(1) The reason for the lack of recent posts around these parts… The last two weeks have consisted of drowning in the stress of my never-ending workload and thinking about everything that had to be done, even before getting anything done was considered so things didn’t exactly happen frequently blogging-wise. I’m sure any readers understand but I irritated myself in slacking more than anything else. I’m not going to hold myself to anything but I hope for things to go better in following weeks, even though things are pretty crazy now that its midterm season.

(2) Getting back into that whole nail painting thing… In recent weeks I had completely left that whole nail painting game but in the last two weeks, I really have made a return to loving polish and this was perhaps my favourite combination, the slightly frosted deep red OPI I’m Not Really A Waitress paired with the Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat. It would have lasted a good amount of time had I not picked it off during a moment of great anxiety (there were many) and it was almost opaque in one coat, drying quickly to boot.

(3) When all else fails, I turned to Netflix for some binge-watching … It’s easy to say that when this craziness was entering the scene that I should not have decided to start watching a new series without stopping but somehow I started watching Downton Abbey and couldn’t stop watching it for a good week afterwards. I don’t want to even think about how much time was spent watching this but it is a very compelling show, like a less-trashy Gossip Girl set in the turn-of-the-twentieth-century.

(4) One of the few passable pictures of the makeup situation… You might recognize this day’s photo from my not-too-distant review of the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Cheeky Bronze but I was also a fan of my makeup that day in general, particularly my first effort with the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick that I recently picked up.

(5) The cliched and expected blogger mirror picture … You may be aware of this but I’m not known for taking pictures in this fashion that show the clothes that I’m wearing and the length and craziness of the mass that is my hair so this had to be included. I didn’t hate my hair so it was a given.

(6) Where it all began… My decision to watch the aforementioned show comes down to clicking on the Lisa Eldridge Downton Abbey Tutorial, as one does when Lisa releases a new Youtube video and then my interest was piqued enough to try watching the show, simply with my interest in the gorgeous but natural makeup. It was one of my favourites of Lisa’s and I’ve watched them all so I highly recommend giving it a watch or 23.

(7) MAC Heirloom Mix wishing… Although I’m aware that the MAC holiday collections are not universally fantastic, – thanks to my constant scouring of Temptalia’s archives – I’m always ridiculously excited for the October release of the massive collection and this year I’ve got my eye on the Keepsakes Smoky Face Palette ($48.50 US/ $59.50 CDN) . I am aware that Temptalia gave it a scathing review based on the shadows (the inclusion of the infamous Carbon in particular) but the mixture of products is so intruiguing that I want to give it a go. If you’re interested, I would recommend giving her review a look and then perhaps having a look in store.

(8) Insert example post here… I’m sure that I’m not alone in doing this, always including at least one of my posts of the week (or two weeks) in these round-ups and this week I chose my The Current Shower Staples because not only did I manage to get an appealing photo taken with this post, but I also did something a little bit different that I was pleased with the result with.

(9) Another case where I should have known better … This week, I fell in love with reading again, for the sake of fun! However, with all of the craziness that was going on I really should not have spent the time re-reading a lengthy novel for amusement rather than being productive. Phillipa Gregory’s The White Queen was fantastic and I’d give it a go if you’re historically inclined. I’m now onto re-reading The Red Queen…

How have your recent weeks been?

Maggie, x.