A Makeup Post (Say What?).

So, the holidays are finally over and I feel like I can breathe again. I'm really terrible at multi-tasking when it comes to processing my thoughts, so this little blog of mine has been neglected while my mind has been possessed by Thanksgiving/Christmas prep, preschool, and birthday planning. Mostly Christmas, though. Christmas is so much work.

Santa (or my mom, husband, and mother-in-law) was good to me this year. I asked for makeup and makeup gift cards (MAC and Sephora) and was pleasantly surprised by my wonderful family's generosity. I've been trying to make a point of getting my frumpy mom-butt dolled up every day in an effort to lift my moods and make me feel more human/less cranky. Some sweet things I got this year (and totally recommend) are:

Urban Decay eye shadow palettes:
Naked 2
(Naked 2 is a taupe-themed eye shadow palette with loads to offer. It's versatile and very beautiful. I feel like I can create a lot of really unique and lovely looks with all of the different shadows included. With a lot of taupe and grey-hued shades, I feel like it compliments my pale-ish winter complexion. It'll totally rock in the summer too, so who am I kidding?! From the countless pages of reviews and tips on buying Naked palettes, I've found that this palette is the one that is best rated for cooler (pinkish) skin toned ladies, though I'm sure a darker/warmer skin tone could totally rock the colors in this palette just as hard. It's just, all around, the most perfect neutral palette I've ever come across.)

Naked 3
(Naked 3 has been referred to as the "Xbox One" of the woman world. It's like this holy grail of pinky/rose gold shadows that create a ton of really pretty, girly looks. There are also a lot of darker, more sophisticated hues mixed in with the dainty, pinky colors as well, so there is quite a bit of versatility. I love this palette. It looks phenomenal with my skin tone, but I do feel there is a little bit more of a limit on the options and looks you can create. Maybe I am just new to the scene and don't know what I'm doing, but I feel like every look I create is just another "pinkish" look. Totally recommend it, though. There are tons of beautiful sparkly and matte colors in this palette and it is just as timeless as Naked 2, in my opinion.)

Urban Decay eye primer potion in "Original" and "Greed"
(I had never used a primer for my eyeshadow in the past and, with my Naked 2, my husband bought a duo pack of primer potion that included the two different primers, "Original" and "Greed". Original is perfect and I will buy stocking up on this for the rest of eternity, I'm sure of it. It's just a lovely, buttery base for my lovely, buttery eye shadows! It has no color to it, so it's basically like a translucent base coat, but I still feel like the shadow sticks really well and has a ton of pigmentation when I use it. My eyeshadow stays all day with no creasing or greasiness and I just adore it. "Greed" is just a shimmery gold primer that has some pros and cons. Pros: I love what it does for the shimmery eye shadows, it blends SO well with them and makes my lids so wonderfully pigmented and rich, but the con is that if you use it up on your brow bone, you totally risk looking like a drag queen. I made that mistake. So, I've been using original from my crease up to my brow bone to make for a really neutral base for my light brow bone color, and then using "Greed" on just my lid to help with the glitzy pigmentation. It's like my secret weapon. I love it.)

Nars blush in "Orgasm"
(So, the name is totally awkward, but it's this perfectly creamy, easily-blendable natural flushed pink blush. I've always used cheap-o blush and never realized what I was missing until now. It has a little bit of iridescence, so it does give a little bit of a "dewy" look if you apply quite a bit of it, but I've always used a very, very minimal amount of blush, so I haven't noticed too much of a heavy, shiny look to it. It's beautiful and girly and I'm stoked about this purchase!)

Butter London nail polishes in "Branwen's Feather" and "LA Moss"
(I was introduced to Butter London nail polish through Instagram and spent a lot of time pouring over the colors at Ulta and fell in love with the deep, dark, vampy colors. Anyone who knows me know that I'm typically not a pink, girly, frilly person, so it makes sense that my nail polish preferences would lean more toward the "dark side" (totally a Star Wars reference). These are great. I mean, I'm not a nail polish expert, but these are easy to apply and after two coats, look completely opaque. They dry quickly and stay on for quite a long time (with base and top coats, obviously). I love both colors, but I have to say that I lean a little more toward liking "Branwen's Feather" just a hair more. I can't wait to add more Butter London colors to my collection!)

MAC lipstick in "Modesty"
(Okay, so I am obsessed with MAC. "Hello, my name is Amanda, and I am addicted to MAC Cosmetics." No, but in seriousness, I love this lipstick. I'm slightly intimidated by lipsticks, to be honest. I totally want to rock a red lip and a deep plum lip, but I am always afraid I'll look a bit like a clown or drag queen, so I've read tips to start with something a little bit more like a "your lips, but better" color. So, Ta-da! "Modesty". It's creamy, rich, and comfortable. It doesn't feel sticky and I usually forget I'm even wearing lipstick! It smells like a dream. Like a sugary, marshmallowy dream. It's a perfectly "nudey" pink. It's a bit darker than my regular lip color, but it looks so natural, I don't feel strange wearing it 24/7. I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable about lip color, so I think my next purchase will either be another nice "your lips, but better" color...or maybe I will just go all out and reach for a rich plumy color the next time I'm at MAC. We'll see.)

I've found a new love/hobby in makeup and have been like a crazed addict watching youtube reviews and tutorials, formulating what I'd like to spend my $75 in MAC gift cards on. So, that's been fun.

I might start posting a bit more about makeup mixed in with my motherhood posts, because seriously...what mom doesn't like to pamper herself every now and then? I've always been great at picking apart restaurants and coffee shops because my husband and I have spent a great deal of time learning about, tasting, and cooking different dishes/coffee, so I think my tendency to "over-learn" and "over-do" things could prove to be really helpful when reviewing products I pick up along the way on this new "cosmetic journey" of mine.

Now, I'm wrapping this not-so-interesting, not-so-introspective post up so that I can get a proper New Years Eve post rolling. Hope this post was at least a little insightful!

Cheers.