Sunday, August 31, 2014

August Favorites!

Hi everyone! I'm doing a favorites again finally. I have a lot of fun stuff to go through and links to be clicked so enjoy!


Lot's of makeup favorites this month. I've mentioned a lot of these in other posts, but I can't get over the amazingness. I'll attempt a left to right type of organization so here we go. 

The Pore-fessional Primer: I've definitely mentioned this before. So, so, so nice. It creates a nice matte base that really does reduce the look of pores, which I think is better than an illuminating base because my skin gets oily in 30 seconds. Love the feel of it on my skin, it's just awesome. 

Tarte 12-Hour Blush: This is a new one for me! I never was a blush girl because I always found it hard to put on light enough to not make it look like I painted my cheeks. This Amazonian-clay formula in Captivating is a very pretty peachy pink. I just put a really small amount on a Mac 150 and it is just gorgeous. 

Repetto Perfume: Again, another new kind of product, I never really took to perfumes, and this again changed that. It's a sweet smell, which I think is better for me because I'm still pretty young all things considered. I still save it for more special occasions and keep to body spray for school because it is a stronger scent, but dab a little on my neck and wrists, and I smell like vanilla, rose, musk and whole lotta other goodness.  

Make Up Forever Lipstick: I mentioned this when reviewing Sephora's birthday gifts, and I still love it. It's probably my most worn lipstick for August. The formula is wonderful, and keep my lips pretty hydrated (something I've always had trouble with Mac formulas), and the color. Oh the color. N9 aka Copper Pink is so gorgeous for everyday (it looks much darker than it is). I will soon be getting the full sized one. I just love it so much. 

The Classic Physicians Formula Green Powder: You're probably bored of hearing about this one. But too bad, because it will continue to be in my favorites. Pop a bit on a zit, zap on some concealer, and poof it's gone. It's magic. 


Two non-beauty favorites here. And don't mind the weird wick. It tilted and then got stuck in the dried wax. Oops. 

Brick and Mortar Candle: So some bad news is I can't find this specific candle at the store website, but good news is I found it here! First the store. Brick and Mortar is a furniture store in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I don't have my own home, but going there makes me want 20 different houses so I can take the whole store and decorate them all in different ways. The things there are high quality, and so, so, so cute. It's a wide range of styles and seriously there is so much to find there you never go out without finding something you like. The online store is great, and their sister clothing stores are some of my favorites. Onto the actual candle. Heaven in a really cute jar. It's made of vegetarian wax which is great for conserving those honeybees. The smell is indescribable unless you have put your head into a honeysuckle. It really does smell exactly like honeysuckle, and the jar is a very pretty pink, and very sturdy. Plus 120 hours of burning. Can't beat it. I've been burning it so often, and I just love it so much. 

B&BW Body Cream: AGAIN, this isn't actually on the website, but I did find it in the store. This body cream, in apple blossom and lavender is a great scent, and a good kind of transition scent from summer into fall. I love the two scents together, they work really well. It's a nice big tube too so it will last me forever. 

So not much variation but here it all is. Sorry it took me forever to do another favorites but with the extra day off tomorrow I had the time. Have a great Labor Day weekend! 


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Rock the Red Lip w/o Lip Liner


Red lips are always considered "dangerous," but I think anyone can rock the look, even when lip liner is not available. A red lip is always about creating a clean line on the lip, and having an overall polished look in the end, so doing it without lip liner isn't always advised. But I think that it's not always necessary, and you can get that perfect line that doesn't feather. You want to first prime your lips with something, I usually do an Eos balm because it isn't a heavy balm. Side-note, I like to use a lipstick with a sharp edge, such as this Mac Red. It will create sharp lines, or you can always create one by rubbing the lipstick with a tissue. I start with the top lip, so the tip is at its sharpest, because creating a sharp line on the top lip is much harder. Using the edge I try to follow the exact line of my lips without going over. I try to go in one stroke, not multiple, because it creates the cleanest line. I also want to make sure I go to the exact edge of the lip, and do the same on the bottom so it doesn't create a weird faded edge. I do the same for the bottom, keeping that smooth edge. One thing I don't usually do with bright red is blot afterwords, because it can smudge the lipstick onto the skin. And there you go! A great red lip to wear anywhere, anytime. Hope you enjoy!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

BTS Week! Part 3- What I'm Wearing and Senior Goals

I start tomorrow. Dang. But I'm going to keep positive and talk about the things I like. I'm going to be wearing a blue no sleeve shirt with white shorts (before Labor Day) and a black sweater because my school likes to keep it freezing. I know that's very vague but my camera ran out of battery. Oops. But talking goal wise I want to keep my grades, I want to get my applications done soon, and overall I want to have a fun year. Senior year is where things start to relax and college becomes a reality. And I'm beyond ready for it. Have a great year everyone! 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

BTS Week! Part 2- Beauty Bag Essentials

So in my last post I talked about my whale case and here I'm going to talk more specifically about what is in the case, with links to see where to get things. Click on anything below!

Maui Scent from B&BW: I love this new scent from Bath and Body Works. And of course, the travel sizes are seriously the best. I keep the travel sized lotion in my whale case for those super dry winter days, and also when I just need a bit of fragrance that isn't overpowering. 

PocketBac from B&BW: Again, another travel sized product from Bath and Body Works. Their mini sanitizers are so awesome and they always mask the smell of alcohol. I usually go for more fresh scents over fruity scents because the fruity ones can be a little strong. My favorite is probably Dancing Waters, with a close second being apple scented (even though I just said I prefer not to have fruity ones I just love the scent of apple). 

Sephora Concealer in 07: I've mentioned this one before and I'll keep mentioning it because it is a great concealer. Perfect for my skin tone and easy enough to travel with, this concealer is great for that midday touch up on spots. Because it's a click type of packaging, I'm not worried about it spilling all over my other stuff, making it even better.

Fresh Travel Size Balms: These balms are AMAZING. I bring a travel sized advanced therapy one that doesn't have color and the color Rose. I know I got the travel sized in a sample from Sephora, and they had a little pack of three so I'm not sure if they still come in the smaller size, but even the bigger sizes are fine for carrying around. The packaging is super durable which I like too, so at the bottom of a backpack they won't break and get things all goopy.  

Some other essentials I carry are hair bands and bobby pins, Band-Aids (blisters are the worst), and tissues. It seems like a lot, but it actually all fits in the little whale case. It's great to have it all in one place too. 

BTS Week! Part 1- What's in My Bag


Back to school is approaching whether that is something to be excited for or not. This year, my senior year in high school, is where the memories are supposed to be made. Prom, senioritis, college apps etc. it's all there. To start of simple though, I'm going through what essentials I have in my school bag. I bought this Michael Kors bag last year when the design was coming out. It's small but sturdy for a lot of traveling around. It has just the right amount of pockets that nothing gets lost but there's always somewhere to put things. 

Inside my bag, I have three main essentials. My Mead 5 Star notebook and pencil case keeps everything very organized. The notebook has 3 subjects with a folder for each so it's all I need to bring in terms of paper and folders, and the pencil case holds it all. I also bring my whale case which holds my lotion, concealer etc. Finally I have my wallet and sunglasses for driving to school, and it all fits perfectly in my bag without being too heavy (with a huge school like mine lockers aren't always convenient). It's held up all last year and I hope to keep it that way for this year!

Friday, August 15, 2014

Sephora Birthday Makeup Review


Sephora gives awesome birthday gifts every year, and I just received mine for 2014 by Makeup Forever. Including this and the gift from last year, there are some awesome stuff and some not so awesome stuff. Here's my review!

2013 by Benefit: This included a sample size of Their Real mascara. The picture doesn't show the sample size because I had to buy a full size because it was so awesome. I mentioned it in a favorites before. It's a very wet mascara with small plastic bristles, and I use it every day, with no flakes. The other Benefit gift is the Watt's Up highlighter. I'm not a big fan of this sample. The full-sized one is probably a bit better because it covers a wider area, but the sample is very small. It's also very shimmery and I'm more of a matte fan, and it's just hard to apply. I'd much prefer a powder, as this one is more of a cream. 

2014 by Makeup Forever: I'll start with the lipstick. I LOVE the color. It's basically a slightly darker color of your lips which is great for everyday. I like their formula as I have gotten their full-size lipsticks before. Overall, I plan to get the full-sized one! The mascara is pretty good, not quite as much as the Benefit, but still good. It has a unique brush with the classic kind of bristle. The brush starts off HUGE at the end but gets thinner as it goes. I don't quite understand the design it might just be for show, but it does give a nice natural lash that lengthens a lot. No flakes which is also good. 

Well that's the review! Next week starting Sunday or Monday I'm going to be doing a school week daily blog (hopefully) about all the stuff I bring to school, and I'm really excited so stay tuned!

Monday, August 11, 2014

Makeup Brush Cleaning 101

I was cleaning my brushes and I was thinking, why not do a post to show how easy it is? (I have a lot of friends who don't clean their brushes and it's so important!). It can prevent acne and is overall so much better for your skin because bacteria can get caught in them. This is so easy, and it only takes a few steps.

What you need: 
Any shampoo, an alcohol based liquid (I use Sephora daily brush cleaner), a medium sized bowl, and a towel. 


I start by filling the bowl with luke-warm water just a small bit so the glue that holds the bristles doesn't get doused with water and cause it to break up. 


I then spray the anti-bacterial cleaner directly into the water. I put a small dab of shampoo right on the bristles of the brush and swirl it in the water. 


You'll start to see the water get cloudy (or completely opaque depending on the state of the brush). You'll most likely have to change the water every few brushes and then just respray the cleaner. Just keep swirling it and rubbing it with your fingers until the bristles turn to their normal color. Be sure to check more than just the tips of the bristles, because makeup can get stuck deeper in. 


When you're finished with your brushes, rinse them in fresh water under the tap and dab them with a towel. Leave them on their side (again so the water doesn't get too much into the glue) and set them to dry. Small brushes take a couple hours where big brushes can take up to a day to fully dry. 


Doing all these brushes probably took 12 minutes. It's so easy and mostly uses household materials. Try it out!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Random Buy Update

So I said I'd do the penny board update. I'm not terrible. I'm not great. I can usually get down the street without falling off (although I have fallen off). I do say, both Ray and I love it, and we want to get another so we don't have to share. We just have to find a cheap one. If you want to try penny-boarding, I'd suggest just trying to go back and forth a short path on a very smooth surface (We were doing my recently paved driveway). Once you get more confident, try a flat road. Otherwise that is all I have! I'm hoping to do my vintage collection soon, so stay tuned for that! Bye!