Shania Twain Concert: Caesar's Palace Las Vegas

For all you country music fans out there, I just went to a concert that was AMAZINGGGGG! Shania Twain puts on one of the BEST concerts you will ever see! She is such a genuine person, so nice and warm. She grabbed a hold of both my hands and hugged my neck. LOVE HER! She rode out on stage on two of her horses - a black one and a white one. It was awesome. I sat 2nd row center. An experience I will NEVER forget. If you have the opportunity, please go check her out!!!!

Flower Beauty Haul (with swatches)

So for what feels like forever now I have been wanting to try out Drew Barrymore's makeup line "Flower Beauty" which is sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. It isn't sold (big shocker) at my podunk local Wal-Mart, so you can't imagine how excited I was to stumble upon these a little while back when I was out of town. The makeup line is described as being a higher end makeup at drugstore prices, which is totally up my alley. I was mostly interested in the eyeshadow quads and the blush/bronzer duos. There are 4 eyeshadow quads and 4 blush/bronzer duos in the line. I picked up 3 of the eyeshadows and all of the blush/bronzer duos. I also picked up one of the Lip Service Lip Butters. Let's get to swatching and reviewing.

This buttery soft lip butter feels great on your lips. It has really good color payoff and overall I really like it. Supposedly the color of the lid on the tube is the color of the product, I did not find this to be extremely accurate. The color that I chose, Haute Honeysuckle, ended up being a straight up orange/coral color. It didn't really match the color of the lid. But overall this is a really nice product....if you luckily choose the right color.

I have to say, the quality of the eyeshadows in this line is SUPERB. They are super soft, not a lot of fall out, they are not chalky, and are super pigmented. Dare I say they are comparable to Wet n' Wild quality??? I am crazy about these palettes. The only one I did not pick up was the 'Blue Lagoons' quad. It had a couple of blue shades and a black and white. I just didn't see myself getting a lot of use out of that one, so I skipped it. The other palettes are more neutral shades (my favorite). They have excellent matte and satin/shimmery shades in each quad. You could get so many different looks with each of these palettes! The packaging is super adorable - a clear/quilted detail on the top of each palette trimmed in white, and when you open it up there is a beautiful rose gold. There is a slight magnetic closure as well, and you will notice it slightly helps hold these palettes together when they are stacked on top of each other.

Face the Grey has a light/shimmery lilac, a metallic silver/purple, a matte grey and a matte dark purple. This palette would look great on any eye color, especially brown. GORGEOUS. Just like the other two, super soft shadows, excellent blendability, super pigmented.

Smoke and Mirrors has a matte taupe, a greyish purple that is almost matte (just slight shimmers), a matte nude, and a dark brown with gold shimmers. I took this palette to Vegas with me and was able to achieve several different looks with it. I am crazy about this quad, it is excellent all the way around. Love the highlight shade, love the purple-grey. At first glance the brown shade with golden shimmers reminded me a lot of Nars Galapagos. But after swatching it, it really didn't look the same.

The golden shimmers are MUCH more noticeable in Galapagos when swatched. The brown shade is similar, but the overall look is not the same.

Foxy Browns has a buttery soft shimmery baby pink, a metallic bronze shimmer, a matte deep-dark brown, and a taupe metallic. Geez. The quality and pigmentation of these shadows is SICK. Excellent drugstore buy. I promise promise promise you, you will not regret purchasing these. The following two pictures are of me wearing the "Smoke and Mirrors" palette.

The blush/bronzer duos are also EXCELLENT quality. They are not too powdery and they have great color payoff. If anything you need to really watch loading up the product on your brush or you could easily acquire that dreaded clown look. You really do need just the tiniest amount.

Shimmering Goddess and Gloriously Golden are completely matte duos. Gloriously Golden looks like the bronzer has some shimmers in it, but it swatches totally matte. Sunkissed & Single has a matte blush and a shimmery bronzer, and Beachy Keen is the only palette with both a shimmery blush and shimmery bronzer. The shimmers in these duos are not over the top and will not leave you looking like a disco ball. It's very subtle and pretty.

Beachy Keen is a gorgeous peach blush with golden shimmers. Gloriously Golden is a classic, matte baby pink. Shimmering Goddess is a gorgeous matte reddish pink, and Sunkissed & Single is a beautiful matte mocha. I LOVE these duos.

So overall, I highly recommend these products from Flower Beauty. I think they are excellent quality for the drugstore price. Let me know which ones are your favorites, especially the lip products. I am excited to try more of those! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Kim Kardashian's Birthday Party Tao Las Vegas 10-25-2013

Sore Throat and Birthday Cake

Well we got back from our trip and what did I bring with me?  Strep throat. If it's within a 100 mile radius you can guarantee this girl will catch it. I've had zero energy and barely felt like lifting my head, but had dinner to fix and a birthday cake to bake. A crock pot of ribs and a white cake with cookies-n-creme frosting is sure to make any illness feel better!  Have a great week everyone!

America's Got Talent LIVE - MGM Grand Las Vegas 10-23-2013

Hey guys!  We had a great time at the show!  The winner of AGT was there, Kenichi Ebina, as well as Tayler, Cami Bradley, Jimmy Rose (fellow Kentuckian, woot!), Collin Keys, and the Kristef Brothers. Oh yeah, and Chiefrocca was there too!  That B-Double O-T-Y (can't get that off my mind, lol). Very entertaining!  We had such a blast. 

Makeup: Neutrogena foundation, NYX Hi-Def concealer, Ben Nye Banana Powder, Elf Brow Duo, Nyx purple eyeliner, Flower Beauty Smoke and Mirrors eyeshadow, Diorshow Mascara, Mac Up the Amp lipstick, Nars Laguna bronzer, Nars Albatross Highlighter, Nars Gaiety Blush. 

The 3 hour time difference always kicks my hiney, so I am off to la-la land. Come back soon ya'll!  

xoxo

Traveling to Vegas

Vegas is one of my favorite stomping grounds. We've been here no less than 20 times, and I think I know the strip about as well as I know my hometown lol. The only bad thing is the cross country plane ride and 3 hour time difference. I always be jet-laggin. Up since 1:30 am EST, I had no time for makeup. I made my journey to Vegas bare faced and spooky!

Nabbed me a Pumpkin Spice Latte at the airport to perk me up. I figure it's Halloween time, so I could get away with sportin the spooky look, hehe. 

Stay tuned for my Vegas ventures!  Hope you're having a great week!

Las Vegas Haul: Forever 21, Ray Ban, Sephora, Banana Republic

Hi guys! We are in Vegas for a few days of fun, and I thought I would share with you some of the things I've picked up so far. Everything's here, so you really have to pick and choose wisely if you are on a budget (like me).  Boo for budgets :-(Hehe. 

I got this adorable taupe/black chevron print tunic from Forever 21 for $27. (Is it just me or are they raising their prices?) Also from there I picked up a few little jewelry pieces: a longer necklace with black stones, a long silver necklace with a silver/black triangle detail, a double-rose ring which is beautiful, and a pack of 3 bangles that I love.  Especially the one with the bow.   Everything was pretty cheap. The black stone necklace was the most expensive jewelry piece I got, it was $13. The other pieces were all like $2.80 or $3.80. 

I have been DYING for a pair of Ray Ban aviators for forever now. I stopped by Sunglasses Hut at The Fashion Show Mall and tried on a few pairs. I went with these babies. 

In. Love. With. Them.

I forgot to bring a heat protectant for my hair, so I ran to Sephora to pick one up. I went with the Alterna Bamboo Anti-Breakage Thermal Protectant Spray. It was $25 for 4.2 fl oz.  It smells delicious and is supposed to protect up to 428 degrees. So that's awesome. 

The only other things I picked up while I was there were a couple of fingernail polishes. I wanted to try some of the Formula X polish, so I grabbed a bottle of a deep, dark red called 'Curiosity' for $10.50.  Well, when I was checking out I seen they had a mini bottle of a more tomato-red, called Pyrotechnic, as a 100 point perk. I went ahead and grabbed that as well. 

Can't wait to try these!

As I mentioned in a previous post a few days ago, I am going to Kim Kardashian's birthday party tonight at Tao in the Venetian. I am going on the cheap - both my dress and shoes are from Target.  I have been looking for a pretty necklace to kind of dress up my outfit, and I found an adorable one at Banana Republic on the clearance rack. 

The best part about this necklace?  The price!  Originally priced $89.50, it had been marked down to $49.99, and finally down to $17.99!  

The dress I am wearing is black with blue sleeves and a gold zipper at the back of the neck. This blue floral necklace with gold detailing will be perfect (at least I think so).  

(Pics from the night of the party)

Well, thanks for stopping by guys. Please come back soon and keep the comments coming. Your kind words and encouragement mean the world to me. Thank you sooooo much for being so great!

Cortex 4 in 1 Curling Wands

So on YouTube everyone has been talking about the NuMe curling wands for your hair. There are some really good coupon codes on some of the gurus channels, and they appear to give really good results. After doing some research I stumbled upon the Cortex 4 in 1 curling wand. Once the 'it' wand of YouTube, it appears to be the same thing as the NuMe wands. 

What you get is basically one wand with 4 different size heads. You get one graduated/tapered head that goes from 1/2 to 1", a 3/4", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2".  NuMe had a similar product on their page:

(Tri-Fect $219)

(Lustrum $229)

With the coupon codes I think you get these about half off. Maybe more. What I didn't like about the NuMe wands - the biggest thing is the lack of a heat setting. I have naturally curly/fuzzy hair and I like to have control of my temperature setting. I feel like I need more heat than the average person.   The NuMe wand heats to 410 degrees. Period. No other options. The Cortex wands have an adjustable heat setting ranging from 360-430 degrees. Also, as it is heating up the digital temperature shows you the current temp as it's heating up. Pretty neat.  Another thing I don't like about the NuMe wands is how they name their barrels in terms of millimeter size. The Cortex wands are named in inches. Maybe not a big deal, but easier. Simpler. I like it better. 

From what I have read and researched on both of these wands, they seem to give very similar results. They both offer beautiful curls that really do last for days. I will insert a few photos of me using the different size barrels and the different looks they offer. I go on the average 3 days without washing my hair when I heat style it. The curls always hold up great and my hair stays looking pretty much the same the entire 3 day period. 

1 1/2" barrel. I used bigger sections for a looser, more natural look. Gives more of a beach-wave look rather than a tight-curl look this way. 

3/4" barrel. I used smaller sections for a tighter curl for this look. I totally love this barrel. One of my favorite looks the Cortex offers. 

1/2-1" graduated barrel.  Again I used smaller sections for tighter curls. These would've lasted all week if I didn't have to wash my hair!

Overall, I highly recommend the Cortex 4 in 1 curling wand. So much versatility with AMAZING results. It usually goes for somewhere around 200 bucks, found mine on Amazon for around $50. I think the NuMe wand would be very nice as well, I just chose the Cortex for myself. Let me know what you guys think if you have the Cortex or NuMe wands. Thanks and have a great day!

Forever 21 Cat Shoes

Ahhhh!  I get so excited when I see a "Forever 21" package in the mail!!!

How stinkin cute are these cat shoes!  I've wanted some type of animal loafers for so long now. Couldn't be happier with these!

Grab these before they get gone!  Have a great weekend!

Wet n' Wild Fall 2013 Limited Edition Coloricon Trios: Be a RunwayBeauty

As you may know, Wet n' Wild has yet again released some limited edition Coloricon trios. There are 3 new palettes: Camera Obscura, Grays Matter, and Silent Era Film. Just like the other trios from WNW, these are superb! I am so glad I got my hands on these great palettes!  I had looked for them at every drugstore I went to, but never did stumble upon them. Finally, I went on eBay and got them all 3 for $17 including shipping. Not too bad!  They are beautiful shadows, as most WNW shadows are. Highly pigmented, buttery soft, excellent quality. Have you got these palettes yet?  Which one is your favorite?  

It's hard to say, but I think I like Camera Obscura the best. They are all so beautiful it's hard to choose. Can't wait to try them all out!

Kim Kardashian Birthday Party 2013 Tao Las Vegas

Howdy folks. So we've had this little trip to Vegas planned for a bit now. Nothing special, just a little getaway to unwind and de-stress, have some fun. Wellllllll, you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this pic on Kim K's website:

I was like, HUH??? She's gonna be there the very weekend I am!@$%&* We usually stay at Encore, but it just so happens our room is in the Venetian this time around. I could hardly believe it that Kim is having her 33rd b-day party in the very hotel I will be staying in. I (of course) immediately went online and got me a ticket (for a mere 20 bucks!!!). I know it's gonna be hopping, I'll probably have to stand in line half the night, and I'll undoubtedly be exhausted the next day, but OMGsh it'll be so worth it. I can't believe it....I'm going to Kim Kardashian's birthday party! So right off I start worrying about what to wear. I have this in mind:

A dress with a chevron print, probably with a basic black bootie (like this)

Something simple and chic, yet also friendly on the wallet as I am on a tight budget. I don't care if I have to grab something at Wally-World or Targèt baby. This kentucky hillbilly is gonna see some celebs. The Kardashians won't know what hit em! Hehe. Who all's goin?? Let me know if you are planning on attending! Ya'll come back soon!