Wednesday, October 9, 2013

hits & misses | Marc Jacobs beauty

If you've strolled into a Sephora lately, you've more than likely noticed the not so new shiny display of Marc Jacob's beauty. Past the glossy packaging and bright colors, I thought I would give you a more in depth review of what I found to be my new holy grail item and a few things I would suggest you stay clear of in the line. 


The Lolita eyeshadow palette | Lash Lifter mascara in BlacquerMagic Marc'er Precision Pen in BlacquerHighliner Gel Crayon in Ro(Cocoa) | Shameless Bold Blush in Obsessed

Lolita palette | I have a very huge love/hate relationship with this palette. I swatched this half a dozen times before I purchased it, and it was easily my favorite out of the four selections. However, when I got it home, I realized that the shadows are very dupable, and wasn't really a necessity to have in my collection. Also given the fact that the color pay off isn't that great. I will continue using it, but if you are looking for something half the price and ten times better pigmentation, go find Stila's In The Light palette. (But on the other hand, I have read awesome reviews on the other funky color palettes, so I would also suggest giving them a try.)

Blacquer mascara | Don't. JUST DON'T. I can't tell you why the heck I bought this (maybe it was someone raving it on Instagram?), but ohhh emmm geeee, this mascara sucks. Separates the lashes, sure. But that's it. That's all, folks. NOTHING else. I might as well have kept my lash tinting mascara from the 90's..

Blacquer liquid eyeliner | This greatly reminds me of my beloved Stila Waterproof eyeliner, with the exception that it has a slight shiny, lacquer finish (hence blacquer being the name). If I had the choice between the two, I would still stick with Stila's version, simply for it being a little less expensive. 

Ro(Cocoa) eyeliner | If you could only buy one thing from this collection, please make sure it's one of the eyeliners. Holy crap, y'all. This stuff does.not.budge. I picked Ro(Cocoa), because it's a great golden brown for putting on my waterline. I swatched it at Sephora, and it took me forever to get this stuff off my hand. It's not marketed as waterproof, but it certainly should be. And thank you makeup gods, it doesn't require you to sharpen it. I think all crayons or pencils should be required to come in this format. But please let me reiterate..it does.not.budge. Once it's on, it's on. 

Obsessed blush | I really love this blush. It's soft. It's pigmented. It's really easy to layer it on the cheeks. Sure at the end of the day, I could find a dupe for this warm pink shade, but for the most part, I'm enjoying it for an everyday look. 
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Sunday, October 6, 2013

married life | the first year


Wow. Has it really been a whole 365 days? As cliche as it sounds, it doesn't feel like Cory and I have been married for a year, but lets be real, we were kind of busy to say the least. Lets have a little refresher course, shall we?

As many of y'all already know, Cory took a job in Alabama just a couple of months shy of our wedding day, and frankly, I freaked out.

It was after a very intense search and a rather bittersweet goodbye to my dear friends at ARP, I found a new job the Tuesday before the wedding.

We were married on October 6, 2012, and it was absolutely lovely. :)

The next day I moved 6 and a half hours away to my new Alabama coast home.

The next day I flew out to Los Angeles to start training on my new job. 

From there on out, I trained for work, I flew a lot of planes, I drove a lot of miles, and I worked a lot of hours.

Cory himself trained for work, flew a lot of planes, worked countless hours.

Among the craziness, we found time to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
(I may have bawled like a baby leaving both times...)

I continued my training, flying, driving, and working schedule.

Cory, as well, continued his training, flying, driving, and working pattern.

Then wife of the year went overseas for work during her husband's birthday week.
(Although he assured me he would have done the same thing should he have had the chance during my birthday week...)

Every other day (or sometimes after three full weeks!) we would randomly run into each other in the apartment and say hello, and our phone bills fattened with each catch up call. 

Then out of nowhere Cory received an opportunity to come home along with a promotion.

We totally said yes.

We moved back home to Mississippi.
(cue to the hallelujah chorus) 

Cory continued to fly and work, work, work.

I continued to travel as an interim rep for my job and commute Monday through Friday every week.

We found a little time during the weekends to spend with family, friends, and more importantly, each other, and our phone bills started to skinny themselves up a bit.

We luckily spent my birthday together after Cory had spent 18 straight days and over 290 hours at work. (Honestly. I don't know how he does it..and I don't know if he knows either!)

Hello, one year anniversary!!! You have come way too soon!!

As I sit here reflecting (and full from wedding cake), I've come to realize something. God has grown our relationship by simply separating us the first year. Sure, it was hard. Sometimes completely unbearable. But after seven years with the same dude, I would be lying if I didn't say things weren't a little bit comfortable for a lack of a better word. God knew what he was doing. He wanted me to appreciate Cory more, wanted me to truly comprehend the reasons Cory was in my life, and essentially, fall in love with the man I married every. single. day. I feel like our first year apart has grown us even closer than we were before. I've find myself relishing the quiet moments with Cory. Just being near him. No pomp and circumstance. No fancy dinners or lavish gifts. Just having him. Cory is what I get in this marriage. And he is the only thing I want.

And truly at the end of the day, that's what it is all about. Here's to the next 365, honey. I love you.

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