Friday Favorites

Welcome back for another Friday Favorites!

This is the last one for January, which is crazy.

Today I am linking up with Amanda and Karli.

+ One of the best parodies to kick off your Friday

I meant to post this a while back and completely forgot. Please enjoy this because I think it's hysterical.

+ New Makeup (That I'm Crushing On)

Ta-da! How cute are these two upcoming palettes from Too Faced? I am a sucker for cute packaging and I am in love with my semi-sweet chocolate bar palette. I was going to buy the original Chocolate Bar Palette but now that I've seen these two beauties....I may be going after one of these instead!

+ Favorite Workout

I am now a blogilates fanatic. Her ab workouts are killer! I love that her workouts are quick, efficient, and she has separate workouts that target different areas (abs, booty, and arms!) Here is my current favorite ab killer.

+ Funnies

When Nick catches me singing 

When I'm extremely hungry but have to wait for food

+ Good Reads

Please go here if you want an entertaining read. Basically it is a thread that talks about how you knew past relationships were over. We all go through some interesting breakups and I found this entire thread very enlightening. 

Let me share some of my memorable breakups.

1) I had a highschool boyfriend who I dated on and off during the beginning of college. There were a few moments that indicated that the relationship should be over but the icing on the cake came one night when he was out of town, visiting his mom, and he told me that he needed to "be like an eagle and spread his wings and fly." I was not happy about it then but now I think it is hysterical. 

2) I met this great guy shortly after the above boyfriend. He was sweet, attentive, and just an all around good guy - but I was bored, so bored. I knew I had to end it when he visited me at my parents for Christmas and I didn't particularly care that he was there and I didn't miss him when he left. 

3) It was clearly over when I caught the ex-fiance in a lie and he proceeded to get ready for work and tell me that he no longer loved me.

Share your stories below!

First Impression: BareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm

Welcome back for another first impression post!

I received a 3-pack of BareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm for Christmas. 

I have a nude (Nude Passion), a pink (Pink Passion), and a red/plum color (Plumberry Pop).

Swatches: 

Pink Passion

Plumberry Pop 

*I didn't include the nude because it doesn't show up when I take a picture of it. I have fairly pigmented lips so it only gives my lips a little shine along with the moisturizing effect.

The product contains passion fruit seed oil and Vitamin E to help nourish your lips. 

After wearing all three colors, I noticed a few things. They are moisturizing and feel great on my lips. The pink and plumberry stain my lips and last for about 2 hours.

The pink faded nicely as I wore it but the plumberry originally faded nicely but then I noticed that it left a color rim around my lips. I may try it out with a lip liner and see if that fixes the problem, because I do like the color. 

The pros: 

I do not notice a scent

They are comfortable to wear and moisturize my lips

The colors are pretty for everyday wear

The cons:

Some do not fade as well as others

Not long lasting - but they don't claim to be!

If you are looking for a comfortable color to pop on from time to time that moisturizes your lips and offers you a tint of color, I think some of the lighter shades are perfect. The darker color that I have is more high maintenance and requires more upkeep. 

Another alternative - that I LOVE - is Revlon's Lip Butters. 

Weekend (of shock and horror) Recap

A lot went down this weekend. 

It started off well and ended well but there were a few issues in between. 

Lets begin.

 On Saturday I managed to attend beer fest! Nick and I purchased the VIP tickets, which was totally awesome because the lines weren't long and you could enjoy your beer without being squashed in a corner with all the people. 

I would have taken a lot more pictures but clearly the beer tasting was more important.

Ready for a fun story?

So Nick and I were having a grand ol' time and about 3 hours in I decide that I am going to stand in line {VIP time was over, boo} and taste another beer. As I attempt to squeeze past the last person in line I do a double take and realize something...

There's my ex. Normally this wouldn't be such a shock, but if you need to know what happened, read about it here.

Now, let me just tell you that I knew we would run into each other eventually and I consider myself lucky that it took almost a year for this to happen, but the fact that it happened when I was intellectually compromised (i.e. beer fest for 3 hours) was not so promising. 

Well I made it real awkward when I crashed into Nick as flight mode kicked in and bailed. We did end up face to face later on and that was short and brief. Phew.

So I enjoy the rest of beer fest and think that my day is getting better...but the worst was yet to come.

Nick and I Ubered home and as I was getting out of the Uber my phone hit the pavement. No biggie, this has only happened a million times - except this time was different. 

This time my mighty warrior of a phone just couldn't take the beating and as I went to text someone I noticed that the screen had cracked. 

The fact that I have never broken a phone before + emotions running high from the run-in at the beer fest + lots of beer =

Ah, never a dull moment. 

Besides the fact that I smashed my phone, I really did have a good weekend. 

How was your weekend?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Anyone else preparing for snowpacalypse 2016?

Well I may only get freezing rain so that sucks.

Anyway, I am linking up with Amanda and Karli today!

+ New Favorite 'Healthy' Dessert

Please welcome my new obsession - Baked Bananas! 

They are super simple to make and oh so good!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, slice your bananas in half and place on aluminum foil and then the baking sheet. Drizzle some honey and sprinkle some cinnamon on the banana. Bake for 10-15 minutes and then top with chocolate chips and coconut flakes.

Enjoy!

+ Beer Fest 2016

I hope no one will need me Saturday because, well, beer fest 2016 is coming to town! 

As long as I am not iced in I will be there enjoying all the beer.

+ Snowpacalypse 2016 

When us southerners hear about the coming snow...

But the grocery stores love it...Bread, milk, and eggs anyone?

You have to be prepared because you never know when this will happen again...

Fun fact: I was living in Raleigh at that time.

Another fun fact: I was, thankfully, tucked away at my apartment when this happened.

+ Feel Good Song

+ Favorite Exercise 

Hip stretches. So I am guilty of not stretching as regularly as I should and I pay for it. My hips get so tight so I have decided that this year I am going to focus more on my stretching as part of my workout routine. These stretches are great if you have tight hips.

First Impression: Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask {A New Holy Grail Product?!}

I am in love with a lip product.

Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask has become a must have product in my life.

I received the lip mask for Christmas and recently decided to use it as my lips are so dry because of the crazy fluctuating weather.

A few nights ago, when my lips were killing me, I decided to give it a go. My only complaint about the product is that it is a little hard to get out of the tube, but once you get around that it is pure gold.

I applied it before bed time on chapped lips and the next morning I honestly forgot that I had even tried it.

It didn't hit me until I stood in the bathroom getting ready that my lips were totally smooth and moisturized. 

This is now going to become a product that I will continue to repurchase. Absolutely wonderful.

I apply it before bed and wake up with the smoothest lips.

They currently have three lip masks: the original, a champagne one, and a smashed one (red win tinted). I think I am going to get my hands on the champagne one soon so it will give my lips a little color when I use it during the day.

It is pricey but a little bit goes a long way and if you only apply it at night or in the morning, I can't imagine you will run out of product that quickly!

Friday Favorites

Welcome back to this edition of Friday favorites!

Today I am linking up with Amanda and Karli.

+My Current Go To Song

I am not ashamed to admit that this song is so incredibly catchy and I may have listened to it on repeat for a few days now...

+ Tone Your Abs With This Workout

+ Friday Funnies

How I feel knowing that classes end on Sunday...

After sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru for 12 minutes yesterday...

When I manage to make dinner four times in a week...

+ Something That Touched Me This Week

If you have the time, go listen to this Ted Talk. 

Sometimes it is so easy to forget the most important things in life - I know I do. Sometimes I get too distracted by school/life/my future/the bad stuff.

+Current Food Obsession

Spaghetti Squash:

I ate half of it like this and the other half I made with pumpkin sauce and sautéed onions and peppers - So so good! 

First Impression: NYX Liquid Suede Lipsticks

Earlier today I picked up two colors from NYX's Liquid Suede Lipstick line.

Left: Soft spoken Right: Vintage

I originally went looking for NYX's new Lip Lingerie, but sadly my Ulta did not have them so I ended up with these because I liked the colors. 

There are twelve colors in the line and there is a good color range. The two I have are Soft Spoken and Vintage. 

I ripped open Soft Spoken as soon as I left the store to see what I thought.

Soft Spoken 

Soft Spoken to me is a 'my lips but better' type of color. 

Vintage

Vintage is a beautiful plum-ish red.

After wearing both of these shades throughout the majority of the day I will say that I will definitely be wearing these. The major thing about these that I like is that, for me, they were extremely comfortable to wear. They are pigmented and they do change from a glossy look, when first applying, to a suede like finish. I wouldn't say they are totally matte but they are extremely close. They wore well on me for about 3-4 hours each and then started fading. I even wore soft spoken in the shower and it stayed on with light fading.

Here is what they are not. 

They are not long wearing and they are not transfer proof.

Photo taken about 5 minutes after I applied soft spoken

Overall, if you are not bothered that they transfer a bit and do not care that they won't stay on your lips for eight hours then I would recommend these. For $7 a piece at Ulta I think they are worth it. For a quick comparison, I recently bought Kat Von D's Liquid Lipstick in Lolita and wore it to dinner over the weekend...while A) it is gorgeous B) I like the applicator better BUT when I came home from dinner 2 hours later I felt that there was no product left on my lips. For $20 that is highly disappointing. I am going to give it another go and test the wear time for my Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick, but I just wanted to point that out when talking about the wearability and price of the NYX Liquid Suede Lipsticks. 

Have you picked up any of these? If so, what do you like and dislike about them?

Weekend Food & Fun

See this? 

This is Boone enjoying his nice relaxing weekend. Thankfully, Boone is not the only one who had a great weekend. 

I started off my weekend by going to the gym and then heading over to a consignment shop to snag a NWT lululemon workout tank and a beautiful high-lo dress that is perfect for all the warm months we have in North Carolina. I also had store credit so I paid practically next to nothing for my finds and was a happy camper. 

After studying/paper writing most of the day, Nick surprised me by taking me to dinner at the new restaurant in town: Dickinson Avenue Public House.

While there I enjoyed a few drinks and ate stuff like this...

And this...

Sunday was a day of laziness and it was awesome. After working on my papers, I cleaned and enjoyed the gorgeous 60+ degree weather. 

While I was not ready for Monday to get here, I can say that I was refreshed after my lovely weekend. 

Friday Favorites

Good morning to you on this lovely Friday. This Friday is exciting because it means that I only have one more week of my five week classes. Note to self and others: Do not take three five week classes EVER. Just don't do it if you want to keep any of your sanity, ok?

Linking up with the lovely Amanda and Karli.

1//

Favorite Workout

Emily Skye Workout

Loving this full body workout. I couldn't get the video to post so click on the link to see what workout I am currently loving!

2//

Guess who's back? Back again...Big momma's back!

My baby girl is back and spunky as ever! I can't believe she is 18 now. So thrilled to have her back for a little bit.

3//

Healthy Crunchy Chicken Fingers? Yes please!

I was slightly skeptical about these but they were easy and turned out better than I imagined! Check out the recipe here.

4//

Guess what I managed to get my fingers on?

Kat Von D's Lolita.

This liquid lipstick has a cult following and I was not able to get my hands on it. Low and behold it came back in stock at Sephora and you can get it here! 

5//

Lets talk about another exciting purchase...

Remember those fringe booties I posted about a while back??

Look what I got for Christmas.

Sadly someone had torn the fringe on one of the booties but my mom is getting them fixed and all will be ok! I am so excited to wear these babies.

First Impressions: Glamglow Flashmud Brightening Treatment & Glamglow Fizzy Lip and Wet Lip Treatment

We have finally gotten some cold weather here in the south and I decided it was a perfect time to test out some of my Christmas gifts.

I received the Glamglow flashmud brightening treatment and a combo pack that contained the fizzy lip and wet lip treatment. I have used both for the past three days, which is how the brightening treatment is recommended for use. The instructions for the lip treatments say to use 2-3 times a week. 

First up, lets talk about the brightening treatment.

The brightening treatment claims to be a brightening treatment for radiant, youthful skin.

I would like to say that overall I enjoy this treatment. The smell is so nice and it has just the right amount of texture to exfoliate my face without being harsh. Now I cannot say that it has made my skin look any more youthful, but it leaves it feeling so smooth and makes me feel like my skin is glowing. 

Taken with no makeup in natural light.

Overall, I do like this product and am thrilled to have received it as a gift. The price tag makes me die a little inside so I am not sure, yet, if I will be repurchasing. Only more use will tell!

Glamglow Fizzy Lip and Wet Lip Treatment

The good news: My lips feel so incredibly soft after this treatment.

The bad news: The taste.

I couldn't get the lip treatment to truly 'fizz' but it did do a good job of getting the dead skin off of my lips. It smells like winter mint gum to me. Not great but not awful. The taste however...not good. I accidentally got some of this in my mouth while scrubbing my lips and it was not pleasant. However, I did like the results after using the scrub and the wet lip treatment. If you can't get this in a combo pack and just want a super moisturizing balm, I do suggest the wet lip treatment. The exfoliating part I could live without.

Be prepared for many more first impressions this year!