Mauve Madness

Lately, I'll admit I've gone a little mauve crazy. I've been on the hunt for the perfect pinky-browny-with just the right hint of purple lip shade for quite some time now, which, of course, resulted in quite a collection of mauve lip things. I realized that I've found the perfect color in three different products (whoops) which, admittedly, all look quite similar now that I'm looking at them. Oh well, you can never have too many lipsticks, right? Right.

Of the 3 lipsticks, this Milani one in Rose Femme definitely wears the sheerest. The formula wears like a mix between a matte and a cream; it's not shiny, but it's not drying either. This one is definitely the perfect mix of brown and pink and makes a really nice neutral.

This Lancome cream lipstick is in the color Trendy Mauve and when I originally got it last year I didn't like it. I felt like it was too much on the brown side for my tastes. It's funny how your opinion can change in a few months' time, as now it is one of my all time favorites!

This Maybelline Elixir in the shade Mauve Mystique is the most purple mauve out of the bunch, but it looks a lot more neutral on the lips. I love this formula as it is still shiny but wears like a lip stain. It does have a flowery smell which doesn't bother me but might be a turn off if you don't like scented lip products.

In general I've been pairing my mauve lipsticks with this Italia lip pencil in the shade nude. It basically just enhances the color of my own lips and is a pretty mauve-y tone so it pairs nicely. However, you can pair your lipsticks with a brown, pink or purple shade to play up the different colors in mauve, which is one of the reasons I love it so much!

Tell me, what are your favorite lip colors at the moment?

Makeup Revolution Cream Blush Palette

I purchased the Makeup Revolution "All About Cream" palette some time ago, but since I purchased 5 blush palettes (YIKES!) all at the same time I only recently started using it. Since I have super oily skin I always hesitate at using cream products for fear that they will either a) make me all the more shiny or b) melt right off my face. I find that the Makeup Revolution cream blushes are not only long wearing (I always use a primer) but they also look super natural set with a powder (which is how I wear most cream products). This palette is filled with gorgeous pinks and corals, as well as a really beautiful rose color which makes it perfect for the warmer months.

Top Row, from left 

Bottom, from left 

These are definitely my favorite cream blushes; I've tried a few others and none compare to these. I find a lot of cream blushes dry out easily and you have to really work with the product, however these are super smooth so they go on easily with a stipple brush or your fingers. I've been especially loving the top third coral color and I think the left two will transition nicely into the colder months. You can find my review on the other blush palettes here.

Have you ever tried cream blushes? Which are your favorite? Let me know down below!

Birthday weekend : Camping in Mantua

No, it was not my birthday this weekend, I doubt I would ever plan a camping trip for my big day. Not because I don't love camping, only because my birthday falls in March and where I live, it's way too cold to spend the day outdoors, much less live in the wilderness for a few days. It was my gorgeous hubby's birthday and being an avid camper, it was only fitting we did that for his special day. We took Friday (his actual birthday) off of work and started out the celebrations with a steak dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Timbermine. As you can see from some of the pictures below, the Timbermine is a steak house built to look like an old mine, with old mining carts and equipment decorating the building. You sit in little booths outfitted with a lantern and if you request to sit in the Mine, you'll be treated to a flowing river with somewhat realistic looking miners as your companions for the evening. The food is nothing short of amazing; my hubby always opts for the bacon wrapped filet while I ping pong back and forth between the salmon or shrimp scampi. Delicious!

On Saturday, we got up early, packed all our stuff and since check at the campground wasn't until 2, spent our morning soaking at Crystal Springs. I've talked about the Springs in a previous post here. I'm not going to lie, I feel like I was just as spoiled this weekend as the birthday boy was with all the nice things we got to do! When we made it to the campground and set up camp, we took our bikes out for a spin.

We started out near our campground and while the surroundings were gorgeous it was canyon like climbs. My hubby seriously underestimated how out of shape I currently am (I know, I'm supposed to be training) until the look on my horribly winded face (and major complaining) finally made him stop and take stock of the situation.

He noticed the lake off in the distance and asked if I'd rather go ride there. I said anything had to be better than climbing a canyon (it really wasn't THAT bad) and off we went. As you can tell by the picture below, I was a much happy camper - haha - to ride around the relatively flat lake. Plus, the water was so beautiful, it made for a picturesque ride!

The following day we went back to the lake but this time we brought our raft and actually ventured into the water. We'd camped at this spot several times before but never went to the lake. I have no idea why, as the lake was absolutely beautiful!

As you can see my hubby did all of the work paddling us out onto the lake. I felt bad, because it was his birthday after all, but when I mentioned this to him he just looked at me and said "That's what husbands do." I don't think I could have gotten any luckier in the husband lottery, quite frankly!

We ended the trip with the best part of camping, a campfire! We roasted dogs and had s'mores and it was the perfect ending to a perfect trip! Luckily, we had to leave early early Monday morning and missed a major rainstorm!

I hope you guys had an absolutely awesome weekend no matter what you did!

Stress Less Sunday : Yoga Change Up

If you've followed my blog from the start, you know that I am a huge lover of Yoga. I feel like there are so many variations of the practice, I can always find whatever it is I'm looking for. Since there are so many different types, I'm constantly changing things up depending on how I'm currently feeling. A few months ago I did a post on my morning yoga routine, and while I still love that one lately I've wanted to try something different. I'm a huge fan of Yoga with Adriene and I have been loving her morning yoga routine, which you can find below.

If you are a beginner to yoga but it's something you're interested in, I recommend doing Adriene's 30 day yoga journey. It's a progressive yoga practice where each day the moves get more and more difficult and it's really good. Even as someone who does yoga regularly I enjoy doing it from time to time. If you are interested you can find the first day here.

Let me know what types of workouts you like to do to relieve stress!

Revisiting Old Posts

So I feel like once I've written a post I shut it away and never look back. Sometimes though, I think to myself, "I should do an update on that one." Since I generally talk about all things beauty, my opinions can change over time. I thought it would be nice to go through some of my old posts and let you know where I currently stand.

The post I've most wanted to update is my Sally Hansen Sensationail Review. While I still maintain I love using this at home gel nail kit, I have to admit I use it only when I want my nails to last 2 plus weeks (like if I'm going on vacation and don't have time to bother with nails.) My reasoning is this: I followed numerous tutorials on the removal of gel nails and every. single. time. my nails end up a wreck after all is said and done. I generally have really strong nails but after removing the gel polish my nails get brittle and break easily. I am positive it is something I'm doing in the removal process, but until I get the hang of it the gel nail polish is reserved for special occasions. You can find my original posts here and here.

Early on, I did a post on my Garmin Vivofit. Essentially the Vivofit is a steps tracker that also keeps track of calories, sleep patterns and a whole slew of other things. For some reason I took it off one day and forgot about it for a few months. Recently I started using it again and I still love it. It definitely helps someone like me (who sits at a desk for 10 hours straight) remember to get up and walk every so often. I love it and would still highly recommend it! You can find my original post here.

Hair and Face Oils. I've done many, many posts on hair and face oils as I love both these products. The hair oils are a year round staple for me as I color my hair and that can be very damaging. Hair oils are an essential part of my hair care routine and I use one daily. The facial oil is still one of my favorite products I've discovered, however I found that for my oily skin it was too much this time of year. For me personally, I think it will be more of a Winter time staple. You can find all my posts on these products here, here, and here.

Tell me, do you guys ever look back at old posts? If so, are there things you'd want to update?

Weekly Roundup : Friday Faves #9

Yay, it's Friday again and today is a very special Friday for us since it's the hubs' birthday today. So very very happy birthday to my one and only! Here's a roundup of the things I've been loving this week!

This Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro is a cult favorite and it's easy to see why. The peachy tones cut with gold shimmer is perfect for this time of year; it's so fresh and pretty. It's one I've repurchased time and again and it's still an absolute favorite.

I've used this Lancome clarifying cream-to-foam cleanser for years. It's super gentle and incredibly affordable as a little goes a long way. This tube lasts me months!

Since I've been out in the sun quite a bit lately my lips are in need of some extra care. This e.l.f. conditioning lip balm has been my go-to lip product this week. It's super creamy and hydrating, and it gives a slight tint to the lips. It also seemingly smells of coconuts. I sound unsure because this is called Mellow Melon so I don't know whether or not my sense of smell is deceiving me!

I can't remember if I've already put this in a favorites before, which I guess goes to show it really is a favorite. This is the e.l.f. hydrating under eye primer in clear and it's one of my favorite products. It seriously hydrates my under eye area while also brightening and it keeps my concealer on all day long. Since it's by e.l.f. it's also a steal!

This Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polish has been my all time favorite nail color for the past few months. It's the perfect dusty rose color and it does dry pretty quickly. The color is in Expresso, which I guess is a play on how fast dries, but it's quite confusing as this is no where near the color of Espresso. Either way, it's gorgeous!

Let me know what you guys are loving this week!

Things I've learned since starting a Blog

I truly feel like starting a blog has made me infinitely more aware, not only of my surroundings, but about my own ability to start and follow through with something. These are some things I've learned since starting a blog.

• You can never have too many notebooks : I've always been an extremely organized person and since starting blogging, that's been taken to a whole new level. I'm a list writer and having a blog means generating new ideas everywhere and about everything. It means planning out posts and thinking about photos. It means constantly looking for new places for pictures and always looking for new ways to express yourself. There is no way my brain would be able to remember all the things involved with blogging, hence the collection of notebooks.
• You become a professional writer, photographer, beauty (or fashion or food or sports, etc) expert and so on. I've always said I started a blog because I love to write. When I ventured into the world of blogging (quite clearly) I knew zero about photography. I still only have a five year old's grasp of what a good photo should look like, but it's a learning process and I'm continuing to discover new things all the time.
• Social Media awareness : I know nothing about social media. Admittedly, I should. I'm not so old that I should be this in the dark about technology, but to be honest, it's never really something I've been interested in. I've only barely started an Instagram account, and I'm still not even sure what it is I'm doing. Don't even mention Twitter or Facebook, those are scary realms in the depths of social media my brain doesn't even want to think about venturing into right now. 
• Thinking things through : It's always been relatively easy for me to write, and I'm a person known for just spitting things out. While I get myself into trouble from time to time for speaking before I think, it's never been a problem for me as far as writing goes. Granted, I've only ever written for myself or my teachers, so this is a whole new territory. Having a blog has really made me think how I want my words to come across, what it is I really want to say and, maybe most importantly, how the things I'm saying might affect other people. It's definitely made me think a little bit more about what I want to say.
• New things can be good : I'm not known to be a risk taker, and as I've said in a previous post, this gets worse as I've gotten older. Starting a blog was something I'd thought about for so long, I didn't think I'd ever venture into making it a reality. Thankfully, a little bit of courage (and a lot of encouragement from a wonderful hubby) helped me realize my goal. And since I've started blogging, there isn't one day I've looked back and thought "man I wish I wouldn't have done this!" It's been such a fun learning experience and one I'm truly grateful to have started.

Obviously this list could go on for miles, and I may do updated lists from time to time as my knowledge for all things blogging grows, but in the meantime, tell me what you've learned since starting a blog!