End of May Catch Up

Once again, I can't believe I went this long without posting! Life is just so hectic lately. I know that once this wedding is over I'm going to have to find a new hobby to take up all of my time. So let's play catch up shall we?

• Our wedding is officially 5 weeks away! Oh my goodness I want to faint just typing those words! We have all of the big stuff done, but now it's just about the tiny details. (which there are a million of!) Right now I'm to the point where I just want to be married. I'm tired of stressing over every little thing. Sometimes I just have to take a step back and remember what this day is really about. 

• I only have 4 days left as a substitute teacher! Throughout my experience the last few months I have decided that education is definitely not for me. I do not have the patience and I admire all of those who do. Which brings me to my next point:

• I finally got a solid job offer! I'll be entering the corporate world in July, after the wedding! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. 

• We had our first wedding shower May 21st. It was a couples shower in Gabe's home town. So much fun!

Clearly thrilled with the Razorback glasses we received!

Gabe's Mom, my Mom, my Nonnie, me, and my Step-mom

• Tomorrow afternoon, the teachers and office staff at my Step-mom's school are throwing me a shower. I'm so excited about it! 

• Moving on from wedding talk, it's HOT here. Summer has definitely arrived in Arkansas. We spent our Memorial Day weekend lounging by the pool at my parents house. It was just what I needed!

•  So I scheduled my first professional Microdermabrasion. I have only ever done at home microdermabrasion so I don't really know what to expect. Can anyone enlighten me?

• I have some great new products to review soon! And *bonus*, they are all drugstore products! You know I can't resist a great budget beauty buy!

That's about it for me tonight. I have been all about going to bed early lately. I've seriously been in bed by 9:30 every night for the past two weeks. No complaints here! Have a good night!

Perfect Southern Belle Hair- Carrie Underwood

If I could have anyone's hair, I would take Carrie Underwood's. She has great Southern Belle hair! It's the perfect shade of blonde (at least I think so!) and her hair always has killer volume.

I'm using this style below as inspiration for my wedding hair! Love!

Oh Carrie, please tell me your hair secrets!

A Weird Obsession

So some of you may think this is a little weird, but I'm totally obsessed with high fashion ad's. When the magazines start to pour in every month, I think I get the most excited about looking at the ad's! One of my favorites are the Michael Kors ad's. The use of escapism and the jet setting life style just make me with I was living the life in the photo. Here are some of my favorites:

What about you? Are there any designer's whose ad's you love? Or am I the only one with this little obsession? Haha

Hope you are all having a great day! This week has flown by for me!

A Public Service Announcement... About Makeup

To all women out there, I would like for you to take this moment to asses you foundation color. We are now it the late Spring/early Summer. Most of our skin has a little more color right now than it does in the winter. Have a friend take a picture of you or go outside with a mirror. Is everything matching up? Or do you have a line under your jaw? I recently had to switch from my winter shade to my summer one. I use Lancome Teint Miracle

Image via Google images

In the Fall/Winter I'm Bisque 1 (N). My Spring/Summer color is Bisque 4 (W). If you aren't quite ready for a color switch, but still notice a little bit of difference, try dusting on a little bronzer all over your face. And ladies, if you have a friend walking around with ghost face, politely pull her aside and let her know it's time to make the switch! Trust me, she would rather know than not!

My Top Ten Beauty Tips

Happy Monday! Hope everyone is surviving the start of the work week! I don't mind that it's Monday because I get to pick up my wedding dress this afternoon!! Yay! It has taken almost 12 weeks for it to come in so I can't wait to see it! It was custom made, so it shouldn't need any alterations. (fingers crossed!) Anyway, so today I wanted to share with you my top ten beauty tips. Enjoy!

1. Find a good skin care routine and stick with it! I am diligent about skin care. I don't care how much money you spend on makeup or how well you apply it; if your skin isn't healthy, it won't look good! First, figure out your skin type and then asses your skin's needs. Do you have dry skin and concerns about aging? Oily skin with some adult acne? Next up, visit your dermatologist, local Sephora, or anywhere you can go to get a little guidance on what products you need.

2. It's not just about products, it's about nutrition. Proper nutrition plays a huge role in maintaining great skin. Make sure your diet is full of fruits and veggies. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water. I always add a little lemon to my water because I have heard from many people over the years that it helps keep your skin clear and aids in digestion. I also take biotin supplements, Omega-3 supplements, and probiotics. I strongly believe that these have made a huge difference in the health of my hair, skin, and nails.

3. Exercise. Get your blood flowing and you will automatically get a radiance boost. Just make sure you remove your makeup after your workout to prevent clogged pores. I'm a southern girl so yes I wear a little makeup to the gym. Don't hate!

4. Never go to bed with makeup on. This is just gross!

5. Don't spend a ton of money on face wash. It's on your skin for less than a minute. As long as it removes your makeup and daily grime, that's all you need! I love Cetaphil. It works and it's cheap!

6. Exfoliate! Whether you use a chemical or physical exfoliate, just do it on a regular basis! That being said, don't over do it. I would say no more than twice a week.

7. Try an at home mask. My favorite is to combine regular Greek yogurt and honey, smooth it on my face for 10 or 15 minutes, and then wipe off with a wet washcloth. The lactic acid exfoliates, while the honey helps moisturize. It doesn't smell the best IMHO but it totally works! I even use it on Gabe every now and then!

8. So on to hair, do a cold water rinse at the end of your shower to smooth hair down and lock in shine. Sometimes if my hair is looking dull no matter what I do, I give it a final rinse with cold, bottled water to neutralize the pH. I once read that conditioner messes with the pH balance of your hair so you should use a neutral water to take it back to normal. I don't know how true this is, but it seems to always work for me!

9. Keep up with regular trims and never let your roots get out of control. (unless you have ombre hair!)

10. Last but not least, chipped nail polish is never attractive. Try Shellac manicures or have your nails painted a light pink so chips aren't as noticeable. You just look so much more pulled together if you have neat nails.

Have a good afternoon ya'll!

May Sephora Purchases

Hey ya'll! I had planned to write this last week, but of course blogger went down. And then it was the weekend so this got put off. Anyway I wanted to share with ya'll some of the products I've bought recently from Sephora. I was in a funk a couple of weeks ago so I stopped in Sephora to pick up a few things to boost my mood.

1.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

I decided to finally buy in to the hype and try out Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. I have always heard such great things about this product, I just had to try it for myself. One thing I love about Sephora is the deluxe travel size products by the check out line. I think it's a good way to try out new products without committing to the full price tag. So that's what I did with this product and I can tell you that I will definitely be buying the full size of this product! I love it. It's very moisturizing, has a great sheer coverage, and doesn't have a strong smell. (a major pet peeve of mine!) It also has an SPF of 20. I bought this product in Sand and it was perfect for me. I can't say enough good things about this tinted moisturizer. I guess the best way to sum it up would be to say it's not too much and it's not too little. It's the perfect balance of lightweight coverage and moisturizer.

2. 

Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse

So I have blogged about my love of Living Proof Full Thickening Cream a few times on here. I decided to try out the mousse and to be honest I think I like it better than the cream. It gave my hair a little more body and didn't make it so sleek. I think this is ideal for when I curl my hair with the curling iron or hot rollers and the cream is more for my straight hair days. I love both products and I think they are both great buys. The mousse just gives me a little more hold when I style my hair. I highly recommend this product if you have fine, thin hair. It doesn't weigh hair down at all! Love it! Sephora also has this in a deluxe travel size so you can give it a test run before committing to a full size product.

3.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster

What Sephora say's about it:
"A high-potency vitamin C complex that prevents and corrects signs of aging while promoting brightness.
What it is formulated to do:
This amazing ten-percent vitamin C skin booster and antiaging treatment firms and smoothes, delivering more radiant skin. The weightless, fast-absorbing, oil-free formula penetrates to deep layers of the skin, offering instant and long-term hydration, nourishment, and antioxidant protection against environmental aggressors."
I have been using this for two weeks now. Probably not enough time to tell long term benefits, but I have seen some great short term results! My skin is noticeably brighter and smoother. I am seeing less redness and also a boost in hydration. I only use this at night before my usual night cream. I really like it so far. I'm interested to see what it does for me in the future. Only time will tell! By the way it has a marvelous scent! Like fresh oranges. I'm usually weird about products with a heavier scent but this doesn't irritate me at all.

4.

Bliss Fabulous Every Day Eye Cream

I don't need much out of an eye cream. At 23 I really just need hydration. This is a lightweight cream that has antioxidants to protect and micronized eye-illuminating powders to help brighten. I have never been disappointed by Bliss products and this is no exception. It delivers all day and all night moisture to my eye area and no irritation to my sensitive eye. I recommend this for any 20 something just looking for something to moisturize.


5. I also stocked up on a few of my standby products:

• Nars Blush in Orgasm

• DiorShow Mascara

• Lancome BI-FACIL Double Action Eye Makeup Remover

• Make Up For Ever HD Elixer

  

  
  

Told you it was a lot! Thank goodness I had a gift card to put towards my shopping spree!
Hope you all had a good weekend! We were super busy with dinner with my parents Friday night, a wedding Saturday night, and I attended a bridal shower for my cousin today. Needless to say, I'm exhausted! I'm definitely going to bed as soon as Real Housewives are over tonight :)

All images via Sephora website

Playing Catch Up!

Wow! Sorry I just went over a week without blogging. Life got a little crazy busy for awhile. It still is actually. Here's what's been going on lately:

• Well for starter's, I work. So that keeps me busy. 
• Gabe and I have been doing lots of family time lately. Since we have three families between the two of us, it gets a little hectic. 
• Our wedding is in 59 days. I seriously cannot believe that it's going to be here so soon. I feel like I just got engaged yesterday. While most of the big things are done for the wedding, we still have a ton of little things to do.
• One of Gabe's little sister's graduated from college Saturday. Yay!! 

me with Gabe's family

•  My Shellac manicure has lasted 13 days! Tomorrow will be day 14 and it still looks pretty good. I think I'm hooked!
• I got a boat load of stuff from Sephora over the weekend that I can't wait to blog about. Lot's of product reviews coming your way soon! 
• I also finally found a pair of white jeans that I love. I have seriously been searching for forever. I settled on a great pair of J Brand's. Hopefully I can snap a picture soon. 
• Speaking of pictures, my camera came back from the dead last week. Gabe some how managed to fix it. It's still a piece of crap though so I'm still looking to get a new one. 
• This coming Saturday kicks off wedding season for us! I love going to summer weddings and getting to catch up with all of our old college friends.

That's it for me tonight. Have a great week!