Wedding Wednesday: Honoring A Departed Loved One

As we come closer to the big day I want to start sharing details about it here on The Chic Counsel. This new series will be called Wedding Wednesday and could encompass any aspect of wedding planning, bridal events, fashion choices, etiquette and reception activities. I'd love any and all feedback about these topics because brides can be some of the most indecisive people and I am, of course, no exception!

During this first installment of Wedding Wednesday, I want to talk about a topic really close to my heart which is honoring a departed loved one on this special day. My fiancé and I both have family members that, unfortunately, will not physically be in attendance of the festivities, but they will be there in spirit and in our hearts. In my case, this individual is my grandmother, or as I affectionately named her at a young age, Grammy.

Grammy was my very first best friend and taught me countless lessons about life, love, selflessness, compassion, respecting myself and standing my ground. We both have a flair for being strong-willed...I mean we are both Virgos, afterall!

Grammy made a profound impact on my life and it tears me apart knowing that I won't be able to hold her hand, look her in the eye and give her a great big hug right before I walk down the aisle and embark into this new adventure called marriage. This doesn't mean that she won't be present though, she will be on my mind in the days leading up to the wedding and the days thereafter as I live my life and follow in her footsteps.

A few ways that I plan to pay tribute to her on the day is to firstly save her a seat. I want her seat front and center during the ceremony and adorned with a small bouquet of white calla lilies right next to my mother.

I also want to light a candle in tribute to her next to my favorite photograph that you see pictured above with Grammy, my grandfather and great grandfather.

Lastly, I would like to wear a memento that reminds me of Grammy. When my family moved from New York to Texas, my Grammy and I were separated by miles, but she would always write me letters and send me cards and to this day, I still have most of them. I recently found a piece on Etsy that can take writing like a signature and create a piece of jewelry from it. I want to have one created that says "Love, Grammy" how she would always sign off in her letters to me. Everytime I look at it, I'll feel a bit closer to her and feel like she's sharing the moments and memories with me.

Honoring a loved one during the wedding day is very personal and I hope that my Grammy knows just how important she was and continues to be to me. There's no way that I would be the woman that I am today without her.

January 2015 Monthly Favorites

2015 is off to a great start and I'm excited to begin my monthly favorites videos! Today, I'm sharing all of my favorites from makeup, skincare, food, books and health! Cozy up on the couch and check out my latest monthly favorites in the video below.

Let me know, what are your January favorites?

Review: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

This is a long overdue post as I've found a new liner love in my life. I'd previously been a loyal fan of the Stila Stay All Day Liner, however, after hearing loads of rave reviews about the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, I decided it was worth a shot.

Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner is a unique brush-tipped liquid liner that delivers a true jet black pigment to the lids...or anywhere else that you'd like to apply it as you can see in Kat Von D's demo video.

There are a few reasons that I adore this liner. I've never encountered a liner that glides on this smooth and consistently. You won't have to deal with retracing your lines due to faded application areas like what you'd encounter with felt tipped liners.  The Tattoo Liner is also incredibly precise allowing you to venture deep toward the inner corner of your eye with ease and no mess. Lastly, it has impeccable staying power and doesn't budge until you remove it. Nuff said!

The packaging is the epitome of quality with a "spring-like" snap tight lid to ensure that the product lasts as long as possible. I've had my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner for months and it's still going strong! As impressive and gorgeous as this liner performs, I don't see myself venturing back to Stila anytime soon.

My only gripe with Kat Von D Tattoo Liner is that it seems to only be available in the jet black color, Trooper. I've heard murmurings of a blue color called Skater being available but have yet to witness it in person. If a few additional colors are released, dare I say, we are venturing into the territory of makeup perfection!

So, what about you? Have you tried the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner? Have you spotted other colors of the product? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret Swatches

Over the holidays, I was fortunate enough to snag the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret. This was a popular limited edition set of five satin and velvet matte lip pencils. If you weren't able to find this set during the holidays, check online and in-stores, but do it fast before they go away!

The set is a bit pricey with a $49 price tag, but the variety of colors, textures, size of the product and product staying power makes the price tag so worth it! I have to say that I really love the consistency and color payoff of both the satin and matte velvet pencils; they are great quality. That being said, I do love all of the colors, but for my specific skin tone, I would skip Descanso, the icy pink rose color, because it is a touch too cool for me.

Satin: Torres Del Paine | Soft Peachy Coral

Satin: Descanso | Icy Pink Rose

Satin: Yu | Electric Pink (Full FOTD here)

Matte: New Iberico | True Orange

Matte: Cruella | Scarlet

Which color is your favorite of the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to come back tomorrow to check out my first food post on the blog!

Face Of The Day: Shimmery Eyes & Electric Pink Lippy

I decided to incorporate one of the many lip swatches I have featured in tomorrow's post into my look today! I hope you enjoy it!

Base: Laura Mericer Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, Makeup Forever HD Powder | Brows: Anastasia Brow Wiz & Benefit Gimme Brow | Blush: NARS Orgasm | Eyes: Stila In The Light Palette (Discontinued) | Eyeliner: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner | Mascara: DiorShow Iconic Overcurl | Lips: NARS Satin Lip Pencil - Yu (Swatches)

5 New Beauty Products

I want to share a few new beauty products have recently come onto the scene and successfully made their way onto my personal wish list. It must be said that there were several new products that piqued my interest, so those are in my honorable mention category, but you can visit my Pinterest page to check out what else I'm interested in. Now without further ado...

1. Starting with the Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black Solid Perfume Compact, which is obviously made for handbag travel. I was so excited to see this product come out because I adore the Nirvana Black rich, romantic and sultry scent with vanilla notes...it is straight up my alley. For those who are fans of Nirvana White, you won't be disappointed because the solid is available for that scent, too. 
2. GLAMGLOW, the mud mask extraordinaire hailing from Hollywood, CA has released their first Cleanser!  SUPERCLEANSE™ Daily Clearing Cleanser is a mud-to-foam cleanser inspired by its big brother SUPERMUD™ which visibly tackles a myriad of skin issues from discoloration and breakouts to ingrown hairs and razor bumps (i.e. dude friendly, too!). If the SUPERCLEANSE™ Daily Clearing Cleanser is anything like the mud mask, this will definitely be a game-changer in your skincare regimen.
3. The team at Philosophy have taken the task of reformulating their ever-so-popular cult moisturizer Hope In A Jar. Introducing Philospophy's Renewed Hope In A Jar, a whipped texture moisturizer that provides all-day hydration. The key alpha hydroxy acids that were present in the original formulation are still present, however, the addition of Asian Fruit Extract  to provide a longer lasting glow and hydration is where our renewed hope begins. I can't wait to get my hands on this moisturizer because I'm thinking it will provide a lot of benefits to skin texture, long term.
4. We all know about my obsession with Formula X nail colors, so this one should come as no surprise. Formula X The Colors has introduced a fresh batch of colors to the line and I've got my eye on a few. To spotlight the one pictured above, Oceanic, it is a gorgeous and vibrant royal blue that literally looks alive! I'm gonna need this beauty in my life before summer hits, for sure.
5. And, last but certainly not least is Hourglass' Modernist Eyeshadow Palette in Exposure. When I first saw this palette I literally squealed with excitement not only because Hourglass has been killing it recently and I've been waiting for an eyeshadow palette from them, but because there are an unbelievable SIX variations of this palette! Exposure, pictured above, is the plums palette, Color Field features olives (and a beautiful forest green), Atmosphere is all about cool neutrals, Obscura features earth tones, Monochrome is rose (for color comparison, it's along the lines of the Naked 3 palette), Infinity is filled with warm neutrals and closing out the group is Graphite with bold metallic hues perfect for a night out smokey eye. It looks like they put a lot of effort into the design and creation of these palettes and I'm beyond excited to get my hands on one of these!

That rounds out my top 5 new beauty products on my wish list. Is there anything that you're chomping at the bit to find? Let me know in the comments.

Also, don't forget to come back tomorrow for my post featuring swatches of a popular lippies set that hit the scene late last year. Can you guess which one?

BeautyCon Is Coming To Dallas!

Image c/o BeautyCon

I'm extremely excited to announce to my readers that BeautyCon, a popular and much-buzzed about convention that brings beauty enthusiasts, brands and your favorite YouTube/Instagram/Blogging personalities together to enjoy anything and everything beauty is coming to Dallas, Texas!

I've heard a lot about BeautyCon previously, and to my best recollection, BeautyCon has been strictly a Los Angeles and NYC based event, until now that is. It seems like this year BeautyCon is doing things a bit differently allowing the fans to dictate where the event is held around the world. Possible locations vary, however, confirmed locations include Dubai, Los Angeles, New York, and London! Here's hoping a few more are added to the list so everyone can join in on the fun.

In my opinion, BeautyCon's arrival in Dallas really speaks volumes to the amount of popularity coming to the Dallas area for beauty and fashion. We're more than just big ol' blowouts and cowboy boots! Several influential bloggers and organizations are based here which brings more attention to the Lone Star State, specifically Big D!

If you're wanting to get in on the fun and snag a ticket to BeautyCon Dallas, you can do that here. Let me know if you're going to BeautyCon Dallas, I'd love to see you all there!

This post is NOT sponsored. All opinions are my own.

Nails Of The Week: Formula X "Incandescent"

It's just dawning on me that my choice of nail color this week might have been heavily influenced by the current weather situation here in Texas. It's rainy, gloomy and bitterly cold here in the Lone Star State (and we've got earthquakes, too...go figure).

I'm, personally, not someone that prefers days without sunshine because, well, I need my Vitamin C, dammit! That being said, I seem to have brought the sunshine to my nails with this soft pastel take on orange mimicking the color of a cantaloupe from Formula X. The color, Incandescent, is a perfect spring time hue that invites a fresh, revitalizing and cheery feeling upon first sight. Boy, do I need a bright and refreshing sight right now!

As with all Formula X nail polishes that I've tried, I'm immensely happy with the quality of the polish, ease of application and color payoff compared to what was sold in the bottle. Formula X and this color, Incandescent, still has a fan in me!

Unfortunately, my snapshots appear to be more pure orange than pastel as they are in reality, so I'll have to take a crack at the true hue later on today on Instagram. If you're not currently following, head on over and say "Hi!"

While we're on the subject, what vibrant polishes are you itching to whip out at the first sight of spring?

The Makeup Bag: NARS Additions

Over the span of 2014, I began a love affair with the NARS collection. Many of their products have quickly become must-haves and favorites in my makeup arsenal. Something that I absolutely must keep in stock is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel. This concealer does wonders under the eyes and even as a primer/base for my eyelids. It's such a versatile product and paired with a damp beauty blender has become completely invaluable in my daily makeup routine.

During the holiday season, I also managed to get my hands on the immensely raved about NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret, a set of 5 lip pencils including 3 satin finishes and 2 velvet matte finishes. A swatch post is still to come for these, but I've been adoring one pencil in particular, Cruella. I've enjoyed it so much so, that I needed to grab a new sharpener so I could continue my obsession and use of this fantastic lip shade. The NARS Pencil Sharpener is so petite and sleek and easily fits into my on-the-go makeup bag and fits almost every pencil size. Best of all, this little thing was only $6! Quite the find and value, if you ask me!

So long as we're on the subject of NARS, what are your favorite products from the collection?