1st Blog Birthday!

It's been 1 year now!

I started this blog on Christmas Eve of 2008 simply because I felt bored. Now, 1 year later, this blog has become a part of me.

Happy Birthday to us and thank you (reading this) very much for all of your support throughout this year. Your comments and letters to me are a huge reward for the time and effort it takes to post new things.

Thank you! And Cheers!

XOXO,

Awilda

GET THIS LOOK HERE

Today's Small Haul

A little retail therapy before the end of 2009.

A few of my twitter friends recommended some of the Nars red lipsticks. I happily obliged and picked up the Dragon Girl Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. I wore it home! Enough said.

I am also running out of my fabulous Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. I originally wanted to try to the Sheer Glow foundation because my Youtube buddy AmyNicolaox loves it. We wear the same shade in foundation, Stromboli (aka MAC NC40). However, I have oily skin and the MUA suggested the Sheer Matte Foundation. I can't wait to try this foundation out because it is more yellow based than my Armani.

Do you own any of these products? What do you think about them?

XOXO

Awilda

Figure Skating Costume Controversy!

Aboriginal Costume Misstep: Yay or Nay?Welcome To Australia: Russian Ice Dancing Champions

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are only 43 days away and there is already controversy with one of the top Ice Dancing teams from Russia. Do I even need to remind you of why I love Figure Skating? The reigning World Champion Ice Dancing team, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin from Russia have had a tough time this year and have not been able to participate in the Pre-Olympic International Grand Prix Events. But that didn't stop the Russian Federation from crowning them the Champs with a score that rivaled the best of the season (How do you say quelle surprise in Russian?)
Hey Look We Have Plants Growing Out Of Our Bodysuits!

But the real controversy was not about their scores, but about their costumes darlings. In the original dance, skaters are required to use music that is based on a national folk tune. Domnina and Shabalin chose very unusual Aboriginal music, using voices as the instruments. Their costumes were based on Aboriginal Tribal-wear (see above) using white body paint and red cloth "crotch covers". But then their costume designer took some Aboriginal "liberty": For some unknown reason they had leaves planted (pun intended) throughout their costume bodysuits and....wait for it....they also were in what some critics have deemed Blackface. Therefore the controversy. The skating bloggersphere forums have been abuzz over it. I think it's a bit odd and in bad taste. But I'd love to know what the rest of you think--or at least my fellow Figure Skating fans. Yay or Nay?

UPDATE: Click HERE to see what I thought about their UPDATED costumes at the Olympics, when I reviewed all the Dance Costumes with Kristi Yamaguchi and Peter Carruthers! LIVE!

FOTD : Chanel Noir

Isn't this captivating?
There's just something so bold about wearing a dark eye with dark lips.

When I saw this photo, I thought: This is a woman who is sure of herself, mysterious and sexy all at the same time.

MAC Haul

Since I hadn't bought anything from MAC in a while, I decided it was about time I offloaded some more money (like I need to at this time of year???) I got a few products that I have heard ALOT about and finally I can score them off my lust list - hurrah! Here's a rundown of what I got:

1)Lovelorn Lipstick (Blue toned Pink Lustre Finish)
2)CremeSheen Lipglasses in Partial to Pink (Light creamy yellow pink with light gold pearl) and 3)Boy Bait (Light neutral beige with pearl)
4)Cream Colour Base in Pearl (Soft pale gold with icy shimmer)
5)Prep & Prime Transparent Finishing Face Powder
6)Eyeshadows in Satin Taupe (Taupe brown with silvery bronze shimmer, frost), Parfait Amour (Vivid bluish-violet duochrome*with violet opalescent shimmer, frost) and Naked Lunch (Minimal pink with shimmer, frost)

Here's a close look at the lipstick and gloss wands...

L-R: Lovelorn, Partial to Pink, Boy Bait. I really like the bluish pink shade of Lovelorn and it is just that bit brighter than the other MAC lipsticks in my collection. I think it's really wearable though and particularly pretty when combined with the Partial to Pink gloss. As with most MAC Lipsticks it has a smooth texture when applied and has great pigmentation. I really like the formulation of the Cremesheen glosses, they feel moisturising on the lips and are not too sticky. It's swatching time!

Top to Bottom: Boy Bait, Partial to Pink, Lovelorn.

I had to get this product after AlphaBlonde (Aleksis) raved about it in a YouTube vid and on her blog...I have the CCB in Shell already and I love it so a pale golden shade sounded wonderful! I am so happy I got this because it's just beautiful and very much like a cream version of Nars Albatross highlighter. I have heard a few people saying they find it too sticky or difficult to apply. I have never had that problem because I rub a very small amount of the product into the back of my hand until it is distributed evenly, then I tap my fingertips on the product and then apply it lightly to my cheekbones. If you try to apply it directly to the skin then you will get uneven patches and it will look too heavy. So if you struggle with this product then give that method a go before you write it off as a bad product. I adore this product!

Here's a swatch of the gorgeousness!

I had heard about this product from Killacam at Eclectic Beauty, when she listed it on her blog as a product that gives a completely flawless finish...I'll have some of that please! I'm all for any powder that can deliver a soft matte look whilst making my skin glow (I'm wondering if it can surpass MAC MSF Natural which I currently use).

And last but not least, here are the eyeshadows I bought. I decided to just buy the e/s refill pans so I could pop them stright into my palette. I have wanted to get Satin Taupe forever, everyone seemed to rave about it so I caved in and got it. And boy am I glad that I bought it. It's an absolutely gorgeous colour and teamed with Naked Lunch, an everyday essential shade for a neutral eye. Naked Lunch was a shade I wanted to get after watching countless Kandee The Makeup Artist vids on YouTube where she uses it as a brow highlight and in the inner corners of the eye. It's a gorgeous soft pink/beige and I can tell I will hit pan with this e/s VERY quickly! Parfait Amour is an amazing colour that I wanted to get after Aleksis (Alphablonde) used it in a tutorial and talked about it on her blog. This e/s is such a beautiful colour and it is so unique!

Here are the swatches and I am sure you'll agree that all 3 eyeshadows are gorgeous!

I am so happy with everything I got (I love it when that happens) and I also like it when I get products that I have been lusting after for ages.

Have you guys tried any of these products?