Fun teal double winged eyeliner

I love how this look turned out. I never wanted to take it off. Super pretty, especially on brown eyes (for once, amirite?)!

Anyway, here is the video. Hope you like!

 

My first Bobbi Brown order + review

I have lusted over Bobbi Brown makeup products for a long, long time. However, I always figured that I could find products that were just as good for less money. Freakin’ prestige products always drawing me in. DAMN YOU, MARKETING!

Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and decided to try some things out. I have always wanted to try out their blushes (because, duh), so I knew that was one thing I’d be getting. And, after watching a YouTube video by Tati (look her up, she is fab), I also was drooling over the Art Sticks (chubby lip pencils).

Here are the products I got:

• Blush duo – Sand Pink/Pale Pink ($42.00)
• Art Stick duo – Dusty Pink & Electric Pink ($47.00)
  • This also comes with a sharpener

Note: These products are limited edition. They come in sets, whereas you’d typically have to buy them separately. I am a sucker for sets. Sigh.

Let’s start with the blush.

Sorry, my hand is all red from my damn beagle chewing on it. Eye roll.

I haven’t tried them on my face, but the idea is to apply the darker color to the back of your cheeks up toward your hairline, and add the lighter color to the apples. The formula is good, but we’ll see how it holds up on my oily skin.

$42 for two blushes isn’t terrible, I guess, but I would have preferred to choose which two went in the compact without having to pay two full prices.

Now, onto the Art Sticks…

Like I said, they come with a sharpener because they are actual pencils – which is something I haven’t seen before.

I love the formula! They are SO creamy and opaque! However, this set’s colors are a lot alike. I’m not mad. I like both colors a lot.

Ok, can someone please teach me how to use my camera? I can’t focus on ANYTHING! Why is the carpet the focus here? Come on.

Dusty Pink (left) and Electric Pink (right)

 

Overall, I am not blown away but am still excited to play with a new brand. I mean, $90 for three things? Yikes.

Do you own anything from Bobbi Brown? What should I try next?

Connecting with more bloggers – The Liebster Award

I am pretty damn flattered to have been nominated for The Liebster Award from Brittany at Life in Lipstick (I love lipstick, hi) as well as Stargirl! Check them both out.

Ok, so what is this award? (I am stealing this from Brittany) In German, the word ‘Liebster’ means sweet or kind (aw!). The Liebster Award is passed around amongst bloggers to provide support within the blogging community and of course I am going to participate because DUH.

RULES

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Nominate 10 new bloggers.
3. Answer the 10 questions the person who nominated you asked you.
4. Create 10 new questions to ask the bloggers you nominate.
5. Notify the bloggers you have nominated by leaving them a comment on their blog.

QUESTIONS PASSED TO ME (LivingInLipstick)

1. What is the best vacation you have ever taken?
   I haven’t actually been on many vacations, but I would have to say my honeymoon to Punta Cana because it was with my amazing hubby and the first time I’ve been out of the country! 
2. Do you have any pets?
   Yes, my furbies (not the electronic ones). My two dogs, Lilly (black lab mix) and Axel (beagle). We rescued them both and will always rescue over and over again.
3. What is your dream job, if you could do anything?
   I know this may be shocking, really, but a pro makeup artist. But I have student loans for something else… so…
   Or a therapist. I know, polar opposites. I currently work in Marketing.
4. Who is your celebrity lookalike?
   Good question. I have no idea. I used to get Britney Spears when I was much younger, but not anymore. Womp womp.
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
   Where to start? Luke Bryan, Chris Hemsworth, the hottie from Divergent. Mmmm.
6. What are you currently watching on Netflix?
   I am actually binging Orphan Black on Amazon Prime and waiting for the next season of The Black List to come on Netflix! Both are awesome shows.
7. What is your favorite season?
   SUMMER
8. Is there a story behind your name?
   My blog name? Yes, I love blush! Gimme all the blush ! It is also my name on YouTube and Instagram. 
9. When did you start blogging?
   Like… two weeks ago. But it has been something I’ve been planning for a long time now.
10. In which area of the world do you live?
    Chicagoland, IL, baby. 

QUESTIONS PASSED TO ME (Stargirl)

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Greece, plz thx
2. What is your favorite food?
Watermelon with Tajin seasoning (current pregnancy craving)
3. If you could be in any movie, which one would you be in?
One where I can make out with Ryan Reynolds, obviously.
4. What super power would you want to have?
Teleportation for sure.
5. Who is your favorite celebrity?
I have so many spirit animals – Melissa McCarthy, Miranda Lambert, Tina Fey, etc. I love strong, sarcastic women.
6. What is your favorite makeup product?
Blush, of course
7. What type of hair do you have? (ex. Straight, curly..)
A ton of  thick, straight-ish hair
8. If you could be a musical instrument, what would you be?
I played trumpet in high school (ugh) but that’s kind of gross and spitty, so… Not sure.
9. What book did you most recently read?
I am in the middle of ‘Red Queen’ at the moment and I like it! Before that, I can’t remember which one was most recent.
10. When did you start blogging?
HA, like a few weeks ago. Hi.

MY NOMINATIONS

I’m really new at this, so bear with me if these bloggers have already done this. I’m working up my blogger follow list over here!

• BeautyByArielle
• Allison Anderson
• Jessica Jade
• Caffeine & Daydreams
• Confetti & Curves
• Tucker Up
• Glossy Blonde
• Will Work for Makeup
• Sparkles & Shoes
• Helene in Between

QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES

1. What’s the story behind starting your blog?
2. What is your guilty pleasure?
3. What is your best quality?
4. Favorite book?
5. What inspires you?
6. What is your ultimate life goal?
7. What’s the last show you binge watched?
8. If you had unlimited funds, where would you live?
9. What is one thing you spend way too much money on?
10. Favorite snack?

Looking forward to reading your responses should you choose to accept. 🙂

And thanks again, Brittany with Life in Lipstick and Stargirl!

Tarte Tartelette ‘In Bloom’ palette review & makeup look

I am a long-time fan of Tarte. I love that they use natural ingredients, their packaging choices, their seasonal launches, their branding… pretty much everything. I have a couple of their palettes already and have always been pleased.

They released the Tartelette ‘In Bloom’ palette a while back and I have been FIGHTING the urge to buy this. Mainly because I have waaaaayy too many neutral eye palettes, and my husband may kill me if I buy more. That was before Tarte had a sale, duh. And I am alive to tell you about it!

I snagged this beauty while Tarte was holding their Friends & Family Sale (30% off) and I am OH SO HAPPY that I did. She’s pretty, guys. And it smells like chocolate!  I thought that was a Too Faced thing but I’m not complaining. 

Here are some (bad) swatches by row:

I decided to play with it today and create this fun/dramatic/everyday eye look. I am all about that smoky and shimmery eye pretty much daily. Hey, if you are going to wear makeup, then wear the makeup, baby!

This palette’s pigmentation is ON POINT and it is incredibly buttery and wonderful in every single way. So happy to have this.

I used a few other fav products today, too. Keep on readin for how I got this look here:

 

Believe it or not, I started with my naked face. Yikes, not so cute.

I applied the following products to my face next before moving to the eyes:

• IT Cosmetics CC Cream in Light
• Nyx HD concealer in Fair
• Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
• Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer (new product and I am in love)
• MAC Peaches blush –  an oldie but a goodie for sure
• Nyx brow pomade gel in Blonde

Please excuse my hair. She cannot be tamed.

Now to the fun stuff… they eyes! Here are the products I used:

• Nars eye primer
• Tarte ‘In Bloom’ palette (swoooooon)
• Nyx matte black liquid liner
• Ardell Demi Wispies
• Duo clear lash glue
• Benefit roller lash
• MAC eyeliner in Fascinating (white, as a base for the inner corner highlight)

Get the look:

1. Apply Charmer to brow bone and to set primer all over lid. Also makes blending easier
2. Apply Sweetheart as transition color to the crease with a fluffy brush
3. Add Rebel to the crease under Sweetheart – love this shade!
4. Deepen the outer corner with Leader
5. Wet your brush with Fix+ and mix Firecracker and Funny Girl (both GORGEOUS colors) and apply to inner lid
6. Put white eyeliner pencil on the inner tearduct/corner and then top with Funny Girl – this makes it pop more, especially if you are pale like me
7. Deepen up the lash line and outer corner as needed with Activist (optional step)

Moment of silence for my beloved Peaches blush with a huge chunk missing… 

Hope you enjoyed this look. Do you have this palette? If not, are you going to buy it? I support you.

 

Working from home: pros & cons

I know what you’re thinking: How could there be ANY cons to working from home, in your PJs?

Well, allow me to elaborate.

I recently accepted a fabulous job that allows me to work from the comfort of my own home. The office is close-ish – two hours in traffic – so if I do need to go to the office, it’s totally doable. The job literally fell into my lap and was a no brainer to accept after all of the benefits had been laid out (one of them being working from home). Prior to this position, I had a traditional 9-5 desk job doing many of the same types of tasks I am now.

I have been working from home for a little over one month now, and I think I have a good handle on all of the pros and cons of this work from home gig.

Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we?

Pros

• I don’t have to wear pants. Or a bra!
• I don’t have to commute or waste money on gas and tolls.
• I can take breaks whenever I want to play with my dogs, go on random intense cleaning spurts, walk around outside for 10 minutes here and there, stare at the dirty dishes but not do them, etc.
• My laundry piles never overflow anymore.
• Once again, NO COMMUTE!
• I have a lot of freedom and am able to crank work out in half the time as I would if I were in an office.
• Flexibility for the win.
• My boss trusts me a lot more.
• Without the hours I wasted commuting, I have time for hobbies and crafts, such as this blog you’re reading right now. You’re welcome.
• I’m much more motivated to make plans on the weekends because I am now able to get some housework done during the week.
• I cook sometimes now. Weird.
• I eat healthier now since I’m not dining out or eating the doughnuts someone brought in. So tasty, though.

These are some damn good pros, if I do say so myself. The fact that I no longer am wasting over 10 hours a week sitting in traffic is oh so lovely, really.

However, I knew there would be cons. Nothing deal-break-worthy, of course, but still worth noting.

Cons

• No social time. Dogs don’t converse with me, sadly.
• Lack of communication between my coworkers/boss and me.
• I feel left out of a lot of projects/ not knowing what is going on.
• Getting stuck on phone calls on the regular.
• I barely ever leave the house. The entire week. Re: no pants or bra.
• I wait all day for my husband to come home so I can speak to adults (is this how stay-at-home moms feel?). I drive him nuts by constantly asking “When will you be home? Are you almost here?” …my bad
• It’s difficult to separate work time from non-work time.
• It’s so easy to get distracted by something to clean, someone to call, something happening outside, your beagle howling at nothing…
• I still don’t know most of the people in my office.

Conclusion

If you are fortunate enough to get offered a job working from home, I would recommend that you take it. The pros most definitely outweigh the cons. That being said, you need to have some serious self discipline to stay on task and get your work responsibilities done. Otherwise you won’t be working home for much longer. If you catch my drift.

If you are especially extroverted, working from home full-time may be tough. I am pretty much 50/50 introvert/extrovert, so it works well for me. It also pushes me to catch up with friends on the weekends because I crave that social time. Am I annoying them, too? Probably.

What are your thoughts on working from home? Would you do it? If you already do, what do you love/hate about it?

April 2016 Boxy Charm review

I gave into makeup peer pressure (shocker) and signed up for the monthly subscription service, Boxy Charm.

What is Boxy Charm?

Boxy Charm is a monthly beauty subscription box. It is $21/box and apparently the value of the box is usually greater than $100. If that’s really true, that’s awesome. I have watched several unboxing videos on the Tube (YouTube, that is), and UGH, I gave in. The products are also normally full-sized which is YES.

For April, there were five items in the box, totaling $106.90 in value, allegedly.

Here’s what it looks like:

I have nothing to say about the way the box comes other than I despise the little black paper strings in there because they leave a weird black dust on everything and it’s gross. 🙂

Item #1

Ofra Cosmetics Long Last Liquid Lipstick in ‘Pasadena’

Full size, $19.80

The card in the box said this was full size, but it’s not. Obviously – baby size. Stop lying, Boxy Charm. I see you! But other than that, I really like the color and formula, although I prefer regular lipstick over liquid lipstick. Just personal preference (and I have some dry ass lips).

Item #2

Anderson Lilley Manhattan Beach Hand Cream

Full size, $24.00

I am pretty much obsessed with this. IT SMELLS SO GOOD! And the consistency is fab. Happy with this item for sure!

Item #3

Blinc Cosmetics Black Lash Primer

Full size, $26.00

I have not tried this yet, but I am excited to! I have wanted to try out this brand but haven’t had a chance to. And my lashes are very sad little guys, so hopefully this will help them out. It also came in a cool metal tube (like a cigar) which was adorable.

Item #4

Your Minerals Sweden eye pigment in ‘Brown Hypnotic’

Full size, $21.00

This is a mineral eyeshadow/pigment. I like these kinds of products, especially if you wet your brush first. The color is nice – I’ll probably post an eye look using this at some point. 😉

(I could not get a good photo of the packaging, but it’s just a standard round plastic container)

Item #5

Pur-Lisse Lip Comfort

Full size, $16.00

I tried this when I got the box and it exploded all over my lips because it was boiling hot. HELLO, SUMMER!

So I can’t really give it a fair review yet… but the texture when it’s hot is unappealing. Super greasy. Hoping for better results when it’s a normal temp. As for the scent? Meh. I do like this brand a lot, though!

And that’s a wrap, folks. Overall, this box was more exciting than something like Ipsy or Birchbox, but I wasn’t a fan of how long it took to arrive. It came today and it’s April 18th… I feel like that is kind of late???

Other than that, it was ok! Hoping for some brighter, fun colors now that Summer is approaching.

 

See ya next time!

FINISHED DIY farmhouse bed

So, in part 1 of how to build a farmhouse bed, I talked about the process of how we built the bed and assembled it. We just had our new mattress delivered today and now the bedroom is finally put back together (mostly). Thankfully, because I was starting to freak the eff out about the mess. No surprise there.

Here are some finished photos after I threw my back out making the bed!

The bedding is from Wayfair. Pillows are a mixture of DIY and Wayfair as well.

Curtains are from Home Goods. They really brighten up the room and make it so cozy and clean feeling. I like white, can you tell?

W00, that’s bright. I can’t remember where we got the antiqued whitewashed nightstands… somewhere online… Maybe Wayfair? Overstock?

This is where the magic happens… to my face. The teal vanity is from a shop near us who restores and repurposes old furniture. It’s Duck Egg Blue by Annie Sloan, for reference.

The chair is from Home Goods, and the white drawers are from Michael’s (I store hair products and extra makeup in there). I love how the vanity color ties into the bedding.

Ignore the cords – I don’t really want to drill into the wall to hide them. Sue me.

I actually repainted an ugly old wood dresser a year or so ago and now it is white and beautiful. And my love for white furniture continues.

Not pictured are the master bathroom and closet because I thought I would spare you the eyesore.

We will also be replacing the carpet with artificial wood flooring sometime in the near future. But there are many more projects in the works before that, which you will soon see. 😉 MUAHAHA.

 

DIY closet dividers for baby clothes

If you are a mommy or know a mommy, you are aware that the tiny little (and oh so adorable) baby clothes can easily get mixed together and unorganized… which for my OCD mind is not ok. To avoid missing any crazy cute outfits before baby girl grows out of a certain size, I created these cute little closet dividers that I’ll be hanging in between the sizes. They were easy peasy. I got everything at Michael’s. Here’s what you’ll need…

• 7 wooden door hangers (found mine in the kid’s coloring section for $1 each)
• Glue
• Scrapbook paper
• A sharpie
• Some kind of ribbon if you’d like

I found a book of scrapbook paper in the center aisle with a ton of different patterns for only $5. Or you could buy some paper individually – whatever you prefer.

LOL at the images on these… But they were $1, so…

Cut two patterns from one sheet, glue onto the wood door hangers.

I let them dry, then I used a sharpie to write the sizes on them. I then tied some lace ribbon at the top. I did this so I could hang them in the closet so I could read them, versus seeing the wooden edges and not knowing what the heck size I’m in. But you could just cut a slit at the top of the hole and hang them in your closet sideways, too!

Easy and cute. 🙂

XO

 

MAC + Caitlyn Jenner lipstick win

Over the years, MAC has launched many different “Viva Glam” campaigns where they partner with popular celebrities to create awesome makeup collections – typically lip products. 100% of proceeds from these collections go to a good cause; typically MAC’s AIDS fund, which I think is awesome of them to do. Any company who gives 100% of their proceeds to any charity gets an A+ in my book.

I know, I know. Caitlyn Jenner. I can hear your sighs from here. But hear me out…
She worked with MAC on this shade, which is super neutral and beautiful which will allow so many women to wear this, and it’s for a great cause; the MAC AIDS Fund Transgender Initiative. This means she receives zero profit (neither does MAC), and raises awareness for the transgender community.

Anywho, back to the goods. I bought this lipstick, called Finally Free, whether I like Caitlyn or not. And I have to say… It’s real purty. It’s described by MAC as a midtone rosy nude and was created in my favorite MAC lipstick formula, Cremesheen. It smells delicious as well which is typical for MAC lipsticks. It is $17 and is exclusively sold on MAC’s website, not in stores.

Here are some casual photos of me wearing my new fave lippie in my car while I put off going into work.

Check this limited edition lipstick out for yourself – I bet you’ll like it. 🙂

Please excuse my resting bitch face. OMG I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I SUFFERED FROM THIS!!!!!

…and my blotchy chest. I am pale, ok? 

See ya next time!

 

Building a farmhouse bed from scratch

Click here to see the finished product post!

I am 23 weeks pregnant with our baby girl, meaning sleeping is becoming increasingly more uncomfortable to say the least.

Add in two dogs who insist on sleeping in bed with us (the beagle actually sleeps under the covers. Have mercy.), and there is no more room for a bigger belly and more pillows to support me.

Therefore, after lots of discussion, my husband and I decided to upgrade our queen to a king sized bed. We shopped around and did our research and we landed on a Sleep Number iLE, which was on super sale… although still overpriced. But, I digress.

The mattress gets delivered this week and we didn’t order a box spring, so we needed a bed ASAP!

We shopped around at four furniture store showrooms plus several online stores, and the prices for a king platform bed was just stupid after we just spent so much on a mattress.

My husband is super duper handy, and he offered (well, more like I begged) to build us a farmhouse bed based on my obsession with the Ana White online plans. We read through all of the comments and users’ submissions (there are a ton), learning different ways to tweak the plans. Afterwards we felt we were pretty prepared to tackle it. AKA he was pretty prepared to tackle it because I just did the painting and moral supporting. Just being honest.

Price

For reference, the beds we were looking at ranged from $800 for particle board beds, to $2,000+ for ‘solid wood’ beds. Of course there were a lot more expensive beds available, but not in our price range.

We purchased all of the materials for our bed for about $200. Quite a bit of savings AND it’s completely solid wood and made with love. Can’t beat it, people. The total time it took to build was about 15-20 hours.

We switched up the Ana White plans quite a bit because she built hers backwards – meaning she used the width as her length and vice versa.

Shopping list

For the headboard and footboard: 
5 – 1x8x8
2 – 4x4x8 posts
2 – 1x3x8
8 – 1x4x8
2 – 2x4x8
2 – 2x6x8

2 inch screws

3 inch screws

4 inch screws

Wood glue

Wood filler

120 grit sandpaper

Nail gun + nails (recommended)

Paint primer (we used white Zinsser primer)

Paint of your choice (we used a white semi-gloss)

Paint brush/ paint rollers

For the side rails:
2 – 2x10x8 (or however wide you’d like)

For the frame:
6 – 2×6 for joists
12 – Joist hangers
2 – 2″ plywood slabs

The building process

Please excuse my crappy iPhone photos and super messy & dirty basement/garage/bedroom. Haha!

But really, sorry. 

We pretty much followed the Ana White instructions or the headboard and footboard construction, size wise… but tweaked the width to our bed (again, she based her sizing on the bed laying sideways).

We used a nail gun and wood glue between pieces to make sure they will hold up well, but if you just use a drill or nails then you should be fine, too. It will just take a lot longer. We also used a huge saw to help cut all the boards to the correct length, so my husband breezed through the assembly of the head and footboard in about two hours or so.

Fill in any gaps or holes with wood filler and sand.

We then moved all the pieces to the garage and sanded the rough edges that we thought needed it.

Then it’s time to prime that sucker! Be smarter than I was… Use a roller. I painted everything with the primer using a brush and it took forever/broke my hand. I used a small roller for the paint and a brush for the tight spots and it turned out great. One coat of primer and two thin coats of paint worked perfectly for us!

We used a white semi-gloss paint because it really brightens up a space – I hate dark wood. But it would look pretty in many different finishes or colors!

I love that you can see the panels! Yay farmhouse-esque.

We thought about distressing the wood with a sanding block, but once we started it on the headboard I didn’t like the way it was looking. So we are leaving it as-is and I love it!

Assembly

This is the hard part… Not only are these pieces SUPER heavy, but it can be tedious. It took about three hours to assemble once we had all the pieces in our bedroom. We used joists and joist hangers so it can be disassembled and reassembled if we need to (dear God, I hope we won’t need to for a LOOOONGGG time).

The below photo is my husband attaching the side rails to the footboard. He used a ton of screws for this to make sure it was secure, but there was a bit of a gap between the top wood pile and the footboard, so we used some small pieces of wood for extra support. You’ll see in the photo 2 down…

^ See, support. He jammed those suckers in there with a hammer and then screwed them in. Careful not to use too long of screws so you won’t hurt your beautiful footboard!

We will be patching and painting all the huge screw holes that you can see in the coming days.

Then, attach to headboard. This took both of us to make sure it was aligned correctly and nice and tight.

You can leave it like this if you are using your own frame and boxspring if you want. If not, like us, you’ll need to add support and a platform for your mattress.

Attach all the joist hangers… like so… on both sides. Then, add the joists.

There shouldn’t be any holes on the outer panels from your joists. It should appear seamless on the outside.

Then you’ll need to add the platform! We used plywood, which was a little more expensive and heavy, but we wanted it to last… Cut it to the size as needed and screw a bazillion screws into the joists.

Ta-da!!!! You are done. Go get a glass of wine or five and celebrate.

Or, if you are pregnant, go take a nice sip of H2O…

I will post pretty, finished photos (with good lighting) of the bed & bedroom once our mattress arrives.

Good luck and I hope this helps you out. Again, for exact cutting sizes, refer to Ana White’s tutorial. Lay it all out on paper before you go shopping and start building so you don’t end up with the wrong sized bed!

If you’re willing to tackle this project, you’ll save a whole bunch of money and have a beautiful product at the end.

Here is an awkward photo of our queen-sized mattress on this huge bed…

See ya next time!