March Favorites

Hey Lovelies!!!

It's that time again... Time for monthly favorites!!! It's crazy how fast this year is going by, isn't it?! 

♥ My first favorite would be my birthday which turned out to be a really nice day!!!

Skincare

♥ Olay Fresh Effects {Out of this Swirled} Pore Clean + Exfoliating Scrub White Grapefruit and White Tea- I've completely fallen in love with the Olay Fresh Effects skincare line. I also really love scrubs, whether it's body or face scrubs, because they make your skin feel so soft! And this one is no exception, plus it smells beautiful!! It's very fresh, as you would expect from the Fresh Effects line. It's not a really rough scrub, but just coarse enough to get a deeper cleanse in your skin.

♥ Olay Fresh Effects {Bright on Schedule} Eye Roller- Again from the Fresh Effects line, is this eye roller. I've been trying to get my hands on this for the longest time, and I finally found it a couple of weeks ago. And it has made such a big difference in the appearance of my under-eye circles. They're not as dark and don't look puffy. I would highly suggest this product to anyone!!!

♥ Lush Mask of Magnaminty- I'm in love with Lush's Fresh Face masks. The last time that I stopped by Lush to pick one up, they didn't have any, for some reason. But the lady at the store really helped me in choosing this mask. And I'm very happy with it!!! It's very minty and has a cooling, tingly feeling when you use it. I've need an improvement in my skin since starting to use this. Plus, since it's not one of the face masks, you don't need to refrigerate it and it lasts much longer.

Makeup

♥ Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit- Here's another product that I've been searching for absolute ages for! I finally found it and have used it ever since getting it. I'm extremely happy with the results and can see myself using this for a very long time. I just hope that it won't be as difficult to find when I need to get a new one because that would be even more frustrating.

♥ Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer- This concealer isn't the best concealer available to buy, but it is the only drugstore concealer that matched my skin tone perfectly. I have really light skin and most drugstore concealers are WAY too dark... No good! This one, however is perfect. So if you have really light skin like me, I would recommend trying this concealer in the lightest shade available.

♥ Covergirl + Olay Stick Concealer- I wanted to try out some new concealers and found these two concealers from Covergirl and have loved both of them. I've never tried a stick concealer before but heard great things about them. And it's all true because this concealer has really good coverage and blends really nicely. Plus it matches my skin tone pretty well, something that is usually really hard to find for my super light skin.

Nails

♥ Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat- I heard about this product from MissGlamorazzi and, since I've been looking for a new base coat, figured I'd give this one a try. It's a rubberized base coat so that really helps the nail polish stay much longer. And it does just that! I've noticed that my manicures last much longer now, so definitely try this out!!!

♥ Revlon Parfumerie in Powder Puff- I've noticed that I've had a different Revlon Parfumerie in every Monthly Favorites post. That just shows how much I truly love these nail polishes. And my mom got me this one for my birthday, along with two others, and this one is just beautiful. It's a pale pink with beautiful glitter and looks stunning. It isn't completely opaque so it either takes many coats or another color underneath. It smells like baby powder, which is kind of random but not a bad smell. This is just such a perfect color for me to wear. But it would definitely look much better if I was tan...

♥ Seche Vite Top Coat- If you've heard of this product, you won't even need to read this because you already know how amazing it is. It is THE BEST top coat I've ever used. It dries so quickly that I no longer have to sit and wait for ages for my nails to dry before I'm able to do anything. It makes me love painting my nails even more now!!

Hair

♥ TRESemme Platinum Strength Strengthening Heat Protect Spray- TRESemme heat protect sprays are my absolute favs but I've only used the regular one. I'm obsessed with the Platinum Strength line (it's what I use for shampoo and conditioner) so I just had to try this spray. I like it even more, mainly because of the scent. It's a little different but better. So I'm going to use this one over the other one from now on.

♥ Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo- I'm not going to say much because I've already reviewed it here but all I need to say is that I love it and it gives my hair lots of volume... Something it lacks a lot of.

Fashion

♥ JacksGap Rickshaw Run T-Shirt- A while back I donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust Fundraiser that Jack and Finn were doing for the Rickshaw Run and as a reward I got this t-shirt. I've been wearing it a lot because 1) it looks really nice thanks to the talented Finn and his graphic design skills and 2) it's super comfy. I also got a little card and Maoam (Jack's fav candy) pictured below:

Entertainment

♥ The Hunger Games: Catching Fire DVD- I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire was my favorite book and favorite movie (so far) out of the whole series. So when I got this for my birthday, I was super excited!!! I've watched it a few times and can't get enough. Plus this will be perfect for our weekend movie nights.

Miscellaneous

♥ Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS- Obviously, I'm loving my new camera that I got for my birthday. Other than this picture, I took all of these pictures for the blog with my camera. They come out so nice and it's really easy to use. I'm super happy with the results.

♥ Xhiliration Jewelry Storage/Mirror/Charging Station- I found this on sale at Target for $10 and had to get it. It was like it was meant to be! It has my two favorite colors (pink and light blue/Tiffany blue) and I needed a place to store my jewelry and a mirror for my desk. It literally had everything I needed and matched my room perfectly. If I didn't buy it, I would be convinced that I was crazy... It was almost like it had my name written on it.

♥ My new phone background- I'm obsessed with my new background. It's perfect for spring, which is slowly making it's appearance in Massachusetts. I love pink and I love daisies so this background is totally "me". I just love turning on my phone and seeing this right away. I got it off of Tumblr (I freaking love Tumblr) thinking it was just a random picture but it ended up being the perfect size to be a phone wallpaper. YAY!!!

I hope you enjoyed my favorites from this month. And leave a comment below with some things you've been loving this month. I'd love to have a look!! And if you didn't notice, I didn't do a shoutout to anyone this month. I do however, want to give a shoutout to my new favorite website: Pinterest. I've just started on there so I'm still getting the hang of it. I'm going to be posting my account on my Contact page. So if you have a Pinterest too, leave it in the comments and go follow me (or do whatever you do on Pinterest), I'll follow back! Anyways, I'll see you on Sunday and as always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

Review- Target Beauty Box

Hey Lovelies!!!

I'm back with a review for this week. I feel like it's been ages since I've posted a review... And, as you can tell from the title, I'm going to be reviewing the Target Beauty Box, so there will be a few different items that I'll be talking about. Yay!! And for those of you outside of the U.S. or who don't know what the Target Beauty Box, it's basically a box that comes with a few products that are "trending" at the moment. And at the price of $5.00 to get 5 products, either travel/trial size or full size, plus discounts on future purchases, you cannot possibly pass it up! Unfortunately, you can't order it any more, but keep your eyes out here in case they make a new one because it's totally worth it!

Here's what's inside:

A list of all the products and a short description as well as a coupon for $3 off a $15 beauty purchase at Target (which I'll definitely taking advantage of)

Promotion card for 20% off at Target's partner stores: DermStore (skincare), blush (makeup), and HairEnvy (hair).

Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $4.99 (on sale for $4.74 right now!!!)

I've recently become a huge fan of dry shampoos so I was really excited to see this one in the Beauty Box, since I've never tried it before. And I'm very happy with the results! I've been using the Dove Dry Shampoo and I like both the Dove and Herbal Essences for different reasons. I think the Dove Dry Shampoo absorbs the oil in your hair, but doesn't give too much volume. The Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo smells amazing first of all. It gives a lot more volume to your hair and is also transparent, so it won't make your hair look white. It also has no parabens which is a major plus, in my opinion.

Jergens BB Body Cream Light:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $11.99

I'm going to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of BB Creams, but I gave this a try anyways. I've never even seen or tried a BB Body Cream, so I was interested in what it would do. Unfortunately, I don't think it really does anything... I've used it in the morning every day for at least a week and haven't noticed any change in my skin. It is a nice lotion though; it is a really nice consistency and has a light, pleasant smell. 

TONI&GUY Sea Salt Texturising Spray:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $4.99 (2.5 oz), $14.99 (6.8 oz)

I am a huge fan of the look that Sea Salt Spray typically gives to your hair. It's just such a nice, relaxed look. Unfortunately, sea salt sprays don't really do anything for my hair :( My hair is really smooth and straight so it doesn't easily hold shape, whether it's waves or curls. But I was able to get enough of a result to form my opinion.  I had high hopes for this product and, unfortunately, I was disappointed. This sea salt spray made my look really greasy/oily throughout even though it was freshly cleaned. It didn't give my hair the beachy look that you would expect from a sea salt spray. Overall, I would choose my Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray over this one.

Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in Blind Date:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $6.49

I really don't like this product just for the amount of glitter in it. I enjoy the smell and it's a very smooth lip gloss even though it has glitter in it (let's be honest, nobody like a sticky lip gloss). The color of this is also really pretty. So I'm really disappointed because of the glitter. Other than the glitter, I know, for sure, that I would really love this lip gloss.

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Black:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price: $6.89

I'm still not completely certain how I feel about this mascara. I'm not a huge fan of the formulation because it tends to clump, A LOT. But other than that, I really love this brush. It gives my lashes the exact look that I want: thicker on the outside and thinner on the inside. I just really wish that the formulation was different because that would make it so much better. But for now, I'm going to stick with my The Falsies Big Eyes and Clump Crusher.

I hope you liked this review. Even though I didn't like all the products, I don't regret getting the Target Beauty Box. And seeing the real prices of all the products compared to the $5 I paid to get the box, is crazy. How could anyone pass it up?! And I was able to test out some products that I wouldn't have otherwise. So, now I know, whenever there is a Target Beauty Box available, I will definitely be purchasing it!!

Oh, and tomorrow is the last day of March (crazy, right?!), so you know what that means!!! Monthly Favorites post!!!! So keep an eye out for that!! Until then, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

What I Got for My Birthday!!!

Hey Lovelies!!!

Before I begin this blog post, I just want to let everyone know that I am not in any way bragging or showing off. I am doing this post because I enjoy post like these: seeing what people got for their birthdays or Christmas. I'm sure lots of other people enjoy seeing these as well. If you have a personal problem, please email me privately (my email is in my Contact page) and we can figure something out.

So, I've mentioned that my birthday was this past week. And let me just say, I love my birthday!!! I'm not really one to like all eyes on me or to be the center of attention, but for one day a year, I take advantage of it. Not in a spoiled or bratty way though... I'm super thankful for everyone who takes the time to say "happy birthday" to me, my family and friends for celebrating with me, and especially anyone who might get me something! Anyways, I've turned 19 and while it isn't anything compared to turning 18, I was excited, regardless. I didn't have much in mind for what I wanted for my birthday, I just knew I wanted a camera. But enough talking, I'm going to share with you some pics. Here we go...

I did A LOT of research before deciding on this camera. I wanted a good quality point and shoot and I wanted a Canon. Looking at all the brands, I've found that Canon is one of the best and I've worked with one before and really liked it. I went directly to the Canon website and looked all all the point and shoot cameras that they had. I quickly realized that only two cameras had 5 stars, so I narrowed it down to those. The price difference was $20 and the capabilities were only slightly different. I ended up going with the more expensive one because the customer reviews seemed slightly better. I also like the appearance (shape and color) better. To get the camera, I had to go to four stores before I finally found it at Staples (of all places!). And it was even $50 off!! So the more expensive of the cameras ended up being the least expensive. And I'm very pleased with it so far. I've used to to take some pictures (coming up for the blog) as well as testing out vlogging... Not really great quality vlogging, but I've done a test vlog so that I can practice my editing before I do the real thing.

I was super excited about these two movies!!! I got Catching Fire and Frozen!! AHHHH! I love both of these movies and I'm sure happy to have them on DVD so I can watch them whenever I want to! And one of my friends at school hasn't seen either of these, so we're already planning a movie night. If you haven't seen these movies, I highly suggest it!!!

Also in my gift bag, I got some of my favorite goodies!!! I got three Revlon Parfumerie nail polishes (which you know I love!) in Powder Puff (light pink with glitter), Wintermint (mint green with aqua glitter), and Beachy (shimmery bronze). I also got a $15 gift card to Starbucks and a $15 gift card to Panera, which will be spent in no time! Along with my favorite spring/Easter candy, Mini Eggs!!!

I also got $50 to spend on anything I wanted. And since I got a card from Vera Bradley for 40% off a purchase in my birthday month, I'm going to get a bag that I've wanted for the longest time in my current favorite pattern. I used to be OBSESSED with Vera Bradley and took quite a long break from it, but when I got my birthday card from them, I quickly started looking for what to get with it. And it's the perfect time to get a bag like this since I got home from school for long weekends. This will be the perfect sized bag to bring with me and I'll look fabulous carrying it!

So that's all I got for my birthday, and I'm super grateful for everything!! On my birthday, my family celebrated and had a delicious red velvet cake (YUM!). And then on Friday my family and two of my friends (who are like family) went out to eat at my favorite pizza place (from New Hampshire) that just moved near by. And I'm super happy that I got to spend my birthday at home rather than at school, just because it felt right!

Anyways, I hope you liked this post. It's a little random but I love seeing these by other people! Again, I'm not trying to brag... I'll be back again next Sunday. But for now, I need to sleep since spring break is now over and I have classes tomorrow :( As always stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

The Drugstore Diva Tag

Hey Lovelies!!!

I've been tagged to do another blog post!!! And let me tell you, I'm loving reading these tag posts as well as doing them!!! So I've been tagged by the lovely Lottie Mayy Loves (thanks a bunch love). Please do me a favor and go check out her blog, especially this tag's post!!! And right before I begin, this post was created by MJ in the Sky with Glitter, so go check out her blog and post as well!! On to the post...!

1. Favorite Drugstore Foundation?

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation in Ivory

2. Favorite Drugstore Concealer?

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (amazing coverage but, unfortunately, even the lightest color is far too dark for my skin tone)

Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer in Classic Ivory (pretty good but almost too runny... it is, however, the only drugstore concealer that matches my skin tone)

3. Favorite Drugstore Powder?

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Cream/Light

4. Favorite Drugstore Bronzer?

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny

5. Favorite Drugstore Blush?

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

6. Favorite Drugstore Highligher?

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer

7. Favorite Drugstore Eyeshadow?

Powder: NYX Nude Matte Shadows

Cream: Maybelline Color Tattoos

8. Favorite Drugstore Eyeliner?

Pencil: Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner

Liquid: Maybelline Master Precise Felt-Tip Eyeliner in Black

Gel: Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Eggplant

9. Favorite Drugstore Mascara?

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara in Blackest Black

Covergirl Clump Crusher in Very Black

10. Favorite Drugstore Lipstick?

Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist (I don't really wear proper lipstick... I know, that's crazy! But I'm a full time student so I tend to go for something a little less intense and will last a while)

11. Favorite Drugstore Lipliner?

Again, I don't wear lipliner... Since I don't wear proper lipstick, there really isn't a need to wear lipliner.

12. Favorite Drugstore Lipgloss?

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Beige

13. Favorite Drugstore Brow Product?

Milani Brow Kit in Medium

14. Favorite Drugstore Nail Polish?

essie Mint Candy Apple

essie Tour De Finance

(nail polish was a really tough one for me to choose because I LOVE nail polish... I chose my all time favorite and the color that I'm loving the most at the moment, but it changes regularly...)

This was a really quick, short post, but I think it's an amazing tag!! I didn't really go that much into detail on each product. I did that because I have a post that will do that scheduled for early April so keep an eye out for that!! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this tag post. And of course, I'm going to tag a few people!!!

I"m tagging:

♥ Beauty Spiced Latte

♥ Makeup or Break-Up

♥ Zubie's Musings

♥ Beauty by Nicholle

♥ Anyone else who wants to do this tag!!!

Please, let me know if you like these tag posts! Would you like to see the tag posts as the weekly Sunday post, or would you rather see it as a mid-week post (on Wednesday maybe) and another post on Sunday? Please leave that in the comments! As always stay beautiful!!!

(P.S. my birthday is in just two days, March 18 **cough, cough** so I'm planning to do a Birthday Haul/What I Got for My Birthday post for next Sunday... let me know if you like that idea and would like to see that!)

♥♥♥

Random Updates...

Hey Lovelies!!!

It's Sunday so it's time for my weekly post! Unfortunately, I've hit a major "blogger's block", as I like to call it. I didn't have anything planned... And I've been thinking all day of what I could post about, and thought of nothing. :( So, I'm going to just have a little update post. I like these types of posts, because it's a bit personal, and maybe you can all learn something new about me from it! So, here we go!

First of all, I'm in college, so we have Spring Break midway through March. So I have one week of classes and then I get to relax for a week! I'm so excited!! I'm not going anywhere fun, but I'm just ready to be home and get to hang out for a week. I'll also be able to get to see all my friends and family from back home, which I'm most excited about. So, I just have to get through this week and my mid-terms/tests and then I'll be free!!!

Second thing: I've recently started working at Aeropostale! I'm so excited to be working and making money, because it's been going fast (being in college without money is not fun at all). Everyone at the store is super amazing and friendly! We have so much fun when we're working, it makes it so much more enjoyable. Plus I now get discounts, so I can stock up on my Bethany Mota Collection clothes. Compared to my other job, where I wasn't allowed to talk to other employees, couldn't leave my station, and barely got any hours, Aeropostale is such a huge improvement (almost 100%). The only thing that annoys me is having an "on-call shift" where you may or may not be working. So far, I haven't had to go in on an on-call shift, but it's only a matter of time... I'm not complaining though, because that's more money for myself!

My favorite update: my birthday is in 9 days!!!! (March 18) I'll be turning 19, which isn't the most exciting age, but I always look forward to my birthday, as everyone does. And, luckily, I'll be home for Spring Break for my birthday (YAY!). I'm not really sure what I want for my birthday but I'm just really excited!!!

And my final update... A while back, I posted pictures of my dorm room. And up until today, that's exactly how my dorm room looked. So, today I rearranged the room while my roommate was home (YAY!- We haven't been on the best terms ever since coming back from Winter Break...). Anyways, I think it's the fact that the weather has been in the 40s/50s the past couple of days instead of 20s/30s. It finally feels like Spring so I did my Spring Cleaning today. So, here's some pictures of what it looks like:

I think that it looks a lot neater and more spacious than the previous set up which you can see here!!

Let me know what you think of my new set up! I know this isn't the most entertaining post, but I quite like update posts, so hopefully one of you like them as well! If anyone has any thing they'd like to see me post, let me know in the comments, and I'll do my best to do it! I have something planned for next Sunday and the Sunday after (they weren't quite ready for today and require me to be home) but I'll try and get some exciting, new content coming your way ASAP!! As always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

My Nail Routine + Favorites

Hey Lovelies!!!

I'm here to tell you all about my current nail routine and favorite nail polishes and tools. I'm going to start with my favorite part which is the actual nail polish. I have a pretty extensive collection and I'm quite proud of it! However, I do have my favorites! And these are them!

For my finger nails, these are my five favorite colors:

♥ Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure in 470 Red My Lips

♥ Revlon Colorstay in 060 Café Pink

♥ Revlon Parfumerie in 090 Bordeaux

♥ essie in 754 Mint Candy Apple

♥ Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure in 817 Gold Roses *Limited Edition*

And the color that is on my toe nails 99% of the time:

♥ Sinful Colors in 854 Boogie Nights

Now let's get into the routine that I stick to (quite religiously...)

First, I start out by cleaning up my nails. I'll trim them a bit if they need it with nail clippers. The pair that I use are by La Cross, but there's nothing extraordinary about them.

Then after that, I file my nails with a nail file. I have no idea what brand this file is. It gets the job done like any other nail file.

After that, I like to push and trim my cuticles. I know... Trimming your cuticles is not the best thing to do but sometimes you just have to trim them. Plus I find that it's much easier to apply nail polish more accurately after doing this. For trimming my cuticles, I use a Revlon tool.

Then, finally, I like to buff and smooth my nails with this four-sided Trim Buffing Block (featured in my February Favorites). I think that this tool makes the biggest difference in maintaining your manicure for an extended time. You nail gets smooth after using it and it helps hold the nail polish in place with a smoother application.

I always use a base coat after I finish buffing and smoothing my nails and before applying the colored nail polish. This base coat is pretty good! It is very, very slightly colored a pale white which also helps the colored nail polish appear more opaque. And, base coats also work to prevent your nails getting stained by the colored nail polish. For a base coat, I use:

♥ Revlon Colorstay Gel-Smooth Base Coat

After applying two coats of my colored nail polish, I always finish it off with a top coat. I'm not completely satisfied with this top coat, but it works for now. I prefer quick dry top coats, but I'm trying to finish up this bottle before I buy another type (maybe Seche Vite...?). Anyways, for a top coat, I use:

♥ Revlon Colorstay Gel-Shine Top Coat

Typically, my nail polish lasts about a week on average. When it's time to repaint my nails, I use the Target brand (Up & Up) Strengthening Nail Polish Remover. I've tried so many different types and formulations of nail polish remover and, to be completely honest, this one works the best, in my opinion. And I use cotton balls to remove the polish. I've tried cotton rounds, but I don't feel like they remove as much as the cotton balls.

In the situation where I need to remove my toe nail polish but my finger nails are painted, I use the handy little tool. It is a little rubber UFO looking thing that my mom found at a store (I have no idea what store though...) Basically, you put the cotton ball with nail polish remover in the little cut out and it acts as a barrier so that you don't get any nail polish remover on your finger nails. It works so well! If anyone knows where this can be found, leave it in the comments below!!

So, I've gotten my four closest friends to stick to this nail routine too! Almost every weekend, the five of us get together to do laundry, paint our nails, eat a bunch of food, gossip, and sometimes watch a movie. After I painted all of their nails once, they realized how long their manicures lasted so now we've made it a weekend tradition.

If you guys are interested, try out this nail routine or something similar and let me know how it works out for you! And if you have any suggestions or recommendations for my nail routine or even nail polished to try out, please leave them in the comments below. I'd love to test out some new products! I hope you like this post... Until next time, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥