NARS 'Spring Color Collection' Pure Matte Lipstick

$25.00 by NARS at Nordstrom

If you're anything like me, you get so excited for the Spring collections by mid-January that the concept of a dark lip seems so....last year (literally). Between the newness of Fashion Week and the influx of Spring products, I just can't (and won't) anymore. I was so pleased to discover NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Valparaiso, a true seasonless berry. It reminds me of MAC's Rebel, but with a pinch more depth and (obviously) matte.

Valparaiso is named after a city in Chile quickly becoming renowned as the country's cultural capital. It's home to Chile's first volunteer fire department, first public library and the oldest Spanish language newspaper to be consistently published in the world. Who knew product names could be so educational?

As for the Pure Matte formula, it goes on quite emollient and dries down to a smooth satin finish I wore it out all days hopping on Saturday with no need for lip balm and only reapplied four times (in 8 hours including a brunch, two cocktails and a snack).

How do you defeat the pre-Spring blues? Do you opt for seasonally inappropriate shades or stay inside the lines?

Frankly, I love a polish strip. There's not a week that I wear them that I don't receive an array of comments from my coworkers, including but not limited to the following:

• How did you do that?!
• Are those the stickers (with an accompanying motion)?
• I can't seem to apply those right - is there some trick?

There's not an elaborate ritual that goes into applying any of the polish strips on the market. It's best that you take your time and apply them when you're relaxed (I prefer Sunday nights with a glass of wine). Run a cotton pad soaked in alcohol or polish remover before applying and measure carefully to make sure that you're using the right strip.

Last week I decided to use Mirage from Incoco, a great graphic print mixing black and a purple-pink. I love Incoco's choice of strips, from colors to glitters to prints, plus the tools that accompany each strip pack. The strips are always a consistent quality and come in a variety of colors and prints that you can find anywhere else.

Have you tried this new category of nail products yet? Have them become a staple for you?

Over the past month, I've struggled a lot with the balance of my time between professional and personal. At the end of the work day, I'm exhausted and by Friday, I can't seem to stay awake past 8pm. On weekends, I've been staying in, sleeping and generally hiding away from the world just to re-up for the week ahead. Sometimes, even the most normal of activities seems to take so much out of me.

They say that transitioning into a new full time job can be quite taxing, but if you're reading this (and bless you if you are), you'll notice that my updates are becoming less and less frequent. It's certainly not for a lack of desire or content. I simply can't muster the energy to write a post most days, and frankly it's breaking my heart. Over this three day weekend, I've thought about my time, how to reclaim it and who to share it with. After a very relaxing lunch with friends, I came to an epiphany - I struggle with control.

Perhaps that element of control is what draws me to fashion and beauty, since it allows me to control how I am perceived and to an extent, how I perceive myself. If there was ever an opportunity for me to reclaim control over my time and all the other aspects of my life that are slipping out of reach, it is certainly now.

For months, I've neglected my friends, my site and most importantly my personal goals in an attempt to be everywhere and everything to everyone. The more I think about who I want to be and where I see myself in the future, the more I realize that I don't need to be super girl or an over-achiever. I just simply need to be myself.

Sometimes it's easy to get the wool pulled over your eyes online. So-and-so has more money than I do, a better job, a better wardrobe or is a harder worker than I am. We're consuming perfectly polished content while sitting at home in our underwear eating fried chicken and feeling sorry for ourselves. What may have started as a platform for personal expression has now evolved into an ego driven, all consuming space where people (politely) make demands and believe that they know every aspect of your life. In the end, you can end up giving everything away and leaving nothing left for yourself.

After all this thinking, I have decided to embark on a personal journey. I want to provide my body with the fuel it needs to sustain demanding work days and have the opportunity to catch up with the relationships I've neglected. I want to explore paths to achieve my personal and professional goals without the constant feeling that I owe someone something. Most of all, I just want a little room to breathe.

I'd love to know if any of you have felt this way and how you've reclaimed control of the things that are most important to you. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

xo

This holiday season was a little rough (working in ecommerce + family visiting = many, many Jessie Spano moments). so I didn't get around to thinking about 2012 until...2012. I'm not typically one to make resolutions, as I believe that I am a work in progress and my evolution isn't dictated by the calendar. The more I thought about where I'd like to evolve to in 2012, including intellectually and aesthetically, I've found myself gravitating towards the following:

A Return To Pink

Last year, I fully embraced every shade of red, including abandoning some of my favorite pink lipsticks. This year, I'm making a conscious effort to bring back the pink. Some of my current faves:

• MAC's Pink Pigeon lipstick
• MAC's Mineralize Blush in Subtle Breeze
• Old Navy's Satin 3/4 Sleeve top in Fuchsia Fusion
• Marc by Marc Jacobs Memphis Colorblock Top Handle Satchel

A Different Spot

Almost every day, I will end up wearing at least one leopard item thanks to years of pure obsession. While leopard will never leave my heart, it's time to move on to - to polka dots! Here's a few pieces I've had my eyes on:

• Marc by Marc Jacobs Dot Print Scarf (already purchased!)
• Marc by Marc Jacobs Dotty Snake Print Shoulder Bag
• Lane Bryant's Sheer Moon Top

Serious Skincare

There are so many things that I know that I should do to properly take care of my skin, but I fall short almost daily. It's time that I get serious before time catches up with me and takes my sins out on my face. I've been making great strides (though not consistently) with a little help from my friends:

• Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Midnight Recovery Eye
• Philosophy Help Me
• Mario Badescu Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30
• Artistry Time Defiance Cleanser

Reading Is Fundamental

Don't get me wrong - there's no way that I could begin reading Tolstoy, but it's nice to take the written experience away from blogging and back to the exploration of a story. I'm not one for serious topics, especially in my entertainment, but a few books I've enjoyed reading through lately have been:

• The Hunger Games trilogy (all three only took me four days to finish)
• Bringing Home The Birkin: My Life In Hot Pursuit Of The World's Most Coveted Handbag
• The Secret Of Chanel No 5: The Intimate History Of The World's Most Famous Perfume

What has the arrival of 2012 inspired you to change?