Saturday Surfing Round Up

I've enjoyed my first week of blogging, but I couldn't do it without all the other lovely blogging ladies out there! With the new MAC collections coming out pretty soon, there was a lot of hype about that.

• Temptalia got a first review of the MAC Love Lace Collection. For me, its maybe a little cool, but I'm sure something will tempt me!
• KarlaSugar also got a good look at the MAC Warm N Cozy Collection. Now this I'm seriously excited over. 
• All Lacquered Up did a great review of the China Glaze Up and Away Collection which I'm super excited about!
• Too Much Blush did a gorgeous face using the MAC All Races, All Ages, All Sexes collection. 
• A Brilliant Brunette did one of her most gorgeous eyes ever and one I really want to try - Starry Night Eyes
• Make Up and Beauty Blog got me all interested in Herbal Essences's new Tousled Hair Line
• Stephienese posted up some great FOTD shots. She's soo pretty, and I think I like the Rose Romance one or the Pink Eye one. Plenty of inspiration there. 
 

What other posts out there have caught your eye? Or maybe you've written a good one yourself - leave a comment and I'll check it out.

Unnatural At Any Time, or How I Learnt to Ignore My Inner Body Clock and Sweat It Out At 5.30am

The first thing I would like to say is that I am not a fitness freak by any stretch of the imagination. I am most definitely not the girl who goes for a run for the fun of it. I have been that girl in the past, but I can just as easily take a full six months of not doing any exercise apart from long long walks around the city interrupted only by trips to changing rooms or cash register. So, I know what it's like to be fit and strong, and I like how that feels, but I also don't have to feel that way. Honestly, I wish I was. Maybe it would be a bit more motivational than "oh my god I'm going to be in a bikini in 4 weeks" which is at best inconsistent, and also completely unrealistic. Unless I moved to Florida. Maybe if I lived in Miami I would have motivation, but let's face it, when it's winter and you're huddled under a gazillion layers (hello 22F today!), then wondering about how your abs look is pretty low down the list of motivational factors. Staying warm = hot chocolate is much more realistic.
BUT! I am going to be in a bikini in 4 weeks, and I'd rather not look like a bowl of jello. So I signed up for NYC Adventure Boot Camp. My wallet felt it first - it is not a cheap thing to sign up for. And my whole body is feeling it now. Ouch ouch ouch in places I didn't know could hurt. It's sore to laugh and I can't move my arms above my head. But it is TOTALLY AWESOME. They have camps at a couple of times and locations in the city, and I go to a West Side camp at 5.30am three days a week. For a start, this is a completely unholy time to get up for anyone, and I am so not a morning person. I have to admit to having rolled over a couple of times and gone straight back to sleep. But when you do manage to haul your ass out of bed, find gym clothes, munch on an apple (very important or you might faint in class - I should know, I nearly did), get on the train, and make it to class, it is so worth it. It's an all girls camp, and in my class there are about seven of us early birds. Amazingly, we are all of a similar fitness level. This is awesome - so many times I have been the compete laggard in the fitness class dying at the bag. I always imagine boot camps to be these completely intimidating things where everybody can already do 50 push ups followed by 100 crunches, and this is so not like that. For the record, I think everyone came into the class being able to do about 10-15 girlie pushups - now we're all doing hard core guy-style ones.
The class is run by Zane, who is fantastic at keeping us moving, changing the exercises around enough so that we don't lose interest, making us try something new, and working us almost to the point of exhaustion, but not past the point that it's not fun. Okay, that last part isn't strictly true. I am not going to lie to you and say that boot camp is fun. It's not. It's hard hard work, and very painful. But it's fun in that we're all in it together, it's welcoming (no yelling, no humiliation, no punishments), and when the hour is up at the still ridiculous time of 6.30am, you really feel like you have achieved something. In terms of results, no, I don't think I am going to be bikini ready in just four weeks, especially since I have continued to maintain my cupcakes for dinner diet, but I love how I can feel myself getting fitter and stronger. There are exercises that just 2 weeks ago were flat out impossible for me (hello push ups!). Now, they are still damn painful, but at least I can get to the end of the exercise without ending up lying in a puddle of tears on my mat.
Do I think that 5.30am boot camp is sustainable? Hell no. I have a semblance of a social life, and going to bed every night at 10.30 just doesn't let that happen. But I do think it is a great way to kick start you into getting back into an exercise plan and at coaxing those long-forgotten muscles back out of hibernation. I do think it's also amazing for your self-confidence and self-esteem. Yes, I can do pull-ups. Yes, I will get better. Yes, I did wake up early and do this because I want to, because I CAN. That's powerful stuff right there.

Nails of the Week: China Glaze Thunderbird

  Normally I am a muted dark narnish girl, and for the last 3 months I've barely switched it up from vamp red, navy, or gray. But it's Christmas, and I wanted something with a red shimmer in it to put me in the holiday spirit. I got 12 or 13 colors from China Glaze earlier in the week, and Thunderbird from their Retro Diva collection really hit the mark for holiday color. I really love the deep color and the red shimmer which catches the light beautifully. I've had it on since Tuesday, so I don't think it's done too badly in terms of wear and tear (I am no lady when it comes to nail varnish, and my nails are never much longer than what you see in the photo). Tomorrow I'm going to switch it out and go into full holiday spirit with either Ruby Pumps or Emerald Sparkle.

Blog Giveaway

No not mine unfortunately. But I did discover a great new blog over at Every Little Girl's Addiction. She is super cute, has great style, and is hosting a MAC giveaway right now! Head on over and enter for yourself. Good luck! :)

MAC Love Lace

Wow, MAC Love Lace came out today rather than Dec 26th! I have to admit, with it being a cooler collection, I'm not super excited about it, but then I saw the swatches over at Temptalia, and I'm starting to come round to the Hypnotizing and Pincurl shadows, all three pencils, and I'm still on the fence on the lip products. I was scouring the MAC website today, and this is definitely my favorite face chart. It's called Intricate, and I'm definitely going to have a go at recreating it. If I ever figure out good FOTD shots over the weekend, they will be here.

Christmas Wishlist

Ohmigod another list post! It's like I can't write anything more at the moment. Promise I will soon. That and take wardrobe shots. It's properly on my to-do. 

Anyways, it's probably a little late to get this message to Santa, but if I could, here's what I would hope to find in my stocking this year:

1. Alexander Wang Denim / Cotton Dress

Oh, Alexander Wang, how do I love thee? Well, in plenty of ways, but this gorgeous dressed up dress down chic dress caught my eye a couple of months ago, and it's still tempting me today. It looks perfect for carrying me through all the seasons (oh, the magic of black tights and high heels!), with the denim shirt aspect offering a playful touch to his trademark draped skirts. I could just see myself wearing this over and over again.

2. Essie Mint Candy Apple

Yep, everyone's been talking about this awesomely gorgeous shade from Essie this season. Chanel might have started the Jade trend back in September, but having tried that shade and looked at this one, this one has awesome written all over it. Something about the creaminess and the mintiness that make it look uber flattering for the short nailed girls amongst us. It's been online a while, and sold out at my favorite online nails place, transdesign, but just came in stock at my local duane reade. Score.

3. Frye El Dorado Riding Boots

This time last year I promised myself that next year would be the year that I finally treated myself to Frye boots. Well, I haven't yet, and I'm hoping that Santa will. Fryes last for years, and I hope that I'll be able to pass my pair onto my kids at some point, but in between now and then, I can't wait to rock them with cords, skirts, jeans, shorts, and maybe even on a horse. They are the perfect go with anything boot.

4. Brogues

Let's get all my shoe desires out of the way at once, shall we? I'm have some serious flat shoe issues at the moment, where nothing in my wardrobe, aside my incredibly awesome gap slouchy worker-chic boots from last year, fills me with any kind of excitement and it all looks wrong, wrong, wrong. Even my trusty bright white converse are failing me, looking tired and overexposed, and also being very, very cold. So, I have flat shoe shaped holes in my wardrobe which need filled. And I think brogues fit that shape pretty nicely. A little bit androgynous, a little bit sharp, a little bit ironic, and a little less ubiquitous. The nicest ones I’ve seen are at J Crew; Steve Madden has some very second rate pairs (comme d’habitude); Aldo had a nice pair I saw a while ago which maybe they still have. Oh, and of course Topshop have some options as well.

5. Nike Skateboarding Shoes – Tweed

I know, 3 pairs of flats and no heels. Actually, I only like wearing heels in Spring and Fall – Summer and Winter are too much work for them. Anyways, like the aforementioned brogues, these add a little je ne sais quoi to a girl’s wardrobe. Deliberately chunky, and all that cushioning provides some much-needed warmth in winter months. The tweed is a great heritage touch. I can see these looking totally amazing with dark skinny jeans, and being absolutely brilliant for walking all over the city. Only problem – Nike skate shoes have some sort of weird limited edition thing going on which means that these demand very high prices – these are around the $300 mark, which is a little much for me. The alternative is of course to design your own on the nikeid website.

6. The Sartorialist

I really hope this ends up in my stocking this year. Scott Shulman is the king of capturing street style, and this book will provide me with endless inspiration, mainly of people on bicycles.

7. Robert Frank Looking In

Robert Frank’s seminal piece of work was the photography book “The Americans” . This book contains all the shots from the book, along with notes on context, how the book was put together, and the dominant themes running through Frank’s work. It is based on the exhibition currently running at the Met.

 

8. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

I discovered these a while ago and picked up Calliope and Belle Du Jour after finding out that they are used to create those lovely matt lips in Mad Men. Calliope is currently my every day neutral for wearing to the office, and I just love how easy the pencil is to use, how it feels (not too drying at all), and the lovely matteness. I think for my next colors I’d like to pick up Dragon Red or Dolce Vita.

9. Tickets to the New York Ballet.

Every year I wish for these. Every year I’m disappointed. Lovely husband says that that is the way it’s going to stay. Sob. 

10. Handmade Woven Ring  

I love looking through Etsy looking for cool handmade stuff, and whilst the search can be a pain and overwhelming, sometimes you come up with awesome pieces like this. I honestly could buy something from that site every single day and not get tired. Right now my jewellry kick is on funky bracelets and rings, and I love the woven look of this. Heart.

10. World Peace. Duh. 

What's on your Christmas list this year? Have you been a good girl? 

Warm N Cozy Times

Like most make up loving girls out there, I've been excited about the upcoming Mac Warm and Cozy Collection. Right now I'm going through a real neutrals phase, just loving the subtle ways of making you look just a little prettier, a little better. The new collections comprises of:

Lipstick ($14.00 U.S. / $16.50 CDN)

• Spiced Tea Warm bronzed brown (Glaze) (Limited Edition)
• Warm Me Up Creamy mid-tone neutral pink (Amplified) (Limited Edition)
• Siss Muted golden beige (Satin) (Permanent)

Lipglass ($14.00 U.S. / $16.50 CDN)

• 2N Creamy neutral yellow pink (Cream) (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
• Feeling Dreamy Pale neutral pink with pink pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)
• 3N Neutral brown with gold and pink pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
• Light That Fire! Mid-tone burnt coral with pearl (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Eyeshadow ($14.50 U.S. / $17.50 CDN)

• Chamomile Creamy pale yellow (Satin) (Limited Edition)
• Modelette Mid-tone warm camel (Satin) (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
• Milled Cider Dark warm brown (Satin) (Limited Edition)
• Embark Intense reddish brown (Matte) (Permanent)

Shadestick ($16.50 U.S. / $20.00 CDN)

• Nurture Frosted pale neutral pink beige (Limited Edition)
• Relaxed Frosted dark chocolate brown (Limited Edition)
• Cuddle Frosted light golden yellow (Limited Edition)
• Warm & Cozy Frosted burnt amber with red and gold pearlized pigments (Limited Edition)

Mineralize Skinfinish ($27.00 U.S. / $32.50 CDN)

• Comfort Golden bronze (Limited Edition)
• By Candlelight Golden pink (Limited Edition)

Nail Lacquer ($12.00 U.S. / $14.50 CDN)

• Blissed Out Creamy light nude (Limited Edition)
• Dim the Lights Creamy warm dark chocolate (Limited Edition)

Tinted Lip Conditioner ($14.50 U.S. / $17.50 CDN)

• Close for Comfort Pinkish brown (Limited Edition)
• Feelin’ Good Light neutral beige (Limited Edition)

So, what are you excited about? Karla over at The Next Best Thing to Going Shopping Yourself managed to go swatching today, and got me even more excited about the collection. I am really hearting on all 4 eyeshadows, especially since they are almost matte, which for me is a big deal. I really don't have too many matte style shadows, and as much fun as shimmers are, mattes are really feeding into that more mature sophisticaiton feeling I have going on right now. I think it's Mad Men withdrawal symptons. I wasn't that interested in the Mineral Skin Finish Powders until I saw Karla's swatch, and now I think that the By Candlelight one looks soooo pretty. I already knew that I was going to obsess over the lipsticks and glosses in this collection when I heard about it, and looking at them now, I'm most excited about Warm Me Up and Siss. Spiced Tea looks a little dark brown for me (I have freakily pink lips - once a MAC counter make up artist asked me five times if I was sure I hadn't put anything on today when she was making me up she thought my lips were so pink!), but if it's a sheer glaze finish, then it might be awesome actually... I'm not a mad lip gloss girl, and currently have about 12 that I haven't even opened (I'm looking at you Magic Mirth and Mischief lipgloss sets), but 2N and Feeling Dreamy look lovely. Shadesticks, I'm definitely avoiding you. I know that you're the sort of thing that I buy, put in a drawer and never use again. Not this time, my friend. Not this time. 

What about you guys? Anything that you have to have to have from this collection?