Hooray for Sephora boxes! ~ NARS mini haul ~

I love the sound of the UPS truck... especially when it has a handbag or Sephora box on it for me!

Today it was the latter, and I was excited to try out some new colors, as well as receive a few freebies with my order!

The first freebie was a makeup set for VIBs, free with the code 'MUSTHAVE' (may still be available, it is good until supplies run out) - and was for a Make Up For Ever set of four items with a cute little cosmetic bag. It came with a lip gloss, finishing powder, mascara, and aqua eyes liner.

My other freebie was the Too Faced 500 point gift, . I finally decided to cash in some points I'd had saved up since I have fairly good luck with Too Faced products, and it seemed like a fun little set.

The main things that I actually ordered... were a few things from NARS. (Which we will refer to as my 'NARS mini haul', ha!) A blush in Angelika, lipstick in Mayflower, and lip lacquer in Chelsea Girls. I was looking for a fun, pink nude lip color for summer - and I needed a brighter blush as well. I tend to gravitate towards plums and darker colors for cheeks & lips, so I constantly have to remind myself to add in lighter colors to my collection every so often.

I've already tried out a few of the products, and I love everything I purchased from NARS. The colors were as I expected them (well, I thought Mayflower was going to be a little bit lighter from it's picture online - but it's still a really pretty color none the less) and very wearable. Angelika looks intimidating in the packaging (which I had anticipated from reviews online), but is very wearable with a light hand. I went into trying it with what I *thought* was a light hand... and I'm going to need to be even lighter next time.

Mayflower is a pretty light raspberry color with a bit of shimmer, it's similar to the popular Dolce Vita - which I also own (I'll try to swatch them to compare at some point)... but it is different enough that I went ahead and decided to keep both. Chelsea Girls is a great nude color to go over lipsticks and give that nude lip look.

I think all three colors are great additions to my NARS collection and bring a bit more of a "summery" look into my makeup options!

Ultra cute Scentsy cupcake warmer!

Scentsy's "warmer of the month" for July is an adorable mid-sized pink and green themed cupcake!

I hadn't tried Scentsy before, but have a few friends that are consultants and numerous friends that have raved about using Scentsy in their homes... so decided to finally give it a try! And well... you can get me to buy just about anything if it's shaped like a cupcake.

The cupcake warmer is the warmer of the month for July 2011, and I also ordered the scent of the month, Happy Birthday. The cupcake warmer is classified as "mid-sized" and although I don't have any of their other warmers to compare sizes just yet, I would say that it's a really generous size. Much larger than I anticipated it was going to be. (So much bigger, that I decided that if this is the size is standard to their other warmers... mid-sized is probably the biggest size that I would need in my house - because it looks size appropriate for a counter top or something of that nature.)

If you've been living a rock like I have, and haven't tried Scentsy yet (because it seems like everyone I know has already tried these...) the deal is that it melts little bars of fragranced wax with the use of a light bulb and is covered, so that it is more pet and child friendly to have in your home than an open flame.

The scent I ordered, Happy Birthday, smells fantastic - and it has a lot better staying power than other room scent options I've tried once it's turned off. Hubby noticed it instantly when he came upstairs the first night I tried it, and agreed that it smelled like, "walking through a field of cupcakes"... Ha!

I think I'm going to be trying a few different types of warmers and scents in the future, perhaps a nice apple smell for the kitchen and wall plug-in warmers for places like our bathroom. While these are definitely safer than an open flame to have in your common living areas where adults are present - the wax that gets heated up in the top (and the cover itself) does get VERY hot. So it could be a burn hazard if tipped over near children or pets. I used pot holders to take the cover off to see what the wax looked like once it was turned off. So a sturdy location that is high enough out of a child's reach is probably the best spot to keep it, as with all heated scent home items.

All in all, I'm really pleased with my first Scentsy product and I can't wait to try another item from their product line!

This review was done independently. Reviewer did not receive compensation for their opinions.

Progress on the Cupcake Room Makeover & Life

So I've discovered that I'm not very witty when I'm pregnant... in fact, my mind is fairly blank - which of course doesn't make for good blog posts. 

The other unfortunate side effect of my mind being blank - or preggo brain as it is affectionately called - is that I've also done things like lock myself out of my house while Cupcake was inside napping, accidentally left my drivers license in my wallet at my house while taking my daughter to swim class (once I realized I didn't have my wallet with me, I drove very, very slowly...), and leaving the changing pad from Cupcake's diaper bag that I've managed to keep track of for a year up to that point - in a restaurant bathroom.

These things are not the norm for me... but being pregnant apparently zaps my ability to remember simple task down to about 50% efficiency.

I am happy to say though, that I finally remembered to take pictures of the cupcake tea party room decor that I've collected so far, and seeing everything together has made me that much more excited!

Pillow from Private Quarters, Bedding from Olive Kids, Wooden room decor from Cute Kid Creations

Items from Cute Kid Creations

Excited to be making progress and be finding items that fit exactly what I had in mind for Cupcake's room!

I've also ordered some wall letters to go with the other wooden items I ordered from Cute Kid Creations, which should hopefully arrive at the end of the summer.

My ultimate goal is to have Cupcake in her new "big girl" room by the beginning of Fall, so I still have some ordering of furniture to do - but I figure I will take full advantage of the nesting stage that should hit me around September or October to get everything completed for her new room.

In other news... peanut #2 has been determined to be a GIRL, according to our most recent ultrasound! So hooray for being able to reuse some of Cupcake's clothing. Peanut #2 will be taking over Cupcake's current room (which we call the nursery) so I've also ordered her some wall letters as well, to match the jungle animal theme in that room.

So now that we know the gender, I'm in need of a nickname for the second baby... and have been tossing potential nicknames around. Sticking with the "baked goods" theme, baby #2 might end up being... Cookie? Muffin? Buttercup? We'll see what ends up sticking in the end.

New makeup finds & reviews!

I just happened to stumble across Makeup Geek videos on You Tube one day last week (I know,  I know... I'm so behind the times, in my defense - I make You Tube videos, but then never have time to actually WATCH any!) and I fell in love! Simple to the point instructions, great photo qualities, and products from brands I already was using. Win, win, win.

I was driven to their website out of my natural curiosity to check things out, and slam dunk - more great tutorials, reviews, and even a makeup store!

After watching on makeup tutorial in particular on Contouring, I decided to put in an order to their store to get the Coastal Scents concealer quad (used in the video), NYX green concealer, and the MUG stippling brush. (Perfect to use with my Make Up For Ever HD Foundation!) They arrived super quickly, I ordered on a Wednesday and received my items by Saturday!

The Coastal Scents concealer quad in light is fantastic! (Currently sold out on the Coastal Scents website.) It comes with four shades, a light concealer, a salmon shade, a white to blend, and a light green tinted shade. The light concealer works perfectly under my makeup to hide blemishes, and the salmon color has worked great under my eyes.

I opted to get the seperate NYX green concealer, because I liked the green tint of it more. (You can see in the photo below the difference.) It conceals the red areas I get on the sides of my nose and lasts all day long.

The MUG stippling brush happened to be 25% off when I placed my order, but I probably would have purchased it at it's regular price as well. In a different Makeup Geek video that I watched, she applied foundation flawlessly with the brush - and I knew I had to try it! It was no hoax, I got the brush and it ended all of my liquid foundation application woes! It goes on smoothly and I've only had minimal issues with shedding. I will be ordering more of these brushes in the future when it comes time for replacements.

The best part? The prices! Everything was reasonably priced and cost me the same amount that one item at Sephora would have, this was my first time trying the Coastal Scents or NYX brands - so I was pleasantly surprised that the products really did DO what I wanted them to! I'm looking forward to trying more items from these brands in the future!

Rebecca Minkoff

I had a small foray into the Rebecca Minkoff brand a few years ago, my first RM bag was a Dusty Morning After Mini. A gorgeous color with smooshy leather and silver hardware. (My prefered hardware color.) However it just didn't last long, I was used to Balenciaga leather and styles - and the Dusty color seemed too delicate, too light... for the type of use that I give my bags.

Personal photo - RM Dusty MAM

So it was sold. I've off and on browsed Minkoffs since then, but haven't taken the plunge and tried another one yet. Lately though, I've been getting the urge to give them a try "post-baby" and see what kind of mommy bag a more durable color/leather would be.

This time around, I thought I would go with a durable dark color - like black or navy, that could go with almost anything and be resistant to whatever may be on Cupcake's hands at the moment.

Something like this black Morning After Mini from Luna Boston would be a classic and sure to go with everything:

www.lunaboston.com, RM Black MAM, $495

And this cute little tassel by Rebecca Minkoff would make an adorable keychain or bag charm for a pop of color:

www.lunaboston.com, RM Teal Tassel, Sale Price $22

However, because of my love of blue - I can't help by feel drawn to this Navy Morning After Mini on Muse Ten's website. It's on sale too!

www.museten.com, RM Navy MAM, Sale Price $395

I go in phases where I get bored with one brand and get the urge to branch out to try other things, so we'll see if I indeed give Rebecca Minkoff another chance in the future. It's a fun brand that has styles that have become more of a "classic" like the Morning After and Morning After Mini - so I think it would be great to keep at least one Rebecca Minkoff bag incorporated in my collection.

Beaded Necklace from 'Cassia de Shanghai'

My necklace from Cassia de Shanghai arrived, and it's gorgeous!

It's the "Hainan" style necklace, a beautiful turquoise dyed howlite beaded necklace on turquoise thread. It has subtle veining, that isn't even as apparent in real life as it appears in the with flash pictures. The clasp is just gorgeous, with little flower details - and the little pouches they come in are such a fantastic finishing touch!

I'm thinking about ordering something in a pink color tone next, either the "Something Pink", "Peach", or "Chinese Rose" styles. If you get a chance to check out their website, let me know which one you think would go best with my complexion! Also, you can visit their Facebook page HERE.

I love the simple elegance of a beaded necklace! I'm thinking they might become my go-to items for dressing up my maternity wardrobe!

(I purchased this product on my own and am doing an independent review of the item. Reviewer has received no compensation for writing this review.)

My baby is officially 1 - Cupcake style!

I am officially the proud parent of a 1 year old, and we did it up right... in cupcake style! It's hard to believe that I should be calling her a toddler soon, but for now - she's still the "baby".

We had a little get together at the house for a few of her play group friends and family friends, and celebrated with family while we were over in Illinois the week after her birthday. I'm still behind from all of the party planning, partying, and traveling we did in May -  but hoping I can get back on track with things around here in June!

We even found a fun way to incorporate cupcakes into her 1st birthday pictures...

We took her 1st birthday pictures two days before her actual birthday at Olan Mills, I was happy with how they turned out!

Her party was on her actual birthday, and we had fun watching her (slowly) tie into her cake, open presents, and play with the other kids that were there.

She was actually fairly dainty about eating her cupcake, and we didn't even have to change outfits! :)

In summation, it's been a whirlwind month, and I realize that most of my blog posts have been about our personal family life - as I've just been too tired to hunt down any good shopping finds. Now that I'm onto the second trimester in my pregnancy, I'm feeling more energy and a bit more up to the task of doing more than "just making it through the day"! 

I've got a few things I'm excited about, that I'm going to share with you in future blog posts. One being her cupcake room items that finally all arrived (the company sent me some wrong items at first, but made it right) - and also some fun finds that I've found.... like the necklace company Cassia de Shanghai, where I'm anxiously awaiting a gorgeous necklace from that is on its way to me.

Other than that, hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! And if you shop at Old Navy and like sales... they are having a major sale this weekend on summer items! I'm hoping to head over there later this afternoon to check out the baby items!