Christmas and one of many trips to Sephora

Did Santa get you a bag full of swag this year? Looking through my blog feed here, it looks like a lot of you gals will have an endless arsenal of eyeshadow possibilities with your Urban Decay Naked 1’s, 2’s and 3’s, so please DO show me what you’re workin’ with!

This year, I have been INCREDIBLY lucky because Santa my boyfriend (seen above) has showered me with x-mas gifts. This is the first time I’ve been spoiled on Christmas as my family doesn’t really celebrate it, and I have to say, it has been lots of fun so far! The best gift I have received, besides lots of warm and cuddly affection, is my new Canon camera. This is so exciting for me because I’ve been thinking of getting a camera for blogging purposes, since clear, high quality pictures are so much more enjoyable to look at than the grainy pictures I have been taking with my computer webcam and cellphone camera. This blog is my own personal project and space where I can share what I’m thinking, what I’m loving and how I’m feeling… just like anything else I care about, I want it to develop and improve as I continue adding to it. I hope, with this new toy, you’ll see the difference and have a lovely stroll through my posts.

Other gifts presented to me were, of course, Sephora items, but I don’t want to make this a haul post, so I’ll just share the things I’m very excited about and post pictures I’ve taken with my new camera! Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow my ‘only-natural’ rule… not too many of those options, but I am really excited about the items I picked up yesterday. I got a NARS Radiant Cream Concealer in Custard, a Sephora Baked Powder in Nude and a Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Endless Purple. And here they are!

I’m going to start with this NARS concealer because I was most surprised by this product. A very nice Sephora lady named Michaela recommended this to me since I was looking for something that matches my skin. Until yesterday, I don’t think I ever owned any concealer that looks like my skin color-it always was a bit too light and pink. This one is perfect and it matches the yellow in my skin (ha ha). I’ll be using it to cover up the redness around my nose and on my chin. I’ve basically given up on foundation, since I don’t like the heaviness of it, so this is perfect. Consistency is so easy and blendable, and it has no shimmer (thankfully) so as not to highlight the spots I’m trying to cover. Could not complain at all!

Michaela recommended a powder, which I also don’t have in my bag unless you count the bare minerals powder I’ve had since… well, let me not count the years. It’s a setting powder that gets the job done and blends out the areas I went over with concealer. Nothing special, but it gets the job done.

Finally, I’ve got this purple lip color, which I wasn’t even planning to buy, but I tried it on because I liked the color and I was shocked by how seriously pigmented this product is. It’s a little tricky to apply since the formula is quite thin and liquid-y, but once it sets, it dries matte and is set for a LONG time. It doesn’t even come off on my teacup. I am a huge sucker for bright and bold lip colors, so this was an easy buy for me, especially at $13. It doesn’t smell amazing to be honest, but once it dries, you can’t really smell or feel it, WHICH IS GREAT, since no one likes to feel sticky. Good product, and if I had a few more dollars to spend, I might pick up the Bite Cashmere Lip Lacquer, which is basically the same product but natural… and more than double the price.

And that’s all for now. I’ll see you soon! 2014 is a comin’ and I’m gonna get some resolutions going!

Trace