This is the way we pack for the beach, pack for the beach!

I am leaving early early tomorrow morning for a 5 1/2 day vacation to Myrtle Beach with some of my friends from high school!! I am so excited, we have been planning this trip since NOVEMBER so I can hardly wait for tomorrow.  My friend, Becky, has had a stomach ache all week from excitement haha.  My friend, Chris, texted me at 2 am this morning to tell me, "You would be so f&#*ing proud of me for how small my suitcase is!!!"

In light of the events of this week I am ready to get out of here.  We have had a series of bad weather go through Knoxville over the last week and do a lot of damage.  We were without power on Tuesday evening for several hours, and last night a tornado touched down in our part of town and caused us to lose power again at 1:15 this morning and it has yet to return.  LAME.  We also had to get a friend (Allyn, your husband is a lifesaver) to give us a  ride to work (after I took a shower by candlelight and wasn't able to apply any makeup :( ) because our entrance/exit to our complex is blocked and to boot our friends Pippin and Stacey who live three apartments over currently have a huge tree on top of their cars. So yeah that's my story... bad weather, little to no sleep, and no power.  I'm ready for the beach!

This is my cosmetics and toiletry roll up. It's holding everything I need except my curling iron and straightener (and of course blow dryer, but I'm not the one bringing that item).  I purchased this from Mary Kay.  I believe it retails for $30.  It is soooo worth it.  This is a pretty recent purchase and to be honest I am upset with myself for not buying this sooner.

In compartment one:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Travel Size Mary Kay eye makeup remover
Mary Kay 3-in-1 cleanser
Mary Kay Moisturizer
Lotion
Razor
Shaving Cream
Cotton rounds
Extra contacts

In compartment 2:
Beyond the Zone Noodle Head
Victoria's Secret Very Sexy perfume
Contact Solution
Contact Case
Deodorant
toothpaste
(toothbrush will go here)
brush

Makeup compartments (ie. 3 and 4):
Pretty Addictions Shadows (bloom, hero, 24kt gold, wicked, uplifting, locked & loaded, peach punch, darkness, bubbly, and a few samples)
Natural Eye Palette (thank you Kassandra)
Mascara
Eyelid Primer
ELF eyeliner (bright green)
NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk
NYX extreme liquid eyeliner
Mary Kay eyeliner in Navy
Essence brow gel

NYX cream blush in Natural
NYX cream blush in Boho Chic
Hard Candy in Living Doll
ELF bronzer quad
Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl
ELF mineral lipstick in coral
ELF lipstick in Gypsy
ELF lipstick in Seduction
ELF lipgloss

My brush selection from Mary Kay, ELF, and POSH

Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation
Mary Kay concealer
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Moisturizer

all rolled up and I left the hanger out so you could see that you can hang this item up on a door. 

Side view!!! It's so compact and has a handle which packs it super travel friendly. And because it so small I may be able to fit my Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer Palette in to my bag as well!!! YES!

What are your traveling must haves???? How do you pack to travel?  Do you have any fun summer plans?

NOTD: China Glaze Designer Satin

So I haven't actually done a post like this before, but I'm going out of town next week and won't be blogging so I thought I'd throw in an extra blog this week and I super love this nail look!!!

I've never been big on wearing nail polish, especially since I work in a chemistry lab.  But occasionally I do like to add a little color to my life and put some pretty polish on.  I've also realized I do like to spice up the polish a little at times.  I've found I really enjoy adding glitter to just a few nails on each hand, I think it adds a little something.  Anyway I love this deep pink color!!!

The polish I used was China Glaze's Designer Satin.  I purchased it at Sally Beauty Supply, I believe it retails for $5.99, but I got it during their buy 2 polishes get one free sale.
The glitter polish you see on top is actually from Wet 'n' Wild.  It's a pink and silver glittery color, 435 A.  I purchased this at Walgreens for $0.99.
I actually love China Glaze, especially this color, it takes one coat to cover the nail and it pretty consistent coverage so you don't have to worry about adding another coat to level out the color.


What are you favorite nail looks? Tomorrow I am going to blog about what health and beauty items I am going to take to the beach with me and how I'm going to get it all there :)

Feather Hair Extensions! (picture heavy)

I started looking for feather hair extensions well over a month ago, actually probably more like two months.  When I first started looking it seemed like everyone was out of products.  When companies started getting their stocks replenished I started looking again.  If you've ever looked for these little cuties, you'll know that prices are literally allllll over the place.  Some salons here in the city I live in charge $55 per feather! YES! 55 Per feather!!! OMG! No thanks!
Well after looking and looking I found a little indy company called Hipchick 3 at this website. They had a cute little package of colored feathers and natural ones all together.  It was a bundle of 5, with one bead for $16.95.  SCORE!
I ordered the green grizzly and natural feather bundle.

This was the picture that was featured on the website for this bundle.  If you look at this picture I personally thought that the feathers looked more of a teal/aqua, this is why I ordered them.  I am a sucker for the color teal.  I was so excited.  I got my confirmation number the day I ordered them and they arrived 2 days later! WOW! Fast shipping!  Anyone who knows me knows that I struggle with ordering online b/c I'm so damn impatient.
I get home, run to the mailbox and get my package... open it and I'm disappointed instantly...

Do you see those feathers? Those look lime green to me... they don't look anything like the picture that they had on their website.  So I contacted their customer service.

Hello, 
Thank you for the quick shipping.  I received my order yesterday.  The picture that is featured on the website shows the green grizzly and natural pack as being more of a teal green in color.  This is why I chose the green.  When I received the feathers they are actually lime green.  Is there anything that can be done about this?  Do you have feathers that are more a teal color? 
Thank you,
Kelly

Their response....

Hi Kelly,

You can send the extension back and we can give you a refund, or we are dying more feathers this weekend and are making some closer to the shade of green you are looking for. Sorry they weren’t what you expected.


I was so glad they were willing to work with me, but I was less than thrilled about the fact that they wanted me to send back the ones I originally got before I even got new ones.

Hello, 
I love the feathers, I just can't decide how I feel about the lime green.  Would there be a way to see a picture of the ones you dyed this weekend before I make the decision to send them back for a refund or not?

Hi Kelly,

Here is a picture I just took, the flash might have made it a little lighter.

Now, correct me if I am wrong or I've sniffed too much glue, but these do NOT look teal AT ALL!!! They look bright ass lime green to me....

Hello,
Would it be possible to see a picture of the blue? 

This picture was the response I received... 

 Still doesn't look super teal to me...

Hello,
I have attached the picture that you have listed on your website. This is the color I am looking for.  

*I attached the first picture you see in this blog just to make sure they knew what I was talking about...

their response was

The 1^st photo of the blues I sent you is very close to this color. You can send the greens back if you like and I will send you the teal feathers I have.

Again, I am not sending you back the feathers before you send me a correct product.  

I responded with that politely and they offered to send the "blue" ones out the next day and they were here in 2 days.  

  yay!!! finally!!! The ones on the left in this picture were the lime green ones that I received first and the ones on the right were from the new batch.  The picture doesn't do them the proper justice, b/c they are in fact teal!!! YES!!!

I did not buy the kit, b/c I had seen a YouTube video where a girl only used a skinny hair tie and a pair of pliers to install hers.  That's what I did, myself and score!!!

I LOVE THEM!!!

Do any of you lovelies currently sport the feather hair extension look?  What was your experience like?  Would you ladies like me to post step by step how I installed my feather extensions?

Sally Hansen Color Quick!!!!

Yesterday after I left work I stopped at Kroger to pick up a few things for the homemade Chicken Parmesan I was preparing.  By the checkout counter they had a big bin of clearance items.  I of course had to check out the cosmetics.  Most of the stuff was pretty atrocious but I managed to find one thing I thought would be interesting to try!

Holy crap, right?  Was $7.99 marked down to $1.99!!!! I had to get it.  I purchased 08 Red Chrome.  I took a picture of the label but it looked like crap so I'll spare you.

This is what the tube looks like.  It reminds me a little bit of a glitter glue that I had when I was a kid. 

There is a brush on the end.  To get product on the brush you just pump the white plastic part you see in the picture before this one.  Once you have product on the brush you just brush it on your nail.  It's the same concept as regular nail polish.

Here is the finished product.  I'm not a huge fan of the color.  It was super easy to use, but it took awhile to get enough product in the brush to even get your nails covered.  I wasn't a big fan of the brush, it was a bit rougher than a typical nail polish brush and it tended to to fan out too much so it took a few coats to get my whole nail colored.
Now, here is the worst part...

I painted my nails around 7pm Sunday night.  I watched a few movies and hung out, went to bed and this morning when I woke up this is what my nails looked like.  BUMMER!
All-in-all I'm pretty unimpressed with this product.  Thank god I only paid $1.99!!!

Have any of you tried this line of products before?  If so, did you have better luck with the product?

Fun Summery Eye look!!!

Awhile black I blogged about the mineral eyeshadows from Pretty Addictions. If you have yet to check out the shadows, you better get your butt over to that website and check it all out!  She's also now offering hair flowers, blushes, and bronzers!!! If interested click here :). I wanted to share one of my favorite looks using these products.  I love this look! It's nice and summery in my opinion.

Pretty right? Well at least I think so!
Lid color: Hero
Crease color: Mudslide Ride
Highlight: Bubbly
Lining bottom of the eye: Uplifting

How I did this, I patted "Hero" all over the lid, then used a blending brush to blend "Mudslide Ride" in to the crease and the Outer "V".  I applied "Bubbly" under the brow bone. Then using an eyeliner brush I lined the bottom of my eye with "Uplifting".  I lined the top of my eyelid using NYX's liquid eyeliner in Extreme Coffee and applied 2 coats of mascara to both top and bottom eyelashes!

Everytime I wear this look I feel all fun and summery, I love it!  I have said that several times, but I can't say it enough!

What do you ladies think?  What are you favorite eye looks?

Who? What?

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I know I did.  My roommate's birthday was last week so a bunch of us went out for drinks on Friday.  Saturday I spent the day at Chickamagua Lake with my friends and then Sunday I spent by the pool with my friend Blake.  It was a sun filled and relaxing weekend (those are the best)!
So, This post is going to be kind of random.  It has been a very busy and overwhelming Monday and Tuesday.

One of my nephews, Griffin has been talking non stop about how he wanted a pair of red sunglasses, since you don'tk now him I'll let you in on a secret, he pretty much lives in the colors red, black, and white... They happen to be the school colors from the school system he is in (it's also the one I came from) and it's the colors of his favorite college teams, the Buckeyes and The Bearcats.  Anyway, the last several times I have seen him we have been looking for some red sunglasses.  Well Saturday on the way to the lake Stefanie and I stopped at Walmart and I happened to see a pair of red sunglasses.  They are so him, he loves aviators as well

I love them!!! They were also only $3!  I sent him this picture and he freaked out from excitement! I really need to get on mailing those out to him so he doesn't go stir crazy :)

Also, with Father's Day coming up last night I went on a hunt to find the perfect father's Day Card for my dad... I fell in love with this card...

It's so sweet and so true.  I'm a total Daddy's girl in case you can't tell :)

I've also been on the HUNT for what I saw in my head as the PERFECT muted purple nail polish.  Well last night, I got pretty close to finding it and it was only $1.99!!!

I forgot to take a picture of the bottle so you get an image from the internet.

It looks very different in the bottle than it does on your nails...

I am in LOVE with this color! It appears a little brighter with the flash than it really is, but I couldn't get a good picture without the flash.  The  The only down fall with this polish is if you don't let each coat dry completely it gets streaky.  It also took 3 coats to get it to look consistent. For $1.99 though I can't complain too much!

I'm also really excited, I finally put my new feather hair extension in :)  I plan to blog about my experience with that this week!

Anyway, did you all do anything fun and exciting this weekend?  Also, do you have any suggestions for other muted purple shades of nail polish?

I got a, I got a, I got a pocket full of sunshine...

It's that time of year!  Ya know, the warm part.  Time for beaches, lakes, pools, laying out, boating everything that means your skin is going to get LOTS of sun.  This past year I actually had 3 scary instances in which 3 separate friends went to visit the doctor for a skin check up.  The appointments for all three friends ended with chunks of skin being removed due to precancerous skin cells.  After this happened to three different friends of mine, needless to say it scared the shit out of me.  So my primary goal this summer is to protect my skin!  I happen to be rather fond of it and would prefer to have no chunks of it removed.  What actually led to this post was preparing for a boating trip I will be taking tomorrow afternoon.

I thought I'd share a little of my new information with you all.  What are the good effects from the sun?

• UV from the Sun is needed by our bodies to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D helps strengthen bones, muscles and the body’s immune system.
• UV is used in the treatment of skin conditions such as psoriasis. 
• Research suggests that sunlight stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to produce certain chemicals called ‘tryptamines’. These chemicals improve our mood.  
• UV has positive applications in the fields of disinfection and sterilization.  

Now of course with all the good effects come the bad...

• that dreaded C word.... CANCER
• Dehydration
• UV burns the skin. Sunburn is a burn that occurs when skin cells are damaged.
• Over-exposure to UV radiation has a harmful suppressing effect on the immune system
• Prolonged exposure to UV or high intensities of UV (for example, in sunbeds) damages the tissues of eyes and can cause a ‘burning’ of the eye surface, called ‘snow blindness’.
• UV speeds up the aging of skin, since the UV destroys collagen and connective tissue beneath the top layer of the skin.

If you are interested in reading more of these effects click here.

Now here is the major question... What do we do to make sure we don't suffer from bad effects?

• Wear sunscreen... the more prone you are to burn the higher the SPF you should use (depending on what I'm doing outside I use between 15 and 30.) Remember to apply 30 minutes before sun exposure to make sure it's completely absorbed before going out and make sure to reapply at least every 2 hours, may need to more frequently if in the water or in contact with any water like substance.
• Wear a sun hat to protect your eyes
• Utilize the shade
• Bring clothing to cover up if you feel like you are burning
• Drink PLENTY of water!  
• try to limit sun exposure

 Also, remember that even if it's cloudy outside make sure you still wear sunscreen.  UV rays can still penetrate through clouds. 

Hair, Hair, Hair!!!

At the beginning of May I did a haul post from a trip to The Body Shop and said I would review some of the items I got with that purchase.  If you need a refresher you can read the blog here.
Anyway, during that trip I got the Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter.  I mentioned in the post I had tried it once and wasn't a fan but needed to try it out a few more times before I gave my full opinion.

I have used this 3 times.  To be honest, I just can't figure out how I feel about this product.  Part of me hates it and part of me is ok with it.  The packaging directions say that you should work two hazelnut size amounts of product in to your hair, allow it to sit for several minutes and then rinse.  To be honest two hazelnut size amounts of this product was not even enough product to cover half of my hair.  My hair sits right around shoulder length, but it is very thick.  It took more like two walnut or pecan size amounts of product to cover all of my hair.  I'm not sure why the description is in terms of nuts but I felt the need to continue using that as a unit of measurement.  The major downfall of the initial start up use of product is this stuff smells like Play-Doh.  That's right I said it... it smells like we did when were in kindergarten.  I am NOT a fan of that. Luckily once my hair was dried and straightened my hair smells more like my shampoo and less like Play-Doh.  THANK GOD!
The first two times I used this product I wore my hair naturally curly and I have to admit I HATED it.  My hair only half ass curled and I assume that is because of the weight of the product.  Today, I decided to take a different style route and went for the straightened look.  Prior to blow drying I have to admit I did not like the way my hair felt.  It still felt kind of heavy and almost kind of coarse.  Now that it is brow dried and straightened I have to say it feels pretty good.  My hair is super soft and actually pretty shiny.  The only downfall so far is that I can tell perhaps my roots may get a little oily throughout the day. So next time I decide to use this I will definitely concentrate more on the rest of my hair and less on my roots, which makes good sense since technically that's the newest hair and should probably be the least damage haha.
I am not sure that I would repurchase this product.  I do like the product, but I am not that much in love with it to pay the $14 or $16 to replenish the stock, I feel that there are much better products out there for this purpose at a much better cost. 

Have any of you ever used this product?  What did you think about it? What kind of hair repair products do you use?

Liebster Blog

So I'm pretty stoked that my friend Kassandra nominated me for this award.  I think it's pretty cool and well I'm definitely a small blog... with only 4 followers (which is ok, I think this is all pretty fun!)

It is said that the Liebster Blog Award started in Germany (probably) and is used to highlight smaller blogs that are less known. Blogs of less than 300 followers.

It is a blog that you accept with the intention of paying it forward. When you accept the award, you choose 3-5 other blogs that you feel are deserving of more subscribers and pass the award on to them.

You are not obligated to accept the award or to even pay it forward. I like to do this because it helps get the word out about other blogs that you might not have ever heard of. As I assume many of you do, I find blogs I want to follow by seeing them on the followers list on blogs I already follow. 

I am choosing to pass this award on to 3 other blogs that I frequent often. I love reading this blogs.  You'll notice 2 of them are beauty related and one is not (it is well worth the read and tells a very touching story) so here they are! 

1. http://www.notavisitor.com/

2. http://klayerd.blogspot.com/
3. http://mariahlovesmakeup.blogspot.com/

What's up with those blemishes?

On my post from last Wednesday when I was showing my summer face routine I mentioned my two go to concealers.  Today I thought I'd give you a better look at the two.

The top is Hard Candy Glamoflauge, I purchased this at Walmart for $6. The tube is 0.71 oz. This also comes with a concealer "pencil" that you can use as a primer for the actual concealer. I think I put the pencil in some unknown place because I could not find it, I remember I wasn't impressed with it!  The bottom is a concealer from Mary Kay.  This retails for $10 for 0.3 oz.  

To demonstrate how awesome both of these are I thought I'd give them a go at covering up a tattoo on my wrist.  The top of the tattoo is gooped up with the Mary Kay concealer and the bottom splotch is the Hard Candy. 

After blending the product out you can see that they both do a pretty decent job at covering up my DARK black tattoo.  You can't tell too well in the picture, but the Hard Candy does cover a little better than the Mary Kay.  But I think considering it's a tattoo and most of the time you aren't covering up something that dark these both are awesome concealers.  
What I like better about the Mary Kay concealer is that it's formula is much lighter, therefore it is much easier to work with.  It blends well in to foundation and covers up my blemishes.  The Hard Candy is much thicker in consistency so it feels heavier on the face and is sometimes more difficult to blend.  


Overall, I highly recommend both of these!  While the Mary Kay is more costly, remember part of the proceeds goes to the personal consultant.  So if the consultant you chose to purchase from is one of your friends you are helping a friend and their family out!

What are your favorite concealers? 



Did everyone have a good weekend?  I know I did! I didn't do much of anything and it was wonderful!!!

My summer face!

When the weather starts getting warmer and the humidity sky rockets I like to switch up my foundation/face routine.  When it gets warm I usually don't mess with all the medium/full coverage foundations and trade it up for something that feels lighter on the face.  I don't want my face melting part way through the day.  Up until last summer I would just use a powder.  Then last summer I made a discovery and have been sticking with it since.  
First I start off with a tinted moisturizer.  I have found that my favorite is from Physician's Formula.  

It's in the Organic Wear line.  I stick with light to neutral in color, because let's face it I am kind of fair skinned.  There is an SPF 15 in the moisturizer, which for me is awesome.  I get light coverage, a moisturizer and SPF protection all in one!!! 
After I put on my tinted moisturizer I follow up with probably one of my favorite Mary Kay products.  The Mineral Powder Foundation. 

The Mineral Powder Foundation works best with a flat top brush as shown in the picture above.  The powder definitely gets best coverage when it is buffed on.  The combination of the tinted moisturizer and mineral powder foundation gives pretty decent coverage and is still super light on the skin!   
Depending on how awful I feel like I look in the morning and how intense my bags are under my eyes I may or may not apply some concealer.  My two favorite are Glamofauge from Hard Candy and Concealer from Mary Kay.  

there is definitely a distinct difference int he two.  The Mary Kay is a much lighter coverage than the Glamoflauge so like I really said it's all about how I'm feeling about my imprefections every morning! 
  
After I have applied the tinted moisturize, mineral powder foundation and/or concealer I follow up with a little bit of blush to give my face a little bit of color.  


I also thought I would share with you my current favorite, summery lipsticks. 

They all 3 happen to be from ELF.  The top two is from their normal line, so they were only $1.  The bottom is from their mineral line so I believe it was $6, but I got it for 50% off.  Anyway from top to bottom: Gypsy, Seduction, and Candid Coral.  I definitely like the texture and stay of their mineral lipstick much better than their dollar line, but for a dollar I can reapply right? 


Have you ladies tried any of these products?  Is there a super awesome tinted moisturize that you like better?  I'd love to try some more out!  


What does everyone have going on this weekend? I'm looking very forward to a weekend of relaxing by the pool and getting some color on my pasty legs this weekend! 

My mini weekend haul!!!

Let me apologize for the delay in posting... It was a crazy busy weekend with the holiday and all the traveling as well as coming back to having to fill in and teach someone's lecture all week and have to prepare my own materials.  Needless to say this week has been nuts and I really just want to go home, jump in the pool, cool off, and then go sleep! 

Anyway, on my way to visit my family and friends I stopped in Cincinnati, to spend some money at Ulta and Lush.  Let's see what I got :) 

The first thing I ran towards at Lush was this cute little bath bomb.  It's called Big Blue.  The darker color flecks you see in the bath bomb is seaweed.  According to the website:

Relaxing seaweed soak: Lemon, lavender and seaweed for clear thoughts. Escape into a world of pure, uncluttered thought by dropping a Big Blue into the bath.

Swim your private ocean: Lemon and lavender oils help to clear your mind, complete with skin-softening seaweed and sea salt to help you float away in your own warm, blue ocean of inspiration.

Arame seaweed: When the seaweed soaks in the hot water, it becomes softening and soothing.

 I didn't plan on getting this little guy, but I saw it and thought it was worth trying for $4.95.  This is called sugar babe.  It is a sugar mask made of sugar (obviously) and coconut oil!  I'm excited to try it. Especially since Coconut Oil is supposed to be so good for your skin. a

The first and only other time I have been to Lush they gave me a sample of Sexy Peel to try.  I fell in love with it!  I am a big fan of citrus scented soaps and etc so of course I loved this.  when I went back I had to buy myself another one!  1/4 pound of this goodness is around $8.50.  I know that sounds expensive, or at least it did to me the first time I thought about it but let's remember all of the benefits you recieve from using handmade soaps.  You can a) pronounce all of the ingredients in the soap and b) you aren't using any harsh chemicals on your precious skin.  I think it's worth it and ever since switching from using regular store soaps to using soaps free of sulfates and parabens I have noticed a dramatic difference in my skin.  I also use a whole lot less lotion!!! 

If you ever read the bloggings over at Pretty Addictions, you probably know that Kassandra loves the scent of Karma.  I had to pick up something in that scent so she wouldn't give me hell :)  I chose to get more soap!!!

 If you remember my, "Why my hair and skin love me!!!" post I talked about how awesome this Angels on Bare Skin from Lush is.  I had to replenish my stock!  I know 0.13 lbs doesn't sound like a whole lot but you need so little of this stuff to get enough to wash your face this lasts FOREVER!!! Plus your face feels amazing!!!

Across the street from the mall that Lush is in is Ulta, I of course had to stop there!

They were having a sale on their NYX products where you bought 2 and got one free. 

These are the three items I chose.  Top to bottom: Creme Rouge in Glow, Creme Rouge in Natural, and NYX Eyeliner Pen in Extreme Coffee.  I have tried all three of these items and I love them!!!! I will do a review on this soon! 

I also decided to pick up a few other items.  Ulta carries this brand called Essence, there stuff seems to be hit or miss but I decided to try a few things.  I had left what I used as my highlight down here in TN, so I grabbed something to hopefully suffice for the weekend. Since I already have several highlights I chose to get something on the cheaper side (oops, should have splurged).

The picture kind of stinks but taking it with the flash caused an awful glare.  This is Essence soft touch blush in Fashionita (should have called it craponista). 

I also grabbed this mascara from essence to try because it was only a few bucks.  It is Black Mania-Carbon Black Volume Mascara.  This actually isn't a half bad mascara.  I assume it is supposed to be a dupe for L'Oreal Volumious Carbon Black, however it's not even remotely like it, or at least I didn't think so. 

I also grabbed this bottle of Sally Hansen nail polish for $1.19.  The color is truffle.  It's a very nude/mauve color.  I actually kind of like it on. 

I wanted to do more shopping while I was up in Ohio but as usual there is never enough time.  If only we could add more hours in the day or something. 

Has anyone tried any of these products?  What did everyone do during the holiday weekend?