Product Review: Maybelline Colossal Mascara

Some of you may remember, I was having mascara issues a while ago. A ton of people responded to help me find a better one, which shocked me! Someone suggested, as I said in my vlog, Maybelline Colossal and since I used it for about a week now, I thought I'd do a little review.

I like to think that I'm kind of a guru, but really, I have much to learn still. (Don't we all?) I went to school for cosmetology, graduated May 2010, and am licensed to work in a salon...in Ohio. Anyhow, in school, we studied hair, makeup, and skin, so I do know a little somethin'.

Moving on.. I've used Colossal for about a week now and let me just say it is leaps and bounds beyond Great Lash for sure. Which is a relief. Great Lash was clumpy and gloopy and made my lashes stick together  and I'm pretty sure just weighed them down, which is the opposite of what I want. How did Maybelline get it so wrong with Great Lash and so right with Colossal?

So far, I really like Colossal! The brush is huge, which I'm not used to, but it really makes my lashes look super thick without sticking them together. The spider lash thing is not cute. It also lengthens them! I don't actually need this, as my lashes are pretty long, but I like looking like I have lashes on when I'm not actually wearing them. And don't even get me started on the Falsies mascara. Ew. I got it in glam black, by the way. I think it has a slight sheen look to it, which I like a lot. The classic black is like a matte finish and I think that makes your lashes look dry, not shiny and healthy

All around, I really like it. Except for maybe the brush, but I'm going to keep trying it! I've never used such a big brush with mascara so.. I need practice. I tend to get it on my eyelid and I've rarely done that in the past! But again, practice makes perfect. Right?

Do any of you use Maybelline Colossal mascara?

Things I Love Thursday

Things I'm loving this week. Not so fashion related, for once.

Wine ice cream exists! But only in NY, DC and FL.

The lost son of Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. Freaky.

This daily reminder.

Archie Grand notebooks. This one especially.

Death Star. Beanbag. "The coolest place in the galaxy to SITH down".

This amazing clock.

If you don't understand this, Simba help you.

This tank. Before next Wednesday.

This possible diy project!

Who doesn't want to hear this?

And:

Vulgar Kid's Movie Jokes You Didn't Understand Then

Effin' hilarious.

Because I can't stop online window shopping:

Ruthie Davis handbags | Spiked Shoulder Blazer from Rickety Rack | R2 & 3PO Leggings from Black Milk | Like A Boss-y Jacket from Modcloth | Vegvis heels from TaylorSays | Steve Madden Viscose Gold Chain Infinity Scarf

Also:

Todd's health, The nice ladies at the vet, My improved health, Black Friday, Vlogs, Christmas shopping, UPS packages, Art on our walls, Sunshine outside, Best friends, Talented friends, Flannels, Dresses, and Christmas lights all over our town!

Burberry Prorsum Fall 2012 RTW

Let me just start by saying that if you can resist Burberry in the colder months, you are from another planet. Their perfectly tailored clothes are just to die for and I would live in any of it. So let's just agree that if you missed the Burberry Prorsum fall show, you missed out big time. But don't worry, that's what I'm here for.

It was all very vintage and menswear inspired, with men in the show, and of course it was all very tailored. The start of the show reminded me of, as terrible as this sounds, refined London street beggars from the days when rich men stopped to get their shoes shined and there were actual chimney sweeps. Marry Poppins days, if you will.

Have you noticed the crazy amount of trends yet? There were stripes, peplums, and velvet, just in the first 3 pictures in this post! Also in the collection: plaid, puffer jackets, and faux fur. Crazy, right? But crazy good since almost all the trends this fall/winter are phenomenal.

One of my favorite things about the collection was the little animal details everywhere! In a couple of the pictures above, the models are wearing an owl sweater, which is darling. But the animals didn't stay in plain sight. They were little gold details on bags & belts, and the handles of umbrellas too! And of course, some of them were paired with the most beautiful coats I've ever seen.

Speaking of coats..

Are you as obsessed with those as I am? How gorgeous is that drape?! Seriously. And I forgot to mention another trend. The one that stole the show for me and it is so small! But it's all in the details right?

See the trend? THOSE FREAKING STUDDED GLOVES. I literally died. I might actually need them. With those amazing gloves, the gorgeous coats, the tailoring, the draping.. Burberry just won over my heart. Can you tell? This collection is one of their best yet and just made me absolutely filled with emotion. You can't tell me I'm the only one. With every piece they put out, you can tell that a lot of work and passion went into them. In my opinion, that's what you want to see in every show. Dedication and love.

And now for my favorite look of all, and the show stopper.

Studded gloves, studded umbrella, and the most gorgeous quilted velvet coat I've ever laid eyes on. My heart has literally stopped.

Vlog : Black Friday Haul

OMG ignore the thumbnail picture, please.

(beautycrush/Sam's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/beautycrush )

This video is a haul of all the things Henry and I bought on Black Friday. I figured this was a lot easier than pictures since there's so much stuff! I left out the presents, though. Don't worry. Also, I am in no way bragging. I just love my new stuff!

OH! I forgot to add one thing to the video!

I loved this necklace and it was so cheap I just had to. It was almost my turn in line, at Forever 21, and it was just laying there in the little bins that they have near the register. Needless to say, I grabbed it and took it home!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the video. It's my first one and I'm a little nervous/anxious/excited about it. Thanks in advance!

Cyber Monday Fail

Since Henry and I spent so much money this past weekend, with Black Friday and all, I probably will not be participating in Cyber Monday. I know, I know. Bad blogger!

I do want a ton of things though! (Of course.) So here are the things I'm craving and would buy if I had the money to spend today:

chicwish.com faux fur collar, heels.com boots, Lord and Taylor coat, Nine west foldover bag, Free People dress

Honestly, these are all just variations of what I want but you get the picture. The faux fur and the boots I could probably afford but... well, you know. I just love all of these pieces so much!

 I really need black boots and I adore studs on anything so these were just perfect and the collar (I made sure was faux fur) is gorgeous. I've been wanting one for so long. I think they just add glamour to everything. Speaking of, I think a red coat is so glamorous! My mom has one and I love it! My winter coat is kind of blah, but super warm, so oh well. The bag is something I'm dying to own. Ideally, the Stella McCartney one but this one will do. I just want a bag that folds over when you use the long strap vs the short straps. I think the look is so so chic, don't you?

And finally, that dress. Isn't it fabulous? I promise you, before New Years, I will be getting a sequin dress. We supposedly have big plans for New Year's Eve and I want to sparkle! Who doesn't? I've never had a sparkly anything to wear for NYE so this is the year! I only wish I could buy one today because truth be told, they're normally pretty expensive. Oh well, that's what I get for buying so many presents and things on Black Friday.

Let me know what kind of deals you guys are getting today! So I can live vicariously through you.

HAPPY CYBER MONDAY!

What We Wore on Thanksgiving

denim jacket: thrifted
Derek Heart dress: TJ Maxx
tshirt: thrifted
leggings: TJ Maxx
cognac boots: pinkbasis.com
bracelet: Kohl's
blown glass necklace: gift from italy
earrings: 2g carved wood
lipstick: Wet n' Wild in 905D

Can you tell we like brick walls? I swear its not intentional. This bad boy is right in front of my mom's house and it covers practically the whole first floor. It sucked growing up because no one could see our window decorations!

This is my favorite dress that I own and its not the first time I wore it on this blog. It is absolutely, amazingly comfortable so I decided, after almost 30 minutes of trying on dresses, that I'd wear it for our Thanksgivings. Yes, ThanksgivingS. We had 3, if you remember. Thank god this dress has some stretch!

A dress was a good choice since I felt bloated and awful after Thanksgiving #2 and leggings because it was a little chilly out. I put a tshirt underneath, since the dress sleeveless and it was cold out, but also because I think it makes the outfit more casual. I decided on boots for comfort and jewelery because I needed a little bit of glam! The lipstick helped too. It really is as bright as it looks and I'm in love with it. It's just the brightest, prettiest pink. In other words, incredibly perfect.

Henry wanted to get in a picture, too. As you can see, he is participating in No Shave November. His flannel is from Kohl's (a birthday present from my mom) and he's wearing Vans slip-ons. Check the wallet bulg in the back pocket and the phone in the front. He's prepared.

Oh, and please ignore the Dr Pepper can and my jacket on the wall.. oops.

Game Day: Arch Nemesis

I was talking. Ignore the face.

flannel: thrifted

orange tank: Forever 21

Gators scarf: Forever 21

Blue Asphalt jeans: gift from friend

Sonoma boots: Kohl's (similar)

Nine West bag: Elder-Beerman (similar)

evil eye bracelet: from Greece

tunnels: Spencer's

First outfit pictures with my new camera! Do you guys not love the quality of these!? I'm dying. I love my new camera! [Thanks, babe ;) ]

As you can see, I'm rockin' my team's colors again. (And check the new tunnels!) Today was the last conference game for the Florida Gators. They played Florida State... and won! Florida State is their rival team so it was a tense game but in the end, we beat them down. WOOP! (Sorry if you're a FSU fan...) The Gators are now 11-1 and the next game will be a bowl game. Stoked.

These pictures were taken outside Buffalo Wild Wings, before the game started. We go to the same one almost every Saturday so let's just say we eat a lot of wings during football season. We got a few awkward stares while taking pictures, but whatever. We wanted a different background!

I was freezing, by the way! The things I do for this blog. I wore a coat but you couldn't see my outfit with the big coat on, so ta-da! I hate that. Outfit pictures + cold weather = hard work. It was only 34 degrees today too, and I braved it for you. That's also why there's only 3 pictures, haha! But fabulous pictures, don't you agree?

Bad News!

Forever 21 at about 1am. We stood in line for about 20 mins. 

I don't have a Black Friday video. Or any pictures, except this one. We honestly could barely get around in the mall and the lines were ridiculous! More than last year, for sure. I DO have an outfit post coming and I'm definitely doing a haul video of all the stuff we got. Maybe not the presents though... Hmm..

My camera's flash stopped working, too. So there's that. (Don't worry! We replaced it today!)

That's not the worst news though. I'm sick. Like really sick. Like I've barely moved since we got home and I don't feel any better, pretty sure I'm developing a fever. I felt bad two nights ago but this is unreal. I'm gonna post the outfit post tomorrow hopefully but the video will have to wait until I feel better. Fingers crossed that, that's soon because I'm the WORST at being sick. Poor Henry and Todd. They have to take care of me! Now, I'm gonna attempt to eat something real and watch Quantum of Solace.


P.s. Daniel Craig is not a real James Bond.

Thanksgiving 2012

Hey all,
I'm so late on this but I wanted to tell you all happy thanksgiving! We haven't stopped today and we've been late to everything :( but this is what I'm thankful for this year:

My family for being there when I needed them
Henry for helping me through my sickness everyday and supporting us
Todd for bringing us happiness all day, everyday
The loads of food I had today
This blog for bringing me closer to people and opportunities its bringing me!
Henry's iPhone for impromptu posts like this!

What are you thankful for this thanksgiving?

Trend: "Oxblood"

I know, I know. I'm SO late to this party. In all actuality, I've loved this color for ever, even before it became a big thing. I love to wear it, it's been in my home since I can remember... love it.

My only issue with this color is the name! Ugh! How horrible is the name "oxblood"?! It's called burgundy, people. Or maroon, but I think burgundy is more purple than maroon. Either way, I prefer those two names to oxblood. Just saying it, makes me cringe.

Have you ever gone to get your hair colored at a salon and they call the color "caramel" or "mocha"? Don't those colors just sound so delicious? Or maybe "fire red" or "cherry red"? Those names are so descriptive and you can visualize the color so vividly. Now do the same with the word "oxblood". Did your stomach just turn too? Blegh. No, thank you. I'll stick to burgundy (or maroon).

I'm done ranting about it (for now) but I do love the color and I'm so stoked it's popular now. It used to be non-existent! Unless you lived in the 70s. Is anything new? I've never really followed a bunch of trends but this is one that has me in it's grip. This and sequins.. and military.. and studs... and velvet.. ONLY A FEW!

Here are some pieces I'm loving in this color:

top left to bottom right: Sister Jane studded jacket, Alexander Wang tote, Asos military coat, Legend studded heels, studded shoulder tunic, Hybrid dress, Topshop snood

I'm honestly in love with all of these. Especially that tunic and both the jackets! AH! I wish my Christmas list could have a non-existent price limit. (The tunic is a strong possibility.) Maybe next week I'll find similar, more affordable, pieces... hmmmm.

If you haven't checked out my Tattuesday post from yesterday, please do. I had some ideas about a possible video from Black Friday and/or a haul. Also, if you didn't hear, I GOT A NEW CAMERA! Testing out that bad boy tomorrow.

I will be posting tomorrow with Things I'm Thankful for Thursday, in honor of the holiday, so check back BUT in case you're all too busy to read...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We have about 3 Thanksgivings to go to, so wish our belly's luck!

Tattuesday: Encore for Turkey Day

I am having a bad day today, health-wise. I've been in bed for most of the day and I plan on going back soon. Because of this, Tattuesday is officially back. Just for today! Don't worry. These are stupid/fun tattoos in honor of Thanksgiving. :) Enjoy!

In other news, HENRY GOT ME A NEW CAMERA!! I'm in love with it :) Isn't he the best? So now I can give you all some wonderful pictures from the holidays and maybe even a couple videos? What do you think about a black Friday video? And maybe a haul from what we get? Let me know in a comment!!

All pictures are linked.

Silk Printed Pants

Lately, I've been obsessed with printed pants. I may be late to the party on that one but oh well. Specifically  I've been drawn to silk print pants. And that is totally not weather appropriate BUT throw a coat on and don't play outside in the snow, and I think it's perfectly fine!

Today I decided to share how I would style silk print pants. I've been dying over these Stella McCartney ones for a while now so this is how I would dress them up:

Stella McCartney floral print silk trousers, Witchery tee, Stella McCartney velvet pumps, Raissa jade necklace, Blue Nile black diamond studs

And this is how I'd dress them down:

Stella McCartney floral print silk trousers, Marc by Marc Jacobs sweater, Jia studded loafer, Somir scarf, Sarah Aghili skul rock clutch, Kate Spade ny "on the dot" studs

Are you not dying? I decided to make the pants the focus so everything else is relatively simple. In the dressed up version, I paired the pants with a simple black top, gorgeous black studs, a black pump with a gold heel (!) and a gorgeous statement necklace for some color. I wanted to draw the eye up (the neacklace) without taking away from the print on the pants. Since they're silk, they'll have a sheen also, which is great for a night out. Note: if you noticed that the studs are silver, and the heel and necklace have gold detail, that was intentional. I love mixing metals and if it had been gold, this whole outfit would revolve around gold and that's not the point! We're talking about the glorious pants!

For the dressed down outfit, I did black studs again but these are flat discs from Kate Spade and I think they add something while being so plain. I decided to go with a cobalt-colored sweater since I'm obsessed with that color this season, and also a big chunky scarf in grey, that picks up the pants. I think loafers are such a nice, casual shoe. SO much better than a sneaker or something. I like the studded detail on these a lot. It's not too much to distract from the star of the outfit, but enough to make it more than just a boring black loafer. And how great is that clutch? I died when I saw it. I have an edge in my personal wardrobe, so I'm loving it!

I hope you guys like this. I love outfits in which each piece has it's own "something special".. a stud detail, a gorgeous lining, a small skull (!), etc. That reminded me of a quote: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or to be beautiful" -William Morris. Anywho, I'm super into styling and how pieces can look different depending on what you're wearing them with and I'd love to do it for a living. Fashion design/styling is what I'm aiming for. I made both of these looks on Polyvore and you can click on them to find all these pieces individually (I've also linked them below each set).

Please be aware, I am a firm believer in reasonably priced clothes, but some of these pieces are outrageously pricey. If you know me, you know I love fashion and I would love to be able to play with the most extravagant and expensive pieces all day, everyday. That's my dream! But not everyone can do that, and I especially can't (I am beyond broke) so please don't think that I live that life and yadda yadda. These are specifically examples and I don't think you ever need to spend a fortune to look fabulous. Please take these as only inspirations and find pieces that are equally beautiful for less. (Maybe I should make that a regular series on here?) /end rant

I hope you're all having a good Monday. (Aren't they the worst?) Can you not wait for it to be Thursday?!

The Cuteness of Todd

Last night Henry and I went to a wedding. We both looked damn good and had so much fun dancing. But we didn't take any pictures! I'm so mad at myself. So because I can't show you how great we looked, I thought I'd show you some Todd cuteness! :) We've only had him for a week but we've noticed he has such a little personality. (the pictures are definitely low quality but wok with me...)

He got in Henry's spot on our bed when he got up for work.

Sometimes he poses.

He sleeps in my arms like a little baby almost every day.

He got camera shy.

We took him to the groomer Friday and he looks so handsome now :) I am just in love with him, guys.

I promise to have more blog-friendly posts this week but we literally haven't done anything this weekend except the wedding and then Todd got sick last night so we've babied him all day, today. Tomorrow I'm off to cut Henry's sister's hair so maybe there will be outfit pictures! I never know what's going on when the holidays roll around.

Wishing you all happy & healthy babies, while I cuddle my sick little one.