January Favorites

Eeek - It's been a while since I've done one of these so I think it's about time, with the new year and all. So let's jump right in and keep this short and sweet.

1. Drybar's Texas Tea Volumizing Hair Spray - This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous but I do not even use this as a hair spray. I use it because I am completely obsessed with the smell. It makes my hair smell like a fresh green tea. I promise you it's not a weird "what is that smell?!" smell, it's great. I use it right after I style my hair (straighten or curl) and always when I use dry shampoo. I mean, isn't it safe to say that most women have this slight assumption that if they need dry shampoo then their hair might be smelling bad? Well this is perfect for those times.

2. Laura Mercier's Flawless Skin Moisturizer - They have this in a "mega moisture" (for combination/dry skin) and regular for combination/normal skin. I've used both - mega for Winter and regular for all other seasons. I'm very particular about my cremes because sometimes they feel greasy or that they just "lay" and that your skin isn't absorbing the moisturizer properly. This really makes my skin feel like I'm sucking it all up. Plus, this winter has been BRUTAL on my skin (serious, serious dryness and cracking) and this has been a life saver.

3. Urban Decay's Naked Skin Liquid Foundation - I bought this after doing an updated Sephora Color IQ and trying to find something for everyday wear within a decent price range. This is right on. Not only is it perfect for everyday, but I haven't been breaking out (which has been a big problem with me and liquid foundations recently). It also lasts all day and is super buildable, which is great for if I want to go somewhere after work and need a look with more coverage.

4. Bath and Body Works's Sensual Sugar Scrub - Back to the whole dry skin thing, eeeek my legs. They've been super dry and shaving has been a serious pain. I started using this after a friend recommended it and wow, it makes my legs super, super soft after a hot (and dry) shower and shave. Not to mention how amazing it smells!

5. Tory Burch Perfume - This makes me so happy. The smell of this is so perfect for Spring and honestly, it can't come soon enough. I also have a roller ball version that I keep in my bag for later in the afternoon/evening - not that I really need it because the smell really lasts.

See - quick and easy. If you have tried any of these products, I'd love to know if you agree with me! Let me know your thoughts :)

What's in my Purse?

Hello Everyone! Happy hump day, I hope you're all having a great week! Today's blog will be one that I based off of something I see a lot in magazines. I'm sure bloggers do it too, but I'll go with the magazine idea. It's a "What's in my Purse" post because I'm sure you're all so interested, haha. So here we go!

This is my lovely Tory Burch bag! My boyfriend bought it for me for my birthday this past August. I have been wanting a Tory bag for so long so I was beyond ecstatic when I opened my gift bag and pulled this out. You can find this bag at Bloomingdales, I think Nordstrom has it too but definitely, and obviously, the Tory Burch store has it. This bag is the Robinson Double Zip Tote in Luggage.  

So what's inside? I have my planner and iPad in one of the zippers and they fit perfectly. My wallet is the Michael Kors Jet Set Continental Wallet and I don't even remember what color it is. But it's awesome because it has the perfect amount of card slots and a coin slot (which is a big deal to me). I also keep my eyeglasses case with spray and cleaner in my purse and my glasses are Michael Kors also. The small clear "thing" is one of the containers I posted about in my The Container Store post. I use it to keep bobby pins and hair ties inside for when I'm in need to change my do. I also have a number of pens, headphones, phone charger and two mini bags.

One of my mini bags is basally a small first aid kit. Tissues, band-aids, different medications, female products, eye drops, gum, etc. My second mini bag is my commonly used makeup products. I keep an extra MAC sheer pressed powder, small hair brush, compact mirror and Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake hand sanitizer. I also have my eyeliner pencil and mascara. I'm definitely going to get an extra eyeliner because they are so hard to keep track of! I also have oil blot sheets which are awesome because I get really oily throughout the day. And to finish off my makeup bag are three lip products. One light pink Maybelline Whispers for when I need just a small amount of color, my bright red Urban Decay Revolution lipstick and of course, Burt's Bees chapstick.

I love being prepared. I love that I never go crazy looking for a tissue, Aleve or chapstick. If I'm bored somewhere, I can just pull out my iPad. And it's WONDERFUL not having to ask someone if they have a, you know, at a certain time of the month. But it's totally okay if you need to ask, I always have something to help someone out!

I can seriously only imagine what will be in my bag once I become a mom! Do I totally have ridiculous amounts of stuff in my purse already? What do you all keep in your purse? I'll talk to you all soon!

First Four of Fall

Yes, my first official Fall post! Last Sunday was officially the first day of Fall but let's be real, we don't need a start date. It was Fall about three weeks ago. Football started, Fall decor was put on display, good TV is back and finally, the weather started to cool down.

So to honor the start of the season I'm going to share my first four favorites of Fall.

1. A week and a half ago I saw that Bath & Body Works had an online sale. $6 Fall favorites, 25% off your total and only $1 shipping. Say what?! I had been looking for the Fall body products in store but they kept telling me they didn't have them yet and only had the candles and soaps so far. I kept checking but no luck. So when I saw this deal online, I took advantage. Best part, I only paid $29 for all of this, which we clearly know is way more than that.

2. I'm sure by now you have seen the new M&M Pumpkin Spice. I actually found these about three weeks ago at Target when they were first putting them out. I knew that they were new but I didn't think too much of it. I got a bag and texted a bunch of my friends asking if they have seen them yet. As soon as I finished the first bag, I went back to Target and they were GONE and I know why. They are really, really good. The pumpkin spice flavor is subtle so it's not too overpowering. These M&Ms are exclusive to Target so I just had to keep checking back. I (obviously) found some and also got this adorable chevron cat tin to put them in. This find was in the wonderful $1-$3 section at Target.

3. Dark polish! Yay dark polish! Now I can throw on some darkness and not seem so emo. This color is Midnight Cami which is a dark, deep blue. I kept debating about which new colors to get because they also have some nice purples. So I decided to start with this and then next week I'll just switch to another. ;) I am still looking for some tips on how to keep your nail polish from chipping so quickly. A friend mentioned dipping your fingers in vinegar. Have you heard this before? Do you have any tips?

4. Fun socks, oh do I love fun socks! I have a huge collection of socks for any occasion. My boyfriend thinks I'm absolutely insane but that's ok. Unfortunately, I haven't found any new socks yet but I'm sure I will soon.

I could go on for a long time about my love of anything Fall but I won't, just yet. What kind of Fall favorites do you have? 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Talk to you all soon!

Happy Birthday! -- The Boyfriend Basket

Why hello there! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Especially today, WELCOME BACK FOOTBALL! Anyway, I was not expecting to get so sidetracked last week. I only ended up writing one post and now I'm making up for it. I sit and write this as I sit on the couch enjoying some football.

My boyfriend's birthday is on Tuesday but we celebrated this weekend. I gave him all of his gifts when he got home from work on Friday. I set up all his gifts on a side table and put it in front of the stairs so that when he came downstairs, he would see them all.

The tall bag had his new Alfred Morris, Redskins jersey and the wide bag had a watch case that I ordered off Amazon. I am seriously paranoid about ordering things offline but I went for it and was very happy with the product.

Now to the fun gift. I LOVE putting together gift baskets, I love wrapping presents and making things look pretty with bows, paper and anything else I could find. Oh gosh, I'll love doing my gift wrapping post once Christmas rolls around. But back to the "Boyfriend Basket." I put together some of his favorite things and put them together.

I got the basket for $2.99 from Target. I got it specifically so we could use it to organize his bathroom. Starting from left to right, these are the basket contents.

Goodies:

- 2 tins of Pringles

- 3 Kit Kats (2 regular and 1 white chocolate)

- Twix

- Ferrero Rocher

- Trident Cinnamon Gum

Minis:

- Ciroc

- Black Label

- Patron

- Bombay Sapphire

Bath & Skin Care:

- Bleu de Chanel 3.4 oz

- 2 Allure Home Sport Samples

- Bath & Body Works Noir body wash

- Neutrogena Men's Skin Cleaing Acne Wash

- C.O. Bigelow Premium Shave Cream from Bath & Body Works

I obviously got the goodies and minis because they are his favorites. As far as the skin care goes, he never payed much attention to it (like most men) until we started dating. Most of the products, I have gotten him before and he luckily ran out of them just in time! The C.O Bigelow Shave Cream is a first. He has a thick beard that he likes to keep perfectly groomed so I thought he might like it because it would form into a thick lather to help with his shave. Well, he didn't like it after trying it, so luckily it was just a small one. And the cologne samples were given to me when I bought his Bleu de Chanel refill. 

I got the basket filling from Hallmark. I will reuse the filling for a future basket, just like I do with tissue paper and bows that I get. I was very happy with how it turned out.

If you would like to make a basket for your man there are always many different things you could put inside. Gift cards, Bath & Body Works air fresheners (they have a few manly smells, which are awesome) and any of their manly minis, socks, boxers, headphones, etc. You can also go to any department store and ask for samples of cologne and skin care for men and they will give you a ton! Another thing you can do is make a themed basket like movies ($5 DVD's, candy, popcorn, soda), BBQ basket (bbq tools, seasoning, peanuts, beer), and so many other man themed baskets.

Have you ever made a gift basket for your man? What did you put in it? Did your man enjoy it? I know mine did!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Talk to you all soon!

Wallet Damage, Labor Day Shopping!

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend and you're all having a good week. I've been super busy since the Labor Day weekend, but I still wanted to give an update on what I did.

The weather was beautiful here this weekend. We enjoyed driving with the windows down and the wind in our hair. It was awesome! What was also awesome (but not-so-awesome for my wallet) was all the shopping I did. It seemed that about every store had a 40% off sale, and I had coupons for most of them! I just want to share some of the things I got and the deals that went along with them. 

1. Abercrombie Cass Sweater - I found this sweater one night when I was actually doing some online browsing and came across it on the A&F website. It looked so cozy and soft but there was no way I was going to pay $68 for it. About two days later I got a text from their text club that everything was 40% off until Labor Day. I also knew they were doing this promotion where you could either win free jeans or a gift card by texting in a code they gave you. My boyfriend (side note: three weekends ago he won free jeans and gave them to me!) and I both got $10 gift cards. So when I tried on the sweater and fell in love.. I knew I was definitely getting it. In addition to the 40% off, I also got $20 off. a $68 sweater for $23? OF COURSE.

2. Sperry Bahama Crib Boat Shoe - Aren't these just SO cute?! They are obviously not for me, but for my expecting cousin. Her baby shower is in two weeks and when I saw these, I melted a little. I just pictured cute baby feet in these adorable boat shoes. These weren't on sale but I was going to get them anyway. The manager, who was the one helping me, gave me 10% off "just because". Hey, I won't complain!

3. Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + - I got this because I was talking to my (beauty expert) cousin and she told me to try this because it helps control oil throughout the day. And since my t-zone can be super oily and I was in the hunt for a new foundation, I figured I'd give it a go. The best part was, it was one of my Color IQ matches and I already knew what shade I needed. This was definitely not on sale but that's okay. Good, quality beauty products are always worth the pay.

4. Clarisonic Mia 2 - YAY. I can not even begin to say how happy I am I finally got this! I have heard so many good things about it and told myself to put money aside and get it. I did get a $50 discount. I won't say how, but I did. I will be writing a full post on the Clarisonic, so stay tuned!

5. Bath & Body Works Leaves Room Perfume - Mmm, the smell of Fall is in the air. Literally! I actually got this because I walked into a friends house and said, "What's that smell?! I love it!" And since I'm obsessed with Fall, I got it. I got it for my car but let me warn you, spray it before getting out of the car. The initial smell is SO strong! Also, spray it into the seats so it sticks. Bath & Body Works, usually, always has a buy two for $10 deal. Also, most of their receipts have one of those survey links that gives you 20% off if you do it.  

6. Aerie Comfiest Hoodie - Boy, was the name of this hoodie right, it is really comfortable. I love a good hoodie. I love being able to throw on some yoga pants, a hoodie and Uggs and be able to run some errands. American Eagle was having a 40% off sale and I had a 20% off coupon to add on top of that. 

In addition to all of the stuff I talked about, I also did buy four tops from Express. They also had a 40% off sale. Two of the tops I bought, my boyfriend got for me. Overall, I'd say that even though I did some serious damage to my wallet, I did good with the sales. Did you do any shopping this past weekend? How much damage did you do?

Have a great rest of the week. The weekend is almost here!

Currently Loving!

Yay, my first "favorites" post! I think I'll have fun doing these. I'm finally starting to find products that I absolutely LOVE and would like to share. I'm sure you've definitely heard of some of these, but that's ok! Maybe you already have them, maybe you've been thinking about them, maybe you've never heard of them. Read on and enjoy!

1. Urban Decay Naked Palette - Now let me tell you something. I put off buying this palette for SO long because I couldn't bring myself to pay $50 for it. I know pretty much everyone has it but I thought since I wasn't even really that good at eye makeup, what was the point? Well, I caved and bought it and I'm so glad I did. It also comes with their original eyeshadow primer, Potion, and a shadow brush. I've gotten better and better at doing shadows since getting this palette. It's great because even when I'm in a rush, I can swipe on some "Naked" & "Half Baked" and run out the door.

2. Sigma Beauty Mr. Bunny Travel Kit - These brushes, oh, these brushes. I heard about them through YouTube makeup guru, Jaclyn Hill at a time when I really needed new brushes. I was hesitant because I usually HATE online shopping. I like to see, feel, touch, hold, etc. something before I buy it. But since I kept hearing good things (I Googled like crazy), I went ahead and bought the brushes. Sigma sells their brushes individually, in full kits and in travel kits. The full kit had 12 brushes, which I knew I didn't need all of them so I bought the travel, which had seven and covers everything the average person needs. The kits also come with a travel case and the "Bunny" title means they are vegan friendly. I was the brushes with MAC brush cleaner and have not had any problems with bristles falling out. PLUS, a big plus, they go back to being uber soft after wash! -- Side note, Sigma has a ton of coupon codes online, I found mine on Jaclyn's YouTube channel, and they send you an extra something when you spend more than $30.

3. Bath & Body Works Moonlight Path - I HATE lotions that leave my hands feeling extra greasy and this certainly doesn't do that. The triple moisture leaves my legs feeling so soft and (most of) their scents are fabulous. I love Moonlight Path for the work week because it's not too strong and Warm Vanilla Sugar at night and Paris Amore for going out. I usually always buy their lotions during when they're having one of their sales or with a coupon.

4. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick - This lipstick has changed my life. I used to NEVER wear color on my lips but this has changed me. Well, sort of. I started off with Maybelline Whispers and Maybelline Vivids then stepped up to UD when I got used to seeing some color on my lips. It's soft and a little creamy, like a balm, and doesn't crack or dry out and lasts a good while. I got the color "69," which is a bright red. It is the one in the photo but I have to say the photo looks a little darker. I line this with a red NYX lipliner. UD does have matching lipliners for these lipsticks but NYX is just as good and a quarter of the price.

5. Maybelline Eye Studio - When it comes to eye makeup, I am very picky. I have horrible eye allergies and don't want to irritate them any more.  I have always used a eye liner pencil and lined the inside of my eyes. When I decided to do the cat eye look, I bought an NYC liquid eyeliner and OMG, it was bad. It was really, really bad. The liquid literally leaked INTO my eye. I immediately decided I was going to find something good. I also found this eyeliner by watching a Jaclyn Hill tutorial. I figured gel must not be too bad, and it wasn't. It does come with it's own brush but I use the Sigma E65 Small Angle brush with it.

Sorry if I rambled a bit on some of the products but I really wanted to share why I love them! Have you tried any of these products? What do you love?

Talk to you all soon!