travel makeup essentials

Inspired by my friend who is lucky enough to go off to barcelona(!) for a week , I have decided to come up with a few travel makeup bag essentials that I would bring with me. Since summer is coming up, hopefully this helps you guys out!

A lot of the makeup products I have included are sweat-proof, light makeup and can all multitask since you dont want to be bringing all your products with you.

• MAC Mineralized Foundation Powder SPF 15 - doubles up as a foundation and powder
• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 - lighter than a heavy foundation
• Benefit New 10 Bronzer and Hilighter Duo
• Nars Multiple in Orgasm - works for cheeks, lips, and eyes.
• Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeshadow - creates a variety of different looks
• Benefit Theyre Real Mascara (mini version)
• Benefit Bo-ing Concealer - covers blemishes and brightens the  under-eye area
• Lord & Berry Magic Eyebrow Pencil
• Lord & Berry Liquid Eyeliner Pen
• EOS Strawberry Sorbet Lipbalm
• Revlon Colorburst Lipbutter - pigminted swatch of color while moisturizing and giving a glossy finish.

With love,
j

follow me on bloglovin!

I finally figured out how to use bloglovin and set it up. You guys can follow me here It's also listed on the left part of my sidebar. If you like reading my blog and want to follow, i would really appreciate it. I'm also on a hunt for great blogs to follow leave them down below. Have a great day you guys.

With love,
j

Jewelry Storage

Today I went to Winners and found the cutest teacup and saucer set for only $4.99! It is just a plain teacup (with the handle and little stand) and the plate had the little ruffle side. I thought it would be perfect to store my jewelry in a cute way.

In the tea-cup, I actually threw some of my lipsticks and mascaras I use on a daily basis and I put a few rings and bracelets on the little saucer.

Here are more cute, cheap ways you can store your jewelry for your room. I think the plates are such a great idea, because you can display your jewelry as well! Adds such a nice pop of color in your room.

With love,
j

spring makeup

A look I have been wearing almost everyday for the past week is this one. A fresh, clean look with dewy skin, long lashes, and a coral lip. I think this look is perfect for spring - it's very youthful and effortless.

For the face, I like to apply a dewy full-coverage foundation as it provides the flawless finish. After setting it with a powder, I use a hilighter to accentuate my cheeks and nose. I also like to apply a very light coral-peach blush for a flush of color.

My favorite part of the look is skipping out on the thick winged eyeliner that I usually wear. I feel as if this makes the look more effortless and summery. I like to just tight line my upper lash line with a dark brown (not black!) eyeliner pencil, curl my lashes and apply two-three coats of brown mascara (not black, again). For an extra bright touch, I like to line my waterline with a white eyeliner pencil and use a shimmery champagne color to hi light my brow bone and my inner tear duct.

Lastly is my favorite part of the whole look: the coral lip. Coral is always a favorite spring color, and I love rocking it on my lips. It gives a very nice pop of color without being too bright (like a hot pink or red). I prefer a coral gloss to a coral lipstick, because for this look I really want just a sheer wash of color with a glossy finish.

I hope you guys like this look and that it inspires you for spring makeup :-)
With love,
j

go-to makeup look

Although I love trying out new beauty and makeup products, I'm not the most creative when it comes to makeup looks. I do the same look almost every single day: a simple winged liner with a nude lip. It's the easiest routine for me and I think it's a classic, fresh combination.

After my face routine, I take my favorite black liquid eyeliner and line my upper eyelid. Then, I will create the wing on the corner. I don't really like to touch my bottom eyelid, so I just leave it.

Then, I will moisturize my lips by applying a clear lip balm. Once that is done, I apply my nude lipstick of choice and top it off with a baby pink lip gloss for a touch of color and a glossy finish.

It's really the easiest look you can do and best of all, it doesn't take a long time!
Hope this helped you guys out.

With love,
j

craiglist steals!

Exciting day today! I finally found and have arranged all my purchases for my furniture for the upcoming year. This may seem like a little early, since my term just ended and I will not be moving in until September, but I really wanted to get all my furniture instead of competing with others towards the end of August to score really great deals.

Last year all my furniture was included in my rent, but next year unfortunately I would have to get my own furniture. At first, I was a little worried - I didnt want to bring all my furniture from home since I would have to deassemble everything and would not have a room to stay in if I went back to visit home. As well, brand new furniture is really expensive!

One of my really good friends suggested that I check out craiglist or kijiji for people who are selling their furniture. Over the past few days, I have found everything I needed! Since I will most likely sell or donate these pieces of furniture after I finish living in that apartment, I figured that I would buy the most minimal pieces: a bed, a dresser, and a desk. I also found a couple of really good deals on things that are not absolutely necessary, but nice to have!

The items I have purchased/will be purchasing are:

• Skruvsta Swivel Chair - These originally retail for $179.99 each and I managed to score one for only $90. I know this is a luxury item, but it was such a good deal I just could not pass up! I figured that purchasing a nicer chair would just encourage me to work at my desk instead of working on my bed like a lazy bum :p
• Double boxspring and Mattress - A mattress was one of the things I was initially worried about getting. Everywhere I looked, even just a single mattress was $200-$300. I was a bit worried as well about purchasing it from a random person, but I was assured that the house was smoke free, pet free, and bug free. The lady sold me the double boxspring for $180 but threw the mattress in there for free since she was going to donate it anyway :-) 
• Mikael Computer Desk Station - I managed to get this one at a very nice price of $75. These originally retail for around $120(?) and ikea has revamped them so they dont make these exact ones anymore. I was originally going to pick up just a simple desk then get a bookshelf, but I figured why not save some space and go vertical.
• Malm 3-Drawer Dresser - In stores, this dresser retails for $79.99. I have seen it on sale for $63.99 though, but I found one on craiglist for only $50! Another space saving tip: I was about to purchase the Malm bedside table and use it as a vanity, but my room is already small so I figured that I could display my makeup nicely on top of this dresser and use that as my vanity-area.
• Trensaum Mirror & Lack Side Table - these were purely unecessary purchases that I could have picked up at the Ikea store since they are not too expensive ($10-15). However, I messaged anyway asking where I could pick these items up and it was not too far from the places I will be picking up the other pieces from, so at the end it would be a better deal (compared to gas prices!)

This means in total I only spent $400 on all my bedroom furniture overall! It may seem like a lot, but if I purchased from retail prices, I would only be able to purchase only two items with the same amount of money! 

I will have a room decorating on a budget post coming up as a follow up to this one so if you are interested in that, please check back. Hopefully you guys check out craiglist or similar sites in local areas to score some great deals yourself!


Enjoy,
j

spring fashion trends

Spring is one of my favorite seasons to shop for, other than fall. Its warm enough to wear shorts and skirts but cool enough to still be able to layer and wear cardigans (my favorite piece!). Theres something really girly and feminine about the season, whether it may be the pastel color schemes or the florals. Here are some of the pieces I will be sporting during this season.

Spring 2012 Essentials

• sheer vest shirts, tie-hem fronts
• high-low skirts, maxi skirts
• chambray shirts, sheer button-up shirts
• bright bottoms, crochet or scalloped shorts
• turquoise jewelery, turquoise nails
• wrap bracelets, timepieces

With love,
j