The Face of Addiction

This is how someone referred to me at a party over the weekend. Yes, it’s kind of true. Yes, it was said in jest and that’s how I took it. (and goddamn if this is the face of addiction at least its PRETTY)

That being said, I think that it’s an addiction that’s not really taken seriously from a medical/psychological sense. Your insurance won’t pay for you to go to ‘nail polish rehab’, and calling someone a ‘shopaholic’ is largely used as a joke–and while alcoholism is occasionally used this way, and I’ve heard ‘you crackhead’ more times than you can count, if these were true there are many resources available.

For kicks, I googled Shopaholics Anonymous. yes, it exists. However, it seems to be geared more towards people with shoplifting problems.

“Counseling for shoplifting addictions, compulsive shopping addictions and overspending, Hoarding / Cluttering disorders and solutions for employee theft…”

–from www.shopaholicsanonymous.org/‎

 Debtors anonymous doesn’t seem to apply…since I never buy on credit, I don’t use money I don’t have and the only debt I have is student loans and a car loan. My credit card has been completely paid off for over a year.

 

I once had my affliction referred to as FOMO–“Fear Of Missing Out”. This term was used because primarily my shopping revolves around good bargains–I hardly ever pay full price for something unless it is absolutely necessary. Subconsciously, apparently I am afraid of missing out on the deal, having to pay more later or not being able to acquire the item. (See my love of the new Limited Edition Ariel collection from Sephora!). I don’t even know if that is legitimately a thing, FOMO, but there isn’t any FOMOs-Anonymous that I’ve ever heard of!

 

But Keri, why are you bringing this up now? You know you suck at not-buying things! Your no-buy lasted like a minute!

 

3 words for you my friends: Urban Decay Sale.

Princess Party Post Series: Part Two-Setup!

Since yesterday I showed you the results, now I thought I would take you and show you the magical place it all happened–my living room!

The left half of the table has 100 polish colors and various nail art tools. the right half houses some of my makeup as well as some (and a mirror) belonging to a good friend from college.

My bff tied delightful crepe streamer bows on the backs of my chairs. Isn’t she adorable?

Next we have a very important station–snacks!

Watermelon oreos, white chocolate m&ms, fruit salad, veggie tray, brownies (not arrived at time of picture), and tiny sandwiches! Caprese, cucumber, and egg salad varieties. Also at the right edge of the picture is a tray of GOODIE BAGS because I am a crazy person.

Last but not least, ENTERTAINMENT! Disney princesses really are the best 🙂

We didnt get to Snow White or Pocahontas though… not enough hours in a day!

Feel free to snipe my idea. We really did have the most fabulously entertaining day.

Product Review for the Pretty Pale People!

Hey party people! As I mentioned in this post last week, I got a BB sample in my Target Beauty Box that I thought would be too light for me–it comes in Light, Medium, & Deep, and I received Light. I gave it to my pale-faced, freckly, and incredibly gorgeous best friend, who agreed to try it out and test it for me! She sent me this email this morning :

 

Subject: the verdict!

I tried the BB crème and the bronzer you gave me this morning!  So my verdict is that even though it’s the pale one it was still a bit dark for my skin…gave me that face-is-a-different-color-than-my-neck jazz.  However, once I put on my (very pale – Mary Kay) mineral vale, it did actually even it out quite a bit and it looked a lot more natural.  I barely put on any bronzer because I was nervous about how dark the BB crème was, so I don’t want to give a final verdict on that, but it seemed pretty nice from what I could tell…it was my first go with applying bronzer though so I’m certainly no expert!

At the end of the day (actually…the beginning of the day) I ended up washing it all off before coming to work because I was too nervous that as the day wore on the too-dark bb crème would show through my mineral powder and I would end up looking uneven.  So the verdict is – that one didn’t work for me.  Color-wise.  Other than that it was nice – very light and it felt good on my skin and didn’t feel like it was clogging my pores like a foundation would – went on smooth with good, even coverage.  And actually didn’t even look too bad on my freckles.

In other news – I’m feeling like a princess today because I also tried out my new Cinderella eye shadow and I LOVE IT.  Its soooooooooooooooo NICE and it goes on like a dream! Can’t wait to see how it holds up as the day wears on, but I’m assuming it will be awesome, based on you experience with the Ariel one!  😀

Can’t thank you enough for spoiling me with that!!!!!!!!!!!!

(For those of you curious…I found a Cinderella palette on ebay for her which I thought would suit her better than the soon-to-be readily available Ariel) The bronzer she mentions is the Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil which is a smidge pale for my tan summer skin but works nicely for her and smells delicious.

There you have it! If your name is white-ass Wally, don’t go for the Loreal Studio Secrets BB cream!

Isnt It Neat?! Sephora Ariel Palette arrived today!

The exterior box, absolutely stunning!

The interior box, equally beautiful with a holographic finish.

The beautiful colors! I love each and every one, not a disappointment in the bunch!

Pictured with hand for size reference. the shadows are bigger than I anticipated!

I present to you the Ariel Storylook Palette from Sephora! The packaging is glorious, and the shadows are a decent size! the black bit holding them actually pops out, so the box will be reusable–and right now I stowed some applicators in there.

However I know that is not what you came here for, so without further ado or anticipation, its swatch time! I did each with and without flash to try and capture the colors the best I could.

L-R–blue lagoon, scuttle, flounder, sebastian, flotsam

sea shells, les poissons, caspian sea, your voice, unfortunate souls

atlantica, fins, sick of swimmin’, ursula, sha la la la

triton, wanderin’ free, jetsam, sea witch, treasures untold

All the swatches in all their glory!

As you can see, there is a range of completely matte, shimmery, and glitter shades, neutral and colorful. I used no primer in these pictures and only 1-2 swipes of shadow. The pigmentation is beautiful and not too sheer. I can’t wait to see what they look like with primer beneath them! Some of the shades would make great liners as well.

On a side note, as you can see, Sha La La La is much redder than it appeared on the website. It isn’t a true “Ariel’s hair” red, which would be difficult to pull off, but I know people were disappointed not to see a red and it’s here, just hiding!

Expect a bunch of looks using these colors, I am so impressed right now!

So much for that victory this weekend..

I just placed a Sephora order. I even bought a nail polish–even though my collection is bursting at the seams! Also…I’m only 92$ away from VIB, for which you have to spend $350 in a calendar year. ugh.

I justified it in the most horrific ways. ‘your no-buy doesn’t start until 6/1, nevermind the fact that this month’s paycheck is lousy”. “its a whole bunch of samples for the summer, you will need samples to blog about once you stop buying”. “you can hit VIB in July when the Ariel palette and collection come out and end your no-buy with that!”

Seriously wondering if I need shopaholics anonymous.