January Ipsy Review

This month’s theme is “A True Star Will Always Shine” the super star items are a Soho makeup brush which I got the concealer brush, Josie Maran Argan Oil, Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter, Big Sexy Hair hair spray, and Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Bloody Mary.

Soho Makeup Brush, I was hoping to get the crease brush so I was a little disappointed to get the concealer one instead. However I have been on the hunt for a concealer brush that will work under my eyes. So far this one is doing the trick. The packaging claims that the handle is ergonomic and this feature really makes a difference in how comfortable it is to hold. Soho brushes can be bought at Walgreens.

Josie Maran Argan Oil (.17oz) I love this stuff so I was excited to see it would be included in this month’s bag. I was beginning to get low on my current bottle which happens to be the same size. I use a small dot to mix in my eye cream, and if I want to boost up my body lotion. You can put this on your face as a moisturizer which I have done a few times but not on a regular basis. Adding a few drops to a bath or foot bath really makes a difference too.

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter (2.5 oz) smells amazing. I have a huge influx of lotion right now and to me this smells more summer like so I am going to save this until the warmer months come. The formula is really nice and you don’t need a lot to feel moisturized.

Big Sexy Hair, hair spray (1.5 0z) is a great size for me since I never use hair spray. It is something good to have on hand in case I experiment with an up do or curl my hair.  I am familiar with the brand and I am happy that it is a nicer brand of hair spray then I would have ever bought myself.

Nailtini Nail Laquer in Bloody Mary (.5 oz) is a orange red which isn’t my favorite tone but I do love having more red nail options. I tend to like the more berry toned reds so for me this may be for my toe nails or once it is the summer. I love Nailtini and I am glad to see more of it in another box (previously received a glitter top coat in November’s bag).

I am very pleased with the bag this month, they are essentials that most people will need I am most excited about the argan oil and the Pacifica lotion. I am already looking forward to next month’s bag!

If you want more information about Ipsy please visit there site here.  

*This bag was purchased by me and all of my opinions are my own. 

Getting Physical

It’s a new year and at this point some of your resolutions may have already been forgotten. So hopefully what I have to say will help invigorate your own goals. For me I want to get more fit. I know what you are thinking “Oh great another person wanting to lose weight” for me it is not about weight but how I feel. When I was working on my bachelor’s degree I worked out at least an hour every day. Since graduating life has gotten in the way and all of the weight I previously lost has come back and then some. At my lowest weight I was still very curvy and wearing a size 18, now I am a size 24. I just don’t feel comfortable in my own body. I have decided to stop letting my life go by and start working out again. So right before the holidays I went shopping for some new active wear. The best way to feel motivated about something that will be hard is to get new clothes (at least that is how I feel). All I had before were comfy yoga pants that I wear around the house so true workout pants were needed. Somehow JCPenny entered my mind so I went to their site JCP.com and OMG I am so glad I did.

I did some research on where to buy some workout clothes but the things I liked were out of my price range or in my price range but nothing I really wanted. When I check out JCP’s site I was so impressed. Usually plus size workout wear isn’t plentiful in stores or super ugly. So I was thrilled with all of the options I found on the site but what was even better I went to my local store and found almost as many options. Even the pieces I loved online were in the store. The pieces are very cute and it seems like half of the collection is on sale. Seriously I hadn’t been to JCP in years and now I am a little obsessed! It is taking all of my restraint not to buy the whole line.

I can’t wait to explore the rest of their clothing.

What are your opinions on JCP?

Do you have any suggestions of where to get great active wear? 

What I am wearing: 

Photo 1: ruched shirt, deep violet find it here

             double band pants, charcoal find it here

Photo 2: striped mesh sweatshirt, mint find it here

               loose fitting pants, black find it here
Photo 3: Dr.Scholls walking shoes find it here

All of the items mentioned above were purchased by me. 

Surprising Finds...Year End Review

               This year has been a great year for finding new clothing stores. I was in a rut for a few years with only picking up clothing from a few different stores. This year through reading other blogs I found some great finds at surprising stores.

Sears

                I read about their UK Style by French Connection line last fall and thought I would check it out and I was quite impressed with what I found. I ended up buying a few pieces from their other lines though. If you haven’t considered Sears for clothing before it might be worth a try. The Kardashian Kurves line is out now with a few cute pieces, hopefully they will be offering more clothing though.

JCPenny

                I just went to JCP a few weeks ago because I was looking at their website and I found a great selection for workout wear. Many of the pieces could be worn as casual clothing around town. The selection is very impressive and the price points are even better. Something I hate is when there is a great selection online but nothing in store. My one visit to a local store brought amazing results. The pieces I loved online were available in store. I love to try clothing on before buying it, now that I know how the workout clothing fits I will feel confident to buy the collection online. I didn’t look too much at the other clothing in the plus size department since I was just looking for active wear at the time. What I saw in passing was pretty cute though.

             Both of these stores have done a great job redefining their clothing departments especially their plus size lines. I love finding new stores that are easily available because it can be harder to find good plus size clothing in stores. I am looking forward to shopping both of these stores next year!

If any of you have a store that I should check out let me know! What are your thoughts on Sears and JCPenny? 

November Ipsy Review

               So I don’t know about you but I am new to the concept of the monthly subscription boxes. I don’t know how I missed such a huge trend in beauty! I looked at a few different programs and I decided after watching some You Tube videos to choose Ipsy (previously MyGlam). It is $10 a month and they send you a makeup bag and 5 products to try.

                I just received my first bag (the November collection). After watching so many videos on previous bags I wasn’t sure how I would feel about what I would receive. I have to say I am really happy with this bag. The cosmetic bag is a chocolate brown satin bag with a gold zipper. The size of the bag is perfect for inside a purse or to use as an impromptu clutch.

             Inside was an eye liner from Starlet Cosmetics in Chocolate. Right off the bat I don’t think I will like it. It is a pencil you have to sharpen. I usually find them not soft enough. My initial reaction is that it isn't as bad as I first thought; I probably wouldn't buy it though.

            The next item is Bare Minerals Moxie lip gloss in Dare Devil which is a deep berry. The gloss goes on very sheer but you can build to a darker color if you want. For me one swipe is a great wash of color. This was my first time using the Moxie gloss I have used Buxom in the past and have loved it. Another win for BE

             Next is my favorite product from the bag. Nailtini Nail lacquer in Millionaire. Which is rose gold small sparkle with gold long sparkles and teal long sparkles mixed together. You mostly see the gold. I have never heard of the brand but I love the concept and it is full size and is worth $13. Just this product makes the Ipsy bag so worth it.

            Meet Matt(e) eyeshadow by The Balm. It is a cute one color sample in Matt Batali. It is a deep brown that will be great in the out corner. I have never used any makeup from The Balm so I am excited to try the shadow. The color can be found in a collection called Meet Matt(e) which looks really good especially if you need to add more matte colors to your collection.

             The last item is an eyebrow gel by Chella. With the bag you could have gotten the eyebrow gel or mascara from Benefit (which I wish I would have gotten). My eyebrows are blond and fairly sparce. So I don’t have a great need for a gel. I am curious about this line they have a system to help grown your eye brows called Brow Full- Fillment Eyebrow Treatment for $90. So if any of you have tried this or have any other great eyebrow things let me know

            I was a little unsure about how I would like the products sent to me but overall I am super pleased with everything! I am looking forward to next month!

What do you guys think of monthly beauty subscriptions? Any advice for my blonde eyebrows? I have tried some pencils but I don’t the color looks natural with my red hair. 

Please visit Ipsy for more information about how they work and about the products I mentioned above. 

Where to Find Fashion Inspiration

 As a teen I felt alone in finding clothing to fit my body but now with so many amazing blogs, stores, and magazines for plus size women there is inspiration everywhere.

I love to search blogs and online stores for ideas of what is really popular right now. Sometimes seeing an interesting outfit or an aspiration look gets me excited and looking in my closet for a way to recreate the looks, or just out of a rut of wearing the same thing everyday. 

My go to inspiration is also makeup and jewelry. Looking at your own collection or seeing what someone else has worn can begin to shape a whole new look for yourself. I have recently rediscovered my love for my makeup. I found a great blog Beauty Broadcast and You Tube channel by Emily, she has gotten back into drugstore makeup and has good advice about which brand and products are good. As a college student I have a very limited budget so I have been able to buy a few more things then I probably would have at a place like Sephora. Going on sites like Bauble Bar are fun to see trends in jewelry (plus they have great prices).

I also have found Pinterest a great source of inspiration not just for clothing, trends and styling things but also for decorating, recipes, and the holidays. Pinterest is so much fun. Now instead of having to save pages or make lists in word it can all go on different boards on Pinterest. I think it is so much fun to see what friends have pinned but also look things up by category. LOVE it , what did we do before Pinterest?

Looking through magazines is still one of my favorite things to do. All types of magazines give me inspiration, beauty and fashion are my favorites though. Home magazines are my next favorite, Country Living makes me so happy.

So where do you find your fashion inspiration? I would love to hear where you always check. 

Jewelry Storage and Display DIY

So I had this really old cork board that I used as a jewelry holder for a few months but as you can see I didn’t even peel off all the old stickers (probably 10 years old). This  was just a quick fix for all of my long necklaces and a way to keep my stuff from getting tangeled.

Then I went on Pinterest (what did we ever do before it), and I  found this idea from Two Twenty One to take fabric and use brass pins to cover any pin board. SO love this idea. After searching other ideas I figured that this was the best idea and most likely to work out for me. So I went to my local dollar store to get the brass pins which this project took most of the container (I believe it was a 200 count container). I bought a fabric that I liked this one is sky blue with white daisies on it. I ironed the fabric and cut it to size leaving about a 2 inch boarder then I took the pins all the way around (it hurt my fingers after a while). I then took regular push pins and organized them in a way that made sense for my jewelry. I think this is a good craft idea for non crafters (like me) this project maybe took me a few hours and would be a nice project to do while watching TV or getting a friend to come over and help you out. Then you could also have fun trying on the jewelry and coming up with different combinations.

I think the final product is great and I am not horrified to have to look at it and keeping my bracelets and necklaces out like this makes it easy to find and keeps me out of “jewelry ruts”. I would love to hear your jewelry storage/display ideas or what your results are if you tried this. 

Since first taking these pics I have added more jewelry and you can see there is still plenty of room to add more. 

e.l.f. Eye Palette Review

I have recently discovered e.l.f. (eyes lips face) cosmetics. I bought the Little Black Beauty Book Python Edition in warm from Target for $6.00 (according to Targets website you can still pick out the palette in store but not online) this palette is not available on eyeslipsface.com but they do have other sets that seem very similar.

I wasn't sure what to expect since I had never purchased anything from this line but I was drawn to the colors since they are mostly neutrals with a few pops of color. I couldn't bring myself to spend around $50 for other neutral eye pallets on the market so this e.l.f. $6 price tag is perfect. If you already have a lot of makeup you don’t need to feel guilty adding more to your collection, if you are just starting out with makeup the colors are a great base collection and will provide a lot of opportunity to play.

While some of the colors aren't the most pigmented and there is a little fallout when applying I am really impressed with this pallet and e.l.f. There is a great amount of dark colors for the outer V of the eye and the crease. The bright colors such as coral, peach, and turquoise show up really well and are so fun to play with. If you are like me I don’t want a large pot of eye color because I like to play so much so the small size of the eye shadows are really great also you don’t need to feel bad if you don’t like the color or it is not that pigmented. There are also a lot of similar colors which I don't mind since they do show up different enough and can add more depth to an eye look. 

A few tips to make this pallet really work for you: use an eye shadow primer first, tap excess product off of your brush before applying it, and gently tap the shadow especially really dark colors.

Since getting this pallet I have been trying to find out what else is good by this brand. If you have any suggestions of other great e.l.f. items I should try please let me know. 

Picture courtesy of Target.com, This is the Little Black Beauty Book Python Edition: Warm $6