Beauty Bargain/Great gift idea!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry it's been a few days, I have been super busy but I wanted to put this up because it's SUCH A GOOD DEAL! And it's an awesome gift idea!

They're Stila lip glazes and they come in boxes of 4. They were orriginally priced at $20 ($55 value!) but I saw them at Nordstrom Rack for $7.97!!! That's less than $2 per lip glaze! I bought both sets :)

Here they are in the box:

The box on the left is called "Twinkle Set" and on the right is "Blissful Set"

"Blissful Set" is my favorite but they're both really pretty!

The "Twinkle Set" includes Grapefruit, Mauvelous, Pinkle-Twinkle (very sparkly!), and Cherry Pie. Cherry Pie doens't look very cherry until you put it on and after a few minutes you can definitely see the cherry color.

The "Blissful Set" includes Kitten, Rose (my personal favorite!), Harmony, and Bliss. Bliss is a bit on the gloopy side but it's really pigmented for a gloss, I'm very impressed with all of these!

Each lip glaze is 0.5 fl. oz. regular size glazes are .08 fl. oz. but they cost $22 each!

Here are some swatches (Blissful is on the top and Twinkle on the bottom)

Top from left: Kitten, Rose, Harmony, Bliss

Bottom from left: Grapefruit, Mauvelous, Pinkle-Twinkle, and Cherry Pie

Oh, and the sticker with the $20 price info on it comes right off in case you give this as a gift :)

Let me know if you'd like any more info on these :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

(To those of you who celebrate it!)

My Beauty Story (TAG from Youtube)

Hey Everyone!

I have been watching beauty videos on Youtube and they've been posting videos on "My Beauty Story" answering the questions bellow. I thought it would be really fun to do this and I invite EVERY ONE of you to do it too! Comment bellow or comment with a link to your blog and your story :) I would love to read about you!

OK so here we go:

1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
My best friend as a child used to always want to play dress up and put make up on and I HATED it!! Lol I was such a tomboy as a kid I thought it was so boring to dress up and put on makeup. That was probably like around 5 or 6. Oh how things have changed!
 I love watching videos! I may or may not get into it but for now I'm enjoying blogging. I would suggest you all check them out!

2. How did you get into makeup?
I didn't really get into makeup until High School and I feel like my interest in it has grown exponentially. I started pretty slow and kept trying new things and learning new techniques as I went along.


3. What are some of your favorite brands?
Ok, so high end I really like and "WISH" for Smashbox and I like ELF for it's quality for the price. I love a lot of other brands for different things too. I think each brand has some real gems!

4. What does makeup mean to you?
Makeup is a fun way to be creative and express myself. I have so much fun doing makeup and trying out new products.

5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?
I'm not sure if this is "face" like foundation, blush, primer etc. or like including eye shadow, mascara, lip stick... I'll say ONLY 4 products at all and I'd say tinted moisturizer, a neutral eye shadow color I could also line my eyes with, lip gloss, and a bronzey blush I could use to contour and give my face some color. Wow that's hard! 

6. What is your favorite thing about makeup?
I like that I can express myself and it makes me feel more confident.

7. What do you think about drugstore makeup vs high end makeup?I love both, I think you have to do some research on drug store though or be willing to try out some duds because there are a lot! But when you find a dupe for like 10% of the price it's SO exciting :) I think there can be duds with high end makeup too. 

8. What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?
I'd say do whatever makes you happy. I wouldn't get so involved with makeup so fast that you feel frustrated. Give yourself time and practice and enjoy it! And don't forget to flaunt it a little :)

9. What is one makeup trend you never understood?
I don't know, I think everyone has different styles and I respect that. There may be some thigns I wouldn't ever do on myself but if you feel confident in it then go for it! There could also be things I do that you woldn't ever and that's cool too! We all have different features and different things look good on different people.

10. What do you think about the beauty community on YouTube?

Talk to you all soon :)

Victoria's Secret: "Secret Reward" Card

I just stopped by Victoria's Secret last night for their 7/$25 panty deal and when I left they gave me an awesome "Secret Reward" card! Apparently if you spend $10+ through the end of the month they will give you this card that you can use from Dec. 1-19th with a secret value of $10, $50, $100 or $500! I thought this was a really fun promotion and I know I'll be back to purchase from their beauty section soon. You find out how much it's worth when you're checking out, but I think each card is worth at least $10 so spend $10 now and come back for at least $10 worth of free stuff later!

Check out the fine print on their website http://www.victoriassecret.com/. I'm definitely not sponsored or being paid to share this I just got the card last night and though maybe you guys would be interested too :)

Time for a HAUL!!!

Hey everyone!!

Sorry I haven't written in a few days, I had a really busy but FUN weekend!

I got to spend some time with my favorite people, including my boyfriend, parents, friends from church and old friends from college...all in 2 days! Oh and USC won! Fight on :)

So let's get to the haul! I will have a more make-up focussed haul soon but since the weather has been getting so dry here I have been buying a lot of skin care products. There are some golden nuggets in here, guys!! Haha

The Body Shop

Wise Woman travel set:

This retails for $35 but I had a coupon to try out a travel kit from the Body Shop for $12 so I thought I'd go for it :) Unfortunately it was not the right formulation for my skin type at all (I have sensitive combination skin that really only breaks out after I use certain beauty products). After using the product for a day or so I broke out and was very dry and blotchy :( I couldn't stand using it anymore. I would definitely suggest asking for a sample (most Body Shops are happy to give these out!) before you purchase because for such small packages $35 is waaay too much to gamble with. Fortunately they let me return it.

Moringa Body Butter:

I was looking for a nice soft floral scented body butter to use at night now that the weather is getting really dry here. I like this so far, it smells floral but not overbearing and it feels moiturizing. It's a nice scent to go to sleep to :) This is a mini size that retails for $8 I believe.

Amazon

Egyptian Magic:

I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS STUFF!!!! Yea, OK this is definitely one of my favorite products right now. After my skin fiasco with the Wise Woman products I needed some major repair and this stuff did the trick! This "All purpose skin cream" is pricey (about $30 on Amazon, $36 at Whole Foods for 4oz) but it's absolutely worth it. I rub this between my fingers then put on my face in place of moisturizer before bed and I wake up with the softest skin! You look totally greasy but don't worry, it's just like that when you put it on at first before bed. When you wake your skin looks so nice and soft and it hasn't broken me out at all. It just soaks into your skin and makes the texture amazing. I felt a huge difference after the first night. I am excited to keep using it and would definitely reccomend this!

Drugstore

Glade holiday candles:

There was a really good deal at Target on Glade holiday candles and I couldn't resist :) It was 5/$12.50 and you got a $5 gift card to Target if you bought all 5. I LOVE the "Creamy Custard/Blushing Apple" 2-in-1 candle and liked the peppermint (which smells like Andes chocolates) and the Apple Cinnamon is a nice smell too. The vanilla kind of let me down, it burned our really quickly and didn't have too strong of a scent. My boyfriend loves vanilla though so I'll burn those when he's around.

 Lip products:

I haven't really done my research and don't remember what these are all called so I'll have to do an update :( The Wet 'n Wild lipstick is something like 547B and the first revlon is "Luminous Pink" I'm really loving that color, it's a very pretty light pink that changes colors in different lights. The pink ELF lip gloss is in "Pink Candy" it looks a lot less berry in this lighting and in the store but it's very pretty. I'm not a fan of the lip stain on the bottom, I'll have to get you guys the name but it's the nude color. It just wasn't flattering on me, I'll have to test other colors for you all :)

Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion:

I'm obsessed with Clinique's Dramatically Different moisturizer but for about 4oz @ $24 I'm always trying to find a drug store equivalent. I think I found it! I still have to use this a bit more but I really want to do a post comparing the two. They have really similar textures and I do notice differences but I just might have found my drugstore replacement! This lotion was $8 at Target for 16 oz.

Bath and Body Works

Creamy Pumpkin Wallflower Plug in:

I love this scent! It totally reminds me of Butter Pecan ice cream :) Matt didn't like it though so I went to get a replacement this weekend. I'll save it for when he leaves. It was also half off (regular price is around $7) because Halloween is over, bu I'm still feeling the fall scents for Thanksgiving!

Vanilla Bean Noel Triple Moisturiing Cream:

I got this free with "any purchase" which is why I purchased the air freshener but this retails at $12. Please read my post on BBW and how to get a good deal there before you spend $12 on this lotion! Seriously, it's nice but you can get it so much cheaper. Anyway, I think of all of their holiday scents (aside from Secret Wonderland) this is the one I'm most likely to want on my body. Peppermint is nice but do I really want to smell like it?? This lotion smells a bit like yogurt in the bottle but once you rub it in it smells like really yummy sweet vanilla. My boyfriend loves this and so do I!

Let me know what you guys think about the hauls! If you guys think these mini reviews are helpful or if you'd rather wait until I've used a product a lot and can give a longer review. Thanks for reading :)

Beauty tip! How to match any eye look you have with clear gloss!

Many many times I've searched and searched through my many lip colors without being able to find one that matches the look I'm going for with my eye shadow. After playing around one day I realized you can use your eye shadow on your lips! Just apply your desired color eye shadow and then top with a clear gloss or vaseline! You can make it as sheer or as dramatic as you like :)

I'll post some photos soon so you can "get the picture" hahahaha! OK haha I know, I'm lame :)

Neutral Fall Look - Great for Brunettes!

Hey Everyone!

I've put together this pretty neutral fall look that I thought looked great with my brown hair and deep berry colored sweater. (Excuse my wet hair, this is how I look before work every morning...see my japanese hair straightening post for details on that!)

I've used my Coastal Scents 88 warm palette on my eyes, and went for a neutral almost brown/pink look. I don't like wearing dark lips to work and I thought maybe it would be fun to show off a neutral work-appropriate fall look!

Here are the products I used:

Face:
Maybelline Dream SMOOTH Mousse foundation (applied with a stippling brush)
Bare Minerals powder foundation on my T-zone to set
ELF Studio Blush and Bronzer duo (use bronzer very lightly, just to give a touch of color)
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

Eyes:
ELF eye shadow primer
Coastal Scents 88 warm pallette:

I thought it might be helpful to draw a circle around the colors I used. Let me know if this doens't make sense and I'll try to think of a new strategy :)

I used the red circle (three from the right and 3 from the bottom in the picture) on my lid and blended it up a bit to give me some color, the purple circle (1 from the left in the picture and 5 rows up) as a highliht just under my brow bone and the yellow circle (1 up and 1 from the right) in the outer corner and I blended it in my crease and above just a bit.

Ulta's Black/Brown automatic eye liner
Bare Minerals Mineral veil just under my eye liner (so it wont run as much)
Lips:

Kept it simple and inexpensive with Wet and Wild's lipstick #547B, I don't know the color but it looks a lot browner than it is, it's really a pretty neutral and light pink that I think is great for fall.

I hope you all found this helpful!

Let me know if you'd like to see another look to go with an outfit or something work or school appropriate :)

Mini-Vent and Products to Avoid from ELF!

ELF (eyeslipsface.com) makeup is cheap and surprisingly good quality but they are taking FOREVER to ship to me!! Boooo :(

If you're planning on placing an order with them I wouldn't be expecting the package anytime soon! I ordered on the 3rd and it's the 8th and it still says "order processing" Argh! OK I'm done venting :) Thanks for listening!!

Just for their slow shipping I'm going to let you guys know of some products to avoid from them.

1. Liquid eye liner I've tried in black and plum and the plum is worse but they both flake *correction: the purple flakes and the black smudges* :( When it flakes, it looks like you've got a big ole gap in your eye lashes.
2. French manicure set the little stickers it comes with never stick to your nail, and the white isn't opaque enough so there's no way you could freehand with this polish. You can still use the colors to polish on their own but don't expect those little stickers to do you any good (i've thrown them away so they aren't shown, but I now notice the clear is looking a bit yellowish and I haven't even had it for 6 months).
3. Liquid eye shadow realllly pretty color and finish but it won't last. It creases (even with primer) and it flakes off and when I got it I remember looking at it and being like ok this doesn't look like it's as good quality as the other stuff I got
4. Facial Whip I've got two of these and they both separate in the bottle so when I try to use it all I get is slightly white water. I have tried to shake shake shake them up and squish them around but I haven't been able to get the product out of the tube. It's kind of a let down *not pictured, I'm a dummy and forgot to take a picture of these*
5. 2-in-1 conditioning gloss I bought this from a Target instead of online and it had made a mess inside the packaging, I couldn't even get it out without getting my hands covered in the goo so I returned it. Fortunately when you purchase from Target they will let you return but I think you aren't supposed to have opened it *not pictured, because I returned it*

This is what you get, ELF! Ya, that's right, you're sorry now, next time you'll ship to me sooner won't you? That's what I thought!

OK so I'm just kind of playing around I'm in a grumpy mood obviously but I really do like ELF products (notice how there are only 5 duds and I have purchased SO MUCH of their makeup!) and I would definitely say go expiriment I mean it's only $1 for the most part. I just felt like having some fun and blowing off steam :)

Japanese Hair Straightening - aka the single beauty thing I do that makes my life 1000x easier

I get a lot of questions in person about my hair and whether or not I flat iron it or if it's naturally straight or what? People in person always ask so I figured maybe some of my blog readers would be curious too :)

I do not flat iron my hair (anymore) and I haven't for years. I've had it permanently straightened which basically means I had a chemical process done to my hair so that it will be straight until I cut it off. I have to go in for touch ups every 6 months because the new hair that grows in won't have had the chemical treatment so it grows in just like my hair was orriginally. It looks totally fine though because my hair is long so it pulls the top few inches straight.

Before:

It was hard to find a before because I straightened all the time. But this is me after letting my hair air dry a few years ago, before I started having my hair permanently straightened. (I'm making a goofy face hehe)

After:

I just took this photo a second ago, this is how my hair looks after brushing but without blow drying or using a flat iron. It's basically how it looks naturally out of the shower! :)

Benefits:

• After I wash my hair, all I do is spray in a leave-in conditioner/detangler and comb and that's IT!
• I never flat iron and I never blow dry (unless I'm going somewhere I can't have wet hair when I get there)
• If you sleep on your hair funny or have it in a bun the folds will go away in a matter of minutes.
• If you're ever at a pool or a water park or it rains you can be the one girl there who doesn't care if they get wet because their hair will be perfect again when it dries :)
• You can live in Florida or Georgia or anywhere with humidity and it doesn't make one difference, your hair will look awesome there too
• Although the process is a chemical and it does damage your hair, my hair has improved because I used to flat iron it so much that even though I used a Chi ceramic straightener my hair was damaged a lot more than the straightening ever does. After I leave I'm always like stroking my hair, it feels so good!

Negatives

• It can be really pricey, I found a really cheap place to do it (initial costs $200 for long hair, $180 for medium and $160 for short, touch ups after 6 months cost $160) but you have to be careful. Some places don't use the best treatment (my guy uses Liscio which is one of the top ones) or they aren't really skilled at it which brings me to my next point:
• If the person doing your hair isn't skilled, they can leave in the treatment too long and I've heard of people saying their hair started breaking off!! I think this is something to be aware of but you can do things to make sure this doesn't happen to you: do some research before you start, call the salon and ask what type of treatment they use and do some review searches for that brand. Also, ask them how often they do the treatment, if they do it a lot then you are more likely to have someone who knows that they're doing. You can even ask for photos or testimonials from their other clients. I mean, if you're spending this much money then they should definitely be open to helping you out! But I've been straightening my hair for like 3 years and I've never had a problem and I think it's rare to have someone's hair all break off. Basically unless you're sure about the salon, I would reccommend paying more.
• The process takes 3 hours!! Sometimes I bring a book from school :)
• It smells a bit stinky at first, and you can kind of still smell it for a day or so because you can't wash your hair or get it wet for like 2 days after. My bf says he doesn't notice but he's about as observant as any other man (so not at all hehe)

The process (all from memory, so I might forget/mix up a step or two)

• First, if you haven't washed your hair that day they wash it for you
• They put this white goo (kinda smelly but not like overbearing) stuff on your hair (just your roots if you're getting touched up)
• They then wrap up your hair and put you under like a heating fan for like 30 minutes
• They check on your hair to see if it's the right texture, if not they may have you go for longer
• They rinse out the goo from your hair
• They blow dry your hair then straighten it with a flat iron
• They then put this cool white cream on your hair (the first time I went, I was like shocked because they had just spend all this time straightening my hair so perfectly then they got it wet! Which if you ever straighten your hair you know that getting it wet like ruins what you just did!)
• I think they rinse it off after that and give you a deep conditioner
• You sit for a while under one of those blow dry things you always see in hair salons in movies
• They rinse out the leave in conditioner and give you a haircut
• They blow dry your hair and style it

So I think that's it, let me know if you have any other questions or if I missed anything! This is a really cool process but it isn't for everyone. I hope that this information helped you make a decision or helped you think of some questions that you want to ask your stylist :)

***DISCLAIMER: This is just my personal opinion and experience, I'm just sharing my opinion and what has happened to me, not what I think will happen to anyone else. I am simply posting this as a story of the treatment I personally have done to my hair***

Tutorial bust :(

Hey Guys,


So I just finished my first attempt at a tutorial and it turned out really badly!! :( :( :( I'm going to have to work on lighting, using a mirror in the frame and speaking up! It's harder than it looks but I really want to put some up in the future so I'll work on perfecting my game :) 


Here's a blog version breakdown of this look:

Eyes: 
ELF Primer (pat all over the lid and a bit up to the brow bone)
NYX Jumbo eye pencil in cottage cheese (on lid, apply with a brush or dot on and lightly blend with finger)
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips for Hazel eyes lightest pink color 1 from the bottom (used a sponge tipped applicator and patted on color all over lid)
ELF Drama brightening eye quad light silver (applied in crease and outer corner with the ELF eyeshadow brush) and darker silver (used a small crease brush for outer v/blending)
ULTA automatic long lasting water proof eye liner in black 


Lips:
ELF Super glossy lip shine in Pink Kiss


Face: 
FACE DISCLAIMER: I'm having some major skin issues right now because I got my brows waxed yesterday. I always break out so much after I do! So I had to do some major covering work hehe


Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation (used the ELF studio stippling brush)
ELF all over color stick as concealer (used my finger)
Bare Minerals powder foundation in medium beige to set (used my body shop kabuki)
ELF Healthy glow bronzing powder in sun kissed (used my ELF studio all over face brush)
Cover Girl Cheekers in pretty peach (I used my ELF studio blush brush...looking back now I may have used a bit more of a pinky/purpley color but I think this looks nice too)
Bare Minerals mineral veil (used my bath and body works kabuki)


Oh, and I forgot a highlight color on my brow bone...this was my first video so I knew I'd forget something. I would probbly have used a regular white shimmery color so any would work :) there's on on the top of the physicians formula palette that I ended up using but really it doesn't matter.


Let me know if you try this look out how it goes! You can sub any colors/brands/tools you have :) I'd love to see photos!

ELF 50% off coupon!

ELF or Eyes Lips Face (eyeslipsface.com) always has really good coupon codes or free with purchase codes so it's always a good idea to either wait for a good one or check the front page of their site before you make an online purchase. Yes, yes, I hear you, most of the stuff is dirt cheap anyway so why wait for a coupon?? Well why not?! If you wait for/find a good one you can get everything for even dirtier cheap! hehe

So I had been waiting because I already have a decent amount of ELF stuff. I heard about a coupon code last year that was 75% off but when I saw a 50% off (only off of 25 of their popular items) I went for it. I have to say I love buying makeup online! It's really fun to wait for it and get all excited and then get a big box of it in the mail :) It's like Christmas! 

Here's what I ordered, just to give you guys some ideas. If you want any reviews when they come in, let me know! I think I'll post photos/swatches at the very least :)

Nail polish (reg price $1 each):

• Burgundy a shimmery cranberry color that I think will look really pretty for a holiday party!
• Mod Mauve a light grey/lavendar that has become one of my favorite color combos!
• Smokey Brown From what I can see it's a light taupey color but ELF is notorious for having different colors in person than online. I will definitely swatch this one for you all!
• Sunset a light shimmery pinky-purple. Another shimmery color maybe for a party or just when I feel like adding some shimmer to my life ;)

Mineral eye shadow (reg price $3 eacy):

• Celebrity a light yellowy-tan lid color with shimmer
• Glamourous pinky/purple with shimmer
• Golden a golden lid color with shimmer
• Sassy a tan lid color with shimmer
• Wild a deep chocolatey brown color with... you guessed it! Shimmer!

Miscellaneous

• High definition powder (reg price $6) I'm currently using bare minerals' mineral veil as a setting powder but I've heard some good things about this stuff and it's much cheaper (especially at half price it's only $3!) I'm excited to try this out!!
• Kabuki face brush (reg price $5) I've heard really good things about this brush too, that it's surprisingly soft. I am in love with my kabuki from the body shop though, we'll see how this stands up!
• Eye primer (reg price $1) I really love this stuff, I haven't tried the mineral line version so I can't really compare but at $1 this stuff is a great deal and it does what I need it to do :) It makes the colors of my eye shadows stand out, last all day (even through my hot yoga classes), and they never crease with it. I bought 3 backups for only $1.50 with the coupon code :)
• Medium (reg price $3) I don't remember what this is!!! Haha I keep trying to find it in the list of things that are 1/2 off but I can't. I guess it'll be a surprise when it gets in! Let me know if you know what it is lol

OK so the coupon code is "FAVES" and it lasts through Monday I think so get shopping!

Last point, I'm not getting anything special for writing this post from ELF or anything, I mean this is a new blog I'm not receiving any offers but if I ever do get some freebies I'll let you all know! I'll probably be so excited/honored that I'll want to blab about it like instantly! But I'll always give my honest opinion :) Otherwise what is the point??

October Favorites!

What have your October favorites been?? I’d love to know! Comment below!

So I see a lot of these monthly favorite postings on youtube and I love watching them. They are basically just a posting once a month that looks back on some of my favorite beauty products for that month specifically.

October was a really fun month; I went to some football games, baseball games, started wearing sweaters and snuggling by the fire. All good things J The weather is cooler now and trends are changing towards browns, grays, deep burgundies and all those other beautiful deep colors.

Also, if any of you want a full review and not just what’s on the top of my head for any of these products just leave a comment and let me know!

Without further adieu...

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation – not to be confused with the Maybelline Dream Matte foundation. I bought the wrong kind at first and was so bummed! Fortunately I figured it out before I unwrapped it. I didn’t love this foundation as much when I first got it because I think I was using the wrong brush. I like to use my elf stippling brush now and I love it. The coverage is really good and the finish minimizes my pores and fine lines rather than enhancing them! I am thinking I won’t even have another favorite foundation next month, I really like this stuff!

Bath and Body Works’ air freshener and candle in Leaves – It’s so cinnamonny and fresh smelling. It reminds me of pre-fall. Like the leaves are starting to turn but they’re still holding onto that fresh and green smell. I put the air freshener on one side and light the candle on the other and it smells soooo good J

Coastal Scents 88 warm eye shadow palette – is anything better for a fall look?? I love this palette so much. The eye shadows are so pigmented and different. I love just finding a unique color that I love and building a look around it. Like the other day I focused in on this beautiful gold color with some shimmer to it and built a beautiful fall look around it. I just love it.

Queen Helene Mint Julep face mask – I had been hearing a lot of good things about this face mask but my Sally’s Beauty Supply was always out! Another reason why I just had to try it! I finally got my hands on this product and it’s really nice. It smells like spearmint gum hehe and it makes you look like a green monster!! (I had a pic up but I looked too monstrous so I took it down hehe) Anyway it works great, it stung/tingled on me a bit at first but afterwards was cool and when I took it off my pores definitely looked smaller and I noticed I wasn’t breaking out as much. I’m not sure if it was the mask that stopped the breakouts but I did notice that after using it.

ELF SPF 15 Super Glossy Lip Shine in Candlelight – This isn’t exactly a fall color but it has some really pretty gold to it and I totally love it. It’s only $1 and it’s one of my favorite lip glosses. It isn’t sticky, it has SPF 15, the color is a soft pink with gold that is totally wearable (sometimes the light pinks I love make me feel a bit kiddy but I don’t feel that way with this at all). It’s definitely worth checking out! Especially from the price! Pink kiss and Mauve Luxe are nice colors too btw J

OPI’s Parlez-Vous OPI – OK I know since this color is discontinued it might be hard to find (read my 2 fall nail polish colors post) but it’s so worth it! I’ve seen it at a Nordstrom Rack and online. It’s a pretty grey/lavender color that is different while still being pretty. It’s perfect for fall and wintertime. Your nail salon may carry it too if they have OPI because I think it was a fall color 1-2 years ago.

My Snooki sunglasses - I was Snooki this Halloween and I made a version of her sunglasses that I absolutely love! I was so surprised at how cool they came out :) I had been worried it would be funky or that I wouldn't be able to see thru them but it all worked out in the end. So they are one of my October favorites!!

So those are my October favorites!! What are yours??

P.S. Sorry for the over use of "love" and "pretty" in this post...I'll take a look through my thesaurus before the next post, I promise!!

The search for my 2 new favorite fall nail polishes

LEFT: You don't know Jacques and RIGHT: Parlez-Vous OPI

 

Hello readers :)

By the way, I don't have any readers yet, so for now this is kind of me talking to myself/writing in a public diary? I don't know. I am the same way on Twitter I have 3 random followers (yea, only 3!) and I think they just added me in hopes that I would follow them. I very sincerely doubt that anyone is reading my tweets...yet!

So this post is about my search for two specific fall nail polish colors. I laughed, I cried, I hope you all do too.

Colors to be mentioned in this post appear above, "You don't know Jacques" is on the left and "Parlez-Vous OPI" is on the right.

Just over a month ago I had noticed some fashionable women wearing a really pretty greyish purpley type color on their nails so my next trip to a nail salon I searched until I found a color in that family that I liked. I picked up a bottle from OPI and this is embarrassing to say but I was pretty unfamiliar with OPI at the time (this is no longer the case). So I'm getting my pedicure and I LOVE the color, I ask them to do it for my manicure too even though September is a bit early for such a dark color on my nails. I went for it. I took a look at the name of the polish bc I was thinking I had to have it and it was something French OPI. I couldn't remember if it was Parlez-Vous or Voulez-Vous. I thought VV made more sense (Do you want) than PV (Do you speak) but it turned out I was wrong...to make that long story short. My manicure ended up lasting an entire week btw which I was very impressed with, usually after I get a manicure I'm like afraid to look at my nails the next AM and afraid to scrub my hair when I wash it bc I know I'll chip any second.

So I of course started searching for that nail polish. Not a lot of places sell OPI, fortunately Ulta does and there is an Ulta near my office and near my home. For those of you that don't know (I didn't until I started working next to one) Ulta is a pretty nice beauty store. It's like a big mix of drugstore brands and high-end brands all in one store and they have coupons/deals/gifts with purchases galore. So I went to Ulta, and they had a buy 1 get 1 half off deal for OPI but no Parlez-Vous OPI :( They did have this one color though that was really pretty and different (You don't know Jacques). YDKJ is a brown color that is allllmost a tiny bit purpley but I'd say more of a taupey brown. Grey-beige is definitely in this fall so I really wanted it. I held back though bc they didn't have my Parlez-vous. I started calling Ultas all around and none of them had it. Eventually I found out that they had discontinued it. I gave up on that search for a while and started focussing on YDKJ. I went back to the original ULTA which had 2 rows of YDKJ when I had last been there but they were all gone!! ARGH!! I was so irritated I was now 0-2 in terms of my fall nail polish color purchases. I bought a few other colors to tide me over (China Glaze's VIII, OPI's The Color to Watch) but they were not the same. I painted The Color to Watch over my now beginning to chip Parlez-Vous pedicure and that was nice but I was still bummed.

ULTA gets their shipments every Friday so I started calling every Friday for weeks. Each time they looked and said nope so we'll get it next week. I'd call the next and no luck. In the meantime I went on Amazon and bought a full price (including shipping) bottle of Parlez-Vous so at least I would have that.

Then on Saturday, while I was shopping at Nordstrom Rack I saw they had new nail polishes from OPI! I looked and of course, they had Parlez-Vous for $1 cheaper than I had bought it AND they had YDKJ!!! I was like killing myself that I hadn't waited like 2 more days to buy PV. I was close to buying YDKJ but then I though, it's Saturday, I didn't call yesterday, maybe just maybe ULTA has YDKJ for less!!! Just my luck, they finally had it :) AND I had to make a return there so it worked out so well. I now have both of my fall must have nail polishes for the year. YAY!!!

I don't know if I have a moral for this story...maybe not to get too hard on yourself if you search for a good price then end up overpaying. It just happens that way sometimes. What also happens a lot of the time is you don't even know it and you're getting an amazing deal on something. It all evens out but I think it definitely helps to be conscious and shop around a bit.

What are your fall must have nail polishes? Have you ever gone searching and finally purhcased something just to see it a few days later for less/a better version? Leave me comments!!!

Womanity by Thierry Mugler

While I was going through an especially tough time searching for the perfect dress to wear to a wedding I was stopped by a lady in Nordstroms with a pink perfume card offering me a whiff. The perfume she was pushing is called Womanity. It's the newest fragrance for the ladies from Thierry Mugler. She went on to tell me about one of the perks of the perfume is an online community to speak about all things womanly. I've decided I'd rather not be anonymous and have my own blog to speak about all things beauty...with some miscellaneous womanly mixed in.

So I had already heard a bit about the fragrance before I purchased. I've often longed after TM's Alien glancing to both sides and bringing the bottle or the test strip close to my nose with both hands and drinking in the smell before shying away and returning the naughty sample to the tray. I think I'm primarily scared of the perfume bc I once sprayed some on my arm and then on my way to church stopped at a gas station and received an uber creepy compliment, sniff and stare from the attendant... gross.

OK back to Womanity. This is not the fragrance that will get you creepy compliments sniffs and stares from a gas station attendant, no sir. This is a figgy figgy figgy sweet and pink perfume that is just off beat enough of a sweet so as I don't smell like ice cream and still smell sophisticated. It wasn't my favorite, but I let the strip mellow in my car while I scoured 2 other malls still searching for that dress and when I got back into the car I did have a smile on my face. Even though I wanted to pass out or cry after trying on so many fails.

Sorry to complain about that, I eventually found a dress and it had better be perfect bc I'm never dress shopping again haha

Oh and I do have a good tip for you all when you smell a perfume you like or are offered a test strip...ask for a sample!!! This expecially works in Nordstrom because they will make you a sample if they don't already have one. Chances are when it's new and they're pushing the fragrance they'll have lots of samples pre-made and be happy to give you one. I think it's an especially good time to ask for a sample when they offer to spray your wrist and then you can say oh well I'm already wearing something...do you have a sample? Worked for me :)

So this is kind of a vague and anecdotal review but I hope you all enjoyed :) If you want a more serious review, you should check out Katie Puckrik on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNTKbnwCAnE She knows her stuff and she makes me laugh :)

Bath and Body Works Best Practices

Hello and welcome to my blog :)

The holiday season is pretty much here and one of my favorite things to do this time of year is fill my home with new scents from candles (one of my personal favorites), air fresheners, or new lotions/perfumes/etc. I'm not much of a baker and this blog is about beauty products so I need to find other ways to surround myself with holiday warmth.

One of my favorite and affordable places to get new scents to match the season is Bath and Body Works. I know, I said affordable...sit down, don't go running out to your nearest mall. BBW can be affortable but that comes with a few rules. If you don't know how to work that store you can end up spending way more than you have to. I have a few guidelines or best practices to help you maneuver the store and leave with that feeling I love of excitement to try new products and that high from getting an amazing deal.

OK so here they are:

1. Use a coupon!!! They give out so many coupons for REALLY good deals, like free X with ANY purchase (you can find things in there for as little as $0.50 for a little anti-bacterial holder or check out the 50% off sale items), or coupons for 20% off etc. If you don't have a coupon yet or all of yours have expired, see my next point.

2. Buy the least amount possible to make use of your coupon/get a coupon. Almost every time I've been to BBW they give you more coupons once you've purchased something. I'm always sooo enticed by a sale or a really yummy fragrance that I want to buy a million things, but chances are if I only buy the minimum I'll get a coupon which I can use to get the sale stuff EVEN CHEAPER! Just be patient, rome wasn't built in a day and neither was my home/body fragrance collection.

3. Take advantage of their buy 2 get 1 free/buy 5 for $X etc. deals but ONLY and this is important, ONLY if you actually want what they're selling. Take it from me, I've spent literally hours going through a store sniffing every fragrance wanting to like that 5th fragrance so badly so I can get 2 more free. Trust me, it's a waste of time and it will give you a headache. It is not a deal if you don't want it.

4. Occasionally they pull a fast one on you and discontinue your favorite fragrance but if you're lucky they may come out with that exact same fragrance just with a new name. Sometimes the store employees will know and be able to tell you but other times they have no idea. I have a story about this: I've literally come in to return a new fragranec and the employee looked at me like do we sell this? This is from another store. And I had to explain to them that no, it's from BBW it's a new fragrance replacing this one. The employee then smelled them both and said they smelled different but then the manager overheard and was like no, she's right that's the same fragrance. Sigh...

5. This is a tough one to carry out because I love buying new things, but if you have an empty drawer in your house or some storage space I'd recommend buying after a season has passed. They can have really great sales and if you have a 20% off coupon you might end up scoring big time. Just keep your products in the drawer until that season comes again and you'll be all set! Now would be a good time to buy halloween stuff. BTW this works especially well with candles :)

6. I would love to hear any of your BBW tips or home fragrance tips in general! Leave me a comment :) Also let me know if you want to hear any other best practices or if you want some BBW reviews! I have lots of their products and I definitely have some favorites I'd love to share with you :)