Grandeur Simplicity

This video is about the things I thought were grand and the...

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:20:43 -0400

This video is about the things I thought were grand and the things I thought were just plain bland for the month of April. What are your favorites and least favorites from this last month?

This video is my way of applying both liquid and powder...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:50:21 -0400

This video is my way of applying both liquid and powder foundation. It was requested a while ago and I’ve finally been able to record it. I hope that this is a quick way to show you how I do my basic foundation to get the polished look.

Nostalgia strikes! This is a tag on all things 90’s. If...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:52:59 -0400

Nostalgia strikes! This is a tag on all things 90’s. If you’re a 90’s kid, you’ll probably love the nostalgia and remembering all these things.

My hair has been a lot healthier and all around better and here...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:08:39 -0400

My hair has been a lot healthier and all around better and here is a video on how I’ve gotten it that way. Check it out! Reblog if you want more!

My very first Grand and Bland! This is going to be a series of...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:00:33 -0400

My very first Grand and Bland! This is going to be a series of videos for each month with my favorite and least favorite things. I hope that you like this style of video and look forward to seeing them at the beginning of every month!

I did a tag! This is the I ♥ Spring tag which was started by...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 20:07:17 -0400

I did a tag! This is the I ♥ Spring tag which was started by MissGlamorazzi or Ingrid. I really love spring as a season in general and having a whole tag for it made me excited for the warming weather. Try it for yourself if you want!

Painting the Town Striped

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:33:08 -0400

I am a lover of patterns. There are few that I am not willing to try. Paisley being one. But stripes are at the top of my list of loves. I can’t help but love everything about stripes. So when I was notified that they are in for spring, I was ecstatic.
To be specific, the trend is black and white stripes. Bold and beautiful. I actually had to borrow this shirt from a friend because I couldn’t find anything of mine that was black and white stripped. You can bet that will change in the upcoming months. I love monochromatic mixes but I especially love black, white, and warm colors. Reds and oranges specifically. If I’m wearing mostly black, there’s a good chance I will wear red lipstick alongside. For this look, I am wearing my Candy Apple Revlon Lip Butter. I’m also wearing a gorgeous orange on my nails which is Michaeltangelo by FInger Paints. My pearls are just some old costume ones but any long string would really class up the look. The jeans are the Rock Star style from Old Navy and I’ve rolled them twice. I paired them with some black wedges and that was the end of it.

It was pretty difficult for me to capture the full outfit so unfortunately I didn’t get any good shots of the shoes. They’re about two inches tall and they’re just black wedges. I also think orange, red or yellow shoes would look great with this. The black shoes adds a bit of dressiness while the cuffed jeans makes it a big more casual. The whole outfit could be worn to a dinner with friends or just for hanging out if you want. I love the small details of this outfit though. The nails with the pearls and the stripes are just simple things I love.

I’m glad that I’ve tried these stripes because I’m definitely going to be thinking about a million ways to style them. This post is part of the Bloggers Do It Better, challenge. And I’m pretty excited to be participating for my first time. To see more black and white stripes, head on over there and check out other people’s take on the trend!

March Update!

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:10:03 -0500

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to post a quick update. I’m still here! I think that after blogging every day though, I needed a break. I am going to be back into the full swing of things this month. I have a lot of exciting ideas so I hope you’re as pumped as I am! And if you have any blog post or video requests and suggestions feel free to message me on any of my sites!

Congrats on finished your Project 365! I'm so proud of you!

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:27:04 -0500

Thanks, Hannah! I could never have done it without you encouraging me to start. Love you! <3

Thank You

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:13:43 -0500

It’s really all I can say isn’t it? Thank you.

I touched on how much this entire thing has changed me yesterday but so many things have happened to make me appreciate this year. I’m spending tonight watching the usual New Year’s Eve things and appreciating what I have. I’m not at some huge party. I’m just watching New Year’s Eve things alone in my living room while my parents sleep. Doing this project was certainly an experience. I’m really proud of myself for being able to do this. I won’t be blogging like this anymore.From now on this will probably be more of a weekly or bi weekly thing. I’m still coordinating when I’m doing what but I’m going to be posting movie and tv reviews once a month with all of the things I’ve watched that month. I’ll still be posting all of my swatches on here. I’m also thinking of switching Birchbox from being videos to just being blog posts. Either way I’m still going to post videos on here. And I’m going to tweet up a bit of a storm. With less time spent blogging, I’m hoping that maybe there will be more videos. But it’s a new year and we’lll see what happens. All I know is that I may not be blogging every day on here anymore, but I’m not going anywhere.

Fallen Snow

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:23:16 -0500

With a huge amount of snow in my area, it leaves more time for hanging out inside.

I don’t like to drive in the snow. It’s really terrible. So I’ve been staying in. It’s really weird because when I’m taking classes and going through my normal week, I rarely have time to think. One of the things that I’ve been thinking about though is how I’ve spent this year. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. You know what that means. The very last day of my daily blogging. It’s crazy to think I’ve spent this whole year blogging. I’ve always been a bit of a quitter but I’ve stayed with this. It’s kind of nice that I still have something to do when I’m stuck inside. Blogging has inspired me to do a lot of extra things in life. It’s really inspired me. I decided to do a little photography outside because I’ve really gotten into photography with this blog. I know I usually have more of a moral to the blog with these sort of things but I guess all I can say is thanks. I’m hoping to have a really great post tomorrow but I’d just like to say thanks. All of the people who have helped me out in the past through this. And I really think that if you’re ever in need of a little inspiration and focus, try something like this. Blog every day next year. Or take a photo every day. Do something fun like that. It’s all up to your interests but I know I never expected to be able to do it. So really you should try.

iPad Protection

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 23:50:19 -0500

It’s the iconic iPad case and I can’t help but give a review after a few days of use.

Everyone has seen the cool iPad case by Khomo that folds to stand up for watching videos and everything. When I got an iPad for Christmas, my dad also got me one of these cases. I thought it was so cool so of course I put it on right away. It definitely has it’s pros and cons though. I know I haven’t had it for that long but I have definitely put some good use to it. One thing that I think is really cool is that when you close the case it automatically locks your iPad. That’s so nifty to me but the downside is that if you fold the case behind it then it sometimes locks it . So my solution to that was to fold the case in half using the magnets and then folding that behind my ipad so it isn’t all in the way. You can’t quite see it but in the middle of the case there is a bit of creasing on the ends. It’s definitely from folding it in half but the only way to prevent that is to turn of the case auto lock feature. It isn’t a huge thing but to me it was kind of bothersome for the case to already show wear after a couple of days. It has shown a couple of scuffs and things but it has held up pretty well considering how much I use it. It’s a good starter case but I don’t think that it will last for years and years. I’ll probably upgrade eventually but right now it is very nice and thin. It’s functional and that’s my primary need. It also makes sure that I don’t get mine switched with my sister’s. All in all, it lives up to the hype.

Barely Branded

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:47:53 -0500

I’ve finally gotten one of the new Maybelline 24 hour Color Tattoos! I don’t know how long the metals line has been out but I know that near me it is impossible to find anything but the original colors of the Color Tattoos. I was even having difficulty finding them online but I finally found some at Target! The metals collection is a few colors that have a more metallic feel. Some of them even look like the colors of metals. I love the Maybelline Color Tattoos so of course I had to grab another. I picked up Barely Branded.

It was sort of difficult to swatch but Barely Branded is a nice white gold beige color. It’s creamy and it’s a beautiful natural color or highlight color. I always rave about the color tattoos. They’re creamy, last long, don’t need bases, don’t crease, have high pigment, and a little goes a long way with most of them. So I definitely swear by these products. I’m really happy I have a more natural and lighter color now because I always found their frost white way too stark for every day. I’m so happy that I’ve found this color! I really recommend it if you want to try them out but aren’t quite ready for teal or emerald.

Trip to Equestria

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 23:49:07 -0500

For a show about cartoon magical ponies made for children, I kind of love it.

Now I realize it might seem a little silly for someone who just turned 20 to watch a My Little Pony tv show. I really love it though. The first two seasons are on Netflix Instant Watch and my family has just gotten a machine that plays Nerflix on the tv. I took the recommendation from a friend and I’ve seen so many people here on the internet talk about it. Most of them much older than myself. So I figured it was safe to try. I love the show. It always has cute lessons about friendship. Crazy things always happen and you always get to meet new characters. There’s even a baby dragon. How can you not love a baby dragon? Easy answer. You have to. My family definitely teased at first but now I think they’re getting into it. I even got to the point of getting the iPad game. It’s free and fun though so I don’t care. I highly recommend both. If you think it’s silly to watch a kid’s show, just try one episode. Give it a shot. It’s definitely worth it.

Post Holiday Shopping

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:41:46 -0500

One of the only times to shop I like more than Black Friday is the day after Christmas!

There are always so many sales right after the holidays. People are clearing out anything that has to do with holidays and it’s a good time to get things like Christmas decorations. They’re all discounted and you can always use them next year. It’s also a great time for shopping. Winter just hit here and it’s starting to get a little frosty. I can’t really get away with thin cardigans anymore and I need some warmer clothes. There are also just a ton of great deals! So many people have just received gift cards and money from relatives and now it’s time for them to get rid of it all. My sister really wanted to go shopping today so we made it a little sister bonding day with just the two of us. It was nice to get to talk and not worry about our dogs attacking our faces or anything like at home. I’ve become closer with her over the past year and I really love that shopping is a thing we both love. A lot of stores have great deals right now so I encourage you to shop around and find some fun things. Old Navy was nearly all on sale, Charlotte Russe had a huge newly clearance rack and a bunch of other stores had really good sales. I say go out and find some great winter clothes or whatever you wanted for the holidays and didn’t get!

A Merry Little Christmas

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 23:35:13 -0500

I hope you’ve had yourself a very merry one. I don’t like to write posts about things that only cater to some people but I simply had to do a Christmas post. I’m really sorry if any one who doesn’t celebrate Christmas feels left out because of that. Christmas is a huge holiday for my family, especially on my mom’s side because we lost a family member on Christmas. If anything it has brought us closer for the holiday. It’s a way to guarantee we can all see each other and make sure that’s a family day too. I was lucky enough to get a lot of different awesome things for Christmas but my favorite things that I got were some time with my family and a whole lot of good food. My family can really cook up a storm. I always have great times with my cousins and even though I go to school close to home, I don’t see them as often as I should. It’s a terrible shame and I wish it wasn’t how things were. I have a Christmas tree with a ton of presents underneath and yet whenever someone asked me what I got, I would forget. In recent years, I’ve moved past what Christmas is in terms of gift giving and I’ve moved more into what it should mean. I know this has been a sappy post but all I can really say is that Christmas is about appreciating. It might seem like a pain to go over and hang out with your family all day when you want to be texting your friends but they really can wait. Make merry memories and I hope you had an amazing holiday.

The Room

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:48:54 -0500

I’ve only had an iPad for a few hours but this game is more of a must have than any other.

I am very lucky to have gotten an iPad for Christmas this year. We open our presents on Christmas Eve so that’s why I already know. And then we gather with aunts and uncles and exchange those presents on Christmas. We leave the stockings for the morning too. I was so excited when I got an iPad. I’ve been wanting one for a while now and haven’t really been able to save up enough to make the commitment. Of course the first thing I did was go app crazy. I downloaded pretty much every free app I could find and just explored a ton of iPad apps. My sister also got an iPad and she found this game. It’s $1.99 and it’s exclusively for iPads but it is addicting. It’s like a scary puzzle game. If you like solving things and not doing monotonous games like find the feather under the couch than you’ll love this. I’m a big fan of the Professor Layton games and I’m known in my family for finishing them fast. This game is a challenge though. It has some scary elements and it freaks you out at times but it is more suspense than anything else. It’s so cool and even though I haven’t gotten that far, I know this is a game I will play until I beat. I really recommend it to anyone who was also lucky enough to get an iPad. Merry Christmas Eve to all that celebrate. And have a Merry Christmas tomorrow.

Christmas Cookies

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 23:39:59 -0500

Cookies and sweets over the holidays can really break you down.

I love cookies. I’m a sweet junkie. I am also trying to get healthier. Sitting in the living room and snacking while I watch movie after movie is not good for me. Especially when it’s Christmas cookies. My parents have been stocking the pantry with much healthier foods while I’m away at college and these are by far my favorite. They are WhoNu? chocolate chip cookies. They taste the same as any chocolate chip cookies that you buy at the store. The thing about these though is that they are packed with nutrients. They have fiber, vitamins, iron, calcium and all sorts of yummy. I was really excited when I first tried these because they’re really good and don’t taste at all like healthy food. The thing that is the most important to me though is the iron. I’ve talked a bit before about my anemia and lately, I’ve been having more problems with it. With three cookies, I can have as much iron as a cup of spinach. It really helps to know that if I need to go somewhere quick and I don’t want to risk a health issue, I can just grab three cookies and run. There’s a lot of great nutrients in these cookies though and I think that if you paired them with a vanilla protein shake, you’d have an awesome snack. Swap them out for your regular cookies and you won’t be sorry when you eat a couple too many.

Holiday Fine Print

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:51:13 -0500

It’s starting to get to the crunch time of holiday movie marathons.

There’s a stack of about 20 different Christmas movies sitting in my living room and today my sister and I had the luxury of relaxing and watching them. One of the series that I didn’t realize I loved was the Santa Clause one. It’s about an ordinary dad having to take on the reigns as Santa Claus. It’s a pretty hilarious series. Tim Allen makes things pretty funny. It’s a really cute story and it’s pretty different from most Christmas movies. I love that I’ve never really had this movie or any of the sequels stand out to me as huge Christmas movies but it is definitely a staple now. I was laughing so hard. They even slip in some humor for the adults. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a good movie to watch and it definitely changes your perspective on the big guy. It’s a whole behind the sleigh look. So fun! And the sarcasm is never ending. I’ve only seen the first two but they’re very good.

Crimson Lips

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 23:25:57 -0500

Jumping into the holidays with dark red lips is my beauty staple of the season.

I’ve loved my Ulta Bit of Berry lipstick quite a lot for my dark lips but I’ve always wanted to go darker. I’ve been looking at black cherry and other really dark lipsticks lately and when I got this one for Christmas, I freaked. Bobbi Brown is one of my favorite brands for consistently great products but I’ve never had one of their lipsticks. They have my go to gel liner. This lipstick is one of their rich lip colors and it is in Crimson.

The lipstick is really creamy and applies easily. It’s smooth and nice. It doesn’t have a specific smell or flavor. I wouldn’t say it’s moisturizing but it isn’t very drying. Paired with a lip gloss or balm it would be perfect consistency. As you can see a bit, it shows really well if your lips are a little chapped so I recommend taking care of that before putting it on. Using a lip liner is also a good ideas because darker lipsticks feather more often. I really love the color. I personally love adding a little black in the corners to create a bit of a gradient lip and this lipstick will look incredible like that. The flash made it turn out a little bit brighter but it is definitely vibrant and dark. I love it and I’m so glad I got it. Lip product favorite!