Tutorial: Neutral Eye with Gold Accent

Hey everyone! Today I have off work, but I had a few errands to run so I still wanted to put on some makeup but didn't want to make it look over the top. It's very rare that I wear makeup on my day off but hey, I wanted to look a little snazzy. Here is my eye look for today!

Eye primer and eyeshadow duo

Eyeliners and mascara

First I started off with Urban Decay Primer Potion to help prevent creasing and make the eyeshadow last all day. Then I used an eyeshadow duo by Smashbox called Grace and placed the light cream color eyeshadow all over my lids up to my browbone. Then I took a fluffy blending brush and blended the light taupe-y color through my crease. Next I took the bareMinerals Big & Bright Eyeliner in the color Cork and put that on my upper lashline and blended it out with the tip of a flat eyeshadow brush. I then used my favorite mascara ever, the bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara and just used that on my top lashes. I finished up using the Urban Decay 24/7 mini eyeliner in the color Eldorado on my waterline and lower lashline. This really helped to brighten up my eyes and make them look more awake. Now for the finished look!

There's my look today! I did use a little blush, concealer under my eyes and some mineral powder foundation too. I personally really like how this came out. I wanted it to be really simple and neutral but still have that touch of color by adding the gold.

Let me know how you guys like this!

Review: bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing a mascara that I know I've mentioned numerous times before but haven't done a full review on it til now. It is the bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in the color black. Here's the review!

If you've read any of my previous posts you know I've raved about this mascara. It's probably the best mascara I've ever tried, and that's saying something because I can be super picky with mascaras. Basically this mascara defines, lengthens and lifts lashes to make them look like, what I always say, your lashes but better. I love how this separates my lashes without making them look spidery. This product is also made without any parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrance, and synthetic dyes, so it doesn't have any bad stuff in it. It's also got antioxidants and natural extracts to help protect and condition the lashes. They also have a volumizing version of this mascara but I haven't tried it yet.

Here's a picture of the actual brush. (Sorry if the quality isn't that good!) You can kinda see in the picture that the bristles are spiky, which helps to define and separate my lashes. Sometimes a little extra product gathers around the tip, but I just usually wipe it around the edge of the tube. This has also lasted me a pretty long time as well. I know you're probably saying I should be throwing away mascara after 3 months, but I never follow that rule. Mainly because I'm the only one using it and I've never had any eye issues. I usually wait until it starts to dry out or clump up on me. 

The cost of this is a bit steep at $18 but it's so worth it in my opinion. I have a ton of mascaras to go through but I will definitely be repurchasing this once I start running low on other mascaras. 

There's my review! I hope this was informative and you'll give this a try :)

What are some of your favorite mascaras?

HAUL! Bath & Body Works, Ulta & Target

Hey guys! So unfortunately I have another haul for you today. I know, I know, I'm so bad with shopping. My new years resolution is to not buy anything beauty related for three months. I say new years resolution because I know the rest of this year I won't be good, so January 1st is a good start. Anyways, lets get into the haul!

First I went to Bath & Body Works last week because their 3 wick candles were 2 for $20. They seem to have that sale fairly often because I bought two others back in October for the same deal. Anyways, I know I've said how much I loved my Hot Buttered Rum candle so of course I had to buy another one. I was smelling all the other ones they have and the Pineapple Mango jumped out at me. I didn't notice this scent when I was there last time so I'm not sure if it's a holiday scent or if I'm just blind. This candle smells so good! It reminds me of a nice fruity summer drink which is kinda odd considering it's getting to be winter. Here's the description of the scent on the bottom of the jar: "Luscious tree-ripening mango and sweet tropical pineapple are complimented by crisp lotus and a hint of warm vanilla." I don't smell any hint of vanilla to be honest, but I absolutely love the pineapple smell so this will be a nice candle to burn when it's freezing to remind me of summer!

Then just a couple days ago I went to Ulta because I had one of those coupons for $3.50 off a $10 purchase. Also, sorry for the horrible pictures. Not sure what's up with my camera. But I finally found the EOS lip balms in the Alice in Wonderland edition! I was so excited when I saw this and it was only $7.99, which I think is a pretty nice deal, especially since I had a coupon. Then I bought a China Glaze nail polish in the color Cast A Spell. This was on clearance for $4.99 and the color is so pretty. It's hard to see in the picture but it's this pretty dark, mossy green color with gold and dark green flecks of shimmer in it. I've never owned anything from China Glaze so I'm excited to see how their polishes are and if I like this one, I'll definitely pick up more!

The same day after Ulta I went to Target because I'm still having issues with finding the limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoos. Seriously, I've looked everywhere and can't find them at all. Please help! Anyways, with no luck (still) in finding the color tattoos I wandered around the other cosmetics, skincare and haircare products seeing what I could find. I've also never tried any Aussie products and these were 2 for $5 which I thought was a good deal so I picked up the 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner to possibly help with any extra dryness my hair has in the winter. I've also heard a bunch of good things about this so I have high hopes. I also picked up the Split-end Protector because I can tell now that I need a haircut, but I don't really feel like spending the money so I'm hoping this product will help to at least keep my split ends smooth and less noticeable. 

Well that's everything! I don't think this was a very bad haul. I didn't spend a whole lot of money and I'm really trying to be good about that, so hopefully you won't be seeing too many more hauls from me for a while ;)

any good products you've bought recently?

NOTD: China Glaze Cast A Spell

Today is going to be my first nail of the day so don't hate on the bad job I did at painting my nails! I'm the first to admit, I'm not the best at painting my nails but I try and I'm getting better. Anyways, the nail polish I used is by China Glaze and the color is called Cast A Spell.

Now I don't particularly think this picture is terrible considering that my camera can be fussy sometimes. You can actually see that this color is a dark, mossy green with gold and green shimmer flakes. I bought this at Ulta on clearance, which is going to be included in a future haul post, so keep an eye out for that! On the nails, this color is absolutely gorgeous! It even looks a bit different on the nails than in the bottle, which I don't mind. On the nails when I look at them in natural light, it actually looks like it has a black-ish base with some dark green in it and then the flakes of green and gold mixed in. This also went on really nice with one coat, but I always do two just to be safe because I like my nail polish to be very opaque. I always use a base coat as well and finish off with a top coat.

I'd say this is a pretty nice color for fall because of the dark green and the gold flecks of shimmer. Plus, I only paid $4.99 for it too, but I'm not sure if that means they're discontinuing this color or it's just on sale. Either way, I really like it and I don't use nail polish all the time so this bottle should last me a while. I've never tried any China Glaze polishes before this one, and I must say, I'm impressed. I'll be picking up more when I can!

What do you guys think of this color?

Review: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream

Hello everyone! Today's post is going to be about a product that I mentioned in my October favorites and that is the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream. This is an amazing product so lets get this review started!

I know I said in my October favorites that I'm not too picky about my hair, but this is such an amazing product that I have to do a little review on it. Now I have pretty fine hair, but a decent amount of it and now with it getting colder outside, my hair is going to start drying out and get super frizzy. Other times in the year I don't really have hair issues, but I still use this to maintain the health of my hair. This has argan oil and apricot in it which helps to smooth out dry, frizzy hair. This is also good if you have really think, even kinky hair that's unmanageable. My fiance has the thickest, curliest hair ever. It's pretty much an afro and I put this in his hair when it gets really knotty and poofy. It really works for him when he decides to be good and use it on a regular basis. 

Anwyays, I use this after my shower pretty much every night. Out of a week, I'd say I use it 4 to 5 days. If I use it every night, it can make my hair a bit greasy but you don't need a lot of product to do the job. A dime sized amount or even less will do, unless you have super thick, long hair. Then maybe a quarter sized amount will be better. I'll also say, I do wash my hair everyday. I know you'll probably say that's bad, but if I skip a day, it gets so dirty and greasy. I've tried training my hair by washing it every other day, but it made my scalp all itchy and I couldn't stand my hair being dirty like that. So what I do is take a dime sized amount and start about half way down my hair and run it through with my fingers, concentrating it on my ends the most so split ends are less noticeable. Then I comb it through my hair. This is also fairly cheap too. At Ulta it's around $4 but I usually get it at Walmart where it's a little under $3. You get 10.2 fluid ounces in the bottle which is pretty good for the price. This particular bottle has lasted me for I wanna say almost a year, but remember I don't use it everyday! I even have another back-up of this plus I just purchased a different leave-in conditioner to try so I can safely say I'm good for about another year and a half or so. 

So that's my review on this little baby! This product is seriously amazing. For the price and amount of product you get, it's a really good deal. Definitely try it out if you're having dry, frizzy hair issues!

Any other leave-in conditioners I should try that you guys like?

Liebster Blog Award!

 Hey everyone! So last night something really cool happened. The lovely Nikki from Heaven Has Cupcakes, nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award! This is my first award, and Nikki has a wonderful blog and she's so beautiful, so definitely check her out!

For those of you who don't know what the Liebster Blog Award is, its basically a nomination from someone who loves your blog and wants to show it some love. The blogs that can be nominated for this award are seen as being the up-and-coming blogs and they must have less than 200 subscribers.

As a nominated blogger, there are some rules I have to follow:

- Reveal 11 random things about myself
- Answer 11 questions that the person who nominated me has set
- Create 11 new questions for my nominees
- Tag 11 other blogs with less than 200 followers and let them know they've been nominated. No tag backs either!

So here are the random facts about me!

1. My absolute favorite color of all time is pink. I don't care what shade of pink it is, but I do love the bright hot pinks the most!
2. I'm engaged to the most wonderful guy I can imagine and his name is David. He's just the best :) 
3. I work in a major retail store and I'm so OCD about folding clothes and making sure my department looks nice or else I feel like I didn't accomplish anything
4. I have two miniature Dachshunds, Emma and Molly, who live with my parents and they're the cutest dogs ever, especially Emma. She's my baby
5. I have a strong aversion to chapped lips so I'm constantly putting on lip balm
6. I'm such a messy person, if you came into my house you'd just see piles of paper and lots of unorganized stuff everywhere. I'm trying to fix this though.
7. I love pajamas. Once I get home from work, the first thing I do is change into pajamas. Even on days off, I stay in my pajamas all day, unless I'm going somewhere of course
8. I absolutely hated makeup when I was a teenager. I liked lip gloss sometimes, but I couldn't stand other makeup, now I'm basically obsessed
9. Folding clean laundry is surprisingly very relaxing for me
10. I have a stuffed bear I call Bear-Bear. I've had him since I was 1 day old, so he's an old, but very loved bear
11. I love to cook! My dad's a chef so he taught me how to cook from a very young age and I get told alot that I can cook very well

Here are my answers to Nikki's questions

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?
I started blogging because I love to write, but don't want to write a book, and I love anything that has to do with skincare and makeup so I thought this was a good way to talk about what I love.

2. Do you have a vlog channel? If not, would you ever consider vlogging?
I don't have a vlog channel, but yes I would consider vlogging! I'm pretty shy so once I get over my shyness and have access to means of being able to vlog, I'll definitely start my own channel :)

3. What is your absolute favorite beauty product?
This is kinda hard, but I gotta say any eyeshadow. I love to play with my eyes the most and I feel that doing my eyes up brightens up my face and makes me look more awake

4. What is your favorite store to visit when shopping for beauty products?
Definitely Sephora! The only Sephora near me is inside JC Penny but I love going to Sephora stores more because they have a better variety to choose from

5. What is your favorite clothing store?
Goodness, I haven't really shopped for clothes in a while but I really seem to like Charlotte Russe. They have very cute tops and their long maxi dresses are very comfy. 

6. Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Still here and probably won't ever live too far from home either

7. What has been your favorite purchase in the last month? (Not just beauty or fashion - anything!)
This is so hard, but it's gotta be the Hot Buttered Rum candle from Bath & Body Works. It just smells heavenly and I went the other day to pick up another one because there was a sale

8. Where do you do most of your blogging? (Your bedroom, your dining room, a coffee house?)
I do most blogging on my couch in my living room. Sometimes I'll do it in my bedroom if I'm feeling lazy but I'm in my living room 95% of the time

9. What's a current beauty or fashion trend that you wish would go away?
Honestly, I'm over the really dark red, burgundy, oxblood lips. Ugh, Cant stand it. I love those colors for nail polish, but on the lips, I personally feel it's just too much

10. Who is your inspiration?
Honestly, this is such a hard question because no one really inspired me to get into blogging, but I have tons of support with this from my fiance, parents and a few of my co-workers as well. So, I guess they really inspire me to keep doing what I love

11. If you could be a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why?
Another hard one. I'm not too fond of celebrities because I think they're all pretty annoying but it might be interesting to see what it would be like to be Kim Kardashian and how she lives her glamorous life. It may not be as glamorous as we all think.


Well there you have it! I want to thank Nikki again for nominating me for this. I'm completely shocked and flattered and I hope everyone checks out her blog because it's awesome!

Talk to everyone later! :)

October 2012 Favorites!

Hello everyone! I finally have power back on and my internet is fully functional so I'm officially back to posting again! But this is probably going to be a sad favorites post, only because I haven't really experimented much with anything new I've gotten yet so they didn't really get a chance to be considered for this favorites post. So basically I'll talk a little about what I've been using for most of October and felt they deserved mentioning.

My first favorite of October is the NYX Eyeshadow in the color Aloha. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this in a previous post but this is such a pretty highlight color for the browbone. I bought this back in I wanna say August, but I wanted to use it enough to say how much I love it. It's just this really pretty, shimmery champagne color that's also good for highlighting the inner corners of the eyes. To me, this is very similar to the color Virgin that's in the Naked Palette. This one is just a tad more shimmery, but the color payoff is pretty much the same.

My next favorite that I'm surprised hasn't been in a favorites post before is the bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in the color black. I know I've mentioned this in other posts too, but not a favorites post. I've gushed about this before so I won't go into it again, but this mascara makes my lashes look like my lashes, but better.

Next up is something that I haven't mentioned before and that's the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream. Boy that's a mouthful to say. Anyways, I haven't really talked much about haircare because honestly, my hair isn't that much to talk about and I'm not fussy with the products I use. My hair is pretty fine, doesn't have much damage now, but can frizz once in a while. My hair used to be pretty damaged until I got about three inches chopped off so now I'm better about using this stuff after my shower. I run this through my damp hair with my fingers first and then comb it through. When I wake up in the morning my hair is so soft and doesn't get knotty anymore. I'll actually be doing a full review of this coming soon.

My next favorite is actually a newer product I tried this past month and that's the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment Concealer. I've heard so many good things about this product but was skeptical because nothing has ever totally gotten rid of my dark circles. This product is amazing! It doesn't totally 100% get rid of the darkness but lessens it quite a bit. I'm super impressed with how it works. It's also very creamy and easy to blend in with my ring finger. It even matches my skin perfectly too! I never thought I'd get to say that!

My last favorite for October is also another newer purchase I've made and that's a nail polish by OPI called Vampsterdam. This color is so stinking beautiful in the bottle and is even more beautiful on the nails! The picture makes this look black but it's actually a very dark, almost black, plum-y purple color. This is just such a beautiful color for fall and I gotta admit, I'm not a huge fan of the dark burgundy, oxblood trend that's going around. I feel like I'm way too pale to be able to pull it off but this Vampsterdam color is stunning for my paleness.

Well those are my favorites of October! I know it's probably nothing exciting, but I'm going to try and make an effort to try out some of the new makeup I've bought over the last month or so and let everyone know how I like them.

What are your favorites for October? 

EDIT: There was an issue with my posting date, but it's been fixed. It had said October 29th was the posting day but really it was supposed to say November 3rd. I think I fixed everything!