Never Lose Hope (Inspiration for the heart and soul)

I apologize for being MIA for the past few days but I needed some time alone to think and reflect on certain aspects of life. Anyways before I get started, this post is not about makeup so whether you chose to read or not is entirely up to you.

I think we can all agree that life has its ups and downs and everyone had their share of failure and success. I keep reminding myself that regardless of the outcome, each experience is a stepping stone.
I had my share of struggles and disappointments but for a few years I was able to keep my life balanced and I was actually content. Of course, there are still many goals and expectations that I am taking forever to reach and sometimes uncertainties are difficult to deal with.

Lately, the voices in my head were starting to distort my faith and the obstacle that stood before me never felt this insuperable. It didn't take long for me to succumb to expectations, limitations, and stress. I slowly pulled away and distract myself with my blog, Luuux, and shopping. Finally one day, I decided that I couldn't take it anymore, I let everything go and that's when I realized how empty I felt...How hopeless, I was. It was such a devastating feeling to have nothing left to hope for. I've stopped believing in everything that I fought and bled for because I was afraid. I was so defeated with fear that it took the best of me. It made me doubt in myself and distrust in others.

I consulted my Conscience for wisdom and he said to me "my dear, wisdom can only give you direction but Faith will take you to your destination. And Faith only resides in your heart." So I searched restlessly and deeper into my soul and beneath the darkness I found my Heart. He was still there, beating silently in my chest in spite of the fact that I ignored his presence. I apologized to my Heart "I am so sorry, I have forsaken you. I realize now how much I need you in my life!" And he replied calmly "don't worry, I'm ok. You are strong and I know you will find a way to carry on. I will always be here for you."

I found a token of Hope that my friend gave me not long ago. Amazingly, it is shaped like my heart. I decided to stick it to something that is always by my side so I glued it to my cellphone case that way I am always reminded that I have Hope in my Heart. My cellphone is also my lifeline and means of communication to my sweetheart. So I like how we are all intertwined this way :)

Get one for yourself or give one to someone who might need it. My friend said she got it from the dollar store. It's such a simple yet powerful and spiritual reminder than Faith is the fuel you need in life.
Sometimes we get so disappointed in ourselves for the things we don't have that we take for granted the beautiful things we have right in front of us. Don't forget to listen to your heart. He is the keeper of your Faith.

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Chanel Peridot Nail Colour Swatches

When I first laid eyes on this polish, I knew I fell in love and when I first swatched it, I knew I had to have it. I've never been this excited or impressed by a nail polish before. Sure I have a few that I really love but these Chanel polishes had me at hello, lol. If I start to sound infatuated, you know I'm in love.
Peridot is another unique and stunning shade Chanel created for their fall 2011 collection, which is limited edition. With that said, this won't be around forever.
The formula is very pigmented and smooth. When I swatched the color on my nails, I was instantly blown away! The color is a gorgeous gold with olive and green undertone. The color is very shimmery but it doesn't just stop there. There is so much depth and dimension in this polish in part due do the somewhat light green duo-chrome. If you look at my swatches you can see that the light green just "glows" along the edge of my nails. What a freaking amazing effect! I swear, I can't take my eyes off of it. I'm actually very surprised my camera did such a great job at capturing its beauty.
This polish has all the qualities you'd want in a polish....amazing color pay off and outstanding quality. Well worth the price in my opinion. Speaking of price, this is the first time I've ever paid this much on a single nail polish. It was hard at first but I knew wouldn't be able to get over it if I had gone home without it. Had I only seen pictures of it, I would most likely just lust for it but seeing in person was a total different experience.

I dare you to swatch it on your nails and tell me you did not like it one bit. I've never been this impressed and I am not usually impressed easily. Ok, enough said...enjoy the show and let me know if this polish managed to work its magic on you.

 Indoor, artificial light

 Indoor, artificial light

 Indoor, flash

 Indoor, natural light

 Indoor, natural light

Indoor, natural light

So...I wanna know what you think now? Love it or leave it? Just pretend you like it even if you don't or you'll crap my mood, lol.

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Chanel Graphite Nail Colour Swatches

Hi everyone,

I'm really excited to show you swatches of my new Chanel Fall 2011 nail polish. It is now available and limited edition so if you like it get it while you can!

Graphite is a beautiful silvery/pewter gray. It has lots of green, gold, and silver shimmers/micro glitters. This polish didn't photograph as well as Peridot and the pictures I took really doesn't do it justice. You have to see this one in person in order to really appreciate its beauty. The color of this polish was created to mimic the look of the stone graphite, hence the name graphite.
As far as the formula goes, it's quite pigmented and you can get a nice opaque and even application in 2 coats. It applies like a dream and dries fairly quick.
The brush is round and just the perfect size. It holds and distribute the nail color very well. As far as how long this will last on your nails, I can't comment on it since I have not tested it for that.
The quality and color of this polish is outstanding! Something you would expect from a $25.00 nail polish. The price is probably the only con and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would spend this much on a polish until recently.

I've taken several pictures from different angle and lighting so you can see the nuance in different settings.

Indoor, natural light 

 Indoor, natural light - This is the most accurate picture that I was able to take. The shimmers are a lot more reflective and sparkly in person.

Indoor, natural light

 Indoor, camera flash

Indoor, artificial light

So what do you think of this color? Like I said earlier, it looks a lot pettier in person. With flash, it reflects too much light and doesn't look as pretty on the picture. Because I use the macro setting on my camera, it diminishes the way the shimmer sparkles.

It's quite a stunning and unique color and Chanel is known for that. Even if you don't plan to buy this, just stop by the counter and check it out. You'll be glad you did :). It's free to look and even swatch it on your nails! lol.

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Chanel Fall 2011 Collection Haul

I've never been this excited about my own haul, lol. Not just because it is Chanel but because I am completely blown away with the products that I picked up. I normally don't rave about a product unless I am 100% in love with it, just so you know.
Chanel actually had quite a bit of new product to offer for fall. For the life of me, I can only afford so much and had to pick only the ones that really jumps at me. Fortunately, I only stop by Chanel very rarely and so far the Chanel products that I've tried have surpassed my expectation.

I purchased

• Peridot nail colour ($25.00)
• Graphite nail color ($25.00)
• Illusion D'ombre Long-wear luminous eyeshadow - Epatant ($36.00)

Peridot is simply stunning! It's a such a difficult shade to describe. It's like a shimmery greenish/olive/gold with I wanna say a light green duochrome. This is such a unique nail polish. I have never seen anything quite like it.
Graphite is also beautiful. It's a lot more shimmery than Peridot and contains micro glitters. It's like a pewter metallic with sparkling green, gold, and silver micro glitters.
These are the most expensive nail polishes that I own and my first Chanel polishes. I think they were totally worth it. I'd trade 6 of my OPI nail polishes for these.
I had such a difficult time deciding which one to get and the sale associate told me I could swatch them on my nails if I wanted to and when I did O-M-G!! My eyes went 0_0. These nail polishes are absolutely brilliant! The application was effortless and everything I would want in a nail polish. They look so much better on my nails than in the bottle. I can't say enough good things about them. I urge you to check them out and swatch them if you have the opportunity to stop by a Chanel counter because they really look that good and pictures can never captures how truly beautiful they are. Trust me, these are not your average nail color. I know because I own a ridiculous amount of polish. Chanel makes such beautiful unique nail colors with depth and dimension that goes beyond your typical nail polish. I will probably be buying more of their nail polishes from now on, lol.

The sales associate told me that Chanel took 4 years to develop a patented formula for this cream shadow. I was so impressed when I swatched Epatant. The consistency feels like a mousse. It's HIGHLY pigmented, very metallic and shimmery. I think they had like 6 shades available but this one is the one that really stood out. It's a metallic grey with a green undertone. It also comes with an applicator brush. I would also urge you to check out this shade if you get the chance.

Needless to say my total for just these 3 products came up to 90 and some change, which was a total splurge! I know this is a lot of money to dish out on just 3 products and believe me, I was very reluctant to shed that kind of money too but the uniqueness and quality I found in them totally convinced me that they were worth it. If you can afford to splurge, definitely try out this collection. Otherwise, if you can make some sacrifice, I am sure you will love this as much as I do.
I know I've been raving like a mad woman about something I had just bought and that may not sound right to some people but quite honestly it would take a lot for a product to have such a great first impression on me. If you get a chance to see these products with your own eyes, you will understand why I speak so highly of them. Stay tuned for swatches tomorrow. I already took lots of pix.

Do you plan to stop by Chanel and check out the fall collection? What is your favorite Chanel product, if you own any? Would you ever consider purchasing from Chanel if you never did in the past?

4th Of July Haul -- CCO, Ulta, and Sephora

I had a busy weekend but I still managed to do some shopping before returning to work. On my way to the outlet, a car almost crashed into mine because he was (1) careless and (2) not in the turning lane. Ughhh, what a moron! I hate being around peeps who can't drive, especially if they are hazardous.
It's been a while since I've visited the CCO and I just felt like I needed to check it out. I also wanted to exchange the MAC Greasepaint stick I got from there a couple months ago. I actually didn't like them as much as I thought I would and I didn't find them useful so I exchanged them for new stuff.

If you ever go to the CCO with me, you'll notice that I take forever to decide what to get, LOL. Yes, I'm picky like that. I bought a MAC eyeshadow palette, MAC lipstick, and MAC eyeshadow single.

 MAC Trip Warm Eyeshadows palette. I don't know how old this thing is or which collection it came out with but it must have been before I started getting into MAC. I most likely will do a review and swatch of this palette because I think some the eyeshadows are also available in the single eyeshadow pan from the permanent line. The eyeshadows are Shroom, Bagatelle, Expensive Pink, Trax, Embark, and Humid.

I picked up Funbathing from the To the Beach collection which came out last summer. I was excited to see it at the CCO.

 It looks dark in the tube but it's quite pretty and more wearable than you think.

After swatching Funbathing and the more I looked at it, the more it reminded me of another lipstick that I had. Much to my surprised, it looks almost identical to MAC Baron's Rose. The similarity is so close that I somewhat regret getting it. Baron's rose has more brown undertone whereas Funbathing has pinkier undertone. Both are cremesheen too.

Red Brick is an interesting brick red matte eyeshadow. I don't have anything like it so I was tempted to get it. The color may not be appealing for a lot of people but I can already imagine a few nice things I can do with it.

After the outlets, we stopped by Ulta on the way home. I picked up more nail polishes! And a Physicians Formula eyeliner. I gave mine to my mom because she needed one so this is a repurchase for me.

I guess I can admit that I am officially a crack addict. I mean crack as in nail polishes of course. Here we have blue and turquoise shatter.

These polishes must be new. I've never seen them at Ulta before. They are tiny and cost $1.99 each. I got excited so when I got home I quickly swatched them and blehhh...The white one was very streaky. The cranberry one was so sheer. It looked beautiful in the bottle though. Almost looked like a duochrome of cranberry and copper. The teal one was the best out of the three. It was opaque in two coats and the color is just gorgeous so at least I will be keeping that one.

I never tried matte suede finish and I thought this color looked interesting. Powder Puff is white with an iridescent tint of blue. Again, I got excited and did a quick swatch and OMG, another disappointment :(. 3 coats and still not opaque.

I've had my eyes on these polishes for a while now. They were on BOGO sale so I took advantage of it and bought Stellare Notte (on the left) and Limoncello (on the right). I will need to do a swatch post on these because I think they are so pretty!

I don't know about the serum part of this but I actually care more for the fact that it's an eyeliner. This is a repurchase. I originally bought it in black and it was not black enough, more like a dark grey. My mom needed an eyeliner so I gave it to her and I bought the Ultra black for myself. I hope it's a lot darker. I like the fact that is has a very precise fine point. It's an interesting brush applicator that looks just like the Lorac Front of the Line eyeliner.

As if I didn't haul enough already, we spotted a Sephora inside a JCPenny store which was in the same shopping center as Ulta. I bought MAKE UP FOREVER mist & fix travel size ($8.00), Benefit One Prime Day mini set ($10.00) and Josie Maran Argan Oil ($14.00). One thing that sucked about Sephora/JCPenny is that they don't have the mini 100 points perks goodies; however, you'll still get your points for your purchases.

TheBenefit mini set contains That Gal brightening face primer, The Porefessional face primer, and Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer. Not bad for $10.00 if you ask me.

I bought this concealer at Wal-Mart. It's the Hard Candy Glamoflauge heavy duty concealer. I honestly didn't need another concealer but after reading wonderful reviews about it, I caved in and bought it. I justified my purchase for the fact that it was only $6.00, lol. So that sums up my 4th of July haul.

Have you tried any of these products or plan to? Stay tuned for an even more exciting haul.

June 2011 Favorites and Beauty Essentials

I've never done a monthly favorites before but I figure I should start. It's always fun to know what other people's favorites are. I think it also gives you an idea of what they like, to know a little more about them, and give you more ideas on products you may want to try.
Since this is my first monthly favorites, I'm going to focus on my beauty essentials. The products I will mention on this post are products I use either daily or reach for the most often. They are what I consider my beauty essentials.

 

 MAKEUP

 

1. Lancome Teint Idole Ultra foundation. I use shade Buff 5C, just in case you are wondering. A review for this is long overdue.
2. Revlon Photoready foundation. I use Nude 004. This is a little lighter than I would like but I can make it work if I contour my face. This has shimmers in it so if you don't like shimmers and dewy finishes, you will not like this foundation.
3. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. I use shade medium light. This is my HG face powder. I plan to do a review on this face powder so I will talk more about it later.
4. Milani Baked Blush. I've been reaching for these a lot every since I bought them. The shades I used the most are Luminoso and Berry Amore.
5. Benefit Erase Paste. Very creamy and does a good job at covering my blemishes and scars.
6. NARS Blush/Bronzer Trio. This palette holds NARS most coveted face powders: Orgasm, Laguna, and Albatross.
7. MAKE UP FOREVER HD powder. I have yet to review this powder. I also plan to compare it with the ELF HD powder.
8. MAKE UP FOREVER Aqua Liner 13 (black). Waterproof, smudge-proof, long-wearing, very pigmented deep black liquid liner.
9. Physicians Formula Gel Cream liners. I mostly use the black one. It's not just straight up black but it has very fine colored glitter in it. I'm normally not a huge fan of gel/cream liners but I've been using these a lot lately. The consistency of this gel is very easy to work with and last all day.
10. Urban Decay Primer Potion. This is the only thing I've been using to prime my lids for the past year. I have the XL bottle and it's been lasting me forever, lol. I can't wait to get the one with the new packaging.

SKINCARE

11. LUSH Coco Lotion. Prior to this lotion, I was a huge fan of baby lotions because they absorbed very quickly and don't leave a greasy feeling afterward. The wonderful thing is when I use this lotion, I don't end up smelling like a baby and I get the same result of the baby lotion, lol. I love the soft and subtle coconut scent.

12. Boscia Restorative Night Cream. All I gotta say is I've been really impressed with this skincare brand. It's expensive but is everything that I want in a face cream.

13. Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment. The softness and texture of this gel is amazing. You will love this if you don't mind the price.
14. Shiseido White Lucent face lotion. It can't get rid of my freckles unfortunately but it's light-weight and does a good job at keeping my skin moisturized without feeling heavy and greasy. This large bottle is a bit expensive but will last you a long time because a little goes a long way.
15. Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover. Pricey but very effective and effortless at removing waterproof eye makeup and also feels gentle on the skin.
16. Lancome Genefique. It's expensive but I bought it because I got a huge discount for it and wanted to see if it does anything for me. I'm probably not the best candidate to review this since I don't really have problematic skin but I still plan on reviewing this. I've been using this for 3 months now.
17. LUSH Angel on Bare Skin face cleanser. I've been loving this since the day I got it. I plan to review this.

 

 

PERSONAL CARE

 

18. Secret Invisible Solid deodorant in fresh water orchid. I've been using this brand of deodorant for ages! I wonder why I never thought of trying something new. Any suggestions? I like the fact that it helps control odor and perspiration and vanishes once you put it on. Love the soft flowery scent too.

19. LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids soap. This is no surprise it's LUSH best-selling soap. It smells AMAZING!

20. Crest 3D toothpaste. I do notice whiter teeth and I absolutely love the clean and fresh feeling I get after I am done brushing my teeth.

21. Argan oil. I love applying this to the ends of my hair after I am done washing it. It makes my hair feel so soft. 

22. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Conditioner plus Keratin. It claims to do 10 things for your hair. I have not reviewed it but I've been loving it and use it all the time.

 

 

 

TOOLS

 

23. Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. It's gentle enough on my skin yet does a wonderful job at exfoliating and cleansing. My face feels polished after I use this.

24. Real Techniques stippling brush. Simply amazing and affordable. Best stippling brush I ever had.

25. Sigma Synthetic Face Kit. The bestest face brushes in my collection. Highly recommended.

26. Sephora Pencil Sharpener. I couldn't find my pencil sharpener, the cheap one I must have got from either Wal-Mart or Ulta. Frustrated about it and while I was at Sephora, I decided to buy their sharpener. I was curious to see if it works any better. Wow, let's just say I was very impressed! This sharpener totally deserves some praise and recognition. If you need a good pencil sharpener, get this one! My pencils never looked this sharp!

27. FHI Heat straightener. I will never buy drugstore hair irons ever again! This totally proved me that salon hair styling tools performs wayyyyy better. You won't know until you try. Yes it's more expensive but totally worth the results. My only regret is that I wished it came with more features such as adjustable heat and auto shut off.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

28. Epielle Cleansing Tissues (Green Tea). You can find these at Big Lots. A pack of 60 pre-moistened wipes will only cost you a couple bucks. I use these to remove only my face makeup and then I wash my face afterward. They are probably not the best or thickest face wipes out there but they work fairly well. I refuse to pay a lot of money just to remove my makeup.

29. MAC brush cleanser. If you know any other spot cleanser that works as well or better than this one, please let me know. I have not found or tried one that does the job better.

30. ONYX 100% Pure Acetone polish remover. No need to spend a lotta dolla or a fancy polish remover to take off your polish. This bottle is huge (16 oz), only cost a couple bucks, does a great job at removing nail polish, and you can get it at Wal-Mart.

I apologize for the long post. I promise you my future monthly favorites won't be this long, lol. Thanks for reading or checking out my monthly faves. Feel free to ask any questions.

Have you tried any of these products and not liked them as much as I do? I'd be curious to find out.

China Glaze Crackle Metal Giveaway

Hello everyone,

I picked up 3 extra Crackle Metal polish for my giveaway and here they are. This giveaway is for US residents only. I'm really sorry. I would love to make this international but because there are some regulations about shipping nail polish out of country, I don't want to take the chance of getting these confiscated or returned.

With that said, one lucky winner will be choosen randomly and receive these 3 polishes pictured above:

• Latticed Lilac
• Oxidized Aqua
• Cracked Medallion

Please follow these rules if you wish to enter

• Must be at least 18 years old or have parent's permission
• Must be a US resident and willing to provide a physical address if winning
• Must be a follower on either one of these : my blog, my Luuux page, or Facebook page.
• You only need to enter once on either my blog, Luuux page, or Facebook page. If you follow me on all 3 pages, you can enter once on all 3 pages and increase your chance of winning. Feel free to ask me a question if this doesn't make sense.
• Last day to enter is Wednesdy July 13, 2011. Winner will be chosen and notified on the following day.
• Winner must respond to my email by July 16, 2011. If I don't hear from the winner by the end of that day, the winner will be disqualified and I will reselect a new winner.
• Leave a comment below and tell me which is your favorite crackle polish or which one you look forward to the most. Please include your email address with your comment. I will notify the winner by email.
• If you fail to follow the rules above, you will not qualify for the giveway.

Thanks for following and supporting my blog and good luck :)

Here are the links to where you can also enter this giveway to increase your chance of winning
Facebook Giveaway Entry
Luuux Giveway Entry

PS: swatches of these polishes are available on my blog. If you missed the post, click HERE to view.