Thursday Thoughts {Vol. 22}

This weeks post might be all over the place, because I just have so many random things I want to blog about!

Up first is the fact that my left ring finger is currently naked and will be for two freaking weeks! :( I went to Kay Jewelers yesterday for my 6 month cleaning/inspection and was told that my center stone was extremely loose and needed to be sent in. I am thankful that the stone didn't fall out, but I'm still so sad that I don't have my ring. I feel like a piece of me is missing and I keep giving myself mini heart attacks when I realize it isn't on my finger. Maybe I'll get it back before the estimated return date?! One can only hope!

Speaking of yesterday- It was such a great day and I want to document it. I had the day off so I got to spend the day with my grandma. We went shopping, out to lunch, and had so much fun together. We talked, laughed, and just enjoyed each others company. I am so grateful to get this precious time with her and hope that we have a lot more days like this one!

One of the things I picked up while I was out shopping with grams was the new Sacrifice Pandora charm. I may not be an Army wife anymore, but I am the wife of a Veteran and the military will always be apart of us. I was even wearing my new WWP shirt that says "the greatest casualty is being forgotten."

My new hair dryer is the bomb.com! I mentioned in my last post that I've been wearing my hair down a lot more frequently and it's all due to this guy. It took me months to finally bite the bullet, it isn't cheap {I paid $150 on Amazon}, but I'm so glad I did! It completely dries my extremely thick hair in 8 minutes and my hair feels so soft/frizz free afterwards! Next up on my list is learning how to use my curling iron. Baby steps people...

Another thing I'm going to try out is self tanning, because my legs are beyond ghostly white, I'm pretty sure they could be considered see through, and it finally warming up here in the mitten! This set was only $20 during the Sephora sale so I snagged it up. I am a little lot intimidated though.. I've never fake-tanned before! Any tips?!

It's FINALLY warm enough to take Duke on long walks again! It amazes me how much the weather impacts my mood, but I've been so happy ever since Spring made it's presence in Michigan! My fanny pack cracks me up :) Haha

Dog walking season also means that it's Ritters season! Best frozen custard hands down! I could eat it every single day and not get sick of it. Next time I go I'm going to buy the gallon size to keep at home :)

The last thing I'm going to ramble about is the fact that we need a second dresser. We were blessed with a massive closet at our last apartment so we didn't think it was necessary to buy the 7 drawer chest that went with our bedroom set. Fast forward a year and we just don't have enough room. Half of our clothes are in boxes downstairs, some are in the spare bedroom closet, some are under the bed in storage bags, ect. I finally convinced Thomas that it'd be a good purchase to make with some of our tax return. Now we're just waiting for a good sale to come along!

And there are all the things I've wanted to blog about this week, but don't warrant a post of their own! What random things do you want to ramble about?

Face Products | The Glam Series Linkup

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My Favorite Things | Morning Must-Haves

I came across this link up this morning and knew that I just had to participate, because the topics are right up my alley! I love seeing what other people are currently loving or using. So I hope these posts help one of you out ;)

 Link up Here!

This weeks topic is Morning Must-Haves:

{iPhone} The first thing I do after my alarm goes off (if I don't hit snooze & get up on time) is check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and email on my iPhone. Those extra five minutes in bed waking myself up can make a world of difference!

{Breakfast} I used to be the person who NEVER ate breakfast, but my those times have changed. I cannot function if I don't eat breakfast. I usually have a bowl of cereal or a bagel/piece of toast.

{Cetaphil Moisturizer with SPF 30} If I don't put moisturizer on every morning my face feels extremely dry. I love that this lotion has SPF and controls oil. It's the perfect texture. I got it at Target for around $15.

{Water} Ever since I started my new job and started running I've been trying to drink water more often. I fill up my Camelbak every morning and start drinking it during the drive to work.

{iPod/music} The thing I love most about my 25 minute drive to work is jamming out to music! It wakes me up and gets me ready for the day.

Travel Thursday | Shower & Hair

I spent a hour this past Sunday packing up my toiletry bags and making sure we had everything we plan on taking! We leave in 10 days!!! Anyway here's what I'm taking for shower and hair products.

 Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave in Conditioner spray, Shower gel, Body lotion, Body spray, After sun spray, Floss, Qtips, Razer, Loofah, Deodorant, Toothbrush & paste, and Shower cap. (I accidently added my makeup wipes in this, but those are actually going in my face bag).

Everything squished in the bag.

 Clarisonic brush, toner, day lotion, night lotion, eye cream, face wash, makeup removing wipes, eye makeup removing wipes, cotton ovals, and headband.

So there you have all the toiletry bags I'm taking- one for shower, hair, nails, makeup, and face. T is only taking one. LOL Next week I'm hoping to have our carryons mostly packed so I'll try to post that, but if not I'll post it once we get back!

My Morning Routine

Sometimes I wish that I was tech savvy and not so shy in front of a camera so that I could make my own YouTube videos for topics like this, but alas I'm not so you're just stuck with pictures and text. Sorry! Also, I'm the first to admit that I don't do this routine every morning, but I really TRY to.

Wash my face with my Clarisonic brush and Purity face wash. Then I moisturize my face and not pictured, but I also moisturize my body!

Next up I brush my teeth and floss!

Then I get dressed, put on deodorant, and chapstick!

Finally I do my hair which is some sort of pony tail 99% of the time.

And there you have it! Be on the look out for my night routine, which is a lot different!

Travel Thursday | Packing Toiletries- Makeup

I'm back this week with a quick estimated look at what I'll be taking with me makeup wise on our cruise! I order this Petunia Pickle Bottom train case ($42) from Nordstroms last month and it's so wonderful! So many compartments and it fits a TON!

All the makeup spread out on my vanity

Everything put into the makeup case.

And even my brush kit fits! The only thing I don't have is a washcloth.

Review | Sigma Mr. Bunny Kit & Spa Cleaning Glove

One of the things on the top of my wishlist for a long time was a complete high-quality brush set. Over the past year or two I've really been into watching YouTube beauty videos and trying new makeup/truly wearing makeup for the first time. Good brushes are a huge part of that and I'm not saying that the only good brushes are expensive. I love my EcoTools, ELF, and Real Technique brushes. But being the OCD type person that I am I wanted a complete MATCHING set and I ended up deciding on the Sigma Mr. Bunny Kit.

I received the kit about two weeks ago and so far I LOVE the brushes! They are the softest brushes I have ever felt, the handle & barrel are extremely sturdy, and I have no doubt that these brushes will last me years.

By getting the kit I know that I have all of the "main" brushes and that I can add "extra" brushes as I wish. The best part? They'll all match! I still use a few of the ELF eye shadow brushes and my all time favorite ELF Kabuki face brush for bronzer!

On top of buying the Mr. Bunny Kit I also purchased the brand new Sigma Spa Brush Cleaning Glove. After watching a few YouTube demo videos I thought that it was worth giving a try and I also knew that since I spent so much money on the brushes I need to take really good care of them! The glove is pretty pricey at $39 (before the 10% discount) and I only think it's necessary if you have a decent number of brushes/really want to take care of them. I've used it once so far and even though it takes a minute to get used I really like it. I feel like it really deep cleans the brushes and I think that it'll help give the brushes a longer life.

One day in the future I'll take the pictures and write a post on how I clean my brushes.

Travel Thursday | Packing Toiletries- Hair & Nail Products

I'm back with another edition of Travel Thursday :) This week I'm going to talk about packing hair and nail products. If you're a girly girl like me you might find this useful, but even if you're a minimalist and don't use a lot of these products I hope you'll still find a few tips ;)

The one group of beauty products that I don't use very often are hair products. 96% of the time my hair is just thrown into a pony tail right after I get out of the shower, with a few bobby pins, and headband holding my fly-aways back. The main reason for this is that I have extremely thick hair and I often feel overwhelmed at the thought of styling it/wasn't ever taught "how to do my hair." So the hair products that I'm taking might are on the lesser side, but I will also be taking my hair straightner and dryer (because our ship doesn't have one- check before you leave if your lodging does)!

I decanted my leave in conditioner, Paul Mitchel straightening gel, and John Freda curling gel into traveling containers which are all from Target. I have a mini hair brush, which is a great space saver, a detangling comb (which is a necessity for my thick hair especially when swimming), a couple head bands, and then I have my ties, bobby pins, and clips in a travel Qtips container (also from Target). Pretty simple if you ask me.

And here's all of the items packed into the bag:

Next up I have my nail kit.. which might seem a little ridiculous to some people, but I love having my nails painted and must have my toes painted at all times. And it drives me bonkers when my nail polish chips or when a nail breaks! So after seeing Organized Jen 's YouTube video on her travel nail kit I knew that I wanted to make a similar kit! Unfortunately the particular Vera Bradley bag that she and I use is no longer available on VB's website, but I ordered mine off of eBay!

So here's what I'll be taking:

A travel sized remover, Essie cuticle oil, toe separaters, 3 nail polishes, a top coat, nail file, cuticle trimmer, brushes for clean up, makeup qtips, nail clippers, a few remover pads, and cotton rounds.

And here's how the bag looks with everything in it:

It's a really neat bag and PERFECT for this! I often find myself drooling over this kit LOL If you think this set is excessive you could just take the polish you're currently wearing, remover pads, and a mini clipper/file set (which I also have in my emergency kit).

There you have it! I hope you all enjoyed this post and learned a few tips! Come back next Thursday for the makeup section ;)
 

February Beauty Instagram Photo a Day

This is the first Instagram "challenge" that I've completed and I still cheated a little.. Instead of posting every.single.day. I posted four days at a time in a collage. Maybe one day I'll be able to do a real photo a day, but until then I hope you enjoy :)

Days 1-4

 Product Must Haves: Good tweezers, eye lash curler (Tarte), and concealer (Benefit Boi-ing)

Fav Skin Care: Philosophy Purity face wash, Cetaphil face lotion, Clarisonic brush, & makeup removing wipes.

Fav High End Makeup: NARS blush in Deep Throat, Tarte Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess, MAC eyeshadow quad, & MUFE Mat Velvet + foundaiton.

Fav Drugstore Makeup: Maybelline mascara, Age Rewind under eye concealer, & Color Tattoos.

Days 5-8

Nail of the day: OPI Butterfly Moment & pink sparkle.

Perfume: Burberry Brit & BBW Be Enchanted.

Eyeshadow Palette: Smashbox & Custom MAC

Pore Related Product: LUSH face masks & Biore pore strips. 

Days 9-12

 Fav Lipgloss/Lip balm: EOS <3

Sparkly Nail Polish: OPI, Essie, & China Glaze

Makeup Brushes: BeautyBlender, ELF, BareMinerals, EcoTools, Sigma, & randoms.

Perfume Collection: Coach Poppy, DKNY Delicious, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, ect.

Days 13-16

Face of the Day: Laura Mercier primer and foundation, MAC quad, Maybelline Rocket, Urban Decay 24/7 liner in brown, Maybelline under eye concealer, MAC Natural Skin Finish, MAC concealer, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin, NARS Deep Throat blush, & Tarte Park Avenue Princess bronzer.

Valentines Day Makeup: NARS Laguna bronzer, Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry, Tarte Dollface blush, MAC Natural Skin Finish, Clinique eye palette, Clinique Chubby Stick in Mighty Mimosa, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner, Maybelline under eye concealer, Loreal Telascopic mascara, MUFE Mat Velvet+ foundation, Maybelline color tattoo in Inked in Pink, & Benefit Boi-ing concealer.

Fav Lipstick: Too Faced in Pillow Talk, MAC Tinted Lip Balm, & Revlon Lip Butter.

Products I Regret Buying: Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer, Too Faced Lip Insurance, & Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush.

Days 17-20

Product to Repurchase: Maybelline Age Rewind under eye concealer, MUFE Mat Velvet + foundation, Tarte Park Avenue Princess bronzer, & Benefit RSVP cream eyeshadow.

Hair Care Products 

Nail Polish Collection

Best Body Lotion: Bath & Body Works Triple Moisture Body Cream

Days 21-24

   Fav Concealer: Benefit Boi-ing

Fav Foundation: MUFE Mat Velvet+

Fav Beauty Blogger

5 Makeup Must Have: MUFE Mat Velvet+, Maybelline Age Rewind concealer, Clinique Chubby Stick, Urban Decay NAKED palettes, & BeautyBlender.

Days 25-28

   Day 25 Impulse Buy

Day 26 Lip of the Day

Day 27 Beauty Tool of the Day

Day 28 No Makeup/Bare Face