Updated Brands I Want To Try ♥
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Hey guys, sorry for the super late post on the April Ipsy bag! I got the bag last weekend, but I had a final exam this week so it took longer than expected to write this post. But I definitely wanted to talk about the bag because this by far is my most favorite Ipsy bag so far! Okay now granted this is only my 3rd Ipsy bag ever, but I got a great selection of products this month. The bag was beautiful and I can see myself using all of the products I received.
First, let me start off with talking about the bag. It's a beautiful straw zippie bag with various colors of thread woven in. It's also a bit bigger than the other Ipsy clutches I've received. I'm loving the bright colors and the artisan look of this bag! It's going to go great for my travel bag or for when I'm taking a tote bag to the park or the pool or something this summer. Next I'll talk about the only skincare item I received this month, the Lather Ultra Light Face Lotion. I'm not a huge fan of face product samples, so I'm going to be skipping this one. But the scent of this product is heavenly. It smells like rosewater. Maybe I'll use this as a hand cream just for the scent, who knows?
Next, my favorites -- the makeup! The full-sized/deluxe sample of the month that everyone received was the theBalm Cosmetics NUDE Dude Eyeshadow Single. Mine was in the shade Fit, which is a really beautiful golden-peach color. It looks copper in the pan, but when I swatched it on my arm it looked more golden. I'll have to see how it wears on my lids. I've never tried theBalm products but I've always wanted to, so I'm super duper excited about this sample! This will definitely be going in my travel makeup bag for my pediatrics rotation next month!
Next up, the JulieG Nail Color in Damsel. I actually applied this to my nails a few days ago and I absolutely LOVE the color, the texture, and quality of this nail polish. It's a really nice cool-toned hot pink/fuschia shade for the summer. I was amazed to see that it was opaque after only 1 coat! I applied 2 coats and topped it off with the Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat. Three days later, the color is still beautiful and no chips yet!
I also received a gorgeous bronzy-nude lipgloss this month. It's the Starlooks Satin Finish Lip Gloss in Cuddle. The color is really pretty and will look great in the summer with a nice tan, but I'm not too crazy about the formula. It's very sticky and the applicator isn't the best. But I'm still going to use it since I don't have any bronze-y lip glosses in my collection. And the last product I got this month was another lip product, the Mullein & Sparrow Mini Lip & Cheek Tint. Not sure if this is a new brand, but I've been seeing it a lot on YouTube recently. Again, the size of this sample is pretty generous! The texture reminds me of the Rosebud & Co Lip Salves, but the color is more of a a rosy-coral. It smells like orange chocolate to me, and I wish I could just eat it whenever I smell it. I like the natural look it gives my lips so I can definitely see myself using it on a no-makeup makeup day or just when I'm out running errands. It can be worn on the cheeks as well, but wearing jelly-like products on my face makes me twitch a little.
So those are all the goodies I received in my Ipsy bag this month. I'm super super super excited about trying all of these products and can see myself using all of the them on a regular basis (except for the face product). I'm also really happy that some of the products I received were brands I had been wanting to try for a while now. Also the bag this month is absolutely stunning and reminds me of summertime! Next month's bag is going to have a lot to look up to.
Oh! And just to update you guys, I have been LOVING the Pixi by Petra eyeshadow and the Crown brush I got last month in my March Ipsy Bag. That duo is the most perfect, gorgeous travel-sized eyeshadow pair I own and the flat shader side of the Crown brush applies shadow all over my lid like a dream. I was even thinking of picking up some Real Techniques larger eyeshadow brushes just to have more of those types of brushes. Maybe I'll do a quick makeup look post with those products in the future? Hmm.
Monday, April 20, 2015
I'm super proud to be bringing this post to you guys this morning!
My last Happy & Healthy Words post was back in January, but things became so busy in the months following that I didn't get a chance to begin my health journey in January like I originally wanted. However, I'm super happy to say that I have been controlling my diet for the past THREE WEEKS and have even begun exercising again!!! Now, I'm not really following a catabolic plan where I'm shedding weight, but I have gotten my eating habits under control -- insanely much better control than where I was earlier this year, which was one of my biggest goals for this year. My diet is incredibly unhealthy and definitely needs a lot of modifications. I've let myself spiral out of control for the past six years to the point where I've gained a LOT of weight which I'm not proud of. So this year, my biggest goal is to be able to eat a normal diet and to lose some of the weight I've accumulated. I'm taking baby steps towards my weight loss goal, starting with regulating my diet.
The biggest thing I'm super proud of is the fact that I'm no longer eating out. No more getting takeout for dinner, eating at the hospital cafeteria during lunch, skipping breakfast, eating tons of salty snacks. That may sound like a fairly easy thing to do, but for someone like me whose not too savvy at cooking and so accustomed to eating take out, it was a huge feat. I'm super happy and feel so accomplished. And honestly, it's so much cheaper and more satisfying to cook meals at home and pack lunches. As a result, my sodium intake has dropped significantly. I feel like I have more energy and just happier. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the guilt of getting takeout is no longer there. Like I said, I feel very accomplished when I cook at home and it's a ton of fun trying out new recipes!
I hear that it takes 21 days to change a habit, and I completely agree with that statement. Now that I've spent 3 weeks eating at home-made meals, I no longer have huge cravings for McDonalds or fried chicken or greasy Chinese food. Of course I still want to eat these things and crave junk food from time to time, but I'm able to control myself a lot more. I allot myself one day (usually on the weekend) when I'm allowed to eat whatever I want. So if I was craving frozen pizza, I'd go ahead and eat a frozen pizza on Saturday night as a cheat meal.
I can't tell you guys how excited I am that I'm finally able to take matters into my hand and control my diet. I feel so much better already after only a few weeks of eating cleaner. I have more energy, I feel happier, I feel lighter and less bloated, and just so accomplished! The next phase of my health plan is to be able to eat a more calorie-controlled diet so I actually begin losing weight. Right now I'm eating about 1500-1800 calories a day but I want to drop it down to 1400 calories and begin exercising. It's the combination of eating fewer calories and exercising that really helps me shed weight. Right now, I'm getting around 50-60% of my calories from carbs. This week, I'm going to start eating a 40-30-30 calorie diet where I'm eating 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. I also have a bunch of other things I want to get improve such as dental hygiene, exercising, etc but I'm taking things slow and one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming myself with all these behavior changes. It's a slow process, but in my mind the more time you devote to changing one thing, the deeper that behavior will be engrained into your routine.
Hope to keep these posts up. I find these kinds of posts to be very positive and motivating and a good way for me to share my experiences and chalk out some plans for the future!
My last Happy & Healthy Words post was back in January, but things became so busy in the months following that I didn't get a chance to begin my health journey in January like I originally wanted. However, I'm super happy to say that I have been controlling my diet for the past THREE WEEKS and have even begun exercising again!!! Now, I'm not really following a catabolic plan where I'm shedding weight, but I have gotten my eating habits under control -- insanely much better control than where I was earlier this year, which was one of my biggest goals for this year. My diet is incredibly unhealthy and definitely needs a lot of modifications. I've let myself spiral out of control for the past six years to the point where I've gained a LOT of weight which I'm not proud of. So this year, my biggest goal is to be able to eat a normal diet and to lose some of the weight I've accumulated. I'm taking baby steps towards my weight loss goal, starting with regulating my diet.
The biggest thing I'm super proud of is the fact that I'm no longer eating out. No more getting takeout for dinner, eating at the hospital cafeteria during lunch, skipping breakfast, eating tons of salty snacks. That may sound like a fairly easy thing to do, but for someone like me whose not too savvy at cooking and so accustomed to eating take out, it was a huge feat. I'm super happy and feel so accomplished. And honestly, it's so much cheaper and more satisfying to cook meals at home and pack lunches. As a result, my sodium intake has dropped significantly. I feel like I have more energy and just happier. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the guilt of getting takeout is no longer there. Like I said, I feel very accomplished when I cook at home and it's a ton of fun trying out new recipes!
I hear that it takes 21 days to change a habit, and I completely agree with that statement. Now that I've spent 3 weeks eating at home-made meals, I no longer have huge cravings for McDonalds or fried chicken or greasy Chinese food. Of course I still want to eat these things and crave junk food from time to time, but I'm able to control myself a lot more. I allot myself one day (usually on the weekend) when I'm allowed to eat whatever I want. So if I was craving frozen pizza, I'd go ahead and eat a frozen pizza on Saturday night as a cheat meal.
I can't tell you guys how excited I am that I'm finally able to take matters into my hand and control my diet. I feel so much better already after only a few weeks of eating cleaner. I have more energy, I feel happier, I feel lighter and less bloated, and just so accomplished! The next phase of my health plan is to be able to eat a more calorie-controlled diet so I actually begin losing weight. Right now I'm eating about 1500-1800 calories a day but I want to drop it down to 1400 calories and begin exercising. It's the combination of eating fewer calories and exercising that really helps me shed weight. Right now, I'm getting around 50-60% of my calories from carbs. This week, I'm going to start eating a 40-30-30 calorie diet where I'm eating 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. I also have a bunch of other things I want to get improve such as dental hygiene, exercising, etc but I'm taking things slow and one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming myself with all these behavior changes. It's a slow process, but in my mind the more time you devote to changing one thing, the deeper that behavior will be engrained into your routine.
Hope to keep these posts up. I find these kinds of posts to be very positive and motivating and a good way for me to share my experiences and chalk out some plans for the future!
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Spring is finally here! I'm so happy that the sun is shining and there's no more snow in the ground. I think this is the first year I realized I may have seasonal affective disorder, or a legit case of the "winter blues". But now that it's sunny and beautiful out, my mood's been so much better. This past weekend, I figured it was time to switch out of my winter makeup bin to more fun, bright makeup. My makeup bin consists of my daily 'reach for' products so it obviously contains some stuff that is standard from season to season like concealers, eyeshadow primer, and finishing powder. It's usually my lip colors and blushes that change. As you can see, spring is full of pinks and corals and oranges, much different compared to the winter taupes and browns! Here is a round-up of all the products I have in my spring makeup bin:
Eye Products
CoverGirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Honey
Milani Secret Cover Concealer Stick in Medium
Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
Face Products
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure
L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder in W5
Milani Baked Blush in Berry Amore
ModelCo Blush Cheek Powder in Peach Bellini
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface
Lip Products
Almay Butter Kiss Lipstick in Nude Light-Medium
Cover Girl Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in Make It Sparkle
MAC Lipstick in Creme in Your Coffee
Maybelline Color Elixir Lip Color in Rose Redefined
NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Saturday, April 4, 2015
I haven't done a crafting project in forever! School has just been nuts over the past few months, so it's been nice to have some spare time this month to be more creative. I've been wanting to make a memory board for years now. I had a bunch of photos sitting on my shelves that I wanted to post up on my wall that I could look at on days where I was feeling a little down or stressed out. It's a really nice reminder of all the great moments I've had with my friends and family over the years, and a constant reminder that I'm never alone. It's so easy to get bogged down by all the negative things going on around you that it's good to have a physical reminder of the fact that you have a great support system in your friends and family.
This memory board was super simple to make. I didn't go crazy decorating it because I wanted to save the majority of the board for photos. I started off with a plain, large cork board I got from Jo Ann Fabrics for a very reasonable price, I believe only $5 or so. I also got a spool of medium-thickness pink glittery ribbon to give my board a pretty border. I laid out the ribbon along each side and pinned it down on the edges. You can tape or hot glue it onto the board if you don't want a pin sticking out at each edge. However, I've found that pinning is the most effective and least messy method. And honestly, since I used clear thumbtacks they don't show too much.
Next, is the most fun step - organizing your photos! I used clear thumbtacks to attach the photos onto the board. Definitely use the clear tacks, because the colored opaque pins give the board a really messy, cluttered look based my previous experience. I had a bunch of photos I had developed a few months ago for my scrapbook and photo album. I selected some of my favorite, most memorable photos out of the bunch to pin up on my board. I wanted to put some postcards and maybe some inspiration quotes but I didn't have enough space for them. I selected a variety of photos -- some of my family, my friends, my 21st birthday, my vacation to Europe, apple picking trips, etc. I overlapped them so there was no board showing through the pictures. I do want to add some more recent photos to my board in the future. I really like the selection of photos I have up right now though, and found myself smiling as I was pinning them onto the board. I wish I had more space, but for now this is a great start.
So there it is, a simple but fun craft for a Friday night. It only took me about 20 minutes, but it's something I can see myself cherishing for years. I love making memorable, keepsake crafts like that :) And you can even make a memory board and gift it to a family member or a friend! I may even make one for my mom this coming Mother's Day. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of crafting more often! I have a bunch of art projects I want to work on next, so I'm hoping to use some of my free time this month and working on those.
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