Sunday, April 25, 2010

A Bath Fit for a Queen :)

After reading Darling Heart's post on a milk and honey bath fit for Cleopatra herself, i was intrigued and did a bit more research!  I ended up brewing myself up a bath that very night and although the water was scalding hot resulting in me draining most of it & adding cold water (therefore it wasn't as luxurious and filled with milk & honey :/), it was actually quite nice.
I'll have to try it again, but checking the temperature of the water before adding any ingredients :)

Here's what i used in the bath! - common household ingredients really :) :
♥ a packet of Equate Oatmeal Bath Treatment (optional, i just thought it would treat my skin even more :)
♥ a bit more than a cup of milk
♥ lots & lots of honey (about a cup)
♥ essential oils - i personally didn't use them because i don't have any, but it would be nice to use these to add a little delicious fragrance to the bath!

Since milk is used in the bath, i was concerned that i would smell of spoiled milk or something (know what i mean? ha), but i couldn't smell a hint of milk!  Yaaaay.  Just thought i'd let you girls know in case you were wondering like me :)

While the water was running and the water was about half full, i added all the ingredients - milk first.

Oatmeal next.  You'll probably have to crumble the oatmeal a bit more once it's in the water, so it's not so clumpy and lumpy (lolz).

Last but definately not least, honey.  Mmmm!  The honey is a bit harder to get out of the glass than the milk & oatmeal (obviously Laura...geez ha), so i simply ran it under the tap & poured that into the bath.

This is what the bath should look like after you've added everything :)  All you need to do is pop in & relax!
I have a recipe on how to take the perfect bath HERE if you want to read that, i promise you'll love it ♥♥


I really recommend you ladies to try this bath out yourself!  It's nice not going out and spending money on bath goodies when you can just make your own nourishing bath with ingredients you already own :)  If Cleopatra bathed in milk & honey, there must be something amazing to it right?

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My New Favorite Makeup Tool!

here the thing ma-jig is compared to a regular q-tip, same size - different end bits :)

One of my favorite handy little makeup tools and also my product of the week this week are the Studio 35 Beauty Dual-Tip Applicators.  I like to call them the "advanced q-tip" because they are like q-tips, but instead of having the loosey-goosey cotton buds at the ends, it has two different shape, stiff bits at the ends.  One side is skinny & comes to a point at the end, while the other side is wider & flat.
I use these mainly to fix and mess-ups that i make while doing my makeup (trust me, i make a lot ;D), especially liquid eyeliner and mascara.  They're also great for fixing up the shape of eye shadow in the crease/outer corner, touch-ups throughout the day, and touching up on nail polish.

Another thing i really love about this product is the packaging.  I don't have to worry about finding a more suitable container to store these in, because the lid flips up and down - super convenient!  Sure the packaging isn't gorgeous or fancy, but it's very functional.
My sister actually gave me these so i don't know how much they cost, i'm pretty sure they were around the $3-$5 range - sorry about that!  Studio 35 Beauty Dual-Tip Applicators can be purchased at Walgreens or online.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Makeup Storage & Organization.

I did a makeup storage post forever ago and my setup has change a lot since then, but i finally kind of like how it is all stored so i thought i'd do an update!
It's not a large collection by any means, but i'd rather have a small collection that consists of things i actually use, than have a massive collection with products wasting away in the depths of my room :)

This is my little desk-turned-makeup station :).  I don't really do my schoolwork at my desk, i prefer lounging in my bed for that haha.  I use this desk and hutch for storing makeup as well as notebooks, dvds, and the typical desk-y stuff.

On the right, i have my makeup mirror that i got from my mom..she got it as a gift in the '80s haha.
It has four settings - day, office, evening, & home - i just use day because it is most resembles natural light.
There's also two sides, no zoom (lol i suck at explaining things eh?) and a bit zoomed in - i use the "no zoom" everyday and "zoom" for plucking my eyebrows & such.



This is where the majority of my makeup is kept.  I got these drawers - originally letter drawers - from Walmart for about $12 and they are surprisingly really nice quality.  They had yellow and brown as well, but white goes with the whole theme of my room the most :).  They are still available at Walmart in case you're interested!
On top i have my Alice in Wonderland BOS, fancy q-tips, diy blotting sheets, and my brushes (note the crappy diy brush holder, eek!  I desperately need a new one).



In the first drawer i keep the rest my eyeshadows (non-Alice in Wonderland), tools that i use more frequently - eyelash curlers & tweezers, as well as mascaras, brow gel, nail pencils, eyebrow pencils, and eyeliners.
The box that hold everything that aren't eyeshadows in this drawer is a lid from my Bare Escentuals starter kit.



This is the more fun drawer :).  The plastic container things i found around the house, but i'm positive places like Walmart and Target carry them.
In the container on the upper left i have my lip products - chapsticks, lip glosses, and lipsticks.
The second container on the top holds my blushes, bronzers, and highlighters.
The long skinny container on the bottom holds my Bare Minerals as well as my concealers.
On the right, i keep any primers - Urban Decay, MAC, Clinique, etc. - as well as liquid foundations that i don't really use anymore since i got my Bare Escentuals :)



In the cabinet of the desk, i keep my brush cleanser, nail polish remover, stuff to clean my earrings with, a nail spray (my rave on that HERE :), hair dye, a backup of my lotion, and floss.
In the way back i keep my lip palettes that i basically never use.
In the middle i have a towel to spot clean my brushes and hidden under that giant pink towel is a box of sponge applicators.



In the drawer of my desk i keep a backup of Clinique City Block, any tools - nail clippers & file, compact mirrors, hand sanitizer, pencil sharpners, hydrocortizone cream, & acne spot treatment cream, and tissues.




In my closet right beside my desk i have this (super cheap looking :) 3-bin plastic cabinet thing which holds my pluthera of makeup bags in the top drawer and nail polish in the second.


I really enjoy seeing how other girlies organize their makeup so if you've done a post like this, please link it in the comments!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Can't Wait for Your Nails to Dry?

I was strolling down the cosmetic and nail aisle in Walgreens waiting for a prescription to be filled, looking for a nice new nail polish to buy when i spotted this bright red can.  I don't know about you, but i'm incredibly impatient waiting for my nail polish to dry.  I've been wanting to try OPI's Drip Dry Drops for quite some time, but just never got around to purchasing it.
I'd never heard of DeMert before, but for around $3, i thought i'd give this puppy a try.

DeMert's Nail Enamel Dryer is my recommended product of the week :)

It's so simple to use - the directions on the back say, "Hold can upright, at least for inches from nail.  Spray once lightly over each nail.  Repeat as necessary."  Pretty straightforward me thinks ;).  I usually spray this enamel dryer once inbetween coats and twice after the final coat.
There is a scent to it, but it's really not that bad.  Kind of chemical-ish/nail salon-ish (which i secretly enjoy, shhhh :).

Once thing i should mention is that right after you spray this on your nails, you'll get little dot marks in the polish (from the force of the spray), but those go away after a couple minutes.
After spraying this, my nail polish dries incredibly faster - even the softness of the freshly painted nails goes away soo much quicker (if you kinda get what i'm sayin'? :).  I find that when i paint my nails before going to bed and spray this, i don't wake up with lines from the sheets ruining them!

The only real downside is that i feel like it dulls down a bit of the shine of the polish, but it may just be the polish itself and not the spray causing this.

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Overall
I recommend this to anyone who's impatient waiting for their polish to dry or who paints their nails on the go, it really does help :).
For such a fantastic price and nice quality of the product, i'll definately be repurchasing.
DeMert's Nail Enamel Dryer can be purchased at Walgreens or online.

4.5/5


Friday, April 9, 2010

Tag: Like Love Hate ♥

There's currently a tag floating around the blogging world that i've really enjoyed reading, so although i haven't been tagged, i thought i'd do it anyway!
The tag is called Like Love Hate.  You write 12 things you like, 1 you love, and 8 you hate.
I also popped in a few photos i found on weheartit and the credit for each of the photos is beneath them.
(If you fancy checking out what i've been dreaming about lately, flick through my weheartit heart here :)


I like hugs.
I like cuddling up in a blanket.
I like the minty, fresh feeling after brushing your teeth.
I like finishing books.
I like dreaming.
I like chocolate, forests, and castles.
I like Mario Kart and Belgian waffles.
I like surprises.
I like organizing things.
I like staying in bed for hours after waking up.
I like new clothes.
I like meeting new, exciting people.


I love being happy.  Purely, genuinely, entirely happy.


I hate hate.
I hate being shy.
I hate thinking too much.
I hate not being able to wake up in the morning.
I hate regret.
I hate to love things that are bad for me.
I hate writing essays.
I hate people who are consistently negative.


Thursday, April 1, 2010

Vintage haulage :)

My dear grandmother watched (& i'm not quite sure how..haha) my jewelry collection and storage video, and after discovering my interest in jewelry, she has sooo lovely given me a few of her pieces.  One of my aunts has also given me jewelry..they are both such amazing people (and not just because they're giving me gorgeous things hehe) ♥


My grandma also gave me a cameo pendant that i put on a chain from one of my Forever 21 necklaces.  I think it's soo classy and pretty.  I love the detailing of her hair and the gold/copper tones of it.  Cameo necklaces are my faaav :)

I am such a pin person.  I put them on blazers, cardigans, you name it, i bedazzle it :)

I hate that Picnik makes the quality of your photos worse than they actually are when you want to make a collage and don't have a premium account grrr.
Anyway, these are clip-on earrings that i usually wouldn't go for, but i actually really like these.  My grandma said that these can also be put on shoes :)



This has to be one of my favorite pieces that i was given.  It is absolutely gorgeous, it's adjustable to fit my tiny wrists without falling off, and to my surprise, all of the little stones are still in place (the jewelry with rhinestones in it that i have have been such low quality).



This necklace goes with the cuff above and omg so gorgeous.  I feel like i don't have any event to go to worthy of wearing this to tbh haha.  My grandma also gave me this display mannequin thingy which is really awesome because i want to take special care of it ya know? :)



More sparkly things eeeeeeeeee :)
I couldn't get a decent photo of these earrings so i thought i'd just take a photo while i have them on.  These earrings are clip-on as well and i absolutely LOVE how they hang on the ear.  They are sparkly and gorgeous and i just love them ♥



Even more sparkle!  Haha :)
This is a pin as well, and i think it's soo pretty.  It will look amazing on my blazer!
This pin is my Auntie Pearl, she got it from her boyfriend when she was twenty, making it sixty years old.  I think that's so amazing, and it's sooo lovely of her to give me this piece that must've meant a lot to her.

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Some extra bits:



A big, blue, velvet jewelry case.  Really nice actually, it looks pretty and it's a really good place to put those fragile but special pieces :)



Aghhhhh i was going totally bananas when i opened the envelope that contained these absolutely stunning photos of Marilyn Monroe.  Not only are they gorgeous, they go with my room perfectly and are such a collector's item.

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I cannot tell my grandma and aunt how much i appreciate their generosity.  I'm soo thankful.  I'll be sure to take care of these pieces to preserve them and someday pass them on to my children.