Fleek

I've been working on my eyebrows. Basically they've been the epitome of fleek lately. Plus my hair journey is almost over! I would say I have about one more inch until I am at my goal length. Which at my hairs rate of speed, we are looking at about one-two more years. However, considering I started this hair journey 8 years ago, I would say we are in pretty good shape. This is the last time I cut my hair in 2008.

So I have three pictures to show off my eyebrows, and two pictures that really show off my hair growth.

 

 My plan is to have a ceremonial burning of my hair extensions and then never cut my hair again.

 

Runners Rejoice!

My friend just informed me that she was reading a fashion magazine, and it said that wearing your exercise gear out and about instead of just for exercise is the newest fashion trend. For those of you who read my blog and have not met me personally, I will have you know that this fashion trend excites me a lot. For you see, I am one of those people that often run errands and go out places in my running clothes. I will even go as far as throwing a cardigan over my yoga pants and calling that professional attire for work. So clearly the take home message from this blog post today is while all of my friends and family have thought me to be lazy, I am actually a fashionista who is well ahead of her time. May we all keep our fingers crossed that the $1 flip flops from Old Navy also become acceptable footwear for the workplace.

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a fun, safe, and lonnnng weekend with their friends and family remembering those that died for our freedom.

Tomorrow is Steve's birthday, so we had a picnic and celebrated Steve's birthday as well as Memorial Day. We also planted our garden which I am super excited about! So in anywhere from 4-6 weeks Steve and I will have zucchini coming out of our ears. 

 

 

 

 

e.l.f Studio Moisturizing Lipstick Review and Swatches

So for the last couple of weeks I have been trying to decide how to proceed forward with this blog. Although I still need advice, and I still have some comical stories regarding my make-up adventures, I am kind of getting to the point where I am starting to know what I am doing. However I am not quite at the point where I can do make-up tutorials. But I really don't want to stop blogging, because I cannot tell you how much I have been enjoying this blog.

So I got to thinking about it, and I decided that I could start doing some make-up reviews. Now please remember that we are working with a teacher's salary here, so most of my make-up reviews will be based on drug store products. 

So today I thought I would start with my most favorite drugstore find, the e.l.f studio moisturizing lipstick. At first I just picked up one tube at Wegmans because I really liked the color. However as soon as I tried the lipstick I soon realized that we were dealing with the greatest lipstick of all kind. So I quickly went back and bought out every color that Wegmans has. So I am now the proud owner of six e.l.f studio moisturizing lipsticks.

I was looking online and I saw that they have thirteen studio moisturizing lipsticks in total. They are $3 each and nothing short of God's gift to all woman. The lipstick applies neat you don't even need a lip pencil because the lipstick doesn't bleed, nor does it get on your teeth. The lipstick stays where you applied it, doesn't move around, or fade in certain spots. Another great thing about this lipstick is you really can feel the moisture on your lips.  The only way I know how to explain it is that it feels and applies like Chapstick. Basically this stuff is like the sweatpants of lipsticks, and if you know me, you know how much I love myself a good pair of sweatpants.

Sometimes I wonder if I chose to be a runner, or if the runner choose to be me. I feel that running pants are the best creation ever and can be wore for any occasion. Need to go to work? Wear your shiny running pants that can pass off as dress pants. Want to hang out with your friends? Wear your regular running pants, because you're just hanging out anyways. Want to go out? Wear your skinny running pants, because they look like leggings. And want to go on a run? Well you're in luck because all of your pants are running pants anyways!

Anyways, aside from my love of sweatpants, I also developed a love for this lipstick. I did some lip swatch pictures to show everyone the colors that I have (so far).

 

 

My lip swatches match up from left to right.

 

Party in the Buff.

 

Pink Matrix

 

Ravishing Rose

 

Coral Cutie

 

Flirty & Fabulous

 

Red Carpet

Let me know what you think of the lip swatches and lipstick review! Hopefully everyone loves these lipsticks as much as I do!

More Beauty Blender Drama

Alas I am filled with more drama regarding the beauty blender. Sometime last week I noticed a giant hole at the bottom of my magical overpriced sponge. :(

Now considering this is my second time having issues with the beauty blender, I think we can all safely assume that we have a user error happening and not a product defect. So I shamefully walked back into Sephora with my head down low as the most shameful beauty blogger of all time, and told the people of Sephora my sad story of woe. I explained to them that I only wash it once a week, and I use baby shampoo to wash it. I don't use the blender cleanser because that is what I used the first time when all of the color came out.

The people at Sephora really didn't know why this would be happening, so they offered to exchange it for a new one. I thanked them for their great customer service, but I told them I would just buy a new beauty blender since we can clearly see that I am the malfunction. So I ended up just buying another one, but they did throw in a sample of the Philosophy brush cleanser.

So in less than six months and I am on beauty blender number three. It is what it is I suppose. If anyone out there is a beauty blender expert, please help me. Do you think it could be the temperature that I clean it with? I only use lukewarm water. I also only use tinted moisturizer, concealer, BB cream, or foundation with the beauty blender. Please help!

No Spring Look for Me, Big Spring Look for Muggle

I had every intention on showing you a spring look for Easter, however I just couldn't seem to get it right. I have beautiful shades of pink lipstick that I wanted to try, but it seems I am not sure what I am doing with pink lipstick yet. So alas a nice spring look will have to wait until I can perfect it.

In other news, someone did go to the groomer to get their spring/summer look today!

This is what Muggle looked like before. Very cute. Very fluffy.

 

And here is the finished masterpiece!

 

 

Our groomer is a family friend and she knows Muggle pretty well. So last spring Steve and I told her that we wanted her to use her creative liberty to create a hairstyle that fit Muggle's personality. She created this masterpiece. It's so perfect that we plan on doing this every year from now on. When I asked her last week if she wouldn't mind giving him another mohawk she responded, "I wouldn't give him anything else." She is perfection I tell you. Perfection.

 

He also did really well at the groomers, so we took Muggle out to Creamland for a doggy cone to celerbrate.

 

 

I know, I know. I'm such a good mommy.

 

Also I had a really strange experience a few weeks ago where a complete stranger ran up to me and began yelling at me that I need to use a choke collar to walk Muggle instead of his harness. Don't even get me started. Anyways, now I am really paranoid that people are going to yell at me for the strangest things reguarding my dogs. So just to clarify, I did try walking him to the grass, but it was muddy and he wouldn't walk on the grass. He chose to stay on the rocks.

 

Honestly I probably know that no one is judging me for Muggle standing on the rocky driveway, but like I said, I'm in paranoid city now.

  

 

 

Also Blaze didn't need groomed, but he was looking mighty cute today as well.

 

 

I'm so Smart

One of Steve's biggest pet peeves is the way I paint my nails. In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm just awful at it. I could get them done at a nail salon every few weeks for pretty cheap, but honestly I don't even have time to paint my own nails at home. This is where I start to have problems. Time. I simply don't have time to wait around for my nails to dry, and say what you may, but I am not willing to spray PAM on my hands, or dunk them into ice water. So as I was contemplating this dilemma thinking about when I would have thirty minutes that I could be doing something productive but not doing anything that could smudge my nails, a genius thought came down upon me. I could let my nails dry as I was driving.

So I painted my nails as soon as I got in the car. Once they were painted I started up the car and drove to where I needed to go. I painted my other coats at red lights I could count to be super long, like the one by the Zoo.

So ladies and gentlemen. For the first time in my life I bring you non smudged nails! It doesn't look to pretty at first, but after you wash your hands a few times the nail polish on your skin does go away.

 

I know, I know. I'm really smart. Just as a side note though, you have to do this on warmer days because you need to drive with your windows down.

 

I know some of you are probably laughing thinking that this is a joke, but I am quite serious. Try it, and you too will see the ingeniousness behind it all. Also please do not paint and drive...

 

 

Also in other news. I couldn't finish the Marie Antoinette book. It was so dry I just couldn't. So I held my tonged and waltzed right into that library and checked out The Red Queen. Which surprisingly isn't about Margaret of Anjou, but rather Margaret Beaufort. Does that surprise anyone else? I called up Steve at work and told him and he was just as flabbergasted as I.

I Can't Paint my Nails, but I am a Real Teacher Now.

Well it's still snowing here in the tundra, previously known as Erie. We did have a short period of hope where all of the snow melted and the birds started signing, but alas those sweet moments are just distant memories that I can barely remember. If I remember correctly the color of grass is green.

I guess I haven't posted lately because I have nothing new to report. I haven't had the time to experiment with any new makeup (although I do want to experiment with winged eyeliner soon, I just have to wait for a day where I'm not doing anything important). And we all know that I am clearly not at the point where I can do any make-up tutorials because then it would just be filled with the internet shamefully shaking their head saying, "honey, no...".

I also haven't bought anything new to review or haul. Actually I did do a haul last week, but I still don't feel confident enough to review anything yet.

Actually I take that back. We all know I love the NYX butter gloss. However I still am not sure what uses the NYX wonder pencil has, and I will forever fail at the art of painting my nails. I did try painting them again, but they still look awful. I just can't. I washed my nails and pushed back my cuticles and everything. I think I am just destined for horrible nail painting skills.

I bought the NYX Intense butter gloss in Tres Leches. Basically it's like a winter nude. I quickly put some on right now while I was thinking about it so you could get a color swatch. Keep in mind I just woke up and that is yesterday's mascara on my eyes. So please ignore my amateur blogging skills. I'm trying people, but this is the best you get for now.

 

In other exciting news, my thirty-one bag came in yesterday.

 

I am pleased to announce that after all of these years, I am finally a teacher.

I would like to thank my mom and dad, for all of the support they have given me. I would like to thank my husband, for always pushing me to study, I would like to thank my dogs for giving me well needed homework breaks, and I would like to thank my two friends who invited me to the thirty one-party. All without I would not be a real teacher.

 

Weekend Haul

 

 

I did what I do best this weekend, and I spent money. I'm not going to review anything I bought yet because I haven't used them enough to really get a good feel for them. Especially that nail polish.

 

The first thing I bought is the e.l.f ELSA Snow and Ice Disney Frozen Blush pallet. They only sell it at Walgreens, and I had to go to two different Walgreens before I found it. Basically it comes with a blush, a highlight, and a bronzer. I'm not to wild about the idea of contouring my whole face, but I really like the idea of highlighting my cheekbones since I have dark circles under my eyes. So I thought a simple pallet like this would be perfect. I have never seen Frozen, but I as a second grade teacher I truly feel no need. I can sing you every song and tell you the whole plot with my eyes closed and hanging upside down. The joys of being me.

 

I also bought another intense butter gloss, a blush pallet, a $3 contouring pallet, and a concealer pencil.

 

Finally, I was at Wegmans yesterday and I saw they had gel nail polish. Now I know I vowed to everyone that I was going to only wear all natural nail polish. But it looks like I clearly lied to everyone on the internet. I have never tried gel and I was so intrigued that I broke my personal vow and purchased it anyways.

 

Well everyone, I present to you karma. As I went home to put on my newest nail polish, I noticed that the bottle said, "Step 1". Thinking how funny it was that nail polish had steps, I googled it to see what on earth I was missing. Well, apparently there are steps in the world of gel nail polish. The first coat does little good unless you purchase the top coat. Annoyed that they failed to sell the two polishes together, I trekked back to Wal*Mart and bought the second bottle. Which made me even more annoyed because now we are looking at a total of $14 that I just spent in nail polish, and quite frankly, that's nuts.

 

So in my annoyance I  quickly splashed on the nail polish and went to bed. Well as usual I neglected to read the directions on the website, and apparently after you put on the final coat you are supposed to use the natural light to create the gel look. Now did I do that? No, I went to bed, remember. So now my nails will be chip free and ridiculous looking for two whole weeks. Awesome.

 



NYX Intense Buttergloss Review with a Slight Historical Fiction Tangent...It Happens

So as we all know I am a new found passionate lover of the NYX make-up line. Why you ask? Because it is a one stop shop where I can get everything I need, where I trust the quality to be great, and it's totally affordable.

Other drugstore brands like Cover Girl or Revlon are nice, however they do not have everything I am looking for, such as tinted moisturizer, as well as a highlighter, and a finishing powder. I have noticed that the other brands have some of this and some of that, however they don't have EVERYTHING that I am looking for, whereas NYX has you covered for all of your make-up needs.

Now as I said, I also love the price. I am starting from nothing in my make-up collection, so I want to save as much money as I can since I'm already spending a lot to begin with. Perhaps when my collection is more established then I will venture back into Sephora with high end make-up in mind. However until then I figured NYX will probably be my go to make-up. But please keep the recommendations rolling because I am loving what people recommend me!

So this weekend as Steve was working, I went to the library to check out a book. My next book in the current series I am reading is about Margaret of Anjou, and let me be honest with you. I can't stand that woman. Now while I do feel for her since she had to rule beside a mentally insane king, I just think she was bad news bears for the people of England. I truly feel no desire to hear her fictional side of the War of Roses. Both Margaret and Richard the III just make me plain salty. I was watching a documentary on finding Richard the III's skeleton, and I kept getting angry at the television because apparently there is a Richard the III fan club out there, and I just don't see how people can stand him.

So there you see my dilemma. I can skip this book, however then the next book in the series is about Anne Neville. And if there is one person in history who I like less than Richard the III, it would be his wife, Anne Neville. So after much debate I have decided to put the Warring Cousins series on hold, and I checked out a book about Marie Antoinette. Because if there is one true lover of good cake out there, it's me. While I completely understand why the French wanted her head, I feel like some good cake would have lifted their spirits and made them think more clearly. So need not fear Marie, because over 200 years later a silly little American has got your back.

Now on to my point. I was at the library. Well what store happens to be next to the library? Ulta Beauty happens to be next to the library. So I mosey on in there and begin to strictly window shop. Well window shopping turned into purchasing as it nearly always does when I saw that NYX came out with an intense butter gloss. Now I love myself a good butter gloss, so when I saw that there is now an intense version I let all hopes of window shopping go and purchased two to start out with.

The pink one is Sorbet and the red one is Apple Crisp.

I put on Sorbet in the car, and at my first glance I had to laugh because it was so bright I thought I looked like a baby prostitute. So I took a picture to show you guys for a good laugh, however then when I looked at the picture I noticed that it photographed really well. So I went a little bit selfie crazy in the car, so much so that then when Steve went to take my picture later that night, he was full of nothing but judgment when he saw all of the selfies that were on my phone.  

However then I realized that it wasn't that the butter gloss photographed well, the butter gloss had actually just calmed itself down after two minutes, (I think it needed time to dry). It was absolutely gorgeous for the rest of the day! That is what it looked like without any chap stick or lipstick underneath it or anything. Simply gorgeous.

 

 

 

Again the top two pictures are Sorbet and the bottom two pictures are Apple Crisp.

Pi Day

It was a big weekend at the Gresh residence this weekend! On Friday Muggle and Blaze attended their first birthday party. Muggle had himself a great time and Blaze just stood on my lap and growled at every dog that came near him.

 

The picture I have aren't the greatest. I mostly took videos of the boys playing, which you can see on my Instagram. However I have no idea how to put videos on this, so blurry pictures of Muggle eating carrot and brown rice cake is all you get.

 

Then on Saturday was the ultimate Pi Day. So Steve and I proudly wore our Pi Day shirts out to dinner and ordered ourselves some excellent pie. We took a moment to appreciate all of the circles in our life, especially those circles which take the form of pipes that produce running water, and gave Archimedes a moment of silence. Now I always heard the story that Archimedes was killed by Roman soldiers as he was peacefully drawing circles in the dirt, but I just looked online and I couldn't find the story! Could I be filling the world with lies!?!? Regardless, I hope everyone was able to celebrate their irrational side yesterday and consume copious amounts of rounded shaped desserts.

 

 

 

Jamberry Nails

I went to a Thirty-One/Jamberry party yesterday. I am now going to be a real life teacher soon because I bought the stereotypical Thirty-One bag that EVERY teacher in America has. Because my certification means nothing you know. The State of Pennsylvania may have considered me to be a certified teacher for the last two years, however in real life it will only become official once I own that bag.

I am clearly joking. But really, ask any of the teacher friends that you know about a Thirty-One bag and they will probably show you theirs. So I joined that bandwagon and now I too will own the classic teaching bag. I will post a picture when I get it.

I also brought my Jamberrys in hopes that they could teach me how to but them on. This is what I bought a few months ago.

 

However then my friend had the genius idea to have them show me how to put them on with a sample, so then I can basically get a free accent nail and put these little beauties on my nails later.

 

So please do not mind my nails. I paint them like a child.

 

 

 

And on the Fourteenth Day there was Water

Excellent news from the Gresh household everyone! God must have heard my parent's prayers (not mine of course, I was quite enjoying myself there) and he blessed us all with a visit from the Erie Water Works Company coming out to thaw our pipes today! So blessedly we have water again! Steve had to leave work in the middle of the day to let the man in, and he sent me this little beauty around lunch time. Praise baby Jesus!

Contouring Pallets and Eyebrow Pencils

I don't think anyone could be more excited for this upcoming weekend then me. It's the ultimate pi day on Saturday being 3.14.15 on 9:26:53  and my friend bought me an ultimate pi day shirt to celebrate. I am so excited about it I plan on wearing it all weekend! So if you see me parading around town in my pi day shirt on Friday and Sunday, please do not judge me as an idiot who does not know the correct date. Judge me as an idiot who is way too excited to wear this shirt just once. Steve is now ridiculously jealous because I now have two pi day t-shirts, and he doesn't even have one. Last night in shear envy he bust out the extra paint we used in the extra bedroom and made himself his own shirt. I have to admit, it is pretty good.

 

This one is my ultimate pi day shirt!

 

This is my normal every year pi day shirt!

And this is Steve's homemade pi day shirt!

Also, Muggle and Blaze were invited to their very first birthday party on Friday night. There is going to be doggy cake and everything. Then Muggle starts obedience school the next week, so pardon my tears as I reminisce about how fast they are growing up. I can promise you a slew of first day of school pictures to be splashed across my Instagram.

Changing gears, I have noticed in the past few weeks that everyone is talking about contouring pallets. I think they sound terrifying. Does anyone have any advice? I saw there are quite a few high end pallets out there, however I am not thrilled with the idea of spending a lot of money on a product in which I am going to make myself look like a moldy orange.

My friend is coming into town on Saturday for the day, and I think we are going to go to Ulta. She got the Anastasia contour pallet, and another friend of mine got the Two-Face contouring pallet. I figured I will check them out, but I am weary to spend so much money on something I don't know how to use. My friend also wants to go and have them help us with our eyebrows. I have also heard fabulous things about the Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil. I might actually have to check that one out. So far a lot of the brow pencils I see are like regular pencils where you have to sharpen them. Honestly my pencil sharpening skills suck. Which is shocking considering I am basically a professional pencil sharpener being a second grade teacher and all. At work I complain about sharpening pencils and everyone probably thinks that I have poor sharpeners in my room. However I am acutely aware that I could be 99% of the problem. The wood always becomes jagged and the lead always falls out. Now this becomes a huge problem with my eyebrow pencils because I feel like I always get a stray eyebrow hair stuck in the wood. I feel like I shouldn't worry about this, however when your eyebrows are as thin as mine, every soldier counts in the quest for high arches! So I am hoping that I can find a way to do my eyebrows without having to put a pencil up to my face. Nothing good ever comes out of that, let me tell you.