December 2015 Favorites

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Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe it is already 2016. So much has happened and I can’t wait to get this new year going. Ringing in the new year brought a sense of excitement – to begin a new chapter and have a clean slate.

I wanted to do a recap of the things I loved in December, because it was a crazy busy month, but one where I felt I had a lot to love!

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It isn’t pictured above, but I received a Keurig for Christmas and fell in love! I received the Keurig 2.0 Coffee Maker in the champagne color. I’m hoping to save some money on coffee purchases this year, so bringing a fresh cup with me in the morning will help cut costs. Plus, it will help me jumpstart my day! Please send any recommendations for kcups!

In the winter I loveeee masculine scents. I couldn’t wait for winter to hit so I could break out my Nirvana Black rollerball. The perfume is by Elizabeth and James and has notes of sandalwood, violet, and vanilla (according to Sephora’s website). I wear only a little perfume every day, so I usually elect to buy a rollerball, plus it makes it easy for travel.

Around early December I was on vacation in Delaware, and did a little shopping while I was there. Every store was burning the Capri Blue Volcano Candle No. 6.It has notes of tropical fruits, sugared oranges, and lemons and limes. I fell deeply in love with the scent, and made sure I went home with it. Mine is the 8.5oz size but I know I will end up with a bigger jar when mine burns out. The big 20 oz jar can be purchased at Francesca’s for $28.

Recently I realized that I had accumulated quite a bit of Birchbox points. I looked through the site and the Hudson + Bleecker Etoile Avion Cosmetic Case caught my eye. It has a gorgeous silver glitter on the outside, and is black inside. It even comes with a small pouch that detaches (I keep lippies in mine) and is adorable in a purse. It has a zippered pouch inside and a pocket for brushes. I was traveling over the holidays, and made sure to bring it along. Hudson + Bleecker hit it out of the park with this one! The glitter doesn’t come off, and it is SO stylish. I got mine from Birchbox and it sells for $64.

I have been in the market for a new foundation for a while. I had heard great things about the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation and decided to give it a try. I really love the powder formula, and it goes on well on my skin. I have it in light neutral, and I think it is a little too dark for me. When I’m through with this jar I’ll probably switch colors. The Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation brush is a must – even if you don’t buy the foundation. It is so incredibly dense and buffs into the skin nicely. The foundation can be found at Sephora for $36 and the brush is $28.

The last of my favorites was a little bit of a splurge – I got an iPad Mini 2. I really, really loved the 4th generation, but I really needed more storage and there was a GREAT deal on the 2nd gen. I got mine from Best Buy, and I’ve been so impressed with not only their sales but their AMAZING shipping. Everything is free shipping and arrives in 2 days. (I don’t receive anything from Best Buy for saying that, I just really love them after this holiday season.) I had a first generation regular iPad, and it was great, but very clunky. I’m in love with the mini because of its size and portability. I use it constantly. Major love for the mini.

I want to hear what all of you were loving in December!

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Blogger Series

I thought it would be fun for me to feature favorite bloggers/YouTubers that I frequent. My absolute favorite is Kristina from PrettyShinySparkly. She has a blog and is a YouTuber, and we share similar tastes. Many of the items she has recommended, I’ve gone on to purchase. I’ve linked her latest video and blog post below – check her out!

http://prettyshinysparkly.com/

Gift Guide 2015: Your Bestie

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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!!

  1. Blanket Scarf from Garage– $19.00
  2. Sephora Favorites: Lashstash – $45
  3. Fur Pompon Beanie – $16.95 (sale!)
  4. Breakups to Makeups Holiday Bag – $26
  5. Copper Elephant Ring Holder – $8
  6. Girlfriends Glitter Box Sign – $12
  7. Cleo Pink Jeweled Golf Cuff Bracelet – $22
  8. Minimergency Kit for Her – $16
  9. Reiko Kaneko Lip Tease Mug – $25
  10. Formula X Bottle Service Set – $36.50

I Bought A JEEP!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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I was nervous to get rid of my small car, but am in LOVE with this one. Anyone else a proud Jeep owner?!

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All photos courtesy of my boyfriend and his website Mindovermotor.com.

 

October Favorites (So late – I know!)

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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. Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 10.16.00 PM.png

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!

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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!

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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.

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What were you loving last month?

Empties Part I

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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: FullSizeRender 26.jpg

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!

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VIB Rouge Sephora Haul

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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.

FullSizeRender 21I 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.

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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.

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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!)

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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?