ETC: My Christmas Wish List

1. Frida Kahlo Floral Throw Pillow

2. Makeup Geek Eyeshadows in Dirty Martini (matte olive), Blacklight (duochrome purple) & Fortune Teller (foiled gold) 

3. 18K Gold Ravioli Necklace

4. Hot Dog iPhone Case

5. Eye Print Bedding

6. Donut Print Oven Mitt & Pot Holder

7. Kitchen Kitsch Art Print

8. Rose Gold Pineapple Tumbler

9. Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter

10. Donna Martin Graduates Enamel Pin, Blanche Devereaux Enamel Pin, Peggy Bundy Enamel Pin, Heart Lollipop Enamel Pin & Glitter Troll Enamel Pin

11. Jerri Blank T-Shirt

12. False Lashes Enamel Pin Set

13. Watermelon Cooler Bag

14. Soy Candle Making Kit

15. Full Moon Baseball T-Shirt

16. I Like You Just The Way I Am by Jenny Mollen

17. Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

18. Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

19. You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson

20. You'll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein

What's on your wish list this year? Making any fun DIY things for presents? Did the holidays completely sneak up on you this year too? 

25 Amazing DIY Halloween Projects

 Skull Candle Holder  +  Spider Crown  +  Frankenstein Front Door 

 Paper Bats

Skull Sting Art  +  Spider Web Hat  +  Skeleton Bone Table

Stand-Alone Ghosts

 Magnetic Spiders  +  Halloween Pom-Pom Garland  +  Trash Bag Spiderwebs

 Gold Glitter Dipped Pumpkins

 Vampire Napkin Ring  +  Candy Pumpkin Chandelier  +  Witch's Broom Candy Holder

 Skeleton Lawn Decorations

Lawn Flamingo Skeletons  +  Floating Candles  +  Dripping Wine Glasses

Fanged Pumpkin Jack O'Lantern

 Jack O'Lantern Stairs  +  Glowing Skeleton Hands  +  Happy Halloween Wreath

 Candle Holder Apples

 Eyeball String Lights

Have you made any fun Halloween projects this year? Or maybe you're making an awesome costume? Let's discuss!

BEAUTY: Milani Everyday Eyes Palette Review

Milani Everyday Eyes Palette in Bare Necessities

Maybe this is just me, but I haven't heard much chatter around the internet about these new-ish eyeshadow palettes from Milani called Everyday Eyes Powder Eyeshadow Collection. That could be attributed to the less-than-catchy name, but it definitely can't be attributed to the quality of the product. This thing is amazing. 

I'm not one to get the vapors from a neutral palette, but sometimes a girl needs a basic collection in her stash. Looking for an affordable option, I found this guy, and what was supposed to be an occasional necessity became a daily workhorse.

The Basics: You get six shadows, a dual-ended brush and a handy set of instructions on the back of the palette, if you need a reference (see above). Each shadow serves a purpose and is labeled as such, like 'base' and 'crease' but you can, and should, use them in any combo you see fit.

Why I Love It

• The color payoff is great, and not just great for drugstore eyeshadow - legitimately great
• It's universal - most, if not all, of these shades will work on a variety of skin tones
• The texture is buttery and smooth
• Such an easy go-to eye look - goes with everything and simple to apply
• Great for traveling/throwing in a bag
• The brush is actually useable! 
• The base shade is worth the price alone - shimmery and beautiful as a highlight
• The packaging is mirrored gold, plus it snaps closed securely

Milani Everyday Eyes Eyeshadow Palette in natural lighting

Milani Everyday Eyes Eyeshadow in Bare Necessities Swatches L to R: Base, Contour, Lid, Crease, Specialty, Liner

Why You Need It

• It's about $10 at the drugstore and you know it'll be on sale (and if not, it will be soon)
• It'll make your life easier, at least in a quick-makeup-look kinda way
• Hey, maybe you don't! But if you need/want a neutral palette this one will satisfy you!
• It also comes in five other color schemes, including vivid brights
• You'll wear that shimmery base shade in one way or another every damn day

Have you ever tried the Everyday Eyes palette? What's your favorite drugstore eyeshadow? What shimmery eyeshadows are you loving?

BEAUTY: Hot Dog Nail Art Tutorial

I'm not going to say that summer is almost over because, besides being trite, you really don't need to hear that! Plus, it's not technically true - summer goes through most of September! Yeah, yeah, yeah - Labor Day is considered the unofficial death knell of your beach days and cookout nights, but instead of mourning the season that has not yet left us, let's celebrate the party-centric summer weekend that is currently upon us.

What says summer more than a plump little hot dog? You're correct; the answer is nothing. Full disclosure, I have no interest in actually eating a hot dog, though I encourage you to do whatever you want pretty much all the time. Wearing a hot dog manicure, however? Now, that's a different story. I'M INTO IT. Would you care to get into it, as well?

WHAT YOU NEED

+ Light Tan Nail Polish {Wet n Wild Yo Soy}

+ Bright Red Nail Polish {Revlon Fearless}

+ Yellow Nail Polish {Butter London Pimms}

+ Top Coat {Sally Hansen Insta-Dri}

+ Nail Art Brush {optional}

HOW TO DO IT

Start by painting 1-2 coats of the light tan nail polish, enough to make it opaque.

Paint a single stripe down the center of each nail with the red polish.

This is optional, but I find it easier to do detail work with a nail art brush. I like to put a big drop of nail polish on a surface like a plastic cup (it helps to cut the sides down short) or a paper plate. That way you can dip the brush easily as needed.

Add a yellow squiggle down the middle of the red stripe in a mustard-like fashion.

Try not to chomp on those fingers!

If you're interested in this pop art hot dog ring, it can be yours! Available in my Etsy shop here. :)

If you wanna get crazy (and I mean CRAY-ZEE) you could also add some green dots around the edges of the red stripe to look like relish, like I did here on my ring finger. Maybe add some white dots to look like onion? I don't know - they're your hot dogs!

This is some pretty easy nail art, yes? I know a lot of people back away slowly from nail art tutorials because they're convinced they can't do it. Sure, a lot of nail art takes some skill and/or practice, but this hot dog nail art is very approachable. Sometimes it's fun to go all out painting little details, and sometimes you just want to slap on some stripes and celebrate the summer. 

How are you celebrating this non-ending of summer? Have you ever worn any food themed nail art before? Do you kind of wish this was hamburger nail art instead? It almost was!

DIY: Pillow Covers from Fabric Napkins

I feel like there are a lot of jokes about ladies loving throw pillows, which, aside from being vaguely sexist and dismissive, is also kind of true. But, like, what's not to love? First you have the "throw," and - hello? - who ISN'T interested in throwing things? Then you have the "pillow," and if I have to explain the myriad virtues of the pillow to you, then something tells me you're not yet ready for a basic sewing tutorial.

I'd been keeping an eye out for a cute set of throw pillows for my couch, and after months of being underwhelmed by prints and overwhelmed by prices, I set my peepers on this cute set of fabric napkins at Target in the Easter display. Hey - inspiration can strike anywhere!

This is the joyful print that I saw in that rabbit and egg-themed pile.

I loved the vintage-inspired floral print and the kaleidoscope of colors, and I knew the napkins would be coming home with me, despite the fact that I've never used a fabric napkin outside of a restaurant in my life. The napkins were 18" squares, so I was sure they'd make perfect throw pillows.

Fabric napkins are great for this project because they're hemmed, and usually square and pillow-sized. Easy. Plus, you can find them cheap and in lots of colors and prints. Think of this unexpected shortcut as a private joke you can laugh about to yourself every time you see someone resting their head on an Easter napkin. We all need one of those.

Wanna try this? Come on!

WHAT YOU NEED

+ Fabric Napkins

+ Pillows or Pillow Stuffing

+ Matching Fabric (optional)

+ Needle & Thread or Sewing Machine

HOW TO MAKE IT

First thangs first - iron those napkins! Likely, they've been folded and have defined creases, so iron them unless you want everyone to know your little secret.

You can use a napkin for both the front and the back of the pillow, but I chose to use a soft pink fabric for the backs, both because it's cozier and because I like the pop of color. Let me save myself some typing - I've already written a thorough DIY Envelope Pillow Cover Tutorial (complete with graphics!) so we'll be using those directions for the construction.

Basically, I cut my back pieces (two per pillow) and hem the edge that will show in the final product.

Following that tutorial, I pin all my pieces (in the right order!) and sew around the edges.

Next, flip the pillow cover right-side out. 

Stuff those suckers with pillows and you've got a new set of throws!

The pink fabric is so soft, you guys. Only downside is that I now have pink fuzz from fabric cutting overtaking my life. There are worse things.

Do you fulfill the throw-pillow-loving lady stereotype? Do you think I'm crazy for making pillows out of Easter napkins? Seriously, what I am going to do about all this pink fuzz?

STYLE: Witchy Accessories

1. Cat Coven Coffee Mug  2. Crescent Moon Hair Clip  3. Opal Aura Quartz Ring

4. Witch Fingers Necklace  5. Ouija Pizza Phone Case  6. Spooky Bitch Tote

7. Spike Crystal Ring  8. Crystal Ball Necklace  9. Black Cat Phone Stand

10. Witchy Sticker Set  11. Zodiac Poster  12. Amethyst Moon Ring

Have you seen any fun accessories lately? Are you into rings that could double as weapons? What's your sign, baby?

BEAUTY: New at the Drugstore Spring 2016

With each new season comes the greatest of gifts. No, not your crippling allergies or an excuse to buy new clothes. I'm talking new drugstore makeup! Not that the industry needs a reason to give us new or limited edition products, but they do seem to love a seasonal release. I can't resist every new thing that catches my eye on an endcap at Walgreens.(Believe it or not, I am only human, though I'll let you know when I grow my unicorn horn. Hooves crossed!)

Having picked up some newbies here and there with a plethora of coupons mixed with sales, I realized I had a bit of a haul to share, and what am I here for if not to share my overly specific opinions on things you've never asked me about? I do what I can.

NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Eyeliner

Let it be said: NYX makes some of the best damn liquid eyeliners in the drugstore - nay, the world! My ride-or-die everyday liner is the NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner, and all the things I love about it are captured in the Vivid Brights line: a thin, flexible brush tip, opaque formula, and smooth application. I wouldn't necessarily classify these shades as vivid and bright, though. They're great colors (the full line contains 9 rainbow-spanning shades) and add a pop to your eyes, but I was expecting these to be VIVID and BRIGHT, but they're more like vivid and bright, you know? Still, I love 'em and their all day staying power so I'll reach for them when I need a little oomph on my eye.

Rimmel Provocalips

Around this time last year, I was shouting my love for Provocalips from the rooftops (assuming, of course, that a blog post and vigorous texting with my sister are the modern day equivalent of rooftops). I'm in love with this stuff! No other lip color has ever lasted as long or as well on my lips. Plus, it's like stupid cheap and available basically everywhere. I'm done trying to convince you; honestly, it's your loss if you sleep on this stuff. What you do need to know, though, is that three new shades are now available, and the two I've purchased are just as great as the rest. The other new shade is a deeper berry color, but it looked too similar to Kiss Fatal for me to pick up.

CoverGirl TruNaked Eyeshadow Palette in Roses

I feel like I'm in high school again! Why? Because that's the last time I consciously purchased a CoverGirl eyeshadow. I love me some CoverGirl 3-in-1 foundation, but their eyeshadows usually leave me underwhelmed, with the exception of the eyeshadow single Disco Ball, which I wore almost exclusively from the late nineties through the early 00s. So much glittery fallout, so little time. Sigh. ANYWAY, I kept seeing swatches of this palette and was shocked how good it looked. It's obviously an attempt at a Naked 3 dupe, but these are nowhere near Urban Decay quality. I found that the shades swatch well, but lack some of that pigmentation when applied with brushes, which is a bummer, and no matter what colors I used my eye ended up a bit muddy looking within a few hours, even with an eye primer. Not a total miss, but not the drugstore beacon I was hoping for.

Jordana Sweet Cream Matte Liquid Lip Color 

& NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Here we have two products that I couldn't feel more differently about! First, the Jordana: this is a typical liquid lipstick, but what stood out to me was how very matte this looks when it dries down. It's almost chalky, but in a good way? It's surprisingly comfortable for just how matte it is, and lightyears more comfortable than, say, the ColourPop Matte Lips. Raspberry Tart, pictured here, is the perfect cool toned pink that my collection was missing. Bonus: the doe foot applicator has a little scoop shape so just enough product comes out. It's the little things.

Okay, bummer of all bummers: Moscow, this lovely midnight blue shade of Soft Matte Lip Cream, suuuuuuucks. Yes, I meant each and every one of those u's. Don't get me wrong, I love the SMLC line, but this shade is a streaky mess. Lack of pigmentation is one thing, but you can't even build the color up without cracking or wiping off the underneath layers. I tried a navy eyeliner as a base, and that too was rebuffed. This is the lipstick that does not want to be worn. There are so few cheap and accessible blue lipsticks that this is a real loss. Moscow, we hardly knew ye.

KISS Waterless Nail Tattoos

This is my first nail tattoo purchase, waterless or otherwise, and it was on a complete whim, but I'm kind of loving how simple these are to use. You just cut around the design, peel it from the backing, press it on your nail and seal with a topcoat. They have great staying power and look lovely over a bright polish base or on naked nails. The roses are fun, but not 100% my jam, so I'm impatiently waiting for some new designs to be released. 

Have you found any great new products lately? Can you point me in the direction of the best blue lipstick? How many rose-themed manicures do you think I can realistically get away with before people start to talk?