New Year, New Me

Hello Ladies,

So, the last year was a crazy one.  There was a lot of good (moving in with my boyfriend, going to California, etc) and a bit of heartbreaking (my mom passed away).  However, tomorrow is the start of a new year, and I plan to make the most of it!

I have a couple of goals/resolutions for the new year:

1) Begin a new fitness routine
2) Not complain to friends and family about my weight

I am doing a Beachbody fitness program (Slim in 6), and I am really excited to get in shape.  I will post fitness updates on my blog.

That being said, I don't want to be a whiner who is always complaining to my friends and family about not losing weight.

This is the year to stop complaining and start doing!  I know it is going to take me a while to get to where I want to be, and that is okay. 

Every day is a new opportunity to do something good for myself, and that is how I plan to treat each of the 365 days in 2013!

Who's with me?

Happy New Year, lovelies!!!

Talk Soon,

T.

MAC Syrup

Hello Ladies,

It is official: I have a new favorite lipstick for day.  MAC Syrup is the perfect your-lips-only-better shade that leaves my lips feeling moisturized and looking lovely.

It retails for $15 at MAC stores, counters and online. It is the first lustre finish lipstick I have tried, and I am eager to try more.

Do you own Syrup or another MAC lustre lipstick?  What are your thoughts?

Talk Soon,

T.

I Heart Tarte!!!

Hello Lovelies,

I made a purchase last week during Tarte's friends and family sale, and I must admit, I am smitten.  I plan to do full reviews of all my new goodies, but for now, I want to talk about the TEN eyeshadow pallette.

Image from Tarte Website

It was on sale for $30, and with the FF discount, I got it for $21.  It comes with 10 full-size eyeshadows, a double-ended liner and a brush.  Plus, it is in a really cute little compact that is great for traveling or carrying everyday.

The top row includes a matte highlight color as well as an amazing purple shimmer!

The kit includes 3 matte finish shadows, two that are a satin finish and five shimmers.

The bottom row features gorgeous dark shades, including a matte brown and matte dark gray!

The only major complaint I have about the kit is that the shades are not named.  That being said, some of the colors are gorgeous!  In particular, I like the copper shade and the shimmery purple.  The pigmentation on the shadows is insane, and with a primer, they last all day.

The pencil liners are also very pigmented.  After trying these, I am excited to try more Tarte eyeliners!  I especially like the deep plum liner but will admit they are a bit hard to apply at first.  Once the liner softens a bit, they are great.  The brush is okay for all over shadow application; however,I like to use more than one brush while creating eye looks.

Tarte Liners in Black and Deep Plum

Overall, I recommend checking out Tarte shadows.  I will have more reviews coming in the next few weeks on other Tarte products, including two of their holiday kits.

Just for fun, here is a pic my six-year-old nephew drew of my boyfriend:

'Tis the season!

Talk Soon,

T.

NOTD: Julep Charlotte

Hello Girls,

Julep makes some of my favorite polishes, and Charlotte is no exception.  It is a really pretty purple with a slight gray undertone.

Julep Charlotte

This polish goes on really smooth and has a thick consistency.  Two coats definitely do the job, and they wear well on my nails.  I was able to wear this polish for about four days with no chipping.

Julep nail polishes retail for $14, but if you join the Maven program, you can get them for $11.20 or even cheaper in your monthly box.  It is free to join, and you can skip your box any time.  I definitely recommend checking it out!

http://www.julep.com/

Are you a Maven?

Talk Soon,

T.

My Life Now

Hey Ladies,

I usually post about makeup and beauty, but today, I am going to get a bit more personal.  I debated as to whether or not to talk about this on my blog, but I realized that, for me, blogging is about being myself and connecting with all of you.  So, here goes.

Two weeks ago, my mom passed away.  She had been struggling with leukemia for a couple years, and the cancer had come back on my birthday (September 12).  Since then, she had been in the hospital preparing for a stem cell transplant.  She got the transplant on November 16, but her heart was not strong enough for all the chemo she had endured.  On Sunday, November 25, just after Thanksgiving, she went into cardiac arrest.  Three days later, she was gone.

My mom was my best friend.  She was my shopping buddy, my sounding board, my hero.  I feel lost without her.  I was so blessed to have 26 great years with her and to have a mom who was so loving, supportive and full of life.  She was the strongest person I have ever known, and she always made me feel like I was special and wonderful.  I miss her every day.

I am having a really hard time.  I never allowed myself to think about what would happen if the transplant failed.  My mom was young, 54, and healthy aside from the cancer.  Whenever I would say things about being worried that the transplant would not work, my family and friends said not to think like that.  They told me to stay postive, and I did.  So, when things took such an unfortunate turn, I was shocked.

It is still hard to believe she is gone.  I want to call her to ask about her day and tell her about mine.  I want to e-mail her pictures of clothes I want to buy, so she can offer her opinions.  I want to give her the Christmas present I had already purchased for her.  More than anything, I just want to hug her.

I have struggled with depression in the past and was being treated for it prior to my mom passing away.  I am trying really hard to keep myself together, but I am struggling.  I don't want to get out of bed and go to work.  I definitely don't want to go to the gym, and I don't even want to go out with my friends.  I know I have to do all of these things because my mom would not want me to stop living my life.  It is just so strange to me that she is gone, and I am just supposed to pick up and carry on without her.

One thing that always makes me smile is reading beauty and makeup blogs and watching YouTube.  I have purchased some awesome new makeup over the past few weeks, and I will continue to blog.  So, thank you for reading my blog.  It means so much to me :)

Me, my beautiful mommy, my little sis

I appreciate you taking the time to read this post, and I hope you are all having a wonderful December.

Talk Soon,

T.

Jordana Easyliner for Lips

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I am not a big lip liner gal, but I recently decided to give them a try.  I didn't want to invest a ton of money in a product I am not sure I will use, so I decided to try Jordana from my local Walgreens.

Pic from Amazon: Jordana Easyliner in Tawny

I chose the color Tawny because it was fairly neutral and would go with a wide array of lipsticks.  In particular, I needed something to pair with my Rimmel Kate lipstick in 08.  Tawny goes on smooth and blends easily.  It definitely does its job and keeps my lipstick where it is supposed to be.

Tawny

These liners are retractable, so there is no sharpening.  The best part about Jordana liners is the price.  They are only $1.99!!!  Since Tawny works well and is so affordable, I think I will try more Jordana lip liners in the future.

Have you had a good experience with Jordana?  Which of their products do you recommend?

Talk Soon,

T.
                                  

Influenster Cosmo VoxBox 2012

Hello Hello,

I am so excited!  I got my first VoxBox from Influenster today. Influenster is an awesome website that combines product reviews and social networking.  The topics range from fashion to food to pets and a ton of things in between.  The best part is that it is FREE!  You can earn points to qualify for free stuff, which you then review.  Pretty cool, huh?

This was my first box, and I am so impressed.  I received two pens, a Venus razor with a replacement blade, a .25 fl oz sample of Forever Red by Bath and Body works and a full size Ghiradelli chocolate bar.  All for free :)

I will be reviewing the products in the coming weeks for Influenster, and I will post some updates on the experience.

Do you use Influenster?

Talk Soon,

T.

Please note: I received each product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.  

Black Friday Haul

Hello Lovelies,

I haven't been able to post in a while, but I am glad to be blogging again.  On black Friday, my sister and I went shopping, and of course, we had some awesome makeup finds!  The mall we were in does not have a Sephora, but we hit the Ulta pretty hard.  Here are the items I picked up (along with mini reviews for those that I have tried):

Black Friday Fun

First up is a bareMinerals Little Luxaries Dazzling Eye Trio.  These were on sale for $10 and were flying off the shelves.  I chose to get this one because it came with a full size mascara and two eye shadows.  I haven't used it (beyond swatching), so I can't vouch for the quality.  However, I usually like bareMinerals stuff, and I expect I will like this as well.

Flawless Definition Mascara and Two Eyecolors

Muse on left; Cultured Pearl on right

Next up is the item I was most excited to buy, the Lorac five shadow pallet in Sweet Luxuries   It is gorgeous, and I have used it nonstop since purchasing it.  The pallet includes five very neutral, highly pigmented shadows.  Three of the shades are matte, and two are shimmers.  The best part is that it has a great highlight color, a great liner color and three in-between shades that would work on most skin tones. I love it, and for $12, it was a steal!

The last black Friday special I grabbed was a set of mini nail polishes from OPI.  The "Stuff My Stocking" set features a shimmery red (Last Minute Shopper), green (Skip the Gift Wrap) and purple (Gift Cards for Everyone!), along with a mini RapiDry Top Coat. I picked it up for $7.50.  I doubt I will wear the green, but the purple and the red are nice.  Plus, I can always use more top coat!

Festive! The polishes are shimmery but not glittery.

Finally, I picked up a couple items I had been eyeing for a while.  Ulta had L'oreal on sale buy one, get one half off.  I picked up a MagicLumi Corrector/Concealer in light (with high hopes that it will be a dupe for YSL Touche Eclat) and an Infallible eye shadow in Amber Rush.  I haven't done much with the concealer, but the eye shadow is gorgeous.  I love the color, but if I had it to do over, I might opt for something else, since it is in the same color family as the Lorac shadows.

L'oreal Infallible in Amber Rush

That was it for my shopping trip.  Have you tried any of the above products?  Did you ladies score any awesome deals on black Friday?

Talk Soon,

T.