Another YouTube Lookbook (now conveniently placed in a playlist for you :P)- this time, featuring Jewel Toned's Major Mini Dress in Blush (which I did receive free of charge for the purpose of reviewing)! Their "shapewear for babes" is super cute and versatile, I'm a bit in love with the whole line!
Drop me a line here or on YouTube to let me know what your favorite look is!
I have been bleaching the crap out of my hair lately! Originally dyed (and then months later bleached) on a whim, I didn't know anything about these must-use things called toners... #newbie
I figured I'd start off with the least intimidating, the vegan and easy-to-apply Manic Panic Virgin Snow White Toner. Watch the video below for my full review!
The Kyasi Stylus is a fully brass piece of awesome! It's three devices for the price of one- a laser pointer, stylus pen, and a regular pen. It's also quite possibly the most useful thing in the entire world!
pen c/o tomoson
Ways in which this bad boy is useful:
1. Well, it's a pen. So, there's that perpetually useful trait!
2. The pen has a self-contained cap so it'll never get all over my jacket OR my backpack
3. There's a swappable stylus tip, so when I don't want to get gross finger-smudges all over my electronics, I can still use them! They're so clear and un-gross!
4. I've used the laser pointer mostly for funsies but it's super useful when being lazy and pointing things out around our room (also fun to chase like a cat, not gonna lie)
Beyond just being functional, this pen is so much fun!
It's basically a puzzle and the different pieces give me something to play with in the middle of class! It comes in a slew of awesome colors like red, white, blue, purple, black, silver and dark green. I went with the purple because all the best things come in that hue- royalty, Hawkeye, lavender, my surface keyboard, pretty lipstick shades, my fuzziest pair of socks, even occaisonally Katy Perry's hair!
But hey, don't listen to me. You can pick your own fave when you WIN YOUR OWN!
I love books. I love fitness. a+b=c, I love books about health and fitness! As a result, when I saw John "Bones" RodrÃguez's Half-assed Health for review on tomoson, I jumped right on it! Despite loving both reading and healthy living, however, this book needs a pro/con list in my opinion: PROS:
Super quick read (like seriously, an hour or two!)
Plenty of reminders for healthy living (nothing crazy, just an easy checklist of sorts)
Conversational tone (you know that friend who tells really funny stories but gets caught in random tangents that end up making the story better? Bones is that friend)
CONS:
See the "how to look good naked" sticky note on the cover? That kind of becomes his catch phrase, and unfortunately it gets inserted in random places that left me feeling disjointed and a little uncomfortable.
The author prescribes to going to the gym at least three times a week, he runs (which he calls half-assed because it's a full-body workout, so he doesn't have to do focused exercises), and he talks about protein shakes (while promoting his own brand of the stuff)- I dunno about you, but that doesn't sound "half-assed" to me.
I wish he either wrote this as his personal journey to healthy living or included some more authoritative voices. As it is, he's trading on his healthy physique, despite the fact that health means something different for anyone.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this e-book. Despite the cons list, it's the pros that really stayed with me as I approached this review. It felt like chatting with a hilarious friend about working out and eating well- I work at our campus gym and some of my friends are health coaches so this isn't an unusual occurrence! It was almost like this friend was worried about my state of being during midterms and was jokingly cajoling me into getting back on the bicycle in baby steps (I'm probably mixing my metaphors, but you get the idea!). While I don't recommend making Half-assed Health your fitness bible, I would recommend it as a kick-in-the-pants reminder that health should be worked into your every day life. Enter to win a copy below so we can discuss! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Happy holidays, my dears! Guess who's back on American soil (and in the blogosphere)?!?
... if you guessed me, you'd be right! Confetti canons for you!
I hope you've all been having a lovely holiday season and that you're looking forward to the next celebration- New Year's eve, of course!
Now, let me ask you a quick question. How do you sparkle on New Years? Do you wear sequins (like two of my fave skirts-one, two)? Do you don some awesome jewelry (check out these pieces!)? Think on that for a minute... now let me tell you my favorite way to incorporate some sparkle into my life, New Year's or no!
PENGEMS! Yes, these sparkly babies are making another appearance on this here blog (in case you need a refresher: example one, example two)! This time, Angel (still the greatest rep you will ever meet) sent me some beautiful PenGems in silver and gold- perfect for the holidays and for writing New Year's resolutions...getting back to posting on a regular schedule is at the top of my list!
PenGems are such an easy way to add some glitter - and grins! - to your day. What other sparkle can you just casually carry around in your purse?
Not only are the majority of my writing utensils now PenGems, but these new ones have HUGE gems in the back! Check out the previous reviews for a little game of compare and contrast!
Lucky you! PenGems and I paired up again to bring you a New Year's Giveaway! Last time, there were more than 700 entries! Think we can make a new record?
Hello from Ireland! Yesterday was my travel day and "hectic" kind of covers it. Now that I've done my first day of exploring had a good night's rest, I figure it's time to dive into some travel life-savers!
1. Reading material
Seriously, lifesaving on a plane. You never know who well be joining you on that tin can in the sky, but you will often get: 1. A screaming baby/small child (if not more than one) 2. A neighbor who makes themselves very comfortable in your space (intentionally or while asleep) 3. Any number of people who's habits are you would normally find totally fine/quirky but drive ya nuts when in close-quarters. A book you can lose yourself in separates you from all of the above AND it passes the time!
Ironically, I somehow forgot my kindle next to my bed at home. My parents are going to be rockstars and mail it to me, but for now I'm using the kindle app on my tablet to do all the reading my heart desires. Also, the bookcase of Jane Austen in my apartment doesn't hurt!
2. AHmazing hair products
The circle-y bits are shampoo. Like real, lather-friendly bits of hair cleansing. I love Lush. They last forever and take up next to no space. Plus, if you have negative space in your checked bag, they're SOLID so you don't have to worry about their being confiscated from your crazy on!
Dry shampoo is a similar level of awesomeness, but I'm not as proficient with it, so my gushing shall be minimal. Basically, dry shampoo is a wonderful idea to have on the plane with you because traveling is not conducive to nice/clean looking locks... and when you're about to meet your roommates for the next four months, you want to make a god impression! Dry shampoo to the rescue. Boom.
3. Face wipes
In a similar vein, I seriously hate the way traveling makes my skin feel! So, I pack a thing of these Clearasil pads to do away with the yucky mid-flight. It's a nice way to refresh in the midst of a several hours long jaunt in the sky!
While not exclusively for use in the travel part, this will be coming with me on every trip I take from Galway to the rest of the world.
It's essentially a sham-wow fro your body. It's smaller/thinner than a normal towel (so it can fit in a weekender!) but still dries off your whole self! The best part is that it barely even retains the water! It gets somewhat damp, but other than that it magically disappears. Seriously. Magic.
Despite being small enough for a carry-on, it's big enough to wrap around your waist! Not big enough for a towel dress, but perfect for a beach day or use in the bathroom before changing into PJs.
What are your travel must-packs?
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
(this is supposed to be rhetorical, but if you actually don't... this probs isn't the post for you)
Easy peasy, delicious, and slightly nutritious? Yes, I am still talking about kettle corn! Well, at least if you use this recipe from Dr. Oz!
Yacon Syrup Kettle Corn
1/2 stick of butter
A handful of popcorn
As much syrup as you need to coat the popcorn!
1. Melt the butter
2. Measure out your yacon syrup
3. Add syrup to pan
4. Let it all melt together
5. Pop your popcorn!
yeah, that's it! So I didn't exactly follow the recipe? I'd just been to a Sox game and seen them make the caramel corn in a big kettle so I thought I'd pop the popcorn IN the syrupy mixture the way they do at Fenway... with volcanic heat and protective masks. Not my smartest decision. Plus, the boiling temp of the syrup is much lower than that of oil so my mixture got a little burnt and made my final product more like bark than individual kernels. Whatever, though, it was still delish!
When I first opened my bottle of yacon syrup, my mom kept thinking I was saying "bacon syrup" and got super confused for her vegetarian daughter. Whoops. Yacon is the name of a Peruvian plant (root? Maybe?) that produces this really delicious alternative to low-calorie sweeteners and is (supposedly) safe for diabetics. It's also supposed to help with weight management, increase metabolism, and provide antioxidants and pre/probiotics. This specific brand is organic and all-natural, which I loooove!
While that's all grand, I just really like how it tastes- for example, I usually keep sweeteners far far away from my morning coffee, but I will include a splash of the on mornings when I sleepily make jet fuel instead of Joe! Would you try yacon syrup? Do you have any favorite sweeteners? OOH! Or Kettle Corn recipes? Send those my way, please!!!
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Could you say no to those faces? Clearly, I can't... So here's my review of Makeup by One Direction! This post is sponsored by Markwins and BrandBacker.
1D and makeup mogul Markwins teamed up to create these collectible tins, and guess what? All three hit Macy's today!
Thanks to Brandbacker and Markwins, I was able to get a randomly selected tin to try and preview before the official launch! Cool, right?
I received the "Up All Night" tin, which is predominantly pinks and blues. "Midnight Memories" is made up of more classic reds and neutrals, while "Take Me Home" contains yellows, neutrals, and metallic shades! The fact that each tin s named for an album I will unashamedly jam out to just makes me that much happier!
Each tin comes with eye shadow and liner, lipstick and lip gloss, nail polish, and a stencil set.
Let's start with the lip products, since they are always what I'm most excited about!
The lipstick is appropriately named for One Direction's song "I Should Have Kissed You" (I see what you did there)
The packaging is not the best- it's a little wobbly as far as cosmetic containment goes. I do like that they carry the brick from the tin into the individual packaging, but other than that, this one was a miss for me.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the product itself... Mainly because I'm reeeallyyy pale (yes, even in summer- I work indoors and wear sunscreen!) so the equally pale pink kind of washes me out. It's a bit of a bummer- you guys KNOW how much I love lipstick!- but I'm going to keep trying. I might mix it with another of my pinks and play around with layering... I'll keep you posted!
While I'm not usually a huge fan of lip glosses, this one is pretty fun!
Named for "Taken" (which I will completely admit to having on replay when I first got "Up All Night" and miiiiight have on right now as I type this up), it's a pretty in-your-face sparkly gloss that accentuates the natural pinkness of my lips. I like it most when it settles a bit and isn't quiiiite so glittery, but it's nice outta the tube too!
I can totes imagine screaming/singing "you only want me when I'm taken!" at someone while wearing this. Preferably at a rave of some sort. Because- did I mention?- it glows a neon orange in the presence of backlight! Plus, this whole imagined situation would be so unlike me that the rave and glowing lips would just make it that much more dramatic (and AWESOME!).
"Little Black Dress" is their standard mascara that resides in all of the tins. While the song doesn't come from the "Up All Night" album, it's just to perfect of a name not to use, don't you agree?
As far as packaging goes, it's pretty standard mascara-ness. It reminds me of the pink Maybelline drugstore favorite- in a good way!
The bristles coat every last lash and the formula is very natural-looking. Personally, I like these qualities in my mascara. I can see people who want a little more thickness or curve feeling disappointed, though.
Markwins brands are royalty of eye shadow, so it makes sense that this palette is supposed to be the crowning glory of the tin. I say "supposed to" not for the quality- which is top notch, creamy and pigmented- but for the color selection, which could use some adjusting.
Literally, all I can hear is Jamie Lee Curtis telling Vida, "the first rule of eye makeup is that you can never wear enough blue eye shadow" in My Girl.
I'll be wearing "More than This" and "Gotta Be You," but I probably won't be touching the others unless it's for a throwback party (other than the looks I put together for you below! Get excited!). The pink makes a very nice inner eye highlight whole the light brown is a subtle, every day kind of eye shadow. Both are so soft and of wonderful quality.
My eyeliner/ body crayon came in the shade "Stand Up," a deep, denim-y navy. It slides on super easily and is a great color...
... but my paleness and green eyes don't show it off to its advantage. Where my blue eyed babes at? Emma, the might be yours soon!
I actually LOVE the Anil color I was given! "Na Na Na" is a metallic sea-blue that makes me feel like a mermaid!
It's not the most opaque. In fact, it takes several coats to get it to a level where I can wear it on its own. But its SO worth t! Like the saying goes, "always be yourself... unless you can be a mermaid. Then, always be a mermaid." Having your fingers and toes look like they belong in Aquamarine is a step in the right direction, I'd say!
I have it on all of my digits right now. On my toes, I painted a layer or two over essie's "No Place Like Chrome" which makes a seriously cool combination!
While most of the tin didn't go with me red-plaid-jean ensemble for One Direction's Saturday performance in Boston (I got last minute tickets! Post to come soon, promise!), I sported my new fave shade to show the boys my support.
The last goodie in my box was a booklet of stencils!
All can say about these is that (if I can figure out how to use them) I will never not have Harry Potter themed nails ever again. Just check out those lightning bolts!
I read my girl Kriselle's review earlier today and her take on the 1D makeup tins resonated with me. The makeup is a less-visible/less-scoffed at way for older fans like she and myself to support the boys of One Direction. I'm not embarrassed by my enjoyment of their music, and I shouldn't feel like people are trying to make me feel ashamed by wearing a t-shirt of theirs... but it would still probably happen. I'd end up feeling juvenile or judged with their faces/album cover/logo stamped across my chest and/or back. But I can whip out one of these little black tubes without worry! That's pretty awesome.
I didn't get a tin in my colors, unfortunately. Lucky me, though, I was a winner in the Makeup by 1D giveaway! I'm hoping I get the "Midnight Memories" tin, because I could always use more red lipstick and black eyeliner! The colors are much more classic, which I adore (and would wear so much more often)! "Take Me Home" would also be fun with the less intense brown liner and the more earthy eye shadows. Basically, 'm just hoping I don't get another of the same! What would I do with TWO of the same everything?
Just because the boys of 1D say I don't need makeup to cover up doesn't mean I won't wear it for funsies! What do you think of the world's modern boy band making cosmetic products?
