May Petit Vour Box

May Petit Vour Box

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cruelty free, makeup, Subscription Box

After my first Petit Vour Box, I couldn't wait for more. This box is great in that it's all cruelty-free products so I get to try many brands I've never heard of or tried and know that they still follow my philosophy of being as cruelty-free as possible with my beauty products.

Any-hoo, this month all the products were new-to-me and exciting and although there were a few hits and misses I'm still thrilled with this subscription service thus far. Ok, let's see what I got.

Zabana Essentials
Shimmery Dry Glow Shampoo
Well first off the name of this dry shampoo really scared me off at first. So the only time I've used it it just used a little, because I already have oily hair so I don't need to draw attention to that between washes. But I gave it a shot and it seemed to work ok. It's kind of hard to get enough out of the bottle, and when I put it in at night, I had to add more in the morning (I usually sleep in dry shampoo between washes and wakeup with "newly washed" hair). But I will get it another shot.

Lippy Girl
Vegocentric Organic Vegan Lipstick - Rosey Posey
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm just not that into lipsticks. And especially red, I have never found a red that suits me. And unfortunately, this color was not exception. This is a brick red and I feel it would be hard to work this color (kudos to you if you can!) But this has made it to my giveaway pile.

nyl
Shimmer Skincare Scrub
Hmmm... what's with all the shimmer in this box? I tried this scrub in the shower like the sugar scrubs I make (see here) so I rub it on my legs, rinsed off the sugar, then tried to shave with it. And it worked well although there is A LOT of shimmer and it got all stuck in my razor and ruined it. And then I kept finding little glitter bits all day... overall I'm not so sure about this product.

MUN
No. 11 Anarose Rejuvenating Rose Toner
This is probably the stand out product for me... and of course it's the most expensive (my problems). But I've used this for a few days now because I've been having some hormonal breakouts. And with using this about 3 times those spots are pretty much dried up. Yay! I only wish this didn't cost so much. But overall I really liked this product.

I'll definitely be keeping this subscription, so many new things to try and hopefully love.

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Zoya Nail Polish Order

Zoya Nail Polish Order

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Haul, Nails

I have recently been going through all my stuff and down sizing, and one of the places I focused on was my nail polish collection. When Zoya had a 50% off deal when you sent in your old polishes, I was all over it! I find it a struggle to pick nail polish colors as I forget what I have or can't make up my mind on what I really want. But I did it, I chose some great colors.

Below are the names and descriptions of each polish according to the Zoya website and my thoughts about them.

Indigo

"dark indigo blue shimmer with a pinch of holographic microglitter"

OMG! This polish is gorgeous, I am so excited to try it out. I know you can't really tell in this picture, but there are little pieces of silver glitter floating around inside the color. It gives this effect that looks just like a night sky... sooo pretty! 

Casey

"dark, rich, saturated blackened red-purple creme"

This color is right up my alley! It's so dark it's almost black, but there's that nice undercurrent of reddish-purple. I can't wait to wear this, summer or not.

Michelle

"deep, striking magenta pink with frosty violet-blue duochrome shimmer"

This polish looks so pretty with some shimmer and it's so vibrant, I don't know if this picture is doing it justice.

Bethany

"creamy sheer flesh-toned pink nude with a hint of barely perceptible microshimmer"

I'm not gonna lie, at first I thought Zoya had made a mistake with this and the Laurie color, as they look identical in person. And although their described differently I can't see it in person. Hopefully they'll give a different effect to the nails :( The picture of this one online is so pretty so here's hoping!

 Lillian

 "faded aquamarine with a glossy cream finish"

I have worn this color and I love it, it covers so well in one coat, but I always do two just to get a saturated color. It's great and creamy and I feel it will really complement my skin once I get a (slight) tan this summer. Also, I recently discovered that I own 3 of this aquamarine color in my collection and they're all recent purchases. I guess I really like this color :)

 Laurie

"light, pale shade of cherryblossom pink with a soft creme finish"

As I said above in the bottle this color looks the same as Bethany so I hope they're different. But have tried this one out and it gives a really love natural sheer finish. It looks great!

Overall I'm thrilled with the colors I got and I will have report back on some of these. I really love this brand, not only are they Big 5 Free but they are great quality, not too expensive, and they have deals all the time if you get on their mailing list. 

Let me know, which is your favorite?

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Style Trials - Teal Kimono Top

Style Trials - Teal Kimono Top

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Style Trials

Style Trials: Aqua Top by amberbutbetter featuring ballerina flats

My lovely mom and grandma had taken me shopping a few weeks ago for Spring/Summer clothes. They are just so wonderful to shop with because everything I tried on received smiles and "oh you look so cute!". Gotta love that :) They even encouraged be to buy color... and lots of it, something I almost never do.

Since the weather has been so cold, rainy, and gloomy here I haven't had an opportunity to wear any of my new color-packed wardrobe. But now the weather is turning (or so they say) and I have a birthday coming up, so what better time to consider how I'll be inserting color into my wardrobe!

As I said, my birthday is looming (30 ahhh!) but to celebrate I have planned a night of drinking and dancing with my cousins, aunt, and uncle. I'm excited for a fun night out and thought this top I found from Kohl's (see here) would work for a comfy yet pretty outfit. 

Although neither outfit above is something I'd normally gravitate towards, I've seen silver everywhere recently and wanted to incorporate it as a fun "party-time" element. 

Outfit 1 

Blush colored shorts! Who'dve thought I would post these, but the scalloped hem roped me in, I thought the top would look cute tucked in (you know the front-tuck kind) with some bling in the bracelet, simple sexy black shoes, and a silver clutch for some punch!

Outfit 2

This is a more "me" outfit with black leggings, made in a extra special faux leather finish to toughen things up. Then these silver shoes which are Marc Jacobs and hundreds of dollars I would never spend on shoes. I think they make the outfit more fun and night time appropriate. Then the outfit is topped off which a simple yet cute clutch and again some bling on the wrist!

I wonder what outfit I'll really make of this... I will have to follow-up :) Which outfit is your favorite? What would you wear with this top? Let me know down in the comments.

Have a great week everyone!

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Why I haven't been blogging as much - Confidence Confession

Why I haven't been blogging as much - Confidence Confession

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Thoughts

Oh jeez! I've been dreading writing this blog post... and more than once contemplated not writing it at all. But I thought it'd be good for me to get it all out there and I'm sure some of you will be able to relate. Let's start with a quote that I saw on Instagram recently and it really spoke to me.

So deep breath, let's do this!

Please remember I am not trying to complain, just to explain and hopefully offer some comradery with others having these issues.Over the last few months my body has gone crazy. My face completely broke out, I've had some eye troubles, and I gained quite a bit of weight really quickly. Both these issues and some personal stuff I'm dealing with have led to my self-esteem plummeting and therefore a lack of personal photos.

I have been a fortunate person when it came to acne, in highschool I got the occasional spot but that was really it. Then in the last year or so I started getting little bumps all over my face and hormonal breakouts on my chin. They all went away though eventually and it just became a monthly thing. Then a few months ago all hell broke lose on my face and I had acne all around my chin and up my cheeks. The spots were red and scarring and I just couldn't get them to go away. I am not a person who can pile on the foundation as it looks really fake on me so I had trouble hiding it. This is why I've really slowed down on the tutorials/personal pictures of myself on here. I have finally gotten a grip on the issue though (see this post) and am starting to like my skin better. I have also learned the art of covering spots, so hopefully this will help me out.

Next, I've been gaining weight for over a year now as I changed jobs multiple times and have found it difficult to get back into a routine. That already was messing with my confidence, but then in a two month span I gained around 15 pounds without changing my eating habits at all. And I had started working out. Well this just derailed everything! I found my clothes didn't fit so I've had to buy new clothes in a size I've never been before. And I look in the mirror and the image just doesn't match what I see in my head. In my head I'm petite, as I've always been, but my reflection... is not.

So I'm struggling with finding a way to insert fitness back into my lift personally. I've been much better about watching what I eat and downloaded the MyFitnessPal app to track my calories. I've lost 2 pounds so far, which isn't much but at least it's something. And my wonderful Mom and Grandma took me out clothes shopping and encouraged me to buy fun and colorful summer clothes! If the weather ever changes here I'll be a little more excited to get dressed in the morning. I may not be posting a ton of outfit pictures just yet, but hopefully soon I'll learn to feel more comfortable in my own skin.

And finally, I've been going through some extremely stressful personal issues and I think the stress of it all has been showing up physically in the breakouts and weight gain. I am still hopeful this bad weather (see the quote) will pass and I'll be able to move onward and upward and my body will go back to normal.

Thank you all for listening! I hope this helps some of you, I know it helped me a little. Although, I am still struggling with my personal perception and confidence I will continue to try and blog pictures of myself and not be so overly critical.

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April Petit Vour Box

April Petit Vour Box

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cruelty free, makeup, Subscription Box

I was so excited to see the little pink box sitting on my front porch! I knew I'd be in for new products that are natural, vegan, and cruelty-free... can't complain about that. Overall I'm really impressed with this first box and the value for money. Here's what I got this month:

Box Naturals
Luxe Towelettes - Lavender and Rose
It was so funny that I got these! I was just wishing that I had some wipes in my purse and here they come for me. That's fate people, beauty fate. Well anyway I'm excited to have these for those times you just need a wet nap.

Lauren B.
Beauty Nail Polish - My Private Cabana
This polish is beautiful and just feeds my obsession with pastel nails this Spring. I've already painted my nails with it and it's a pretty nice formula. It covered my nails in 2 coats and went on pretty smooth. I did have a little issue with it painting on a little thick, so I would suggest light layers. I'll have to wait and see how it wears but I'm loving it so far.

Suntegrity 
"5 in 1" Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen - Fair
This product could be great for the summer months when you don't want a full face of makeup. My skin has not been doing great, so I don't know if I'd wear this on my own. But who knows maybe my face will miraculously get better and I can. Either way, love me some face sunscreen.

The Konjac Sponge Co.
Konjac Facial Puff Sponge
I'm interested about this sponge. It's weird that it looks like a sponge but it's not from the ocean, it's grown in the Asian mountains. I'm all for some exfoliation so I'll definitely give this a go.

Like I said, I really do think this was a great box and has made me more confident in my subscription switch. Plus it's all good things that I want to use on my face and body so yay!

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