Why you should wear Eyeshadow and how to make it Crease-Proof

I have all of this gorgeous eyeshadow that I very rarely use.  I am kind of lazy when it comes to eyeshadow and eyeliner lately.  It is quicker to get ready without it, but it really makes a difference. 

Something that is frustrating is taking the time to put on eyeshadow only to see it all creasy half way through the day.

Here's how to crease-proof your eyeshadow in two easy steps:

1. Prime-I love e.l.f.'s mineral eye shadow primer

2. Cornstarch-after you have applied your eyeshadow, dip a fluffy brush in just a bit of cornstarch tap off excess and apply over your eyeshadow

20 Minute Sandwich Cookies

These Devil's Food sandwich cookies are so yummy! They were super easy to make and they're pretty cute.

You need:

Devil's food cake mix (or any flavor you want)

Two eggs

Stick of melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients, roll balls onto cookie sheet and smash the tops, bake for 8-10 minutes.

While the cookies are baking make the frosting :)

Sour cream frosting:

4 oz sour cream

1/2 stick of butter

3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk (I used almond milk)

Mix it all together, I mixed together a few drops of yellow food coloring in too.

After your cookies have cooled, take them off of the cookie sheets and put a small amount of frosting in each cookie and smash them a bit.

Tada! Enjoy :)

Friday Favorites: Princess Kate, Sunflowers and Christmas

About a month ago, I included a video from the Girls with Glasses on my Friday Favorites.  I think they may become a regular Friday Favorite!
Last week (I think) they posted some amazing photos on Insta of a girl made up and dressed up like Princess Kate.  Even if you are sick of everything about the royal family being all over the media, you have to admit that Kate is gorgeous.  She is so beautiful in an "I'm not trying, I'm just beautiful, and nice and proper." type of a way.  Anywho...I had to investigate further, of course.
The girl was one of the Girls with Glasses (Summer) sans glasses.  Here is the article where they show how to channel Kate's classic, put-together style.  Watch this awesome video to see how to get Kate's gorgeous makeup look and hair.

Onto my next favorite: Sunflowers!  I absolutely adore this flower.  I associate it with so many fun memories from this time of year.  I ran cross country during the summer and fall in high school.  We started practicing a lot and doing retreats and team building around the time when the sunflowers would bloom.  We picked them and put them in our hair while we were out stretching. 
Before my senior year of high school, at about this same time, was when I realized what an amazing guy Steve was.  I realized right then and there that if I married him I would be a lucky girl.  Talk about a crazy realization for a girl to have before her senior year?!
Three summers ago we got married (five years after that startling and amazing revelation) and sunflowers and roses were our flowers.  We had our reception in Steve's parents beautiful yard.  They planted (we helped a bit too) tons of sunflowers in shades from bright yellow to dark burgundy.  The next year when they came back they transplanted them to our yard and most of them actually survived.  We now have sunflowers come up each year from our wedding flowers.  :)
My last Friday Favorite is Christmas.  Christmas!?  I know this is way early, but seeing our new product line and seeing our products go on sale these past few weeks has made me want to start my Christmas list and Christmas shopping.  Last year I really got into the giving spirit too late.  :(  I want to be budget conscious, but I also want to really be able to give my friends and family some very nice stuff.
Also, how could I not think of Christmas when one of the new chunk bars (perfectly posh soap) is a sugar cookie, shea butter bar called, "Treat Yourself."  To me, that just screams Christmas :)


Thanks for reading my ramblings!  I hope that something made you crack a smile while reading.

Ulta Magalog Walk Through

This was not my planned post today, but then I checked the mail... The Ulta magalogs are not always this good.  This one has so much exciting stuff in it!  Both for beauty lovers and cheapskates.  For beauty loving cheapskates like myself, it is AMAZING!!

As soon as I get the Ulta magalog, I turn it over and look at the coupon on the back.  When I am planning on making a big purchase, I want to see a 20% off coupon.  When I just have a few things I want, I love to have a $3.50 off of $10 coupon.  

If you are going to spend right around $10 it is a 35% savings.  If you are going to spend more than $17 the 20% off coupon will benefit you more. 
Back to the magalog...I love the fall makeup colors and products.  Look at these gorgeous Butter London products!  I think they are way too expensive, but they are gorgeous.

The next thing that caught my cheapskate eye was this free pixel nail polish with any pixel purchase.  They look like cute fun products and they start at $2.49.  So you can pay $2.49 for a product and a nail polish.

Also on this page the Anatomicals products caught my eye.  I love the cute sayings and the simple but fun and bright design on the bottles.  The prices look amazing too! $7.99 to $9.99 and they are buy one get one half off.

On the opposite page there are these fun fairytale themed Ulta Smoothies.  "Clock struck midnight," "Fairest of them all," and "Once upon a time." Aren't they cute!? 

The next page has the Ulta brand cosmetics, which are fairly priced and right now if you buy $19.50 they will give you a blingy makeup bag with 14 freebies in it.  I don't think I will take advantage of this one because I don't want to spend the $20 and I really don't need that much makeup right now.  If you were needing a makeup restocking and like the Ulta brand, this is a great deal!

I always look for the page with the drugstore cosmetics.  Most of the time they are BOGO half off.  The prices are more expensive at Ulta, but if you use the BOGO half off, and an Ulta coupon, you can get the prices below what they would be at Walmart.

They have some deals going on in their professional hair care.  I think the best  one is the BOGO free on the Sexy Hair line.

Look for tips on hair care and beauty throughout the magalog.  There is some good stuff in there!  One of my favorite things about the ad is the perfume inserts.  I use them as bookmarks.  They smell great, work well as bookmarks, and they look cute.

My plans with this ad:
For my purchase a 20% off coupon would actually be slightly better.  Every once in a while I can find one in my email.
I want to read some reviews on the pixel products and check them out in store.  I really would like to get a product and get the nail polish, but I don't really need either item right now, so we shall see.
I have had my eye on the Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation.  It is very highly rated and recommended in the online beauty community.  It has primer, concealer and SPF built in.  It is $12.99 at Ulta.  So if you buy two with the BOGO half off and use the $3.50 off coupon, it will be $7.99 for each bottle.  Then I have a manufacturer's coupon for $3 off of two Cover Girl products.  So my cost for each would be $6.49.
This is how I am able to stick to a foundation budget of $8 every 3 months, or a yearly total of $24.  :)

Thanks so much for reading!!  I hope this post had some good information and ideas in it for you!

D.I.Y. spa-at-home facial

Have you always dreamed of going to a fancy spa?  If I could go to a spa and relax and have a massage, facial, pedicure, manicure, etc. I would be in heaven.  Maybe one day I will realize this dream.  In the meantime, I can do a pretty good job of pampering myself at home.

I love reading articles about at home spa treatments, especially facials.  I want to share with you the easiest way I have found to pamper yourself at home with a facial.  :)

Step 1:  Open up your pores with some steam.  You can either take a nice, hot, steamy shower or run a wash cloth under very warm (but not burning hot) water and then place it over your face.  Either method feels soooo good and helps relax you as it opens your pores and dilates your blood vessels.
Step 2:  Scrub gently.  You can use a gentle scrubbing face wash or you can use some sugar with a bit of oil and water.  Gently glide your fingers in small circles over your face for about 2 minutes then rinse.
Step 3:  Mask.  Chose either a moisturizing or soothing mask or a clay mask for a very deep clean. You can make your own mask from honey, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Be careful with this mask as it can be irritating for skin (I can only use it on certain parts of my face).  I love the stripper mask from perfectly posh.  It really deep cleans your skin and makes it feel amazing.  I also love the "Calm down!" mask with aloe, oatmeal, and banana.  It also leaves your skin feeling clean, relaxed and amazing.
Step 4:  Serum and Moisturizer and Facial Massage:  Apply a serum to your face, gently patting it into your skin.  If you don't have a serum you can skip this step.  Next you want a moisturizer that you can use to massage into your face, a milky moisturizer is recommended.  The moisturizer I currently have that I love is Moisturize 911.  I can massage for about two minutes with this moisturizer.  A thinner moisturizer would allow for a longer more thorough massage.
These videos shows a technique for massage that is being credited as the beauty secret of models and other seemingly flawless individuals.

Happy pampering!!