Blessing in Disguise

Last week I lost my favorite mascara, Benefit's - They're Real! I looked EVERYWHERE and text my friends in hopes that our stuff had gotten mixed up together at the cabin. With no luck, I gave up looking for it and decided to buy a new tube. That new tube ended up being my blessing in disguise! After my first use, I immediately noticed the difference from my old tube of mascara...I've had that tube for way too long and it was time for me to re-buy!

They're Real! is described by Benefit as a lengthening, defining, curling and volumizing mascara, and it does a good job delivering on most of those promises. It doesn't appear to do any curling on its own, but it does hold curl well which is good enough for me since I always use an eyelash curler anyway. It also adds some fairly impressive volume and length to my lashes. Now do they look like I'm wearing falsies? No not quite, though this mascara delivers better for me on this promise than any other mascara I've tried before it that promised the same. It's not a lack of length or volume that really separates my mascaraed lashes from faux lashes, but the noticeable texture of mascara. Mascaraed lashes just never look as smooth as bare lashes or faux lashes, and They're Real! is no different in that respect. But it does still give me drag queen worthy length and thickness in two coats, which it does without smudging, clumping or flaking. What else I can really ask for?

The brush is pretty awesome. It's a standard rubber bristled brush you see on lots of mascaras these days, but has the added bonus of a few long spiky bristles protruding from the pointy end. These are great for getting at the lashes in the very inner and outer corners, though they must be used with caution as the end often picks up more product than the rest of the brush. You can wind up with goopy corners if you aren't careful!

The only downside I find on this mascara is that it doesn't build very well. If you try to use more than two coats, your lashes are likely to start looking kind of crusty. I imagine this would be a real problem for girl with short or sparse lashes.

I also picked up Urban Decay's De Slick Spray and a Benefits Eyebrow pencil during my makeup store run. I've heard mix reviews about the make-up setting spray, but decided it was worth to try out. I haven't gotten around to using it yet, but after today will be my first time so I'm hoping for the best!

While making my purchase, the cashier threw in a few free goodies in my bag too! I got a travel size bottle of Urban Decay's De Slick, travel size bottle of the All Nighter Make-up setting. I debated between the two full size bottles of both make-up settings and went with De-Slick because All Nighter contains dimethicone, a conditioning silicone, that mixed with oily skin makes it glisten. I'll try it out at least once. The last free goodie was Urban Decay's Eyeshadow primer.

After today's use on most of the new makeup products just bought, I will have good things to report back! Do you use any of these products? Any thoughts?

Love is a Four Letter Word

I tried out my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette this morning for the first time and absolutely love it! The picture I took with my webcam doesn't do it justice since you can't actually see it, but I received my first compliment at the mall this morning on the color! The entire palette is filled with natural colors, so I can finally wear my eyeshadows on "lazy" days without feeling like I dolled up in the middle of the day.

Last week I finally purchase Bliss' facial cleasner + toner, No Zit Sherlock. I've read raves and rants over the product...mostly raves!...and decided I wanted to give it a try myself. I finally received the kit in the mail yesterday and began to use it last night. Bliss, in my opinion has the BEST face/body products on the market. The prices on some of their products can be a little steep, but totally worth it.

 This will be my first time with the No Zit Sherlock kit. It comes with the cleanser + toner, moisturizer, and correcting serum. An easy 1-2-3 system of such a cleverly named product! I have troublesome skin with the tendency to break out and I'm a hot mess without makeup on! I read this product is good for sporadic breakouts without leaving redness behind. I've only used it once last night and once this morning so far, but no complaints of dryness yet-like some other reviews have pointed out! So let's hope for the best and that it works well for me!

I walked into Off the 5th today and spent about 20 minutes at their Jonathan Adler kiosk debating whether or not I needed porcelain coaster. I love Jonathan Adler products!!! I received this Muse Blanc candle from my friend Katrina last year on my birthday. She's probably the only other person who loves Jonathan Adler as much as I do and gets the obsession over his home decor. I've only used this candle about twice because I love it so much and don't want to burn it out yet, although it smells of fresh cut flowers and would be perfect to light during the Spring months! I have this candle on my coffee table in my living room alongside Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic Accessorizing book and a Laduree' box and it's probably the cutest thing I've done since moving into my place!

My absolute FAVORITE musical artist, Jason Mraz has announced a world tour today! I'm so ecstatic that Houston is one of his stops on August 12th. I've been following him for over 10 years, when he was doing coffee shop shows and have traveled to various cities to see him perform over the years. His new album, Love is a Four Letter Word, comes out April 17th and I have been anticipating it for years! I took this picture the second to last time I was able to see Jason Mraz perform live in Austin, 2009! I'm so excited for the new album and the new tour!!

 Instagram finally came to Android! Now I can have pretty phone pictures like everyone else!

Weekend Buys!

I went to the mall this weekend in search of a new mattress for my bed and ended up walking out with a little something extra for the Spring/Summer!

I know most have or tried the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette. It's been a must have of mine for months and I always use my friend's palette when we are getting ready together. I decided it was finally time to own it myself. I decided to go with the Naked 2 palette because there a few more colors I would use than the original one. Sephora Beauty Insider is having a 15% off coupon right now until April 6th, so it was a great time to buy!

I found this Mango necklace in a bin of lots of jewelry. I thought it was unique and would go great with the dresses I just purchased. To my surprise the price tag on the necklace read $8.00 and I considered it a steal for how great the necklace was. Once I went to the registered the necklace kept ringing up as $48. There was a misprint on the tag and I managed to pick up the only one with it. The sales lady honored the price and I got it literally for a steal!

I walked into Sears for the first time in years to check out mattresses to buy a new one for my bed. On my way to the second level I browsed the clothes in the Kardashian Kollection out of curiousity. To my surprise the clothes are actually really cute, but I felt the prices were a little steep for Sears. I walked up and bought my mattress and with it they gave me a $15 gift card. Since I never shop at Sears I decided to just use it then and walked out with these Red, White, and Blue Maxi dress from the Kardashian Kollection. I actually really love it and can't want to wear it!

I love white lace and have been wanting a pair of white or black lace shorts to wear this Spring, but ended up finding this dress instead by I Heart Ronson. Paired with a belt and wedges I think it will be extremely cute to wear!

Another I Heart Ronson dress, it's the type that's short in the back and long in the back. It's nice and flowy and a lace grey strap. It will be fun to wear over Saturday margaritas with the girls!

I dog sat this weekend too for Katrina's absolutely adorable puppy, Lolita!!! Isn't she just the cutest little dog ever??