OOTD: coral for spring

Hello everyone! I am soo sorry that I have not blogged in a while. My first week back to class after spring break was really busy. However, I have been using up a lot of my random samples so I will let you now what I think of them here in the next few days. Meanwhile, here is my outfit of the day from Saturday :) It was a classic, rainy & cool spring day here.

This is just a side view of me. As you can see, I am wearing a coral sweater from Wet Seal. My earrings are oversized silver posts from Buckle. I pulled my hair up becauseit was rainy and I knew it would be really frizzy otherwise.

Here are my bracelets: the 2 braided ones are from a Shi by Journeys store. The pearly one is from a set I bought at Buckle.

These are my black, glittery converse. They are so comfortable and can go with a lot of different outfits.

What is the weather like where you are? Is is warm, cold, rainy? What items do you like to use to transition your wardrobe from winter to summer?

Birchbox April 2012

I checked my mail today & found my Birchbox in there!! I was so excited :) If you don't know what Birchbox is, it is a monthly subscription where you receive 4-5 high end beauty samples for only $10 a month. If you are curious check it out here. I have been getting it every month since last October & I absolutely love it. I feel spoiled every month when little samples show up for me to use :)

April's theme is Natural Wonders, so basically the samples are natural and/or inspired by nature.

The back of the card has the list of samples and a mini description of them.

Sample number 1 is the amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask. It contains amino acids & vitamin C to to condition hair and make it shiny and restore split ends. I am anxoius to try this because I have heard good things about amika & i have been looking for a hair mask. Also I have a mini travel blow dryer from amika that I got for free through Birchbox shop that I love.

Juice Beauty Oil-Free Moisturizer. I love moisturizers because I have such dry skin. This one is fruit based. It smells naturally fruity & has a very smooth consistency.

Wonderstruck perfume by Taylor Swift. First of all, let me just say that I love love love Taylor Swift. I have every one of her songs & belt them out while I am driving, plus she is beautiful. This perfume smells amazing too. I was excited to get this. It smells really nice & i usually do not like the perfume samples I get every month.

Zoya nail polish from the TRUE Spring Collection in Lotus. It is a very pretty purple. unfortunately I ahve a purple polish from Zoya that is very similar to this color, but I will def use it anyway.

Lifestyle Extra: dropps Laundry Detergent. Umm...this is boring, sorry but I was not expecting this. It does look convenient because you can just throw it in with any size wash and any temperature water.

I am pretty impressed with my April Birchbox. I cannot wait to try the hair mask from amika & the face moisturizer will be perfect for under foundation. I also love the Taylor Swift perfume & the purple nail polish. If you are curious or want to sign up to get Birchbox, just click here to check it out! You will not be disappointed :)

Sephora Haul

Hey girls! Yesterday I drove to Pittsburgh for a shopping trip & they have a Sephora! I was so excited so I thought I would show you what I got.

I have been eying this one online for a little while so I picked it up. I used a few of the products this morning & I am so happy I got this. It is perfect because I do not need to buy full sizes of products I am not sure I like. These minis are perfect for me!

This is the Kat Von D Bethoven palette. I used 2 of the shadows this morning & am already loving them. They are easily blended and have the perfect hue of pigment without being so intense you cannot wear them. I love it.

I have heard so much about benefit Hervana. It is a beautiful shade on my face & the packaging is cute. There is a ton of blush in here so I know it will last a long time.

This is the benefit they're real mascara. I picked up this little onw to try because I love the benefit Badgal lash mascara.

This is the makeup case that all these minis came in with the cardboard from the above picture wrapped around it. I like it because it is pink and the perfect size for little vacations. It is also nice that it is clear so you can easily see what is inside without digging.

Let me know if you are interested in me reviewing these once I use them for a while. Also what do you prefer, to buy full sizes or minis that you can have a bunch of for the same price as one big item??

theBalm: review

Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great week. I am off on Spring Break this week so I am trying to catch up on blogging. Here is a review of theBalm items I got last weekend.

These are all 6 theBalm items that I got. I am going to go through them one-by-one below in number order from the picture :)

#1: The Sexy Mama anti -shine translucent powder. it contains "tiny oil absorbing spheres." I do like this powder. It creates an even skin tone without being cakey. It is a little light since I have been tanning but I can still use it until I get darker. The only downside is the cheesy packaging.

#2: Cheater mascara. It is a back mascara with a classic tapered wand. It is not too thick and not watery. I really really love this mascara. It does not clump and goes on smooth to give me great volume!

#3 Liquid Time Balm spot concealer with tea tree oil. I had one little breakout and i put this on it in the morning and it was gone by afternoon. I thought it was unbelievable but the next day it was completely gone and I did not use anything else on it. It is a good color for my skin tone and blends in well. It does have a pretty strong smell of tea tree oil, kind of medicinal, but it is not bad.

#4 Overshadow the sexpots in Work is Overrated. This is a champagne/light pink shade. I was in a hurry one morning and used this all over my lid and it was pretty but it is super glittery! There is almost nothing but champagne glitter when it is on your lid. I think it would look nicer over another shadow.

#5 time balm concealer in light. the back says "for daytime, nighttime, or bedtime." Personally I do not put on concealer when I go to bed but I do love this concealer. It is perfect to put on the red areas around my nose.

#6: Balm Shelter tinted moisturizer SPF 18 in light. I really like this one too. It is really lightweight but gives pretty good coverage. It is not too oily as I have found some other tinted moisturizers/BB creams to be. It is a nice balanced product for my face and i love that it contains SPF!

I really like all of these prodcuts. After I bought the Mary Lou-MANizer a few weeks back & loved it I really wanted to try out some of the other theBalm items :) I am very happy with my purchases.

Mary Kay sample review

Hey girls! Last fall I went to a breast cancer awareness ceremony & community outreach program. It was a great experience & there were several vendors set up that you could buy things from. One vendor was Mary Kay. Before this I had never tried any of their products but had heard great things about them. I met the nicest lady in the entire world! She talked to me for a long time and has been corresponding with me through email since October. In Marsh she sent me the spring Mary Kay look book in the mail & it had some little samples inside.

There are 3 samples of the Botanical effects hydrate, from the left: Dry skin, Normal skin, and Oily skin. I tried all 3 and was pretty impressed. The one for dry skin was my absolute favorite, It was a pretty thick cream without being sticky or oily on my face. The option for normal skin was nice too, it was just the classic face moisturizer consistency that is kind of thin. I generally have really dry skin so I was hesitant to use the oily skin one, but it was pretty good too. The oily skin was more of serum consistency, it was very thin and almost clear, where the other 2 were white. The best part about all three is that they were extremely gentle & had no scent. they were very hydrating as well.

Now that I have tried out these 3 mini samples of face moisturizer, I am very curious to use other items from Mary Kay. I might have to order some make up :)

Reviews: elf, Loreal, & Wet & Wild

Hello everyone! I apologize for not doing very much blogging lately. School has been ridiculous but I am on Spring Break so I wll be catching up on sharing with all of you :) Here are a few items I have been using & wanted to share my thoughts on.

This is the elf smoky eyeshadow compact. I picked it up at Target for $3. I was really excited to try tis because I love smoky looks & I liked the color combo in this palette. To be honest, I do not like it :( The colors are not very pigmented. All of the shades seem "crumbly" and did not glide onto my eyelid, even with primer. They were very washed out and cheap feeling. I was extremely disappointed because I have a bunch of other elf products that I love and use on a daily basis. I don't know where they went wrong with this. :(

Here is the Loreal You Code Daily Treatment Eye Cream. This is a part of their Youth Regenerating Skincare that "reduces signs of stress, fatigue, and aging." The box also claims that it is fragrance free, ophthalmologist tested, dermatologist tested for gentleness, and nongreasy. So far, it lives up to all of that. It feels very cool and soothing during application, becuase the tip is metal and shaped like a lip gloss tube for easy application. I love it. It is not runny or sticky. The consistency is smooth and creamy and it is not heavy. Also it does not irrtate my eyes and they are pretty sensitive. I read on the box that it contains caffeine so that is why it feels so refreshing.

This is what the actual tube looks like. It is 0.5 fl oz. which is kind of a lot. I think this will last me a long time.

Another item that I want to mention is a Wet & Wild eyeshadow palette in Silent Treatment. I have been wearing mine every day! The shimmery purple shade is perfect for my entire lid & I like to use the lighter shimmery peach shade for the crease (even though it is made for the browbone). I did not show a picture because mine has had a tragic accident. The darker black crease shadow exploded. I have no idea how this happened because I have never even used the black color. It is very dark with gold flecks in it. I am sure it would look nice on some ppl but I am too pale for harsh black eyeshadow. I seriously did not drop it or anything. That superdark glittery shadow gets absolutely everywhere whenever I use it..I am tempted to take it out of the 3 palette and throw it away. haha, is that crazy? Anyway, I wanted to share that I really love the other colors in this trio & highly suggest them!

Is there anything you suggest I try out? Leave me a comment & let me know :)

Easter: OOTD

Happy Easter! I thought I would share an OOTD before i head out to do my Easter festivities.

I got my dress at Kohl's from the Elle line & it was only $30. I added a GAP sweater because it is a little chilly out. I have a flower bracelet from Forever 21 on my left wrist and my ring & necklace on that I always wear. I curled my hair with a 3/4in curling iron & pulled my bangs up wiht bobby pins. Also our puppy, Chloe is in this pic, we tried to have hair bows on her but she keeps taking them out :)

I hope you all are having a great Easter :)

This vs. That: makeup removing wipes

Hello! I have been trying out a few new things, so I wanted to share my opinion. This vs. that: Garnier & Simple makeup removing cloths.

These are the simple cleansing facial wipes. Simple is mde for sensitive skin & claims to remove waterproof makeup.It also contains no alcohol or dyes. I have used these quite a few times & I really like them. The consistency of the cloth is pretty smooth, it does not have much of a texture but it cleans really well. It removes foundation & eye makeup in one wipe. I do not have to stand there and scrub the makeup off my eyes. It also does not leave an oily residue like some do. I really like these, and want to try out other products in this brand.

Garnier Refreshing Remover Cleansing Towellettes. I used to use exclusively Garnier face products, but I decided to branch out because my face was starting to break out from stress. These cloths are oil free and claims to instantly remove makeup, even mascara. I feel like with these there is a lot of scrubbing around my eyes to get all the mascara off when I use these. They smell nice and do remove foundation easily.

The verdict? I really like the Simple ones better than the Garnier. They work better with removing my makeup and do not irritate my skin.

What do think? DO you have a favorite way of removing your makeup?

Birchbox's Giveaway

Hey everyone! I jsut entered a Birchbox giveaway & thought you might be interested as well. It is for the new Willa beauty line. Just click HERE to enter on facebook :)