Love for Polish 6

Good day to you all!! I hope you're all having a beautiful Thursday!! Because tomorrow is Friday and the start of another glorious weekend!! 

As you can tell, I LOVE nail polish! I love choosing colors that fit my mood for that day or for special occasions or Just Because! I recently chose Essie-Butter Please. This color is that beautiful cobalt or royal blue! It's BOLD and super fun! 

Hope you all like this fun color!! Anyway, I'm not sure what my next color polish should be?! What do you think I should try?? 

HUGS,

Jen

OOTD (Casual Lace)

Hello sweets!!

So here is my very first OOTD!! If you don't know what OOTD is, it's Outfit Of The Day! It took me a long while to figure this one out! Maybe it's because I'm 30 and not quite up to date with the acronyms that EVERYONE uses on Facebook or on blogs, etc! But I finally figured it out!! Haha! Needless to say, I wanted to do a couple of these before but wasn't sure if I should? I've come out of my shell...ever so slowly! So here it is...

I have worn this skirt only twice before this!! But I have had it for a year now. I absolutely love lace and how you can dress it up or dress it down! Being that it's summer and I was doing some errands and such, I paired it with a plain black tank top and some flirty sandals. I chose gold accents because my sandals have black and gold in them. 

If you wanted to dress this look up for a nighttime look you could add a belt and some heels/wedges, which I've done before. 

Anyway, I really hope you like this look I put together! I am, by no means, a professional stylist, just a girly-girl who loves clothes and makeup and anything girly! So, let me know what you would do different with this outfit! I'm open to any tips! 

What I'm wearing:

Top//Forever 21

Skirt//Forever 21

Sandals//Target (old...like 3 years old!)

Jewelry//Forever (old, as well)

Nail Polish//OPI-Alpine Snow

TOODLES!!

Jen

July Beauty Favorites

Welp...I'm a little late in getting my 1st monthly Beauty Favorites up!! I've been so busy with my personal life (getting Parker ready of his 1st day of kindergarten!!) that my blog has been put on the back burner. With that said...I have a handful of products that over the last month that I have been loving!! 

Without further ado...here are my July Beauty Favorites:

1.  My first Favorite for this month has got to be Makeup Forever Mat Velvet+. This foundation is the best for the summer months! During the summer we all end up sweating at some point during the day and we're hoping that our makeup didn't just slide right off! With this foundation there is no need to worry about that!! It keeps your face from getting shiny and/or oily. This foundation is creamy and goes on very smooth. It has a very light feel to it so you can't even tell that you're wearing any foundation, but provides full coverage! This doesn't have to only be worn during the summer, it can be worn year round and for anyone who has naturally oily skin...this would be perfect for those individuals! 

2.   You've got to have a brush to apply your foundation...so here's my next Favorite...

 

 The Sedona Lace #928 Synthetic Flat Top makeup brush has got to be the best brush for applying foundation of all time!!! I've tried sponges, other brushes  and my good ol' fingers...but nothing comes close to this brush! This gives the most even application of your foundation. I don't think there will be any other brush that I will use! 

3.   To set your foundation, you need a good powder! The one that I've recently been loving is Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent.

This powder is perfect, once again, for the summer and for oily skin. It keeps you dry and matte all day long! You won't get shiny at all! There is not much else to this powder other than it works amazingly well for a drugstore brand!

4. I enjoy highlighting and contouring my face! But my favorite is to highlight! I love how it puts a perfect glow to your face! My all-time favorite highlight is the Mary-Lou Manizer aka "The Lumanizer"!! 

This stuff is legit!! It has the perfect amount of gold shine to it! When applied on the right areas of the face it will hit the light at just the right angle and your face will glow and shine perfectly! Now, above I mentioned products that stop you from being shiny and glowing, but I love to build my own shine and glow with a highlight. And this stuff is the way to do it!

5.   Now, for your hair...during the summer I'm all about shortening my "getting ready time"! I'd rather be out in the sun spending time with my family then spending hours on my hair! To do this all you need is a little dry shampoo! The one that has recently become my favorite is the new brand Indie Hair Dry Shampoo!!

I can't tell you enough about how great this stuff is! It smells amazing and doesn't leave a white residue on your hair like most other dry shampoos! This gives your hair the right amount of "pick me up" that it needs to be able to restyle your hair! And it also gets rid of any oiliness that your hair might have! And lastly it puts back the volume and texture that your hair is lacking on the second or third day of not washing your hair! I swear by this dry shampoo and won't be using any other kind for quite a while!!

So...that's it for my first Beauty Favorites! I hope you all enjoyed my reviews and if you choose to go out and try any of these products, please let me know how they worked for you! I'd be curious to know how you felt about any of these products!! If you would like links to these items, please let me know and I'll put a link to them!

THANKS FOR READING MY REVIEWS! Love you all!!

Huge Hugs,

JEN

Liebster Blog Award!!

Hello dolls!!

I'm officially back! I took a short hiatus from blogging because I needed a break from the computer and some mommy and kiddo time! It's definitely a struggle finding time to be a mommy, work full time, record hair and makeup tutorials, edit the videos, do manis and pedis and still blog all about it!! Whew! I made myself tired just typing that! ;) Anyway, I'm back because I was nominated for the Liebster Award  by Amy at Amy's Annex!!! She is such a doll for nominating me and that gave me the motivation to start blogging again! So, thank you, Amy!!

Okay, so what is the Liebster Blog Award? Well, it's all about finding new blogs and meeting wonderful people who share the same interests as you! I've seen these all over the place and NEVER thought I would be chosen! I am super excited to do this and hope you all enjoy it!

Here are the rules:

1. You must link the blogger who nominated you

2. You must answer 10 questions given to you by your nominee

3. You must choose 10 bloggers (who all have less than 20 followers) to be nominated for the award

4. You must then come up with 10 questions you would like your nominees to answer.

5. Once you have done this, you must go to their blogs and let them know you have nominated them for this award.

Simple enough, right?? So here we go...

1. Who is your makeup inspiration?

I would have to say Jacalyn Hill...I found her on YouTube a while ago and fell in love with her (well not really, in love...but you know...adore her)! She is amazing and an inspiration to everyone out there! Plus she's absolutely GORG!! Can you say, girl crush??

2. What is the most expensive beauty product you own?

I try to limit myself to the cost of my favorite beauty products. I splurge on certain things like face products (foundation, eye shadow, lipstick/lip gloss, etc) but don't mind searching for a deal with the other stuff (blush, certain powders, etc). With that said, my most expensive beauty product I own is my foundation. I have always stuck with Makeup Forever HD foundation. I love the way my face feels and looks with that stuff. I believe it's $42 a bottle. So it's not TOO bad!

3. What is your favorite color nail polish for summer?

What a perfect question since I've been blogging a lot about nail polishes!! But for the summer I've been returning to OPI - You're Such a Budapest. You can read my blog review on that right here!!

4. Leggings or jeans?

Hmm...tough question! I would have to say jeans. There's something to be said for the perfect pair of jeans! One that makes you tush look just right!! :)

5. Red or Pink lipstick?

Another hmm question...I have been into the pink lipsticks a lot lately! They're so much fun and flirty!

6. What is your favourite holiday destination?

We don't travel much but when we do, we always choose San Diego! Love it there and it's perfect for the kids.

7. What made you start blogging?

This is a great question!! I guess I needed a hobby! No...I definitely needed a hobby! My husband is in love with golfing (really, in love with golfing! Lol!). I decided I love doing hair and makeup, to shop and computers (I know, nerdy!), and after seeing some other beauty blogs, I figured I could do one for fun! I love reading and posting blogs! There's something very therapeutic about sitting behind a computer and typing and reading!

8. What is your favourite post to a) read and b) publish?

I guess I love to read and publish anything beauty!!

9. Name your favourite thing about yourself.

I would have to say my favorite thing about myself would be my eyes! I have  green eyes and a "birthmark" in my left eye so it looks like a cat eye!! I would show you all up close but that would be just creepy!

10. What is your favourite piece of makeup/hair care/beauty product you own?

Wow...so much to choose from! I would have to say right now, being that it's summer, I'm loving my Makeup Forever Mat Velvet+ Foundation!! This stuff is perfect for hot summers because it keeps your face matte and your makeup does NOT sweat off! You don't become oily or shiny! You can build your shine with other products such as the Betty Loumanizer highlighting powder (which I LOVE!)!

Alrighty, I would like to nominate (in no particular order):

1. Jenny B at beauty R&R

2. Gabrielle at Gaborillaa
3. Allison at The Midlife Bride
4. Chelsea at Chelsea_bee Makeup Junkie
5. Katie at Live, Laugh & Love
6. Cassidy at Chronicles of a Stay at Home Mommy
7. Miriammm at The Bittersweet Diaries
8. Mylene at My Darling Pearl
9. Cate EC at The perks of being a hipster
10. Karina at Keeping up with Karina!

And my questions to you are:
1. What is your favorite thing about yourself? (I had to reuse this question because it's perfect and we always need to remind ourselves how beautiful we are...inside and out!)
2. Mani or Pedi?
3. What is your ultimate favorite nail polish brand? (i.e. OPI, Essie, etc.)
4. What is your favorite accessory piece right now?
5. Heels or Wedges?
6. Lipstick or Lipgloss?
7. What made you decide to start blogging?
8. What is your favorite shampoo/conditioner?
9. Chocolate or Vanilla or Strawberry?
10. What is your favorite lip conditioner or lip balm to use?

Well, that's it...I hope you all enjoyed reading this! I know I nominated 1 or 2 who had over 20 followers, but I couldn't find that many with 20 or less. Anyway, I had fun answering the questions and I look forward to reading your answers!

Huge hugs,
Jen

Love for Polish 5

Hello my beauties!!

So it's been a few weeks since my last blog. I figured I'd start back in with a polish update! This time, I chose a color that is bright and cheery! I needed something fun to liven my mood! I chose China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy!! Here I go again with the China Glaze! Like I said here in my first China Glaze review, this brand is NOT a favorite. Although their shades of colors are a FAV!! So, it's a catch 22 with China Glaze, but somehow I always seem to go back! ;)

So back to Flip Flop Fantasy...this is the perfect summer color!! It has the prettiest neon coral shade that we're all looking for! I think it's absolutely stunning!!

What do you think? Do you love the bright neon coral colors?! Which ones are your favorites? Let me know...I love to try new polish!

Hugs always,
JEN

Love for Polish 4

Hello darlings!

As you know, each week I try to do one Love for Polish post...because that's as frequent as I change my nail color (every week). I don't get acrylics because I don't like that they ruin your nail beds and it's an extra expense that I'd rather not have. Eventually I will want them again, but for now I'm loving all the fun nail polish colors and short square nails! Generally, I love darker shades as it fits my skin tone...but lately, I adore all the summer shades out there right now! Since I've been wearing a lot of bright colors and pastels, I opted for a darker shade. I chose Essie's "Bahama Mama". This is a rich and creamy plum color. It's perfect year-round, which is what I like. It's the right amount of purple and right amound of red to use in the summer or fall!

What colors are you wearing this summer? Is this a color you would wear year round? Let me know!

"Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside." - Chanel

Have an ELEGANT day!! - Jen

Everyone Has a Story...Here's Mine!

Hello all!! I normally wouldn't post this kind of stuff on my beauty blog, but I felt that I needed to share with you all a little piece of me. Everyone has a story...here's the beginning to mine! Enjoy!

Well...it all started on November 25, 1982 (on Thanksgiving Day), when I entered this world! I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and have lived here all my life. I have an older brother, Jeff. Growing up, we had a typical love/hate relationship. My parents divorced when I was about a year or 2 old. Both of my parents remarried. My mom married Scott who had a daughter, my step-sister (Heather), from a previous marriage. My mom and Scott had a son, my half brother (Matthew), who has Downs Syndrome. He is my favorite person in the whole wide world! He's opened my eyes and given me the utmost respect to anyone with a disability! My dad remarried and had a daughter, my half-sister (Amanda). My dad remarried again, to Suzanne who had 2 sons (Jeremy and Justin) and 1 daughter (Michaile). Whew! Those are all my siblings; half, step, blood...it doesn't matter; we're all family!

I had a great childhood...I had the bestest of friends! One in particular I'm still just as close with as we were back then. Nicole and I met in the 2nd grade on the playground. And if I remember correctly it was on the uneven bars! Haha! From then on, we've been inseparable! All through grade school, jr. high and high school! There were even rumors that we were gay! Funny! But that just shows you how close we were! (And still are)! I'm very lucky to have someone like her in my life! Our kids can grow up together and our families can share all the life experiences together! Love that girl!!

During high school I did have a high school sweetheart. He and I dated for about 6 years!! We became best friends! His family became my family and it made sense at the time to get engaged. We were just 23 years old and not enough life experiences to make a life long commitment. More on his end then on mine...nonetheless, we went our separate ways. Sad, yes...but it was for the better for both of us.  

This is when I met my husband (Patrick)! I'll never forget the night I met him...at a bar (yes, at a bar) through a "mutual" friend. We hit it off and started talking. Things went fast and only after 2-3 weeks of knowing each other, he invited me to go to Bike Week in Laughlin. Bike Week?! He rides a motorcycle?! THAT'S HOT!! Of course, I'll go!! That was when we made our relationship "MySpace Official"...back in the day when MySpace was cool! Haha! After a year and a half of dating we started talking "baby". No, we weren't married yet, but who cares...there's no right or wrong way to have a relationship. On my golden birthday, turning 25 on November 25th, I found out I was pregnant! I was ecstatic, happy, scared, nervous, but most of all, happy! Pat and I ended up getting married a week before the baby was born! Parker Anthony was born on July 12, 2008! He is such a joy to my life! Still is! I got baby fever again after Parker's 1st birthday but my dad was planning a cruise for Patrick and I for a wedding gift/ceremony, since we skipped the ceremony due to my enlarged belly. Pat and I decided to wait to try for another baby until we were on the cruise...BUUUT...we got a surprise on Halloween of 2009 that I was pregnant! Oops! McKynlie Elizabeth was born on June 21, 2010! She is such a daddy's girl and my little cuddle bug! Her birthday is this Friday and she will be 3! I can't believe it's been 3 years already! No more babies for us at this time! Pat and I have come a LONG way in our marriage. Yes, things have been incredibly hard at times, but we seem to work through them. My kids are my life and want them to have the best life...better than mine ever was or will be! They deserve the best and I'll make sure of that!

So, this was just a blurb of my life story...it's been one hell of a ride and I'm excited to see what's in store for the future! I love my family and friends...wouldn't be who I am without them! HUGS, JEN

Jeff (right), Me (left) 

 Me and Jeff...now! Love him!

 Matt and Me

My best friend, Nicole and me 

 Patrick and Me

 Parker born (July 12, 2008)

 McKynlie born (June 21, 2010)

Parker and McKynlie now