Is It Really Worth It?

Another draft post just sitting from June of last year.
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Ran across this article: Bookkeeper Stole $830K from Veterans Organization: Police 

Stuff like this pisses me OFF! You will eventually get CAUGHT! It's not worth it! And to not even THINK about the people you're impacting with your greediness! With the work that I do, I have access to cash, credit card numbers, so on and so forth. But it has NEVER crossed my mind to do something like the lady did in the article! I mean come on now.

I remember doing a paper in grad school about the squandering of funds that were supposed to go to HIV/AIDS initiatives in DC. It impacted the disease spreading more quickly in the city, people living in the city with HIV or AIDS struggling due to lack or resources and organizations who were truly about their missions and the people the served struggling to provide services. They truly needed the money to support their organizations. Again I was HOT like fire when I was doing my research.

I don't know why people cannot DO BETTER!

*ends rant*

Color Recommendations for Various Skin Tones

Going through my draft folder and I ran across this rant post. My feelings still hold true lol!
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All the fashion/beauty mags and sites at some point do an article on the "best" whatever shades for various skin tones. Articles like these make my azz itch! I ran across Total Beauty's article on the "best nude" lipstick. For deeper skin tones they "recommend"  lipsticks with copper undertones or a hint of mauve. I've also seen other recommendations for dark brown or purple.

*insert strong side eye*

First of all there are different interpretations of  "nude" when  it comes to lip colors. You have your traditional nude, you have nude as in your actual lip color and then you have nude as far as your skin tone. But again this is my take on "nude".

Another one is recommendations for blush. For deeper skin tones they always say berry toned. Which is nice and I like berry toned blushes. But for some that may be too much and not suitable for everyday. This goes for other skin tones as well. I feel like they have the same color recommendation for everyone skin tone.

Guess what beauty editors, I can wear a pink blush that is suitable for my skin tone and not look crazy. I have several lip colors that are your "traditional nude" and they work just fine for me. How about you take the time and make actual and legitimate recommendations and stop trying to put everyone in a particular box.

*ends rant*

#ManicureMonday Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue

Back to our regularly scheduled program!

The polish that did not work for me last week was Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet. Light/pastel shades are always hard for me to work with. They always seem to be milky and don't spread evenly on the nail. I don't recall not liking it but I hadn't worn it a while. Even with nail polish thinner, it still was hard to work with. I didn't like the end result and I think I changed my polish on Tuesday to Coral Reef which is a beautiful shade! So Mint Sorbet went in the trash.

This week we have the best blue nail polish of life! LIIIIIIFFFEEEEEEEEE!!!! I'm still bummed that Sally Hansen changed Pacific Blue. If you happen to find the original, do not hesitate. Just get it. Get it! This and another blue polish may come with me on my work trip. We shall see.

See next Monday (hopefully)!

July 2015 Top 5

So there isn't a Manicure Monday post. I didn't like what I painted on my nails. With a work trip coming next week, I decided to get this post up early. And I still wanted to get something up today since I've been posting on Mondays. I still have no clue what I'm taking makeup wise. I'm leaning towards the Urban Decay Smoked palette (not to be confused with the new Naked Smoky palette) and another palette I ordered over the weekend from Sedona Lace. Oye vey. Anywho...here is what I've been loving for the month.

Lancome Grandiose Mascara

I actually meant to mention this last month but forgot. I got this from HSN when there was a Today's Special that included their fragrance Tresor (Lancôme Trésor Eau de Parfum and Grandiose Mascara Set). I have not met a Lancome that I did not like. This one provides some serious length and curl to my lashes. I can get a nice lash look with one good coat. When I really build it up, it looks like I have on false lashes. The wand is pretty cool too. It's bent and you can get to every lash with ease. I've enjoyed having it in rotation.

Eyeko Visual Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Duo

I picked up this duo from HSN last month. When I ordered it was $14 and I said SOLD lol! The value was insane at $14 and now is it's $10! I'm tempted to order another set since I am enjoying them so much. That's $5 for each! That's better than drugstore pricing on brands like Revlon, L'Oreal, etc. I heard good things about these liners and I mainly got it for the brown liner (Mocha). The black (Ebony) is very nice. My favorite black liquid liner has been LORAC's Front of the Line Pro liquid liner. The brush tip of the Eyeko liner is a tad shorter which I like more so that LORAC's. I feel like I have more control. When I first used the brown it was ok but I wasn't wowed by it. My favorite brown liquid liner is by Smashbox. I gave it another go but then I remembered on the packaging it said shake before use. I couldn'r remember if I did the first time I used it. So one morning I shook it up. I mean really shook it up, applied it and was like hot damn here we go! LOL! It's a nice espresso brown shade which is my happy place for brown liners. So I think I can say I have found my new favorite liquid eye from Eyeko! Woot!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams

These have been on my wish list since forever. I don't know why it took me so long to try these out. I ordered 3 of these during the 40% off sale that Ulta had on NYX products. I picked up Prague, Copenhagen and Transylvania. I also picked up Monte Carlo over the weekend from Wegmans. I have only worn Prague and Copenhagen. Copenhagen is everything! I feel like these were the precursor to the current liquid lipstick craze. These are very nice. They have a pleasant smell, are easy to apply, not drying and have good staying power on the lips. They also re-apply nicely too. Sometimes when you re-apply a matte lip product it goes on weird. So if you don't want to spend a ton of money on a matte lip/liquid lipstick then check these out. Or you may want to wait and check out the liquid lipsticks due out by NYX. *sigh*. I've seen the swatches on Instagram and right now I'm not tempted by the colors. But that could change HA! I need more lip products like I need another hole in my head.

The Balm Read My Lips Lipgloss in Ka-Bang

This gloss reminds me on NYX's Spongecake lipgloss but I like this one a lot more. They both have shimmer but with Ka-Bang, I don't feel the shimmer. I also feel like Spongecake is sticky and felt weird on my lips as the day progressed with eating, drinking and talking. I don't have that problem with Ka-Bang. It's described as a medium bronze with gold shimmer. It's the perfect shade to throw on and not think about it, especially for spring/summer. I reached for it a lot this month. I picked it up with another gloss when The Balm was on Hautelook and I think it was 50% off.

elf Studio Blush Palette in Light

I mentioned the elf blush palette in dark back in January. I wasn't really checking for the palette in light but my friend was like you need to get it. It's been the main set of blushes that I have reached for this month. Even though it is intended for lighter complexions, I have not had any problem with them showing up on my skin. It's a nice shade selection for spring/summer. My feelings on the light version are still the same as the dark version. The shades are pigmented, easy to blend and are not chalky. If you're eyeing these, I highly recommend both palettes. Wait on a 50% off sale.

And there you have it. No surprise products for the month. On to August! Wow August! Really!?!??! The year is just flying by.

TTFN - ta ta for now!

#ManicureMonday Sally Hansen Violet Voltage, L'Oreal Lilac Coolers & Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday

I went to exchange an item at Sephora yesterday. Since I was in some daylight, I snapped a picture of my nails. Today I'm wearing Violet Voltage from Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear line. I have L'Oreal's Lilac Coolers and Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday as an accent nail on my ring fingers. I did the sandwich method since the L'Oreal polish a jelly polish. I digs it.

See you next Monday!

#ManicureMonday Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear The Real Teal

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. Today I'm wearing Sally Hansen's The Real Teal from the Xtreme Wear line. Every now and then an item will pop in my head. I thought about wearing this a couple of weeks ago but decided to wait. Of the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polishes I own, this is probably my second most used polish. This was a purchase inspired by my beauty pusher crystalis007. Here's a link to her blog post, if you want to see some better pics of the polish. I try lol. I have camera that I bought a while ago that I have never used. I keep saying I'm going to pull it out and play around with for blog pics. Let's see if I can make that happen.

See you next Monday!

Bag of the Moment - June by June Ambrose "Milla" Croco-embossed Satchel

I haven't done one of these posts in a while. I wanted to get this up while the bag is still available. My inexpensive handbag kick continues! I scooped this bag up from HSN. It's currently on sale and with free shipping! I mentioned a June Ambrose tote bag I picked up in two colors in my May Top 5 post. I have eyed this bag for a while but was patiently waiting to see if I could scoop it on sale and success! I got in the blue shade and it is another awesome bag from June Ambrose. It's not too big or too small. The interior is nice with a zip pocket, two slip pockets and there's a large pocket on the back of the bag. The flap portion doesn't always catch on the magnet but that's not a huge deal breaker for me. For the price I won't complain. I usually leave it open any way like I do with most of my bags. The shoulder strap is removable but I like leaving it on the bag. It's a well made bag. To me this bag is a cross between the Celine Luggage bag and Hermes Birkin. Well at least in my mind. Please ignore the scratch on the lock. I haven't tried to see if I can buff it out. I plan on picking up black. I haven't decided on nude, but for the price I just might get it. I tweeted June and said she needs to add grey and a chocolate brown to the shade offerings lol! So if this sparks your interest then I highly recommend that you go ahead and scoop it up now before it sells out.

Product Play July 2015

I feel like I get to this point around the same time every year. I have no clue what to reach for. So here's what I decided on.

Palette Play

I recently picked up the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette. It was 50% off on Ulta's website and I used some reward dollars to offset the shipping. I've used it a couple times already. Then I have some Tarte palettes from an auto delivery (Be Your Own Tarteist). One I've shown before but didn't really use it. The other palette I got last month. Then I have a work trip at the end of the month. So I'm already pre-planning for that which is giving me a headache. I go between doing a look for the entire week to a palette, one blush and a couple of lip colors. Nothing too exciting going on here. So we'll see how this goes. I may end up reaching for something else entirely different. Plus there no color in the mix. *sigh*.

Polish Play

Berry Nice, Bubble Trouble, Jolly Lolly, Miss Pixie, Lilac Coolers, Happy Birthday

Pacific Blue, Mint Sorbet, Violet Voltage, Test My Teal, Coral Reef

I finally pulled out some summery colors lol. I've pulled out some Sally Hansen Xtreeme Wear polishes, L'Oreal jelly polishes and since it's my birthday month, I also grabbed Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday glitter polish. These may carry over into August.

Out of My Face

I have used up WEN's Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner woohoo from the laundry list of items I posted last month! I liked it but it's not one of my favorites. So I'm glad to get it out of the way. I did get rid of the Freeman Sweet Tea & Lemon Peel-Away Clay Mask. I just didn't like it enough to keep using it and I've said that I'm not going to force myself to use something that I don't like. I passed it on to my cousin. Hopefully I have more to report next month.

Ok let it roll. I may skip August since I have work travel coming up and I feel like I'm in a makeup rut/buyer's remorse/I wanna get rid of everything kind of a mood. So we'll see what plays out for August.

June 2015 Surprise Products of the Month

Ok so I didn't think I would have anything for this month. I was going to throw only one item in my Top 5 post for June. I forgot that I already had some items listed and then other items came to mind. It seems like a lot of items caught me by surprise. June was a good month. Let's get into it!

Sally Hansen Bare Hug

In August 2014, I ranted about Sally Hansen changing Pacific Blue which is probably their most iconic nail polish in the Xtreme Wear line and one of the best blue nail polishes ever! I said in that post I would not be purchasing anymore nail polishes from the brand and I haven't. I was surprised that I hadn't purchased any polishes from them in almost a year. I was in Walgreens and saw a display and Bare Hug caught my eye. I picked it up then put it back down. Before I was ready to check out, I went back and picked it up. The shade is an unusual one and I couldn't place a shade like it in my current stash. It's like a putty gray cream color. I like the way it pairs again my skin tone and I've received compliments when I worn it.

WEN Coconut Lime Verbena Replenishing Treatment Mist & Treatment Oil

WEN got a lot of my money in June. Oye vey. I had kind of steered away from it for a little while. I still had stuff on hand but I was trying other products. My hair was like ummm are you trippin!?!?! So I returned what I could return of items I picked up from Sally's and the rest I passed on to my cousin. Coconut Lime Verbena is WEN's new summer seasonal scent. I have the cleansing conditioner, oil and mist. The Replenishing Treatment Mist and Treatment Oil had me going wow! I've used the oil and mist in other scents but there is something unique about the formulation in Coconut Lime Verbena. I keep telling everyone that it's withcy magic. The scent in amaze balls but how they perform on my hair is great. Both are very moisturizing and tame my hair. The oil is nice on my scalp and it has been less itchy since I have been using it. I told my friend that I will never stray from WEN again unless it flat out stops working for me. I do use some other non-WEN products that I do enjoy but WEN will stay in my rotation.

WEN 613 Nourishing Body Treatment & EDT Fragrance

This duo was a One Time Only value on QVC. The value was ridiculous since both items on their own are pricey. I have used the 613 cleansing conditioner on my hair. I feel that it's too much protein on my hair, so I've stopped using it. But I have always loved the scent. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on the two products. The Body Treatment is amazing! I rarely use a moisturizer all over my body but I have with this. With other moisturizers, I use them on just my legs, arms and feet, For other parts of my body, I use something like Shea or Cocoa Butter. I tend to breakout on my chest and back so I'm carefully on what I use there. I haven't had issues with the 613 Body Treatment.  I've enjoyed it so much that I have already order another jar. The eau de toilette fragrance is nice as well. It's not too heavy, so I do spray it all over kind of like a body mist.

Bath & Body Works Signature Vanilla Shower Gel in Lemon

When I started using the WEN 613 items, I pulled out this shower gel since it has some of the same notes and it smells so GOOD! I got in during the semi-annual sale in December. I only got one bottle. Of course I was tempted to get another. But I said no let me try it first. The lemon and vanilla pair nicely together. Both are very fresh and not fake smelling. I'm going to hold off getting another bottle during the current semi-annual sale that's going on. I will definitely get two more bottles during the next sale.

philosophy Whipped Body Creme in Pure Grace

The philosophy whipped body cremes are a long time favorite of my mine. I picked up the set from QVC while it at was at an event price. The set also includes Amazing Grace and Living Grace. I've tried Pure Grace in the past and I always thought it was just ok. I was ever really wowed by it. So when I got my package, I cracked on Pure Grace first. Now I really really like it. I think I wore it almost for a weak straight. It's described a clean fresh scent which it is. It's a easy to wear scent and one you don't have to think about. If that makes any sense lol. I may pick up the body spritz vs the spray fragrance. So glad I got this set on auto delivery. I will not be cancelling this one that's for sure.

CoverGirl The Super Sizer Mascara

When I originally picked this up from Ulta, I accidentally picked up the Black Brown shades. At first I was going to try it out for a more "natural" look. But then I was like NOPE! I exchanged it for Black and I'm glad I did. I usually have success with CoverGirl mascaras and this one is no different. This mascara is NICCCEEE! It claims to "give you 400% more volume for fuller lashes" and it does. With two coats I you have some serious volume, length and curl. It's also easy to remove which is something I have been paying attention to when I have been trying new mascaras. Slowly I'm trying find some go to mascaras from the drugstore. I would definitely repurchase this one.

Starbucks Iced Espresso Classics

I've tried 3 different flavors and I like them all. The skinny versions are not all that bad. I accidentally picked up the regular vanilla latte oops lol! I was like this is good. Of course it is lol. They do also carry regular iced coffee which I plan on trying next. These have been handy to have on hand at work.

And on the the meh...

I don't have pics for these items since they have already been tossed.

Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser

I've been curious about this cleanser since it came out. Also since I love the Pore Unclogging Scrub, I want to try this out. I did not like this all! I did not like how it felt on my skin. The Unclogging Pore Scrub has a slight tingly sensation which I like. This joker felt  like a burning sensation on my skin! I was like oh heck no! I also did not like how my skin felt after using this cleanser. Plus I think my skin has a reaction to it too. I've tried another charcoal skin care product and wasn't thrilled by it either. So maybe charcoal just isn't a good match for my skin.

Maybelline The Rocket Volume Express Mascara

Ok after this I am DONE with Maybelline mascaras. After I tossed the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara, I picked the Rocket Volume mascara since I had a coupon. This was another Maybelline mascara that I had heard people rave about. It just wasn't for me. It performed similar to the Lash Sensational on my lashes. It smudges on my and it was also hard to remove.

Ok that's enough right?!?! Hopefully this list will not be this extensive for July. One can only hope.

TTFN - ta ta for now!

Less Stuff - June Update

Soooooo ummmmmm.....

I was looking through my draft posts and I saw this post saved but there was nothing typed *blink blink*. I completely forgot about it LOL! In January I talked about what my thought process was for decluttering and looking into minimalism.

And well yea lol! On the clothes front, I've done well. I have gotten rid of a lot of items and have been very particular with the recent items I have purchased. If you look at my clothes it may not look like a lot but I don't switch out my closet for the various seasons. So everything is hanging up. I'm planning to do the "final" purge over the Fourth of July weekend since I'm taking some additional days off.  So that's one thing that will be done. Phew.

On the beauty front *head palm*, I did SO good during my no buy. Once I go off my no buy, I lost my flipping mind. I've been buying stuff left and right. On the one end I have been retrying some past favorites especially in terms of skin care. I'm trying to pare down what I use and simplify my routine. The same goes for my hair care routine.  I picked up some items here and there. I did find some new favorites but my hair revolted on quite a few items lol! So I've gone back to using some past Wen favorites. Maybe once I get my routine down, I'll do a post to hold myself accountable to it. I'm still toying around with the idea of doing the BIG come to Jesus purge of my makeup. Which I know will be super hard. Or really cut back on buying and just use what I have and replenish what I need which wouldn't be much but face products like primer, foundation, brow products, etc. *sigh* Why didn't I stay a tomboy?

And lastly books. I haven't done much with my final book purge and my reading mojo has run away. I haven't read any of the non-fiction books I said that I was going to read for the year. I still have time but still. So in addition to going through my clothes over the Fourth, I plan to start the process of what I hope to be my final book purge. I think it's going to take more the one weekend to really really go through them.

So as you can see I've slacked *sigh*. I have to do better. This mess is a weight holding me back in other areas and I'm tired of looking at stuff. And the beat goes on...

Let's see what I can make happen by December.

Onward and upward!