Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

This is not the first time I've used this product, but it is the first time in a really long time. I needed a new powder that was actually a shade light enough for me and I remembered that I've heard so many people rave about this powder and I couldn't remember my own opinion because it had been so long. 

I got the shade 001 Transparent, because I'm that pale. First off, it has a really nice scent of baby powder, which I like. You can't really tell by the picture, but when you look at it closely, there are tiny shimmers in it that do not show up once you apply it.  The packaging says that these shimmers are natural minerals and that this product should help minimize the appearance of pores. According to Rimmel, it should also help control shine for up to five hours.

This powder is definitely light enough for my skin and is under $4.00 most places, which is a definitely plus. I quickly started to realize that I couldn't even use my regular powder brush with this product, though, because it left my face looking cakey. I decided to start using my duo fiber brush to get a lighter application but I still noticed it start to cake up on my face throughout the day. I even used Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray on my face to try to get rid of some of the powder look but even that did no good.

I really wanted to like this product but I just haven't found a way to make it work. I always keep products like this, though, because I usually figure it out eventually. Maybe it just doesn't wear well with the foundation I'm using? Who knows, but for now, this has moved out of the drawers of my everyday makeup.

Have you guys tried this? I'd love to know your opinions and whether or not you've made it work!

Watch Us Decorate Our First Christmas Tree Together!

I'm so excited for this post because I've been working on it for a couple of days now! My boyfriend and I decided to get our first Christmas tree together earlier this week on December 2nd aka my birthday :). I really wanted a tree but we debated on whether or not to get one because we'll both be going home this month and didn't know if it would be worth it. Because I wanted one so badly, we went out and got one and we got a great deal on it (heyyyy Costco!) and it's a 7-foot Fraiser Fir, which is the biggest Christmas tree I've had since I've lived on my own.

I generally like for there to be more ornaments on my Christmas trees (I'm talking dripping with ornaments), but I used what I had and I have moved a few things around since this video and bought a few more ornaments (I couldn't help myself). I've never uploaded a video to Youtube or to my blog and I'm sure it won't be a regular thing but I just thought this would be fun and it might become one of our Christmas traditions because we loved doing it. P.S. I hope the music works! As far as I understood, as long as I used songs that were in the public domain the video should be okay in terms of copyright laws, but let me know if you know something I don't!

I hope you enjoy!!

Have you decorated your own Christmas tree yet? Or have you decorated your house for the holidays? Let me know what "style" you go for when you decorate. I like whimsical Christmas decor, but on the traditional side, if that makes sense. I might do a post on a few of my favorite ornaments maybe? Let me know if that would be something you might like to see!

My 23rd Birthday!

Hello everyone! Today I thought I'd share a few pictures from my 23rd birthday, which was yesterday! I had such an amazing time and had surprises literally all day, it was so much fun :)

My Mom came here to celebrate Thanksgiving with me and she was leaving to go home two days before my birthday so she brought my present with her, which to my surprise was a pair of Michael Kors boots!  I opened them about a week before my birthday and I've been wearing them ever since :)

The night before my birthday I got home and my boyfriend had decorated the house for me and made my favorite meal! On my birthday morning he made me pumpkin french toast because I love pumpkin anything and french toast is probably my favorite breakfast item :) He put candles in it for me the way his Mom always did for him and his sister :)

While I was in the other room doing my makeup he put out cards and my presents from him, all of which I loved so much. I could tell how much attention he has been paying to me whenever we go out because everything he got me were things I have looked at but wouldn't buy myself; I put the necklace he got me from J Crew on straight away! Oh, and the earmuffs from there as well, haha, I thought they were so cute and fluffy in the store and I was so happy to see that he got them for me!

I have been waiting anxiously to get our Christmas tree and even though we're both going home for Christmas and won't get to enjoy it for the entire month, I still really wanted one! So we went out yesterday and got it and the stand and it's so big and beautiful!  It's my first live tree since I was probably 10 years old and I can't wait to decorate it tonight!

Before we went to dinner we stopped and got my package and card from my dad :)

My boyfriend told me about a month ago that my favorite restaurant was booked up until Christmas and the other location near us was closed for renovations. Both of which I bought, so he told me he found a really good Italian restaurant and that's where we would go. On the way he said, "What's that over there?" and I looked and we were at my favorite restaurant! Both locations were completely open the whole time! It was such a good surprise because I got my favorite meal I order there which is chicken and waffles! I had never tried it before eating at this place, but it's SO good. We also ordered beignets  for dessert because at breakfast when I jokingly said, "Where's my cake?" he told me that we'd just order dessert at the restaurant and that we didn't need a whole cake. We'd seen other people order them but they take a while to make so we never had before, but they were so worth it!

Speaking of cake, my birthday cake had been in the fridge all day! He told me he had to go pick up a cake for a co-worker who is retiring (believable because he's been working on the retirement party for weeks now) and I believed that too. When we got home from dinner he said I needed to go into the other room so he could bring out my last surprise. When he told me to come out he had a red velvet cake with lit candles! It was so pretty and SO delicious :)

 I got so many lovely gifts, cards and messages from people and overall I had such a great day, my only complaint is that I had so much fun that it went by way too fast! I hope you enjoyed this post, I know I enjoyed going back through the pictures :)

Photo Diary: November

1. Even though I got the mums at the end of October, I enjoyed them throughout November. Mostly I was fighting to keep them alive, but they were so pretty while they lasted!

2. For one of my outfit of the days we ended up finding this really pretty park that had the best views. I love the trees and everything in the fall, the colors are so pretty :)

3. I have been using the heck out of this Essence eyeshadow that I talked about in a previous post, here. It is so pretty and subtle and good when you're in a hurry because you can't really mess up with it!

4. My Mom came to visit me for Thanksgiving because I had to work and wasn't able to go home, but the first night she came we went to this Hibachi restaurant and it was SO delicious. I've never gotten so much food at a Hibachi place before!

5. This was my boyfriend and I at the Hibachi restaurant. I look like a ghost but other than that, I liked the picture! :)

6. I posted this picture on Instagram of my dog, Charlie (she's a girl, yes we spell it the way you would for a boy).  My mom told me she had a surprise for me and she brought out this picture. I can't believe that she sat still for that, and even smiled!

7. More food pictures! My Mom and I went to a Mexican restaurant that I'd never been to and I always order the same thing when I go to Mexican restaurants because I know I'm going to enjoy it, but this time, I decided to get taquitos (with some cheese sprinkled on the top, because I LOVE cheese) and I was pretty pleased with it :)

8. Since it was just my Mom and I for Thanksgiving we didn't go all out (there was still a ton of food, believe me) but we made two pumpkin pies and the one in the front has a pecan, brown sugar and butter mixture on the top, which is really the best of both worlds because I adore pumpkin pie AND pecan pie.

9. I have been wanting to get the classic Christmas movies on DVD for a couple of years now and on black Friday we went to Walmart and got this set for $9.95! It comes with 3 main movies and has 3 others on it as well, so it was a great deal! My Mom and I already watched our favorites :)

So that was pretty much my month of November! The last six pictures are really from the last week because November wasn't all that eventful for me. I have some Christmas themed posts coming up in the next couple of days and my birthday is tomorrow so I'm really excited about that! My birthday always sneaks up on me because it's right after Thanksgiving and when I was in college it was always on finals week so I was preoccupied!

I just started decorating for Christmas the day before Thanksgiving and I feel like I'm kind of late! I'll be going home the week of Christmas so I'll really only get to enjoy the decorations for 3 weeks, but it's worth it and I'll probably leave them up until January, shhhh ;)

I hope this wasn't too boring of a post and I hope you all had fabulous months of November and Thanksgivings if you celebrate it :)

elf $1 Eyelid Primer

For the longest time, I never used an eyeshadow primer. Well, to be fair, I rarely ever wore eyeshadow so I didn't have much of a need, but on the occasions when I did, I never had one that worked. I've tried Benefit Stay Don't Stray, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, NYX Skin tone Eyeshadow Base and samples of various others and none of these have performed well for me.

Not only do I have oily eyelids, but I've also been looking for a product that I could use on a few lines I have on my face that makeup likes to sink into (smile lines, I'm talking about you here!!) and possibly prevent that from happening. I absolutely hate it when my foundation sinks into my smile lines, it makes me look dry and much older than I should look at only 22.

So, with those things in mind I will explain to you why the elf Eyelid Primer is a hot product in my book....

First things first, it has a doe foot applicator and is a light skin tone color. It is very thin in texture and almost feels greasy...that word doesn't have a good connotation, but I can't think of another way to describe it, it's not a bad thing though, don't worry.

This primer keeps my eyeshadow from creasing ALL DAY. I have found that you can't put foundation or concealer on underneath it because it will crease, but that makes sense and that's probably true for any primer. I have very oily eyelids so for me to check in the mirror periodically throughout the day and see no signs of creasing means this is some good stuff.

Before I do any of my makeup and after I've moisturized my skin, I dab this on my eyelids and in the lines on the sides of my mouth. This product has seriously helped with the makeup sinking into my smile lines and for that, I love it. It hasn't fixed the problem, of course, but I notice that on long days it takes a really long time before foundation even begins to sink in and it looks SO much better than if I don't use it. On days where I'm not doing a lot or no wearing my makeup for a long time, it doesn't do it at all.

I was looking for a 2-in-1 product to combat both of these problems and I think I've found it, at least for now. I'll probably need something a little stronger for those smile lines one day, but as an eyeshadow primer alone, this product is fantastic and SO much cheaper than the alternatives that are out there. I mean, how much better can you get for one dollar?

Have you guys tried this? Also, I didn't know until I looked on the website that it comes in other shades, let me know if you've tried any of those! :)

Product I Tried to Live Without #1: Aussie Conditioning Spray

Do you guys have products that you've run out of and decided not to repurchase not because you weren't pleased, but just because you decided to try something new? I have several products like this so I think I may start a new series and this is the first one: Aussie Hair Insurance- Leave-in Conditioning Spray.

It has been many, many months since I've had this product. I used this, then switched to one by John Frieda (good product, but a little more expensive), then I decided to go a different route completely and use hair oils and creams.

Lately, my hair has been my worst enemy. I never like how it looks and it never feels good. Even though I have a few different hair products, I'm not much of a hair product junkie. You would think that I would be because I'm always complaining about how difficult my hair is to deal with, but I just find it an extra step I have to take and one that never seems to make a difference anyway.

One day I just said to heck with it! And I broke down and decided to spend the $3 on it and threw it in my basket.

First of all, the smell. It has the typical Aussie product smell, which I love because it smells like a tropical coconut. Also, in case you're wondering, it sprays out a really nice mist that's easy to evenly distribute.

I use this product a couple of different ways. I don't use it every day because I think there can be too much of a good thing, but after I wash my hair when it's wet I'll spray it. If I'm going to blow dry my hair that night then I'll straighten it and then go ahead and spray it all over my hair a second time. This is the kicker, the reason I love this product so much is because after I straighten my hair I'll pull my hair into a ponytail and then twist it into a bun and sleep on it that way; when I wake up in the morning my hair is light, soft, bouncy and I don't even need to do any heat styling touch ups if I don't want to.

I know people say this product doesn't have the best ingredients for your hair, but it's so inexpensive and anything that makes styling my hair easier is a friend in my book. After having such a positive experience with this product after being so frustrated with my hair, I don't think I'll be without it again.

Have you guys tried this product or have any other suggestions for hard to manage hair? :)

Tips for Using a Public Restroom

It happens. Nobody likes using public restrooms, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Whether you're in an airport and have a long layover, out shopping for an extended time, at a restaurant or at work, it can be difficult to avoid using a public restroom. Yes, I would consider this a "first world problem," although, anything in life that I complain about probably is. The point of the post is simply to explain the steps that I take when I can't avoid using a public restroom. Let the uncomfortable-ness begin!

1. Pick the cleanest looking stall you can. They say that the first stalls are the least used because people want more privacy, but I think ever since that got out, it's probably not as true anymore, so just do the best you can.

(Image courtesy of Google)

2. If you hang your bag on the stall, hang it so that the side that doesn't touch your body when you're wearing it is facing/touching the door (I know the germs are still there, I just feel a tiny bit better doing this).

3. If they have toilet seat covers, use one. If not, use two strips of toilet paper and place that on the seat. The third option would be to squat (ick, that word just SOUNDS bad) if the stall is really gross or you're just more comfortable that way.

(Image courtesy of Google)

4. Do not let your clothes touch the floor! Not only is the floor probably filthy (in fact, I've read it's the dirtiest part of a public restroom), but when I was in elementary school and didn't know any better, the bottoms of my pants would touch the floor and whatever cleaner they used would bleach my pants.

5. Before you grab toilet paper (even if it's just used for a make-shift seat cover) rip off the end because who knows who was the last person to touch it.

6. If it's not automatic, flush the toilet with your hand, or grab a piece of toilet paper to flush (I used to use my foot, but then I realized that I walk around in my house with shoes on sometimes and that's totally gross- if you don't do that, then use your foot!).

7. Wash your hands REALLY well in warm, soapy water.

8. If you have to touch a handle to get out of the restroom, grab a paper towel or piece of toilet paper to open it and throw that in the trash before you leave.

(Image courtesy of Google)

9. Sanitize hands if you feel you should and put the experience behind you! haha :)

I know that these tips aren't going to avoid you coming into contact with bathroom germs 100%. They do at least make me feel better because I feel like I've done just about all I can do. Do you guys do any of these things or anything I haven't mentioned when you go into a public restroom? Let me know :)