Irina Likes - Holiday Tags -

I love to watch Tag Videos on Youtube. They let you get to know the person and the current things they are liking. Since I have yet to figure out how to use the video option on my camera. I figured I would just blog it instead. 

Questions

1) Favorite Winter Nail Polish?

Duri # 583 The Big Score

2) Favorite Winter lip product?

EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint

3) Most worn Winter clothing piece?

Andrew Marc Coat

4) Most worn Winter accessory?

Burberry Ear Muffs

5) Favorite winter scent/candle?

Toffee Crunch Candle by Bath & Body Works

6) Favorite Winter beverage?

Salted Caramel Mocha at Starbucks

7) All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (preferably the animated version)

8) Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?

Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt

All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey

9) Favorite Holiday food/treat?

Candy Canes (loads of candy canes)

10) What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year?

Tea Towels from Target

Angel Ornament for the Hubby

11) What's at the top of your Christmas list?

Barney's Leather Detailed Sweater

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?

Chinese Food and Movies for Christmas
Warehouse Party for New Years

I would love to know your answers to these questions.

Irina Likes - Music -

DJ DeMarko! Feat Heather Leigh West - Drop A House

This is a great remix of a song I had heard many years ago. The lyrics still don't make sense to me but I enjoy the song anyway. Since it is almost Christmas, it seems appropriate to find a song that has chimney in the lyrics. 

What are you listening to?

Irina Likes - Books -

Jeneration X

by

Jen Lancaster

This is the sixth memoir that the author has written and I can't get enough of her. Jen is sarcastic, witty, and generally gets herself into the most amusing situations.

Bitter is the New Black; Bright Lights, Big Ass; Such A Pretty Fat; Pretty in Plaid; My Fair Lazy; Jeneration X; and If You Were Her are all her other books and I would recommend each and every one of them. 

I can't wait for new next book to come out next year. This is one funny author most people would enjoy and can relate to. 

What books have you been reading?

Irina Likes - Music -

Afrojack - Doing It Right

The name of the song really does say it all. I love songs that have a great melody to them and this is a perfect example. 

What songs are you listening to right now?

Irina Likes - Books -

Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

Dempsey Killebrew never expected her life to turn out like this in the span of a few months. Fired from her job, broke, shamed by the national press and stuck in middle of nowhere Georgia fixing up a house and dealing with a mean old lady and her yappy dog too. With the help of a few new friends, life can take a whole new turn.

This is a great, light read. Its the kind of book that should be a chick movie. You know its going to have twists and turns but everything will work out in the end. A feel-good book that was a joy to read. 

What books are you reading?

Irina Likes - Birchbox November -

It is that time of the month again when I get a great beauty box in the mail.

This month's Birchbox came with all new treats that I have yet to try. 

Smitten Cupcake Bath Bomb looks delicious but I know better than to eat it even though it is quite tempting. 

This is a totally new fragrance for me and new fragrance designer. I do like that it comes with spray top as oppose to a top that just comes off. This is the best way to make perfume samples. 

This is the product I am most excited to try. I have been thinking about trying a volume hair spray for when I blow out my hair, so this sample came just in time.

I tend to not eat too much soy because of the amount of estrogen that soy products make you produce but I was just too curious about this product to not try it. I ate it. Its gone. It was good but not great. I would not buy more.

This is a new product for me and I hope it works well. Most mascaras don't seem to realize what they are suppose to be doing. 

Although I am excited to try this new soap, the packaging of the samples are very inconvenient. Once they are open, I would have no way to save the rest of the sample. A jar would have been better.

Overall I am quite excited to try these products out. 

What plans do you have for this weekend?

Irina Likes - Music -

Tony Ray feat Gianna - Chica Loca

This song is a great pop song. Lots of vocals and song middle eastern and/or latin influences to the song. Just a fun to dance to song.

What are you listening to?

Irina Likes - grk -

On my hunt for lunch I stumbled upon this new restaurant. Grk is a Greek restaurant which has the same concept behind it as Chipotle. You pick you meat, your side, and your sauce and then any other extra items.

I like that the to-go bag is bright blue because it makes it easy to spot. The place has a modern feel with its seating and furniture. 

There is sauce already in the container but that is not enough for me so I asked for one more. I was happy that they didn't charge for it.  I picked out the Agean Slaw and the Pork Gyro Meat.

The slaw is tasty but it leaks all over the bottom of the tray which soaks the pita. I wish they would pack the pita separately  The meat was tasty. The sauce was great. The salad was frozen, so I did not enjoy that and I was not going to wait around for it to defrost. 

Overall, I would go again but instead of the tray I would opt for the pita sandwich.

What new restaurants have you tried?

Irina Likes - Nails -

Duri # 581 - Necessary Luxury

This color is a mix between dove gray and lavender.  It is a very soft and pleasing color to look at on the fingers. 

I decided to take a picture of the nail polish after a full week of wearing it. This was to show how well it held up for an entire week. That includes washing dishes and typing many documents at a computer. I was so pleased as to how well this polish held up that I can't wait to wear it again. 

What color are you wearing?

Irina Likes - Makeup -

The great thing about Birchbox is that it lets you review products on their site and you get points for each review.  100 points gives you $10 off your order. 

So I decided to try a new product using my points. I had heard many great things about Benefit Erase Paste.

The shade I picked up is Fair. There are only 3 shades to choose from and I was worried Medium would be too dark. 

I have been using the product for about a week and it has seamlessly become part of my everyday makeup routine. I use the concealer under my eyes and the reason I like it so much is that it is very salmon/pink based which combats the blue tones under my eyes. 

This is definitely worth giving a try if this is the kind of product you are looking for. What is your favorite concealer? 

Irina Likes - Books -

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Summary I have found:

Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon.  Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life. 

Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father.  After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.

Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children.  But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.  

My thoughts:

While reading this book, I was frustrated with the characters. Often times I would not agree with their choices or thoughts and that would make me not like either women. It would have been a better book if I was able to get to know the Husband, Nick, as well as the two main women.

Overall, its a good book but not a great book. 

What books have you read lately?

Irina Likes - Tea -

I love to drink tea and try different brands and types. My latest tea find is Lipton Green Tea with White Mangosteen and Peach.

This tea smells like a tropical exotic peach. It puts me in a vacation mood. I love to drink tea out of my cow mug that I found in Sur La Table. 

The great thing about Lipton teas are that they go on sale. So if you spot one on sale, definitely give this one a try. 

What is your favorite tea?