My (Surprisingly Small) IMATS Wishlist

Hallo, everyone! You're seeing my face less and less on this lovely neck of the web, aren't you? I blame school. I blame sheer laziness after coming home from school and then work. I also blame this mental weather. When the sky looks sad, I become sad. BUT there's always a silver lining and that is that in less than two weeks time I'll be on my way to IMATS in NYC (and then Jamaica *self high-five*)! This'll be my third year going and it's so fun to see how this show is growing in my lovely city. This year super amazing brands like Make Up For Ever, Lime Crime, and even SugarPill Cosmetics are going to be there! It's starting to get so good that the want for LA IMATS is diminishing. Usually I go cuckoo bananas planning a wish list but this year it's on the "smaller" side, for me at least. It's a mix of things I need, like a nice contour blush, a pigmented white shadow, and some new brushes. A lipstick that I don't really need but it's a gorgeous color and c'mon? There's a super holographic unicorn on the casing! Then there's always the glitter and duo chrome shininess (can't seem to pull away from the glitter, gotsa have it!) and the most wacky thing - UV make up, which isn't so wacky because it does happen to be on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days! I'd only be obliging my own wishes!

Make Up For Ever Glitters // NYX Powder Blush in Taupe // Lime Crime Opaque Lipstick in Geradium // Sugarpill Cosmetics Loose Eyeshadow in Lumi // Sugarpill Cosmetics Pressed Eyeshadow in Tako // Sigma Beauty Brushes // Kryolan Aqua Color UV-Dayglow in Green, Blue, and Pink

So I'm really excited for the day of the event! I'm going with my mama, her best friend, and her daughter! I'm also gonna get to see my friend Andrea from FromInsideMyCloset and meet Coco from TheBeautyMilk, who's also going! It's all very exciting especially when I get the chance to hang out with fellow #bbloggers! I think this time around I'll be doing more ogling and watching than shopping. I know, I know, crazy right? I've been very good with my money as of late when it comes to spending it on makeup and randomness because I'm trying to save up for a gift for my mama and then, of course, my trip to Vegas ;) Anyhway, I've digressed! Are any of you going to IMATS NYC? What's at the top of your wish list? With so many exciting brands to see this year it's going to be hard to choose which line to get on first!

My Love of Barry M

Barry M, Barry M, where for art thou, Barry M? Hahaha, that was lame- really lame. Someone stop me. If ever there was a nail polish brand that needed to be told it was so truly and depply loved through a sonnet, it would be Barry M. No skirting around it, Barry M are probably my absolute favorite brand of nail polishes. Our love is a long distant one because you can't get your hands on them in the States (but you can if you order from their website, I found out, which is super bad for my wallet!) My lovely friend Melissa was actually kind enough to send me these 5 gorgeous Barry M Hi-Shine polishes in colors that positvely radiate spring (although it's supposed to snow today, like WOT?!) 

The Barry M Hi-Shine polishes are the most amazing formula of nail polishes I've ever come across. From application to wear, it's the best I've seen. The formula, on all of these lovely colors, are smooth and pigmented. You can totally get away with one coat, but for a really rich color pay off, two coats is best. It applies evenly and smooth. They dry in minutes which is a super plus because how many times have you painted your nails only to realize you have to go to the bathroom and now need to somehow shimmy out of your pants without using your hands? Don't cringe, you know it happens! The wear on these is also out of this world. Okay, it's actually pretty standard for a great polish but they last for days before I decide it's time to change up the color. The thing I really love about these polishes is that you do not need top coat! They're so shiny on their own and add that with the how fast they dry, these make the perfect on-the-go polishes. As in "dang, I have to leave in 5 minutes but I don't want to have bare nails" One coat or two on each nail (without base or top coat) and you have a pretty manicure no one knows you did in under 5 minutes!

I can't recommend these polishes enough. I want to get my hands on so many more because Barry M have a gorgeous range of colors that I don't yet have. They seriously become a beauty girl's best friend, especially when short on time. That's when you really learn to appreciate these beauts! I'm in love with a nail polish, and I have no shame, haha! Just take a look at the gorgeousness of it all ...

Which Barry M shade is your favorite? Which colors should I get next?

Underwhelmed and Unimpressed

You know that feeling that you get when you get your hands on a raved and loved product? Finally, you get to see what all the fuss is about and join the masses in recommending and raving about said product. That's how I felt when I picked up the Seche Vite base and top coats. Everyone and their donkey raves about the amazing shine and longevity that Seche Vite base/top coats promise. I think maybe one or two people didn't like it and that was mainly due to the fact that after a while it turned to goop in the bottle. No worries, I thought, because that usually happens to a lot of base/top coats when you get down to the bottom of it. I was so excited to try it and there was never a doubt in my mind that I wasn't going to love it. Welp, I'm here to tell you that I don't love this stuff and here's why.

Application is a deceiving breeze, haha. The base coat goes on smoothly and evenly. Makes any nail polish apply nice and even. Then the top coat leaves a shiny and glossy finish on every nail, no biggie. Those are qualities I enjoy in a base/top coat. My issue came along with the wear. My nail polish started chipping almost immediately the next day. It started to crack and chip in big chunks. If it made it past that phase, the top coat started to fade away. You could see patches of nail polish exposed without top coat and I still don't know why that happened. At first I thought it was the polish I was using but applied on their own, without base or top coat, they ended up lasting a lot longer. I spent more time picking at my nails than enjoying my manicure, which blows. 

I don't mean to offend anyone who religiously uses the Seche Vite base and top coats. I was expecting a lot more for such a raved about product but it just fell short. I much prefer the Revlon ColorStayTop & Base Coat, which I reviewed quite some time ago here. The shine and application matches Seche Vite's, but Revlon's longevity far surpasses it. It's also a lot cheaper! I'll continue to use these as to not waste product, but after that I'm def. going back to Revlon.

Have you tried Seche Vite base/top coats? What were your experiences like?

What's In My Bag?

 On Wednesday, I did a post on one of my new favorite hand bags, the Michael Kors Large Selma Satchel, so today I thought I'd show you what's inside! It fits all the essentials I'll need for work or going out for the day. Although it'd be pretty easy to stuff this bag to smithereens with things you may think  you need, the pockets make it really easy to stay organized and not over flow it. Although overflowing it with receipts is a different story because that, inevitably, will happen always. You won't see it today though because I'm showing you the clean and organized side of Jess, haha!

iPhone 5 with a background to get me thinking about summer!

Car keys with an Eiffel Tower keychain from France || House keys that I color coded with glitter and a keychain with some of my favorite lush products on it

After Coffee Mints from Starbucks are a godsend for anyone who loves drinking coffee but not that awful coffee breath || Hand cream is a must || Peppermint Chapstick to keep my lips from getting chapped (this one tastes delicious)

Fragrance mist fem Bath & Body Works to keep myself smelling fresh and delicious, haha

A compact is a must, especially this one for this mermaid ;)

A little makeup bag filled with whatever lipstick I'm wearing, another chapstick (don't ask), Advil (A MUST!!!), finishing powder, and a temple balm from LUSH that smells delicious.

Michael Kors wallet for money and change || Coach small wallet for all my rewards, debit, credit, and metro card + ID's

I thought I'd share my little collage of stickers from Shake Shack and Buffalo Wild Wings. Two of my favorite places to eat. If only Chipotle had stickers, haha!

All nice and organized!

Michael Kors | Large Selma Satchel

*sighs* Ah, the Selma satchel from Michael Kors. No denying she's a beaut. Everyone and their mother on this island has one (or possibly 15) Michael Kors bags to their name, but this one is unique. It's not plastered with "Michael Kors" symbols, insignia, or writing all over it's beautiful shape. It's got a gorgeous structure that stands tall to allow room for everything and anything you'd want to put it in. It makes a statement without being too gaudy and out there, which is why I love it. Before classes started up this was my go-to bag. Now I sport a rather cute backpack, but I digress. It fits everything I could ever need to take with me, but not too big where I start carrying my fridge, my closet, and my dog, haha. The skin of the bag is textured and scruffed up leather. I love that it has the arm handles, as well as a strap for cross body or just holding it on your shoulder. I'm a cross body girl all the way so holding it in the crook of my arm will take some getting used to. Inside of the bag are plenty of pockets and zippers so you can hide your keys, personal items, small make up pieces and any other small items to your hearts content. There's also a pretty spacious bottom so you can fit water bottles, nooks, kindles, iPads, wallets, and other things like that. It's not too heavy on it's own so most of the weight you carry will come from what you keep inside. Right now mine's a mess on the inside, but more on that another day XD I got this bag from my mom for Hanukkah but I was saving up for it myself. It's more expensive than a bag you'd get at Forever21 or H&M, but it's not the most expensive bag. It's a great investment piece because the style is so simple that you'll get use out of it for a good few years. I can't wait for school to end and I can go back to using this beaut every day!

What's your favorite bag at the moment?

Bright FOTD & My Latest Accessories

Gah, my shnozz is so profoundly Jewish sometimes it hurts me. Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday to you all, although my Tuesday's aren't quite so jolly as I'm in class from 8 AM - 5:30 PM. Fun times, but seriously, never hire me to create your school schedule. You will hate me forever. Today I thought I'd post a little FOTD for you all. Yesterday was my first time out of the house since Thursday (aside from having to go to the hospital/orthopedics) On Thursday, last week, I was riding my new Penny Board and being a little cocky I ended up flying over a speed bump, off my board, and straight onto my ankle. It's sprained pretty good and now I've got some groovy new accesories to add to my daily wear; crutchs and a big ol' ugly boot. I've already swapped the boot for a sturdy ankle wrap. It's gotten a bit better but it's still quite bruised (and by quite, I mean super bruised) and a little hard to walk on so I'm still in need of crutches. They're quite embarassing. I don't enjoy the attention that comes with hopping from class to class and building to building. Makes me want to hide away in a shell like a turtle. 

Anyway, I think I've digressed a bit. Yesterday I ended up going out with my mom to go and get my ankle wrap before we went to see my sister model on the catwalk at a Prom Expo. I was gonna be out and about in the public eye, wobbling around on crutches, so I wasn't about to miss the oprrotunity to wear some make up. I kept the face make up simple with the Urban Decay Naked Beauty Balm as a base. Then Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer, under my eyes and on a few spots. I set all of that with Rimmel's Stay Matte Transluscent Powder. For cheeks I whipped out my handy dandy NARS One Night Stand Blush Palette and used Goulue on the apples of my cheeks. I added a bit of highlight to the tops of my cheeks with MAC's Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish. I also patted some of that onto my eyelids. For eyes, I used Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Liner in black to line my eyes and gave them little flicks for a teeny weeny cat eye. Hooray, because they came out even :D Lastly, the piece de resistance, as without many of my looks, the lipstick. I pulled out MAC's Candy Yum Yum because the weather outside was starting to feel like spring and I wanted to embrace it whilst it was here!

So that's it for my FOTD and my little update on what's been going on in my life, haha. I'm really looking forward to the warm weather but it's such a shame that I'm gonna spend most of it in doors. Oh well, spring is on it's way, I'm healing, and that's all that matters. Hope you guys are experiencing similarly beautiful weather!

101 in 1001 • 001

Here we go! The first update of my quest (sounds so much cooler than journey, haha) to completing 101 things in 1001 days. I think I've got a good start for the first month! I just need to be more aware of what I'm accomplishing because I'm always too in the moment to document it, haha, which I guess isn't a bad thing unless you're attempting to document it! For the complete list of my 101 in 1001, click  • here •

067. Make my super-man-friend smile big on Valentine's Day.

Okay, so I didn't exactly make him smile super big with my gift, but my reaction to all his gifts throughout the day sure did make him smile, so ... I'm counting it ;D

036. Shoot 10 rolls of film.

Crazy, but I've shot three rolls of film in February. They didn't develop so fabulously, which was unfortunate. 

008. Buy a Pennyboard.

Now I just have to learn how to stay on it for longer than 15 seconds, haha!

029. Do 5 random Pintertest DIYs.

I got started on some DIY's that I've stumbled across on Pinterest. Thought I'd spruce up my moleskin journal with washi tape and rhinestones! If you search 'moleskin' and 'wash tape' you'll find loads of inspiration for it! 

The NARSissist Palette

I know, I know, it's about time, right?! Like the rest of the beauty community, I seriously lost my marbles when I heard the smallest sliver of a rumor of this palette! It's no secret that NARS is my favorite brand. I don't own MANY products from them because, well, it's not exactly a student-budget-friendly brand, LOL! Having said that, the products I've had the pleasure to own or play with have been exceptionally amazing. I've always wanted to dive into their eyeshadows but I could never justify the price or the size. The size of the pan comapred to the price was actually quite good because the pans are HUGE but ... who needs THAT much of ONE shade? So when I saw that they were releasing this NARSissist Eye Shadow palette, featuring 15 shades from their line of singles and duos, I was sold, instantaneously!

I didn't want to review this as soon as I got it because that seems to be what a lot of people did which has resulted in a clusterfuck (oups :D) of mixed opinions. You either really love it or are severly disappointed with it. I, after having it and using it for about a month, have come to the conclusion that it is a magically magnificent palette, haha. Okay, with a not so magnificent price of $75. The price is steep. There's no skirting around it, because it's, well, yikes. I've done the math for you and it comes out to $5 a pan and each pan has .003 oz of product, which is still ACK. But beauty addicts are not concrete mathematicians and depending on how much we love something will reflect on wether or not we think it's worth the splurge. Does that make sense? Haha, I hope so.

Now that price and math is out of the way, the packaging. Simplistically and classically NARS with the rubberized black packagining. The palette is the same size as their One Night Stand blush palette. It comes equipped with a super handy and large mirror for make up on the go. The one gripe is that the packaging will get dirty and quick. Personally, I don't mind that because it shows the wear and love of a products, but if it bugs you that's something to note!

On to the shades themeselves! I'm absolutely in love with the left half of shadows and super intimidated by the right half of darker shades. The quality of the shadows varies throughout the palette, and honestly some of the darker colors are on the dry side, but they're still smooth when applied to the lid with a fluffy brush. The lighter shades and the more taupe ones are super smooth and more buttery My favorites are the first three in the top row and the second of each the middle and bottom row. Oh, another thing, I have no idea what these shadows are named except for Mekong. I know they have them on the NARS website, but I, for the life of me, can't tell which is which, which, (take three shots) well, sucks. The pigmentation is still great on a majority of them, as well as the lasting power. I've been super lazy lately and just not even bothering with primer and these pups stay on so well for a good 4 hours, up until I start rubbing at my eyeballs, haha. Over primer, forget about it- they'll last until you go to rremove your make up!

SO, all in all, I really think this is a stand out palette. I'm ecstatic to have it in my collection and it has been getting so much love from me. The price tag is a bit crazy, but what do you expect from NARS? If you're a fan of NARS eyeshadows and don't have any or just a few of them, this is a great way to try them out and have a whole collection in just one palette. Can you live without this palette? Absolutely, but if you can afford it and want, I say give it a go and see for yourself. It's a great palette with a variety of shades, tones, and finishes. It'll be great to travel with because of the large mirror, how compact it is and how versatile it can prove to be. I'd say it's better than the NAKED palettes, but that's an opinion I'm sure I'll be in the minority of having ;D 

What do you guys think of the NARSissist palette?