Ulta Haul

Coming home to this Ulta box made my night. (Not joking, no judgment please.) I think I might just be more excited about all the minis than about the stuff I actually purchased. That being said there are two holy grail products in this trip...

This is the best hairspray on the planet. It smells amazeballs, has the perfect amount of everyday hold, and isn't crunchy. You need it in your life. (It's also not tested on animals.)

And...

NYX Butter Gloss is pretty perfect. I hope you know this already/I'm certainly not the first person to talk about them - $5, cruelty-free, thick but not sticky. This is my fourth tube this year. Go buy some. If nothing else, the price point is manageable, so if there's a color you want to experiment with it won't break the bank. The one below is Merengue, but I also love Éclair, Strawberry Parfait, and Tiramisu.

Of the free minis, I'm most excited to try the Kenra level 8 spray and the Ulta Lip Crayon in Date Night (great color for fall).

This weekend is starting off right!

New Staple

OPI in Rosy Future. 

Perfect consistency, just enough color, doesn't show chips. With the top coat, I can get it to two weeks. 

Up until yesterday, my nails were SUPER long - the longest they'd been in a decade. I had to cut them (finally) because it was too hard to type with them.

I kinda got away from nail art when they were long bc it just looked too AHHH. Now I'm too addicted to the simplicity of this color!

Mini Sephora Haul

Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet smells amazeballs and I want to try all this skincare IMMEDIATELY. Pls send help.

I. DIE. World Market Edition

I had an extra 20% off, so I picked up some bowls, wine, and... A gamechanger!

Where have you been all my life (at least the part in this apartment?) 

I LOVE IT. And it's padded to not scrape the cabinet. 

I also picked up this:

I'll let you know how it works!

TGIF

Planning a trip to SD soon...

Book Club

If you know me at all, you know I am OBSESSED with food memoirs. I can't get enough of them. Ever. 

I just started Delancey today as my traffic book (Angelenos will understand). It's pretty perfect and all the recipes seem completely doable so far. 

Love it!

So dumb.

I love Maybelline Dream Lumi in illuminate. I run out CONSTANTLY. It is one of my everyday staples, no question.

I had to buy a new one this week, and came across this Age Rewind in Brightener. It has 4x as much product for the same price and works just as well. A little bit lighter coverage, but still does the job. It blends well, too.

Lesson learned.

Book Club

When I was growing up, our local library had a summer reading game. You signed up, read books (obviously), and then got to play this board game for prizes. It rocked. 

So, in the spirit of the game, here's what I've just finished. (And holy tamoley, was Dark Places dark.)

In like with Japanese dollar store lashes...

Kinda a pain in the ass to put on, but the price is right. Once you take off the "adhesive strip" they work well. Or, at least well enough for a buck.

❤️

There is nothing more satisfying than a good peel-off mask. Nothing. Now to test these out! 

Also, it's the last few days of the Ulta sale! These were buy one, get one 50% off, and the large bottles of shampoo and conditioner started at only $16. Happy shopping!

Mantra of the week

Via @imlisapaige

Vitacost Haul

Did a little shopping at Vitacost...

I needed protein powder, and ended ip ordering two brands that I haven't tried before. 

Spiru-tein and the Earthblends were highly recommended on the site, and I figured I'd order both so I could keep one at work and one at home. (I'm also hoping the vanilla blends well with the GreensPlus powder...) I'll report back with reviews once I've tried them out!

I've ordered this collagen protein consistently for four (?) months now. I feel like I'm not the first person to say this, but something about it is addicting. I can't say I enjoy taking it, but my body craves it. Also, 2tblsp has 15g of fully utilized protein so it's a lot of bang for your buck (and no extra shake, etc. to drink...)

Had anyone else ever tried it?

My right hand NEVER comes out as good as my left!!

Got the design from MsJenFabulous on YouTube. She has the prettiest (and simplest!) tutorials. Definitely check her out! Here is the link to her channel: http://youtu.be/EA8BEYAZqAA

The white polish is White on White from China Glaze. The mint is Mint Sorbet from Sally Hansen. I have to do another coat of white on the tips to correct the bleeding from the striper/topcoat, but otherwise I really like the look of this.

Weekly: Maintenance

Should have used a white base coat under the neon, but still pretty happy with how it turned out.

Weekly: Maintenance

Is this necessary?

There are donuts hanging out of her vagina. (Which is actually kind of funny because MBG is all about the wellness...) I'm so grossed out. I can only hope that she didn't have an actual weight up there because photo shoots are long. 

 

Target haul

Why is it that is is nearly impossible to leave Target without spending twice as much as intended? I went to but a Swiffer and bleach and came back with a ton more stuff, including...

I love them!

Truth.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hmmmm...

Ordered new workout leggings. This is a little "small"er than I anticipated.

Im not sure if the camera is really showing that these are child-sized!!!! 

Every morning...

I literally sigh with happiness when I open my Coastal Scents palette. These hot pots are normally $2 each, but only $1 when I bought them on sale over Christmas. The pigmentation of the shadows is powerful, and all but one have great staying power. Swatches to follow soon!

Playing with the HDRX app...

Hi, I'm Grace Charm and I'm a stress eater.

Whole bag gone. Also, these are gross.

Weekly: Maintenance

Felt sort of classic today. 

Just in case your resolutions are getting harder...

(Types the person that ate Chipotle today.)

This is a great article!

http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2015/01/trying-to-keep-a-resolution-dont-fall-into-this-common-trap/

If you're not familiar with Gretchen Rubin's work, run to your local bookstore immediately and buy both of her books!!! (She has a new one coming out in the spring about habits, as well.)

The Happiness Project changed my life. I mean that in the most sincere, least cheesy way possible. Her down-to-earth approach to her own Happiness Project helped me to see what I wanted to do differently in my life, and her humor makes me want to buy her a cup of coffee or tea and chat. She's great.

Just good sense.

An oldie but goodie. This really is true. I promise.

xo,
me

TOO MUCH SHOPPING AND THE COOLEST PROTEIN POWDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

I just spent a whole bunch of money in about 15 minutes and now I sort of don't remember all that I bought. Does this ever happen to you? 

Tonight, I bought some tops for spring from Forever 21, protein powder, and some Vitacost necessities. Nothing too crazy, and I'm excited to show you when everything arrives. However, what I'm most excited about is the protein. True Nutrition (truenutrition.com) lets you create your own custom blends and are EXTREMELY reasonably priced. I ordered two one pound bags - one rGBH-free whey and the other casein just to test them out. They had sooooooooo many flavors to choose from. I picked cookies-n-creme and cake batter because they're my go-to's, but the options were practically limitless. I love the idea that they let you customize so much - from protein source to flavors to add-ins (stevia, fiber, etc.) - to make the perfect powder for your body. 

See! And I couldn't even fit all the flavor options in one frame.

Hopefully they taste as good as they seem. I'll keep you posted.

The moment where you don't want to mess up a new container of body butter because it looks too perfect.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Bookshelf

I am a blubbering, sobbing puddle of all the feelings.

The marks humans leave are too often scars. - John Green

Weekly: Maintenance

Weekly nails... I am VERY into abstract line designs right at the moment. As always, I used Orly's rose gold, Rage.

It is now been my fave polish for a full 12 months now.

Resolution 2015

Weekly: Maintenance

In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I forgot to post a picture my nails! Really simple design, but it took me three tries because I couldn't get the ornaments just right... 

Mini Sephora Haul

I was running out of Advanced Night Repair (I have no idea what the exact science of it is so please don't ask - but I am scared of getting old skin and know my face just looks brighter and smoother when I use this consistently) so it was time to shop! 

Here's what I got: 

And just because the face serum works so well:

It's a really cool gel texture. 

(Now I've looked at this pic too long and think it resembles Vicks VapoRub.) Truly though, I really enjoy the fact that it's not a greasy, heavy cream. I get little papillae spots from most eye creams, and have had to settle for using less emollient products in the past. This strikes a better balance between lightness and moisturization for me. 

Here were my purchases makeup-wise:

I've used the Dipbrow twice and can't believe how nicely it blends. It's so much easier and faster than the wax in the Benefit BrowZings compact, which is the only brow product I've used for 16 (yes, 16!) years. I've bought about 100 of them, and never switched because when it comes to makeup, if a drag queen tells you to use a product you don't ask questions and do like she says. 

Long version of the story - I worked at a makeup counter all through college. The Benefit counter was across the way and my junior year they hired a freaking beautiful man. She would shape my crazy Italian eyebrows when we were slow and always used BrowZings so I always used BrowZings. One day, Toni didn't show up for work and just never came back. I could almost cry looking back at pictures from that time and seeing my PERFECT eyebrows. She plucked them into submission and no one has ever been able to replicate that exact shape. Not one person in the three cities I've lived in since, and by cities I mean Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. I'm telling you - she was THE BEST. 

Okay, moving on. I worry the concealer is going to be too pink (it's number 3), so I might need to exchange it. I think Smashbox discontinued my concealer because it wasn't on the website and ordered this one because Jessie James Decker used it in her makeup tutorials and I love both her and Make Up For Ever.

The dual-ended mini lipstick from bite is amazeballs. The colors are super bright and fun, and the fact that it's mini just makes it even better.

Well, that's it for the moment. I hope you all are having a great start to 2015!