Nordstrom's Halogen Taylor Pant-A Curvy Girl's Dream

I, like most women, am curvy.  But I am also small which means I have a smaller upper body with curvaceous hips and rear.  This proves difficult when I am trying to purchase pants.  See I am a US size 4/6 but most size 4 pants aren't curvy enough while the waist is perfect and the size 6 pants are the opposite.  I have my trusted pairs in basic colors but I was lacking a taupe/khaki pair of pants.  I went to Express to see about their Editor pants.  They must have changed the cut because those suckers do not agree with my curves.  I tried The Limited, New York & Co, and Ann Taylor, but surprisingly, they didn't have the color I wanted.  Fast forward to the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (which is still going on until Monday by the way).  I noticed on their website a house brand that they carried name Halogen.  They have pants in different fits to accommodate most women's bodies.  The Taylor pant is for us curvaceous ladies.  I went into the store and low and behold, they had the color I wanted...AND  they fit.  I purchased 2 pair, one in taupe and one in brown.  They are regularly $78 but are $49 for the sale.  I wanted to share this with you gals in case there is anyone else out there who struggles with finding pants!

Manicure Mondays-China Glaze Light As Air

China Glaze Light as Air is a greyed lavender cream.  It came out in their Spring 2010 collection.  In some lights, it can look totally grey and in other lights it may look completely lavender.  The formula was a little thick but was not hard to work with.  I applied 2 coats for opacity.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  It wore for 4 days chip free.  What are you wearing on your tips this week?

My Coral Lip Products

Crown Brush Review

I purchased three Crown makeup brushes from Hautelook (also check out my Crown travel brush review here) some months back and have been using them consistently enough to do a proper review.  The three I purchased are the C433 (pro blending fluffy brush), C404 (small duo face brush), and the C405 (contour blush brush).  Now lets get down to the good, the bad, and the ugly.

C433 brush

C433 Pro Blending Fluffy brush-In short, I HATE it.  It is supposed to be similar to the MAC 217 which is my go to blending and crease brush.  It has the same shape and the white goat hair.  That is where the similarities end.  It is the scratchiest brush I have ever used!  I have tried conditioning it several times to no avail.  And then it has the nerve to shed.  NOT GOOD!  I would not recommend this brush.  I will be sticking to my MAC 217 thankyouverymuch!

C405 brush

C405 Contour Blush brush-This one is nice though it does have its ugly side.  It has white goat hair and is used for contouring and blush application and similar to the MAC 168 (which I don't own).  It is soft and not at all scratchy like the C433.  It applies color beautifully.  But...it sheds.  I can say that it is shedding much less than it did in the beginning.  I would say purchase this brush but you have been forewarned.

C404 brush

C404 Small Duo Face brush-I LOVE this brush!  It is similar to the MAC 188 (which I don't own) and is a duo fiber brush.  It can be used for liquid foundation, cream blush, and powder blush.  I use it for my highly pigmented blushes (ahem NARS) as it does not pick up too much color.  I have nothing negative to say about this brush.  It is soft and does not shed.  I would HIGHLY recommend this brush!

Crown brushes can be purchased from their website http://www.crownbrush.com/ .  I do not believe I paid more than $15 in total for the three brushes, but then again, it was purchased from Hautelook.  Have you tried any Crown brushes?  If so, what are your thoughts?

My Latest Obsession...

I want this bag.  Plain and simple.  And I will have it!  It is the Alexander Wang Rocco bag.  I just love everything about it, the classic design juxtaposed with the edgy studs.  It is screaming my name!  I hear you calling me Rocco, I'll be right there...

Manicure Mondays-Essie French Affair

This week I have for you Essie French Affair from their Spring 2011 collection.  It is a milky pastel pink with a hint of lavender and a cream finish.  I have really been into these type of colors all year.  After I removed it, I painted my toes with it.  It would have been opaque in 2 coats but I needed to 3 due to user error.  I used my usual CND Stickey base coat but used Seche Vite top coat as my usual top coat was running low.  It lasted 5 days before chipping.

Tag-Summer Besties!

Manicure Mondays-Chanel Graphite

As soon as I saw the promo pictures for Chanel Graphite, I was smitten!  I knew I just had to have it.  And boy did it NOT disappoint.  It is a metallic grey with gold and silver glitter particles.  This photo does not do it justice.  If you can, you must see this in person.  This was two coats for opacity with CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  This polish dried super fast and lasted 5 days chip free.  Yep, Chanel polishes are pricey, but being the nail polish hoarder that I am, I will pay the money for it if it is unique.  And Graphite is definitely unique!

Inspiration...

Here are some of my fashion and beauty inspirations lately...

Metallic Tory Burch Flats

Statement bracelet from Asos

Color blocked silk tank by Vena Cava

Bright lips.  Photo by Vogue



What has been inspiring you lately?

Mini Haul & OOTD-Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg

In's & Out's-Vol. 1

These are some of the things that I am loving and some that I am over at the moment:

In:

Tinted moisturizers
Coral lips
Dresses (of any kind)
Shorts
Messy buns
Brown eyeliner
Wedges
Bronzed cheeks

Out:

Foundation
Pink lips
Jeans
Wearing my hair down
Black eyeliner
Closed toe-shoes
100+ degree weather

What are your in's and out's?

Manicure Mondays-OPI Lunch At The Delhi

Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers!  I have for you today, OPI Lunch at the Delhi.  It's a reddish pink coral cream from their India collection from several years back.  Though the formula was nice and smooth, it needed 3 coats and there was still some visible nail line showing.  It reminded of a poppy flower.  It was just the right color for the official start of summer.  I used my usual CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat and it lasted 5 days without chipping.  I previously thought OPI was overrated, but is has really been impressing me lately!