Eye Spy: Lita, is that you?

Image via Google Images. Click image to purchase JC Litas via Solestruck.

I'm sure most of you fashion and personal style blog loving ladies are familiar with Jeffrey Campbell and his luscious Lita, but how many of you can afford or want to invest in what some are calling a fad shoe? Trendy or not, faddish or not, I want a closet full of Litas! Unfortunately, unemployment isn't conducive to my luxe shoe desires. That is until I came across these...

Image via GoJane.com. Click to purchase.

And these...

Image via GoJane.com. Click to purchase.

And all these...

Images via GoJane.com. Click to purchase.

And Ohhh Emmm Geeee golly wow, these bad gals!

Leopard. Print. Camo. Wannabe. Litas. Now I really do not like cheap shoes, I mean my poor feet HATE cheap shoes....but these? THESE!?! I had to have them...and so I got them! Yep, sure did.


As soon as they arrived (shipping was quick, just a few days) I snatched them out of the box, put them on my footsies and stomped down my hallway like I was Naomi Campbell. I freaking love these shoes! I wore them out and about for 6-8 hours and strutted on carpet, concrete and hardwood floors and got nary a blister. Now, my feet did hurt after I removed them but that could be because I'm not used to wearing heels anymore. Not to say they're the most comfy shoes I've ever worn because they're not, but they were a lot more comfy than I expected. Here are the pros:


They're a reasonably priced dupe.
They're pretty light weight despite their chunky/clunky appearance.
They can be paired with just about ANYTHING.
They're GORGEOUS (IMO), not incredibly cheap looking.
Did I mention a fraction of the cost of JC's Litas? Yeah, that.


Cons:


The fabrication is not at all durable. Mine came with a spot on them and when I tried to clean it off, I scrubbed a light patch onto the shoe. Treat these babies with a protectant of some sort and DO NOT GET THEM WET/DIRTY.
They will probably hurt your feet if you aren't used to wearing 5 inch heels. Get some Dr. Scholls gel inserts.
There is no grip on the bottom of these shoes and you just might slip and fall on slick surfaces.






These are mos def transitional/test shoes as they aren't durable enough to last as long as authentic JC Litas. All in all, I recommend these babies to anyone with Lita dreams living on a Walmart budget. Oh, I also found the same Leo print booties for a little less here, the black faux suede here, the black faux leather here and the strappy black faux leather here. Actually, MakeMeChic.com has lots of JC dupes and a bunch of other cute stuff. It's a paradise of cute inexpensive shoes/clothes. Now if only I could find a dupe for these babies...

Image via SoleStruck.com. Click image to pre-order.

Absolutely breathtaking right? That my dears, is the new JC Lita Spike. It is now available for pre-order at SoleStruck.com. Please note, your card will be charged at the time you place your pre-order although the shoes won't ship until October 30th. Oh, shipping is free :-)


And that's it for this edition of Eye Spy. Have you spied with your little eye any interesting finds? Let a sistah know!

I get what I want...

This ASOS Fantasy Leopard print Belt?

Got it.


These ASOS London Rebel Lace Up Peep Toe Booties?

Got them.

This Alloy Leopard Print Satchel?

Got it.

What can I say...I love Leopard print and sales :-)

My first Stila look and my weekend retrospective :-)

Sooo, I didn't do a Stila look over the weekend. Actually, I didn't wear any makeup whatsoever over the weekend. I didn't do my nails, I didn't get fancy and I didn't leave the house. Sound fun? I agree. What I did do was continue to recuperate from this nasty little upper respiratory infection I've had for almost 3 weeks now. Though I'm feeling a lot better, I'm still not 100%. I'm hoping that by the end of this week I'll be back to my old self :-)
I also did a lot of reading, planning and talking to my Sun (I hope something sank in). I also spent too much time worrying about my BFF. He spent  lot of time with me while I was sick doing a little care-taking so I was fearful that he would contract my virus. On Saturday (I think) he told me he felt the beginnings of something (cringe) and that really worried me. That's how it all started for me. I'm hoping and praying that he won't get bogged down the way I was...this virus is no joke. On to the next...




Despite not using my new Stila palette all weekend, I did glance at it lovingly a few times, lol. Because I was all hyped up about my Apothica purchases coming so quickly I did a little shopping so the Stila and the Sheseido would have some new company, lol. Here's what I bought...

More Sephora...

Though I wanted to try out Orgasm by Nars, I just wasn't ready to pay $26 for one blush. Instead, I got this Sephora blush in Bronze Sensation (a shimmery rosey bronze), Abricot Plaisir (a shimmering natural apricot) and Peche Tendre (a matte warm light pink). The names are soooo extra though, I mean really. How am I supposed to pronounce them, lol. Anyway, I'm thinking that I can probably use these blushes to recreate Nars Orgasm. If not, I still have 3 pretty blushes as opposed to 1. I hope the colors look good on me.

Next I bought this Sigma F15 Duo Fibre Face Brush. Since I bought those pretty new blushes I knew I would need a decent blush brush. I actually meant to get the F50 but I'm hoping this brush will be just as good. I already have the Sigma eye brush kit and a small contour brush and am quite pleased with their quality. These brushes were mos def a worthwhile investment.




Last but no least, I bought a lot of stuff from ELF. I won't post pictures because it would take too long so I'll just list what I bought....


7 Luscious Liquid Lipsticks (I love these!) in Pink Lemonade '06, Bark, Maple Sugar, Caramel Candy, Brownie Points, Cherry Tart and Ruby Slipper


Eyelash curler, brow comb/brush and 2 eyelash/brow wands


The blush/bronzer duo that's supposed to be a dupe of Nars Laguna/Orgasm

A blush/highlighter called Gotta Glow


The 100 eyeshadow palette


The ELF Studio Treat&Tame in Dark


2 Mineral Lipsticks in Bare Brown and Prime Plum


And an ELF Essentials Lipstick called Fantasy


I probably don't need all the ELF stuff but I wanted it...so I got it, lol. There's just something so addictive about makeup and makeup tools...it's like...you can never have enough, lol. What say you? At any rate, I can't wait until all my goodies show up so I can play :-)


And now for my FOTD featuring my first Stila look...

1-24-11 FOTD = Stila Pale Pink shadow from upper lash line to browbone, Stila Dusty Rose shadow blended from upper lash line to crease, Stila Aubergine on upper lash line, L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara in Black on lashes, Sephora Flashy Liner in Flashy Ultra Brown smudge on waterline & lower lash line, Milani Blush in Sunset Beach on cheeks and Mabelline ColorSensational Lipstain in Bit of Brown topped with ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Maple Sugar on lips.

That blush application looks really bad to me but oh well...still learning. During the process of creating this look I wasn't sure I could pull it off and I wasn't quite sure I liked it. It's one of the looks from the booklet that came with the palette. All of the models in the booklet are white so I wasn't quite sure how the look I chose (let alone any of the others) would translate on my brown skin. In the end, I thought it was okay. The shadows give great color payoff and were pretty easy to work with. I noticed that the darkest color I used (Aubergine) was very powdery. I guess that's just the case with some shadows whether they're high end or not. All in all, I did okay and the look grew on me as the day went on. 

Here's the look and shadows I used...

You can clearly see which colors I used: Pale Pink, Dusty Rose and Aubergine. I don't really agree with all the names though...they don't always fit the colors.

As an experiment I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance on my right eye and the ELF Mineral Primer on my left eye. I wanted to see if there was really a difference between how well these two primers worked. TFSI is $18 at Sephora ($17.80 at Apothica) and the ELF Mineral Primer is $3 on the ELF website. Here is a picture of the look at around 10 AM...

I'm pointing to the TFSI eye. See how bright and clownish that blush looks? It's actually a combo of Desert Rose by NYX and Sunset Beach by Milani.

And here it is at around 11 PM...

Side by side close up comparison...

So thought there's some color fade, neither eye has obvious creasing. The ELF eye shows a little more wear and the beginnings of some creasing, but not enough to be glaringly obvious. 


Things I like about the ELF Mineral Primer:


It's thicker, blends out easily, works just as well as more expensive primers, long lasting, no drastic creasing even after 12 hours of wear, no smell and not as greasy as some primers I've tried. 


Things I dislike about the ELF Mineral Primer:


The container is cumbersome and will present a problem when trying to get all the product out. Shadow color fades as time goes by.


Things I like about TFSI:


Prevents creasing, comes in different shades and packaging will allow for removal and use of all product.


Things I dislike about TFSI:


The price, greasy feeling, product separates in tube and comes out messy, takes a while to blend out, the smell and color fades.




The $3 primer wins in my book. That's all folks!