Ipsy Glam Bag January 2014 Review

Happy Tuesday!

A couple of days ago I received the Ipsy Glam Bag. The middle of the month is my favorite time because of this glam bag! I love testing out new products and I love that I only have to spend $10 a month on doing that! 

This month's glam bag was pretty awesome! I've tested out all items but two. 

I love the look of this Ipsy bag, but it has an awful smell to it, I can't even tell you what it smells like because I honestly have no idea! :/

#ipsy - I couldn't think of anything better. :) Who doesn't love new beginnings?!

This month glam bag subscribers got a lot of "fresh products", at least in my opinion. 

Proactive cleansing wipes, facial lotion, hair mask, eye pencil and light pink tinted lip balm.

I have already used the Mark Fading Pads by Proactiv. I used one already. It contains 2% salicylic acid to treat acne. I have to say after I used this cleansing wipe I can definitely tell it thoroughly cleaned my face of any dirt or left over makeup. I'm not sure using only 4 of the samples that it would actually give me enough time to see a difference in and marks on my face being faded, but I am giving it a try. The number one complaint I have about Proactiv is it is so hard to buy their products. I rather just go to a store and buy it than ordering it online or through the telephone. It's the number one reason I switched to AcneFree. 

Nourish Organic face lotion. This product is 100% natural USDA-Certified Organic. It's made of Moroccan Argan Oil and it is suppose to even out skin tone and texture. I think it came in such a cute packaging! I haven't used this yet, but I will say that it does not smell good. Did anyone ever try this company before? I'm also worried with face lotion I will break out (I'm very prone to break outs).

 We also received this Briogeo deep conditioning mask for your hair. I'm excited to try this as well, I will probably try it over the weekend - the only downside is the smell. I don't know what is it with the products this month having weird scents!

I was SO excited to see a Mica & Elizabeth Mott product in this month's glam bag! I have heard great things about the brands and I finally get to try them out!

Swatches of the tinted lip balm ( #6 fiesta)LEFT and the eye pencil in Pearl RIGHT

I love this eye pencil, but what you see if what you get, it doesn't even roll up! I used this on my inner corners of my eyes to make them pop. 

Tinted lip balm in Fiesta.
It's a really shear pink color, just enough to give my pale skin some color!
And the consistency of this product is also amazing - SO smooth and easy to apply, not to mention you don't need a lot for great color pay off. I'd like to try other colors in the tinted lip balm. 

That's my review on this month's glam bag - until next month!

Christmas Presents 2013

Happy Monday!

Today I'll be sharing Christmas presents I got this year!

I absolutely love watching YouTube videos on "Christmas Hauls", so instead of doing a video, I thought I would do a blog post. :) 

I am not bragging in any way, and I'm so thankful for everything I got, I just thought it would be fun to do!

(Warning: there is a lot of pictures)

The fiance surprised me with Ciate mini nail polish ornament set. 

I think he knew I enjoyed the Advent nail polish set so much, he knew he couldn't go wrong with this set. Haha

There are so many cute names and colors to this set I can't wait to start using it. I saved the ornaments with all my Christmas stuff so I can do some fun DIY's next year with them! I love clear/plain ornaments!

My mom picked up this adorable Yankee Candle owl tea light candle holder from Kohls. I'm loving all things owls right now! 

Both my parents chipped in a bought me the Hourglass ambient lighting powder AND brush (I was not expecting the brush from them!) I've been hearing so many good reviews on it I thought I would give it a try. It's such a shame it's SO expensive. I will do a review in the future. 

I had a coupon for Ulta for 20% off your ENTIRE purchase so the fiance said I could pick out things I wanted for Christmas. He may have regretted saying that after he saw how much I picked out. Hahaha.

While everyone and their mother got the Naked 3 palette for Christmas I opted for the Naked illuminated blush. I think this will be perfect to give my dull face that extra POP, and during the summer time when I have a little bit of a tan. I will also review this at a later point.

My mom also picked up these two adorable bracelets for me for Christmas as well. How cute is that snowman bracelet?!?!

Another surprise from the fiance - the Formula X Twenty Two collection. I have yet to try out the Formula X, but with this set, I think I am set. Haha. 

This was another set I picked up from Ulta when we went shopping together. I really just wanted the white textured nail polish, but I did like that other colors and plus it was on sale for $9.99; it was cheaper that way than buying individually. The textured nail polish is supposed to look like snow, so I will do a review on that as well.

Gifts from my two best friends

One of my best friends made me all of these items - HOW ADORABLE?!

She made me this sugar scrub that is in the jar, and I believe it's the best sugar scrub I ever used. I've been using it once a week and it smells like lemons - I feel so fresh after I use it, not to mention my skin is SO soft!

My other best friend made this candle from a YouTube video. I haven't burned it yet, it's too pretty to burn it!

I was surprised with two big things this year, and these are one of them! Tory Burch Reva flats, I've worn them dozens of times since I got them! They are SO comfortable. 

Christmas eve my fiance's family & I exchange gifts. It's always so much fun with his two cats and Pekingese pup!

 His brother bought me some cute things from Bath & Body Works!

My last big surprise was the Ugg Genevieve!

They are super warm and super comfortable. I love them because they actually go up to my knee, compared to the other "Tall" boots that go mid-calf. The bow isn't a bad touch either. Hehe ;)

As you can tell they're already dirty from wearing them. 

What did you get good for Christmas?!

My Christmas 2013

Happy Saturday!

I'm going to be splitting up my Christmas posts into:

 1) My Christmas 

2)Christmas Presents. 

For today's post I'll be talking about my Christmas. 

Christmas always goes by so quickly, I wish there was more time to enjoy it. 

Living far away from my family and friends makes my time even more valuable. I wish I had more time to spend with everyone, but it's almost near impossible. 

This year I was able to take off some time from work to visit family so I was thankful for that. 

Christmas Eve is a big deal for my fiance's family. 

Unfortunately, this year my fiance had to work and couldn't be home until around 8:00. 

I went to church with my family and had dinner, but it just wasn't the same without him there. 

He had a horrible drive home with the snow as well. He actually got into an accident while he was working, an oversize tracker trailer couldn't stop and hit his work car pretty bad. Anyway, he's ok, but Christmas Eve just wasn't the same. 

We opened up presents at his house that night, and I forgot to take any pictures besides some on my phone (stupid me!) There's always SO much excitement that night. I have this adorable video on his dog opening up a present I got him, it was absolutely adorable!

Anyway, the following pictures are from when my fiance and I were opening up presents...

The fiance surprised me with two things:
1) Tory Burch Reva flats

2.) Ugg Genevieve! (wearing)

Also notice my awesome new hat I got, that I wore the rest of the day! It's from H&M

I surprised John with a PS4. But I'm pretty sure I was more excited than he was. Haha.

 

 I found this shirt in Old Navy, he loves to say "Like a boss" so this is perfect for him! haha  

We also have an annual Christmas party with our aunts, uncles & cousins. 

It was a lot of fun! 

 

Grayson came too!

 

At this point I may not be in the right state of mind...
Best Friends!

More...

 

Dad & I, we were the official bartenders for the night. :) Let's just say I wasn't very good at it towards the end of the night. 

 

Cousins

 

How was everyone's Christmas?

Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale 2014 Haul

Happy Wednesday!

Was anyone but me surprised that the semi annual sale for Bath & Body Works was the day after Christmas? I was excited because I was never to an opening sale! My mom and I both took a trip up there. 

This haul consists of three trips to Bath & Body Works at all different times. I went to the Bath & Body Works near home and then to two in Philadelphia. To be completely honest I was looking for candles and wallflowers. And one particular candle, the Cinnamon Buns one. I can't seem to find it anywhere! 

 

As much as my Fiance will deny what I'm about to say, he loves Bath & Body Works. He loves anything that smells good. He goes into Bath & Body Works and is sniffing things before me. Haha. I'm totally fine with that because as long as he likes it, I like it. :)

I recently put a wallflower in my office, in the scent Winter Candy Apple, and the CEO loves it. Since I couldn't find Winter Candy Apple I picked up Sweet Pea(my favorite scent) and this Passion Flower that smells like fruits (the fiance picked this one out!). It was $5 for a two pack, the only time I buy them!

  

 

A new scent that they came out this year is Merry Marshmallow Kiss. I liked the scent but not enough to buy the body sprays, but I did enjoy the lip gloss smell. Does anyone else find that their lip glosses don't smell the same as the body sprays or lotions? I found that with the Winter Candy Apple, and was highly disappointed. Anyway I picked up the lip gloss for $4, originally $8!

 

 

Two of these candles I received for Christmas - Merry Cookie and Winter Candy Apple. Since I was buying for everyone else I didn't pick up any of their winter scents so I asked for two of them. After Christmas I was able to get the candles for only $10 each. Not a bad deal. (Again, the fiance wanted me to pick up Passion Flower, haha)

 

I picked up this cute little candle snowman holder. It was originally $16.50, and got it for $8.25. The only candles that fit in it are the smallest candles (pictured above). What I really enjoy about this candle holder is I could use it all throughout winter. He's such a cutie!

 

 

This tin can is so adorable, it looks like a book! It has all different Winter Candy Apple products inside. I plan on using the tin for Christmas cookies next year. Picked it up for only $11, originally $22!

 

I also needed new soaps for our apartment. I don't have any, and these were only $3 a piece, the Pumpkin Cupcakes ones were 75% off so I got those for $1.50. I love the Bath & Body Works soaps because they last forever!

 

 

And I also picked up this cute little fall soap holder. It has acorns on the front of it, which I found to be so adorable. I love the fall! 

 

 

What did you pick up at the semi annual sale? I'd love to see pictures! 

2014 New Years Resolutions

Happy Sunday Funday!

Since my 2013 New Years Resolutions were a fail - see here. I'm hoping for a better 2014!

I spoke with my fiance last Sunday about how my resolutions were not accomplished and how I was upset about it, he offered suggestions: make New Years Resolutions for a month instead of a full year and print it out and post it above my desk so I am reminded of it everyday. 

How clever!

 I decided that every month I would set goals and revisit them at the end of the month to see how I did. I also decided to do yearly ones just because some take longer than a month. 

Anyway, I won't list ones for the month and year I'm just going to list them. :)

So some of my New Years Resolutions for 2014:

1.) To be more organized and to have a cleaning schedule. In our old apartment I use to be on top of always cleaning and keeping things in order. Yea, sometimes there was messes but it wouldn't stay that way for long. If you saw my closet, you'd throw up. My shoes are all over the place, along with bags, it's just disgusting. I'm having a hard time finding time to do the things I want to do. I found a lot of good cleaning schedules on Pinterest, I might try to stick with one or modify it to meet my needs. 

Here are some cleaning schedules I pinned on Pinterest:

  

 

2.) To actually do the things I pin on Pinterest! If I stopped pinning so much(8,325 pins to date) I would have time to do the things I pin on Pinterest! So I'm going to try to do 3 projects a month, maybe less! I'd also like to make a day on my blogging schedule to talk about it. (Maybe Monday?) I'm undecided, I'm not trying to make it so it's stressful for myself because Fiance & I travel a lot on weekends so I don't want to commit to anything! While doing projects I'd like to recreate outfits I like on Pinterest. I'm not going to buy new items to create the outfit (maybe occasionally) but create the outfits with things I already have in my closet. I'd like to do this more than just 3 times a month, but who knows?! Pinterest and blogs are definitely where I get inspiration from.  I love both of these images! 

   

 

3.) Lose weight. Like everyone and their mother, this is always one of my New Years resolutions, and sometimes I stick with it and sometimes I don't. Let's hope I do this year! I am getting T25 by Shawn T(creator of Insanity). I've done Insanity before and it worked for me (lost 20 pounds), so I'm hoping the T25 works for me. I'm doing T25 because it only takes 25 minutes out of your day, and I can handle that, rather than an hour. 

4.) Instead of saying I want to blog more(I do!!) I am going to try to stick with blogging at least twice a week. I'm going to try this for a month and see where it goes, maybe I'll blog more, or maybe I won't blog at all. I don't want to put myself in any type of commitment and be disappointed in myself. Let's just see where this goes!   

5.) Make more time for myself. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have children! This job is killing me! (I was actually job searching on Friday!) I want to take better care of myself as I'm getting older. That means eating healthier, exercising, etc. I also want to make time for myself to do things I enjoy! Like crafts and blogging. I guess this should be my biggest goal! 

 

Have a great rest of your Sunday!