The Weekly Random

Hello Lovely Readers! And Happy Friday =)

I had a pretty brilliantly awesome idea (or at least I think it is) to do a new weekly series here on my blog called, "The Weekly Random". As the title suggests this will be a weekly post (or maybe every other week, it's random) about all sorts of random stuff. Topics that really don't justify their own post, or maybe one long post about some topic, or maybe a bullet point list of random stuff. That's what appeals to me so much is that it's random. What do you think? Do you like it? Maybe? We'll see.

So to kick things off I have a random list of stuff from my week that I thought would be interesting and fun to share. Another fun thing about this series is that it will help us to get to know each other a little more. Maybe we have similar interests or weirdness that we didn't even know.

• One of my guilty pleasures is watching old re-runs of sitcoms from the 70's-80's ish. And my most recent obsession is Welcome Back Kotter. Yes. It's so awesome. 30 minutes of good old fashioned TV goodness. 

• I have run out of my favorite nail polish remover by Zoya. Not to worry, my mom and I are placing an order today. Whew.

• I've been on an apple kick lately (and by lately I mean for about 6 months). Red Delicious Apples. Try one.

• My little brother is amazing. He is a musician and you should check him out on Sound Cloud and Facebook.

• Our baby chicks have started to lay eggs now, only two of them so far, but we will be up to our eyeballs in eggs in no time. Have a great egg recipe? Share it with me.

• I hate dusting. It seems like the biggest waste of time. I spend an hour dusting everything and then when I look around to admire my awesome cleaning work I can't tell a difference. 

• I've worked out 4 times already this week. Go me. 

• I'm on Bloglovin - check out the button on the upper right side of this page. Go there. Follow me there. It will be awesome.

So there you go. Random enough for ya? I think this will be a fun series and I hope you are as excited about as I am!

Tell me something random about your week in the comments below.

Stuff I'm Loving: Hair Products!

I don't know about you guys, but when summer hits, my hair routine gets lazy. Maybe it's because it's so humid and hot in the bathroom that doing my hair results in a sweat sesh of epic workout proportions. Maybe it's because I can actually let my hair air dry without real risk of hypothermia. Whatever the reason, I avoid heat styling in the summer unless I really, really, like really have to.

Assisting me in my summer hair laziness are three stand out products that I thought you should know about.

Dry shampoo. Obviously you can use this all year long, but in summer this is really a go-to for me. I prefer to only wash my hair 2-3 times a week now that it's longer. I don't have crazy oily hair so I can usually go a couple of days before I even need this. There are lots of dry shampoos out there that offer a variety of benefits and features, but my fave is this one by Batiste. You can find this at Walgreens and Ulta for sure, and they have several versions but I like the one for dark hair as it doesn't cast as much of a white shadow in my hair. I typically spray this on the roots around my face and behind my ears let it set in and then rub my roots to make sure the product is fully absorbed and that I get some volume. Then I style it as I see fit (i.e., a bun or pony tail) and move on with my life. Fun fact: curls last better on dirty hair BUT you can spritz some dry shampoo at the roots of freshly washed hair and create some added texture that will hold a better curl. Also, I like the mild scent of this, some dry shampoos are crazy scented and it overpowers everything in my line of smell.

This is a new-ish product out there and I happened to pass by it at Target a month or two ago. This is a shine and anti-frizz spray. It says it lasts for 24 hours and I agree that it does (I am excluding the tropical like humidity we had at the beginning of this week as the only thing that will keep frizz away during days like that is a hat.) I spray this on my hair after I blow dry it OR once it's dry and it gives my hair a nice shine and reduces the frizz BUT what I really like about it is that it makes my hair soft. Like silky, shiny soft and fluffy.

Finally I have a new hair oil that I am loving. This is the new Garnier Frucits Marvelous Hair Oil. There are a couple versions of this and I chose the deep nourish version. I am still one hundred percent a Moroccan Oil lover BUT it's a tad on the spendy side and my bottle is (gasp!) almost empty. So I picked this up to see how it would work and I am pretty happy to report that it's kinda awesome. It's not an overpowering scent (it doesn't smell like heaven which is what the Moroccan Oil smells like) and the pump keeps trigger happy fingers like mine from over-dispensing product. I apply this to wet hair after I get out of the shower; I comb through my hair first and then apply this to the roots and then comb through it to distribute the product through my hair. This also adds shine and helps with the frizz and helps repair damage as well as acts as a heat protectant should you choose that route.

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New Maybelline Products!

Hello lovely readers! Today I am talking all about one of my fave brands from the drugstore - Maybelline! They have released a lot of new products lately and I have a few so I thought I would share my thoughts on them with you.

A couple of important things before we get started:

1. My favorite app - Target Cartwheel - has a coupon for 10% off several makeup brands, including Maybelline.

2. If you have a CVS near you, and/or shop there often, you should get their extra care card and do the beauty rewards. I had a coupon for 20% off, a $5.00 off beauty bucks AND when you spent $15 or $20 on Maybelline you earned another $5.00 beauty bucks. Yeah, it kind of rocked my world.

3. My Walmart had $2.00 off coupons stuck to damn near every Maybelline product in the store this week. Not sure if that's just a fluke at my store or if that's a nation-wide promo. But you can save some $$ if you are interested in picking up any of these products.

So first off is a new (permanent - thank God) additional to the Maybelline Color Tattoo line, the Leather Collection. Maybelline Color Tattoos are cream shadows that you can wear on their own or as a base for any eye shadow. I use them both ways and for me personally I have no issue with them creasing. However, everyone is different so you may need a primer to help too.

I have a couple shades, but my favorite is the Creamy Beige shade. Alone, it just makes my eyes look fresh and even toned. Under shadow it really intensifies the look of the shadows. I love it! The regular line has shades that have some shimmer to them. Then there is a metal line which has a metallic finish. The leather line is a matte finish.

Alright, now for the biggest news in drugstore makeup history - Maybelline has a 12 shade eye shadow palette!!!! O.M.G. The Nudes is only $9.99 and if you take advantage of the discounts and deals I talked about above you could get it cheaper than a gallon of gas. Random, but true. So as I said this palette has 12 shades that are all neutral and are basically the same formula as their normal quads. Some of the shades in this palette are better than others, but overall this is an awesome value and an awesome palette.

I think this would make a great addition to anyone's makeup stash but especially awesome for those who are new to makeup as you can try a lot for very little investment and/or for those who were interested in some of the higher end neutral palettes but maybe couldn't afford to invest that kind of money. I haven't used all of the shades but in the last week I have used most of them and with a primer or base they stay for most of my day (which is roughly 14 hours). I am impressed.

This isn't super new, but it's newer. The new Pumped Up Colossal Mascara comes in several shades, I have it in Glam Black and has packaging very similar to the Maybelline the Rocket mascara but this is slightly bigger and obviously it's pink. I really, really, really like this mascara. First of all, it comes off easily with eye makeup remover. It doesn't flake, smudge or clump. And it gives really good volume and length. I know mascara is different on everyone, but I feel like this could be pretty awesome for most people. Also I should note that this mascara does NOT have the typical Maybelline chemical smell that a lot of their mascaras seem to have.

And finally, we have the new Dream Wonder Fluid Touch Foundation. This stuff is super cool. Like, I feel like a scientist cool. The bottle is so small and it's glass (consider this your warning fellow clumsy peeps). And it has this cool dropper like wand to dispense the product on your face (it says put it on your finger tips, but I put it directly on my face.) Don't get too heavy handed with this, start light and you can always add more, but when finished this gives about medium coverage. One note, the bottle says shake well and you should definitely shake it first so that they product mixes correctly. When dry this is more of a natural to satin finish, I would set it with powder. It wears pretty good through out the day. If I had a really long day I might add a primer or just wear something totally different, but for a normal day this will work fine.

Normal to dry skin peeps: this could be your new go-to foundation

Oily skin peeps: proceed with caution as I feel like this might be too liquidy for you. A similar foundation to dry is the Magic Touch liquid to powder foundation from L'oreal.

Have you tried any of these products yet? Do you want to? Anything new you would recommend to me?

I really love hearing from you guys so please leave a comment below!

FabFitFun Summer Box Review

I received my FabFitFun Summer VIP box last week! For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a quarterly subscription box that comes with $200 plus worth of products. It's $49.99 a quarter and there are opportunities to earn a discount on each box and even earn some of them for free (all based on a referral system). I have a chance for you all to try this out and get the summer box at a discount and will include that info at the end of this post.

It is worth mentioning that I have cancelled my other beauty subscriptions and am only doing this one. I am super impressed with the value, variety and quality of the products in these boxes!

First off, we received a Slim Fast Birthday Cake bar (I haven't eaten that yet) and Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips (I have eaten those, hence why you don't see them in the photo). We got food last time too and I like that. I like treats in the mail, especially new treats.

We also received this adorable clutch/makeup bag (there were four or five different designs, this is just the one I got) with a $30 gift card to the site to spend on whatever we want. And THEN we got a bottle of nail polish (which it sounds like there were two or three colors sent out). From Zoya. My fave brand of polish. AND...it was a color that I DIDN'T already have. I know. Shocking. The color I received is Thandie, and it's an orangey-coral color that I really like. I posted a pic of my mani using this on Instagram.

Also pictured above is probably my least favorite item out of the box. A duo of lip balm for making out. Um....am I 16? So it's two different flavors that, when mixed together, are really supposed to be delicious and awesome fuel for your face sucking needs. I got sweet and sour. Ew. Not impressed and will most likely toss them or give them away to someone. Kinda lame.

Next up are some hair and skin care items. The first one is a facial that apparently celebrities use. And it's supposed to be awesome (this tiny little bottle retails for $95). I've tried a few times now and I don't see any results. I mean nothing. Maybe I'm not using enough product? Maybe my skin is already so amazing this just doesn't do anything? Whatever.

The middle bottle is hair oil. This is fine. I prefer Morrocan Oil, but hey it's summer and I can always use a good hair oil. This smells a little weird to me, but once I have it in my hair it's fine and I don't notice it.

Then we got a face moisturizer from pur-lisse. I haven't tried this yet, BUT I have tried other products from this brand and really like them so I will give this a shot and let you know. It has SPF 30 in it so I'm excited about that!

And finally we received a water bottle with a diffuser in it for fruit and stuff, shave gel and some feminine hygiene products. Love the water bottle. don't really need another one, but it's so cute. And smaller than the other ones I have so that's cool. I've tried this shave gel before and really like it so I am excited to have a travel size version for all of my upcoming work trips!

The always pads are kind of meh for me. I mean hey, a girl can always use these things and I'm sure I will, but I just haven't had a need for them yet. TMI? Oh well.

All in all I was very satisfied with the summer box. I love trying new things and I love that we get such high quality products and they aren't repeats of what I got in the last box.

And before I forget, the details about the discount are below.

The first three people to use this code 2280115 can get a Summer VIP box like the one I got for $15 off! Redeem at vip.fabfitfun.com!

Stuff I'm loving right now

Hello lovelies!

It's been a while since I've done a favorites post and I have several things I am digging right now so I thought I would share them. I have a lot of new hair products that I am loving too, but that's going to be a separate post.

I told ya it was a lot. Most of this is stuff I've used in the past and a few things are new. I am really into simple beauty right now. When it starts to get hot I tone down the amount of products I use on my face. I don't like to be hot and I like sweaty makeup even less.

So these are not new to me nor are they new to the market. You may recognize these as the Maybelline Baby Lips. I have several from the regular line and a few from the new "Crystals" line. I have tried these several times before and was kinda "meh" about them. But I picked up the clear one at Walmart a month or two (or three) ago now and all of sudden I went from zero to obsessed in 30 seconds or less. I did not buy these all at one time but picked them up using coupons and both Walmart and Target have had these on sale recently. I just like the hint of color and the moisturization they give.

L'oreal Voluminous mascara is an oldie but a goodie. I love this mascara, it volumizes and lengthens and it doesn't flake or smudge. I am brand new to the world of Milani cosmetics and it's fast becoming an addiction obsession  favorite of mine. I find their products at CVS and lucked out and saw them at a Walgreens recently in the southern suburbs of the cities. Pictured above is their eye primer and I am in love with it. It works great and is way cheaper than Urban Decay and Too Faced brands. As for eyeshadow I have been in love with layering the Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Inked in Pink as a base with L'oreal's Amber Rush pressed pigment over the top. The end result is a shimmery, rose gold shade that is stellar for summer. If I had more of a tan it would be more awesome.

From top to bottom is the Physician's Formula bronzer and two Milani baked blushes in Luminoso and Delizioso Pink. Love the bronzer. One of my fave YouTubers, Leighannsays raves about this so I decided to try it when it was on sale at Target (like 4 months ago, I'm slow). The baked blushes are raved about by beauty bloggers and vloggers all around and I can see why. They are $7ish and they are crazy pigmented! Like crazy. Luminoso is by far my fave and if I ever run out I will for sure re-purchase. It's give a great peachy glow to the skin and looks great on a wide variety of skin tones.

These are also two oldies but goodies here. Cover Girl pressed powder is phenomenal. It's been phenomenal since 8th grade and I always go back to it. Pictured above is the Oil Control version in shade Classic Ivory. And then the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in light is something I've used for a few years now and love.

Finally, I am really digging the Jergens Natural Glow body lotion. I alternate this with my St. Tropez bronzing mousse and it works great. I love how the smell of this has gotten better over the years. I remember using this when I lived in Wisconsin (damn near 10 years ago now, what?!?) and it stunk to high heaven. But now it smells like lotion and it's not over-powering. This bottle came with a free Schick razor and had a $1 off coupon stuck to it so I got a good deal. This comes in fair to medium and medium to dark and there is also face versions of this. I have never used the face ones as they freak me out. 

What are you loving right now? 

Summer Beauty Series: Bronzers and Tanners

[I wrote this literally a month ago almost and am just posting it now]

It is officially summer as of today, and for the love of all that is holy, it is FINALLY frickin nice outside here in Minnesota. It was 80 something out today and not a cloud in the sky. So I busted out my swimsuit, SPF 55 sunscreen and hung out by my pool (yes my pool is a hard plastic kiddie pool purchased from Menards. Judge me. Go ahead.) It. was. awesome. I also took a cat nap in the hammock. Also. Awesome.

So in honor of summer I thought I would do a few summer beauty posts for you. To start off we are going to look at some of my fave bronzers for your makeup routine along with a recommendation and thoughts on self-tanner.

Bronzer. Bronzers can be an awesome thing, when done right. Bronzer is NOT the same as contouring. You can use bronzer to contour, but they are not the same function. Bronzer is something you put all over your face in the spots where the sunlight would naturally hit your face (forhead, cheeks, tip of your nose, etc.), and it warms up your complexion. Contouring is something you do to create shadows on your face that will slim it down and play down larger features. There are several great bronzers you can use for contouring as well as bronzing. Note: If you are going to use a bronzer to do contouring with you have to make sure it's matte. You do NOT want to contour your face with something that has shimmer in it. Trust me.

(clock-wise from top are the E.L.F. blush countour duo, Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer, theBalm's Bahama Mama - this is really dark so I prefer to use this for contouring, I am too pale to use this as an actual bronzer, and Physicians Formula Bronzer)

Some of my fave bronzers for all over your face are:

(Left to Right: Physician's Formula Bronzer in medium, Too Faced Leopard Bronzer and Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer)

Self-Tanner. Okay so we've all seen those people who make you think "Is she part oompa-loompa, or is that self tanner?" Maybe you've been her, maybe she lives on your block. You don't want to be her. But at the same time you don't want to rock the Casper the Ghost look in the summer time.

I have two self-tanners that I actually like and use fairly consistently.

(okay this is really pissing me off. I take the picture the right way and then it uploads side ways. No matter how many times I re-save it and save-as it, the damn thing is still sideways.)

The first one is the St. Tropez bronzing mousse AND the mitt. The mitt is the key. It seriously helps you spread the tanner evenly over your body to include the elbows, knees and ankle/foot area that can be a magnet for all extra product you get on your hand. And speaking of hands, the mitt helps you avoid orangey/brown tan hands. One bottle of this mousse will last me a season and I usually toss the mitt when the bottle is empty and buy both brand new next summer.

For me personally I only apply this about three times a week, but depending on the level of bronze you are trying to achieve you may want to use it more. Of course you have to wait for it to dry before getting dressed and I would avoid swimming or any sweaty activity for the first 24 hours or this will run and streak. Also, speaking from personal experience, do NOT put this on right before bed and climb onto your white sheets. There will be a bronzy outline all over your bedding in the morning and it most likely will not come out.

A little more affordable and accessible is the Jergens Natural Glow lotion. You can buy this at your local Target/Walmart and they do have a face lotion option as well. This works great, but be advised it starts to look weird when you stop using it and the "tan" fades.

What are some of your fave tanners or bronzers?