fashion
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Curling Iron = 1, Kelly = 1
The other day I decided to try and curl my hair. It was getting kind of late and I put minimal effort into it. I’d done my homework, watching numerous Youtube videos, and thought I could do it. Several really bad burns later I ditched my effort with only about half my hair done. It didn’t look great and my finger was hurting pretty bad.
About 10 mins after my failed attempt I looked down and noticed I had a nice blister forming on my finger. BOOO! 🙁
I was kind of bummed over my failed attempt but decided to give it another go on Saturday. Matt and I didn’t have any plans so I figured if it flopped it was no big deal. Much to my surprise, it actually turned out pretty well! AND I managed to not burn the hell out of my hand this time. After the first try I really thought about what I was doing and realized I should be holding my curling iron differently. You see, I’m using my curling iron as a curling wand since I think it’s ridiculous to buy a wand when my curling iron will do basically the same thing. I figured out that for the right side of my head I should hold the iron/wand with my left hand and wrap the hair around with my right hand and vice versa for the other side. YAY! (Sometimes I can be smart!)
Curly hair, don’t care! 
This is my burn a few days later. Hello scar! ~k
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Oh Bobbi….
Before Christmas, I booked a “makeover” at the Bobbi Brown counter. Even after the disastrous foundation debacle I wanted to see what a pro could do. I was able to book a 4:30 appt on Friday the 20th. I get to the mall early and walk around for a few minutes. I pass by the Bobbi Brown store and notice it seems eerily empty but I’m early so I head to Belk for a few minutes. About 10 minutes before my appt I head back to the Bobbi Brown store only to find out the makeovers are happening at Belk! Ugh! Back I go.
I get to the BB counter and am given a makeup artist. She’s asks what I’d like to focus on so I say a smokey eye. Now I’m a little thrown because I thought this would be a full makeover but whatever, if someone can teach me how to do a good blown out smokey eye then I’m down. Plus I’ve already gotten the Stila foundation so I’m not sure it’s worth checking out the BB again anyway.
I sit down and the girl hands me some eye makeup remover. After a few minutes and several cotton balls later I still can’t get my mascara off so I comment that it’s not coming. She then realizes I have on waterproof and gives me something that will actually remove it. By this time my eyes are starting to red from so much rubbing. Once I’m done she begins working on my smokey eye. She starts, removes, starts again, removes again, thinks for a while and starts over, again! Then she grabs another girl. At this point she tells me she’s “hit a wall.” Okay then. The other girl comes over and offers a few suggestions. I also pipe in and tell her she can use black on me. Despite my fair skin I can pull off black eye shadow. Actually the darker the better. It makes my green eyes look bluer.
She finally dives in using the BB Smokey Eye palette. At this point all the other makeup artists are packed up and leaving and she’s still working on my smokey eye. I didn’t have anywhere to be so I wasn’t really worried about how long it was taking but I felt bad she wasn’t done yet. Finally close to 5:30 she finishes up. I tell her it looks good and head home but really I’m not that impressed. By this time my eyes are burning and itchy from all the rubbing and removing so when I get home I take a pic and wash my face.
A few days later I decide to try my own smokey eye. I personally think it looked as good if not better than the pro. So once again I was pretty disappointed with my Bobbi Brown experience.
The top pic is from Bobbi Brown. The bottom pic is my smokey eye.
~k
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Thanks eBay!
A month or so ago Matt and I were in Banana Republic when I saw this adorable necklace. The price tag of $59.50 was also adorable. Not! So a few weeks ago I decided to see if I could find a knock-off online. After a few searches I finally found the same necklace but in different colors and for a more reasonable price of $25.00 with shipping. Heck yeah!
About 2 weeks ago I realized the estimated shipping date had passed and still no necklace. I knew it was shipping from China and I had a tracking number but I couldn’t find any shipping service that the tracking number worked with. I decided to email the seller just to make sure my package hadn’t been delivered to the wrong address. She promptly responded and said it would be a few more days before the necklace would likely arrive. She also included a tracking link. By this time the necklace was in New Jersey so I felt good.
I had a pretty crappy past few days so I was pretty happy when Matt got the delivery notice in the mail on Friday. We had missed the package and would have to pick it up from the post office. Saturday morning we ran by and picked it up. The box was wrapped in plastic and then covered in clear tape. No way in hell I was getting in that sucker till we got home.
I was really surprised once I got the tape and plastic off to see my necklace was in a cute purple glittery jewelry box. When I opened it I found the necklace had been wrapped in bubble wrap and each individual medallion had been wrapped as well. Needless to say it took awhile to get everything off of it. I must say I am super happy with the necklace and the seller. 🙂
~k
~k
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Oh BB
A few months ago I posted about my new Clinique BB Cream. You may remember my review was not great. Like I really wanted to take it back I was not pleased. So now I’m here to say that maybe my first review was a bit harsh. I don’t think I really gave it a chance. I had an idea of what I thought it should be and when it turned out to be different I automatically didn’t like it.
*Hanging my head in shame as I’m sitting here wearing said BB cream*
Seriously I’ve worn it for the past few days and it’s starting to grow on me. It does offer a little more natural coverage. It is a little thicker than the Olay CC cream but not as heavy as a normal foundation. I do find it seems to “shine” a little more than I’m used to but I by no means feel like an oil slick. A healthy glow maybe?
Anyway I’m here to say my first review was a little uncalled for. I should have given it a few days before judging so quickly. So if you are looking for a BB cream the Clinique is not bad, though I will hold to my earlier statement that I would NOT pay full price. I don’t think it’s the best thing out there especially for the price.
~k
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No chip – Not a cloud in sight
Over the weekend Matt and I were out running errands and we just happened to be in the parking lot next to Ulta so I ran in. As usual I ended up leaving with new bottles of nail polish. The first was Orly Won’t Chip topcoat. For $5.5o (which looks like a sale price) I figured it was worth a shot. I mean if it didn’t work then I had yet another top coat to add to my collection and if it did well, YAY!!!!
The second polish was L’oreal’s Not a Cloud in Sight. It’s a pretty teal color (and quite popular right now.)
Since I didn’t know just how much I would like the color I decided to go with the L’oreal because it was cheaper. Personally I wasn’t super happy with how the polish performed. It seemed to be very clumpy and thick. Thankfully the Orly smoothed it out some and actually made the polish look better.
As you can see I am on day 4 or 5 now and I still have no chips! WOO HOO! The Orly Won’t Chip topcoat is doing a pretty great job. I am beyond pleased with the results so far. I think I will actually ride this out and see just how long the Orly will work. Normally by day 4/5 the tips are starting to chip and I’m having to touch up. So if you want to spend your money on a no chip topcoat Orly is the way to go!
***UPDATE: The polish lasted a good 6 days without chips. I think my coats were a little too thick so when it did start to chip they were pretty deep. But overall 6 possibly 7 days with thinner coats, I think this is a keeper.
~k
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Olay CC Cream
I feel like I’ve done a lot of makeup posts lately but I keep buying new stuff. 🙂 Last weekend while Matt and I were at Costco I picked up some Olay CC Cream. It was basically buy one get one free.
I know I’ve raved on here about the Olay Total Effects Cream but Olay is really nailing it! The CC Cream is basically just like the Total Effects as far as consistency goes only I got the light to medium shade which seems to suite my skin tone a little better than the fair to light I have in the Total Effects. My plan is/was to still use the CC cream in with my Clinique Even Better foundation but yesterday I decided that since we were having a lazy day I would just apply the CC Cream. I can’t tell you how much I LOVE this stuff. I don’t think it’s really any different than the Total Effects but honestly I love that too.
The CC Cream offered just enough coverage to help even out my skin and then I applied a little Mineral Veil from Bare Minerals and bronzer. Add blush and mascara and I was good to go. This is my “quick” makeup routine. 😉
So where I really wanted to go with this post is to say that I think I like the Olay CC Cream better than the Clinique BB Cream. As I mentioned the BB Cream still felt a little heavier than what I would want from something that’s touted as a “tinted moisturizer.” With that said, buy the CC Cream! Even if you have a regular foundation, I don’t think you can go wrong with the CC Cream. It’s great to add to your foundation or for days when you don’t feel like spending a lot of time applying makeup. (I wonder if I could return the BB Cream?)
~k
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BB Creams
Another purchase from our outlet trip was Clinique’s BB Cream. This retails for around $40.00 in the department stores and that is just a bit more than I’d like to pay for a BB Cream so I waited until we went to the outlets. I stopped in the cosmetic store and found their price to be $29.95. This is a MUCH better price so I grabbed a tube in Shade 2.
Now from what I had heard, BB Creams are a lighter coverage makeup. Almost like a tinted moisturizer. You may remember I was mixing my Olay Total Effects with my Clinique Even Better foundation. This seemed to work well for me.
With my new BB Cream in hand, I decided to use it before going to the pool on Saturday. It contains SPF 30 and I figured it should be lightweight enough to be pool worthy. Man was I surprised. This stuff has a little more coverage than I thought it would. I’ve found myself actually mixing the BB Cream with my Olay as well. You still get a nice coverage but, to me, it appears a little more natural.
The left dot is the Olay and the right dot is the BB Cream. I’ve only used my new BB cream for a few days so the jury is still out as to whether I will purchase this again. I will not be purchasing it for full price, regardless. If you are near an outlet with a cosmetics store, I say def pick some up and give it a whirl. For $30.00 I think it’s a good summer foundation especially if you go to beach or pool a lot and you want a little coverage with added SPF.
Left to right: Even Better, Olay, BB Cream Notice all 3 are different shades. 🙂 Don’t worry, it works. ~k