Nail of the Day

Happy Friday! 

Today's NOTD is by Essie, "Bahama Mama".  

Can I just say I am in fall love with this color!!! It's a gorgeous warm, rich, creamy plum

that just screams fall. I can see wanting to wear this color all the time. I love purple's 

this time of the year and this color is not too dark, but just dark enough. 

Without a flash in regular lighting. 

With a flash in regular lighting. 

How pretty is this color?!?! Love, Love, Love it. My new fall fave! 

What nail colors do you love for fall? 

Say Yes to Which Dress?

I did a post back in May before my ten year high school reunion with several pictures of dresses

I tried on and loved and let you comment on which one you thought I chose to wear. 

WELL.... I have a wedding coming up this weekend in my hometown and went 

through the same process last night with choosing a dress. I thought this would make for another fun 

blog post. 

I've tried to cut back on spending and am trying to do do better about analyzing "needs" verses "wants."I set up some new guidelines for spending, HOWEVER I am justifying this spend a little more because: A. I have two weddings this fall (fall weddings are just tough and require the right

kind of dress) B. The wedding is in my hometown and I have no idea whom I may run into

or see so this calls for stepping up my A game, right?! Ok, good... glad you agree on my splurge! 

Ok, so shopping destination? 

Team Macy's. 

Brand to look for? 

Rachel Roy and Bar 111. 

(Love, Love, Love these brands)

Oh, to be rich and have a closet full of pretty dresses..... sigh. 

Option 1:

Light Plum Rachel Roy cocktail pleated mini dress.  

Option 2:

Dark Hunter/Teal Green Rachel Roy Bennett sleeveless banded waist dress. 

Option 3:

Bar 111 burnt orange/navy fitted short sleeve sweetheart colorblocked mini. 

Option 4:

Bar 111 dark teal classic fitted knee length dress. 

So, there you go. I narrowed it down to my top 4 for the purpose of this post. I thought about disclosing 

prices, but they all run close to same price. Anywhere from $69-99. 

Rachel, Alison, and Matt you are excluded from commenting on this post! Have fun and I hope

you let me know which dress you like best! I'm very excited with my choice! 

I will do a dress reveal post next week on my Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag post. 

Stay tuned...  

Product of the Day- Make Up Wipes

I don't know about you, but when we transition into Fall/Winter and I have a lack of 

direct sunlight my face tends to need some serious 911. 

I always break out more in the colder months. My skin has already started this. Grrrr on you

skin. Shape up and be my friend. 

If you read my blog regularly you know part of my skincare routine is using a makeup wipe

to get all my makeup off before I wash with a good cleanser. I don't recommend just using

a wipe as your routine b/c it's not really cleansing your skin/pores and there is still a lot of junk

left behind, but I do feel like it's a great first step in getting everything OFF!! 

So, since my skin has been a little on the break out side I have really been enjoying Burt's Bee 

towelettes. 

I don't think you can see in this picture, but under the towelettes it says "White Tea

Extract." White tea is a really great ingredient for acne prone or oily skin. These wipes are also

are infused with Cucumber and Aloe. So, some goodies for your skin. 

I love the smell of these wipes. If you are really sensitive to smells you may not like it. It's 

not too strong, but does have that tea extract scent that just smells so fresh and somewhat salonish

to me. 

I try out a lot of these wipes b/c I really think they are all pretty much the same and do the job. However, I do think these are a favorite that I have tried. They have the right amount of moisture,

a good clean scent, and good natural ingredients for your skin. 

These retail for around $6.00 at Target or your local drugstore. 

Do you use makeup wipes? If so, which ones do you like best? 

Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag?

Happy start to a new week. This weekend went by entirely too fast, but I hope you

had a good one. 

I made a stop by Target Friday night after dinner with the fam for my Dad's birthday and why

oh why is it so hard to walk out of Target with just an item or two. 

Target and I have a passionate love affair going on. shhhhhh, don't tell. 

So, here are my goodies from the weekend: 

I've read so many great reviews about the Revlon Colorstay quads. I believe these came 

out this year, but they are supposed to be really long lasting and pigmented. 

I got the shade Decadent. As you can see it is very neutral pink/gold look. 

Pretty! 

(Review to come) 

Another Revlon item on my wishlist was the Colorburst gloss in shade

Rose Pearl. It's a frosty rose shade. I wore it yesterday and really like it. 

(Review to come)

PENS!!!! ha. 

I put this in here to be a little funny. Right behind my beauty obsession is pens

and school supplies. The pen section is like a magnetic that just pulls me in. 

I get so excited to have new writing utensils for work/whatever. I started taking

an Old Testament type seminary class on Wed nights and I am SO 

excited to have these pens for this week's class!! 

Target had some really cute new fall clothes out. Mdub talked me into

getting this light blue jean button down. He likes that hippy slight edgy look and 

thought this would be really cute with dark or black skinny jeans with boots. 

I concur. 

Great for weekend out and about. 

Xhilaration, $22.99

Love, Love, Love this navy/gold printed stretchy pencil skirt. 

Looking forward to sporting this at work for a dressier look with a 

sheer cream blouse tucked in with some gold jewelry! 

Back zipper. Cute! 

Xhilaration, $16.99

I love sheer tops right now. They are great for the transition in season b/c 

they are very lightweight, but give you more of a fall feel. 

Love this tan/cream bubble print. Will wear with dark skinny jeans and 

boots to work or weekend out and about.

More back zippers. 

Xhilaration, $19.99

Another sheer navy/hot pink zig zag print .

And more back zippers. Seems to be the theme for my threads. 

Xhilaration, $19.99

Did you pick up anything fun this weekend?! 

Friday Face of the Day

We made it to Friday!!! 

My FOTD has some new products with upcoming reviews so stay tuned for more. 

Origin of Face: 

Foundation: Clinique Stay Matte 

Bronzer: MAC Refined Golden 

Blush: NARS Sin

Highligher: MAC Lightscapade 

Eyeshadow: Tarte Amazonian Clay Palette (review to come)

Liner: Urban Decay Black 

Mascara: Benefit They're Real 

Lips: Revlon Lip Butter Sugar Plum (review to come) 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Maybelline Color Tattoo- Review + Swatches

Maybelline released a product called, Color Tattoo last year and the beauty world went 

a little crazy about this product in a little jar. 

So, what is it you ask? It's a 24 hour cream shadow base or primer that has a color. It can

be worn alone if you want a natural or easy look, but most would choose to use as a primer before

placing your eyeshadow to help it have lasting power. 

Maybelline had a heck of a buzzed about 2012 Fall line and with that came new limited edition 

colors. So, if you interested in the new shades you better get your hands on them fast because they

won't be around for long. 

Four new shades were released: Barely Beige (creamy beige with shimmery finish) 

Gold Shimmer (bronzy brownish gold) Rich Mahogany (dark coffee brown with red shimmer)

and Mossy Green (olive green with gold shimmer)

As of right now I just own one of these lovely shades, Barely Beige. It seemed

the most practical to me because this neutral can be worn under basically

 any shade and serve as a great primer. 

It comes in a little jar. Love the packaging. If you are a MAC person you will 

know these products are compared to their paint pots. 

Look how creamy and beautiful that color is. These are best applied 

by using a finger and blending onto lid. 

Swatch in natural lighting. 

Swatch with flash. 

Thoughts on Maybelline color tattoos? 

Have you seen all four colors in person... whatcha think?

Nars Blush Review + Swatches

After using NARS bronzer, Laguna, and being so impressed with the formulation, 

pigmentation, and color I knew I wanted to try one of their award winning blushes. 

But, which one??!! There are so many pretty shades to pick from. 

I visited Sephora a couple weeks ago and got the associate to give me her opinion of which

color would transition nicely for Fall/Winter. I wanted something a little different than just

a pink, or coral, or neutral. 

I went with NARS, Sin, a berry with gold shimmer. 

Nars blushes retail at Sephora for $28. 

Thing to know about this blush is a little does go a long way. It is a very pigmented blush

so a light dab rather than a swirl with your brush will be best if you have light to medium 

skintone. 

Nars Sin is one of their bestselling blushes and if you follow Beauty trends you know that it was 

a shade released in their Danmari blush palette last year. Sephora no longer has the palette for 

sale, but it had four of their best selling blushes, along with a bronzer and highlighter. You 

can still find the palette online, but it is going for $179 so good luck with that! 

Finger swatch in natural lighting 

Arm swatch in natural lighting 

What do you think about this berry blush? What are you favorite Fall blushes? 

Glade Spray Review

You may have noticed than I am a little obsessed with scents lately. 

One of my favorite things about Fall is yummy scents that warm up your house. 

I recently bought a spray at Wal-Mart and have been crazy obsessed with it. I have a cat

and dog that live in my one bedroom apartment so as you can imagine I like having some candles 

and sprays handy. 

Glade released this Maple Pumpkin spray for the season and it smells just like it sounds. 

Warm, decadent, smooth, yummy, fall, and comfort in a can. Can I just say how much I love

the packaging too? I am a sucker for good packaging and this can just makes me happy. 

I find myself spraying this yummy stuff all the time. 

I think I'm warming up to this whole Fall season, whatcha think?! 

Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag?

Hey People! 

So, I didn't do much shopping this weekend. I actually went by Ulta

to pick up one of OPI new fall shades, Berlin there Done that, and put it back after

comparing it to Essie Chinchilly ( a color I own) and realizing they were so close in color. 

So, yeah I walked out of an Ulta empty handed!!!! Wow. Props to be for practicing some 

self control! 

I did spend this weekend with some of my bestest girl friends at Jana's baby shower! She is having

a little girl this November, Harper Finley. The girls I went to High School with have a tradition

of hosting a lingerie shower when you get married and baby shower for your first child. I think it's

really special that through all the years we have remained so close and truly share a sisterhood. 

It's hard to find good friends and it's even harder to find friends that last throughout seasons

of your life and I feel so blessed to have that with these girls. 

Here's a funny pic from the shower. We are missing a couple that left

early. We realized as everyone was leaving that we hadn't taken any pics 

so here is the one photo we have all sandwiched in. 

After the shower on Saturday I took Millie Moo the maltipoo for some special celebrating. 

She turned the BIG ONE YEAR OLD Saturday!!! We made a trip to PetSmart where 

we picked out a new toys, new treats, and a birthday cake! After our PetSmart experience we 

went to Rhodes Park in Highlands for some playing and walking and meeting new doggie

friends. I did my best to make her day special! : )  

The top left picture is from the day I brought her home! How sweet is that 

baby girl?!?! Love my Millie moo. 

Sunday was spent having a Breaking Bad marathon. Mdub and I have been trying 

to catch up on this show. We made it to Season 3 yesterday. Are you guys familiar with this show? 

Oh my word, it is SO good. It is dark and dramatic and can be emotional and stressful at times,

but such a realistic dramatic show! LOVE it. 

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? Buy anything special? 

Friday Face of the Day

Happy Friday! 

As promised in my last post I told you I would do a FOTD with my new Maybelline quad

in "Olive Martini." 

I really do love the look this quad gives on your eyes. Silver, green, burgundy, and lots 

of shimmer. 

Makeup used for this look:

Foundation: Clinique Stay Matte 

Bronzer: Soleil Tan de Chanel (cream bronzer... AMAZING) 

Blush: NARS Sin (review to come) 

Highlighter: MAC Skinfinish in Lightscapade 

Eyes: Maybelline Quad in Olive Martini 

Liner: Urban Decay Zero

Mascara: Benefit, They're Real 

Lips: Merle Norman Lucky in Love

Have a GREAT weekend! 

Maybelline Eyestudio Quad- Review + Swatches

I've very excited about this blog post and review because I have been on 

somewhat of a hunt to track down this quad. 

Maybelline released their Fall 2012 line and there have been several products that created 

quiet a buzz in the beauty world. I tend to get very wrapped up in products that get a lot 

of buzz and are highly sought after. I had to visit 3 different drug stores in my city before 

I could even get my hands on one of these quads... so it has to be good, right?! 

So, "Olive Martini" is the quad that everyone is talking about and trying to get

their hands on. 

As you can see it is a very unique palette with colors most may not have in their 

shadow collection. You get a icy beige with shimmer, a cool mint green, what appears 

to be a rich emerald green, and a copper cinnamon red brown. 

The most unique shade in this palette is by far the third. In the palette as you can tell it appears

to be a deep green. However, when swatched it could not be more different. It is frosty green that

is actually a duochrome shade that turns out to be a green with brown and redish tint. I'm probably

not doing a great job at explaining this, but there is a lot more going on in that shade that what meets

the eye. 

Here are all four swatches in natural lighting. 

And here again with a flash. Obviously, the lightest shade is at the bottom and I went up to the

darkest near my wrist. This photo allows you to see how that third shade from the bottom

(the duochrome shade) really does have a unique color. You can see the brown background, but 

the green highlights show through to give such a different color. 

I have been loving the look this quad gives and hope to post a FOTD with it this week. 

Have you tried any Fall 2012 products?

Nail of the Day

Today's NOTD is brought to you by what other than and OPI shade. 

With all the change in weather and fall like mornings I was ready to pull out one of my 

favorite fall shades from last year. 

OPI shaded "Over the Taupe." 

This is the most gorgeous deep brown with beige highlights. This photo was taken with the flash

and you can see it almost has a hint of purple/lilac. This is a great neutral that will look good

on any skintone. I applied two coats with a topcoat over. 

Have you checked out the Fall 2012 OPI line?! I am trying to get my hands on "Berlin there

done that." Go check it out! 

Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag?

Hey Guys! 

I hope you had a great weekend. For those that live around AL we had great cooler weather

in the mornings that was a nice season change! 

I cannot get away from Bath & Body fall candles. I have mentioned before how much I love

their candles in the Fall. Mmmmm, they are so yummy! 

So, "Leaves" is one of my most favorite scents and I already have 2 of them and will more than 

likely go through more before end of year. But, I grabbed a couple others this weekend

and am already in love. 

Get in your car right now and drive to the nearest Bath & Body and get

Pumpkin Cupcake, NOW!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how yummy and 

delicious this candle smells. I literally want to take a spoon and eat this. 

As you can see from the pic I already spent some time burning this baby this weekend

and my house smelled of Fall. I was going to try to wait until October to burn this one, but

I could not wait. I will for sure be buying another one of this scent. 

Bath and Body describes Pumpkin Cupcake as:

"The perfect pick from the corner bakery this fall. A spiced pumpkin cupcake with 

rich buttercream and frosted ginger." 

Marshmellow Fireside is another one of my faves. I bought this last fall and it's 

such a unique scent. It really does smell like a smoky fireside pit and roasting smores 

and marshmellows. 

Bath & Body describes Marshmellow Fireside as: 

"A sweet toasty end to a long cold day. Toasted marshmellows and sumptuous vanilla 

cream blend with the comforting aroma of rich smoldering woods." 

Candles are truly one of my favorite things about the Fall season. 

What candles do you enjoy this upcoming season?! 

Friday Face of the Day

Happy Friday and start to your weekend. 

It's been a lonnnnng time since I've done a FOTD post and since I seem to be on a blog

roll this week I thought I would post my latest look. 

I didn't take a picture of the products used in this look... so if you want to see what they look

like just google them to get a better idea. 

My favorite part of this look is for sure the eyes. I don't think this picture does justice to the 

Wet n Wild "Silent Treatment" trio. I love the lid color in this palette so very much. It's a gorgeous

plum/purple taupe with a silver undertone that is a very unique color on it's own. I added the dark brown crease color on the outer edge of my eye and put the peach highlighter color under my brow. 

The price of the Wet N Wild Silent Treatment trio is a whopping $2.99 at your local drugstore and 

I cannot stress how incredible these shades are for the price. I can be really hesitant of cheap products 

and their payoff b/c often you get what you pay for. However, Wet n Wild really does have very

good formulated, well pigmented, and lasting eyeshadows!! This is by far my favorite trio and shades

by them b/c it really is so unique and works well with my dark eyes and hair. But, the purple 

taupe shade will work well with any skin/eye color. Go buy it.... NOW!! You will love it. 

Ok, so on to the origins of my face. 

Foundation: Clinique Stay Matte 

Concealer: Estee Lauder Double Wear

Blush: Lorac Velvet Rope (great matte baked blush for fall or year round)

Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle 

Eyes: Wet n Wild Silent Treatment 

Liner: Urban Decay Zero (black)

Mascara: Almay Get up & Grow 

Lips: NYX Beige gloss 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Product of the Day- Perfume

Today's product of the day is brought to you from Paris. Ok, no I didn't really go to Paris

to pick up from perfume, but it would make for a better blog post if I had, right?! 

While in ATL a few weeks ago I decided I wanted a new perfume and I wanted it to be 

something that was similar to my favorite scents, (Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana and 

Flora by Gucci) but very unique in it's own way. I explained to the lady at the Nordstrom

counter that I am very sensitive to strong scents and I want something light, but feminine. 

After sampling and sniffing lots of different scents and going back to coffee beans to prevent

myself from passing out we came up with something that I really like. 

Hermes (pronounced with the H silent) has a perfume called "Un Jardin Sur Le Nil." 

I am pretty terrible with describing scents so I'm going to let Sephora do the job:

"Inspired by annual themes at Hermès, this fragrance is an olfactory stroll, in situ creation, in the footsteps of the in-house perfumer.
Jardin sur le Nil is a sensory stroll along the Nile River. A new translation of freshness: green, mouth-watering, and tangy scents. A fragrance of light and life, generous and sparkling."

When smelling this as compared to Light Blue you can definitely smell a more green scent. That

probably doesn't make much sense if you have never smelled anything like this, but it's very 

fresh, light, and it does have a certain orange citrus smell about it. I smell green above everything 

else though. Very grassy and summery. 

The price tag on this small little 1.6 oz bottle is hefty. I have never spent $90 before taxes on a 

perfume for myself, but this was a special purchase and weekend with Mdub. We both decided 

to pick out scents that we liked on each other rather than picking something out on our own. 

And when wearing our scents it would remind us of each other and our weekend. 

So cute, right?! : ) 

So, with all that said this is not something I wear everyday. I could wear it everyday b/c it is light

enough, but due to the price and it being more of a memorable purchase I choose to wear it more

for special things. I think it's one of those perfumes that really grows on you the more and more

you wear it. I wasn't 100% sure about it when I first started wearing, but after sporting it several times

I really do love it and look forward to putting it on. 

If you are interested in reading some more positive reviews click here. 

What is your current fragrance obsession? 

Product of the Day- Simple Skincare

Today's product of the day is brought to you by Simple. This is a skincare line that is sold

at drugstores and Target. They market themselves as being "the sensitive skin experts" and 

their products claim to be infused with vitamins and minerals that are good for your skin. 

A few months ago I picked up a few of their goodies and was impressed with all but one 

thing. 

I will start with my favorite product, the refreshing facial wash gel. This stuff is amazing, guys.

I feel like it gets my face so squeaky clean without drying out my skin. It foams up very 

nicely (which is always a plus for me... it makes me feel like I am really getting clean.) 

It is fragrance free so which is also nice for sensitive gals! 

With the wash I also purchased the cleansing facial wipes and the eye make up remover. 

Nothing but good things to say about the wipes. I mean it's really hard to mess this up. It's pretty basic.

But, they get the job done and are also fragrance free. I am a big fan of make up remover wipes. 

This is apart of my daily skincare routine. I like to use these to get all my makeup off and then follow

up with a wash or cleanser to really clean my skin and pores. 

Now, onto my disappointment. I was not impressed nor a fan of the eye make up remover at ALL!

Let me preface this with saying that I do typically wear primer, shadow, mascara, and a good liner on

my eyes. So, there is a lot to remove I suppose, but this baby just did not get the job done well. I had

to really rub (which is something I don't want to do in my eye area) to get things off and I still had a lot of leftovers the next morning. This is not something I would repurchase obviously. My favorite 

eye m/u remover is Neutrogena oil free. You get everything off in just a swipe or two and never

have to tug or pull. It leaves my eyes with a very clean and even refreshed feeling. 

Overall I really like this line and would try more of their products. 

What drugstore skincare products are you liking?! 

Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag?

I hope everyone had a fabulous Labor day weekend. I always get a little sad over LD b/c

it is the holiday that ends the summer. You know how much I love spring and summer and I hate

to see it go. Sad day. 

However, I did have a lovely long weekend in Gulf Shores, AL with my whole dad's side of the

family. Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, Cousins, and mom and dad. We have never had a beach 

trip with everyone and it was truly a memorable weekend that I'm so thankful to have. My 

grandparents are old and you never know when something will happen. So, I cling to memories

like these with them. I really cling to as many family memories as I can get. I feel overly 

blessed with such a wonderful family. There is such strength, comedy, strong values, integrity, 

character, and fun that comes with the Story Fam. I'm going to quit now before I need my tissue. 

There are some great outlets in Foley near Gulf Shores and I picked up a couple things at 

Coach. Sad thing is I am really not sure how much I like them. They were semi impulsive buys and 

now that I'm home and have bills and other things I want for fall I'm kind of like whyyyy did I buy 

this stuff?! Ha. I just felt like I needed to bring something back from the beach. 

This purse was totally impulsive. I literally grabbed it on my way to pay and decided to purchase

it in about 1 min. Brooke doesn't do this. Ever. I think through things meticulously. To the point where

it can annoy the heck out of me. So, I'm not sure why I decided to purchase this. Actually, I do.

It was 50% off and then you got an additional 30% off for Labor Day. 

I'm really into cross over bags lately. Carrying less and being hands free is so nice. Esp in fall

for tailgates, shopping, or weekend fun. 

With all the discounts this purse rang up for little over $100. 

I'm just not sure that I love it that much. It's practical. Functional. And will go with everything, but

$100 for a cross over is a bit pricy. 

These tortoise shell shades had been a purchase I was contemplating over the weekend.

I first saw them on Friday while we jetted over to the shops when a shower came through. 

They are just a classic pair of shades. 

Side view. I like that they don't have a big C. Not a fan of that... or the 

ones that say "Coach" on the side. 

Front view. 

What do you think about my goods? I'm so torn and conflicted about them. I love having that 

feeling of walking away with something and loving it and knowing you got a good deal or buying somethingyou have saved for and really wanted. I don't have that feeling with these things. Boo. 

So, since there is a Coach outlet about 20 min from where I live I may take these back this week. 

Thoughts? Opinions? Yes, please!