June Favorites

Hi guys!

Today I have my June favorites to show you. I have actually been using a surprising number of new products this past month, most of which I love! So, without further ado:

Covergirl Foundation

After seeing everyone and their mother talk about this on Youtube and feeling like I needed to bump up my foundation coverage with my skin issues happening, I finally picked this up, and I was not disappointed. It builds beautifully, looks natural, and is really easy to blend and apply. It never feels cakey or thick, and I really can't say enough good things about it.

Maybelline Age Rewind Under Eye Concealer

Another "Youtube made me buy it" product that I'm totally loving. I was very upset over Covergirl discontinuing my favorite undereye concealer, but this one is so much better, I'm surprised I didn't switch earlier. Great coverage and brightening and super easy to apply.

Maybelline Great Lash Clear Brow Gel

And yet a third Youtube-suggested product. Once you start with a brow gel, I feel like you can't ever go back. I finally got my eyebrows done at a Benefit Brow Bar so not only are they perfectly shaped, they stay that way!

Tarte Cheek Stain in Tipsy

This was a new product I got in the PopSugar Special Edition Summer Box (that post is coming, I swear), and I'm really liking it. I have tended to shy away from cheek stains in the past because putting something liquid-y on my already oily face never seemed like a smart plan. However this stuff really does stay where it's put, and I love having that color on my cheeks all day long!

Mask of Magnaminty

I bought this at the suggestion of my best friend, and I was not disappointed. Though most masks you use on dry skin, the LUSH employee told me she puts it on at the beginning of her shower and then rinses it off after she's washed her hair, shaved, etc. So I've been using it that way every day, and I really like it. I don't like mint, but it just ends up being very refreshing. Plus, how can you hate on fresh ingredients?

Healthy Sexy Hair Beach Spray (and beach sprays in general)

Now that it's summer, I put mousse in my hair after I shower at night, and when I wake up, I dampen it again and use a beach spray. I love how lightweight and effortless it makes my hair and hair styling process. I recently ran out of this one, but I have other brands that I'll be using in the meantime. I definitely want to come back to this one though.

So those are all my June favorites! What have you guys been loving now that the weather's getting warmer?

May 2014 Beauty Box Five

Hi guys!

Today I have my May Beauty Box Five to show you. I actually got this free because I signed up to get my first box free and then cancelled because I wanted to test it out. From what I've heard, they did it for people, but they also didn't give them the standard Beauty Box which I get but also, if you want them to subscribe, you should give them the same experience they would get if they were to subscribe.

Regardless, I probably won't subscribe because I just wasn't that impressed with the products inside. Let's see what I got:

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

I have too much lotion. Especially for someone who doesn't use lotion all that often and likes the hassle free spray on stuff when she does. But, it'll be good for traveling, I suppose.

H20 Plus Hand and Nail Cream 

Unfortunately, right now, I'm so loyal to my The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter, that I don't even want to try anything else. Even though I have a bunch of hand lotions that I'm sure are just as good. Though, once again, traveling sizes of things are definitely good.

Ban Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths

These are actually an awesome idea, and though I haven't used them yet, I totally should. I confess: I'm a sweaty person. And summer is not usually my friend because of that. Now that I'm working professionally, it'll be nice to have something to help with that. This is probably the only product I'd be interested in repurchasing.

Harvey Prince 'Hello' Perfume

This has a nice scent. It has a mix of Meyer lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, forsythia, and plumeria. I think I'd use this scent a lot for summer if I had a full size. Unfortunately, the full size is really pricey for perfume (like, more than even the Peace, Love, and Juicy Couture that I lusted over forever) so I probably won't ever pick it up for myself. 

Cattiva Precision Eye Liner

I feel like I'm a little over the eyeliner thing. Especially black eyeliner. I find that black is too harsh for my eyes on a daily basis, so I almost never wear it. 

So that's everything I got. As I said before, I won't be subscribing to Beauty Box Five at this point. Ipsy is enough for me for beauty products. I already feel like I have too many things I've never use anyway!

Hope everyone's doing well!

May 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hi guys!

Today I have my (late) May Ipsy Bag. I figured I should post about this one before my June bag shows up!

First of all, I'm obsessed with this bag. I love anything trees/leaves, and it's canvassy and very "green" feeling. I love it.

Inside my bag, I received Hang Ten Classic Sport 50 SPF sunscreen, Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Duo in Celestial & Opal, Coastal Scents Classic Blending Brush, Olive Natural Beauty Lip Balm, and Pur~Lisse Moisturizer.

I have similar feelings about this bag as I had about the April bag and my Influenster Voxbox. I'm just meh. I like the eyeshadow and that's about it. I have moisturizer and lip balm that I'm obsessed with right now, so I'm in the mood to try anything else. I already received a blending brush, and I still haven't touched the last sample of sunscreen I got from ipsy.

I've seen spoilers from June, though, and Rebecca Minkoff designed the bag, so I'm kind of really excited about it. I also saw a Nyx gloss, so I think June will be much better. Be on the lookout for that soon!

Influenster Spring Fling Voxbox

Hi guys!

Today I have my Spring Fling Influenster Voxbox to show you!

In this Voxbox I got Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons, Nivea Skin Firming Moisturizer, Kiss Everlasting French Manicure press on nails, Rimmel RetroGlam mascara, and a Labor Day Peach Pie car air freshener.

I'm still not super impressed with the Voxboxes I've been getting. The last two I've gotten have been kind of "meh" for me. This one is no different. The only thing I'm excited about is the mascara. I don't use tampons, and I'm kind of tired of Kiss Nails products. Especially press on nails, which I also don't use. The lotion is fine, and the air freshener will be nice (though I'm partial to my Yankee Candle Clean Cotton one).

I know they're free, but I'd really love to get things that I'll actually use and maybe purchase again.

Did you guys get the Spring Fling Voxbox? Are you excited or are you underwhelmed like I am?

Nail of the Week 5/19 & 6/2

Hi guys!

I've been doing just terribly with painting my nails. I've had such a crazy past couple of weeks at work and going home that I just didn't have the time I needed to devote to myself. Thankfully, I got back on track recently.

The week I went home, I was sporting this crazy color. This is Sally Hansen's Back to the Fuschia which I got in my Sally Hansen Gift Bag from Influenster. It's funny, I never considered myself a pink girl, but after wearing this color, I kind of like it. I tend to go toward cooler colors for the most part, but I liked being sassy and girly with this one.

Last week I was wearing Zoya's Odette which I was really excited about. It's such a pretty dusty purple color (the photo really doesn't do it justice), and I loved looking at it on my nails. This came in the February ipsy bag, but I got the other color, Dot. I saw so many posts about it, though, that I had to buy it myself. Thank you Ulta gift cards!

In the next two weeks (barring everything goes as planned) I'll get to try my new LED gel light! I'm super excited about that!

Home is wherever I'm with you

Hi guys!

At the end of May, I got to go home for a little bit to take a break before TAM gets all crazy for the summer. It was a great trip, even though it was too short.

I was home for my mom's birthday, so on Sunday I got to see my O's play!

Adding some variety to my normal game day hair

The best way to celebrate a birthday!

Such a beautiful day for some baseball!

Then on Monday, Memorial Day, we grilled, and I made a sour cream chocolate bundt cake for dessert!

Unfortunately I don't have an after picture because, well, I forgot. Also the bundt pan I was using was not very conducive to actually having a whole bundt cake after the baking process. I'll know better for next time.

It was a great trip. Baltimore really is home for me, no matter what. 

Chaotic Goddess Books 'n Bloggers Swap!

That's right!

I'm doing another swap. But seriously. A book swap? How can I not?




I'm so excited about this one. Even though I've been doing just horribly on my 50 Book Challenge this year, new books and sharing my favorites with other people are some of my favorite things!

I'll find out soon who my partner is, so be on the lookout for that! And at the beginning of July you'll find out what three books I got!

May Favorites

Hi guys!

I'm going to be playing catch up here for a while, so bear with me that everything's a month old. Hopefully I'll be posting pretty regularly for the next couple of weeks. After that things might get spotty.

Today, though, I'm here to share my May Favorites. I tried a lot of new products this month that I absolutely loved. Let's jump in!

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

I got this in my PopSugar Box last month, and I've been using it every day since. The colors are so pigmented, but pretty and natural (my favorite) and ridiculously easy to blend. I'm not sure I ever would've picked this up on my own, so I'm glad it worked out this way. I think this is my first encounter with Too Faced, and I'm not disappointed!

Dial Greek Yogurt Vanilla Honey Body Wash

This was a favorite that definitely grew on me over the month. I love it because it's moisturizing, but not super thick. Plus, it smells really good. It was a good transition body wash for me this month as Maine slowly pulls itself out of winter and into spring (finally!)

Lush Full of Grace Serum Bar

I'm now on my second one of these and more in love than ever. It's just perfect. Moisturizing, but great for use under makeup as well. It lasts a pretty long time (my first I took me just under 3 months to use up), and I really enjoy the different application. No more trying to get the last little bit of product out of a bottle!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream

Holy soft skin, Batman! Seriously one of the most moisturizing, skin-softening products I've ever used. I only use this in certain areas, especially wherever I'm going to put my acne cream. It makes my skin amazingly soft, and doesn't leave me feeling thick or greasy.

Hard Candy Glamoflauge

I finally ran out of my discontinued Covergirl & Olay concealer, so I decided to bite the bullet and try this. I'd been wanting to for a while, and I was not disappointed. While I don't use it under my eyes (new favorite coming next month for sure!), it does a fantastic job of covering anything else from dark spots to blemishes new and old to redness. A little goes a LONG way, so I will basically never run out of this tube. Bad for the company, lovely for me.

And I think that's it! I fell in love with so many things this month, I'm probably missing some, and I already have some products I started using toward the end of the month that I know will be June favorites. Can you believe it's June already? I can't. This year has flown by, and I know the summer will go by fast.