Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!  Well, it’s Sunday again, how was everyone’s weekend?  Mine was pretty good, did a little shopping, celebrated Aaron and Becca’s birthdays, now just getting ready to head back to work on Monday.  I was on vacation this week so I’m sure I’ll be a bit behind on things tomorrow but I get to see my awesome coworkers so that makes up for it, lol.

So, since I was on vacation this whole week I really have no idea if I’ve lost, gained or maintained any weight.  I’m gonna guess gained since I have not worked out nor eaten well at all.  Starting tomorrow I’m gonna have to get back in the game.  I’ll be honest, I just really didn’t care.  My plan this week was to sit and not do anything I didn’t want to do, so that’s what I did, lol.  My schedule changes on the 7^th of May and I’ll be getting off work 30 minutes earlier so I’ll have a little more time in the evening to work out and cook healthier things.  It will also give me a chance to use the workout room at work which gives more exercise options.  Wish me luck, I’m gonna need it J.

I did manage to pick up a few beauty items at Ulta on Friday.  I got 3 new eyeliners.  One was a replacement for my Loreal Carbon Black Intense liquid liner.  This is my favorite liner of all time.  It’s just really easy to use and a great starter liner for anyone who’s never used liquid liners before. 

I also grabbed a Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in “Blackest Black”.  This one is more like a fine tipped marker.  I’ve seen a lot of reviews that state this eyeliner is the best to use for winging so I decided I’d try it out.  It’s very similar to MAC’s Penultimate which I’ve tried before but for quite a bit less money.  I’m hoping it lasts longer than the MAC one did.  That one either dried out fast or had very little product in it to begin with.  I’ll be sure to let everyone know what I think.

The last eyeliner I got was one of NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencils.  The one I got is called “Purple Velvet (623A)” which is a dark metallic purple.  I actually don’t use these as eyeliner but more as base for different shadows.  That’s really what these work the best as.  I have two others, “Dark Brown (602)” which is a matte dark brown obviously, and Rust (619) which is a dark metallic red.

The next thing I picked up was a new essie nail polish in “Sure Shot”.  It’s a bright magenta pearl.  It’s actually what this week’s manicure is so the picture will be below.

The final item I picked up at Ulta was the new NYX “Crimson Amulet” palette that was inspired by the new Dark Shadows movie.  It has 24 eye shadows in a wide variety of colors from darks to lights to neutrals, 5 blushes, 4 lip glosses, an illuminator, a small tube of eye shadow primer and a small liquid eyeliner.  I haven’t tried any of the colors out but from my experience NYX eye shadows are quite pigmented so I have high hopes for these.  I’ll be sure to get swatches up this week and start working on some new looks.

The last beauty item I purchased this week I don’t have yet.  I ordered a new Crown Brush palette from Hautelook.  This one is called “Blizzard” and has 28 “shimmer” (frosted) colors.  I’m really excited about this.  I love my Crown Brush “Smoke It Out” palette and I’m positive this one will be just as awesome.

Moving on to fashion purchases this week I stopped at Target and got some colored denim crops by Mossimo.  The color on the tag says “orange” but I think they’re more of an orange-coral mix.  To go with them I got a white three-quarter sleeve peasant style top and a pair of coral colored sandals, both by Mossimo.  I also have a light/foam green lightweight Mossimo scarf I ordered on the way as well.  I think this will turn into a really cute outfit and will probably end up as the “Outfit of the Week” the first time I wear it, lol.

My last purchase for the week isn’t really a beauty or fashion purchase but I do love it.  I got a new tattoo on Thursday.  My friend Jared helped design it and the tattoo artist, Bryce at Addictions in Ink Tattoo and Piercing, adjusted it some more.  It’s a crow with eyes in the wings, based off the graphic from the cover of The Crow movie/CD jacket.  I chose this as a tribute to my late friend Aaron who passed away 10 years ago last month.  I had it put on my right calf and the detailing in it is absolutely amazing.  I had originally planned on having it on my right wrist but it never would have fit and looked good.  I think it turned out just AWESOME and I LOVE it!

I’ll finish up tonight with my manicure, “Sure Shot” by essie.  Like I said above, it’s a bright magenta frost that looks really great for this time of year.  I’m also including a shot of the cute pedicure I did myself.  I just thought it was pretty!

Well, that’s it for this week, I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I hope to have a new tutorial up sometime this week.  You would have thought that with a whole week off I’d have a slew of looks to show everyone but really, I did as little as possible this last week, lol.  If anyone has any suggestions for things they want to see or know, whether it be looks or just topics in general, let me know in the comments and I’ll put something together! 

Again, everyone have a great week and I’ll talk to y’all soon J.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!  How was everyone’s week?  I hope it was great!  Mine was nice.  Friday was my birthday and even though I spent the whole day at work at least I was with some of the best co-workers ever.  Also, Aaron got me my new Keurig!  I can’t wait to use it tomorrow morning (I don’t drink coffee on the weekends, lol.)  It’s Sunday so you know what that means.  It’s time for the Weekly Wrap-Up!

As always, starting out with weight loss, I’m up 2.8 lbs from my last official weigh in 2 weeks ago.  Seriously guys, I have to get back into the game.  I haven’t been working out like I should and other than my healthy meal on Tuesdays I haven’t really been eating all that well.  I’ve just been snacking way too much and sitting on my butt, lol.  That’s why, starting tomorrow it’s back on track.  That means exercising one way or another 6 days a week, not snacking because I’m bored and watching my portions.  I’m also gonna get to Wal-mart at some point and finally get a bicycle.  Aaron owes me one from 2 Christmases ago and now that my mom and sister have one (along with Scarlett) we can all go bike riding.  So wish me luck everyone, I’m gonna need it, lol.

Moving on to fashion purchases, I dropped by Rue21 yesterday and picked up 4 more shirts similar to the blue and pink leopard-print one I bought two weeks ago.  Two are solid colors: one pink and one teal.  The other two are prints: a grey, black and white leopard print and the other is blue and black stripes.  They were $4.00 each on clearance so I was very excited. 

Then I stopped by Wal-mart because I needed another pair of dress capris.  We have some important people coming into to the office this week so no jeans on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I got a cute pair of light grey ones that should look good with my new pink shirt tomorrow.

Next we have my few beauty purchases this week.   I stopped by MAC to pick up some more of my Mineralized Skinfinish Liquid Foundation in NW20. 

Then it was off to Ulta where I grabbed some new eyeliner.  I got two of the NYX Slide on Eyeliners,  one in Sunrise Blue, which is a bright, dark blue, and on in Azure which is a bright turquoise.  The Azure one is actually a replacement.  A few weeks ago I spilled my eyeliners all over in the bathroom.  I thought I got them all put back away but the Azure one was missing when I went to use it earlier this week.  I think it accidently got into the trash can and thrown away.  Such a waste L. 

I also picked up two of the new Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hour cream eye shadows.  One in Too Cool (a frosted white) the other one is Tough as Taupe (a taupe, obviously, lol).  I’ve heard excellent reviews on these, that they work just as well as MAC Paint Pots for about half the price.  I’m planning on just using them as eye shadow bases which they are also supposed to be excellent for.

I grabbed a new Essie polish as well in Armed and Ready, a dark grey- green with a gold shimmer.  It looks really pretty in the bottle so I have high hopes once it’s actually on my nails.

The last purchase at Ulta was just some Jergens natural GLOW daily facial moisturizer in Fair to Medium.  I grabbed this because my self-tanner comes off my face when I was my makeup off.  Instead of using the regular Jergens natural GLOW for the body I wanted something formulated for faces so I could use it every day without causing break outs.  It’s also SPF 20 so I’ve got the sunscreen part covered as well.

I’m gonna end this evening with this week’s manicure, “Trout Pout” from butter London.  It’s a nice cream salmon shade.  I really like it and it’s perfect for Easter next week.  This is the first time I’ve tried butter London polishes and I have high expectations so I’m hoping I won’t be disappointed.

That’s it for this week!  Hope everyone has a great week ahead and I’ll talk to y’all later!  J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Anyone else like me wish the weekend was much longer?  Well, it’s that time again, here’s the weekly wrap-up.

Starting with weight loss, I was sick Monday so I missed my official weigh in.  I did just hop on my scale to check, it weighs about 2 pounds heavier than the one at work so I’ve pretty much maintained this past week I would say.  I’m not gonna add anything official since I like to weigh on the same scale to stay accurate but I’ll say I’m doing pretty good.  Still trying to eat healthy and I either use my elliptical or do Zumba for Wii every day except Saturdays.  I’m still just so proud of all my friends and coworkers for all the hard work they’re putting in!

Moving on to beauty purchases, I only have a few once again.  From Ulta I picked up some more “Say Yes to Cucumbers” cleansing towelettes, I really like these a lot.  They take off makeup well and have a really fresh scent. 

I also picked up a new astringent/toner from Neutrogena called Acne Stress Control Triple-Action Toner.  It’s supposed to help treat acne before it even emerges, probably because the active ingredient in it is salicylic acid, so we’ll see how I like it.  So far, so good. 

Lastly I got a new Essie nail polish in “Barbados Blue”, a really pretty light blue pearl.  I don’t have many blue polishes so this is a nice addition to all the other colors I have, lol. 

One last beauty item I did get was from MAC but it was free, lol.  I finally managed to remember to take all 6 of my empty product containers in and got my free lipstick for them.  I wanted to get “High Tea” but they were all out, instead I chose “Angel” which is described as a soft pink frost.  I am loving the shade though, it’s not bright but it gives just the right hint of pink that it could probably be worn by anyone.  It will probably become my “go-to” color I think.

As for fashion purchases I stopped by Sears and picked up one more pair of Kardashian Kollection jeans.  I got The Kourtney in white to go with the black top I picked up a few weeks ago.  Then I decided to wander around some which for me is usually a bad idea.  It was this weekend too because I ending up with a new pair of ankle boots.  They’re the “San Francisco” from the Kardashian Kollection.  They were on clearance for $19 then an additional 30% off that price so with tax I paid $15 for $80 boots!  And I got the last pair in my size so I was pretty jazzed.

That’s really it for my purchases this week.   I did also pick up a new Coach shamrock key fob since I had a 25% off coupon and I have a thing for shamrocks/clovers/anything Irish really, lol.

I’ll end tonight with this week's manicure.  I went with “Raise Awareness” by Essie.  This is the light pink cream I purchased a few weeks back.  It’s a bit brighter than It looks in the bottle but I think it’s very pretty and girly.  Great for spring!

That’s it for this week, I hope everyone is well and this coming week is a good one.  I’ll talk to ya’ll soon! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

It’s Sunday and it’s the Superbowl, neither of which I’m all that excited about, so I’m spending this evening catching up on the shows I have on the DVR.  I’m quite a bit behind due to spending two evenings this past week filming tutorials for everyone J.   Sunday also means Weekly Wrap-Up time!

Starting with weight loss this week, I was very excited to have lost 3.6 pounds.  I really didn’t think that was going to happen, I’d gotten really off track the past few weeks and hadn’t been working out as much as I should have.  I also had not been eating well at all so I expected to at least maintain my weight if not gain a few pounds.

I’ve been back on track this week and have picked up quite a few healthier snacks.  They even taste good too.  My favorite right now is Nature Valley Granola Thins in peanut butter with a layer of dark chocolate on the bottom.  They are yummy and are only 80 calories per serving! 

My one weakness, however, is Dr. Pepper.  This week I sucked it up and got some Dr. Pepper 10 (yes, I know it’s supposed to be “for men” but it tastes way better than Diet Dr. Pepper).  I generally don’t drink anything diet if it has aspartame in it as it is so unhealthy and causes all sorts of bad stuff, but I only bought it for those times when I’m really craving Dr. Pepper but don’t have the extra calories to spare.  Anyway, should be easier to stay on target now.

Moving on to beauty purchases, my NYX “Box of Smokey Look Collection” arrived this week.  I haven’t really played with it much because I’m still experimenting with my Crown Brush palette,  but there’s lots of potential I can see.  The one time I did use it this week it was for a very natural brown look, not the least bit smokey actually, lol. 

This palette is divided into “Classic Smokey”, “Purple Smokey”, “Bronze Smokey” and “Natural Smokey”.  It also has 12 glitter shadows, 16 lip glosses, 4 concealers, 3 blushes and 3 other colors used for bronzer, highlighter and contour.  The colors are nice and pigmented and I hope to be able to create lots of different looks with it.  Check out the pictures of the palette below and it can be purchased here.

I also stopped by Ulta and was lucky enough to be able to grab the last “Love at First Blush” blush (obviously, lol) by Stila that they had left.  I haven’t had a chance to try it yet but the colors are nice.  I also got a similar Physician’s Formula blush called “Happy Booster” which claims to be mood boosting due to some plant extracts used in it.  I’m weary of this because it has a rosewater scent to it which is something that usually gives me a headache.  I haven’t actually tried it yet either though so I’m hoping once it’s applied the scent isn’t as strong.

I also picked up one of Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer.  I’ve heard many good things about this so I decided it was time to try this out.  I had been using Garnier Nutritioniste’s Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller which works pretty good but I’ve heard the coverage of the Maybelline one is better. 

I also got a new jar of Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle night cream and two new EOS lip balms in sweet mint.  I just love both these products.  The Olay makes my skin nice and soft and the EOS does the same for my lips.

Finally, I picked up 3 new nail polishes.  Two were in the clearance bin which was nice.  They were part of OPI’s Pirates of the Caribbean line.  I got “Planks A Lot” which is a light purple and “Stranger Tides” which is a kind of a pale sea green color.

This week’s manicure is the other color I bought, “Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi” by Nicole by OPI’s Kardashian Kolor collection.  It’s a bright red cream shade, perfect for Valentine’s Day which is why I bought it, lol.

 That’s it for this week, hope the upcoming week goes well for everybody!  Talk to you all later! J

Weekly Wrap-Up

Once again it’s Sunday, time for this week’s wrap up.

Starting out with the weight loss progress, I’m down another 1.4 pounds this week.  I probably ruined that this past few days, though, as I haven’t been eating well.  Weekends are the hard part, mostly because I’m not eating regularly.  I usually only eat something  for lunch and then dinner so I want to snack a lot in the evening.

During the week I eat on a regular basis.  For example, I have a yogurt for breakfast, on my first break I have a cheese stick and an orange, I then have a healthy lunch and finally on my last break I have an apple.  These are spaced out about every 2 hours.  I then go home and make supper, which may or may not be the healthiest, I’m working on that, and then before I go to bed I’ll have a light snack.  All of this keeps me from being hungry all the time so that I don’t just eat everything.  I really need to find a way to do this on the weekends too and I’ll be good.

Moving on to beauty purchases, I filmed a haul video that you can find at the bottom of the post.  Because of this I’ll just quickly mention what I got.  I picked up 3 of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters (2 at Ulta and one at Target) in Sweet Tart, Peach Parfait and Crème Brulee, all very nice colors and I plan on having the swatches up this coming week. 

I got some new Conair hot rollers and some roller clips to go with them.  I’m going to try curls in my hair rather than my usual straight look.  I think I’m gonna need to practice a bit first though, lol.

I also got a package of the Say Yes to Cucumbers (I say “carrots” below in the video by accident) facial towelettes.  I really like these, they’re great for sensitive skin and they’re not perfume-y, they just smell like real cucumbers. 

I bought a nice light pink nail polish from Essie called “Raise Awareness”, a left over from Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.  This was in the clearance bin at Ulta for $3.99 instead of the normal $8.00 Essie usually sells for so that was nice.

Lastly, I was able to get some more cotton rounds at Ulta since 2 weeks ago they were all sold out.  I prefer these ones over any other, they’re priced nicely and they don’t fall apart leaving cotton pieces all over. 

That’s it for beauty purchases this week, check out the video below to see the products.  Next week I’m hoping to have my new Crown Brush eye palette to show everyone, along with another one possibly.

 This week’s manicure is Neeka by Zoya, from the Smoke and Mirrors collection.  It’s a pretty pearly purple with grey undertones.  It’s a very nice for fall and winter.

So that’s it for today.  I hope to have a tutorial up possibly tomorrow or Tuesday on a grey smoky look.  I’m still trying to find the best place to film but I think I’ve got it figured out.  Anyway, hope everyone has a great week, again check out my video below.   Talk to everyone later! J