A Short Life Update

Hello everyone! I'm terribly sorry about my short little absence here. I came back to a handful of new followers and some lovely and amazing comments which really made me smile. Thank you all for your time and decision to read what I put on my tiny little corner of the internet, it really makes my day!!

The reason I've been a little scarce, if you haven't loosely guessed already, is that my mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I spent some time worrying over her, talking to her, and last Saturday I flew back to Georgia to see them. I'm still with her, and she just had a bilateral mastectomy and is now home recovering from that. I'm so proud of how strong she's been for everyone, despite how scared and small she might be feeling. I'm so happy I was able to be with her for her surgery and see her through it. She's an amazing and strong woman and I'm so proud of her! 

Thank you all for sticking around, and I promise I'll be back and regularly posting soon. xx

Benefit's They're Real Mascara | Review

Yet another review! Sorry about that, I just really felt the need to put up some thoughts about this particular mascara.

So, I got this in a little mascara gift set from Sephora for Christmas, along with several other brands. I've been trying them off and on, but for the past few weeks I decided to stick to this one and see how I liked it.

I must say, I love it. I love it more than the They're Real eyeliner, which though initially amazing, I find that it dried up a little on me and is a lot harder to work with now. This stuff makes my lashes look amazing. I will say I don't particularly like the way my lashes feel with it on - they feel very slick and like they have a little casing over them. It can also be a little difficult to get off for this reason - this stuff sticks.

But, with that being said...this stuff sticks. I received some particularly upsetting news one day while wearing this, which caused me to cry often all day long. This stuff didn't budge. It didn't leave black streaks under my eyes or little black marks anywhere. In fact, it didn't move at all. It remained perfectly on my lashes. If my eyes hadn't been horribly red from crying, you wouldn't have been able to tell I'd ever been crying at all. This stuff is wonderful if you ever need some legit waterproof mascara. 

I love it! Whenever I need something heavy duty or even just for a nice look where I won't have to worry about the black rub-off under my eyes, I'll definitely be reaching for this little guy. I might even by the full size when I'm done with the sample.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain | Review

I posted about this product in a haul a little white back. It's the second YSL beauty product I've ever bought, and the beauty range from this brand continues to impress me with each new purchase I make.

I own a Volupte Shine already, but I was attracted to the formula of this particular product. The packaging is very sleek and lovely, and the cap clicks into place so it is never askew or comes loose (a personal peeve of mine). The formula itself is creamy and silky right out of the tube, and applies like a dream. The angled, wide applicator makes it very easy to apply to the lips, at least for me. Once applied, the formula quickly begins to dry into a semi-matte finish, and pretty much becomes the "stain" part of its name. Once dried, this stuff sticks to the lips and takes quite a bit to come off. Re-applying is a breeze, and doesn't over-dry the lips.

I'm so in love with this product, and I'm dying to buy more, as well as more products from YSL in general. It isn't cheap, but the quality and feel of the formula feels worth the $35 in my opinion. I'm not at all disappointed with this product. Even the color is so flattering and smooth, and I'm dying to try out a few other colors (looking at you #2).

For reference, I own the #9 Rouge Laque.

Snow Day

I woke up today to find mounds of snow all over the ground and covering people's cars in the street. It was a very quiet and empty moment, and suddenly I felt very ghost-like, looking out the window in thin clothing and studying the shapes of feet in the snow. It was what they call a profound moment. 

More than anything, I decided to actually relax today. I am used to a sort of pseudo-relaxation, where I am only hanging onto the surface and unable to feel any sort of comfort. I am used to lingering. Surfaces are all I am afforded, and rarely full immersion into something as lovely as a relaxing, nice day.

 I try to take a bath, get my mind off of things, but I only starkly feel the thin trails of sweat from the hot water on the back of my neck, and an acute awareness of my body. I cannot relax. I try to afford myself the nice things - a moisturizing face mask, some lotion, a really smooth cleanser that soaks into my skin. None of these feel good enough, because I expect too much of myself.

That is one of my many problems. I expect too much of myself. I try to play it off as a gentle horoscope excuse: Virgos are supposed to expect too much of ourselves, aren't we? But I know that's not all it is. I don't terribly like to talk about it.

And times like these, I remember why I wanted to become a writer. I cannot keep these things swept up inside of me to collect dust, to be found at a later date when I have collapsed from the weight. 

So, I write them out on a snow day, like this one.

(by the way, I got a haircut a few days ago - here it is!)

Too Faced Lips

Yet another little Too Faced feature (told you I loved them)! I recently ordered two lipsticks from their website, and I also got two free samples along with it. I ordered colors Cinnamon Kiss and Loganberry, and got a little tube of their Shadow Insurance as well as their Lip Injection lip gloss. I decided to wear the Cinnamon Kiss along with the lip gloss to see how they both looked and worked.

Cinnamon Kiss is a gorgeous brown-red color (the color of the year is also Marsala, which I think this fits under - barely, but it fits) that glides on very smoothly. The color is a little buildable, as a creamy formula, and it smells rather good. I love the color and the formula, which I usually do with their lipsticks.

The lip gloss is clear and is supposed to plump up your lips. You'll feel a slight tingling and burning when you apply it (I didn't apply a lot so it wasn't overbearing). I personally don't think lip plumpers really work, but it's nice to have a clear gloss to use for any of my lip colors, should I want to. I also secretly kind of like the tingling sensation of lip plumpers. 

Overall, quite a pretty lipstick color! And the lip gloss is quite fun. If I hadn't gotten the Lip Injection for free I would probably never buy it on my own, but it's a neat little addition to have in my collection.

Thanks for reading!

NYX Cream Blush | Review

I had only ever owned powder blushes, which of course are great. I then recieved a Nyx cream blush in an Ipsy bag when I was still subscribed to it, and having tried it out several times since then I can safely say I very much love cream blushes. This one is in the shade Boho Chic, and is a lovely peachy-pink color that suits my skin tone perfectly.

What I like best about a good cream blush is that when you're going for a dewy or glowy look, like I often do, a cream blush will suit that look best. Powder blushes tend to mattify the cheeks, which isn't what you always want when going for that dewy look. A cream blush will keep the glow in place, along with adding its subtle pop of color. 

I tend to apply with my fingers, though you can dot it on your cheeks and blend out with a beauty blender or other preferred tool of choice. And, just like with all blushes, a little can go a long way. 

I really love cream blushes, especially Nyx ones, as they're affordable yet amazing. I recommend trying one of theirs if you've never tried a cream blush before. 

(as you can see, the logo has worn off on the cover quite a bit - it's been thrown around a lot!)

What I've Been Enjoying

I gathered up a few little things I've been enjoying this past week, and decided to share them with you guys! This isn't an extensive list or anything, and doesn't quite qualify as a monthly favorites either I don't think.

This is the Etude House 'Missing U' Hand Cream from their Bee Happy edition, which had four different little bee hand lotions. I bought this from Amazon, as I don't think Etude House carries the bees anymore. I wanted this little guy because he's so cute, and I think bees are very precious and important to our world. This guy is supposed to have an 'acacia tea' scent, though I'm not sure what that smells like. He smells very floral-y and nice, with a touch of honey. The lotion isn't anything to write home about, but to be honest I didn't buy him for the lotion. He's just stupidly cute.

This Milani polish in 'Mauve Medley' was an impulse buy, but I'm quite happy I did. It's a lovely deep red/purple/brown color (mauve?) that complements my pale skin very nicely. My nails desperately need to be repainted, as you can see, but I've had the polish on for about two weeks without a top coat and they've stayed remarkably well. I'm impressed!

I've had this Harajuku Girls perfume for a while now. I got it for Christmas one year, and I've only worn it sparingly because the scent is incredibly strong! It's quite a nice scent, though, a bit tropical and floral-y. I really like it, and have started wearing it a little more recently. I only use a little bit, but a little bit goes a long way.

This mug was made for me by my sister-in-law, and it's honestly so perfect. The quote is from movie Dumbledore, and it has a little deathly hallows symbol drawn in the corner. I absolutely love it, being a huge Harry Potter fan, and I've been enjoying drinking my tea out of it. 

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." - Steven Kloves (screenplay), as said by Albus Dumbledore.