I'm sorry for the late post. I went out to dinner and to see Coco with a friend last night and had no motivation to write my review. So, better late than never!

Coco takes place in Mexico and the Land of the Dead. It follows the story of Miguel, a young boy who has a passion for music despite his family's aversion to it. Miguel runs away to participate in a Day of the Dead talent show and suddenly finds himself in the Land of the Dead. To return to Mexico, within a specific time limit, Miguel must find his ancestors and receive their blessing. Along the way, Miguel discovers what family truly means and that idols might not always be what they come off as.

Overall, I really liked Coco. The story is fun and really makes you stop and think. Initially, I found myself disliking Miguel's family because of their insistence that music is horrible. But as the movie progressed I began to understand their initial logic and feel sympathetic for them.

This movie had a perfect balance of comedy and drama. I loved the humor provided by the dog, Dante, and the drama caused by the family dynamic. One thing that I wasn't really a fan of was the depressing build up of the storyline surrounding Miguel's family and what happens in the Land of the Dead when the deceased are forgotten.

I would recommend Coco to everyone young and old. The story was light enough for kids to laugh and enjoy it, yet deep enough for adults to think and reflect on their own lives. Plus, the music was amazing!

The preview for day 12 of the NYX Lippie Countdown showed a nice soft red. I was excited for this as it had been some time since the color of the day was red.

After opening it up I was happy to see that it was from the NYX Matte Lipstick collection.

This shade was called Indie Flick which makes it sound like a fun, cute, and edgy color.

Upon application, I was amused to see that this is a bright orangy/red color. It applied easily and cleaned up fairly nicely but did smudge slightly. This is not a long wear color but layered nicely without looking cakey. While I would not replace this when it runs out, I would happily continue to wear this shade.

For days 7 through 12, I was fairly amused by the color selection. They ranged from nude, to purple, to red, to pink. Overall, my favorite shade was day 11, Sao Paulo because it is closest to the colors I would normally buy. My least favorite shade was from day 8, Creme Brulee. This color had a lot of potential but was horrible to wear. I found myself constantly checking it and reapplying it.

I swear this is my final Ulta haul post of the year. Late last week I finally received my Cyber Monday order which was fairly small in purchases but heavy in samples and freebies.

The first items are the Stila One Step Correct and One Step Prime primers. I had run out of my Smashbox primers earlier and decided to try these since they were on sale.

 Because I purchased the primers I also received a sample of the Stila Magnificent Metals Liquid Eye Shadow in Kitten Karma.

The second items purchased were the Mario Badescu Chamomile Night Cream and the Mask & Mist Duo. The Mask & Mist Duo includes the Facial Spray with Aloe, Cucumber and Green Tea, and the Cucumber Tonic Mask. I have loved the Mario Badescu products that are currently in my skincare stash so I'm really looking forward to trying these.

Because I purchased the Mario Badescu items I also received two separate gift bags. The first back was the Mario Badescu Holiday Bag. This bag included samples of the Seaweed Cleansing Soap, Seaweed Night Cream, and Seaweed Cleansing Lotion.

The second Mario Badescu bag was the Mario Badescu Cyber Monday White Bag. This bag included samples of the Aloe Moisturizer, Cucumber Cleansing Lotion, Seaweed Night Cream, and Enzyme Cleansing Gel. Both bags contain products that I have never tried before so I'm excited to see how they work!

The final purchased item was the Body Shop Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Night Mask. I have already used this several times and am super pleased by it.

Like always, I selected the skincare products for my free samples. I received the Vichy Laboratories Aqualia Thermal Mineral Water Gel and the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer. 

Because it was Cyber Monday, and I have a slight Ulta addiction, I also received the Cyber Monday Peppermint Beauty Bag. 

I received samples of the Becca First Light Priming Filter and Backlight Priming Filter, along with the All Nighter Liquid Foundation samples. 

The fragrance samples were Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani, Sexy Ruby by Michael Kors, and Bloom by Gucci. 

The hair samples included Bed Head Screw It Curl Hydrating Jelly Oil, Sexy Hair Color Lock Conditioner, Hask Biotin Boost Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner, and Klorane Color Enhancing Anti-Fade Shampoo and Conditioner. 

Makeup included was the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, Dermablend Loose Setting Powder, Ulta Super Blender, Tarte Lights, Camera Lashes Mascara, Philosophy Time in a Bottle Repair Serum, and Stila All-Day Liquid Lipstick in Rubino.

For skincare, I received the Clarins Multi-Active Yeux & Multi-Active Jour, Proactive Green Tea Moisturizer, Bliss Grapefruit and Aloe Body Butter, and Cotz Flawless Complexion Mineral Sunscreen. 

Finally, I also received the Savvy Travelers Speakeazy Teeth, Lip & Mouth cleansing wipe, and Vitabath Asian Orchid & Coconut Body Wash. 

After yesterdays successful color, I was excited to see that today looked to be a reddish pink color. 

 After opening the tab, I was happy to see that this color was part of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream line I have really enjoyed the wear on the colors I've sampled from this line so far.

Today's shade is called Sao Paulo, which plays into the city theming in the Soft Matte line.

This color applies nicely and has a super pretty raspberry shade. It is easily corrected and does not settle into lines. This is a long wear color and only needed to be reapplied after lunch. I really like this shade and fully intend on repurchasing it after I run out.

With thunderous applause, the curtain has closed on the CFCArts Once Upon A December show and I am officially on break from orchestra until 2018. It was an amazing show and I am so proud to have performed in it. So now the big question is where do I go from here. I've got the following orchestra goals for the 2018 performance year.

1) Strengthen my low notes on the flute.
For the 2018 spring concert, the CFCArts Orchestra will be performing Maurice Ravel's Bolero. A large part of the flute part involves playing in the first octave. This is an octave that I rarely perform in so I'm a bit weaker in it than the others. My hope is that, through frequent practice, I'll be able to proudly perform Bolero without worrying about having a funky sound in that first octave.

2) Practice my piccolo.
I did not have any piccolo parts, by my choice, this year so my poor piccolo sat in my flute bag without being used. My plan for 2018 is to at least pull up the piccolo parts on Dropbox and run through them. When I finally decide to try and get a piccolo part for a performance I want to be confident in my skills.

3) Relearn/Learn the saxophone.
I've played the sax before. I know the fingerings and how to play basic items with it but I want more. I want to actually feel confident to perform both the bari sax and the alto sax. I've swiped all my brother's sax books from my mom's house and have been working on the bari. I have reeds for the bari but am still waiting for the alto reeds so picking that up might take a few more days.

4) Perform in the major choir concerts.
This goal is a bit out of my control. Even though I played in Once Upon A December I am not guaranteed a spot in the choir orchestra. Just like everyone else I have to apply and get selected for each individual concert, so my goal is to at least apply with the hope of performing in the choir concerts for the 2018 year. I would love to perform at their spring concert and would kill to return to the holiday concert.

They might not be big goals for 2018 but they're goals that I'm pretty confident that I can accomplish or at least attempt to accomplish. Here goes another year of musical progress.

Day 10 of the NYX Lippie Countdown looked like it was a color that would be more my style than the purples that were included in previous days. From the mini preview, it appeared to be either a pale pink or a nude which, if you haven't been able to tell, are both colors that I love.

After I opened the tab, I was amused to see that this lip color was from the NYX Lingerie collection. Because this collection was the entire calendar last year I find it interesting that two have been included in this year's calendar, so far.

After removing the tube from the box, I was pleased to see that this was Corset. Corset had been included last year and while it wasn't my favorite color, it was a nice soft color that worked ok with my skin tone.

Like other Lingerie colors, Corset applies nicely and mistakes are easily corrected. This color does settle into the lines on your lips but does not make them look overly dry. It lasts long and only needed to be reapplied after lunch. One word of caution, Corset does look cakey if too many layers are applied.

Overall, I wouldn't buy Corset just to have it but I would not shy away from using it. This is a nice solid color that can be extremely useful for a nude lip look.