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Haul: from Sephora TARTE Power Pigment in True Love, MAKE UP FOR EVER 15 Artist Shadow Palette, MARC JACOBS BEAUTYThe Sofia – Five Piece Petites Le Marc Lip Crème Collection, SEPHORA Crystal Nail File (big one for home), and Bite Beauty: Lip Lab Trio in Kir Royal (October LE).
Weekend plans: errr… not sure yet, I’m going to try some filming but I need to figure out tonight what I’m doing. lol
How many cities have you lived in?: 3 but all in Southern Ontario (is GTA consider Southern Ontario though? ).
How are you liking the MUFE palette so far?
I also grabbed Kir Royal, haha! I totally forgot that one 😉
They are good, some of the satin/matte shades are on the drier side but very blend-able. I’m happy to get permanent shades in a value set though!.
I was in store as well and it was sooo hard to say no to all these LE palettes. lol
BTW good call on having hardwood floors!!! I miss my apartment with them because I have a dust allergy and full carpets is the worst for holding them dust mites.
Gotcha! 🙂 There are a lot of palettes/kits during the holidays – and I can only imagine the plight of narrowing it down to a few!
Haul: Tom Ford Black Orchid Set
Weekend plans: Grocery shopping, perhaps the library. Working on more recipes.
How many cities have you lived in?: Nine (5 states, 4 in the same state, 1 out of the country) for distinct cities. Eleven if I counted three different areas of the same major city.
Enjoy Arizona! I’ve really only spent time around Flagstaff and driven through the state a few times. Moving is always a fun new adventure.
1 out of the country! Very cool 🙂
Thanks! Hopefully we love it, haha. Moving is a lot more work than I remember it being – I don’t know if it’s how much stuff we’ve accumulated or that it was an out-of-state move or not. I’m eager for the adventure portion to start!
Wishing you much happiness in your new home! It’s been a slow buying week for me because I’ve been involved in my daughter’s home purchase – she closes next week! I’ll finally be an “empty nester” (although her new house is only about 3 miles away).
Haul: Ulta: Laura Geller Spackle in Supercharged (love it), the Geller lip scrub, and a Living Proof Restore Instant Repair and am getting free: Living Proof 2-pc gift, 15-pc pink beauty bag, 3 Pc gift w/any $45 Laura Geller purchase (blush, blush brush, bag), Living Proof Blowout, and the 3 free samples! Sephora: Dior Diorific Vernis Gris-Or 227, deluxe samples of Verb shampoo and conditioner, and the 3 free samples. Plus I won a contest for am am getting 8 Halloween themed nail polishes from Salon Perfect.
Weekend plans: Probably going with my daughter to start buying odds and ends she needs for her new house.
How many cities have you lived in?: 5/6 [Brooklyn, New York; Bowie, Maryland; Annapolis, Maryland (part time with my soon-to-be husband while in college); Arlington, Virginia; Charles Town, West Virginia; and Martinsburg, West Virginia]
Congrats to your daughter! It sounds like it’s her first house, so that’s awesome 🙂 My mom helped me tremendously on my first home (and she still helped a lot on this one), so your efforts I’m sure are much appreciated!
I didn’t know Laura Geller had a lip scrub! I might have to try that soon.
Thanks! She had her own apartment while she was in law school, but eventually moved back home. It is her first house – like you, we forgot how much was involved with moving!
The Geller scrub is fairly cheap ($16) in comparison to others. For me, it works just as well as more expensive ones. I’m trying to get back in the habit of using it 2-3 times per week. I actually bought it as a backup to hit the $ total to get the free 3 pc gift 🙂
How exciting!! Congrats to her again, and you, too, for helping her along the way to be in such a successful place in her life 😀
Thank you!
You moved?! Congratulations, hope you enjoy Arizona! I am very impressed that you have managed a move and kept the website so active at the same time. 🙂
I did! Thank you, Sandy! 🙂
Haul: It’s just a little thing, but I bought a TokyoMilk lip balm (Coco Noir) in order to redeem my Sephora points for the Bite Kir Royale mini set. 🙂 Oh, and I signed up for Birchbox! We’ll see how that goes, I guess. I’m not expecting too much, but surprises are always fun.
Weekend plans: I feel like my weekend plans are always “cleaning,” but… Cleaning.
How many cities have you lived in?: Five, but four of those were within the same county (and two of them were within a block of each other).
We moved from one apartment to another unit in the same complex – and we did this at two complexes, lol! Those are always fun moves.
Keep me posted on how you like Birchbox!
Wow, Christine — a major move like that and your blog never even skipped a beat. Impressive!
Haul: UD Revolution lipgloss (deluxe sample) in Bittersweet. Really cool color, but far too intense for my coloring… going to give to a friend. Am tempted by the Laura Geller kit on QVC today (the day’s special value). Hmm, maybe…
Weekend plans: Spending time with my niece who’s visiting from school in Canada.
How many cities have you lived in?: Four — and three of them very close together!
Thank you, Alix! I was trying really hard to make seamless, lol!
Do you like the formula of the Revolution Gloss at least?
Love it! Looking into other colors!
Alix, have you tried blending out Bittersweet with a lighter shade? I’ve done that before and the gloss blends very well. You can use it to add a pop of purple to another shade – say pink or rose. It also works well over a plum or burgundy lipstick, if you go that dark. I’ve tried it with rose quartz and copper as well. (That is, if you want to keep it.)
Great ideas, thanks!
Haul: Fresh Sugar Lip Serum, Bite Beauty lip lab 010 (boisonberry), Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick in Nayeon, and Laura Mercier Matte-to-Metal Caviar Sticks.
Weekend plans: Taking my daughter birthday shopping and buying my husband new luggage for work travel.
Cities: I had to stick with cities I’ve lived in for 1 year or more, otherwise the list would be ridiculous. I have traveled all over the United States and lived in many places. I have spent the majority of my life in 13 cities. Born and raised in CA, spent 16 years in AZ, and have been in Illinois for about 15 years now.
That is so awesome that you’re so well-traveled and not just well-traveled but had the opportunity to live in so many places 🙂
What was your favorite place to live?
That’s easy, Huntington Beach, CA. We had a house one mile from the beach and during summer break I lived in my bathing suit. When I moved to the Midwest I had to learn how to wear shoes because previously if I wasn’t at work or school, I was always barefoot. I always laugh at the scene in the Birdcage where the pool boy is asked to wear shoes for company and he can’t walk in them because he is used to being barefoot. I know exactly how he feels, lol!
Oh, that would be VERY nice! 🙂 I can see why you were barefoot most of the time!
Congrats on the move!! Are you more in a city location now or are you still pretty far out in the boonies?
Haul: well, I’m thinking of getting the MUFE holiday palette today if I can make it to real Sephora today. Also, maybe the urban decay liners
I have actually lived in the same house my entire life , so only 1. I do plan on moving in the next few years
Super, super centrally located! That was one of the major reasons to move – while we loved seeing farms, horses, and cows, we missed the amenities of having more things closer, and cost of living is just really high in California, even where we were before!
Do you think you’ll move a great distance from where you’ve lived so far or someone near by, just a different space?
Idk. A part of me wants to move downtown ( I currently live in the suburbs, about 45 minutes away. ), but then another part of me wants to move out of this state completely. Pretty much I will go wherever there is a job for me and a doctoral program that I can get into. I have a few places on my list 🙂
Here’s hoping you find the right place 😀
Little Mellan <3. Well, not LITTLE, but every dog is a puppy to me. I've turned pit bulls into lap dogs before haha. It's just so hard not to spoil and love a pup, especially when they're as cute as Mellan!
By the way, as massive and awe-inspiring as the collection is in your photo, I feel like it's only the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn't be able to keep everything straight!
Haha! He is a cutie.
Luckily, I’m fairly organized and with the volume of stuff I have, I can organize by brand > formula in most instances, so all Dior palettes are together or Chanel blushes and I don’t have to do QUITE as much digging around. I’d say some of the harder things to organize are brands I have only a few products of OR MAC, because the amount of products they’ve put out is tremendous.
Mellan thinks –all this makeup is great, but where are the doggie snacks?? OMG, can’t believe you’re in AZ, Mellan will miss his romps at the beach! Curious, why AZ?
*Haul – MAC Guo Pei Morning Light ( my wallet is crying), BITE October lippie in Boysenberry (finally snagged one!), The Balm Mani Lou Lumizer and 4 Mr. Write eyeliners (50% off on Haute Look), BITE Kir Royale set (redeemed Sephora points), and BM 5-in-1 Cream Shadow (F&F sale)
*Weekend– made all my deadlines, so no work (YAAAAY!), family birthday dinner and relax
* #Cities – 3 all in California
Haha! 🙂 AZ has a lower cost of living – we can be in a better area with better access to the things we want/use often for a lot less than in CA. Any time we’d look at housing closer to cities like San Jose/San Francisco, it felt impossible without making significant space compromises and taking on a total fixer upper. The only hard part about leaving California was leaving our families, which are both still there, but it’s a quick hop and a skip over via plane to see them. We didn’t feel like we used some of the amenities–like the beach–enough to justify the increased cost of living! AZ is close to CA, no snow, few natural disasters (not earthquake country like CA but you’re not likely to get blizzards, tornadoes, or hurricanes either!), and has a dry heat. We ruled out a LOT of states with the “no show” and “dry heat” requirements, LOL!
Congrats on making all your deadlines! Is it your birthday dinner or a family member’s? 🙂
Having lived my whole life in SF Bay Area and CA, I totally understand! The cost of living here, especially housing/apt is completely insane, with crazy bidding wars going on for fixer uppers. We were fortunate in that we bought our house a while ago, but none of my 3 younger siblings can afford to buy on their own, and that’s with both wife/husband working full time at good jobs. I do some travel for work, and I’m still shocked by how much cheaper food/gas/housing/transport is outside CA. That makeup room looks bigger than my dining room and living room combined, can’t wait to see it when it’s all set up 🙂 Anways, it’s a b-day dinner for hubby, mine was last month, but he likes roasted crab (yum!).
It’s pretty insane! I just look at young families and can’t imagine how hard it is to try to maintain a certain lifestyle, pay down student loans, work non-stop, and still have kids, pets, houses, and cars. I’m glad you were able to get into your house at the right time! It’s a beautiful area as we both know, haha 😉 We are pretty much ecstatic over having one-story, which is nearly impossible in CA, lol!
I gave up on house hunting in San Jose. Perhaps Oregon – but I have a business, so retirement must come first.
I’m to “Free For Haul Friday”. Could you explain?
That’s what I hear from a lot of people – it’s impossible and so it isn’t a reality any more 🙁
Free for Haul Friday is kind of a catch-up session with readers about what they’re doing, what beauty products they bought, and answers to a non-beauty related question! 🙂
I love make up, but I’m 69 – so a lot of the fashion products look garish on me at time. What I purchased this week: Guerlain make up foundation in a compact – creme (?) based as opposed to powder. I used up my Rose Claire, and found they are discontinuing that products – now out of stock at Nordstroms. Soooo, I found beige claire (the same shade I use in their liquid foundation) at Saks and ordered two. They are great for on the go make up applications, and Guerlain foundations never make my skin break out, like many others do, Yes, at 69 my skin still breaks out. Other products – Gucci lipstick! I noted your review and I guess living in a smog infested Silicon Valley has dulled my sense of smell – it seems odorless to the “blue chocolate” scent they claim, I can see where you can compare the feeling of soap on lips – but I generally love the “dry” creamy feel. I purchased two shades – Electric Crimson and Berry Vanity – am looking for more shades as well.
I’m an army brat. Born in Alta, Iowa (we still own and operate our farm), moved to Oahu, Hawaii – Newport News, Va – El Paso, Texas, Whittier, Alaska (it’s close to Anchorage) and then to Cupertino, Ca. I’ve lived in Los Gatos, Ca and currently reside in San Jose, Ca. Yes, the housing is crazy here!
Cupertino AND Los Gatos — the pricing there is insane now!!
I wonder if there’s any chance that Gucci removed the scent? It was soooo heavily perfumed, and I don’t even consider myself a nose by any means!
Congratulations on the move! That’s a pretty far move. Mellan looks pretty excited about his new digs!
Haul: None. I was hoping to get the Guerlain Rouge G from the holiday collection today but it went out of stock on Sephora this morning, and I was only going to be able to afford it with a 10% off coupon I have for Sephora. 🙁
Weekend plans: I’m hunkering down, turning off my internet (gasp) and spending the entire weekend studying. I’ve been ill lately so I’ve fallen a bit behind, and this is the last course I need to just get through before being done with Calc forever!
How many cities have I lived in: One city, two towns! I was born in Brooklyn but we moved when I was 1 year old, and then we lived in the same town ever since. I go to college in a different town, so that makes it three! I guess if you count the town where my dad lives, it’s four, but we only went to him on the weekends.
700 freakin’ miles! My poor husband had to drive a 15′ U-Haul that was pretty much 85% makeup, while I drove the Prius. I joked that we each had precious cargo – me with Mellan, him with my entire stash!
Oh no! I can’t believe it went OOS. You might try to look out for a gift card event at Saks or Neiman Marcus – at least it might help you offset another purchase you need to make. I think Saks occasionally (very occasionally) has a 10 or 15% code that does work on beauty, but I might be totally misremembering there.
Wow, I bet he was driving SUPER careful LOL Yikes, I would be a nervous wreck driving that precious cargo around !
Kat, sorry to hear the Rouge G went out of stock. Not sure if you’re signed up for Ebates or Mr. Rebates, but they have 10% off Saks on regular basis and 99% of the time, it applies to makeup, and they usually also have 4-8% off at other retailers, including Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, and Neiman Marcus. If you sign up for Saks emails, there’s another 10% off. I’ve bought Dior, Burberry, Tom Ford makeup and have got cash back. Just make sure you go through the Ebates or Mr. Rebates website FIRST to get to Saks.com, and you have to pay by credit card (can’t use gift cards). If you go direct to Saks.com, you can’t get cash back. And the item has to be in stock (you can’t get cash back on pre-orders).
You moved?? I live in Phoenix what brings you here? I hope to run into you at some point.
Hope you enjoy our beautiful city and get in some road trip after you settle in…… Welcome !!!
It seemed like a good fit for us when we thought about leaving California – real estate in the Bay Area is just complete and utter insanity. When the housing market burst, we were able to get into the market but still about 45 minutes away from the nearest large city, and even though prices have gone up a lot, we’d still look at the available homes that were more centrally located and feel like we couldn’t make it work for us. So, we started exploring alternative places to live, and Phoenix is a large, growing city with a lower cost of living. We wanted to move to a state with no (or little) snow and a dry heat (I can’t do humidity!), so that ruled out most of the country, haha. We spent the last three years house hunting here 🙂
Any fun things to do in Phoenix or within driving distance that we should put on our list?
Welcome again… you missed our monsoon season which brings us rain and humidity…..but not for long. Our cooler weather is coming which opens way to farmer markets, art festivals etc. People are more into outdoor activities such as hiking . You must see Sedona…absolutely beautiful.
Day trip to Prescott, weekend trip to Flagstaff. Phoenix is ever changing!! The summers here get a bit unbearable with 115 temps and I tell myself we are moving to get away from the heat. But as you said cost of living is down and rents/home prices are decent. After growing up in NY I could never live where there is snow again unless it is very minimal. You will have to open up a blog post where us fellow Phoenicians can recommend places to eat, see and welcome you to upcoming events…..to much to list.
Thanks, Melanie! 🙂 I certainly saw some of it – we made a trip at the beginning of August and again in September and got caught in a few storms, haha! But they come and go so quickly.
Thank you so much for the suggestions! They’re very much appreciated 🙂
You need to take Mellan hiking and camping in Flagstaff, the White Mountains, and Tucson! Bird watching is surprisingly amazing in Tucson. Lightning storms are spectacular in Arizona, I can’t wait to her you reaction to the violent storms of lightening that appear to be hitting the ground in all directions and sudden rains that flood the roads and send mailboxes floating down the streets within minutes of a downpour. And then the storm stops and the sun comes out immediately, as if there had never been a storm at all. There are hail storms too. The weather is intense in AZ!
We saw some! We’ve been coming to Phoenix for 2-3 times a year over the last three years (probably 4-5 times this year) to house hunt. In early August, we caught a bunch of the lightning stores far outside of the Phoenix area, but we stayed at Talking Stick and had dinner at Orange Sky – it was a great show! Then, when my husband and I came back in late August/early September for a final house hunt, we were caught in a giant storm with crazy lightning and thunder, LOL! I have heard about the hail storms, but we haven’t seen one yet!
The hail storms are unreal! It honestly looks as if it snowed when we get a whopper! My daughter took some truly wild pics of her yard COVERED in hail, LoL! As for tornadoes…we DO get an occasional one, but only EF-0 or EF-1 to a rare EF-2, nothing too awful. It also seems as if some parts of the Valley get worse weather, like over by where I’m at in the East Valley. We just had a bit of a storm today, and of course, I got caught in it!
That happened once to me in CA! It was sooooo crazy. The lawn was littered with hail and looked like it had snowed!
There is a great wine country down by Tucson.
Looks like a whole makeup store. lol How fun!
lol!
Haul: Hoping the OPI starlight collection is out! If not, I’m going dusty hunting!!!!
Weekend plans: nail polish. Work. Clean.
Cities: too many to count, concentrated throughout NE Ohio and Central Florida. I’ve thought about relocating to AZ too, lots of family in Tucson!
Between Ohio and Florida, which do you like most?
I wish to be in Melan’s place :)))
Haha!
Congratulations on your move! Wish we were friends and neighbors so I can “borrow” some of that makeup!
Thanks, Yvette!
Clinique Color Pop lipstick in Bare Pop.
No plans for weekend.
In this country 2 states and Europe where is was born(Spain).
Wishing you the best in your new beautiful home. Congrats. xoxo for Mellan. Have a great weekend Christine.
Thank you, Lily! 🙂 Have a great weekend with the boys!
Wow, huge room! Christine, can I ask if you have the new MUG matte eyeshadows and are reviewing them any time soon? It’s cool if you aren’t, I’m just curious to compare swatches.
I do! I haven’t tried them yet, but they did send them to me.
Haul: I’ve ordered the Goss Anniversary brush set, which is arriving today. Also ordered the Guerlain Meterorites Perles de Neige – thanks to a Saks welcome discount after they sold out on Sephora’s website again!
Weekend Plans: My in-laws are visiting for about a week. We love when they come here. We’ll be seeing a football fame, a preseason basketball game and generally enjoying kicking around the city.
How many cities have you lived in: Best answered by my mother’s comment that she keeps our address in pencil in her phone book. We’ve lived in 4 cities in 2 countries and then moved 2-4 times in each city. We’re expert movers but these days, pay for the packing and shipping between cities/countries due to the distance. I’m really good at keeping our ‘stuff’ reasonable as I look at it through a lens of how much it would cost to move it.
I really hope you enjoy your new AZ digs. You have an amazing capacity to keep the blog reviews coming at such a fast clip while also preparing for a significant move. I hope the arrival comes with a toast to this amazing accomplishment!
Keep us posted on how you like the Wayne Goss set, Tracey! 🙂 Do you find yourself moving for jobs or simply because you like to try different places?
I’ve never done a move this large or this far before, and I can’t believe how much work it is, haha!
Thank you!
Haul: theBalm How ‘Bout Them Apples cheek/lip palette, 3 French pharmacy skincare products, Stila Kitten highlighter duo, am awaiting quite a few things. Tried to be good after my major splurge last week but it’s hard!
Weekend plans: Going for a walk around the winter gardens about 2 miles away.
How many cities have I lived in: 2, and 1 town. Two in Scotland and one in England. My parents lived in Abu Dhabi for 3 years as expats and I loved visiting in the hols when I was at uni in the 90s. Sunshine, sea, amazing shops, what’s not to love?
Amazing makeup stash you have there, love that Mellan’s sniffing away at it!
Just splurged AGAIN on the NARS Steven Klein mini lip set and Despair cheek palette! You asked me before whether I was getting the mini lip set and I didn’t reply as I didn’t know if it was going to be available in the UK. Just saw that you’re going to review the cheek palettes, will be interested to see what you think. Hopefully I’ll like my purchases :-)!
Hope you had a lovely walk around the gardens, Claire! 🙂
Haul: Sephora’s Jem and the Holograms palette and liquid lipstick set
Weekend plans: Taking back my IT heart-shaped brush to Ulta (online impulse buy that was not what I expected in person) and getting some of that Hask Mint Almond Oil haircare that they gave me as a sample in the box. Holy wow, does that smell good (like an Andes mint!) and leave my hair soft. I’ve also got to drop by Sephora to schedule my VIB makeover and run my usual errands. Oh, and homework for two graduate courses. Lol.
Cities I’ve lived in: Every major suburb of Phoenix except Gilbert, Albuquerque, and Ayase-shi, Japan.
You showed up here just in time for an unusually hot October. I only hope it means we’re getting a little more rain this winter.
Might have to try that hair product you mentioned, Victoria! 🙂
We actually considered Gilbert but decided we wanted to be more centrally located! What was your favorite suburb of Phoenix?
welcome to phoenix! i hope you settle in nicely…the temperature will drop soon and it will be lovely.
Thank you, Beka!! 🙂 Excited to be here! So funny, everyone was telling me how it was cooling off but nope, back up we go! And then the rain today.
Congrats on the move to Phoenix. Does that mean we might be able to see some collaborations with Leesha?
I went there last year for a quick trip for my friend’s wedding. Everything seemed so relaxed there compared to Vancouver, Canada and other cities I’ve been to in the US.
Happy unpacking. I think I’ve only moved 8 times? One was to move to Canada, 7 within the same city, and one to a nearby suburb.
You never know! She and I have met up every time I’ve come to the area looking for houses (which is a few times a year for the last three years, haha), and we just had lunch with her yesterday 😀
I could definitely see Phoenix seeming more relaxed compared to Vancouver. I remember when I was in NYC, and it stressed me out, LOL!
Oh My Gosh, you moved to AZ.! I have long wanted to move there as the climate would help my health condition. I had a job offer over the summer. I wound up putting it off because of my surgery and for my daughter to be close to her father. That’s my dream location though. I’m jealous! We just may be neighbors one day! (;
Haul: Colourpop Back to cool lippie set, Sugar Pill Edward Scissor Hand Palette and polish( which I am thinking about just having for collecting), Mac lipsticks in Fashion Revival, Deep Love, and Diva Antics, Nars Velvet Matte pencil in Train Bleu. I discovered the Ciate XOlivia Palermo collection and fell in love with the overall aesthetic. I grabbed up the Smokey Suedes palette, Satin Kiss collection, and the Cheek cheat ( the coral one). Then I ordered the other palette the next day ( Sultry something) and the light pink color. I ordered a New PTR cream as my skin has already gotten dry form the fall air. Hoping it arrives today and works. I almost caved on the SKII cream. But, I don’t think in the long run I would want to spend $260 on my moisturizer unless it made me 25 again. Also, a new UD grindhouse sharpener! I also received a second Holiday Meteorites accidentally ( I had apparently pre saled it from Nordstrom and they didn’t bother to tell me when it came in..hmm) and ordered the Nars an” Abnormal Female” Coffrette which inspired my thoughts on “collecting”. So, I wonder to be an official collectors piece, does the item have to go untouched? IDK…I’m wondering if the expense is worth it. I can return the second Meteorites, Of course. I could keep them for use because they are so, so beautiful I use it for setting all but my t zone. Such a dilemma. Just wondering if you, Christine, or anyone would happen to know about official collecting?
Weekend Plans: Fall festival or something like that with my daughter after soccer tomorrow. I have a lot of work today and grocery store this evening.
Cities I have lived in: A lot of cities. 3 geographical areas to make it more simple
Happy weekend!
What a coincidence, Nicole! 🙂 We’ve been scounng AZ for almost three years now and finally made the move!
How are you liking the Ciate x Olivia Palermo palette? It looks really pretty.
As far as collecting makeup and making it a “collectible” with value that you can sell, new is best, but most items don’t go for much higher than retail from my experience. There are a few – the very quick-to-sell LEs – but you usually have to buy and sell them quickly! Does that make sense? But I think if you’re just collecting for your own personal enjoyment, then I don’t think there’s any reason not to use it – it is still “collectible” in the sense that it was coveted and limited edition.
I forgot to throw some props your way Christine because you sure deserve them for managing a huge move and the blog did not stop at all during what has to be the busiest time of the year. Very impressive. You have to be wiped out!
As far as that move, it’s still a heavy consideration. I don’t think I will spend much more of my life where I am and with my health stabilizing , I have started looking at other jobs again.
Regarding the Ciate X OP collection: I honestly just have started to play with it today. But, first impressions are good. I really am liking the lipsticks and the Smoky Suede palette. I haven’t tried it without primer yet. So, I’m not sure how that would go. it looks perfect with it. Small amt. of fallout with the shimmery green color. But, it was easily flecked away with a fan brush. So far, I have only briefly played with the right side of the palette ( if you are looking at it) and that shimmery green shade and the lipsticks. It was a chance. But, most of the customer reviews are excellent. I wish they would have made them permanent. A bold move for a company that is starting out. But, looks like they are selling. I like the looks of the eyeliners and polishes too!
I total get what you mean on the collecting. I think I will use it and keep the boxes and emtpy container of certain things ( ie meteorites and that crazy Nars cofrette for display). I really just wanted to have it to look at and display for myself because it makes me happy. My dilemma is the second Geuerlain Holiday Meteroites that my mental won’t seem to let my body return,lol. I may just have to keep it and smell it all day, Ha! I was told by the SA at Guerlain at Seattle, Nordstrom that empty bottles of Shalimar are worth more than full bottles of Shalimar.. Hmm. Food for thought huh? Enjoy the unpacking doll. Don’t work too hard. 🙂
Thank you, Nicole! 🙂 I’m glad your health is getting better — such great news to hear.
Well, if you have the money and you enjoy it, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your second one 🙂 Sometimes it is the small things that make everyday better!
Welcome to AZ! I’m in Tucson, so maybe I’ll run into you in a Sephora some time. Have fun unpacking.
So many AZ readers, and that’s so awesome 😀
Haul: No makeup so far, although I want to order the MUFE UHD foundation as well as their Pro Finish Powder. I’m actually trying to put money towards warm clothing right now and ordered a pair of boots plus gym leggings, how excite!
Weekend plans: Nothing. Not a damn thing, lol! I’ll be browsing for a winter coat though.
How many cities have you lived in?: Ten-ish, if all the semi-rural to downright middle of nowhere places count, lol. Two diff countries. I still have a place down south for when I eventually decide to go back to school.
Yay for boots! Those are always fun. I have found that I like booties quite a bit compared to the full boot!
Haul: Not anything spectacular, but I’ve been wanting to try the WnW liquid eyeliner for a while, so when I stumbled upon a BOGO/Free sale at CVS, I took advantage and also grabbed a backup of Reserve Your Cabana! I still haven’t made a dent in the one I have, but it seems when I notice it actually in-stock, they’re all shattered, so when I found the sale, I couldn’t justify *not* grabbing both.
Plans: Nothing. It’s still just way too hot/humid to do anything frivolous… Plus, I’ve had a reaction on my neck/chest, so I don’t want to apply sunscreen, and since I can’t wear a turtleneck, it’s best to stay indoors. Besides, there’s *always* enough work to do around the home, LOL!
Cities: I was born in Chicago, but lived in various parts of the Bay Area until I was almost 13, and have lived in & around Los Angeles ever since (although West Hollywood & Inglewood are *technically* separate cities, they’re both surrounded by Los Angeles, so I consider them L.A.).
Do you prefer NorCal or SoCal, Amy? I did both, and I found myself liking the pace of Bay Area more, though it resembles southern California more now than it did five or so years ago (when I was down there for school).
Congratulations on the move! It’ll be a fantastic new adventure for you and your family. I’m a little bummed, though, because I was hoping I’d run into you one day in San Jose/San Francisco. LOL! Aside from that, I’m super impressed that the blog still posted regularly and smoothly! Great job!
Haul: absolutely nothing! I’m going to Paris in a few days, so I can’t buy anything. It has been SO HARD not to pick up anything these last few months. The only thing I bought two weeks ago was Guerlain’s Meteorites.
Weekend Plans: finish up the travel itinerary and last minute purchases for the trip. I see some Cole Haan shoes in my future…gotta be comfortable for those long walks.
How many cities have I lived in: 3, two in Canada and one in California.
LOL! I was NEVER there, because we lived so far from San Jose (45 minutes!).
Have an absolute blast in Paris, Christina! That is so exciting. How long are you going? All my Cole Haan shoes with the AirSole in them have saved me in NYC!
Haul (fragrance/beauty): Byredo Pulp perfume set of three travel bottles, Byredo La Tulipe perfume oil rollerball, Byredo 1996 Inez & Vinoodh perfume, Mona di Orio Vanille EDP rollerball, Kuumba Made Amber Paste fragrance oil, 2ml Laboratorio Olfattivo Alambar EDP sample, 4ml L’Artisan Parfumeur Tea for Two EDT decant, 2 Korres Vanilla Cinnamon bath gels, 2 Korres Vanilla Cinnamon body milks, 1 Korres Coconut Milk body milk
Haul (kitchen): KitchenAid Artisan Design 5 QT stand mixer in Azure Blue, flex-edge beater for the mixer, loaf and cake pans, silicone cookie sheet liners,
Weekend plans: Work, work, more work, looking up recipes to use with my new mixer!
Cities: 6 (birth town, college town, graduate school town, middle of nowhere in Washington, Atlanta, Miami)
Gorgeous fragrance haul! Lots of really lovely brands you have there. What are you most looking forward to?
Haul: Got my iHerb package! I got Pacifica Transcendent Concentrated Concealer, Water-Resist long lash mascara and Crazy Rumors French Vanilla lip balm. I really like the concealer, but the lip balm gave me an allergic reaction 🙁 Third lip balm that does that! I need to figure out what I’m sensitive to..
Weekend plans: Dance and homework!
How many cities have you lived in?: Well I’ve only lived in one city really, and then the tiny little village where I live right now!
Oh no, poor lips, Tova! Definitely start comparing and contrasting those lip balms to see if you can find out what it is! I know that lanolin can cause issues for some!
Haul: Colourpop: 2 blushes, 3 lippie stix, 3 matching pencils, primer, and 15 eyeshadows. Love ’em all on my oily hooded lids, which normally require primer. Partridge and Bae (which I always think means British Aerospace Executive), be still my heart. MUAC peels. Love. Beryl Markham, West with the Night. Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoires of Hadrian, and EP Thompson, Whigs and Hunters.
Weekend Plans: Thinking about going for a bike ride. (I live in Israel and am wondering just how much paranoia is justified.)
Cities I’ve lived in: several (including the DC metro area) and most recently Beer Sheva. As Mark Twain says, it’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from there. Really.
Woohoo!! So glad you’re loving CP’s eyeshadows, Erin 😀 They are so amazing!
Hope you’re able to go for that bike ride in good spirits!
Great ride and played makeup artist to friends. Me? At 49, I look *much* more like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now than he does. So this is kinda amusing.
May you find everything easily and nothing be broken. And may Mellan love the new place and make many new friends.
Thank you! So far, nothing broken! I’m actually surprised – even in the kitchen, we had a jar of honey leak and some olive oil leak (the latter was salvageable), but nothing has been broken that we’ve packed yet. I have a few issues with some furniture but that is on the moving company.
A makeup room! How awesome! I’ll look forward to seeing pictures of it in the future, if possible.
Haul: Too Faced Le Grand Chateau, Sugar Pop palette, and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar; MAC Morning Lights, and Urban Decay Vice 4. I ordered all of it through Shipito, so it will be here in a month or so…
Weekend Plans: being productive, not sleeping and watching YouTube all day ?
Cities I’ve lived in: 6 (4 in Chile, including Santiago, where I live now; Dublin, Ireland, and Ueda, Japan).
I’ll definitely update once it’s done! 🙂
It is easy to get sucked into YouTube and lose a few hours, lol!
Wishing my Prince and Princess all the best for new city …. wish everything falls under place as per your liking
xoxo
keep smiling Christine … shine like a star
Aww, thank you, Rashmi!
Haul …. on ban for a month hmmmmmm
am laughing on myself but to make up for all the ban and restrictions .. I received my last months order this week
nars thasos , nars kalymnos , nard train bleu , nard snake eyes and nars dominique … yessss inspired from your top 10 nars ….
weekend plans …. its navratri festival here so may go out if something exciting comes up …
how many cites …….
3 countries … UK , South Africa and USA
in India … right now 6th city Pune
Nice NARS haul, Rashmi!! 🙂 Hope you love it all!
Mellan looks rather intrigued by all sparkly, colorful goodies!
Haul: MACnificent eyeshadow palette, perfect size & good range of shades for on-the-run application! Although I didn’t have a clue how I would ever use Frankly Frosty, one of my fave SA’s showed me what they’ve been doing with it: mixing it with In My Element! Also, Nyx Mahogany and Cola lip pencils, and Sinful n.p.’s in Calypso and Sheer Flight.
Weekend plans: do my hair, nails. Go to meeting on Sunday. Try to get all the way out to Glendale to visit my Grandson, Skyler’s grave. He would’ve turned 7 y.o. yesterday.
How many cities have you lived in: Too many: 12! And I’ve lived in 2 main regions, my first 43 years on the NJ side of the NYC area, never more than 10 miles from NYC. ? Past 13 years in the Greater Phoenix area. ?
Well Christine, welcome to Arizona! ???
That’s so great that the SA showed you a way to make it work!
So sorry that you lost your grandson too early, Nancy 🙁 Hope you are able to make the visit.
Thank you for the welcome!
Yep, he’s a really super guy! He’s at the Scottsdale Fashion Square MAC Store. Favorite MAC Store, several great people work there.
Thanks, Christine. It was definitely the most painful loss, not just because he was an infant, but the worst part was watching what it did to my son. Tore him up.
Your welcome! It’s not *too* bad here starting right around now into May. This is the nice time of year!
Thank you for the rec 🙂
Good luck with your new place. Your dog is probably drawn to all the makeup scents, but sadly none are edible!
Thank you, Natalie!
Welcome to AZ! It should be cooling off here soon!
We’ve only been here for a little over a week, but it really hasn’t been too bad! That being said, we aren’t exactly standing outside all day long 😉 But it’s wayyy better than when we were here in August!
Oh wow, I didn’t know you were moving away from California! Have fun in your new home! I can only imagine the pain it was to pack your makeup stash, lol!
Haul: I received my first ColourPop order, I found a couple CoverGirl x Star Wars goodies at the drugstore (a lipstick and a mascara) and I ordered a couple new Lancôme products: Dazzling Hypnose shadow in Brun Bibliothèque from their fall color collection and a Color Design Matte Lip Crayon in Wine Will Tell.
Weekend plans: none, but I feel like going out of the house. Maybe a hike, or going to Santa Monica pier.
Number of cities I’ve lived in: not counting different suburbs of larger cities, only 3, but they happen to be in 3 different countries!
It was certainly… interesting! Everything seems to have survived as much as I can tell. I packed all the makeup myself, and we did haul it ourselves in a U-Haul (well, that was my husband’s job!) to AZ rather than let the movers handle it.
Three countries is impressive 🙂
Haul: I signed up for birchbox! I’m trying to buy less makeup so hopefully the anticipation of having something coming in the mail every month will help with that.
Weekend plans: Lots of studying, hopefully do some laundry, and maybe go to a pumpkin patch!
Cities I’ve lived in: just 4, all in Washington. I think I’ll hopefully stay in Seattle for awhile.
Congrats on your move!
Seattle is a gorgeous area! 🙂 It was on our short list of places to consider moving to, but the sun in AZ won me over.
Haul: It’s been a while since I’ve bought anything, but the most recent purchase was Tarte’s holiday blush palette, Tokyo Milk dark lip balm and a beauty blender cleanser.
Weekend plans: my bf moves into his apartment in Nov. so we’re going mattress shopping today, and then probably relaxing/home goods shopping over the weekend.
How many cities have you lived in?: I’ve only ever lived on Long Island, just in a two different towns (the first of which I don’t remember as I was a wee tot) so from memory, just one 🙂
Do you love where you live, Kate? I have never been to Long Island!
it’s okay.. it’s expensive living in NY, i love it here and am glad my home is forever in NY, but I’m probably going to move out of state when I can.
Haul: Nada as my computer died and I’m having to do the payment plan thing for the new one I had to get. Wait so technically then I got a computer.
Weekend plans: Not much. Recover from the computer fiasco and get ready for my EMG with a neurologist next week.
How many cities have you lived in?: Uhhh…9. In 5 different countries…
Poor, poor computer! Hope your new computer has a long and happy life with you!
Haul: Tarte blush palette. Hoping to snag the UD Spectum palette in Tuesday.
Plans: Texas Book Festival, fancy cocktail party fundraiser for a dog rescue group and an Aussie Rules football tournament (three of my favorite events, all on the same weekend).
Cities: Eight. I moved 11 times in 20 years. My favorites are Annapolis, Maryland and my current city, Austin, Texas.
Fingers crossed you can get the Spectrum palette, Zelda!
Where can one get the spectrum palette? I can’t find it anywhere!
Hi Zelda, I just spoke with a CS rep at UD, she told me that there won’t be a re-release of the Spectrum Palette on their site on Tuesday, and she also *claimed* that as far as anyone at UD knows, there is *supposedly* no info on who will be offering it or even IF or when!?! I also have been anticipating the Oct. 20th UD site release of this palette, so right now I am feeling very letdown by UD.
Wow, big move. You were in CA before, weren’t you? What general area in AZ?
Congratulations.
Just outside of Phoenix in Scottsdale! 🙂 Thank you!
My best friend moved to Tucson a few years ago. Loves it. We had baby boys together 31 yrs ago. Beautiful area. To so, very spiritual, not specific religion, just spiritual. She’s a Jr High teacher.
Have fun learning a new area and making new friends. So off topic.
Thank you! 🙂
Congrats on you rmove and that you will feel home at the new city pretty soon! The fact that this blog ran perfectly while you moved (and not just aorund the corner) shows again that you are probably one of the most disciplined people ever 🙂 Plus you had to transfer your business, too, probably with adjusting to a bit different state laws and making sure you get all your samples now to the new place. I have often thought that from this blog we can not only get information on make-up but also a bit of a way of life, being an entrepreneur and setting also ethical standards for blogs (for example when it comes to discussions on controversial brand collaborators) and standards for reviews and reliability.
btw, since you will probably set up a new place for photographing items, could I add that I sometimes find that colours have seemed to be a tad too bright sometimes in comparison to the actual item; I know that this can also be due to different monitor settings but other photos from other people seem to be closer to the products (from the same screen). The brightness can make the colour appear too different, though it is not actually “off”, it is just that one seldom has similarly bright light in real life? I am not sure. Maybe it is where I live because it certainly is not as sunny as California or now Arizona, and I am aware that the (sun) light in different countries also varies. So I don’t know exactly what is the reason.
Thank you, Lilac!
I’ll definitely try to reassess the lighting again (I do so every month), but I actually only use studio lights in a dark room so I don’t rely on sunlight (it’s unreliable, even in a sunny area – I may take photos at 6am, 2pm, or 11pm!) so the set-up is exactly the same!
Welcome to Arizona, Christine! 🙂
I live in Phoenix. So cool that my favorite makeup blogger/reviewer is almost a neighbor now, haha! Hope you, your hubby, and Mellan love it here.
Thanks, Al! 🙂 I’m right down the way from you! Phoenix has been great to us so far, and we’re excited to be here!
Haul: a BIG jug of Living Proof Style Extender (one of my best recent hair product discoveries); Annabelle Stay Sharp eye liner in Cappucino, Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strip in Natural Nude, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer (I’m almost out of my original one) and Cargo Blu-ray concealer, which I’ve been wanting to try for ages.
Weekend Plans: big family get together tomorrow night for my brother in law’s 60th birthday. We’re going to a favourite restaurant for the dinner – it’s a teaching restaurant at a college with an amazing culinary program which I discovered 4 or 5 years ago and which has become a favourite place ever since.
How many cities have you lived in: 5, I think.
I didn’t realize you’d moved, Christine. Good luck – I hope it all goes smoothly and you love your new city! Best wishes in your new home.
You know a product is good when you buy the jumbo size 😉
Have a lovely birthday dinner for your brother-in-law! I love when you find a place that really resonates with your preferences and becomes a go-to for celebratory occasions.
Thank you! 🙂
Oh my – how can you think of blogging and hauling when you are moving? Wow – what a change for Mellon! All those new scents to get use to.
Our weekend plans are fairly basic: shopping, having my son, daughter in law and darling grand daughter over for dinner tomorrow night. At 18 months, Olivia asks me “Ipstick Nona, ipstick”
Going for a drive up into our local hills and cleaning…
Cities lived in – only one – Melbourne. We live in the outer East – so it is really pretty having access to the hills and mountains.
Congratulations on moving to Arizona. I can really understand why you are moving. House prices are incredibly high here in Melbourne too. And we have high humidity in Melbourne often in summer – that is really terrible. But it is important to have space in your home and live in a place where the overall costs are lower. Again, an amazing job of keeping the blog going – but I think everyone would understand if you took a couple of days off to get yourself organized. Take care Christine.
Thank you, Genevieve!
We ended up closing a week early, which has put me a bit more behind than I’d like on the blog, but I’m definitely trying to get caught up and in the swing of things! Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll start my regular routine again 🙂
Aww, your granddaughter is adorable! 🙂
Congrats on the move! I hope it works out for you guys!
HAUL: Nothing yet. I just hauled last weekend and I have a whole other haul planned for any birthday cash I receive. I need to get a few full-size skincare items and possibly a few holiday items.
Weekend Plans: Wine tasting Saturday afternoon and evening game night with friends, Sunday is grocery shopping and rest.
How many cities? 9, I think. Yeah, 9.
Fingers crossed! 🙂
What haul do you have planned, Erin?
Mellan look likes he’s making sure everything made it through the move. I hope you like your new city.
Haul: Nothing
Weekend plans: Getting used to my cast and crutches. I strained my Achilles tendon Sunday night, but I couldn’t get in with a specialist till this afternoon, so the cast is brand new. Tomorrow I guess I’ll be having a birthday party. I asked hubby to cancel it, as I’m stressed out this year and now injured, but he didn’t do it. I guess it’s sweet of him, but I’m still kind of p***ed off.
How many cities have you lived in?: More than I can count. We moved around so much when I was a young kid. That didn’t stop till my dad left when I was 10. We might live in a city from a few days to a few months. After that, we stayed in the same city, but still moved houses just as frequently as we used to change cities.
Me too, Rachel, me too!
Oh, no! I’m so sorry about your injury 🙁 How long will it take for it to heal up? And I hope your birthday party ended up cheering you up instead!
Thanks for the sympathy. 🙂 I’ll be in a cast from toes to knee for a month, then I have a follow-up. The tendon has to be immobilized so I don’t end up tearing it.
My party was a bit of a disaster. Our friends were making the cake, and somehow the husband didn’t convey what time the party was to his wife. They kept calling and saying they’d be later…and later..and later. LOL They were four hours late.
They asked if I liked chocolate. The wife is German, so I was expecting a home made German Chocolate Cake or Black Forest Cake or something like that. It was a white cake with plain white royal icing between the layers and fondant instead of frosting. Not at all what I would have chosen. It was an amazing looking cake, though, as it was a 3D TARDIS. I truly appreciate the time, money and love that went into it. I enjoyed visiting with our friends and their kids, so it ended well.
Haul: I finally ordered some MUG shadows! I got 4 from the duo chrome collection, 2 from the matte collection, plus a large Z palette. I got an email today saying my order shipped. I’m so excited! I also bought a Milani lip gloss in the color Brownberry. This is my 3rd one from Milani…I really like the formula.
Weekend Plans: Relax, do laundry, clean up and grade some work (ugh).
How many cities have you lived in? 3…amongst 2 different regions, all in the same state.
I didn’t know you moved, Christine! I haven’t been keeping up with your posts on IG. I need to subscribe to get notifications. What part of Arizona? That’s one part of the U.S. I would still love to visit. Hope you like it out there!
Fingers crossed you enjoy the new MUG mattes!
I only posted about it on Instagram about eight hours prior to the blog, lol! 🙂 The Phoenix area!
1. No makeup but I did buy a pair of sunglasses and a brightly coloured top. Also some outdoor furniture that we ordered arrived a couple days ago.
2. Have got a massive stack of ironing thats been looking at me so I guess that’ll be one thing I’ll be doing. Will be going out to dinner tonight with some friends. Thats about it….
3. Many congrats on the move; I’m totally in awe of you for keeping this blog going while preparing to shift. Since we’ve been married we’ve moved a few times within one city (Auckland, NZ) but have also lived in Melbourne, Australia and London UK. Have told hubby that the next time I move from where we are now will be in a wooden box!! He’s been warned!
LOL! Moving is tough. My mom would tell me that most people stay an average of seven years in their homes before moving/selling, and she joked the reason was it took that long to forget how awful it was the first time around!
Well… the move explains A LOT! LOL I hope you love Arizona. I lived in the Tucson area during my late teens until I moved out at twenty-one. I’ve also lived in a few different areas of north and north-west Phoenix and, sometimes, I miss it. If you want to spend the night away from home to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, I would suggest The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort. The staff has always been exceptional, room service is divine, and the beds are so comfortable it’s difficult to leave them.
Haul: Another Lancome Effacernes concealer (different color) and Estée Lauder Makeup Brush Cleanser (saw the third ingredient is alcohol so it’s going back).
Weekend plans: Sadly, I’ll be unable to do much of anything this weekend. =(
How many cities have you lived in?: I’ve lived in ten cities in three states and I’ve moved at least 15 times. It seems to get more complicated every time you move!
Thank you for the hotel recommendation! That hotel looks lovely.
I hope you’ll have more time to yourself next weekend, Cat 🙂
15 times – oh my goodness!! But you are right, they get more complicated. I think it has to do with STUFF. More stuff or *better* stuff (and therefore, you’re much more worried about losing/damaging it!).
Dear Christine,
I’m a longtime reader, but this is my first comment! Congratulations on your move!!! I hope that you, your husband, and Mellan settle in as smoothly as possible! I grew up in Peoria and moved to California for college (and have stayed in CA).
There are so many incredibly special and beautiful features to Arizona. The sunsets (and sunrises!) are breathtaking. My neighbor growing up said, “Our sunsets are the most beautiful because we don’t have any trees to get in the way!” While not entirely true, the gorgeous mountains and sunsets are unlike any other. Arizona has something like 5 different, distinct ecosystems (I think?). Flagstaff, Sedona, and Bisbee were such fun vacation spots growing up… of course, the the Grand Canyon is so special, too. I can’t think of a museum we visited that I didn’t love! The state fair had unbelievably delicious Navajo fry bread… many restaurants serve this as well. This is probably the only food that I miss from Arizona.
I would drool over Arizona Highways magazine growing up (http://www.arizonahighways.com/). My family made a few day trips based on some of the special areas highlighted in the magazine.
I went to high school in Phoenix and loved it. You are so right: Phoenix is such an awesome growing city with a lower cost of living. The dry heat is absolutely tolerable – there are a few days each year when you need to drive with oven mitts or risk getting burned on your steering wheel, but all in all the heat is much more bearable than anyplace with humidity (at least for me)!!! July is typically “monsoon season” and the dangers of flash floods were no joke. I was definitely cautious of where I would walk my dog when we had heavy rains. My 3 dogs loved Arizona and definitely didn’t suffer from the heat, though they are primarily “inside dogs.”
Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences about adjusting to a new home. Curious if Arizona has become better integrated… one thing I love about the Bay Area is just how diverse it is, both in terms of race and ethnicity, but also political and religious beliefs. To be honest, one of my primary reasons for not wanting to move back to Arizona is how politically conservative the state is, but that is just me. Hoping that you absolutely love Arizona and find friends who feel like family!!
Eager to hear your product reviews and see how makeup holds up on the hottest days. Also, would really love your insight on quality sunscreens.
Wishing you and your family the very, very best!!!!
Thank you so much for the recommendations on things to do/see, Rachael! We are hoping to explore the area in the next few weeks. We have heard so many great things about Sedona but have never made it there (too busy house hunting).
California is a great place to live! I’m so glad you’ve had the opportunity to check it out and stay there. It is a very diverse area for sure! Although I think some areas are more/less diverse (we were only about 45 minutes away from San Jose, but it wasn’t what I’d call diverse at all).
Here’s hoping we love AZ!
I really liked Arizona whenever I visited friends there, so congrats on the move! (STAY HYDRATED. They aren’t joking about the “desert” part, lol.)
Haul: I’m waiting for the Chanel holiday collection, so all I picked up were a few Wet ‘n’ Wild LE lipsticks – Celeb Siting and Nightcap.
Weekend Plans: So much homework to catch up on after midterms week. Ugh.
How many cities have you lived in? Probably 3-4. Hampton, Virgina Beach, Pittsburgh, and a small area outside of London for a bit.
They really aren’t! We feel the NEED to drink water all the time whenever we have visited.
Hope your midterms went well, Veronica!
Congratulations on the move! Enjoy Arizona! That’s where my husband is from. Good job keeping the blog going during the move – we didn’t notice a thing!
Haul: Chanel blush in Golden Sun and loose powder in Beige Lumiere, NARS eyeshadows in Desdemona, Phoebe, and Calisto, and Urban Decay Smoked palette. And Burberry Trench arrived today from ebay!
Weekend plans: Pretty much everything I was supposed to do last weekend! 🙂
How many cities have you lived in? 10: 3 on the East Coast, 5 on the West Coast, and 2 abroad.
Thank you, Pteetsa!
Golden Sun is gorgeous!! Do you love it? I hope so 🙂
And YAY Trench!
Welcome to Arizona! I myself moved from San Jose, California to Scottsdale Arizona 4 years ago. The only time i miss California like CRAZY is in the summer, but once its fall/winter/early spring i forget California even exists lol!! ;o)
Haha! It’s crazy how many Californians have made the move! That’s pretty much where I’m from (San Jose area), so it’s good to know there’s hope for us yet 😉
Haul: A few drugstore items. Mostly foundations!
Weekend plans: Watch football and probably got to the AZ taco festival.
How many cities have you lived in?: One and that would be Surprise. Womp womp womp!
Just catching up in the wee hours of midnight hoping you can forgive my late post hehe! So ecstatic knowing you moved to AZ. I’d freak if I ever bumped into you, but the likelihood of that occurring is slim since I don’t venture much into Scottsdale. Happens only when I need to go to the MAC store at the Biltmore and it’s not often I do that. Either way Welcome!!! So happy to have you here!!!!
The taco festival! We were at Target today, and I was getting Starbucks, and the barista asked me if we were going to it (hadn’t heard of it), lol! So, maybe not as much of a long shot as you think 😉
I’m a long time lurker and this is my first time leaving a comment here, but after reading about your recent move to AZ and relating so much, I just had to respond!! My husband and I just made the move to AZ (arrived on Thursday), driving three days from NE Ohio (where we lived our entire lives) to Chandler. My husband has wanted to make the move for the past several years and after turning 31 and 30 this past summer, we decided we better do it soon before getting even more settled with our careers or starting a family. So we just took the plunge, sold our house, traded in our SUV for an economically-friendly Prius C, and moved with our part shepherd-part human 8 year old dog across the country.
Also, I love how in a previous response you referred to your makeup as precious cargo… All of our stuff will be here tomorrow and I was telling my husband how I hope my makeup is still okay and didn’t get destroyed. He just shook his head stating that we shipped thousands of dollars worth of his guitars (as well as other belongings such as our TV, furniture, etc..) and I’m more worried about my makeup…. He just doesn’t understand! LOL. Hope Mellan adjusts well to his new environment, and you and your family enjoy your new home!! Best wishes!
Haul: Waiting to get settled into our new digs, then I’m hoping to order some of the new Makeup Geek matte eyeshadows.
Weekend plans: Shopping at Ikea, exploring the Chandler area, unpacking the majority of our belongings bright and early Monday morning!
How many cities have you lived in?: 2, both in the frozen tundra of NE Ohio along Lake Erie
Congrats on the move, Erica! What a coincidence 🙂 That drive must have been SO LONG! It sounds like a great time to make the move — my mom gave the same advice: do it while you’re young and have less roots.
Chandler is a great city! We toured houses there and Gilbert as well in our early research of the area. And also, our Prius is one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. Every time we stopped for gas, my husband was filling up the U-Haul with $80 worth of gas, and I’d put in $6 for the Prius, LOL.
I tell you: your makeup is likely to be just fine! I was worried, but I haven’t had anything appear to be broken or leaking. I also discovered while unpacking some of my last boxes that I forgot to EMPTY one of my drawers (!!!), so all that makeup was just sloshing around and not a single thing was broken.
The drive was long, but very pretty as well (especially with the changing of the seasons). On the last leg of our journey here, we came from Holbrook, AZ through Payson straight down 87 to Chandler. If you haven’t already and if you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend taking a drive up that way. While the hills were a bit challenging at times for our little car, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking and easily made that last hike one of the most memorable moments of our trip here. Also, thanks for your reassurance about the makeup!! It’s nice to know others understand my maybe overly dramatic concerns! ?
WOW
I couldn’t imagine my collection spread out like that lol.
Haul: my friend and I did an epic makeup swap! tons of goodies from UD, MUG, Tarte, Benefit just to list a few
Weekend plans: Just came back from Rochester visiting my friend
How many cities have you lived in?: 3 so far