ARCHIE'S GIRLS & OTHER FEBRUARY FAVES

Bonjour my little friends! This February favorites is brought to you by my new keyboard! Let's just dive into this business. February was the month that I officially lost my damn mind and I put the blame on MAC cosmetics. I have always been a MAC fan but I've never spent all my tip money on one damn collection like I did in February, so if you are a MAC rep, you're welcome!

Veronica's Blush is a pearl-matte powder that for my pale sisters might deliver more color, but on me it is merely a lovely highlighter. I was kinda bummed in the color payoff, especially because the hearts are the Frankly Scarlett  blush, which is a pretty vibrant magenta red. These babies don't have any pigment. I had seen another bloggers swatches and thought she was being dramatic when she spoke of the great lengths she went to in order to get color. Negative. Thank God the highlight is pretty on me otherwise this would be another MAC powder that I use for nothing but the mirror. I'm looking in your general direction Forever Marilyn beauty powder.

Top panel swatches, left to right: Girl Next Door (lustre), (top) Daddy's Little Girl (satin), (bottom) Betty Bright, (top) Mall Madness, (middle) Summer Sweetheart and (bottom) Kiss and Don't Tell. Bottom panel swatches over Currant liner from MAC, left to right: Girl Next Door, Daddy's Little Girl and Mall Madness.

Ah lip heaven! This collection, as most MAC collections are, is notorious for it's bright lipsticks and glosses. Spring in a tube, bitches!!!! I always considered myself more of a Veronica girl, but when it came to the lip colors, I went Betty on it. I really love the coral lipglass, Kiss and Don't Tell, especially when paired with Betty Bright.
The lip pencil Currant from MAC, came in handy with this collection. While the Betty lipstick, Girl Next Door is a gorgeous milky pink, it is a more wearable color when paired with Currant, which gives it a punch of color and lots of definition. Currant transforms the sheer plum of Mall Madness into a vampy 20's pout, think Theda Bara or Clara Bow. Stunning on the lips and iconic in photographs. Yes, I went there. Iconic is the best description, truly.

 

As far as the rest of the collection, I found that I really had loads of shades that were so similar, some are actually more vibrant and more "me". 

One of the pigments from the Betty Collection is a light blue/green shade. I worked with my Wet N' Wild palette, Blue Had Me At Hello, to achieve a similar look.

Star's and Rockets from MAC has always been a fave of mine, but thanks to this collection, it officially became a Holy Grail shadow for me. No, it isn't in the collection, but it is very similar to the shades in the Veronica Palette. Ditto for the NYX shadow Morocco.

I've really been trying to "shop" my arsenal of products rather than splurging on duplicates of colors I already have. This Betty and Veronica collection is so adorable, but as with the eyeshadows, I found an awesome liner, Ransom by Urban Decay, that is almost identical to the Designer Purple liner by MAC. Lemme tell ya, I've been wearing the shiz out of it.

I love this as a liner with the Morocco powder shadow lined on top!

 For mascara, I have been loving Benefit's They're Real. I got a sample sent as an apology from MyGlam/Ipsy, but that's another story.

I've always enjoyed Benefit products, but never have liked them enough to repurchase. They've always had kinda a "meh" vibe to them. This mascara, despite the gimmicky name, is amazing. I love how full and long my lashes look. It reminds me of a mascara I used back in the day from Estee Lauder, my old Holy Grail mascara, Pure Velvet. Alas, Pure Velvet has gone to the great discontinued makeup counter in the sky but this Benefit baby might be stepping in for more than a cameo appearance on my lashes!

The Body Shop has always been a favorite haunt for me. When my grandma and I went to Europe, aside from Boot's, I was obsessed with shopping at each Body Shop that I could.
I've been really good at, again, shopping my arsenal. At one point I had 6 full body lotions and creams and really couldn't, in good faith, add more until my supply was trimmed down. When I got down to 2 lotions and found this body butter for $4 at TJ MAXX, how could I say no?
This is a delicious yin-yang of thick body creme and a rich body butter. Both textures emollient without being greasy. Fragrant but not overpowering, this scent is a sweet gourmand, like a macadamia nut cookie. It works well with other fragrances too, which for me, is a huge selling point as I am a fragrance junky, with a collection ranging from spicy orientals to fruity to bridal bouquet floral.

Speaking of fragrance ;) I got a rollerball of the fragrance, Graciella from Tocca, from Sephora based on the notes and reviews from the Sephora website. It was modeled after the fragrance Grace Kelly supposedly wore. Knowing that the Princess wore the Private Collection fragrance from Estee Lauder, I still took the gamble on this and am glad that I did. Graciella smells like spring to me, with notes of pear and apricot melting into casablanca lily and finally drying down to a creamy cashmere musk. In the reviews I read, some people compare it to another fragrance I enjoy, Petite Cherie from Annick Goutal, but there is no comparison. Petite Cherie maintains a fresh citrus apricot scent with a hint of floral whereas Graciella is a dessert of lilies and cream. It's a keeper!

I'm normally not one for trendy fragrances and have decidedly climbed the Juicy Couture train 3 years after the fact, but I'm loving the ride. Juicy Couture, the original fragrance from the house that sweatshops and sweatpants built, this also has a healthy dose of lilies but there is something else that triggers the best of memories for me.
My grandmother aka ultimate hero of my life, wore Anais Anais and before you make a face, it smelled glorious on her. The floral was warm, happy and was comforting for me. Whether its the scent of woods or lily, Juicy Couture smells so much like an embrace from my grandma. Since her stroke, she has lived in a care center and thinking about her brings tears to my eyes. I long for the days that I would make surprise trips to spend the night with her, eat popcorn and talk about anything. My lovely Juicy Couture is like therapy in a rollerball. When I wear it, I immediately am flooded with all happiness, comfort and love. This is Holy Grail status for me. I never want to be without it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28cbmSCrogM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FviICTZpNt4

I discovered Gloria Shuri Nava a few years ago when a friend posted her Black Swan tutorial on my facebook page. Her youtube main channel is Glowpinkstah and her Voldemort and Ursula Makeup Tutorial's both made my February much happier. She reminds me of a younger, more confident, me. She has great timing and isn't afraid of looking crazy just to make someone laugh. She literally transforms into each character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOOlcdpfLg

I wish there were more Baby Smiley episodes. (Wait, would you call them episodes? Hmm.). Baby Smiley reminds me of the girls I would see when I lived in San Jose in 1985. Yes, the Chola's back then look like the Chola's of the millenium. The only thing that is slightly different is the hair color. The Chola's in my neighborhood all rocked the same orange hair that came from cheap hair bleach. Ah, memories.....
She is beyond February favorite YouTube personality, she is in Holy Grail status, I never want to be without her!
Alright ladies and gentlemen, I'm off to work on some updated Cheap of the Weeks and product reviews! What were your favorites for February?