November Favorites ♡ Twenty Thirteen

This month honestly flew by! I can't believe it's almost December. As always, here are a few of my favorite products from this month!

Beauty 

01. Mac's Bare Study Paint Pot- I've been wearing this shade a whole lot this month as a base for my lid shadow! Bare Study is described as a "soft beige with gold pearl" (Mac Cosmetics), but I also find this color extremely icey and bright. It's great for creating an eye look that has a highly contrastive lid shade and crease shade, and it looks awesome with a deep brown or smokey crease. I truly love this paint pot in the colder months, and it's absolutely perfect for November-December!

02. Mac's Ever Elegant Pigment- Another one of my reaches this month! I love using this to create a nice maroon smokey lower lash line that compliments many neutral eye looks. This also looks absolutely beautiful foiled, if you're interested in creating a really deep burgundy eye look. I'd recommend this pigment mostly for the crease, and it's actually makes a great pair with Bare Study (above). Just pop some Bare Study all over the lid, and then use a dome brush to pick up some of Ever Elegant and work that into the crease, there you have a simple and gorgeous holiday eye look!

03. Mac's Viva Glam V Lip Combo: Lipstick & Lipglass- This is by far my favorite nude lip combo! It's not too brown and not too nude. Both the lipstick and the lipglass look gorgeous on their own, but I would recommend investing in both of these products. The combination creates an entirely different, almost new, nude sparkle that's absolutely gorgeous! I've been adoring this all month and will most definitely continue to use it all winter!

04. Mac's Diva- I just purchased Diva this month and I can't stop wearing it already! This is described as an "intense reddish-burgundy" via Maccosmetics.com, and it's also a matte lipstick, which most definitely adds to it's intensity! It's literally the most gorgeous deep red and I'm so excited to wear this color for the next few winter months! Deep cherries and burgundy lip colors are totally in, so run by your local Mac and definitely pick this up!

Swatches! 

Miscellaneous 

05. Essie's Bordeaux- Another product I picked up this month, but I literally adore this color! It's a gorgeous deep wine red, and I love it for the beginning of winter! It's sophisticated, rich, and overall just super pretty.

06. Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Lock-in Treatment- I've been using this spray before blow drying my hair ever since I went to the redside. I love the way this smells, and I've noticed a change in how well my hair is keeping its color after using this lock-in treatment. My hair hasn't lost a tinge of it's color and I owe it to this and my new hair routine!

07. Batiste Dry Shampoo- By far the best dry shampoo I've ever used and I've been loving it this past month. It keeps my hair looking fresh and really reduces excess oil. If your in search of a new dry shampoo, or you just dyed your hair, seriously, go buy this. You won't regret it!

08. Philosophy's Cinnamon Buns Shower Gel/ Shampoo/ Bubblebath- I've fallen in love with this! It's been my daily shower gel everyday this month, and it literally smells like heaven! It's extremely moisturizing, creamy, and gentle to any skin type, and although I don't use it as a shampoo/ bubble bath, I admire it's versatility. It's amazing, and perfect for holiday time!

Fashion 

09. Twerkin for a Birkin- I purchased this shirt from Necessary Clothing downtown in SoHo and I absolutely love it. Not only is it witty and ironic, it's also super cool and looks great with any jacket and beanie!

10. Jeffrey Campbell Evangelina Mesh Bootie- I got these from Nasty Gal in the beginning of November and they're one of my new favorite pairs of shoes! They're gorgeous, unique, and super comfortable.

Instas 

01. Twelfth Night & Richard III feat. Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry 

02. Vic and I @ Motivo NYC

03. Roses from Holden :)

04. Building art in NoHo

I hope your November was as awesome as mine!

Here's to December!

"Then let them use us well: else let them know,

The ills we do, their ills instruct us so."

[Othello 4.3]

Cheers, x

Thanksgiving Eye Looks ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today, as my thank you to you, I put together four different eye looks that are great for your Thanksgiving dinner tonight, or any upcoming fall | winter day. The first three are on face charts, and the last is the eye look I'm sporting today for Thanksgiving! Let me take this time to thank everyone who has supported, commented, and been an active reader of my blog. It truly means the world that you guys enjoy reading my posts and looking at my photographs. So, thank you! 

Lezzz go.

For these looks, I used four very different palettes and shadows!

. 01 .

For Look 1, I used theBalm's Nude'Tude Palette. I started with Snobby all over the lid, and put a thick amount of Sexy in the crease. Blend Sexy out a bit so the lines aren't too harsh. I then smudged Mac's Eye Pencil in Lord it Up (Archie's Girls) on the lower lash line to give it a bit of a smokey look. Finish with mascara.

For the cheeks, I went with Mac's Mocha, a nice matte pink, and I finished off the look with one of my favorite lip combos ever: Mac's Viva Glam V Lipstick and Lipglass.

. 02 .

For look 2, I used Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette. I went with a more neutral eye and bold liner and lip for this one. I started with UD's Bootycall on the inner half lid with my Mac 239. Moving toward the middle of the lid, I flipped over my Mac 239 brush and went in with Suspect on the other half of the lid. Make sure you blend the shades out in between so there are no harsh lines! I then went in with a Mac 217 and added Snakebite to the crease. Blend this all out and feel free to use Foxy as a highlight for the brow bone and inner tear duct.

To add some bold black, I went in with an angled brush with my Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink and created a cute cat eye. I finished off this look with Mac's Plum Foolery Blush and Mac's Rebel on the lips!

. 03 .

For look 3, I only used two of my favorite shadows I own! I started with Urban Decay's X all over the lid, this is a gorgeous melon champagne shade. To add some bold color in the crease, I went in with Mac's Ever Elegant Pigment, and placed that along the crease, blended up toward the brow bone. I finished it off with a little cat eye using my Mac's Lord it Up pencil once again.

I added theBalm's Betty-Lou Manizer Powder as blush, and added a bit of sparkle to the lips with Mac's Dazzleglass in Rags to Riches. 

. 04 .

Finally, the look I'm wearing tonight!

For my last look, I used theBalm's Rockstar Palette! I started with Iron Maid-i n towards my inner corner/ inner half of my lid with my Mac 239. I went about halfway on the lid with this, then went in with the other side of my 239 brush with Alice Copper. I just did a few pats of this maroon color right on the center of my lid. I then took my Mac 217 and went in with Moderato and created a V shape on the outer half of my lid. Be careful to blend these shades in delicately so that you create an almost ombré-like / gradual look. 

Without Liner/ Mascara: 

With Liner/ Mascara: 

I finished this look off with my Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink on my upper lash line, as well as Presto from the Rockstar Palette on my lower lash line. I used Mac's Fascinating Eye Kohl on my waterline and added about 3-4 coats of mascara! For blush, I used Mac's Mocha and I used the Mac Viva Glam V combo on my lips!

Finished Look!

My crown is from Forever 21 and my turtleneck is from Necessary Clothing.

Happy Thanksgiving !! 

"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks."

[Twelfth Night 3.3]

Cheers, x

PS. Fun fact: This is my 100th post on Killer Queen! (woo)

Winter Weekly Wear ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Although it's not truly winter yet, welcome to the first of my Winter Weekly Wear posts! I decided to start my 'winter' ones because the weather outside has been awfully chilly lately. Additionally, due to the foggy, cold, and wet rain out, we decided to take this week's photos indoors! I still did sport my new winter jacket for you guys though (its brand new- hell yeaaaa!) 

Let's get into it!

Today I sported a buttoned up sheer black blouse with a high collar (my signature, of course) from Forever 21. I paired it with a black tank underneath and these awesome half leather/ half plain black pant I purchased from Nasty Gal. My booties are Leuven Alexander Jora's. 

It's a super frigid day here in NYC, so I sported my new army green Unif coat from Urban to give this look a (warm) pop of color. In addition to my jacket, I added my black beanie from Shopjeen for additional warmth!

Finally, I added another pop of color with my adorable Mab Mini in Plum from Rebecca Minkoff. 

Finally, my nail color is Bahama Mama by Essie and I'm also sporting Mac's Rebel!

Stay tuned for a fun Thanksgiving post coming your way!

♡ Photography by Avery Bart ♡

"It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance"

[Macbeth 2.3]

Cheers! x

Color Care ♡ Twenty Thirteen

♡ Photograph by Avery Bart ♡

As you guys may have noticed, my hair is now red! I've got it done red a few times before (about once a year since my Junior year of high school, so for the past 3 winters). Red hair is extremely hard to maintain, so I'm gonna share with you guys my tips to color care!

Leezzzgo.

When Washing/ Blow Drying 

I've used a few different color care shampoo and conditioners in my day, but I always come back to Garnier Fructis' Color Care Shampoo & Conditioner. The trick with washing red toner or dye is to keep the shampoo and conditioner to a minimum, so I'd say to use about a quarter (as in the coin) size dollop of shampoo and a dime size of conditioner. A little goes a long way for washing color treated hair. Especially with the color red, you want to avoid washing your hair everyday, I wash it every 2 days (Even though it's recommended to only wash red hair twice a week to make sure the color really doesn't get stripped- but I prefer to wash it more than that!!)

After showering, I love to use these two sprays while my hair is still damp. I start by spraying my It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Product, which has been a favorite of mine for a few years now! This keeps your hair from getting dried out and helps prevent dead ends. I then spritz a little of my Rusk Deep Shine Color Care Spray, (which smells awesome by the way) and this helps to lock-in color for any hair type or shade!

Next, after both sprays, I blow dry my hair normally with a round brush. I would recommend putting your dryer on low and cool only when you have colored hair. Heat and heat styling tends to strip color the fastest, so it's best to keep the heat to a minimum. Same with styling with curling irons or flat irons, I'd recommend keeping the temperatures as low as possible. 

For days without washing

For those days when I don't wash my hair, I dry shampoo it with Batiste! I've heard great things about this product and actually didn't pick it up since recently, and I love it! I work this under my top and side layers as well as under my hair with a round brush. If your looking for a dry shampoo, I'd highly recommend this one! (Tip: Use Dry Shampoo to volumize curls! Just spray some in after curling your locks for some bounce and volume!)

Happy coloring!

"When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain"

[Richard II 2.1]

Cheers, x

Autumn Weekly Wears ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Yes, ladies and gents, my hair is red! I've been pretty bored with my hair lately so I decided to give it some (tasteful!) color! (Stay tuned for a hair care post for color treated hair coming soon!)

Today was a pretty chilly day here in Manhattan, so I put together this cute look that is warmer than it appears...

I paired this adorable black silk blouse from Forever 21 (loveee this high collar) with my black skater skirt, also from Forever 21. Hidden underneath my blazer, I sported a black sweater from Urban Outfitters to keep warm! I topped this off with my tan wool blazer from J.Crew! (Note; wool is a secret weapon when it comes to cold weather! Look for wool jackets to keep your layers at a minimum)

I sported my sweet orange round sunnies from Necessary Clothing as well!

Finally, I paired this all with black sheer tights and black high knee socks from Urban Outfitters, my black Steve Madden Combat boots, and a vintage red bag! The mix of the orange-red sunnies and the red bag really brought out my new red deep hair color! The red on my lips is YSL #04!

♡ Photography : Avery Bart ♡

Happy November!

"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face"

[Macbeth 1.4]

Cheers! x

Get Ready With Me: Fall Edition ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Makeup 

Prime: Clinique's Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

Canvas: Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer in Sand

Conceal: Benefit's Erase Paste & Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer in #10

Set: Makeup Forever Pro > Finish Powder 

Eye Prime: Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Brow Powder: Anastasia Brow Powder in Brunette

Brow Set/Gel: Great Lash Clear Mascara

Eye Base: Mac's Indianwood

Shadows from Urban Decay's Naked Palette

Indianwood 

UD's Half Baked on the lid

UD's Smog in the crease ++ blend blend blend!

UD's Virgin for highlighting the brown bone and tear duct & UD's Hustle for the lower lash line

Drug Store Ardell Lashes 

Bobbi Brown's Gel Liner on the upper lash line

Mac's Fascinating Eye Kohl on the waterline & L'Oreal's Voluminous Mascara

Dior's Amber Diamond Luminizer, NARS Laguna, & Mac's Mocha Blush

Mac's Honeylove lipstick!

Set with Mac's Fix+ and UD's DeSlick

Finished Product!

♡ Photography : Avery Bart ♡

"Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart."

[Troilus and Cressida 5.3]

Cheers! x