Five Things

Eeeek! Sorry for the absence this past week. It was a busy one. I got a total of 3 hours of sleep on Wednesday and Thursday combined. D: It was bad. But anyway, this week should be much more relaxed AND this weekend I'm going to be going with my Art History class to New York City! I'm so excited. I can't wait.

In addition to that, here are five things that have been keeping me going. If you're new to this blog, these posts (inspired by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere) are just a compilation of five things (not just beauty) that have been making me happy/lifting my spirits lately. Without further ado...

{Getting my Birchbox early this month.}

{My best friend lately.}

{Braided headbands I got for Christmas.}

{Filling up my makeup bag but not having a physical makeup bag, any good rec's?}

{Making my first speed painting video. Speeding things up always turns out so cool.}

I hope you're having a great day, and have a lovely week ahead! What's been floating YOUR boat lately?

Looking Back: 2012 in Blogging

I know it's been a week and a half since New Years, but I thought it would be nice to take a look back at 2012 on The Polka-dotted Jellyfish. It's actually so rewarding to blog and document your life. Looking through the archives and picking out these pictures really brought back such pleasant memories. Let's take a trip through Maggie's year, shall we?

Click the captions if you would like to go see the posts themselves. 

In 2012, I...

JANUARY

...returned to blogging thanks to this blush sparking my curiosity,

...started my 'Color Play' posts,

FEBRUARY

...had a lovely Valentine's with my friends,

...did my first look for the blog,

...received quite a 'treasure' from Jian,

...went to California and tasted my first In-N-Out

and jumped for joy,

MARCH

...found five things,

...bought my first red lipstick,

APRIL

...became consumed in quite a big project,

MAY

quite BIG indeed,

...kicked off the summer with a rooftop barbecue,

JUNE

...wrote a little story,

...found an everlasting love,

JULY

...went to Puerto Rico,

and made a video,

...created a beach on my arm,

AUGUST

...concocted some rose gold,

...became 3 people in 1 post,

...created a design about depression,

SEPTEMBER

...ended the summer with some fishin'

and welcomed the fall with some pretty colors,

...said 'bye bye' to brights,

and said hello to a few sisters,

OCTOBER

...got my first Birchbox,

...'played' with some MAC,

...took you along with me on a hike,

...became a panda,

NOVEMBER

...started finding colors around the house,

...experimented with grays and purples,

...reconciled with an old friend,

...became caught up in college applications so I shared some art,

DECEMBER

...finally bought a Korres lip butter,

...fell in love with churches,

...shared some more art,

...and FINISHED my college apps in ever-so-fabulous fashion!

Blogging has been so fun and it is such a great creative outlet for me, and all the while I'm documenting precious memories. Upon this reflection, I've realized what a great year it has been. Really, such a great year. 

There are so many ways to approach blogging. While I still haven't really found my "niche" yet, I am starting to see a style/trend in my posts. However, I'll never stop experimenting. (Also, I'm glad that I never made self-promotional comments!) My apologies for the long post. Back to regular scheduled programming in the next one! 

Happy Sunday! Now I want to ask you, what does blogging mean to you? Do you ever just take a few moments to look back through your archives? 

Woot! One Year!

*Throws confetti into air*

So today, this blog turns one year old! Thank you so much for bearing with me and keeping up with my posts on this blog. I remember contemplating re-making a blog for a while in 2011, and I'm so glad I came back. I know I'm not the best blogger, but I hope you've enjoyed The Polka-dotted Jellyfish as much as I've enjoyed creating and writing for it.

"Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river." - Malagasy Proverb

In honor of my The Polka-dotted Jellyfish's first blog anniversary, here is a small giveaway to express my love for you dear readers. We've come a long way! Not anything too big or fancy, but this'll do for now with my wee budget.

A festive background for a festive occasion!

So, what might you get?

• BITE Beauty Colour Shine To Go Lip Trio (I chose the one with more wearable colors)
• Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips Big & Healthy Full-Color Lip Polish in Carmen (a gorgeous purple vamp with gold sheen!)
• Urban Decay Double-Ended 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Whiskey/Zero 
• Sephora by OPI Nail Polish in Blasted Silver
• Small Container of MAC Pigment in Cocomotion
• Three samples: Juicy Couture Eau de Parfum, Lancome Le Base Pro, Sephora Instant Radiance Foundation
• That watercolor quote card up there made by yours truly
• And probably some yummy candies/goodies...

They're all new and have never been used by the way! Some close-ups of course. :)

Such a gorgeous lip color, this picture does it no justice.

How do you enter? you may ask. Well, here I am to give you the instructions!

1. I sure hope you're a reader/follower of this blog! Click follow if you aren't already.
2. Yes, this is international!
3. Leave a comment on this post answering: 1.) How did you happen upon this lowly blog? and 2.) What would you like to see more of on The Polka-dotted Jellyfish?
4. (Additional entry) Share this giveaway post on Twitter and tag me, @maggsmakeup in your tweet.
5. (Additional entry) Share this giveaway post on your own blog and then make an additional comment back on this post with the link to your post/blog.
6. You have until February 1, 2013 11:59 P.M. EST, folks! The winner will be chosen via random.org!

Cheers to another year of blogging! I hope to make my blog bigger and better. Don't fret if you don't win this time around, be on the look out for smaller giveaways to come. Good luck! :)

Warm Purples and Gold

With NYFW Fall/Winter 2013 coming soon, I thought I'd recreate one of the looks from last year's F/W. I ended up choosing the look from Nanette Lepore, which was a warm purple smokey eye with orange cheeks and a coppery orange lip. The colors were so vivid and glowing. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. So, let's have a look-see at how I attempted the look.

I tried to mimic the model's smolder...didn't work out too well. Clipped my hair back like her too.

The smokey eye consisted of an all-over lid color of reddish-purple/plum with an orange-brown smoked all the way up to the brows. The same reddish-purple was smudged out on the bottom lashline as well. And then there was the beautiful pop of gold in the inner tearducts. For the lips, I didn't really have a coppery-orange lipgloss so I layered a sparkly gold gloss over an orange lip. Then I added some gold eyeshadow to the cupid's bow and center of my bottom lip. I also did not have orange blush, so I used an orange lipstick on my cheeks!

Prepare yourself for quite a few selfies. I tried to channel that modelesque deadpan expression. To say the least, it didn't work out after a while, hahaha.

Channeling my inner Messy Wands, eh?

That striped "scarf" you see? It's a tank top I looped into a scarf because I didn't have a black one LOL.

Yeah, I couldn't do it anymore.

CAUTION: The image you are about to view may scare young children and small animals. Continue at your own risk.

Imagine if we all did our FOTD pictures like this?

I think you've had enough of my face, right? Here are the products I used for the look.

• L'Oreal HiP Shadow Stick in Unmistakable (sticky base)
• L'Oreal Color Infallible Shadow in Smoldering Plum (base for purple shadow)
• Benefit Sunday Funday Palette shadows in Pretty in Plum and Shimmering Bronze
• Stila Charmed Palette, upper right hand corner
• L'Oreal HiP Liner in Gold Charge
• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara in Black
• Revlon Superlustrous Lipstick in Apricot Fantasy (cheeks)
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti
• Revlon Superlustrous Lipgloss in Toast to Shine
• (not pictured) L'Oreal HiP Duo in Gilded

And lastly, I leave you with this precious gem...

Oh, how I wish.

I really liked how this turned out! It's such a nice, warm smokey eye -- warmed my spirits in this cold, bitter winter. I'm really looking forward to NYFW, and I might just recreate another look. ;) Are you looking forward to New York Fashion Week? Are there any makeup looks inspiring you lately?