Feb Birchbox

Happy Monday. I hope you got to enjoy the day off if you had one. Luckily I have a goverment job so we still got to keep ours! It was a big day today for me. I bought some new sofas and to celebrate saw Robocop which was a pretty decent remake.

I wanted to give you a peep into this months Birchbox. I was very disappointed in this one. I am not a perfume person so I probably pawn this off.

The shampoo and conditioner will be given away since I use a natural one. The body lotion I might will try. The only thing I will use is the mascara.

Did you all like what you got in Birchbox?

Happy Valentines Day Tag!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I’m sitting here on the couch with my boyfriend and our puppy is sleeping between us while we watch the movie Face Off (great movie, so not romantic but that’s not our style). A few of the ladies over at our Facebook Page Beauty and Fashion Blog Community did this tag and thought I would do it (click here to join, we love new members!)

What is your favorite Valentine’s Day treat?
It’s an every day treat, but I love chocolate. But if I want to get specific, Godiva, especially the birthday cake and chocolate molten lava!

 

Sweethearts or chocolate covered strawberries?
I’m going with strawberries, very chilled with dark chocolate. I’m SO not demanding.

 

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory?
Last year, it was my boyfriend and mine first Valentine’s Day living together.  He wanted to cook me dinner that consisted of steak, rolls and some pickled veggies. He is very particular how he does things, when he cuts veggies they are pretty much very equal and size and quantity.  Well the big part was the steaks (mind you he cooks maybe 3 times a year) which had to be seared on the stove top a few minutes on each side and then put in the oven to cook the rest of the time.  He had the pan up on high heat and added olive oil and then threw the steaks on with not patting them dry and the smoke consumed the apartment, and the fire alarm when off. We were watching the sprinklers hoping they wouldn’t go off. So while we were opening doors and trying to open our windows (which will go up and not down that easily…we learned that night) I was standing on a chair fanning the alarm with a towel.  He called the fired department to let them know it was a false alarm just in case. Amazingly the steaks were amazing! We dined that night in a smokey apartment, and I will never forget it.

 

What movie would you rather watch on Valentine’s Day: “Pretty Woman” or “You’ve Got Mail”?
Honestly, neither.  Right now we are watching Faceoff and we’re going to see Robocop this weekend.  I’m a terrible girl who doesn’t love romantic movies unless it’s Jane Austen.

 

What celeb would you not mind having as your Valentine?
To easy, he’s been my celebrity crush for a very long while now…..Michael Fassbender.  I like to imagine him like this

And this he is going to be like this because of the thoughts I’m thinking…..

….Ugh I love a ginger beard

 

 

 

What would you do on your perfect Valentine’s Day date?

I’m happy with what we’re doing now, but I would place us at the beach.

 

Red or pink lips on Valentine’s Day?
Hot pink!

 

What is your ideal Valentine’s Day date outfit?
I am not big on dressing up except for New Years.  I love wearing some cute boots with skinny jeans and a really cute sweater.

 

Homemade or store-bought gifts?
Homemade dinner..but he bought me tickets to see Wicked and will endure it with me in a few months! I haven’t been the last few years it came here, so I’m super excited!

 

Would you wear your hair up or hair down for a date night?
Down, maybe  depending on the outfit.

I’m so glad I got this in before it was over! Happy Sweet day!

When Your Lips Are Toast, Use This Butter!

OK so that was a cheap tag line, but let me just say my lips are kind of crazy flaky dry like that.  I’ve been sick a bit over a week now and of course the two places that get uber dry are just around your nose and your lips.  Usually for me, since I’m weird like this, my lips are usually dry just around the line area of them. Never the full lips, that get licked the most. See weirdo here.  So while my boyfriend and I were on a trip to Target and getting medicine, he decided he wanted to try some different lip balms.  We were surprised when we found that Palmer’s made a lip balm.

If you haven’t used anything from Palmer’s go out and purchase something right now, especially if you love the smell of cocoa.  I fell like I have a hot chocolate lingering on my lips (sadly no taste included).

The site says that the cocoa is a natural moisturizer, which if I could slather on cocoa all day long I will.  I might.  I think I need to go buy a jar now.   Their site also says that their tube is the second most concentrated in the moisture area (while their jar has the most, the lotion the least), also another benefit SPF 15! If you want some more information go check out their site here and check out their FAQ.

Another neat feature, that I tend to enjoy a lot, is the oval shape.  It’s sits a lot nicer in my purse and in my pocket (which was also a selling point for my boyfriend). This balm has become a favorite of mine so far.  I believe it was only $2.99 at Target, and if you ever find yourself there go and pick up one.

How to Make the Most Out Of 15 Minutes

Happy Saturday!  Usually the weekend brings all the things you didn’t get to do during the week, or those you put off.  I put off a lot of things, mainly dishes (even thou it’s so easy to just stick them dishwasher right away, but you know, the sink is right there and you don’t have to open it up or anything LOL). I also have a 4 month old puppy and a 10 year old as well. All this leaves me little time to pamper myself when I’m constantly on the go, getting dinner/lunch going, feeding and playing with the puppy and kid and so on and so on, and never stop till I drop.

Thou I do get 15 minutes of blissful time in the shower

In 15 minutes you can get a lot of fast decent pampering done.  These are my steps to get the most out of a beauty routine that sometime can take up to 30 minutes or more.

Mask your face before you get in the shower

Step 1: Get that mask on your face!  This way it can sit and soak in and do all it’s masking magic while you get some other pampering in.  I’m still deciding on what mask I like the most right now, today I tried Glamglow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treament, which the verdict is still out right now on it.

Treat your hands

Step 2: Get some cuticle oil and give some love to your fingers.  I have the Sephora brand cuticle oil in a brush pen.  Just take off the cap and apply.  While my mask is setting I can quickly put the oil and message the oil in.

Shower Time

Step 3: Start that shower!  Now it’s time to do your shower routine but backwards!  Give that mask more time to soak in.

SCRRRRRRUUUUUBBBBB

Step 4: Scrub your parts. I love the Deep Steep Sugar Scrub.  It’s all natural and leave my skin soft and moisturized.  You can go straight to their site but I would recommend going to Lucky Vitamin that has them for half the cost (I made a huge purchase and was pleased with their service).

Wash your face

Step 5:  Now that your mask has had time to sit, now you can go ahead and take it off.  See how many things you have accomplished to this point: face, hands and body!

Finish it up

Step 6:  Now finish up.  Now is  a good time to wash your hair. I had some mask bits dry in my hair so it was nice to do this step last.  Also it will allow you to get any bits of mask off around the edges that sometimes you tend to miss (I know I do!)

Ta-Dah!

Ta-Dah!  You got all that done in probably less then 15 minutes!  I sometimes have a few extra to dry my hair and do my make up. Thou sometimes it’s nice to have the pampering time more so the make up and hair!

Enjoy your weekend!

YSL Volupte Sheer Candy Glossy Balm

Happy Thursday! Just one more day till the weekend starts and it’s going to be much needed.  I wanted to share with you my one big splurges I did at Christmas. I had a few Sephora gift cards and had been wanting to purchas a Yves Saint Laurent lipstick.  I decided to get a Glossy Balm since I couldn’t get to store to test out the other colors they had.  I bought Mouthwatering Berry, which I thought would be a great inbetween color that wasn’t to pink or way to dark.

It’s kind of crazy how differen the color looks with and with out the flash.  I will say that flas does give more of it’s true color.

As you can see by the swatch without the flash, it is definately sheer. With the flash you can indeed see the glossy part. So the name of the lipstick does not give you a false advertisement (which bugs me when it does!)

So my verdict here, I really like the glossiness of the lipstick, it’s nice and smooth.  You do have to give it a few go arounds on the lip to get it a good consistancy, as you can see it does show the lines in your lips if you don’t exfoliate (mine were chapped that day).  At least from far away you don’t really notice it.   What I dislike about it:  The price $34 (yes this was a HUGE SPLURGE) and the scent. It’s got a weird plastic grapefruit smell. It doesn’t linger but when you open it up you can get a wiff of it.

Would I buy another again? No, just for the price alone and I can purchase Revlon Satin line for 3/4 the price.  At least I can say I have a YSL lipstick. I’ll be using the hell out of it to get my money’s worth.

Advice:  Unless you have a disposable income or gift cards, skip it.  Go with someting from Urban Decay, they have a Naked Lip Gloss line now and a girl friend of mine already purchased two and said they are amazing and hydrating. When I get paid I’m going to get some!

But if your insterested click here to go to Sephora and see the other colors they have in this line

So have you all purchased any YSL? Or a splurge like this?

Getting Crafty Up In Here-Fabric Button Earrings

I’ve been looking for a hobby to do, and saw someone wearing these online and decided that I needed some in my life. I started looking at Etsy and decided that they were to expensive to purchase. So I found a nifty little site that told me how to make them and Voila! I have earrings! I was churning these babies out in a matter of 30 minutes.

My little whale and star fish are my favorite. These are a bit on the larger size, about the size of a quarter.  I’m having a fun time making them.  My intention is to get some geek material (Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc…) and make them.  I also want to venture in making No Sew Scarves. If you have any tips on that let me know!

The basics that you need to make these earrings are:

Fabric Button kit (I found at JoAnn)

Fabric

Jewelry Glue

Flat earring backing post.

What do you all think? My boyfriend is trying to convince me to try to sell them. I’m not sure how much traffic or who would want them.

My Skin Care Routine-Blog Hop

Welcome to the first 2014 Blog hop, brought to you by all the lovelies over at our Facebook Page Beauty and Fashion Blog Community(if your interested in joining our group pleaes click here, we’re growing each day and have a lovely community going).  We’ve already did one blog hop at the end of the year, it was the top 13 products of 2013. This year we are starting up with our skin care Routine.

This blog hop is particularly exciting and I can’t wait to see what everyone else uses, and hopefully some of you will leave some comment love and let me know what you use. I’m always looking for something new to quench my skin.

I have a hard time keeping my combination (mainly dry and some oily spots) under control. I live in VA and the weather tends to be all four seasons in the winter.  My skin is really freaking out no knowing how to handle things.  I try to keep what I use very simple. I hate using a lot of items that either have way to many chemicals or just layer way to much that can cause my skin to do opposite of what I want it to do.

So these are the basics that I use weekly.  I try to use as much natural items that I can so I know what all is going on my skin.

My every day use of moisturizer

The Body Ship Vitamin E Moisture Cream.  This is the best moisturizer I have found for  pretty much all skin types. If you need hydration then this is the product for you. This retails for $16.50 but The Body Shop is always having a sale (usually once a month they do a half off sale).  Once I get out the shower I always put this on immediately.  The best time to put on a moisturizer is right after a nice hot shower so your open pores can drench in the moisture.  I can’t say how much I love this product. I have been using it for more than 5 years.  I highly recommend it, and the nice thing is, is if you don’t like it you can always take it back to the store.

Urban Decay B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray.  I never thought I was going to be someone to jump on this face spray prepper band wagon, but Sephora had a 500 VIB point Urban Decay gift and once I used this I was in love.  I recently did a review on it here, but to give you a little idea why I like it is what it does for your skin. This item is good for all skin types to prep you skin for moisture and make up.  You can also use it during the day, a little spritz will wake you up. It’s also oil free, so for those of us who has some slick spots, it won’t make your face extra slicky.

The Facial Cleansers

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads.  I just recently picked this up at Rite Aid. It was one of those front lane impulse buys.  Of course my curiosity kills me and I had to pick it up, and I like Aveeno anyways.  What I really like using this product is that one side of the pad is an exfoliate the other is softer for those sensitive spots around the eye areas. When I first used this I was so surprised on how much extra makeup I had on me.  This is a great product to keep on hand when you don’t want to do a full on facial at home. It’s quick and your face feels so clean afterwards.  I use this one only a few times a week because I don’t want to over scrub my face.

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser- I use this about twice a week.  I keep this in my caddie in my shower.  If I’m feeling lazy and not wanting to go full on face cleanse and I didn’t wash my face the night before (yes I am VERY bad about that) I use this while I’m in the shower.  You can find this anywhere, I believe I purchased mine thru Ulta when I was getting a big purchase.  You can click here to go to their web site and it cost $6.99, I know you can get it pretty much anywhere.  What I love about it the most is that it has a light smell and isn’t harsh to your skin. Also another plus side is that it loves all skin types, no need to know if your a combo or oily face.

The Miscellaneous Face Items

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes– So this isn’t totally skin care, but it removes stuff from my skin!  I love these and would be lost with out them if they didn’t exist. On lazy night (I’m not 100% lazy all the time, but I’m tired a lot….aaaaand a little be lazy lol) I like to use these to get mainly my eye make up off. But I also run one across my face to get the surface make up off. This allows me not to have my skin to clog up as bad.  The link I gave is to Ulta which has them for $8.99, which is EXPENSIVE!.  I get them at Target for $4.99, if you want to try them they have small travel sizes for $1.99. But if you have a Sams Club near you, you can get a three pack for $12.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink-In Moisturizer Mask-This stuff is amazing!  It’s not your normal mask.  It’s a mask that doesn’t harden. It’s more like a moisturizer that stays on top of your skin and after 10 minutes you wipe it off with a towel.  It leaves your skin smooth, cool and so moisturized up.  I use this once a week to give some life to my skin.  I feel like if I had to use it more than once I would become oily.  You can get the sample for  $2.50 or a full size for $22 but they are always running a sale online, which the store doesn’t have going (right now everything is 40% off and free shipping over $15).

There you go! This is what I keep my face so fresh and so clean clean.  Let me know if you have used any of these and what you thought of them.  Do you have any recommendations?

Also please go and see these lovely ladies and what they use!

• Michelle at Pretty in the East www.prettyintheeast.com
• Brittany at The Beauty Deputy www.thebeautydeputy.com
• Kristina at http://thefemininefiles.com
• Jeni at Gracious Luck – www.graciousluck.com
• Heather at Coconut & Cotton www.coconutandcotton.com
• Jenn at Little Bit of Girl Geekery www.icedwavez.wordpress.com
• Etta of Etta’s Threads www.ettasthreads.wordpress.com
• Kristy from Nailofatale : http://nailofatale.blogspot.com/
• Vivienne of Jolie Pagaille http://www.JoliePagaille.com
• Brittany at http://lipstickandyarn.blogspot.ca
• Nancy at  http://jumpingmouse9.wordpress.com
• Michelle at http://beautifulgoodies.wordpress.com
• Angela at http://themakeupslashphotographywhisperer.wordpress.com
• Bernice at http://www.darkbeautymakeup.com
• Christine at http://www.simplystine.com
• Sam at http://www.collegebeautybuff.blogspot.com
• Ashly Eyler at http://aeyler06.blogspot.com/

Bite Agave Lip Mask

Good Saturday morning. I have been up since 4 am with a sick puppy so I apologize if my writing sounds a bit delusional.

I picked up a few things the other day at Sephora (Ill do seperate posts on that). I saw this product and thought why not. Ive been having terrible dry lips lately and desperately needed something. I have used Bite products before and was happy with them plus the way this worked was different then other masks.

This mask you put on and leave on. Its a tad thicker than vasaline and has a light scent and no taste. The first day I put it on at 630 and it stayed on till I had lunch at noon. I would say there was 25% left on my lips. Mind you I didnt eat or drink anything.

The result….the deep cracks on my lips disappeared for the most part and they felt smoother. I applied lipstick and it sat on my lips so much nicer.

One recommendation, do not use it back to back days. The second day I didnt see to much difference using it.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Mini Review: Aveeno Postitively Radient Deep Cleansing Pads

Happy Monday.  Back to a full work schedule till I have a day off on 20 Jan. That three day weekend can’t come quick enough.

I wanted to share my reactions to the Aveeno Cleansing Pads I purchased the other day from Rite Aid.  The pads are the size of the bottom of a mug. They have two sides, one is soft for the sensitive areas around your eyes and lips, the other an exfoliant side.

I really enjoyed this product. It’s already wet and ready to later up on your damp face. I couldn’t believe everything that it picked up, considering I hadn’t put on make up for a bit over a whole day.  The exfoliant side isn’t super abrasive but enough that you can tell it’s doing what it’s suppose to.  The scent is very light and it suds up very nicely.

Once washed off my skin looked a litte red since I did a nice scrub on it. Once it settled down it was so soft and radient looking. I’m excited to say this is a good review and would highly recommend this for anyone. It cleared my my little dry patch that likes to settle right between my eybrows.  It cost me $8.

Rite Aid Haul

Happy Sunday. I hope every is all snuggled in and warm. We are waiting for a cold snap here in VA.

So yesterday I had some time to kill and went into Rite Aid and hit a sale. Well all but the Aveeno was on sale. I think all in all I spent $20 before taxes.

Aveeno Postively Radient Daily Cleansing Pad

This was a last minute grab. It said it had an exfoliant side. I was curious so I decided I would give it a try. I believe it cost $8.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

I have used this product before and love that I can have a cool design on my nails that I didnt have to do myself. A select few were on sale for 75% off and only had to pay $2. Im going to keep this one on hand to use for Valentines day since its a cute pink style.

Loreal Undying Ember Lipstick

There were a selct few of lipsticks on their way out. I picked up two darker neutrals for me. Or what I consider neutrals. This was 50% off and ended up being $4.

This is a bit redder than what it really is. But its a smooth formula and I cant wait to use it.

Intensely Mauve

This is the next color is something I wouldnt get since I tend to not like mauves. I am more of a bold girl but since it was on sale why the heck not

Wet and Wild Mega Shield Lip Color

The next sale was on Wet and Wild it was buy one get one half off. They only cost $2.99 any ways. I picked up Its a Girl and Pink Slip. I went with some cute everyday pink colors. When I put the sample swatches on my hand it went on as silky smooth.

That was my haul. I love hitting sales like that. I will be doing reviews on them soon!