Makeup Looks for Saying Goodbye to 2013

Happy Holidays!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and has been enjoying some time off.
Most of all, I hope everyone has their power back on!
What the HELL was that????!!!!
We lost power for about 36 hours, and after the first 10 or so, Ray and I were bored, delirious and freezing!  Even my poor doggie was cold!
We were pretty lucky though.  I can't imagine having to leave my home for a week, or going through that with young kids.  (I did however get a text from a friend, who has a 10 week old and had to pump breast milk in her Subaru.)
Now, to the subject at hand.
New Year's Eve!
No matter what you have planned, New Year is always an opportunity to be fancy!
Try something a little gutsy and colourful!
I have a few looks here that are fun!  A little colour goes a long way towards brightening your face, and making you feel confidant.
Go for it!!!

I love a smokey-ish eye in something unexpected, like turquoise.  It brings such an inherent sexiness to the look without being obvious.  I have a taupe and gold combo eyeshadow on the lids, and I also have black liner very close to the upper lashes and the lower waterline.  This gives some depth to the eye and makes the whole thing a little Rock and Roll!  For the turquoise liner I used a beautiful waterproof liner from ArtDeco.  I brag about this in more detail here.  I applied a heavy line of the Art Deco above the black on my top lid, and a nice  thick one along the bottom too. This is not the time to be subtle!
Add lots of mascara, a good dose of hilighter along with a pale, shiny lip and Sexy is your middle name!

We all know how much I love Lippy right?  Love the feel, the richness, the elegance!  There is no way I'd discuss NYE looks without offering an option which involves a bright lip!  I went with a fuchsia shade instead of red for a more unusual feel this time of year.  Red is classic, while this feels like a more modern choice.  The best thing to do while wearing a dark or bright lip is prep like a champ!  Too Faced Lip Insurance is an amazing primer!  It gives hours of wear.  A good lip liner is a life saver too!  Make sure it's waterproof, like Sephora's Waterproof lip liner.  Makes a huge difference!  After that, apply your lipstick from the tube, or with a brush.  I'm wearing Lancôme's Colour Design in Fuchsia Clutch.  It's a gorge satiny shade, non? 
All you need to go with this is mascara, brows, and a sculpted cheek!   HOOOOTTT!
Well, Happy New Year Guys!
Thanks so much for all of the support I've gotten from each and every one of you in the past year!  It means more to me to be able to write this blog than I can say, and I couldn't do it without you!
 I wish you all the best for 2014, and I'd love to hear any plans for New Year's Eve, or resolutions for next year!  An Occasional Redhead has a few interesting things coming up!

Donna Xoxo

Gift Guide For The Fancy-Ass Makeup Lover

I may be a little late to the gift guide party, as usual, but this is a good one!  

If there's a makeup afficianado in your life, or you want to give someone some hints for what to leave under the tree for you, these are Ah-May-Zing choices!

Try not to slobber while reading the rest of this post, it's not a good look. Not easy though!

First I have the Mac Masterclass Brush in Oval 6.  $50.50

This brush shape is like nothing that we're used to. The oval head has dense, synthetic bristles which are "perfect for buffing in foundation, blush, and powder" according to the MAC website.  

My Wishes:  I would LOVE with a capital L to use this baby to apply a BB cream and cream bronzer as a contour. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder

Diffused Light (one of six shades)  $52.00

This line of powders are faboosh because each one mimics the effect of different types of lighting on the skin. The finishes range from moonlight, or candlelight to a gentle morning sunlight and more. Sign a sister up!

My Wishes: Diffused Light mimics the light of a soft camera light, which softens lines, blotches, and redness. It also has a less sparkly finish than some, so you don't look like a knock-off Twilight vampire!

Yves Saint Lauren Rouge Volupte Lipstick 

Forbidden Burgundy  $39.00

I have been dying to get my paws on one of these beauties since they came out!  The formula has an SPF of 15, is intensely pigmented, and contains YSL's "Colour-Shine Complex" which leaves lips smooth, plump and radiant. All that and a light, yet silky texture. 

My Wishes: Had me at plump!  The colour is a rich and vampy shade of burgundy that still feels feminine too!  

I would adore whoever left these under my tree, or in my stocking!

Wouldn't you???!!!

Let my know your wishes!!

Donna Xoxo

Trend Trunk Blogger Fashion Week

Have you guys heard of Trend Trunk yet?
If not, go and look now!
We all have extra in our closets.  There's the top we couldn't live without, until we got it home and it didn't work with anything else in the closet.  What about the fantastic impulse buy handbag?  We all have things that are great, and in great condition, but we never use them.
That's where Trend Trunk comes in.

 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Trend Trunk is an online community where you can create a personalised "Closet" of items that are new, or almost new, for sale.  It's also a great place to grab some new finds!  You can browse other closets, create a "lust" list of your fave items, and shopping or selling couldn't be easier!  Everything is handled by the site.  So user friendly!
From December 9th until the 15th Trend Trunk is hosting the first "Blogger Fashion Week".  Every day several of your favourite bloggers and their closets are featured.  It's a great way to get to know a particular blogger better, and check out their style!  Some of the ladies featured are Elaine Atkins from Toronto Beauty Reviews, Anita Clarke from I Want I Got, Christie Ressel from Fashion Translated, and Sarah Francis from Real Life Runway to name a few of the ladies who happen to inspire me!
Here's a bit from the press release:

We have partnered with over 70 Canadian emerging and established bloggers (fashion, beauty, food, lifestyle, family and more) to create Blogger Fashion Week which is happening until Dec 15th.  It combines fashion, technology and social media...with a bit of fun and shopping!

We've created something unique and the first of its kind in the world...right here in Canada!

Check out Trend Trunk here.
Let me know how you like it!!!!

Donna Xoxo








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Youthful Makeup. How to Look Like You Have a Dorian Gray Painting at Home (Thank You Benefit!)

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to be 40 in February. 
40!!!!!
I'm a little stressed out about it, but not too bad.  I seem to be holding up fairly well as far as my skin and appearance goes.  I may feel like an old bag, but I don't look it!
I'm going to share my makeup secrets here today.  Some of them, anyways!
A girl needs some secrets!
I decided to pull my hair back for the pic's so we aren't overwhelmed by the giant shock of fire-red hair!
Skin prep is the best thing for looking healthy.  A good primer, as I always say, will make all the difference in the world.  I had a friend give me a bunch of goodies from Benefit, and "The Porefessional" primer was among them.  This is a killer primer!  Great smoothness and texture!
Next, find a foundation that leaves the skin looking plump and healthy.  Doesn't have to be full coverage, as long as you have a nice canvas.
Concealer is your BFF!  The formula of the concealer is really important.  A nice creamy consistency for the eye area, and some redness is perfect.  I also use a creamy one for acne too.  Spot treatments can be drying, so a little extra emollient is ok!  Benefit's "Fake Up" is fantastic!  It covers like a dream, and wears comfortably.
I'm a big believer in setting powder.  Makeup wears so much better with a light dusting, light being the key word here!  The right powder will diffuse fine lines and dark spots.  Make sure it's a translucent, or brightening powder.  Mineral powders can have a nice luminosity to them too.  I'm in love with Benefit's Box O' Powder in Dandelion these days!  Its a gorge pink that gives a subtle glow!  You'll love it!

A full, well maintained eyebrow is also mandatory for a youthful look.  Make sure its shaped well, while keeping a natural appearance, and not too dark.  As we age, brows lose fullness, so we want to make the best of what we have.  Benefit's Brow-Zing is the perfect brow definer!  A wax and a powder give great colour and hold.
Did I mention mascara? Because lots and lots is good!  Non-smudging of course!
I can not emphasize the importance of blush and hilighter enough.  A good hilighter will light up the eyes and diffuse darkness when placed on top of the cheekbones.  A bright blush placed high on the cheeks suggests young, healthy skin.  a softly sculpted cheek is the best trick in the world!  I like a hot pink like Tarte Amazonian Clay in Amused.  It doesn't go on dry like most powders.

As for lip colours, go for something rosey, or berry tinted.  Don't forget the SPF!  I'm wearing Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Rose, which is the perfect amount of colour to liven things up on the face!
All that being said, the real secret to looking youthful is prevention!  SPF and eyecream from the age of 18 is the best thing any of us can do for our skin.  Remember it's never too late!  And Sephora sells Benefit!
What tricks do you use to look healthy everyday?

Donna Xoxo

Almay Shadow Softies and Smart Shade Mousse Foundation. Softness Heaven!

I've always liked Almay makeup.  It's kind to skin, and the basics are great, but Almay has always seemed like a dependable safe brand.
Good product, not exciting.
Until now!
Almay has upped their game lately and I'm in love!
There is a new addition to the Smart Shade collection.  The newest formulation is a mousse which goes on white, and adjusts to the tone of the skin. 
I've always been a little skeptical as to how well this works, but I was very surprised at the way it did conform to my colouring.  You don't have to pick through twelve similar shades to find the correct undertone, so Yay for that!

This foundation feels creamy and fluffy at the same time. My dry patches liked the feel of this. It wears comfortably, but I found that it does need to be buffed in quite well.  Add a flat foundation brush, like the Sonia Kashuk one here, and the application is really beautiful!

The newest addition to their eye makeup line are the Shadow Softies.  These single pots feel soft and springy.  There's and airy-ness to the texture that makes them feel silky.  They're a cream to powder shadow which are quite pigmented and go on best with a dense brush.  The lighter shade, Crème Brulee, is a cream shade with a soft pink hue and some soft glitter.  Soooo pretty!  The darker shade, Smoke, is a great taupey-grey, like a dark mushroom.  (I took figuring this colour out quite seriously, didn't I?)  I'm not even sure if these are in stores yet, but if you see them, GRAB THEM!  They feel really nice, and build well too!
If that isn't enough to make you love Almay, it has the cutest story of how the company came to be!The founder was a chemist in the 1930's, who's wife had extremely sensitive skin.  At that time, cosmetics for sensitive skin where unheard of, so our Chemist, Al, formulated products to suit his wife, May. 
Get it?
Almay!
Adorbs!
What do you guys think of Almay?  What other lines have you fallen for lately?

Donna Xoxo

My Weekend at Spark Sessions

I have had the most interesting few weeks!
There's lots to share, so I'm going to jump right in!
On the 16th and 17th of November Toronto hosted Canada's first conference specifically for Fashion and Beauty Bloggers called Spark Sessions.  It was held at The Centre for Social Innovation on Bathurst. 
What a cool little spot!
As soon as I saw the exposed brick and mis-matched vintage-y furniture, I was hooked!

The agenda was packed with amazing content from start to finish!  First up, however, was Jeanne Beker!
She was a great speaker! Animated, interesting and really open about her life behind the scenes and the struggles to get where she is.  One of my favourite things that come to mind when I think of her is the way she changed the role of women in rock journalism as well as fashion journalism. I'm pretty lucky that I was able to actually see that while it happened!
The panels were bang-on for what I needed.  I'm so behind the game with tech stuff!  HTML, and SEO were not in heavy rotation in my vocab before then.  I'm getting very fancy learning all this!  It's been a big help!
The whole experience has been great for my confidence as well!  I was sure I wouldn't fit in, be too old or not pretty enough.  Within five minutes I met some girls who would make me comfortable and gave me the feeling that I absolutely belonged there!  (Thanks Ladies!!!)
There were so many amazing brands, and PR people that were there, that made getting your feet wet the easiest thing!  Just having a coffee, hanging with the PR Lady from Revlon!  No biggie!
Did I mention how spoiled we were?
OMG, the swag bag was bananas!  A gift card from Smart Set was tucked in there which is burning a hole in my pocket!   As if that wasn't enough, we all left with some of Almay's newest additions, along with some best sellers.  There's a post coming up covering my new toys from Almay and Smart Set very soon, trust!
During that weekend I met some great women, had my first gel Mani (thanks BioSeaweed Girls) and learned soooooo much about blogging as a business as well as an artform!  My only regret is that I had to leave early since I was starting to fall apart after the long day on the 16th.  I missed two panels as well as Elaine Lui from Lainey Gossip!
I have to say that after this conference I have so much rattling around in my head that I hope is going to make An Occasional Redhead a much better experience for everyone who takes the time to visit me! 
That's why I do this after all!
What would you like to see from my blog?

Donna  Xoxo