Month: November 2015
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Gift Guide 2015: Your Bestie
I put together some of my absolute favorites that would be fun to share with your bestie! I have picked up a few of these for myself!!
- Blanket Scarf from Garage– $19.00
- Sephora Favorites: Lashstash – $45
- Fur Pompon Beanie – $16.95 (sale!)
- Breakups to Makeups Holiday Bag – $26
- Copper Elephant Ring Holder – $8
- Girlfriends Glitter Box Sign – $12
- Cleo Pink Jeweled Golf Cuff Bracelet – $22
- Minimergency Kit for Her – $16
- Reiko Kaneko Lip Tease Mug – $25
- Formula X Bottle Service Set – $36.50
I Bought A JEEP!
Back in the spring I went to the Philly and NYC Auto Show with my boyfriend, and fell in LOVE with the Jeep Renegade. I was not in the market for a car, but have always loved the Jeep brand, specifically the Wrangler. Perhaps it is all because of that country music I like? I grew up loving trucks as well, but after sitting in a bunch I decided they were all too big. The Jeep Renegade was perfect – exactly my size and had everything I wanted inside.
Since I got a new job in August, I decided I needed a car better for travel because I drive all over the state on a weekly basis. My Mazda was cute and fun, but wasn’t great for driving long distances. I began looking at the Renegade (Note: I test drove it 3-4 times before I actually bought it) and we began checking out other similar cars since the Renegade is so new. I drove some Mazdas, a Honda, a Toyota and even got fancy and drove a used Mercedes. None of the SUVS fit my needs like this one.
I know most people are turned off because it is boxy. Personally, I like the style and think it fits so well in the Jeep family. In addition to the tons of space inside, it has fun accents hidden throughout the car – little Jeep symbols! I like character, and this car has plenty of it! Plus it rides really well (not as hard as some of the other Jeeps) and makes me feel safe on the road. A fun fact: Jeep calls this car the “little sister” to the Wrangler!
The Renegade just launched this spring, so finding the one I wanted was SO hard. I wanted to make sure mine had a sun roof, and the design of the Renegade’s is so new that very few were arriving with one. Luckily, I searched all over online, and found one en route to my local dealer. #score
I was nervous to get rid of my small car, but am in LOVE with this one. Anyone else a proud Jeep owner?!
All photos courtesy of my boyfriend and his website Mindovermotor.com.
October Favorites (So late – I know!)
So I know – November is nearly over and here I am posting my favorites form LAST month. Bear with me on this. Have any of you suddenly looked at the calendar and the month has flown by? Welcome to my life. I was stunned the other day when I realized the month was half over.
What exactly was I loving last month?
Surprise – NO makeup!
With the weather getting cooler I am back to loving my warm scents. I’ve had my Burberry Brit perfume for years and still can’t get enough each fall. 
Two words: BATH BOMBS. Ok, so I know Lush has been famous for these for some time, but apparently I got on that train pretty late. I found the one below in Francesca’s Collections and while it wasn’t a fantastic smell it was so fun and relaxing I was super excited to get to Lush to try more!
I rediscovered my love of macarons! I was staying at a hotel for work, and saw these gorgeous treats in the window of the sweets shop and just had to help myself!
And above all else – I rediscovered my love of Disney! I was sent to Anaheim, CA for a work conference and we stayed in Disneyland. It was so much fun, and certainly a once in a lifetime experience.
What were you loving last month?
Empties Part I
I have been saving empty products FOREVER. I hate hoarding trash, but I don’t think there is a better way to share what products I’d buy again, what I regret and what just didn’t work. I have SO many saved up stay tuned for Part II next month!
First up are two brands of makeup removing wipes. I have a preferred brand that I love, but wanted to give these a try. The Ole Henriksen brand felt great but I couldn’t get past the smell. It wasn’t bad – but it wasn’t good. I want to try another scent to see if I like those better. And the yes to blueberries were TERRIBLE. Smelled horrible and didn’t work. I couldn’t even finish the pack of 8.
I also was not a fan of the BareMinerals Prime Time. It definitely didn’t help hold my makeup. I did love the NYX Shine Killer though! It was GREAT and filled my pores so makeup didn’t sink in. I’d absolutely put that on the re-buy list. The ology body wash smells amazing and is so natural. I’ve bought this a few times and fall in love with it each time. I usually find mine at Walgreens. The Origins Ginzing Eye Cream is great too. That sample lasted for so long! The Urban Decay setting spray is a cult favorite, and I was so sad to be out. If I didn’t have my Model in a Bottle I’d definitely grab this again. And Serge Normant can do no wrong – this hair spray got used up so fast! I bought more products to try from the line.
You’ll have to roll with me on these – some of them are SO old! I finally did a mascara clean out, and these are just a few that went in the trash. Instead of going through them one by one I’ll pick out a few. The Josie Maran Black Oil is amazing. I’ve blogged about it before – it does wonder for my lashes. The Lancome eyeliner (second from right) has been holy grail status for me. So sad it’s out of commission. The Roller Lash mascara went in the trash pile after 2 uses. I couldn’t stand it! Super disappointed since everyone raved about it. The other products are great, but not worth detailing nor picking up again.
Have any of you used any of the products above? Thoughts?
VIB Sephora Haul -UPDATE
This weekend I was at the mall, and found myself in the Sephora inside JC Penney. I had totally forgot to check there before thinking my sale shopping was over. I came across two sets, that I believe are exclusive to these Sephora’s. SO glad I went and checked it out!
I picked up the Sephora Favorites Beauty Unmasked – and I couldn’t resist the group of products they put together for this: 
I also picked up the Sephora Favorites Skin Wonderland, and again, the group of products is amazing. I had been thinking I hadn’t picked up any skin care items, and now I rounded out my haul! Can’t wait to try them out!
VIB Rouge Sephora Haul
The Sephora VIB sale is my FAVORITE time of year. This year I hit Rouge status (which is both thrilling and embarrassing) and I couldn’t wait for my 20% to arrive. I went a little crazy picking things up since I took a bit of a Sephora hiatus in recent months. What better time to buy then when the entire store is on sale?! I prefer buying value sets because I feel like I get a lot for my money and I get to try everything I’ve been eyeing without dropping tons of money.
I just HAD to pick up the makeup bag above, because it is in my favorite color combo, gold and white. I also picked up the Burberry BURBERRY KISSES lipstick in Military Red No. 109, because the packaging is gorgeous in gold, and the red color is perfect for the holidays. I can’t wait to try it! I also love anything that smells like almonds (although strangely I don’t like almonds) and fell in love with the L’Occitane Almond Delights set. Their hand cream is my favorite, and I was so excited to see the almond scent.
There are SO many sets this season, and I had to think hard about what I could really use. I ordered the Give Me More Lip set which has some pretty great colors that I can try, and I picked up the Extend Your Style set in store. I love dry shampoo so it will definitely be used.
I would normally pass right over the perfume set, but once I found out that it includes a certificate for a full size perfume (from those included in the set) I went ahead and picked it up. I already have a few of the samples, but wanted to try a few more. I wound up throwing out about 5 of them. I think I might pick up Prada Candy in the full size version. (I’m in love with it!)
I was thrilled to see that one of the 500 point perks was from YSL. I love Black Opium, and I’ve been wanting to try some more of their products. The Touche Eclat looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it.
Beyond what is pictured I picked up:
-Beautyblender Solid Bar
-Miniemergency kit (Black studded version)
-Burberry Eyebrow Definer
-Estee Lauder Be Envied: Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick Collection
-Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in Lolita
I will definitely post about the items that I love! What did you pick up at the sale?
I’M BACK!
It is hard to believe my last post was back in July. Since then my life has changed drastically in many unexpected ways.
In August my grandmother passed away – and it was, and is a devastating loss. She lived with my family for 21 years, and it was like I had a third parent. Not having her around is tough, and largely the reason I got away from blogging. I hadn’t experienced a loss of that magnitude, and nothing quite seems the same without her here. Celebrating my birthday in September just wasn’t the same, and I know the holidays will be hard. But I know she would want my family to keep moving on.
Beyond that I’ve been busy with work, out enjoying the fall weather and just keeping myself overall distracted. But the more I watch YouTube videos and read other people’s blogs, I was inspired to recraft my own. In the past I feel like I deviated from my original plan, which was to chronicle my life and things I am passionate about. I’m back to revisit that notion, and to give myself an outlet for some pent up creativity.
GabGoesGlam 