Beauty Army

For my birthday, Marta gave me a box of beauty samples from Beauty Army. Once I signed on to the website, I was asked a series of questions about my skin type and hair. Then I got to choose my samples. A few days later my box arrived.

Pretty box!

No 7 night and day serums (I'm looking forward to trying those) and Miracle Skin Transformer Acne Control is the smaller package. 

The perfume (lili) is very floral with a hint of musk. I like it. TheraBreath mouthwash and fresh breath lozenges are in the bag.

The top two products are  body wash and a moisturizer from Michael Todd Organics. There are 3 teas from Mighty Leaf (Orange Dulce, Organic Spring Jasmine, and Chamomile Citrus).

Overall a good mix of products. Thank you, Marta, for the lovely birthday gift!

Have you tried Beauty Army?

Birchbox

Last year, I gave Marta a 3 month subscription to Birchbox for her birthday. Birchbox sends a box of high end beauty products every month. I was excited when Marta gave me a 3 month subscription for my birthday. I wanted to take pictures of one of my boxes to show you. This is January's box:

I am super excited to try the Frownies and Viva La Juicy.

I absolutely love getting each box and trying the goodies. I highly recommend giving Birchbox to anyone. They even have boxes for men.

I was not paid to post my thoughts on Birchbox. Just a happy customer. 

Currently....

Eating...

Tai and I heard the Applegate commercial on the radio one day. You might have heard it, a couple are discussing hot dogs and antibiotics in beef. We're both concerned about what we are eating so we decided to try these hot dogs. Wow, they are delicious. These taste like what a hot dog should taste like.  These are now our go to hot dogs.

Using....

I bought this Olay knockoff of the Clarisonic a few months ago. I have a hard time getting rid of white and black heads especially around my nose. I didn't want to drop a couple of hundred on the Clarisonic so I decided to try the Olay version. I absolutely adore it. I suck at remembering to use it. I can't keep it in my shower (no room) but when I remember to use it, my skin feels so soft. I need to remember to use it more often.

Drinking...

This was a total impulse buy. I was cruising past the milk products and spotted this mocha iced coffee on the shelf. I bought it and forgot about til Tai spotted it in the fridge a few days later. He asked if he could have some so we shared a glass then poured ourself a glass each. It's delicious. Perfect for those afternoon pick me ups.

What are you enjoying this week?

Ulta Eye Shadow

Last chance to enter my $50 CSN giveaway. Go here to enter.

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I horde eye shadow. I have a hard time buying eye shadow then dumping a few months later. I know, ew. I'm much better with mascara and eye liner. Eye shadow doesn't touch my eye and I use a new applicator every time so I take more risks with it. How risky? I've had some eye shadows longer than I've know Tai (more than 5 years).
A few weeks ago I did an inventory and noticed there were specific colors I had multiples of as well as a few that were just dust. Since I got a gift certificate to Ulta (thank you Marta!) I headed there to replace my eye shadow collection. I'd never bought Ulta eye shadow before but I will be buying it again. When I was in they were having a Buy 2, 2 Free sale. Here's what I bought:

Both Molten and Deep Sea have sparkles in them. Not so much that you can't use it for during the day but enough to feel fancy. Molten and Truffle are my everyday favorites. All the colors hold up well all day. I'll will definitely be going back to Ulta for eye shadow.

What Is Beauty?

While reading The Beauty Myth, I started thinking what do I find beautiful? The women on tv, in magazine ads or people I know? Honestly I stopped reading magazines cause they made me feel bad. I don't have her body, her skin, her wardrobe. I feel a lot better about myself since I stopped reading those magazines and focus what I like. Perhaps I don't have the latest clothing or the newest hairstyle but I feel better.
So I want to show you what I think is beautiful. Starting with me:

In November I started a project where for the entire month, I took a photo of myself everyday. This is my favorite of the bunch.

 Two of my favorite people, Pat and Jen. And they look this beautiful all the time!

 Ashley and Marta, two beautiful women I'm lucky to call friends.

 Another beautiful friend, Erin.

 Adria and me on my beautiful wedding day. Adria's beautiful and a bad ass to boot.

And the beautiful Cindy with me at Kris' wedding.
Then there's all of you, my beautiful readers. Yes, I honestly believe you all beautiful too. How often do we give ourselves compliments? Probably not as often as we criticize ourselves and others. Stop looking for the flaws and look for the beauty in life. It's so much more rewarding.
Heather of Heather's Dish started The Faces of Beauty website "to celebrate the incredible and unique beauty in all of us.  It throws off the societal pressures to look a certain way and gives an opportunity to share what we love about ourselves." Check out the beauty there and spread the love, starting with yourself.

Tai's Fragrance Choices

When I met Tai I thought he was pretty low key. He didn't seem to need a lot of time to get ready or have a lot of "beauty" products. But after a while I realized he did have some things he was high maintenance about. At first I didn't notice that he wore cologne every day. At first I thought he was just trying for me, but no he wears cologne everyday and he likes to have a bunch to choose from.
At first he just had Obsession.

But right around our first Christmas together he mentioned he was running out, so I could him the Calvin Klein sampler of men's fragrances which included Obession, CK One, Eternity, and Euphoria.

 

He really liked all of them and they lasted him a while. But Jeff took him fragrance shopping and he came home with an old favorite of his.

Tai used to wear this when he lived in LA. He hadn't been able to find it locally here. He didn't want me to buy it online since it might break in route or be the wrong scent. But he found it when he went shopping with Jeff. This is his current everyday scent.

But when he was shopping with Jeff he also discovered a new scent. He raved about it and took me to Macy's to check it out.

Neither of us are a fan of the packaging but I admit it smells good on him. I bought him a bottle as a just cause gift. This is his special occasion fragrance.

I have one bottle of perfume. Tai bought it for me when we first started dating.

I still have about 3/4 of the bottle. I rarely wear perfume. I prefer scented lotions so I only wear it when I have unscented lotion which is rare for me.

What about you? What's your favorite fragrance?

Currently....

drinking

Tai and I started drinking acai berry juice every day. Tai really feels that it's helping him and giving him more energy. I haven't noticed a difference yet.

using

 

I needed a new night cream. I liked Oil Of Olay's night cream but I was starting to break out. Mostly due to the fact I forgot wash my face at night. So I decided to try Boots Anti-Blemish Night Moisturizer.  My skin's been clearer this week and some of the redness I had disappeared.

eating

I discovered these turkey meatball one day. Now we always have a bag in the freezer. Such a great quick meal. I've used them in soup, spaghetti, on sandwiches. They are delicious.

Looking for a Night Cream Recommendation

The day cream I was using caused me to have allergic reaction. Nothing I love more than having bumps all over my face. I bought some Cetaphil day lotion, so hopefully that will not irritate my skin.
I finished the night cream I was using. It thankfully was not giving me an allergic reaction. I choose not to buy Garnier Nutritioniste Anti-winkle Night Cream (say that ten times fast) right now because I think it's too heavy for summer. I bought Oil of Olay's Original Hydrating cream, an oldie but a goodie.
Can anyone recommend a good light night cream? I have combination skin and I'm not needing any heavy duty wrinkle cream. I prefer something I can get at the drug store.

Currently....

readingI really enjoyed Revolutionary Road. I understood Jack and April's feelings and by the end of the book felt that I had become friends with them. I was sad to finish the book. I liked how the book made me think about my own life. Was I happy? What had I given up? Yates' writing style was incredible and really got under my skin in a good way. Highly recommended. Hello My Name is Alice also wrote a review-watch out though, some minor spoilers. Melody's Reading Corner did a review as well.

using
I bought this before we left for Vegas. It really works. I get dry skin patches in the winter but not with this. Totally combats dry skin!

watching

We love Nathan Filion so I knew we'd be watching this show. We love this show. We love the back and forth between Castle and Beckett. I hope this show sticks around.

Do More With Stuff You Already Have

I'm a big fan of using things I have in the house for more than their original purpose. I thought I'd share some of things I use and find some ideas I didn't know about.

Salt-As you know, I'm a huge fan of salt. I use sea salt to scrub my cast iron pans clean. I mix enough salt to cover the bottom of the pan and dishwashing liquid and scub with a towel. Works really well on getting stuck on food off. But did you know you can kill poison ivy with it? Or clean your bathroom with it?

Sugar-I don't buy expensive bath scrubs. I take a handful of sugar and mix it with my body wash. It works just as well as the stuff over the counter. I can even use it on my face (mixed with cetaphil instead of body wash). Did you know you can start a fire with sugar?

Coffee filters-I often use these as serving bowls for popcorn and Tai uses them to clean his glasses. But what about using them to absorb odors?

Listerine-We have half a bottle of this stuff cause I can't stand it. It burns and makes my eyes water. I prefer Act. But now I can use it as deodorant?

Ziploc bags-I love Ziploc or Glad bags, all the same to me. My friend Jen taught me to make cookies in them. She adds all the ingredients and then mixes it in the bag. The resulting dough can be shaped into a log for easy cutting. She's so smart. But how about using them to make sure your packages arrive intact?

So what about you? What are those everyday items that you use for their non-intended purpose?

Post Wedding Chop

I actually chopped my hair before we left for Houston, but didn't really feel like talking about it back then. I went in for another hair cut to so I thought I'd share.
Remember how long it was before?This was the day before our wedding. Now this is how long it is now!I chopped off 10". I was able to donate it to Locks of Love and I got a free haircut. Score! It's not too short, but not as long as it was before!
Here's the front:I like the swoopy bangs. Plus it has a lot of movement too it. I think it's too short but I'll get use it. Plus it grows quickly anyway.

Time for Fall Makeup

It's getting close to the time where I start thinking about changing over to a fall palate. Truthfully I love fall colors. In the spring I crave pinks and aquamarine but by the end of summer give me deep purples and forest greens. I need to update some of makeup so I'm going to be making a trip to Ulta/Sephora soon.

That deep purple nail polish would be for toes. Man, I need a pedicure badly! I'm digging the smoky eye and that Too Faced Palatte says that it makes the smoky eye simple. I think that I need that!

Currently....

watching

I've seen this movie twice. I love ABBA so I was dancing in my seat. It's incredibly cheesy but I don't really care. It's a fun silly story. But now I have ABBA songs running through my mind all day. Pierce Brosnan should not be singing though. He was the worst part for me. I still can't wait to buy it so I can watch it again!

reading
I loved Good In Bed. I was less impressed with her other novels. I was excited to see a continuation of Cannie's story. But I have to say still not that impressed. I'm about half way done but I'm not loving it. Perhaps it's because the chapters switch between Cannie and her daughter, Joy. I don't know. I see a predictable end but I'm not racing to get to it. It's more like I know this will all work out so why the hell are you people freaking now? Sigh. Perhaps I'll change my mind.

using
My old coworker used to work at Sephora part time. He'd bring us his freebies he didn't want. I snatched this during one of his giveaways. I perfer to wash my hair at night. But since my hair is oily I don't put conditioner in it. With this, I put a little in the morning and it makes my hair so glossy and so silky. I love it.

loving
I got this electric knife as a shower gift from Ashley. I've always wanted one especially after Alton had one. It cuts bread so incredibly fast! It's so easy to use. I don't know how I lived without one!

Make Up Trial #1

On Saturday Kris and I went to get mini-makeovers at the Estee Lauder counter at Macy's. I had heard about their Double Wear foundation so I wanted to give it a try. I thought it felt really good and lasted until we got back to Kris' and her puppy licked my face. Saturday was warm but it didn't feel the make up sliding off my face. So I bought the foundation and a pressed powder. Here's a picture (and I apologize for the face I am making):I tend to squint when I smile so I refused to smile. I wanted to be able to see my eye makeup! I'm not happy with the lip color but I can keep looking. Now I have to make a time to meet with Tammy to do a hair and makeup trial. Of course I'll post pictures when we do that.

Mwaaah!

I don't wear a lot of lipstick. In fact I almost never wear lipstick. I wear chapstick. That usually covers me most of the time. I don't like lipstick because it wears off quickly. And I hate the ring it leaves around my mouth. Occasionally I wear lip gloss. My favorite Dior gloss is too sticky. Tai hates it. He doesn't like the sticky. So I need to find wedding day lipstick. Something that will fade away rather than leave any remnant behind. I'm looking for long wear lipstick.
Here are some shades I like from Clinique:
In Creamy Nude.In Honeynut.
In Honey Gloss which I think I used to wear when I was 16. I can't use Clinique. I remember wearing it in high school. That silver case reminds me of old ladies. Don't ask.
From the Sephora brand we have:Golden Rose Shimmer from their Maniac Long Wear line. For $12 might be worth a try.
From Stila, we have:Darling.
Serenade. Both are from their long wear lip color line. It say that it's like wearing lipstick and gloss all in one. Maybe, but for $18 I would rather be convinced.
I used to have LORAC's sheer wash in Sheer Emotion. It was what I liked to wear when I went out. But it's kind of a pain to apply. It cannot be applied on the fly and it's pretty matte so it needs to be followed up by a gloss. A little more than I think I can handle on my wedding day.
So ladies, what long wearing lipstick do you like? Any that I should try? I'm a pretty low maintenance gal so lip pencils, lipsticks and gloss will leave me saying forget about it. Also I kind of noticed that except for the LORAC all the colors are kind of the same so I think I'm looking for a peachy color.