Tuesday, March 31, 2015

March Birchbox (And Review!)

Oh my I am running far behind this month! I am just getting around to posting about what I received in my March Birchbox...whoops! Since I'm so delayed I'm just going to share my review in this post as well. This may be something I do every month from now on, instead of a post where I show what I received and then one with a review I'm thinking I may just combine them from now on!





The Cover FX BB Gel is pretty much a BB cream and is a light coverage foundation. It matches my skin well and feels very light on my skin. I don't mind it at all- but it's definitely not my favorite. I wouldn't purchase it in the future but I will continue to use up the sample.


Sincerely by Harvey Prince isn't as horrible as the Harvey Prince Ageless I received last month but it is certainly not my favorite. This scent is described as sweet and spicy but I think it smells a little like a gross cleaning product...not what I want to smell like! I have been trying to use it up and have a couple more uses in my little sample- but this is going on a list of items I never want to purchase.



Oh my goodness. I am not a lipstick girl. At all. But man, this is a gorgeous lipstick! This color is mostly nude but adds a bit of shimmer and a tad bit of pink. Not only do I think it looks nice- it feels great which is more important. I have worn this out a few times recently and I'm a huge fan! I would honestly consider purchasing this in the future!


Another loved product! I have been using this Amika Blowout Spray before blowdrying my hair and it works great! I feel like my hair is protected and it smells fabulous. I would purchase a full size of this in the future for sure.



The N4 Clarifying Shampoo and Reconstructing Maque made my hair feel like crap. These products dried my hair out beyond belief and I would never use this again. I don't know how a reconstructing masque could possibly dry my hair out- but it did! Never again!

That's what I received in my Birchbox this month- what did you get? Any products you loved? Any you hated?

Friday, March 27, 2015

Friday Night Couponing!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Tonight before my Zumba class I headed into CVS to grab a few couponing items so I wanted to share these deals with you so you could go grab them before the sale week ends!


4 Purex Ultrapacks @ $6.79 each, $27.16 total.
buy one get one free
Paid $13.58 for all four

2 Softsoap Body Washes @ $2.99 each, $5.98 total.
used $1 off 2 coupon
Paid $4.98 and got $1 back in ECB, making them $1.99 each!

Sure Deodorant @ $2
used $1 coupon
Paid $1, and got $1 back in ECB, making it free!

Seche Nail Polish Top Coat
Paid $9.99 (no deal I just wanted to try this!)

I also used a $5 off $25 coupon in this transaction.

I paid $26.41 after tax and coupon deductions and received $2 back in ECB. Not my best trip by far but not horrible either at a 51% savings.

Did you do any couponing this week? I have depleted my stockpile quite a bit so I am trying to get back into couponing and build it back up!

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Things I'm Loving Lately

Happy Tuesday Everybody!

Today I thought I would share with you all some of the things I am absolutely loving lately.


The first involves a little haul from Bath and Body Works...




I am loving the Bath and Body Works Hawaii line! I picked up two candles and three hand lotions and all the scents are absolutely fantastic. I am a huge fan of fruity, summer scents and these are all getting me in the mood for warmer weather!


I picked up this statement necklace at Kohls a month or so ago and I am loving how it transforms simple outfits into exciting ones! In this picture it looks black but in real life it's a deep blue color and I think it's absolutely gorgeous! I usually go for longer necklaces but I think I will need to give shorter statement necklaces more of a try.




I am looking forward to warmer weather, however I am loving my cozy sweaters lately. This is just a collection of three outfits I have worn over the past couple of weeks involving cozy sweaters. They make fashion so comfortable!


I always love the beach but lately I've been trying to channel summer by stopping by a few times each week. Ignore the snow in the bottom right corner, we are still working on getting rid of that mess...

Other things I've been loving lately?

  • On TV: Once Upon A Time, Revenge, The Middle, The Amazing Race, Hart of Dixie, and Pretty Little Liars
  • March Madness Brackets
  • Spring Cleaning
  • Movies: Cinderella and Insurgent (I saw both and loved them!)

What have you been loving lately?

Sunday, March 22, 2015

A Few Book Reviews

During my lunch hour I have been spending quite a bit of time reading! I was going to do three different review posts but decided to just keep them all together in this one blog post to keep things simple! 


The first book I downloaded on my Kindle is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This novel chronicles Mia as she is in the hospital after a car accident. Her parents and brother were all killed before making it to the hospital but Mia is in a coma and is fighting for survival. She has an out-of-body experience and gets to decide if she wants to stay and fight for her life or if she would prefer to pass on and be with her family. 

Mia is a musician and plays the cello which causes her to deeply connect with her boyfriend Adam. Her memories are mostly of him as she fights for her life and Adam fights to be able to help her.

I found this book to be quite the quick read but I enjoyed it immensely. I really want to watch the movie and it is on my to-watch list for the near future!


After finishing If I Stay, I knew I needed to read Where She Went which is Adam's (Mia's boyfriend) story from after her accident and recovery. Apparently Mia went to Julliard and left him behind without any explanation and he is in pain himself. Reading Adam's story wasn't quite as captivating as Mia's in the first book but I did enjoy it and finished the book rather quickly. If you have read If I Stay I would highly recommend reading Where She Went so you can see the continuation of Mia and Adam's story.


Of course being a big Bachelor fan I needed to read Sean Lowe's book For The Right Reasons. (If I'm being honest I think I'm a bigger fan of his sister Shay then I am of Sean) I really liked that Sean's book contained so much behind the scenes information from the Bachelor and showed how it truly works. There were many religious mentions which aren't really my thing- but most of the book was truly enjoyable and I found myself excited to find out new things that I didn't know about Sean and the show.

What books have you been reading lately?

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Spring Cleaning: A More Organized Approach To Beauty

One of the areas I struggle with organizing is my beauty products. I have a fairly big collection of makeup and other beauty products from couponing and subscribing to Birchbox for years and I have been shoving products in little plastic drawers for years now and it just wasn't cutting it!

For almost a year I've been dreaming of the Alex 9 drawer from Ikea. I attempted to order it online however there was a $200 shipping charge, not something I was willing to pay for a $119 piece of furniture that needed to be put together. So when my friend Laura suggested we visit Ikea during our girls weekend I was more then game!



Now you'll remember from that post there were a ton of pieces to the Alex 9 drawer and I had to individually build each drawer. It took about two hours but I found the process to be fairly easy and painless!







For a week all my products were just tossed inside the drawers until last weekend when I took a trip to my all time favorite store.....


The Container Store!




I had a fantastic time in the bathroom aisle checking out all the different organizers! I ended up leaving with a stack of Linus drawer organizers (and will be going back to get more!)


Looks like heaven...


I took my time organizing each product type-sorting out brands and types and tossing old products that I feel are expired or have had their time to shine!


Ready to jump in?! Let's go!


Right now the top drawer features one large linus drawer organizer. I keep all my cleansers and masks inside this drawer. These are products that are brand new and will eventually make their way into the bathroom when they are in use. As you can see I have several Neutrogena Deep Cleans from couponing, some Origins, St Ives, and Pacifica. I also have many small samples from Birchbox that I need to finish up!


Drawer number two is filled with foundations and concealers. I used only two small linus organizers- the one on the right for concealers and the one on the left for foundations and BB/CC creams. Most of this drawer is Birchbox samples- but I do have quite a few Physicians Formula concealers from different couponing deals.


I am in LOVE with drawer number three. Eyeshadow is my weakness =)
I used a large Linus drawer organizer and three small organizers. I have my big palettes on the left and all my singles and duos on the right.


Drawer number four is filled with two organizers. The first is mascara the second is eyeliners. Then outside the organizers I have makeup removers and makeup remover wipes. I would love to get another organizer to hold those as well.


Drawer five has all my lip products in the first organizer, blush in the second, and bronzer and highlighters in the third. I'm considering getting a lipstick holder to hold all those lip products!



 Drawer number six is empty.....room to grow!


Drawer seven holds all my nail polish. I need a second organizer for this drawer because the one Linus organizer is not cutting it!


Drawer eight has my nail tools which don't have an organizer right now so they need to be better organized in the future.


Then drawer number nine is empty- even more room to grow!

I will be going back to the Container Store to pick up some more organizers now that I know where I need them and what sizes I will need. I am so excited to have this piece of furniture in my room and have all these products neatly tucked away. I can't wait until it's perfect! =)

How is your makeup collection and beauty products organized?

Sunday, March 15, 2015

February Birchbox Review

Todays post is very delayed and for that I apologize. I've been busy with life lately. I have a ton of blog posts in the works and a lot of different projects and posts that I am excited to share with you- I just need to sit down and make the time for them to happen.

I am going to try to incorporate more of my day to day life with you throughout the blog as well like I used to do in Project365. If you want to see a true representation of my life and how I'm feeling check out my Instagram since I post there a few days a week without fail.

My day today started with a Cardio Sculpt class at the gym which was intense but felt fantastic. I also was able to see the movie Cinderella and go to dinner with my papa, his girlfriend Vivian and my Uncle Craig. It was a great day and I'm happy to be home nice and early so I can relax before my early work day tomorrow.

Now for the real reason you're here...my thoughts on my February Birchbox!





The Marcelle makeup remover does a decent job at removing makeup. I liked it okay but wasn't totally wowed by it. I have been using a Sephora eye makeup remover for years and am pretty much obsessed with it so I felt that this one just didn't compare. I will use up this container but I will not be purchasing a full size of this. It'll also probably take me about a year to finish this baby up so I won't need makeup remover for a long time!


I was excited to try this Parlor sea salt spray but man was it awful. It just seemed to separate my hair into hardened chunks and I was not impressed.


Another flop...I'm sorry to say that I hated this Harvey Prince Ageless perfume. It smelt terrible- I can only describe it as an old lady perfume! I don't even know if I can finish this small sample...


This was a nice mascara made by Laura Gellar. It worked great on my lashes and made them long and full. I was super impressed by this small sample and would consider using it again in the future.


I was very excited to try this theBalm Read My Lips lip gloss but I found the color looked strange on my lips. It was just too pink for my lips and I definitely don't think it's something I can wear on a regular basis!

What products have you tried lately?