***Sprinkle of Glitter's *** 7 things for 7 Days Challenge!

I saw this challenge on Louise's blog, Sprinkle of Glitter, and thought this was right up my alley! What you have to do is come up with 7 mini goals you want to achieve in 7 days, longer if you'd like. There are alot of things that I'd like to do, but lack the motivation to do so. This is a great way to get support from other bloggers who are in the same boat and need motivation as well!

Here are my mini goals:

1. Do Pilates 3 times a week. I own a pilates machine and I stare at it everyday, cursing myself about why I'm not doing it!

2. Drink more water. I drink water, but not nearly enough. Right now i'm at about 5 glasses a day. I want to aim for 8 a day.

3. Read for 30 mins a night before bed.

4. Organize my makeup. Right now it's in disarray. I need a system in place.

5. Clean out my closet. This has been a thorn in my side. I want to get rid of things I don't wear and donate them.

6. Start Juicing. I own a juicer and I don't juice! I want to try green smoothies.

7. Blog more. I want to blog more than just once a week.


If you guys want to join this challenge check out Louise's post HERE

I think this would be fun and I hope you guys will join me :)

For that Summer Glow

  In honor of summer solstice, I wanted to share some of my favorite products that I use to enhance my tan and give me that glow we all want to achieve!

Pixi  Flawless Beauty Primer- Even Skin No.1

 I have had this primer for a while now and I like to break it out in the summertime. Depending on the look I am going for, I will use it all over or as a highlighting step. It's great to wear alone or underneath foundation.
  A little really does go a long way, so one quick pump will do. It is very creamy, but you do have to work it in a bit to avoid streakiness.It contains great ingredients as well.

Here are it's claims:

Beneficial Ingredients and what they do:

• Pearl extract for revitalization, protection and anti-aging
• Truffle extract is a luxury additive rich in amino acids and minerals to tone and hydrate
• Vitamin E increases skin elasticity.
• Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant
• Vitamin C has revitalizing and nourishing benefits.

 Maybelline FIT ME foundation 355

 I am still obsessed and hopelessly in love with Hello Hydration foundation, but the color is all wrong for me right now because of these bright sunny days. I tan in minutes of being in the sun and therefore I need a darker foundation. So in a pinch I dug out Maybelline's FIT ME foundation. I bought this when they first released this product. Even though I followed the color matching instructions in the store, when I got home it was all wrong. I know you guys can relate. I just took it as a loss. I decided to mix FIT ME with my Hello Hydration and got my perfect summer tan shade!

I do have some have some qualms with FIT ME. It's a nice bottle, but it is super MESSY. It runs out so fast and drips down the bottle and all in the cap. I'm glad I found a way to use it up and get rid of it.

Likes: SPF 18! I love when products add in the protection because I tend to forget that step.


Benefit Flatter Me Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner

This is an awesome shadow and well loved as you can see. I use this as a shadow base, mostly with brown and gold shadows. I guess you can compare it to the MAC painterly paint pots. It really does not crease and is a great primer for the lid. I have no complaints about this one.

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush

This is an AMAZING summer gold color! Everytime I wear it I get so many compliments. Everywhere I go and see these shadows, Amber Rush is always sold out! I'm glad I picked it up when I did. It is very pigmented and almost like a loose shadow. It comes with a little lid in the container to keep it compact. It stays on for hours!

Downside: There can tend to be fallout. If you are a contact wearer I advise you to apply these shadows before you put them in. I learned the hard way :(


Vincent Longo Hydro Stick in Aqualily

I recieved this in a swag bag from an event and was kind of confused on what it was. I natually took it to be a highlighter. It feels sooooo good when you apply it to your face. It has this cooling effect and glides on smooth. I use it on the tops of my cheeks, down my nose and cupids bow. I gives me a really pretty summery bronze effect on my face.


Bliss Lid + Lash Wash Makeup Remover

I like to wear waterproof mascara in the summer,but it can be a pain to get off! I use this water based makeup remover to take care of that. It comes out like a gel and has a cooling effect on the eyes. With this, I find that I don't go through 4 cotton pads per eye.

Dislikes: I feel like I have to follow this with water to remove the remover sometimes. Once done with this, I will probably look for a new remover.


Have you tried any of these? What are some of your go to beauty products that give you that summer glow?

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Hey Hey!

 I got this awesome message that one of my favorite beauty bloggers and Youtubers, LOLAHEARTSTHIS awarded me with the...

You ladies MUST check her out if you already haven't! I am so dang excited right now :) 

Thanks so much Lola!!

The rules of giving this award:

 
Post a link to the blogger that gave you the award.
List 7 interesting facts about yourself that your readers might find interesting.
Nominate 7 other bloggers, provide links, and let them know!

  So, lets see...7 interesting things about me:

1. My mind is a language hoarder. I love to learn and mimic different languages and accents. I have a minor in French, can speak abit of Spanish(understand it better than speaking it), I have been teaching myself Japanese, a bit of Arabic and I can do varying English accents, which is my favorite thing to do!

2. I am a film fanatic! My favorite would have to be horror. I like the feeling of being scared and have been know to turn on a scary movie to fall asleep to. Wow, that sounds bad, haha! Then maybe foreign films would be next in line. I absolutely love watching films with subtitles.

3.That show, New Girl, totally ripped off my life! Just kidding, well sorta... Sophmore year in college, I waited too long to find housing for the next school year, so I had to find something asap! I saw a 7th roomate wanted ad on my university housing website and answered it. The rent was cheap and time was ticking! It was to be coed, so I was shown the house by the male roomie. I liked it and signed the lease. Turned out the 5 other roomies were all male! They turned out to be the best roomies ever, dirty, but great! They were like my big brothers. :)

4.Worked at Disney World for a semester. That was the craziest experience of my LIFE!! I learned that not all people are sane, especially while on vacation and when it's a million degrees out!

5.I played the flute for 8 years and was my high school's drum major( I led the marching band in parades,for those who don't know what that is. I don't play the drums)

6.I cut all of my hair off to about 1 inch 2 years ago. For years, I chemically straightened my hair and I could not remember what my natural texture was like. So, I said, screw it and had my bf at the time chop it all off! He ended up cutting about 12 inches off. Now my hair, when straightened is longer than it was when I chopped it!

7. I love to travel!! I have been to Mexico, Canada, Italy,France, Spain and UK( Manchester and York). I  loved every place I have been!

I award the following with the Kreativ Blogger Award:

RebeccaLDN

Kristen1685

BeautyinJapan

Samantha-Avena

Tsahai

salavadora

Echo Canyon

FashionFake

Blabberingthoughts

BeautyLark

burkatron

These ladies are great and I love their blogs. Check them out!!

Instagram Post #1

Hanging out at the Warrior Dash... My go to meal, when I'm too lazy to cook and cleanup after... Moonshine soaked cherries. My tongue went numb after trying...I was on pins and needles waiting for the return of True Blood...Obsessed with Pocky... Got culinary and made Chinese dumplings,sooooo good...In my Netflix queue. Nothing like a little Ryan Gosling to send you off to sleep right.

Naturally Curly Hair

Hey Everyone!

Last week was definitely busy and exciting!

I had a job interview and ended up getting a job offer at the end of it! It's a pretty cool job so I'm absolutely stoked! Then, I have been in need of a new cell phone for about two years now. My old phone, T-mobile MyTouch, is pretty obsolete in the technology world. To put it shortly, on many occasions, I've wanted to back over it with my car. I stopped being lazy and upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S Blaze. I ideally wanted an IPhone 4S, but until T mobile gets their act together and carries it, this will have to do. I love this new phone by the way :)

Today's post is about hair.

I have naturally curly hair, which I straighten from time to time. But most times it's curly. My hair texture is similar to Antonia Thomas's from the show Misfits( Love LOVE love that show! Can't wait for new series to start) sans the blonde.

The great thing about having naturally curly hair is that, with proper care, your styling options are endless!

The downside for me is that evil word called FRIZZ!

Now, I don't mind a bit of frizz if done on purpose, like if you are going for a wild and free, Bohemian look. But, it's that frizz where you are in the house, you got your curls just perfect, you step outside and it's like you did nothing. FRIZZ CITY! Major sad face.

Since warm weather is here I wanted to go over my go-to products that help give me defined, shiny curls in Spring/Summer :)

Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner for Damaged Hair

This is meant as a deep conditioner, but it states on the bottle that you can apply daily.

This has a medium thick consistency and i apply it after shampooing with a generic clarifying shampoo 

 * I only shampoo only once, maybe twice a week. I know it's time to use shampoo when I feel that my hair has that coated feeling from a lot of build up. Otherwise, I'll wash my hair with a conditioner ie. co-washing.I'll co-wash three times a week.

This convenient salon-size bottle has a nice pump and was a steal at T.J.Maxx for $12.99. 

 TRESemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner

After rinsing out the Giovanni Conditioner I will apply this conditioner to my hair and use a paddle brush

* one that has a rubber base and plastic bristles, not the boar bristle kind, to detangle my hair in the shower. 

This conditioner gives great slip, so the brush glides right through. 

I leave this conditioner in without rinsing.

This conditioner is silicone-free and contains organic aloe vera extract and avocado oil. These ingredients mean a lot. Aloe vera is known for it's moisturizing properties and avocados are rich in vitamins and proteins. I get this conditioner from Target for a $4.99.

I leave this conditioner in without rinsing.

So, I either stop at this step or I add this...

SheaMoisture Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk

This product is meant for thick, curly hair. It provides moisture, body and shine. It has a medium thick consistency and smells of coconuts. This retails for $9.99 and can be purchased at Walgreens or Target.

So, if I want to add some hold, I will add this after the leave-in conditioner step. 

I have thick, medium/fine strands so I section my hair in four sections. I apply a quarter size amount to each section. I smooth it through with my hands to make sure all my strands are coated. 

After that is done. I can either air-dry or if in a hurry, I'll break out my trusty diffuser! I will diffuse on low and warm heat. 

Then I'm done :) 

How do you guys style your curly hair? Anyone else use Shea Moisture Products?