Sunday Night Ritual

Hi everyone!  So now that I've been blogging for almost a month, I've decided to try and make a couple posts consistent.  My first one is going to be my "Sunday Night Ritual" which you will see every Sunday from here on out.   And if you don't like it, please tell me and I'll try something different!  


I think we all have a Sunday night ritual in a way.  It just helps us unwind and prepare for the week ahead.  Whether it's having a glass of wine and chilling in front of the TV or taking a long bath, we all have some sort of "ritual" and I am going to share mine each week.  However, it will always change since I'm constantly trying new products and doing different things.  


This time my Sunday consisted of taking a looooonnnggg walk around my neighborhood with my love.  First stop - Sephora (obviously) where I picked up some goodies for a fellow blogger ;)  Second stop - Ice cream.  Third stop - Urban Outfitters where I found this little number:

It's so nice and lightweight for summer ($48 I think)

After the lovely walk and shop, we came home and played some Kirby's Epic Yarn (probably the cutest Wii game ever), until I decided to try out a couple new products!  First one being the Pangea Organics Facial Scrub - 

This is just a sample I got in last month's Birchbox (I will do a whole blog on Birchbox for those who are unfamiliar, but basically it's a $10 monthly subscription for samples of luxury beauty products - I love it - www.birchbox.com).  However, I did not love this Facial Scrub.  I'm not familiar with Pangea Organics, but I do like the idea of organic skin care so I was really hoping for the best.  I used the entire sample pack, which was about a quarter-size, and it was pretty effective in regards to exfoliating.  I could feel the raw adzuki beans gently rubbing off the dead skin and left my face feeling pretty smooth, however I absolutely could not stand the smell!!  It honestly smelled like cat food with a bit of lemon.  It's hard to explain, but I had to rinse it off pretty quickly.  I'm fairly sensitive when it comes to smells, so I definitely will not be purchasing this.  I looked on the website and for 3.8 fl oz it's $32.  Not worth it, but if you are big into organic skin care I think you may be interested in the brand -  www.pangeaorganics.com

After exfoliating, I decided to try a Pomega5 Revitalizing Concentrate caplet.  I've never used concentrate before and honestly, I wasn't quite sure what it was, but what the hey?  So I broke one of these babies open and omgggg...

I am falling more and more in love with this brand thanks again, to Birchbox.  They introduced me to their Green Tea Moisturizer a couple months ago and absolutely fell in love with it.  It has a wonderful citrusy smell and it just sinks in making my skin feel like silk.

I'm almost out of my Birchbox sample, so I definitely will need to re-purchase soon.  But back to the concentrate - it's a bit oily at first, but after about 30 minutes, it eventually absorbs.  Apparently each capsule contains over 60% of Omega 5 which is a Pomegranate oil and is supposed to deliver nutrients and restore life back to dull skin.  You are to apply these twice daily after cleansing and toning, then apply moisturizer after the concentrate has absorbed.  Since this is the first time using this product, I haven't seen any results yet, but I LOVE the smell (citrusy - just like the green tea moisturizer) and I like the way it makes my skin feel.  I am going to continue using my sample until it runs out and will let you know how my skin has reacted.  If you are interested in Pomega5, check out their website - www.pomega5.com - I know they're a bit pricey, but so far I would say totally worth it.

Other than that, I have a couple loads of laundry that need to come out of the dryer and I will probably spend the rest of the evening chilling in front of the TV with my boo.  I hope you all are having (or have had) a nice Sunday evening and let me know what rituals you love doing on Sundays!!  Thanks for reading!!  xoxoxoxoxo

To Market to Market

Hi loves!!  I hope everyone's weekend is going splendidly!  I decided, instead of sleeping in and being lazy like I normally do, I would wake up bright and early to take the train downtown and visit the L.A. Flower Market!  It's this huge warehouse open from 5am-noon every day that sell flowers wholesale.  I bought 4 bunches of different flowers, which came to a total of $15!!  Such a steal.  Anyway, I have amazing pictures and the colors were so inspiring.  Bright colors make me happy though.. so you might see a couple exotic looks coming up soon :)  

Here is my "Flower Market" look I decided on this morning.  I used 3 pink colors from my Stila Colorwheel palette and a new bright pink lipstick from Rimmel called "Rose Blush".  I know I stated previously that I can't really pull off pink because of my red hair, but... I don't care!!!  Sometimes I just need to wear pink!  Enjoy the pics below and I hope you have a fabulous rest of the weekend!!!

Rimmel's moisture renew lipstick in "Rose Blush"

Sorry about the darkness.. it was 7am when I took this!

Colors I used with my Stila Colorwheel!

Hai! Because it was dark and I had lamp light behind me, the lipstick looks a LOT brighter than it actually is!

My "Office" Look

Hi loves!!  For those of you who work in an office every day like me, I wanted to show you what my day-to-day make-up look consisted of.  I change it up from time to time, but I mainly stick with something professional and "officey", if you will.  I won't show you how I do my face, but I'll list the products I use to get started:


NARS Primer with SPF 20
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Physician's Formula Powder Finish Concealer Stick in "Cover Green"
Bobbi Brown skin foundation in "Porcelain" mixed with MAC's Mineralized Foundation in NC15
Bobbi Brown creamy concealer in "Ivory"
ELF Golden Bronzer
NARS cream blush stick in "South Beach"
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in "Light"


Alright, so once I have my face on, time to start with eyes!  I begin by applying Benefit's creasless cream shadow in "Birthday Suit" all over the lid.  I like using this for the office because it has a nice shimmer to it which makes eyes look soft and awake.  If you go a bit too heavy on the shimmer or glitter, then it starts to look inappropriate and distracting.  This is what it looks like - 

So after I pat it on with a flat brush, I take a fluffy brush and add Jemma Kidd's Eye Colour in Number 05 "Editor" to the crease.  This is a slightly darker shade of brown with again, a touch of shimmer.

That's the extent to my eye color.  I am NOT a morning person, so the less time-consuming, the better.  Then I add a bit of highlighting to make my eyes look even more awake (again.. not a morning person).  So I take my ELF Eyeliner and Shadowstick (it's a duel stick) and use the eyeliner end in "Pearl" to line my waterline.  I also apply the shade "Virgin" from the Naked Palette to highlight my brow and inner corner of my eye.  See how much more awake that makes the eye!

Then I use either a brown eyeliner or brown eyeshadow.  If you want a softer look, go for an eyeshadow so you can smudge it out a bit.  I used "Darkhorse" from my Naked Palette and this is what it looks like - 

Or if you prefer eyeliner, I use MAC's Eye Kohl in Teddy.  I also really like Bobbi Brown's gel eyeliner in their dark brown color, but I recently finished it!  Anyway, this is what the Kohl pencil looks like - 

And here's the final look with Black-Brown mascara!

Then I normally just apply some sort of chapstick or clear lipgloss, but on those days I want to impress, I reach for either a light brown lipgloss or Rimmel's "Summer Angel" (which is what I'm wearing now!)  I hope you guys enjoy this really simple look (excuse the semi-wet hair)  xoxoxoxoxoxoxo 

I Heart Anthro

Morning all!!  I am just going to post some pretty pics of my FAVORITE store ever!!  For those of you who know me, it's no surprise, but Anthropologie is the epitome of bohemian chic and everything is just so pretty!!!  If my wallet allowed, I would own everything Anthro.  So I snuck into the shop on Beverly Drive yesterday and took some pics on the sly.  Enjoy!!

Have a wonderful day everyone!!  Oh, and check out Anthro when you can - http://www.anthropologie.com/  xoxoxo

It's so Lush it is!

Hiya!  I hope everyone is easing into their week nicely.  It's pretty hectic at work here, but I really want to stick to my "blog every other day" goal, so here it is!  I wanted to write about a product which I'm very new to, but some of you may not be, which is Lush.  For awhile I thought this was only a UK brand, but low and behold, it's here in L.A.!!  For those of you unfamiliar, it's a really popular bath & body store that sells all handmade products.  They have anything from shampoos to bath bombs to face masks and everything smells DELICIOUS!

So this was the first product I used - The Stepping Stone foot scrub ($3.95), mainly because I had been walking around the Santa Monica promenade all day and needed a good foot rub.  It's very nice smelling (citrus-y!), but melts SUPER fast.  So lesson learned folks - with all Lush bombs, scrubs, exfoliators, etc. - cut them up into pieces before exposing them to water!!!  Or else they'll just melt away in a few seconds and there goes $5 wasted on a one-time use. 

Stepping Stone - mainly cocoa butter & lemongrass oil - smells so good!

I also picked up a couple massage bars - Each Peach (with cocoa, shea, avocado and mango butter) and Strawberry Feels Forever.  Each were a bit pricey ($9.95 each...) but when you buy 2 you get a free tin.  They are supposed to be multi-purpose bars as they will soothe sore muscles, moisturize your skin and also waken your senses.  So far I've used the Each Peach bar and I like it, although you MUST rub it in with your hands after you are done massaging it onto your skin.  It won't disolve or absorb like a regular moisturizer. 

Strawberry Feels Forever

Each Peach (plus the free tin)

And of course, you can't go to Lush without buying some BATH BOMBS!  So I picked up 3 - Sex Bomb (apparently it's their most popular), Avobath, and Think Pink.  I've used Think Pink and it's SO cute because not only does it turn your bath water pink, but it leaves reminents of little pink hearts which look like flower petals!  So you will have a pretty bath and have incredibly smooth skin once you are finished.

Sex Bomb ($6.45)

Avobath ($6.25)

Think Pink ($3.95)

This is what my bath looked like using Think Pink!

I promise I'm almost done!  The last product I used was the Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub which smells of flowers and honey and you use it as an exfoliator in the shower.  Obviously being made out of mostly sugar, it melts SUPER fast and unfortunaetly it irritated my skin sooo much.  Afterwards, my skin was dry and itchy for about 2 days, but it may just be my sensitive skin.  I don't know.  All I know is, I will not be re-purchasing.  Too bad  :(

Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub ($4.95)

Next time I go back, I really want to try out their face masks and shampoo bars (I know that sounds weird, so we'll see if it's worth the hype).  I hope this was of interest to you and please let me know what you've been loving at LUSH!! 

The Great Debate: Brush vs. Applicator

Hi loves!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  I had a few hours of down time today, so I thought I would conduct a little experiment - using brushes vs. an applicator.  Honestly, I just want to justify the amount of brushes I own and see if they really do live up to the hype.  So, this is what I used:

In the middle we have the Rimmel Quad Eye Shadow in "Smokey Purple" (only $3.99 btw!).  On the left side we have a Mac 239 (for the lid), Mac 224 (blending/crease) and 219 (outer corner & under eye).  And on the right side we have the applicator that came with Rimmel quad.  Here was the outcome:

Applicator eye

Brush eye

Brush / Applicator

Brush / Applicator

I know these pictures don't really do it justice, but I believe you can tell (especially in the last picture) that the brush is much better at applying the color and blending it out.  When I used the applicator on the lid, I had to pick up shadow about 8 times in order to get the same color pay-off.  With the brush, it took only 2 times.  And as you can see, the left-eye's crease color isn't well blended and you can see the lines it creates.  However, I will admit the skinny applicator did a good job getting the color underneath the eye which is sometimes hard to do with a brush.  Also, the applicator created a lot more fall-out than the brushes.  All-in-all, I think brushes are a good investment, but obviously applicators are a fine substitute.  I just wouldn't recommend them if you were trying for a darker, smokier look.  I think you really need good brushes for that since it requires a lot of blending.

And here's my final look!  I just added some black eyeliner on the top lid and green eyeliner on my waterline.  And of course, black mascara!  I hope you like this little experiment and let me know what you think about applicators vs. brushes!!

Have a great rest of your weekend!!!  xoxoxo

Spring Time Nails

Happy Friday my loves!  I thought I'd do a really quick one about my new nailpolish I picked up at Target last night.  It's Essie and the color is "Nice is Nice".  I know pastels are really in this spring and after seeing a couple reviews on Mac's Quite Cute collection (coming out next week - yay!), I got inspired to find a nice pastel color.  So here it is!

With Flash

No Flash

No flash (in HD)

I would say the middle picture is the most representative of the color.  Unfortunately the camera gives it a somewhat blue tint, which it doesn't have at all.  It honestly reminds me of an Easter egg or the horrid matching floral dresses my mom made me & my sisters wear on Easter Sunday.  But I like it anyhow and it's been on for a day already with no chipping.  That color is also after 2 coats and a topcoat, so it's pretty good quality I have to say. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your weekend and I wish I had an April Fool's joke for you... but I don't.  Oh well, take care!!!