Yesterday was a busy day filled with studying, but then again when is it not? At the end of my night I decided to reward myself by joining in the St. Patties Day festivities and since I don’t have much green in wardrobe I did a St. Patrick’s Day inspired makeup look. I had one hour to go from bare-faced and frizzy haired to lets-hope-I-look-pulled-together-out-the-door.

My favorite part about this look was using Urban Decay’s Loaded, a green/black colored eye shadow.  I used it over a dark Coastal Scents green and it gives the outer corners such great dimension.

I had done so much studying the week before and doing this look put some excitement back into my day. Good thing my heavy duty concealer covers my heavy eye bags from lack of sleep!

Makeup used for this look:

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer potion in Eden
2. Coastal Scents 88 Color Eye Shadow Palette – lightest shade of nude as highlighter
3. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Ecstasy applied as base color over lid (in The Book of Shadows Vol. II)
4. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Rockstar blended into outer corners (in UD NYC palette)
5. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in AC/DC in crease (in The Book of Shadows Vol. II)
6. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Haight in inner corners (in UD NYC palette)

I lined my eyes with Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide on eyeliner which I love because it glides on so smoothly, and applied my usual Cover Girl Lash Blast Luxe in Black Royale.

The kit comes with:

• Small Angle – E65
• Medium Angled Shading – E70
• Large Shader – E60
• Pencil – E30
• Large Angled Contour – F40
• Large Powder – F30
• Duo Fibre – F50
• Foundation – F60
• Concealer – F70
• Tapered Blending – E40
• Eye Shading – E55
• Eyeliner – E05

and an additional E-25 traveled sized, which is just the cherry on the top since I wasn’t expecting it. The color online is described as coral, but in the photos from their website it looks really pink to me. After I received it I’ve found it does look really pink in person and that disappoints me. I’m not a huge fan of pink but I suppose I’d rather have pink than blue or purple.

Other than that I have no complaints about their quality. After first opening the package I went right to trying them out. I couldn’t wait for an occasion to use them I was too excited. I noticed when using these brushes that they help minimize fallout much better than my previous brushes and blend my shadows with less effort. The pink travel case is what makes these brushes so convenient, and when you’re not traveling you can just keep them in it like a cup.

Oh, and if you were wondering what the gold and black compact mirror was doing in the picture, it’s just for show. I just lost found it, and it’s my favorite. Black and gold are my favorite colors

You can buy Sigma Brushes at http://www.sigmabeauty.com/

There are many different brush kits to choose from. I got my brush kit for $99.

Everyone on the red carpet looked gorgeous at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards last Sunday…but my two favorite looks go to Natalie Portman and Anne Hathaway.

Natalie’s pregnancy glow may have added to her winning look, but nonetheless she looked stunning. Her playfully soft colored eye shadow makes her brown eyes pop perfectly…I mean perfectly compliments her lip color.

Anne Hathaway. Her skin. Those lips. Well done. The right amount of color on the lips to make a bold statement. In contrast to the usual  bold fire engine red lip, this lip color (Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Colour in Rivoli) has a soft, understated touch while still keeping notice-me color. Bravo, Anne!

And just for fun… the award for best looking actor that night goes to….

Jude Law! (pictured here with Robert Downey Jr.)

Okay, yeah, maybe I just wanted to share my love for Jude with you.

Who do you think had the best look that night? Share!

with Leina, Christina of Beautylish, and Elena

Last Thursday I attended Beautylish’s Spring Trend Preview Event at the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco. (which is beautiful, btw)

Le Metier de Beaute, Shiseido Cosmetics, and Aveda were there to do demos of pretty Spring inspired looks. I got a bronzed lip done by Shiseido.

It was really fun seeing familiar faces and meeting new people. Getting together with other beauties reminds me why I’m going  to school again. Oh, and the view from the outdoor terrace was amazing.

me with Elena and Leina

with Leina, Elena and Victoria of Beautylish

Victoria and Christina are so sweet! I just found out that Victoria is Russian…and she can speak it fluently. I have a thing for Russian accents, they’re so commanding!

Beautylish has done so much since their launch, it’s impressive.I love seeing Bay Area based beauty companies succeed and prosper. The San Francisco beauty base is growing and Beautylish has found a way to bring everyone together.

If you haven’t checked out beautylish, you can become a member for free and join the network of beauties where you can share your thoughts and chat with other fellow beauty addicts at beautylish.com.

Here is the full photo for the new header, only a cropped portion can be used.

I had thought about changing my header for a while now, but I hadn’t really found any good pictures to choose from. Last week I was flipping through the newest issue of InStyle Magazine, and when I got to the beauty editor section I had this idea that I should create a photo shoot with my makeup for the header. Pulling out my buckets of untouched makeup finally went to good use. Just before I started really getting things rolling, I felt sort of silly. Like a child getting her hands and knees dirty with finger paint and newspaper. I knew I was onto something though, and I kept at it. I took several bottles of nail polish and with a little of Jackson Pollock, I had some fun. I made a mess and re-decorated one of my Lancome Juicy Tubes, but it’s okay. Now there’s a personal story behind the design. It’s a special tube of gloss now. I must have drawn that heart on mirror like 5 times. Before arrive at this shot, I had 33 others that looked as if the products were too staged. I’m not photographer but I love the turn out, the project was really fun it definitely brought out the kid in me.

I probably wouldn’t have went running with my idea or followed through with it if I wasn’t reading What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20. The book has real world advice and experience from the author Seelig, executive director of the entrepreneurship center at Stanford’s School of Engineering who talks about how important it is to embrace silly ideas, how to turn not-so-good-ideas into great ones, and how important it is to keep creativity alive. I’m half way through the book, and I’ve already learned so much.Lessons have been learned.

When that light bulb goes off in your head don’t deny it! Keep those creative ideas flowin’ everyone!

What do you think of the new header?

I bought the Philosophy Oxygen Peel when I went to Nordstrom’s Fall Beauty Trend Show  last October. Philosophy was there doing demonstrations and after I got my first oxy peel, I was ad-dict-ed! I like to mix the product together. Opening the enzyme pill like capsule into water makes an enzyme gel, the solution, when shaken up.  After applying the gel you apply the oxygen foam  and after I keep it on for a few minutes,  when I am scraping the foam off I pretend I’m shaving. It’s all really fun.  The best part is my face is baby smooth, no joke. Nothing but new fresh clean skin. The first time I did it I noticed I had a bit of dead skin caught in my hair-line. Yeah, it’s THAT powerful. It’s the best thing to use right before major events like prom, dates, weddings, celebrations, or anyday when you want your skin to be looking naturally radiant.

You can find Philosophy The Oxygen Peel at Nordstrom, and other beauty specialty stores like Sephora for $50.

loved this!

Missed my FIDM beauties, it was nice to be reunited again

It’s hard to really sum up this year’s memories into some sort of catch phrase, or even a few emotions. How about a whirlwind? Maybe a stepping stone on the ever moving staircase, but I’m always moving up. It’s memorable for sure, no question about that.

I’ve just finished up my first semester at junior college (thank goodness), and coming from FIDM… man it is a totally different ball game. The differences between FIDM and junior college couldn’t be any starker than day and night. It has been a drastic shift the way I learn and apply the ideas, and although frustrating I’ve found it to be quite an enjoyable challenge.

During the semester I started to think about what I wanted my life to be like in 5 years. After a lot of contemplating, I realized that no matter what business I end up with, I want to be great at doing what I love. Since I am still young, I want to shoot for the best education and enjoy the journey. I would love to be working in the hustle and bustle of the beauty world right now, because for the past year that was all I knew. On the other hand, I want to get my education hassle free.  Times are tough, the best time for me to be in school is right now, and plenty more opportunities are to come with the future.

With my newfound goals and lifestyle, this blog has now come to mean more to me than ever before and ironically has seen the least of my efforts these past couple months. That is going to change this up and coming year. I don’t normally make New Year’s Resolutions, but I suppose this can count as one. Beauty for thought is my way of keeping my passion for beauty alive while I get through junior college. Let’s applaud for the shimmer and power to the lipsticks!

Me with Bobbi Brown

November 5, 2010 It was Bobbi Brown’s new book signing in SF at Nordstrom! It was nice to meet Bobbi Brown again.  She complimented my makeup and asked who did it. It was me I didn’t set up any makeup appointment afterwards, but I did try a new lipstick I liked.

It was also my sister’s birthday 21st birthday! Happy birthday Josiephine <3

Laline’s beauty line was created by two cousins who had a solid friendship and made their dream come true with the opening of their first store in 1999. The strong family connection and the feminine bond are uniquely reflected in the warm and welcoming customer experience offered in more than 60 Laline boutiques worldwide.
Laline specializes in aromatic bath & body care products for body and soul. They’ve got products for everyone with its family oriented  hand-made products ranging from Shower Mousse to Body Souffles and Baby Shampoo to candles all beautifully packaged in vintage chic recyclable containers - a great place for gifts! They have everything you need to enhance your shower experience, improve your relaxation, and bring peace to your environment.

I have an exclusive coupon code you can use to shop on their website www.lalineusa.com. Just enter coupon code: BEAUTYFORTHOUGHT at checkout.

With my Laline Lavender Body Scrub

Visit them in store in San Francisco:

Pier 39

Laline is opening their second location in SF 2106 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA fairly soon!

My nails for Halloween! The orange changes to black in the sunlight. I saw this  Del Sol color changing nail polish at a Walgreen’s in LA two weeks ago. I’m going back again in a few weeks to get MORE COLORS! I could really get used to this color changing nail polish.

black in the sun! chipped yes, but black in the sun.

The Beautylish Event

me getting my vintage lip done

me with the Leina and the Beautylish team

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend Beautylish’s Night of Beauty Event in San Francisco for to mingle with  talented beauty gurus in the bay area. I met some great hardworking people in the industry and the delicious cupcakes and cocktails couldn’t have made my day any better. I sat to get my vintage lip done at a mini makeup station after I finished eating all my sweets We had a chance to try Les Khakis De Chanel nail polish at the mini manicure station.The Beautylish team were all so friendly and open to chat,  I thank Beautylish for inviting me to the event. I had so much fun chatting with everyone – night well spent!

Allure Magazine October 2010 issue - Natural Selection

Allure - Beauty at work article

My brain just can’t stop thinking about science. At the moment I am taking a quick break from studying for  my physical anthropology lab exam next Tuesday. After hours of studying and preparing my lab notebook (yes on a Saturday night), I took some time to cook myself four cheese rosa penne pasta, and yes it was delicious. I was flipping through the latest issue of Allure as I ate my dinner, and I came across an article titled natural selection. How ironic, seems like I just can’t get away from science. I thought, how funny. Flipped a couple more pages to see an article called Beauty at Work, which talks about the difficult women’s standards held in the workplace. At the end of the article it reads, “… In Philidelphia, police officer Renee Norman filed a discrimination complaint alleging that her captain ordered her to change her hair color. She says its red; he says it’s purple. Tomato, tomahto. (Purple is banned by the department as an “unnatural haircolor.”) … The subject mutates, nature selects, and Charles Darwin himself couldn’t tell us where we’ll end up.

These science terms are following me even after the studying stops, it’s kind of creepy.