OOTD ♥ Weekend

Hello my lovelies! Sorry for the super dramatic, looking into the distance, tumblr worthy picture ;) But today I wanted to do a little OOTD. This is an outfit I wore last weekend. I wore it to school and then downtown for a little eating and shopping! Enjoy xx

top / skirt / sandals

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day :)

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Makeup Storage and Organization ♥

Hello my beauties! I've been seeing a few posts like these floating around and thought I would write up one of my own! I recently got a vanity for my birthday (ahh!) and have now been wasting away my days applying my makeup at it and messing up its nice white top. So, without further a do, here is my makeup collection!

This is what my vanity looks like (and there's me hi)! On the left I have a small storage unit (thingy?) which I use to store all my boring non-makeupy things. I usually keep samples, lady products (eh-hem), and extra products. On the right I have a little cubby, where I store my face products (like moisturizer and makeup remover and such), extra makeup bags, and the last cubby has mason jars which I sometimes use for storage. 

  

My vanity has two small drawers on the surface of it. On the top of the left drawer I keep a little, sparkly basket. I keep the face products I use most in here--acne medication, vaseline, and my (beloved) juice beauty moisturizer. On the top of the left drawer I keep two little buckets, one with Q-tips and the other with makeup brushes (don't judge my dirty makeup brushes--I promise I'll clean them!!)

In the right drawer I have some of my eyeliners and mascaras, others are strewn around my house and left in my makeup bag in my backpack (oops!). As you can tell I have a few favorite mascaras as well as one favorite liquid eyeliner (considering I own five of the same kind omg). 

The left drawer holds all of my lip products! Lip balms, lip glosses, lips stains, lipsticks--you name it! I have to admit this drawer is getting a wee bit crowded, and this isn't even all my lipsticks! Today I counted at least five others in my backpack for school haha

The vanity has one big drawer--and I know it looks scary and messy now, but it has a rhyme and reason (kind of)! 

The first section of the drawer I keep all of my foundations, mainly drug store and then some higher-end! I have quite a few foundations due to the fact that my olive skin is hard to match and my skin is sensitive! I've literally put my skin through hell just trying to find a foundation that works haha

The second sections--where it gets a little jumbled-- holds a few different things. In the back I have an acrylic container that holds all of my powders (there are a few more you can't see). It also has a few concealers, blushes and primers!

The last section of the drawer holds all of my eye shadow--and then some! In the back I have all of my big eye shadow palettes, including Naked and Naked 2 as well as and Ulta palette and and E.L.F. palette. I have a few smaller quad and trio (?) eyeshadow palettes and in the little cups I have single eye shadows as well as some random eye products!

And with that I have my makeup vanity! My collection is definitely not as extensive as some, but I'm very proud of my makeup and love testing it out and trying new things! Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day :) xx

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Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Concealer Review ♥

Hello all! Today I wanted to do a quick little review on the concealer that I've been using lately! As I mentioned in my Bare Minerals foundation review, my skin and silicone do not mix well. So in an attempt to try and save my poor skin, I've switched to organic makeup products. My skin is extremely spotty (I get dark spots from acne) so concealer is a must. So in hopes of having concealer success I picked up the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Concealer! Also sorry in advance for not-so-great pictures! Lighting was not my friend today!! Haha

  Sorry for my icky chin :( But I really wanted to show you guys how it worked and why I love it, not just tell you about it!!

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is a 100% vegan and cruelty-free makeup brand. They mainly sell products for professional makeup artists, such as airbrush foundation for photo shoots. I bought this concealer from Sephora for $20 in the color Y2. As for the color, its only a little off of my actual skin color, but is hardly noticeable. The concealer is very light and doesn't feel or look heavy on the skin. A little goes a long way with this product, so even though the tub is small it will last you! As you can see in the picture, it has great coverage and that was just a small swipe of my finger in the product! I really love this concealer and I love that it is making my skin even more clear with time. I recommend this concealer to everyone, especially given that this concealer won't only cover your blemishes and imperfections but it actually helps them go away! Love, love, love it!

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day! xx

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Motivational Monday? ♥ Being Self Confident

Hello my beauties! I felt like doing a kind of motivational Monday post today, I dunno--and I know for most of you that follow this blog who live in the UK, its technically Tuesday, but for me its still Monday haha. I wanna talk about confidence, because in today's society so many people aren't confident in themselves. I feel like many girls lack the confidence they need to live to their fullest potential, and its sad to see so many girls down on themselves.

Let me just start of by saying, you are all beautiful, no matter what anyone else says. There is a quote that says "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and right now that 'beholder' is you. Before anyone else can truly love you, you must love yourself--or so they say. But many girls almost refuse to love themselves, because they have imperfections. But nobody's perfect, so why stress yourself out trying to be?

I am a very brutally honest person, and I don't believe in wasting my breath trying to sugar-coat things, so I'm just going to tell you how I am. I am a very confident person. I don't know why honestly, because if I sit myself down I have an endless list of things I find wrong with my face, my body and my personality. But thats not what being confident is about. The reason I'm so confident in myself is because I stopped caring about what other people thought of me. I know its hard for many people to do, but sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself these questions about a situation:

"Is this moment right now going to affect my life in the long run?"

"Is this person going to matter to me 5 years from now?"

"Is this person's opinion more important than my own?"

I often ask myself these questions when I'm thrown into an uncomfortable situation or when someone else's opinion of me is thrown out. What you have to realize though is that other people's opinions of who you are don't really matter. These other people who are bringing you down, that you are forced to be with in work or at school don't care about you or your well being, so you shouldn't care abut their opinions. 

Your flaws don't define you and you shouldn't let them. You are all amazing and beautiful people! Walk around with the confidence that you know who you are and where you're going (even if you don't). And here I go again being honest, but if need be, fake it til you make it. Seriously. Act like you are the hottest, smartest, most sought out girl there is and people will start to believe it. And you will start to believe it. 

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day xx

♥

Staying Organized ♥ Balancing your Blog

Hello everyone! I've been posting a lot more lately and am honestly loving it! It feels so good to just sit down and write, but no matter how much I love it my blog still comes in second. To what you ask? School, duh. It can definitely get hard to balance my school work and plans while still keeping up with my blog.

And my blog usually gets pushed to the back of my mind when I get busy. But I have promised myself that I'm going to try harder to post more often! Here are a few rules/tips I have given myself to stay organized:

♥ Keep a planner- Being in advanced classes I know what its like to feel totally stressed out and like you have no time for anything. When you're that frazzled its easy to forget things you need to do. Keep a planner to track your school work as well as jot down ideas for blog posts.

♥ Write ahead- A way that I keep track of posts and stay ahead of the game is by writing multiple posts at a time. I almost never just sit down and write up one blog posts. If you have multiple ideas, enough pictures and the time, write up a few blog posts and keep them as drafts. When you find yourself too busy, just publish a pre-written post

♥ Put school before your blog- As much as I love to write on here and spend my time reading other blogs, school is extremely important to me. Don't let yourself get distracted and held up. Always put school first, blog second.

♥ Don't stress yourself out- Your readers will understand if you don't post for a few days. Don't cancel plans or avoid responsibilities for a hobby.

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day :)

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A Few Sad Songs ♥

Hello my lovelies! As promised, I am trying to post more during the week. At the moment I have no homework (hallelujah) which is extremely rare, and usually I would take this time for myself, but I wanted to take it for all of us instead :)

I've decided to post a playlist of a few calming/sad songs today. Kind of a downer I know. But last night my community got hit with really rough news. A girl from my school, who was diagnosed with cancer my first year (her second), passed away. Its been tough for everyone, because many of us knew her and all supported her. School was extremely quite and solemn today, and it hurt to be around so many mournful people. For anyone that has gone through something like this or is just having a rough day, these are a few songs I listen to to ease my mind. <3 (btw some of these songs have been featured on other playlists)

Let Her Go by Passenger

Paradise by Coldplay

Dreaming With a Broken Heart by John Mayer

Wake Me Up by Ed Sheeran

Angels Forever by Lana Del Rey

Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars

Mango Tree by Angus and Julia Stone

The Scientist  by Coldplay

Thank you for reading! I hope you and your loved ones are all well and healthy. Remember to be thankful for those you love and hold them dear to your heart, because life is precious and can so soon be taken away.

♥

RIP Katie Wagner, you will be loved and missed

Bare Minerals Ready Foundation Review ♥

Hello lovelies! So recently on one of my (frequent) makeup research frenzies, I came across something quite interesting. Since I started wearing makeup my skin has not been pleasant. I had acne that didn't seem to budge and also tiny, flesh colored bumps adorning my cheeks and forehead. During this research I looked up two makeup products I'd used before--both having made me breakout-- and their ingredients. In both of these products (and later I found nearly all the products that have made me breakout) there was one common ingredient-- demithicone! Dimethicone is a type of silicone, and from what I've found my skin and silicone do not bode well. So in order to help stop my breakouts I have gone organic! With makeup that is. One step on my way to better skin was to purchase a new foundation--and Bare Minerals it was!

I purchased the Ready foundation for $29 online and got matched to the color R330 Golden Tan. This is a compact powder foundation with medium to full coverage. I immediately loved this foundation when I first used it. I apply it with the Bare Minerals Precision Face Brush (last picture), and get wonderful coverage. I still use a concealer under it though, because I have a lot of hyper-pigmentation and redness. The foundation is very light on your skin and doesn't feel like you are wearing pounds of makeup. Its small and light too, so its no burden to carry around for quick little touch ups! This foundation also lasts forever. Yesterday I wore it from the time I left for school until late last night when I went to the movies (nearly 17 hours). I only touched up a few times, to get rid of shiny spots, and it lasted almost perfectly the entire time! I am more than satisfied with this foundation, I love it and think its absolutely wonderful! I recommend this to those looking for a new foundation that is also good for your skin, gives good coverage, and is long lasting!

Thank you for reading! 

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The Versatile Blogger Award ♥

Hello lovelies! Recently I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by one of my favorite bloggers Bea! You can find her lovely beauty blog here! Please go and check her out!

Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you & link their blog

2. Each nominee must name 7 things about themselves

3. They must nominate 15 blogs or bloggers they've recently discovered or follow regularly

4. Inform the nominees about their award

5. No tag backs!

Seven things about myself:

1. I absolutely love indie/alternative and classic rock music.

2. I'm kind of a nerd in school, I take a lot of advanced classes and really care about my grades.

3. I am really close to my family, my sisters and I are all best friends.

4. I am obsessed with food and will eat anything, except nuts because I'm allergic. 

5. I'm a dancer and have been dancing since I was 11 or 12.

6. My favorite subject in school is Language Arts, because I love reading and writing.

7. I only wear skirts or dresses and only occasionally wear shorts or pants.

I nominate:

Lauren at The Curious Ginger

Becky at My Beauty Edit

Emily at Freckles and Flaws

Rebecca at 10 Downing Chic

Libby at Life of Libby

Megan at My Name is Meg

Thanks again to Bea for nominating me! Sorry I haven't been posting much, and haven't been posting very many beauty-ish things, but I've been really busy since school started! I promise I will try to post more xx Thanks for reading!

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