This Weekend

I busted out OPI's Bahama Mama during a self made mani

I decorated pumpkins with my two nieces, Ava Grace and Autumn Marie

This one is "Franken-Pumpkin" painted by Autumn Marie

I witnessed my very first blogger buddy marry her best friend (yay for Jen-Marie!)

and pampered some very adorable kittens that were found abandoned in my backyard.

Currently I'm trying my best to find these little men a home.

This time next week, I'll be visiting my favorite city, New Orleans, for a wedding.
Can. Not. Wait.

Hope y'all had a good one!

xoxo,
 

Product Review: Birchbox

Now, I'm sure an overwhelming amount of y'all have already heard about Birchbox.
But for those who have not, this post is for you.

In a nutshell, you pay $10 a month to have four to five hand-picked deluxe samples delivered to your door. And if you like the samples, you can purchase the full product from their website. 
For the beauty fanatics, this is a dream.

Packaged all so pretty in a box within a box

with a little note

And this is what I got for the month of October (L to R):
Ahava Enriched Intensive Foot Cream
Ahava Mineral Hand Cream
Sunday Riley Modern Skincare Juno Transformative Lipid Serum (did I mention that this retails for $125!?)
Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze
Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner

Cory surprised me for my birthday, and bought me a year's subscription to Birchbox, so be expecting reviews each month on the products I receive. :) 

xoxo,

This Weekend

I purchased a $100 wallet for a $13 steal

had a daytime date with the Mr. at the Memphis Zoo
(OOTD - pink linen top that was a major $8 steal from J.Crew)

busted out a fall pedicure - OPI's You Don't Know Jacques

and did a little dance over my first Birchbox delivery

How was y'alls weekend?


xoxo,
 

Love: Tinley Road

On my quest to find a new fall handbag, I came across Tinley Road and their line of affordable baubles on Piperlime.
Omg, love.

Fan Cabachon Drop Earring

Deco Crystal Shell Drop Earring

Antique Gold Leaf Bracelet

Ivory Cabachon Bangle

And all of them were under $25. WHAT?!?

Has anyone purchased from Tinley Road before? How was the quality?

 
xoxo,
 

Review: Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Eyeshadow

Hello gals,

This weekend I made my very first Chanel eyeshadow purchase.

When I saw the ad work for this spongy looking shadow pot, I was immediately giddy to buy it.

 

I purchased Epatant and fell in love with the grayish green color that doesn't scream I'm wearing green eyeshadow. I liked it so much, I went to another Chanel counter to find Illusoire (the purple gray shade) since the first counter I went to was sold out.

The Chanel makeup artist explained that the shadow pots were marketed as something to go over your existing shadow to give it an "umph" look. She put Epatant on my existing shadow and turned my NARS Lola Lola into my new fall eyeshadow look.

But I also think it looks great sans other shadows.  

I honestly feel like a goober making these faces for photos, but I think you get the gist. 

xoxo,
 

How To: Hair Blowout Revisited

Thanks to the lovely Dana Leigh, I've realized I didn't quite answer any and all questions on how I do my "blowout bun."

And she asked a pretty good question:
"Do you pile all your hair up on that one velcro roller? Is your hair dry when you do it or is it wet? I have a lot of hair and it looks like you do as well! Generally, I have to blow dry my hair, flat iron it, and then put hot rollers in it for it to not frizz and pouf throughout the day, it's a nightmare getting ready so I'm always looking for something a lot easier."

I feel ya on the hair woes of getting ready in the mornings...

To sum it up, the answer is yes and no. Yes, I pile my hair up on top of my head. The ponytail is reaching up high enough that I don't have to sleep on a knot, but low enough that the very bottom hairs aren't falling out.

Looks something like this.

And no, my hair is dry when I put it in the velcro roller. I just use one medium sized roller but you could do multiples if you have too much hair or maybe a larger roller. The bobby pin I use to hold it is huge (to clamp down more hair without falling out), and I got a pack of them for cheap at Sally's beauty supply.

I'm not too keen on showering in the morning, so I usually blow dry my hair at night and this keeps all my hard work (blow drying my hair sucks) looking like new. If you have really curly hair you may want to flat iron the very top of it when you let it out in the morning to get rid of any creases from the ponytail, but normally any creases of mine fall out in the time it takes me to do my makeup and get ready for work.

Thanks for the question, Dana! I would have emailed you back, but I couldn't find your email on your blog. :( Hope you don't mind that I just copied and pasted your response!

xoxo,
 

DIY: Love Canvas

As you call know, my sweet friend, Jen Marie, over at Southern Belle is getting married in less than a couple of weeks. (Can't believe it's almost here, JM!!!)
I wanted to make her something special and one of a kind, so when I found this inspiration on Pinterest I knew I found something perfect.

And it was much too easy to make. 

The Pinterest photo called for wooden letters, but these "thicker" foam stickers were much easier (and cheaper!) to work with. Along with a canvas and a pearly spray paint, you have all the supplies you need.

To make an even shape for the heart, I used a piece of printer paper which I free handed one side of the heart, then used it to trace light dashes with a pencil, and flipped it over to mirror the other side. It's ok if you have too many pencil marks. You're going to end up spray painting over it anyways.

Now comes the fun part! Using the stickers, I arranged them at random on the canvas while still keeping in mind the tracing of the heart shape I did earlier. Because Jen Marie is a sucker for history and especially European history and literature, I added in an amore just to personalize it for her. :) And last but not least I added in their wedding date for the two love birds. 

I finished it up with a good coat of spray paint. Instead of white like the picture suggested, I used a pearly silver.  

All done and ready to go! I hope Jen Marie liked it as much as I did!

xoxo,
 

Makeup Routine

Hey, I got a pretty decent screen shot this time around.


Products Mentioned:
MAC Studio Fix concealer in NW25
Bare Minerals Matte in medium tan
NARS blush in orgasm
MAC blushes in fluer power and dollymix
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in 002 hazel
Sephora Eyebrow Pencil 
Urban Decay Primer Potion in clear
NARS shadow in Lola Lola
Urban Decay Naked Palette
a slew of different MAC shadows (Contrast, Mythology, Midnight Madness, Antiqued) (a couple of my favs that were missing are Tempting and All That Glitters)
MAC Fluidline liquid eyeliner in blacktrack
Loreal Voluminous mascara in carbon black
Loreal Infallible Eyeliner in carbon black 
Rimmel's Spark It Up Gleaming Eye Pencil in tiger's eye
MAC Viva Glam lipstick in Cyndi
C.O. Bigelow (Bath and Body Works) rose salve lip balm
MAC Studio Fix powder in NW 30

And if you want to go check out Veronika's makeup routine and awesome blog, you can go check it out here.

xoxo,
 

This Weekend

I bought my first ever Chanel eyeshadow,

crafted a surprise gift for a friend,

videoed a makeup vlog,

and perfected the ultimate cup of coffee with my Tassimo.

All of which are topics for the blog this week! Well, maybe besides the coffee...I'm sure y'all have that taken care of. ;)

Stay tuned...

xoxo,
 

How To: Maintain Your Blowout

It's this simple.

Yep, that's my hair on the top of my head, coiled around a velcro roller, and pinned with one industrial strength/extra large bobby pin.
And I sleep in it.  
Looking like a sumo wrestler.

When I wake up (looking like a troll), my hair is bouncy, full, and gives me that little curl to the tips of my hair that I fancy so much. 
This is probably as close as I'm going to get to having Kate Middleton's hair. 
Interesting enough, my dear momma taught me this while in high school. She said this is they way all the girls did their hair back then (when of course, they weren't shoving it in a pillow case and having a friend take a hot iron to it...except my mom was a rebel. She didn't use a pillow case). 

Oh, and can you notice that I have ZERO frizz in the photos? It's because that Aquage I was talking about in my vlog video ended up being da bomb . com.

It left my hair frizz free all day, made it tease easier, and left it feeling full and soft without weighing it down or making it feel like I had a gallon of hair spray stuck in it.
Go get you some. 

What do you do to maintain a blowout?

xoxo,