I went into Sephora today to restock on  Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil  and I got distracted by Benefit’s Silky Finish lipstick in Skinny Dip. I’m not usually a fan of lipstick because I like my makeup to look natural, and I feel like people can always tell if I’m wearing lipstick. This color, however, is nude and looks very natural but still pretty. Its that perfect “your lips but better” shade that everybody always talks about. The formula is smooth and moisturizing, and there were  lots of other great colors to choose from.  It doesn’t hurt that the packaging is so cute , either!

Please excuse my nails… they’re in pretty shabby shape.

Like most college girls, my fashion imagination far exceeds my fashion budget. So here’s a little daydream to get me through this boring class…

Dress: J. Crew jersey-knit tank dress, $88
Cardigan: Marc by Marc Jacobs ‘Scarf Stripe’ sweater, $248
Flats: Jeffrey Campbell “Edith” flat, $79.95
Earrings: Nordstrom 18k Gold Collection Textured Hoops, $195
Bag: Marc Jacobs “Patchwork Klein” Frame Bag, $1,395

I already own two or three shades of green nail polish (which is two or three more than the average girl, I’m sure) but this color is too perfect to ignore. I love unusual nail polish colors, but this unconventional color still manages to be chic. You can find it at Rescue Beauty Lounge’s website.

I have loved this color since I first saw it on All Lacquered Up, but I’m having a few problems getting my hands on it. The first problem is the price. I have never paid $18 for a nail polish. It seems ridiculous… but I love it so much that I’ll just have to suck it up. The second problem is finding the color. No stores seem to carry this polish brand! I guess I could just order it online, but that would add shipping costs to the already unseemly price. Dilemmas, dilemmas… If anybody knows where I can buy Rescue Beauty Lounge polish in stores, let me know!

The point of this post is that I need to get my hands on this nail polish, and then get it onto my hands.

I happened upon a magazine ad for these Coach Sandals and was instantly hypnotized:

They’re so cute and springy and fun! I wondered right away if they might be worth the $188 price tag. So I sought them out in the Houston Galleria. I’m sorry to say they’re not quite as adorable in person. Still cute, but not cute enough to talk me out of $188. If I’m going to spend that much on a pair of shoes, they need to be more practical and versatile.

However, while I was still shopping around slightly disappointed by the Coach sandals, I found these jelly flats at J. Crew. For only $45, they’re more within my price range.

I will definitely be buying a pair in black because you can’t go wrong with a little black flat. I have a pair of black flats that I love, but they’re a little bulky and warm for the hot Texas summers. But I also love the different color options, so I’m seriously considering picking up a second pair to wear with my little summer dresses. The problem is deciding which color to buy!

The wise thing would be to look through my summer clothes and decide which color would go best with what I’ve already got… the unwise thing would be to buy them all We’ll just have to wait and see which side wins out!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love perfume. But I’m also very picky. I don’t like scents that are too heavy or that don’t blend well with my body chemistry. I have to test a scent in the store at least two or three times before I decide to buy it. So you can understand why I have such a small collection, but hopefully it will be growing as I start to test more scents. Here’s my current collection:

My favorite scent is Kenzo Amour (the one that looks like a modern art swan). It’s a powder/musk scent that is sort of sweet but at the same time isn’t too heavy, so I can wear it in all kinds of weather. The bottle was a big part of the scent’s initial appeal. It was designed by Karim Rashid (you may know him as the designer of the Kone vacuum) and the the three different sizes come in pink, white, and orange. I love this perfume (and the bottle) so much that I’m seriously considering buying all three sizes so I can display them . This scent is available at Sephora.

Marc Jacob’s Daisy is (obviously) the bottle with the rubber daisies on the cap. According to sephora.com, the notes are “Strawberry, Violet Leaves, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Gardenia, Violet Petals, Jasmine Petals, Musk, Vanilla, White Woods”. It sounds like it would be overly fruity, but it’s actually rather refined. I think a scent that manages to be both youthful and sophisticated is sure to be a classic. This scent is available also available at Sephora.

The funky blue and orange bottle in the back center is Moschino’s I Love Love. This is one of my favorite summer scents. From the bottle, it smells very similar to Dolce and Gabbana’s Light Blue. However, I Love Love blends much better with my chemistry and has more spunk once it’s actually on my skin. Unfortunately, I think this spicy, fun scent has been discontinued . I hope I can scoop up one last bottle before they all disappear.

The dark blue bottle with the gold nob on top is Dior Addict, which is a little too heavy for daytime, but great and romantic for night. This is another power, musk scent that Sephora classifies as an oriental. This scent is definitely reserved for nights when I’m feeling especially bold.

The round silver and green bottle is Donna Karan’s Be Delicious. This smells a little like apples but is more complex than you might expect. This one is my boyfriends favorite. It’s very fresh but not too sweet and makes a great everyday scent. Another plus is that it seems to be a universally compatible scent, so I would recommend it to just about everybody.

The final bottle, the pink one in the center, is Burberry’s Tender Touch. This was the first ‘fancy’ perfume (see: not Bath and Body Works Body Splash) that I ever bought. I was about 14 and I bought it because it made me feel more grown up. This scent is a little too heavy and mature for me, so I don’t really wear it now. It is a musky, intense floral. I still like the way it smells, but it just isn’t age appropriate. I think I need to find somebody that this works on so I can have an excuse to buy something new, and an empty spot to put it in

I decided to buy Lancome’s Bi-Facil eye makeup remover after reading tons of rave reviews on Makeupalley and other blogs. I figured if this product was as fabulous as everybody said, it would be well worth the $26 price tag. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the hype.

The description on Sephora’s website says this product will “gently whisk away even waterproof eye makeup, while conditioning and refreshing the skin” and promises “no oily residue”. I don’t use waterproof eye makeup, and I rarely wear eyeshadow or eyeliner, so the only thing I really need my makeup remover to do is take off my mascara. While it certainly does that, it is not exactly a gentle process and I definitely noticed an oily residue after using this. Before this, I was using Neutrogena’s Oil Free Makeup Remover and it was just as effective without the oily residue. Neither product removed my makeup with only one or two swipes, but the Neutrogena remover is only $7.99.

I won’t be repurchasing Bi-Facil, and my search for a fast, easy makeup remover continues. Any suggestions?

I’m going to come right out and say it- I’m a Target addict. I can spend hours in my local Target browsing through the aisles. They really deliver on their slogan “Design for All”, and I love finding quirky and affordable things in the same store I buy my staples. I first saw this product line when I was picking up some basic toiletries a few months back.

Every Man Jack is (obviously) meant for men, but I liked the unique packaging and was surprised at how much I liked their Citrus scent. There are a few other scents (like Tea Tree, Mint, and Cedarwood) but this was by far my favorite. I bought the body wash on a whim.

I do like the body wash, but I’ve found it a bit difficult to use. The product is a bit thin, so it seems like you need a washcloth or bath mitt to apply it with. Also, the packaging is difficult to squeeze so I’ve had a hard time getting enough product out. Because of these problems, I probably wouldn’t buy the body wash again. However, I like the scent so much that I decided to try the bar soap version.

I am extremely pleased with the bar! First of all, I have to gush about how neat the design is. Doesn’t it look like a little block of wood? But it actually delivers too. I really like to exfoliate, and this little bar really sloughs off dead and dry skin. Somebody with sensitive skin might want to opt for something gentler, but it’s perfect for me. With a lot of exfoliating products, you get little ’scrubbie’ beads left over on your skin that you have to be careful to wash off, but not with this bar. The only problem some women might have with this product is that it is a soap, so it leaves your skin with that squeaky clean feeling, unlike a moisturizing body wash.

I thought it might be important to get a man’s perspective, being that this is a man’s product, so I asked my boyfriend to try it for me. It comes in a pack of three (for only $5!) so I kept two for myself and gave him one to test. He’s not at all interested in grooming products (don’t worry, he’s clean), and I think he just uses whatever finds it’s way into his bathroom. It was pretty hard to get any details out of him, but he did seem to like it. He said he liked the scent. His words were “It’s manly enough”. I also got him to say that although the soap is coarse, he likes that about it and would prefer this over other bar soaps he’s used. I like that his skin is even smoother than usual

So for those women who find the scent too masculine, or the ’scrubbies’ too harsh, this is still something I’d recommend for the guys in your life.

Summary: The body wash is nice, but has some problems with application. The bar, however, is extremely easy to use and leaves my skin smooth and soft. For this price ($5 for a three pack), I definitely recommend this product.

March 4th, 2008 is primary day in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island. I’m not going to talk about my political opinions here, but I do want to remind everybody to vote!

I love perfumes for two reasons. First, I love all the different, complex scents and how each perfume changes on different people. Secondly, I love the beautiful little bottles they come in. There’s nothing quite as disappointing as finding a fragrance I love but hating the bottle it comes in (except maybe loving the bottle but hating the fragrance).

It’s this bottle/fragrance dilemma that leads me to the topic of this post. I wish I were a boy. Not because I want to give up my hour-long morning routine or my closet full of clothes, but because I’m in love with this cologne bottle:

It is so beautiful! I love everything about it: the blond wood, the simple, sturdy design, and the pale blue color. In a weird way, it actually reminds me of my bedroom furniture:

You have no idea how many times I’ve passed this bottle in the stores and wondered “Can I pull off a man’s fragrance?” just because I want this bottle sitting on my dresser at home. Fortunately for my boyfriend (and everyone else around me) I’ve decided that I can’t pull off this scent. Is it just me, or has anybody else ever had this problem?

Hello readers! My name is Michelle and I’m a college student in Austin, Texas. I’ve been considering starting a blog for a long time, mostly inspired by other blogs I enjoy reading. I love my friends to death, but none of them are quite as obsessed as I am with makeup and clothes, so I turn to other bloggers for support.

The Top Drawer is going to have posts on a combination of cosmetics, style, interior design, and other random topics. To be honest, I am NOT an expert at makeup application. If you want to see somebody with crazy makeup skills, my favorite blog is Nessasary Makeup. I will do a few posts showing how different cosmetics look on my own face, but mostly I’ll show swatches, write reviews, and tell you what new products I’m interested in.

I know how many blogs there are out there, so I’m not expecting many readers, but I’ll always be glad to get your comments, requests, and questions. I’m still new at this blogging thing, and I’m trying to get my site to look just the way I want it, so I apologize because at the moment we are:

Under Construction!