Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Birch Bloggers Benefit Gimme Brow Review

Being a Birch Blogger, I get the opportunity to try and review new products. When I saw Birchbox was offering a few Birch Bloggers to review Benefit's Gimme Brow, I knew I had to try to get my hands on it. Benefit has been one of my favorite brands for a long time (my favorite being the classic Benetint).

Lately, I've been really into natural looking brows. Nothing too bushy, but also nothing that is super high arched. After having my eyebrows over plucked/waxed, I've decided to let them grow out and just do a little clean up for those stray hairs. 

Typically, I use a pencil to fill in those sparse areas and brush them out with a spooly to make them look a little more natural. That, however, can be time consuming in my morning rush. So I was very excited to use an all in one product!

I chose medium/deep color. I am naturally a brunette, and I prefer a darker looking brow. 

It works kind of like a fiber mascara. It sticks to skin and brows creating hair and making existing hairs look fuller. The tapered brush is really easy to use. It allows you to define with the tip and fill in with the fuller part of the brush. I was able to create a really natural look with one step. The look is buildable too, so you can create a really stand out brow if you want too as well. I noticed that is stayed put until the end of the day. My sister was even impressed my how much my brows had "grown back".

After a few uses I really fell in love. It's easy and natural looking and will probably take the place of my pencil. It's also a good for those who are tired of the super thin, high arched brow (or those who has an oopsie with the tweezers).




Monday, December 2, 2013

Gifts for the Girls

Hi!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I certainly did! I spent
my vacation in lovely, freezing cold DC.

However, I did make it home in time for Black Friday shopping with
my mama. This has become a ritual for us to make it to Macy's/Lakeside
Mall and do tons of our shopping. We love our Macy's shopping!
While there we found some great gifts and gift ideas for all our gal pals.
These ideas are a little bit of lux without breaking the bank. I'd love to
know what some of your go to gifts are for the holiday season.


gifts

1. Kate Spade Wickford Monogram Mug, $15
2. Coach Poppy Eau de Parfum Rollerball, $22
3. Teavana Holiday Favorites Tea Gift Set, $35
4. Bath and Body Works 14.5 oz 3 wick candle, $9 (code HAPPYMONDAY)
5. Julep Mrs. Claus, $9.99

Monday, November 18, 2013

Porch Decor on a Budget

So, I've been itching to do some Christmas decorating since Halloween ended. I've been doing a little here and there, but I still have some more to go. I'll share that when I finish up.

I've been looking for some faux lighted topiaries for my front porch, but every single one I like was way out of my budget. So I figured I would make my own or do a little doctoring to some inexpensive faux trees.

I found a set of 2 from Walmart for $50! They are really nice but not quite as tall as I wanted, so I'd thought I would try to "beef" 'em up with some height from a pedestal planter.

Instead of buying planters, my mom had two identical plastic ones that she was not longer using. So I got them for free! (Yay for family and friends who give away awesome stuff!)



They started out a faded brown color. I wasn't thrilled with the color of them, but it wasn't anything that a $5 can of black satin spray paint couldn't fix. I think the black made them stand out a bit more without being over the top. A more polished look if you would say so.


After letting them dry overnight, I filled them with sand so the trees would sit a just the right height inside the planter. 


And then voila! I got two of these for a grand total of about $55. My porch still isn't finished, I promise to show it all when it's done. Hopefully I'll add some poinsettias, and show you it all lit up!


Stay tuned!


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

A Little Too Early?

A little too early to be drinking holiday coffee from your favorite Christmas mug? No, no. I think not.

I've been loving Nestle Coffee Mate is Peppermint Mocha. YUM. With just a splash of this and a few drops of stevia, you have a cup of holiday cheer. Plus these are my all time favorite mugs from Williams-Sonoma, they always have the prettiest holiday mugs. Great for gifts!



These are some that are available now at William Sonoma. Similar, Similar

Stay posted guys! This is my favorite time of year, and I'm hoping to share gift giving guides, favorite holiday recipes, holiday decor, and much more holiday fun!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Sneak Peek Into My Home

Hi everyone!
I thought I would post something a little different today. I've recently moved into a new home (6 months ago), and I have been doing a little decorating here and there. I've been trying to be budget conscious which can take time as well! I thought I would share part of my bedroom and the exciting new curtain panels I just put up.

I've been looking through Pinterest for inspiration for a long time. These are two photos that have been my favorite.

I love the simple elegance and style of this room. I also love the furniture, mine is very similar. 

But this is my favorite, I love the punch of color! Mustard has been a really big favorite of mine recently, and I've seen lots of great fabrics with great mustard patterns. Photo Credit


This is just a little snippet of my bedroom. I still have lots left to do, maybe once done I'll do a whole post on it. Sorry for the crappy photo quality, I'm working on that too! But I had to share these awesome curtain panels from West Elm. I have been searching for the perfect pair of mustard drapes forever and $44 these are definitely affordable. The color is perfect and at 96 inches the length is perfect too. 




Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Red, Red Wine

It's finally starting to feel like Fall down here in South Louisiana. YAY! I've been keeping all my favorite "wine" colors out for easy grabbing and color inspiration.



With that said, I've been alternating various deep wine/red colors on my nails.  From true reds to almost black berries, I'll be sharing my favorites for Fall!

1. Essie's Bahama Mama




2. Essie's The Lace is On



3. Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry in Cinna-Snap



4. Revlon in Divine



5. OPI Vodka & Caviar (My all time favorite red)




Friday, October 4, 2013

Brand I'm Loving: L’Oréal

L’Oréal products are always been a favorite of mine, best described as affordable luxury. Some are new favorites and others are cult classics that many have loved for years. 

My newest favorite are the Colour Riche La Laque lip sticks. I've gotten two so far, and I'm love! These are super pigmented and extremely long lasting without drying out your lips. These are brand new and not even on their website yet. When I purchased them they were only 4 colors. They also offer a similar lip stick in matte colors which I haven't gotten yet, but I eventually plan on trying those out too. 




Another new favorite is the Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing balm. I've used my fair share of fancy schmancy hair products that promised to repair my color treated and heat damaged hair. Well many have them have done an OK job in the past, but nothing that worked so well that I would spend $20+ on them again. Then I purchased this $7 wonder. Yes, $7. Holy Moly. This product is FANTASTIC. It's not to heavy and it rinses super clean. I can use it 2 or 3 times a week without weighing my hair down. It leaves my hair so smooth and easier to style . It feels almost like I've gotten fresh haircut after I use it. I can totally tell this will become a product that I will repurchase time after time.




My next favorite is the Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner. This is a dupe for Lancome Artliners, but I find that these are: 1. Less expensive and 2. Smudge less. This is the only type of applicators I can get a clean line with. I get questions about how I do my winged eyeliner. Well, this is the secret. It's so easy to use and flexible. It's also very easy to remove if you make a boo boo. I've repurchased this many many times and use it almost everyday. 




Last but not least is the cult classic mascara, the Voluminous line. Oh my gosh, of all the expensive mascaras I have tried this drug store one takes the cake. The whole line is amazing, but my favorite is the Carbon Black. This mascara does everything you could want out of a mascara, fuller, longer, more defined lashes. You can achieve a false lash look or a very natural look just depending on the coats. If you haven't tried this yet, go buy it. You won't be disappointed.



Hope everyone has a great weekend!
XOXO