June Birchbox

Hey guys!

So I'm subscribed to Birchbox. For those of you who don't know what that is, you pay 10 dollars a month for a box of about 5 sample sized products for you to try. The boxes are beautiful and the brands are really high quality, so its a really good way to try all kinds of different things and not spend a lot of money. And its a really nice way to treat yourself every month as well. :) When you sign up for the box, you indicate your skin tone, hair type, skin type, and what products you would enjoy most as well! Its a really great system. 

Anyway, I thought that I'd unbox my June box with you and show you the samples I got!

So first off, the packaging is amazing. These little boxes are gorgeous! I reuse them for makeup storage in my drawers after I use them, because they're just too pretty to throw away. 

This month I received five product samples and the cutest little mint headband! 

The Pure Vida is nice and mint green with tiny lace detailing and a Pure Vida charm. The company also donates some of their profits to various charities benefiting ocean conservation to children's education. They usually come in sets of eight with various color options!

Vasanti Brighten Up Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator 

 I have actually received this Vasanti cleanser before in another Birchbox, and I'm glad Ive gotten it again! It contains papaya enzymes which break down dead skin cells, microderm crystals which reduce the appearance of fine lines and acne scars, and aloe, vitamins E & B and coconut to nourish skin and prevent irritation. This is an excellent exfoliating wash because of how small the crystals are. Although, like many physical exfoliators (as opposed to chemical exfoliators) they can be rough on the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin. I can only use this wash occasionally. 

Tribe Dry Texturizing Spray

 The first thing I have to say about this product is that it smells GREAT. Im awful at describing smells, but it smells so rich and not flowery, which I very much appreciate. Im not a fan of flowery scents, I'm more of a deep scent kind of girl. This product is kind of a hybrid between a dry spray shampoo and a texturizer- it doesn't leave the white residue that a lot of dry shampoos do, but it also isnt quite as heavy as a texturizer. I carry this in my purse at work or when Im out and about on a busy day, to freshen up in this hot weather.

Harvey Prince Hello Body Cream

This product is also one that has a stand out scent. It smells like a really expensive perfume, but isn't perfumey. If that makes sense. Its again, a rather rich scent as opposed to flowery. Its also a really light cream and absorbs quickly into the skin, leaving moisture and its lovely scent behind. 

Coola Mineral Sunscream Natural BB Cream

Im always all about a BB cream with sunscreen during the summer months. This one is so nice! Of course, not much coverage because its a BB cream, but it does even out the skin tone somewhat as well as leaving it silky and protected from the sun! Great for a good skin day or a day in the hot sun. 

Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliner in Indigo

Wow is this eyeliner a beautiful color or what? The full size product is in a pack of 3 colors, on teal and the other a berry shade. Im glad I got this one- I think it will look great with my blue eyes. Ive also become really excited about wearing colored eyeliner now that Benefit has come out with their new colored Push Up liners and mascaras. This pencil is creamy and also doesn't contain perfumes and is hypoallergenic. I will say that a few layers may be required to achieve true opaqueness.

Thanks for reading guys!
XOXO

Peaches With Favorite

Hey guys!

I was off work yesterday (finally) so we decided to go pick some peaches to eat and bake with! Peach season is late June through early July, so it was the perfect time for it. There was a good mix of very ripe to almost ripe on the trees- you always want to get a variety so that you don't have to eat them all at once.  The orchard we went to also has strawberries (May) and apples (August-October). Were definitely going to go back to get some apples for autumn apple pies :) 

For those of you dating someone or thinking about asking someone on a date, I would highly recommend going and picking some produce! Its so fun and its one of those dates where its ok to talk a lot or not to talk at all. Thats always what I used to get nervous about on dates- "What are we going to talk about?!" And I always liked outside dates better than inside dates :) You can also extend it by eating the peaches afterwards!

We decided to utilize our peaches immediately and make some baked goodies. I was going to modify my favorite apple pie recipe for peaches, but they turned out to be way too squishy to make into a pie, so we opted for something I made up instead. World, welcome the Really Easy Peach Dumpling Tarts. 

I basically just took some crust we had made previously and chilled (ps the best crust ever- so flaky yet savory. Special post on that to come), cut it into little triangles, placed some peach slices on the bigger half of the triangle, sprinkled some sugar, cinnamon, and butter onto the peaches, and then rolled up the triangles like crescent rolls. Then we put them in a baking pan with more butter and baked them at 350 for about 30 minutes. They turned out DELICIOUS, especially with a little vanilla ice cream. But then again, I don't know how they could have not been delicious, honestly. They're basically just sugar and butter. You can't go wrong there. 

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Little Ulta Haul

Hey guys!
So, I went into Ulta with a purpose- I needed a concealer. Desperately. I was at the point where I was having to swirl the little applicator in the corners of the tube of concealer just to have enough to cover whatever spots I might have. So it was red alert. But of course, as it is whenever you enter an Ulta, you always come out with more than you bargained for. 



I picked up Urban Decay Afterglow blusher in the shade Fetish, Urban Decay pressed finishing powder in Naked Light, Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer in Fair/Neutral and Urban Decay super saturated high gloss lip color in Punch Drunk. As you can see, I went a little crazy at the Urban Decay counter.
Usually I don’t go for finishing powders as I really like my skin to remain quite dewey and I feel a lot of times, powders can leave my face feeling cakey and unnatural. Especially in the summer months, I like my face to feel as natural as possible- its just so much more comfortable. But ALSO during the summer months is when makeup tends to wear off the most- due to sweating, being outside more etc. But, I had heard a lot of good things about the Urban Decay finishing powders, which is why I picked it up. And this finishing powder is exactly what I was looking for. It goes on so smoothly and leaves your skin feeling smooth and silky, rather than chalky as some powders do. It also doesn’t lay heavily on the skin- it remains quite natural looking. And it makes your skin look flawless. It covered up my red splotchy patches on my cheeks as well as my under eye circles. It also has amazing staying  power- It literally lasted me all day without allowing my makeup to fade once. I love this product.



The afterglow blusher is also incredible. As you can see, the color is a matte coral-y shade and it makes my skin look super healthy. The color looks so pretty and natural and the application is great.
The concealer is very nice as well, but admittedly nothing to write home about. Its rather sheer, which would be great for good skin days if you want to just wear minimal makeup, but not so good for covering up troublesome spots. I will say that it sits on the skin very well and is very easy to apply. But I am still in the market for a concealer that will affectively cover up spots and under eye circles.Any suggestions would be highly appreciated! 



The little orange lippie is GORGEOUS. Ive been on the lookout for a bright orange shade for the summer season and I found it! It goes on so smoothly and is so highly pigmented. I also love high gloss for summer months as well. It doesn’t dry out your lips and isn’t sticky like a lot of high gloss lip products tend to be.
Well thats all for now!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO

Drugstore Haul

Hi guys!

So Ill just go ahead and say that Im a sucker for drug store sales. And Ill also say that I am absolutely ridiculous when it comes to lipsticks. If you couldn’t tell by my username. I need help. But I got this stuff anyway, and Im so excited to share these products with you guys! :)

I picked up Rimmel’s Match Perfection foundation in 101 Ivory, Rimmel’s Kate Moss Lipstick in the shade 107, Rimmel’s Show Off Lip Velvet lip gloss, a Rimmel lip liner in Ravish, two Rimmel Provocalips Kiss Proof Lip colors, one in Play with Fire an the other in Kiss Fatal. I also grabbed a Revlon creme lipstick in Persian Melon and a Wet n’ Wild Megaslicks balm stain in See If I Carrot!. (haha)

Ill just go ahead and say that I have absolutely loved this Rimmel foundation. It goes on so nicely and has great coverage. The finish is spectacular and velvety- not too dewey and not too matte. And it smells really nice. As weird as that sounds. It smells really fresh, which is surprisingly great. 

While I was at the Rimmel counter, I saw these Kiss Proof Lip Colors. At first I was like “no way”, how does that work? But they were pretty cheap, and I always want to wear lipstick, but I never can around Boyfriend because I can’t not kiss him, but I also don’t want to get my lipstick everywhere. So I thought Id give these a shot. And guess what guys? THEY WORK. THEY ACTUALLY WORK. When you put the initial pigmented side on, it looks like any other gloss, although slightly sticky. Then, after it sets a bit, you put the clear side on, which makes it a bit more matte, and let it set for a bit. And it won’t come off! You can even rub it slightly with your finger and it doesn’t smudge. This is great for kissing, but also if you’re like me and your lipstick ends up going everywhere throughout the day, a seriously no-smudge lipstick like this one would be great for you! Check it out!!

Let me know of any drugstore recommendations that you love!

Thanks for reading! 

XOXO

A Made Up Feminist

This has been something that Ive been thinking about for a long time now. Going back to my first post on this blog where I discuss why I got into beauty, I touch on this issue a little bit. But I wanted to go a little bit more in depth with my thoughts on this subject after a really inspiring talk I had the other day with Chummy. 

In the very beginning of the feminist movement, back in the 60s and 70s, feminists urged women not to participate in sexist customs, especially those that could allow men to take advantage of and objectify them. Make up was the most clear example at the forefront of this movement. And they had a point. After all, the make up industry was advertising to women that they were not good enough as they naturally are. "Buy our products and be beautiful", "Buy our products and be desirable to men", "Buy our products and be accepted" were not uncommon, but blatantly sexist, advertising narratives. Most delightfully, the people accruing wealth from the millions of dollars women spent on beauty products were, you guessed it, predominately male. Further widening the pay gap between sexes. This "woman tax" as we might call it today, forced women, in essence, to buy these products in order to be successful and secure in herself. This put women behind financially and in other ways as well- more time spent getting ready in the morning, more time taking off makeup in the evening. Even more time participating in things not directly make up related, but things that stem from the ideas perpetrated in make up advertisements- like shaving, plucking, applying scented lotion, etc. These rituals took hours out of a woman's free time, and if women didn't choose to participate in these feminine rituals, that is if they did not wear makeup, shave their arm pits, or pluck their eyebrows, they were ridiculed by society. They were less likely to be hired (they were already far less likely to be hired than men), less likely to advance, and less likely to succeed. All these things, in effect, took up women's valuable time, preoccupied them in these rituals, and kept them behind in the work place,  and widened the gap between men and women's earnings. 

The maddening thing is, that all these problems that existed back in the 60s and 70s still exist today. Women are still expected to participate in feminine rituals to some extent. Advertisements still objectify women and tell them they are not good enough on their own. There is still a sexist pay gap. Gender stereotypes are still strongly enforced in many places. So you may be wondering where I'm going with this, as a make up & beauty enthusiast who considers herself a feminist. Why would I want to participate (nay, vehemently participate) in something that has been so oppressive and harmful for people like me who identify as female for so many years? Ill tell you why. Because fuck that shit. 

Ill be the first to say that the struggles of women with oppression are in no way comparable to the struggles and oppression of any other group. Apples and oranges as far as the facts of the situations. However, I will say that I have noticed that many past and contemporary rebellions against oppression have one thing in common- they take some aspect of their oppression and reinvent it to represent their freedom. Feminists have done this with the word "bitch", a sexist put down used to describe virtually any woman in a leadership position. Bitch Media for example, is a feminist organization with a mission "to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media and popular culture." Taking an aspect of your opression and making it your own seems to be extremely helpful and empowering to those suffering form that oppression. It gives the oppressed control over something that was used to control them. It breaks down its initial meaning and  essentially says "this is who we are, this is where we were, and we can make progress from here." In effect, this act links people today to the struggles of their predecessors, giving them strength and hope for the future. 

To me, this is what make up and participation in beauty rituals is. Taking something that was oppressive, and turning it into something liberating. Taking something that fed on insecurities and turning it into an act of self love. These acts link me to the hundreds of women of my ancestry who participated in the same rituals every day, and also struggled with sexism. My grandmother was one of the strongest woman I knew, and every day I was with her, I watched her apply lipstick and curl her eyelashes. I also watched her do her job well, be kind to others, and take shit from no one. For me, makeup is a way of being proud of my feminine identity- being unashamedly and loudly a woman. Of course, some people will feel more liberated by not wearing makeup at all, which is absolutely valid. And of course makeup is not gendered- people who identify as male or any other place on the spectrum (or off the spectrum) can also use make up to feel strong, liberated and beautiful like I do. But the very foundation (pun intended) of the feminist movement- allowing equality and choice for women and everyone- makes both choosing to wear make up or choosing to not, a feminist choice. 

So for everyone who says "Why are you so insecure?","But thats so shallow!", "What are you trying to hide?", "Who are you doing this for?"... My answer is that I am not insecure, make up does not define me, it gives me strength. Taking pride in your appearance, with make up or not, is not shallow or vein. I am not hiding anything, I am practicing self love. And I'm doing this for me. 

Skincare Haul

Hey guys!

So Ive been having a lot problems with my skin lately. Ive been breaking out a lot around my T-Zone and the rest of my face has been incredibly dry. This might be considered combination skin, but a lot of times, what can present as combination skin or even oily skin can actually just be dry skin attempting to compensate by over producing oils in certain areas. So maintaining moisture in your skin and avoiding products that strip oil from your skin is really important so that your skin doesn't have to over compensate. So even if you have combination skin or even slightly oily skin, you may want to investigate some good moisturizers, even though that might seem counterintuitive. Opt for quality moisturizers over things like face washes (although if you can, opt for quality those too) because they spend more time on your skin than most anything else does- therefore they have more of a chance to do either harm or good. 

So I did some research, and the drugstore brand No7 really jumped out at me as far as quality and price. So I decided to give their line a shot. Ill let you know how they work out. 

I picked up the No7 Beautiful Skin Refreshing Toner and the No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Dry skin and Night Cream for Normal/Oily skin. A toner is important to further cleans your skin after your normal cleanser- it removes the small amounts of makeup and cleanser left on your face. Toner also corrects the PH levels of your skin, which can be changed by using certain cleansers and makeup. Maintaining a normal PH is important to healthy skin. 

These moisturizes feel really great on the skin. They don't feel heavy and they absorb into the skin really quickly. I have high hopes for these products! 

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Summer Everyday Makeup

Hey guys!

So this is one of my favorite every day makeup looks, and I just thought I’d share it with you! Ive been really loving a coral/orange lip for the summer and spring, and I think that a shimmery gold eye is perfect with it. 

For this look I used NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Siberia, Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer, Hoola Bronzer for contour, NYX Born to Glow liquid illuminator for highlighter, MAC eyebrow powder and Gimme Brow in Light/Medium, Urban Decay powder in Naked Light, and Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr eye cream in Barely Branded. For my lips I used Rimmel’s Colour Push lippie in Lady Marmalade. 

Thanks for reading! 

XOXO

Plants & Pots!

Hey Guys! 

Finally got around to going to Savers to get some big boy pots for my little plant babies! Transferred my sage into this gorgeous copper pot that was only 2$!! 

 I got some pretty tiny pots for my little succulents as well. I got this pretty white one with little flowers on. As well as a kind of geometric clear glass one. This one is really cool because you can see the cool roots of the spiky succulent plant. Plus I put little rocks at the bottom, so thats pretty as well.

All done! Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Sephora/Drugstore Haul

Hey guys! 

Hit up Sephora with Chummy the other day in pursuit of a great brush cleaner because soap and warm water just wasn’t cutting it for brush cleaning. Cleaning your make up brushes is SO important- and not just for aesthetic reasons like the look and feel of your brushes. Clean brushes last longer so that you save money in the long run. Clean brushes also don't spread bacteria all over your face. If you use dirty brushes, bacteria from pimples or just your skin in general, accumulate and reproduce on the brush. So basically you're spreading bacteria with your makeup all over your face, which can cause more blemishes and unhealthy skin in general. So clean your brushes. Anyway... 

I picked up this BlenderClenser Solid cleanser. This stuff is GREAT. It cleans out even makeup thats deep in the brush and it conditions the brushes so well. My brushes came out SO clean and SO soft. It comes in this little tin and you basically wet the brush and the solid soap, rub it around, and ALL the makeup comes off- its magical. Thats pretty much all that I can say about a brush cleanser. But 10/10 would recommend.

In the drugstore, I picked up a couple of the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hour cream eyeshadows. I got the shades Bold Gold (the darker) and Barely Branded (the lighter) These eyeshadows are GORGEOUS. They look so beautiful on the eyes and they’re so shiny. They’re also quite buildable- you can apply it lightly and get a really subtle glimmer or apply it with a heavier hand and really get that foil metallic shine. These gold colors look really great with blue eyes as well!

Last, but not least, I picked up these two lip products. The Rimmel London’s Colour Rush Color Balm in Lady Marmalade, and the Rimmel London Kate Moss Lipstick in 104. The color balm is a really great, creamy coral orange. It has great staying powder as well. The Kate Moss lipstick is a pretty pinky nude. I always love the Kate Moss lipsticks- the formula is just great and moisturizing with really deep pigmentation.

Well thats it for today!

Thanks for reading guys!

XOXO

Apricot Lemon Rosemary Chicken & Pimm’s

When Chummy and I get together, we always seem to end up cooking something. And it always ends up being great food. This warm summer evening we explored the unchartered territory... of chicken thighs. 

We combined apricot jam, a little fresh lemon, and some peppercorn for marinating. We pretty much just mixed them to taste. after we spread the marinade on the thighs, we inserted a sprig of rosemary between the skin of the chicken and the meat, to keep it in place & to flavor it  while it was cooking. After the chicken was grilled, the rosemary was removed for serving. This delicious dish combined with some garlic & tomato couscous made for a light but savory & delicious dinner, perfect for a summer evening. 10/10 highly recommend. 

Another perfect element of a summer evening is a glass of Pimm’s. For those of you- like me- who have never heard of Pimm’s before, Pimm’s is a popular fruit drink or liqueur in England. You typically combine the liqueur with “English Style” (clear & carbonated) lemonade, which is often substituted with ginger ale (which we did). Then fruit is added to the mix- we used strawberries, oranges, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, although any fruit will do. A sprig of mint is often used as a garnish. All these ingredients come together to form a delicious, refreshing drink perfect for summer festivities.

XOXO

Sephora Haul

Hey guys!

Recently, I was introduced to Benefit Cosmetics because I won a contest they were hosting with Birchbox on Instagram. I believe it was called the Benefit Cosmetics x Birchbox Beauty Bash during the first National Wing Women Weekend. Anyway, they sent me a HUGE box of really fun makeup samples that included full sized products for me and smaller sample sized for five of my friends. These samples included They're Real mascara, They're Real push up liner, and Gimme Brow brow volumizing fiber gel. I instantly fell in love with all of these products. 

Here's a picture I took of one of the bags of goodies from the  Benefit x Birchbox Beauty Bash 

All this to say that I really enjoy Benefit products. Which is why I decided to try a new benefit product as well as go for an old favorite on my most recent trip to Sephora. I picked up Benifit's Roller Lash mascara, another Gimme Brow, and also a NARS foundation. 

NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium, Benefit Roller Lash mascara.

I really loved my Benefit They're Real mascara, and Ive heard raving reviews on the Roller Lash mascara from all over the place, so I decided to try it. And. I. LOVE IT. seriously. I didn't think that I could be so passionate about a mascara, but this one does wonders for my eyelashes. Usually I don't really enjoy big applicators/shorter bristles, which this one has. But somehow this wand is so easily handled and maneuvered, and the bristles manage to catch every single eyelash! My lashes look thicker AND longer, two things that are sometimes hard to find together. I also have quite blonde eyelashes, so getting down to the very base of the lash is important for me. And this mascara does that so well. This mascara also does the job with only one application- quite often I layer mascaras that do different things, like one that thickens, one that lengthens etc. But this one does it all in one go! Anyway, Ill stop raving about mascara. haha

I also picked up Gimme Brow in Light/Medium which is great for anyone with blonde to light brown hair. This product is similar to a lot of other colored gels that I've tried, but its a lot thicker and stays on my brows much longer. Its also quite pigmented, so you could wear it on top of a brow powder that you've applied or just by itself if you want a more natural look. It serves to hold your brows in place as well as color them in a little bit. It does have a tendency to be a bit globby when applied, but if you just kind of wipe of the brush applicator a bit on the side of the bottle before you put it on, it takes care of that. 

I also grabbed some NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Siberia (the very lightest shade). Im very finicky about foundations as my skin is very hard to please. Im very (VERY) fair, so a foundation has to be light enough so that I don't look like my face is made of terra-cotta, but also has dimension so that it doesn't completely wash me out. I usually don't have very many blemishes at all, which I'm very grateful about. But I do have constant patchy redness on my cheeks thats rather hard to even out. So any foundation I use will have to have great coverage without sitting too heavily on the skin- because with lighter skin, heavy foundation is even more noticeable. And this foundation is IT. The words "sheer glow" really jumped out at me as the ideal description of the foundation I was looking for. And it absolutely didn't disappoint. Great coverage (and its quite buildable as well) while still allowing my face to breathe and look natural. The finish is quite dewey, which I love. The only thing I would change about this foundation is the packaging- I wish that it had a pump instead of just an open bottle- its always so hard to get the last of the product out without a pump. Ive heard that they do make those, but I didn't see them for sale at my local Sephora. 

Anyway, Ive gone on long enough! Until next time!

XOXO

Its me!

Hi Guys! 

So for my first post, I just thought that I'd introduce myself a little and let you guys know a little bit more about me and where my interest in make up and beauty has come from. Im from Arkansas and I go to college in the state as well. My passions include farming, tiny houses, candles, feminism, plants and of course lipstick. Ive only recently gotten really into makeup and beauty, so I am in no way an expert or authority on these subjects. Im just a girl who loves playing around with make up, hair, and other beauty activities. Im still learning a lot every day, as I'm sure most of us are and Im excited to begin sharing my explorations with you guys! 

When I say Ive gotten more into makeup and beauty recently, I mean more that I've just recently become more comfortable about being interested in these things. I grew up a major "tomboy", or rather, I didn't fit a lot of feminine stereotypes for little girls. I didn't like princess movies, I didn't like frilly pink things, I liked playing outside more than I liked painting my nails. These preferences eventually resulted in my identity as a "tomboy", which then in turn limited my access to "girly stuff" as I grew up. Since I didn't like these things as a child, it was a big deal to my family and friends if I started liking them as I got older, and that was embarrassing. So I just didn't partake, even though I wanted to. 

I believe that, as a child, I rejected "girly stuff" because a lot of it was associated with female characters that I didn't look up to. Most Disney princesses for example, are not strong characters or good leaders, fierce fighters, or even that interesting if were honest. "Girly activities" included sitting around having tea parties, not getting dirty, and only doing proper things. Girls weren't meant to be smart, just pretty and pleasing. I so wasn't into that. And I'm still not, honestly. But what changed for me happened around when I went to college. Meeting so many strong women, beautiful women, smart women, talented women- and really coming into my identity as a feminist allowed me, for once it seemed like, to be proud that I was a woman. 

I realized that productivity, strength and smarts were not opposite of femininity, as they had been presented to me. Strong character and beauty are not mutually exclusive; in fact, I started to associate one with the other. I now could exist in a world where applying make up, doing my hair, and dressing in a way that I found pleasing was not shallow, but an act of self love and appreciation. Applying make up was no longer what I thought it was- it was not hiding, but coming out of my shell. It was not for men or anyone else, it was for me- although looking hot to other people is certainly a compliment I'll accept. 

So now, I can work on a farm and be covered in dirt without a stitch of makeup on -- or, I can be dressed to the nines with red lipstick or a smokey eye, and still feel empowered, feel feminine, feel like myself doing either. 

Im excited to share a few things that Ive been loving with you guys and see what you have to say! 

XOXO-