July Favorites (Beauty)

July is sadly coming to an end. Am I the only one who felt that this month flew by? Anyway, there are many beauty items that I have been loving this month, but I have narrowed down my summer essentials for this post. I would also like to say, because I know some people are quick to assume, that I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies, I am just simply giving my opinion of these products. 

My first favorite is something that I know I am a little behind on seeing as they've been popular for some time now. But nevertheless, I'm glad that I finally tried it because I really like it.  It is the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. I did my research before buying a BB cream and this was the one that seemed to suit my skin. (the price was good too) The coverage is great. I got the shade Light/Medium and it blends so that it is unnoticeable and natural. The one downside to this product though is that I did not find that it kept me from getting a "shiny nose". I have an oily t-zone so if I am going out I will apply powder just to set it. It also has SPF 30 so your skin is protected. Overall I really like this product. The coverage is good and it blends well, it also protects your skin, giving it a smooth and clear appearance. 

My next favorite product is not necessarily new, but I have fallen in love with it again. It is the L'ORÉAL Paris Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner. I LOVE this liquid eyeliner. It stays in place all day no matter what conditions you are in. I have applied it in the morning, been outside all day, come in and it has not smudged or faded at all. I even wore it recently in the pouring rain, came home and it looked the exact same! AMAZING! I use the shade J400 Carbon Black. It also makes the lovely sound when you shake it:) Mine is a bit different because it is older and has sponge tip as opposed to the new version which has a brush tip. I personally like the sponge because it allows me to create a thin or thick line and stays steady. I love this liquid eyeliner!!

Now onto lips! I have three favorite lip products, so I will keep my descriptions short:)

First is the Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 by Fresh. If I'm laying out or going to the beach I apply this and it keeps my lips from getting dry or chapped. I love how smoothly it applies and the smell is quite nice too. It does not have a color which I don't mind because I find my lips get some color when I'm out in the sun. I just keep it in my beach bag and glide it on while laying out. 

Next is the Maybelline Baby Lips. I think these are great! They give color and are moisturizing. I find that some lip balms are sticky or last for two seconds and then are gone. This lasts long and is so smooth. I definitely pop my lips a few too many times after applying it:) My current favorite shade is Coral Crush it is not as orangey (not sure if thats a word) as it appears, it is a very nice shade. 

Finally for the lips is the Sephora Lovely lips lip balm duo. I got this on sale and have checked and it is no longer available on the Sephora website. I have seen some on amazon or eBay if you wanted to get it. As the title says it is a pack of two lip balms. The shades are Saumon Salmon pink and Rose clair Light pink. The colors are both very nice and light. Rose clair has a shimmer to it and Saumon is more matte but both leave your lips looking moisturized. I think they are just two really sweet shades.

The final of my July beauty favorites are three nail polishes. 

The first is by OPI in the shade Strawberry Margarita. Because it is a bit darker, it is not streaky and will cover in two coats. I just think its a pretty pink!

This next color I bought in a burst of wanting to try something different. I had seen pictures on Instagram of yellow nail polishes and liked it but was unsure if I should try it. One day I was out and thought why not, it's summer and a perfect time to try this color. I got the Maybelline Color Show in the shade 230 FIERCE N TANGY. I really liked it! Again I applied two coats and it covered well. 

The last nail polish I have been loving is the Revlon 680 Revlon Red. I don't think you can ever go wrong with a classic red nail. It's not too dark or too bright and is not streaky after two coats!

Thank you for taking a look at my July beauty favorites! Let me know if you have used these products too and what you think of them or what your July beauty favorites are. Also, if you have a July beauty favorites post, leave the link in the comments! I'd love to read it!

Simple pin-board DIY

This past month I have been making an effort to spend less money and make use of the things that I have by turning them into what I want or need. (My bank account is thanking me for this) I have had this 12" by 12" picture frame left over from a collage that a person whom I am no longer friends with (that sounds way more dramatic than it is) had made for me, of course I got rid of the pictures but was left with a nice frame, unsure of how best to use it. I had also been wanting to get a nice bulletin board, so I thought why not turn the frame into one. 

I was quite pleased with how it came out.

To make this you will need:

-one 12"x12" picture frame

-four 6"x6" cork tiles

-a form of adhesive (hot glue, double sided tape, etc.) (the cork tiles came with double sided adhesives)

-push pins

Here are the steps I used to make the cork board:

1. Measure the frame's depth to make sure that thet cork is thin enough to put the back of the frame onto. 

2. Take the back of the frame off and check that the tiles will fit onto it. If they do not trim them accordingly. 

3. Adhere the tiles to the back of the frame.

4. Place the back onto the frame and secure the metal clips 

5. Voilà! You've got a board ready to be filled with inspiration, photos, reminders, or anything in between.

Baby Bliss

Recently I co-hosted a baby shower for an expecting family member. When the opportunity presented itself to help host the shower, I was more than willing to! I love planning parties and organizing everything to create a beautiful day. We asked the mommy-to-be for pics of her nursery to see if there was a theme we could use. Her nursery colors were a lime green and purple (she is having a girl) so we decided to set base everything around those shades. We knew we wanted to keep things quite classy and not super "Baby" or "It's a girl" since the nursery is not like that at all. This shower turned out to be very DIY which is the main reason I'm posting about it. I went online and of course went straight to blogs for inspiration! 

The first thing that caught my eye was a mommy-to-be sign hung on the back of her chair.

We cut card stock into three circles and wrote the words in a purple sharpie similar to her nursery color, then we matched a green ribbon and hot glued the circles to it. We tied it around the chair and finished it off with a nice bow.

The place card holders were my favorite item in the place settings. We had seen these online as a Mother's Day idea but thought that they would be perfect for the shower. They are alright if you only need a few but are not as fun TWENTY FLOWER POTS later. The finished product was adorable though so it was worth it:) 

All in all the shower was a success and the mommy-to-be was pleased with it which is all that matters!

If you have any questions or would like to know specific for anything please let me know in the comments:)

Why start a blog?

Should I start a blog? Why should I start a blog? Who would read it if I did? Is it difficult to run one? These are some of the many questions that I have been going back and forth with in my mind and finally I have put an end to them! I have decided to just go for it and start a blog, take a plunge off the deep end into the wonderful world of blogging. I became really interested in blogs about a year ago (I will link some of my favorites below). I love looking at them whether it be a blog that is mainly pictures and fashion or one that has inspirational and quite deep and thoughtful posts, I even like reading posts about the everyday lives of people (not in a creepy way of course). For this blog I am hoping to have a bit of what I just described to you, fashion and makeup related posts, inspirational thoughts, as well as DIYs and sometimes just whatever is on my mind or happening in my life. I plan to go with the flow and see where this lovely page takes me. So if any of the things I just described to you are intriguing, please do follow! I am defiantly open to thoughts, if you have any suggestions or tips please do let me know in the comments! I am quite excited to be starting this and want to make it the best it can be:) Let the games begin!

My favorite blogs:
http://www.zoella.co.uk/

http://sprinkleofglitter.blogspot.com/

http://www.burkatron.com/

http://blog.hellomagazine.com/unahealy/

http://www.asos.com/us/blogs?WT.ac=ASOS_grpnav_US

http://weworewhat.com/

http://thebeautydepartment.com/