Jeggings! And some other stuff...

So I went shopping with my twin sister today, who was needing to find a dress to wear to our cousin's wedding next weekend. While she looked through the dresses, I decided to look through the other clothes and see if there was anything I wanted to try on and possibly buy later. During my search through the racks of cute new fall shirts, I came across some jeggings. Up until a couple of months ago, I was much heavier (and 2 sizes bigger) than I am now, so when jeggings first became popular, there was no way I was going to wear them. However, losing weight does all kinds of things for your confidence levels. And even though I'm still a couple of sizes away from where I want to be, I have a new love of clothes that I wouldn't even dream of trying on a few months ago. So anyway, I picked up a pair of the jeggings in my size and headed to the dressing room. And let me tell you...these are the most comfortable pants I've ever put on! Yes they're denim, but I understand now what my little sister (who is tiny and can wear anything, ha ha) meant by saying they feel like pajamas. Because honestly, that's what they feel like. And now I'm very excited about pay day this week so I can go and buy those jeggings! Here's a picture of me in them. :)

Other things I love about this picture/my outfit:

1. That purple shirt...you can't tell because of the angle I'm standing at, but the sleeves have cutouts at the shoulders. It's also kinda loose on me at the top, and tends to slide to one side/fall off my shoulder a little which I really like. :)
2. My sparkly butterfly ring, because it's fun!
3. Awesome aviator sunglasses perched on my head.
4. My necklace...it's got lots of different colors in it, and kind of reminds me of candy. :)
5. The fact that even though I only got four hours of sleep today (I worked last night), you can't really tell in this picture...and in my opinion, I look fabulous. :)

And in case anyone wants to know, the things just listed came from a store called Rue 21, and the jeggings are at Maurices.

Other fun things that I found while we were out shopping: awesome biker boots, dressy black ankle booties, purple moccasins, a few great jackets, and lots of pretty jewelry. After we were done shopping, we were both thirsty, so my sister got a vanilla Italian cream soda and I got a caramel frappe! Perfect ending to a shopping trip, I think. :)

Also, we had IHOP take-out for dinner...it was delicious! And I ended my day with sitting on the pull-out sofa bed with my little sister (who is spending the night tonight), just talking, listening to music, and looking at things online that we want.

Overall, I had a wonderful day, despite the lack of sleep. Speaking of, I do believe it's time for me to catch up on some of that. Goodnight! :) xoxo, Brittany

What I've been up to!

This is an update of sorts, and a short review of a couple new products I've bought recently.

Last weekend, my sisters and I FINALLY saw The Help! And oh my goodness, it was a WONDERFUL movie! I'm not gonna say anything about it because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I will say this: go see it...tonight! Ha ha. I hope to get to see it again, and I will be buying the book. I will also add this to my movie collection when it comes out on DVD. :) It was seriously one of the best movies I've ever seen, and I highly recommend it.

Okay, now for a short review. Like always, I don't even know if anyone actually reads this blog lol, but I'm gonna pretend that people do, just because it makes me feel better about spending time to type these posts up, ha ha. Alright, I'm sure a lot of people have heard about the DermaNew microdermabrasion system. I ordered one after seeing several positive reviews on it on Youtube, and I got mine in the mail last week. I've been using it pretty much every day, and it has made such a huge difference in my acne and the overall appearance of my skin. This is what it looks like...

And in case you were wondering, I got it from Beauty Choice.

In my last post, I mentioned the L'Oreal Double Extend Tubes mascara that I had recently bought. I've been using it for a few days now and LOVE it! It definitely makes my lashes look longer, and it's super-easy to apply and take off. I'm also still loving my Urban Decay Naked palette...been using it every day since I got it, ha ha!

Something else that I got last week is from iVi Scents. I bought the limited edition Kandee Johnson Birthday Cake Collection, which includes sugar scrub, body butter, and soap. These are the best-smelling bath products I've ever used, and they're so much better for your skin than a lot of other stuff is, because iVi Scents makes their products from non-toxic ingredients, and uses as many natural ingredients as possible. I love that, because I definitely do not enjoy putting harmful chemicals onto my skin. And the smell...I just want to eat all of this stuff because it smells so good, ha ha. Anyway, this is what the soap looks like:

And the sugar scrub looks like this:

And finally, the body butter:

The Kandee Johnson Collection is a limited edition set, but I just checked on the iVi Scents website and everything is still available...and the soap and sugar scrub are at discounted prices right now. The Birthday Cake scent will be available whenever, but if you're a Kandee fan like I am and want this set, I recommend getting it soon. :)

And oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't say this first: I GOT A NEW CAR LAST FRIDAY!!! :D It's a Nissan Versa, and I absolutely LOVE it! It is a very pretty color called Arctic Blue. Here is a picture for ya!

Isn't it just adorable?! Yes, it's a cute car that gets good gas mileage, but it's also ALL MINE! Ever since I've been driving, I've had to share a car with my twin sister. And now I have a brand-new car that's my own. Love. :)

Not sure what I'm gonna be doing tonight. My little sister is coming over, so I'm sure we'll find something to do, even if it's just ordering pizza and watching a movie on Netflix. Hope you all have a wonderful day!
xoxo, Brittany

My Favorites: Beauty Product Edition

So, here it is! Another list of some of my favorite things, but this time with beauty products (make-up and hair stuff).

First is make-up, and I'm going to go in order of when I put them on...makes the most sense, right? Ha ha. Okay, so, the first thing I put on when I'm doing my make-up is face primer. I use Sephora Smoothing Primer or Benefit "that gal" brightening face primer. They both do a pretty good job of keeping my make-up in place. Only difference really is that the Sephora one gives a "slicker" feel to my face than the Benefit one. After primer is, of course, foundation. Lately I've been using the Covergirl Natureluxe foundation in 310 (flax). I absolutely love this stuff. The foundation is very silky and smooth on my face, even when I'm in a hurry and don't have time to put primer on.

In the hotter, more humid summer months (that seem to last forever in Arkansas, lol) I will use a tinted moisturizer if I know I'm going to be outside a lot, or if I'm at the beach or lake and just want a little bit of coverage. My two favorites are Covergirl CG Smoothers tinted moisturizer in fair to light and Philosophy Hope in a Tinted Moisturizer in light to medium. I like to have 2 different colors like this because once I have a nice tan (which usually doesn't take long) the "fair to light" colors aren't dark enough for me.

I do use a concealer under my eyes, and another on any blemishes I have. The product I use for undereye circles is Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Tinted Anti-Dark-Circle roller. It is amazing, and I think it's starting to lighten up my dark circles. The concealer I use for blemishes is the Physician's Formula concealer twins in yellow/light. I use the light side, and occasionally will use the yellow and light on top of the Garnier under my eyes, just when I'm sleep-deprived and need extra coverage.

After foundation and concealer, I use some kind of powder. My favorites right now are BareMinerals powder in fairly light, and Make-Up Forever HD powder. The BareMinerals is good if I need just a bit of coverage, or if I'm going to be spending a lot of time outside because it has SPF in it. The HD powder, however, is awesome. It feels like silk powder on your face. It's very translucent and colorless, and to me it doesn't give that heavy feeling that a lot of other powders do.

Following powder, I use bronzer to contour my face (under my cheekbones and on my temples). The bronzer I'm using right now is Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tropics. It's a good color for my skin tone, and it does what I want it to. After that, I use a highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones. I always use a cream and then a powder to set it. I just got Urban Decay cream highlighter in Sin, and it is beautiful! For the powder highlighter, I've been using BareMinerals mineral veil in Feather Light. It's pretty. :) I then use a blush right along my cheekbone, kind of between where I've put the bronzer and highlighter. It sounds weird, but it works and looks good. The blush I have at the moment is Clinique Blushing Blush in Smoldering Plum. It's a really pretty dark pink color.

Next is eyes! I LOVE eye shadow, and I think it's safe to say that next to lip gloss, eye shadow is my favorite make-up product to buy. For everyday, I like a neutral color. Lately I've been using Covergirl Eye Enhancers Trio in Cafe Au Lait. However, I just got this yesterday:

One word for this: LOVE! And that's after using it just once! I can't wait to play with it some more and come up with different color combinations and looks. :) Urban Decay makes another palette that is one of my favorites, and that is the Alice in Wonderland palette. I'm not sure if it's still available, because I'm pretty sure it was a special thing just for the movie back when it came out. However, you might still be able to find unused ones for sale on eBay.

Some other eye shadows that I like are Clinique's Color Surge eye shadow duo in twilight mauve and brandied plum. These two colors actually came with my Blushing Blush in Plum, as a small palette. I got it in a gift set a few months ago. These purple colors are fun for when I want to do something different with my eyes. Another brand that I think makes pretty good palettes at a wonderful price is ELF. My two favorites from them are the Beauty Eye Manual-Smoky Eye Edition, and the 32 Colors Eye Shadow Palette.

To keep all of these colors in place on my lids, I always use an eye shadow primer. I like Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but my favorite is Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion. The Too Faced one does its job by keeping my eye shadow on all day (or night), but the Urban Decay one does that, plus makes every color you put on top of it look absolutely fabulous. 

After my eye shadow, I use eyeliner, unless I'm in a big hurry and don't have time, ha ha. My favorites are Rimmel London Exaggerate waterproof eyeliner in Noir, Maybelline Eye Studio gel eyeliner in Blackest Black, and a new favorite, L'Oreal Extra Intense liquid pencil eyeliner in Carbon Black. I literally bought this last night and came home and tried it, and it is wonderful! It goes on very smoothly like a liquid or gel liner, but it's super easy to put on like a pencil liner. 

After I'm done with my eyeliner, I curl my lashes. I use Revlon's eyelash curler, which is amazing. After that, I put on my mascara. I've got a couple of favorites. First is Maybelline One By One in Blackest Black. It looks sooo good on my lashes! I was lucky enough to be born with naturally long lashes...however, since I'm also naturally a blonde, the ends of my long lashes don't show up very well. This mascara darkens and thickens my lashes, and makes them look really nice. In fact, the other night at work I had this on, and one of the nurses complimented me on how long and pretty my eyelashes were. :) Another favorite of mine is Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash (I think the color is just Black). It's great and I love it and can't say enough good things about it. I also like Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara, for exactly the same reasons, ha ha. Last night I bought L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes mascara in Blackest Black. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I'm excited to get to use it today! Supposedly it makes you look like you have lash extensions...and even though I do have long lashes, I don't see anything wrong with making them look longer lol. 

I have also recently started defining my eyebrows. I like Maybelline Define-A-Brow in light blonde, and have been using that. However, my Naked Palette came with a color called, well, Naked, and I used it on my brows yesterday...it worked really well! 

And now we move on to lips. My absolute favorite lip products are MAC lip liner in Subculture, and MAC creme sheen glass in Fashion Whim. They give the perfect pink color to my lips, and it goes with whatever clothes and make-up I already have on. If I want to do something darker, though, I like Revlon Just Bitten lipstain + balm in Beloved. It's kind of a pinkish-plum color and very pretty. I also like Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips lip gloss in Dolly. It's a dark pink and feels so nice on my lips...it's also mint flavored, which I love. For lip balm, I love Eos in lemon drop and Burt's Bees. Both are amazing products.

Okay, I believe that is all for make-up. Now I just have a few hair products that I'm going to mention quickly. These are all products that I use after I've washed and conditioned my hair. The first is Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil. I use this after towel-drying my hair, before I blow dry it. I can't even begin to describe how soft and healthy this makes my hair feel. I know I do a lot of damage to my hair when I straighten or curl it, but I feel like this argan oil just makes it un-damaged again. It's awesome. Before straightening my hair, I us Got 2b Guardian Angel flat iron balm straightening spray. I can definitely tell a difference in the health of my hair since I've started using this as opposed to when I didn't use any kind of heat protectant on it. Another product I like that I'm not even sure is available anymore is Bed Head A Hair Stick for Cool People. It's a texturizing stick, and I just rub a little on my fingers and run them through the ends of my hair after I've straightened it. This stuff works especially well at keeping my bangs under control when they just don't want to stay in place, which is more often than I'd like, ha ha.

And now I'm gonna mention my top 3 favorite perfumes right now. For summer, I like to use a body splash. I love Dream Angels Heavenly and PINK with a splash Fresh and Clean, both from Victoria's Secret. The Dream Angels Heavenly I actually use year-round because I love the scent so much, but in the cooler months I switch to the perfume formulation rather than the body splash. I also love, for summer, Forever Sunshine body splash from Bath and Body Works. It smells like all the best things about summer: sunshine, flowers, fruits. Love it.

One more thing and then I'm done, ha ha! The Aveeno face wash that I was using made my face break out after like, 2 days. So needless to say, I am not using that anymore, and have instead switched back to using my Murad Clarifying Cleanser. I have a whole bottle of this left, so I figured I would use it up instead of wasting it, since I did pay quite a bit of money for it. Also, just to clear up something from my last "favorites" post, the foot scrub I use is Peppermint and Plum scented.

I realize this was a really long post...sorry! Oh well, I hope that whoever reads this enjoys it anyway. I'll write again soon! Have a great day! xoxo, Brittany