Current Favorites

Back to back blog posts, and one being a real post at that?! I know, it's kind of shocking.

I've discovered some random favorite things lately and thought "man, I should share these with blogland," so here I am, sharing.

1. Two awesome lip products
I've always been a bright lipstick girl for two reasons: 1. I've never found a neutral that works and 2. lipgloss is sticky. However, I hated how drying lipsticks were and typically I would end up slathering on chapstick or not reapplying any lip color and looking like a zombie with stained, flaky lips.

Enter the lipstick that changed the way I viewed lipsticks and neutrals (you mean they don't have to be flesh toned??) and the lipbutter that changed the way I viewed glosses and neutrals: Mary Kay's True Dimensions Lipstick in Exotic Mango (it may not look neutral but on me it totally is) and NYX's Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee (definitely totally neutral), respectively. The lipstick is insanely moisturizing and seems to last forever, which I totally love. The gloss isn't a bit sticky, and gives nice color instead of being super sheer.

2. Awesome afternoon snack
I'm not going to lie, I saw a blog with SlimFast's meal replacement bar in Have Your Cake (birthday cake, basically) and instantly got excited: cake for breakfast? Sign me up. Well, no amount of searching has allowed me to find them in my area. Instead, I found an alternative: cake as my afternoon snack bar: Kidz Zone Perfect snack bars in Yellow Cupcake. I'm typically not a fan of meal replacement or protein snack bars because I think they taste like chalk and who wants to eat chalk besides a first grader? Not me! I don't usually have a specific time I go to lunch - it may be 11, it may be 1 - but if it's 11, that's a really long time between lunch and dinner...and sometimes I might get so hungry that while I'm cooking dinner I "sample" what I'm making...or whatever is in the cabinet next to what I'm making, which really does no good. My afternoon hangry-ness has been gone with my delicious little cupcake friend. Score!

3. Awesome drink
Dr. Pepper and Diet Cokes are not my friend. Or, to be more accurate, they're not my hiney's friend. So, in an attempt to quit drinking so much soda and infuse some healthy into my life (and my husband's, since I do the grocery shopping!), I picked up Sparkling Ice on my last trip to the store. They give me the fizz I love from pop but no calories or sodium. I haven't met a flavor I don't like yet (I haven't tried watermelon but I don't like watermelon things anyway).

4. Awesome face brush
A few months ago I was introduced to Mary Kay by a coworker's wife who I now consider a sweet friend, and after months of saying no, I finally tried it all - skincare, makeup, the works. I saw a dramatic difference and actually signed up to sell it because I love the products so much. So then, I bought the Skinvigorate brush, because 1. it's got an awesome name, 2. I'd heard great things about it and 3. I got a discount. 3 was the real reason because let's be real, I love a discount. Have you ever washed your face at night and been like "done!" - probably so, or at least I hope. I washed my face like normal before using the Skinvigorate brush for the first time (because I didn't want to get it dirty...silly me), then washed it again with the brush and was astonished at the amount of gunk (makeup, dirt, etc) that came off my face! "But it was clean!!!" I told myself. Apparently not, because I still to this day am amazed every day at how much cleaner my face gets with the brush. Plus, who wouldn't want to feel like your skin is coming alive and freshened every time you wash your face? Duh.

5. Awesome song
Matt and I are searching for a church to go to close to our new home, and when we went to one several weeks ago, a song was just so amazing that it's stuck with me for almost an entire month! It's Let It Be Jesus, by Passion. I finally downloaded it a few days ago because streaming it from YouTube every time I was in my car was eating our data plan.

And that's it! I've got a few more wedding posts planned, and I hope to be blogging regularly again very soon :) 

PS - I did not link to my personal Mary Kay website because I don't have a site - I don't sell enough product to make it worth the cost at this time :) All opinions of the products are my own. If you're interested in products or information, email me and I'd be happy to help! 

Favorite Things: Makeup

I don't claim to be a professional makeup artist - I'm probably more on the level of "tiny human with a crayon" - but I do have to look nice for work, and I want to look nice outside of work, so that means wearing some makeup. I do claim to love sleep, which means I want to stay in my warm bed as long as possible. I also am super busy, so I don't have time to redo my makeup in the middle of the day as it awkwardly smudges off or gets shiny. I'm also not a makeup snob, as you'll find - I use a mixture of what suits me best, no matter the cost, brand, etc., as you'll see. In case you're not following, I like the simple, easy things that last all day and make me look my best with not much work. I've found a few products that do just that so I thought I would so kindly share with you!

1. I never paid much attention to my eyebrows aside from getting them waxed until about 3 months ago when I was getting a pedicure at the Pink House. I mentioned to my mom that I needed my brows waxed and they said they could do it for me. Perfect! When she was done, my eyebrows looked better than they've looked ever in my life, and I couldn't figure out what the heck made the difference. After much thought, I realized they had color, they were defined, and remembered she used a pencil on them after waxing. Well duh, it was time to buy a brow defining pencil. After trying a few, I fell in love with this pencil from Avon. It's gotten to the point that if I don't pencil my brows in the morning, I feel completely wrong. Buy it here from Avon or find a local representative. Right now this is on sale for $1.99. 


2. I haven't ever been a huge fan of wearing eyeshadow, but I recently stumbled upon Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Tattoo. Hi, new best friend. It meets the criteria of staying all day, not fading, not smudging. It's a cream gel shadow so I don't have to carry around brushes - just use my fingers, dab a little on, and I'm good to go. You can layer the colors if you'd like, use as a primer for powdered make up, use by itself, or even as an eyeliner.. I typically wear the Barely Branded - it's a nude color that just gives something other than my face makeup color to my eyes. I have pretty sensitive eyes, and they don't have bad reactions to this and my eyelids don't get awkwardly oily (gross!). Bonus: it's available at every store from Walgreens to Ulta & is super cheap, and I've never worn MAC, but everyone who has says it's exactly like MAC just cheaper. PS: You don't have to go overboard with it like they do on the Maybelline website... I wear it and my eyes look completely normal, promise. 
   
   
   
3. I have a tendency to get shiny through the day, but applying this at lunch will keep me shine-free! Neutrogena's Shine Control Powder doesn't add any weird color or make you look pasty, it just does what it's supposed to do: control the shine. I've tried a million powders and this is my favorite. Again with the sensitivity, this hasn't caused breakouts or itchy-ness. The onlly downside is it comes with one of those cheap sponge-like pads to apply. Instead, I use a fluffy brush to apply. I like to keep this in my purse so I can use it whenever I need. I buy it from Ulta or Target but it's another cheap-o drugstore brand so it's available everywhere! (There's also a shine control primer that's wonderful if you're in need of extra shine control!)


4. CK One Color - I use the foundation, the concealer and the mascara! This is literally my favorite makeup I've ever worn, ever. The foundation (pictured) is a serum, foundation and primer all in one, plus it is SPF8. Yay!! It has a light scent so it doesn't have that nasty makeup smell, it goes on light & natural but covers well, and lasts all.day.long. They have a nice range of colors to pick from, and you've got to admit this packaging is super cute. You can get it for $30 at Ulta. Like I said, I also wear the mascara in Show/True Black ($18 at Ulta), and people are always asking "WHAT kind of mascara is that?! It makes your eyelashes look AMAZING!" People, maybe I have some pretty good eyelash genes. But then I'm forced to admit that it really is just an amazing mascara. Last, for those days you have a little "pal" pop up, the mousse concealer is awesome. I wear Sand in both the foundation and the concealer ($20 at Ulta).
   
   
   

5. My last favorite thing today (I know, like every other logger) is the EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balm. I love the Strawberry Sorbet, and have one for work, home and purse. Before I tried it, I'd been told they were super waxy, so let me stop that rumor right here! These are moisturizing and last so long, plus they smell great. They don't have any color but sometimes I do wear them with a lip stick/lip stain. I've been told the lotion is equally as awesome so that's next on my list to get.

And there you have it, the list of my favorite makeup! What makeup do you love?

I was not compensated in way way for this review - I bought all the products and wrote the reviews on my own.

I just wanted to share this awesomeness with you all since I love it all so much :) 

PS: there are new fun things over on the Pretties page!

Birchbox Review: January 2013

As I've said many times before, I receive a lovely package of goodies every month called a Birchbox. For $10 a month, I get to same some really awesome products. Most of the time I like what I receive and occasionally I order full size products - like the lip gloss, curl cream and CC cream I fell in love with. Sometimes, that isn't quite the case. Regardless, it's a fun surprise every month and the fancy samples are always handy to have. If you'd like to sign up for Birchbox, click here. Take a look below to see what I received this month!

1. Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

Birchbox description: 

Twiggy fans, rejoice: this London-based brand's liquid liners let you create mod looks in a flash. Rather than frustrating us with hard-to-control brush tips, they feature a pen-style applicator that's completely goofproof. Give your basic black a break and experiment with rich Olive or punchy Turquoise. They're guaranteed to make your eyes pop ... The precision pen tip allows you to control the thickness of the line you create and vary the intensity of your look. Plus, the fade-proof formula will hold up all day and night.

My thoughts:

Love at first...sight? My first impression of this lovely little stick was it didn't feel smear-y as I put it on, which was a definite plus. It lasted all day and stayed put exactly where I had intended it to! With regular stick eyeliner I find it likes to fade through the day, and other liquid eyeliners I've tried either were too runny or the "brush" part was a hard piece of foam that felt like it was poking my eye. This was the perfect black color and didn't go on too thick and make me look like I'd gone overboard. Needless to say, I definitely am buying this!

2. Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo

Birchbox description:
At the end of a long week we could all use a fresh start - the same goes for our hair. When product buildup and styling stress leave your locks feeling dull, use Number 4 Hair Care Clarifying Shampoo, subtly scented with white freesia, golden amber, and warm musk, to gently cleanse without stripping moisture or color.
My thoughts:
One word: ick. By 2:00 I was searching for a ponytail holder because I couldn't stand the feeling of my hair. It just felt gross, dry and kind of stringy. It looked fine, but I didn't like the way it felt. I definitely won't be purchasing it in the future, but I have about half the sample bottle left if anyone in my area would like to try it - several others said they liked it when I read the reviews (many mentioned they had short hair, so maybe that's what the deal is - mine is long).

3. Aerie Shimmer perfume

Birchbox description:

For its latest fragrance venture, Aerie set out to create a non-cloying scent that's equal parts delicate and warm ... The crisp scent combines sweet vanilla with a lovely peony and citrusy bergamot ... This enchanting scent is a blend of bergamot, peony, and a subtle hint of vanilla. According to designer Keith Flore, the glass bottle is inspired by the look of messages you can read through frosted windows. 

My thoughts:

It smelled like something my little brother's 15-year-old friends would wear, and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. It definitely smelled good, but just reminded me of something you'd smell in the halls of a high school, not on someone who's been out of college for two years. Looking through the reviews, several others felt the same way. In fact, I'm thinking this particular sample will be going to one of my brother's friends. 

4. Caudalie Vinexpert Radiance Day Cream SPF 15

Birchbox description:

Free of parabens, sulfates, and petrochemicals, this SPF-infused cream contains viniferine, a compound extracted from the grapevine that's been proven to help even out skin tone. In addition to fading scars and age spots, it helps boost skin's overall luminosity over time. Papaya enzyme and mango butter keep skin glowing as you go about your day.

My thoughts:

Okay, this stuff is pricey, so I get that Birchbox wasn't going to send much of a sample. But, if it is supposed to do something "over time," give enough to at least get more than two days use out of it. It also had a funky grape cough syrup smell to it that I didn't like. Overall I really wasn't that impressed.