Beauty Haul!

Hey Lovelies!!!

Recently, I've done some shopping at the drugstore and picked up some new beauty goodies! So, as usual, I'm going to share what I got with you!! So here we go!

Target

♥ Satin Care + Olay Shave Gel

♥ Essie Fiji Nail Polish

♥ Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Waterproof Mascara

♥ L'Oreal Nail Polish in Royalty Reinvented

♥ Cotton Rounds

♥ Dove Cucumber and Green Tea Deodorant

♥ St. Ives Lemon and Orange Facial Scrub

♥ Revlon Colorstay Eye Liner in Black

♥ Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent

♥ Maybelline Clean Express Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover

♥ Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in Nova

♥ BioTrue Contact Solution

CVS

♥ imPRESS Press-On Manicure

♥ Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

There isn't much to this post because it is simply a haul. Most of these products are new and I haven't tried them out yet. But you can look forward to some reviews coming real soon! And if I'm feeling up to it, I might do two posts a week while I'm home for the summer. I'm not promising anything but it's a possibility! And Saturday is the last day of May so you know what that means.... Monthly Favorites!!! Until next time, stay beautiful!!

♥♥♥

Tips for [Prom] Makeup

Hey Lovelies!!!

For this week's blog post, I wanted to share with you some helpful tips. Now these tips are kind of intended for prom, as its around that time of the year when high schools have their proms, but these tips can also be used for other special occasions (graduations, birthday parties, weddings, etc.), or even just every day looks. And just this week I was asked by two of my closest friends from when I danced to do their makeup for their prom. Now, both girls have quite different complexions, hair color, eye color, skin types, and also different colored prom dresses, so I had to do quite different makeup looks for both of them. Neither of them wear much makeup on a regular basis so I didn't go too dramatic on their makeup; I actually kept it quite simple but it still came out quite nice. And as I was doing the makeup, I was explaining to them the process I went through to pick out their makeup looks. So I figured I should share it with my readers as well! So here we go:

♥ Do your research!- Figure out what you're wearing especially the color. Also figure out what colors work best for your complexion, hair color, eye color, etc. It might seem like a lot to consider, but I can assure you that you'll find something even if it's not all in one place.

♥ Know what you're comfortable with- Know what kind of makeup you feel comfortable wearing for an entire night. If you're having someone else do your makeup, make sure they know of this comfort zone and that they follow it!

♥ Practice!!- This step is crucial in assuring that your makeup comes out the way you want. And practice more that just once. This way you can learn different ways to apply the makeup to get the desired look. And for people with sensitive skin, this step will avoid having a reaction to makeup on the big night! If someone is doing your makeup for you, it might be a good idea to have them do a trial run so that you know what you'll look like on prom night.

♥ Less is more- I can promise you that less is more when it comes to makeup. No one wants to show up to prom with cakey face makeup, raccoon eyes, and smeared lipstick (I mean, I guess it would make prom unforgettable...). If you aren't too experienced, I would suggest not going too much more intense than your regular, everyday makeup.

♥ Be prepared for touch-ups- If you want your makeup to look the same at the end of the night as it did at the beginning, make sure you're ready to apply some touch-ups. I would suggest bringing your lip product, setting powder (or even blotting papers), concealer, and maybe an eye liner. But don't be focused on keeping up with your makeup, focus on having a good night!

Now these are my best tips for makeup for your big night! Also, if you have any other tips to share, please leave them in the comments below as they might be very helpful for someone reading this!!! Keep in mind that I never went to prom (I'm not one for those types of events...) so I've never put these tips to test myself. I have, however, done people's prom makeup for three years now and I always ask how the makeup held up. So far, I've had nothing but great results, which I'm super thankful for! If any of you have questions about the prom makeup that I do, please leave a comment or tweet me; I'd love to answer! Until next time, stay beautiful!!

♥♥♥

April Favorites

Hey Lovelies!!!

It's that time again... Monthly Favorites!!! YAY! But before you get too excited, I have some kind of bad news.. Unfortunately, yesterday I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to something I ate (I'm allergic to ginger and it must have been in something that I ate and I wasn't aware of it) so this post is going to be kind of unimpressive. The day before I post is usually the day that I plan it all out and take pictures. So because I wasn't able to do that, I'm going to be using pictures from the internet just to make my life easier and not cram everything in today. I'm still going to be telling you the things that I've been loving this month, just not with my own pictures. I hope you can all understand why I'm doing this and no one is upset. So here we go!!

Fashion

♥ Daisy High-Neck Crop Top from Aeropostale - As you might already know, I work at Aeropostale so I spend a lot of time looking at their clothes. And they have some really nice stuff! So buying it to wear to work isn't so bad because I can wear it outside of work too! And I've recently been loving daisy prints, so this crop top was perfect for me. I don't wear this to work but I'm looking forward to wearing it this summer paired up with the orange skirt below.

♥ Orange Skirt from Aeropostale (pictured above)- Another fav from Aero. I'm a super girly-girl so I love wearing dresses and skirts. But I didn't have a bright orange skirt in my collection, so I figured this one would be the perfect addition, plus it looks amazing with the daisy crop top!

♥ Zodiac Tank from Aeropostale- Thanks to Andrea Russett, I've recently been loving tank tops like this one. They're kind of baggy and super comfortable to wear. And when I saw this one at work, I had to get it. And I'm loving it. It's super soft and has a cool bright green stitching.

♥ Tribal Scarf from Aeropostale- Another impulse buy from Aero. I was putting up these scarfs on the display and decided that I needed one of them in my wardrobe. And my favorite thing about this scarf is that I goes with almost anything because of all the colors in it.

Makeup

Nothing new this month :(

Nails

Again, nothing new :(

Skincare

♥ Jergens Natural Glow Body Lotion- Being a naturally very pale person, I need all the help I can to look tan for the summer. I tend to burn and never tan when I'm outside, so I need to use self tanners to get nice tans. While a lot of self tanners can make you look unnaturally orange, the Jergens Natural Glow line doesn't. It gives a very natural looking, gradual tan. I've been asked by many people if I went tanning or on a vacation, when all I've done is applied this a few times. Totally recommend for anyone who wants to try out a self tanner.

♥ Jergen Natural Glow Facial Moisturizer- Along with the body lotion, the face moisturizer in the Jergens Natural Glow line works amazingly! And an added bonus is the fact that it contains SPF 20. It's not the highest SPF but anything will help, right?!

♥ Dove Cucumber and Green Tea Body Wash- I've switched my body wash to something a little bit fresher and more appropriate for spring. Although it's not my favorite scent ever, it works really well and smells very fresh and clean. Plus, the bottle is huge so it should last me a while.

Hair

Nothing new this month :(

Scent

♥ Caribbean Escape Wallflower from Bath and Body Works- Always a favorite scent when it becomes Spring/Summer time. It smells of coconut and tropical flowers. I have this plugged into my wall in my dorm room and I have a candle ready to burn once I arrive home next week.

Food/Drinks

♥ Arizona Green Tea- I'm a huge green tea fan, and although this one has a lot of sugar, it's delicious and at only $0.99, it's impossible to pass up. I like the green tea flavor the best, but Arizona also has so many other flavors to choose from. You just can't lose with Arizona!

Entertainment

♥ I don't have anything really specific, but I've been loving listening to throwbacks from the 90's. I've been listening to them on iTunes Radio on various stations (Spice Girls radio, N'SYNC radio, Jesse McCartney radio). If you're a 90's kid, I highly suggest checking out these radio stations because I think it's impossible to not be happy when listening to throwback music.

Well, there you have it. I'm already feeling a lot better so I'm hoping I can put 100% effort into Sunday's post. Oh, and just a heads up, I working really hard making some changes to the blog appearance. It's a lot of changes and using tools I'm really new to, so I don't know when it will be finished, but I'll keep you all posted. So, I'll talk to you all again on Sunday, and until then, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

March Favorites

Hey Lovelies!!!

It's that time again... Time for monthly favorites!!! It's crazy how fast this year is going by, isn't it?! 

♥ My first favorite would be my birthday which turned out to be a really nice day!!!

Skincare

♥ Olay Fresh Effects {Out of this Swirled} Pore Clean + Exfoliating Scrub White Grapefruit and White Tea- I've completely fallen in love with the Olay Fresh Effects skincare line. I also really love scrubs, whether it's body or face scrubs, because they make your skin feel so soft! And this one is no exception, plus it smells beautiful!! It's very fresh, as you would expect from the Fresh Effects line. It's not a really rough scrub, but just coarse enough to get a deeper cleanse in your skin.

♥ Olay Fresh Effects {Bright on Schedule} Eye Roller- Again from the Fresh Effects line, is this eye roller. I've been trying to get my hands on this for the longest time, and I finally found it a couple of weeks ago. And it has made such a big difference in the appearance of my under-eye circles. They're not as dark and don't look puffy. I would highly suggest this product to anyone!!!

♥ Lush Mask of Magnaminty- I'm in love with Lush's Fresh Face masks. The last time that I stopped by Lush to pick one up, they didn't have any, for some reason. But the lady at the store really helped me in choosing this mask. And I'm very happy with it!!! It's very minty and has a cooling, tingly feeling when you use it. I've need an improvement in my skin since starting to use this. Plus, since it's not one of the face masks, you don't need to refrigerate it and it lasts much longer.

Makeup

♥ Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit- Here's another product that I've been searching for absolute ages for! I finally found it and have used it ever since getting it. I'm extremely happy with the results and can see myself using this for a very long time. I just hope that it won't be as difficult to find when I need to get a new one because that would be even more frustrating.

♥ Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer- This concealer isn't the best concealer available to buy, but it is the only drugstore concealer that matched my skin tone perfectly. I have really light skin and most drugstore concealers are WAY too dark... No good! This one, however is perfect. So if you have really light skin like me, I would recommend trying this concealer in the lightest shade available.

♥ Covergirl + Olay Stick Concealer- I wanted to try out some new concealers and found these two concealers from Covergirl and have loved both of them. I've never tried a stick concealer before but heard great things about them. And it's all true because this concealer has really good coverage and blends really nicely. Plus it matches my skin tone pretty well, something that is usually really hard to find for my super light skin.

Nails

♥ Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat- I heard about this product from MissGlamorazzi and, since I've been looking for a new base coat, figured I'd give this one a try. It's a rubberized base coat so that really helps the nail polish stay much longer. And it does just that! I've noticed that my manicures last much longer now, so definitely try this out!!!

♥ Revlon Parfumerie in Powder Puff- I've noticed that I've had a different Revlon Parfumerie in every Monthly Favorites post. That just shows how much I truly love these nail polishes. And my mom got me this one for my birthday, along with two others, and this one is just beautiful. It's a pale pink with beautiful glitter and looks stunning. It isn't completely opaque so it either takes many coats or another color underneath. It smells like baby powder, which is kind of random but not a bad smell. This is just such a perfect color for me to wear. But it would definitely look much better if I was tan...

♥ Seche Vite Top Coat- If you've heard of this product, you won't even need to read this because you already know how amazing it is. It is THE BEST top coat I've ever used. It dries so quickly that I no longer have to sit and wait for ages for my nails to dry before I'm able to do anything. It makes me love painting my nails even more now!!

Hair

♥ TRESemme Platinum Strength Strengthening Heat Protect Spray- TRESemme heat protect sprays are my absolute favs but I've only used the regular one. I'm obsessed with the Platinum Strength line (it's what I use for shampoo and conditioner) so I just had to try this spray. I like it even more, mainly because of the scent. It's a little different but better. So I'm going to use this one over the other one from now on.

♥ Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo- I'm not going to say much because I've already reviewed it here but all I need to say is that I love it and it gives my hair lots of volume... Something it lacks a lot of.

Fashion

♥ JacksGap Rickshaw Run T-Shirt- A while back I donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust Fundraiser that Jack and Finn were doing for the Rickshaw Run and as a reward I got this t-shirt. I've been wearing it a lot because 1) it looks really nice thanks to the talented Finn and his graphic design skills and 2) it's super comfy. I also got a little card and Maoam (Jack's fav candy) pictured below:

Entertainment

♥ The Hunger Games: Catching Fire DVD- I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire was my favorite book and favorite movie (so far) out of the whole series. So when I got this for my birthday, I was super excited!!! I've watched it a few times and can't get enough. Plus this will be perfect for our weekend movie nights.

Miscellaneous

♥ Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS- Obviously, I'm loving my new camera that I got for my birthday. Other than this picture, I took all of these pictures for the blog with my camera. They come out so nice and it's really easy to use. I'm super happy with the results.

♥ Xhiliration Jewelry Storage/Mirror/Charging Station- I found this on sale at Target for $10 and had to get it. It was like it was meant to be! It has my two favorite colors (pink and light blue/Tiffany blue) and I needed a place to store my jewelry and a mirror for my desk. It literally had everything I needed and matched my room perfectly. If I didn't buy it, I would be convinced that I was crazy... It was almost like it had my name written on it.

♥ My new phone background- I'm obsessed with my new background. It's perfect for spring, which is slowly making it's appearance in Massachusetts. I love pink and I love daisies so this background is totally "me". I just love turning on my phone and seeing this right away. I got it off of Tumblr (I freaking love Tumblr) thinking it was just a random picture but it ended up being the perfect size to be a phone wallpaper. YAY!!!

I hope you enjoyed my favorites from this month. And leave a comment below with some things you've been loving this month. I'd love to have a look!! And if you didn't notice, I didn't do a shoutout to anyone this month. I do however, want to give a shoutout to my new favorite website: Pinterest. I've just started on there so I'm still getting the hang of it. I'm going to be posting my account on my Contact page. So if you have a Pinterest too, leave it in the comments and go follow me (or do whatever you do on Pinterest), I'll follow back! Anyways, I'll see you on Sunday and as always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

Review- Target Beauty Box

Hey Lovelies!!!

I'm back with a review for this week. I feel like it's been ages since I've posted a review... And, as you can tell from the title, I'm going to be reviewing the Target Beauty Box, so there will be a few different items that I'll be talking about. Yay!! And for those of you outside of the U.S. or who don't know what the Target Beauty Box, it's basically a box that comes with a few products that are "trending" at the moment. And at the price of $5.00 to get 5 products, either travel/trial size or full size, plus discounts on future purchases, you cannot possibly pass it up! Unfortunately, you can't order it any more, but keep your eyes out here in case they make a new one because it's totally worth it!

Here's what's inside:

A list of all the products and a short description as well as a coupon for $3 off a $15 beauty purchase at Target (which I'll definitely taking advantage of)

Promotion card for 20% off at Target's partner stores: DermStore (skincare), blush (makeup), and HairEnvy (hair).

Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $4.99 (on sale for $4.74 right now!!!)

I've recently become a huge fan of dry shampoos so I was really excited to see this one in the Beauty Box, since I've never tried it before. And I'm very happy with the results! I've been using the Dove Dry Shampoo and I like both the Dove and Herbal Essences for different reasons. I think the Dove Dry Shampoo absorbs the oil in your hair, but doesn't give too much volume. The Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo smells amazing first of all. It gives a lot more volume to your hair and is also transparent, so it won't make your hair look white. It also has no parabens which is a major plus, in my opinion.

Jergens BB Body Cream Light:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $11.99

I'm going to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of BB Creams, but I gave this a try anyways. I've never even seen or tried a BB Body Cream, so I was interested in what it would do. Unfortunately, I don't think it really does anything... I've used it in the morning every day for at least a week and haven't noticed any change in my skin. It is a nice lotion though; it is a really nice consistency and has a light, pleasant smell. 

TONI&GUY Sea Salt Texturising Spray:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $4.99 (2.5 oz), $14.99 (6.8 oz)

I am a huge fan of the look that Sea Salt Spray typically gives to your hair. It's just such a nice, relaxed look. Unfortunately, sea salt sprays don't really do anything for my hair :( My hair is really smooth and straight so it doesn't easily hold shape, whether it's waves or curls. But I was able to get enough of a result to form my opinion.  I had high hopes for this product and, unfortunately, I was disappointed. This sea salt spray made my look really greasy/oily throughout even though it was freshly cleaned. It didn't give my hair the beachy look that you would expect from a sea salt spray. Overall, I would choose my Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray over this one.

Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in Blind Date:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price- $6.49

I really don't like this product just for the amount of glitter in it. I enjoy the smell and it's a very smooth lip gloss even though it has glitter in it (let's be honest, nobody like a sticky lip gloss). The color of this is also really pretty. So I'm really disappointed because of the glitter. Other than the glitter, I know, for sure, that I would really love this lip gloss.

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in Black:

Regular Full-Size Retail Price: $6.89

I'm still not completely certain how I feel about this mascara. I'm not a huge fan of the formulation because it tends to clump, A LOT. But other than that, I really love this brush. It gives my lashes the exact look that I want: thicker on the outside and thinner on the inside. I just really wish that the formulation was different because that would make it so much better. But for now, I'm going to stick with my The Falsies Big Eyes and Clump Crusher.

I hope you liked this review. Even though I didn't like all the products, I don't regret getting the Target Beauty Box. And seeing the real prices of all the products compared to the $5 I paid to get the box, is crazy. How could anyone pass it up?! And I was able to test out some products that I wouldn't have otherwise. So, now I know, whenever there is a Target Beauty Box available, I will definitely be purchasing it!!

Oh, and tomorrow is the last day of March (crazy, right?!), so you know what that means!!! Monthly Favorites post!!!! So keep an eye out for that!! Until then, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

The Drugstore Diva Tag

Hey Lovelies!!!

I've been tagged to do another blog post!!! And let me tell you, I'm loving reading these tag posts as well as doing them!!! So I've been tagged by the lovely Lottie Mayy Loves (thanks a bunch love). Please do me a favor and go check out her blog, especially this tag's post!!! And right before I begin, this post was created by MJ in the Sky with Glitter, so go check out her blog and post as well!! On to the post...!

1. Favorite Drugstore Foundation?

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation in Ivory

2. Favorite Drugstore Concealer?

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (amazing coverage but, unfortunately, even the lightest color is far too dark for my skin tone)

Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer in Classic Ivory (pretty good but almost too runny... it is, however, the only drugstore concealer that matches my skin tone)

3. Favorite Drugstore Powder?

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Cream/Light

4. Favorite Drugstore Bronzer?

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny

5. Favorite Drugstore Blush?

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

6. Favorite Drugstore Highligher?

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer

7. Favorite Drugstore Eyeshadow?

Powder: NYX Nude Matte Shadows

Cream: Maybelline Color Tattoos

8. Favorite Drugstore Eyeliner?

Pencil: Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner

Liquid: Maybelline Master Precise Felt-Tip Eyeliner in Black

Gel: Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Eggplant

9. Favorite Drugstore Mascara?

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara in Blackest Black

Covergirl Clump Crusher in Very Black

10. Favorite Drugstore Lipstick?

Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist (I don't really wear proper lipstick... I know, that's crazy! But I'm a full time student so I tend to go for something a little less intense and will last a while)

11. Favorite Drugstore Lipliner?

Again, I don't wear lipliner... Since I don't wear proper lipstick, there really isn't a need to wear lipliner.

12. Favorite Drugstore Lipgloss?

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Beige

13. Favorite Drugstore Brow Product?

Milani Brow Kit in Medium

14. Favorite Drugstore Nail Polish?

essie Mint Candy Apple

essie Tour De Finance

(nail polish was a really tough one for me to choose because I LOVE nail polish... I chose my all time favorite and the color that I'm loving the most at the moment, but it changes regularly...)

This was a really quick, short post, but I think it's an amazing tag!! I didn't really go that much into detail on each product. I did that because I have a post that will do that scheduled for early April so keep an eye out for that!! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this tag post. And of course, I'm going to tag a few people!!!

I"m tagging:

♥ Beauty Spiced Latte

♥ Makeup or Break-Up

♥ Zubie's Musings

♥ Beauty by Nicholle

♥ Anyone else who wants to do this tag!!!

Please, let me know if you like these tag posts! Would you like to see the tag posts as the weekly Sunday post, or would you rather see it as a mid-week post (on Wednesday maybe) and another post on Sunday? Please leave that in the comments! As always stay beautiful!!!

(P.S. my birthday is in just two days, March 18 **cough, cough** so I'm planning to do a Birthday Haul/What I Got for My Birthday post for next Sunday... let me know if you like that idea and would like to see that!)

♥♥♥

February Favorites 2014

Hey Lovelies!!!

It's that time again... Time for monthly favorites!!! WOO YEAH!! Compared to January, I didn't try as many new products this month, however, I still found a lot of products that I loved! So here they are, I hope you enjoy!

Skincare

♥ Caress Endless Kiss Body Wash- I love this body wash. I actually intended for this to be in my January Favorites but I completely forgot it... But anyways, this body was is described as having the scent of "Creamy Vanilla & Sandalwood" and it smells wonderful. It's a very warm scent. If you don't like vanilla scented things, you probably won't like this, but I love it!

♥ Victoria's Secret Pink Warm and Cozy- So my friend had a mini bottle of this body mist and I remember trying it and falling absolutely in love with the scent. Around Christmas, I got the full-sized body mist and I've used it every day since. And just last week, I bought the mini lotion to keep in my handbag or backpack. The scent is just lovely... It's vanilla and peony  and I think that it goes well with the Caress body wash.

Makeup

♥ Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso- I'm pretty sure that every beauty guru, or just beauty obsessed person, has tried this blush and loved it. I've had this on my list to try for the longest time (I was waiting for my previous blush to run out which took absolutely forever). When I went to the store (CVS) to buy it, it looked super shimmery and I was unsure if it would look right on my oily skin. I bought it regardless, and I'm so happy I did. It's so pigmented and a gorgeous, natural color. And the shimmer isn't overdone, it simply adds a healthy, natural glow to your cheeks. An absolute staple for my makeup collection!

♥ Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist- I'm now on my second tube (is that the right word?) of this. I think this is one of my all time favorite lip products. The color is beautiful and I get compliments on it every time I wear it. I also think that it lasts quite a long time compared to most other lip products. It's kind of a mix between a lip liner and a lip stick but doesn't dry your lips out, which I love. And there's so many colors to choose from in this range.

Nails

♥ Essie Mint Candy Apple- A long time favorite and another favorite of beauty gurus. To me, Essie can be a hit-or-miss company; some colors are amazing quality while others are terrible quality, especially for almost $10 a bottle. Mint Candy Apple is one of the best colors. It has a smooth application, pigmentation, and color. Plus, for all my fellow pale people out there, this color makes you look tanner ;)

♥ Revlon Parfumerie in Beachy- As you could tell from my January Favorites and my review of the Revlon Parfumeries, I really like them. I recently got another addition (I had a 10% off coupon on my Target Cartwheel app) called Beachy. It's a beautiful bronze color, which I think could be worn at any time in the year, especially the fall. The smell in this one, unfortunately, isn't my favorite... It kind of smells like old lady perfume... Not the best. But other than that, it's really good.

♥ Nail buffing block- I recently got this Trim Buffing Block and it was an amazing purchase. Before applying a base coat, I use this to buff and smooth my nails. It really makes a huge difference. My nail polish applies much smoother and lasts longer. If you don't do this already, try it out and you'll see how nice your nails look afterwards.

Fashion

♥ H&M Circle Skirt- I've wanted a plain black circle skirt or skater skirt for the longest time. For Christmas, my grandmother gave me and my brothers $50 to spend at a store of our choice. I decided on H&M because they have nice stuff at a really affordable price. One of the things I got was a black circle skirt. It was the cheapest circle skirt I've ever found but you wouldn't know by looking at it. It's really high quality, looks amazing, and fits well.

♥ Alex and Ani Beaded Bangle- I got this bangle for Valentine's Day and I love it so much. Here in New England, Alex and Ani bangle bracelets are a huge deal! Most of them are just a metal band with a single charm on it, but some have beads, like this one. This is my first Alex and Ani with beads on it and it's perfect. If you want to check out some of the other bracelets, go visit their website: alexandani.com

Food/Drink

♥ Starbucks/Tazo Shaken Iced Green Tea- Mmmmm! I've had Starbucks a lot recently but I haven't exactly been in the mood for coffee, frappuccinos, or hot chocolate. I've been ordering a Venti Iced Green Tea and it is delicious. A lot of my friends don't like this drink, I guess it's an acquired taste... I love it, plus green tea is awesome for you.

♥ Chocolate Covered Strawberries- Perfect for Valentine's Day. My friends and I bought some chocolate covered strawberries at Godiva recently and realized how overpriced they were. So every weekend, we go to Target, and each of us buys a container of strawberries and a container of microwaveable Baker's chocolate. It costs under $5 to make about 15 strawberries. Then we have a "girls night" where we make choc. covered strawberries, paint our nails, watch movies, and gossip. It's so much fun and a highlight of our weekend.

♥ Cadbury Mini Eggs- Fun fact, I LOVE Cadbury chocolate. Here in the US, Cadbury isn't that commonly found; it's mostly Hershey's chocolate. But since Easter candy is out (already!) in stores, Cadbury is more popular and I'm loving every second. Mini Eggs are my favorite, they're so good! The UK has it good with stores stocked full with Cadbury chocolate...

Entertainment

♥ The Fault in Our Stars- Oh my god! This book is beautiful! I've heard great things about it and finally got around to reading it. I literally read it completely in just two days. All I have left to say is that I cannot wait for the movie to come out in June! Ahhhh

 ♥ Frozen- I think Frozen is now my top favorite Disney movie. It was incredible. The story is so much more unique than other Disney princess movies and I love that. Plus the music is so catchy and is stuck in my head all the time. Even though I don't have a sister, this movie had a really touching message.

♥ The Carrie Diaries- I've been watching The Carrie Diaries on Netflix all month and I just can't get enough. It's so entertaining to watch and I feel connected to the characters and story line for some reason. And just so you know, that happens extremely rarely; only in my absolute favorite shows, books, and movies. So I think it's a sign that it's already a favorite.

♥ The Vamps- I freaking love the Vamps. I've been a fan of theirs for a while now and they've just released their first single in the US recently, which is super exciting! Plus, they also just released a new song/music video called Last Night and I think everyone should check it out because it's flawless.

♥ MKTO- Such an awesome group. Their music is very unique compared to most other music on the market, but in the best way possible. I love Classic and Thank You! Go check them out if you haven't... I don't think you'll be disappointed.

♥ iTunes Radio- I think this is one of the best ideas from iTunes/Apple in a while. It's so much better than Pandora and connects to your iTunes account (obviously) so you can buy songs directly in iTunes Radio. And it really sticks to the radio you're listening to, unlike Pandora. The music it plays is exactly what I need. My two favorite radio stations are iTunes Top 50 Pop and iTunes Top 50 Alternative.

♥ BuzzFeed Quizzes- So addicting! I truly feel like these BuzzFeed Quizzes understand me... Me and my mom do these religiously and you'd be surprised at just how accurate they are. I have this website bookmarked in my phone and computer so I can do all the new quizzes each day. It's becoming an addiction...

I'd also like to give a quick shoutout to my favorite Blogger of the Month! Drumroll please.... Beauty Spiced Latte!!! I've been loving your blog and Instagram posts and I've also been loving our little convos on each other's posts! Plus, you tagged me for the Beauty Scenario Tag, which was amazing. And your super sweet and lovely! So, if you haven't visited her blog, please go check it out and also go follow her on Instagram (@beautyspicedlatte).

I hope you enjoyed this month's favorites. Let me know some of your favorites in the comments below or, better yet, do your own blog post! If you do, please leave a link in the comments... I'd be happy to check it out!!! Anyways, I'll be back again on Sunday for my regular Sunday post so stay tuned for that! And as always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

How I Clean My Brushes

Hey Lovelies!!!

So, I'm going to start off by saying that last week, after posting my blog post, I kind of redesigned my blog a bit. Let me know if you guys like it. I'm obviously planning to do more, but until I finish it and figure everything out, I'll have to make do with what I have to choose from.

Back to the post... Today, I'm going to share with you guys how I clean my makeup brushes. A couple weeks ago, I posted my makeup brush collection, so I figured this would be a good post to follow up with. Funny story, I was actually supposed to post this last week, but I was home and I left my baby shampoo back in my dorm room... GET WITH THE PROGRAM MEG!!! But it's all good because I did the amazing Beauty Scenario Tag and it got great results, so no complaints.

Anywho...

I've heard many different things that you can use, whether you make or buy it, to clean makeup brushes. And this is just my personal preference to use. My favorite is using Johnson's Baby Shampoo. It's gentle enough and makes your brushes stay nice and soft and still cleans them perfectly (plus I love the smell). Before I used baby shampoo, I actually mixed together anti-bacterial dish soap and extra virgin olive oil. The combination of the two got the brushes super clean (took the bacteria out) and also kept them super soft from the olive oil. I tend to prefer the baby shampoo, but either will work just fine!

Here's a little travel sized bottle of the baby shampoo. I always get some of these when I'm at Target because they're so cheap and they actually last a pretty long time for such a small bottle

To clean the brushes, here are the steps that I take:

♥ Get a little bit of water onto the brush (NOTE: make sure the brush is facing down so no water gets into the bristles and glue. That will cause the glue to dissolve and the brush will fall apart)

♥ Dip brush into cleaner

♥ Rub around in palm to get a good lather

♥ Rinse off (NOTE: make sure the brush is facing down so no water gets into the bristles and glue. That will cause the glue to dissolve and the brush will fall apart)

♥ Continue previous steps until there is no remaining soapiness or makeup residue. The water should run           clear when you rinse it

♥ Rub in a circle on a paper towel (lightly) to get out any excess water

♥ Lay brushes flat on a paper towel with bristles hanging over the edge of a counter/table

Here's what it will most likely look like at this stage

♥ Reshape brushes after they have dried for a while by lightly rubbing on the paper towel or in your palm

So, that's basically it. I try to clean my brushes once a week, although it usually ends up happening every other week.. I have found that it takes about 12 hours for my biggest, and densest brushes to dry completely; each brush takes a different amount of time to dry. And I typically stop clean my brushes after each use, which keeps them a little cleaner for longer. If you don't know what I mean by spot cleaning, I mean that I basically get out as much extra makeup product from the brush as I can after each use. You can even buy a spot cleaning spray to spray on a paper towel to get even more extra product out of the brush.

Here's a before and after:

The Real Techniques are awesome at showing the before and after because of the white tips. It's super easy, especially on the blush brush to see the makeup on the brush and then just the white tips.

I'd love to know how you guys clean your makeup brushes. What do you use and how often do you clean them? Let me know in the comments! It's almost the end of the month already! Crazy, right?! And you know what that means... I'll be posting my February Favorites right here, on my blog, on Friday (February 28). So keep an eye out. I'll also have my regular post next Sunday. And as always, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥