Self Expressions Push-Up

Self Expressions Ultimate Push Up Bra
Target $18

I typically don't discuss undergarments on here but I am really loving this line and I felt the need to share it with all of my lovely readers. A few months ago I bought the Self Expressions Ultimate Push-Up strapless bra (that came with straps, so you could wear it either way, really). I needed a strapless quick and I just ended up running to my local Target and picking it off the rack in a hurry and much to my surprise I loved it! I'm not a strapless fan and I usually avoid them at all costs unless I really need to wear one. They're usually uncomfortable, never quite fit right and end up shifting and needing adjustments throughout the day but this one fit just right, it's comfortable, and it doesn't move on me. I usually get my bras from Victoria's Secret but I decided to pick up a few more (regular strap bras) from the Self Expressions line at Target instead. They are just as good, if not better than V. Secret's and they are a fraction of the price! The Self Expressions Ultimate push up is like a cross between the original Very Sexy (V.Secret) and the Miraculous. If you are in the market for a new push-up, it's definitely worth a shot. If push-ups and padding aren't your thing, the Self Expressions line also offers regular bras with less padding and lift. I haven't tried them but I'm sure they are great quality too.

Lovin' Tresseme

Tresseme Fresh Start Strenghtening Dry Shampoo
Tresseme Heat Tamer Spray

I've been using both of these products for the past month now and my hair has never been happier. The dry shampoo has a nice fresh scent that isn't overwhelming and it doesn't leave your hair feeling stiff or like it's full of residue (like some dry shampoos). My hair has been pretty dry lately (it gets that way in the colder months) and I've been doing everything in my power to restore moisture. The Heat Tamer makes my hair instantly soft and silky feeling without weighing it down. My last heat tamer- Beyond the Zone Turn Up the Heat left my hair soft and silky but also left it limp and lifeless. I stayed away from Tresseme products for a while because I tried their shampoo and conditioner a couple of years ago and I wasn't a huge fan but these two products are total life hair savers! 

Yesterday's OOTD & Xmas Shopping

Cardigan-F21
Plaid Tunic-Miley
Belt-came with a pair of dress pants
Leggings-F21
Boots-Qupid
pearl bow bracelet-gift
pearl bracelet-Italy
Silver Bangle-vintage

 My mom, grandma, and I went on a Christmas shopping extravaganza yesterday and I am proud to say that I am halfway done! I managed to pick up a few things for myself of course:

Charlotte Russe Gold Glitter Bow Flats -on sale for $18 (I think)

Charlotte Russe Set of 3 Belts -on sale for $4.99!

Charlotte Russe Key Chain -how cute right?

Charlotte Russe bracelets- love them all so much!

Body Central Bangles

Body Central Necklace

Body Central Necklace

 I went to Plato's Closet to drop off a few bags of clothes and I ended up making some money! For those of you who aren't familiar with Plato's Closet, it's a consignment shop that pays you on the spot for your unwanted items (instead of the traditional approach of waiting for your item to sell and then getting paid). Their offers were pretty fair for the most part although there were a few items that I kept because I thought the offer was too low. I couldn't help but browse around the store, there were so many great things in there. I picked up 3 things:

Xhilaration Tank $3

Lauren Conrad Cardigan $20

Forever 21 Skirt $8.50 (with tags still attatched!)

Have you ever been to Plato's Closet? What are your experiences with the store?

Happy Thankgiving!

(via weheartit)

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I'll be spending my day at my in-laws, feasting on some delish food, trying really hard to not overstuff myself. I have so much to be thankful for. 2011 has definitely been an incredible year for me. I am so lucky to have the amazing people in my life that I do and I'm so thankful for all of my gorgeous readers!

Nars Orgasm & Laguna Dupe

e.l.f Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder -Blush & Bronzed-
e.l.f Eyeshadow -Ivory-

e.l.f Ivory eyeshadow

This eyeshadow is so pigmented and it has just the right amount of shimmer. It's the perfect shade to use as a highlight, on top of the lids for a shimmery, bright-eyed look, or blended with another color to add extra sparkle. I have to admit, it took me a while to warm up to e.l.f as their super afforable price tag made me feel their products were too good to be true. I expected them to have that horrid baby powder smell that a lot of cheap cosmetics have but I was pleasantly surprised that none of the products that I have tried have that smell. Almost every e.l.f product that I've tried I've liked, if not loved.

top: e.l.f Blush ~ middle: Nars Orgasm ~ bottom: e.l.f Bronzed

As you can see from the swatches, they are almost an exact dupe for one another. The Blush is a bit more pink as compared to Orgasm which is a tad peachy. Orgasm also has more shimmer while Blush is more matte with a hint of shimmer but they both have gold-toned shimmer.

left: Nars Orgasm ~ right: e.l.f Blush & Bronzed duo

The colors look a lot different next to each other in their compacts but once they are swatched, they are almost a perfect match. I don't have Nars Laguna to swatch and compare but I have seen swatches on Makeup Alley and they look very similar to Bronzed.

Bottom Line is this is a great dupe and it will save you lots of money. The Nars duo is $40 as compared to the e.l.f dup which is only $3! Unbelievable, right?!

NOTD: Celeb City

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear -Celeb City-

I applied a base coat of Rimmel and two coats of Celeb City on Friday, took these pictures tonight (Sunday night) and they are still in perfect condition. The color comes out on your nails exactly as it looks in the bottle. It's such a pretty metallic, tru silver with a sparkly finish. This is one of my new favorite colors. Once again, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear has not disappointed me. I should probably just by one of each color from this line.

*I have not been paid or compensated for this review. I bought this polish with my own hard earned money and these are my honest thoughts and opinions of the product.*

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Brightener

Product Claims (from Maybelline website):

• Micro-Corrector Applicator micro-fills and smoothes.

• Active formula with Haloxyl reduces the look of puffiness and shadows while fading the appearance of under-eye circles.
 
• Brightener shade adds a luminous touch.

My Thoughts:

I was really excited to try this product out as a few fellow bloggers have mentioned using this product and liking it. When I first went to use it I thought it was broken because it took 30+ clicks before any product came out onto the applicator. I'm not a huge fan of the packaging, even now after using it for about a week, it takes a lot of clicks to get any product out. The product itself is pretty good. It does reduce the look of puffy morning eyes, and brightenes up the eye area for a more awake, refreshed look. The formula has a pink tone to it which I think is just a little too light for my skin tone. I have olive skin and I feel that when used alone, this is too bright and it actually accentuates my under eye circles. I don't have bad under eye circles, I just bought this hoping to add a fresh touch to my makeup. I think it works best when applied under foundation or concealer as it just makes everything look more finished. The brightener is better suited for a fair complexion as opposed to a medium or dark skintone. So, would I repurchase it? No. I think I'll just stick to my Smashbox powder highlighter.

Saturday's OOTN

Polka Dot Top- Old Navy
Cardigan- F21
Black Skinny Jeans- Express
Boots- Kardashian Kollection
Necklace- gift
Bracelet- Chanel

These pictures were taken seconds before we walked out the door, so please excuse the terrible quality. We went to the casino last for dinner with my H's family. We went to Rustic Kitchen and it was delish! I am in love with this top, it can really be dressed down or dressed up. I need more polka dots in my wardrobe!

NOTD Wet Cement

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear
Wet Cement

I fianlly found the perfect shade of gray that I've been looking for! I'm really loving Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear line. There are some great colors to choose from, they don't chip easily, and they are so affordable. I actually prefer the Xtreme Wear (which is considerably cheaper) over Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure line. I notice chipping with the CSM polishes after just 2 days or so compared to the Xtreme Wear which gives me a good 4-5 days before I notice any chipping.

The Original

I was paging through an old magazine with my mom the other day and I mentioned how pretty the necklace was that Kim Kardashian was wearing. She was stunned and couldn't believe what she was seeing. She went to her jewelry box and came back with the original Monet necklace and earrings that inspired the House of Harlow necklace. Turns out, my great grandmother had given the set to her for Christmas when she was in her early twenties. It was a really popular design then. I can't wait to wear it, not only is it beautiful but it also has sentimental value.

Monet Vintage Necklace & Earrings (from the 80's)

House of Harlow 1960
Leather Station Necklace
-Nordstrom $75-

Review: Maybelline Great Lash Big Mascara

I recently decided to try out some new beauty products in an effort to switch things up and see if there was anything that I was missing out on out there. I tried a new mascara, Maybelline Great Lash Big Mascara, which is supposed to be the same formula as the original Great Lash just with a bigger brush.

in 131 Very Black

The Review:
Well, I never quite understood why Great Lash gets the attention and recognition that it does. I tried to like it many times, each time I was disappointed. I thought maybe it was the thin brush that was the problem for me so when I saw their new version with a bigger brush, I decided to give it a whirl. My holy grail mascara is Cover Girl Lash Blast. I love super think voluminous lashes and LB gives me just that but I could stand for a bit more length.
After several attempts, I just can't like this new Maybelline mascara either. The bigger brush allows for a better application than the original brush, but that isn't saying much. 3,000 coats and 10 minutes (slight exaggeration) later, I finally got my lashes to look meh, ok. It does give decent length to your lashes but it offers no volume whatsoever. Then to top it off, half way through my day, I looked in the mirror and saw a raccoon! The mascara had flaked off and stuck right under my eyes! I know it was my mascara because I had used all of my regular, everyday makeup and the mascara was the only different ingredient in the mix that day. I gave it two more trys and eacy time, half way through the day- same thing, raccoon eyes!
I don't remember the original Great Lash doing this so I'm surprised that the package claims that it is the "New Look Same Formula." I'm going to give it one last shot and layer it under my Lash Blast because I hate to be wasteful. If I still get raccoon eyes and unattractive lashes, it's straight to the trash can for this pretty pink and green tube!
The Verdict:
I'm sticking to my Holy Grail- Cover Girl Lash Blast forever. Well maybe not forever, but I'm not trying any more mascaras for a while because I always end up disappointed and asking myself why would you try another mascara when you love your Lash Blast oh so much?!

Do you/have you ever used Maybelline's Great Lash? 

What are your thoughts and opinions of it?

DIY Vera Wang Style Christmas Trees

Don't they remind you of the classic Vera Wang Style wedding dress a little?
Kinda like this fun dress from her White collection.

I was inspired by a Pinterest pin to use the tissue paper but I had my own method of madness for creating it, so here it is:

I started out with this gaudy looking gold tree from the dollar store and stripped it of all it's tacky tinsel.

This is really all you will need: curling ribbon or string, scissors, a tree form- could be styrofoam, a paper plate folded into a cone shape, or this tree frame, and tissue paper (I used Coach tissue paper that I had left over from bags that I bought).

You need to make a bunch of these little tissue paper flowers.
You can watch a great tutorial here.
I'm a pro at making these from our wedding.

Then I tied the first row of flowers onto the form but you could also hot glue them like I did for the rest of the flowers.

About 20 flowers or so later, this is what you have.
I picked up a cluster of these silver glittery star picks at JoAnn Fabrics and added one to the top.

To make the smaller tree, I made the tree form out of a paper plate, stuffing the inside with tissue paper to make it more solid.
I got the paper plate idea from a Pinterest pin here.

So far, I've made three trees- two larger ones and one smaller tree.

They're so much fun to make. Each tree took about 2 hours to make though. The flowers are pretty time consuming but the rest of the project goes pretty quick!

OOTD Lumberjack Chic

Sounds like and oxymoron, right?

Tunic- Urban Outfitters (an old favorite)

Black Tank Top- F21

Leggings- F21

Scarf- Gap (men's) It's extra long and perfect for making a bow.

Boots- Kardashian Kollection

*please excuse my lack of lip gloss/lipstick, I quickly snapped these photos before heading out the door and just had my Chapstick on at the time*