I realized about 5 minutes ago that it's Friday which means it's one of the days I usually blog. Since I forgot I don't really have any thing to blog about at the time, except how awesome my weekend is going to be!
I am getting ready to head out of Knoxville until Monday evening/Tuesday morning to go home to see my friends and family. I am originally from North of Cincinnati, about 5.5 hours away from Knoxville. As usual, almost every second of my weekend is planned so it's going to definitely be busy! I promise I will have a super awesome blog for you when I get back. I am planning on stopping in Cincinnati this afternoon to hit up Lush and Ulta. Be excited for me :) I've been excited about it all weekend!!! Anyway have a safe and happy weekend everyone and don't forget to remember and thank those who serve our country!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Brightens my day :)
Here is proof that all you need is love...
(Click the picture, it will direct you to the story :) )
This is such a wonderful story. I was directed to this story by my friend, Allyn. She's a smart girl :)
This is such a wonderful story. I was directed to this story by my friend, Allyn. She's a smart girl :)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
All you need is love...
"All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need."
This past week one of my friends, Allyn posted an interesting article on Facebook. It was a recent Gallup study showing that for the first time a majority of Americans are actually deciding that they are okay with legalizing gay marriage. For me this was amazing. for those of you who don't know me I am a crazy, raging liberal. I believe strongly in human rights and the freedom to make our own choices without others making our decisions for us. I believe that we all were put here (not sure by who) to live our lives according to how we see fit. At some point everyone says (regardless of political affiliation) in their life, it's time to go grow up and make decisions separate from our parents. My question to you is, why do we say that we should be able to make decisions for ourselves when the vast majority of people see it fit to make decisions for the majority of us? Why is it that someone else is always trying to tell us how to live our lives? Doctors tell us how to live, when to lose weight, when to sleep more (blah blah blah), people tell us who to love, who to marry, what to do with our bodies. So where exactly do we all fit in to the let's make our own decisions? Where is this line drawn? What decisions are we allowed to make and what decisions is someone else supposed to make for us. Why the hell is always someone else telling me what to do? Do you know? I sure as hell do not!
Most of you know I live in Tennessee currently. When I first moved down here on my red chevy cavalier was a Human Rights sticker. It looked like the pic above. After living here maybe two weeks I left work one day to notice my sticker was gone. WTF? Why would anyone ever rip off an equality sticker? Then it dawned on me... equality and the human rights campaign to some stands for what people like to call gay rights. They consider it a campaign to give "Gay" people special rights, when in fact it's just asking to give this group EQUAL rights. In every facet of our lives people discriminate against this group, all the organization and the group wants is the opportunity to love and choose freely like any heterosexual person gets to. I say, as a nation we butt the hell out and let people live their lives as they see fit. Who are we to judge? It's no body damn business what I do in my bedroom or my home and it's no bodies damn business what a homosexual person does in their bedroom or their home. Maybe these people should realize that the HRC really isn't about "gay rights" it's about human rights, gay or not we are still part of the same human race, and should all have the same rights. It's about the ability for all of us to make our own damn decisions in life without everyone else trying to do it for us.
After I posted the above article, my cousin Merideth commented, "Majority of the people in the world will support Gay Marriage long before they will support them raising children! :)"
After she made this comment I decided to do some research on her comment. Most people know adoption is not an easy process by any means, it takes patience, a good deal of money and a lot of love. To be gay and try to have a family is even more difficult!
According to Love and Pride, "current reliable gay adoption statistics for America, there are statistics on children in gay homes. In 1976, there were between 300,000 to 500,000 gay and lesbian biological parents. In 1990, 6 to 14 million children had at least one gay or lesbian parent. Between 8 and 10 million children were being raised in gay and lesbian households.In 1999, approximately 547,000 children in foster care in the US, 117,000 legally free for adoption. There were only qualified adoptive families available for only twenty percent of them. Ten percent of the US population is homosexual, meaning a lot of couples whose biological resources for children are reduced are currently prevented from filling in the adoption gap."
Also this website states, "even in areas that have gay adoption laws, gay couples adopting may find they face prejudices within the system. Mainstream assumptions on gay parenting have led to an attitude that gay parents are a child's last resort.Often in gay adoption, parents will get harder children because social workers leave them last on the list. It is ironic that bureaucracies that believe that lesbians and gay men are not suitable parents will place children who require the most highly skilled parenting with them.Gay families have unique strengths that help troubled children. Gay couples adopting usually accept differences, understand what it is like to be in the minority, assign different gender roles, and have the skills to be open about sexuality with children who have been sexually abused."
So now I pose a question, why does it matter the sexual orientation of the parents. Isn't it more important that they can provide a loving home and properly take care of the children? I thought we lived in a nation with more children to be adopted than homes for them to go to? Seems senseless to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Last I checked gay, wasn't a virus or bacteria that we could catch, so I'm not quite sure. What harm does it cause? I'm pretty sure the only thing is it steers from what we as a society consider as the social norm to raise a family in. Take a look around everyone, there are very few families that still fit the social norm that we lived in even 10 years ago. Being a single mother or father is much more common that it used to be. Single parent adoption or IVF is more common.
Also this website states, "even in areas that have gay adoption laws, gay couples adopting may find they face prejudices within the system. Mainstream assumptions on gay parenting have led to an attitude that gay parents are a child's last resort.Often in gay adoption, parents will get harder children because social workers leave them last on the list. It is ironic that bureaucracies that believe that lesbians and gay men are not suitable parents will place children who require the most highly skilled parenting with them.Gay families have unique strengths that help troubled children. Gay couples adopting usually accept differences, understand what it is like to be in the minority, assign different gender roles, and have the skills to be open about sexuality with children who have been sexually abused."
So now I pose a question, why does it matter the sexual orientation of the parents. Isn't it more important that they can provide a loving home and properly take care of the children? I thought we lived in a nation with more children to be adopted than homes for them to go to? Seems senseless to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Last I checked gay, wasn't a virus or bacteria that we could catch, so I'm not quite sure. What harm does it cause? I'm pretty sure the only thing is it steers from what we as a society consider as the social norm to raise a family in. Take a look around everyone, there are very few families that still fit the social norm that we lived in even 10 years ago. Being a single mother or father is much more common that it used to be. Single parent adoption or IVF is more common.
For those of you who do not know, Merideth that I spoke of earlier is currently a gestational carrier. Her and her family (her husband and 3 children) made the decision to do a very selfless act for a very loving couple. Here is the shock and awe factor for some of you, it is for a Homosexual couple. Yes, you read it... H-O-M-O-S-E-X-U-A-L!!!! That's right I am the very proud damn cousin of a wonderful woman and her family who is so selflessly blessing a couple with a child, correction children (she's pregnant with twins) :) Congratulations to the soon to be parents! You and your family Merideth, are fulfilling two people's dreams to be parents and providing a loving home to two very special children!
The last thought I will leave with you is perhaps one of the most inspirational speeches I have heard in a long time!
In a world so full of hate why is it so hard to realize that, all you need is love?
Monday, May 23, 2011
Accessory Whore!!
Randomly I go on accessory buying binges. Sometimes, it's to fill the void of not buying makeup haha. Anyway, I needed a nice little setup to hang my dangly earrings on. They usually sit in my jewelry box and then they get all tangled up and it takes forever to find the match and then on top of that they are all tangled so I decided to make something to fix that.
Here is my solution...
In reality I need another one of these to hang up all my earrings. Haven't gotten around to making it quite yet. Anyways this was a super cheap and easy solution to my problem. I went to Michaels and purchased one of these mesh plastic dojobs (not sure what actual name is) for 59 cents...
Then I went to Walmart and purchased a black 8x10 picture frame for $5. I had to cut down the plastic dojob in order to make it fit in the picture slot. I then removed the glass and back to the picture frame and replaced it with the plastic dojob. Put a nail in the wall, hung it up and then loaded it up with my earrings. Super cute right?
Now on to my accessories... LOVE THEM
All of these cuties came for Forever 21 and I only paid $1.50 for each pair! 3 pairs of earrings for $4.50!!! Awesome right?
I am so in love with this ring!!! I got it a store called Meijer (it's like a Walmart/Target). It was originally $14.99 and I paid $2 for it!!!
I am absolutely in love with this rhinestone bow ring! This picture doesn't do nearly enough justice for it's cuteness, but it was the best of the 42 pictures I took of the ring haha!!! It was originally $18.99 at Belk and with sales I got it for $7.19! I love it!
These have quickly become my favorite accessory! I only paid $3 for them at Walmart!!! I love them!!! Adorable!
On a side note, I am currently in the market for some new makeup brushes. Do you ladies have any recommendations for brushes? Don't hold out on me!! Share your knowledge!!!!
Here is my solution...
Now on to my accessories... LOVE THEM
All of these cuties came for Forever 21 and I only paid $1.50 for each pair! 3 pairs of earrings for $4.50!!! Awesome right?
On a side note, I am currently in the market for some new makeup brushes. Do you ladies have any recommendations for brushes? Don't hold out on me!! Share your knowledge!!!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
My favorite blushes!!!!
So I haven't been staying at home the past few days so again I wasn't able to take pictures, good thing for internet pictures, right???
Anyway, today I thought I would share my favorite blushes with everyone today. I used to not wear blush and then all of a sudden I started dabbling in the blush world and have discovered that OMG I love blush!!!! So here are my favorites :)
This is Living Doll by Hard Candy. I found it at Walmart for like 9 bucks for a HUGE container. It's a bright barbie shimmery pink. I love it!!! It's a must have!
This is my blush for my "pinched cheek" look. This is Peche Tendre 4 from Sephora. It retails for $12 and is worth every penny in my opinion. You get a lot of product and it is actually pretty long wear for a blush. This is more of my go to blush, because let's face it bright barbie pink isn't necessarily complementary for every eye look!
Anyway, today I thought I would share my favorite blushes with everyone today. I used to not wear blush and then all of a sudden I started dabbling in the blush world and have discovered that OMG I love blush!!!! So here are my favorites :)
This is my blush for my "pinched cheek" look. This is Peche Tendre 4 from Sephora. It retails for $12 and is worth every penny in my opinion. You get a lot of product and it is actually pretty long wear for a blush. This is more of my go to blush, because let's face it bright barbie pink isn't necessarily complementary for every eye look!
My other go to blush is from Mary Kay. It's called Shy blush and is a very beautiful color. It is a coral color with strong pink and gold undertones. I love it's finish as it is slightly shimmery and definitely picks up color based on the light you are in. I love this blush. This one retails for $10.
The last blush I want to talk about is actually an ELF blush. It's called Pink Passion. It's a bright barbie pink color. I know you are probably thinking, what's the difference between that and the living doll blush. Um, the shimmer duh! This blush is just matte so it makes it a little easier to wear with all eye looks. You can do a super shimmery eye and this won't look awkward with where sometimes the living doll can.
There are a few other blushes I work in to the rotation that are parts of palettes so I don't actually have names for you for those.
What are your favorite blushes????
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
What am I doing with my life?
Is it sad that I'm 26 years old and am in my 8th year of higher education and I'm still not 100% sure what I want to be when I grow up? I know that sounds awful, but it's really not as bad as I make it sound.
I have a bachelor's in Chemistry and am currently working on my Ph.D. but now the big questions are starting... the main one being "What do I want to use my Ph.D. for?" I have absolutely no freaking idea. I know that if I have to do exactly what I'm doing for the rest of my life I'll probably go nuts. Granted, I think a lot of why I say that is due to the monotony of graduate school and some of it is because I do recognize the fact that this is not my biggest strength in the chemistry realm of life.
I chose chemistry for several reasons: I love chemistry, I find it incredibly interesting, I'm relatively decent at it, and there are so many job opportunities that can come from having a degree in this field. I do not regret one bit choosing this as a career, some days I do ask myself, "Would I be better at something else?" I think that's normal? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm coming incredibly close to that juncture in life where it's time to make some very adult decisions and I am freaked out I'll make the wrong one. Thankfully, I have so many supportive and awesome people in my life that will help me along the way.
Anyway, that was the boring part of the post. I just had to vent, and I think that's allowed sometimes. I have a lot of super exciting things coming up that I can't wait for. In like 9 days I'm going to go home for a few days to see my friends and family. Then in June I'm going to the beach with my friends from high school! I can't freaking wait!!!! Then.... in September I am going to Niagara Falls, Canada for a national conference, ya know what that means??? FREEEEEE TRIP!!!!
While I was out this weekend I picked up some new stuff, that I'm pretty excited about!!!
I suck at life and forgot to take pictures of the stuff so you are going to see some internet pictures for these items...My main stop was Target. I needed some new eye makeup remover and was on the hunt for the perfect mauvy pink lipstick. What better place to start than target right???
This stuff is awesome!! It removes makeup so well! A lot of times you take off your eye makeup and then the next morning you wake up and you see a little collection of color under your eye from your eyeliner or mascara... so frustrating, but let me tell you the few days I have worn this I have no woken up with that gunk under my eye. My only complaint with this stuff is it is super oily, thank god you wash your face after you take off your eye makeup. Well, at least I do!
I also picked up this nail polish. It's Revlon, clearly and the color is Royal. It's a gorgeous bright blue! I haven't had the chance to use it yet, I'm currently rocking out with bright red. Anyway, this stuff retails at $4.99 and I found it at Target for $1.98. SCORE!!!
My last awesome health and beauty item I picked up was this mauvy pink lipstick that has turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. How often does that happen!!! Anyway it was $1 because it's an ELF lipstick. It's called classy and here is the swatch.
Isn't it so pretty??? and for a buck it's amazing! It smells all nice and fruity too. Love it!
I also thought I'd include a look I created with some Pretty Addictions shadows with today's post.
Isn't that pretty??? It's one of my favorites. I used Darkness on the lid and then used Locked & Loaded in the crease and blended like crazy! I love it!
Anyway, That's my absolutely random post of the day. Let me know what you think :)
I have a bachelor's in Chemistry and am currently working on my Ph.D. but now the big questions are starting... the main one being "What do I want to use my Ph.D. for?" I have absolutely no freaking idea. I know that if I have to do exactly what I'm doing for the rest of my life I'll probably go nuts. Granted, I think a lot of why I say that is due to the monotony of graduate school and some of it is because I do recognize the fact that this is not my biggest strength in the chemistry realm of life.
I chose chemistry for several reasons: I love chemistry, I find it incredibly interesting, I'm relatively decent at it, and there are so many job opportunities that can come from having a degree in this field. I do not regret one bit choosing this as a career, some days I do ask myself, "Would I be better at something else?" I think that's normal? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm coming incredibly close to that juncture in life where it's time to make some very adult decisions and I am freaked out I'll make the wrong one. Thankfully, I have so many supportive and awesome people in my life that will help me along the way.
Anyway, that was the boring part of the post. I just had to vent, and I think that's allowed sometimes. I have a lot of super exciting things coming up that I can't wait for. In like 9 days I'm going to go home for a few days to see my friends and family. Then in June I'm going to the beach with my friends from high school! I can't freaking wait!!!! Then.... in September I am going to Niagara Falls, Canada for a national conference, ya know what that means??? FREEEEEE TRIP!!!!
While I was out this weekend I picked up some new stuff, that I'm pretty excited about!!!
I suck at life and forgot to take pictures of the stuff so you are going to see some internet pictures for these items...My main stop was Target. I needed some new eye makeup remover and was on the hunt for the perfect mauvy pink lipstick. What better place to start than target right???
My last awesome health and beauty item I picked up was this mauvy pink lipstick that has turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. How often does that happen!!! Anyway it was $1 because it's an ELF lipstick. It's called classy and here is the swatch.
I also thought I'd include a look I created with some Pretty Addictions shadows with today's post.
Anyway, That's my absolutely random post of the day. Let me know what you think :)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Why my skin and hair love me!
It wasn't until about a year and a half ago that I started to really get in the habit of properly taking care of my skin. One of my good friends started selling Mary Kay and was ranting and raving about the Time Wise skin care line. Finally I got suckered in and decided to try it. I've never had any problems with my skin, occasionally I will get that dreaded zit, but I've always had good luck. However, because I wasn't taking proper care of my skin now I realized that it would effect me later in life. When you don't properly wash your face and moisturize it aging effects advance. I have to admit that ever since I have tried the Time Wise line I don't think I will go back. I love the way my skin feels all day and I actually look forward to washing my face at night! Now that I've started this regimen I try to wash my face twice per day, most times though I only remember to wash it at night, which I guess is the most important part so I can get all of this makeup off.
I highly recommend using this stuff! I love it!
I also recently have discovered Lush. While I was there I picked up some of their facial cleanser called Angels on Bareskin. OMG this stuff is amazing! My friend told me to get it and said, "your face will love you for it!" and she is 100% right. I try to uses this stuff every other day or every two days. I've also noticed a difference in the texture of my skin since I have started using it! I took a picture of it but the picture looks like crap so I just linked it above.
These two products have made a huge difference in my skin! I can't wait to go back to Lush to pick up more goodies!
Now for my hair, I have some crazy ass weird textured hair. Also a few months ago I decided to put some vivid purple panels of color in my hair, which required actually bleaching my hair. Because I did this I decided I was going to need to use some deep moisture conditioner to make sure my hair didn't suffer from the bleaching.
Have you ever used this stuff? I love it! I noticed an immediate difference especially in the areas that I had bleached and I LOVE the smell!!! Plus it's price tag is pretty awesome at under $4.
also, just to help my hair out a little and get all the build up from shampoos, conditioners, and products out I used an anti- residue shampoo once a week. My hair loves me for it! I love the way my hair feels that day. I try to make sure I use it on a day it isn't going to rain so I can straighten my hair and be able to touch it and feel how soft it is haha!
I love this stuff! I happened to pick it up at Big Lots for $4.50 but I believe it retails under $8 at Walgreens or wherever you chose to shop for your goodies.
In order to keep my hair tame when I straighten it or curl it with a curling iron I always try to use a curling creme. It keeps my hair from acting like a wild mess. My favorite thus far was another cheap find that I just happened to love!
I LOVE Nexxus products, especially their shampoo. Their products also smell amazing. The Calming Smoothing creme is definitely a must have for those of you that have frizzy hair, but make sure you use this stuff sparingly.
For the days I'm not feeling so hot about straightening my hair I utilize this mop of a naturally curly head of hair I have been blessed with. I mentioned in one of my previous posts about a sale going on at Sally's Beauty Supply on Beyond the Zone products. I mentioned how I didn't like one of htep roducts I chose but LOVED the other one. Recently I have been loving this spray. Usually for my curly hair I stick with creams because often sprays can make your hair hard and crispy. I must say though I have not had that experience with this product at all. I really like it!
I also think the name they came up with for this product is cute. I know there is a glare right down the middle of the bottle, that's because apparently I am a horrible photographer. I promise, one day I will get better at this! Anyway, it's called Noodle Head. I thought it was very clever and fitting!
Have you ladies tried any of these products? What did you think of them? What did you ladies get in to this weekend?
On Friday I went with some of my crew to see the movie, "Bridesmaids". All I have to say is it was epically funny!!! I insist that all of you go and see it ASAP! The rest of the weekend I enjoyed by relaxing! It was wonderful!
I also recently have discovered Lush. While I was there I picked up some of their facial cleanser called Angels on Bareskin. OMG this stuff is amazing! My friend told me to get it and said, "your face will love you for it!" and she is 100% right. I try to uses this stuff every other day or every two days. I've also noticed a difference in the texture of my skin since I have started using it! I took a picture of it but the picture looks like crap so I just linked it above.
These two products have made a huge difference in my skin! I can't wait to go back to Lush to pick up more goodies!
Now for my hair, I have some crazy ass weird textured hair. Also a few months ago I decided to put some vivid purple panels of color in my hair, which required actually bleaching my hair. Because I did this I decided I was going to need to use some deep moisture conditioner to make sure my hair didn't suffer from the bleaching.
also, just to help my hair out a little and get all the build up from shampoos, conditioners, and products out I used an anti- residue shampoo once a week. My hair loves me for it! I love the way my hair feels that day. I try to make sure I use it on a day it isn't going to rain so I can straighten my hair and be able to touch it and feel how soft it is haha!
In order to keep my hair tame when I straighten it or curl it with a curling iron I always try to use a curling creme. It keeps my hair from acting like a wild mess. My favorite thus far was another cheap find that I just happened to love!
For the days I'm not feeling so hot about straightening my hair I utilize this mop of a naturally curly head of hair I have been blessed with. I mentioned in one of my previous posts about a sale going on at Sally's Beauty Supply on Beyond the Zone products. I mentioned how I didn't like one of htep roducts I chose but LOVED the other one. Recently I have been loving this spray. Usually for my curly hair I stick with creams because often sprays can make your hair hard and crispy. I must say though I have not had that experience with this product at all. I really like it!
I also think the name they came up with for this product is cute. I know there is a glare right down the middle of the bottle, that's because apparently I am a horrible photographer. I promise, one day I will get better at this! Anyway, it's called Noodle Head. I thought it was very clever and fitting!
Have you ladies tried any of these products? What did you think of them? What did you ladies get in to this weekend?
On Friday I went with some of my crew to see the movie, "Bridesmaids". All I have to say is it was epically funny!!! I insist that all of you go and see it ASAP! The rest of the weekend I enjoyed by relaxing! It was wonderful!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Pretty Addictions
One of my very good friends has recently started her own line of mineral eyeshadows. When she first told me about this I was so excited! I love eyeshadow and getting my eyeshadow fix while helping a friend's business out is a major plus! When Kassandra first started Pretty Addictions a few months ago she was offering 25 different eyeshadows at very reasonable prices the range from $1.00-$5.00 (VERY affordable). My first package from Pretty Addictions contained 23 sample size shadows ($1.00), one 5 gram ($3.00), and one 10 gram ($5.00). Let's take a look at what I got!
The packaging for the products is SOOOO cute. All of the samples came neatly wrapped and enclosed in a filigree desgined envelope.
Seriously, how cute is this!!! I love filigree!
The jars of shadows came in a cute little filigree mesh bag it was adorable too! You can't see the bag too well but it's adorable as well!
I seriously was so stinking excited just from the packaging that I took 10 minutes debating if I wanted to ruin it by opening it!
Those two cute little packages contained all these awesome goodies!!!!! Amazing huh?
Then came the time to actually play with the goodies and check out how pretty they all really were!
All of the products were swatched over NYX jumbo pencil in Milk. Top row L2R: Obnoxious, True, Gossip, Irrational. Middle row L2R: Sober, Darkness, Bloom, Rumor. Bottom row L2R: Hellow Yellow, Peach Punch, Vivid, Fiona.
All of the products were swatched over NYX jumbo pencil in Milk. Top row L2R: Timid, Silver Screen, Uplifting, Wicked. Middle row L2R: Hero, Ripped Revenge, Serendipity, Seduction. Bottom row L2R: Mudslide Ride, Locked and Loaded, Black Dahlia, Narcissistic, Nemesis.
Sadly these pictures do not do justice for the shadows. They are sooo much prettier and more vivid in person than they are in these pictures! I have actually ordered 2 more times from Kassandra since then. I also have been showing off her products and my best friend and Mom have ordered from her as well!!! Soon I will be posting pictures of the new colors and maybe some looks if I'm feeling gutsy, but for now go get yourself some eye candies!!!!!
The packaging for the products is SOOOO cute. All of the samples came neatly wrapped and enclosed in a filigree desgined envelope.
The jars of shadows came in a cute little filigree mesh bag it was adorable too! You can't see the bag too well but it's adorable as well!
Then came the time to actually play with the goodies and check out how pretty they all really were!
Sadly these pictures do not do justice for the shadows. They are sooo much prettier and more vivid in person than they are in these pictures! I have actually ordered 2 more times from Kassandra since then. I also have been showing off her products and my best friend and Mom have ordered from her as well!!! Soon I will be posting pictures of the new colors and maybe some looks if I'm feeling gutsy, but for now go get yourself some eye candies!!!!!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
10 Things I could have lived without purchasing...
This week my friend Kassandra over at Pretty Addictions asked me, "What's your next post going to be about cannibalism?" I laughed because in light of my last post she did have a point. However, Kassandra no my post will not be about cannibalism, it will be even better, it's about all those makeup mistakes I've made when purchasing. We've all done it, spent our hard earned cash on an item we were so excited about and then got home and used it and thought to ourselves, "Well shit, this products SUCKS!"
So let's get started. Everyone who knows me knows I have been blessed with some curly and wild ass hair. I often struggle with finding good hair products that work well with my hair. It seems like I find a good hair product and then it's not sold anymore. It really pisses me off sometimes lol. also, sometimes the product works really well for a few months and then it's almost like my hair builds a resistance to it and it starts working like crap. For quite sometime I was hooked on Tresemme Curl Hydration Creme. I went in to the store to repurchase and when I got home I realized I grabbed the Jelly instead of the Creme. Man that was a stupid mistake to make. If you have curly hair and like to be able to touch your hair without wanting to scream or immediately run to the shower DO NOT purchase this CRAP.
I am almost 100 percent convinced that they really do put jelly in this product. It is sticky and thick and makes your hair feel nasty! I will definitely not be repurchasing this item.
I was in Sally's not too long ago and they were having a sale on their Beyond the Zone products, if you bought 2 items you received 3 dollars off. I figured why not, I was in the market for some new hair products for my curly mess of hair and thought I'd give this brand a shot. The actual curling product I purchased I love, I can't remember the name right now, but I'm sure I'll do a post about it at some point. The other product I purchased was their Protein Cocktail, aside from the name being slightly vulgar I thought I'd give this stuff a try, it smelled wonderful and I liked the idea of the product. They claim that the product will:
So aside from hair products there are plenty of things in my cosmetics drawers that I could have lived without as well. I have a hell of a time finding good mascara, that stays put on my eyelashes. During my quest to find the perfect mascara I've come across several brands that are sufficient and I enjoy enough to continue using until i find that perfect product and then there are the few that I would rather not wear any mascara (my favorite eye product) than use.
I saw this product one day while in Target and thought to myself for 3 bucks why not give it a shot? Pff I should have saved myself the 3 dollars and used it at the bar. This stuff is a waste. If you like to touch your eyelashes or your under eye area and find little flakes of crusty mascara 3 hours in to your day then this product is probably worth every bit of that 3 dollars for you. However, I prefer my mascara to stay on my eyelashes until I get out that eye makeup remover and cotton round at night to take it off myself.
This Extra Volume Collagen Waterproof mascara sounds awesome in theory right? Nice full thick lashes that are waterproof right? Haha, maybe if you like it to be one big lash. This stuff clumps like it is it's sole purpose in cosmetics life. Take a look at the wand you can see the mascara 'goodness' just clumping away right there on the wand. Would you want to put that on your lashes?
I sure hope not!!!
When I decided to finally take the leap and starting using liquid foundation again I tried so many different kinds of foundation and with most I could find at least one thing I like about each, except this one. I know I shouldn't complain because I did only spend a few bucks on the stuff, but still.
this stuff goes on smooth and then it dries a nice cakey mess. Right there on your face for everyone to see... BUMMER!
I have always been a major lipgloss and lipstick LOVER. I have so many different lip glosses sometimes I ask myself what the hell is the point in all of this? I couldn't even get through each one of these if I used a different everday for a month. Nonetheless, I keep on buying them.
As you noticed with the hair products I hate sticky hair, well turns out I pretty much hate sticky anything, including lips! This stuff is so thick and sticky it weirds me out. Will not be repurchasing this stuff from Victoria's Secret anytime soon!
elf products are so hit or miss, especially their lip products. Some of their stuff is really great, especially fromt he studio line. However, these from the studio line aren't so hot. They are super watery so you don't get much color payoff from them and considering they are called a Lip Stain you would think they would give you some long lasting payoff. i guess not. Good thing I found these babies at the Dollar Tree for a $1 instead of $3 elsewhere!
I really wanted this stuff from Max Factor to be amazing! It retails at like 10 dollars and I found it at ULTA in the clearance section for less than 3 bucks, I was all proud of myself thinking I found this great buy! Kinda right, yet kinda wrong. The clear side of the product is wonderful! Has a little bit of shimmery goodness for the lips and isn't sticky! The color side however, is really dry and has very little color pay off. Would I pay 10 bucks for something like this now that I've tried it? Definitely not!
This little guy was so cute in that wet 'n' wild packaging I thought for a few bucks i'll give this little kabuki i shot! Well at least it's cute and really small. I personally don't like my brushes to be hard or not feel pleasant on my face while I am applying my products. Maybe that's just me though!
I am about out of eye makeup remover so the other night while I was at Walgreen's I thought I'd give this a shot. I went to use it that night and almost gagged. It smells like a straight shot of Everclear with a hint of lemon and other citrus in it. I felt like I was taking off my makeup with liquor it was awful!
I'm sure I could find more things I don't like so much but these were the items that just really stood out in my head. I wish someone had told me some of these items weren't so hot so I could have saved my money!
Have any of you tried any of these items? What were your thoughts? Did you like anything I listed I wasn't a fan of or did you hate it just as much as I did?
So let's get started. Everyone who knows me knows I have been blessed with some curly and wild ass hair. I often struggle with finding good hair products that work well with my hair. It seems like I find a good hair product and then it's not sold anymore. It really pisses me off sometimes lol. also, sometimes the product works really well for a few months and then it's almost like my hair builds a resistance to it and it starts working like crap. For quite sometime I was hooked on Tresemme Curl Hydration Creme. I went in to the store to repurchase and when I got home I realized I grabbed the Jelly instead of the Creme. Man that was a stupid mistake to make. If you have curly hair and like to be able to touch your hair without wanting to scream or immediately run to the shower DO NOT purchase this CRAP.
I am almost 100 percent convinced that they really do put jelly in this product. It is sticky and thick and makes your hair feel nasty! I will definitely not be repurchasing this item.
I was in Sally's not too long ago and they were having a sale on their Beyond the Zone products, if you bought 2 items you received 3 dollars off. I figured why not, I was in the market for some new hair products for my curly mess of hair and thought I'd give this brand a shot. The actual curling product I purchased I love, I can't remember the name right now, but I'm sure I'll do a post about it at some point. The other product I purchased was their Protein Cocktail, aside from the name being slightly vulgar I thought I'd give this stuff a try, it smelled wonderful and I liked the idea of the product. They claim that the product will:
- Restores manageability to brittle hair
- Protects against split ends
- Conditions dry hair
- Doesn't weigh hair down
- Adds shine
- Instantly detangles
So aside from hair products there are plenty of things in my cosmetics drawers that I could have lived without as well. I have a hell of a time finding good mascara, that stays put on my eyelashes. During my quest to find the perfect mascara I've come across several brands that are sufficient and I enjoy enough to continue using until i find that perfect product and then there are the few that I would rather not wear any mascara (my favorite eye product) than use.
This Extra Volume Collagen Waterproof mascara sounds awesome in theory right? Nice full thick lashes that are waterproof right? Haha, maybe if you like it to be one big lash. This stuff clumps like it is it's sole purpose in cosmetics life. Take a look at the wand you can see the mascara 'goodness' just clumping away right there on the wand. Would you want to put that on your lashes?
I sure hope not!!!
When I decided to finally take the leap and starting using liquid foundation again I tried so many different kinds of foundation and with most I could find at least one thing I like about each, except this one. I know I shouldn't complain because I did only spend a few bucks on the stuff, but still.
this stuff goes on smooth and then it dries a nice cakey mess. Right there on your face for everyone to see... BUMMER!
I have always been a major lipgloss and lipstick LOVER. I have so many different lip glosses sometimes I ask myself what the hell is the point in all of this? I couldn't even get through each one of these if I used a different everday for a month. Nonetheless, I keep on buying them.
elf products are so hit or miss, especially their lip products. Some of their stuff is really great, especially fromt he studio line. However, these from the studio line aren't so hot. They are super watery so you don't get much color payoff from them and considering they are called a Lip Stain you would think they would give you some long lasting payoff. i guess not. Good thing I found these babies at the Dollar Tree for a $1 instead of $3 elsewhere!
I am about out of eye makeup remover so the other night while I was at Walgreen's I thought I'd give this a shot. I went to use it that night and almost gagged. It smells like a straight shot of Everclear with a hint of lemon and other citrus in it. I felt like I was taking off my makeup with liquor it was awful!
I'm sure I could find more things I don't like so much but these were the items that just really stood out in my head. I wish someone had told me some of these items weren't so hot so I could have saved my money!
Have any of you tried any of these items? What were your thoughts? Did you like anything I listed I wasn't a fan of or did you hate it just as much as I did?
Monday, May 9, 2011
Offbeat Mama
This weekend while I was at lunch with some friends Saturday afternoon a very random but intriguing conversation came about. We were speaking of the announcement of a co-workers pregnancy and a discussion of the various birthing centers in the area my friend Allyn, mentioned that she has recently been reading about women choosing to eat their placenta after the birth of their child. Immediately when she said this my reactions was, "Omg that is absolutely disgusting!" The image that immediately popped in to my head was of a woman with a bowl of her placenta and a spoon going to town like it was a bowl of cereal or ice cream. We continued to discuss how this did seem strange to all of us, but apparently the health benefits were great. This morning I logged in to facebook and had a message from Allyn with an attached article from Offbeat Mama. I hesitantly decided to go ahead and give it a shot and to my amazement women are actually doing this!! And the health benefits for the mother and child are phenomenal! I was still in a little bit of shock and decided to google some more information on this concept. While I am not currently pregnant, ever been pregnant, or plan to be pregnant anytime in the near future I find this fascinating. Everyone who knows me knows that being a mother is part of my life plan, so why not develop a plan now? While googling this topic I found that there are many ways women are choosing to ingest their placenta, some seem to be much more "hard to swallow" for me than others. It's also interesting that this just isn't a fad here in the United States it's been practiced in countries for centuries because of the health benefits.
I know this is a very very strange blog topic but I was and still am so fascinated by the idea I had to share the facts with someone so I chose to use my blog.
So now I have a question for you, my readers ( I think here are only 2 of you haha but anyway). Have you ever heard of women doing this? Do you personally know anyone who has? Have you? What was their/your experience with this? If you haven't done this or this is the first you have heard of this would you ever consider doing it?
- In parts of Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Morocco, new mothers once believed eating the placenta guarantees future fertility.
- Chinese women thought a bite of dried placenta would speed up labor.
- Once women in Hungary had tired of the whole child-bearing business, they believed that by burning the placenta and placing the ashes in their husband’s drink, he’d soon be shooting blanks.
- Increased breast milk production
- lowered risk of hemorrhage
- increased nutritional benefits (for mother and baby)
- Decreased chances of suffering from postpartum depression
I know this is a very very strange blog topic but I was and still am so fascinated by the idea I had to share the facts with someone so I chose to use my blog.
So now I have a question for you, my readers ( I think here are only 2 of you haha but anyway). Have you ever heard of women doing this? Do you personally know anyone who has? Have you? What was their/your experience with this? If you haven't done this or this is the first you have heard of this would you ever consider doing it?
Friday, May 6, 2011
Beauty Tag
It's Friday afternoon and I'm bored!
How many times do you wash your face daily? Most the time twice.
What skin type do you have? Normal
Do you exfoliate? not as a separate step... 3-in-1 takes care of that for me :)
What moisturizer do you use? Mary Kay Timewise
Do you have freckles? Not very many
What foundation do you use? I rotate between 4... Essence soft-touch mousse, Maybeline Mineral Power, Revlon color stay, and Mary Kay mineral powder.
How about concealer? Hard Candy and Mary Kay
Do you know your undertone color?no
What do you think of fake eyelashes? I love them but i am awful at applying them
Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? Yes!!
What brand of mascara do you use? again it's on a rotation... mostly Essence False Lash Effect
Sephora or MAC? Sephora definitely
Do you have a MAC Pro-card? No
What makeup tools do you use in make up application? Brushes and blending sponge
Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? Yes E.L.F. primer and NYX jumbo pencil in Milk
For the face? No not usually but sometimes if I do it's Hard Candy's Sheer Envy Primer or Monistat anti-chaffing gel
What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? I cannot possibly narrow it down to 1 lol
How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner? Never
What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? LOVE
What is your favorite lipstick? hmmm I'm going to have to say NYX in Rea
How about lipgloss? tough call...crap this is tough I'm going to say Rimmel Fuscia Therapy
What is your favorite blush to use? Hard Candy Living Doll
Do you buy your makeup on ebay? Never have! Probably wont I wouldn't trust it.
Do you like drugstore makeup? For sure!!
Do you go to CCOs (Cosmetic Company Outlets)? I've been in them never purchased anything
Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? Yes it would be fun
Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? I have my days
Name a makeup crime that you hate? Tarantula eyes!!! I hate clumpy eyelashes!
Which celebrity(ties) always has great make up?Jennifer Lopez, Megan Fox, i love some Kim Kardashian
If you had to leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use? Mascara
Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on? Yes, I don't do it very often though
Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?i don't think I look bad
In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? best makeup line? that's a silly question I think every makeup line has strengths in certain areas... there is no overall best
What do you think of Makeup?I LOVE it duh!
It's your turn!!!
SKINCARE
How many times do you wash your face daily? Most the time twice.
What skin type do you have? Normal
What is your current cleanser? Mary Kay 3-in-1, rotated with Lush's Angels on Bareskin
Do you exfoliate? not as a separate step... 3-in-1 takes care of that for me :)
What moisturizer do you use? Mary Kay Timewise
Do you have freckles? Not very many
Do you use eye cream? no...
Do you or did you have acne prone skin? No I am lucky.
Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? Nope.
Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? Nope.
MAKE-UP
What foundation do you use? I rotate between 4... Essence soft-touch mousse, Maybeline Mineral Power, Revlon color stay, and Mary Kay mineral powder.
How about concealer? Hard Candy and Mary Kay
Do you know your undertone color?no
What do you think of fake eyelashes? I love them but i am awful at applying them
Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? Yes!!
What brand of mascara do you use? again it's on a rotation... mostly Essence False Lash Effect
Sephora or MAC? Sephora definitely
Do you have a MAC Pro-card? No
What makeup tools do you use in make up application? Brushes and blending sponge
Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? Yes E.L.F. primer and NYX jumbo pencil in Milk
For the face? No not usually but sometimes if I do it's Hard Candy's Sheer Envy Primer or Monistat anti-chaffing gel
What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? I cannot possibly narrow it down to 1 lol
Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? gel liner
How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner? Never
What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? LOVE
Do you use mineral makeup? Yes!
What is your favorite lipstick? hmmm I'm going to have to say NYX in Rea
How about lipgloss? tough call...crap this is tough I'm going to say Rimmel Fuscia Therapy
What is your favorite blush to use? Hard Candy Living Doll
Do you buy your makeup on ebay? Never have! Probably wont I wouldn't trust it.
Do you like drugstore makeup? For sure!!
Do you go to CCOs (Cosmetic Company Outlets)? I've been in them never purchased anything
Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? Yes it would be fun
Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? I have my days
Name a makeup crime that you hate? Tarantula eyes!!! I hate clumpy eyelashes!
Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? I'm all about it all.... my colorful shades are usually in the purple or green family though
Which celebrity(ties) always has great make up?Jennifer Lopez, Megan Fox, i love some Kim Kardashian
If you had to leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use? Mascara
Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on? Yes, I don't do it very often though
Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?i don't think I look bad
In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? best makeup line? that's a silly question I think every makeup line has strengths in certain areas... there is no overall best
What do you think of Makeup?I LOVE it duh!
It's your turn!!!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Body Shop
First of all let me say I hope that everyone knows about the wonderfulness of the internet site "Groupon". It has recently become one of my favorite things in the world. It's a website that you can buy certificates to stores both online and offline, restaurants, manicures/pedicures, spa days, hair cuts etc at an extreme discount. Last week feature on the Knoxville Groupon was a $40 certificate ($45 if used before 5/30) for 20 bucks to this awesome store The Body Shop. If you've never been there they sell a little bit of everything, facial cleansers, shampoo, soap, scrubs, body butter, and now even makeup. The awesome thing about this place is they leave all the bad junk that can be harmful for our skin and hair out of the picture. I bought the groupon on Tuesday and couldn't wait any longer than Thursday to go spend it.
This is everything I got. I'll show individual pictures below and then talk about each of them for a few.
(I am by no means a photographer... I took a billion pictures and none of them turned out how I wanted... maybe I'll get better the more I do this :) )
The first item is Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter. The website says:
The first item is Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter. The website says:
- Best if you want to: Create soft, glossy and tangle-free hair using a luxuriously rich and intensive deep-conditioning treatment without silicones, sulphates, parabens or colorants. With pracaxi oil, manketti nut oil and Community Trade honey and olive oil.
- Best for: dry and damaged hair
How it works:
- Organic Community Trade honey moisturizes and conditions skin.
- Community Trade organic olive oil helps to condition hair
-
According to the website The Sweet Lemon Body scrub is:
- Best if you want to: Reveal your skin's true radiance with a polishing scrub enriched with luscious lemon seed oil that will leave your skin soft, smooth, radiant and delicately scented with an uplifting citrus fragrance.
- Best for: normal to dry skin
- How it works:
- Lemon seed oil is high in anti-oxidants and Vitamin C and helps moisturize and soften the skin.
- Lemon peel and exfoliating Community Trade organic sugar helps to polish and remove dead skin cells.
- Community Trade organically grown soya oil is rich in essential fatty acids to help restore the skin's moisture barrier, thus helping to restore moisture and smoothness.
Dreams Unlimited Body Butter is:
- Best if you want to: Moisturize your skin with our famous Body Butter with the uplifting scent of Dreams Unlimited™, a fusion of citrus, green chilli, white flowers and cedarwood. It is quickly absorbed.
- Best for: all skin types
- Details:
- • Moisturizing
- • Leaves skin feeling soft and smooth
- • Buttery texture
- • Fresh, white-floral scent
While I was there I decided to pick up a few bars of soap. On the left is Satsuma Soap and on the right is Sweet Lemon. These soaps do not contain Parabens. For the most part you can pronounce all of the names on the ingredients list and the are a very reasonable price. A 3.5oz bar retails at $4. As you can tell in the picture they are both still wrapped in plastic so I haven't had the opportunity to try these babies out yet, but I can't wait to!
On a typical day at the Body Shop all of these goodies would have cost me
$54 plus tax, however the day I ended up going the items were buy three get 2 free. So technically the bars of soaps were free. So including tax and taking off my groupon discount I paid $25.36 for all of these goodies!! Not half bad right?
- Best if you want to: Reveal your skin's true radiance with a polishing scrub enriched with luscious lemon seed oil that will leave your skin soft, smooth, radiant and delicately scented with an uplifting citrus fragrance.
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