{ " Maybelline Color Sensational - The Elixir " }

Today I am going to talk about Maybelline's new Color Sensational© lip product called, THE ELIXIR. 

This has had a lot of hype lately, and I finally gave in to the hype, broke down (seeing as it had been a while since I picked up something to try), and bought one. I returned a nail polish, used a coupon and used the little bit of cash on this little beauty. 

It was worth every penny. So, let's split this into categories... so maybe it's a little more organized and helpful.

The color I bought is 095 Blush Essence which is a cool toned, kind of light dusty pink. If that makes any sense at all... it's a very hard color to explain. It's a very wearable color though!

- PACKAGING: 

I personally think the packaging is so sleek, and high-end looking. It is just a rectangle little tube, but the part holding the product is clear, with a little tube inside that shows you the exact color you are getting. Which is always nice, because I've bought a few lip products that it was almost impossible to see the real color of. I love the shiny silver cap, with the little black lettering against the crystal tube. I give the packaging five stars! It is small, but I've only finished an entire lip gloss like two times, so I wouldn't have asked for it to be any larger. 

- APPLICATOR: 

The applicator is pretty much a doe-foot applicator, but it is a bit bigger. It is very fuzzy looking, and extremely flexible and soft. I like how the end is quite pointed, which aids in outlining and getting a perfect application the first time around. 

- FORMULA:

The formula is amazing. It is very soft, and smooth feeling as it glides on. It does the job of a lipstick with the pigmentation, but it feels and looks like a gloss. I don't think it moisturizes like a balm, but that might just be that I have really dry lips. It has a very glossy finish, but the pigment is quite good. It doesn't last very long on the lips, but it lasts longer than your average gloss. 

- SCENT/TASTE:

The scent is very perfumey... It also has a very soapy taste if it gets in to your mouth.

Which is not pleasant in the least. I think they need to work on that... 

- PRICE: 

I have heard these go for around $8.00 in some drugstores, and they go as low as $6.49 in Bed Bath and Beyond. The original price of them at Walmart was $6.94, but I didn't end up paying that much, because of my coupon. I would say the price is a little high, especially because you don't get a ton of product. I won't buy another one for quite a while unless I find a crazy deal like BOGO-FREE, or something like that. 

Overall I give this product a four star rating. If it wasn't for the awful smell/taste I would rate them at five stars. But, the smell and taste is so off-putting. Also, the price is a bit much, and will probably keep me from purchasing more for a while. 

Well! That is my honest review on this product, if you have any questions be sure to leave them below. 

Thanks!

{ " stand out. " }

Society has a way of making everyone want to fit in. Some people don't follow through with it, but some do. Being humans, what other people think of us often makes a large impact on our lives and actions. Whether it's how we dress, how we act in public, how we have our hair cut, or even what we do for activities. For a while I kept my personality on the down-low to keep people from knowing I'm a little (*cough cough* a lot) weird. I have a rather strong personality, as in I'm me, and that's basically it. I like to be goofy,  act like someone who might be slightly out of their mind, and I love to be playful. I am also extremely sarcastic... which, drives my grandmother crazy (little does she know I got it from her husband...), because she can never tell if I'm serious or not. I love to laugh, and I love to make others laugh. Now I have no problem acting silly in the store, or singing senseless things in Walmart. I want people to love me for me, not for someone I'm not.

One thing I have always been self conscious about is the fact that I don't wear makeup. It used to be that I "can't" wear makeup, but now I just don't. It's a choice. Nothing against anyone who wears makeup of course, but I choose not to. I struggled with not being able to wear makeup for a while, especially when I looked around and saw so many gorgeous girls, and sometimes wished I looked like them. Then I came to the grips that God made me who I am, and He made my face exactly how He wanted it to look. Isn't that amazing?! He gave me my freckles (which are sadly fading), He gave me my dimples, my short eyelashes, and it wasn't a mistake. He made me His kind of beautiful. Not the world's kind, but His. Everyone has a standard of "beauty", it's part of our nature. We all see things differently, so we all see beauty differently. I think the fact that God made us is proof that we are all beautiful, in our own different ways.

This post was really supposed to be about my glasses... but, I like always, got rambling on.

So... ANYWAYS.

"Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?" -- Dr. Suess

Back in September I got my first pair of glasses, and they were okay. I wasn't really fond of them, but everyone else was. I got the pair I got, because the frames were $9.00. So, basically I got the cheapest pair I could get, and tried to talk myself into the fact that I liked them. I had had my mind set on getting a different pair, but the frames I tried were over $50.00, and that was not happening. So I settled with the pair I had, and received compliments on them from people I know, and had people tell me I looked cute. But, yet I still didn't like them. I really did not like them. The kind of frames I had wanted in the first place I was told would not look right on my face by several people, and they told me to just go with smaller frames. I decided it was best to stick with what I had, people liked them anyways...

Well, I came across a special deal on coastal.com, and found a pair of frames I absolutely loved. They were the exact shape I had wanted all along, but they were a little bit smaller (which fits my petite face better). I ordered them, and I'll be honest, I was slightly wary about them. When they arrived on Monday afternoon (amazing shipping time by the way, they only took 3 days!) I tried them on immediately, and I was so happy. I finally had what I liked. Not what other people liked. These frames are exactly what I had been looking for, and I couldn't be happier. They are perfect! I have already had a compliment on them from a complete stranger too, which totally made my day. Other people might not like these frames on me, but I love them!

Plus they have this amazing etching on the sides, which I looooove.

So, don't forget to stand out, and be yourself, okay? This world doesn't need anymore clones of super models, and actresses. And... don't forget to make faces like these when you're taking photos of yourself (NO SHAME), because once in a while you just gotta be a dork, even just for your own amusement.

If you got anything from that jumbled mess... hopefully you got that you don't need to let other people's opinions control your life. If you like your hair short, cut it short, if you like your glasses funky, get funky glasses. 

Oh yeah, and wear Christmas socks with your slippers, it's high-fashion. Trust me.

Enjoy the little things, 

{ " Hair Growth - One Month " }

Well, as you probably already know, one month of hair growth is not very significant. But, I will show it anyways.

click here for post with initial cut

I have decided I am going to grow my hair out for two years. Of course I will not wait two years to get my hair trimmed, but I am not going to do any more major cuts. I have been longing for lengthy hair lately, mostly just to do buns, braids, and other things of that sort. I thought my "journey" might be helpful for other people who may want to grow out angled haircuts such as mine. I have been told, and have read that it is very difficult to grow out a graduated bob. First of all I am sure it's going to look silly when the front of my hair is down to my... let's say armpits... and the back is a good inch shorter. To keep that from happening once my hair is down to about my... armpits, in the front, (for some reason it's funny to type that) I will have it evened out, and have the front cut to match the back. Which also means I have about four inches to go until I can even it out, and then I'll have to have an inch cut off to make it even! This is going to be quite the process. But, as my hair is getting even the slightest bit longer in the front it's reminding me of how much I love to play with it, and how much I loved it long. So, I'm going on this "journey" to grow out my hair, and resist the temptation of cutting it for two years! I'm also hoping that in the event that I get married someday (it's possible), that I will have long healthy curls (after I curl my stick straight hair that is) cascading over my shoulders. Hey, a girl can dream!

If there was any growth it was only about 1/2" which is not noticeable. But, I figured if I was gonna do this whole thing, I might as well start with the first month! It does look like my layers may have grown out a bit, or softened at least. I didn't like how choppy they looked when I first had my hair cut, but now they're bearable. 

Believe it or not, I have a picture of myself with long hair up in my bedroom for inspiration. I only miss my long hair when I see it on myself. When I see other people with long hair it doesn't phase me. Then I see pictures of myself with long hair and I end up missing it. I don't regret cutting it, I just miss it. 

Well, here goes nothing! I'm going to try to post every month with pictures of the sides, back, and possibly the front depending on how my face looks that day... Hehe. 

Thanks for reading!

{ " Influenster! " }

I am so excited! I finally received my email from Influenster telling me I qualified for the Violet VoxBox. It is November's box, so I will be receiving it sometime next month. I'm super excited about this! I love trying new products, and reviewing new products, so getting sent to me to review is pretty awesome. I went into it thinking I was just going to review a bunch of products online, and have fun with that part of it. When they emailed asking me to take a survey to see if I qualified, I figured once again that I wouldn't. Then when they emailed me telling me I qualified for the Violet VoxBox I think I may have squealed.

Woohoo! So within the next month hopefully I will have received my box, been able to try out my products, and share them all with you guys. I didn't think my small blog would ever add up to anything, but evidently it did. The Influenster team also was able to view my blog, and that was exciting! Of course, I'm not anywhere close to where I hope to be someday, but this is a start right? 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

P.S. I hope to have some very exciting pictures to share next week. So keep an eye out! 

{ " Crossbody Crochet Bag " }

Well, I have gotten back into crocheting since winter is slowly coming around. 

I have really only made hats, and I started a blanket... So, I decided to challenge myself!

I found this pattern on Pinterest, and it linked me to Lionbrand.com

You can find the pattern here.

It is a pretty simple pattern, the longest part is having to do the 12 inches of crocheting to make the bag itself. Then again, the strap seemed to take forever too. I made the strap a bit shorter, and instead of making a button from yarn, I used a real button.

I love how it turned out! I am currently working on a dark brown one, and I think these will make excellent gifts, along with a bunch of other things I'm going to make. 

Just thought I'd share! 

Have a great week everyone!

{ " Cutex Advanced Revival Nail Polish Remover " }

Manicure Monday #3

I was in need of a nail polish remover, and I was set on getting 100% acetone like I normally do. I understand that 100% acetone is a killer on your nails, but I make sure to moisturize them and such after using it. Since there was no 100% acetone at Walmart, I decided to try something new. I needed polish remover anyways, so why not? I picked this one up by Cutex which looked promising. It was a little more expensive than the regular polish remover ($2.39 compared to $0.99 for a small bottle of pure acetone), but this is the "advanced revival" solution. My nails are pretty brittle to begin with, which is probably partially from using the 100% acetone for all this time. Reading the bottle of this nail polish remover I figured it would probably just be like any other, and it would remove my nail polish, then that would be it.

Well. I was wrong.
At first it seems like any other nail polish remover, smells like it too. Then, after it dries on the nails (and fingers in my case...) it smells amazing. It contains flaxseed oil, black currant oil, and apricot kernel oil, along with the acetone. Which is the reason it doesn't make your hands feel dry, dry out your nails, and dries smelling amazing. It removed the polish quickly, just as well as 100% acetone. So far I am very pleased with this product, and I will probably purchase it again when I run out. The fact that it smells good, and doesn't leave my hands feeling extremely dry is awesome! I even had Nicolas smell my fingers after I was done. ;)

I encourage anyone who does their nails often to try this polish remover. It's the bomb!

Enjoying the little things, like nail polish remover,

{ " Pond's Facial Products " }

Friday Favorites # 2

LEFT TO RIGHT: 

//  Pond's Nourishing Moisturizing Cream //

// Pond's Luminous Clean Daily Exfoliating Cleanser //

// Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream //

I can say that I honestly love all of the products I have purchased from Pond's. I have only tried three from this line, but I love all three of them. I have had awesome results, no break outs, no irritation, and just an overall good experience.

I'll talk about the Luminous Finish BB+ Cream first, because it is the first product I had purchased from their line. I bought this just about as soon as it came out. I had searched Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart for it for about a month, before I finally found it at Target. I was so excited to try it, and I'm so happy I did! It is a light coverage BB cream, that gives a wonderful glow and "awake" look to my face. It has an interesting scent, which put me off at first, but then I grew used to it. I use this just about every day, sometimes I skip a day and let my skin breathe. It says to apply it every four hours or something crazy like that, but I just use it once in the morning. I really think it did even out my skin tone, as it claims it will do. It also fades dark spots, and I was worried about it fading my freckles, but it didn't touch them. All in all, I love this, and I have purchased it twice already! It runs for between $7.99 and $9.99, and lasts me a little more than two months. You only have to use a little bit, and it blends in amazingly! You can build it if you want, but I just do one sheer layer, and I'm ready to go!

About three weeks ago I purchased the Luminous Clean Daily Exfoliating Cleanser. I was drawn in by the claims, and also by the fact that it was in the same line as the BB+ Cream which I loved so much. I decided to try it out, and I am so glad I did! I use it each night, and occasionally in the morning. I just love how bright my skin has been looking, and the exfoliating beads feel so good! It is quite drying, because it's an exfoliating wash, so use a good moisturizer after using this cleanser! It's an awesome product, and I will definitely repurchase this when mine is gone.

About a week ago I picked up the Nourishing Moisturizing Cream after seeing it several times in the store. I almost bought the full sized container, but it was about $7.99, and I didn't want to spend that on a huge tub of cream I wasn't sure I was going to use. So, I just happened to look in the travel/trial sized body care area and what do you know! There it was, a little tiny tub for $1.77. I grabbed it right away, and decided it was a better idea to try the little pot of it, than to buy the bigger one and end up not liking it. Well... I could have bought the bigger tub! I love this moisturizer! I don't really have dry skin, but I exfoliate my face with the cleanser I talked about above, so that can be quite drying. I wanted a cream to put on my face at night, because I don't use the BB+ Cream at night after washing my face. My face started to get dry, and felt tight after a little while. Using this after I wash my face makes my skin feel so luxurious! My skin feels soft, hydrated, and healthy!

I will probably be trying more Pond's products in the future! I love this line of facial care!

And, this is what happens when you're shooting outside and your kitty is curious. ;)

I'll be putting up a collection of my September Favorites within the next week!
Enjoy the little things everyone!

{ " September Favorites! " }

Woohoo! September Favorites time!! 

It took me a while to decide how I was going to execute this. I couldn't decide if I wanted to post individual photos of all of my favorites, leave the photos out, or make a collage like this. I'm so glad I made the collage. I love how it came out, and it took me literally 10 minutes after finding all of the products. 

I wasn't going to number the products, but I decided it would make things a bit easier. 

So here we some of my favorite products from the month of September...

1. Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream // 2. Nivea Lip Butter; Raspberry Rose Kiss // 

3. Pond's Nourishing Moisturizing Cream // 4. Batiste Dry Shampoo; Blush Scent // 5. Julep Nail Polish; Fiore // 

6. Avon's Just Play Perfume for Her // 7. Orly Nail Polish; Space Cadet // 

8. Bodycology Nourishing Body Cream; XOXO // 

9. L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5; Damage Erasing Balm // 10. Revlon Lip Butter; Berry Smoothie // 

11. Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer; Dressed to Kill // 12. NYX Butter Gloss; Creme Brulee // 

13. Julep Nail Polish; Kendra // 14. Pond's Luminous Clean; Daily Exfoliating Cleanser

Those weren't in any specific order, I just put them on how they fit and looked nice. Hehe. 

Anyways, I love all of these products, and I would recommend them to anyone! 

If you would like a review on anything specific let me know. 

But, you can find reviews for some of the products here:

L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5: Damage Erasing Balm

NYX Butter Glosses

A review for all of the Pond's products will be up on Friday! 

Enjoy the little things!

{ " Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks " }

LEFT: Sassy Mauve (463) RIGHT: Berry Haute (660)

LEFT: Sassy Mauve (463) RIGHT: Berry Haute (660)

I had been looking for some fall lip colors, that weren't too bold, and I came across these two colors on a couple of YouTube videos. I figured I would look around for them, and that they might be discountinued seeing as the videos were kind of old. I decided to just take a look at Walmart, and I found both colors. They were on clearance for $2.00 a piece, from $4.97 a piece. What a steal! You gotta love random sale items. So, I obviously bought them both. I was so excited, and had to try them out right away! 

They both look exactly as they do in the pictures when on the lips. Berry Haute is a pretty cool purple-y mauve, and looks quite purple on the lips. It is very wearable though, but something I'll have to get used to. I'll probably wear it around the house a bit before I wear it out anywhere. Sassy Mauve is a gorgeous warm mauve-y pink. It's one of those "my lips but better" colors. I'll definitely get a lot of wear out of that color!

I have never owned any of these lipsticks before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. They make my lips feel a little funny, and they seem a bit drying. But, they go on very smoothly, and seem to wear pretty well. I mean, what do you expect from a lipstick that's under $5.00? 

So excited to wear these for the fall, and hopefully try some other colors out too! 

Have a great week everyone! 

Enjoying the little things,