Holiday Gift Guide ~ Eyeshadow Palettes

Are you going holiday shopping this weekend?
I love all the eye shadow palettes that come out for Christmas. 
In fact one of my absolute favorite gifts that I received last year was an eye shadow palette set that looked like chocolate bars, by Lorac. It was given to me by a former makeup student of mine, and I can honestly say I have used it almost every day for the past year.

So here is a look at some of the holiday palettes in the stores right now. Where possible I will put online shopping links with them.

Happy Shopping!

From Lorac

The Lorac Unzipped Palette
This is actually part of their normal collection, but is a fabulous combination of neutral mattes and shimmers that you will literally use year round. At $40 it's a bargain.

 The Pro Palette.
I have 2 of these, one in my pro makeup kit and one for use at home. Again it's a wonderful combination of colors, the top row is matte and the bottom row is shimmer. Only $42

From MAC

The MAC Keepsakes Limited Edition Smoky Face Palette

Three eyeshadows, one Iridescent Pressed Powder, a cream color base and 2 lipsticks.

The Keepsakes Natural Face Palette

Three eyeshadows, one iridescent powder, two lipsticks and a cream color base, all in neutral tones.

MAC Keepsakes

Gold Lip And Eye

This is just a really lovely color combination.

I would love one of these, and I think it makes a beautiful gift too.

From Trish McEvoy

Power of Makeup Collection ~Simply Gorgeous
This one is a super versatile collection of eyes, lips and cheeks that is great fro everyday makeup looks.


FromMakeup Forever

The Makeup Station
Makeup Forever simply cannot be beaten on quality. Their line is designed for makeup artists, and as such is all about quality, truth in color and longevity.
This case has 30 amazing products

A makeup artist’s set for creating backstage looks and glamorous holiday style with 30 iconic bestsellers for eyes, lips, and the complexion.

This ultimate Makeup Artist’s collection lets you create infinite looks for the holidays—and beyond. Featuring 30 professional must-haves for the makeup love, this set lets any artist explore and indulge in all the backstage essentials. Housed in a reusable, professional backstage Makeup Artist’s Case, this set includes primers, powders, eye, cheek and lip favorites, and Artisan Brushes.

This set contains:
- 1 HD Primer : 0 neutral
- 1 HD Blush : 210 cool pink
- 1 HD Pressed Powder
- 1 Mist & Fix
- 10 Artist Shadow eye shadows: ME-108 steel, I-544 pink granite, M-500 ivory, M-100 black, D-320 golden khaki, I-414 yellow ivory, ME-216 electric blue, D-236 lagoon blue,

M-630 sweet chestnut, ME-728 copper red
- 2 Artist Shadow blushes: S-748 coral, I-922 electric purple
- 1 Graphic Liner : vinyl black
- 2 Aqua Eyes : 21L dark grey, 25L matte brown
- 1 Smoky Extravagant mascara : black
- 1 Star Powder : 926 iridescent beige
- 1 Glitter : 3 iridescent white
- 1 Aqua Seal
- 1 Eyelashes : 156 Nude
- 2 Aqua Lip : 8C true red, 14C muted dusty rose
- 1 Rouge Artist Intense : 43 vibrant red
- 1 Aqua Rouge : 14 light rosewood
- 1 Precision Blush Brush 150
- 1 Precision Blender Brush 216

Reusable case that stores these 30 must-have products. Large mirror included.
 

From YSL

The Yves Saint Laurent "Wildly Gold" Palette
$95 from Nordstrom.com
Order link here

Christmas Party Makeup Tips

 I absolutely love Christmas parties! 

Or to be politically correct, holiday parties.

With party season in full swing here are some tips for the perfect Christmas party makeup.

 1. It all starts with your complexion.
Make sure your skin is exfoliated and well hydrated, and then use a silicone based foundation to give the skin a lumious quality. Powdery foundations and crushed mineral foundations seldom make the skin glow - they normally make it dull.

2. Add a little luminizer.
Run a small amount of luminizer along the top of the cheekbone and up through the temple area. They idea is to give light something to pop off, not to make the skin look glittery or frosty.

Catarina Lopez by Eric Cassee
Makeup Corinna Cooke
Hair Will Zecco

3. Accent the brow.
Add some definition and accent to the brow, to waken the eye and add some drama.
NOTE: this does not mean do an instagram squared brow. They look ridiculous. Need a good brow model to emulate? Look at Dita Von Teese - girlfriend invariably gives good brow.

Dita gives good brow...

4. Line your upper eyelid.
A winged eyeliner is perfect for a Christmas party. Use a cream/gel formula and a crisp, precise brush to create a defined eye. Finish your look with multiple coats of mascara and some outer corner lashes.

5. Choose a matte red lip.
Offset your glowing complexion, defined brow and gently accented eye with a full blown gorgeous, bold red matte lip. 
I love blue based reds at Christmas time, such as MAC Ruby Woo or Lime Crime Velveteen Red Velvet
If you can't wear a blue based red, use your regular red lipstick, but give it some extra depth by using a darker liner.

Alana Bunte For Vogue Mexico

Model Alana Bunte takes to the great outdoors for the December 2014 issue of Vogue Mexico.

Lensed in Peru by photographer Alexander Neumann, the brunette beauty bundles up in texture laden outerwear. Her boyish hair is offset perfectly and with glorious restraint by makeup artist Sergio Corvacho

Outdoors Beauty

8 Perfect Hostess Gifts

I adore party season.
And I adore being a great guest. 
One of the keys to being a great guest is thinking out a really fabulous hostess gift. 
You should never show up empty handed, and a bottle of wine or flowers sometimes just say you grabbed something last minute, or didn't bother to think ahead.
So I like to stock up on hostess gifts throughout the year, and always be ready.

Here is a list of 8 Perfect Hostess Gifts

The Diptique Baies Candle.
I've loved this candle for more years than I care to count. It smells like a bouquet of roses wrapped in blackcurrent leaves, and frankly, is totally luxurious.

Tatcha Kokoro Golden Lip Gift Set
Everything from Tatcha is divine. Their packaging alone makes everything feel like the most unique and special gift, even when you are just buying your own skincare products.
I absolutely love Camellia Oil in lip products, and the combination of the Camellia lip balm and the gold mirror makes for the loveliest hostess gift (or bridesmaids gift).
Order at Tatcha.com

Tory Burch Soap Set
I love Tory Burch. 
And I love these soaps. It's a set of 4 blush colored soaps wrapped in signature Tory prints.
The soaps are beautifully fragranced and are lovely to receive.

Carine Roitfeld Irreverent
I'm just fascinated with former Vogue Paris Editor Carine Roitfeld.
Karl Lagerfeld once said "if you close your eyes and imagine the perfect Parisian woman, it would be Carine Roitfeld"
She is the epitome of style, and this glorious coffee table book is a visual history of her ever exciting career.
Coffee table books make wonderful gifts.

Mini Macarons By LeilaLove Macarons
I love Macarons. They always make me think of fun times in Paris. Macarons are always a wonderful gift, and this gift set is not only lovely, but also very affordable.

The sleek, modern lines of the Savino Wine Saver Carafe make it a very chic hostess gift, as well as a very useful one. The carafe is designed to presere left over wine, keeping it fresh for up to a week. It's incredibly clever - the float seals the wine, keeping oxygen out and all the flavor in.

Indieflix: Film Festival In A Box is about as cool and unique as it gets. Each box holds 4 short, indie films. The idea is that you get a bunch of friends over, hold your own mini film fest (the films each run 10-20 minutes) and then everyone votes on their fave. You go on the website and report in the results. How fun is that?
Read more about Indieflix Film Festival In a Box here

Cocoa and Hearts Lipstick Dots Notecards by Jen Ramos for 
Made By Girl
I love Jen's Made By Girl prints, and actually have several in my home office and around my house. The prints themselves make great gifts, especially for stylish, fashion forward girls, and Jen also has a fabulous selection of notecards and journals. Find them here at MadeByGirl.com

Indieflix: Film Festival In A Box

I think this is the most fabulous gift idea!
As a hostess gift, as a Christmas gift, as an anything gift, how much fun would this be to receive?? And how totally cool will you look giving it? Check out Indieflix: Film Festival In A Box

Film Festival In a Box takes the concept of a bookclub to a whole new level, or makes the coolest soiree in town. You order a box within a specific genre - comedy, love, zombies - there are many options, and receive 4 short indie films. The idea is that as a group you watch them then vote on your favorite and submit the results on Indieflix.com
Indie film makers get much needed exposure and you get to see films that pretty much no one outside of the film industry gets to see.

I also love that it provides a money making vehicle for the film makers, as they get to keep the rights to their work.
Read more below, and check out the video from The Daily Grommet too.

Brilliant.

Indieflix

Film Festival in a Box

FILM FESTIVAL IN A BOX

Scilla Andreen wears many hats: mom, entrepreneur, film director, producer and award winning costume designer. Through her latest project, called Film Festival in a Box, Scilla works tirelessly to make people aware of the thousands of independent films that are created each year but never get shared with us. She’s changing the way short films are distributed by letting indie filmmakers keep the rights to their movies while also generating revenue for their creative work.

For us, it’s a chance to see “shorts” that very few people outside the film industry get a chance to enjoy. “What I really love about this concept is that you get to see raw talent,” says Adrian Gill, who tested Film Festival in a Box for us. The films haven’t been sterilized by Hollywood, and their imperfections make them even more engaging.

We think Film Festival in a Box is a fun, easy way for movie lovers to screen independent films and spark lively, thoughtful discussions and a great excuse to invite friends over, pop some popcorn and play the role of movie critic.

If your book club could use a change of pace, why not mix things up and host a movie night? Each DVD contains four films, each are between 8 and 14 minutes. Choose from any of the available genres, then settle in and enjoy the show!

— Ann

Check out this video from The Daily Grommet:

6 Gift List Ideas For Cyber Monday

Here comes Cyber Monday!
Do you have your list ready? 
This crazily expensive year means it's going to be a super lean Christmas, but making lists is fun anyway, so here are 

6 Cool Gadgets To Put On Your Cyber Monday Shopping List

1. A Nespresso Machine

I love espresso and I love the look of this Nespresso Chrome
 Vertuoline 



2.Glo Brilliant Personal Teeth Whitening Device

You just can't beat a sparkling white smile.
The Glo Brilliant Personal Teeth Whitening Device lets you whitene your teeth at home with blue light technology instead of harsh peroxides. 



3. The Clarisonic Pedi

I swear by the Clarisonic face cleaning system and have done literally for years. And of course everyone loves the Sonicare Toothbrush. 
Now I want to add the Clarisonic Pedi to my collection and keep my feet in perfect just-had-a-pedi-smoothness.

From the Clarisonic website enter the promo code CYBERWKND
to get a 20% discount on all Clarisonic devices.


4. Talika Cream Booster

Doesn't it look like some kind of space age torture device??
The Talika Cream Booster uses microcurrent, phototherapy and vibration technologies to help your skin care penetrate deeper and work more effectively. It feels fabulous too!



5. The PaloVia Skin Renewing Laser

The PaloVia Skin Renewing Laser is an FDA approved home laser system to treat fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes.
The results are spectacular! (see before and afters on Gouldylox blog here)


6. Apple TV

I hardly watch any TV, but I've been meaning to get Apple TV for ages. Maybe I will actually get around to buying one this year. 

The Resurgence Of The Podcast: Serial And Other Binge Worthy Podcasts~ Via Vogue.com

I have been hearing so much about Serial lately (especially via Lainey), and then saw this article on Vogue.com
I love the idea of the world tuning in to podcasts. When I first started learning Italian I used to listen to podcasts, but in the interim it seems that I somehow managed to forget about them. 
I'm now geekily excited to be part of Vogue's podcast resurgence.

If you would like to join the tribe, check out this article from Vogue.com, and join in on the listening action.

The Great Podcast Resurgence: Serial and 7 Others to Binge-Listen to Now

NOVEMBER 25, 2014 9:00 AMby PATRICIA GARCIA AND ELIZABETH BROCKWAY

It seems we can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about Serial, the new spin-off of This American Life that has quickly become the most popular podcast of all time, according to Apple (it’s the fastest-ever to reach five million downloads on iTunes). In the series, veteran TAL producer Sarah Koenig tries to uncover the truth about the 1999 murder of a Baltimore high school student named Hae Min Lee and the cloud of doubt hanging over the subsequent conviction of Lee’s former boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who has maintained his innocence throughout nearly fifteen years of incarceration. With Koenig reporting in real time, the show has the narrative arc of a good crime drama, the intrigue of a real-life murder mystery, and a fan base so strong that a subreddit dedicated to the whodunit has more than 17,000 subscribers—and as a result of the series, the Innocence Project at the UVA School of Law has taken up Syed’s case. (The show has also sparked a very heated debate about white reporter privilege.) At once a throwback to the serialized radio broadcasts of the thirties and a relative of our contemporary TV epics, Serial is only the latest and most sensationally popular example of a rich and varied podcast resurgence underway. Here, our guide to seven other podcasts you should download now.

Criminal

Fans of Serial will be drawn to Criminal, a monthly series that tells the real stories behind unbelievable crimes from either the point of view of the victim or the perpetrator. Think of it as a condensed, audio-only, true-crime version of Law & Order on your phone.

The Truth

This series created by public radio sound designer and composer Jonathan Mitchell, now in its third year, produces ten- to twenty-minute fictional stories not unlike the old-timey radio dramas of yore. Or, as its website describes them, “Movies for your ears.”

Radio Diaries

This podcast produced by Joe Richman features the stories of everyday people (a corrections officer, a teen mom, a bus driver) through first-person diaries and re-enacted narration. Lately, Richman has been catching up with five people who, sixteen years ago, recorded their daily experiences as teenagers and shared them with the world, and whose present-day updates are fascinating.

99% Invisible

Anyone obsessed with the nuances of design and architecture will appreciate this smart podcast created by Roman Mars, exploring, among other subjects, the story behind the Ouija board’s layout, the best way to “hack” and redesign Ikea furniture, and the reasons why seemingly every designer has had a love affair with the chair.

Nerdist

Hosted by Chris Hardwick (with frequent appearances by comics Jonah Ray andMatt Mira), Nerdist features loose interviews with high-profile guests, in which they talk about their lives, careers, and usually some aspect of nerd culture—the new Star Wars films, The Walking Dead, and, of course, comic books.

Stuff You Should Know

For explanations of everything from how Twinkies are made to the electoral-college system, turn to Stuff You Should Know, a podcast brought to you byHow Stuff Works and cohosted by the charming and hilarious, albeit slightly geeky, Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant.

Longform

Hosted by editors Aaron Lammer, Max Linsky, and Evan Ratliff, this podcast provides an inside look at the publishing industry. Hear the writers behind some of your favorite New Yorker, New York Times, and Vanity Fair bylines discuss their career paths, morning routines, and why they chose to get into writing in the first place.