SHOPPING THERAPY: Eye Shadow Haul

NYX 'Butt Naked' Palette
SOURCE:  Nordstrom.com

I told myself that I would abstain. I didn't need anymore eye shadows. I had more than enough in my makeup drawer. In fact, my drawers were filled with eye shadows that I didn't even TRY yet! I thought I was being pretty good. I've remained on the wagon for a while now, but I've also been busy with work, so that was a beneficial distraction for me. In fact, I walked into Sephora at least three or four times WITHOUT buying any makeup products for myself. So, just when I was ready to pat myself on the back for a job well done, I fall off the wagon and become the owner of some more pretty eye shadows! ARGH! Maybe I'm am too easily suckered into the pretty colors or susceptible to clever makeup ads in the stores.Whatever the case may be, just stick a bulls eye on me and label me "target consumer" across my forehead.

Last night I was browsing around Nordstrom Rack; not looking for anything in particular. My boyfriend wanted to pick up a gift card for a birthday present and some socks for work. While he waited in the checkout line, I decided to browse the makeup area, which is located near the checkout stands. I casually looked through the nail polishes (did you know that Nordstrom Rack has Butter polishes?) and Urban Decay stuff, but nothing caught my fancy. I looked through the NYX collection as well. Just as I was about to conclude that I didn't see anything, I found the the NYX 'Butt Naked' Palette! I couldn't believe my eyes! I always wanted to try this palette, but always talked myself out of buying it off of Haute Look or the NYX website. I watched the beauty gurus rave about this palette, but as the owner of the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes, I kept reminding myself that I didn't need another nude palette. Plus, I already own a whole bunch of NYX ten color 'Runway' palettes as well as a whole bunch of single shadows and trio sets. But, how could I resist? There it was right in front of me. No shipping and handling to worry about. No waiting for it in the mail. It was right there in pristine condition. So, I did what any sane makeup loving gal would do, I bought it, and just in a nick of time too because I found my boyfriend had already made his way up to a cashier. Score! No waiting in a long checkout line either. Seriously, it was meant to be, right?

L'Oreal Colour Riche Shadow Quad in Rose for Romance
SOURCE:  Drugstore.com

My next eyeshadow purchase...well...I have no excuse for that one. I was at the drugstore the other day and discovered that L'Oreal cosmetic products were all 30% off. I'm a sucker for sales and L'Oreal is one of my favorite (if not top) drugstore brands. L'Oreal has revamped its Colour Riche Shadow Quads recently. In fact, I've noticed that L'Oreal seems to be phasing out the HIP line of products. I don't see as many HIP Shadow Duos anymore. I bought two quads--Rose for Romance and Sultry Seductress.  I haven't tried either quad yet, but intend to do a Beauty Review for each as well as the NYX 'Butt Naked' Palette, so stay tuned!

SHOPPING THERAPY: Forever 21

Long time no blog!  I know...I know...where in the world have I been all this time?  Well, pretty much keeping up with life and all that life throws at you.  I think at a certain point, I just got too lazy to keep updating this blog as well as my food blog.  I started these blogs as a creative outlet, but I lost interest somewhere down the line.  Although my interests may stray, they don't go on a permanent hiatus.  So, here I am logging back onto this blog (I admit I had a hard time remembering my password!) and posting my first entry in MONTHS!  I am going to refrain from making promises to keep up with this blog on a more regular basis because I just don't want to be riddled with guilt later, like today when I realized it has been forever since I posted anything on this blog.  Instead, let's just say, "Hello again, friend!  So nice to blog with you again!"

SOURCE:  Forever21.com

And with that introduction, let's just jump right into things, shall we?  I haven't been buying too many beauty products recently.  My drawers are becoming full of products that I haven't used yet.  Instead, I thought I would submit a shopping therapy post since (1) I haven't done one of these in a really long time; and (2) I've been doing more clothes shopping lately than shopping for beauty products.

I admit that I rarely if ever go into Forever 21 and if I do, it is a super rare occasion that I actually buy something from there.  I don't know what my hang up is about the place.  Perhaps it's because the original Forever 21 at the mall I frequently shop at was always such a mess.  Clothes were poorly displayed or mismatched on the racks due to the small store space.  I also didn't think that the clothes were all that great.  You kind of get what you pay for -- meaning that the quality of the clothes was...well...rather cheaply made.  Plus, I was starting to think that I had fallen out of the the store's target age bracket.  But then, Forever 21 got a bigger two-level store space at the mall with plenty of room to nicely display their merchandise.  Because of this, I was able to actually browse through the racks and discover items that I can wear without looking like I am desperately trying to cling to my 20s even though I am well into my 30s!

SOURCE:  Forever21.com

The other night, I was at the mall with a lot of time to kill before meeting up with friends for dinner.  I decided to pop into Forever 21 and take a peek.  I mean after all, just because I browse through the racks, doesn't mean that I am going to buy anything!  (Yeah, right!)  Well, as you can already predict, I ended up finding a cute blouse and dress that I can wear to work.

The first is a cream chiffon blouse with contrast black short sleeve cuffs and rounded neck and self-tie.  I usually pair this top with a black pencil skirt and wear it either tucked in for a neat, polished look or out for a fun, flirty look.  The other is a sleeveless navy polka dotted chiffon dress with a floral crocheted waistline.  I usually pair this dress with a cropped white three-quarter sleeve two button blazer that I got from Banana Republic years ago.  I love how the skirt of the dress is flirty, but you must be careful on windy days because it has the potential of flying up.  This dress does have a drawback.  The skirt length is a little too short.  Look at where the skirt length falls on the model in the picture.  Since I am short (5'3"), the skirt falls a little longer on me than on the model's long legs.  However, it is still a little short for my personal comfort zone even though my coworkers insist that the length is fine.

So, am I hooked on Forever 21?  Only time will tell.  I am still a faithful Macy's shopper.  After looking through the entire store, I can say that I would wear about 10-15% of its inventory.  By in large, I still fall outside of its target age group.  Gone are the days of teeny short shorts and tube tops.  I can't be forever 21.  Sigh...