January 2012 Love It Or Ditch It- Collective Review/Haul

It's time for my very first written monthly review! I like that I was able to get much more detailed about things without having to worry about the video being too long. I also liked that I could kind of write reviews as I used the products & didn't have to worry about forgetting something a few weeks later. Comment down below & let me know if you like this better or would like me to bring back the videos.
I did a decent amount of makeup shopping this month & am really excited for all the new stuff coming out. New colors, new formulas, & completely innovative new products. I am trying to take it a little slow on buying up a bunch of new stuff until some more reviews come out though. So it might be a few months before I'm able to tell you what I think about all of this cool stuff that's coming out. 
(One of my resolutions this year is to be a little wiser on spending my money)
I did not include my new Kat Von D palette in this post because I pretty much went over everything I thought about it in my other post/video. You can check that out here.

All About Day Planners!

Ok, so I fully admit that I have a slight obsession with finding the perfect day planner. This has been going on for over a decade & I have tried a whole lot of planners during that time. I will be talking about some of my favorites from over the years & why I like them so much.

My planners are an important part of my life & kind of help me keep everything together. Every morning I get my coffee, sit down (outside during the summer, which just starts your day off so nice), & go over my things to do for the day. I write down the things I need to accomplish, review appointments I have coming up, & generally look at what everything looks like for the day. This 5 minutes just for me helps mentally prepare me for the day & starts my day off  positive & organized. It's a few minutes of me time that sets the tone for the rest of the day. Then at night, I sit down with my planner again & go over everything. I write in any appointments that are on random little notes, make sure that I write down anything I know I need to do the next day, write out everywhere I went & everything I did for that day, & go through my list of things to do & check things off. For me, this helps me feel accomplished & ready for my day to end. No sitting up at night wondering if I remembered to do something or worrying about an appointment. Doing this just helps me relax & mentally know that the day is over & I'm ready for tomorrow. 

I am the type of person that will forget everything 10 minutes later if I don't write it down (I have to physically write it down, typing it in on my phone or laptop just doesn't work). It doesn't matter if it's something I need to do or a special occasion or an appointment. Because of this, I expect a lot from my planners & have very specific needs when it comes to organizing my life. I tend to have a lot of different aspects of my life going on all at once, tons of to do lists, a lot of appointments & other stuff, as well as writing the day to day things that I did. So, I must have enough writing space to organize all of this.

My 2 absolute requirements for a planner are:

Full weekends- I can't deal with the split Saturday/Sunday in planners. These are my busiest days & 3 or 4 lines really isn't going to cut it. Of course this automatically limits my choices greatly because most planners do this for some horrible reason. I was surprised that many daily planners split the weekends now too. When will they learn that people like to enjoy their weekends & have more plans on Saturday & Sunday then during the work week?

Monthly overviews- I know that I'm not the type of person to page through 30 days to see what my schedules like. I need a quick overview or I end up double booking on accident. I also use these to keep track of when bills are due.

Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Palette Look

When I saw this babe pop up on the Sephora facebook page last week I instantly knew that I had to have it as soon as possible! (When I went to my Sephora it wasn't even on the floor yet, I had to make the girl dig through boxes in the back to get it for me!) Of course this also meant that I had to use every single color in it at the next available opportunity! Then in came the perfect opportunity, my friend Anthony's 80's/Disco birthday party! I don't think that 2 things could have gone together better. I ended up using every color except for the green & loved how it came out so much I decided to recreate it in a tutorial. This is very similar to the tutorials I did for the Urban Decay palettes but, I did leave out one of the colors & ended up using a few other items. I was more concentrated on making the best of my palette rather then trying to exclusively use just this for the whole look.

Look How Pretty!

One thing that I did notice with this palette is that it isn't quite as buttery & pigmented as her other palettes that I have. However, this is the first one that I have bought since the re-design so I don't really know if that's how all of them are now. It is still an excellent palette & a great value for those of us that love all the crazy, extreme, bright colors & want more then just mattes.
This was the first time I have tried the Kat Von D eyeliner & I feel that it is very similar to the Urban Decay liners. It smudges & blends well but isn't really suited for the waterline. I just had a lot of trouble getting it to go on & it was gone in a matter of minutes. I still like it for smudging on the top lash line or under the bottom lashes though.

Products Used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Greed

ELF Gem Blending Eye Brush
Calypso & Money Honey from Sleek Primer Palette
Rite Aid Renewal Eyeshadow Brush
ELF Gem Eyeshadow Brush
Essence Sparkling Effect Eyeshadow in Black Goddess
Urban Decay Glide-On Eye Pencil in Binge
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Liquid Glitter Liner in Liquid Metal
ELF Liquid Eyeliner in Stardust
Kleancolor Double Agent Mascara
Maybelline The Falsies Black Drama Mascara
Forever 21 Love & Beauty Blush Brush
La Femme Blush On Rouge in Mulberry & Fuschia
ELF Studio Kabuki Brush
ELF Studio Blush Brush
Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten
Prestige Lipliner in Love
Wet N Wild Mega Last (matte) Lipstick in Dollhouse Pink #967
Sleek True Color Lipstick in Pink Freeze
Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Hot Pink
Jordana Lip Out Loud Lipgloss in ASAP #106

Tips for Eating Healthier Without Really Trying

I know that it is a great many peoples goal each New Year to eat healthier or lose weight. Sometimes this can feel like a horribly daunting task but, I'm here to share a few super easy tips to make it simply flow into your regular life with little to no hassle. This is not about cutting out everything you love but rather about making healthier choices easier & seeing what you eat.

Scenting Your Home For Success!

I know that the name is kind of cheesy but I couldn't really think of another name for this post.

I'm basically going to be talking about how you can use different candles to create productivity zones in your home. It sounds kind of silly but, I swear that it works wonders!
Of course, you don't have to use candles. Any scent item will work. Wax warmers, wall plug-ins, oil burners, even those little scent pods or a room/linen spray. I particularly use candles so, that's what I will be discussing.

I sort of stumbled across doing this in early 2011 when I started to really get back into candles. I have always kind of liked the way that they look around the house as a decorative accent. Of course they make your house smell good too but, you can really use different scents around your house to create different moods. 


A scent is one of the easiest ways to trigger a specific memory. Like how the smell of a roast turkey will instantly make you think of Thanksgiving dinner or  your grandmothers cookie recipe will make you think of her (just examples of course). So why not train your brain to associate a specific scent with a certain task?

2011 Beauty Favorites

I found a lot of great products this year & some even beat out some of my long time favorites. There are still some of my old standbys that made the list too though.
I tried to do at least one product from every category in my beauty routine. 

Sorry for mis-speaking a few times, I was trying to get through a lot of products in a short amount of time. Also, that I got mixed around & ended up doing half my face stuff at the end. I guess my well thought out list didn't work too well.

Products Mentioned:

Foundation Brush- Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Contour Brush- High Definition Angled Blush Brush

Eyeshadow Brush- Real Techniques Base Eyeshadow Brush

Blending Brush- Too Faced Blending Brush

Benefit Porefessional

Urban Decay De-Slick

Primer- Too Faced Primed & Poreless

Eyeshadow Primer- any Urban Decay Primer Potion

Powder- Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder

Contour- NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny

Highlighter- Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten

Blush (Fall/Winter or Warm)- Ulta Cheek Color in Infatuation

(Spring/Summer or Cool)- Maybelline in Pressworthy Pink

Favorite Mascara- Maybelline The Falsies Black Drama

Most Reached for Mascara- Too Faced Lash Injection

Liquid Liner- Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black

Gel Liner- Wet N Wild 

Waterline/Pencil- Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes & Rimmel Soft Kohl

Most Worn Eyeshadow- Ulta Eyeshadow in Twilight
Favorite New Eyeshadow Color- Jessie's Girl Eye Dust in Baby Blues
Favorite Palette- ELF 100 Palette & Sleek Bad Girl (I accidentally said Spoiled Brat in the video)
Most Worn Palette- ELF Party Palette &
Wet N Wild Spoiled Brat (Once again I accidentally said it's by ELF)
Most Worn Lipstick- CoverGirl LipPerfection in Spellbound
Favorite New Lipstick Color- CoverGirl LipPerfection in Divine
Most Worn Lashes- Love & Beauty/Forever 21 #150 (I'm not sure if they keep the same number with their lashes or if they are constantly changing, so they may have a different number on them)
Nail Polish- Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Lilac Chantilly
Foundation- Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse, Revlon ColorStay for Combination/Oily, & Revlon PhotoReady (it seems like a hassle to mix all 3 of these but it makes for the perfect coverage, lasting power, blending, & finish. I just blend them together on the back of my hand)
Under Eye Concealer- CoverGirl & Olay SimplyAgeless Eye Corrector
All Purpose Concealer- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer (discontinued) Hard Candy Glamoflauge

I think that there are going to be a ton of great products in 2012!
I can't wait to start trying them!

Love It Or Ditch It- Collective Review/Haul (December2011)

I have been trying to cut back my makeup spending lately so I don't have a ton of new products this month. I have found some amazing new things that have really improved my beauty routine. I also tried some new brands that I've never used before & ended up really liking.
Also, for some reason my camera was picking up some strange noise that I didn't hear until it uploaded. So sorry for that.

Products Mentioned:

Urban Decay De-Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray- Sephora $29

Sephora Mattifying Compact Powder Foundation- Sephora $20

Clean & Clear Makeup Dissolving Foaming Cleanser- Big Lots $4

Revlon Double Twist Mascara- Big Lots $3

Salon Perfect Crackle Nail Lacquer in Cracked Ruby- Walgreens $3

Salon Perfect Perfectly Diva Lashes in Paris & London- Walgreens $3
Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart & Strawberry Shortcake- Ulta $8
Essie Luxeffects in Shine of the Times- Walgreens $8
Beauty Rush Liquid Glitter Liner in Liquid Metal- Victoria's Secret $3 (4 for $20 + $10 off coupon)

Beauty Rush DazzleShine Lip Gloss in Dazzling Daiquiri, Dazzling Sangria, Dazzling Coco- 

Victoria's Secret $3 (4 for $20 + $10 off coupon)

Let me know if you have any ideas for the new monthly series. 
I'm also looking for ideas for looks that I should do.
So comment below & let me know if you have any thoughts.

Drab to Fab- DIY Day Planner

After years of having to deal with office supply stores idea of pink leather being a girly creative planner or the adorable but tiny Korean planners I decided to make my own this year.

I have had tons of planners over the years (I will be doing a post in the coming weeks about my favorites & why) & honestly none of them have really been everything I need & want.

I wanted something that was adorable & girly but had enough room for all my plans, to do, & everything else.

This is what I started with. (Ugly & Drab)

Exacompta Journal 21 Daily Planner