100 Followers and...

A huge "Thank you!" is in order to all of the gorgeous ladies who are following me!  I really appreciate it and I'll be holding a Thanksgiving Giveaway to celebrate. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for details, but here is a preview:

I'm so excited to get to play Makeup Fairy again! In fact, that's sort of my look for tonight:

TFSI, Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense in Khaki Pulse on lids, champagne color from Maybelline Eye Studio quad in Strut it Suede from crease to brow, Benefit High Beam on browbone, Urban Decay 24/7 eye liner in Radium on lower waterline, Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Mysterious Maven Kit lashes only, Duo clear waterproof lash glue, no mascara!

Tank and bandage skirt - Forever 21 $3 and $6
Sweater - Kohl's $6
Boots - Alloy $15
Spending nearly no money on clothes so you can spend more on makeup - priceless :-P

Giveaway Preview

Hi guys...
I have a confession. I got over-excited about starting my blog back in July and I bought doubles of a bunch of my favorite products for my first giveaway... planning to gift it when I got to 100 followers...

Now that I've been around a little while, I see that people sometimes don't get that many followers even when they've been blogging for a year!  So, I decided rather than have all these products languishing in my guest room closet, why not bribe people to follow me with a giveaway? why not make sure these faves of mine get a good home?

So the new parameter is going to be when I hit 100 posts! At that time, I'm going to have two giveaways; one for my fave UK bloggers and one that is U.S.-only!  Friends from other countries, please let me know in the comments below if you'd like me to consider y'all for a giveaway, too, if you like what you see in these preview pictures:

I Love the UK Giveaway:

U.S.A. Giveaway:

Please note: everything in both giveaways is brand new and unused, except the Benefit Cha Cha Tint was swatched once and used twice for review.  All the items pictured were purchased by me with my own money.

I especially would love it if a girl who's broke because she just started a new semester at uni/high school could win!  What do you think of the selection?  Rules and restrictions, plus product descriptions post to come... when I hit 100 <3 Sarah S.

Tokidoki Holiday Collection Art: Why don't I live in Manhattan!?

Hi guys, sorry I don't have a preview of Tokidoki's Holiday Collection for Sephora (I wish!), but I do have this:

The collection for Holiday 2011 will be "24 Karat" and likely will feature some of this art. I'm collecting their eye shadow palettes, so I'm excited to see what they'll have on offer! Any Manhattanites planning to attend?

Stila Holiday Collection Preview Swatches!

Hi guys! You can imagine how psyched I was when my Stila Holiday 2011 palettes arrived today! Here's some preview pics with a full review coming soon!

MAC Lipstick is there for scale

LOL... both palettes have Kitten!

Daydream Palette $18

I had to use the tiny eyeshadow brush for the smallest wells in both palettes, but the other wells were not too tiny :)

Dream in Full Color Palette $39

"Muse" Look!

Seven Cheek colors!

I'm so excited to give you a breakdown of each shadow's quality! Some of these are completely gorgeous!  My first reaction to these palettes? "They're dark blue? Thought they were black!" and "Those plastic dividers are gonna get messy" :-/ But I'm going to tell you right now that I'm impressed with these :D  Did I get you hyped up a little?

Nuance Salma Hayek Tinted Moisturizer and Mineral Foundation Preview, photos, swatches

The awesome buy 1 get 1 FREE sale at CVS led me to purchase Salma Hayek's new Nuance tinted moisturizer and powder foundation. I don't have a pressed powder foundation at the moment, and I just finished up a jar of E.L.F. Mineral Foundation, so the timing was right.  I have yet to give it the full test of a day's wear, so here are some photos and swatches to pique your interest:

No SPF? Well, that means no flashback :)

Click to enlarge, but I don't know where they're hiding the tinted moisturizer's ingredients

No compartment for a sponge with the foundation, and no included applicator, which is unusual

It looks like it might be a tad too pink, but I'll let you know in the review!

Left: powder applied with a brush, Right: powder applied with a sponge

Taking on Beauty

So, I'm thinking of starting a beauty blog, seeing as there is no self-professed Beauty Vigilante currently in existence (oh yes, I checked!).  I spend a lot of my free time watching youtube beauty gurus and perusing beauty blogs, so I'm adjusting this template to give it a go! I intend to engage in lots of "well-mannered frivolity," including OOTD, FOTD, E/L/COTD, hauls, collection posts, favorites posts, dupe smackdowns, swatches and reviews.  And I'm a vigilante like Batman because I'm unqualified (i.e. not a makeup artist or journalist, unless a huge makeup addiction is qualification for starting a beauty blog). The #1 thing I need to work on with this is not being so verbose... and I need to get a better camera!

Hi! I'm Sarah, and this is my first post... a cheeky look.

Face - Origins Vitazing, Boscia BB Cream, E.L.F. Mineral Foundation in Light, BE Mineral Veil

Cheeks - Stila Convertible Color in Camellia, Urban Decay Afterglow in Quickie, Benefit Girl Meets Pearl, Benefit Dallas Boxed Powder, Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

Lips - MAC Creme Cup Lipstick, LORAC Multiplex Gloss in 4D

Eyes - Stila Topaz Kohl liner, UD 24/7 liner in Zero, Stila Glamourize Mascara

If anybody reads this ever, yay!