So I wanted to post today, but didn't have a set topic at the moment so here is are my random babblings.
1. I've decided to start a Curly Girl Method series. This started because I was just going to post my hair routine, but realized it really doesn't make sense without explaining the method I follow, the CG (Curly Girl) Method. Actually.... when I say it like that it sounds like a religion. I promise, nothing weird. I don't make sacrifices to the curl gods (though I would, if that would give me perfect hair). Anyway, after thinking about this I realized it would be easier to do this in a series. The CG Method has a lot of information and it can be really over-whelming at first to someone who has no idea about it, so I wanted to make it as clean and simple as possible. So look forward to that.
2. I made some online purchases recently, a bunch of hair care stuff and an epilator. So look forward to my reviews on those. My review and swatches for the lip tars are also coming up, although I'm having some trouble with them. So far, not living up to the hype. I don't know if it's just me or what, so I'm playing around with them a little more before I give up on them.
3. I researched all the Philadelphia neighborhoods today so I know where the safe places to live are. I even outlined everything on a map for myself. I get obsessive like that. It's bizarre for me to be moving somewhere where I don't know the neighborhoods. I've lived in this city my whole life and drive for work, so I know how safe every street is. Seriously, I do. And it's a pretty big city. But Philadelphia is bigger and I don't want to live somewhere I might get stabbed. So, doing this makes me feel better. It also let me know that there are plenty of places in my price range rent-wise that are also safe. Good to know.
4. With that, also opening up to the idea of maybe having roommates when we move. It was always the plan for my friend and I to just get a 2 bedroom and call it a day, but I saw a lot of NIIIIIIICE 4 bedroom places that would equal out to being less rent. Plus, the idea of having roommates that know the city better than us, have a social circle, etc. might help with the initial isolation we might be dealing with. So... it's a possibility. It could be a disaster though. Her and I have lived together before and know we won't want to kill each other. But I have had my fair share of roommate disasters and don't feel like experiencing them again. So we will see.
5. With being sick, again, I haven't been to the gym in a week and a half. So depressing. Seems like every time I recover from the last bout of illness and get to a personal best, I get sick. So I'm constantly stuck at almost the same weights for everything. For example, I haven't been able to get past 60 lbs for bench press because every time I get sick and take time off I have to de-load. Then by time I get back to 60 lbs, I get sick again. It's like a weird plateau that I could push through if I could just STOP GETTING SICK.
6. I bought my first pair of actual shorts since.... I don't even know.... before high school? I've never been a shorts fan. That's not because I don't like my legs, I just don't find shorts flattering. Or at least the ones that have been popular for years now with the pockets hanging out of the bottoms because they are so short. Trashy. But I did always wear skirts. Actually, I wore short jean skirts through high school and most of college in the summer. Never steered me wrong. But I finally found a pair of shorts from Express that I like. They are black and can be dressed up or dressed down. Me gusta.
7. I keep watching The Great Gatsby trailer. It's gorgeous.
8. I'm going to the beach this weekend and I'm excited. Time to stock up on sunscreen.
That is all.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
So I had all these good intentions of writing blog posts this week. I got in the OCC lip tars I ordered, and I watched the finales to my favorite shows that I wanted to rave/rant about. But then I got sick. AGAIN. This is the 5th time I've been sick in the past 6 months. No joke. I was sick about 5 weeks ago and after that particular run of illness, I started taking a shit ton of vitamins. This is the first time I've taken vitamins since I was a child, so I was very confident that it was going to prevent me from being sick. I got a multivitamin and a vitamin C supplement, which equaled out to like 500% of the daily value of vitamin C. So I should have been set, right? Wrong. I've been sick since last Tuesday. I don't know what it's going to take. I've been taking vitamins, I've been working out, I've been eating better, I wash my hands all the time, and yet I am still getting sick. I work with children, so I'm kind of convinced that that is what is causing my never-ending illness. If that's not a reason to find a career in a new field, I don't know what is.
Ok, done with that rant.
Since being sick, my skin has freaked out. It's gotten hot here and my skin is not happy. For a while there, I was thinking my skin was doing pretty good. But I think I'm deluding myself. I think I need some new skin care, because it could be a lot more clear than it is. I don't have big, cystic acne but I always seem to have at least one small zit at any given time, if not a few. Plus, since I am so pale, every zit I get leaves a red mark for months after. And I'm sick of it. I've been using the acne.org treatment cream for years now and I think it has just run it's course. It's not doing what it needs to do. Even when I use it religiously, I still get zits, and in my opinion that really shouldn't be happening. I'm on a mission now for new skincare, a new treatment most specifically. Ugh. Great.
So look forward to skincare reviews..... Hopefully I don't mess up my skin more by doing this. Eek.
Ok, done with that rant.
Since being sick, my skin has freaked out. It's gotten hot here and my skin is not happy. For a while there, I was thinking my skin was doing pretty good. But I think I'm deluding myself. I think I need some new skin care, because it could be a lot more clear than it is. I don't have big, cystic acne but I always seem to have at least one small zit at any given time, if not a few. Plus, since I am so pale, every zit I get leaves a red mark for months after. And I'm sick of it. I've been using the acne.org treatment cream for years now and I think it has just run it's course. It's not doing what it needs to do. Even when I use it religiously, I still get zits, and in my opinion that really shouldn't be happening. I'm on a mission now for new skincare, a new treatment most specifically. Ugh. Great.
So look forward to skincare reviews..... Hopefully I don't mess up my skin more by doing this. Eek.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Menstrual Cup: Day One
STOP!
DO NOT keep reading if you are embarrassed, awkward, grossed out, squeamish, repulsed, etc. by a little thing we like to call menstruation (or Aunt Flo, or the confederates in the funhouse, or a period, or the monthly gift.....).
If you keep reading despite my warnings and choose to leave a comment voicing your disdain for the topic on a public forum, it will be deleted.
Anywho, now that I have that over with, who's still left standing?
This month, I bought a menstrual cup. A Diva Cup to be exact, which are one of many brands of menstrual cup. Menstrual cups are delightful little inventions made up of surgical grade silicone that are inserted into the vagina to catch the menstrual flow. There are many reasons women choose menstrual cups over pads or tampons:
1. Menstrual cups have no risk of toxic shock syndrome, which are associated with tampons.
2. Cups do not contain any chemicals, like tampons and pads do.
3. Cups are reusable for up to 10 years, so they do not fill up waste dumps like pads and tampons do.
4. Cups can be left in for longer, up to 12 hours or so, because they are made of surgical grade silicone.
5. Cups do not mess with the ph levels of the vagina because they are essentially neutral. They also do not dry out the vagina, because they are simply collecting the fluid and not absorbing it.
6. Cups hold more than tampons or pads, so they can be changed less often and work well for women with very heavy flows.
Why did I get one? Because I am lazy.
I don't like buying tampons. It's a waste of money. A cup I can buy now (for around 30 dollars) and keep for 10 years. The average woman spends 80 dollars a year on disposable menstrual products. I no longer have to.
Also, I don't have to worry about when I am going to change it. A cup can be put in in the morning and emptied at night before bed. Then re-emptied in the morning to restart the process. No having to carry tampons around. No wondering when I will be near a bathroom. No awkwardly carrying my purse in with me to change. None of that.
I have a fairly light flow (I've never leaked through a tampon since I started using them) so I figured I wouldn't have any problems.
Now, on to my actual experiences.
This is the first day of my period and the first day I've actually used it. I did a trial run a few days ago just inserting it and taking it out, and boy, did it hurt. But vaginas actually change during your period, making it easier to insert. I'm not going to go into that at the moment. I've already scared away enough people without going into an anatomy lesson.
So I inserted it this morning, left it in a full 12 hours, no leaks. So the suction was good, the alignment was good, and I didn't feel it at all. Just like a tampon. Woot woot!
I'm still wearing backup protection in the form of a liner, but I now have faith in myself and that this thing will live up to it's claims.
I also didn't make a mess taking it out because I took it out in the shower, which most people recommend. But even so, my flow is light enough that I think I could do it in a public bathroom without making a mess.
The "learning curve" on menstrual cups is about 3 cycles. So, similar to tampon's learning curve, maybe a little longer. I find inserting it pretty easy and haven't had problems with suction, which seems to be the problem with a lot of people at first. The removing is a little more time consuming, but I can tell that once I get used to it and work out a routine it'll be as easy as a tampon.
OVERALL: SWEET SUCCESS!
I will keep random updates on this if any problems or something arises. But for now, I think cups totally live up to their claims.
Here are some more awesome resources on cups for anyone that is interested, intrigued, too grossed out to look away:
Menstrual Cup Livejournal Community
Video on how to use a menstrual cup (SFW)
DO NOT keep reading if you are embarrassed, awkward, grossed out, squeamish, repulsed, etc. by a little thing we like to call menstruation (or Aunt Flo, or the confederates in the funhouse, or a period, or the monthly gift.....).
If you keep reading despite my warnings and choose to leave a comment voicing your disdain for the topic on a public forum, it will be deleted.
Anywho, now that I have that over with, who's still left standing?
This month, I bought a menstrual cup. A Diva Cup to be exact, which are one of many brands of menstrual cup. Menstrual cups are delightful little inventions made up of surgical grade silicone that are inserted into the vagina to catch the menstrual flow. There are many reasons women choose menstrual cups over pads or tampons:
1. Menstrual cups have no risk of toxic shock syndrome, which are associated with tampons.
2. Cups do not contain any chemicals, like tampons and pads do.
3. Cups are reusable for up to 10 years, so they do not fill up waste dumps like pads and tampons do.
4. Cups can be left in for longer, up to 12 hours or so, because they are made of surgical grade silicone.
5. Cups do not mess with the ph levels of the vagina because they are essentially neutral. They also do not dry out the vagina, because they are simply collecting the fluid and not absorbing it.
6. Cups hold more than tampons or pads, so they can be changed less often and work well for women with very heavy flows.
Why did I get one? Because I am lazy.
I don't like buying tampons. It's a waste of money. A cup I can buy now (for around 30 dollars) and keep for 10 years. The average woman spends 80 dollars a year on disposable menstrual products. I no longer have to.
Also, I don't have to worry about when I am going to change it. A cup can be put in in the morning and emptied at night before bed. Then re-emptied in the morning to restart the process. No having to carry tampons around. No wondering when I will be near a bathroom. No awkwardly carrying my purse in with me to change. None of that.
I have a fairly light flow (I've never leaked through a tampon since I started using them) so I figured I wouldn't have any problems.
Now, on to my actual experiences.
This is the first day of my period and the first day I've actually used it. I did a trial run a few days ago just inserting it and taking it out, and boy, did it hurt. But vaginas actually change during your period, making it easier to insert. I'm not going to go into that at the moment. I've already scared away enough people without going into an anatomy lesson.
So I inserted it this morning, left it in a full 12 hours, no leaks. So the suction was good, the alignment was good, and I didn't feel it at all. Just like a tampon. Woot woot!
I'm still wearing backup protection in the form of a liner, but I now have faith in myself and that this thing will live up to it's claims.
I also didn't make a mess taking it out because I took it out in the shower, which most people recommend. But even so, my flow is light enough that I think I could do it in a public bathroom without making a mess.
The "learning curve" on menstrual cups is about 3 cycles. So, similar to tampon's learning curve, maybe a little longer. I find inserting it pretty easy and haven't had problems with suction, which seems to be the problem with a lot of people at first. The removing is a little more time consuming, but I can tell that once I get used to it and work out a routine it'll be as easy as a tampon.
OVERALL: SWEET SUCCESS!
I will keep random updates on this if any problems or something arises. But for now, I think cups totally live up to their claims.
Here are some more awesome resources on cups for anyone that is interested, intrigued, too grossed out to look away:
Menstrual Cup Livejournal Community
Video on how to use a menstrual cup (SFW)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Lip Tars are Not Lipstick
So, I've kind of split hairs on the No Buy/Low Buy thing.
In the past week, I have bought 7 Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars.
I know. It's ridiculous.
But lip tars are not lip sticks. And they are not lip glosses. They are a domain all their own.
I have never tried a lip tar, but have been drooling over them for more than a year. Originally, I only bought 2, Grandma and NSFW, from OCC.com.
Then, not two days later, I discovered that beauty.com was having a 20% off friends and family sale. 20% off everything. Plus free shipping. Plus ebates* was having 13% off beauty.com. That is a ridiculous deal that I could not pass up.
Since I didn't need any perfume, I am not allowing myself to buy palettes, and there were no skincare sets that looked appealing, I decided on a set of lip tars. 5 lip tars (Pretty Boy, Anime, Beta, Trollop, & Divine) and an OCC lip brush for 50 dollars. One lip tar costs 14 dollars on OCC's site. So 50 dollars, minus the 20% off, minus the 13% cash back ends up being around the same price that I paid for 2 lip tars on the OCC site with shipping. Only I got 5! And a lip brush!
Stay tuned for swatches and a review when they finally arrive and are welcomed into my loving embrace.
* I included my ebates Tell-A-Friend link, because I'm telling you, as blog friends, about this site. If links like this offend you, please proceed to ebates through this link instead, which is a non-affiliated link.
In the past week, I have bought 7 Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars.
I know. It's ridiculous.
But lip tars are not lip sticks. And they are not lip glosses. They are a domain all their own.
I have never tried a lip tar, but have been drooling over them for more than a year. Originally, I only bought 2, Grandma and NSFW, from OCC.com.
Then, not two days later, I discovered that beauty.com was having a 20% off friends and family sale. 20% off everything. Plus free shipping. Plus ebates* was having 13% off beauty.com. That is a ridiculous deal that I could not pass up.
Since I didn't need any perfume, I am not allowing myself to buy palettes, and there were no skincare sets that looked appealing, I decided on a set of lip tars. 5 lip tars (Pretty Boy, Anime, Beta, Trollop, & Divine) and an OCC lip brush for 50 dollars. One lip tar costs 14 dollars on OCC's site. So 50 dollars, minus the 20% off, minus the 13% cash back ends up being around the same price that I paid for 2 lip tars on the OCC site with shipping. Only I got 5! And a lip brush!
Stay tuned for swatches and a review when they finally arrive and are welcomed into my loving embrace.
* I included my ebates Tell-A-Friend link, because I'm telling you, as blog friends, about this site. If links like this offend you, please proceed to ebates through this link instead, which is a non-affiliated link.
Monday, May 14, 2012
A Very Delayed April Favorites
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Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette:
I actually prefer this palette to the original Naked palette, although both work with my skin tone and eye color (blue) quite nicely. I enjoy the very dark matte black that is included in Naked 2, which I have been using to tightline and set my liquid eyeliner. The double-ended brush that is included with that palette makes getting ready in the morning much easier, since I don't even have to think about a brush. The only downside of the brush is cleaning it. I'm terrible about brush cleaning and since I can only clean one side at a time, this brush doesn't get clean like it's supposed to. Oops. This is the palette I have been reaching for the most this month.
Real Techniques Stippling Brush:
I've had this brush for a few months and had mostly been using it for foundation. Then, I heard one of the gurus on Youtube talk about it for blush and highlighter. Duh. But I hadn't thought of it before. I had been using a really terrible and terribly old brush from Merle Norman (does anyone even recognize that brand anymore?). Switching to this brush has made my blush actually show up, something that hasn't happened until now. I'm thrilled.
MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt:
I've been using this as my highlighter with the Real Techniques brush. It's gorgeous. It's supposed to be like the much-coveted-after Modern Mercury highlighter from Estee Lauder, which I never got to try. I am very fair and this looks great on my skin. Not too sparkly. Not too light. Noticeable in all the right ways.
Urban Decay All Nighter:
I'd been meaning to try a makeup setting spray for a while. So, when I was checking out at Sephora last month and saw a travel size of All Nighter, I figured why not? I plan on buying the full size when this runs out. I only use it when I go out and wear a full face of makeup, but when I do it keeps it on all night. I've actually fallen asleep in my makeup once this month, woken up, and gone to brunch with it all intact. Gross, and I don't recommend it, but proof that this stuff works. It should not be used all the time though as it will wreck havoc on your skin. I'm interested to see if it will work equally as good in the humid summer.
Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart:
This color renewed my faith in everyone who was recommending Lip Butters when they first came out. I tried Peach Parfait when it first came out and hated it. It was a glitter bomb, I hated the texture, and it emphasized any dryness in my lips. But I decided to give Sweet Tart a try and loved it instantly. It's a hot pink, which I am a big fan of for spring and summer, and it's a non-glittery, satiny finish. I like layering it over some of my other hot pink matte lipsticks to ensure a moisturized finish. I plan on hunting down the rest of the non-glitter Lip Butters to try in the future.
MAC Cleanse Off Oil:
I think this has a lot to do with my skin getting better in the last month. I've been using this every night to take off all of my makeup, even when I'm only wearing the minimal amount I wear for work. It removes everything. I follow up with my Clarisonic and normal face wash. My skin seems to have improved greatly. Instead of a blotch of pimples, it's only one at a time and few and far between. Cleanse Off Oil has not dried out or irritated my skin or eyes. I used to use the Philosophy Purity oil and I prefer the MAC variety because of the pump. It wastes less. And I am all for being economical.
And finally....
This month I have been really enjoying the iheartradio app for the iPhone. My town has very abysmal radio stations, meaning one "hiphop", one "top 40", and one "rock" station that I cycle between and am completely unsatisfied with. So, when I visited a good friend of mine in Denver in March, I fell in love with their alternative rock station. When I got home, I downloaded the app so I could listen to it here. It has greatly improved my music collection and my mood.
So that's that. A very boring and delayed favorites.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Things Just Got Serious.
So I had another mild epiphany about the move and decided that along with the low buy and savings plan, I needed to do something drastic and something I hadn't considered before.
Sell all my furniture/non essential household goods from previous apartments.
The original goal was to keep everything, rent a big Uhaul, and cart it across country. But, I decided I could sell most of it instead, which would allow us to save money on a Uhaul and also save up the funds to move a lot faster.
It's sort of liberating knowing I can start fresh with new furniture and really make the new place my own. Plus, I think the old furniture has bad juju. Since it's all cheap, very replaceable, and non-investment stuff, I don't have much of a problem getting rid of it. Very exciting actually. Craigslist posts have already started.
SIDENOTE:
Right after I decided on that low buy involving no eyeshadows, Sugarpill released the information on a new eyeshadow quad coming out. It looks gorgeous and I have been dying to try some Sugarpill for the past year and always forget because I like the instant gratification of running to MAC or Ulta. Ugh. Now I have to wait longer. And it's so pretty.....
Sell all my furniture/non essential household goods from previous apartments.
The original goal was to keep everything, rent a big Uhaul, and cart it across country. But, I decided I could sell most of it instead, which would allow us to save money on a Uhaul and also save up the funds to move a lot faster.
It's sort of liberating knowing I can start fresh with new furniture and really make the new place my own. Plus, I think the old furniture has bad juju. Since it's all cheap, very replaceable, and non-investment stuff, I don't have much of a problem getting rid of it. Very exciting actually. Craigslist posts have already started.
SIDENOTE:
Right after I decided on that low buy involving no eyeshadows, Sugarpill released the information on a new eyeshadow quad coming out. It looks gorgeous and I have been dying to try some Sugarpill for the past year and always forget because I like the instant gratification of running to MAC or Ulta. Ugh. Now I have to wait longer. And it's so pretty.....
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