How I Wash My Makeup Brushes

When you have OCD like I do, you tend to think about a lot of things more often than you should. For instance, I have stick to my cleaning routine every week and this includes washing my makeup brushes. These dirty things touch our face every single day, and carry so much bacteria. I know, what a pleasant blog post. I hope you find it useful though because I recently changed up my bush washing regimen and love it so of course I'm here to share. 

What you'll need:

Dirty brushes
Olive Oil
Baby shampoo/dish soap or whatever you prefer
2 small bowls

What I do:

I mix about a tablespoon of olive oil in with about 5 tablespoons of baby shampoo into a bowl. The one I found on Pinterest said to mix equal parts of oil with soap, but I found that too much oil made it very hard to get rid of the oil and it made my makeup weird for a few days. So I use less.

I then fill up the second bowl with warm water.

I take a dirty brush and first run it under warm water and swirl around the first bowl with the soap/oil mixture. Swirl around the bottom of the bowl for about 15-20 seconds. I will then cup the palm of my hand and swirl it around the palm of my hand to get any deep makeup out of there, and then do the same thing in the second bowl of water. If the brush is still dirty, I dip back in the first bowl until clean. I'll then run the brush under warm water to get everything off and then gently press the excess water out and reshape the brush.

Once I'm done with all of the brushes I store them facing down overnight in a clean towel to let all of the water drip out of them. If you store upright it will deteriorate the glue in the handles of the brushes.

That's it! I like using the tiny bit of olive oil in with my baby shampoo because it really makes my brushes soft and gets them clean.

I also use this mixture for my beauty blender and as you can see, it gets it completely clean.

June |Beauty Box 5

This past week I went through my "product closet" which is basically all of my products that I am not using at the moment and gave away and trashed a ton of beauty products that I wasn't using or that were old. I did this just in time to get new products from Beauty Box 5! When it comes to beauty products I am a major hoarder, so I decided to purge and make room for new things that I want to use. 

I love my Beauty Box 5 because every month I get to look forward to adding to my collection and trying out new things. So I am here today to share my "Summer Chic" June box!

I also wanted to mention that Beauty Box 5 was so kind enough to give a promo code to receive a free introductory box as well! The code is FREE614 ~good until June 30th~

Organix Coconut Water Shampoo and Conditioner | Retail $7.99 13oz  I have been wanting to try out this shampoo/conditioner scent ever since I smelled these products in Ulta a couple months ago. I really love the Organix hair products and I am so excited that I received these!

Nicka K Nail Polish |$4.99 If anyone knows me; I am a nail polish addict and I love getting new nail polish. This color is so pretty and I love the formula of these polishes as well. Not sure the name of the color but it is a really nice lilac color. And the bottle is really unique!

Glam Natural Mascara |$28 .25oz This mascara is the perfect one to put in my bag to do touch ups throughout the day. I really like the thick brush on this mascara and that it doesn't irritate my eyes. 

Vita Bath Body Wash |$7.95 12oz This product smells like an actual cupcake, and while I am usually not partial to things that smell super sugary I know I can pass this product along to a friend. I love that this product/brand doesn't contain any sulfates or parabens. 

Eslor Introductory Collection Calming Kit | I have never heard of this brand, but I really enjoy learning about new brands and trying out new skincare. It came with several packets to try out of different skincare products. These products are also paraban free and I can't wait to try them out.

I love this months box because it focused on more natural and products without parabens or harmful chemicals. Those are the products that agree with my skin the most and I love that Beauty Box 5 supplied these new ones to try out!

Check out Beauty Box 5 website and try out a box! 

Disclaimer * These products were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own. *

Summer 2014 Goals

Happy halfway through the year! Originally this post was going to be my "June goals" but I had so many things I wanted to do/goals that I have for the entire summer that I really wanted to get them all out and in the open so I can start working on them. In order for me to make time for fun this summer I need to have a mini bucket list because in the midst of work, summer classes, and wedding planning I will need to make some time for fun. So here are some of my goals and things to do this summer! 

Goals:

1. Take nightly walks 

2. Find engagement outfits for Joe and I 

3. Decide flowers, DJ, Food situation for wedding

4. Pass my summer school class

5. Get new bedroom decor/furniture

6. Blog 3-5 times a week

7. Get financially organized and save, save, save.

8. Start DIY and home made decorations for wedding

9. Get back to using my planner diligently. 

Summer bucket list:

1. Go camping at least once

2. Have at least one bonfire with smores!

3. Take a mini beach trip

4. Watch fireworks and have a BBQ on the fourth of July

5. Read at least 4 books (not school related)

6. Plan date nights for every two weeks somewhere new each time

7. Get in a body of water this summer

8. Have at least somewhat of a tan - hopefully!

9. Go to our local farmers market

10. Get at least two shaved ices 

11. Go to our fair at the end of summer

12. See a country concert

13. Try some new summer recipes and drink recipes

What are some of your summer goals and bucket lists? 

I am linking up over at Travel-Babbles

March Favorites

Now that March is officially over I wanted to share some products, and other things I have been loving this month.

Not Your Mother's | Clean Freak Dry Shampoo - This dry shampoo is my hands down new favorite! No white residue, and great smell.

NYX Butter Gloss | Apple Strudel - Perfect creamy pink for spring, these are never sticky and have great color pay off.

Victoria's Secret Body Mist | Luscious Crush - Such a pretty floral and fruity smell.

Essie | Mint Candy Apple - All of March I would rely on this color when I couldn't decide what to paint my nails, and it never lets me down!

Benefit | They're Real Mascara - I think this will always be my top mascara, I always go back to it!

Rimmel | Scandal Eyes Eyeliner - I really love this eyeliner because it is creamy and stays on all day. It is definitely a vibrant black!

Forever 21 bracelets - F21 always has the cutest, dainty jewelry and I love these bracelets that I picked up last month.

Bath and Body Works | Tokyo Petals Candle - Oh my gosh, this is my favorite scent from BBW now. I picked up one for myself and one for my mom and we both are in love with this candle. I highly recommend smelling it next time your in a Bath and Body Works.

Our new bathroom decor is a favorite because these colors brightened up our small bathroom, and I am obsessed with the colors! Everything is from Target, of course.

Favorite Movie: Divergent! After seeing this movie I am even more motivated to read the entire series. I was never bored or wishing the movie was over, and that is highly unusual for me especially in a 2 1/2 hour movie! I loved the concept, and all of the actors were amazing especially Theo James...if ya know what I'm sayin. The soundtrack is great as well!

Those are some of my favorites for the month of March, what were some of yours?

Contro

I wish I could start out this post by saying that I'm a control freak in a cute way such as: "I have to have my closet color coordinated, or my shoes perfectly in a row"...(I mean, I do) but I realized some time ago that always needing to be in control is not a cute thing.

Let me start out with a not so nice story,

We have a couch, now mind you it was given to us when we moved into our apartment so we didn't have to worry about buying a couch for a while. It's not the cutest thing, but it was so nice of the person who gave it to us since we really cannot afford brand new couches at the moment. This couch has a slip cover over the top because the couch is a bit worn down. I have a daily fight with this couch cover every single day, I mean constantly. This thing just does not stay down perfectly like I would prefer it to, it's always ruffled up or coming out of the couch cushion. Every single morning before work, and every night after dinner I fix this thing. I mean I pull out the couch and rip the cover off and start from scratch. Sometimes I want to cry over how sad it is that this bothers me so badly. I do not want to feel this way over A SLIP COVER none the less...but I do.

 Joe does not feel the same way about the couch as I do, of course. One day after I spent at least 20 minutes perfecting this stupid thing, put the throw pillows just so on the couch he did something that made my blood boil. He SAT down on the couch... and I shot him the ugliest, dirtiest, glair and I could feel it. I think there was steam actually coming out of my ears. It was like he just personally offended me. He had no idea how long I worked on fixing the couch and had no idea that purely sitting on our living room couch would make me furious. How could he have known.  

I felt so embarrassed and sad for how mad I was, and that's when I realized that my control issue is not at all in anyway cute.

I have to pray for the help to not obsess over silly and minuscule things like this everyday.

Thankfully I have a fiancé who knows this about me, and thankfully understands and does try to help the best he can.

Trying to control your thoughts can be really hard, just this morning I resisted fixing up the couch before work and I know that it'll be okay. My new daily prayer will be to help me control my thoughts, because I do not need to feel controlled by a silly couch cover.

Joyce Meyer, you speak to my soul.

Anthropologie Giveaway!

Hi Lovely's!

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start; and if you're snowed in and having the winter blues, then you need something to brighten up your day!

Brittany and the girls on her sidebar have a giveaway for all of you, and I am so excited about this one! It is an Anthropologie gift card giveaway! If you don't know what Anthropologie is then check out their website, because they have everything! Especially the cutest mugs I've ever seen.

Go check out Brittany over at Happy is a Choice, she is truly the best host ever since I have been on her sidebar. She makes everyone feel special and hosts these amazing giveaways.







a Rafflecopter giveaway

My week, and my top 5 most used products recently.

Hey everyone!

Today I am here because I cannot focus on my homework for these classes and I feel like I am starting to neglect blogging. Nooooo I don't want to do this because I love it so much, so I will always make time. I tend to overextend myself when it comes to taking on new projects, or in my case taking a full load of child development classes on top of an almost 40 hour a week job. It makes for a tired and boring me.

 I am an organizational freak and cannot seem to get it together with these classes and it's driving me crazy. I have my cute little planner from target, yet I just cant seem to get into the grove yet. I guess since it's only the second week I better calm down. But if anyone has any tips, please feel free to leave them!

My 22nd birthday is on the 12th of February, yes two days before Valentines Day; don't worry I feel bad for my fiancé too. I usually have my birthday week planned out a month in advance, not this time. I feel like an old lady who has to work on her birthday and doesn't care anymore, but that's a lie though cause I really do care!! I just have no idea what I want to do for it, and going out of town isn't really an option this time around since work and school suck all the fun out of things.

Anyway, that's my boring dilemma for the week; on a very positive note we have started our bloggers online bible study with Brittany from Happy is a choice and she's pretty much the best and the sweetest person! So far I am absolutely loving the book we are reading, "A Modern Girl's Guide To Bible Study"  I got partnered up with such a sweet girl named Katie, and I am so happy we have become friends! Her blog is here. I hope that with this I can grow and learn a lot!

Now on to the top five things you wont catch me without using in my morning routine lately!

1. L'Oreal Magic Lumi Primer - I had been searching for a perfect primer for my face, I have super dry skin and staying matte is not a priority of mine. I love having a glow to my face and this is just the perfect product for that! You can also mix it with foundation as well, but I just put this on after moisturizer and before foundation and it makes my skin have a very pretty glow and not too shimmery.

2. Naked Palette - I received this palette for Christmas from my mom, and I have neglected every single other eye shadow I have because I cannot keep my hands off of it. Every morning when I do my eye makeup I look at my other sad eye shadow products, but I cant seem to get enough of it! Such pretty colors and very pigmented.

3. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk - This will always be a staple in my makeup collection because not only is it amazing as an eye shadow base, but it is the best to use on your bottom water line to make your eyes look awake and bright! It's also great to use in your inner corner.

4. Urban Decay b6 complexion prep spray - I feel like I have talked about this product so much lately, but I just love it. It has reduced the redness in my cheeks and has helped any small breakouts go away so fast! It's great for spraying during the day over your makeup as well!

5. CoverGirl Outlast 3-in-1 foundation - I have not even thought about purchasing another foundation in over six months because I am so happy with this one. It has a built in primer and concealer which I would agree, it stays on all day and it gives the perfect amount of coverage without ever looking flakey or dry.


Let me know how your week is going and what some of your favorite products are!

Christmas 2013

 

 

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and any other holidays you celebrate! I had a very great Christmas with my family, and I am very sad it is over. Now that the tree and decorations are put away and the new year approaches I get a little bit sad because I love the spirit of Christmas, I love the pretty lights, decorations, food, and special family time. I know those things should and are celebrated everyday but it's just something about the days that lead up to Christmas that are the best; they are days to remember what Christmas is truly about and to be grateful and thankful.

My family has a new tradition of having a Mexican food feast for Christmas dinner since we do the traditional turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. It was such amazing food!  This year the only thing I made was peppermint fudge for all of my co-workers and my family. It was delicious if I say so myself.

I thought I would share some pictures from the day as well as a few gifts I received, that I am so thankful for.

The girls of the family

 



Sisters

 

Since moving into our own place, I love getting new kitchen things and my mom got me everything I need to bake pretty much anything!

 

Along with the theme my sister got me a really cute cupcake calendar that has recipes each day.

 

My really good friend came to town and we exchanged gifts, she only got to stay for a short time but it was really great that we got to see each other on Christmas.

 

 

 

I received some really awesome beauty products that I am super excited about, including the original naked palate which is the one I wanted!

 

A really pretty necklace my mom got me.

 

  Pepper                                                                Bambino

 

I had to include pictures of the dogs!

 

We all watched We're the Millers that night, which is one of the funniest movies and ate pie!

 

Now it's back to life, and work before New Years Eve!

 

 

 

XO, Vivian

 

 



Radical Skincare - Instant Revitalizing Mask

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

I have been trying out the Radical Skincare - Instant Revitalizing Mask and absolutely love it!

Skincare products is something in my book that you should spend a little more time and money on because it is so important. A good skincare routine now will benefit you in the future so much! You can never start a good routine too young.

Here are some facts about the Radical Skincare line:



When I was given the opportunity to try out this line I was very excited, I researched their website which is SO informative, you all should go check it out! I found that the products are all paraben free which is amazing for people with sensitive skin.

I have been trying out the Instant Revitalizing Mask twice a week now. You apply this to clean, dry skin and keep it on for about 3-5 minutes before rinsing it off. You will feel small bubbles on your face disappearing (it's really cool). After rinsing the product off your skin literally feels so soft and amazing. They have a video you can watch on the product page showing how the product works!

My skin will tell me one day after using a product if it doesn't agree with it by breaking out, I have not had any breakouts whatsoever and my skin feels smooth and soft.

Where can you find it? The product can be found at http://www.radicalskincare.com/products or Barneys

What does it cost? $65.00

"The Instant Revitalizing Mask is the ideal coach for the skin: it delivers the nutrients necessary for hydration and regeneration while teaching it to breathe, stock up on energy and optimize its oxygen resources in rarefied conditions."

I absolutely love what the sisters Rachel and Liz are putting out there; empowering people and their skin!

I would never blog about a product that I didn't think was amazing, unless I state otherwise. I have actually been using this product, doing research on the product and really loving it!

The website has so much information including their mission and results of the products. I also see on the website that they offer free shipping and free samples which is always a bonus!


XO, Vivian


*Disclaimer- I was given this product for testing purposes only, all opinions are my own. *

Holiday Gift Guide #3 - For Her

Happy December everyone! I am so excited for the holidays, so I thought I would put together a mini gift guide; stocking stuffers - for her! Whether it be your friend, sister, mom, girlfriend etc. I think she will love these items! All of the links will be below as well where you can find these products. Stockings are a great way to spend a little less money but still get quite a few things within your budget. I hope you enjoy!

Victoria s Secret PINK body moisturizer
victoriassecret.com

Essie nail polish
$18 - harrods.com

Essie nail polish
beauty.com

Burt s Bees makeup
target.com

Victoria s Secret PINK panty
victoriassecret.com

Victoria's Secret socks
victoriassecret.com

Google Play $25 Gift Card
target.com

Box Of Chocolate Candles
arhaus.com




Xo, Vivian

Black Friday 2013

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the people you love! I know mine was great. With Thanksgiving comes probably the biggest shopping day of the entire year. Black Friday is something that I love participating in not only for the deals but for me it is really fun to go out with everyone for the experience also. I am super excited to say that I think this is my most successful Black Friday yet...I had somewhat of a list of things that I knew I wanted to pick up for sure and then something's were honestly impulse buys. So here is a breakdown of my night / morning!

I did go to Target on Thanksgiving night when they opened at 8pm, and honestly it did not interfere with my family plans whatsoever. We do everything in the morning and afternoon and my family really didn't mind us going that night when we were finished. We stood in line with our Starbucks for about 1.5 hours before the store opened and it was really fun we talked to a ton of people and made it a good time!

Target:

A new vacuum on sale for $25.00 I was way too excited for this, our vacuum recently just broke and this girl needs a vacuum!

Towels on sale for $2.00 each

Justin Bieber Christmas CD (don't judge me) on sale for $5.00

Black Riding boots on sale for $18.00 normally $40.00

Two pairs of gloves buy one get one free at $3.00 (my hands and feet are always freezing) and they're touchscreen compatible.

After Target, we went home and slept until 4:00am when we got up and went to the mall. The Victoria's Secret PINK didn't open until 6:00am so I first off went to Bath and Body Works..

I purchased:

2 Winter Candy Apple Wallflowers on sale for $5.00 for a two pack. Normally $12.50!

At Victoria's Secret / PINK I purchased:

A pair of yoga leggings on sale for $25.00

Two gift sets on sale 2 for $25.00

Two other gift sets each for $15.00

I also got a really cute free tote back with my purchase because I spent over $70.00 inside it also came with a sampler of their popular fragrances too!

I also got two secret reward cards that I cannot wait to use, I always hope for a high amount but I usually only get the 5 or 10 dollar ones!

I did some shopping online at American Eagle because they were having a killer deal and I love their jeans!

I bought my boyfriend several things from there online but cant say because he may read this!

Everything was 50% off and free shipping so I bought myself a pair of jeggings for $20.00 and they're normally $40.00 plus free shipping.

I plan on keeping my eye out on Monday for the Cyber Monday deals as well!

If you did shopping, let me know what you got and what stores will be having good Cyber Monday sales!!

Our Thanksgiving picture!

XO, Vivian

Holiday Gift Guide #1 - Beauty Junkie

Hi everyone!

I am so excited for the holiday season, because I love picking out the perfect gifts for the people I care about. I know that every person, no matter who you are knows someone or may be someone who is a beauty junkie. I know I am! So this post is for you! Whether you are searching for the perfect gift for a loved one, or you're looking for gifts to put on your wish list this year then you're in the right place!

I will be doing more holiday gift guides similar to this for guys, and other items besides just beauty products. I hope you enjoy, and lets get started!

1: Fragrance gift sets are something you can never go wrong with, unless you aren't quite sure of her personal favorite scent. This is the gift you really can't go wrong with. A fragrance sampler set is great because she can try out all of the different high end scents, and then for future reference you'll then know what her favorite was and what she would want for her birthday and anniversary! They have a ton of other fragrance sampler sets that are more or less expensive that will work with any budget!

 Fragrance Sampler For Her by Sephora - $65.00

2: Any bath or body gift sets are always loved in my book. I love getting new lotion's and new things to try out that smell amazing! There are a ton of these type of products out there but one of my favorite brands is Soap and Glory, their products make your skin feel so smooth and smell awesome! Sephora has a great beginners set.

Soap & Glory Beginner's Luxe Set by Sephora - $30.00


3: Makeup: Women of all ages will most likely want something makeup wise for the holidays that they normally wouldn't splurge on. Ulta.com has great makeup sets from all prices to help you in your search. My favorite that I am seeing at the moment is the Benefit gift sets!

Benefit Cosmetics - Little Love Potions    by Ulta.com - $36.00


4: Nail polish is a great gift because a girl can never have to much nail polish! Essie is my personal favorite brand because they always come out with different sets for the different seasons. They make great stocking stuffers as well as a sweet gift. I love each and every color from the winter 2013 collection and they have a mini gift set at Ulta!

Essie 2013 Winter Collection Cube  by Ulta.com - $17.00


5: This is something that is on my personal wish list for this year; Urban Decay Palette. I know that they are coming out with the brand new Naked 3 palette just in time for the holidays. I just know if you surprised a beauty junkie with that she would love you forever! Although it's not for sale just yet, it will be soon! I love that also on ulta.com they do free gifts with purchases like this so you'll always get free samples and something else special.

Urban Decay - Naked Palette  by ulta.com - $52.00


So I hope this is useful to anyone with a beauty lover in their life! More will be coming with the holiday gift guides!

xo, Vivian