{ " Nail Art - Week Two " }

Everyone have a good laugh right now, because I'm not going to be able to keep this at one nail design a week... It's going to have to be Part One, and Part Two, because I normally paint my nails twice every week.

Please don't mind the little heart on the side of my hand. I was doodling earlier, and it would not come off!

So I did my nails this evening, whilst multitasking, and I decided to do this kind of holiday look. 

It reminds me of the holidays at least! Purple is a celebratory color, isn't it? Eh, I don't know!

Polish used:

- COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Brilliant - Grapevine 310 (Purple)

- SHANY Cosmetics Nail Art Polish - 10 (Black)

- SHANY Cosmetics Nail Art Polish - 11 (Silver Glitter)

- Out the Door Top Coat

I applied two coats of the purple, and let them dry before using the black nail art polish (which has a striping brush) to draw small lines starting almost halfway down my nail, applying a very light amount of pressure to the tip. I varied the length of the lines, and made a couple of them a little bit curved. I let that layer dry for quite a while, before brushing over the black lines with the silver glitter. I put a little bit between the black lines as well. I really love how it came out. Before I put the glitter polish on, my nails looked incomplete. As soon as I added the glitter I knew they were finished! I slapped on my topcoat, and there we have it. 

Hopefully I'll be able to find a good base and top coat soon, so I can keep my manicure for more than one or two days. I have found that wearing rubber gloves while washing the dishes helps prevent chips a little bit. But, it's kind of a pain in the bum! 

Anyways, hope you all liked this week's manicure. :) There will probably be another one up before the end of the week! 

Enjoy your week everyone! Happy New Year! 

{ " nail art - week one " }

I ended up getting an awesome set of nail striper polishes from Shany Cosmetics, for Christmas.
It contains 24 colors, ranging from a neon pink, sparkles, reds, blues, pretty much everything in between. The colors are absolutely gorgeous, and I was so excited to use them.

So, today I decided to try out a simple nail design, and it actually came out pretty decent!
I am disappointed with my index finger on my left hand, because the middle line came out so thick, but like I said, the manicure came out pretty decent.

I was inspired by a manicure by MissJenFABULOUS on YouTube (third manicure in this video - link). She used two neon colors, and then did the black stripe down the middle, and three stripes on either side of the stripe. After I did my first nail I decided that I actually liked it with the lines on one side, rather than both.

I absolutely love the color combination that I chose. I didn't initially think I liked the colors together, and I decided to try it. I never would have put these colors together, but now I'm so glad I did!

The green polish is Orly "Cochella Dweller", and the coppery color (which is much more reddish toned than shown in the photo) is Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant "Timeless Rubies". The striping polish I used is by Shany Cosmetics and is number 17 from their Nail Art Set 1 - Beautiful Variety (but, of course any black or charcoal striping polish would work).

I painted one side of each nail with two coats of the green, then painted the other half with the copper color. I then simply painted a line down the middle with the striper, and lightly painted three shorter slightly angled lines on the side with the copper. I also varied the side of the nail I put each color on, but you could do the same on all nails.  I then finished out with my Out the Door fast drying top coat after a few minutes.

I am looking for a new basecoat, so I haven't been using one lately. Does anyone know of any decent basecoats? I was looking into the CND Stickey basecoat, but I can't figure out if you can buy it in any stores. I'm going to take a ride out to Sally Beauty soon, so I'm hoping I can find a decent basecoat there.

Well, that's all for now! I'm hoping to post a new nail art photo each week, but we'll see what happens. I also got some amazing nail stamping plates, so I've been playing around, and practicing with those as well.

Thanks for reading!
Live in the moment,

{ " Hair Growth Update " }

I wouldn't normally do an update in the middle of the month... but, I think this is needed.
My hair has grown an insane amount in the last two weeks. It's actually crazy. I don't think my hair has ever grown this quickly! I'm not quite sure what to owe the growth to, seeing as I've been doing a lot of hair treatments over the last two weeks. And I mean a lot. I have done everything from a coconut oil deep condition, to inversion. Yes, inversion.

Basically I had been putting coconut oil in my hair twice a week, then using a shampoo/conditioner 2-in-1 to wash it out in order to keep the moisture in my hair. Sadly that shampoo/conditioner had sulfates in it, so I won't be using it again, unless it's just to wash out coconut oil! Then, I started putting literally a drop of castor oil in with my conditioner every time I washed my hair (which is every other day, or every three days). You need to only literally put a drop of castor oil, or else it won't rinse out and you'll be left with nasty, oily, sticky hair. Not a fun time.

Then I came across something called the "inversion method". I was quite curious about this. I don't really know how to phrase this properly without offending anyone... but, all of the YouTube videos I watched on inversion were done by women of color. They all said the same thing, "1 Inch of Growth in 7 Days!". Right... who's going to believe that? Well a bunch of them showed their results with videos they uploaded 7 days later, and their hair looked to be 1 inch longer. Most of them even used a measuring tape to show you! They said to heat up some oil, any oil of your choice (I used olive oil and a little bit of cinnamon, which stimulates the scalp), and to massage it into your roots for a minute or two. Then you are to "invert" yourself for up to five minutes. You can only do it once a month, because your brain evidently gets used to it, and knows you're just tricking it into stimulating your scalp. So, everyone said to only do it once a month. I lost track of time a few days, so it was more like ten minutes... There are a lot of like... warnings on the inversion method. So look it up before you try it, read a lot about it, and do it exactly the way they tell you to. Being women of color they did not have to wash their hair afterward, because of their hair type. I on the other hand had to wash my hair out every day, because I couldn't just walk around with greasy hair all day.
I will admit I only did this for five days, and on two days when I was out late grocery shopping it was like torture to have to do my hair. I could have done it in the morning, but I prefer to wash my hair at night then style it in the morning. I think I skipped it on Friday on accident, because by the time I realized what time it was it was like 10:00PM. Then on Sunday I skipped also. So... I didn't do the full seven days, but I didn't believe it would work anyways, so I didn't actually care. Well, today is technically day seven of the inversion method. So it's measuring day.

Unfortunately I lost the photos I took last Monday, so we will have to do with the photo from December 1st a day after I got my hair cut in the first place.

My hair was just a tiny bit longer than chin length. Probably at the most a 1/2" below chin length. Now it's touching my shoulders in the back and on the sides. The front is layered quite a bit, so it looks shorter in places.

I'm pretty sure from these photos that I've gotten at least 3/4" growth. Now, this is over the course of two weeks. I'm not saying the inversion thing did this all. But, it's kind of crazy. The back/sides of my hair is touching my shoulders. Which it was not even close to doing a couple of weeks ago. Even the layers in the back are grown out to the point where I can stand them. I can finally put my hair into a decent ponytail, and all of it stays back except a couple of pieces in the front. It is actually at a length I like, and I didn't have to wait like two months. My bangs have grown out so much that I can't even style them properly anymore. So they kind of just look crazy all the time! I'm trying to keep myself from cutting them, because they're just so annoying! 

That is a lot of growth isn't it? I'm not just going crazy right? o.O Hair grows at an average of 1/2" a month, so I'm pretty sure about 3/4" in two weeks is pretty stinkin' awesome. 

Y'all are going to think I'm crazy. But, I just held a ruler up to where my hair was cut to two weeks ago, and measured to where it is now... and it was over an inch longer. So, I'm giving an inch of growth give or take. Maybe that inversion thing really did work... I suppose I'll be doing that again next month! Sometimes I wish I had my hair dyed so I could measure by how much my roots grew out. Hahaha. Joke. ;) 

I also started taking different vitamins and I have seen a huge difference in my nails, even though I have only been taking them for like four days. Which, maybe that is just wishful thinking, but I don't know. I can actually have them free of polish without them breaking or splitting today. 

So, yes. I just thought I'd do that little update, because it's pretty exciting. I'll probably do another update on February 1st, unless I see an insane amount of growth before then! 

This is going to be so much fun! Documenting my hair growth is actually really fun. It's making me more excited for the day I can be like, "I REACHED ARMPIT LENGTH; HALLELUJAH!" It will be fun sharing my hair growth experiences with you guys (whoever "you guys" may happen to be). Hopefully you learn some tips and tricks along with me, and have fun too! 

Thanks for reading, 

{ " GARNIER Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream " }

So, about two weeks ago I purchased the Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing-Gel cream, because I was in need of a new moisturizer, and I was curious to try this. I had been using my Pond's Moisturizer for quite some time, and I loved it. 

This did not do the trick. 

First of all, for those of you who might not have gotten it from the title, it is a gel. There is nothing cream about it. It is a straight up gel. In fact, I almost spilled it the first time I opened it! 

It is apparently formulated for dry skin. I was pretty sure I had "normal" skin, but evidently I don't... I ended up with some dry patches on my skin after using this as my moisturizer for about a week. Now I have a nice dry patch between my eyebrows, and my nose started to look dry. Which is a bummer, seeing as I had "normal to dry" skin before. So, this definitely is not very moisturizing, which I was warned about before I bought this. It also left my skin feeling kind of stiff. Almost as if it was drying my skin out. Do you know that feeling after you wash your face? Before you put your moisturizer on again your face feels dry and kind of stiff. Well, that is how this moisturizer makes my skin feel. The first time I put it on it burned like... whoa. It scared me to be honest. I didn't expect it to burn. Like my face felt hot, and turned all red. Which was a little bit frightening. It did the same thing the second time I used it too. I'm not sure if it was just an ingredient that irritated my skin at first, or if it was just the new product. But, it was bad. 

About three days after using it I developed a bunch of pimples (that's a weird word) on my forehead, one on my cheek, and one beside my nose. That was frustrating, because not to "brag" I never ever breakout. I have clear skin for the most part - unless I use a product that has gluten in it, and might come in contact with my face. So, the fact that I suddenly broke out after using this product for a little while, led me to believe it was from this product. I continued to use it, but wiped my blemishes with an alcohol swab after putting on the moisturizer. The blemishes eventually went away, and haven't come back. I'm guessing it's just my skin's reaction to a new product. 

It smells clean. It isn't super perfumed, but it does have a scent to it. Maybe a little bit flowery? The scent goes away as soon as it sinks into the skin though.

This gel is very refreshing when first put onto the skin. It feels very cooling, and certainly wakes you up if you use it early in the morning! It feels really nice when you first smooth it onto your skin, but it takes a little bit to soak in completely. It didn't really leave a soft finish on my skin, smooth, but not soft. 

I won't purchase this product again, but I'll use it up, seeing as I can't return it. I would recommend this to someone with normal, or even combination skin, but I don't like it for my own skin. It certainly is not for dry skin, in my opinion. 

I'm pretty sure that was all over the place... but, hopefully you get the gist.

{ " Desert Essence Coconut Hair Defrizzer & Heat Protector " }

Desert Essence sent me their Coconut Defrizzer & Heat Protector spray to try, and I was so excited to finally receive it! It is gluten-free which is a plus for me, and well... you can't go wrong with coconut!

This is the third Desert Essence product I have tried, and well... I only just received it today.

But, I love it already! First thing I did was smell it. 

Of course. Because, if something doesn't smell good, it's not going in my hair. 

It smells amazing. Just like coconut. It actually smells almost identical to a different coconut based hair product I have. I love the smell, so that wasn't a problem. 

It is 100% Vegan, Wheat, Gluten, and Silicone free. I'm also very excited that it is silicone free, because silicone just makes your hair feel healthy and soft, but just sits on the outside of the hair shaft. 

You can use it on dry hair, or wet hair. I will probably end up spraying it into my wet hair each time I wash my hair, because it is a heat protector too. But, just being curious I sprayed it on my dry hair. My hair was super staticky (#finehairproblems) the first thing I noticed was that it immediately took away the static! I sprayed a small amount in, and my hair felt like silk, and was suddenly no longer sticking to my face. It was kind of amazing to be honest. I had been dealing with staticky (I'm now aware that that evidently is not a real word...) hair all day, so the fact that this tamed it was awesome. I have issues with dry, and staticky hair in the winter, because of my hair being so fine. I'm probably going to have to stop using my volumizing shampoo and conditioner, because it won't weigh my hair down as much as it needs to in the winter. 

Anyways, back to the actual product. It didn't make my hair oily, greasy, or weighed down feeling. It just made it feel so beautiful. Do you ever get that when you feel your hair, and it just feels beautiful? Well, that's what my hair felt like after using this spray. It just felt amazing. It even looks more silky! 

So far I love this, even though I've only used it once, I love it. 

I can't wait to use it further, and give a more in-depth review on it!

Keep your eyes peeled for a review! 

Thanks for reading! 

{ " Violet VoxBox " }

So, I received my Violet VoxBox in the mail last week.
I waited so long to post this, because I wanted to have some time to try out the products, before finalizing my review on them.

I was very excited to get the box, because of the description that was sent to me.

So, the box was purple. 

As soon as I saw this bright purple box sitting on the mailbox I ran down the driveway to retrieve it. Probably the most exciting moment in my life for a long time. I opened it up, and this is exactly what I saw. I didn't remove anything from the box before taking this picture.

I apologize for not turning over the SoyJoy bar... I didn't even think of that at the time. 

So, the products were in there, with a little note card that listed off all of the products, description, and their prices. 

According to the little card my box is worth over $25.00, which is pretty cool! 

So, let's start this "review" shall we? 

1) Sally Hansen Triple Shine Nail Polish - Retail Price: $4.99 - Color: Flamed Out - Description: New Triple Shine Nail Color! Daily defense from water and wear. Get ready for the shiniest nails ever! Water to workout, day in and day out, nothing will dull these nails. Available in 30 shades.

Product Review: I hadn't tried this nail polish before, but I had been tempted to grab it the few times I saw it at CVS, or Ulta. Let me just say... I'm so glad I didn't. "Shiniest ever"? No way. I applied two coats of this onto clean dry nails, and it was not shiny. So, then I read somewhere that you had to apply three coats. So, I added another. Shiny yet? Uhmm... Nope. I don't know, maybe I need the top coat to with it. The color is gorgeous, and it's completely opaque in two coats, which is nice. The wear time is not good, it chipped the next day, and I ended up removing it. I would not recommend this polish to anyone, and I will definitely not pay $4.99 for a bottle. I would look into trying the top coat though, maybe that will shine things up. I'll definitely wear this polish, but I'll be putting a top coat over it! I don't know, maybe my nails just aren't shine worthy. 

2) Goody Athletique Headbands - Retail Price: $6.00 - Description: Goody Athletique provides hold and comfort so you can be physically active and strong in body and mind. 

Product Review: I don't "work out" so... I didn't use this headband for exercizing or anything like that. I actually used it to keep my hair back to wash my face. I'm not sure how to review a headband... Other than saying it fit my head well, and didn't slip or slide. It's quite wide, and kept all of my hair back away from my face. The fabric is soft, and I love the bright colors! 

3) SOYJOY - Retail Price: $0.99 - Description: SOYJOY is an all-natural gluten free snack bar made with non-GMO soybeans and real fruit pieces. Between 130-140 calories, SOYJOY is a great on-the-go snack or it can be enjoyed warm (unwrap and microwave for 8-10 seconds for a "fresh -baked" experience!) with coffee or tea.

Product Review: Well here we go again... now do you review a snack bar? First of all, I received the banana bar... and we know I have a hatred for anything banana. Of course that put me off immediately. I'll be honest, as soon as I opened the wrapper I got this huge whiff of banana. I took a *nibble* literally, and gave the rest to my mother, who enjoyed it. Again, how do you review a snack bar? It's all personal preference. It's great that it is gluten-free though, so if I had liked banana, I totally could have eaten it! These would definitely be worth buying for a little snack on the go, and I love the idea of heating them up in the microwave, absolutely genius! I might try the different flavors a different time, just to see how I really like them.

The last product was a "surprise" product. Everyone either got a QuikStyle brush, a dry shampoo, or a clay mask. I obviously ended up with the brush. 

4) Goody QuikStyle - Retail Price: $12.99 - Description: Goody QuikStyle lets you go from wet to beautifully styled hair faster than ever! Super absorbent microfiber bristles remove water as you style. It's like a towel and brush all in one. 

Product Review: I was very excited to get this brush in my box, especially considering the price. I'm glad I didn't buy it all of those times I was tempted to. Basically this is a hairbrush with microfiber bristles in it. It's supposed to help with removing extra water after your hair has been washes, thus giving less dry time. So, the first time I used it I used it after having my hair up in a towel for like a minute. It didn't seem to do much at all, and the bristles were barely wet. Now, I have short, fine hair, so I'm not sure if that could have been the issue... or what. Then I used it again, and used it on wet hair straight out of the shower. First of all, there was a ton of hair in the brush itself. Normally I comb my hair out of the shower, and there's no fall out. This brush evidently promoted fall out. I didn't think it helped to dry my hair in any way. My mom used it, and she said normally when she brushes her hair the water "flicks" down her back, but using this brush she didn't have that happen. So, my mom loves it! Once again, personal preference is seen here too. I wouldn't ever spend $12.99 on this brush, and I wouldn't advise that anyone does. It's not worth it when you can throw your hair up in a towel for like 5 minutes and have it half way dry, at least I can with what little hair I have. ;) It was great to be able to try the product though, and now my mom uses it every time she showers!

It was fun to be able to review products that I was sent, and I would like to do it again! 

Thanks for reading! 

{ " Jordana Twist and Shine Balm Stains " }

I had heard about the Jordana Twist and Shine Moisturizing Balm Stains for quite some time on YouTube. They were "all the rage" for a while, and just about everyone was raving about them. They evidently are a great dupe for Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.

I only own one of Revlon's JBKBS, and it's mediocre. I haven't been tempted to buy another. Their color range isn't the best, but then again, it does vary from nudes to reds, with a purple in there somewhere. I just don't care for most of their colors. The price of the JBSKS runs anywhere from 6.99 and up. Which is crazy for a "balm" to me. Yes, they have pigment, but I still don't think it's worth the price.

The Jordana Twist and Shine Stains are 2.99 at Walgreens, and they often have BOGO sales on Jordana cosmetics.

I own three colors, one of which I just picked up yesterday:

Swatches left to right:
06 cranberry crush; 02 sweet pink; 05 honey love
Packaging front to back:
05 honey love; 06 cranberry crush; 02 sweet pink

06 cranberry crush is a classic deep cranberry color. It is one of my favorite lip colors to wear, and I will definitely be replacing it once it is finished up. It's a very wearable "red", and I just absolutely love it. It is a gorgeous fall and winter color, but I'm sure I will wear it all year round. 02 sweet pink is your basic bright, hot pink. It is much brighter than the packaging looks, and is super opaque, so I usually wear it under a gloss. I'm pretty sure it is a cool toned pink, and I prefer it for summer and spring weather. 05 honey love is a classing mauve. It is a pinky, brown toned mauve. Unfortunately the swatch is showing up super brown, but is not actually that brown. I absolutely love this color, it's definitely warm toned, and a perfect everyday lip. I can't actually find any good swatches online, but I'll post one once I find one.

These "balm stains" are extremely opaque. Each swatch I have up there is two light passes over my skin. They apply like a dream, and the pointed "crayon" like tip help with easy application. After using them for a while the tip wears down, and it's just more like a flat crayon. Even still they apply wonderfully, and perfectly smooth. As far as the moisturizing aspect of them, I don't find them to be drying, but they also don't really moisturize my lips. They are definitely more moisturizing than any other stain you might try, but they won't replace my Lypsyl anytime soon.

They do stain the lips a bit. I have noticed with 06 cranberry crush that my lips are normally stained red afterward, but that often happens with dark lip colors anyways. The lasting power is supposed to be quite a while, but I don't think they last too long. Maybe two hours without eating or drinking? If you eat or drink the shine is gone, and you're left with a little bit of a stain, but nothing too opaque.

They don't really have a strong scent if any. I have heard people say they smell amazing, but to me they kind of just smell like those candy necklaces my nana used to bring us when we were little. Or maybe even Smarties. But, don't worry about a scent, because it's barely noticeable, and goes away immediately when applied to the lips.

The packaging looks almost identical to Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. Except for the little silver twisty thing at the bottom, they are almost exactly the same. I quite like the packaging, I think it's adorable, and chic. I will give a word of warning, the colors on the tube aren't exactly like the colors you get when you put the product on your lips. Like 02 sweet pink was much brighter when I actually put it on my lips, compared to the case.

Quite frankly I can't find any "cons" with this product.
For the price, and the quality of the product I just think they're great!
I would most definitely recommend these to a friend.

As far as I know you can only find these at Walgreens right now, or on the Jordana website.

{ " Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Polish - Under Your Spell " }

Happy December everyone!


I have probably six of the Wet n Wild Megalast nail polishes, and I absolutely love them.
So last week when I was in CVS I spied a gorgeous duo-chrome burgundy red color. I was super excited about it, because it is a gorgeous color for fall and winter.

Let me start off by saying I love the brushes on these polishes. I can't even stress that enough. The brushes are absolutely wonderful. I love how I can go over my nail in one even sweep, and not have to worry about it building up from having to go over it several times.

I have always loved the Megalast polishes because of their opacity, and gorgeous colors. They don't have too many colors, but the color range they have is decent.

This picture makes this polish look extremely brown, but in the bottle it looks more on the deep red side. 

I applied the first coat and it came off super light, and a little streaky. It's not opaque in the least on the first coat. That could have been the fact that I apply my nail polish in very thin coats, but I think it's just the polish. The other Megalast polishes I have tried have been opaque in even the first coat. 

Here is pictures of the first coat, then the second coat. 

As you can see, the first coat is like an olive green, and brown. I was super nervous when I saw that color... I was totally put off, and was even tempted to take the polish off. The second coat then revealed the real color, which is indeed a reddish, burgundy, brown. I am quite pleased with the color, though the second coat is still streaky in some places. I could probably pull off a third coat, but I didn't feel like waiting for it to dry. 

Overall I like this polish, it's not amazing, but it's pretty. I'll probably pair it with some gold glitter, or even red glitter sometime. 

I'll be reviewing another polish from Wet n Wild, from the Fergie line soon, so look out for that! 

Enjoy the little things!

{ " Hair Growth - Two Months " }

Well... this month wasn't exactly about the growth. It was more along the lines of the next step to growing my hair out. I quite frankly got sick of the angled bob, and with the fact that I could curl the front, and braid the front, and la-dee-da the front, but I couldn't do anything to the back. That was the most frustrating thing to me. I thought growing out the back to my collar bones, then cutting the front would be a good idea. Pssh, no. Did I really think I was going to last two or three more months, and then end up having a weird looking grown out angled bob? I did think I was. But, I thought wrong.

I headed over to SmartStyle in Walmart (like always now), and decided on a shampoo, cut and blowout. I had a different stylist this time, and he was awesome. He was really (yes, I'm going to use the word sweet, no, I don't have a "crush" on him now) sweet, and totally sociable. I brought along this picture:

I knew my hair was going to be quite a bit shorter than her hair, because of where the shortest part in the back started. So, basically he evened out the ends of my hair, so it's all one length. I think that took about three or even four inches off of the front of my hair. He then dusted the back, and took off about a 1/2 inch or less. 

He layered it like crazy. I think my hair looks similar to this photo from the side... but, the back is kind of insanity. I really hated the back at first, to the point where I was actually angry about it. I then reminded myself that hair grows, and before I know it it will be just about back to collar bone length! I don't mind the length in the back (as he took barely anything off). The layers though! Oh my word. I have never had so many layers in my hair. After he blowdried it (first of all it looked very very big) I almost cried when I saw the back. It looked like he just cut one straight layer into the back. One very short straight layer. I feel like he went a little more intense with the layers than in the picture above. They're just super chunky layers I suppose. They're like intensified layers from my angle I had before. This was my first "bad" salon experience, and it doesn't even look bad. It's just not what I wanted. I am kind of getting used to the layers now, and I like how they add lift at the crown, and add a lot of texture to my normally limp, fine hair. I've been playing around with my hair wax today too, and I like the kind of "messy" look it gives. Layers seem to grow out in a month anyways. I think as soon as they're not as like "BAM LAYERS" I'll be okay. 

One of the girls at the salon said the cut looks great with my profile... which is pretty cool seeing as I couldn't figure out if I liked it or not. At the time I was kind of dying inside, mostly because of the huge hair, and the "bang" layers in the back. 

I apologize in advance about the horrible quality of the photos... I was having some issues. 

My mirror is not the best mirror to take photos in, because of the positioning of my light in my room.

So let's attempt to make them "Instagramish" ;) 

See that huge chunk of layers on the right side in the back? It's aggravating me. Also, my head is tilted in the photo on the right, don't worry the hair isn't uneven! Unfortunately I did notice that on the side of my head without my bangs, the front is much shorter than the back. So he kind of screwed that up, which is a bummer. Thankfully it's not super noticeable, and I'm probably the only one who can see it. It's just a bummer. Again, I was looking for a cut with some soft layers that got shorter toward the back, not the cut that I got. I'll deal with it though, and definitely not go back to him.

Anyways, I'm excited to play with quite short hair again as it's growing out. As I look back it will be grown out before I know it! I'm going to be going with a "messy" or... textured look for quite a while, because once my hair is longer and the layers are grown out it's back to Limp Town for me. ;)

So yeahh. 

There is my incredibly long update!

Step two is complete! 

Coco Chanel once said: 

Well. 

Life changing... here I come!

Here goes nothin'. 

{ " Walmart Haul and... Oops " }

Again... what is considered a haul? Because, I only bought six things... is that considered a haul? Meh. I dunno.

Anyways, I was at Walmart and had some things on my list that I was looking to get. I knew exactly what I was looking for, which was cool. For once I wasn't just counting on trying something and hoping it would work.

Basically it looks like a jumble of stuff, but it's not. 

1) Garnier Moisture Renew Refreshing Gel Cream

2) Conair 1 and 1/4" curling iron 

3) FX Molding Wax - Pliable Hair Wax

4) Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Detoxifying Scrub 

5) Lypsyl lip balm 

6) got2b POWDER'ful Volumizing Hair Powder

I had been in need of a new daily moisturizer, and face cleanser, so I looked these two up before deciding to buy them. I love them so far, but I will definitely write reviews on them in a while after I have used them quite a bit! 

The lip balm was super random. I just remembered I needed more... so I grabbed it. 

As for the hair products... well, there's a reason for those. 

UH-OH. Oops? 

Yeah. I did it again. 

This time though, I did it for a "good" reason. I decided that it was exciting to have the front of my hair long enough to curl, but the back was still too short... I then came to grips with the fact that by the time I grew the back out long enough to cut it to my liking, I would have to cut off like six inches from the front. I knew by the time that came my hair would be so dead, split, and yucky, that it would just look bad. I do wish the length was a little bit longer, as I don't really like hair this short on myself, but he cut it all the same length as the back. So, now the bottom is all one length. The layering is a little crazy. There is one section of layering in the back that I am not fond of, but hair grows, and before I know it it will have softened and grown out nicely. 

This is step one in growing my hair out. I had to have it all evened out in order to grow it out evenly. I don't like it this short, but I just needed to get it done before my hair got any longer in the front. I think he took about two/three inches off of the front which seems like a ton... I did realize that in April I cut my hair to my chin, and even though I cut it again twice since then, it was down to my collar bones when I went to get it cut again today. That means it grew about five inches in those months, which is excellent! Also, I cut it to about this length back in July and it had grown out a lot since then, even with my latest angled cut. The girl had to cut three inches off the back of my hair when she did my angle two months ago. When I look at it that way, my hair grows really fast. It just doesn't seem like it when I'm waiting for it to grow! 

He did blow dry it after he cut it, and it looked kind of crazy. Crazy to me at least. I have never had so much volume in my hair... Like, really. It looked like you could take my head off of my body and bounce it like a basketball... 

I had fun playing with it tonight though. I used my new curling iron to loosely curl some pieces away from my face which resulted in a kind of messy look, then I shaped it with some of the hair wax I bought. 

We'll see what happens. By this time next year it will all be grown back out anyways! Life's a ride, why not have fun?! 

I'm super excited for this length: 

A couple of months and I'll be there! 

Now, after all that babbling... 

Just watch out for reviews on the products I bought today, because they're definitely coming! 

Thanks for reading!

{ " Wait... what?! " }

Alright... Going through old photos, and I want someone to explain to me when my hair was this long.

Now, it's looking all pretty and stuff, because it's curled in these photos. If it hadn't been curled it would have been straggly and gross, which was the reason I cut it (to almost my shoulders) last November. Let's just take a moment to soak in all that glorious hair... It's going to take me like 2 years to grow my hair back to that length! 

Alright. Let's do this thing. Challenge accepted. 

;) 

This time though, I'm planning on having healthy long hair. Not just long hair that hadn't been trimmed for like a year and a half, thus causing split ends up to my eyeballs! 

Just thought I'd share that... 

{ " Mini Pampering Session " }

Tonight, as I realized how damaged the ends of my hair is I decided to take a little "pampering" time.

There are so many ways you could pamper yourself... I did the easy ones. It was all just spur of the moment too!

1) I decided it was about time to use a hair mask. So, I sprayed the ends of my hair with a little bit of my L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Multi-Restorative Dry Oil. If you spray your dry hair with this hair oil, it makes it super greasy. So, don't spray it on dry hair. Then I saturated my hair in Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin unrefined coconut oil. I usually use it solid, and as I work it into my hair it melts right in. It is super messy to use it melted I have found, so even when I used coconut oil on my hair in the summer I put it in the fridge first. It just helps to keep the mess down. I then clipped up my hair and waited about fifteen minutes before showering.

2) In the shower I rinsed out the coconut oil, shampooed my hair twice. Let me explain why I shampooed twice. After having an oil in your hair you need to make sure you get all of that oil out. I have made the mistake before of leaving coconut oil in my hair for about 30 minutes, then shampooing my hair once and conditioning like normal. In the middle of blow-drying my hair I realized the heavier side of my part was extremely greasy looking. So, just to be on the safe side I always shampoo my hair twice if I have had any kind of oil in my hair.

3) After shampooing my hair twice, I quite a bit of my L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm and completely saturated my hair from root to tip. I let that sit for about ten minutes, before rinsing it out. Now, I have to be super careful when rinsing out that particular hair balm, because it contains hydrolyzed wheat proteins, which cause my face and forehead to break out. It still gives me some sores on my head, but I just live through it for the time being.

4) Immediately after rinsing out the balm I washed my face with my Pond's Luminous Clean Daily Exfoliating Cleanser, like always. I have found if I wash my face immediately after using the balm which contains wheat proteins I can prevent breakouts on my face.

5) After getting out of the shower (and no, I did not only wash my hair) I used a facial/lip scrub that I made tonight. I simply mixed together:

• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil
• 2 drops (literally) of lemon juice

I had a little tiny jar that literally only fit that much, so I made enough to fit.
So, I just massaged that into my skin until the sugar granules were all dissolved. Now my skin is super soft.

6) After towel drying my hair I spritzed it with a bit more of my L'Oreal Dry Oil, and then let it air dry about 80% of the way before blow drying it the rest of the way to tame down some frizzies.

7) Whilst waiting for my hair to dry I removed my old nail polish, and then massaged some Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream into my nails/cuticles. I let that soak in for a while before applying two coats of my Nailtiques Formula 2 nail strengthener.

So basically... now my hair is super soft, and healthier looking. I will probably go in for a trim sometime, because my ends are super split, and it's been 2 months since I last had my hair done. I'd rather keep the split ends down, even if it means losing a little bit of length for the time being.

Now I'm going to go eat some chocolate covered frozen strawberries, and watch some YouTube videos for a little while.

Have a splendid night everyone, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

{ " Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks - First Impression " }

I want to apologize way ahead of time for my absolutely horrible "swatching" abilities. I did lip swatches... and then realized that my lens magnified all the little peach fuzz on my upper lip and around my mouth. Flaws. Everyone's got them. I have never like... felt the need to wax around my mouth... so I guess I just won't be doing any super close up lip swatches, huh? ;) Just thought I'd tell you all the reason for my entire face being in the swatch, rather than just my lips.

Anyhue, now that that's out of the way...

I recently bought two of the Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks at CVS. They are a steal at $1.99 a piece, and then they were 40% off, so I just had to try them.

Tati (GlamLifeGuru on YouTube) has mentioned a specific one called, "Think Pink" in many of her videos, and talked about how much she loved it. So, of course, I picked that one up. Then I also found another shade, which I absolutely adore. It's such a gorgeous color!

Left: Think Pink
Right: Wine Room

Left: Think Pink
Right: Wine Room

Left: Wine Room
Right: Think Pink

Yes, I am aware that I look terrified in the picture on the left, but whatever. Let's pretend it's high fashion, or modeling or something. ;)

First I will talk about the lipsticks together, then I will talk about each color individually.

~ The opacity of these lipsticks is absolutely incredible, as you can see in the arm swatches above. That is one "swipe", and that's it. I don't think I have ever had a lipstick that was that opaque. The colors are absolutely gorgeous, and I was shocked by how opaque they are.

~ The packaging is just a black tube. They are thinner than regular lipstick tubes, but I don't mind that. The packaging is cheap, sleek, but cheap.

~ The consistency is actually pretty creamy. The application was much easier with the darker color, but the consistency is pretty much like any matte. If your lips are not hydrated, and are flaky at all, it will pull and tug at your lips. I put on a lip butter about 15 minutes before I put on the lipstick, in order to keep my lips hydrated and have a smooth application. They kind of smell like a crayon, like legit. When I first smelled them, I immediately thought of crayons. They feel quite dry after a little while, but aren't super uncomfortable on the lips.

~ The wear time is actually pretty amazing, I mean compared to lip products I have tried. I put on the color Wine Room at around 4:15PM, and when I got home at 6:00PM it was still completely intact. The lip color had not budged at all, and hadn't started to peel or anything. I ate dinner, and it lasted through dinner, then I ended up wiping it off to do the swatch of the lighter color. I literally had to scrub it off of my lips, and my lips were still kind of red. I know almost two hours isn't that impressive of a time, but for me it was! They definitely stain, because I swatched them on my arm about three hours ago, and it's still there. The lighter color seemed to fade faster, but the darker color leaves quite a stain.

~ Wine Room  is a gorgeous brick red color. It is coming off true to color in the pictures. It is so beautiful, I'm absolutely in love with it. I'm not quite brave enough to wear a true red lipstick, but I feel like a matte red is more wearable than a glossy red for some reason. Anyways, the color is definitely a warm toned red, it's definitely not a cool toned red. For some reason I'm loving to wear cranberry lip colors, and darker lip colors, even though according to like... "beauty rules" you shouldn't wear dark lips without any other makeup. Hey look at me, the rebel. ;)

~ Think Pink is a cool toned baby pink. It is the perfect nude lip. I don't really like light/nude lip colors on myself, but this one is amazing. I don't think it makes me look too washed out, so I'll definitely be wearing it quite often, as long as I can get it to apply nicely.

~ The price is amazing. I mean, come on now. $1.99 for a lip color normally tells you that it's going to stink. But, these are pretty good.

I would definitely recommend Wine Room to a friend, and maybe even some of the other darker colors. I think the price I paid, which was actually $1.19 was well worth it.

I hope someone found this review helpful... and I'm gonna say, "Go git you some!" ;)

Have a great week everyone!

{ " Wet n Wild Haul " }

I stopped into CVS today, because I had a CVS money-card with $11.00 on it, and $4.00 in extrabucks. I figured it was a good time to stop in! So, I hadn't gone in looking for anything specific... I was just planning on finding something to buy with my "free" money! 

I happened upon the Wet n Wild stand, and... what do you know? It was all 40% off. Wet n Wild's products are super cheap to begin with, so then adding 40% makes them incredibly cheap. I spent about $8.00, and was able to get two lipsticks, two nail polishes, and a blush. I don't really wear blush, but I got it to play around with, seeing as it was only about $1.49 after the discount!

I will do separate reviews on the lipsticks, and the blush because that is going to be more in-depth. 

Wet n Wild Megalast Salon Nail Color

Under Your Spell 216B

Wet n Wild Fergie Nail Color

Make Them Boys Go Loco A019

Let me point out, as with the above, I never check the names of things before I buy them... so I had no idea of the name of the Fergie glitter polish until now... Yeahhhh....  

Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher

Heather Silk 832E

Heather Silk 832E

Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks

Left: Think Pink 901B
Right: Wine Room 906D

Left: Think Pink 901B
Right: Wine Room 906D

I paid $8.49 for everything above! Quite pleased with my purchases so far, though I have only tried the lipsticks out. I'm excited to try the nail polishes, as soon as the color I currently have on my nails chips. 

And a special bonus... 

I hopped over to Target and found this adorable sweater, on the 70% off rack! I put it on at first and debated on returning it... but, I'm pretty sure I'll keep it, it was too cheap to return anyways! 

Now, stop judging me just because I take mirror selfies... Because, I know you are. ;)

Enjoy your week! 

{ " My Dream Christmas List " }

I saw a blog post about a Christmas list, and it made me want to gather up some ideas and make my own.

Most of these things are just 'dream' Christmas gifts, because I'm pretty sure no one would ever give some of these to me as a gift. Which y'know, I understand. 

I absolutely love Christmas time, because I love snow. I'm not really the type of person who gets super excited over gifts. I love giving gifts, but whether or not I receive a certain amount of gifts doesn't really ever cross my mind. After all, Christmas is not about getting presents, it's about Christ. 

So, let me start off with the most reasonable things, and they we'll get to the crazy thing that I'm going to have to someday spend my life savings on.

{Just a heads up! All of the blue text is clickable links to where you can find each item. In case you're interested in purchasing it.} 

1. Jewelry Tree Stand Organizer 

I have been wearing more jewelry lately, and it's rather frustrating when I have nowhere to put it. I actually ended up sticking some tacks in the side of my mirror to hold my necklaces. Tacky I know. (Pun intended.) So, I basically told my mother that all I would even think of wanting for Christmas is something to hold my jewelry. The one pictured holds up to 60 pairs of earrings, and then whatever else you want to put on there. I think it is so adorable, and it would fit well with the decor of my bedroom. However, I have a wish list on www.amazon.com, and I have several stands in there. 

Birdhouse Earring/Necklace Stand - www.amazon.com

$29.99

2. Reverse (Tapered) Curling Wand 

I have seen a lot of people with short hair use a reverse curling wand. I'm not sure why it works better with short hair, but evidently it does! This specific wand is one I found on Amazon, and it is a pretty good price, with good reviews. 

Le Angelique Tapered Curling Iron - www.amazon.com

$26.99

3. Holster Camera Case 

I have been wanting a case like this for some time, because I often go places with only my camera and one lens, so it is a pain to carry around my case with all of my lenses all the time (though I am sooo thankful to have a bag that fits all of my lenses and my camera). 

Opteka H400 Short Holster Case - www.amazon.com

$12.95

4. Wireless Shutter Release 

Talk about geeky things huh? This is a wireless shutter release, for a DSLR, which is an excellent tool to have. I would really love to have one for night shots of the stars. Thankfully I live in an area where leaving my camera outside for a few hours at night wouldn't be deadly. 

Neewer Wireless Shutter Release For Nikon - www.amazon.com

$18.95

5. Nail Art Brushes 

I got a set of nail art brushes for Christmas a couple of years ago, and haven't really been able to use them all that much. A few of them are really nice, but the fine point ones are frayed and unusable. There are several sets on Amazon that are only about $1.00 for three brushes, which is a very good deal. 

6. Starbucks Tumbler 

Okay, just look at how beautiful that is. I saw it originally on a "Gift Guide" YouTube video and fell in love with it. This is such a gorgeous, and timeless tumbler. I would absolutely love to have it, and I've been looking for a new tumbler anyways, so I can go places with hot coffee, or tea in the winter! The fact that it is from Starbucks makes it 100% more awesome, despite the fact that I can't drink their coffee!

Stainless Steel Hammered Tumbler - www.starbucksstore.com

$22.95

7. Combat Boots

I have been searching for a pair of decently priced combat boots for most of this fall. I absolutely love the look of them, especially with skirts or dresses. I came across these on Kohls.com, and I love them. I just can't decide which color I like the best.... They're all great colors. Plus they're on sale for $19.99. *nudgenudge* They were $79.99... These might not be able to wait until Christmas! Though I'm not sure if it is socially acceptable for me to wear these boots with my 34" inseam and telephone pole legs... So... yeah. GO AGAINST THE FLOW BABY. 

Candie's Combat Boots - www.kohls.com

On sale now for $19.99! 

8. Sweaters! 

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I absolutely love sweaters. I would live in them every day of my life if I could. They're so cozy, and yet easy to dress up if needed. So, sweaters... or a Target gift card (seeing that all of the sweaters above are from Target) would be a grand idea. ;)

9. Cross Body Bag

I have been carrying a cross body bag for quite some time now, because I am terrified of losing my purse, especially now that I usually have car keys with me... Anyways! I found this purse from Target and I absolutely fell in love with it. The colors are so gorgeous, and the size is perfect. The bag I have now is falling apart, because I use it every single day and stuff way more than should be able to fit, into it... So, I think it's about time for a new purse! 

Mossimo Supply Co. Cross Body Handbag - www.target.com

Mint: on clearance for $17.49

Grey: $24.99

10. Canon EOS Rebel T4i 

*gasp* I know, there's a Canon on my blog! My camera would be so disappointed in me, but let's not tell him okay? This is almost my biggest dream gift. I would absolutely love to have this camera. I have heard and seen so many good things about Canon cameras, and this one in particular. So, I've been eyeing it for quite some time. Maybe someday I'll have enough cash to dish out for this camera. I know I already have three lenses for my Nikon, but there are lens adapters out there... 

Canon EOS Rebel T4i - www.amazon.com

$719.99

Well that's it! I decided to keep it to ten items, because well... I had a hard time even coming up with ten items! Obviously this is just my dream list, and I'm not actually legitmately asking for all of these things! A sweater or two would be nice though... ;)

This was such a fun post to make, though it took me just about all day (on and off) to think of what I wanted to put in the list, and to deal with crazy computer issues. Anyways! 

Is there anything in particular you are dreaming about for a Christmas gift? 

Let me know in the comments down below. It's always fun to see what other people are wishing for! 

Thanks for reading! Have a great Thanksgiving week!