I love holiday nail polish collections because there's so much sparkle and GLITTER! 

Pizzazz is totally on my wishlist, but I wouldn't mind seeing all of these in my stocking this Christmas! Any of these pretty polishes catch your fancy?

*Disclosure: promotional pictures were provided by PR.

Alima Pure is a company I’m really excited about. They have foundation, primer, concealer, bronzer, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lip balm, and brushes that are vegan, cruelty-free, and free of irritants such as bismuth oxychloride. They’re so convinced you’ll love their product that Alima has a guarantee that you’ll love any full sized product that you purchase, or you can return it within 30 days. 

I’ve been wanting to try Alima products for awhile, since I’ve heard fabulous reviews about them on MakeupAlley, and they’ve been featured in Whole Living, Allure, Glamour, Nylon, Real Simple, Body+Soul, and other magazines. And when I found out that their company is in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, I was super stoked. I’ve got a lot of hometown pride. I was born and raised in the Pacifc Northwest (Portland/Vancouver) and it’s a pretty great place to live. Yeah, there is a lot of rain, a lot of hippies/protesters and a lot of all around weirdness. But it also has breweries, vinyards, shopping, scenery, outdoor activities, art, beaches, mountains and awesome indie companies, like Alice Cosmetics.

I was sent the Let Them Eat Cake collection. Unfortuantely, this particular limited edition collection is no longer available, but there are over 100 other eyeshadows to choose from, and they have new limited edition seasonal collections coming out all the time.

So let’s take a bite... I mean... a look.

I'm a vegetarian, but I do sometime eat eggs, milk, and seafood. Eggs are a great source of protein, but I don't really like them. The smell of cooking eggs kinds of gross me out, and I'm not a fan of the taste or texture. However, I haven't found a lot of breakfast options that keep me full until lunch, and don't upset my tummy. I was getting a little tired of having my tried and true protein shake for breakfast every day, so I decided to give eggs another shot.

I do like cheesy scrambled eggs--the kind that's mostly cheese, with a little egg thrown in there. It's what I grew up eating as a kid (well, that and scrambled eggs with ketchup, which I ate so often as a kid that I can't even look at it now as a grown-up). But unfortunately, cheesy scrambled eggs are a little high in calories and fat. Was it even possible to revamp the recipe to be low calorie and high protein--and still taste delicious?

It was!!! After a little trial and error, I came up with this recipe... 

Marilyn's Cheesy Low-Cal/High-Protein Scramble
(172 calories, 23 grams of protein)

• 4 egg whites
• 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb Cheese
• 2 tsp Kraft Natural Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese (the powdery kind)
• 1 stick Weight Watchers Smoked Mozzarella String Cheese
• 1 tiny pinch steak seasoning
• 1/2 cup chopped greens (optional)

Heat skillet to med-high. Spray on a little olive oil (I have a Misto that I like for this). Chop up cheeses into smaller pieces. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Pour into skillet and stir occasionally, cooking according to your preferences.

It's not a fancy recipe by any means--but if you're short on time in the morning, you can still have a breakfast that's simple and easy and healthy and TASTY and WARM. AND, this recipe can be adapted to your own tastes and caloric needs--for example you could do 1 entire egg and 3 egg whites, or use egg substitute (about 1/2 cup, which is two servings), or more/less cheese, or use other seasonings (curry, Old Bay, etc). Sometimes I like to round out my breakfast by adding potatoes o'brien (80 calories per cup) and/or a little fruit.

What's your favorite quick and easy breakfast?

LUSH Emotional Brilliance Liquid Eyeliner in Quietly Motivated
$22.95 for 0.2 oz

Described as a "warm chocolate brown," but I'd say it kind of leans toward a bronzey taupe, actually. The price tag does seem a bit high, but the color was mesmerizing. And LUSH's liquid eyeliner does technically come with more product inside than your typical eyeliner, though I seriously wonder how long it'll be useable or how much of the product you'll actually be able to get out of the bottle. The brush applicator is attached to the lid, which isn't very convenient. It easily frays and its difficult to get the right amount of product. This particular color applied fairly well--not as streaky or as sheer as some of the other liquid eyeliners from LUSH. However, I ended up returning this product to LUSH because it made my eyelids sting for awhiel when I applied it (even after it had dried completely). It's very rare that I have any sort of reaction to skincare or makeup products, and LUSH's salespeople had told me how soothing the ingredients were when I bought it--I don't know what's in this that was making my eyelids burn. The uncomfortable weird feeling did eventually stop, and I did try it a few more times with similar problems.

The salespeople said a few other customers had reported similar side effects. I'm going to steer clear of LUSH eye products. Stila and Urban Decay both make fabulous liquid liners that come in a rainbow of colors, with better pigmentation, and NO irritation. 

Lipgloss+Spandex rating:

Eyes:

• Concrete Minerals Eye Primer
• MAC Pressed Pigment in Warming Heart (lid)
• MAC Eye Shadow in Club (crease)
• MAC Eye Shadow in Plumage (outer V)
• Ulta Automatic Eyeliner in Teal Blue (lower lashline)
• Essence get BIG! lashes Volume Boost Mascara in Black

Face:

• Mary Kay TimeWise Foundation
• Benefit Boooing Concealer
• Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Fetish
• Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush in Living Doll

Lips:

• Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment

Michael Kors just came out with the Paris watch, a limited edition timepiece that will debut this fall. I saw this watch and fell in love. I love just about anything pink and shiny, and this totally is. But it's also elegant and timeless. 

And, it would TOTALLY go with items that I already have in my wardrobe!

I don't own those exact items, but they're all pretty basic. I have a white pleather moto jacket from Forever 21 (about $30), some Forever 21 dark wash skinny jeans (about $11), several pairs of leather boots that I've picked up over the years (on sale for around $100 each, from Jessica Simpson, Ann Taylor, Seychelles), and a TON of scarves. A simple neutral tank top with a bit of a sheen to the finish helps pull the look together, in my opinion. 

I'd pair it with some makeup and beauty products perfect for fall--matte black nail polish, a subtle blush (in a dusty rose color, to coordinate with the watch!), a dark burgundy lip, and a smoky eye with just a smidge of shimmer.

Love your Michael Kors watch? Show us how you wear it! Share your photo on Instagram with the tag #MKTimeless for a chance to win our Paris Limited Edition Runway watch.




Disclosure: In exchange for writing this post, I will receive a pair of Michael Kors aviator sunglasses.

My fiance threw me an awesome Rock Band party, complete with black lights, a strobe light, miscellaneous colored lights, and a fog machine. It definitely makes playing plastic instruments seem a whole lot cooler ;) It was SO FUN.

Yep, we totally dressed up like rock stars.

But I haven't worked out the past three days because I've been trying to clean and cook for the party, and then I had a MASSIVE CHEAT DAY on the day of my party... I had TONS of delicious food. I picked up a few extra pounds, and there's a lot of stuff to clean up, but it was fun to just treat myself and have a good time with friends. (Apologies to the neighbors, who had to listen to me sing for hours....)

Today it's time to get back on track... Going to hit the gym, go to the craft store, and get MAC Marilyn Monroe makeovers with the girls!

What are your weekend plans? 

This month, Laura Mercier is adding a lot of new products to their permanent collection. They have two completely new products--their brand new Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colours (which comes in 18 shades) and their brand new Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Creme Compact SPF20 (which comes in12 shades). 

In addition to these new items, they're adding more color options to their current permanent lineups of Laura Mercier Lip Liners (7 new shades) and are also adding a new fragrance, Ambre Vanille, to the Laura Mercier Bath & Body Collection. 

I was excited to receive two products from this release to test out and review, the Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Rosewood, and the Lip Pencil in True Red.