New In: Essie, Deborah Lippmann, OPI + China Glaze!

Hello lovelies!

I'm coming at you with a little nail polish haul (SPOILER: I went a little polish crazy) from February 2014 that I totally forgot about until now! Posts from here on out will be up-to-date, current and posted more consistently every Monday and Friday. I think I'll divide this by brand, so let's get into it!

First up is my favorite nail polish brand ever, Essie! These damn bottles look soooooo adorable and lovely lined up on my bookcase shelf and I just can't say no, ever. So when I heard about the new (at the time) Encrusted Treasures collection, some swatch googling happened when curiosity struck me a little too deep to ignore. From the swatches I saw online, the collection looked too beautiful to pass up and I immediately went to Walgreens to check them out in person. I am not an in-store swatch kind of person when it comes to drugstore products. I think it's weird and kind of rude to the other people that may want to purchase the product you swatched and then decided not to get. That is why I look up swatches beforehand so I'm prepared when I go to make a purchase. Now, if you're in a Sephora, Ulta or makeup counter that is set up for in-store swatches then, girl, you go to town because there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and sometimes products look different on the skin than they do in the packaging.

Wow, I am in a chatty mood today! On to the shades I actually purchased! I picked up On a Silver Platter which has a fine silver shimmer base with medium sized blue and silver glitters that goes opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how particular you are about your opacity. It's a gorgeous shade and I think it looks so much better on your nails than in the bottle.

On a Silver Platter

I also picked up HorsD'oeuvres...sorry, I just need a minute to collect myself as this shade is so stunning. As with the On A Silver Platter, Hors D'oeuvres has a fine shimmer base, but instead of just a silver shimmer it has a really unique mix of silver and gold shimmers with semi-holographic silver medium size round glitters. It's so stinking gorgeous and I don't think I've ever seen a nail polish shade that looks quite like this so obviously the little guy had to come home with me.

Hors D'oeuvres

The last shade from this collection that I felt I needed desperately was Ignite the Night which is like a freaking nightclub on your finger nails. It has a clear base with a TON of super fine bright silver, slightly darker silver and navy glitters that dry to a luxurious matte on par with OPI Liquid Sand kind of texture. It doesn't dry to a smooth texture because you can feel the grains of the glitter, it's an interesting finish, but I like it. All in all I love the shades and am really happy I picked them up!

Ignite the Night

Someone posted on Instagram about a site that was having a crazy good sale on Deborah Lippmann polishes and she is one of my favorite nail polish brands ever. I love the shape of the bottle, the names they come up with and her glitters are the things of my dreams. Seriously, she's my crack, I cannot get enough. Here are the polishes I picked up...and before you ask, yes I bought ten at once and yes that is a lot and I totally understand that it's a lot, but they were five damn dollars each so how could I pass that up? I couldn't!

This first polish I picked up is called Believe which is pretty much Cher in a motherfucking bottle as it is a sheer, but buildable silver-gold champagne shade with just the right amount of shimmer. I would call it a neutral polish because the shimmer/sparkle factor isn't totally in your face as there is no chunky glitter and it just adds a bit of polish (aha ha, crack myself up y’all) to your finger tips and you could literally wear it to any occasion. As with all Deborah Lippmann polishes I've ever tried, the formula is awesome, lasts forever, goes on super smooth and dries like a champ. It wears for basically 6 years so it makes a really good pedicure shade.

Believe

The second shade I selected is Fashion which is a cool beige with a touch of pink. This shit is real pretty. On my skin tone it’s a great neutral shade that doesn’t give me “mannequin hands”, but it does make them look cleaner and well taken care of which I am all about because the rest of me doesn’t always look put together. Sophistication in a bottle, yay!

Fashion

Third is a vampy burgundy red shade with subtle gold shimmer called Bitches Brew. It is the perfect fall/winter red that looks like a deep red in any lighting unlike other vampy reds that are blackened and you can’t tell they’re not black unless you’re under direct light or sunlight. This polish is gorgeous and I’ll be wearing it all winter!

Bitches Brew

Next up is Stormy Weather which is described as an “edgy granite” shade that was created in collaboration with Narciso Rodriguez. It’s a dark blue-based gray cream finish polish that is fabulous. It looks great on its own, but it also looks bangin’ with a metallic glitter such as silver, gold or even a blue glitter would look awesome paired with it.

Stormy Weather

I also selected a super deep eggplant shade called Dark Side of the Moon which again looks almost black in low lighting, but in direct sunlight, you can definitely see the eggplant tones. This is a beautiful vampy polish that looks awesome on short nails.

Dark Side of the Moon

Lady Sings the Blues is what DL describes as a “silver sparkled blue” with a glitter finish, but I would say it’s a super deep, blackened blue base with large blue hexagonal and smaller round silver glitters. It’s opaque in two coats with even glitter coverage over the nail and looks amazing with a thicker, super shiny top coat.

Lady Sings the Blues

Second to last Deborah Lippmann polish I picked up was Across the Universe which is supposed to look like outer space, but I think it looks like the whole ocean in a bottle because it’s an impossibly deep navy jelly base with teal and green hexagonal glitter and super fine blue glitter shot through. It’s gorgeous no matter what they were going for and it looks just as good on the nails as it does in the bottle. It’s opaque in two coats and with all of DL glitter polishes it looks better with a thick, super shiny top coat.

Across the Universe

The last DL polish I decided to pick up was Cleopatra in New York which is a black jelly base with large, super chunky hexagonal and smaller round gold glitter. Again, it’s opaque in two coats, looks better with a thicker top coat and lasts around a week. All-in-all, it’s a super fun and funky glitter polish that looks drop dead gorgeous on that nails.

Cleopatra in New York

After picking out four shades I had a bit of a think and decided to choose two more polishes to get free shipping because there are very few situations in which I’ll pay for shipping and this wasn’t one of them. I decided to branch out from Deborah Lippmann for a minute and picked out OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark which is a deep, dark aubergine purple shade that looks basically black when not in direct sunlight. It is opaque in almost one coat, but I do two coats no matter what polish I’m applying because I am a crasy person. Aha ha…ahem.

Lincoln Park after Dark

Let’s move on to the final nail polish I picked up in this order which was a hot neon fuchsia pink shade with super fine multi-colored/iridescent shimmer from China Glaze called Hang-TenToes. If you don’t use a light colored base with this shade it takes three coats to opacity and the shimmers really make the pink appear pinker. I don’t know how it does it, but this polish is so pretty on the nail and is perfect for a super cute girly manicure. One this with this shade is that because it’s a neon, it dries down to a matte finish so you definitely need to use a super shiny top coat to finish it off.

Hang-Ten Toes

Well, that’s what I picked up when I had absolutely no control over my fingers or credit card. Hope you enjoyed and have a great day or night wherever you are!

xoxo

New In: Sephora 4x Rewards Points for VIB Rouge

Hi again lovelies!!

Somehow this post was lost in the depths of my computer til recently so  apologize for that. Be that as it may some time many moons ago Sephora was offering quadruple points on VIB Rouge purchases (of which I am a member because I spend entirely too much money there and am well on my way for continuing Rouge status through the end of 2015), so I obviously picked up a few things I'd been wanting and a couple things I actually needed. Let's get into it!

The first thing I needed to pick up was a full size of the Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish because it is Jesus in a damn facial scrub. The little scrubbers are fine, but not too fine so it really makes your skin feel like the best butt you have ever felt in your life...to quote Victoria from victoriadonelda on YouTube said (basically my favorite person on all of the YouTubes), it makes your face feel like Beyonce's butt. So obviously when I finished a deluxe sample, I needed the big one!

Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish

The next item I actually needed was a new brush head for my Clarisonic so I picked it up because I had heard that the Cashmere Cleanse brush head is the best one and once you use it you never want to go back to the regular ones. I haven't used it yet, but it is so soft. SO. SOFT. Girl, seriously go run to Sephora and feel this damn brush head. Please...you'll love it and your fingers will thank you. You're welcome.

Clarisonic Luxe Cashmere Cleanse Brush Head

I also decided that this was the time to get the Sephora Collection Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush #57 which I've been wanting for probably a year, mainly because Victoria (again, from victoriadonelda on YouTube, I seriously love her and trust her opinions to a fault) put in one of her videos and she could convince me to buy anything that she recommend so in the cart it went. I really trust her and think that she has her shit together when it comes to makeup, skincare, and beauty tools. I'm super excited to use it when I do my makeup next because it is legit one of the softest brushes my fingers/face has ever experienced. Just saying.

Sephora Collection Pro Airbrush Concealer Brush #57

While I was shopping for the items I needed I saw that Sephora had smaller 2 oz. sizes of the Lea Journo Hydra-Riche Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner so I scooped those up to try because yet again Victoria and her best friend Jillian (I trust their opinions a whole lot) both said they were amazing and worked well with both of their hair types. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of the scent of either product, but if they work amazing I'll definitely look past the smell. The packaging is freaking genius though and I'm totally looking forward to using these two babies!

Lea Journo Hydra-Riche Shampoo and Conditioner

Then I was just, you know, #feelingspendy (thanks for that Amelia from amelialiana on YouTube) so I went through the sale section looking for items I "needed" and I found a few products. I saw that the Sephora Collection Ultimate Brightening Serum was reduced down to $15.00 from $30.00 so I thought that was a decent price to break into the dark spot correcting world and the reviews were pretty good as well. Hopefully, it will reduce the appearance of my acne scarring and even my overall skin tone because that's the goal y'all!

Sephora Collection Ultimate Brightening Serum

While I was in the sale section I also found that the Sephora Collection had a couple super cute designs of nail wraps and I've never tried them before so I thought I'd pick one up because they were only $5.00 and I love nail polish/nail art so much I thought it'd be worth it. The wraps I selected are a leopard design over a metallic gold base. Pretty much right up my alley and I'm PUMPED to try them out! If I like the application and wear of nail wraps I'm thinking of trying out Incoco nail wraps because I've heard really good things about that particular brand, so I can't wait.

Sephora Collection Nail Patch Art

I also picked up the Sephora Collection Colorful Dual Antibacterial Sharpener in pink whilst poking about the sale section because it was the cutest little sharpener I had seen and it was $3.00 so it helped me get to the minimum $25.00 purchase I needed because I had a code for a free Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black and Nirvana White sample set.

Sephora Collection Colorful Dual Antibacterial Sharpener 

The next thing I picked up was a baby size of the Josie Maran Argan Infinity Intensive Creamy Oil to try out because I really want to have one in my purse during winter for when my hands and elbows are the driest. The little size is $10.00 for 0.5 oz of product and the full size is $28.00 for 2.2 oz of product, so I’m thinking that even though the mini is adorable it’s a waaaay better deal to purchase the full size. Oh well, I’m still going to try it before I commit to the larger size. It has a nice fresh scent that reminds me of the soap my dad uses to clean his hands after he’s worked on a car. I think it’s called GOJO, it totally reminds me of my childhood. I may keep this for that fact alone and it does seem really moisturizing.

Josie Maran Argan Infinity Cream

The last thing I picked up was the Tarte Rainforest After Dark Eye and Cheek palette. It’s beautiful and really handy for travelling or if you’re feeling lazy making decisions about what makeup to use because it has a highlighter, bronzer, a little LARGER than full size blush and 6 eyeshadows half of which are matte which I really appreciate. This damn palette is one of the most gorgeous eye/face palettes I’ve seen since the Smashbox Heatwave that came out last year, which I also picked up (I swear I have no self-control!). I think the palette has awesome pigmentation while still being able to blend easily and I’ve had very little to no fallout.

Tarte Rainforest After Dark Eye & Cheek Palette

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great day! I'll have another post on Friday, yay.

30 Beauty Questions Tag

Hello lovelies!

I saw that Tayler from welltaylered.com did a blog post on this tag a while ago and I enjoyed reading her answers so it seemed like a fun way to get to know me a little bit better.

Lets do this...

1. Do you remember your first makeup item?

I think it was an N.Y.C. roll-on lip gloss...oh yeah! It totally was strawberry scented and awful. Scout's honor I've moved past that phase in my makeup life, but in middle school my lips were looking glossy as fuck.

2. Describe your perfect mascara. Have you found one that fits your specifications?

I need a mascara that is super black because I have the blondest lashes on the planet and it has to be volumizing because while my lashes have lots of length I feel like they're lacking in the volume department. After trying a plethora of brands, styles and formulas of mascaras...I think I've finally found "the one." It's the Makeup Forever Smoky Lash mascara, babes! I like the standard black non-waterproof version, but I also like to use the purple shade on my bottom lashes to add subtle definition and a little pop of color that people aren't usually expecting. Looooooove it!

3. What kind of coverage do you prefer from foundation?

I like a super matte, medium to full coverage because I have extremely acne prone skin and an oil slick for a face. My ideal foundation is one that is medium coverage with a single layer for days when I just want my skin tone evened out and can be built up to damn near full coverage for days when I need my blemishes covered and a flawless canvas i.e. heavier eye makeup looks like dramatic winged liner/dark or bold lips. The foundation I've found so far that does all of this for me is the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation in the shade Pearl. It's the best foundation I've used, maybe ever. Sidenote, I also really like the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation because I'm trying to embrace lighter coverage bases and higher coverage concealers. Yay!

4. Favorite high-end brand?

Nars. I love almost everything in the range and their packaging gorgeous as hell.

5. What cosmetic brand have you always wanted to try, but still haven't?

I've always wanted to try Chantecaille, but it is so damn expensive and I don't have any retailers close to me that carry it to look at it in person so I'm working on it. Hopefully I'll be moving to a town that has a Nordstrom/any larger department store soon.

6. Favorite drugstore brand?

I don't really like drugstore makeup to be honest, but I'm going with L'Oreal because I really fucking the Infallible shadows. They are beautiful and totally worth the $7.00 price tag, but it's even better if you can find coupons and sales. I think with some drugstore items they are priced almost at the high-end level and that is just so crazy to me. If I'm going to pay that much for a product I'm going to go to Sephora or a counter to get a sample first.

7. Do you wear fake eyelashes?

Not usually, but I do like to wear them on special occasions and Halloween, stuff like that. If I ever get super fast at applying them I would totally wear natural looking lashes everyday that I wear makeup because I do think they just add a little something.

8. Is there any kind of make up you can't leave the house without?

I always bring a blotting powder or sheets with me because again, I have an oil slick for a face and sometimes it needs a bit of taming. I also always have a lip balm with me to keep my lips in tip top condition.

9. What is your most cherished beauty product?

That would have to be my NARS Guy Bourdin One Night Stand cheek palette. If I ever decide to drop like $150.00 on the NARS Danmari cheek palette from a couple years ago on eBay or something, then it would be that because I really want that and I have since it came out, but for some stupid reason I decided not to pick it up when it was available. I really regret that.

10. How often do you shop for makeup? Do you like to pick up one item at a time here and there or get lots of goodies at once?

I definitely do a mix of the two. It depends on what products are being released and which ones I'm feeling drawn to. Sometimes I'll purchase something a couple times a month, sometimes it's a couple times a week and then I can go for a few months without purchasing anything and I'll make up for it by placing a huge order when there are products I really am drawn to.

11. Do you have "beauty budget" or spend freely?

I am not in a financial situation that allows me to purchase whatever I want whenever, but if there are products I really want, I will make it happen because I believe that life is short, so purchase the damn makeup.

12. Do you utilize coupons, rewards cards and sales when you shop for cosmetics?

Yes...a hard, resounding yes. I usually wait to purchase something until it's on sale unless it is limited edition and I'm worried it'll sell out before a sale can happen. I'm a big believer in using ebates.com because who doesn't like getting any amount of cash back for purchasing things that make you happy? And when I shop at online stores that offer cash back through the Ebates program, its like there is a permanent sale and then any promotion code or coupon I can find is just the icing on the cake. I have rewards cards for everywhere you can think of and I use retailmenot.com and coupon sites like that.

13. What type of products do you purchase the most?

I purchase eyeshadow the most often hands down. Its usually in palette form and mostly around the holidays when Urban Decay and every brand and their mama releases their awesome holiday sets. I've already purchased the Vice 3 palette from Urban Decay because I passed on both of the previous editions and couldn't hold out anymore. I have more eyeshadow than I'll be able to use in a lifetime and I'm not mad about it.

14. Is there any brand you absolutely can't stand?

I don't like to bring that kind of negativity in my life, but can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed any of I've received from Be A Bombshell in my Ipsy bags over the past year. I just think they should decide to go in a different direction with their company because cosmetics don't seem to be a strong point. At one point I received a mascara that I had never opened before and when I did decide to open it the smell was horrific and super overpowering. I was completely put off and will never spend money on any of their products.

15. Do you avoid certain ingredients in cosmetics like parabens or sulfates?

I try my best, but there are some products I know I love that do still have some of these not so nice ingredients and I continue to repurchase them because I'm either too in love with them or I'm scared to try and find something else that's equivalent. I'm working on being more picky and knowledgeable of the products I put on my face.

16. Do you have a favorite place to shop for makeup?

I try to purchase all my makeup from Sephora because of their points system and the perks they give VIB Rouge members such as myself. I'm pretty much addicted to purchasing products from Sephora because I do believe that when it comes to quality, you get what you pay for. Of course I do still fall for some of the marketing ploys that happen in the drugstore, but I shop for makeup predominately from Sephora or department stores.

17. Do you like trying new skincare products or do you keep a certain routine?

I'm a skincare junkie and it's probably because I haven't found my perfect mixture of products to clear up my skin yet, so I'm forever trying new things until I do and then I'll probably stick with a certain routine to keep my skin clear, healthy and happy.

18. Favorite bath and body brand?

I'm not snobby about my bath and body products I'll use drugstore products and be perfectly happy. I also use a scrub and body butter from Clinique and I like the occasional product from Bath & Body Works, mostly just the triple body creams and the golden sugar scrubs.

19. If you could only buy from one brand, which brand would you choose?

This is such a hard question so I'm going to list a couple options: Urban Decay or NARS.

20. What brand do you think has the best packaging?

I really love NARS packaging. Yes it gets dirty super fast and sure you can see every finger print, but I love the beauty of the rubberized matte black packaging and how chic the font of that white "NARS" is written looks on the front.

21. Which celebrity always has great makeup?

Blake Lively

Beyonce Knowles

22. Do you belong to any makeup communities?

Nope.

23. Favorite beauty gurus?

I am subscribed to beautybaby44, batalashbeauty, allthatglitters21, essiebutton and nguerriero19. I'm obviously subscribed to more people in the beauty community than this, but these are my favorite.

24. Do you like multifunctional products like lip and cheek stains?

Yes. They are perfect for when I hit the snooze button a few too many times and don't have very long to get ready in the morning.

25. Are you clumsy putting on makeup?

Sometimes, it depends on the amount of time I have and how much coffee I've consumed that day.

26. Do you use makeup base/primer for the eyes?

Yes, always. I have super oily lids so I use Urban Decay Primer Potion and MAC Paint Pot, usually in Painterly, and with that combo my eyeshadow stays all day. Yay.

27. How many hair products do you use on a typical day?

To be completely honest, I don't do a damn thing to my hair. I'm more of a wash and air dry kind of girl unless there is a special occasion. I do use the It's a 10 Leave-In Spray to keep my hair hydrated, but I don't use it everyday.

28. What do you apply first, concealer or foundation?

Concealer first!! It just makes sense to me to do it that way because one of the main characteristics of a foundation is the finish and if you use concealer that doesn't have the same finish over top then it takes away from the finish of the foundation. I also think that if you conceal first, you can use a lighter coverage foundation which allows your skin to breathe!

29. Do you ever consider taking makeup classes?

Yes. I live in a small town right now, so I don't have a lot of options to to expand my makeup education, but obviously I watch a lot of beauty videos that feature techniques I've never done before on YouTube and I go into my local Sephora Inside JC Penny (that we just got in May) so I can try out new products and ask the color artists about techniques I want to try. I do my best with what I have available.

30. What do you love about makeup?

I love that you can do whatever you want with makeup. Everyone makes their own rules, you can do anything, be anyone and present the best/truest version of yourself to the world.

New In: Sephora - Too Faced, Korres, Clinique, Shiseido, Philosophy

Hello again loves!

I'm going to level with you guys because I love you, this haul is from March or April and this post has been all typed up just waiting to be posted since then, but somehow it was lost in a sea of other posts that I had already published, so Ebates no longer has 15% cash back for Sephora, but I'm sure it will happen again so please don't kill me. Thank you and now back to our regularly scheduled super old blog post.

I was just sitting on the couch watching Netflix with my boyfriend minding my own business when Andie from technocupcake.com and technocupcake on YouTube brought to my attention that Sephora and Nordstrom were 15% cash back on Ebates when they are usually 3% or 4% and it was just too good a deal to pass up!! Thank you Andie, you're a peach! I then decided to place an order on sephora.com to pick up a few things I actually needed and then a few that I'd been eyeing for a couple weeks. I mean, I was getting money back like my own personal VIB sale so I let myself splurge a bit...and by a little bit I kind of mean a whole heck of a lot.

I think I'll share the products I meant to buy first and those would be the Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleansing Cloths, Shiseido The Makeup Facial Cotton, and Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I love each of these products and I tried to live without them for a little over a week, but I just couldn't handle it.

After I kept my cool for about 10 minutes, I lost all control of my body, went ape-shit crazy and added quite a few new products that I've wanted to try out for the last few months to my cart. The first product being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Taupe and I'm a little worried it's going to be too dark for my hair color, but I think I'm going to try to embrace darker brows. Blondes can get away with that right? Hell yes we can!

I also picked up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express For Brows and Eyes in Blonde because I'm trying to decide which I like the best: brow powders, brow pencils or a combination of the two and this kit was cheaper than buying the eyebrow stencils and brow powder separately with a few extras thrown in that made it a really good value in my opinion. So far it seems like the perfect little eye and brow kit. I swear, Anastasia, you can do no wrong and my brow game is about to be strong.

My excessive makeup hoarding brain then decided that I shouldn't have live any longer without owning a Clinique Cheek Pop blush because the damn, sleek as hell, clear plastic packaging and 3D daisy embossed in the powder was just too cute. I was torn between...well all the shades to be honest, but I was seriously torn between Ginger Pop and Plum Pop. Ginger Pop won out because I was thinking a warm peachy shade would give my cheeks that freshly come in from the sun look that I desperately look for in the summer as my pale ass doesn't get outdoors much without SPF 1000+ (my skin seriously burns within minutes of exposure to the sun). They always say, "Fake it til you make it" and I do that allllll summer long. My seriously eyes teared at the sight and it was over. In my cart it went to play with all the other kiddies.

I was in the market for a new lip balm because I just finished my Burt's Bees chapstick and a couple samples of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. Don't get me wrong I liked the Fresh lip treatment, I just wasn't ready to drop $22.50 on one tube of lip balm. That's just too steep for something I am most likely going to lose, ruin or use up quickly so I chose to purchase a potted lip balm namely the Korres Lip Butter in the Jasmine scent/shade. I wanted something that was going to hydrate my lips while not stressing me out about whether it's going to slide all over my face like some kind of terrifying clown monstrosity. That's not a cute look for anyone, least of all me and I always keep Purell in my bag so the less-than-hygienic packaging doesn't bother me too much.

That is all I was going to purchase and then I remembered that the last time I was in an actual Sephora store I sniffed the Elizabeth & James White and Black perfumes and fell deeply in love with both of them so I purchased both of them in rollerball form because I wanted to be able to wear them separately and layered together and I didn't want to spend like $500.00 that day so rollerballs it was. They smell diviiiiiine alone and layered so it's like I got three perfumes. Ermagerd!

I had been hearing about the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick from everyone and their mothers for the better part of two months and I couldn't resist the siren song any longer. I obviously had to experience the "melted" formula and weird felt applicator (although thinking on it now the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors have the same applicator and no one thinks those are weird), so I picked up the shade Melted Peony and it is gorgeous!! The formula is that of a melted lipstick and that sucker stays and stays on my lips for a good long while. I like them and of course that means I'll be picking up the other shades in the line. The only shade I'm not too sure about is Melted Nude as I think it may be too much of a brown pinky nude to look flattering on my skin tone. I don't want my lips/mouth area to look like a butt-hole. These are the things that often keep me up at night with worry. Just kidding.

Not long after I bought my first BeautyBlender, I received a deluxe sample size of the BeautyBlender BlenderCleanser in my Ipsy Bag or Birchbox, I can’t remember, (can we just talk for a moment about how ridiculous the name of this product is? Do companies try to come up with names that are the longest, most difficult names to remember ever?) and I was using that to clean my BeautyBlenders, which I felt like I had to use a lot of it to get the sponges clean, and when I ran out of it I had to decide if I was going to repurchase the one I got for free or try something else. I decided that I wanted to try the BlenderCleanser Solid because I had watched several reviews on YouTube in which all my favorite beauty vloggers were raving about how it lasts longer than the liquid version and I am all about product longevity. Seriously, I really don't like when I purchase a product and then it runs out so quickly I'm back in the store like three days later picking it up again. Not about that life. At. All.

I believe that was all my crazy shopping addict self purchased that day, so I hope you enjoyed the post and I'll have another one for you on Monday. Have a great weekend, y'all!

Summer 2014 Lips + Tips

Hello lovelies!

The weather is warming up where I live so I thought it was high time I let you all in on the lipstick and nail polish shades I am really looking forward to rocking this summer. I think we’ll dive straight into the lipsticks I can’t wait to wear all summer long!

My first lipstick pick is a cult favorite from MAC Cosmetics. Lady Danger is my favorite shade by far to wear in the summertime. It is so fun with its bright red-orange hue and it seriously lasts on the lips because of the matte finish. I find that as long as your slap a lip balm on a few minutes before you’re ready to apply this shade, the matte formula really isn’t too drying and downright comfortable to wear. Now if you’re going to be eating while wearing Lady Danger you will need to touch up a bit, but it’s such a stunning shade I totally don’t mind.

I think we’ll keep the MAC train rolling with Crème Cup which, I’m not going to lie to you, I wear all year round. It’s a fabulous light blue based pink cremesheen formula which is one of my favorites and is probably the best “nude” shade for my skin tone. I love wearing this on its own or with a gloss over top because it’s gorgeous.

Continuing with my MAC lipstick picks, I know I’ll be wearing Kinda Sexy a lot this summer. It’s a neutral pinky-rose color so it’s usually my go-to on days when I don’t want to wear very much makeup, but still want to look like a person. One example of a makeup situation I would pair it with is if I just want to go to the grocery store so I’ll throw on some concealer, a super light coverage foundation, a teensy bit of a contour/bronzing with heaps and heaps of mascara and this lipstick. It makes you look like you made an effort while still being super easy to do in like 5-10 minutes before you run out the door to be a responsible adult…hehe just kidding! You know I’m going to the store to buy Toaster Strudels and CapriSuns. (Yes, you are right, I am a 5 year old in a 24 year old body…you caught me.)

 The last MAC lipstick pick that will be on my lips all summer long is Crosswires. I love this pinky orange cremesheen formula because it’s bright, but it is also easy to wear. When I’m wearing a shade like this that has orange in it, I really like to make sure my teeth are as white as can be as it tends to make my teeth look a teensy bit yellow. Not ideal, but I can work around it and it motivates me to whiten my teeth a bit more regularly.

My next pick isn’t summer specific, but I do love it and wear it all the time so I thought I’d include it. It’s the YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in No. 1 Nude Beige. It’s a good nude lip (I really don't like that term) option for me and it’s easy. I can apply it without a mirror, it wears off nicely (read: evenly) and the formula is pretty darn moisturizing.

I have obviously been on a MAC lipstick kick, so there’s that. Moving on to nails, I’m basically going to go through my whole manicure routine and a few shades I’m loving this summer.

After trimming, filing and buffing my nails I like the apply a nail treatment. The one I have been absolutely loving is the OPI Nail Envy. Now when I first saw people doing reviews on YouTube I was not about this product because I just thought everyone was getting paid to say that it was good (which they probably were), but now that I’ve been using it for about a year, I can say that I actually really like it.

Sometimes I’ll use the OPI Nail Envy as a base coat in addition to being my nail treatment, but for the occasions that I want to make sure my manicure lasts as long as absolutely freaking possible I will use the CND Stickey Base Coat which is ah-mazing! I’m nearing the bottom of my bottle now and I’m sad to say it’s getting goopy and hard to apply. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife cuz Heather's gonna be picking up another bottle when she can’t handle how difficult and shitty the formula gets. I promise I won't be referring to myself in the third person anymore in this blog post, pinky swear.

After whatever base coat I’ve used has dried, I apply two to three coats of the polish I’m using depending on the formula, opacity, blah blah blah. A few of the shades I’m going to be rocking all summer long are as follows: Essie Snap Happy (a gorgeous bright-ass red that is perfect for toes and fingers alike), Essie In The Cabana (the best aqua-turquoise shade you ever did peep, it’s SUCH a pretty color), Orly Rage (because who doesn't need a metallic-ass rose gold in their life at all times?), OPI Pompeii Purple (this shade is so beautiful you'll probably cry, you've been warned) and the last thing I have to share is a nail combo that is just divine in the summer, or anytime there is lots and lots of sunshine and that is one coat of Essie After School Boy Blazer and two coats of Essie Aruba Blue and that produces the most beautiful nail color EVAR! When you're indoors it looks are dark and awesome, but when you're outside and the sun hits it, it's a shining, shimmering splendor and you"ll be in a whole new world (Aladdin reference intended). Oh! And if you're feeling really cray (yes, I did just say "cray"...I regret nothing!) you can do one coat of Essie After School Boy Blazer, one coat of Essie Aruba Blue then a coat of Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings The Blues (this is a super crazy beautiful chunky glitter that looks like perfection on the nails) and your nails will look absolutely fantastic!

I follow up my polish of choice with a top coat and I have two that I really enjoy. The first is Seche Vite Fast Drying Top Coat which smells like it’s super bad for you and will probably kill you in the not so distant future, but the shine it leaves your nails with, girl, it’s worth it. The second top coat is INM Out the Door which I usually use when I’m an idiot and decide to paint my nails like 20 minutes before I have to be somewhere, which happens more often than I’d like to admit.

Once my top coat has had a minute or two to dry, I apply a couple drops of the Nicole by OPI Drying Drops which are literally bottled unicorn tears and work beautifully. It seriously takes two or three minutes and I can be on my way, but before I go anywhere I have to apply cuticle oil because my cuticles are quite dry in the summer and the one I use is the CND Solar Oil, it’s fabulous!

That is all I've got for you. See you with a new post later this week!

xoxo Heather

I Don't Do Resolutions, So I'm Making A Lifestyle Change...For Reals This Time

Hello lovelies!

Now what I'm going to be talking about is something that I've written about 3 times already and that is getting healthy...meaning making healthier eating choices and getting more active. I've failed each of the three attempts to get myself healthy and I'm sick of being overweight and feeling sluggish. I want the days I feel beautiful and confident to outweigh the days I feel ugly and inadequate.

One change I'm going to be making is reducing how much red meat I eat which shouldn't be too difficult as I pretty much only eat poultry and fish as it is with the occasional burger. I'm really just trying to have more vegetables on my plate than grains and meats...pretty much I'm not going to limit what foods I can eat. Instead I'm going to be focused on eating whatever I'm craving but trying to have more realistic portion sizes and make healthier substitutions...whole wheat bread for white bread, brown rice for white rice and lower fat meat options, i.e. turkey bacon for regular, chicken and lean poultry or fish for red meat and pork. I'm also going to be drinking one to two liters of water a day to make sure I'm hydrated enough because I've been getting horrible headaches and I think its because I'm dehydrated. To encourage my increased water consumption, I purchased a Camelbak 1L Eddy water bottle in Charcoal and it's beautiful...and I've been drinking water like a fish since I received it. I have recently been inspired to post all of my meals on Instagram so I can visually see what I'm eating and hold myself accountable while hopefully reducing my portion size and making healthier choices.

As for fitness or an exercise routine I'm going to be going on daily walks and I downloaded a workout app that has lots of different seven minute workouts so I'm going to be doing that everyday because if I can't commit to 7 minutes a day then there is something wrong going on in my life! I think I'm also going to take a few Zumba and aerobics classes at a local gym because I really love the Zumba classes they have there.  I'm going to be just overall more active, whether that is parking far away from a mall entrance and taking the stairs. My friend Chelsea is moving in with my boyfriend and myself on May 1st and she's going to be such a big help with my weight loss. She's already lost 50 lbs so I know that whatever she's doing is working.

That is it for now my lovelies.

Well I'm 24 Now...So That Happened

Hey lovelies!

My birthday was last month and I turned 24 so that's a thing. Now I know that's not old, but I'm feeling the pressure to get my life together and be an upstanding adult. I have no issue with that it's just that still have those spontaneous urges to do things that don't make sense and probably aren't wise. And you know what, I like those urges because sometimes its great to embrace your younger side.

I'm really trying to get my blog together now, I'm saving up for a lighting box so I can take proper photos and I'm going for posting twice a week on Monday and Thursday. That may change, but I'll let ya'll know what schedule I settle on.

I was laid off from my job on New Years Eve and let me tell you it was not the best way to ring in a new year. I've applied for a million jobs since then and I had a really decent phone interview this week for a teller position at a local bank that seems promising. I really want the teller position and I already bank with them and have for over 3 years so I'm really hoping I get a call soon letting me know if I get a face-to-face interview so I can wow them with my sparkling (haha who actually says that) personality and friendly voice. *UPDATE* I just received a phone call from the person that schedules interviews at the bank and I scheduled one for next Wednesday. THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!

That is how I'm feeling as of right now in my new 24 year old self. I'll be having more posts to come and they should have content that is a bit more fun/interesting.

Until next time my loves!

6/21/13: Super Late Post, Update, Moving

Hello lovelies! 

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaack, finally. Let me just tell you, moving is a bitch. First off, packing is difficult for me because I’m very organized in my head, but the execution leaves something to be desired and all I can say is thank goodness for my boyfriend, Paul, who is amazing and kept me focused. The apartment is awesome! So much better than I remembered and it’s quiet!! Coming from a five bedroom apartment that had 6 people living in it, it is dead quiet and I love it. The air conditioning actually works; we have a spare bedroom and a linen closet…a LINEN CLOSET. I almost don’t know what to do with all the extra space. Since its just Paul and I living here I finally feel like an adult! Paying bills by ourselves, being able to pick out furniture that we actually like, going to bed when we need to and not being kept awake by roommates that don’t have to be to work early. It feels like heaven. My skin is even beginning to clear up so it’s the best.

On to the haulage, while we were in the process of packing the old place up I would occasionally get a little overwhelmed and my natural response to that is to go to a drugstore…really just any place that has a makeup section and cold drinks. In this case it was Target and then CVS because they were having their clearance sale on select cosmetics.

Target is up first, they had the new-ish Revlon Lash Potion mascara in packaging with a free black eyeliner for $4.99 and I never say no to an eyeliner so I obviously picked that up. I also picked up the Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer in Cocoa Radiant because I saw a few girls on YouTube say that they liked it. I picked up the Neutrogena Age Shield Oil-Free Face Sunscreen lotion. It’s SPF 110 which I’m sure is completely ridiculous, but what can I say, I’m really pale and I’d like to stay that way. I also picked up a couple really cute $1 nail files from Sally Hansen. Oh, I totally had to fight the cashier about the price on the Revlon mascara because it rang up for $9.99…so I escorted a manager over to the Revlon aisle and show her the display and she gave it to me for $4.99 because the display was confusing and she couldn’t figure out which was the right price either. Score!!

I then went to CVS on my way home from work last week, just to get a few cold drinks for Paul and myself because it was really hot and we were in the process of moving, blah blah blah, and I saw that there were Orly nail polishes on clearance for 50% off because they changed their packaging so I bought six: Cut the Cake, Lollipop, Basket Case, Terracotta , In the Navy, and Luxe. They are such beautiful colors and I think Cut the Cake is a pretty good dupe for Essie’s Shine of the Times which I didn’t have a chance to pick up. While I was in the nail section the packaging for CND Solar Oil totally caught my attention and I remembered hearing good things about it so I picked it up on a whim because why not? The final two items I picked up are from Wet ‘n Wild; the first is the Comfort Zone palette because everyone on YouTube won’t shut the hell up about it and I needed to see what all the hype was about. I know that WnW has very pigmented shadows for cheap so I also purchased a three-pan palette in I’m Getting Sunburned. So gorgeous, I already know I’m going to be using it all summer long. The CVS I went to also had mini trial sizes of more expensive hair products so I picked up a 2 oz size of It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In treatment and a 1 oz size of the Macadamia Deep Repair masque. I think they charge so much because mask is spelled fancy.

Overall I think I made some really great purchases and also scored some decent bargains. Go me!

Until next time lovelies, stay beautiful! <3