end-of-winter opposite-of-blues

i must admit that more than my hair has been feeling the brunt of my lethargy lately, and *gasp* before last week i hadn't applied makeup, put in my contacts or painted my nails in about a month or two. thankfully, an article i read in feb 2011's shape magazine was all i needed to snap me out of it. this feature called "winter brights", which featured makeup so electric and happiness-inducing that i immediately wanted to bask in the glory that is sephora, had me looking up dupes for all the fab ideas listed: coral blush, hot pink lipstick, neon green liner, and bright sunny yellow nail polish. since my pockets won't allow that fantasy trip to sephora just yet, i chose to instead accompany the SO to walgreens and peruse the racks there. luckily for me, they happened to have one of the hot pink lipsticks from the article, milani color perfect in "rose hip." i promptly snatched it up, in addition to two cute maybelline color sensational lipsticks i had been eyeing for a while: red revival and coral crush. this pop of springtime radiance in my fist, i exited the store with a skip in my step. since i purchased these colors, i've worn the rose hip a total of 3 times and the coral crush twice. i'm still waiting for the right time to break out the sultry red lips....a date night, maybe? my general modus operandi is to do a simple black or brown eyeliner and just a hint of blush with the bright lips, a tip that has always served me well. wardrobe-wise, i'm also keeping it neutral: cool grey, black and tan pieces that let my makeup do all the talking.

the best side effect has been the overall impact on the rest of my beauty routine -- putting more time into my makeup has gotten me back into painting my nails as well, and as of now i am sporting china glaze's "for audrey," a nice sky blue shade, with sally hansen xtreme wear "blue me away," a shockingly bright turquoise, on my ring fingers. it makes me sad that i'll have to tone down the nails when i begin work on tuesday, but hey, that's what off days are for! in addition to getting back into my nail polish collection, i've also restarted my chemical peel schedule, since all that lovely makeup looks even more fab on flawless skin. i re-upped on a larger bottle of the 40% lactic acid peel from MUAC, as well as the 30% glycolic acid peel. i have done the LA peel twice, and i had forgotten how baby-butt smooth my face feels after one of these bad boys. i'll do these in prep for a TCA peel that i will do 2-3 weeks from now to tackle some of the hyperpigmentation i accumulated over the winter. although i am normally of the combination-skinned variety, for some reason my entire face was dry as the sahara for a good portion of the winter, and for me dry skin = breakouts galore. between the hydroquinone and the peels, i'm hoping to be in clear skin territory in time for memorial day.

i've started creating a wish list of products that i want to add into the springtime rotation. i hope to start checking things off my list within the next two weeks. although there's no real order to the items, i will admit i have been drooling over the blush ever since i first saw it, so that will probably be first on the list!

*l'oreal voluminous carbon black mascara...my diorshow iconic bit the dust, so why not try some drugstore mascaras?
*china glaze crackle glaze line....not sure when they come out, but i've wanted OPI's black shatter for a while now. a whole line of crackle polishes? count me in!
*MUFE HD blush in #6, quickie.....a great coral shade also inspired by the "winter brights" feature.
*bright yellow nail polish....haven't chosen an exact shade yet, but just thinking about the color excites me so!
*a lighter shade of MUFE HD foundation for my springtime skin....153 is oh-so-perfect for my summer tan, but right now it's just a bit dark.
*DDF ultra-lite oil free moisturizing dew....heard such good things about this moisturizer, and since i need a good one, why not try it out?
*gucci guilty....building my perfume arsenal one luxurious scent at a time.
*MUAC green tea cleanser....i really loved their bar, and now that it has been converted into a liquid cleanser chock full of antioxidants i am dying to try it!