New Blog Giveaway Winner!!!

Hello Lovelies!

Since my last blog giveaway winner never left me contact information, I will be choosing another winner! So the new lucky winner is.....

Maria!!

Congratulations!! Please leave a comment under this post with your e-mail address or tweet me your e-mail since you can contact me both ways :) Thanks so much for entering!

xoxo

Kristie

Forever 21 Accessories Haul!

Hello Ladies!

I was off from work today and decided to stop by to do some accessory shopping! I wanted a few more necklaces and such to fit our dress code and decided to share with you guys in case you were interested in some of the new pieces in stores! Here are pictures for you to glance at. :)

Hope you liked my haul!

xoxo

Kristie

Blog & Twitter Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to these two lucky ladies!

Blog Winner:

To my blog winner: Please leave a comment under this post leaving me your e-mail so that I can message you about mailing information!

Twitter Winner:

To my twitter winner: I have tweeted you requesting for your e-mail so that I can get your mailing information!

Both winners have until the 29th to get back to me before I choose new winners.

Thanks so much to everyone that entered! Stay tuned for more giveaways :)

xoxo

Kristie

Some Target Necessities I Picked Up Today

Hello Lovelies!

So today I went to my local Target to browse and pick up a few things. I originally went to grab more stuff from the E.L.F. back to school line like their Neutral Eye Beauty Book and their Smokey Eye Beauty Book but decided against it since I already have enough neutral colors. So instead, I picked up some necessities and things I've been wanting to try out!

1. I LOVE baby wipes. I use them for everything. I use them to freshen up my face or skin on a hot day, to clean up sticky spills, and to wipe my hands clean if they feel dirty. I can pretty much use these bad boys for anything I want. I normally get the unscented version from Up & Up (they're my staples) but I also saw the pack of SUPER CUTE Huggies baby wipes and had to get them. Look at the packaging! It's so bright and colorful!

2. Make up wipes are also necessary for me. I don't use them every day but for those nights when I'm out late and come home exhausted, the only thing I want to do is knock out in my cozy bed. I'll normally lay there for a minute before I feel guilty for not washing my face so I'll pull myself out of bed and trudge towards my bathroom...until I discovered make up cleansing towlettes! I can keep these by my bedside and quickly remove my make up without needing water or a sink and then fall fast asleep guilt free!

I've never used either of these make up wipes before but I figured Up & Up is a pretty trustable budget friendly brand so why not?

I picked up a 30 count pack thats suppose to be comparable to Ponds Clean Sweep for $3.39 and another pack that was slightly more expensive with only 25 towelettes thats suppose to be comparable to Neutrogena's Make-Up Remover for $3.49. I'll update you guys later on how I feel about these.

3. Lastly I picked up some cotton rounds for my new oil cleanser and my staple deep conditioner, Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist Deeeeep Conditioner. I don't know what my hair would do without it in the hot and dry desert I live in.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Kristie

Review: ELF Bronzer & Blush Duo

Hello Lovelies!

I just wanted to do a mini review on this blush and bronzer duo I picked up the other day at Target! No, this is not the duo from their studio collection that looks similar to NARS. It's from their regular line but it's not listed on their website so I suppose it's exclusive to Target stores? Either way, for only $1, this little duo is a steal!

This blush reminds me a lot of NARS Orgasm blush which I don't currently have because I returned it. It was far too shimmer/glittery for my tastes. The blush half of this ELF duo has a lot of shimmer as well but it's much more understated when applied on your skin and comes off glow-y! Here are some swatches to give you a better idea of how the blush compares to other blush shades:

L-R: Mark After Glo, ELF Blush, NARS Deep Throat, NARS Torrid, MAC Marine Life, NYC Plaza Pink, MAC Coral Crepe

I think it looks almost identical to NARS Deep Throat except with more shimmer (which coincidentally is suppose to be your alternative to NARS Orgasm if you want the same color of Orgasm without the shimmer).

The texture of the blush is somewhat chalky but it doesn't look chalky when applied. There is a lot of product that flakes off when you sweep your brush across either of the colors though.

As for the bronzer, it is extremely pigmented so you have to be very careful when applying. I easily over applied and had two lines of brown on my cheeks that looked ridiculous. I couldn't blend them out enough to look natural. When I applied the bronzer a second time, I stippled it on rather than sweeping it across my cheeks and that did the job fantastically! It looked like a natural tan.

I love how the packaging has a very "back to school" feel!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this duo and for only $1.00, you aren't going to break the bank trying it out. The blush gives a wonderful peachy pink glow and the bronzer works fantastic with a careful hand.

xoxo

Kristie

My First Blog & Twitter Giveaway!!

Hello Lovelies!!

I've been wanting to do a giveaway for no particular reason for a while just because I like giving back to you guys since all of you are so fantastic and amazing! :) The rules are simple and this is only open to those who follow me on my blog and twitter. One winner will be chosen from my blog and one winner will be chosen from my twitter account.

1. You must be a follower of either my blog to enter here or a follower on twitter to enter on there.

2. You must be 18 or older OR you must have your parent's permission.

3. To enter under my blog, leave a comment under this post including your blogspot username and a nice note to me!

4. To enter under my twitter, tweet me something relating to this giveaway like "enter me in your giveaway."

5. You can enter under both my blog & my twitter but you may only enter once for each!

6. Make sure you follow the rules because I will be paying attention. If you enter more than once, you will be disqualified.

7. This giveaway is open to international followers & is not limited to the U.S.

8. This giveaway will end on Saturday, July 24th at 11:59 p.m. pacific time.

9. I will randomly select a winner through a random name generator approximately 10 minutes after this giveaway is over.

*edit: I'm working until midnight on this day :( so the winner will be announced within 24 hours of the end of this giveaway.*

Now to the good stuff! What will you be winning?!

I have two Benefit mini gift sets for each winner! Each includes:

- Some Kind-A Gorgeous: The Foundation Faker

- "That Gal": Brightening Face Primer

- High Beam: Luminescent Complexion Enhancer

- Posietint: Poppy-Pink Tinted Lip & Cheek Stain

Not only will you be winning this gift set but you will also be winning extra goodies of my choice!!

Best of luck to all of you! :)

xoxo

Kristie

I went SHOPPING today!! ^_^

Hello Lovelies!

So today I decided to go shopping for my new job! I recently became a sales associate at a very popular clothing store and "needed" some new outfits and accessories to follow dress code. :) I went to Forever 21, H&M, and Target and ended up getting some super cute things!

Just wanted to share a taste of my clothing style with you guys :)

xoxo

Kristie

Tutorial: Enchanting Eyes with Green & Purple

Hello Lovelies!

I was requested to do a tutorial using greens and purples and this is what I came up with! I hope you guys like it :)

Face:

- Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation in Creamy Natural

- Revlon Age Defying Concealer in Light Medium

- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark

- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Comfort

- Mark Blush in Cameo Glo

Eyes:

- MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot

- Covergirl Eyeshadow in Aqua Paradise

- Coastalscents 88 Palette

- MAC Gold Pigment

- Wet n Wild Coloricon Palette in Lust

- MAC Violet Pigment

- MAC Reflects Antique Gold

- L'Oreal HIP Cream Eyeliner in Eggplant

- Prestige Eyeliner in White

- Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper in Extreme Blackout

Wear this during the day, or make it smokier for a night out. How ever and where ever you decide to wear it, have a great time! :)

xoxo

Kristie

DIY Magazine/Paper Holder

Hello Lovelies!

So I was organizing my room today and noticed that I needed a paper older for all my crafty/colorful papers. They were lying in a pile underneath my computer desk and it didn't look very cute there. Because I'm broke and lazy, I didn't want to go out and buy a fancy magazine holder so I decided to make my own with an empty cereal box! :)

Materials Needed:

- Empty Cereal Box

- Scissors

- Things to decorate with. You can use stickers, magazine clippings, newspaper, or anything else you want on your magazine holder!

This is what I came up with in a whole 360:

I just added some wrapping paper and glued on fun pictures from my old magazines! :) Now my papers have a cozy home. Enjoy!

xoxo

Kristie

My Morning & Night Skincare Routine

Hello Lovelies!

I was requested to do a skincare routine by one of my wonderful subscribers. I have dry and occasionally combination skin. I don't like to fuss too much with extravagant skincare items because I'm a little lazy and don't like doing toooo many steps haha :) So I try to make do with as few products as I can that are just as effective.

Morning Routine: Cleanse face for approximately 90 seconds using my Clarisonic Mia with my Purity Made Simple Cleanser. Moisturize with Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream.

Night Time Routine: Same as my morning routine except every other day, I exfoliate with my St. Ives Green Tea Scrub for 60 seconds after I cleanse my face and before I apply my moisturizer.

xoxo

Kristie

Cute Finds at Marshalls!

Hello Ladies!

I went to Marshalls today to browse around and stumbled across some super cute things! Since I recently repainted my bathroom, I wanted some pictures to put up on the walls so that they wouldn't look so plain and look what I found! I love how it's kind of cartoon-y with fun prints on the sink and bathtub! I wish that my real bathroom looked like this except with baby pink colored bathtubs instead of the tiger print. They didn't hurt my wallet too much either at $14.99 each :)

Also, ever since watching Missglamorazzi's "Make Up Collection & Storage" video (which you can watch here), I've been on a search for a cute vintage looking box (and possibly vanity?) like the one she stored her candies in. I just liked the idea so much and happened to find one at Marshalls too! I love how it looks like the paint is faded and how there are postal stamps on it to really make it look worn down. The pastel/minty green color is adorable as well! Now if only I could find a box that looks like a french map or an old school news paper, I would be ecstatic! I've been looking for one of those forever :(

Over the next few days, I'll be stopping by some stores to pick up my favorite candies to fill it up with! I'll update you guys on what I put in it later on.

xoxo

Kristie

MAC Blush and Mineralize Skinfinish Collection!

Hello!

This post was requested by, MakeUupbyRJJ, a lovely subscriber of mine. This is my entire MAC collection of blushes and mineralize skinfinishes. I figured that swatches of all of them would be nice for you. So first, let's start of with fun pictures!

Top row from L-R: Sunny By Nature, Light Flush, Comfort, Gold Deposit, Springshine Blush Ombre, Marine Life

Middle row from L-R: Gentle, Superdupernatural, Merrily, Warm Soul, Feeling, Hipness, Fleurry, The Perfect Cheek

Bottom row from L-R: Intenso, Earth To Earth, Chic Couple, Buddy Up, Two Virtues, Bi-Tone, Rhapsody In Two, Virgin Isle (Cream Color Base)

L-R: Sunny By Nature, Light Flush, Comfort, Gold Deposit, Springshine Blush Ombre, Marine Life

L-R: Gentle, Superdupernatural, Merrily, Warm Soul, Feeling, Hipness, Fleurry, The Perfect Cheek

L-R: Intenso, Earth To Earth, Chic Couple, Buddy Up, Two Virtues, Bi-Tone, Rhapsody In Two, Virgin Isle (Cream Color Base)

MAC has an amazingly diverse color selection when it comes to their blushes and mineralize skinfinishes. There are a variety of different finishes you can choose from to suit your preference as well. I think the color pay off is wonderful but I have come across a couple blushes that I didn't care much for because of their lack of pigmentation.

Lasting power is about average. If I'm doing a lot of moving around, talking, walking around in hot climates, the blush will fade in about 7 hours and I'll have to reapply to maintain the same fresh look I started off with. A good way to make your blush last is to apply a primer or base prior. Cream or gel blushes are also a good option if you're looking a blush with extremely long lasting power for an event such as prom or a wedding. Maybe this is just me but I also think that their Mineralize Skinfinishes have better lasting power than their blushes. For everyday use, I feel that the lasting power of MAC's blushes holds up well enough for school, work, or other regular occasions.

Prices:

Regular MAC Blush: $18.50 (6g/0.21 oz.)

Mineralize Blush :$21.00 (3.5 g/0.11 oz.)

Limited Edition Blush Duos: $23.00 (3.2 g/0.10 oz.)

Mineralize Skinfinish: $28.00 (10 g/0.35 oz.)

So by looking at the prices, I don't feel that MAC blushes have that hefty of a price tag in comparison to other high end blushes but their mineralize skinfinishes give you the most product for your buck.

Overall, I highly recommend MAC blushes if you're looking for a lot of variety, shades, and finishes at a decent price. But, I know that there are some great drugstore blushes available if you're looking for something more budget friendly and don't need an overwhelming amount of colors to make you feel flustered. :)

xoxo

Kristie