleeping through the hotel fire alarm, which went off at 4:00am. (Lucky for us it was a false alarm and unlucky for everyone else who had to stand outside, in the cold, for an hour....)

We were both very sick the next day and, since it was my last day there, AND we were scheduled to see a NY Rangers game at Madison Square Gardens, we dragged our sorry butts out of bed and left the hotel around 3:00pm. On the way to the game, we realized that a beverage was absolutely necessary (I know you understand what I mean...) so found this AMAZING pub called the Houndstooth Pub. It was just down the street from MSG and the decor (and food menu) just totally struck a chord. After the game, which the Ottawa Senators won shall I add, we went back to the Houndstooth Pub with some of Allan's co-workers and had some drinks and ate dinner. (If you're wondering, I had ribs and they were totally worth the heartburn!!!)

That pretty much sums up the shortest vacation ever. Oh, my only regret was not purchasing the awesome Dior palette I saw at the Duty Free Shop in the Vancouver airport. (For some reason, I thought they would have it there in New York...but, alas, no...) Oh well, maybe my next trip I'll pick it up..

xo (Sorry for the lack of pictures, we didn't really take too many on the second and third days.)

PS - this picture has nothing to do with our second day in New York but I forgot to post it the other day. Check this out....Allan ordered deep-fried macaroni and cheese balls with cheese sauce for dip....it's a plate of heartache and it was so yummy