How I Plan & Create Blog Posts

Hey Lovelies!!!

So I'm really excited to share this post with you all! Basically, I'm going to walk you through my process of planning and creating a blog post. For those of you who already do blogging, this might not be of much help to you. But hopefully to those of you who are new to it or are thinking of starting a blog, this post can help you out! For the most part, I've stuck to this system since starting back in August. Just a few small changes here and there.

So the first thing that I do, is I write down a list of ideas of blog posts. I keep this list on my phone so that I can basically write it down as soon as it comes to my mind, since I always have my phone with me. And if you look back at my blog posts, I've done all of these!! And there's also some more that will be coming up in the next few weeks.

Now, before I actually type and post to my blog, I like to write it down in my notebook first. And if you can tell, my notebook is covered in glitter, just how I like it! :)

Writing everything down ahead of time comes in especially handy when I'm planning a monthly favorites. I can write stuff down all throughout the month and then when it comes time to take pictures, I check off each thing as soon as I get it. This technique might not be helpful to everyone, but it's definitely helped me be more organized and get all my thoughts down.

Then it's time to take some pictures!! I love doing photography (when I have the patience) so this might be my favorite step in the whole process. My pictures haven't really been spectacular but I'm getting better every time. And I'm already saving up for a DSLR (which I'll need for a spring course at school anyways).

And just to be on the safe side, I keep all of my pictures from blog posts on this handy little thumb drive. And of course, it's pink. I don't know if you noticed from this pink thumb drive, the pink pen, or past blog posts, but I love the color pink (you should see my bedroom at home... Literally all pink).

And finally, I'm ready to publish my blog post. I usually just type it all out on Sunday and publish it right after. I would like to try and type it in advanced and just go on to Blogger on Sunday and hit publish. But to be honest, it's easiest for me to just do it all at once.

There you have my routine for planning and creating blog posts! Hopefully this post helped someone out there!! If anyone reading this is debating starting their own blog, PLEASE DO! I've had absolutely nothing bad come out of starting my blog and I'm so happy that I did start. I've made changes along the way to improve and it can only go up from here. And if you realize that blogging isn't for you, nothing's forcing you to continue; at least give it a try! I will let you know that I've discovered that blogging is much easier and more fun when I have a schedule. Last year, before I started posting every Sunday, it felt like such a hassle to post. Now that I do it every week, I love it!!

And before I go, I'll have another post on Wednesday since it will be the last day of April. So get ready for April Favorites coming real soon! Until then, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

My Pamper Day/Evening Essentials

Hey Lovelies!!!

So this post is something I've wanted to show you for quite some time but it got put off farther and farther because of other posts I had to do first and also the fact that I had to be home to even take the pictures. This post is inspired by a YouTube video by one of my top favorite YouTubers (and bloggers), Zoella. Here's the video I'm talking about (go on, give it a watch):

Mine is slightly different and I do things all throughout the day. It can be really relaxing after a long day. I will say one thing though, if I'm really busy and don't necessarily have time for a pamper evening but I have one anyways, it won't make me feel relaxed or relieved, but rather add to the stress. So, just a heads-up, don't do this unless you have the time for it!!! Don't run yourself a nice bath and give yourself a facial if you have a paper and a huge test the next day!!!! (You have been warned) So here we go, my Pamper Day/Evening Essentials:

Look how excited I am to start my Pamper Day!!!

The first thing I do, is make my bed. It sounds weird but having a made bed makes my day so much better and makes me feel relieved.

After eating breakfast, I'm finally ready to starttttt

To start, I put in my contacts. Even though I like my glasses, it's just easier to not have to deal with them while getting ready.

The next thing I do is wash my face with the Olay Fresh Effects {Shine, Shine Go Away} Facial Cleanser with the brush it comes with.

Here's a a live shot of my washing my face.. Super exciting stuff right?! (And don't worry, I'm not naked. I'm wearing the polka-dotted towel wrap from an earlier picture)

Next, I use a toner. I prefer to use toner right after cleansing my face. Everyone's skincare is different so if you've heard of using toner at a different time, that's fine! It all depends on what works best for that person!!

Ooh, another live shot... Super cute...

Next, I hop into the shower. I love being home because I can shower in the mornings since I have a hair dryer there. And when I'm home, I use different products in the shower. Mainly so I don't have to pack it in my bags for just a weekend at home. The shampoo and conditioner that I use are the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean. I'm not completely in love with them or anything but my hair just feels really clean (yes, the title tells the truth) after using it.

Next, I scrub my face with the St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub which I adore and leaves my skin so incredibly soft!

Then, I use the body wash and body scrub from The Body Shop in the Moringa scent which is perfect for the spring time! And this also leaves my skin feeling super soft!

Then, it's time to shave!! I use the Satin Care + Olay shaving gel and the Schick Quattro razor.

After getting out of the shower, I put on a face mask. This is a new one that I'm absolutely loving!!! It has peppermint in it so it has a cooling feeling which is really nice and leaves your skin feeling really soothed.

Here's what it looks like on:

Then, I've got to use a spot treatment because nobody's has time to deal with acne breakouts. Let's be honest...

Next, it's time to moisturize!!

Then, I scrub my lips with a delicious sugar scrub and finish it off with a mint lip balm.

I finish off my body care with The Body Shop's Moringa Body Butter which is actually the best body butter/lotion that I've ever used, and I'm being totally honest. It leaves my skin so soft and smooth all day!

Then, I dry my hair so that I can go about my day.

After a long day of stressful or taxing events, it's always nice to take a nice relaxing bath with some lovely smelling (and looking) Lush bath bombs and bubble bars. Here, I'm using the Candy Mountain Bubble Bar and the Butterball Bath Bomb. The combination of the two was really sweet smelling and left my skin feeling super soft and moisturized!

And I love taking baths with a nice glass of ice water. This cup is in a Christmas wine glass because all of our glass cups were being washed in the dishwasher... But at least this glass is cute even if it is a little out of season.

Also, lighting candles while I'm in the bath really relaxes me. I'm able to turn off the lights and just have the candle light. It's really nice to have really low, minimal light while you're relaxing in the bath. I also really like to have a movie playing on my laptop (which I leave on the counter) while I'm in the bath. Having the movie playing makes me completely forget the stresses outside and focus on myself, the bath, and the movie.

I hope you all enjoyed this post!! I really enjoy doing pamper days/evenings. I try and do it every time that I go home. And I felt that I wanted to share with you my routine and my essentials in case any of you wanted to start doing this as well! If you guys do these pamper evenings, please let me know some of your essentials in the comments below, as I'd love to give it a read and maybe try some new things out. Anyway, that's all I have for this week. I'll be back again next Sunday and until then, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥

My Nail Routine + Favorites

Hey Lovelies!!!

I'm here to tell you all about my current nail routine and favorite nail polishes and tools. I'm going to start with my favorite part which is the actual nail polish. I have a pretty extensive collection and I'm quite proud of it! However, I do have my favorites! And these are them!

For my finger nails, these are my five favorite colors:

♥ Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure in 470 Red My Lips

♥ Revlon Colorstay in 060 Café Pink

♥ Revlon Parfumerie in 090 Bordeaux

♥ essie in 754 Mint Candy Apple

♥ Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure in 817 Gold Roses *Limited Edition*

And the color that is on my toe nails 99% of the time:

♥ Sinful Colors in 854 Boogie Nights

Now let's get into the routine that I stick to (quite religiously...)

First, I start out by cleaning up my nails. I'll trim them a bit if they need it with nail clippers. The pair that I use are by La Cross, but there's nothing extraordinary about them.

Then after that, I file my nails with a nail file. I have no idea what brand this file is. It gets the job done like any other nail file.

After that, I like to push and trim my cuticles. I know... Trimming your cuticles is not the best thing to do but sometimes you just have to trim them. Plus I find that it's much easier to apply nail polish more accurately after doing this. For trimming my cuticles, I use a Revlon tool.

Then, finally, I like to buff and smooth my nails with this four-sided Trim Buffing Block (featured in my February Favorites). I think that this tool makes the biggest difference in maintaining your manicure for an extended time. You nail gets smooth after using it and it helps hold the nail polish in place with a smoother application.

I always use a base coat after I finish buffing and smoothing my nails and before applying the colored nail polish. This base coat is pretty good! It is very, very slightly colored a pale white which also helps the colored nail polish appear more opaque. And, base coats also work to prevent your nails getting stained by the colored nail polish. For a base coat, I use:

♥ Revlon Colorstay Gel-Smooth Base Coat

After applying two coats of my colored nail polish, I always finish it off with a top coat. I'm not completely satisfied with this top coat, but it works for now. I prefer quick dry top coats, but I'm trying to finish up this bottle before I buy another type (maybe Seche Vite...?). Anyways, for a top coat, I use:

♥ Revlon Colorstay Gel-Shine Top Coat

Typically, my nail polish lasts about a week on average. When it's time to repaint my nails, I use the Target brand (Up & Up) Strengthening Nail Polish Remover. I've tried so many different types and formulations of nail polish remover and, to be completely honest, this one works the best, in my opinion. And I use cotton balls to remove the polish. I've tried cotton rounds, but I don't feel like they remove as much as the cotton balls.

In the situation where I need to remove my toe nail polish but my finger nails are painted, I use the handy little tool. It is a little rubber UFO looking thing that my mom found at a store (I have no idea what store though...) Basically, you put the cotton ball with nail polish remover in the little cut out and it acts as a barrier so that you don't get any nail polish remover on your finger nails. It works so well! If anyone knows where this can be found, leave it in the comments below!!

So, I've gotten my four closest friends to stick to this nail routine too! Almost every weekend, the five of us get together to do laundry, paint our nails, eat a bunch of food, gossip, and sometimes watch a movie. After I painted all of their nails once, they realized how long their manicures lasted so now we've made it a weekend tradition.

If you guys are interested, try out this nail routine or something similar and let me know how it works out for you! And if you have any suggestions or recommendations for my nail routine or even nail polished to try out, please leave them in the comments below. I'd love to test out some new products! I hope you like this post... Until next time, stay beautiful!!!

♥♥♥