Tag: Would You Rather? Beauty Edition!

Would You Rather?

Beauty Edition!

The lovely Kimberly from none other than Kimberley's Blog recently did this tag and tagged every reader to do it!  Therefore, why not?

Enjoy!  And I also tag any readers to do this tag!  Please leave the link to your post in the comments below.  :D

1. Only be able to wear eye makeup or face makeup?

Only eye makeup.  Although my skin is definitely not great, I usually go straight for the mascara if I don't feel like taking the time to do my makeup!

2. Cut off all your hair or never cut your hair?

I would have to go with never cutting my hair.  My fiance would hate it if I cut all of my hair off and I'm sure I would too.

3. Always have to wear clothes either too big or too small?

Definitely clothes too big.  I hate clothes that fit tightly and I'm usually one to wear things a little bit larger.

4. Only buy clothes or makeup if you were given £1000?

Clothes for sure.  I don't need that much makeup!

5. Wear lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

Eyeliner as lipstick I suppose.  There aren't many shades of lipstick that would work as eyeliner without making your eyes super red...

6.Wear MC hammer (harem) pants or cycling shorts?

Cycling shorts I suppose.  It would be easier to move around for sure, haha!

7. Never be able to fill in your eyebrows or use a sharpie marker to do them?

Definitely not fill in my eyebrows.  I just recently discovered how much of a difference it makes to the look of my face, but I think I got along just fine before.

8. Never pluck your eyebrows or never shave your legs?

Never pluck my eyebrows.  Luckily, they aren't terribly unruly.  My legs on the other hand, need to be shaved.  :D

9. Never shop at MAC or only shop at MAC?

Well, to be quite honest...I don't own one piece of makeup from MAC!  I know, total craziness.  I just can't afford to do it right now and just recently really got into makeup!  I know soon I will be buying at least some MAC products, but I could definitely go without.  Although, it's possible my mind might change once I get some MAC stuff :D

10. Only wear one shade of eyeshadow or one shade of lipstick for the rest of your life?

One shade of eyeshadow for sure.  I really don't wear eyeshadow that often, but I really enjoy playing with lip colors.

11. Wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?

Summer clothes in winter.  I'm from the beach and wear flip flops in the winter...and I love shorts and a good sweatshirt.  I could deal.  :D

 

12. Never be able to paint your nails again or never wear lipgloss?

Never wear lipgloss.  There are so many other lip product choices, but not being able to paint my nails would be tragic!!

Hope you enjoyed this tag!  Don't forget to link yours below if you do it :D  I would love to read it!

Bloglovin' Info

Joining the Bandwagon!

Hello loves!  As you probably already know, Google is planning to shut down Google Friend Connect as of July 1st this year.  This seems to have caused somewhat of an uproar in the blog community and with good reason.  If you are not on the "blog circuit", then you may not know that Google Friend Connect has been a way in which bloggers who publish their blogs through Google can easily follow other blogs.  It is a great way to keep track of your readers and to stay on top off all of your favorite blogs.  

However, all good things must come to an end.  This has left the blogging community with the need to utilize services such as Bloglovin.com in order to keep in touch.  If you are a blogger, you probably use or at least know about Bloglovin.  It is a site in which bloggers can manage their reading list, as well as share their blogs with others.  Bloglovin updates your homepage with new posts from bloggers, making keeping up with others simple.

Well, after that longwinded explanation (:D), I just wanted to share with you all that I do have a Bloglovin account and I would love it if you would follow me.  I am looking forward to this new challenge posed by the shutdown of Google Friend Connect, and hope that we can all transition easily.

Click this link to follow me!  
:D

Review: Revlon Colorstay Base Coat Nail Enamel

Revlon Colorstay Base Coat Nail Enamel

Man oh man, I was having major nail polish troubles a few months ago.  I had gone through a couple of bottles of clear nail polish looking for a base coat that actually WORKED!  I was looking for a base coat that would not only protect my nails from stains, but that would hold my polish on for more than one day (or less).  For months, I would paint my nails and find that in just two days, sometimes less, I would be able to literally peel off the entire layer of paint on each nail.  NOT OKAY.

My savior was in this incredible product.

I don't know why I hadn't thought to try it before, as this line of colored nail enamel from Revlon is just AMAZING.  I wish I had every color in the line!

This base coat is just incredible.  Just one layer of this creates a great base that all of my polishes seem to almost stick to.  It keeps my polish on for days without chips and definitely no peeling!

I must say, one downfall of this product is that it's staying power is so good that it is kind of difficult to get off.  I have to wipe off the color on my nails and follow up with a good (scrub?) from the cotton pad on my nail to remove the rest of this base coat.  I have to say though, this extra step is well worth the effort and I definitely recommend trying out this product.

Do you have a base coat you enjoy?  Have you tried this one yet?

Enjoy!

My Wedding Makeup: A Wishlist

In My Wedding Dreams

As you all may or may not know, I am getting married this May.  Yes, this May.  As in less than two months from now.  Wow!

I can't believe how fast the past year and a half has gone by.  It seems like just yesterday that we decided on a date and began contemplating what our dream wedding looks like in our minds.  My fiance and I will be celebrating our 6th anniversary this Thursday, and I can't wait to marry this guy who has been my best friend for so long.

Over the past few months, I have been working on a mental list of what products I want/need in order to pull off my wedding makeup look.  Since I have been getting so into beauty and watch so many YouTube makeup tutorials, I opted to save on the makeup artist and try my hand at doing my own.  This may seem like a disastrous mistake to some, but I find it to be a challenge to myself that I am willing to undertake!  With all of this in mind, I decided today I would share with you the products I am thinking about investing in to achieve the perfect look I am hoping for!

First and foremost, the Naked Basics Palette from Urban Decay ($27).  I have been wanting this palette since it first came out.  I unfortunately haven't been able to let myself splurge on either of the Naked palettes, but this one really speaks to me at half the price of the larger two palettes.  This will be perfect for my wedding eye look, as the colors are perfectly nude and matte.  I'm looking for a super matte finish to my eye look for the pictures.  This palette will be just perfect!

Next, is Tarte's Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Tipsy ($25).  I have swatched this color a few times in Ulta and think that it's just great for the time of year of the wedding!  Hopefully I'll have a slight tan in May and corals are just so fun for summer!  The lasting power of this particular line of blush is why I have chosen it.  From the ceremony, to the reception, to the after-party at our favorite local hot spot, I am going to need something that will stay on my cheeks all night long!

Lastly, is Dior's Diorskin Shimmer Star in Amber Diamond ($45).  This product is something I have lusted after for a long time and this is certainly one that I would love to have but is the last priority item for my wedding day makeup look.  It may sound a little silly, but I want this product just to have a touch of it on the tops of my cheekbones for the moment I walk down the aisle.  Unfortunately, it is a well-known fact that shimmery highlighters don't do so well with flash photography, so I would have to powder over or wipe off the product before it's picture time.  I do however, love the idea of having that special glow when walking down the aisle that afternoon.

So there you have it!  My wishlist for my dream wedding makeup look.  Although I may have to opt for the less expensive versions of these products at the drugstore (or...maybe not...), I will definitely be looking to use these colors or colors like them for the big day!

Are there any products you are lusting over for a special event?  What do you think of these products I have chosen?

Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Coral Crush

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Coral Crush

So if you read my blog regularly (that is, when I post...bad me!) then you know that I have a new obsession with orange-tones and corals.  It has taken me a very long time to get accustomed to wearing more lip product than just lip balm or lip gloss lacking in pigmentation...I think the reason for this is that I never figured out what color family looks best on my skin and makes me not feel uncomfortable and weird wearing it!  Recently, I figured out that corals and orange-toned pigments are best for my skin, especially on my lips!

With this in mind, when I came across the (fairly) new line of Maybelline lipsticks known as Vivids, I knew I had to get my hands on at least one!

Here you have it, Coral Crush from the Color Sensational Vivids line by Maybelline.

First of all, when you open the tube you just have to get excited by this gorgeous, super pigmented piece of makeup!  It's just beautiful!  As for the quality of the lipstick and the pigmentation, it applies super buttery and smooth.  It has a nice consistency and contrary to what you might believe by the name "vivids", it is actually a little sheer on the first swipe.  However, the buttery texture of this lipstick gives way to a buildable color and definitely matches its namesake after a few more swipes across the lips.  I really like this quality about this product, since sometimes I like a quite sheer look but when I'm feeling a little crazy, it takes no time to get a super vivid look.

As for staying power, the product doesn't claim to be long-lasting but I do find that it sticks around for a while.  I do have a slight issue with the edges of my lips getting a little line after a few hours if I'm not careful.

I definitely am a fan of this product.  The color is just gorgeous and they offer quite a few (in fact, 10) other great shades.  For upwards of $8, I think this is worth at least a try but I would definitely recommend trying one shade out before going crazy!  My one worry is that pesky lipstick line that lingers when the product wears off the lips.  I may have to try a better way to wear the product that will prevent that problem!  

Any suggestions?

Have you tried this product yet?  What do you think?  Are you a bright lipstick wearer and would try this line or would you rather stick to the less vivid lipsticks out there?

Thanks for reading!

Review: Shorganics Lip Products

Shorganics by Matt and Megan Vick

In early February, I was sent a few products to try out from a line of (recently verified!!) vegan, organic products from Shorganics by Matt and Megan Vick.  One of the really cool things about this is that Megan is actually an old acquaintance from high school!  She and her husband started creating their products a few years ago as a hobby and have found that it has turned into a viable company that has grown a following of others who are looking for organic, cruelty free products that are good for your body as well as good to the environment.  

Megan was nice enough to send me a package with some samples of a few of their products I had been interested in trying.  I decided to go for a few skin products and received a body scrub, a body butter and a little body lotion as well as a lip scrub and two lip balms.  With that in mind, I chose to split the reviews of their products into two different posts.  Today I will talk about the lip products and later I'll tell you about the body products!  With that in mind, let's get on to the review!  

 

I was super excited to get a lip scrub from Shorganics, since I had been in the market for one.  First of all, the packaging of their products is very nice!  I love the little tubs the lip scrub and body butter and scrub were in.  The amount of lip scrub you get is really great in my opinion for $6.  I know this tub will last me quite some time but I definitely plan to repurchase it once I do!  I've been using the scrub a few times a week when getting ready in the morning.  It only takes a little bit and really exfoliates my lips so well!  My favorite thing is that it is a sugar scrub and tastes delicious!  The fact that all of their products are organic and vegan makes me feel totally okay with licking the sugar right off of my lips after exfoliating them!  I sometimes find myself wanting something sweet and contemplating taking a little taste of my lip scrub...I know, that sounds totally weird.  Anyway, moving on!

The two lips balms I received are Lavender Lemon and Mint Chocolate.  For $3 a pop, these lip balms are a great value!  I was pleasantly surprised at how much product was in the tubes!  It seems that they fill the tubes up as much as they possibly can to give you as much product as they can for your money.  The balms are super buttery and smooth and glide on so easily!  The flavors are also awesome!  The mint chocolate is delicious, with just the right balance of mint and chocolate.  Sometimes I worry that this type of flavor will turn out too minty, but theirs is just perfect.  The lavender lemon is also amazing!  I love using this one in the evenings, as lavender is a great calming scent.  These balms are super moisturizing and have great lasting power on the lips.  As you may know already, I am a super fan of Gap chapstick and usually go straight for them, but I have found myself reaching for the Shorganics lip balms a lot lately!  I keep one in my handbag and the other at my desk.  I absolutely recommend these balms.  If you are wondering about other flavors, Matt and Megan also offer Lime, Orange, Peppermint Mango, Tangerine Nutmeg, Peppermint Shea, and plain Peppermint flavors.

I am so excited to finally be sharing these products with you!  Megan was so nice to send these to me and I have been so swamped with everything lately that I haven't had the chance to sit down and write this for you!  I hope you will take a look at Matt and Megan's products and perhaps try out a few!  I'm looking forward to sharing the other half of the products I received from their line with you shortly!

Hill

The Liebster Award! Random Facts About Me!

The Liebster Award

A couple of weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised by a comment on one of my posts from Christal from Lipstick and Ponytails that she nominated me (along with some other great bloggers) for the Liebster Award.  I was super excited that she was nice enough to nominate me as I've seen the award around but never expected that someone might nominate me!  I grabbed the explanation of the award from her post, so here's how it works!

The Liebster award is presented to bloggers with less than 200 followers and intended to get the word out about other great blogs.

The rules for this are really easy. The nominee must :

1. Link back to the person(s) who nominated them
2. Write 11 random facts about him/herself
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the nominator.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers who all have less than 200 GFC followers and let them know.
5. Come up with 11 new questions to ask the 11 bloggers nominated.

So here we go.

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. If you ask any of my friends, you will find out that it wasn't until to past two years or so that I have actually gotten into makeup and turned into more of a "girly girl".  They are all pleasantly surprised!

2. I have a cat named Guenhwyvar, which is a giant panther-like creature from a book series my fiancé reads.  It wasn't until after we named him that Matt read the next book in the series and realized Guenhwyvar is a girl panther.

3. I am engaged to be married to my best friend for 6 years (our anniversary is March 28th) and our wedding is May 18th!  It's getting so close!

4. I play and am slightly obsessed with an online game called League of Legends.  We've been playing it for over two years and have met some really great people that live in California of whom we are looking to meet on our honeymoon on the Cali coast!

5. I grew up most of my life in a beach community in North Carolina.

6. Although I do love the beach, I much prefer to go swimming in a pool.  No sharks.  No stinging nettles.  No crabs.  :D

7. I am a habitual coffee cup user.  By that I mean that I don't truly enjoy my coffee unless it is in a particular mug.  I have one mug I use here at home and a particular mug I like to use at my parents house.  If the coffeeshop I go to would let me, I would bring them a mug to keep behind the counter just for me.

8. I love gardening and plants.  My favorite thing to do in the summer is to wake up just after sunrise to go out and water the garden.  It's the happiest time of the day for me.

9. I have read The Perks of Being a Wallflower at least six times.  I have owned the book three times now.  I lent it out twice and never got it back...hopefully I'll keep the copy I have from now on.

10. I actually prefer to wear minimal makeup on my eyes.  My daily look consists of tight lining my upper lids and mascara.  That's all I prefer.

11. I have a slight obsession with chapstick.  At the moment I can see seven tubes of it from where I am sitting.

Questions from Christal

1. What's your favorite song of the moment?

That's a hard one.  I always love the cover of "Wild Nights" by John Mellencamp

2. If you could choose your DNA, would you choose curly or straight hair?

I would have to say straight just because every curly haired person I know has to spend sooo much time taming theirs and I just don't have the patience for that.

3. When did you first start using makeup?

I guess I started wearing it daily in 9th grade.  But then stopped for a few years and just got back into it lately!

4. What's the youngest age do you think it would be acceptable to start wearing makeup?

I guess about the age I did.  I think middle school might be a little too young.  I would say 13.  A teenager should be able to wear makeup if they choose.

5. In a rush and you could only choose one makeup item, what would it be?

Mascara.

6. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

About 45 minutes including my shower.

7. What's your biggest makeup peeve?

Too much bronzer for contouring.

8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Back to Hawaii.

9. If you had $100 to spend at only one store in the mall, where would you spend it?

Bath and Body Works.

10. What do you have in your current makeup collection that people would be surprised you own?

I have gold liquid eyeliner!  Love it!

11. Which celebrity look are you most inspired by?

Of the top of my head, Lauren Conrad.  I know so many people say that, but she just has great style.  I love her Bohemian look.

My Questions

1. If you could have any makeup item not sold in your area, what would it be?

2. What is your favorite color family of lip products?

3. Coffee or tea?  Or both?

4. What movie could you watch everyday?

5. What is your family family of scents?

6. Liquid liner or gel liner?

7. Do you have any creative talent?

8. What brand of makeup would you choose if you could only use that brand from now on?

9. If you could only wear one type of accessory (necklace, ring, bracelet, etc.) from now on, which would you choose?

10. Body lotion or body cream?  Body butter?

11. What color eyes would you have if you could choose?

I Nominate the Following Bloggers:

gl0ssy

Hannah Marie

Melissa at Melissa Is Legendary

Kimberley

Lauren at Lauren Loves Makeup

Lucy at Lucy and Beauty

Lennyn B

The Dauphine

The NonBrit

Jen at Things Bright & Beautiful

Abi at Abi Girl

Well, I hope you enjoyed this way overdue post!  It was very fun to do!  I am so looking forward to reading the responses from everyone!

Ah! I'm Back!

Let Me Just Tell You...

Hi everyone!  I want to sincerely apologize for my lack of posts over the past month.  I know I wrote a few of these posts over the past few weeks in hopes that I would actually spend the time after my explanation to get back to posting, but this month flew by faster than I expected and I ended up getting practically NOTHING done on the blog front.  

You see, I am still in the process of diving head-first into my personal trainer book and studying like a crazy person for my upcoming certification test.  Over the past four months I have read the entire NASM Personal Trainer Certification book, but it wasn't until as of late that I have actually been delving into some of the concepts that I will be tested on.  And boy, are there a lot of concepts to learn!  For example, as a personal trainer I will be administering fitness assessment tests to my clients, which consist of four different exercises they must perform with my supervision.  These exercises are used in order for me to study the way my clients' posture changes during the moves and I must know which muscles are overactive or underactive for each posture issue.  For each exercise there can be up to four different posture problems, with up to five muscles that are either overactive or underactive for each of the four exercises.  This makes upwards of 80 muscles I have to know just for that particular aspect of training.  I must also know the progression and regression of each exercise that a client will be asked to do.  There are a multitude of exercises out there and quite a few ways to progress or regress the exercise as necessary for each client.  As you can see, there are a lot of concepts I must know off-hand.  While this is a completely attainable task (of which I have already nailed down most of these concepts), it is time-consuming and after each study session, the last thing I want to do is think so more.  :D

Fortunately, things are starting to calm down a little in my mind, as I have two weeks until my test (after a reschedule with NASM) and I am feeling more and more comfortable about it every day.

I thought it would be fun to share with you my challenges over the past few weeks and perhaps give you a glimpse into the other things I am pursuing right now.  I am looking forward to a few posts I have in mind.  A couple of which will be a little series of posts about a company founded by a friend from high school who started creating organic bath and body products with her husband.  She was nice enough to send me some products and I have been loving them over the past month!  I am so looking forward to writing some reviews for her and I really hope you will take a look at her product line!

Thanks for sticking with me!  I'm looking forward to sharing with you some great things very soon!