Broken Butterfly...

I'm not sure if I've ever shared with you that I LOVE butterflies. I love butterflies because they're so care free, "bubbly", detailed, fragile/delicate, distinctive/unique (no two have the same pattern) and their process to becoming beautiful butterflies is LONG but worth it.

Like a butterfly, each of us were created uniquely. Even identical twins are different. Our journeys are unique, our compositions are unique, our smiles are unique, our pain is unique, our tears are unique, our stories are unique, our dreams and aspirations are unique and our wishes and desires are unique. We are not carbon copies. You should ALWAYS accept and embrace who you are because you were uniquely, fearfully and wonderfully made just like butterflies. Did you know that a butterfly's front wings are different from the back wings?

We have all experienced different things which helped to shape and molds us into who we are today.

Have you ever wondered why certain people cross your path in life? Have you ever wondered why these people were chosen to cross your path? NOTHING is by chance. Every second, every minute, every hour, is ordered by Lord. Have you ever met people and asked "where have you been all my life" only to find out that they were just not who you thought they were.....only to be hurt by them, only to be disrepected by them, only to be broken by them. These people were strategically placed in our lives to allow us to trust in the one who would NEVER hurt us, never disrespect us, never break us......to bring us closer to him.

The enemy (the Devil) tries to steal your joy and kill the unique person that you are but DO NOT allow him to. Resist him. Trample him under your feet with the knowledge that God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (11 Timothy 1:7- NIV). Our Father knew that the enemy would send "friends" and distractions to detract us from our focus on him, that's why he gave us such power. We DO NOT have to die like butterflies when their wings are broken or completely removed. We can trust and know that in God ALL things ARE possible and he WILL bring comfort to our hearts.

So, no matter what your circumstance may be today, God is ALWAYS there. Even though you may feel broken, you will NOT die like a butterfly. God is made PERFECT in our weakness.

I wanted to share this with you today to encourage your heart that even though you are unique and delicate, you will overcome and you will not die like the broken-winged butterfly.

Today's makeup look is also representative of the broken butterfly......it's my expression hence it's not perfect. It's broken....

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Embarking Emerald

HAPPY BLESSED NEW YEAR to you and your loved ones. I hope this year has started off with positivity, blessings and resolutions that with positively enrich your lives.

I'm so sorry for not posting in such a long time but honestly, there are so many things happening toooooo quickly. I will continue to pray and trust that my Father will give me direction because at times I feel like a swaying ship in the wind of life.

I got home as quickly as I could this evening just to "play" with makeup and create a look. For me, lighter colors pop more in the daytime so I went for one of my favorite colors- GREEN which would show more in the night.

Green symbolizes so many different things- peace, calmness, regeneration, nature, unfortunately envy, greed and money.

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Blue Christmas....

I'm dreaming of a bluuuuueeee Christmas.

I'm from the Caribbean so we don't have white Christmases but we definitely have blue ones. The skies are usually blue and hopefully tomorrow won't be as rainy as it's been earlier this week.

I'll personally be having a blue Christmas :( because this is one of the most difficult holidays for me. Waking up and not having mom around is VERY hard but thankfully I still have dad who happens to be my hero. I wonder if he knows. I guess this would be the moment to tell him. This Christmas is also going to be unusual for me because this will be the first year in a very long time that my family isn't gathering at my grandmother's house for Christmas lunch :(. Honestly there's NOTHING better than grammie's cooking.

Anyway, I disappeared from the makeup scene because so many things were going on but decided that I better get back into the game so here goes....

You could also find this video for this look on my YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/shadesmakeup

Products:

NYX Jumbo Pencil (Milk)- e/s base

Pure Luxe Cosmetics (Glory e/s)- outer lid

MAC Pure White loose shadow- inner lid

NYX Liquid Liner (Gold)- top lid

Maybeline Volum' Express mascara

MAC Espresso- brows

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Christmas Greetings.....

From my heart to yours........Merry Christmas

Click on image to enlarge.....

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NARS Swatch & lots of wind.....

Hiya,

This is just a quick post so that you guys don't think I've fallen off the face of the Earth because I'm still here. I've just been super busy.

As per my previous post, I was in the "Windy City" (Chicago) visiting my sister and my very short trip was GREAT! I visited her in July of this year but I really needed a trip so I flew up to see her again. She's going to be away from the family here in the Cayman Islands :( Here are a few photos of she and I :) I never got a chance to make my snow angels but I did hold my face up to the sky and let the snow fall on it :) Yup, I'm a BIG kid at heart.

While I was browsing the streets in Chicago, I decided to pop into Sephora to check out eyeshadows (as if I need anymore). At any rate, I picked up a few shadows from NARS. I totally fell in love with the colors and HAD to buy them. My NARS collection is pretty small but I'm working on it.

Here are the colors are purchased:

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Brief Update and Happenings....

Hi bloggers,

Am soooo sorry that I've been neglecting you but I've been supppppppppper busy with stuff...makeup, work, preparing to travel, Cayman Islands 2009 Jazz Fest.

Travel- I will be flying to Chicago to visit one of my sisters from Dec 8-14. It's a pretty short trip but I know it'll be worth the time. I also know that I'll freeze my butt off because I'm from an island where am used to 70 degrees and up, NOT 20 degrees and below :(.......I'll keep you posted though.

Makeup- I haven't been doing any tutorials as of late because I've been doing LOADS of makeup for my cousin, KK Alese who's a singer and will be releasing her first album on December 11, 2009. Woo hoo!!!! Am soooooooooo excited for her because we actually used to sing together but we moved on to other things. She continued her music and now has her own album. How exciting is that? I'll be posting photos soon.

Cayman Jazz Fest 2009- This year's headliners for the Cayman 2009 Jazz Fest (http://www.caymanislands.ky/jazzfest/) were ALICIA KEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Peabo Bryson, Oleta Adams, Kirk Whalum, Arturo Tapin, Mike Phillips, Keith Sweat and others. The fest was from December 3-5, 2009. Honestly, am still trying to find words to describe the performances. They were completely OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! What was even MORE exciting was that I was the OFFICIAL MUA for the emcees of the event which means that I was actually on the stage with Alicia Keys, Jermaine Paul (www.myspace.com/jermainepaul) and crew. It was AWESOME!!! I also took photos with Elle Varner (www.mysapce.com/ellevarner). She has an AWESOME voice and she's an absolute sweetheart.

Christmas Makeup Giveaway- a HUGE and VERY GINORMOUS :) congratulations goes to Tinuke Wilson of New Jersey who was the lucky winner of my first Christmas Makeup Giveaway. She did an awesome job of creating a wearable Christmas look which was inspired by the colors of Christmas (green, red & white), Santa Claus and snow flakes. How cute is that? I'll also post those photos later.

More details coming soon.....

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A Fresh Green Christmas Mix

I find that I am drawn to neutral/ warm colors (browns, tans, rusts, coppers) and greens!!! I absolutely LOVE green and I'm never usually very picky about the shade. I just love green! Green is peaceful, it's calming....

Today's look is another look that can be worn for Christmas. Even though this year's Christmas is focusing on strong dark colors, I think this look is beautiful for Christmas. Mix it up a little. Have fun with the "trend".

Am sorry that I didn't show my entire face. I'm actually not feeling well. I have a TERRIBLE headache. It's more like a migraine.

Products:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance (1st primer)
NYX Jumbo Pencil- Milk (2nd primer)
MAC Fresh Green Mix mineral e/s (inner lid)
Lime Crime Lime Criminal pigment (mid lid)
Lime Crime Enchant pigment (outer lid)
MAC Espresso e/s (brows)
Urban Decay Sin e/s (highlight)
Maybeline Volum' Express mascara

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