Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ramblings

so....I exercise. I watch what I eat (most days) but I love my wine and beer. I have a good amount of tolerance, and especially since my trip to Spain (which was wine/beer fueled from 10am) I have found it harder and harder to lose weight. Now call me vain, but I won't see my fiance for the entirety of October, and our aniversary is at the end of the month...and I want to show up at our mutual (weekend) event looking banging (semi....kinda...sorta). I want to fit into a dress I own and feel good in it...mainly...this blog being a beauty blog...I want to be healthy.  Now with 21 credits, student teaching twice a week and working 16-20 hours a week and maintaining Honor's level status is crazy busy. But for the month of October...I will give up alcohol beverages and make sure I go to the gym at least 3 times a week. My only exception will be on my father's birthday which we are going to a very fancy restaurant that makes my favorite cocktail properly. But I want to get through 31 days of no drink...which I would safely say is my biggest barrier to losing weight.

Why is this so hard for me? My friends and I commonly meet at the local bars, which when we present our school ID's...we get discounts (I'm 22 mind you) and being me...I drink a good amount (not drunk...high tolerance woot!) but still. This isn't the best option to lose weight. I tried finding my favorite European beers and had a heart attack. SOOO...with the fiance being a part of organization that have many holiday parties...I want to also FEEL pretty. I'm not saying skinny...but pretty. I can't look in the mirror without a critique and high heels only do so much.

So here is my official no drink (other than one night being my father's bday) October. I want to lose 5 pounds by Novembre 8th...which doesn't seem like a lot, but my current medical condition isn't really nice to me so that means A LOT of work. Are you gonna join me? How much do you want to lose?

Best of Luck
Emily

Monday, September 24, 2012

More Product Empties!

Hi all,
   Well I've been MIA for a while, and just honestly I wasn't inspired enough to blog about some things.  With school starting up I've been on non-stop writing mode, and that took away from the joy of blogging.  But yet, I am back, and with more products that I have finished! I'm on such a roll, and a lot of these products were taking forever to finish out! The bottom of this post will have my running total of products and HOLY CRAP I hit a big milestone!

My snazzy basket that is holding all the stuff I finished this round!

Back to Front: Garnier Fructis, L'Oreal EverSleek, Essence of Beauty, B&BW Mist, Daisy, AHAVA, VMV Hypoallergenics



Garnier Fructis Body Boost Shampoo: I'd like to mention that all GF products smell so darn good! This was for fine or flat hair (both of which I have) and really did leave my hair feeling amazing. In general, I haven't met a GF shampoo or conditioner that's done me wrong.

L'Oreal EverSleek Reparative Conditioner: After being in Spain for two weeks and using horrible hair products that left my hair feeling like straw, I wasn't sure if I'd have my hair back to decent condition. But amazingly this product worked.  While I can't say my hair feels salon-just-got-a-haircut-new, it does look much healthier.  It didn't weigh my hair down either. Snaps for EverSleek!

Essence of Beauty Sweet Pea Body Lotion: So random back story that kinda relates to this product...I got this when everyone who was anyone LOVED sweet pea scents.  Like no one would dare say that they didn't own a sweet pea fragrance.  Fast forward a few years, and I'm finally using up those older products.  I now can say...I DISLIKE sweet pea.  This brand though had a more mild version of the "sweet pea" scent.  It didn't leave my skin feeling very moisturized hence why I won't be purchasing it again.

B&BW Signature Vanillas Lemon Fragrance Mist: So I've come to realize that I don't like the B&BW fragrance mists. I'm more of a perfume girl, so this pretty much became a room mist/ sheet mist which for the price is not worth it.  I can pick up better room sprays and sheet mists for fractions of the price.  Although the scent is awesome and summery, it's not something I wore even down to the beach. :/

Marc Jacobs Daisy Luminous Body Lotion: I got this as a part of a gift set a few Christmas's back and I finally got around to using it.  As with other perfume set lotions I find that it is great for the actual scent, but has a lot of alcohol so it doesn't moisturize at all.

AHAVA foot cream: This was really great for my heels and felt so nice. I left a good amount of lotion on and put on socks and watched tv!

VMV Hypoallergenics Re-Everything Lotion: This sample from Birchbox lasted me about 2 months! TWO MONTHS!!! It's a glycollic lotion and I opted to only use it on my face because it was just too thick to be a full body product.  I did not break out with this product *yay*.

L-R: Juicy Couture, Harvey Prince, Serge Lutons, Pacifica
Viva La Juicy Perfume Sample: I hated the way I smelled. I dislike smelling like candy or some random mix of sweet things. This was sweet overload. Good that I tried it, so I can very easily say NO!

Harvey Prince Eau Flirt: I love this scent. It is a warmish scent that is still crisp...a very fall scent without actually smelling like cinnamon.  I'd love to purchase this...but just as long as it's not online.  I don't know where I can purchase in person *sad face*

L'eau Serge Luton: This was a scent that was very crisp...almost masculine but with a hint of feminine. It didn't have musk or anything like that but it was very clean smelling. I won't purchase cause this baby is over 100 bucks *yeouch!*

Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom: I love this product. It's a solid perfume made from organic beeswax and reminded me of a mix of Hawaii and Lemons. (not sweet lemon) I had this for several years (4ish) but a little on the cuticles or hands etc makes you perk up!

L-R: Blinc, Burt's Bees, Jordana, BareMinerals, Jordana, Sonia Kashuk

Blinc Mascara: I got this in a Birchbox...and if anyone ever gets this I will tell them what I should have done...CHUCK IT NOW!!! I hated this product and it did nothing for my lashes.  It would actually cause my lashes to straighten out. To take it off was even worse, I had clumps of lashes come off. Overall, you couldn't get me to use this ever again.To make things better, it would get so "glued" shut I had to use two pliers to open the product towards the end!!

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm: My holy grail lip balm. This is just amazing and also lasts a fair amount of time!

Jordana Easy Shine Lip Gloss in 02 Babe: I don't see this on the website anymore, but I got this at Walgreens. In the tube it's a grey-beige base with pink shimmers in it. I am so in love with this though! It makes my lips a perfect nude shade, but the tiny shimmers adds dimension to my lips.  If you see this color, pick it up...I don't think you'd regret it.

BareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in Black: I don't normally fall in love with high end mascaras, and frankly always felt that they were just over-rated. But this mascara was amazing! If I wanted a high end mascara, this would be my pick because right from the start the formula is amazing!

Jordana Easy Shine Glossy Lip Color in 07 Watermelon Juice: I've reviewed this product before, but I really liked this product.  I'll probably pick up another one of these once I get through a few more glosses or lip colors. I love finding cheap options that still work well, much like this color!

Sonia Kashuk Metallic Brown Eye Liner: This took a dang long time to finish, but it was worth it to the end. I could not ask for a better brown liner. It was creamy, but not too creamy and soft. It was pigmented and did not smudge all over my face.

L-R: B&BW, OLAY, Daisy, B&BW
Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea Bubble Bath: This goes along with my sweet pea comment earlier. I used this actually as a body wash because it had the same ingredients and I rarely take bubble baths.  This version of sweet pea was sickly sweet, and I just don't like the fragrance.

OLAY Cleansing Cloths (7 individually wrapped cloths): I took this on my trip to Spain, and while these were nice, I just didn't catch onto them. I guess I'm more of a person who likes to actually take off makeup with cleansers, not cloths. I might repurchase them....or try baby wipes.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Bubbly Shower Gel: Again, I love the scent but the product itself it just not amazing.  It went quickly and was not "bubbly" at all. I won't purchase but if it comes in a gift set...I'll still use it and enjoy it.

Bath & Body Works Signature Vanillas Lemon Body Wash: I love the scent of this as a body wash. If ya'll are confused it's ok. I like my body washes to perk me up, but what I like in a body wash isn't the same fragrance that I want via perfume or mist. If it's still available I will repurchase!

L-R: B&BW, Crest, Bio-True, Sally Hansen, NYC, No-Brand

Bath & Body Works Blushing Mimosa Hand Soap: I bought this on a whim about a year back and I don't regret it. This doesn't smell like the drink mimosa...but fresh and still sweet, but floral. I'd buy it again and again.

Crest Sensitivity Clinical Toothpaste: Now I didn't notice any less sensitivity or particular whitening, but hey it's a toothpaste and it's used up. My dentist will be happy! (lol)

Bio-True Contact Solution: A sample I got from my eye doctor. I didn't notice anything amazing with it. I feel like my cheaper options work just as well. I mean...have you ever heard someone get excited about contact solution!?

Sally Hansen  Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in 38 Flirt: Such a pretty color! A deep burgundy with red shimmers. But this one still has a WHITE cap aka very old.

NYC Color 115A: I saw this color as a trend for this fall, ran over to check my nail polishes, and then found out that it was all dried out! I guess that happens when you have a big nail polish collection. From my memory it is a rather opaque polish.

No- Brand Top Coat: This was fast drying but just okay on actually keeping the polish from chipping.

So how many products have I finished!?
Lotions/ Fragrance/  Hair:  31 + 11 = 42
Makeup: 11 + 6= 17
Candles/ Scents: 6 + 0 =6
Cleansers/ Body Wash: 21 + 4 =25
Randoms: 13 + 6 =19

Grand Total: 109 Products!!! Yep I finished that much! I will continue this project till January...let's see how many products that is!!!

How's your project going?
xoxo,
 Emily