Fresh Start

I have had such a love hate relationship with blogging. When I started I was still with in school and I was always so hard on myself. I went to school full time, worked part time and then forced myself to blog at least 3 times a week. I was such an overachiever and it made me hate blogging. I stared my blog because I wanted my own space on the internet to share my creativity. And instead of treating blogging like a hobby, I treated it as work. I want to be able to come on here when I have some free time and share my ideas. I don't want to post some bad post just to post something.

I have been out of school since May now. Although I am happy that's over, I don't get the chance to be creative. I went for fashion business and always had some project to work on. now I only work, and I miss that creative part of my life. So I hope this time around I enjoy this more and have more fun. Because at the end, I want to be bale to come back in a few years and see what I was up to. I want this to be like a journal I keep online. 

Ipsy February 2016

I'm bringing back one of my favorite posts, Ipsy glambags unboxing!! This is one of my favorite time of the mont, I love seeing that bright pink wrapped package waiting for me. I've tried quite a few subscription boxes and this one is by far my favorite one ever. I think you get a pretty good deal for just $10 a month. I have been a member for over a year now, and I love collecting the bags! But any who lets see what's inside, shall we?!

First of all, this is my favorite bag of ALL time. It is so cute and it seems to be made well. Some do tend to be a little cheaper than others but I think this one is great!! I love the texture of it, and I wish I took a picture of the other side, but it is all pink! They have a different theme each month and this month was pretty in pink which I thought was super cute! 

The first Item was the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil. I saw this at Ulta when it came out and I was a bit skeptical. I have pretty oily skin so I thought putting a primer oil on top of my already oily skin was pretty dumb. I wore it yesterday, and to be completely honest it wasn't that bad. I know I have to wear it more than once to see what I really think of it, but I don't hate it as much as I thought I would. The oil absorbed into my skin and I didn't get more oily than I usually do. So I will definitely keep trying this one out!

Next was a Vintage lipgloss in Pink Sequin by Jessica Liebeskind. I think it's a really pretty color, and if you want something that isn't much color just super sparkly and glossy, this would be the lipgloss for you! 

Then I got a Ciate nail polish in "my off duty nude". I love light color nail polishes and I love pink so I was super excited about this one! I have tried this brand before and I don't remember hating it, so I'm excited to try it out again! I love trying new nail polishes because I never found a brand that I'm in love with yet.

The last two items were a lip balm by Curology and a eyeliner by Paula Dorf. The lip balm has no color or scent to it, it's just your traditional lip balm. The eye pencil is a light pink. I tried this on yesterday and it did make my eyes appear bigger, but I forgot to check if it stayed on all day, I will keep you posted! 

If any of you were interested, here is a referral code to join ipsy today!

https://www.ipsy.com/new?refer=wgkov

Lorac Nude Necessities Review

I was so excited when I saw this new Lorac Palette come out. I love neutral eyeshadows so this was like a dream come true. And I adore Lorac eyeshadows, in fact my favorite eyeshadow palette of all time is the Mega Pro 2! But this is honestly the most disappointing product I've ever purchased...

The first time I tried it I knew I wasn't going to like it. The pigmentation isn't good at all. You have to layer and layer and layer, but if you're going to pay for a high end makeup palette you shouldn't be layering and layering and layering. You can't really tell in pictures, or even in person when you first look at the colors, but so many of them look the same!! The last two rows all blend into one color and you can't tell them apart. The shimmery shades do swatch pretty decently but when you do blend them with other shades you can't even tell you put a shimmery shade.

I did try these a few times all with different primers to see if that would make a difference, it didn't. Below I swatched a few of them and you can even see how unevenly some of them show up. And see what I mean about the colors being WAY too similar? I then looked at the back of the packaging and I saw that the palette was made in China and that made a lot of sense. That's why it was only $30 and not the greatest quality. Lorac is such a great brand so I'm not too sure as to why they decided to bring out this palette. If they really wanted it they should have made it the same quality as the other ones and just raise the price. What's the point of selling something cheap if a lot of people will return it, I know I will.

I'm Back!

It's been a while since I sat down on my laptop and wrote a blogpost. Almost 4 months to be exact. And that makes me sad because I LOVE writing. I like having my own little space and just share my ideas. I'm always busy with school and work and it's nice to have this thing you love to do that isn't stressful. I do have a journal that I try to write in a lot but I also like having something online to share with people. I would never let anyone read my journal! Waaay too personal :,)

I really wan't to get back into blogging and to be honest I'm not even sure why I stopped. I think I was uninspired and I also just wasn't feeling happy and so I lost the motivation to write. I made myself a promise that I need to start being happier, and I don't want to jinx it but I feel like I have been doing better than previous years. I've been reading a lot, and reading makes me happy and so I hope to do way more of it this year. I also got one of those adult coloring books, the enchanted forest one, and I feel like that does calm me quite a bit. I have also been feeling more creative. I had a stack of magazines from like last march that I never got the chance to look through, and I have been going through them recently, one by one, and rippling out pages that I love but I'm not too sure what to do with them. 

Over this past month I have also had the biggest urge to start a YouTube channel but I just can't get enough courage to do it! I have been wanting to do it for a while now. I just hate how funny my voice sounds on a video camera! It sounds nothing like me and I just hate hearing myself speak and I don't even think I would be fun to watch! Maybe one day but right now i'm too much of a chicken!

I'm also really excited because I'm graduating from College this coming May and I feel like I will have so much more time to do the things I want to do and this sounds cliche, but I'll have time to discover myself because I feel like I never took the time to do that.

I will try to post something at least 3 times a week. I have so many ideas but it's me finding the time that's the problem. Or most times I do have the time, I'm just the laziest person in the world.

The Perfect Lip

It's that time of the year that no matter what you do, it feels like your lips are always dry, and applying lipstick looks horrible and nothing is working out right. I feel like my lips are chapped literally all year round and no matter how hot or cold it is, I'm always wearing chap stick. And I hate wearing matte lipsticks because it just makes my lips look so ugly! But I think I finally found a solution for once and for all! In this post I will share how I make sure my lips look nice and luscious throughout the cold winter months, and these are products you can use whenever!

I went to Lush about a week or so ago, and I saw this lip scrub that I always wanted to try but it always killed me because I didn't want to spend almost $10 on a lip scrub! Especially since the container is super tiny! But I heard so many great things about it so I decided to join the band wagon and I ended up buying the mint one. And.... IT'S FREAKING MAZING! I love it so so so much! I didn't realize a lip scrub could be such a life chaining product haha :,) I noticed a difference within the few times I used it. It took all the dead skin off my lips and they were so soft and smooth after. And I could even wear a matte lipstick and it didn't leave my lips looking disgusting! I would strongly recommend investing in once of these, and yes the container is so tiny, but you need the smallest amount. I use it every 2 or 3 days.

 It's also important to prime your lips. yes, there are primers for your lipstick! My favorite one is the Ultimate Ozone from Urban Decay. It makes your lipstick last longer and it also prevents your lipstick from going all around your lips. This primer is an all over primer so you can even use it as an eye primer if you really wanted to!

Lat but not least, you need a good lipstick. I recently got this one from Urban Decay it's the Sheer Streak. I feel like it is a bit more of a cumber or spring color but I like how it looks on the lip. It gives you some color but because it's sheer it's not too much. It's really nice and moisturizing, and because it's not matte you do need to reapply it a few times throughout the day. I don't get those people that hate reapplying their lipstick, I love it! 

Let me know what your lip essentials are! :)

October Ipsy 2015

Here is the October Ipsy! Once again I am loving this bag! Lately I think they improved their bags and there wasn't one I hated too much. I do personally like the longer shape but I still think this one was super cute. One side is gold and the other side is black so they are still sticking to the autumn theme which is really nice I think.

Here is the other side of the bag. And the items that were included this month are all pretty amazing. there isn't one thing I wasn't impressed with at first sight. usually they send a whole bunch of things I end up not using but I loved the variety in this bag. It includes:

-Aurora Gel Effect Nail Laquer in the shade Inky Dinky

-dr.brandt microdermabrasion skin exfoliant

-Meet Matt(e) Hughes by the Balm in the color committed 

-pure vanilla by the healthy fragrance

-Eyeliner by the coastal scents

I already put on the nail polish. the shade is a really really really dark purple so it did come out looking a bit black but it's not. What I really like about it is that is has a gel effect but without having to use a lamp which is really nice. And it dried super quick which I think is so important!

I also tried the lip gloss and I fell in love with it. This is the first lip gloss ever that has looked nice on me and hasn't dried my lips up where it starts to peel because that always happens. The color is also a really pretty nude and one coat literally lasts all day, it's pretty ridiculous. 

Lush Haul

A few days ago I went into Lush and picked up some goodies. the second I got home I snapped a few pictures because I knew they wouldn't last long. It's finally October so it means its time for pamper sessions and baths and it's all so exciting. I wish Lush stores were bigger so the shopping experience would be a bit more clever but their stuff is just amazing. So far the pumpkin is my favorite one by far, I need to make it last!

Urban Decay Primer Potion Review

I feel like I'm super late to the party. People have been raving about these primer potions for as long as I can remember. And honestly, I never really wore eyeshadow primers until recently. I didn't really know what the point of them was and thought they were useless. I have been using a creme primer for the past few months and I fell in love with it. Then I decided to try these Urban Decay ones and, they're amazing!

I got the original one, but I love all the options they have. You can even wear these without any eyeshadow if you're running late but still want something on your eyes. I sort of wish I picked a different color to show the difference between eyeshadow with the primer potion and without. But in the their picture the left side is a swatch with the primer potion, and the right side is just the eyeshadow itself. You can kind of tell that the one with the primer potion is more vibrant. And if you try to smudge them, the one without comes right of, while the one with the primer potions is still there and it's so much more blend able. 

Your eyeshadow lasts longer and it doesn't crease. There would be so many times that I did my eyeshadow so nice and spend so much time on it, and by the end of the day there was nothing left! If you're looking for a new product or a new eyeshadow primer I would highly recommend trying this one out!

September Ipsy 2015

Autumn is finally here!! That means the ipsy bags will be more fall like and it's so exciting! I like three out of the 5 items so far which is the standard for most of the months. I also loved the bag (as always). It's like a brown orange and one side is metallic like and the other side is fabric. It just looks so autumnal. Even the items that were inside reminded me of autumn. So here's what was inside:

Ipsy NYX 3 Color Palette 

Im assuming Ipsy and NYX collaborated so this is something you'd only be able to buy online on Ipsy's website. I may be wrong. This looks like such a pretty basic fall palette. It has two shimmery shades and then a black matte one. You could definitely come up with some cute looks with this one.

Formula X Ignite

I've already tried this nail polish and I love it. This is a pretty dark red, and I highly recommend these nail polishes. They stay on for about a week if you put a top coat and dry super duper fast. And the samples come in the cutest little bottles.

Liptini in Scarlet Cocktail

I have never ever heard of this brand. I don't personally like a packaging I think it looks kinda cheap and too basic, but I do love the lipstick itself. i tried it on a few times and its a beautiful red and the formula is really nice. it is matte, and it does last for quite some time.

Bayberry Naturals Rosehip & Hibiscus Moisturizer

I've mentioned this before but I don't like trying out new face products because my face breaks out like crazy if I try something new so I like sticking to my routine. But if you're looking for a new moisturizer here's one you could try. It doesn't smell like anything so that's a plus if you prefer your moisturizers don't have a scent. There's no sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and no artificial dyes. It is also 100% vegan. So if you love organic products you can try it.

Eau Thermale Soothing Moisture Mask

So I do like trying new facial masks because just like anyone I do like to pamper myself. And I feel like this would be nice to use when your face is a bit more dry. It is hypoallergenic so if you have a sensitive face this won't cause any allergic reactions. 

H&M Haul

Everyone needs new back to school clothes no matter what grade you're in. Over the Labor Day weekend H&M was having an amazing sale and so I decided to pick up a few items. There were things I was eyeing for a few weeks but I didn't want to pay full price so I'm very happy I waited. This sin't bragging, it's just to show some of the items the store is carrying at the moment. 

I realized after I got my order that all the colors are black white and navy:,)

The Girl On The Train Review

*SPOILERS ALERT*

I absolutely loved this book. It was definitely a page turner and read it in about a week, would have read it faster but I worked a lot. This is the type of book you don't want to put down. Some people compare it to Gone Girl, and I can see why, but it's still so different. The story is interesting and when you're done your mind is blown. I also feel like there were so many lessons and themes in the book, it was amazing. I also loved that the story was written in three different books and that made it so much more interesting.

Summary: *SPOILERS*

Rachel was married to Tom, but Tom cheated on her with Anna. Anna and Tom are now married. Meagen and Scott are Anna's and Tom's neighbors. Rachel knows Meagen and Scott from when she passes their house when she takes the train to "work." Meagen goes missing and then turns out she's dead. Rachel is an alcoholic so you can't trust what she knows. She gets really close to Scott because she wants to help him find out what happened to his wife. Turns out Meagen was cheating on Scott with Tom. meagen got pregnant and the chances were that is was Tom's baby. She met with Tom one night to tell him and he hit her with a rock because he just wanted to shut her up. Rachel kills Tom, and Anna helps.

That was just a short version, and I left out so many details. If you love mysteries you will enjoy this book so much. The only similarity I see between this and Gone Girl is the messed up marriage life. It seems like marriage makes you crazy :,) I hope they make a film out of it because it would be so interring to see the characters come to life. Some people said it was too obvious who killed Meagen, which I disagree. I didn't find out till the very end. 

Let me know what you guys thought about the book!

Weekly Favorites #8

I go a few weeks where I just don't use anything new i've been loving, and then theres weeks where I love way too many things. This week I have tried a few new things and some are just old favorites, things I re discovered again.

The Girl on the Train

I literally have a few chapters left but I have enjoyed this book so much. It does remind me a bit of gone girl, but I just love mystery/thriller books. I don't want to do a review just yet, I think I will dedicate a whole post to just a review. But if you love mysteries I would highly recommend this book.

Rimmel London Show Off

I have no idea which shade this one is because the little sticker came off, but I don't like these glosses because of their colors. they're just an amazing drug store lipgloss. They are so pigmented and moisturizing, and they last a pretty long time, even when you eat and drink. They have so many shades likes nudes and light pinks I would recommend checking those out.

The Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom

The Body Shop is probably one of my favorite shops and I love their lotions. I stocked up when they were having their huge sumer sale. This smells just like cherry blossoms and it's so moisturizing and it leaves your skin feeling so soft. And it smells so so good. And I love The Body Shops lotion constancy. I like how they're more hard rather than liquidy.

Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics Primer Brush

Even though this is specifically a primer brush, I use it to put my foundation on. It works so well and it leaves my foundation so nice and even. It doesn't leave any streaks. For the longest time I have been using a puffy powder brush to put on my foundation and it always left streaks. I never thought about using more of a brush that looks like a paintbrush, it just leaves such a nicer finish. 

Victorias Secret Sheer Love Mist

For some strange reason I prefer sprays and mists to perfumes and I don't know why. I never tried any of the Victoria's Secret mists but this one smells amazing. It's white cotton and pink lily and it smells so floral and pretty. And the smell does linger for quite a while.

What have you been enjoying this week or month?!

it CC+ Lip Serum Review

I only recently got into it cosmetics and I honestly fell in love with it. They have so many amazing products. I recently got this lip serum and I love it. To be honest, they don't come with a huge variety of colors and the color selection isn't the best. But, they are so hydrating and moisturizing. They leave a glossy finish and they aren't sticky. This also acts as a lip corrector, so if you feel like your lips look like they're aging and/or they have those fine lines I would highly recommend this. If you also have dry lips this would be a great option because not only does it look cute, it also hydrates your lips. 

It cosmetics are also cruelty free, they don't test on animals.

Murad Acne Review

I have been battling with acne for as long as I can remember, I'm 21 now so it is a bit annoying that my face looks like a 14 year old that just hit puberty. But what's even more annoying is that I don't have as many pimples as I do blemishes and red spots. And it's all mainly on my cheeks. The tea tree set was so helpful in helping me get rid go the majority of my pimples. I can't recommend it enough. But now it's that annoying redness that won't go away. It's supper frustrating when putting on foundation and blush, it all goes away when I blend and all you see is the redness. 

After some research I found the brand Murad and I was so excited to see what the fuss was about. I already have a face wash I love, and since the products were kinda pricey I didn't want to buy something I didn't really need. The first I ten I got was the acne clearing solution. So this is mean to get rid of the acne and pimples. One problem I had with acne treatments was that they were all so so so drying, but this one does not dry up your skin, it actually hydrates. So after I put this on at night I can feel how hydrating it is. 

I also got the anti aging moisturizer for blemish prone skin. So this is more for my blemishes. It also isn't drying and you put this on top of the acne treatment at night. Both of these products feel so nice and smooth on my face. I have been using those two products for about 2 weeks and I can see a little difference. I still break out from time to time but my cheeks aren't as red. I will finish up the products to see how much of a difference they did make, but if you are struggling with acne or blemishes and you hate those drying products I would highly recommend Murad.

(Also, they don't test on animals which is a plus.)

August Ipsy 2015

My favorite time of the month! Ipsy time! I love getting my glam bags and getting to see all the goodies that are inside! I have to say, this months bag was pretty nice, at first look I did like more products than the ones I didn't like too much. This isn't a review as I just got the bag but I thought it would be fun to get to see what's inside in case anyone was interested!

So the bag itself is pretty cute. Its monochrome and on the back there is a barbie pink zipper. So Im definitely going to be reusing the bag for something. And here are the products that were included: (I will also include the prices to see if the bag was really worth it)

Pencil Me in Eye Accent Pencil ($6.99)

I'm assuming this is an eyeliner, and the color I got was boysenberry. Its like a grey/blue. Just by looking at it I know that I won't like the color too much but I looked on their website and they have such a huge range of colors. I will definitely try it out and see how I really feel about it.

Luxe Doubler Eye & Lip Pencil ($12.00)

This one is in the color wine, and I don't own any lip liners so I definitely want to try this one out. The color looks so pretty, I don't know if I would use this one for my eyes, but this would look so beautiful with a berry lipstick or gloss.

Marsk Brush ($26.00)

This is the eyeshadow brush and at first I wasn't too fond of it, but I am actually excited to use it. The only eyeshadow brushes I ever liked were the ones that come with the naked pallets. This one is also one of those thicker brushes and I'm excited to see how it works.

Hikari Lipgloss ($13.00)

This is such a pretty shade of red, this one is called salsa. I think this is my favorite product at first look. It is pretty glossy and not sticky, but it's not TOO glossy.

Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil ($8.99)

I love adding some oil into my ends after I wash my hair because of how damaged they are. And I am running out of the one I use so I am pretty excited to use something different.

TOTAL: $66.98

Best & Worst BB Creams

For those of you who may not know what a BB cream is, it's basically a beauty balm. They are like a mix of a foundation and a tinted moisturizer. They don't have as much coverage as a foundation does. They give you a dewy air brushed look. I use them whenever I'm having a good skin day and there isn't too much I want to cover, which is so rare these days!   

I picked one of my favorite BB creams to share with you, but I also picked one BB cream that I think is horrible just so you have something to compare. These are just my opinions and obviously everyone's skin type is different so something that works for me might not work for someone else and something that may work for someone else may not work for me.

Best BB Cream

Hydroxatone anti-aging BB cream. I got a little sample of this in a beauty box a few months back. And I fell in love with it the first time I tried it so I ended up buying a full size, which was kind of pricy but worth it. The thing that made he hesitate to try it, was the fact that it says "anti-aging." I'm only 21, so I feel like I have a few more years before I have to worry about aging so I don't like using anti aging products yet, but if you get past that this product is amazing. It is light coverage so if you have a lot of things you want to conceal this product wont work. This is the lightest shade and it is mean to suite all typed wether your skin is oily or dry.

I also love that this has SPF 40. I never realized how important it is to use SPF. I feel like I don't spend enough time in the sun to really be effected by it, but that is so not true. No matter how long or how short you'll be in the sun it is so important to wear sunscreen. Our faces are so delicate and the skin on our faces is also so so so thin we need to protect it, wether thats wearing sunscreen everyday or wearing products that already have sunscreen already included. *TIP* if you have a favorite foundation and it doesn't have any SPF, tai e a little but of sunscreen and just add it into your foundation each morning, this will not change the consistency of your foundation, but it will protect your face.

Here is everything this BB cream states it does:

-Shields the skin with powerful broad spectrum UVA/UVB SPF 40

-Protects from the elements and oxidative stress with potent antioxidants 

-Soothes and nourishes with natural anti-irritants and vitamins

-Evens out skin tone and brightens dullness and discoloration with active Vitamin C and an advanced encapsulated peptide

-Reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles and overall skin aging as it firms and lifts, making skin instantly look flawless and more youthful

Worst BB Cream

I love The Body Shop so so so much but I was so disappointed with this BB cream. I feel like a lot of their makeup products aren't that great. But this BB cream in particular was just not my favorite, and it could be because it just didn't suite my skin. I got the lightest shade and it was just way too yellow and it didn't match my skin at all. On the tube it also says "color adapting tinted cream" meaning it's suppose to blend into your skin tone, and it just didn't. I also don't like the constancy. It's way too watery. When you first squeeze it out it's white and I guess that's when it's suppose to blend into your skin. If you look at the third picture, you can see that it just looks messy. 

Books I Want To Read

I love making lists and I love reading. So I thought I would make a list with all the books I want to read. When I was younger I used to read so much and I would probably get through a book in less than a week. As I got older, I feel like I just don't have the time. At least that's what I tell myself. But, in reality I could easily find time to read, I guess I just choose not to and I don't know why. So I took some time out of my day to research some books that I would like to read and this is what I came up with:

-Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty

-We Were Liars|Stash E. Lockharts

-Dangerously Bound|Eden Bradley

-The Light And The Dark|Mikhail Shishkin

-The Girl On The Train|Paula Hawkins

-The Truth About Alice|Jennifer Mathieu

-What She Saw|Lucinda Rosenfeld

-The Rachel Papers|Martin Amis

-Housekeeping|Marilynne Robinson

-You|Caroline Kepnes

-Sharp Objects| Gillian Flynn

-Dark Places|Gillian Flynn

-A Circle Of Wives|Alice LaPlantes

-Anatomy Of A Misfit|Andrea Portes

-Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children|Ransom Riggs

If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments!

Naked 2 Review

I have had this palette for quite some time, and I never got much use out of it until this summer. It just has been my go to for the past couple of months and I never realized how many beautiful shades there are. They are mostly shimmery, there's only 3 matte shades, but I prefer shimmery shades so this is perfect for me. And the colors aren't too dark and if you know how to blend them nicely, they're just so beautiful. I don't own the 1st one (I still find that so funny) but between this one and the third one, I do prefer this one. The third one is too pink, but I still love it. 

I feel like you can get so many pretty party and going out looks out of this pallet. This is definitely not for a natural look, but if you do use the right amount and colors you can defiantly make the look more natural. I also love how pigmented the colors are. All the swatches I did, I only swiped the colors once (if that makes any sense lol)

Here are the shades:

-Foxy

-Half Baked

-Bootycall (Great for highlighting)

-Chopper

-Tease

-Snakebite

-Suspect

-Pistol

-Verve

-YDK

-Busted

-Blackout