Chicago Wanderings (Part 1) + A New Beginning!!

"Never tell me the odds." - Han Solo, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

     Good day! Wow, this is the day when I will finally compile a post of my recent Chicago trip this past month. This first post will focus mainly on the architecture tour that I went on throughout the city! The following post will be where I go more in depth about the museum and art gallery I visited, as well as Millenium Park, and the foodie excursions I experienced whilst there this last time! Here's the biggie: I'll actually be calling the Windy City my home late this September! Yes, I am moving there - for all intents and purposes, I'm now Chicago-bound, getting preparations in order. I'm in the process of selling my car, moving my stuff out of storage, and everything else involved in constituting a big move. I had the fortune of connecting with so many awesome people while visiting there, and just went there again for a visit this past month feeling like I was home already, so decided that it was time for a change. I just fell in love with the city in a way that I'd never before realized when visiting before with family or friends, and just knew that I would be able to move there before winter. 💛

Glossy Summer Lip Combo: Iridescent Watermelon!

'Tis a beautiful day, and you all know why! 😊 Happy Mother's Day! 

Today's blog post will be featuring a bright (yet sheer!) summer lip combo that I've been wearing quite a lot of lately! It's an interesting combo of a punchy creamy watermelon with a flash of peach and violet iridescence! Revlon Lip Butters....oh, how I miss ye.

Book Review | The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Spring Forward: A Small Haul + Some First Impressions!

     Spring is now officially upon us, it seems! Rain is aplenty, but those cloudy days haven't been overriding the days with sunshine, thankfully! Over the course of the past couple of months, yours truly has been scavenging Ulta drugstore sections and various other places for some spring beauty pick-me-ups (or, ahem, I guess cheap thrills is more like it). Bright vivid eyeliners, a poppy red lipstick (or two!), along with some neutral matte lipsticks, and some nice sweet-smelling balmy lip treats are the results of my attempt to change my makeup game a bit this season with some colors that may (or may not!) veer a little outside of my comfort zone! I've had the chance to try some of these items out as well, so you bet that some of these will include first impressions! Let's begin!

Books I'm Currently Reading!

Books I'm Reading: The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, A Song of Ice and Fire Series: Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Hi folks! Here's an update on a couple of books I started in February and have made a bit of a dent in since then. These are pretty much the only things beside me in my bed. 😁

The Crème Shop Makeup Blending Beauty Sponge Review | They Look Delicious! But Do They Work?

     Everyone feast your eyes on these recent finds from Marshall's! I found these blending sponge sets a couple weeks ago, was intrigued, and....well, you know the rest. Since then, I've had time to put them to the test! These beauty blending sponges from The Crème Shop  (an LA based brand that I've never heard of before, and according to their website, they're indeed cruelty free!) are inspired and shaped similarly to those delicious sweets that you'll find gracing the shelves of almost any French patisserie!

Soft Rose Gold Eyes | Simple Everyday Makeup Tutorial featuring LORAC Unzipped & Makeup Revolution

     Hello, and welcome back!  How are you all today? Since I recently got back to posting to the blog on more of a semi-regular basis (without any of those monthly gaps) I've also been wearing more makeup on a regular basis, including eyeshadow, some lovely high maintenance lip product or another, sheesh....sometimes even bronzer! ;) The overall rosy tones of this neutral look really brighten and liven up the complexion for anyone, I think. It's a very feminine, soft effect, and one that looks beautiful on every skin tone. Whether rose gold tones are paired with a neutral cool mauve or a warm nude lip and cheek, (or even with brighter tones of makeup!) either way, it makes for an all-encompassing elegant combination.

     For the eyes, I used my beautiful LORAC Unzipped Palette for the rose gold in the center of the lid, along with my highly coveted Makeup Revolution 32 Flawless Matte Palette for the crease-work. It's a ridiculously simple look to achieve, so the steps to get this eye makeup will be kept pretty succinct, and followed after will be the product breakdown for every product used on mah face. Let's continue! 

Saturday Sessions: How I Deal With Disappointment

     Hello my dears, and happy October!  So, I have made myself quite scarce on this blog for some time now, and I have absolutely no good reasons for that (at least reasons that anyone would really care to know; no exciting, groundbreaking discoveries or anything like that), but I have recently quit my day job and now have two weeks to go until I am officially out. The scary part about it is, I'm in a situation where I don't know where I will be employed in three weeks' time (or whether I will be, apart from my seasonal part-time job I just got; more on that later!) before I go back to college in January. I was in a situation where I had something lined up to start after I ended ties with my current job, but that new opportunity somehow fell through the cracks. In this case, I didn't have a Plan C in effect, and am now dealing with the consequences, and the disappointment that goes along with it.

Making a Dent in My Summer Reading List....

     A bit of an off-topic post here (haha forgive me 😜), but literature is indeed another passion of mine, and is just as close to my heart, so it's inevitable that I'll be including bits and bobs here on this blog of books I've read, books I'm currently reading, or books I've even just perused. As much of a hectic summer it's been, a reading list just had to be placed somewhere on the schedule. I chose a few classic novels for this season, two of them I have started, which are Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I also chose a biography on the Russian imperial family, which was a pretty random choice, but I must say I'm really enjoying it! These are going to be quite brief, watered-down comments on each book, as I haven't finished any of them yet. I don't know if writing future book reviews will really be my forte, but I will certainly try my hand at it, and, upon receiving feedback, ultimately see if it helps anyone!

New Beauties from Coastal Scents! | Palettes & Brushes

     Back in 2009 was the year I was introduced to the "makeup utility" brand Coastal Scents. I heard all these accounts from seemingly everyone, their mother, and their mother's brother, about how economical of a brand it was (and still is!) for freelance makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts alike. At the time, I was still an enthusiast and hobbyist who just wanted some affordable, decent quality color palettes to play with, to possibly hone my skills with in the future, and yep, times have changed since then! :) In the recent years, the brand has exploded in popularity.

40 Beauty Questions Tag | Barcelonista's Beauty Blog

     Today, I was skimming through some of the blogs that I follow, and remembered this tag from a while back when reading other people's beauty and skincare routines, and then realized: I haven't done a tag post yet! So hey, why not....this will be my tiny contribution to the already popular 40 Beauty Questions Tag! I already know....this post is going to be quite lengthy. I'll try not to get too wordy in my responses. If you haven't done this tag yet, definitely do so! If you like, you can also leave me a link to your responses so I can check it out! Let's get to it, shall we?