New year, new life

It's December 28th, 2016 and I'm sitting at home with a heating pad on my back and medication running through my system to heal the back injury I sustained at work a couple of weeks ago. I have already missed a day and a half of work and I can't help but wonder if this would have happened if I was actually in shape. 

Everyone always has new year resolutions, and the one that tops the list is usually lose weight/get healthy. I know it always tops my list, and for 2-3 weeks I am the queen of healthy eating. I'll usually lose 10 lbs and think, "This isn't so bad. Why have I always struggled to eat like this?" And then week 4 kicks in, and if I have to down one more salad, someone is gonna get a carrot stick thrown at their head. Cue a gigantic eating binge that includes enough chips and burritos to fill the Grand canyon.

This year has to be different. I'm 31 years old and I'm still eating like I did when I was on my own for the first time and thought it was the coolest thing ever that I could get McDonald's whenever I wanted. I'm at my highest weight ever. And I'm really getting tired of it. It's hard for me to admit, but my weight is finally impeding my daily life. It's hard for me to get up from kneeling on the floor, I get horribly winded from going up even one flight of stairs, I struggle to get in and out of my car, and the list goes on and on.

To anyone reading this, if you're out there, there's really no point to this post other than the self-realization that I need to change. I don't have a plan yet, but I just needed to get the words out and this was the only place for it. Another goal of mine is to reinvest some time into this blog, so hopefully on the first of the year you'll see a continuation of this post with an actual plan in place as well as my other resolutions for the year. Until then!

Huge drugstore haul!

This is going to be a quick post just sharing all the goodies I've purchased over the last few months. (And after this, I am on a strict no buy in order to save more for a house!) Everything is drugstore priced items except for two things but I wanted to share them anyway! There aren't going to be any short reviews on anything because I plan on doing full reviews on most of the items in this haul. I will list all the products under the photo so you can see brands and names of colors, where I purchased, etc. 

From Ulta:

• 2 packs of cotton pads, round ones that I use to take off eye makeup and square lint-free ones I use to take off nailpolish
• NYX Tinted Brow Mascara in Chocolate
• NYX High Voltage Lipsticks in Flutter Kiss & Sweet 16
• NYX Intense Butter Glosses in Spice Cake, Napoleon, Orangesicle, Sorbet, Toasted Marshmallow, Funnel Delight, Banana Split
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light
• IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Neutralizing Correcting Cream

From Target:

• Sally Hansen Gel Shine 3D Top Coat
• Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
• Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin
• Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Balancing Toner for Normal/Oily Skin
• Boots Botanics Rosewater Toning Spray 100% Organic

From Walgreens:

• St. Ives Blackhead Clearing Green Tea Scrub
• Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Soft Brown
• Maybelline Lasting Drama by Eye Studio Gel liner in Blackest Black
• Maybelline Color Sensational Bloom lipsticks in Bubblegum Bloom, Carnation Cabernet, Tangy Tulip, & Playful Peony (all limited edition for Spring)
• Maybelline Color Elixir in Passionate Peony (also limited edition for Spring)
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Liner in Black
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara in Black
• Revlon Photoready Prime + Anti-Shine Balm
• Loreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Medium to Dark
• Colour Prevails Bashful Biscuit Blush/Bronzer Duo in Beached Bronze
• Colour Prevails Blank Canvas Liquid Foundation in Porcelain
• Colour Prevails Classic Lip Duo Lipstick/Lip Gloss in Neutral Pink
• Colour Prevails Nail Lacquer in Reality Star & Mr. Wrong
• Colour Prevails Eye Shimmer Powder in Rose Gold
• Colour Prevails Eye Calligraphy Liquid Liner in Purple 

Whew! That was a lot of stuff. Look for reviews coming soon! I plan on reviewing the Colour Prevails line in depth (new and exclusive to Walgreens) first. I also have a fun "Battle of the Brows" review planned for the three brow gels/mascaras from my haul. See you soon!

Rediscovered Favorite: The NUDE'tude palette by The Balm

Ah, the NUDE'tude palette. This was my first foray into the high-end makeup world and was my first eye-shadow palette purchase that was larger than the standard 4-shadow quads found at the drugstore. I purchased this based on a review by YouTube beauty guru Emily who goes by the name emilynoel83. (I have soooo many items based on her review/recommendations. Basically if she likes it, it immediately goes onto my to-buy list!)

I absolutely loved this palette and I used it constantly. Especially the light pink satin shade called Stubborn. It's the perfect shade for when you want a look that's simple and neutral but also want something other than a standard taupe. It is beautiful. It has just enough sheen to really bring light to your eyelid, but it's not glittery by any means. Two other shadows that I really love are Stand-offish and Sexy. Stand-offish is a sparkly champagne-beige shade with a pink undertone and Sexy is a matte burgundy. (My love of these rosy tones eventually led to my purchase of the Naked 3 and Coastal Scents Revealed 2 eyeshadow palettes, which if you didn't already know are full of rosy neutrals. But that's a whole other post in itself!)

I like the other shades in the palette too, don't get me wrong. Snobby is a pale, shimmery gold that I really haven't seen in other palettes that I own and Sleek is a great matte, dark brown that's perfect for adding depth to the crease. The problem is that overall, it's a lot like other neutral palettes and my excitement about using high-quality shadows led me to make another high-end purchase, and another, and another and the NUDE'tude palette just kinda got lost in the mix. 

I would pull it out occasionally when I was getting ready in the morning, look over the shadows and close it back up without getting inspired to use it. :( What got me to dive back into it again was actually a semi-bad review by another YouTube beauty guru Mary who goes by the name ALoveTart. By the way, she is awesome! Her videos are always so laid-back and relaxing. You should really check her out and subscribe if you haven't already. It wasn't even a bad review, it was more of a meh review because it just didn't work out for her personally. (Oddly enough, she also purchased it based on emilynoel83's review!) She ended up giving it away to a friend during one of her de-stashing videos but I remembered really loving it and decided to pull it out again.

And I'm glad I did! I went for a more cool-toned smoky look using my favorite, Stubborn, all over the lid and Selfish (a shimmery, gray-brown) packed into the outer lid and worked up into the crease. I used a teeny, tiny bit of Serious (a matte, intense black) in the outer corner to intensify things a bit. Stand-offish was used in the inner tear duct and just under the brow bone to highlight. I used another great palette by The Balm, Meet Matt(e) Nude, to blend out the edges so my whole eye wasn't covered in shimmer. I finished off the eyes with two coats of Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara.

Other products used:
Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Jordana Cream Shadow Pencil in Almond
• Maybelline Brow-Precise pencil in Soft Brown
• Nyx Brow Mascara in Chocolate

Face:

• Benefit's Porefessional primer (just on my nose)
• IT Cosmetics CC Cream in Fair
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in Neutralizer
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light
• Nyx "Set it and Don't Fret It" matte finishing powder in light/medium
• Coastal Scents Blush Too palette
• The Balm Cindy-Lou Manizer

Lips:

• Nyx Lip Pencil in Peekaboo Neutral
• Nyx Buttergloss in Creme Brulee 

Does anyone else have this palette? Do you have any recently rediscovered favorites? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! See ya soon!

 

Quick Look of the Day

Just a quick pic of my eyeshadow today in celebration of St. Patrick's Day using Urban Decay shadows from the Vice 2 & 3 and Deluxe Shadow Box palettes. I love having an excuse to wear bright, fun eyeshadow!

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas Nail Art

Just a quick post today to share the different holiday nails I've been sporting over the last few weeks. I did a traditional red and green color scheme, a frosty blue, white, and silver theme, and a whimsical pink, white, and silver combination. Hope you enjoy!

 

12 Days of Christmas Update

So... Yeah. The time has gotten away from me and I won't be able to commit to my full 12 days of Christmas plan. Christmas is coming way too fast and I am running out of time. Work has been insanely busy and I come home absolutely exhausted! I just kind of stare numbly at my monitor and hope that I have miraculously gained some sort of power that will write my posts for me. Alas, I have no such power. There will be a few more posts (hopefully) before the 25th. I have the photos taken and just need to edit and put them together into a semi-interesting post, lol. 

This project has kick-started my passion for crafting and creating, though, so expect to see more of those kind of posts incorporated into my blog into the future. I will probably be covering all sorts of subjects at some point. I want this blog to be a direct reflection of me and I have a lot of interests! I still plan on having makeup related posts - reviews, tutorials, looks of the day, etc. because I am still an absolute makeup junkie. January and February are always a little rough for me because it's so depressing and gray outside and I'm hoping this blog will provide a little bit of sunshine for my life.

Thanks to anyone who is reading and if I don't come back before then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

12 Days of Christmas: My decorations

Today I just wanted to quickly share with you the decorations I have up for Christmas this year. I'm attracted to non-traditional colors when it comes to Christmas so I have a lot of pink, purple, and bright green and teal. My main tree is filled with fun ornaments in these colors.

I also have a smaller tree with a more vintage/natural feel to it. Lots of owls, cream and light rose colored ornaments with silver accents.

I have a post coming soon detailing the packaging on my presents!

There are a few items I have around the apartment as well. I've never been into the "other" decor items as much; for me it's always been about the tree(s). But this year I got more into it and I'm really liking how they've turned out.

Stay tuned for a couple of posts/mini tutorials on these items too!

 And that's it! For everyone reading, are you drawn more to the traditional Christmas colors of red and green or do you go for something a bit different? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for looking!