HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I promised the occasional cupcake on this blog and I'm not one to disappoint!  If you're like me and staying home on Halloween night, at least make or go buy yourself some festive cupcakes! :)

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PINUP COSTUME

This year I'm totally boring and have zero plans for Halloween.  So in place of a new costume tutorial, I figured I'd do a little reminiscing tonight and look back at a favorite costume of the past!

I have always adored the pinup look.  Something about women of that era....they always look so classy and gorgeous!  So when I was completely costume-less a few years back, I decided to channel my best "Bettie Page" style.

The look is really simple to get - so if you're looking for a last-minute costume maybe you can consider it!  There are literally tons of YouTube tutorials on pinup hair and makeup.

Anywho, I watched Sarah Walker's Dita Von Teese video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2p1BNKid-k) about a hundred times and imitated it the best I could.  To be honest, if you have a pencil skirt, red lipstick & heels, and a great winged eyeliner, you can nail this look so easily!

About a month ago I tried to revamp this look for a photo shoot, but this time I changed up the hair a little.  Here is the tutorial I used - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkiYhExw3kM  Mine didn't turn out nearly as good as hers, but maybe you will have better luck!

Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone has a fun and safe night! xo!

CHANNEL UPDATE

I feel like I've been babbling for weeks about doing videos - and that's because I have!  Well, today I ordered a new laptop (finally!) as an early birthday gift to myself, and supposedly it comes with a great camera so as soon as it gets here I will definitely be creating my YouTube channel and starting to vlog!  I am super excited!  Thanks to everyone who has offered to help me get started!  I will most definitely be taking you up on that :)

Stay tuned!

MAGNETIC MAKEUP BOARD HOW-TO

A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo tour of my teeny, tiny bathroom to show some ideas I had for maximizing small spaces when you have a lot of beauty products.  A few people were interested in the step-by-step instructions for the magnetic makeup board, so here it is as promised!

I first discovered this one on Pinterest last year...

So here's the dealio. You'll need something magnetic - like a piece of sheet metal. (I've even seen these boards made with cookie sheets!)  You can find sheet metal at most home improvement stores like Lowe's or Home Depot.  Buy it in a size that will fit in a standard photo frame, or have it trimmed down to size.  

Then you'll want to purchase a photo frame.  Try to find one that already has hooks on the back for hanging. You could even get an unfinished wooden frame and give it that "antique" look (like the one above) using paint. I went the easy route and just used a plain black plastic frame.

Also, you'll need something to cover the metal.  I improvised and used a damask pattern gift wrap from Michael's.  Probably not the greatest idea because it can tear so easily, so I definitely suggest something more durable like fabric.  

And finally, get yourself some small heavy duty magnets.

Basically you'll just want to cover the entire metal sheet with a large piece of fabric.  Stretching the material over the front of the metal, pull the corners tightly over the back and hot glue them down. (I used tape since I went with gift wrap.)  Give the glue a couple seconds to dry and then pop the covered piece of metal into your frame, secure, and hang!  

Use just a little dab of hot glue to apply the magnets to the back of your makeup containers and voila!  Attach them to the front of your board.  

Here is my final product...

I also took an old pill bottle, washed it out, covered it with zebra print tape and glued a magnet to the back of it.  Then I stored some of my smaller eyeshadow brushes in it.  I've also seen this done with baby food jars and plastic cups.  The possibilities are endless!

You can find lots of different variations of these boards if you Google or search Pinterest for "magnetic makeup board".  So many great ideas have surfaced since I did mine, so I'm actually thinking of re-doing it soon!

TOP PICK FOR A TOP COAT

Random fact of the day about me.....I'm impatient.  Very, very impatient.

I don't like waiting on anyone or anything.  And that includes my nail polish.  I can't sit still for very long, which has always resulted in me having the worst smudged up nails.  Drove me crazy until I discovered China Glaze's Fast Forward Top Coat!

This is my favorite nail product EVER!  It's amazing.  It gives my polish a perfect shine and literally dries my nails within a minute or two of application.  I've tried the Sally Hansen version, Insta-Dri, but it doesn't even compare.  I really didn't even notice much of a difference than a regular top coat.

China Glaze Fast Forward sells for around $6.50 at Sally's Beauty, and Insta-Dri for $4 at the drugstore.  I highly recommend dishing out the few extra bucks and getting the better product :)  You won't ever use anything else!

STATIC GOT YOU DOWN?

I don't know about you, but this time of year when the weather starts getting cold, I get CRAZY hair static.  I end up looking like I just got finished playing in an electrical outlet most days!  I've battled this problem for years - tried a few home remedies and sprays - no luck.

Last year the sales lady at Ulta was sweet enough to suggest a product that finally worked for me.  It's an anti-static spray from Alterna.

After blow drying my hair, I spray my entire head with it, give it a few seconds to dry, then style as usual.  It lasts quite a while - generally a whole work day for me, but I do like to carry it with me and re-spray if needed.

I just dug my can out of the cabinet this weekend as I'm noticing more static, so I figured I'd share since some of you may also be battling this hair annoyance.  I think I bought this for around $14 and it's definitely worth every penny!

VERY BERRY

In addition to my Hit the Deco necklace, Friday night I also tried out my mark Make it Rich Lip Color Crayon in Royale.  I blogged about these a while back and ordered two of my own afterwards, Hey Honey and Royale.  To be honest, the Hey Honey shade just didn't look that great on me.  But my natural lip color is weird, so a lot of colors just don't look as good on me as they do on other people.  I first saw Ashley Greene (mark's brand ambassador) wearing Royale in this photo, and I really wanted to try it.  I love everything about her entire look!

Darker bold lips are big this season, but I'm someone who generally wears a nude lip and stays away from darker shades.  Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised with the Royale shade.  It's really rich and I think it looks amazing on any skin tone.  

If you love Ashley's look as much as I do, I'm including the face chart at the bottom of this post which lists everything she's wearing on her face.  I also purchased the Dollhouse blush to wear with the lip crayon and it's a gorgeous color for Fall as well!

If you are interested in purchasing the lip color crayons, they are for sale at my eBoutique.

#NOTD

As often as I change my polish, I should probably start posting a #NOTD (nails of the day)!  Loving my current pairing of Sephora's Don't Feed the Hand Models polish with NYC's Starry Silver Glitter.

I'm not sure if Sephora still carries this shade (I bought it last December), but I compared Revlon's Bare Bones to it last week and it's very similar.

MARIO BADESCU SKINCARE

If you're reading this blog, chances are you've also watched Kandee Johnson's YouTube tutorials.  One night I was watching one of her videos and she mentioned a Mario Badescu skincare product.  I had never heard of M.B. so when I visited Ulta for the first time, I made sure to check out their line.  WOW.  Holy smokes, there was sooooo much - it was overwhelming.  I was in the market for a good night moisturizer, so I bought the M.B. Protein Night Cream.  It's amazing stuff that I swear by, but honestly I never made it back around to buying anything else they had because I had no clue what was right for my skin or what half of it was meant for.

So a few weeks ago I visited their website just to see if there was any information on the products.  Again. I felt totally overwhelmed.  I noticed they had a "skin care analysis" questionnaire, so I clicked through the question in hopes they would point me in the right direction.  They did just that - and more!  Once you complete the questions, they provide you with a customized list of the products that are right for you.  And they don't stop there... Then they ask if you'd like free samples of each, to which you're going to reply YES, of course!

My package came in the mail from them about a week or so later and I was so amazed!  Not only were the samples in there, but also a customized guide just for me - which products I should use, when, and why.  AND instructions for how to properly apply each.  AND a complete listing of all their products!

For me, they recommended Hydro Moisturizer with Vitamin C, Seaweed Night Cream, Buffering Lotion, Kiwi Face Scrub, Special Cucumber Lotion, Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream, Enzyme Cleansing Gel, and Cucumber Tonic Mask.

The company is incredible and I think they've definitely gained a fan for life in me.  I haven't used all of my samples yet, but I most definitely will and I'll be sure to share my opinions here afterwards.  I will say, the prices may be a *little* bit higher than what you would normally pay at the drug store for skincare, but everything I've used has been totally worth the few extra bucks.

So if you're interested in also taking the skin care analysis and receiving free samples, here's the link! http://www.mariobadescu.com/Questionnaire.aspx

Have fun! xo

MORE DRUGSTORE GOODIES

Pretty soon my husband is going to stop letting me venture out into the world by myself.  I seem to always come back with a bag full of beauty goodies!  Yesterday I was able to cross the rest of the items off of my list from @MakeupByAlli (http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupByAlli)  Yay!

I was headed to Walgreen's, but decided to stop at Kmart since I hadn't been there in a long time.  Wow, the one in our area has really stepped up their beauty section!  I couldn't believe I found all the products Target didn't have.  I wasn't going to do this post, but I found some amazzzzzzing polishes and just had to share them with someone!

I'm way too excited over this gorgeous blue and purple glitter polish!  I've never heard of the brand, Jordana, but I couldn't leave without buying a few of these because they were just too pretty for words and only $1.99!  The pictures don't even do these justice.  This first one is called LA City Nights.

This second one is a mix of glitter, but predominantly red which I thought would be perfect for the upcoming Christmas season!  (Can you believe there's only 57 days left?!) 

The next one has the precision brush, so it would work great for applying glitter to just your tips.  I've been looking for a cheaper copperish-orangish glitter, so I was ecstatic to find this one!  It's also from Jordana and was $1.99!

And of course I couldn't pass up a new Essie color.  It looks a little lighter in this photo, but it's a dark fuchsia color called Big Spender. A little more expensive than the others, priced around $7.

I'm always on the hunt for new lipstick shades.  All my life I've been a gloss girl, so I'm excited to find lipsticks that I love just as much. @MakeupByAlli recommended these two recently, Revlon Colorburst in Soft Nude (left) and Revlon Super Lustrous in Pink Pout (right).  I like my pink shades to be really subtle and Pink Pout fits the bill!  It's matte, which you already know I love!  I'm always trying new nude shades, so I'll have to let you know how I like Soft Nude.  I've heard a lot of buzz about it from other blogs, so I am sure it won't disappoint!

The other two items I bought were eye products - Loreal Lineur Intense brush tip eyeliner and Wet 'n Wild eyeshadow trio in Walking on Eggshells.  

Brandie from http://www.youtube.com/user/XObrandieBabeXO always has the most GORGEOUS eyeliner and eye makeup, so I'm going to try out her favorite Loreal brush tip liner.  Fingers crossed mine looks even remotely as good as hers always does!

Alli vlogged about the Wet 'n Wild shadow trio, so I'm excited to try it as well!  

Let me know if you have tried any of these products and what you love (or hate) about them!  Have a fabulous Sunday lovelies! :) xo

MATTE NAILS

My love of matte lipstick is no secret, and now I have a new favorite matte product to share...nail polish!

Over the summer, I bought this matte polish from Avon because it was on clearance for $1.99, but never used it.  Now that Fall is here, I feel better about having darker nails so last weekend I finally broke it out!

First I have to say, matte black polish looks amazing all by itself. If I hadn't had just purchased the gold glitter  polish, I probably would've left it as-is.  But, I did opt to jazz it up a little with shiny black tips and gold glitter on my ring fingers. (Excuse my paint job - if you've seen my other polish posts, you know I suck at painting!)

Matte black from Avon, China Glaze in Leather, and gold glitter from e.l.f.

HIT THE DECO

I feel terrible that I haven't been able to keep up with mark promos and product reviews the past couple weeks.  But there are still a few hours left to score a FREE Hit the Deco necklace from my eBoutique with a $70 purchase.  I wore mine for the first time tonight and really love it!  So chic and goes with just about anything in my wardrobe!

A LITTLE TARGET HAUL

I've been cooped up in my house all week so tonight I desperately NEEDED to get out!  And, well, things got a little wild....at Target!  ha! No but really, I picked up some super cute things at super awesome prices!

Not the best iPhone picture, so I'll tell you what's there.  First off, the item I'm most excited about, the snow leopard skinnies!  I went crazy when I spotted these on the clearance rack.  Are you ready for this? .....................  $11.98!  Ahhhh!  HAD to get them.  I have no idea what shirt or shoes I'll wear with them, but nevertheless, I have them! :D

Also grabbed that cute pink and gold shirt from the clearance rack.  I'll probably just wear it to bed, but it just looked cozy and cute so into the cart it went!

And now, the beauty stuff...  I took a list with me, mostly because I've been writing down things from Alli's YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/MakeupByAlli, but unfortunately I only found a couple of her suggestions.  Her lashes always look incredible, so I bought the mascara she's been using in her recent vids, Maybelline's One by One Volum Express.  So excited to try it out tomorrow.  The wand is super cool and really different from the ones I normally use.  Also from Maybelline, I picked up Expert Wear eye shadow in Linen.  It makes a great base shade for the eye or can double as a highlighter for your cheekbones, etc.  The other two items are from e.l.f.  A fan brush (only 3 bucks!) and their Golden Bronzer (also just $3!).

And last but not least, Taylor Swift's new CD!  Can't even believe I didn't get it before today.  

That's about it for my Target trip tonight.  I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in the rest - cleaning supplies and K-cups lol

I LOVE FALL

To be honest, it's been a stressful day and I just need something fun to occupy my mind right now, so I decided to take the "I Love Fall" tag that I've seen floating around onYouTube and turn it into a blog!

1) My favorite Fall lip product
I'm not sure why, but I've worn nothing but Revlon's Sassy Mauve lipstick this month.  But I'm also in love with bold plum lips for Fall so another favorite is Royale from mark.

2) My favorite Fall nail polish
Ah, so hard to pick just one because I'm obsessed with nail polish.  I'll go with matte black because I used it for the first time last night and I'm totally digging it!  It looks great alone, or with a glitter coat on top.

3) My favorite Starbucks Fall drink
No brainer.....pumpkin spice latte!

4) My favorite Fall candle
Well, I'm more of a Scentsy girl and no longer use candles.  My favorite Fall scentsy is Buckleberry!  Smells sooo delicious!

5) My favorite Fall Scarf or accessory
Right now it would have to be my leopard print scarf :)

6) Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?
I'm really not a fan of any.... I don't like "fake" haunted houses...but REAL haunted house do intrigue me.

7) My favorite Halloween movie
Hmm...I'm really not a fan of movies that are too scary.  I'm a wimp!  I do like Nightmare Before Christmas though.

8) My favorite candy to eat on Halloween
Reese cups!  I'm a chocolate fiend.

9) What are you dressing up as for Halloween
My plans were to be Catwoman, but it doesn't look like I have any big plans this year so I guess I'm just being myself! :)

10) What is your favorite thing about Fall?
The weather!  I love the in-between Summer and Winter temperatures - not too hot, not too cold.  It's just perfect!

MIA

Just in case anyone is wondering where I am or why I'm not posting any of the requests I've received... I promise I'm not ignoring! Thanks to Frontier, my Internet and landline have been down all week and that's no bueno for a telecommuter! Plus it happens at the worst possible time as I'm leading a major project for work.

Anywho, for the next week or so I'll be completely immersed in my work, but I will be back very soon with your requests! I am anxious to try doing a couple videos...my firsts...eek! I'm planning to do one all about hair extensions, and maybe a few others on skincare and a couple new products I'm trying. Also I'm going to blog the steps for making one of the magnetic makeup boards I talked about in my bathroom post, since a few people asked about that.

Also, I did a little Target and Sally's shopping tonight so I'm excited to share my thoughts on the goodies I picked up!

I'm blogging from my phone at the moment and this is for the birds!  So I'll catch up with everyone real soon!

Xoxo!!

MY TEENY TINY BATHROOM TOUR

"And THIS is where the magic happens..."

A lot of people like to describe their bedroom that way, but I'm going to describe my bathroom that way!  Unfortunately, I am not one of those girls who wakes up looking like a million bucks.  So my bathroom is the place I rely on each day to transform myself from zombie girl to glam girl!

When we first moved into our house, I was not thrilled with the size of my bathroom at all.  Call me crazy, but I let my husband have the larger bathroom. Only because the smaller one was connected to the master bedroom, and I figured guests wouldn't venture into that one as often and see all of my makeup messiness!

But even so, I had no idea how I was going to make this space work for me.  My bathroom in our previous home was 3x the size!  So I decided I would just have to make the most of the super small area and jazz it up the best I could!

This first picture was taken shortly after we moved in.  Kind of blah... flat white paint, no shelving, just a small sink & countertop and a small cabinet underneath.

First things first, I had to have some color!  I had purchased the Britney picture before we moved in, and thought it would be cool to plan the rest of the decor around it.  I don't care if it's weird - love me some Britney!

I was able to match up paint pretty closely with the background color of the Britney picture.  I don't remember the name of the paint - but it's GORGEOUS!  It's a deep mauve-ish red color and I really haven't seen it in any other homes.  The rest of our house is pretty neutral, so I think people are always kind of shocked when they see this color in my bathroom.

I replaced the original mirror because it was the standard, plain, rectangle eyesore. I found this oval one with a black frame at TJ Maxx for less than $30.  It's a little smaller, but looks a million times better!

The little black & white box on top of the organizer in the above photo came from Target.  You would be surprised the cute things they have in that little $2 section!  I can always find a good use for things like that!

My brush holder is actually something I just added this past weekend.  I got the idea from Pinterest and thought it was a neat way to store makeup brushes.  Make a quick trip to Michael's and grab a clear vase and glass marbles or vase filler.  Easy and elegant!

Shortly after we painted, I bought the over-the-toilet shelf with an attached cabinet to gain some extra storage space for perfumes and polishes and things like that. I think I found this white one at Walmart or Kmart for around $60.

My biggest issue has been the extremely small counter space.  With barely 6 or 7 inches on both sides of the sink, there isn't much room for makeup, hair tools, and all the other products a girl needs at her fingertips.  After a really long search, I found this mini plastic drawer organizer at Target.  It's great for makeup and holds all of my foundation, blush, shadows, lipsticks, mascaras, and pencils. Of course it doesn't hold my entire arsenal, so I just keep my every day essentials in there, and the rest goes under the sink cabinet.

Another Pinterest idea and total space saver - the magnetic makeup board!  This was one of the very first things I pinned and actually attempted to make myself.  It turned out okay - but I am planning to re-vamp it very soon.  The idea is genius though!  You just cover a magnetic board, frame it, then buy little magnets to attach to the backs of your products - voila!  No need for a lot of counter space when your makeup hangs on the wall!  Not to mention, i-mark eyeshadows come in a little magnetic pan, so they are PERFECT for this idea.  You can buy them at my eBoutique, http://www.mymarkstore.com/nikkichapman

So that's my bathroom!  Nothing too over-the-top or fancy, but hopefully it gives you a couple of ideas if you also share the pain of a small bathroom!

FOUR EYES FOLLOW UP!

So I just realized I never did a follow up on my whole new glasses ordeal.  I posted pictures of Kandee Johnson a few weeks ago because I was so in love with the glasses she wore in one of her older videos.  I couldn't figure out the brand or anything, so I just took the photos with me to the eye doctor and prayed they had something similar!

What I ended up with isn't exact, but they are as close as I could get.  And sadly, I don't even know the name of these because they were just some random off-brand.  But they're cute, and I may actually wear these out in public, which I've NEVER done with any of my previous glasses.  I wish mine were a little skinnier, like Kandee's, but they'll do for now :)

Sorry for the crappy iPhone picture.

CHINA GLAZE: INGRID

I've had this polish for a while, but finally used it yesterday and I must say, it's a really great Fall color!  It's from China Glaze and is called Ingrid.  I usually shy away from brown shades on my nails, but for some reason I don't mind this one.  It's not too dark, and it kind of reminds me of milk chocolate!  It goes with a lot of the outfits and colors I wear this time of year, so I have a feeling I'll be wearing it a lot more in the months to come.  I picked mine up at Sally's, but you can find it anywhere China Glaze is sold.

I'm planning to do another blog (or maybe a video!) on some of my favorite polishes really soon.  I've been doing a little photography on the side, which has taken up most of my free time lately, but I'm just about finished up with that so I'll have lots more time to devote to my blog and/or video channel.  Stay tuned! :)

xo!

FIRST VIDEO TUTORIAL

I've caught the video bug... I've really been wanting to make a tutorial, although I find webcams to feel so unnatural and weird!  But I may give it a shot anyway...  A lot of people have asked how I do my eye makeup, so I may start there. But if you have any other requests, I'm open!

xo

JUST A LITTLE REMINDER

It's so easy to get carried away and sucked into politics during election season.  I'm definitely guilty.  I saw this on Instagram last night and it stuck with me, so I wanted to share :)

COLORED SKINNIES

I follow some "tall girl" Twitter accounts and I noticed one of them tweeted about skinnies not being available in tall sizes.  Totally agree, but I have lucked out a few times and found some that actually are long enough!

This first pair I actually found at JCPenney's, of all places.  I've never purchased jeans there before (because they would never fit) but when these neon peach ones caught my eye, I had to at least try.  I was so ecstatic over how well they fit!  These pictures don't even do them justice....the color is so pretty!  They're made by a.n.a. and sell for just $27.  What's not to love about that?

These green ones are one of my favorite pairs of jeans EVER.  They are from Emerson Edwards and are a little more pricey than the first pair, but totally worth it.  They fit me perfectly and are so comfy!  I first wore these for a Vault Denim photo shoot and loved them so much I had to get a pair for myself.  They come in lots of gorgeous colors, but I just adored the green ones.  If you're interested, leave a comment on this post and I'll get you in touch with the rep!

TALK IS CHIC PHONE CASE

New favorite accessory!  The mark Talk is Chic iPhone case!  I rarely use a purse anymore, so I absolutely love phone/wallet wristlets.  Grab and go is my motto and these cases make it super easy to carry just your necessities with you.  This one in particular holds the iPhone 4s (and has a protective cover), has three credit card slots, includes a detachable strap, AND comes with two mini Glow Baby Glow lip glosses!  It's made of faux leather with sequin embellishments.  Practical and classy!  Not to mention it's only $18 at my eBoutique, http://www.mymarkstore.com/nikkichapman

Here are a couple photos of mine...

And one more photo from my eBoutique, which is a little better quality...