It might even be greased lightening!!!!!

Frenchy: Doody, how do I look?
Doody : Like a beautiful blonde pineapple! 

~ Grease

So over Spring Break I purchased several new products that I absolutely love. Over the next few blog posts I will be reviewing them!!!

The first product that I bought was the Clean and Clear Mattifying Moisturizer. I bought this product because I needed a moisturizer and I saw this one on sale and just thought what the hey!?! Um I swear this is like fate stepping in. This is one of my new favorite products. I have slightly oily skin that is concentrated in my T zone. It gets slightly worse when it starts to get hotter. If you have skin like me or even pretty oily skin this product is a must. After I use this product my face is not shiny at all, it's like it just zaps away all oiliness or shine. It is AMAZING! I have stopped using a foundation primer because this works just as well. My makeup stays on better through out the day and I need absolutely no touch ups. Life changing stuff here ladies and gentlemen.

There are some weird things I think I should talk about. For one it does leave a sort of whitish cast on your skin. It doesn't really bother me because I put it on under my foundation so I cant see it. Another weird thing is is dries really really fast. So the first time I put it on, I used the normal amount I used with other moisturizers and as I started trying to rub it in, it felt like I was pulling my face off because the product already dried. Now I use more and my facial skin stays intact.

So there are some weird things with the moisturizer but they are seriously overshadowed by the greatness of the product. I totally recommend it GET YOUR HANDS ON SOME!!!!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings
Lauren


Picture from here

don't go chasing waterfalls

Only great minds can afford a simple style.

~Stendal

 

OK so my newest hairstyle that I have perfected is the waterfall braid. I love this hairstyle for so many reasons. First it is super easy and fast, yet it looks like it took a lot of effort. This is a good braid for me because while it pulls hair back from my face it still leaves me volume in front instead of pulling it all back. I have tried this braid with my hair curly, wavy, and straight and I like all the results. Also it really looks cute jazzing up a pony tail!

If you don't know to braid this way,  it actually is super simple. For more detailed step by step instructions look on YouTube, but I figured out how to work it just from written instructions. Basically it is just like french braiding. On the top side you pick up just like normal but on the bottom side you either drop half the section and continue braiding with the rest of the section or you drop the whole section and pick up a new section right behind it. There are two different ways of doing this braid and they do look slightly different. If you want a big braid I would drop the whole section because it needs more hair to fuel the braid. If you want a smaller daintier braid I would do the half section route. Also if you have really fine hair that will slip easily I would go for the half section braid because it is tighter and will probably stay in your hair better.

Try the braid, it looks amazing!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren 

Picture from here

soo NOT hot

Fashion fades, only style remains the same.
~Coco Chanel

I am one of those people who silently in my head evaluates the outfit of every single person who walks by. Sometimes my internal commentary is not so nice and sometime I really like someone's outfit. I have discovered during these little mind judging sessions that there are some things that girls wear that really really grate on my nerves. I am not sure what these poor girls are thinking but someone really needs to help them out.

Here are my top outfit pet peeves.

1. I can not stand it when a girl obviously spent time getting ready, doing her hair, make up and picking out an outfit, and then tops it off with tennis shoes, like cross trainers. Those are made for working out, not just everyday use. In fact wearing them all around on all terrains will actually damage your shoes and wear them out faster. Now I so understand that for different health reasons people do need to wear supportive shoes and that is fine, however I know not everyone I see doing this has a health reason. If you want a sporty comfortable shoe THEY MAKE THOSE and they are not your run of the mill athletic shoe. Athletic shoes are for athletic events. Last time I checked going to class is not an athletic event....

2. CROP TOPS ARE OUT PEOPLE!!!! Seriously like waaay out. If you are wearing a midriff baring shirt you better be going to the beach. It is entirely inappropriate to wear a shirt that shows your stomach to class. It is disrespectful to your professor and makes you look unprofessional. An extra two inches of material is not gonna smother you.

3. Brown and black. Yea yea yea I know people are thinking but on what not to wear they said it was fine. However if you actually listened they said, it was fine to have the colors in the same outfit. This is true think of leopard print. BUT you cannot wear a chocolate shirt with a charcoal pant. You look like dirt... who wants to look like dirt?....

4. Short shorts. These were incredibly popular at one time. Micro shorts and micro minis were literally everywhere. LOOK AROUND PEOPLE they are not popular anymore. Actually longer shorts with a little volume to them are what is popular at the moment. Even the celebs are wearing longer shorts. We don't need to see your but cheeks. These are also super inappropriate for class. Again the extra inch or two wont kill you.

5. Boots in the summer. Now I do not mean all boo ts cowboy boots and some riding boots are acceptable in in summer months. However if you are wearing a tank top and shorts and fur lined anything your gonna look weird. If it so hot that you need to wear as little clothing as possible why are you wearing boots made for cold temperatures. Why not just wear a parka yall.

6. Flip Flops. Now some flip flops are still totally fine. If your flops have a fabric strap or if they are pretty dressy your fine. But if you are trying to rock the kind we all wore in middle school with the foam and the rubber straps, you probably look like you are heading for a dorm shower. If you want the same feet free feeling try and of the gladiator sandals. You can get them for just as cheap but you wont make that annoying squeaky noise when you walk.

7. Backpacks and short skirts. Hello that breeze you feel on your but is actually a breeze on your but. The motion of your backpack when you walk makes your skirt rise up in the back. We can all see and you cant. So stop telling yourself its just wind going under your skirt or through it or whatever... it is literally your but hanging out in the wind. Try a over the shoulder bag for those days.

8. After you get off your bike please roll down your pant leg... that's really all I have to say about that.

9. Chipped nail polish is never cute, however I know how hard it can be to keep your nails from chipping during the day. However your TOENAILS should never ever be halfway chipped off. It looks disgusting and like you don't take care of your feet. Wear close toe shoes if you don't have time to fix it or just take the polish off. do something!

10. It is never cute to be wearing the same color all the way from your head to your toes. There is such a thing as too matchy matchy. You don't want to look like a member of the blue man group... unless you actually are a member.

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren

Eye Spy...

"No eyes that have seen beauty ever lose their sight. "

~Jean Toome

So if you are alive and breathing you have probably heard the catch phrase for the latest trend "a pop of color". I feel like this phrase is haunting me. However seeing as how the other trend of the moment is color blocking and I would rather cut off my right hand than block colors, I am stuck with this pop of color idea.


Honestly the whole pop of color thing is very pretty. It keeps people from looking crazy by letting them have their bright color but in one special focal point. Its a pretty good idea. I have been experimenting with ways to incorporate this trend and a new favorite I have stumbled upon is in your eye liner. Fun colors of eye liner make your eyes cool to look at and also are a really fast way to get a new look and pull out your eyes.


Here are some does and dont of bright eyeliners and then some examples I think are beautiful


DO pick colors that are complimentary to your eye color
DONT wear anything from the pink or red family because it will look like an eye infection... not cute
DO try metallic liners or liners with shimmer
DONT use straight glitter liners for everyday. those are for clubs and cheer leading competitions.
DO use gel liners, liquid liners, or pencil liners
DO play down your eyeshadow colors when wearing a bright liner color

Love, Laughter, and God's Blessings
Lauren

Fear the Sponge

"I could announce one morning that the world was going to blow up in three hours and people would be calling in about my hair! "
~Katie Couric

My hair naturally has a lot of wave to and some serious ringlets in the front. It looks crazy unless I blow dry and style it. However all that hear styling is bad for my hair and it takes up a lot of time. So recently I have been branching out trying to find news ways to style my hair without heat and without a lot of time.

The first thing I tried was Velcro rollers first. This was a compromise because I did still have to blow dry my hair, I could cut out all the heat styling though. I bought these really big pink ones, thinking I would set my hair with bobby pins and then sleep on them. Wow yea baaaaad idea. The curlers were way to big and my head hurt all night long. I woke up and took out the curlers and my hair was this limp kinked up mess. Now I used these same curlers since them to put body on my crown when I am blow drying my hair and that works fabulously... sleeping on them and then expecting curls does not.

Next I tried a throw back to my childhood. When I was little my mother loved to put my hair in sponge rollers and sleep on them and it would make cute ringlets. SO I went out and tried to find some. I was very excited to find them in a wide variety of sizes. The ones I used to wear were small about half and inch but the ones I ended up purchasing were bigger about an inch. The also sell them in a bigger size, about one and half to two inches and I might try these next. The first time I attempted my sponge rollers was a DISASTER. I put them in wet hair just like I used to when I was little... well apparently I have much more hair now. The rollers in the back didnt try so the hair was the horrible damp limp stands and then the ones on top I apparently rolled to tight so the ends were a;; crazy and kinked and basically it looked a hot mess.

Stubborn as I am I tried this business again to much better results.  I blow dryed my hair first and then rolled bigger sections in the rollers, about an inch to two inch sections. I slept on them and when I woke up I did have pretty good uniform curls. However I did make an error. Really I should know better. When I put the rollers in I put them in horizontally so when he curls came down instead of pretty cascading curls that went away from my face I got these weird shaped corkscrew shaped curls that were just not cute. However the volume way amazing and the style stayed all day long without much hairspray.

Try, try, try again. I have every intention of mastering the sponge curlers and when I do I will post pictures and a tutorial. Lets all keep out fingers crossed that practice makes perfect!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings
Lauren

Perfume Collection

"I judge people on how they smell, not how they look. "
~Jennifer Lopez

I am always fascinated by the different perfumes people have! I think it is so much fun to look at the pretty bottles and smell all the different ones. I know there are some people who wear one perfume all the time. I personally change my perfume everyday depending on my mood and what I am wearing and so on. SO I just thought I would give a quick rundown of my perfume collection!!!!!

 Paris Amour is from bath and body works. My sister actually gave me this one for Christmas and I like it a lot! This description for this one is white tulips and champagne. That is a weird description because I smell the floral but the champagne. It is a sweet smell but not overpowering and I really like it.

 Burberry Britt is my winter smell. Something about this just makes me feel the need to cuddle and wear mittens. This is the description from the Burberry Site:

• A delicate, fresh scent with sharp top notes of crisp green almond, icy pear and Italian lime
• Heart notes of sugared almonds and lush white peony add a soft sweetness
• The scent intensifies with the warmth of amber and mahogany

Uh so that's what it smells like...

 This is the smell I wore all the way through high school. I thought I was so sophisticated. I still really love this scent but I find myself reaching for things that are a little less floral than this. The description is A hint of citrus. A wealth of flowers. A mix of emotions. Our best-selling women's fragrance interplays fresh, vibrant notes—ruby red grapefruit, bergamot—with soft, sensual ones—Hawaiian wedding flower, spring mimosa. That is actually a pretty good description of how it actually smells It is very floral with a good bit of citrus. Very clean smelling.

 I wear Happy Heart way more that Happy these days. They smell very similar like maybe the same base notes or something but Happy Heart is mellowed out a little more with a sweet smell. It's Description is: With a heart of water hyacinth, brightened with Mandarin and blond woods. I don't really know what those things smell like but they make a good perfume.

 Fancy is the scent I wear the most. I couldn't find a very good description for it. It is floral but with more musk to it. It is still a very sweet smell but it is mellowed out by the musk. This is my all time favorite scent.

 Fancy Love is my summer smell. It is waaaaay sweeter than Fancy and they do not smell the same the way that Happy and Happy Heart do. This is very floral as well but the floral is bumped up by a sweet smell. It does not have the musk the way that Fancy does.

 The notes in Fantasy are: Red Lychee, Golden Quince, Kiwi, Cupcakes, White Chocolate, Orchid, Jasmine Petals, Must, Orris, and Sensual Woods.Apparently it is also in the oriental category. Basically this is a sweet spicy smell without the floral smell it. I like it a lot. I think it would a really great date smell.

The notes is this scent are: bergamot, Sicilian orange, raspberry, fig leaf, lily blossom, liquorice, strawberry, red fruits, Barbe-à-papa cotton candy, vanilla, candy and musk. Basically it smells exactly like cotton candy.... like exactly like cotton candy You will walk around all day smelling like a big pink edible treat. This appeals to me. The only down side is that this scent is relatively short lived so you have to apply multiple times. I would say this is a day scent but you could wear on a date... make sure your date never had some sort of trauma at the state fair first.

Ok those are all the perfumes in my collection! Hope you all enjoyed the tour!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,
Lauren

Love is in the air

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
~Charles M. Schulz

I wear so much pink everyday that on Valentine's Day I like I like to mix it up and wear red. However I look in a little crazy in all red so usually I just choose to wear red accents, which happens to be what I did today. Here are the little touches I added to my outfit today to help celebrate Valentine's Day!



On my fingers I did a special Valentine's mani! I am wearing Essie's Long Stem Roses, which is a pretty red color with a little bit of a sparkle. I then used my konad to stamp little silver kiss marks on them... pretty darn cute. 

I also decided to do a red lip today. For this I used Wet m Wild Diamond Brilliance in the color Tamara's Tiara. It is a really pretty dark red with a lot of sparkle to it. I like this product a lot. It goes on nicely and stays put for a long time. Plus it is gloss so you don't get the caking of the bleeding of a lipstick. Plus it was super affordable.

I also set everything off with some red earrings.

Another thing I wore today that wasnt exactly red was my perfume. In honor of Valentines I spritzed on some Pink Sugar. This perfume smells exactly like cotton candy, which for some people would be bad but I LOVE IT!! I thought the sweet sugary smell was perfect for Valentine's!

I hope everyone has a great day!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings,
Lauren