Bye Felicia!

I am a make-up hoarder. Well, kind of. I really like make-up, so I tend to buy it a lot. It's like...a hobby. People ride bikes, collect comics and stamps, I collect make-up. Or I used to.

A couple of  years ago I really felt pressure to buy a lot of the new make-up items, mostly from the drugstore, in order to make sure I was trying the latest and greatest and providing my readers with reviews, swatches, etc. I had So. Much. Stuff. Too much actually. And it was really stressful to me to have all that stuff that wasn't getting used and wasn't being enjoyed.

But then over the course of the last couple of years, I realized two things:

1. Not every new product that comes out will look good on or work for me.
2. If people want reviews of every damn new product that comes out, there are already 400 bagillion blogs and videos out there with that info (I'm lookin at you YouTube).

So what does that mean?

I cleaned the shit out of my stash. I mean that literally and figuratively. If the product didn't look good on me, or wasn't something I used a lot I got rid of it. I didn't just throw it away (unless it was expired). I returned a crap ton of stuff to Sephora and Target, and gave away BAGS of make-up to friends and family (you're welcome Jen and Laurel!). And now what I have left is a stash of my most favorite and most used make-up.

This is not to say I don't still fight the urge to buy (or at least want to buy) all the new things. I just don't give in. [Note - to be clear, I NEVER actually bought ALL the new things.] I really think about whether or not I need a sixth foundation in my drawer, or another dark red lipstick in my purse. Most of the time the answer is no. I try to limit myself to picking up new items either, when something runs out that I don't already have a replacement for, OR a couple of things for each new season.

I have gotten to the point this year with make-up (and other things in my life) that if it's not working for me, then it's done. I am done hanging on to stuff that I won't use. I don't care how trendy it is or how much someone else says they love it. I am not a YouTube Beauty Guru (and that's okay - I love them, I'm just not one of them!), I don't have millions of followers and an endless supply of cash and sponsor-ships to try out every new beauty item under the sun. I am done trying to be something I am not, it's exhausting and expensive and stressful and just plain shitty. I am who I am, and I think I am pretty awesome.

Have you every had one of these "epiphany-style" moments? What was it?

Hi, I'm not dead.

Eight months.

That's how long it's been since my last post.

(Dahlia isn't impressed either.)

Some of you are going, "I know!" and some of you are thinking, "Who is this bitch?". Yeah, it's been awhile. Life happened, I left this blog in the dust and just didn't really feel like doing anything about it. Lazy? Kind of. Rude? Maybe. But I am really hoping to be back on track with things and move forward from here.

Part of why it's been so long is I just honestly haven't felt all that inspired by blogs lately. It seems like the same old same old crap content everywhere. And I just felt really blah about my own blog. I felt like I was trying to be and keep up with someone I'm not. I am not a professional blogger. I do not want to forgo sleep and snuggles with my fur babies to write a post for you. Sorry. And then I just got really crabby about the whole blogging thing in general. So I stopped.

But now, I want to get back in the game and take this blog in a bit of a different direction. I want you guys to feel like we are BFFs sitting down to a glass of wine and I have something fun (and maybe sometimes it won't be so fun  - not everything is unicorns and rainbows) to share with you. I want to take a look at other areas of my life and share those with you as well. Beauty will likely still be the main focus as it's something I really enjoy and like to share my opinions on, but it can't be the only focus. I bored myself, so I hope I didn't bore you.

Some of the things that have been going on since my last post:

- I lost 20 pounds, maybe you want to hear about that?
- I switched jobs.
- One of my dogs had ACL surgery.
- One of our chickens was brutally murdered by a hawk/owl/chupacabra/alien.
- Tony and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary.
- I was in a fashion show and made some kick ass new friends.
- Other shit I can't remember; it was eight months guys. Jeez.

As soon as this post is done, I am going to write up several more so that I have more consistent stuff for you.

Quick question. If you have a blog/website/whatever, how do you stay motivated to keep posting content for your readers?

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? 

May Fitness Post - How I (try to) deal with negative self-talk

Hello lovely readers! So I don't know what I was thinking this month. I was totally organized and had a schedule of all these really great posts I was going to write and then shit happened. This is the busiest time of year for me at my job and there were some other twists and turns along the way and I just didn't get to write everything I wanted/planned to. I am considering the frequency with which I post anyway, because I want to give you guys "quality" over quantity. Which segue-ways  perfectly into this post.

Negative self-talk is something most of us deal with. And it's hard to write about. I'm no expert or doctor but I wanted to share with you how I deal with it. What I define this as is the following:

- that negative little jerk voice in your head that is constantly telling you, you aren't enough. You're too tall, too short, too skinny, not skinny enough, you don't make enough $$, you aren't as good as so and so, etc. Male or female and that voice is an asshole.

So in this post I wanted to give you some examples of the things my inner voice tells me sometimes and what I do to stop that bitch in her tracks. (I apologize for the language in this post, I am passionate about this and it's been a long week)

I am 5'0 short and weigh roughly 130ish pounds, which means I am not "thin". I have what I consider to be a big nose, big hips and my face is too "red". I am also extremely NOT tan, and not toned or fit. I have cellulite, and sometimes when I walk fast my thighs rub together.

That description above pretty much is the executive summary of what my negative self-talk revolves around. And based on that description my self image is sometimes that of an ugly disgusting troll. More or less.

Now, here is how I fight back. It may sound stupid, cliche' or cheesy, but I really don't care. It works for me and I hope by sharing this it might work for you. And if by chance you happen to be reading this and you are perfect, then stop now as this clearly isn't intended for you.

The least offensive thing in that summary is the fact that I am short. I have been short all my life and my family members are short too. It doesn't always bother me, but sometimes when I see you tall girls strutting around in your long legs I get a little pissy. So I wear heels, or wedges or say fuck it and wear flats because I'm short and proud of it. I can buy pants in the kids department that aren't too long and are cheaper than women's pants. (Incidentally, I can also buy shoes in the kids department because I have small feet. Plain black flats or flip flops for less than $10? Yes please!) As my mom always told me, "The best things come in small packages."

So next on the list is my weight. Without getting too in depth and too into social norms and expectations around what a women should weigh, this is what I tell my self "You can't change your height, but you can change your health, so get off you squishy butt and get to work girl." The key to this is the word health. It's NOT about being skinny. Not at all. It's about being healthy. Is that cupcake really giving my body the nutrition it deserves? No? Then put it back. Is sitting on the couch watching YouTube videos or TV for 5 hours really how you want to spend the night? Would 30 minutes of exercise kill you? No. So slap in that DVD and get that workout in. I try to look at it as a positive thing. And once I can get myself on a regular work-out schedule I actually really enjoy it and I totally feel better. Which reminds me of another great quote "Exercise releases endorphin, endorphin makes you happy. And happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't." Points to you if you know where that's from.

The weight thing has been an issue for me since 6th grade. I was one of the first girls in my class to get both boobs and a booty over the summer and holy crap did people remind me of it DAILY. But I really try to focus on this being about me being healthy and not skinny. That has taken me all of 21+ years to work on and it's still a work in progress. Focus on your health not how skinny or not skinny you are. Be healthy. Your body deserves it.

My nose bugs the crap out of me. It's big at the end and sometimes when I turn to the side, I think "Good Lord girl! Look at that nose!" But here's the thing, who cares? I know I would never get plastic surgery to fix it so I just try not to think about it. Or I contour it with bronzer so it gives the illusion of being smaller.

The big hips, cellulite and rubbing thighs along with being not as toned as I want to be are easy to group together. If I work out more I jiggle and rub together less. My hips are big, if I worked out 10 hours a day and ate salads they would still be big. It's just who I am. Some of us have hips, some don't. And no matter how many creams, lotions and potions I buy that damn cellulite is going to stay there. So I try to keep on that work out schedule and use self tanner on my legs in the summer as that reduces the overall appearance of it.

And finally, I'm pale. Like super pale. Like vampire pale. Which some people think is "yucky". But here's the deal, I have porcelain skin. It's not going to be super wrinkly and dry from over-tanning. And if I can prevent one type of cancer then I'm damn well going to do it. I do use a self tanner in the summer (when I remember) but really I have embraced my un-tan.

If turning that negativity doesn't work for me and I am still really down, I do one of the following two things:
 - stay on the couch and have some ice cream, because fuck it,
- OR I look at what my "imperfect" body has accomplished and when I start to look at the things I have done and am doing in my life that do actually matter more than the size of my nose in the big picture, I start to feel a little better. This is not to say that it works every time, or that I don't have bad days but it's what I try to do most days.

So what I hope you take away from this is that we all have issues with how we look. How you deal with those issues is what makes the difference. Embrace your quirks, be healthy and don't let someone else's idea of what you should look like overshadow you. Historically society has shown it doesn't always know what's right and ideals have been shattered repeatedly. Life is too short to worry about how tall you aren't or how slim you're not. Be proud of who you are and what you've accomplished. Only you could do it.

How do you deal with negative self-talk?

Beauty Cheapie: The travel aisle.

Shh! I have a secret to tell you. If you are looking for a cheap way to try out new hair care and bath and body items, check the travel section of your local drug store. You would be shocked at what they carry travel sizes of and it's a great way to try out a new hair or body care (and even skin care) product without major commitment.

Jergens has recently come out with a new BB Body line of body lotions. There are two versions, one for lighter tone skin and one for medium to deep skin tones. The full size version of this is $11.99 at Target and, for me, that's a big investment for a body lotion. This lotion promises to tone, firm, and correct your body just like a BB cream does for your face.

So as I was browsing around Target I came across these travel sized versions for $3 a piece. I picked up both tones as I was curious if that really made a difference. Plus I was watching one of my fave YouTubers, Melissa Raymond (a.k.a. melmphs) talk about this in a favorites video. If you have never seen her videos, you totally should. She's adorable and I just love her style! She said to get the medium to dark tone version as it would make your skin look more luminous. I haven't tried that one yet (but I will be on Tuesday), but I can tell you that the lighter skin tone one is not that special. I haven't used it more than twice and I believe it says you have to use it for like a month or something to see a difference. But when I put it on, it's no different than my other Jergens lotion. EXCEPT. The smell. Holy Moses. It's like Grandma perfume mixed with a cart of flowers. It's really strong. It's not terrible. But it's strong. Thankfully, the smell does fade, and it does not compete with your perfume or other smelly stuff you might put on. But, whew! it's intense.

Anyway, if you are looking to check out more body, skin care or hair care items, check out the travel section at your local drug store! You can try before spending a ton of money and usually by the time the travel size runs out you really have a sense of whether or not you like it and want to buy the full size.