My Favorite: Foundation!


Recently, I bought a new foundation. I decided to stop trying to find a good liquid foundation, because none of them seemed to work with my oily skin, even the ones for oily skin! I did my research, and it literally was days of deciding, reading reviews, etc. but I finally decided on one. The one I chose was Laura Mercier Wet/Dry Powder Foundation. OH.MY.GOSH. Seriously best makeup decision ever haha! I love this. It is long wearing, keeps my face looking matte (but I don’t feel like I look just flat and boring) and super versatile. It is medium/full coverage when using the sponge wet, and light/medium when using a dry puff or brush for application. I cannot say enough good things about it. The color is also perfect for me, even though I ordered it online.  Here is what it looks like on my skin, without editing the picture:

And here is another:

I think this would be great for girls with combination to oily skin types. For drier skin, I think it could still work if using a moisturizing primer first.  I do not have much to cover (luckily) besides some redness, and occasional pimple. I basically use it for giving a "flawless" complexion on the days I don't want to be 'au naturale', and for oil control. SERIOUSLY IT'S PERFECT. I think I found my favorite foundation. The packaging pictures are in a previous post, but here is a picture from Sephora:
This puff comes in the box that the product comes in; I keep it in the cardboard box and rarely use it. If you can see the bottom part of this picture shows another compartment. This holds a sponge. The bottom compartment has holes in it so the compact isn't retaining as much moisture as it would in a fully enclosed compact.

If this looks like something you want to try, then I FULLY recommend it. It's a bit pricey, and will set you back about $40. However, I think it is really worth it!


Have you tried this product? What is your favorite foundation?


xoxo


Dinner & a...Relay for Life!

Last night was my boyfriends night off from work, So we went to T.G.I Fridays for dinner. Afterword we went to a Relay for Life Event on campus to just walk around. They had a lot of tents and booths set up with different fraternities, sororities, and clubs running them to raise money for cancer. All in all we had a good night together! I wanted to get a picture of my outfit, but my boyfriend was in a hurry (I don't know why!) So all of the pictures kept coming out blurry, then I was getting frustrated and stopped smiling so nice. This is the result:
You might not be able to tell, but I am annoyed in this haha. Not so cute as the blurry ones that we took at the beginning! (& excuse the white tank top hanging out!)

My next plan was to get a picture of him and I together. I can never have enough pictures of us, and he does not like taking pictures together (lame, right?). So I finally got him to take one, but again, they pictures kept coming out blurry. So the best one out of the bunch was:
Completely adorable if it wasn't so blurry : ( I adore his dimples. AHHH!

Dinner was yummy; we both got the same thing, so I have no idea how it filled him up! I hope to get him to take more of my outfit pictures so I can share them, but I need to get my pictures to not be blurry!


** I came across a blog that you may or may not have heard about. It was featured in a Yahoo! News article, which is how I heard about it, but it would be awesome if you could go check it out. It is about a little baby girl with an incurable disease, written in her perspective. Her parents write about her own little bucket list, while also trying to spread the word about her disease. The blog is called "Averys Bucket List" and here is the link. Get the word out!

Staying Awake...


So in my last blog post, or last few, I have probably mentioned exams. Lots of them. I had my short break from them this past weekend, but they are coming around again. Two next week! Which doesn’t sound terrible but it feels like I never get a break! I have been trying to prepare by studying ahead of time, but I just get SO tired! But thankfully… I have my tea & coffee! I am getting a little burnt out on coffee though, so I have been turning to tea more often. One tea in particular I cannot stop drinking (hot tea of course). It is the Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle Black Tea. 
I love these tea bags!

At first I thought the taste was a bit too strong, but I have gotten used to it, and have figured out a yummy way to “tone” it down a bit. Coffee creamer! I like to use the International Delight Vanilla Latte Coffee Creamer Singles, and a packet of Stevia Raw Sugar. 
I like having singles because they can be stored longer than the large bottle that you store in the refrigerator.

The tea has zero calories, and packs in 20 mg of caffeine per serving (according to Lipton's website).  I know the creamer has calories but for the time being, I am not as worried about that as getting some energy that tastes good to me! I really love this combination and would recommend it to tea lovers, more specifically black tea!  My friend actually had a cup of my combo today and said "You should try to sell this to Starbucks". I don't know if they would agree, but it is pretty delicious! 


What do you like to do to get prepared for exams (or busy days)? Any favorite drinks/suggestions?

xoxo

Tree's & a Bunny!?

Last weekend I visited home, which is about two hours away from where I go to college. It was nice to see my family, and to meet a new addition to the family. What!? Finding out there was an addition only when I get home? Well, it was just a cute little bunny that my mom got for my little sister as an Easter gift. I thought at first when I heard about it, that it would be a lame pet, annoying, etc. To my surprise, I wanted to play with it, and actually felt a little sad when I left to go back to college (yeah now I sound like a little child)! Here is what it looks like, named "Moo" for it's colors/pattern resembling a cow : )

No Makeup (ughhh) and Moo!

Here is an outfit I wore the day I went back home. Excuse my terrible pose:

 The dress was purchased at a local boutique type of store. The belt kept slipping lower than I wanted, bummed me out!

& my shoes closer up:

The tips are a bit scuffed; I seem to always stumble on myself when I wear sandals!
I got these from Wal Mart last summer, and they got a lot of compliments!

& a look at the belt:
The belt was purchased from Forever 21.
  

I hope to show more outfits; but sometimes it is hard to get someone to photograph me! These were taken by my younger brother!

xoxo

Recent Buys!

FINALLY. My two straight weeks of exams are done with. Not final exams, no- my schedule for this quarter is set up in a way that makes all my exams happen at once. So when one exam rolls around, well, they all just follow right along. Here I am though, with free time this weekend. I better soak it up while I can! I have so many things I want to write/blog about, so I may just post more than once today. For now though, I just wanted to share some of the things I have bought in the past 2 months. I have just let them accumulate, so I could do it all at once. I want to get everyone's input! Let me know if you own any of these products, or if you would like me to review/tell you more about a specific one if you are thinking about buying it. Here I go...

1) Too Faced Glamour Gloss in the shade "Sex Pot".  It is swatched on my hand, as well as worn on my lips. It is supposed to have a plumping effect, which I would say it genuinely does. 

2) Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Full Coverage Foundation. I already returned this. I felt like it was very cakey, even if I used very little. I tried applying it many different ways also. I guess it just was not for me, even though it is supposed to work well with oily skin like mine. 
3) Scunci Effortless Beauty Hair Ties. I like these! They have no metal on them, which could damage your hair. Instead, they are just a stretchy fabric. I use these for the nights that I want to sleep with my hair up in a certain way, which will allow me to wake up with curls or waves, and no indentations from my hair tie!
4) Samples. These range from perfumes to shampoo & conditioner to face wash/lotion. If you have any interest in me being more detailed about these, just let me know!
5) Illamasqua Powder Blusher in the shade "Lover" (the square [black] compact). I LOVE this blush. It is the perfect pink/peachy color. It would look great on any skin tone, but would make tan/bronzy skin really stand out. This picture I have is terrible, and I am sorry, but here is a better picture from a different source.

6) Laura Mercier Foundation Powder in "Number 5". I honestly may just devote a whole post to this. I love it, and it is replacing basically any foundation I own, which never happens to me! It can be used wet or dry. Let me know if this is something I should go into detail about!
7) Bliss No 'Zit' Sherlock Acne System Correcting Serum (green box). This claims to "fade post-pimple pigmentation, minimize the appearance of large pores, even out skins tone and texture, helps keep skin clear of blackheads, prevents new acne blemishes, and eliminate most acne pimples". SO many things!  I have not used it consistently enough yet to know if it does all of those things (long term), but I do agree it can get rid of a pimple pretty fast!
8) Lorac Lips with Benefits Lip gloss (black box). I will have more about this in the picture below!

8) Okay- Lorac Lips with Benefits Lip Gloss in the shade "Mark". Can I just say the lip gloss in the tube is gorgeous?! Look at that design! I have been pulling the applicator out slowing so I do not mess up the design, and it has yet to budge. It is showing up pretty true to color on my lips. I really love this and it is decently long wearing. 
9) Revlon Lip Butters in the shades [from left to right in picture] "025 Peach Parfait, 075 Lollipop, 080 Strawberry Shortcake". I'm sure everyone has heard a lot about these; if not let me know! I like all three of the colors I own. Here is some swatches from an outside source.

10) Kenra Platinum Blow Dry Spray (Silver bottle). This claims to make blow dry time faster, be a heat protector, as well as making hair soft and frizz free. I agree, and love it!
11) Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera 100% Gel. I use this for moisturizing my skin as well as for spot treatments on pimples.
12) Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Detangler. This is supposed to moisturize, detangle, and smooth hair. I think it is an okay product, I will probably  not repurchase. 
13) Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in "270 Lacey Lilac". This color is on my nails in this picture, & I think it is perfect for spring.

**This image was from Maybellines website. Go here to see more of their products. 
14) Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow in the shade "10 Fierce & Tangy". I did not have a picture of the product or have it swatched when I started this post, so I went to other sources. I do think this eyeshadow is completely LONG wearing. The orange shade I got can be built to be very bright, but I like to wear a thin layer, and put a shimmery cream colored eyeshadow over it to give it more wearable look. Go to Temptalia's Blog to see her swatches here!


Well... that pretty much sums  it all up. So much stuff it seems like! But I did return a few of my older products I had that were not included in this, such as NARS Sheer Matte Foundation, which gave me the extra money to buy the drugstore stuff. I'm sorry this is so long, but I hope you enjoyed it all!

xoxo




On That Note...

Thank the looooooord for the weekend! I am so glad I get the 2 day break from classes...this quarter of college seems like every week is finals week. NOT fair! Who wants to live their lives like that for 9 weeks straight. Not this girl; too bad though because that is what the Nursing Program is like here at my college. Oh well, right? . I wish I had more spare time. So I could:

1) See my family more often.
2) Hang out/make plans with friends more.
3) Spend more time with my boyfriend.
4) Take a nap here and there.
5) Blog about all the things I want to!
6) JUST RELAX. 
 Is that really too much to ask for? I guess... thankfully summer is sort of around the corner... about 2 months left of classes (that seems like foreverrrrrrrr). Enough of being  miserable; happy thoughts...On a good note, I am going to the mall today to buy my boyfriend a gift for his upcoming 22nd birthday! I think he will like what I get him! & I am also returning some things to Sephora (upcoming haul/review/picture post soon?), and maybe buying a lot few of the things I have been eying in stores recently. Plus, I have a hair appointment today! I really really have had the urge to cut my hair to more of a shoulder length cut... but seeing that my hair has taken 5 years to grow from a little past chin length to wear it is now, I don't know that I am ready to make the big cut. So I'll just settle for a trim today. On and end note, I just want to share this picture with you all:



BEYOND BEAUTIFUL! My uncle is visiting friends in Arizona and he snapped this picture with his Iphone. He has his Nikon with him, so I can only imagine the quality of the rest of his pictures using a real, quality camera. It looks like a painting to me! Amazing; I hope he is enjoying his time, and for now, I will just sit back and enjoy the view (from his pictures!)

xoxo

My Favorite Lipstick Right Now

So lately, I have been loving a lipstick that I have had for a reaaaaaallly long time, but had only wore once. I decided to pull it out and give it a try again. Guess what?! Yeah- I LOVE it. The lipstick I am talking about is L'oreals Infallible Le Rouge Lipcolor in "Perennial Pink". 






This picture does not do it justice. It is a bit brighter in person; in the picture below (of me wearing it) it shows up pretty true to color. 


Awkward pose? You bet : )

It is long-wearing, (for me at least), and doesn't feel sticky or cakey on my lips. I have been reaching for it a lot more since I have been using my self tanner more often (FakeBake Flawless Self-Tanner).  The price range is probably $8.00-$10.00, unless you find a sale. I think it is worth it though, for a drugstore lipstick! I know this was a short post... but that is because I want to do maybe a monthly favorites post...and an upcoming post about beauty products I have recently bought for those interested!

xoxo

Date Night on Friday

So on Friday, I could easily say I was stuffed with food from about 8pm-2am. UGH! Not that I particularly wanted to be, but that is just how my our night played out. I went to my boyfriends apartment and watched X-men: First Class and just hung out with my boyfriend until about 8pm. 

 Total Chick-flick right?

After it was over we decided to order Chinese food. I usually try not to eat after 7pm, but I was okay with breaking my own rule for a night. Later, we went to see the movie 21 Jump Street- which was sold out for the time we wanted. 


We were laughing SO hard!

It worked out for us though; we settled for the later showing and ate Cold Stone Creamery Ice cream while we waited. The movie was so so so so so SO hilarious (obviously it was hilarious : )   ) and I would say it was a pretty good day! If only my boyfriend had taken me to the mall before it all like I wanted...   Maybe next time?
What I wore: 
 I didn't have anyone to take a picture of my outfit so the mirror will have to do!

Both tops are from Maurices. Jeans are from American Eagle and the wedges are "American Eagle for Payless".



Did any of you see 21 Jump Street? 
                xoxo