M.A.C. Holiday Collection Haul

I am obsessed with M.A.C. collections.  I get the little flier in the mail, find out when it is going to be released and I'm there.  Many times, I don't buy anything because when I see it in the store, either it's been picked over, or the items don't excite me.  I was super depressed when I was so late for the RiRi Loves collection that all they had left was the mascara and an eyebrow pencil.  I only really wanted two things: the blush and the bright red lipstick, but alas, I was too late.  So when I got notified of the dates for the holiday collections, I marked them down and hit the stores early.

Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk Review

I know I have been a bit absent for awhile on here.  I was finishing up doing makeup for my most recent community theater endeavor as well as recovering from an on and off cold which finally settled down into my chest causing bronchitis.  I promise I will post more often as I get better.  

Nail Polish Haul

I have been on a nail polish kick lately, changing out the color at least twice a week if not more.  I realize this is probably terrible for my nails, but I can't stand when my edges are chipped.  The winter nail polish collections have looked pretty intriguing so I decided to pick up a few bunch.

November Birchbox: Reveal & Review

It's that time again!  I gotta say the November Birchbox snuck up on me.  I remember getting my October one near the middle of the month, but this month's came much earlier on the 6th.  Plus, the day I got the e-mail that it had shipped was the day it arrived so that was a nice surprise!  I must admit that I felt some trepidation since October's was such a letdown.  

Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Portable Palette Set: Review & Swatches

It is amazing how much my purchases are influenced by the blogs I read and YouTube videos I watch.  I usually have very drastic reactions to what I see such as "OMG, I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE!" to "Really?  You spent that much money on that?!".  Examples of these reactions are the Tarte Gorgeous Getaways Portable Palette Set (Exclusive to Ulta for the holidays) and the Dior Creme de Rose lip balm.  I had to have the Tarte set, and happily spent birthday gift cards acquiring it.  The lip balm on the other hand seemed ridiculous to me.  Don't get me wrong ... I sampled it and it smells and feels amazing, but the $27 price tag for freaking lip balm made me wonder why anyone would shell out that kind of cash.  The Tarte set quickly made it into my October favorites so I am here to share with you why that is.  

October 2013 Favorites

I have so many things I loved this month, it was hard to figure out just what were the things I enjoyed the most.  After much deliberating, here's what I came up with.

Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette: A Good Buy?

We all see those "deals" out there at the beauty store (and everywhere else for that matter).  It usually involves the phrase "A $xx.xx value!".  I don't know about the rest of you, but it usually makes me angry.  I mean, really, who is sitting there doing the math?  Obviously the people selling the darn thing.  Oh, and the higher the value v.s. the less you pay, well then jump right in my cart there little guy, you're coming home!  No.  I refuse to believe it unless I do the math myself.  A little anal retentive?  Why, yes!  I decided to crunch the numbers on the Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette, newly released.  

Sephora V.S. Ulta: A Beauty Showdown

I go back and forth over which store I like better, Ulta or Sephora.  Each of them has its perks, but in such different ways.  Let's just sit here for a sec and break down every beautiful bit.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss: Swatches and Reviews

Recently, I saw a YouTube video that featured a particular lip gloss that caught my eye.  In the video, the girl used one of the Revlon Colorburst glosses in the color Bellini.  The name, in and of itself, makes me want to buy it because a Peach Bellini is a pretty fabulous drink (for those of us over 21), but also the color was a pinky nude without being TOO pale.  You really have to find the perfect shade in order to pull off a nude lip color without looking like you are dying and this color looked like it would do the trick when paired with some of my more natural lipsticks.  

(Vertical: Embellished, Horizontal: Bellini)

Shea Moisture Gel Souffle: Review

In my September favorites post, I talked on and on about how wonderful the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner is.  It really is that amazing.  So I figured I'd try out some products from the rest of their line, especially the curly girl ones.  Each of their lines has a different smell, but judging from the conditioner, I figured I'd like it.  To be honest, I may have set the bar a little high, but hey a girl can dream can't she?

October Birchbox: Reveal & Review

So if you have been following me on Facebook and Twitter, you know I was pretty stoked to start receiving my Birchbox this month.  I filled out my little survey, and as evidenced by my last Birchbox post, I enjoyed a good amount of the products my friend gave me.  Needless to say, I was beyond excited when it showed up in my mailbox on Saturday.  

Misleading Beauty "Advice"

I love Pinterest.  It is one of the most addictive sites and you have incredible access to pins linking to websites for whatever your passion is.  That is very powerful, but can also be very misleading.  The other day, I stumbled upon a pin that read: "101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know".  Intrigued, I followed the link and ended up on a website that, honestly, did not have 101 beauty tips.  The thing is, some of the "tips" are so vague or common knowledge that it actually made me angry.  Why do articles feel the need to create the longest list possible, while completely ignoring quality?

Health & Beauty Haul

I don't know about the rest of you, but my products run out in waves.  I can be totally fine for weeks on end, and then BOOM, I need everything under the sun.  So over the past few days I have been accumulating items and I figured I'd share with you! <3

  (Disregard the candle.  That is not new, but I wasn't about to move hot wax off my table.  I'm sure you don't mind)

Clarisonic Review

In my September favorites post I talked about how I have re-discovered my Clarisonic.  As I said, I purchased it prior to my wedding to get my skin in order before the big day.  Now it was a pricey purchase; I believe it retails for $150.00 at Ulta.  Clearly, for most women, this is not something you can just go out and buy willy-nilly.  For me, I actually had to work it into the “beauty” portion of my wedding budget.  I’m really glad I did though because this thing works wonders.

Birchbox Haul & Review

So if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I signed up for a Birchbox this past Sunday.  I had been visiting my best friend, Carol, for the weekend and she pulls out these six, like, basically unused Birchboxes.  She basically dumped them out on the coffee table and said, “Have at it”. 

Now to me, this was a little like winning the lottery.  Not that I’d know what that feels like, I haven’t been that lucky in life.  Maybe two bucks from a scratch off here and there, but I can imagine it feels pretty darn good…kind of like your bestie giving you free beauty samples. 

(Chock full of goodies!)

Then & Now: How My Weight Gain Has Affected My Life

I find it so interesting that throughout my school years, I used to complain to my friends about being too skinny.  No matter what I ate, I just couldn't gain a pound.  I was a steady 100-105 lbs during high school.  I actually would get turned away from blood drives because they would only take your blood if you were at least 115 lbs. 

 (Back when you actually wore a dress to prom and not a handkerchief.  Look how thin those arms were.  I wasn't sickly, but I was definitely TOO thin.)

September 2013 Favorites

So it is the end of the month, and as most beauty bloggers do, I plan to make monthly favorites posts with a little info on each product and why I like it.  Here goes!

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner: Review

I am always on the lookout for new curly girl products.  It's so hard to find stuff that is in my budget while still steering clear of the no-no ingredients many brands use.  For a full list of things to avoid you can go to this website which explains what they do to your hair and ingredients that are safer and gentler on your ravishing ringlets. 

 (Look at all the nasties in this!  This is a guaranteed frizz day!)

Bath and Body Works Fall 2013 Candle Haul

I absolutely love burning candles.  The warm glow mixed with the scents is intoxicating to me.  Bath & Body Works has the BEST candles and they have so many to choose from it is practically obscene.  Each season I stockpile anywhere from 4-8 candles each time they run their 2 for $22 sale, often going back for more.  I don’t really know when my candle obsession started; I just know it had to have a direct correlation to my cat.  I love her to death, but she is the smelliest creature to walk the planet.

 (The "Smelly Cat" song comes to mind when I look at you)

Eye Primers: Worth the hype?

Everywhere you turn, one makeup company after another has some sort of eye shadow base.  They all have the exact same claim: that they will keep the eye shadow you worked so hard to perfect in place, all day, no creasing, etc., etc.  I'm calling shenanigans on this.  It really boils down to one factor: Do you have oily lids?

I do.  As I said in my Smooth Away post, I have combination skin.  My T-zone and cheeks are oily while the outer perimeter of my face varies from normal to dry.  Guess what area falls into the oily region of my face?  My eyelids. 

 (This isn't me, but I feel like this is what I am dealing with)

Smooth Away: Review

I am a sucker for As Seen On TV products.  I think it stems from when I used to watch the OxiClean infomercials like they were regular TV programs (don't hate...Billy Mays was awesome!).  I was amazed by how they could take seemingly destroyed fabrics and make them look like new.  This was intriguing to me because I am one of five kids and the youngest girl, so the majority of my clothes were hand me downs.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't dressed in rags or anything, but here was a product that could make my clothes look brand spakin' new.

  ( RIP, Billy.  You were one epic dude. )

Curls Gone Wild!

Having curls can be a real pain in the rear.  I spent the better part of my formative years not really knowing how to do my hair so they wouldn’t puff up and swallow my face.  I used to spend my time hot ironing my hair stick straight so I would look like everyone else out there.  Then I got my teaching job and I honestly just didn’t have time to be doing all that anymore.  My hair is incredibly thick so this process would take hours. 

 This is me mid-college, trying to get ready for a formal by straightening my hair.  It took about an hour for my hair to completely dry and  this was after I had already run a heat protectant through it to tame the frizz and prep it for the exhaustive process

Checking in...

This is who is managing my blog when I walk away. Meet Little Bear!  She is anxiously awaiting your comments on the Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer. <3

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer: Review and Swatches

So I have been hearing so much hype over the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer.  Everyone keeps talking about how it not only smells AMAZING (like...well...chocolate), but that it gives a beautiful glow to your skin without the shimmer.