Target Summer Beauty Box

My Target Summer Beauty Box, full of free samples, arrived! My mom got to it before I did and just had to look at everything. I don't blame her! Check out what was inside.

Cute pouch all the samples came in! I can never have enough makeup bags.

TreSemme Split Remedy Shampoo: did you guys even know there was such a thing? Incredible! It sounds like a miracle product. You use it like a regular shampoo and after three uses 80% of your splits ends will be gone. I really need this for my hair, so I'll be trying this right away!

Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry-Touch Sunblock: I love that this tube of sunblock has a high SPF, and it's sheer enough that it won't feel like it sticky on my skin. It's the perfect size for me to put into my backpack so I can go to the beach after class.

Aveeno "Living Color" Color Preserving Shampoo/Conditioner and Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shampoo/Conditioner: I love these little packets because, as a college student, I'm always trying to make my beauty products last as long as possible. Shampoo can be expensive, so it's great to branch out and try different brands by using free samples. 

Even better, both of these samples are meant for dyed hair. I get highlights, but I don't get them done as often as they recommend. I've been searching out the perfect product to get my highlights to last, but I haven't found it yet. Maybe one of these will be it!

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait: I've been wanting to try this lip butter forever! I actually didn't even know what lip butter is. To answer my own question, it's not as glossy as lip balm, but not as dry as lip stain. It's a combination of the two: Revlon's ColorBurst Lip Butters give your lips some color while hydrating them at the same time.

Want a Target Beauty Box? Keep checking Target's Facebook page. About once a season they offer their fans these samples. I've just been getting lucky and checking Facebook at just the right times that they release their offers!

Anybody use the Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters? Is it worth it to go out and buy one? I'm tempted...

The Best Summer Nail Polish Colors

One of the things about living in a dorm is that I don't have room to bring all of my nail polish with me to college (or maybe I just don't want to lose any...). Because of this, I split my nail polish collection in accordance to the seasons.

This is my abbreviated summer nail polish collection. Since there's only about 7 or 8 weeks left of summer, I chose my top 6 favorite summery polishes to bring to Chicago with me.

From left to right [links to my swatches]:
1. Essie "Pink Parka"
2. Essie "Orange, It's Obvious"
3. OPI "I Eat Mainely Lobster"
4. Essie "Peach Daiquiri"
5. Essie "Tour de Finance"
6. Sephora "Teeny Bikini"

I hadn't tried the OPI yet, so I decided to put it on today and see if it was the perfect coral my mom said it was. See, I kinda stole this bottle from her and brought it with me to college...I got a few angry texts from her about it.

Here's my swatch:

Sorry, but I will never be one of those bloggers who can hold the nail polish bottle like that while showing off their freshly painted nails. That's just too much coordination. My fingers can't handle that kind of flexibility, I guess, because that's as good of a picture as I could get!

What polishes are you loving right now?
--Becky

Beauty Tip: Drying Nail Polish with Cold Water

I don't know about you, but waiting for my nail polish to dry is absolute torture. I just don't like to sit still, and I have a problem where I'll touch my nails to see if they're still wet. As you can imagine, from this they always get smudged, and look like a seven-year-old did them.

SO I was excited to find on Pinterest an easy way to dry your nail polish in three minutes. All you do is submerge your nails into ice-cold water for three minutes while they're wet. According to Pinterest, they'll dry immediately and the polish that got on your skin will peel off.

I had to try this one out for myself, because it sounded like a life-changing tip.

I got my bowl of water and my nail polish ready. The teal is Sephora's "Teeny Bikini", which I got during my time in Rome. The other polish is OPI's "I Eat Mainely Lobster", but I'll save that for a different post.

Right after I did two coats, I slowly put my hand in the ice-cold water bath and set a timer for three minutes. Trust me, those three minutes seem to go on forever--your hand starts getting really cold towards the end.

So...did it work? Not perfectly. As you can see, not all of the polish on my skin peeled off. The nails were somewhat dry, but not completely. The water definitely sped up the process, but it didn't make them instantly dry like Pinterest claimed. I waited another five minutes before putting on a top coat, and then I was done! 


Would I do it again? Probably. Like I said, the water speeds up the drying process. Try it for yourself and see if it works better for you!

One-Piece Swimsuits

I prefer one-piece swimming suits over two-piece ones. It has nothing to do with my body image, and it's not about wanting to be more conservative or anything. It's just that there are some really cute one-piece suits coming out. Bikinis will always be in style, but this year, I'm loving retro one-piece suits !

@ J.Crew, $118

This is my dream swimming suit. I love the one-shoulder style and the bold colors. I'd definitely get the suit in red if I could afford it...but the J.Crew suit is $118, which is a little pricey for something I'll rarely wear.

@ Modcloth, $89.99

Here are some vintage-styled pieces from Modcloth, but they're still a little too expensive.

@American Eagle, $29.99

This suit from American Eagle is a great price, but the site describes the suit as "pink" when it clearly looks like it's red on my computer. I don't want to order this online and receive some eye-bleeding super neon pink suit instead. Plus, it's a little plain...and the model doesn't look happy in it at all. At least to me.

@ Target, $34.99

Here it is, my dream swimsuit at a decent price. Alas, it was sold out on Target.com and I'm pretty sure my nearby Target won't have it. Why oh why is everything I like always sold out?

@ Target, $24.99

I liked this suit too from Target--it's a decent price and it's cute. I'm just worried it'll look a little too juvenile on me, so I want to go to Target and try it on as well as look at their other suits.

As you can see, I'm a little picky when it comes to buying swimming suits. But what girl isn't? Do you guys have any suggestions or know any places that sell great (and semi-cheap) swimsuits?

Target Beauty Box 2012 and "Two Truths and a Lie" Reveal

When I heard that Target was giving out free makeup samples, I jumped on it and ordered a box right away. I honestly didn't expect that they'd be so generous and send me so many things!

The package it came in was really cute. I love the idea Target is promoting: beauty starts with keeping your skin healthy. Everyone's skin is a little different, so we have to figure out what products work best on us.

 

Everything was inside of this pink and orange makeup bag. I had a friend in high school who thought pink and orange made the perfect color combo, and now I see why. Isn't the case so chic? My makeup bag was breaking anyway, so this is perfect for me.

Up first: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. I'm going to be honest: I've never used facial wipes before. I've always just used something like Cetaphil and a washcloth to take my makeup off. I've noticed that my face has become a lot duller in the past year or so, and maybe my face washing habits are the cause of that. The wipes don't sting at all and took my makeup right off when I used them.

 

Up next: Pantene Color Preserve Shine Conditioner. I haven't tried it yet, but since I do color my hair it'll be perfect to use as soon as my conditioner runs out. I might take it to Rome since it's the perfect travel size.

 

I've been complaining that, despite all the lotions I have, I don't have any pocket-sized ones to fit in my backpack or purse. Well, here's my answer. The Nivea Extended Moisture Daily Lotion feels and smells exactly like Jergen's formuala. However, the difference is that the mositure lasts, and not in a sticky, annoying way. Four hours after applying it, my hands feel incredibly soft, something I'm not used to!

 

I'm probably most excited for this product. I don't use primer but this sample might make me. Like I said before, my skin is looking very dull and I want to try some products to lighten it up again. The L'oreal Paris Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer looks like it'll do the trick, according to the results below. I haven't tried it yet, but I am loving the fact that it will work for all skin tones and types--I don't need to buy a special shade just for my skin.

Finally, the Beauty Box came with a little booklet of beauty product-related coupons, most of them for the products I had received samples for. There was a $1 off coupon for Sally Hansen magnetic nailpolish, which I might just use. $1 off doesn't seem like much, but any little bit can help.

Like I said before, the Beauty Box is more than I expected and was a nice treat to receive in the mail. Thank you Target! Do you all shop at Target? Do you have any recommendations for facial cleansers and primers?

****

In other news, I'll reveal the answers to the "Two Truths and a Lie" post I made yesterday. Here we go!

1. I had go to the emergency room...because of a bracelet. FALSE...but I DID have to go to the emergency room when I was eleven for another jewelry-related incident. I had just gotten my ears pierced and they got infected. Skin started regrowing over the backs of my earrings. I'll spare you the gory details, but in a nutshell the doctor had to numb my ears and cut the earrings out. Surprisingly, my ears don't show a scar or anything after that.

2. I've never broken a bone in my body or had a cavity. TRUE! I don't know why, I guess I was just lucky. I swung on the monkey bars like every other kid and probably had more sugar than I should've, but I ended up just fine. Weird.

3. I once saved my dog from getting run over by a car. TRUE! When my dog was a puppy she escaped under the fence and ran into the middle of a busy street next to our house. Cars were swerving around her and honking their horns like crazy. I ran out into the road and scooped her up. Yeah, I'm kind of a hero...no biggie.


--Becky

Aww, Prom!

My sister's going to her high school prom in a few weeks, but she's having a lot of trouble figuring out what dress she should pick! Aww, prom...I kinda of miss it. I wish our college had some type of formal. Oh well, I can live vicariously through my sis. 

Here's some of the dress contenders!

Via

Via

Via

Via

Via

And...the winner!

What do you guys think?? She wants to know how she should accessorize and do her hair. Any tips?

And now it's throwback time.

My high school prom! Circa 2010. I'm in the middle, in case you couldn't tell. The weather was HORRIBLE that day so we couldn't get any good outdoor shots. It rained the whole night! Hopefully things will work out better for KT.

Have a great weekend everyone. Easter is TOMORROW!

Thursday Tip: What to Wear to an Interview

Last Friday, I had my first interview for a research position at my university. It went really well. The great thing about the professors at my school is that they aren't intimidating at all. You can tell that they're not just out to get another publication: they want to create new scientists in their fields.

We had perfect, clear, sunny weather everyday last week...except for the day I had my interview, of course. It was a torrential downpour, and my umbrella was nowhere to be found. I arrived an hour early, and spent about fifteen minutes ringing the wet out of my hair with paper towels. Yeah. 

This is what I wore to the interview:

I've talked to my friends who've gone through this, and nobody really dressed up for their interviews. They're very casual, at least at my school. I opted out of wearing jeans and instead wore some tan pants, a polo, some simple earrings and my Sperrys. By now, I'm sure you've noticed that I have a slight obsession with those shoes.

I wore this nail polish...

OPI Nail Polish "Just Tea-sing"

...because I looked down at my nails the night before and realized that the leftover, chipping green polish from St. Patty's Day wasn't going to cut it. I went to a mock interview way back in middle school, and the one thing I remember is that the interviewers say your nail polish is the first thing they notice when you walk in. Think about it, the first thing you do is shake the interviewer's hand, so it makes sense. You've got to keep your nails looking nice and professional.

A few things about the interview:

• I brought my resume and my unofficial transcript with me, and he seemed very impressed...I would recommend students bringing both of those to any interview
• I took notes while he spoke to me about his various research assignments and looked up what I didn't understand online after the interview
• I heard you're always supposed to come up with a question when they ask you "Do you have any questions?" at the end, so I made a list beforehand of a few. I think this was helpful and showed him that I was serious about this.

It was a great experience, and I'll keep you all posted as soon as I hear more!

--Becky

All-Nighter Beauty Routine

Let me put it this way: I don't sleep in college. At least, it doesn't seem like I sleep in college. I study at the library until midnight every night, and am in bed by one. Then I'm up at seven the next morning.

And that's a normal day. I haven't pulled a true all-nighter this semester yet, but I know it's coming. And when it does, I'll try to sleep in as late as possible in the morning. I've got a five-minute makeup routine for days like these, and it goes like this:

1. Covergirl Aqua Smoothers in Ivory: this stuff covers everything. Every little blemish, every stress pimple that's popped up in the middle of the night. It basically glides over my face, and I can get it on in under a minute.

2. Covergirl Lash Perfection Mascara in Black: this gives my eyelashes the perfect amount of volume...not too much, not too little. It doesn't clump at all, and is super easy to apply. If you're looking for a natural look that will make you look more awake, this is it.

3. Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner in Soft Black: When you're in a hurry, liquid eyeliner isn't the way to go...it's just too easy to mess up with it. I apply it only on my bottom eyelid on days like this, and use the included blunt tip to smudge it into a more defined line. The eyeliner makes my eyes look bigger, which helps on days that I can't even keep my eyes open in the first place.

4. Covergirl Smoothers Concealer in Fair: This has the same properties of the foundation above. I get it in a shade darker than the foundation so I can cover the dark circles under my eyes as well as the random pimple here and there. It blends in perfectly with the foundation.

5. e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine: I love these little guys! I bought a whole bunch of them a few years ago and keep them everywhere...at only $1, I can afford to lose a few. I have a few in my makeup pouch for when I'm in a hurry. The colors are beautiful, but the glossiness (I guess that's a word?) stays for only about fifteen minutes. However, the color will last all day, so in between classes I use Burt's Bees or Chapstick to keep my lips hydrated.

Hope this helps! Maybe at least these tips will let you sleep an extra five minutes are so next time you have to pull an all-nighter...I know that they help me!

--Becky

The Invasion of Bath and Body Works

Sometimes I think my parent's house can be a Bath and Body Works store. Seriously. My mom, sister and I get the stuff every Christmas and every birthday from our relatives, as well as from my dad for holidays such as Valentine's Day. So let's say that's seven products a year. Multiply that by three girls...we get 21 new BBW products each year. Oh. My. God. Don't get me wrong, I love their lotion and all their scents, and I appreciate it so much that my family buys me gifts. I keep telling them they don't have to give me anything.

But...

The stuff has started to add up. It's getting to the point where when I get a new bottle of lotion from Uncle Tom, I literally start freaking out and squeeze out palms full of lotion out of the bottle I've been using sporadically for three years, just so I can open the new one. Seriously, it's getting bad.

I didn't know where it goes because I'm in college all the time, but I knew it had to be stashed away somewhere...my mom and sister really couldn't have used it all up.

So here is my adventure of going through my parents house when everyone is at work and really finding out how much smelly bath stuff we really have.

My sister's room is first. It's kind of a scary place, as you can see. For an 18-year-old, she sure can't pick up her shit. She has this box of dried rose petals, and I found a family of little worms in it once. Serious. Anyway, after savaging around this is what I found:

The licorice stuff is from middle school, I'm pretty sure. The rest of the stuff is barely used. Trust me guys, it gets worse.
Product count: 6

This is what I found in my sister's bathroom (because apparently, that's what happens when your older sister moves off to college...you suddenly get to take over the biggest bathroom in the house). There are six, count them, SIX Japanese Flower Blossom lotions. What. The. Heck. There's a spray that has Bath & Body Works old label on it, which scares me...we're talking elementary school here.

Product count: 18

My mom keeps this on her sink to give the illusion like she's used all her fifty-million bottles of lotion up. LIES. I found a billion more under the sink, along with a wine bottle she didn't hide very well.

Product count: 23

Here we go. More of that licorice stuff from who knows how many years ago, more old Bath and Body Works labels. This brings our grand total to: 35.


35. We have 35 bottles of Bath and Body Works stuff in our house. This is insane. Please, stop the madness Bath and Body Works. Stop coming to my house.

And now, I challenge you: if anybody can beat this number, if anybody has more B&BW stuff than this...well, I can't really give you anything. I'll bow down to you...virtually, of course. I'll come up with something. Seriously, let me know! Try to beat me!


--Becky

A Classic Look--Red Nailpolish

Nailpolish has all of a sudden become a HUGE thing in the fashion world. I jumped on the bandwagon the summer before starting college. I went from being the girl who barely knew what a cuticle was to one following nail blogs, walking to CVS to get new colors every other week, and having failed attempts at nail art.

I've done all the funky, trendy colors, but sometimes I just want to go back to the basics: red.

Right now I'm wearing Essie in "Forever Yummy". It's fire-engine red that reminds me of all the red dresses celebrities have been wearing this year at award shows. If I could rock the red lip trend, my lipstick would be this color.

Still, spring is coming soon and my favorite red nail polish isn't going look as nice when the flowers start coming up and the snow melts. I really love the new red that is in Essie's Spring Collection, "Ole Caliente", pictured above. Essie describes it as a red/orange color, but in the bottle it looks red/pink to me. Perfect combination between my two favorite colors!

I also own this red from OPI's 2010 Winter Collection, which had a Switzerland theme, called "So Hot it Berns". Really, when I think of Switzerland I don't think of hotness or red at all, but whatever...OPI just needs to keep up their puns, I guess, even if they don't make any sense. This is more of a brighter, tomato red and makes a statement whenever I wear it.

I was disappointed to find out that China Glaze's upcoming Hunger Games collection won't have any reds in it. Apparently OPI is making a Spiderman collection to tie in with the movie...and that doesn't have any reds in it either. I mean, really. Spiderman is red. When I think of Spiderman, I think red...not green, or white, or any of the other weird colors they have in that collection. 

The point is, I'm a sucker for reds and I'm looking for more. Anyone have any suggestions?

--Becky