Small Sephora Haul!

Probably the only good thing about being a college student is the ability to trade in old textbooks for money. Or in my case, trading them in on Amazon.com and getting credit for their website. Since you can't trade that credit in for cash or pay bills with it, I figured I'd take half the money and buy a few things through Sephora, which is affiliated with Amazon.

All the goodies together :)

 

Benefit Erase Paste

Whether I get 10 hours or 10 minutes of sleep, I always have huge dark circles under my eyes - I guess it's just genetics. I've tried countless drugstore concealers trying to make myself appear more awake and presentable, but to no avail. I've heard many rave reviews on this product and figured I'd finally splurge and give it a shot. I purchased this in No.2 (medium) despite my ultra fair skin because it had more of a salmon tone, which cancels out the purplish color of under eye circles. I can't wait to use this tomorrow morning!

 

 

 

Sephora Face Complexion Brush

I always wash my face, but for some reason it just never feels clean enough. For $5, I had to add this to my "cart". Now I can scrub away! Not to mention it sure beats the price of a $225 Clarisonic! No thank you.

 

 

Sephora Beauty in a Box

Summer Goddess Palette

I paid $10 for this whole set - a $50 value that was originally priced at $36. Yay for being patient and waiting for it to go on sale! This kit contains:

• Eyeshadows in "Swimming Pool Blue" and "Coppery Sun"
• Eyeliner pencil (blue)
• Mascara Lash Plumper (black)
• Bronzing powder
• Powder brush
• Eyeshadow brush

From what I can tell so far, everything seems like good quality except the eyeshadow brush. The bronzer and eyeshadows are very pigmented and the eyeliner is a gorgeous shade I plan to use mainly as a pop of color on the lower lash line. The eyeshadow brush seems a little hard and wiry but I haven't actually used it yet so that's just my first impression. This kit also includes step-by-step instructions on how to apply everything!

 

 

Sephora Mineral Matte Setting Powder

I've been looking for a good setting powder for a while since my coveted Revlon PhotoReady one shattered. I really like the Revlon one, but wanted to try something else. None of the drugstore brands had one that interested me, and I refuse to pay high-end money for a setting powder you can't even see. This Sephora one is one the higher end, but with a drugstore price - can't go wrong with that! Hopefully this keeps my makeup from melting off my face in this horrible humidity.

July Birchbox

I finally received my July Birchbox! Woo hoo!

Unfortunately I opened it and got rid of all the pretty packaging before taking this picture, but you get the idea :)

In my box:

• philosophy purity made simple one step facial cleanser (haven't tried yet)
• Zoya nail polish in 'Shay' (haven't tried yet...but I got a different Zoya nail polish in a previous Birchbox and loved the formula so I'm excited to try this one)
• Ahava mineral hand cream (used once...smells great and kept my hands amazingly soft)
• Redken shine flash 02 glistening mist (used once...gave an amazing shiny finish to my curled hair without looking greasy)
• Kind almond & apricot bar (obviously haven't eaten yet!)

In case you've been living under a rock, Birchbox is a monthly service that delivers beauty directly to you to help you find products you’ll love. For just $10 a month, you’ll receive 4-5 hand-picked, deluxe beauty samples from the best brands — from the popular luxe brands you covet, to the new and niche brands you’ve yet to discover. I HIGHLY recommend this subscription service to anyone who is remotely interested in upscale makeup and beauty products!

The beginning of a DIY summer

My obsession with DIY projects started with the discovery of Liz Marie Blog. This girl has amazing talent and creativity...I'm so jealous! If you haven't already, check out her blog! My apartment is incredibly boring and ugly. All of our walls are white, and are required to stay that way, so I have to start doing some creative things to liven up the place.

  

I found these mason jars at my other new obsession: Hobby Lobby. If I remember correctly, they were only $1.99 each! I painted the inside a spring green and placing these sunflowers and hydrangeas inside. I can't take care of real flowers, so these lovelies on top of my book shelf help liven up my boring apartment!

I can't remember the blog where I found the idea for this spectacular mirror, but I saved a picture in my "inspiration" folder on my computer's desktop and couldn't wait to recreate it! All it took was plain round frameless mirror, clothespins, and hot glue. I decided to step it up a notch because the unpainted clothespins were a little boring. I picked up some gold Krylon webbing spray paint, thinking it would give a neat effect. Boy, was I right! I felt like Spiderman spraying these clothespins becuase the paint literally shot out like a spiderweb. I'm very happy with the finished product and the paint gave it some nice texture. I hung this above the towelbar in the bathroom, and unfortunately it's a little to high for my short self to use, but at least it looks pretty!

I plan on doing a few more DIY projects this week, so stay tuned!

St. Augustine Haul

While on a recent weekend stay in the beautiful St. Augustine, Florida, I had to make a trip to the historic St. George St. They have tons of funky little shops and I can usually find some good deals on things I can't find in local stores. We were only there for an hour or two, but I managed to pick up  few things before deciding it was time to close my wallet for good and head home :)

First stop: Earthbound Trading Company. This store was heaven. Walls of jewelry and accessories and tons of unique home decor. Since this was the first shop I went in, I held back because I didn't want to spend all my money in one place. Now I can't stop thinking about some of the cute picture frames and wall art I saw. Oh well, there's always next time!

 All earrings were Buy 2, Get 1 Free so I couldn't help myself. This first pair caught my eye immediately. I love the faux leather with the gold chain!

Of course, I have to get some wings. I have a similar pair in silver already, but these were gold and had bling!

Unfortunately, these giant sky blue hoops are a little on the heavy side, but they were so pretty I couldn't resist. Great statement piece!

 Feathers are everywhere this summer. I got feather hair extensions from Birchbox a few months ago, and was incredibly disappointed. They were only a few thin feathers, which were barely noticeable no matter where I placed it in my thick hair. They also fell apart within days. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with those $39 bad boys so when I saw this crazy clip-in feather for only $3.95 I couldn't pass it up!

 My next stop was Hickory Ridge Organics, where everything is 100% Organic & 100% Vegan. It's just like Lush, but not as colorful and a bit on the pricier side. However, this was exactly the kind of stuff I had visited St. George St. in the hopes of finding, so I got a few things:

 This "Ache Away" organic aromatherapy mist claims to help with sinus pain and headaches, along with a long list of other ailments. I suffer from almost daily headaches and weekly migraines, so I will try ANYTHING at this point to try and help with the pain.

This "uplifting and refreshing" peppermint bath bomb is also supposed to help with sinus and headache pain. Can't wait to try it out!

This gorgeous thing didn't come with a card expaining what it is and I can't find it on the website, but it's basically just a shimmery moisturizing bar that when rubbed on the skin gives a gorgeous, natural-looking glow! I'm not a huge fan of the scent, but the color is amazing!

 Who doesn't love freebies? I got this little chunk of 'Lemon Verbana organic body soap' with my purchase, which claims to be uplifting, energizing, and moisturizing. It smells just like fresh lemons! Yum!

My final stop was Scents of St. Augustine for some soy candles.

 For myself, I picked up the Sparkling Yuzu Blossom scent. The French Vanilla is for my mom :) The best thing about these candles is that they double as a lotion. When it melts down, you just scoop out a quarter-sized amount and rub it in. Not only is it extremely moisturizing, but the scent lasts for a long time!

I have another 6 days of vacation from work, so I will definitely be using some of these lovelies soon!