Time for a HUGE change.............

I realize that its been a while since I've posted anything - I haven't given up on this blog, I've simply been on a massive and life altering journey these days - its been a process of embracing the authenticity.  Interestingly enough, through this process I have had to let go or distance myself from some of the people I considered friends, while at the same time meeting new friends or re-connecting to people that I've lost contact with.  One thing is for sure, I've never been happier (even amoungst some serious turmoil which I can't talk about) - I feel the most 'myself' I've ever felt and that is an absolutely AMAZING feeling!  Its also about realizing that in each and every 'present' moment, I am creating my authentic self - this is still a process, its an on-going journey - and I've loving it - how amazingly cool is it to discover that you can continually choose to be authentic at every moment and live a life of authenticity!  I'm finally so in love with........ME (not in an egotistical way, but in a self-respecting way)!!!  I decided to mark this change with a bit of a transformation - I cut my hair to suit my personality and have embracing a new hair colour - a rich, deep burgundy red - I'm wearing it with 2 lipcolours Train Bleu liner by NARS and Diva lipstick by MAC.  I actually used the Train Bleu as a swatch to get this colour - my hair colourist was able to replicate the exact colour of Train Bleu on my hair - she's amazing!!!  Check it out:

This process of transformation has been huge for me, I'm emerging as a new, more authentic 'me' - Its almost like I've been cocooned for so long and now I'm emerging as the butterfly - its time to spread my wings and fly...........Its time to keep shining, keep moving forward, keep feeling good about myself.  I predict that amazing things are on their way to me - that I will continue to "match the frequency of the reality I want" to create!!!  Namaste and complete gratitude for every lesson, for my Angels who look out for me, for God and the Universe who are the ultimate creators - Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Tribute to Cobalt Blue

For someone like me who loves colour, its easy to say "I love this colour - this is my favourite blue, or green or red etc etc etc", but I do have to admit, that when it comes to blues, Cobalt blue truely is a favourite!  What I absolutely love about it, is that its not quite navy and its not quite royal blue - its somewhere right smack dab in the middle.  To me, its such an elegant blue - its a blue that is rich in colour, yet also slightly muted - I simply love this colour and I'm so happy that its showing up in all the stores lately - it seems to be the perfect transition colour from winter to spring!  Here is a little visual dedication/tribute to cobalt blue (I have also heard this colour described as 'Ink blue' if thats helpful at all):

I hope that you enjoyed this little visual tour of everything that cobalt blue has to offer - I particularily love cobalt in the form of a wrap dress or cardigan to layer over a blouse - cobalt is truely one of my favourite blue shades!!!

Deep/Toned WInter Collages

I wanted to post some collages that I have put together of both the deep winter and toned winter palettes - I'm going to try some soft summer palettes as well, but for now I'm still playing around with Toned Winter and feel the most at home here:

Navy meets up with Deep Berry

I think I am starting to develop a slight obsession with a deeper toned lip - I'm loving that rich burgundy, wine, mahogany and deep berry lipstick look - there is something mysterious, sophisticated, elegant, yet uber-creative and dramatic about it.  This look can be both rocker-chic and elegant city chic - its all in how you carry yourself, what you choose to wear and accessorize with this makeup look.  I decided to create a nice harmony by pairing the deep berry lipstick shade with a burgundy blush shade and navy/muted greys on the eyes - check it out:

Here is the makeup I used for this look - I started with my basic 'face' (mineral fusion foundation in olive, mineral fusion concealer in warm and translucent powder).  I then mixed MAC's Fever and Raizin blushes for the cheeks.  On the eyes, I started with brule as a base, used Smut on the lid into the crease and then applied Blooz eyeliner - I smudged the upper lashline with Nehru shadow and used Smolder eyeliner on the lower-lashline before finishing with mascara (all the eyemakeup products are MAC) - For the lips, I used MAC's Mahogany lipliner with Hang-Up lipstick!  Hang up is one of my all time favourite deep berry/burgundy shades - its slightly more 'berry-purple' than Diva, but looks amazing with Mahogany and Burgundy liners - LOVE this look!!!

Toned Winter Makeup Look - Deep Muted Magenta Lip

Deep Muted Magenta Look:

For this look I had to do a lot of mixing, esp for the eyes. I started with my basic base of sheer foundation, concealer and translucent powder. I mixed MAC's mineralize love thing blush with Fever blush for the cheeks. For the eyeshadow base, I mixed area and goldmine, then for the lid into crease shade, I mixed copperplate and shadowy lady. I then used goldmine again on the lid and applied to the inner tearducts and along the bottom lashline. I applied smolder eyeliner and smudged shadowy lady into the upper lashline before finishing wth mascara (all MAC). For a deep muted magenta lip, I applied MAC's Magenta lipliner and then blended in Media lipstick!!!

Toned Winter - Deep Winter Soft - Experiment

I decided to experiement with one of the new 16 seasons - Deep Winter Soft also known as the Toned Winter - The blocks of colour on the right hand side of this collage are colours taken from my actual eye colour!  I just ordered the Toned Winter colour swatch fan from Lora Alexander's blog 'Pretty Your World' - I look forward to using this swatch to play around with a lot of new looks - I'm so excited!!!  Stay tuned for more Deep Winter 'Soft' experiements:

 

 

 

A 'Softer' Deep Winter Look

I know I've been doing a lot of uber dramatic deep winter looks, so I decided to do a look that is still consistent with deep winter shades, but on the 'softer' side of the spectrum.  I wanted to do a softer burgundy-brownish/pink lip with a smudged out black liner.  I decided to use copperplate by MAC on my lid into the crease and then used smolder eyeliner and smudged it out with carbon eyeshadow (also MAC) before finishing with black mascara.  I mixed my two favourite blushes (Raizin and Fever by MAC) and then used MAC's Burgundy lipliner with NARS Pigalle lipstick on the lips - I think this look is very 'everyday workplace' friendly - its still comes across as 'Strong and Confident', but in a softer, more assured way - I think this may just become a classic everyday look for me - I can also see myself using Mahogany lipliner instead of burgundy with Pigalle and Raizin blush - I think this may be my next look - can't wait to try it!!!