DIY Hair Flowers

I've been shopping around trying to find somewhere that sells flowers to clip into my hair.  I have yet to find a clip with the perfect size and color.  So I decided instead of continuing my search, I could make my own exactly the way I would want a flower hair pin.  They were so simple and fun to make I decided to share exactly how I did them!

What you will need:

 I bought all of my things from Michaels.  You will need a bouquet of flowers that are easy to separate from their stems and that can be flattened out onto your bobby pins.

I bought these 5mm swarovski crystals to glue to the center of the flowers to give it some extra shine.  They also had pearls which I thought was another cute choice to add to the center.  These crystals came in every color and shape but I wanted to have a big clear stone so it was noticeable.

- Bobby pins

- Felt parchment (I bought mine in brown to match my hair color)

- Hot glue gun

- Scissors

I cut out tiny 1/2 inch squares of felt and put glue into the center and pushed my bobby pin on top of it.  I then pulled off the flower petals from the stems and for some of my flowers I did two layers of petals whereas for others I did three.  The placement of the petals and how many you add is your choice!  I glued the center of the first petal onto the felt that we already glued down.  Then I added more petals on top creating a layered effect.  Once I was done with placing the petals, I added a tiny dot of glue to my crystal and placed it into the center of the flower.  Then that's it!  Super easy and quick.  Now you have your own personalized flower pins!

All of these flowers were made from the same bouquet of fake flowers I picked up from Michaels.  I mixed and matched them all so they are all different in color and shape.

Nail of the Day

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's been a really hectic month!

Sorry if it looks a bit messy, but I just painted my nails and was so excited to write a post that I couldn't wait till after I cleaned up my nails.  I painted my nails with Essie's Marshmallow, which is one of my current favorite polishes.  It's a really milky white that truly resembles the color of a marshmallow.  It's pretty sheer so it applies streaky and needs 2-3 coats, but it's a nice wearable white.   The glitter you see at the tips of my nails is MAC 3d glitter pigment which I think I got at the pro store a while back.  I poured the glitter out into a plate and picked it up in clumps with a toothpick dipped in clear polish and painted it on.  It creates a really pretty and eye catching sparkle to the tips of your nails and contrasts beautifully with the off-white color!

Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara

This blog entry is a really special one.  My best friend Shrina agreed to write a review on this new mascara she has recently purchased and is loving.  Here are her thoughts! <3

I saw this shiny purple bottle of Rimmel mascara with enticing packaging at the drugstore.  I immediately picked it up, and since I had been on the lookout for a new mascara anyway, I decided to give this one a shot.  It looked cool, offered promising results, and I only had to pay $2.62 for it because it was apparently on sale (but is originally around $8).  It came in two colors- Black and Extreme Black- and I opted for Extreme Black just because I was was buying it for more formal occasions.  I applied it twice for my desired look and I thought it did a really great job!  My lashes looked full and thick, and there were no clumps on my lashes.  I never had to reapply it, as it lasted for the entire day, even through many dances.  This mascara comes in a waterproof version if necessary.  I would definitely recommend this cheap mascara!

Summer faves

With warmer weather and summer around the corner, I'm starting to pull out some of my favorite makeup products for this time of the year.  Not that I don't use these the rest of the year, but Summer is when I use them the most!

This is Nars Laguna bronzer.  It looks a lot more shimmery in the pan than when you apply it to the face, which is a good thing because you don't want to be applying shimmer all over your face.  I like to apply this in the "3E" motion around the perimeters of my face and it just creates the most beautiful glow.  It's a very flattering bronzer that isn't orange or too dark.  It is definitely buildable and is a nice universal bronzing shade.

This is Melba blush by MAC.  It is a very soft shade of peach/coral that is matte.  I like this because I feel like it compliments the bronzer well in creating a sun kissed glow to the skin.  It is a very soft and pigmented blush.  It looks very natural against the skin unlike some of my other orange/peach/coral blushes.  Also, I like to use a highlighter more often in the summer time and I always like to use that with a matte blush, so this is perfect.


This veluxe pearl finish eyeshadow from MAC is woodwinked.  It is the perfect brownish gold which can have a tinge of orange to it depending on how you wear it.  It makes your lids appear glowy because of the almost metallic finish it gives to the lids.  I love this color for all over the lid but I also enjoy using it in the crease.  It has very good color payoff and I am very excited to pull this shade out and use it again.

This is Rubenesque paintpot by MAC.  This is one of their creaseless cream shadows.  I absolutely love this shimmery golden peach shade.  It is so easy to swipe across the lids and be done with the eyes.  I like to go very simple on the eyes in the summer and this just makes it so easy.  It also brings out more of the orange-y golden shades of woodwinked so they pair well together.  It's a great base for any neutral shade.

For summer I like to have really long and thick and full dark lashes since I go so light on the eye makeup.  I recently picked up this Loreal Voluminous mascara.  The first time I bought this I didn't like it but this time I picked up the curved brush version which I absolutely love.  It creates really big lashes easily and is very dark.  I normally don't go for waterproof mascara since I don't have an issue with mascara transferring onto my lower lids, but if you do I would recommend a waterproof mascara formula.


I have a few other favorites for the summer, but not any products in particular.  A must have for me is a coral lipstick or lipgloss (preferably something with spf).  As you can tell when summer hits I kind of put aside my pink shades and reach for my oranges and corals.  I also really enjoy shimmery highlights and gel eyeliner for my upper lash line.

Nail of the Day

I tried something different with my nails, and this is my first time doing this double color look.  It was really easy, but there were a few mistakes I made that ruined the perfect edge between the two colors.  Here is how I did it!

1.  Find two opaque colors to use.  You don't want anything sheer because when you layer them over one another their true colors won't show up and the colors will blend too much and not be distinct.  Here I chose a bright orange shade and a pink.
2.  Paint your nails with one of the colors.  Here I painted all my nails with the pink first.  Now here is where I made one of my mistakes.  I didn't wait long enough for the pink to dry.  Make sure the pink is entirely dry on your nails before the next step.
3.  Take some tape and put it diagonally (or however you want it) on your nails using the straight edge of the tape to create the diagonal.  The first polish needed to be dry or else the tape will leave marks and ruin that first layer of polish.  Make sure you tape down all edges so the next layer of polish doesn't seep through and blend in with the pink.
4.  Take your next color (which in my case was the orange) and paint it over the part of the nail you haven't covered with tape.
5.  My next mistake was removing the tape to quickly.  If you remove it before the polish has dried then it will start spreading into the first layer of polish and ruining the straight edge between the two colors.  Wait for it to dry a little bit before removing.

Then put a topcoat and you are finished!

CCO Purchases

I recently was in a Cosmetics Company Outlet (CCO), and made a few purchases.  I like going there to find limited edition or discontinued MAC products that I missed out on.  I didn't feel like this CCO had as many products as I have seen in others, but here is what I got:

This is a MAC Msf in the color Refined.  I like to use this as a face highlight because it's too shimmery to be used as a blush.  It has a very pretty mix of corals, pinks, peaches and bronze shades.  This makes it a universal highlight to be paired up with almost any blush.  It has so many beautiful colors and you can choose whether to dip your brush into the more golden shades or the peachy side of it.  It's a very pretty color for the Summer and I love how the colors make it a universal shade that can match any blush.

I purchased this slimshine lipstick in High 90s which is a gorgeous creamy bright coral shade.  I love slimshines because they have a great color pay-off with a beautiful glossy shine to them.  I don't know why MAC discontinued their slimshines but whenever I go to a CCO I always look out for these. One swipe of this is all you need to get great color and shine.




I heard a rumor that matt^2 eyeshadows by MAC were going to be discontinued.  I personally didn't own any until this one which I had been eyeing for a while.  This color is copperplate and I love the consistency of this shadow.  If all matt^2 eyeshadows are as soft and pigmented as this one, I'm going to have to check them out because my collection is lacking in matte colors.  This is a cross between a grey and a brown shade which could be used as a crease color for a smokey eye when built up or as a subtle crease color for a neutral eye look.  I have recently been using this just under my lash line to create a smokey effect. This is a pretty versatile shadow and I would be sad if they were discontinuing it!

Bourjois Volumizing Mascara

So from a recent post, you all know that my all time favorite mascara is from YSL, but it is too expensive to purchase every 2-3 months when it dries out.  Since then I have tried Fairy Drops Scandal Queen mascara from Sephora and this one from Bourjois.  I really didn't like the Fairy Drops mascara only because no matter how I applied it, black always ended up on my lids and ruined my eyeshadow.  It was nice because it was water resistant and I loved how it curled and separated my lashes, but it was too much of a hassle to apply.

This is a two step mascara which I was hesitant to try out because I have tried MACs Haute and Naught Lash mascara which is also a two step mascara and I wasn't impressed at all.  When I first used this mascara I hated it because it had a very wet and watery consistency.  I put it aside for two weeks before reaching for it again in hopes that it would dry out a bit which it did, and now I love it.  The first step of this mascara separates my lashes while the second step makes them dark and long.  I really like this mascara because it creates dramatic lashes very easily and lengthens my lashes as well as separates them.

May Birchbox

The Birchbox theme this month revolved around the idea that mother knows best so the box was filled with elegant products.  I was really excited when I opened my package because before unwrapping anything the sweet smell of citrus started to escape the box.  Here are my first impressions of what I found inside moving from left to right:

Tiny Prints Card:  This months treat was a greeting card from a site that allows you to customize your own cards.  I love to send handwritten messages and have a slight obsession with stationary so this was an exciting surprise.  It is very good quality paper, and on top of that they gave us a code to visit their site and receive a free greeting card of our choice and any additional cards for half off.

Oribe Shampoo and Conditioner:  As an extra, I got two packets of Oribe shampoo and conditioner that maintains and hydrates color treated hair.  I would say that each packet can be used twice and I'm excited to try these products out. These are also great to keep around to take for vacations.

Archipelago Pomegranate Soap:  This brand sounds familiar, I'm not quite sure where I have seen it before, but this soap smells soooo good.  I'm not a big fan of using bar soaps, but this smells so good I can't resist.

Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir:  This perfume is the first one I have received in my Birchbox that I actually like and would wear.  It says that it smells like fruit and jasmine.  I'm not the best at describing scents--all I know is that I'm loving it.

Stila eyeshadow in 24Kt:  I received a full sized Stila shadow in gold.  Gold is one of my favorite colors of shadow to wear so I was excited that I got a color that I would get a good use out of.  It came in the pan which was upsetting because they are too large to fit in a MAC palette and I don't have any other magnetized palettes.  I believe they sell the containers at Sephora so I might have to check that out to make this shadow more convenient to use.

Erno Laszlo Night Serum:  This is a firming serum to be used at night.  It says that it is "a wrinkle-fighting wonder," and at $190 per oz I sure hope so!


Overall I was really happy with every product I received this month and can't wait to start using them!

Urban Decay Cult Eyeshadow

I was really excited for this eyeshadow because I barely own any matte shadows and my collection is mostly neutrals so I thought this purple would be great for the collection.  I love this deep purple shade.  Urban Decay claims their matte line is buttery and smooth, which is true.  To the touch this shadow feels really soft.  My problem with it is that it is really powdery.

You couldn't really see it in the first picture I took, but when I swatched it on my hand you can see the powder/chalky appearance of the shadow.  Even when I dipped my brush into the shadow to apply it, it went onto the brush clumpy and powdery, just like the way it looks swatched above.  I'm still going to use it because I love the color, I just do not like the formulation of this product at all.  I don't know if the rest of their matte line is the same, but I do not plan on purchasing any more of Urban Decay's matte collection of eyeshadows.  I love their eyeshadows in general, just not this one.

Nail of the day #5

This is a nailpolish by Essie called One of a Kind.  This is a beautiful coral color, which leans more red than orange.  For some reason, this Essie polish does not apply thick and goopy like some of the others ones that I own, but it was very easy to apply.  It is very creamy and opaque.  You could apply only one coat of this polish if you like and it won't look streaky, and the color will be even and bright.  This is a great color for the Summer!

Jewelmint Jewelry

I had been seeing a lot of advertisements recently for the the Jewelmint site which is Cher Coulter and Kate Bosworth's site where they design and sell jewelry pieces.  You sign up and based on your personality test, they suggest pieces of jewelry for only $29.99 each.  A lot of their pieces are big statement pieces which is what I normally don't go for, but I saw this bracelet above and I fell in love.  It's a matte bracelet which is really unique in my opinion.  The sparkle in it is of course what attracted me to it and I love wearing it with my Michael Kors watch.  I'm in love with this bracelet, it is so unique.

Eye Makeup Remover

My all time favorite eye makeup remover is Bi-Facil by Lancome, but at about $24 dollars a bottle it was starting to get expensive.  When it comes to finding the right eye makeup remover for me, it has to be something gentle on my eyes that will remove my makeup without excessive rubbing or any stinging.  I am fairly sensitive to eye makeup remover products as they tend to sting my eyes.  

The Lancome remover was perfect, but I wanted to find a cheaper dupe to it.  I tried the Loreal make up remover (the one on the right) and it did sting my eyes and didn't wipe away my make up as quickly as the Lancome one.  I just finished that bottle finally and bought this new one by No 7 from Ulta.  It was around $8 and it comes with a pump you can use to just squirt product onto your cotton pad.  I thought it was unique because the remover solution itself is blue.  I had never used an eye makeup remover that had color to it before so you could actually see how much you are putting onto the cotton swab.  I must say that I really like this product.  It is very gentle on the eyes, and it doesn't bother me at all.  It removes my eye makeup easily and I think I have found my replacement for the Lancome remover!  You do have to shake it and mix up the product, as with any eye makeup remover, the only issue is that some of the product comes out and onto the cap and around the nozzle when you do that.  So the packaging isn't as great as I originally thought it was but it's a great product and I'm glad to have found it.

Neutrogena Lip Balm

Neutrogena came out with a new line called Neutrogena naturals.  I wasn't really interested in anything from the line since I already have a skin care regimen that works for me.  However, I got their lip balm as a gift with purchase at Target.  I love the idea behind this line and that everything is all natural, but this lip balm is awful.  It has a nice minty scent to it, but that is honestly the only good part of this product.  It is not soft when you apply it to the lips and it does not feel moisturizing at all especially in comparison to my all time favorite lip balm which is Nivea, a kiss of moisture.  In fact, this lip balm made my lips peel and dry up so it did the opposite of what it should do.  I actually saved it to do this post, but now I'm throwing it away.  I don't recommend this at all!

Birchbox #3

Receiving a Birchbox in the mail gets me so excited because I never know what to expect.  I was pretty excited for some of the things I got this time!  Starting from left to right:

Juice Beauty- Green Apple Peel:  I have always been hesitant to use masks or peels on my face because I don't want to suddenly break out from them since they are such a heavy duty product.  It is a really nice sized sample though!

Lavanila lotion in Vanilla Lavender:  I was the most excited for this product because I have seen this line in Sephora, I just never purchased anything from them.  I was kind of upset I didn't get their coconut vanilla scent because that is my all time favorite and I'm not a huge fan of lavender.  However, the lavender isn't overpowering in this lotion and mixed well with the vanilla.  It also leaves my hands really soft I love the texture of this lotion.  It feels very satiny on the skin.

Zoya Polish in Jules:  This is my second most favorite thing in my box.  I have lately been hearing a lot about Zoya and I'm so glad I could test out one of their polishes from their new spring line.  You can see the swatches on the bottom of the picture that they sent along with it.  The pamphlet on the left shows all the colors they have (which is a lot!) and on the right are the spring collection swatches.  I must say I would have preferred one of their creamy colors to the metallic (which is maybe why this wasn't my first favorite thing in my box), but I'm so excited to try out this metallic-y gold/silver color on my fingers--I can't even explain it!

LIV GRN parfum:  I love receiving perfume samples because I like to always keep one in my purse.  I'm so bad at explaining smells but it says it smells like jasmine and sandalwood.  To me I smell a bit of melon in there as well, but then again I'm not the best with explaining scents!  I wish the bottle was a spray though, that makes it so much easier to use!

Juice Beauty moisturizer:  This was one of their extras.  I don't know why they keep sending moisturizers to try out.  I think if I tried everything they sent my skin would go crazy and not know what to do with so many different products.

Seed Paper:  This was another extra.  You are supposed to plant this and with a little water wildflowers will grow!  I have yet to plant it but it's kind of a cool concept.

Nail of the day #4

 One of the blogs I enjoy to read is by a girl named Jen.  In one of her recent posts, she had her nails painted with black nail polish with blue sparkles on top.  I tried to recreate the look, but I only had the sparkle polish she used.

For my base, I used OPI's polish in Lincoln Park after Dark which is a dark and creamy purple color.  Over that I used a nail polish from the Katy Perry line from OPI in Last Friday Night.  I really like this look because it looks like the night sky.  Also, the polish in Last Friday Night was a disappointing color on its own because looks like a few coats of it would create a nice shade of blue on the nails.  However, that pretty blue color you see in the bottle does not translate onto your nails.  But over Lincoln Park after Dark, the sparkles capture a pretty blue sheen in the light and add a fun touch to the nails.

miracle leave-in product

This product was on a main display at Ulta and it was also highly recommended by a sales woman, so I decided to try it out.  I'm always looking for a product that will manage frizz (which I get a lot of, especially in the cold months from excessive blow drying) and soften my hair.  It comes in two sizes, and I got the smaller size which is 120ml for $18.  I have been a loyal user of Moroccan Oil products.  I love their entire line, and some of my favorites include their shampoo, conditioner and oil treatment.  This product beat the oil from the Moroccan Oil line for me though.  This softens my hair even more than Moroccan Oil and on the box it claims to do 10 things for your hair once you have sprayed in the product.  On the box it says:

1. Repairs dry damaged hair

2. Adds shine

3.  Smoothes & controls frizz

4.  Seals and Protects hair color

5.  Detangles

6.  Prevents split ends

7.  Stops hair breakage

8.  Creates silkiness

9.  Enhances natural body

10.  Flat iron & thermal protector

I can honestly say this product makes my always tangled hair manageable and frizz free.  It was so much easier to handle my hair with this product, and all you need is to spray this around your hair and comb it through to make sure it isn't concentrated in only one area of your head.  This product truly is the miracle it claims to be.  It also has a great spray so when you spray it into your hair it doesn't concentrate on only one area but disperses evenly to the entire head.

Michael Kors Watches

I am currently obsessed with Michael Kors watches.  They have such a classic look but with feminine details to them.  I had never owned a metal watch before because they have always felt too heavy on my wrist or even when sized, never fit properly.  My aunt and uncle got me a Michael Kors watch as a present a few months ago, and I have not taken it off since.  It is my favorite watch!

I am in love with rose gold jewelry and Michael Kors was one of the first brands that came out with watches in a nice shade of rose gold.  Of course, my watch had to have sparkle to it.  I get so many compliments on this watch, and it is so comfortable to wear.  Now that I have had this watch for a few months, whenever I am in Nordstrom I glance over his other watches.  I recently fell in love with their gold watches as well, especially this one.  I'm saving up to buy this watch, I am absolutely in LOVE. I like to pair my watches with plenty of bracelets!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

I don't buy foundation all that often, but I was on the hunt for something with spf and that was lightweight.  For a while now I have been using Makeup Forever HD foundation which looks amazing in pictures and makes my face look flawless.  However, it was too much for an everyday foundation.  Also, it oxidized very quickly on my face and made me appear orange.  For me, the product didn't last very long and over time, it made my blush look splotchy.  It is definitely not a foundation meant to be worn all day, but it looks great for the first few hours.

I was curious about Chanel's new Vitalumiere Aqua foundation.  I have always heard great things about their foundations, and this is one of their newest additions to their collection.  This foundation looks very small in the packaging but it actually holds 30 ml of product which is the same amount found in the Makeup Forever HD foundation.  I bought this for $45 plus tax.  The packaging of this product makes it very easy to store and travel with so I am happy with the design of this product.

It says on the box that this is an "ultra-light skin perfecting makeup, instant natural radiance" and that it also has an spf of 15.  If you need coverage, this foundation would not be the proper choice since it does only give a light to medium coverage.  The color I got was BR50-Beige Rose-Sienne, which is one of their darkest shades.  Unfortunately, this line has a very limited amount of color selection.  I'm normally in the medium shades, so once I get a tan in the summer this line probably won't have an option for me anymore.  This is probably the only con I could find for this product.

This foundation has a very liquidy consistency as well as a slight flowery smell to it (which I do not mind, but may irritate highly sensitive skin).  You can apply it with your hands or a brush, both ways apply this foundation nicely.  It settles into the skin very quickly and disappears making it look and feel like it is a layer of "second skin."  It creates a very natural finish to the skin and feels like nothing is on the face while leaving a dewy appearance.  I am normally not a fan of a dewy foundation, I like my face to look matte only because as the day goes on I don't like my "dewy" foundation to make my face appear oily and have to constantly powder it.  However, I found that with this foundation I did not have to touch up my face at all (I have combination skin) and after wearing it all day it looked the same as when I had applied it in the morning.

Can you tell I am absolutely in love with this foundation?

Nail of the Day #3

This is Essie's nail polish in Fiji.  It's a very opaque creamy white pink shade.  It does apply a little streaky so you would definitely need two coats of this polish and a steady hand to make sure your second coat evenly covers the nails.  However, the end result is a very wearable shade of pink perfect for every occasion.

Liquid Black Eyeliner

I have had the most difficult time finding the perfect liquid black eye liner.  I have always wanted one that is thin and easy to use since I am awful when it comes to applying liquid liner.  Also, finding one that is super black and that lasts all day is another factor when it comes to finding the perfect eyeliner.  In Europe, I came across this Bourjois felt tip liner in Ultra Black.

This liner is thin, very black, and lasts all day.  It is so easy to apply onto the eyes and I wish I knew if they sold it in the states because it's amazing.  When I was purchasing this, the saleswoman said that Bourjois is made in the same factory as Chanel products and mentioned that I could just use my imagination to know why Bourjois has such good products.  I know Ulta used to sell Bourjois and I hope they still do because this is an eyeliner I will continue to purchase!