Blame Kara

Insanity?

2014-04-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I made the decision to start insanity. :O It's been a long two weeks but I'd like to share my experience with you all.

Insanity is a workout program by Beach Body. It's a very very intense 60 day workout program that has very very good testimonies that it actually. (just google insanity before/after pictures...you'll see for yourself).

For a long time I have been wanting to get into shape, feel confident about my body, and improve my muscle ability in order to improve my diving. So about 3 weeks ago, I asked my friend if I could borrow her insanity DVDs. So I printed off the workout schedule and began my journey to my dream body. I took before pictures of myself so, hopefully, at the end of this journey I will be able to share my results after this 60 day challenge!

However, Monday marked my two week point, where I took another fit test. A fit test is basically a test that you take every two weeks that measures your cardio improvement and you measure your waist size and weight. I hadn't weighed myself since I started insanity. So I expected to have lost quite a bit because insanity is hard! Plus, before I started I did not work out every single day, with insanity I do. You would think that would make some difference right? Well at my 2 week mark, my weight had not changed. Now to make myself feel better I just told myself my fat turned to muscle (because muscle weighs more than fat)...but I'm pretty discouraged. I will keep going with the program...hoping for the best? If any of y'all have had the same experience with this let me know! I just really want this program to work for me so I will finish out the dvds and will update you guys!

(So I just realized this post never posted..so as of right now I'm almost 4 weeks in...so I will have an update very very soon haha)

Spring Break 2014

2014-03-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2014 Roundup!

Over the weekend, me and my mom flew to Wisconsin to visit family! It was a great trip because we got to visit our family who we only get to see about once a year. I was hoping to get to see a bunch of snow and go sledding but there wasn't much snow which was really sad cause we don't get snow here in Texas!

We celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday so Happy Birthday to Grandpa Leon! We got to party with the oldies...it was quite the rager.. ;)

Me and my cousin bonded when we went to Bernsteins Ice Cream Parlor and I got the Smores Sundae and it was THE best thing I have ever tasted. I have an obsession with marshmallows so maybe that was why I liked it so much. :) We bonded and chatted about life like we always do. They live in a very small town, so when I asked her show me the nightlife fun, she took me to Walmart...haha There isn't much to do in their town so that was their idea of fun....we still did have fun though!

We also took a tour of the submarine and played in this little area with toy boats and stuff and my Uncle started messing with Hannah haha

We got to look through this cool submarine view finder thing!

Heres our family selfie after we came out of the submarine...it was sososo cold! Our tour guide was this really cute guy with a really cool beanie. ;)

The day we were planning on leaving(St. Patricks Day), I tried to come to school with her and follow her around to her classes but it didn't work :( That was just the beginning to a horrible day. On our flight home, we took a connecting flight through Minneapolis and our flight got delayed until 9:30(2 and a half hours later than it was supposed to leave) so we waited until 9:30 only to find out our flight is cancelled.... So we had to book a new flight and stay overnight in a hotel...it was an absolute nightmare.

Once we finally got home and another day of my spring break was wasted, I came home to find out that two of my really good friends were in huge fight, so that just made me more mad. But on Wednesday I went and got froyo with them and got the full story...

At work, I got to lead the Comets in their warmup....it's so weird for me because I used to be a comet and now I was coaching them...it was just so odd. Plus nobody showed up to my 5:25 class which was crazy cause that never happens!

We also went paintballing! It was my first time ever to go paintballing! It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would! Everyone kept dropping their ammo. The first game I just hid it the castle. I got hit on the wrist and started bleeding! :O Soso much fun, I didn't get any pictures from it though!

I also finished my first week of Insanity...it's been really tough but I'm just super excited to see results. I think I'm going to make some posts about my progress and whatnot! Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see that!

Drugstore Haul

2014-03-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of hauling this week. On Monday I posted my clothing haul and today I am posting my beauty haul! If you would like full review on any of these products, let me know in the comments xox

Psssst! Volumizing Boost

Lately, I've been loving going for the Lorde look with my curls, but have been having trouble with volume at my roots lately...so I decided since I liked the Psssst! Dry Shampoo, I might like this?

Burts Bees Lip Shimmer

I thought this looked intriuging...simple as that. haha

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

I had been looking at this foundation for a while just wating for more people to review it first before I gave in....but Rimmel was half off all their products so I couldn't resist!

Almay Shadow Softies

I had a coupon for $5 off Almay products and Walgreens was having a sale on Almay so I basically got these for free. They don't have the best color payoff and they're not very longlasting...but hey they were only like 10 cents so it's okay. :)

Like I said, if you want a full review on anything, just let me know! I think I'm going to do a full review on Rimmel Stay Matte for sure. xox

8 Tips for Naturally Curly Hair

2014-03-19T09:39:00.003-07:00

If treated correctly, curly hair can be an abolsute blessing. If neglected, curly hair can be an absolute nightmare. Sometimes, even with effort, it can still be a nightmare. Here are a few tips and tricks I've learned throughout my 17 years of dealing with the knots and tangles and frizz that come with the curly hair package.

1. Sleep on a satin pillowcase. If you are one who likes to shower at night and don't want your curls to be messed up in the morning, try switching out your pillowcase for a satin one. This helps keep your curls intact and reduce frizz. Once I started doing this, a miracle occurred. (If that doesn't work, try a satin bonnet...both of these things can be found at Salley's Beauty Supply)

2. Use a wide toothed comb or wet brush. I know the feeling when you're brushing your hair and it feels like you're pulling out very last strand in your head.. Once I started using a wide tooth comb to comb my hair after showering, I found it was easier to get through the tangles and I accumulated much less lost hair.(And less split ends)

3. Detangler/Leave in Conditioner. A detangler will be your absolute best friend. Not only does a detangler/ leave in conditioner make it much easier to brush through wet hair, it also helps add extra moisture to your hair, for curly hair tends to be more prone to breakage and dryness. I reccommend Dove Leave in Conditioner and Loreal EverCreme Leave in Conditioner.

4. Deep Conditioning Treatments 1-2 times a week. Like I said, curly hair needs more moisture than normal, so it's really important to give the hair a little extra conditioning 1-2 times a week. Deep Conditioners I recommend: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle & Macadamia Deep Repair Mask

5. Try Pineappling your hair at night. This is another tip for if you like to shower at night. If sleeping on a satin pillowcase doesnt work, once your hair is completely dry, try putting your hair in a very high ponytail(literally on top of your head) and go to sleep like that. I've found that this help to reduce frizz and keep my curls intact overnight. You might wake up with a ponytail bump, but in my case, it just adds more volume and simply looks like another curl. :) This is what mine looks like:

6. Be Gentle. This can seem repetitive, but when brushing your hair, especially when it's wet, its important to be gentle. Always start combing from the tips and work your way up to the roots. It takes a bit longer, but it's so worth it...so much less breakage on your hair. Another tip is to not put your hair into a bun when your hair is wet, that also causes breakage.

7. Minimize Hair Washing. The less you wash your hair, the less dried out your hair will be. I normally wash my hair only about 4 times a week. On days when my hair still looks nice the next day, I'll just add some dry shampoo and brush it out a tad and be good. I've noticed this has helped tremendously in the life of my curls.

8. Dry Hair with a T-Shirt. Sometimes, using a normal towel can be too harsh on fine hair, that's why after showering, I twist my hair up in an old T-Shirt instead because the fibers in the T-Shirt are much gentler on my hair and it causes less frizz than drying my hair with a regular towel. You could also try a microfiber towel as well.

I hope these tips helped out some of you curly hair people! Let me know in the comments if you do anything special to help your curly hair! xox

Spring Clothing Haul

2014-03-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm ready for the cool weather, crop tops, shorts, and sandals weather! Just patiently waiting for the cold, icky weather to go away...it's almost mid March for peets sake! Whilst waiting for the weather to warm up, I did a bit of spring shopping. My sister and cousin were in town this weekend so we did our normal Ross and TJ Maxx outing: trying on bunches of random clothes and modeling them for each other. So I thought I'd share with y'all what I ended up coming out of the store with! xox

This cardigan is the only thing I bought from Ross, the rest is from TJ Maxx.

Just a quick little haul! Stay tuned later in the week for a makeup haul too!

I'm thinking of doing a "Spring Outfits" post, maybe including some of these peices? Let me know if you want to see that or if you don't want fashion posts because I'm not really a fashion/clothing blog....

Review: Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat

2014-03-06T20:32:00.001-08:00

I've been really intrigued lately with matte nails, so when I saw Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat for $5.99 I thought hey! Perfect! :)

Before After

When I was deciding what color to put beneath it, I thought, well I love a matte red lip so why not matte red nail?

The top coat applied like a regular top coat, as in it applied with shine to it. After about 30 seconds it started to dry matte. It was basically love at first sight. However, once it dried completely I could see the spots on my nail that I hadn't completely covered with the topcoat because you should still see some of the shine peeking through. (Then again I was in a bit of a rush when I was painting and photographing so I apologize for the messiness) So if you plan on purchasing this, just make sure you apply it on the entire nail in every nook an cranny or else you will not get an entirely matte nail.

As for staying power, this is a picture of what my nails looked like after about 4 days:

Obviously you can tell that it is hardly matte anymore, which was extremely disappointing. Slowly as the days wore on I just kept noticing the shine slowly beginning to come back. On the plus side though, it performed well at keeping the red polish in tact though!

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed with this product. I absolutely LOVED how it looked the first day or two...if only it stayed like that...I guess if you're only planning on wearing a matte nail for an event or something, this would be perfect for that! Otherwise, don't get your hopes up.

xox

Motivational Quotes

2014-03-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

Since I got such a pleasant response to my last "favorite quotes" post, I thought I'd continue the saga. Last post's theme was "Quotes to Keep in Mind" (which you can view here). However, this post's theme is motivational quotes/phrases.

sorry for the language in this one

Let me know if you set one as your background! :)

What-a-Week #4

2014-03-02T16:29:00.004-08:00

This was kind of a hard week for me emotionally.. but hey I'm trying my best and that's all that counts right? Anyways here's a roundup of my week.

Diving went pretty well for me this week! Tuesday I did my back double by myself and my back 2 1/2 in belts and Wednesday I did my reverse double in belts! So that was really exciting!

Recently I've been driving my friend to diving, she's kind of quiet so most of our carrides are in silence. But on Tuesday, she told me this story about cheer, when she flung a girl over her shoulder cause she was really light and I just about died laughing. We laughed all the way home until I was crying. It was nice to bond with her like that.

Speaking of bonding, me and Conor bonded when we talked about the funny stories of our childhood. I told her about the time when I refused to drink the water from the water fountain at school for like 3 years because a girl told me she saw a meat chunk come out of the fountain once. I now know she was lying but it freaked me out! haha

And lastly, our water polo team played against my old coach's team. o_o It was absolutely insane. We wanted to beat her SO badly.(cause she was mean to us when she was our coach). But I was really sad because I couldn't help out in the goal scoring because they stuck me in the goal... I hate the goal. I felt really guilty after the game was over cause we lost 6-5 and I felt like it was all my fault for letting in the last goal. But I guess that's what comes along with being goalie...and I hate it.

oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM! We spent the whole day cleaning, so it was kind of a sucky birthday for her :( Plus I've been stuck reading this really long book for history class all day UGH. If you're reading this mom, I'm sorry! And I love you!

*If you don't know what What-a-Week Sunday is....Every Sunday I make a post of a few good things that made me smile/laugh/cry during the week, so that in the future I can look back and reread these posts and remember what made me happy at one point in my life because I have a terrible memory and tend to forget these sort of things. Feel free to scroll past these posts. xox

Random Wishlist

2014-02-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is a random wishlist of a few products I've had my eye on.

Products Mentioned:
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation
Urban Decay De-slick Setting Spray
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness
Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm
Essie Cutical Oil
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

I've wanted this Estee Lauder foundation for soooo long, I just can never bring myself to spend almost $40 on it. I really like the Revlon Colorstay and I hear this is better... if you've tried it, lemme know! One of these days I will just splurge and get it.

I've tried the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray and really liked it, but I would really like to try the oil control one, considering I really do need something to "de-slick" my face. haha

Ever since MeganRosette raved about the Bye Bye Redness I have wanted it so badly. It sounds like the perfect product for me; I never need too much foundation, just something to cover up redness...so this product just reels me in...but once again I have a hard time bringing myself to spend $35 on a small little pot of it.

I love matte lipsticks. Ever since the Revlon Matte balms came out, I've been quite intrigued by them...not really sure why I haven't tried them yet! I'm particularily interested in Elusive.

I got a sample of the Essie Cutical Oil recently and really liked it! It made my cuticals feel and look so lovely. I really need to go pick up a full size one!

This last one is just funny. I see people from the UK absolutely rave about the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. And it makes me so angry that I live in the US, because I really just want to be able to just run to the drugstore and pick this up! I just thought I'd put this product on here because if I ever visit the UK anytime soon, this product will absolutely be the first thing I buy! :)

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know!
xox

The Importance of Primer

2014-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

I think primer is very underrated in the makeup process. Over this past week, I had to go to practice early in the morning(5:30am yikes!), so of course I missed a few things whilst packing my bag. Tuesday and Wednesday, I forgot to pack a primer in my makeup bag, so I had to go the day without. And boy did I realize how important a primer is to my skin.

Anytime I apply makeup, I will always prime my skin beforehand: it's just something I've gotten into a habit of doing. I never really knew if priming my skin did much or not, but after this week, my appreciation for my Becca Evermatte skyrocketed. In 2 hours my skin looked like an absolute mess...my pores looked huge and were very visible, my foundation was really patchy and you would've thought I had just gotten back from the gym: I was so oily. It was bad. Primer is important my friend.

Benefits of Using a Face Primer:

~Whether or not you plan on applying foundation, a primer can smooth out the skin for that airbrushed look. If you have a smooth base, your foundation will apply smoothly and will actually look smooth.

~It will fill in pores and make them less visible. If your pores are filled in, the foundation won't seep into them and make your face look icky.

~It will help control oil. No matter your skintype, we all produce facial oil. Using a primer will help to control the shine so that your makeup won't slide off your face or get patchy after 2 hours...which leads me into my next point:

~It will help your makeup last longer. If your pores are filled in and oil is being controlled, your foundation is more likely to stay put and look its best. A good base means a good face. :)

Primers I recommend:

Oily: Becca Evermatte Poreless Perfector, Smashbox Photofinish Light, Milk of Magnesia
Dry: Smashbox Photofinish Orignial, Tarte BB Tinted Primer
Everyone/Normal: Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro, Reviva Labs Primer, Benefit Porefessional

I do agree that it is hard to find a good primer that works well with your skintype, but with primer, it's all about trial and error. It is hard to find a good drugstore primer, so if you think you would like to give priming a shot, I suggest trying a sample of a highend brand. If you do happen to find a good primer that works well with your skintype, it will be magical and glorious. Just find what works best for you and you will be a happy camper.

*This post is basically saying that if you have not tried a primer before, I really urge you to give it a try! And I know primers aren't for everyone, but I think that everyone should at least experiment with a few different primers before claiming to not like them because like I said, it can completely change the way your makeup looks!

What-a-Week #3

2014-02-23T10:57:00.002-08:00

I forgot to write down alot this week so I don't have much to talk about today.

First of all though, MY FRIEND GOT FIRST AT STATE FOR 1 METER DIVING! Out of everyone in the whole state of Texas, she is the best! That's crazy!! I'm so proud of her! She did amazing and totally earned it, she's one of the hardest workers I know. Although I didn't get to go to state with her, I did get to watch her live from my computer at home, which was almost as exciting. :) I am determined to work my butt off this year so that I can go to state with her next year for my senior year. Because I want to go to state SO BADLY.

Friday night I hung out with 3 of my really good friends and we tried to get into mischief but failed. We keep saying how we want to do new and adventurous things together but we completely failed. (It wasn't anything bad haha we're too good of kids to be mischievous) I'm not going to go into much detail but basically I drove all around the city and wasted a quarter tank of gas. Here's a picture from that night:

One this that made me mad this week is that I made 2 good beauty posts but the images from the post didn't show up on my bloglovin' page! ITS SO FRUSTRATING. It keeps happening, just the text shows up with no picture. There's an issue with my RSS but I have no idea how to fix it... I doubt this post's picture will show up. Can anyone help me!? I've already contaced bloglovin's support but they weren't much help.

oh and today is my bestfriend's 17th birthday! So Happy Birthday to Matt!

*If you don't know what What-a-Week Sunday is....Every Sunday I make a post of a few good things that made me smile/laugh/cry during the week, so that in the future I can look back and reread these posts and remember what made me happy at one point in my life because I have a terrible memory and tend to forget these sort of things. Feel free to scroll past these posts. xox

Benefit Gimmie Brow Review

2014-02-20T13:37:00.001-08:00

This is going to be a short and sweet review on the Benefit Gimmie Brow $22 brow gel.

This product retails for about $22 at Sephora, which is quite expensive for a .1 oz tube. But then again, there isn't very many products like this on the market. Basically Gimmie Brow is a mascara for your eyebrows I guess you could say. It has a wand that looks like a mascara tip, yet much smaller, which fits perfect on the little brow hairs.

It claims to be water resistant, long lasting, and buildable for natural-looking brows. It's supposed to lock your eyebrows in place so that they don't end up looking like this by the end of the day:

(that's not me by the way, just a picture I found on google haha)

This product is absolutely perfect for those gals who really would like to go for the whole "bold brow" look but are kind of afraid to go "too bold" if you know what I mean. This is especially true for girls still in highschool or junior high, where it's sort of out of the norm to have bold brows. This product is perfect for that. It fills in brows without looking too over the top, perfect for everyday and on the go looks. I have the shade Light/Medium.

The only downside to this product is that, I have very sparse eyebrow hairs so when I apply only this, you can kind of tell that the product is on my skin, not just my eyebrow hairs, so it looks kinda weird. But you can only see that when you look really close up. Other than that this is a great product on days when I'm lazy and don't feel like puting much effort into my brows!

Was that short and sweet? Probably not but oh well xox

Quotes to Always Keep in Mind

2014-02-18T12:56:00.001-08:00

I always love switching the backgrounds on my phone. 9 out of 10 times, my background is a quote that I feel like I need to remember. I absolutely love quotes, I have a whole folder in my phone dedicated to different kinds of quotes. ;) So I thought I'd make a little saga of posts on my favorite quotes on life, happiness, friends, sadness...etc. Today's favorite quotes/phrases are just ones that I think everyone should just keep in mind.... maybe set one as your background to remind yourself.
p.s. Most of these quotes I found on Tumblr by the way.
p.s.s. You can follow me on Tumblr here ;)

"If you're not going to speak up, how is the world going to know you exist?" "We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid and so are regrets." "To believe with certainty, we must begin by doubting." "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -George Eliot Tell me if you set one as your background! Comment your favorite quote? xox

What-a-Week #2

2014-02-16T07:21:00.003-08:00

This week was quite an uneventful one. I took a break from diving this week. But it was Valentines Day on Friday! At work, our kids had to bring valentines for the rest of the girls and at the end of class, they all got a bag to take home, it was really cute! Speaking of work, one of my girls said I was annoying...that's fun haha. In my defense, we basically have to be annoying to work there! (I teach gymnastics).

Well this is random, but it made me laugh so that's why I'm writing about it right? So, at the beginning of the week my friend who is a senior started having a gossip session with my junior friend about the show called Dexter? I've never watched it but they were both fangirling about it haha and when my senior friend tried to address Sal(junior friend) he called him Saul. And I just thought it was really funny because Sal gave me a funny look so I cracked up laughing :) Random, I know.

On Thursday, I subbed for someone at the gym(which I hardly ever do anymore) and it just made me really happy because normally I feel like an outsider because I only work 1 day a week, but I made an effort and it was fun!

On Friday, I hung out with one of my friends who came home to visit from college. Her sister got asked out on her first date by someone on the swim team! It was SO exciting! So I went with her to pick them up and it was so cute! He got her a bear and chocolates, so jealous :) But anyways, it always makes me really happy when I get to see her because shes at college now.

I also toured A&M! I have no idea where I want to go to college, but this is the beginning. Its kind of scary to think I'll be going off to college next year... It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman! Anyways here's a picture that my mom took whilst touring haha

Bad Thing:
Two of my absolute best friends had a big fight this week. Because he was angry that she started dating someone even though they never had a history before... I dunno, I just hope it doesn't ruin a perfectly good friendship...

Valentines Day Makeup Look

2014-02-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is only 2 days away! Whether you are going out with someone special or staying in with some girls, here is a makeup look that will suit just about anybody!

First I applied Maybelline Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink as a base $6.99

I then applied Stila's Eyeshadow in Kitten $18 to the inner third of my lid as well as the inner part of my lower lashline and innercorner.

Then I used my Nordstrom's Pallete (which I can't find the link to) for the crease and highlight. The crease color is very comparable to Nooner from the Naked 3 Palette if you do not have this Palette.

Then I used my Plum Daze Palette $16 from Sephora in the outer V and lower lash line.

I winged out my Jordana Fabuliner in Brown $5.35 for a softer look rather than black liner. Added my Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Mascara $18 to my top lashes and Maybelline Great Lashes Mascara in Violet to my lower lashes. Set/filled in my brows with Gimmie Brow by Benefit in Light/Medium $18 (I forgot to get a shot of the Maybelline Mascara...which was limited edition by the way sorry!)

I finished it off with a Nyx blush in Rose Garden $5.99 and a Revlon Lip Butter in Cotton Candy $7.99 topped with a Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Adorned $7.49

And that is the completed look!

*Most of the brushes I used were either Sigma or ELF

This is my first makeup tutorial so it was kind of rough getting the right angle and lighting and everything. It was pretty dang hard! I hope to improve from here; if you have any suggestions on what I could do better, please leave a comment! :) Happy Valentines Day!

What are you doing on Valentines Day?!

What-a-Week Sunday

2014-02-09T20:13:00.001-08:00

This is a new series I have planned for my blog that I am quite excited about. One of the main reasons I had wanted to make a blog in the first place was because I have a terrible memory...I can't remember the little things that happen to me everyday and that makes me really sad! So I've decided to write down one thing every day that made me smile or laugh or cry and then at the end of the week I will put it all into a blogpost so that one day I can look back at my blog and read about all the small things that made me happy at one time in my life and just remember. I hope to post my What-a-Weeks every Sunday. Enjoy getting a peek at my life! :)

At the beginning of the week, I was having a bad day at diving...my hurdle was really messed up and I just could not get any of my dives off the board...but at the end of practice, my friend Colby(who does a really good exorcism imitation that I hadn't seen him do since the summer) did his exorcism thing again and it just made me laugh and remember the good 'ol days in the summer.

Thursday was just a good day because first, it snowed! It actually snowed in Texas! It looked like little Dipping Dots falling from the sky! Second, at practice Shelby was working on her reverse dive and she got into the pike but got stuck and flopped on her back....I just about died laughing! For some reason it just looked really funny but she said it really hurt so I kind of felt bad for laughing. :) Third, on Wednesday I had volunteered to make dinner for my family on Thurdsay so I searched and searched to find something that would please my mom and my dad AND me(because we all have such different tastes/diets). So I finally decided on Green Bean and Ham Fritatta. IT WAS SO GOOD. I was really proud of myself because my family actually really liked it(especially my dad) and I was happy to help out my mom.

THE OLYMPICS STARTED THIS WEEK (nuff said)

On Friday, the divers got to skip school for regionals. At regionals, I got a score of 372, which I was really proud of even though I smacked on my gainer 1 and 1/2 but I came back and finished it off well with my inward 1 and 1/2 which got two 8's! for a total of over 60 points! I ended up 8th overall, only below the girls who dive at one of the best clubs in the nation...so I'd say that's pretty dang good for me. ;)

After regionals, Ashlynn slept over and we made Nutella pastries and slutty brownies and we chatted and gossiped and watched Meet the Millers.

That's all for this week! I don't plan for these posts to be very formal...just kind of a regurgitation for me to reread eventually. If you happen to read this and you made it all the way through my thoughts...round of applause for you!

Tell me something that made you smile this week!

Product Rave: Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme

2014-02-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

This moisturizer is absolute perfection in a tub; its completely changed my skin. For the longest time I was opposed using moisturizer on my face because it seemed every product I had tried, was too thick and heavy and just seemed to make my face even more oily than it already was.

Nivea Soft Creme $5.39 claims to be a fast absorbing, light formula enriched with Vitamin E and Jojoba Oil for incredibly soft and supple skin all day long. It can be used on the face, hands, body, feet...basically anywhere. AND it can be found at the drugstore in a small 1 oz tin for $1.29, if you are unsure if you want to purchase the 6.8 oz jar.

This is very lightweight yet moisturizes like a dream. It's the perfect moisturizer to use before makeup application, yet also the perfect moisturizer to use at night? IT'S JUST PERFECT. Even though I do have quite oily skin, I do get the occasional dry patch on my chin/cheek, especially in the winter, but if I apply this directly after cleansing/showering, my skin soaks it right up and wah la! Perfection. If you have dry skin, give this a try! If you have oily skin, give this a try! I mentioned this product in my Tips for Oily Skin post. You can read that post here. It's an overall great moisturizer that I can't recommend enough! xx

Paint It

2014-02-05T13:20:00.001-08:00

Can you tell that I'm ready for spring? Too bad the groundhog saw his shadow.. haha.
This is my new "Paint It" series on my blog. Once or Twice a month I'm going to post my nail color for that week, just to show off what colors/brands I've been loving and give a quick review. :)

Base Color: Watermelon by Essie $8.49
Sparkle Top Color: Queen of Beauty by Sinful Colors $7.97

I absolutely LOVE this combination. I don't often wear glitter but when I wear this color by Essie, I feel it never looks complete without glitter on my ring finger(which is what I usually do but I was feeling particularly spunky today haha). I love Essie because it's very opaque and I usually only have to apply one coat which is nice. Now, Sinful Colors is kind of the opposite. This Sinful Colors polish has a very light glitter application, so it does take a few coats to get a good amount of glitter, but I like that in a sparkle polish. It allows for a more controlled glitter amount. If you don't want too much, then only apply one coat. If you want a lot of glitter, apply 2-3 coats. I like that you can decide how much you want. (I used about 2 coats in the pictures)

I like posting my nails every once in a while. I'm kind of a nail junkie, so I always find myself loving when other people post their nails so I can get an idea of what polish I want to try next. So my "Paint It" series is for all those nail junkies out there :)

Paper Clip or Bobby Pin Holder?

2014-02-03T18:03:00.001-08:00

I was looking at my vanity the other day and realized that the container I use to hold my bobby pins might not be something everyone uses to hold bobby pins(aka hair grips). So I thought I'd share my idea with y'all!

Basically, one day I was cleaning my desk and realized I never use the paper clips in my paper clip holder. So I emptied it out then thought "Hey, paper clips are magnetic and so are bobby pins!"... So there you go! You can get one of these at Target for like $4 in the office supply isle :)

Review: Mac Paint Pot Painterly

2014-02-01T21:30:00.004-08:00

Everyone seems to rave about this product...that's why I'm kind of nervous to write this review.
I bought this because I had been noticing more and more lately how veiny and red my eyelids are. Initially, I tried just putting a little concealer on my lids, but because I have such oily eyelids, it would crease immediately and look very odd. So I decided to give this product a try.

If you are someone with normal or non-oily eyelids, this product would be fantastic for you. But because my skin and eyelids are oily as oily can get, this product did not work well for me. I apply it using my finger, and don't get me wrong, this product has amazing coverage and is super creamy and blendable, but without a setting powder on top, it creases within the first hour of applying. My eyeshadows do last a little bit longer using this than they would without a primer at all, but I had much higher hopes for this product than that. I wanted to love this product so badly. The only bases that seem to work on me are the Maybelline Color Tattoos, but I really wanted to be able to use this product as an everyday base even when I'm not wearing eyeshadow.

Don't hate me for not liking this product! I REALLY wanted to like it! Did I mention it matched my skin perfectly? :(

If you have any other suggestions for eye primers, leave me a comment! :)

Diving Districts

2014-02-01T12:41:00.002-08:00

DISTRICTS! On thursday 1/30 was our district diving meet! All of the schools(9) in my district came together and we had our big meet of the season.

There were 9 girls and 5 boys. The judges were scoring pretty easy, so I kept getting pretty high scores. I decided to take out one of my hardest dives because I knew I would perform better if I didnt have to worry about that dive. So I took it off my list. During warmup I was really nervous and I kept executing my dives really poorly, so then of course I got even more nervous. My friends kept distracting me during warmup so I felt like I wasn't focused. So I started ignoring her and focusing on my dives and it proved successful, for I turned out 2nd place overall and I scored 372 which is 30 points above my Personal Record and I'm headed to regionals. :) My friend Matt got 1st out of the boys and Ashlynn got 1st out of the girls! (They're the 2 people in the majority of the pictures) So proud of everyone!

After the meet we went and pigged out at Firehouse Subs, which is basically the best sub restaraunt ever. Then got froyo during which my car freaked out on me and broke down! Ashlynn had to give me a ride home. My poor car is so old it's hanging on it's last strings of life... Besides my car not turning over, it was a good day! I'm so thankful for the people in this program. *sorry for the poor picture quality, these were taken on iphones*

Tips for Oily Skin and Long Lasting Makeup

2014-01-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Oily skin can be EXTREMELY annoying... Imagine putting on a full face of makeup and having it all slide off your skin 2 hours later... I know thats a weird picture.. but it happens! And it's very annoying! So here's a few of my tricks for keeping your makeup looking fresh all day:

Check your cleanser
Make sure that your facial cleanser is designed for oily or acne prone skin. Cleansers I suggest are Cetphil Daily Facial Cleanser $9.49 and Olay Fresh Effects Shine Minimizing Cleanser $5.99

Face Masks
Treat yourself to a face mask at least once a week. Find a mask that says something like "purges pores" or "deep clean". This will help to really get deep down and remove some of the bacteria and oil deep in your pores. I recommend all of the Freeman's face masks.

Tone
Use a toner morning and night after cleansing your face. A toner is designed to get all the extra gunk (aka oil) out of your pores. Oily skin clogs your pores, so toning your face at night, releases all the gunk so that your face can breathe at night. Toning your face in the morning helps to remove excess oil so that you have a completely clean face when putting on makeup. Apply a quarter sized amount onto a cotton ball/pad and rub onto your skin. Try Dickenson's Witch Hazel Pore Perfecting Toner $4.19

MOISTURIZE MOISTURIZE MOISTURIZE
There is a myth that if you have oily skin you shouldn't moisturize...that is false! Depriving skin of moisture will only make the skin produce more oil to compensate for the lack of moisture. Once I started moisturizing my face morning and night I noticed a VERY signifigant difference in the texture of my skin and the longevity of my makeup. You just have to make sure that you are using a very light moisturizer... My holy grail moisturizer is the Nivea Soft Moisurizer $6.71. I can barely feel it on my skin but it definitely gets the job done! Another good moisturizer is Clean and Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel $5.49

Prime
Primer is almost a necessity for oily skin. A primer acts as a barrier between the oils in your skin and your foundation. It also fills in pores so that it's harder for oil to seep out of them. Apply the primer after moisturizing then wait about 2 minutes before applying foundation to let it to set...if you don't let it set, your foundation will just slide right off. (You can start your eye makeup while waiting for the primer to set). A product you might not think to use as a primer is actually Milk of Magnesia. Dab a little on a cotton ball and press it into your Tzone before foundation...It actually controls oil really well! My holy grail primer is Becca's Evermatte $36. Others I suggest are Smashbox Photofinish Light $36, Reviva Labs Primer $12, Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro 002 $7.99.

Blot after applying liquid foundation
When using liquid foundation, I find that if I take a blotting sheet, and blot my skin after each layer of foundation, I produce less oil and my makeup lasts longer. Make sure not to rub though or you will rub the foundation right off! Try Clean and Clear's Blotting Sheets. $4.49

Swirl Don't Stroke
When applying foundation with a brush, try using small circular motions instead of dragging the brush across the skin. Doing this will ensure that the foundation isnt just sitting on top of your skin but it's actually clinging to it. Try doing this with your primer as well.

Setting Spray
After applying foundation and before using powder, try giving your skin a little spritz of setting spray. Setting spray acts as hairspray for your face, locking on the foundation so it will stay in place all day. For extra longwear, try spraying it before applying primer as well. I recommend Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray or Nyx Matte Finish Setting Spray $7.99

Powder
For oily skin, powder is an essential. After applying foundation, take a setting powder and lock that baby in! Now although it is very important for oily skin to use a setting powder, make sure you don't go overboard on the powder! Don't make the mistake and think, "the more powder I use, the longer my makeup will last!" ... because thats wrong. Using too much powder will only make your face look cakey and unnatural. All you need is a few swipes with a fluffy brush and you're all set! (haha get it? set... I'm so punny ;) ) Powders I recommend are Rimmel Stay Matte $4.99 and Makeup Forever HD Setting Powder $34

If you have any other tips or products you use, leave me a comment! I'm always open to trying new products. :D

Throwback Product: Suave Kids Detangler

2014-01-28T14:03:00.002-08:00

If you're a gal with long curly hair, you will understand the struggles of the endless tangles that seem to overtake your life.

I'm always on the hunt for a good detangler to use after the shower, for I always seem to loose so much hair after combing all the knots out... On a whim the other day, I decided to try the Suave for Kids Kids Soft & Smooth Detangler Spray $2.99 at Target.

I remember using this product as a kid after swim meets or going to the beach/pool and I remember how amazingly it had worked. So I said "Hey if it worked on me then why can't it work on me now?". So here I am writing about how freaking brilliant this product is! After showering, I spray several squirts of this all over my hair then comb my hair with a wide toothed comb, starting from the bottom and working my way up to my scalp. And let me tell you...it feels like I'm combing through butter. haha It's a miracle... Especially for how cheap and easily accessible it is! I no longer feeling like I'm going bald after every shower. What a throwback this product is. So happy I decided to try it again though. Yay!

Winter Holiday 2013

2014-01-28T13:16:00.001-08:00

I made a video about my family's experience on a cruise to the Caribbean Islands. I filmed it with a GoPro Hero1. Watch it if you'd like. :)

Empties #1

2014-01-26T20:14:00.003-08:00

So I've accumulated quite a few empty products recently and decided to share some brief thoughts on each of them!

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment $6.50

I bought the little (.35oz) bottle of this because it was the first oil that I had ever tried on my hair. Although my hair does get oily at the roots quite quickly, my ends are always SUPER dry from the chlorine. This product was fantastic! Applying only to my ends worked miracles and made my hair extremely soft without weighing it down. I plan on buying the full product soon.

Loreal Evercreme Norishing Leave In Conditioner $8.99

On a 5 star scale I would give this product a 3.5. I used this as a detangler after the shower, hoping to also restore some lost moisture from the chlorine and it did a decent job of both. I much prefer my dove leave in conditioner but this one did get the job done alright too. I repurchased this simply because I ran out right before we were about to leave for holiday and I couldnt find the Dove one in stores.

Pssst Dry Shampoo $5.99

This is another product that simply "got the job done". I've only tried this and the Batiste Dry Shampoo. Unlike Batiste this one doesnt leave as much of a white residue in the hair. For the most part its quite clear, which I like. On the downside, it does take more than just 1 spritz per section to get all of the oiliness out. I'm on my 3rd bottle of this but I recently purchased Batiste in Brunette so I will see how that works out.

Aussie Conditioner in Moist $5.99

Holy Grail Conditioner. This is probably my 3rd or 4th bottle of this gigantic thing. LOVE LOVE LOVE. This is light enough that I can use it on my roots but heavy enough to condition the heck out of my ends, if that makes sense. :) Love it.

Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover $4.19

This bottle took me FOREVER to get through. Says oil free but I felt like I was putting an oil slick on my face. It was okay at removing makeup...kinda tough on the waterproof... Probably wouldn't repurchase.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick $8.99

This is the absolute perfect foundation for on-the-go. Just a few swipes, a little brush action and BAM youre done. Held up pretty decently on my extremely oily skin. I would say this has light to medium coverage, but not very buildable. Would repurchase.

Revlon Custom Eyes Mascara $7.48
I feel like not many people are crazy about Revlon mascaras. I think this mascara is VERY underrated! It has two options, one option lengthens, the other volumizes. But I normally just use whatever. I think this applicator is extremely similar to Benefits They're Real. I can get almost exact same results with this as well. I really enjoyed this mascara. Would I repurchase? I would but I think they might've discontinued this!

*Click on the name of the product for its link*

Yay for my first beauty post! :)