August Favorites

1. Suave Dry Shampoo

I recently finished the TRESemme dry shampoo I'd had forever, so I decided to try something new. While I'm not sure it works as well as the TRESemme one, it was definitely a favorite this month. It smells WAY better than the TRESemme, and it works nicely. Next up: snagging the Batiste one from the TJMaxx in Augusta!

2. The Devil in the White City

I raved about this book before, and I'm raving again. Seriously, it's so well done. It focuses on the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and "America's First Serial Killer" H.H. Holmes. It's written like a novel, but every conversation in it comes from letters and transcripts, so it all actually happened. If you enjoy history and creepy stuff (like serial killers) I would highly suggest this book.

3. Blurred Lines

With all the controversy from the VMAs, I almost hate to admit that this was a favorite, but I can't help it. It's so damn catchy! And while I don't agree with Robin Thicke and his image or values, it doesn't stop being a catchy song. 

4. My Forever 21 Headscarf

I definitely got a lot of use out of my headscarf this month! It's just such an easy way to class up second day or "I don't care" hair. I'm all about looking cute without trying, and this makes it so easy! I've been into Forever 21 recently looking for more, but I think they're only online now. 

5. Andy Grammer

While "Blurred Lines" may be the song of my summer, Andy Grammer may become a more permanent figure in my life. My roommates introduced me to the song "Fine by Me," and after loving it a lot (I think I might've listened to it 4 or 5 times in a row on the drive home) I looked into more of his stuff, and I'm permanently in love. He definitely falls into the Josh Kelley/Jason Mraz category for me: soulful, upbeat, and mellow. Everything I love!


6. Olay Fresh Effects Moisturizer

I've only been using this for about a week and a half now, but I'm already ready to share it with you! I picked this up after seeing Stefanie from EleventhGorgeous on Youtube talk about it, and I love it! It says it's between a gel and a lotion, and definitely has a satiny finish. I like that I don't wake up crazy greasy from it like I did from the Simple one, and how light it feels. I definitely need to check out more in this line. I already love the shine free cleanser, and I'm excited to try more!

7. Softsoap Limited Edition Summer Scent in Maui Coconut Splash

The first time I posted about this, I mentioned that I couldn't find it, and I picked up the Pacific Sunset scent instead. Well, I finished that one, and I needed more, and Walmart had this one in stock. So, I picked it up, and pretty much fell in love. This is what I wanted the Coconut Island Quench scent to be, but it failed horribly. This scent, however, is lovely. It's very refreshing and coconutty, and the formula of the soap is great. It lathers nicely and washes clean, but it's still thick enough to make you feel like it's doing something. The Limited Edition Summer Scents still seem to be around, so stock up before they're gone!

And that's it for the month of August! What have you guys been loving this month?

Busy Baltimore Bee

It's been a week. Unfortunately, coming home means taking care of business first and foremost.

I've now visited Labcorp, my dentist, my doctor, and my hair dresser.

I went from this:

To this:

Excuse the shiny. I didn't get a chance to take a picture until later.

Okay, so it looks basically the same. Whatever, having my hair cut makes me feel pretty!

I've also interviewed three people, bought a dress for a wedding, gone through the stuff I left at home, got my Victoria's Secret back pack fixed, talked to two people in my field to get advice, helped my neighbor with online stuff, and today I'll meet the guy who's going to fix our house, make a Goodwill run, go to the Post Office (LOTS of swapping), swing through Whole Foods, and maybe make it out with my sanity.

So much for a relaxing time at home, huh?

That's not even the end of it either! So many things, so little time! I'm almost looking forward to going back to Maine just so I can have some down time! Though then I need to get my butt in gear and start educating myself on the marketing train. 

Life never stops, y'all. Hope you're having a good week!

Lorac Mint Edition Collection

Today I have the Lorac Cosmetics Mint Edition Collection to show you. I was drawn to this collection because a) I love all things mint, b) the blush and the lip gloss were coral, and I love all things coral, and c) the palette is mostly neutral colors which is right up my alley. 

These are the colors in the palette. They don't have names. The dark color in the lower right comes off way more red in this picture. In reality it's a more of a purpley, mauve color. Also, the blush is way pinker in real life. 

I know these swatches are hard to see, but it's the best I could do. All the colors are really creamy and soft, and pretty pigmented. As you can see, the lightest color on the top left and the one directly under it are the lightest/hardest to see. They'd make pretty highlight colors, though. The blush is really beautiful. I've been looking for a coral blush, so I'm excited to see how this one does.

Finally, we have the coral lip gloss. I'm a huge stickler about my glosses being sticky, but this one was surprisingly smooth. And very pigmented! I love the color, and I'm excited about trying this.

So what do you guys think? Are you interested in this collection? You can find it on the Lorac website for $18, half of what it originally was! And you get free shipping! You can't beat that!

Ravens, Bohs, Crabs, and O's

I'd say it's been a very successful half a week back.

I met with Andrea (the new director of Federal Hill Main Street) to talk about interviewing some people. Hopefully I can get that mostly taken care of tomorrow, and completely dealt with by Wednesday.

I also got my blood taken for my doctor's office on Tuesday.

Yesterday, my mom and I went over to the Columbia Mall looking for a dress for Alissa's wedding. I found this one:

I think it's super cute and totally perfect for a Fall wedding. Tomorrow I'm planning on getting my hotel and gift options out of the way, so I'll be totally set for that. Macy's was having great sales yesterday, so I also ended up getting three new bras (how long has it been since I've had a new bra??) and they're great! The one I'm wearing now is ridiculously comfortable (and cute!)

Then today we went to the Orioles game at 1:30. My mom set up a play date (yes, I'm 23) with a girl who works in the Marketing department at T. Rowe named Claire. She was really nice, and we talked about a bunch of stuff including Marketing and what she does and what we need to learn. It was nice having someone my age to talk to. Plus, the O's won (10-3), and my favorite player (Nick Markakis, #21) who hasn't been doing great this season hit a home run!

Tomorrow I jump in on all the things I want to get done while I'm here. For now, I have to go read. I requested some books from the library here using my mom's card, not thinking anything would come of it, but it turns out the Enoch Pratt library is way more awesome than I thought. I have an ebook I just downloaded and a paperback waiting for me at the library. If I want to finish it by the time I leave, though. I need to race through the one I'm reading now! Yay for too much to read!

Hope everyone here had a great weekend!

Birthday Haul

As you know, my birthday was a week ago. I thought I'd show you the goodies I got! As I get older, it's harder and harder to tell people what I want for gifts, but this year was definitely one of the best!

My mom got me these beautiful pearl earrings from Kripalu in the Catskills when she did a yoga retreat there. She also got me $100 to Amazon, which I'm really excited about.

My aunt got me this backpack from Victoria's Secret. It's got two of my favorite things: mint green and studs! Unfortunately, the magnetic clasp is a little messed up, so I have to go exchange it. She also got me $100 to Ulta. Literally I could not be more excited. Now to figure out what to spend it on!

My grandmother got me a full size bottle of my favorite perfume, Victoria's Secret PINK in Fresh & Clean. She also sent me $100 which I've already used some of to buy my next thing.

I've been looking for a good reusable water bottle, and I fell in love with this one. It's glass, so it's a little heavy, but I love the size, and I think it's adorable. I got it off ModCloth, but you can also get it straight from the Faucet Face website. And the best part? The money I spent goes toward building BioSand filters to help people in Maharashtra, India.

Last, but certainly not least, there's Alex. She called me at midnight on my birthday, and I opened her present right then because she told me I wasn't allowed to until my birthday. Remember when we went shopping together? Girl paid attention! Apparently I mentioned not being able to justify buying either of these things when we were in Forever 21, so she went and bought them for me! The first is this cute dress with another one of my favorite things: skulls! The second is this cute little coral cross body bag which has studs lining the bottom. I'm super excited about both of them.

So awesome, right? I love everything, and I'm really excited to use the gift cards! Over the next few posts, I'll be sharing some more of the things that I've purchased with the money or the gift cards I've gotten. I figured I'd start sharing some of the awesome stuff now and break it up a little, though!

The end of the end

I know I've been MIA for about a week now, but I was not at all prepared for the explosion that was the last week in Monmouth.

Let's start with my birthday: Thursday, August 15th

It was also Write On day, and I spent from 2 pm until around 7 pm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Seriously, I spent the hour of Velveteen Rabbit working, then helped change over, then spent until 3 working furiously. From 3 to 5:30 we teched all the shows which meant that I was running back and forth between the booth and the stage, making notes, talking to directors, and performing. At 5:30 I ran to the dining hall to shove food down my throat before high tailing it back to Toad to work furiously from 6 until about 6:45 when I ran over to the theater to put the finishing touches on all the shows plus preshow and intermission music before the house opened at 7. From 7 until 7:30, Hannah did my hair and makeup.

Birthday selfie with Bethy!

Despite (or maybe because of) the crazy day, the show actually ended up great! There was one mishap sound-wise, but everyone was really great about what happened, and I was really impressed with myself. In previous similar situations, I would've been a raving bitch, and while I was frazzled as all get out, there was no bitch to be seen. I'm (finally) learning to handle stress!

Then we went back to Toad and celebrated my birthday for real. You guys. There was so much alcohol. We made what we lovingly called "theatre juice" (see around 4:33 for the inspiration) and it was ridiculous. I've never been so drunk.

Friday and Saturday were normal two-show days, and I spent any down time recovering and/or packing for my trip home. Sunday Amadi, Beth, and I went to Slates for the last time and had a lovely brunch before coming back to do our last Shrew ever.

Afterwards was strike and cleaning for everyone. I stowed most of the sound equipment, restored the old board, took some stuff back to HMH, and then tidied the booth. Monday I helped electrics haul equipment and take apart instruments for parts. The best part was getting to throw old instruments off the fire escape into the parking lot. Destroying stuff is fun.

I had my exit interview at 4 and said goodbye to a lot of people. Then the rest of us sat on the porch and watched cars go by.

The Leftovers

This group (minus Luke because he'd already left) went out to dinner at Margaritas, and then came back and cleaned the hell out of Toad. Our kitchen was disgusting.

Yesterday morning I woke up, put up the fall index page for the website (after AD helped me break into the office because it was locked and Dawn had a meeting) and then got on my way. I'm back in Baltimore now.

I'm going to try to keep putting up personal posts, but those might be few and far between until I get back to Monmouth in early September. I'm not sure how much I'll have going on here. But never fear! There are a lot of beauty posts ready to be written. Next up is my birthday haul, so be ready for that! (I promise it'll actually happen this time.) I enjoyed this summer a lot, but I'm glad to be home and relaxing for a little while, and I'm excited to start doing the marketing thing when I get back!

The beginning of the end

What good is a schedule if I don't stick to it!?

It has been so crazy here. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, there's been a ton of drama and work, and I don't know where it all came from!

So, I'll give you the headlines since ain't nobody got time for everything I have to say.

• Write On - It's this Thursday (also my birthday) and I feel totally overwhelmed. Designing one show at a time is hard enough, but 9 different shows with sound effects and music has just been ridiculous.
• My mom and Doug - they visited this past weekend! They got to explore Portland some, and they came and saw Shrew on Saturday night. We went to Fast Eddies beforehand, and on Sunday morning they took me, Beka, Beth, and Amadi to brunch at Slates. 
• Sound - running the shows has been good except that the monitors have started to cut out during the shows. I think I've identified the problem, but I had to rig the cable and the monitor microphone today. Hopefully I did a good enough job to keep it the way it needs to be
• Marketing - I officially performed my first marketing duty! Dawn gave me the content, but I put together an eBlast and sent it out to the education list we have.
• My birthday! - As I said, it's coming up on Thursday - it doesn't feel like it's time for me to have another birthday yet. I just keep getting older and older!
• Alissa's wedding - My first roommate at PSU is getting married at the beginning of September, and now that I'm staying here, I can go! Now I just have to book a hotel room, buy a gift, and find a dress in three weeks. Whee!
• Date - I went on a date yesterday. Technically Beth, Beka, and I went on a date, but he was there for me. We walked around Brunswick and the Bowdoin campus and got ice cream. It was really fun, and he seems like a really cool, genuine guy. It might be nice to have someone I know once everyone leaves.

I think that's everything! It's been a hell of a couple of weeks. I keep waiting for things to settle down, and they never do! On Thursday I'll be posting the first half of my birthday haul if I don't get super bogged down in Write On stuff. The best birthday present is that it will be over!

Five Disappointing Products

I've talked a lot about products I've loved, but not so much about products that I disliked. I have two kinds of products I dislike. The first are products that I don't love, but I also don't consider harmful or so awful that I won't finish them. The second are products that I won't finish. These are in the latter category. I recognize that these products may work well for others, but I was disappointed in them.

1. Almay Clear Complexion Foundation with BlemisHeal technology

This product kind of ends up between the two categories. I did repurchase this once, but I never made it through the second bottle. First of all, this foundation claims to help heal breakouts, and I saw no significant difference in my skin. It didn't hurt, but it didn't help either. The reason I stopped using it was because it stopped blending into my skin. I'd put it on, think it looked fine, and then look in a mirror later in the day and realize I had lines of foundation all over my face. Finally I switched Revlon Nearly Naked, and I haven't looked back. 

2. NYC IndividualEyes eyeshadow palette in Dark Shadows

I received this palette through Influenster for winning a brand challenge, and I was excited about it. I soon realized, however, that I could not make it look like I didn't have a black eye when I tried to use it. I thought it was because I didn't know how to apply eyeshadow correctly, but I was wrong. The shadows just suck. They're either really unpigmented or too pigmented and don't blend. I was not impressed at all.

3. In-Kind Facial Moisturizer

I bought this at some point last summer because I ran out of the Garnier one I was using at the time. In-Kind boasts that it's made without a bunch of bad stuff like parabens and sulfates, and I remember the bottle saying something like it was 90% natural ingredients, so I figured why not. My biggest issue with this moisturizer? It broke me out. I didn't realize that until I tried to use it again after putting it away for a little while. For something so natural, it really upset my skin.

4. Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon

I love so many of Elf's products, but this is not one of them. I found the consistency to be really awful, and I had to press down really hard to make the color show up at all. Add that to the fact that the color payoff wasn't great even after I pushed down hard, and I'm just glad it wasn't more expensive.

5. Elf Eyebrow Lift and Fill

I currently use Elf's eyebrow kit, and I really love it. I gave it a try despite being really unhappy with this one. Even though this was the lightest color they had, it was too dark for my eyebrows, and it didn't lend itself to filling in my eyebrows very easily. The highlight end of the pencil didn't blend very well.

Everybody here is feeling Write On!

I'm so punny.

My life is getting busy, y'all.

In addition to running shows, I'm designing 10 staged readings for a middle/high school competition called Write On! It's a lot to do in such a short time (did I mention it's a little over a week away?) especially when certain directors won't email me back.

Hopefully it doesn't become as frustrating and stressful as I have a feeling it will.

I'm also about to put on a marketing hat. Dawn and I had a really awesome meeting on Tuesday about my schedule and the types of things I'll be doing as I take over the digital content. Some of it starts before I'm technically the marketing intern, so I will be doing sound and marketing stuff at the same time.

It's going to be a busy last two weeks. I'm definitely ready for a change, though. I've enjoyed my time here and the people here, but I'm excited about it calming down. And having my own room (!!!)

I took some me time on Monday and wandered around TJMaxx, Target, and Walmart. It was nice to be alone, even if just for a little bit. I found out that the TJMaxx in Augusta sells Juicy Couture fragrance for SUPER cheap, and I'm really excited about that. I think they even have the new one that I liked in Ulta. I'll have to go back to be sure.

My birthday is next week and my mom and her boyfriend are coming to visit on Saturday, so there are a bunch of exciting things happening at once! The end of the summer is going to be busy!

Headbands and Upcycled Tees!

Just a couple of fashion things today!

When Alex and I met up at the Maine Mall, one of my purchases was this cute knotted headband from Forever 21. I've been really liking this style lately, especially because it perks up my normal "get my hair out of my face" style for summer.

I really love the pop of color it adds. Plus, I think it makes a regular old bun look so much nicer. A little Rosie the Riveter in the modern day thing.

Once I actually have a little bit of expendable cash, I'm definitely planning on getting more. Forever 21 has some totally cute ones right now. Plus, Beth found a Pinterest tutorial on how to make our own! We both still have some extra fabric from our pajama making excursion, and I think my cute little owl fabric will be adorable as a knotted headwrap!

Another DIY project I've completed lately is this cool t-shirt mod that I found, strangely enough, on one of my favorite blogs. I say strangely because I was searching Google when I found the tutorial, but the blog just happens to be one of my favorites, LuLu and Sweet Pea.

Another style I'm loving is the baggy shirt/bandeau thing. Beth's style is definitely influencing mine this summer. She just looks so cute all the time!

Anyway, the shirt is my Federal Hill Main Street volunteer shirt from this year. I started with this one because I was afraid to cut straight into my Theater at Monmouth shirt without knowing how it'd turn out. I still intend to modify my TAM shirt, but maybe not this much. I may just go for a lower neck instead.

The Monmouth Fair!

On Friday, we ended up with some random free time, so Beth, Amadi, and I decided to head on down to the Monmouth Fair!

Got our tickets, and we're ready to go!

It was....quaint. That's the only word I have to describe it. It wasn't huge, and it was mostly deserted, but it was kind of cool to be doing something so very Monmouth-y. We watched an Ox Pull and wandered around to look at the Exhibition Hall and the other little exhibits.

Get real. Get Maine.

Crafts and the tiny assortment of rides

We played a couple games, and Beth won a duck!

She named her Canadia

Then we decided to ride a ride. It was probably our worst decision. We chose the swings which I thought would be fine, but they went A LOT faster than I remember the ones at the Leon County Fair going. None of us felt very well afterwards.

While recovering from the swings, we ran into Sam and Melissa, and we went with them to see all the animals.

Bunnies, and piglets, and tiny horses, oh my!

Soon after, we left because Amadi needed to get back to the box office. I'm glad we went, though. A small town fair isn't an opportunity you get all that often. Plus, it was relatively cheap. Even if I did feel awful for the rest of the day. Damned swings! 

I actually remembered to take pictures this time!

It was also cool for me because I finished reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson recently, which is about the 1893 World's Fair. It was cool to see the (pretty dinky) Ferris Wheel at the Monmouth Fair because I had a little bit of knowledge about its beginnings. A very cool book, if you're a history nerd like me!

July Favorites

It's that time of the month! The time where I talk about things I've been loving this month. I don't have too many new favorites this month, but I do have some! Let's see what they are!


Julep Gloria

I got this polish in a swap, and I'm in love with it. I've been wearing it on my toes for most (all?) of the month, and it's the perfect coral polish I've been searching for. 

Clearly Spotted

This is part of Maybelline's new Polka Dot Collection, and from the minute I saw swatches, I wanted it. It looks like paint splatter, and I'm in love with it. This month I wore it over Julep's Renee, and it made me the happiest little girl the entire time I was wearing it.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Beka suggested this book to me and BOY was she right. I read it in one day because I absolutely devoured it while I was in the booth. It's everything I like: mystery, books, intelligence - seriously, if you like any of these things definitely read this book!

Baby Lips Electro in Oh! Orange

This is also from a new Maybelline Collection. I tried to try out the Baby Lips line a while back, but I ended up getting a mint one by accident, so I hadn't until I picked up this one. I now have a clear one as well, and I love them both. This one is fairly sheer, but when it mixes with my natural color, it's a beautiful coral color. Can you guys tell I'm into coral lately?

BH Eyeshadow Samples

I received this sample from this month's ipsy bag, and I like it a lot! I saw some things about people not liking it because the colors don't go together (they're from three separate palettes) but I disagree! I like wearing the gold on my lid, the brown as my crease color, and the dark purple as an outer corner color. The brown and the gold are beautifully pigmented and have a nice texture. The purple is a little chalky, but it works just fine as a corner color.

Sunkist Fruit Snacks

These aren't technically a July favorite since I discovered them last summer, but I have been going through them like nobody's business. They only see the big pack like this at Walmart, which sucks, but they're so good that I'm willing to buy two regular sized boxes at Hannaford. I normally eat two packs after lunch. It's the perfect size sweet thing.

So that's everything! What all have you guys been loving in July?