Christmas 2011

Mr. P has been teaching me how to play guitar!  I have learned how to play (albeit very slowly) the song that Adam Sandler sang to Drew Barrymore on the plane in the moving "The Wedding Singer".

So, the guitar the Mr. P bought me was the Martin & Co. Backpacker, which I had been eyeballing for the past 2 years.  It's a really cute guitar and is perfect for me because it's not too heavy.  However, because the body is so small, you don't really get a lot of the deep rich tones you'd get from a full bodied acoustic guitar, like the Takamine G Series (which I got for Mr. P for Christmas *hehe!*).

One of the best things I got this Christmas also was that my Kindred Spirit came down from San Francisco and we got to hang out together!  ^_^

This woman is one of the nicest people one will ever meet on this planet!  I'm going to miss her until the next time we get to meet!

L'Occitane en Provence Fabulous Serum with Shea Butter

I bought this for Mr. P a while ago because he was concerned with his dry skin.  But apparently, Mr. P has sensitive skin too... so I started using it this winter.  I have got to say that I do like this Fabulous Serum very much!  It's very moisturizing in the winter, and smells a little like vanilla.

This product makes the following claims:
Visibly repairs, instantly smooths and protects skin against harsh conditions.

Mr. P threw away the box a while ago so what I got is off the bottle.  Anyways, I use this as a night-time moisturizer because it doesn't have any SPF.  Since I'm still using Proactiv, I smoothe this over areas that aren't inflamed.  It works really well at keeping my skin moisturized throughout the night without getting too greasy in the mornings.  It also works really well at plumping up my skin under my eyes so my fine lines look lessened.

I wish I had more of this Fabulous Serum (easy name to remember, ne?) and I would repurchase it, but... I won't.  I won't repurchase this only because I have 3 other moisturizers to go through and I don't want to keep them all around.  Haha.  But if I didn't have those other moisturizers waiting in the wing, I really would repurchase this.  ^_^

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year with renewed vigor and excitement!  Have a great week and year!

Swatchfest! Stila Ultimate Color Palette

Does Stila have some sort of contract with Costco?  This is the 2nd Stila wonder-find Mr. P and I found at Costco for under $20.00 + tax.  Anyways, this is going to be a Swatchfest post on the Stila Ultimate Color Palette.

These colors don't look as warm in the pan as they do on my arm.  They all have a surprising amount of red hues in them.  I use the bottom right color as my eyebrow filler.  :-)

I'm a little worried that the blues will be too cool for my skintone and will end up making me look like I got punched in the eye.  *haha*  I really like the darker colors, especially the 3 shades in the top left hand side.  Other than the matte black, they have some nice shimmer/glitter in them to add a little oomphf to the eyes.

I have used a couple of these shades nearly every day.  I think these are the perfect mid-lid shades for work-appropriate makeup.  I particularly enjoy using the top 6 shades in any combo with a highlight and liner shade.

The top six shades are good for highlighting.  I like the shades hugging the right side because they have a bit of shimmer in them.  I don't think that matte highlight shades work well with my skin tone.  The white e/s at the very top is matte and a little powdery. My absolutely favorite highlight shades are the 2 under the white.

Sorry that I didn't have a good closeup picture of these before I started swatching them.  I just got excited and started using them in my daily makeup routines.  :-)  Anyways, these lip glosses (I think that's what they are) are super pigmented, as you can see.  I put them on par with the Tarte Lip Glosses from the Jewelry Box, except these Stila lip glosses sometimes don't feel as moisturizing.  HOWEVER, don't take my word on it right now, because I don't apply them the same way and that could have everything to do with it.

These blushes are so pigmented.  When I wear these, I feel like my cheeks just blossomed to life.  You have to be careful because you could easily overdo it.  I have been using the bottom left as a light highlight, even though it looks a shade darker than my skin.  I dunno... when I dust it on my upper cheek with my blush brush, it just imparts a nice glow and not a lot of color.  I have been trying to use the bottom right shade as a contour.  I think it comes out nice because I do use my blush brush and only lightly apply it under the cheek bones. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this Swatchfest post.  If any of you have found this at Costco and have not bought it, I would highly recommend that you do!  For $20-ish, you just can't go wrong.

Oh!  One more thing, the e/s and lippies sizes are maybe the sizes of pennies.  Bigger than dimes and smaller than nickles. 

Have a great day!

Winner of the December 10th Blog Giveaway

Halo!  I’m here with the winner of my first blog giveaway.  Sorry that I didn’t post the winner yesterday…I was feeling a little under the weather.  But I’m feeling better now and that’s what matters!

I do want to extend my most heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway and for sharing your favorite travel memories.  It was a lot of fun reading them and trying to imagine what it was like for you.  At the end of the day, I really wished that I could give everyone something, but I only do have one Lancome palette.  Now I know why the Idol and X-Factor judges keep saying that choosing a winner is a tough decision!

And now, without further ado, the Lancome palette winner is:

TAINTED MEMORIES!!!   

Your entry was so descriptive that I could almost see it as if I were there with you!

And, because one other entry caused me to LOL at work (in a sales meeting, to boot!), I just couldn’t let it go without giving something in return.  This entry belongs to:

CATE!!!   

I can imagine it was the perfect memory where you say to yourself, “One day I’ll look back at this and laugh!”

Congratulations to you both!  I will be emailing you shortly.

Thanks again to everyone for participating.  I will be hosting more giveaways in the future (2012), so if you didn’t win this time, there will be other opportunities.  ^_^

Have a great day!

Battle Mascara 5: Rimmel The MAX Volume Flash vs. CoverGirl Exact Eyelights

Rimmel The MAX Volume Flash wp Mascara, $6-$7 at Wal-Mart

Fiber bristles, not rubber

Took too long to dry and smeared on my upper lids.  :-(

Lashes got lengthened and totally straightened out

 I don't like this mascara at all!  Nope, nope, nope!  And here's why:

To be fair, I should probably note that since finding a mascara that works (CG Exact Eyelights wp) the bar has be reset and is now really really high!  So, I do apologize if my grading of the Rimmel mascara seems harsh considering that the actual performance seems about the same as the NYX Doll Eye wp mascara (1st battle, 2nd battle).  But you know what they say: once you find THE ONE, you can never go back, only forward!

In the words of the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel: "Onward ho!"

If you have a trick for working with this Rimmel mascara, please let me know! 

Blog Giveaway! [CLOSED]

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UPDATE: December 10, 2011

Blog Giveaway is now CLOSED!

Thanks everyone for your special entries and for sharing your stories.  

I have enjoyed reading them all!

I will announce the winner tomorrow night: December 12, 2011.

Have a great night!

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Halo!  This is my first blog giveaway ever and I'm really excited to do this!  First of all, I want to say a very big THANK YOU to my first 13 followers for liking my blog enough to follow it.  I also want to extend my gratitude to a good friend of mine, Sue Lynn, for helping me step out of my shy shell and for helping me find fun and possibilities in makeup, as well as for helping me get the word out about my giveaway.  ***So, if you haven't followed this chica's blog yet, do so now!***  :-D

And now, without further ado....

Giveaway Rules:

1.  Must be a public follower of this blog: kusanagigirlbeautyblog.blogspot.com

2.  One entry per subscriber.

3.  International OK!

4.  Please get your parents' permission if you are a minor (18 yrs in the USA).


What's the Prize?

Lancome Absolu Voyage - Rose Edition

Envie De Neuf sheet masks (various)
I have linked this picture to my review of this mask.  Click the picture to jump to the Product Review.

How You Can Enter for the Giveaway!

Leave a comment under this post with the following:

1.  Your follower name (please make sure that I will be able to message you through blogger, or leave a contact email for me with your entry or to my email kusanagigirl at gmail dot com)

2.  Answer: What is your favorite travel/vacation memory, and why?

3.  The winner will be chosen and contacted by me.  In the event that I don't get a response from the winner within a 24 hour period, I will move on to the runner-up.


:-D  See?  I'm easy to please.  LOL


Giveaway ends on December 10, 2011 at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time in Los Angeles, California.  ^_^

Good luck and thank you again for reading, following, and participating!

FOTD: December 1st Stila

Hi All! Here is a fotd that I'm enjoying today. Its suptle and work appropriate. The 3 e/s shades I used are gradient, which I learned from Sue Lynn.
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Mr. P bought me this Stila palette from Costco for under $20! The shades seem to be the size of dimes or pennies. I'm totally geeking out about this palette!
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Food for thought: This would make someone a pretty great Christmas present. For $20, you could be the person to inspire someone else's passion for makeup! If you live close to a Costco, check it out! :D
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Have a great day, chicas! ;)