Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Home Improvement (Walls)

Happy Hump Day. 
I meant to do this post Monday as my "Weekend Rewind" post and again my motivation lately has been zapped. I literally think I could sleep for about a week and not think twice about it. I feel like 
a bear wanting to hibernate lately. The weather here in Bama has been cloudy and rainy so not 
sure if it's the weather or just me, but whew I've been soooo tired! 

Anyway, this post is a non-make up or product review. I moved into a new apartment a couple 
weeks ago and have been doing some things to spruce my place up and wanted to share some 
decor ideas. 

I literally ditched everything that was in my old living room and started over since most of my 
furniture was college/post college stuff that I had merged with roommates. Bleh! So ugly. 
Patience is not a virtue I possess very gracefully. So, trying to be patient in buying new pieces
and decorating has been a struggle. I want my place looking like a page out of a Pottery Barn
catalog now! 

Craigslist has been my new best friend. I have never been someone to get on craigslist and shop. EVER! Thought it was kind of creepy. But, buying furniture and home stuff is SO much fun and 
such an affordable way to piece together your home. I'm not one to really buy used clothes, but 
furniture has never bothered me. So far I have bought my couch, kitchen table and chairs, and 
a lamp. But, I suspect there will be many more purchases. : ) 

Anywhoo, here are some before and after pics of what I decided to do with the wall behind my 
couch. Hope you enjoy! 


I got the idea to hang a collage of empty frames behind the couch 
while shopping at a furniture consignment shop in Pelham, AL called Encore Resales. 
Most of the frames that I bought were a distressed matte white. After buying my 
pillows at TJ Maxx I decided I wanted to pick three colors... white, blue, and mustard. 



I had to try a couple times to get the right shade of blue. My first try was a can 
of spray paint that was too bright. So, round two seemed to work well for what I was 
going for. 


Wall and couch before. 
Yay for my Craigslist couch! It was originally purchased at Metropolitan Deluxe
at The Summit for nearly 2,000 and I paid a whopping $350!!! I love it. 


Wall and couch after. 
I still want some more pillows to go on the end... not sure what, but I am thinking something
oversized and white. 


Collage of frames. I love the white and blue... I am still eyeballing the 
mustard. Good thing about this project is frames are pretty inexpensive so if I decide
this look is not what I want to end up with I haven't lost a ton! 


Side view with my sweet burlap lamp from what other than craigslist! : ) 

What do you think?! Would you do a frame collage on one of your walls? 
Give me your thoughts and stay tuned for more Home improvement posts! 

Have a great day! 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Friday Face of the Day

Happy Friday and start to your weekend!! 

It's been quiet a while since I've done a FOTD post and was a little inspired to do a 
healthy summer glow look for this week. 

There is nothing prettier to me this time of the year to see a glowy (not shiny) face that just 
looks sun kissed and healthy. 

Enjoy...


Foundation: Clinique Stay Matte 
Highlighter: MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl and set with MAC Soft & Gentle
Bronzer: Nars Laguna
Blush: Urban Decay Bang (Bright red cream) very unique. 


Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Palette 
Lid: Sin ( a shimmery light pink) 
Crease: Buck ( a light matte brown) 
Outer Corner: Darkhorse (Dark Grey/Brown with shimmer) 

Eyeliner: Urban Decay Zero (black) 
Mascara: Mally Volume

Lips: Revlon Lip Butter 

Hope you enjoyed this look. My favorite part is for sure the highlight on the cheeks and 
shimmery eyes! It just makes such a difference in giving you that healthy summer glow. I feel
like those products take your skin from dull and boring to lively, healthy, and youthful! 

Have a WONDERFUL non boring and full of life weekend! 

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Make-Up Organizer

I am so very excited to share this post b/c this is something I have been wanting to purchase 
for a long time! My friend Alison got one of these acrylic make up organizers for her birthday
back in March. When I saw it I absolutely fell in love and knew I would have to get one when 
I had some extra cash! 

I have a good amount of make-up. Nothing crazy or over the top, but definitely enough to need 
a good organizer. Up until this point I have had several make-up bags on my bathroom counter
with an additional three drawer plastic organizer from target underneath my bathroom sink. 

My birthday was last month and there was no question that this is what I decided to treat myself to. 
If you watch or keep up with the Kardashians (no pun intended) then you will know that 
the girls have these same type organizers in their bathrooms and have made these 
acrylic cubes very popular! 


There are several different types you can get based on how many drawers you want, 
if you want separators, or a top lid. 

I opted to get the four drawer with no separators or top lid on Ebay and it was on sale 
for $136 including shipping. 


I don't know the dimensions, but I will admit it is MUCH bigger than what 
I was expecting! I received this in the mail yesterday and when I opened my first thought 
was holy cow this thing is too big, but once I got everything stored away it works well. 



My makeup has a new home and it could not be more happy. 
Now instead of being hid away in a dark bag it gets to shine and be visible
to all!! yay! 


Drawer #1 is dedicated to face products. 
Foundations, concealers, highlighters, bronzers, and powders. 


Drawer #2 is dedicated to blushes. 
I think this is my favorite drawer! All the blushes just look so uniform and 
organized and colorful! 


Drawer #3 is dedicated to eyes. 
This drawer stresses me out a bit. It looks so messy and not uniform at all. 
I have mixed palettes and single shadows and I may end up changing some things 
around to have one drawer of palettes and another of singles and liners etc. 



 Drawer #4 is dedicated to skincare. 
I have put washes, masks, moisturizer, scrubs, etc is this drawer. 
Like I said earlier I am not convinced that I will keep this drawer like this. 
In the event that I get more makeup and palettes (which it will happen) I can see 
turning the bottom drawer (which is the largest) into a palette drawer and storing my skincare
products in my cabinets underneath. 

I am thrilled to have this nifty piece of organization in my life! It seems a little pricy, but 
it's great thick quality and will last a long time if taken care of! If interested in purchasing 
check out Ebay or Amazon and search for acrylic makeup organizers with drawers. 

Happy Organization. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Nail of the Day

I'm on a roll... two days in a row!!! Woot, woot! 

I recently bought Zoya polish in Sienna. It's a gorgeous summer bright orange. Be warned though
I could not find this in any of the Ulta stores so I ordered on Amazon. So, if you are interested in 
purchasing your best bet is probably online. To my knowledge the only store you can purchase 
Zoya polishes are Ulta. 



I painted my feetsies last weekend in a mad dash before I went to a pool party 
so yes, I know they don't look great. But, if you could have seen what they looked like before
they got this quick paint job you probably would have pee'd your pants!! ha. They
were uber gross! 


Zoya polishes on Amazon retail for $8.00. 
If interested in purchasing click here

I really love this bright orange color. It looks great with a good tan. It has some subtle glitter
to it. The consistency of their polish goes on really well and makes applying easy. 

Have a great day! 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

June Faves

Haaaay Haaaay. 

I am so pushing myself to do this post b/c blogging has been the furthest thing on my mind 
lately. I moved into a new apartment a week ago and I have been so busy trying to get 
settled and make my new place feel like home. I also got rid of all my old yucky college and post college furniture and decided to start over and it seems like all my time has been devoted to 
craigslist and consignment shops and figuring out how I want to decorate. 

I am planning to do a Home Decor post once I get everything in it's place and show you guys
some things I have bought and how I am decorating... or trying to. ha! 

Onto beauty goodness and the things that I used a lot in the month of June. Honestly, I don't 
have a ton to feature as make-up was really not on my mind at all last month. 

But, a few things I have been enjoying are... 


Clinque came out with a new "stay matte" foundation this summer that is oil free
and designed to control shine, oil, sweat and all the things we experience in the summer 
heat. 

If you have combination to oily skin then this is a perfect formula for you! I have really 
loved wearing this foundation. I feel like it has a great formula that is not too thick or too matte 
where your skin looks kind of cakey. The other thing I like is that a little dab goes a long way. 

I typically use a buffing brush to work my foundation in, but with this I have just been applying
with my fingers and rubbing it in quickly so it doesn't dry too fast b/c it is a matte formula. 

I love it. Would definitely repurchase. 

 I have had this Wet n Wild "Comfort Zone" palette for quiet a while now, but
just recently started using it on a daily basis. I absolutely love the left side.  As you can tell
I have hit pan on that third color down (darker bronze). I have loved using that dark bronze color
all over my lid for a smoky brown look with a black liner. Very pretty! 

For a more natural soft look I like using the second color on left side that is labeled eyelid 
on the lid of my eye and using the darker bronze in my crease. 

Wet n Wild is super duber cheap and sold at most drugstores and I used to think their products
couldn't be any good b/c of the price, but I have been SO very impressed with their shadows. 
That is really the only thing I have tried, but I love this palette along with the "Silent Treatment"
trio. It's a gorgeous lilac/taupe with a dark brown. 


Not going to say much about this blush. I have mentioned it several times on here. It's Lorac
baked blush in shade Velvet Rope. It's just a gorgeous dusty rose color and it gives off a lot
of pigmentation b/c of being baked. I used this color a lot last month and found it looked 
really nice with a bit of a tan. 


Last year I bought a set from Mally on QVC. Mally is a celebrity make up artist and has her own 
line that she sells on QVC and her website. I had quit using this mascara for a while, but came back 
to it and really do love the formula and volume and length this baby gives. It's a more dry 
formula which I prefer b/c I find the wetter mascaras clump, smear, and are just in general more messy. 
If you are wanting to try out a new mascara along with some of her other products then I would check 
out her website. She has some awesome sets where you can try out several things and it's very 
affordable. 

I cannot believe it is already July!!!! Where is this year going?! Sheesh Louise. 

Hope to be back soon.... 
I am so tired of furniture shopping!!!!! 
About Brooke


What’s The Story, Brooke?

I'm Brooke. Brooke Story to be exact... hence the title of my blog. I'm southern, still barely in my twenties, and have a few too many lip glosses in my purse.

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