I didn't know if I would get it up in time, but I did! Here are my favorites from 2016.
The Ritz Carlton New Orleans, Mardi Gras World, Motown The Musical,
Duran Duran Concert and Community Coffee
I kicked off 2016 by staying at The Ritz Carlton New Orleans (here and here). It is so gorgeous! I stayed in one of their suites and went to see Motown The Musical at The Saenger Theater. I also visited Mardi Gras World and saw many of the floats that parade on Mardi Gras Day. Later in 2016, I went to see my favorite British Band Duran Duran. I was a big fan of them in the 80's and was ecstatic to find out they were coming to New Orleans. I read their biographies and plan on doing a post about them in 2017. I love supporting local brands, and I continued my partnership this year with Community Coffee.
Beau Rivage, Chaka Khan and Culture Club
I stayed at Beau Rivage this Easter and showcased their Easter Decorations. I also attended Chaka Khan's concert while I was there. I found out Culture Club was going to be in concert in Mississippi and went to that as well. I'm currently reading one of his biographies.
Kylie Cosmetics
Kylie started her makeup brand this year and I reviewed many of her products. I'm not a big fan of her mattes but I love her glosses & metal liquid lipsticks. I was really impressed with some of the items in her Birthday , Christmas Collection (Dancer), Burgundy Palette and Pumpkin.
Tarte Cosmetics
One brand I have a love hate for is Tarte. They came out with SO MANY products in 2016! Some I loved and others I loathed. My favorites were their Double Duty Beauty Courage palette, lip sculptors, throw kindness around like confetti palette, makeup by shayla contour palette and nude blushes.
Too Faced Cosmetics
Same thing goes for Too Faced! They make some great things and not so great things! I had several loves from them this year. I loved their Chocolate Bon Bons eyeshadow palette, Melted Chocolate liquid lipsticks, Christmas Melted Kisses liquid lipsticks, Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette, Too Faced Sweet Tea Bronzer and their Christmas Grande Hotel Cafe eyeshadow palette.
MAC Cosmetics
I didn't buy much from MAC Cosmetics this year, but some of my favorites were two lipsticks from the Selena Collection, The Copper Face Palette from their Nutcracker Sweet Collection and the entire Taraji Henderson Collection (shown on my face here).
Makeup I Love
Here are the bits and bobs I loved throughout the year! It's very simple, but ABH Master Palette by Mario is dreamy (super pigmentation). Mally's Shimmer Shape & Glow palette is gorgeous. Nars came out with a really cool Summer Collection. I love Becca's Skin Perfectors in Champagne Pop Liquid and Opal. Ashley of Ashley Sue Makeup introduced me to Makeup Revolution's The Matte Blush in Nude....LOVE! Youtuber Ready Set Glamour worked with Ittse on some eye shadows and the colors are dreamy. I Super Love Smashbox's Lighting Theory palette (it has everything you need). I tried Tom Ford's Love Lust Blush and it is magical. If you haven't yet got your hands on Pixi by Petra's Christmas Collection you should. Zoya's Cinnamon nail lacquer in Cinnamon is absolutely a cup of hot chocolate. Covergirl's Oh Sugar lip glosses really surprised me! Pigmented and moisturizing! I loved the Dolce & Gabanna Summer Collection. I tried Lottie London makeup brushes and they are so cool. Dose of Colors Dare to Dazzle is a blast from 2015, but I loved Corset.
Lip Scrub Love
Well you guys know I SUPER LOVE Sara Happ's Lip Scrubs! She created a special edition Red Velvet that tastes like such WITH cream cheese! HaHaHa But you MUST try her Sparkling Peach lip scrub! It's simply the best! I did find another lip scrub that I like EQUALLY and at a lesser cost! They are from Good Earth Beauty! I have to order some more!
Body & Skin Care Favorites
I plan on doing more skin care in 2017, but here are my favorites. I have literally fallen in love with Bobbi Brown's Vitamin Enriched Face Base. It's expensive, but it will make your face feel SO GOOD! I never thought I would say I love a peel, but Murad's Intensive C Radiance Peel agrees with my dry & sensitive skin. After my hair catastrophe, I swore off trying hair products. But Aveeno's Pure Renewal is surely agreeing with me AND my pocket book! LOL Little Luxury List sent me some Fresh products and if you love chocolate (like moi), you will love their Fresh Cocoa Exfoliating Bar & Scrub. Scared of scrubs on your face? Don't be afraid to try Murad's Skin Smoothing Polisher. It works really well on my skin. I learned about Coola this year! I really love their SPF for face.
Candles & Perfume
I'm not a big perfume person, but I really liked these three. Jean Paul Gaultier Betty Boop, Diptyque for Olympia Le Tan and Wen's Cucumber Basil.
Fashion
I started off the year following fashion and then it went by the waist side. LOL But I loved these outfits worn by Nicole Richie and J LO.
Sweet Treats
Chocolate candy has to be good! And these by Planete Chocolate were SUPER AWESOME! For my birthday I had cupcakes by We Take The Cake . If you like FROSTING! You will love these! Every year, I look forward to Harbour City Chocolate Trail in Hong Kong.
Beauty & The Beast Halloween Costume
I'm looking forward to Beauty & The Beast 2017. I dressed up like Belle this year for Halloween.
Social Media Acknowledgements & Fun
Don't think anyone is paying attention to you on social media? Think again. Sarah Happ, Grease Live, CZJouer (Jouer Cosmetics), Nile Rodgers and Roman Harper (Saints Football Player) all liked my tweets. I also turned myself into a PowerPuff Girl.
The 2016 Presidential Election
It took me several weeks from the election to kind of recover. LOL I voted, so I did my part. I held on to these cartoons. I thought they were funny and wanted to share them with you.
Celebrity Deaths
I had a really good 2016, but some deaths really shook me to my core. Last year I dressed as Princess Leia and this year she nor her mom are here. I know about Broken Heart syndrome because my grandparents died within a month from one another. It's definitely real. Pete Burns of Dead or Alive died (I loved his 80's song You Spin Me Around). I didn't recognize him at death due to all the plastic surgery he received. He said he was pleased, but gosh it seemed way too much. I've always been worried about Boy George and George Michael. George Michael's demons seemed way greater and unfortunately the result was death. I've always loved Prince and I almost didn't go to the Duran Duran concert when I learned of his death. But I did and they gave him a lovely tribute. Many others felt the same way. One of my favorite books & movies is Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder was the epitome of Willy Wonka. What can I say about David Bowie! He was WAY BEYOND his time! He gave people of color chances and was a superior artist. I loved the song Modern Love! We lost SO MANY in 2016. It was really scary at times.
Special Thanks To All My 2016 Sponsors & Collaborators
AVEENO Ambassador, Pixi by Petra Ambassador, MURAD Skincare, Covergirl, Maybelline, ULTA Beauty, Community Coffee, Invisibobble, MediaBuzzer, Simply Scrub, COOLA, Lancome, Aqua Carpatica, Philip B, WEN, Dandi Creations, Good Earth Beauty, Skinny And Company, Mineral Fusion, Foreo, NYX, Behrman Communications, Click Intelligence, Japonesque, Doctor Lip Bang's Lip Freak, Milani Cosmetics, Burt's Bees and Hersheys.