Plastic Fantastic

COAT: ℅ Kling TIGHTS: Target (similar) SHOES: Kohls (old - similar) SCARF: ℅ Yummy You! WOODEN ICE CREAM PIN: ℅ The Floral Prince FELT ICE CREAM PIN: ℅ Clairey Lou Creations

A sure fire way to counteract the dreary, rainy weather outside? Dress up like a pastel cream pastry, but of course! This plastic number from Kling has quickly become my favorite coat for rainy weather because it's water safe and still adorable - just look at that Peter Pan collar!

And how absolutely precious are these ice cream pins? The wooden one is by a blogger I've admired for her art and style for ages, Miss Rachel, so I was overjoyed when she sent me one of her adorable hand illustrated ice cream pins!

This felt pin by Clairey Lou Creations is another gem - the amount of love and time that went into creating this piece is evident!

And to finish off the almost sickeningly sweet outfit, I paired it with one of my most treasured processions, a beautiful Sanrio scarf by Twinkie Chan! As I said when giving away one of her cupcake scarves a few months ago, I have been a huge admirer of Twinkie's work for years now and her pieces are even more stunning in person!

I've been a busy bee this last week working, making up to-do lists and goals for the year, and it has definitely improved my mood (this nonstop gray weather was getting to me ahhh!) - plus eating donuts definitely doesn't hurt either…! ^o^ I hope this Monday is treating you kindly! <3

Olypsticks: The Lipstick Olympics

With the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics coming to a close this Sunday, I thought it would be fun to put my lipstick collection to the test and determine my favorite lipsticks in several categories - and the Olypsticks was born!

Obviously, this is limited to my own collection of lipstick and is not all encompassing. Please please tell me your favorite lipsticks for each category too (OR YOU COULD DO YOUR OWN OLYPSTICKS POST ^O^)! <3

Prettiest Tube:
Gold: Tom Ford, Paradiso // The rectangular tube's striking white and gold design screams luxe and elegance.
Silver: MAC, RiRi Woo // MAC's limid edition collections are always among my favorites for their original packaging, and this rose gold design for the RiRi <3's MAC collection is practically perfect!
Bronze: Revlon Lip Butters, Wild Watermelon // I'm smitten with the pretty quilt patterned case that houses the matching lip color inside!

Best Matte:
Gold: MAC, RiRi Woo/Ruby Woo // While this matte lipstick *does* have a very dry formula, this is without a doubt my favorite red for it's gorgeous color and staying power.
Silver: Wet n Wild, Cherry Picking
Bronze: Revlon, Wine Not // Revlon's matte line is unfortunately no longer in production, but keep your eye out for Wine Not, Really Red, and Strawberry Suede on ebay, Amazon, and in drugstores that still stock older products because their formula is amazing - vibrant, completely matte, and not too drying!
Honorable Mention: NYX

Most Pigmented:
Gold: Urban Decay, Jilted // Hyper pigmented and available in a large array of colors, Urban Decay's new line of lipsticks are stunners.
Silver: Wet n Wild, 24 Carrot Gold // If you've been following me for a while, you will know Wet n Wild's line of lipsticks are some of my very favorites (ever) - they out perform some of the "high end" lipsticks I own in terms of pigmentation and longevity and are only $2 a pop!
Bronze: MAC, Ruby Woo // One of the most talked about reds on the market, this lipstick would look good on just about anybody.

Best Value:
Gold: Wet n Wild, Red Velvet // Again, I can't stop seeing praises for these lipsticks - ONLY TWO DOLLARS.
Silver: Revlon, Lover's Coral // Revlon never fails me; with a pretty selection of colors, smooth formula, and with good color pay-off - these lipsticks are a steal at $6 (and are always going on sale)!
Bronze: NYX, Chloe // NYX has quickly become one of my very favorite makeup brands - their round lipsticks are only $4 a pop and with a huge variety of colors, you're bound to find one you'll love!

Most Moisturizing:
Gold: Revlon's Lip Butters, Sweet Tart // After hearing rave after rave about them, I thought there was no way Revlon's lip butters would live up to the hype - they did. Ranging for sheer to more vibrant colors, each one I've tried is incredibly moisturizing and comfortable on the lips - I have three and I can't help but want a million more!
Silver: Too Faced, Juicy Melons // This lipstick just glides on my lips, keeps them hydrated, and still provides good color pay-off - truly impressive.
Bronze: Urban Decay, F-Bomb // The moisturizing formula and high pigmentation of this lipstick makes it a star in my book! Only downside? This lipstick definitely needs a lipliner to keep from feathering!

Best Scent:
Gold: MAC, Rebel // MAC's infamous sweet, vanilla scent is an obvious answer, but it's truly my favorite!
Silver: Too Faced, Juicy Melons // I was immediately struck by the original fragrance this lipstick has - it reminds me of chocolate oranges (I'm not sure why?)!
Bronze: Tom Ford, Paradiso // Along the same lines as MAC's signature scent, this lipstick has a very sweet smell that is absolutely beautiful!

I'll be back next week with a sugary sweet outfit, until then…! <3

Primp & Pamper

With stressful lives and the gloomy weather, feeling blue in the last legs of winter is almost inevitable. In times like these, I think we all deserve an hour or so just to ourselves for self care in the form of relaxing and pampering. Since I've been feeling a little glum myself, I thought I'd outline some of my favorite ways to "treat yo self"!

Put On Your Favorite Lipstick
Is it just me, or does putting on lipstick put anybody else in a good mood? I have found that devoting a couple minutes to experimenting with your makeup makeup collection has always been a bit therapeutic! After wanting and saving for months, I finally splurged on a Tom Ford lipstick (in Paradiso) and it is heaven. Another favorite? Too Faced's Juicy Melons.

Eat Your Favorite Candy
(Because candy is dandy)

Read a Magazine
While waiting for a face mask or your nails to dry, why not pour over one of your favorite magazines? I am currently smitten with Betty Magazine (look out for a post on this gorgeous magazine soon)!

Use a Face Mask
With a host of affordable to luxury face masks that deep clean, tighten pores or exfoliate on the market, your face deserves a bit of pampering - just don't forget the cucumber slices! n_~ (Here I used a purifying papaya mud mask)

Wear Perfume
I'm kind of guilty of using my perfume only for very, very special occasions - it's just so pretty and expensive I don't ever want to use it all up ;A; I do think, however, spritzing yourself with a lavish scent can be just the right way to perk up your mood! I love Marc Jacob's Daisy (I've had it for years and it still smells perfect!) and Nicki Minaj's fragrance.

Paint Your Nails
Filing and painting one's nails is something I haven't gotten the hang of yet (seriously, how do you people get your nails into specific shapes?!), but now that my nails have grown out (I bite them when I'm nervous!) I've been painting them left and right! Here I'm wearing Wet n Wild's Tickled Pink.

How do you pamper yourself? ♡

Be Mine

SWEATER: ℅ MissGuided SKIRT: ℅ MissGuided (similar) SOCKS: American Apparel (similar) SHOES: Kohls (old) PURSE: Aldo

Happy Valentine's Day babes! Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, have a significant other or friends and family to say your I love yous too - I hope you have a beautiful day and eat lots of on sale chocolate! ^__^

(I centered the text on the purse here for aesthetic purposes)

After a snow storm, it was such a nice surprise when the snow melted and we had a string of days warm enough for me to slip into this a d o r a b l e outfit from Missguided! This skirt is seriously one of my most favorite possessions now - pink, plastic, and in a skater silhouette, it's like a wardrobe staple that got a little makeover! I paired it with an eyelash cropped sweater and American Apparel thigh highs for a Cher Horowitz-esque look :3

Also, this purse from Aldo is one of the cutest designs I have ever seen and I knew I had to have it (it just spoke to me, you know). Unfortunately when it arrived I noticed the text was completely off center - I'm currently in talks with Aldo to see if I can exchange it for a fixed version - fingers crossed please because this purse would be PERFECT otherwise! ;___; (I get too emotionally attached to clothing and accessories, I am know ;_;)

Do you have any Valentine's day plans? I want to hear all about them! n__n

60s Bombshell with Covergirl + $100 Giveaway

So, so excited to be sharing my second video with you guys! CoverGirl recently asked me to review their new Bombshell line comprised of mascara, eyeliner, and beautiful cream shadows which immediately reminded me of 60s French scarlets with smokey cat eyes like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot.

I picked up the Bombshell Volume by Lashblast Mascara in Very Black, Bombshell Intensity Liner in Pitch Black Passion, and Bombshell Shine Shadow Eye Shadows in Ooh La Lilac and Ice Queen at Wal-Mart and set to work transforming myself into a 60s bombshell!

It was so fun playing with these products - the cream shadows blended beautifully and I love that they could be sheered out or packed on to intensify the color. I usually don't use felt tip eyeliners, but found the Bombshell Intensity Liner worked like a dream for applying my favorite look - cat eyes!

I've been having terrible luck with mascaras - I've looked high and low (literally - both at high and low-end products!) but nothing has truly wowed me - but Bombshell Volume Mascara is something special! After applying with it's special duel ended wands - one a volumizing basecoat, the other a intensifying topcoat - not one but two people asked if I was wearing false lashes! Incredible.

ON MY FACE:
Smoothers Liquid Make Up in Buff Beige
TruMagic Skin Perfector
Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Blush Twist
Ice Queen
Ooh La Lilac
Bombshell Intensity Liner in Pitch Black Passion
Bombshell Volume by Lashblast Mascara in Very Black
Contouring Blush in Peach Perfection

And, CoverGirl is offering one Mermaidens' reader a $100 giftcard to Wal-Mart! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! Giveaway ends February 12th and is open to United States residents only. Winner will be contacted via email or twitter. If winner doesn't reply to email within 24 a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. The Walmart gift card and information have been provided by CoverGirl.

Hello February!

I know, I know - where have I been?! With the new year came a heap of obstacles that snowballed and left me unable to keep Mermaidens updated - boo! I've finally sorted everything out and am able to share new posts with you guys - and thank goodness because I have missed you all so much ;___;

After such an long hiatus, a post catching you up whats been going on in my life would be apropos, right?!:

One of my new years resolutions was to start drawing more, and my first instinct was to draw cute fruit patterned backgrounds (and isn't my strawberry iPhone case the cutest?)!

I interviewed Miss Marlena for MissRobin's newest issue and much to my surprise, I spotted an illustrated version of my face with Marlena alongside the article! You will be seeing more of this issue in a future post so stay tuned :3

Finally found my dream Forever 21 shirt that had been sold out for months and organized my makeup in a pretty way - okay I guess this really wasn't newsworthy but the picture is pretty!?

On January 19th, my cat Fi passed away. We found her on our doorstep in 1998 and she has followed me from ages 5 to 20 through several moves, new animals, and helped me cope with some of the hardest moments of my life. It was all very sudden and it's been very difficult to wrap my head around - but thanks to the outpouring of love and support I received from readers via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, email, etc - I feel like I am coming to accept it. I can't thank you enough if you sent me a note - it helped me more then I could ever articulate.

The highlight of the January was, without a doubt, eating donuts with photographer Hana Haley in Portland on the 23rd! When Hana approached me to model for her, I was a bit afraid it was too good to be true. In the back of my mind I have secretly wished I could model once or twice - but to be honest I never thought anybody would consider me particularly special enough to photograph and I worried my shyness would interfere if I DID get a chance, somehow.

So imagine my absolute bewilderment and glee when I found myself posing for one of my favorite photographers! I had the most wonderful time - Hana not only immediately put me at ease and helped me forget to be nervous posing in front of strangers, but proved to be extremely funny and it was a pleasure to watch her set up a shot. Saying I feel extremely blessed and lucky to work with such a talented lady is an understatement and I will forever be grateful for such a wonderful opportunity! Hana has updated a few pictures from the shoot here and I will be making a post with the full series when it is released! <3

Please please let me know you have been and I hope you have a beautiful week!