FOTD & OOTD | Christmas & New Year's Eve 2012

I was really looking forward to Christmas this year because since our parents are not together anymore, my brothers and I attended two Christmas parties instead of one and we had tons of fun! Both parties were held at my brother's house on December 23 and 24, where we enjoyed amazingly decadent food meticulously cooked by my sister in law Magali - oh, and don't even get me started on the desserts... and the drinks - let's just say that the girl who used to only drink beer discovered a new love for whiskey sour cocktails (Magali's secret ingredient is frozen lemonade concentrate)!

L'Oreal Touche Magique Concealer* | NYC Loose Translucent Face Powder*| Annabelle Biggy Bronzing Powder - Caribbean Sun | Annabelle Mineral Powder Blush - Au Naturel | NYX Doll Eye Mascara - Long Lash Black | Anastasia Want You To Want Me Eye Shadow Palette (Brass In Pocket and Iron On) | NYX Liquid Crystal Liner - Crystal Onyx | Wet n Wild Color Icon Liner Brow & Eye Pencil - Taupe | L'Oreal Colour Riche Sheer Perle Chiffon*

I totally forgot to snap pictures of my makeup and outfit from December 23 but oh well! Since it was Christmas - OK, Christmas' Eve, technically - I decided to go for a heavy smokey eye with hints of purple - which left me with swollen eyes the morning after, of course (thanks, disgusting carmine!) - and glitters with nude lips. 

I absolutely don't know what my right hand is doing in the far left picture -_-

I thought it would be the perfect occasion to wear my Stepping Out Little Black Dress by DreamGirl that fits soooo well and is so flattering! The material is just so stretchy and comfy, it's amazing! I added tights before going out to make it look a bit more dressy and elegant.

I was very lucky to have just recovered from a cold just in time for the New Year - is there a worst time of the year to be sick in bed? Our New Year's Eve party was held at my mother's home, where we ate, drank, sang, danced all night - I had not gone to bed at 5 am in such a long time! We also opened our remaining gifts - we had so many, we could not bring them all to my brother's house for Christmas! I will show you what I was fortunate enough to receive in an upcoming post but in the meantime, I posted a little sneak peek on my Facebook page.

L'Oreal Touche Magique Concealer* | NYC Loose Translucent Face Powder* | Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronzer - Medium to Dark | Annabelle Mineral Powder Blush - Sugar Rush | tan - St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse 'Dark' | NYX Doll Eye Mascara - Long Lash Black | Annabelle Galaxy Eyeshadow Palette - Shooting Star | Marcelle Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliner - Pure Gold |  Essence Lipliner - Red Blush | Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss - Red Blossom

I was recently spoiled rotten by the amazingly generous people over at Essence so I decided to finish my subtle makeup look with a touch of red lipgloss, and Red Blossom is incredibly shiny and so moisturizing! As for my outfit, since I wore a dress for both Christmas parties, I decided to a bit more casual. Oh and yes, I did chop my hair for the new year, but I will probably write a separate post about this too!

top - Giant Tiger | white tank - Jean Bleu | leggings - eBay | hair color - John Frieda Precision Foam Color in 3VR Deep Cherry Brown

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(image: weheartit)

(image: weheartit)

*These products are NOT cruelty-free

CLOSED - Holiday Giveaway #5 | Shine On: Holiday Beauty With Dermalogica & Essence Cosmetics

For my last post of 2012, I thought, what would be better than another Holiday giveaway? So today, Gaby's Beauty Blog have teamed up with the lovely people over at Essence and Dermalogica to offer two lucky ladies a prize - one will win a Dermalogica Skin Kit according to their skin type (oily, dry, sensitive) and one will win a Essence goody bag filled with random products!

Rules:

• This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only (sorry!)
• You have to follow Gaby's Beauty Blog either via GFC, bloglovin or Hellocotton (you don't need to have a blog)
• Giveaway/freebie "hunters" or blogs made solely for giveaways will be disqualified (my giveaways are to thank the lovely ladies who truly read my blog!)
• This giveaway ends on January 7, at  12:01 am.

To enter (mandatory):

• Fill out the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post

Good luck and happy new year!!!

Please wait for the Rafflecopter form to load!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is sponsored by Dermalogica and Essence.

Mail of the Week (August 29 - September 2)

My prize from Karen's 200th Post Giveaway: I was absolutely thrilled to win this amazingly generous giveaway! The main prize was two MAC lipsticks of my choice, but Karen also included some of her favorite products!

• MAC Glaze Lipstick in Hue (soft pale pink)
• MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Shy Girl (creamy neutral coral beige)
• Barry M Nail Paint in Vivid Purple
• Barry M Nail Paint in Peach Melba
• GOSH Nail Lacquer in Holographic
• Essence Colour & Go Quick Drying Nail Polish

Hue (top), Shy Girl (bottom)

Thank you so much Karen, I'm totally over the moon!

Erotica books from Greenleaf Book Group: I was sent two books from Craig Odanovich: The Black Widow Trainer and Captured Prey. I've been really into erotica books lately - not, it's not porn! - so I was happy to receive the opportunity to read and review these two books.

The Black Widow Trainer ($11.66 at Amazon.com)

Join the Black Widow Trainer in her sultry world of steamy, heart-pounding adventure. 

Bored with tedium of her passionless marriage, Misty's life explodes after a weekend of mind-blowing sex with the man of her dreams. Exploring the physical limits of her newfound desire, she combines the lure of her honed, disciplined body with cunning business acumen and redefines herself as the Black Widow Trainer, a high-price personal trainer/escort. 

Negotiating an open relationship with her husband is the easiest part of her career move. Adjusting to the whims and demands of her well-heeled and imaginative clients, however, requires Misty to expand the limits of her sensual being. 

The genre-busting novel features a cast of original, gritty characters, including an Alaskan sea captain, a pint-size satyr, and a genderbending woman, Misty's fantastic sexcapades in exotic locations around the world are hot enough to fire up anyone's sex life.

Captured Prey ($11.66 at Amazon.com)

After enjoying a brief but sultry respite in Argentina with her best friend Gabriella, Misty--the high-price personal trainer with a unique, controversial clause in her contract--embarks to the United States to meet her next trainee. What she finds under the hot Texas sun shocks and captivates her, and she ends up caught in a wrenching dilemma that causes her to choose between love and career. 

As she sorts out her feelings for an intriguingly handsome cowboy and his conniving, cowardly employer, Misty's sexual appetite and lust for adventure take her from honky-tonks to bustling Copacabana Beach festivals--and land her in the crosshairs of a scheming DC politician hell-bent on taking down an opponent in an upcoming election. 

Captured Prey is populated with a new set of impossible-to-forget characters, plus some key favorites from the first book. As always, Misty's blend of wiliness, sensuality, and wide-eyed innocence helps her charm everyone she meets. Surprises await at every turn in this seductive, action-packed follow-up.

Coupon from Save.ca for a free Kinder Surprise Egg

Samples of Zanta 150 Maximum Strength and a $2.50 mail-in rebate from LivingWell.ca

♥Up All Night - Blink-182

Recent giveaways I have won

I have been lucky enough to win two giveaways in the past weeks!

My prize from Helena's giveaway

• Essence Duo Eyeshadow in Dream Team
• Essence Eclipse Glitter Eye Pencil in Hide Bella Hide
• Estee Lauder Artist's Eye Pencil in Softsmudge Black
• Essence Multi Action False Lashes Mascara

Essence Duo Eyeshadow in Dream Team

Essence Eclipse Glitter Eye Pencil in Hide Bella Hide and Estee Lauder Artist's Eye Pencil in Softsmudge Black: I'm especially loving the glitter eye pencil as I have nothing like this in my stash, and it glides beautifully on the lid and the glitters are not too chunky. 

with flash

without flash

Essence Multi Action False Lashes Mascara: False lashes effect mascara? Yeah! I'm curious about this brand, too, as it's not available here in Quebec.

Thank you Helena!

My prize from Kim's giveaway

• Harajuku♥Lovers Fragrance Baby
• Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara in Black Extase
  
• Cake Nourishing Hand Lotion Baked Citrus
• Borghese Nail Lacquer in B320 Palazzo Lilac F
• Borghese Nail Lacquer inB165 Bambina Pink S
• Borghese Nail Lacquer in B625 Bellini Peach F
• Borghese Nail Lacquer in  B275 Verona Pink C
• Borghese Nail Lacquer in B250 Venetian Red F
• MAC Lustre Lipstick in Lazy Day

I was thrilled at the sight of a such big package!

 I'm not a fan of the fragrance itself, but the box is beautiful! I'm actually using it to display my perfumes on my vanity hehe =D

The whole package was smelling sooooo good, and I was like "Wait, this can't be fragranced with Daisy because I don't like the scent..." LOL. Then I figured out the Cake Hand Lotion spilled a little on the wrapping paper xD

 Harajuku♥Lovers Fragrance Baby: I searched the web for a proper description of this fragrance as it's not written on the box, and here is what I found on Amazon:

A powdery musk, fresh, clean and soft.

Top notes: White Rose, Bergamot, Freesia.

Mid Notes: Orange Flower, Tiare Flower, Jasmine Petals.

Base Notes: White Musk, Soft Woods, Vanilla, Violet.

To me, this perfume smells baby powder, but not plain old baby powder. It's a little fruity too... I'm really bad at describing fragrances LOL. And look at that packaging! It's to die for!

Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara in Black Extase: Wow, I would have never bought a mascara this expensive myself so I'm really glad to have the chance to try it for free!

 Cake Nourishing Hand Lotion Baked Citrus: OMG This smells heavenly! I will definitely be using it as a body lotion because I want my whole body to smell cupcake hehe =D

 Borghese Nail Lacquer in Venetian Red, Verona Pink, Bambina Pink, Bellini Peach and Palazzo Lilac:  I really like Venetian Red and Verona Pink, but I'm not sure about the others, they all look so sheer...

 2 coats, with flash (same order as stated above, from thumb to pinky)

 without flash

 MAC Lustre Lipstick in Lazy Day: Wow, this is my first MAC product! I was very excited about it, and I'm not disappointed. This is the perfect pale pink, and I've been wearing it everyday since I received it =D

with flash

 without flash

Thank you very much for this amazing giveaway Kim! I'm very happy with everything =D