Sometimes having a bundle of useful products close-by is really handy. My nightstand is forever cluttered with miscellaneous items. One of the things that dominates the table are me beauty products.

I figured I could spare you all from the crap *ahem* miscellaneous items strewn about my bedside table, and get strait to the goods.

I keep an assortment of lotions on hand, and at the moment I've been loving the Julep Body Frosting since I first got it. The smell is so yummy (seriously, it smells like sherbet), and I can't get over how long it's lasting. Less really is more with this product. I also have my J.R. Watkins Grapefruit and Pomegranate lotion, and Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint lotion from Bath and Body Works which smells nothing like spearmint in my opinion. I would love to say that it helps relieving stress, but I can't tell the difference. It just smells nice.

I also keep the last two steps to my current skincare routine on hand, which I mentioned here. I'm trying to get back into the habit of using Burt's Bees Cuticle cream. It's really nice to use after I take off my nail polish, since my hands feel really dry.

Lastly is the savior to my nails; OPI Nail Envy. I haven't updated you guys on the progress of my nails, they were really yellow and stained, and becoming brittle. This is the one step I have never neglected, and oh my goodness I'm glad I didn't. I was actually shocked yesterday at how white my nails are. A little bit of yellowing remains at the tip of the nails, but that's going to grow out in the next month or so. Now I can go commando, on my nails, that is. I swear by this stuff now.

A lot of these, it not all, I've mentioned before on this blog. Other than the stuff mentioned above I usually keep some foot care items (foot file, etc.) that you guys don't need to see, and cotton balls, candle, tissues (that one is exciting, lol). You know, the living essentials.

If you're American, have a great Memorial Day. If you're not, have a fantastic Monday! Or rest of your Monday, I suppose. Toodles!

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10 things you probably didn't know about me

It's Friday, and memorial day weekend. So far I have absolutely not plans, and that probably wont change. You may have figured out that that seemingly normal sized child is little me. I figured why not do a little personal post today? I've been playing around with the blog layout (had a bit of fun with the blur tool), and tweaked my about me page a bit. I figured why not tell you all my deepest and darkest secrets, that really aren't very deep or dark? That and I'm actually sitting here for some decent light to hit my bedroom so I can new pictures for a blog post. Patience is not my strong suit.

Now you get to deal with pictures of little me, oh joy!

The picture above was taken at Niagara Falls on one of my many trips to Canada (Quebec mostly, I have a ton of family there). No idea how old I was, but I do know it was before the 4th grade. I got glasses sometime in that grade.

Star Wars, anyone? Taken at MGM Studios (Now Hollywood Studios). I was so amazed that these three were together that I wanted to give the picture to my dad for either fathers day or his birthday. I was little, it's hard to remember that far back. Making myself feel old. I'm only 22, btw.

Facts!!!!!

- I'm actually a shy person when you first meet me. I may seem closed off, and rude, but it's just because I'm not very good at getting to know people. Become my friend and I don't shut up, and I say the most ridiculous things.

- I was actually normal height in elementary school, and believe it or not, I was on the tall side. Apparently my bones decided enough was enough, and kept me just under the 5 foot mark.

- Secretly I'm glad I don't have a whole heap of money to spend. I would have way too many purses, and way too much nail polish. More than I would ever use. Basically I would become a shopaholic/hoarder.

- Rabbits aren't my favorite animal. People seem to think this because I have so many (I show, and what not), but cats have always been my most loved animal.

- I get irritated really easily, and for the stupidest things.

- I used to have my fair share of OCD moments as a young teen, and how my parents didn't notice, I'll never understand. At one point if I touched something with one hand, especially my face, I HAD to touch it with the other hand. Same goes for my peripheral vision. If I saw something out of the corner of my eye I would turn my head/body so I saw it out of the other corner (weird, I know). Everthing had to be even, basically. I still catch myself doing both of these things from time to time, but luckily I've grown out of it for the most part.

- Whenever I post about a routine that I do (nail care, skincare, etc.), I quickly abandoned it, and stop doing one of the steps, if not the whole thing altogether. I do plan on sticking to this routine, though. Time to stop being lazy!

- When asked to name my devices, I use various forms of "Poke". Phone: Lord Poke Poke, BlackBerry PlayBook/old iPod Touch: Sir Pokes A Lot, iPad Mini: Poke Poke the Magnificent (that one is my favorite).

- I really don't like Florida, even though I can't imagine living anywhere else. It's so different depending on where you are. Farm land, forests, beach, swamps, Fantasyland (hehe), and really old stuff. The only constant are the palm trees. They're EVERYWERE. The only thing we don't have are mountains and deserts. If we did acquire a mountain, I'm convinced the state would just sink. Also, all the crazies live here.

- I've never had my heart broken. I've been in love one time, had one (official) boyfriend, and that was that. I was out of the dating world before I even entered it. I've never been happier, and even though I have no idea what I want to do with my life, I still feel secure and safe. I have no regrets about it, either.

I was an adorable child, not quite sure what happened.

I promise a decent post tomorrow, I felt like talking to someone other than my cat. Even she's beginning to think I'm weird. At least talking to the internet seems a little less strange.

Also let me know what you think about the mini change in layout. I'm not feeling the widget titles anymore, but I'm at a lost as to how to change it.

What are some interesting facts about you? I love facts.

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Skincare Medley

I haven't made a skincare post in over a year, and it's changed quite a lot since then. I've cut a few things out, and decided that less is more. My skin has gone from straight up oily to combination. Skincare is something that I honestly don't mind spending the money on. I've tried countless cleansers, and I hate to say it, but it's the more expensive ones that work for me.

My skin is finicky, and likes it when I switch up the products. Talk about annoying. What works for one month, will probably not work for the next one. I do have a problem with acne, I'm not going to lie. I've had it since middle school, and while it's not severe (it's actually quite mild), it's still annoying.

My current routine consists of my exfoliating cleanser from Mark. I wont be using this one for too much long, I haven't seen it in the catalogs for several months, and I think they discontinued it. It lathers up, but without drying my skin out too much. I do feel tightness, but by the time I apply the toner, the tightness is gone.

The newest purchase, Origins Checks and Balances is one that I bought on a whim. I walked into Dillards with mild curiosity; thinking about the rave reviews this brand has been getting in the blogging community. It was this product that made me realize that I was dealing with both oily, and dry areas. I figured, why not? I love trying out new skincare items, and the scent is amazing. I love spearmint, but I was nervous when I first put it on. My last experience with spearmint didn't go too well. I was using a mask (Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque) and it caused some pretty bad breakouts. But so far so good, I've only been using it for a few days, but I'll get back you on my final thoughts.

Confession time: I skip the toner step 90% of the time (like my made up statistic?). I'm trying to incorporate it more into my skincare routine. My skin still feels tight from the first cleanser, and it's in desperate need of hydration. A few pumps of the Boots No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner fixes that. Also, when searching for it online, I see that they no longer have it (Target and Ulta). Oh joy, yet another thing I'll be searching for soon. It's at the point that whenever anything Boots goes on sale I repurchase items because they're probably being discontinued (at least at Target).

Lastly my moisturizer. I currently use the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream for Normal/Oily. I use it in the morning, and at night (shhhh, it's a secret).

One thing I do not do is an eye cream. I do have dark circles (genetics, of course). I really have no idea what to get. I have it set in my mind that a lot of eye creams and serums are gimmicks. I don't even know how I got in that mindset.

So, for now this is what I'm using. Have any toner, exfoliating cleanser, oil-free moisturizer, or anything really that you want to recommend me trying? I'm pretty open to anything, as long as it's not super super expensive. I do have my limits, but I'm willing to expand them for skincare. It is, after all, probably the most important thing since it's the physical me. Wait, what? What am I even saying? I don't know, the idea was there, but the delivery failed.

Oh goodness, I think the spearmint is going to my head. If you have anything you want to recommend, let me know. I'm also trying to be more active on Instagram. I've given up on FB. 

Toodles!

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Current Obsession: NARS Orgasm

The weather lately has been beyond annoying. One day it's blazing hot outside, and the next day it's beautiful, and cool out. Then there are the clouds. They're little tricksters pretending that it's going to rain, but it never does. Florida, make up your mind, please?

So here I was, shopping around in Clearwater with a couple of friends, and I spot Sephora in JCPenney. What's right by the front? Nars, of course. Curiosity got the best of me, and I spotted this little devil instantly.

I've been looking at this nail polish for a while, but never picked it up. Partly because there isn't a Sephora near me. Anywho, so here I was ready to leave the mall, and I go "wait!" Yeah, no self control. NARS Orgasm in nail polish form? Yes, please! I was a bit apprehensive about paying $19 for this nail polish. Like I stated in my last post there's a point when you're paying for the name rather than the formula, but that's part of the fun when it comes to higher end brands. Then again, sometimes it is worth it.

I am surprised by the formula. I'm not sure what I was expecting. It's a bit sheer, the picture above has only two coats. There is tip wear, but that's partly because I didn't apply a top coat until the second day (I've been getting lazy with top coats).

The bottle is a full 0.5 Fl. Oz. I love the packaging. The little box it came in keeps it snug, and safe. I don't want to throw it away.

Is there a dupe for this color? I never found one.

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Confession: I stereotype my nail polish

A couple of days ago I was thinking about my nail polish collection (just as any normal person does), and I realized that I can categorize my nail polish into different "stereotypes". I go to each brand for different reasons, or I just noticed a pattern with them. This mainly goes with my personal collection of nail polishes, and what I have.

It took me a while to realize how much I love Zoya's formula. I only buy it when they have their deals online, or when I find one I like in Ulta (which is actually pretty rare). It lasts the longest on my nails, and they have a very wide color range. It applies smoothly, and with very little streaking. I wish it was more available.

Julep definitely is the most diverse as far as color goes. I honestly thought China Glaze was going to get this one, but when I looked at the bottles, I realized that Julep has the widest assortment of colors. The brand itself, in my opinion, is a bit slow on the trends, but they definitely have the range of colors part down. I also really like the formula, but overall it's not my favorite.

China Glaze has my strangest shades. If I want an off the wall color, I know China Glaze will probably have it. I also find that when they do a color, they do it right. They also do it early in the game, where some brands follow the trends, I feel like CG sets them. Maybe it's just my opinion, rather than fact. I want to say they were one of the first with magnetic, they had neons and brights out when the trend hit last year, and they were right there with the texture trend.

I feel like OPI is my least favorite brand. I love the brush, but I like Sally Hansen's more. The formula is ok, but not the best. That being said, most of my favorite shades are OPI. Kind of backwards, I know. If I ever want to change my nail polish, but I can't decide on a shade, I know I can go to my OPI drawer to find something I love. It's definitely my default brand, even if it isn't my favorite.

This wasn't even intentional, but most of my Essie bottles are a different shade of pink. I have the occasional odd ball, such as Bikini So Teeny, but for the most part they're pink or coral. The shades I have are a really nice pastel color, which are my favorites. I think that's what Essie is known for, though. They do pastels really well.

To me butter LONDON became the brand that's kind of there. I don't really use it, mainly because I don't like the formula. I gave into the hype with this brand. Now, every person is different, and different formulas work better with different people. That being said, I was not impressed with butter LONDON's formula at all. For some brands you're paying for the name more than the formula (i.e. Chanel), and that's perfectly fine, it's just nail polish after all. But for a company to have such a high price ($14 a pop), I expected OPI/Zoya-esque wear (especially with the reviews I read). They don't even last a day on my nails, even with a good top and base coat. Plus I hate it when brands charge more for less (Julep is the same). I like the colors that I have, Black Knight was my first color for this brand, but overall the BL brand isn't for me.

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Sorry it got a little bit ranty at the end. I'm also sorry for the mini hiatus I took. May just has been one roller coaster ride of a month, and I'm glad it's almost over. Let me know if you've noticed a trend with your nail polish. Each brand has their strengths and weaknesses, and I think it's so interesting at how different brands work best with different people. It shows that one size does not fit all.

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Zoya 2013 Earth Day Promotion Buys

Jacqueline | Julie | Blu | Cassi | Neely | Gie Gie

I've mentioned this before, and I'll say it again; I love pastels! When I saw the Lovely 2013 Spring Collection I fell in love. This is the collection that I've been waiting for. I was so bummed when brights, and neons, were the trend.

For the Zoya 2013 Earth Day Promotion I bought the Lovely. I swapped out Piaf for Cassi, and this makes for a better spring collection, I think. Neely, Jacqueline, and Blu are creams. The others are shimmers.

At first I thought Blu was going to be a dupe for Kristen. Kristen is more of a dusty color, and waaaay more sheer. Blu is just beautiful, and I like it better than last year's bloggers favorite Essie Bikini So Teeny. *gasp*

I have already applied Julie, and it's a beautiful color. What I love about it most is that I can get away with one coat, although it is a bit sheer. It's not streaky, at all.

Cassi is soooo not photographed true to color, just throwing that out there.



Did you pick up any nail polishes in this years Earth Day promotion? Sorry about not mentioning anything on the blog, I completely forgot. I actually canceled the Julep box in favor of this promotion. It's so much better!! That's probably why I didn't think about it, I was too busy saying goodbye to yet another Julep Maven box. No, I have not purchased one since the last time I posted about one.

Also, another question: Am I the only one that doesn't like to buy any Zoya polishes unless there's a sale going on?

Ramble ramble ramble

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