Wishlist Vol 11: Beauty Travel Accessories

Mary Kay Travel Roll-Up Bag ($35.00) | Henri Bendel Monogram Compact ($38.00) | Rock Rebel The Bride of Frankenstein Cosmetic Bag ($19.50) | Sephora Collection Carry On Airless Travel Set ($28.00) | Sigma Mrs. Bunny Travel Kit ($75.00) | Travolo Classic Excel in Purple ($20.00) | ZUCA Flyer Artist Case in Black ($355.00) | Sigma Brush Case in White ($29.00) | Signature Sedona Lace Travel Tote ($49.95)



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To Do List: 2014

Here's a lovely picture of Magenta totally enjoying her Halloween costume. You're welcome.

December 2013 Goal Updates

→ Keep up with a normal sleep schedule
Ugh, I don't know. I was doing alright, but then I wasn't. So, for all intents and purposes, we'll say I didn't achieve that goal.

→ Bake
Yes ma'am! I made Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies (soooo many!) and a Turtle Brownie thing.

→ Organize hallway closet
Nope. BUT, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't get around to doing this until early 2014 since I wanted to make sure that we had the Christmas stuff all packed up. I don't think this one was a fail, but just not really a good goal for December. Haha.

→ Decorate the apartment
Yep! Check out my awesome Christmas decorations here!

→ Plan a giveaway
I definitely have some things up my sleeve for this year. I'm excited for ya'll! Js.

→ Blog more often
I didn't blog more of my usual blog nonsense, but I think I did nicely with my Countdown to Kitschmas series.

→ Read a full book
Wow. I am disappoint. I have so many books that I'm dying to read, but nope, I did not read even one book in December. Wompwomp.

→ Decide on my next hair transformation
I'm pretty dead-set on keeping my half/half, but doing white and black instead of continuing with blue and pink. Unfortunately I haven't heard back from my friend who does my hair out here and the other lady who has an in-house salon doesn't have the necessary things, so... I'm probably going to ruin my hair by doing it myself.

→ Marathon the Die Hard movies again
You betcha! We watched the first two movies on Christmas (cos they're the Christmas ones) and finished up with movies three, four, and five the next day.

→ Curl my hair
I haven't even opened up my curling iron. Oops.

---

→ Explore Kyushu
I have two more years in Japan and I want to be able to say that I saw things and went places while I was living here.

→ Cook more
So far, so good. My goal is to do at least one home cooked meal a week and I've been cooking more than not since the beginning of the year!

→ Start in-home business
My AMAZING husband got me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer so I can start selling baked goods while we're out here. I hate having to only rely on Ryan's paycheck, plus I love to bake, so it's a win/win!

→ Keep the apartment more organized
I feel like my space is a mess and I never feel calm when things are messy.

→ Enact makeup spending ban
I need to "shop my stash" and review all of the makeup I haven't gotten to yet!

→ Yoga
I actually went to my first physical therapy appointment this morning and I'll be doing daily stretches. I'd like to upgrade to actual yoga at some point. I loved yoga when I was a teenager and I need more zen in my life.

→ Budget better & save more
Ryan and I just redid our budget at the beginning of the new year; saving more and spending less!

→ Start therapy again?
Hm. I'm still not 100% on this one yet, but I figured that I would put it on the list.

→ Start using a blog calendar/organizer instead of just making lists
I bought a binder and filled it full of organize-y printables and I'm super excited. Js.

→ Reorganize blog
I'm thinking of launching a personal blog and turning Kitsch Vixen into just a beauty/fashion blog. I'll post more about that later!

What are your plans for 2014?



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Swatchfest: MAC Spider Queen Pro Palette

MAC Cosmetics released the Spider Queen Pro Palette with the MAC x Rick Baker collection for Halloween 2013. I was probably looking forward to this palette the most out of everything from the 2013 MAC collections.



The Spider Queen Pro Palette comes with six eyeshadows (6g each) and retails for $44.00. The packaging is made from a lightweight, sturdy, black plastic and has a clear window on the front. I really don't mind foregoing a mirror to be able to see all of the eyeshadow colors that the palette holds.



The eyeshadow colors are:
Lime (Permanent, PRO): Lime green matte
Moss (Limited Edition): Warm yellow green frost
Deep Purple (Limited Edition): Bright deep purple frost
Indian Ink (Permanent, PRO): Deep eggplant matte
Dusty Purple (Limited Edition): Mid-tone neutral purple satin
Carbon (Permanent): Intense black matte



Lime & Moss


Deep Purple & Indian Ink


Dusty Purple & Carbon
All of the pictures were taken in natural lighting and the eyeshadows were swatched dry on bare skin (no base or primer) with a finger. I think MAC could have done a better job with the overall texture of the shadows, especially since these are part of the PRO line. Lime was pretty chalky and carbon should have been much more pigmented. Honestly, I really like the color selections chosen for this palette, but I just had higher hopes for it. We'll see how well it performs when the shadows are used for a look.

What do you think? Did you grab anything from the MAC x Rick Baker collection?



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Swatchfest: Sugarpill Heart Breaker Palette

I found these pictures that I (apparently) completely forgot about from a while ago and thought I would pop 'em into a blog post! I apologize for the not-so-great photography!

This is the Heart Breaker palette from Sugarpill! I cannot tell you how long I had wanted to get my hands on a bunch of Sugarpill products. This palette was the first of many (spoiler alert: I have two more palettes and a loose shadow already)!



The Heart Breaker palette contains four full size eyeshadows (3.5g each) and it retails for $34.00. The packaging is adorable, by the way, and made out of a sturdy cardboard. Opposite the shadows is a mirror that takes up most of the top side of the inside.





The shadows according to Sugarpill.com are:
Acidberry (top left): Matte lime green with a slight pearl sheen
Velocity (top right): Vibrant matte royal blue
2AM (bottom left): Matte purple with a slight pearl sheen
Mochi (bottom right): Matte mint seafoam

Left to Right: Acidberry, Velocity, 2AM, Mochi

Left to Right: Acidberry, Velocity, 2AM, Mochi

Sorry about the picture quality/focus/everything. These photos were from when I first got my Canon and before I started swatching close-up. (BTW, do you like this swatch format better or should I keep the close up view?)

All of the pictures were taken in direct sunlight and the eyeshadows were swatched dry on bare skin (no base or primer) with a finger. I was really light-handed when it came to swatching these. The colors really pack a punch when they are applied over a primer or base! I would for sure recommend checking the Heart Breaker palette out. Come on, look at those colors! If you don't feel like buying a whole palette, Sugarpill also offers their pressed shadows individually for $12.00 each!

Do you have any of these Sugarpill shadows? Whatcha think?



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