What I Got For Christmas/ Nails/ DIY

Hi, everyone! 
I hope you all had an amazing New Year's and enjoyed your time off. I sure did :)
While I'm relaxing on my last few days off before returning to work, I figured I would post a few things I've been working lately, as well as a few makeup-related gifts I received for Christmas.

First off, I wanted to show you a picture of my nails, which I recently painted for New Year's Eve.  I went to a Hibachi restaurant with some girlfriends.

The colors I used were both Essie:  "Bahama Mama" and "Beyond Cozy".

I also used the New Sephora X Base and Top coats... They are AMAZING! I can't say enough good things about them.  I know at my store they are sold out but if you can get them... go ahead. They're awesome. I have a few colors in the Sephora X that I have yet to try.. but they work just fine with regular nail polish. 8 days and counting and no chips.

Moving on....

I am in the process of redoing my room and makeup storage/collection.  Tomorrow I am heading to Ikea to see what they have... I've seen so many other bloggers on here using storage systems from there and I can't wait to check them out. However, I have also been checking out Pinterest (which I am on constantly... Seriously. All. The. Time.) and found a really cute idea: to frame shopping bags: I picked up frames from Michael's and used bags from Henri Bendel, MAC, Tiffany's, Coach, and Swarovski.  Here's what the Henri Bendel one looks like:

I am super excited about it.  So cheap and will look awesome with the others.  I will be sure to upload some more pictures of the final products when my room is done.

And last, but not least (I'm sorry.. this post is going to be super long): What I got for Christmas!

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. This year, traditionally, my sister and I took toys to Children's hospital.  It is one of my favorite parts of the holiday.. and I believe that Christmas is a time that we all should especially try and give back.  I plan to do that more often.. It shouldn't be reserved for a holiday.  Comment below what you do to give back around the holidays.. I'd love to hear about it.

That being said, here is what I received (beauty products only).

Urban Decay Smoked Palette                         Urban Decay Ocho Loco Set (Sephora.com)

Beginning with the Smoked palette... First off, I am a HUGE Urban Decay fan.  They recently redid the formula of their eyeshadows, and they are even more soft, buildable, and pigmented than before, and I can't get enough.  I originally really wanted the palette simply because of the Mushroom color, which is sold as a separate, single, color.  However, I ended up falling in love with the rest of the palette and while I LOVE Mushroom, now my favorite color featured in it would have to be Loaded, the shimmery emerald green color.  It also comes with a mini UD primer potion and a full-sized Perversion 24/7 liner.  Which brings me to the Ocho Loco set.  Oh. My. God.  It is amazing.  The set comes with 8 full-sized UD 24/7 liners and a Grind House pencil sharpener.  The colors in the set are Rockstar, Psychadelic Sister, LSD, Stash, Hustle, Mushroom, and (another) Perversion.  I am in love.

Stila 4-peice Lip Liner Set (Available at Saks Off Fifth Stores) in (from left to right) Aspiring, Passionate, Obsessed, and Charming.  This set, which I think runs for around $12 for the set (which is unbelievable, considering Stila's usual prices) is amazing.  It has 4 full-sized lip liners, which are really soft pencils. The bright pink (Obsessed) is a little too bright for me, and I'm not sure if I'll use it.. we'll see.

Tarte LipSurgence 5-peice Holiday set... I have never tried Tarte lip products prior to receiving this set.  It comes in 5 really wearable colors that vary from strongly pigmented to light and sheer.  All have a really moisturizing formula, which I like because my lips get so dry in the winter. From left to right: Enchanted, Elite, Exposed, Escape, and Sweet.  My favorite, if I had to pick just one, would be Enchanted.  Its a really dark red tint that looks kind of scary to begin with, but is so sheer and can be worn as an everyday color.

I hope you enjoyed reading! Until next time,

XOXO 

ANM