Lady C's Makeup Must Haves

We are finally at Part 4 in the four-part "Must Haves" series! Here, I'll be talking about what makeup I use on a daily basis. Below is my "makeup station" at home, complete with my chalkboard gardenia-scented soy candle (I scrawled Japan on it in leu of the disasters that have affected the people there).

Pictured here are my "face" products from L-R:

Jouer Essential Matte Touch

MAC Fix + Spray

Philosophy Hope Oil-Free SPF 30

MAC Prep N Prime

MAC Fix Fluid Foundation

Application: I apply the SPF 30 all over and let it sit while I walk my dog outside. It's important for your SPF to settle into your skin before you put your makeup on, or else everything will look oily. Then, I rub some of Jouer's Matte creme  (Thanks Jen C!) onto my T-zone: down the bridge of my nose and forehead. Next, I mix one pump of the primer with one pump of my foundation, to create a super matte, long wearing, sheer application that will last all day. I apply all this with my fingers. Next I apply concealer to the whole eye area, lids included.  After everything is applied, I spray the Fix + to set the makeup.

Below are all of my "highlight & contour" products clockwise from the top:

MAC Cheek blush

       MAC Springsheen shimmer blush

   MAC Ladyblush Blush Creme

MAC Lune Creme Highlight

        MAC Mineral Skinfinish Powder

     MAC Refined Golden Bronzer

    Application: I dust the Skinfinish powder all over to set my foundation. It's not really my favorite powder, but since I have it around, I'll make it work. Next I contour my face with the bronzer.

I apply the creme blush with my fingers to the apples of my cheeks, then set it with a mix of Cheek and Springsheen, which looks like a lovely pink-coral on my skin. I apply Lune to my highlight areas: cheekbones and brow bones. Lune was a limited product. If you would like to get something similar, try Pearl or Shell Cream Colour Base by MAC.

Pictured below are my various eye/face products:

Diorshow Blackout Mascara

MAC Eyelash Curler

MAC Select Coverup in NW25

MAC Fluidline in Black Track

Fresh Sugar lip balm SPF 15

Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Pure Gold

Makeup For Ever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector

Application: I always apply concealer AFTER foundation, and before powder. I fill in my brows with this amazing gel from MUF with an angle brush. I warm up the lash curler in my palms before giving a quick squeeze. I look down into a compact or a swivel mirror and apply my mascara by wiggling up and out. If I have time, I'll line my eyes with the Fluidline and an angle brush. I will lightly dust the Sparklicity (LOVE) over the areas that I applied Lune, as well as the inner corners of my eyes. A swipe of Fresh's lip balm with one of my million lip glosses, and I'm ready to leave the house! LOL

Tools: I'm going to save which brushes I use for another blog post, but I'll share the tools I use on the daily here: A pair of safety scissors to trim my crazy Armenian eyebrows, slanted tweezers to groom absolutely everything on my body, and a palette to squirt various products on. I got mine from a pro store, however you can just get an artist's palette from Aaron Brothers for around $3 and it will do the trick! 

 NOT PICTURED:
Eye Primer- Urban Decay Primer Potion in EDEN
Eyeshadows- I don't wear shadows every day, but when I do... I use MAC. Nobody makes eye shadows and pigments like MAC Cosmetics. Period.



Lady C's Nail Polish Must Haves

Essie -- $8.00 each. Essie is known for their pastels and "softer" colors. I basically lived in the brand's greige color, "Chinchilly," all winter long.

OPI -- $8.00 each. In my opinion, OPI is the top dog in the nail world. I've been rocking their Katy Perry "Shatter" polish for the last month.

China Glaze -- $5.00 each. I really love the brights and neons in this line. My personal go-to every summer is "Shocking Pink"

MAC Cosmetics -- $14.00 each. These polishes have UV ray protection and staying power. Im always on the lookout for the limited colors! I'm currently wearing "N Colour" and "Rose Topping" from MAC:

Chanel -- $25.00 each. "Pearl Drop" is a white frost with greenish-gold iridescence from the Spring 2011 line is to die for. These are at the top of the price range for nail polish, but I still think every girl should have at least one Chanel polish!

Deborah Lippmann --  $16.00 each. "I Know What Boys Like (periwinkle) and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (coral) I am kind of obsessed with "Some Enchanted Evening," a sparkling pink glitter particle polish, thanks to my friend Kristyn M. She sent me a pic of her nails week and my heart hasn't stopped palpitating since!

Lady C's Skin Must Haves

Welcome to Part II of the Four Part series for Lady C's Must Haves! Below are the products I use almost daily on my skin.

Crest Extra White with Scope Outlast - Ok, I know this isn't technically a skin product, but I love it so much I had to mention it first. You know those toothpaste commercials where the people go about their day smiling and "feeling fresh all day long?" This toothpaste gives you that fresh feeling for at least 3 hours. NO KIDDING. If I could give one product to each American, it would be this hands down. I give it two Blackberry Messenger thumbs up! Oh if everyone could have fresh, minty breath!

Purity Face Cleanser- I buy this in bulk from Philosophy's website. I have the 32 oz. bottle with a pump sitting in my shower as we speak. Its mild formula is wonderful for all skin types and still strong enough to remove makeup. A quarter-size amount does the trick. I use it every night in the shower (the hot water opens up your pores and allows for all the dirt/oils to come out easier.)

Fresh Sugar Face Polish -- Two words: Ob.Sessed. Okay, one word. But still. The wild strawberries and brown sugar make this smell --and I'll admit-- taste yummy. The grainy texture really polishes the skin without feeling rough.
Rub Rub Rub -- with citruses like lemons and orange, floral components like Jasmine and sea salt, this body scrub doesn't mess around. I stir it up to mix the salts at the bottom and dab a dollar coin-size amount on my loofah and scrub-rub-rub away about once a week. This is great to polish your skin and get it ready for any self-tanners you may use.

Neutrogena Micromist Sunless Tanner- I lightly mist myself with this after rubbing in some of Loreal's Sublime Bronze tanner into my skin. I like the combination of using a gel tanner, then misting with this spray tanner to get overall coverage and a deep, glowy, natural color.

Loreal Sublime Bronze Clear Self-Tanning Gel - I wasn't the biggest fan of the Sublime Bronze line of tanners from Loreal. Most of them left me glittery- getting sparkles all over  my clothes- and splotchy. Worst of all, my skin looked patchy as it wore off. HOWEVER, the GEL product is great. The light clear formula dissolves into your skin and mixed with the Neutrogena mist above, gives great color payoff, without getting splotchy or patchy.

Victoria's Secret Heavenly Mist- I have really bad allergies, and I usually wake up feeling pretty nauseaus so I stay away from heady, strong perfume. I love the Heavenly body spray-- call me old school, but it does the trick and the scent is, well.... heavenly. The boyfriend likes it too.

Bubble gum Lip Scrub-- Any flavor of Lush's lip scrubs do the trick. It's got jojoba oil and castor sugar, so it's not honey-like or sticky. I stand over the sink after I brush my teeth at night, and crumble the little crystals all over my lips. I wash the extra off and dab on my lip balm, which is coming up...right below.

Fresh Lip Balm -- This product is so worth the $22. I have the clear one for night time and the Plum shade for day that I wear under my gloss.

Creme de la Mer -- I don't want anyone thinking I'm a big spender here, because I'm living off of a sample of this stuff lol. In a perfect world, Creme de La Mer face cream would cost $10 a jar, and I would slather it all my body. *Sigh

When Hope is not Enough Serum  -- Can't get enough of this anti-aging serum! I squeeze two drops onto my fingers and pat it onto my skin like I'm playing the piano. Safe to use around the delicate eye area. I top off with a moisturizer like Creme de La Mer or Philosophy's own Hope cream.

St. Ives Replenishing Mineral Therapy -- This is a great basic lotion for hands, feet and all over. I particularly love the smell...it smells like a soapy rain forest, if you can imagine that. It's one that the boyfriend and I share, so I call the scent "man-friendly."

Lady C's Hair Care Must Haves

This is Part 1 in a four part series! Many of you ask me what  kind of beauty products I use across the board (not just makeup) so let's start with my hair must-haves.

Side Note: I've decided to stop dying my hair, especially since I've basically been dying it the color that grows out of my head (pointless.) I want to enjoy my natural color before the grays start kicking in! I've got millions of products I receive from people and try, but I've decided to stick to the ones mentioned below as I use them almost everyday.

SHAMPOO- Lush's Karma Komba Solid Shampoo: This stuff is amaze-balls. A couple of swipes on your hair is all you need to lather up to a bubbly full foam. It smells absolutely divine, and the delicious-ness lasts the whole day. Made with all natural ingredients, I actually bathed my doggy with this the other night, and he smells like the rainforest now. I also noticed he isn't scratching like he used to, which leads me to believe this has softened his dry, itchy skin.

SHAMPOO Option 2- Head and Shoulders: I have the worst itchy, flaky scalp ever known to mankind, and I simply adore the Dry Scalp Care line. I use this about once a week to keep my dome in check.

CONDITIONER- Loreal Eversleek Sulfate-Free Conditioner: I use the "Smooth" collection, and it keeps my hair shiny and bouncy, without extra chemicals. I also use conditioner to shave my legs! I just smooth on a thin, filmy amount all over and WHAT A DIFFERENCE. You get a smoother, closer shave and your legs are softer than a down comforter afterward. I haven't used shaving cream in years.

MOUSSE- Goldwell Flexi-Whip: This has a flexible hold, so I can still whip my long Armenian hair back and forth without losing style or volume.

SHINE SERUM- Joico Shine Serum: One tiny pump into my fingers and I smooth it over the ends of my hair to lock in the moisture and pump up the shizzine

HAIRSPRAY- Elnett Hairspray by Loreal: I really only use this when I'm curling my hair or pulling it into a high ponytail and need to control the flyaways. But it's pretty amazing for the price.

HAIR THICKENER- Kerastase Lipo Recharge: Don't worry. Just because there's "lipo" in the word doesn't mean this product is fattening. Back in January, my mom kindly pointed out the fact that the hair around my forehead is thinning due to the fact that I used to bleach my bangs white-blonde years ago (don't ask). She handed me these cute little bottles. I apply a few drops to the parts that are thinning and there is major improvement. Just be sure to wash your hands afterward (I'm always afraid hair will grow on my fingers if I don't, haha). If you have hair that is falling out, or thinning due to hormones -or like me, damage- I highly recommend this stuff! Totally worth the price.

ROUND BRUSH- I have a simple, big wooden round brush with boar's hair bristles for blow-outs. What's great about this kind of brush is that there is no metal on it, so it doesn't overheat and damage your hair. The boar's hair bristles distribute your scalp's natural oils evenly so you end your blow-drying session with Pantene Pro-V commercial-worthy, shiny-smooth hair.

Anastasia Pro Wax Kit-- Product Review

Hola Senioritas!

I wanted to share my thoughts on a poquito (sp?) little wax kit that was given to me by a friend to try. Anastasia is known for coming up with great tools and products for perfecting your eye brows. The Pro Wax Kit is an unbelievable $12 at Sephora. It's third of an ounce of wax is easily microwavable and manageable. Surprisingly, this small amount of wax lasts quite a while. Contrary to its name, you don't have to be a "pro" to use this. While I consider myself a connoisseur at plucking and trimming brows, I have never ventured into the wax arena and was a little nervous. However, the tiny little birchwood sticks the kit came with made it easy to control where the wax went, and how much of it went on my skin. I use one muslin strip each time I have to wax my brows (about once every 3 weeks). You can use them over and over again in one sitting.
I rubbed a little baby oil to the areas I waxed immediately after to help remove any stickyness and soften the skin, then finished off with a creamy moisturizer. Done and done.

DISCLAIMER: when waxing, do not re-wax the same area -your skin will be highly sensitive and may form a rash from being so raw. Again, I am by no means an esthetician, but simply a Middle Eastern girl with facial and body hair expertise.

March Beauty Blog

1. Mood: Energized! Of course...I always get a second wind AFTER work, when I "most" need it.
2. Did you watch the Oscars last night? If you did, what did you think? I did indeed. I was bored. Loved the fashion aspect of it though.
3. Have you ever dated someone you met online? Back when Myspace wasn't Date Rape Central, yes. But those days are thankfully behind me.
4. Button-down denim skirts, yea or nay? ATROSH
5. Favorite drugstore body lotion? St. Ives Replenishing Mineral Therapy. It smells like the rain forest (not that I would know lol)
6. Your default work outfit? Today it's a turquoise French Connection dress with gold zippers up the front pleats of the skirt, black leggings and what I call my black "sneaker boots". They are calf-length high-heeled boots that lace up and look like sneakers. *swoon*
7. A country you’d love to visit? Lebanon. Seeing that my family is from there, I would love to reconnect with our relatives there and see all the beautiful parts where my parents grew up. Oh, and obviously eat ALL the yummy Middle Eastern food!
8. Something you wish you had more time for? Oh gosh...SO much. This blog, my Youtube channel, my dog, volunteering for animal shelters, God, styling my hair, cleaning the house, etc.
9. What are you wearing on your lips today? I can't read the names on the bottom of these, but they are a limited MAC pink-coral lipstick and gloss in really cool packaging. They are SUPER soft and creamy too. *Dream*

10. Weekly goals: Get my taxes done, figure out what's going on with my Fidelity investment (kill me now---I hate this stuff!) and make a diaper cake for an upcoming baby shower (I obviously turn every event into an Arts & Crafts project ;)


I did some cool Art Deco nails on myself for fun...Enjoy!

Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of

Hello my beauty lovers! You may (or may not) have noticed my absence this week from my blog. I've been in NYC on a business trip. As many of you know, I work for CBS and Nancy Grace (my day job). CBS sent me there to assist in a press tour for Nancy. It was a pretty quick trip and we had our hands full with all of Nancy's appearances and interviews, but I was able to capture a couple of nice shots of the city on my Blackberry.

As we were flying through the city's streets in our town cars, we whizzed by this beautiful buidling on 5th Ave. I just adore the pop of teal on the roof, and the detailed architecture of the windows! PS--> every cab and town car ride felt like being on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.

The view from Nancy's office in the CNN building. Even though it was "dirty street snow" I still was in awe.

At the end of our fast and furious NYC trip, I came home to this little mooshie who couldn't wait to snuggle up to his mama. Here he is absolutely exhausted from yapping around my rain boots happily that I was home.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: Being in an elevator with Anderson Cooper, meeting Joan Rivers, and having an amazing dinner at a little Italian place called Alloro, with my good friend @CatChung. It was restaurant week in NYC, so all the restaurants had set $35 menus! It was great to finally meet all my contacts and see all the studios and stages of each show Nancy was a part of!

TRIP LOWLIGHTS: Getting sinusitis the last day, getting car sick and puking in the CBS Corporation building (FML), and basically getting no sleep the whole time. But you know what? It was all worth it...