Weekend Rewind What's in My Bag?

So, you saw what I did this past weekend... now to the even better part. What was in my

bag while staying at the beach?! It's funny that I managed to basically pick up just

beauty things while on vaca. Things that I can get just right down the road from where I live.

No exciting clothes from a unique boutique shop... just beauty goodies and a few tees. 

Their was an Ulta right down from where we stayed and mom and I picked up a few things

on a rainy stormy day. 

It is borderline crazy how much these polishes are. $14 for a bottle of nail polish seems a bit

out there, right?! I agree. That's why these polishes are really a treat. I got my first two Butter 

London polishes over Christmas and really love the way they apply! They have a very

watery kind of texture that makes them thinner and SO much easier to apply without

a thick nasty mess. 

So, I decided to treat myself to a hot pink called (Snog) and a fun glittery 

purple in (No More Waity Katie.) BTW, love the name of purple. You know that's what

the Londoners called Kate Middleton when she was in waiting for her prince to pop

the question. Apparently, everyone in England felt like she she was just waiting for him to propose. 

I mean... he is a guy worth waiting for. 

Onto some skincare. My friend Alison recently bought this Be Pure Mud Mask by this brand

Formula 10.0.6. I really know nothing about his brand nor did she. No one recommended it 

or anything. We both have been borderline obsessed with noticing our pores lately and trying to find

solutions. 

So, I decided to pick up both the cleanser and the mud mask and see how they work in 

cleansing and refining my pores and impurities. I like that the cleanser has Green Tea infused in. 

Green Tea is supposed to be great for your skin and effective in fighting blemishes. The mud

mask smells really nice and I'm looking forward to trying it out. 

Both of these products are very affordable. $5.99 a piece at Ulta. Not sure if they are sold 

anywhere else. 

So, I have had my eye on the newly released "They're Real" mascara from Benefit. 

I have heard people rave about this mascara and how wonderful and volumizing it is. It seems 

to be a cult fave. 

I don't like to pay much for mascara. I really feel like most of them work about the same way

on my lashes and the drugstore brands do the trick. However, I did splurge a little on this one 

to see if it is truly what everyone says it is. 

One thing I have found to be very different than most mascara's is the brush applicator. 

It's got a rubbery spiky kind of wand and the couple days I have used it I can really 

feel it pulling my lashes. It's like the bristles really grab hold of your lashes to get the 

product on them and then pull them for lengthening and volumizing. 

This mascara retails for $22. 

 My sweet mom always has little "treats" for me when I come home. So, when I met

them at the beach she had a "treat" for me in my bedroom in the condo. Ha. 

She bought me these Yes to Cucumber face wipes. I have used these before and enjoyed. 

They are super gentle on your skin and just have a fresh sensation with the light cucumber

scent. I have been using some form of a face wipe as my first step of removing the make-up 

on my face and then following up with my Purity cleanser. This leaves

me with a great clean face! : )

I found this little complexion brush for exfoliating at the basket near the check out counter

at Ulta. It was $2.99 and I thought it would be perfect for traveling when you want a deeper clean, 

but don't want to pack your clarisonic or in my case skinsonic. This brush has a great soft head

and is small and compact enough to throw into your make up bag. 

So, that completes this edition of What's in my Bag. Leave it to me to run off to the beach 

and come back with some beauties from Ulta. 

I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Verse of the day:

"Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow."

Isaiah 1:16-17

Weekend Rewind. What's in my Bag?

This weekend I got to spend in Panama City Beach, FL with my mom and dad.

Have I mentioned this is my most favorite time of the year?! Well, just in case you

forgot.... THIS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR!!! :)

I love drives to the beach. Windows down. Radio turned up loud. No make up. Comfy

clothes. Maybe a hat. Flip flops. Tan skin. Everything about summer is just easy. You

don't have to think about what to wear or what to pack. I really think I should live on

the beach for a year or two. I am dying to visit Miami this summer... any takers?! Never

been before and I SO badly want to experience their culture. I imagine my fedora hat,

some short shorts, baggy off the shoulder tops, big hoop earrings, and maybe I'll grab

a tat while I'm down there. ;) A henna of course.

Anyway, here are some snapshots of my weekend. We had great weather on Friday.

Rained all day Saturday which brought in the cold and wind. It was sunny yesterday,

but just extremely windy. I enjoyed sitting in the hot tub to stay warm.

POPCORN SCRIMP!!! I love me some bite size shrimp.

Had no idea until I got down there that some of my good friends, Mallory, Austin,

and their baby girl Finley were also down for her spring break. So, they picked me up

for dinner on Saturday night and we drove over to Rosemary Beach where they were staying.

What a cute and romantic little place!!! They rented a carriage house for the week and it

is a precious little house and community.

We had dinner at Old Florida Fish House. I ordered sauteed shrimp with cheese grits.

YUMMY in my TUMMY!!! We had some crab claws and fried green maters as well.

Good food. Good company. Fun times!

Look who made an appearance at the beach.... Millie the Maltipoo!! Ha. She loved it

minus all the sand she ate yesterday on her little walk which led to her being really sick.

I was getting pretty worried. But, alas she had a good BM this morning filled with with

clumps of sand! We are good people!

Stay tuned for the What's in my Bag part of my weekend.

I got some Beauty goodies.

Have a Sunshiny kind of day!

Revlon Mascara Review

"Get glamorous, big volume lashes from every angle" is what Revlon

promises with one of their newer mascaras... Photoready 3d.

NEGATIVE!!! There is nothing special about this mascara at all in my opinion. I

am not very brand loyal to any mascara. I enjoy shopping around different brands

and typically always buy drug store. This is not a mascara I would re-purchase

and for me that says a lot about how I feel about the product. Nothing out of the

ordinary and for a mascara that claims to be volumizing.

I do think it provides good separation and maybe ok in lengthening, but that's about

it. If I were rating this on a scale of 1 to 5 for a volumizing mascara I would give

it a 2 or 3. I will be sticking to my Loreal Voluminous Mascara (a personal

fave) as well as continuing to find the next best thing!

What mascara's are your personal faves?!

Leave me a comment... you know you wanna!

MAC Highlighting Review

So, Summer is right around the corner and nothing says healthy glowy skin

better than some good highlighting products for your cheekbones!

MAC has some great products that have become a staple in my make-up bag

and a step I use every day to get glowy healthy looking skin.

First things first. Apply MAC cream color base in the shade Shell. It's a soft pink

beige with shimmer. Use your fingertips or a angled sponge and apply this

to the tops of your cheekbones.

You can apply this under or over your foundation. I prefer for it to be applied over

foundation before I apply blush and bronzer.

Then after applying Shell I take MAC skinfinish in Soft & Gentle to set the cream

and for an added glow. A lot of days I will just use this powder on it's own to

the tops of cheekbones without using the cream. It's a peach bronze powder with a hint

of shimmer.

In this picture you get the idea of what your cheekbones will look like with both

products applied. Just makes for a pretty, feminine glow! : )

Have a Beautiful Day!

Maybelline Blush Review

I bought the new Dream Bouncy blushes by Maybelline recently and I have to admit

these are not my fave!

I thought the idea of these blushes seemed really cool. They have a bouncy memory

foam kind of texture, but the quality of these products are not impressive to me at all.

They go on VERY sheer and don't give much color at all. Yes, they can be build-able,

but who really wants to continue to build more and more blush when there are better

products that you can get the look you want in one swipe.

I bought two shades.

Left ( Hot Tamale)

Right (Coffee Cake)

Here you can see how these blushes respond to me placing my finger into the product.

Kind of makes for a fun texture. Maybelline claims that these blushes have a powder

texture yet melts on the face like a cream. They also claim for this blush to be a

natural sheer wash of color. I would agree with their claims... it is a very natural

finish and if you are not into bright blushes or want a lot of color on your face then

you may like these.

I am an advocate of cream blush in the summer. I like a good dewy effect on the cheeks to

give you that healthy summer look. However, I think there are better cream cheek

products out there. If you are willing to splurge a little I like Urban Decay glide on cheek

tint or MAC Cremeblend blushes.

Hope you have a "Cheeky" Day!

Loreal Review

Well, Hello there. Long time no see, huh?! I'm going through my not wanting

to blog phase that I often hit... boo. But, I've been thinking about trying to do a

post per day with a review. What do you think? I have said often that I blog about

things I want or buy, but feel like I don't do as many actual reviews on these products

and give my feedback.

I don't know why I didn't do this during Lent when I wasn't shopping... this would have

been a perfect project, but sometimes my ideas are like a great afterthought.

Anyway, I'm going to try to commit to doing more reviews on products I own and

am currently using and give my opinions of why I love them, hate them, or am

indifferent on.

I have been using Loreal Magic Souffle Foundation for a couple of months now

and can honestly say I LOVE it. I bought this as a back up foundation for some of my high

end stuff I use and in the process has become my new fave!! This can be purchased at any drugstore or Target or Wal-mart for around 11-15 dollars.

When I first started using I wasn't in love with it b/c it does have a much

different texture that what I had been used to. It does have a whipped

souffle feel to it. It leaves my face with more of a matte powdery effect and at first I didn't

like that. I had been using Make Up Forever HD foundation which had a much more

dewy luminous finish. After using for a few weeks I really started to love the way my skin

looked when wearing this foundation. I never felt like I got oily or shiny and my

skin just had a very natural even tone to it.

When first applied you may think your face looks a little too matte or powdery, but just

let it set into your skin and do it's job and see how great your skin/face looks later in the day.

I think you will be impressed!

(see texture above)

I apply this foundation with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (sold at Ulta) or with my

fingers for a more natural finish. I have been picking this foundation over a very high

end foundation I bought at Sephora by Hourglass. I just am in love with this foundation

and what it does for my skin.

Loreal claims that this foundation:

"Creates a flawless , silky, even toned finish and when applies daily will achieve

smooth poreless perfection."

I feel like it does all of those things. I am been struggling with feeling like my

pores around my nose and the apples of my cheeks are much more visible. Maybe

I just didn't notice them that much before, but I do now! Gross! I feel like this foundation

does a FANTASTIC job at making pores look so much less noticeable and just overall

great tone!

My shade for the winter months with no tan has been Buff Beige. I will definitely be

re-purchasing this again for the summer and will go up a shade or two.

Have a Great day! Let me know what foundations you have been loving lately!

Weekend Rewind. What's in my Bag?

So, Easter has come and gone. I hope you had a wonderful weekend with those

closest to you. I mentioned this in my last post, but Easter is truly one of my most

favorite times of the year. I feel like it's the holiday that kicks off spring which means

bright colors, fun dresses, warm weather, long days, and summer right around the corner.

I truly am the happiest this time of the year. LOVE Spring. I had a great weekend with

my parents. It was laid back and busy all at the same time. My sweet Maltipoo and I went

home Friday night and stayed until Monday morning. My parents have had a really rough

time lately b/c they had to put their mini schnauzer to sleep the week before last. She

was truly their little world and not having her in the house is so sad and lonely. So,

having sweet Millie around this weekend seemed to lift their spirits and bring some joy

back into their lives. :)

So, how did Lent go you ask?! For those of you that don't know I decided to give up

shopping for Lent this year. I felt like it was something I needed to do and really challenge

myself to not spend and shop and use those resources in other ways. SO... I did

really well the first 5 weeks. Only bought things that were essential to my needs and then

comes the week before Easter and it's like everything just kind of went out the window.

I CHEATED. I BROKE LENT. My friend Rach told me I was the worst Jesus ever!!! ha.

I would probably agree with statement. I surely don't pretend to be Jesus and praise Him

who has bestowed so much grace and mercy into our lives. Practicing Lent is such

a reminder of how weak we truly are. How easy it is for our hearts to stray. How we

are constantly in need of a Savior because sinning is so easy. Now, do I think I sinned by

breaking Lent? No, I do not. I'm not going to be legalistic with this... b/c at the end

of the day it's a challenge I set before myself. I don't think God loves me any less b/c

I bought a few dresses the week before Lent ended, but it does show me how thankful

I am for Christ and that He was committed to his mission for us! He was committed to

bearing the sins of the world and obtaining the wrath of a Holy and Just God so that

you and I could have Hope that we never deserved! Praise God that he is so merciful. I

will never understand his unfailing love and redemption, but my heart is overwhelmed

with thanksgiving for what HE has done!

While at church the Lord spoke to me with a verse in Matthew 10:8

"Freely you have received freely give."

This truly says it all and the message of Easter!

Amen!

So, here are a few pictures from my Easter weekend....

Millie the Maltipoo got her Martha Stewart Easter bunny toy on Friday.

She. Loves. That. Thing!!! It's so cute!

I picked up some Tea Cake cookies from a local bakery here called Edgar's.

Mom and Dad really enjoyed snacking on them. They are so good.

Not too sweet.

Easter Dress is by Rachel Roy at Macy's. I'm really diggin it. This was one of

my purchases that broke Lent. If you haven't seen any of Rachel Roy dresses at Macy's

you should check them out. They are all so fabulous. A little on the pricy side for me,

but if you can find a way to wear it to several events worth the money!

And Millie's purple pastel bow in compliments of Pet Smart!! : )

Hope you had a great Easter!

Nail of the Day

Happy Easter Week!!

This is truly one of my favorite weeks of the year. I feel like it's the start of spring,

we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the hope that he has given us, and it's

just such a family centered fun holiday.

It's also the end of Lent for those who have been sacrificing something....

Updates on Lent you say?! hmmm. Ok, I will give you those updates in another post. :)

Onto my NOTD post. This is a fun brighter spring color. I am always a fan of anything

purple on my nails and with all this insanely hot weather we have been experiencing

in the South this is a fun shade!

This is an OPI shade called "Ate Berries in the Canaries." I applied two coats with

a topcoat to set things. OPI polishes are great... no need to try to sell you on them.

If you are interested in buying this shade or any other OPI polish I would recommend

checking on Amazon. You can get much better prices than buying in stores.

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

Much love,