Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Cozy Cocoa Night

Hello my little Beauties,

Tonight we are having a cozy cocoa night so I'm going to share my tricks of the trade for the perfect holiday night in! To start, hop into some cozy pajamas and grab your favorite holiday mug to make some delicious hot chocolate. Here are my two favorite mugs from last year, both are from Target.  Target is my go-to place for holiday items because they're always adorable and affordable.


Tonight, I decided to use the Santa mug because he looks so jolly and the whole point of a cozy cocoa night is to feel as jolly as the holiday itself.






Next step is to make the cocoa! While you can make the hot chocolate from scratch, I find that the little packets can be just as tasty and much less time consuming. I'm going with the classic Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate, but choose anything you like!



Now add hot water, I used my Keurig for hot water but you can heat some up in a kettle or in the microwave.






Almost done, this final step is completely optional but really sets this cocoa above the rest. The trick is to add a bit of vanilla creamer! I know it may sound odd, but it is my secret ingredient that always garners compliments as being the most delicious cup of cocoa.

My Christmas tree :)
Now that our cozy cocoa and comfy pajamas are set, time to turn on your favorite holiday movie and curl up in a warm blanket! My pick tonight is the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, it's a classic that always gets me in the holiday spirit. What is your favorite way to spend a cozy winter night??

-xo Jessica

Special thanks to Wei for the Santa mug!! <3

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Bronzed Beauty

Hello my little Beauties,

Today I thought I would do a beauty product review of the Maybelline Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow in "Bad to the Bronze." These eyeshadows have been raved about for the last few months in the beauty community and I have to admit that it's for a good reason. The claim is that they last 24 hours, but without an eye primer I found it to last about six hours and with a primer it lasted over nine hours up until the time I took it off. So it does have a longer wear than most eyeshadows but I don't believe it lives up to a 24 hour claim, but who is going to wear eyeshadow for 24 hours anyways?! As far as the price goes, it is unbeatable for a long wearing cream eyeshadow at about $6.99 at most drugstores.




The ten shades Maybelline offers in their Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow line.



A swatch of the Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Bad to the Bronze."







This product comes in ten shades however the one I'm reviewing today is Bad to the Bronze, and I am in love! It is a beautiful warm metallic bronze color and is highly pigmented and very creamy while giving a lovely metallic sheen whether it's worn alone or used as a base for other shadows. The packaging is luxurious and quite heavy with a nice glass container with that being said, the eyeshadow given is a pretty small amount however a little swipe goes a long way and I have found it to last me for over four months with fairly regular use. There's a reason these are raved about!

-xo Jessica

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Holiday Mug Makeover

Hello my little Beauties!

With the holiday season just around the corner, it is time to cozy up with a steaming cup of hot cocoa or festive hot cider. I have a few adorable mugs to share with you that are sure to spice up the season!


My first pick are these unique tea cups from Anthropologie that always garner compliments from every guest I have over. They come in three different colors and designs - all being equally adorable. While they are not the cheapest options for mugs, I use mine so much that I think they're worth it. With a Twist Teacup


This charming little owl mug from Anthropologie is a hoot. Each of the four mugs available are dipped in a different color and have a whimsical animal to be used as a handle including an owl, mouse, squirrel and hedge hog. This could be a darling gift or a fun cup of tea for yourself! Creature Comfort Mug


We like to think that the holiday season is all about snuggling up next to a crackling fire with a good book and rich cup of cocoa. However this is not often reality, the holiday season is the busiest time of year so why not take our cocoa on the road with us?! This delightful travel mug from Urban Outfitters features a teapot on the sleeve to wrap the tea bag string around for extra convenience on the go. Tea Lovers To Go Cup


-xo Jessica

Photos from Anthropologie & Urban Outfitters

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Channeling Chanel

Hello my little Beauties!

While this may be the only Chanel product I own at the moment, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation has become my holy grail foundation find within days of using it. I honestly can not say enough great things about this foundation, so prepare yourself for a raving review! First of all, this is the only foundation I have found that hasn't made my already oily skin, even oiler. While I still use a powder to set it, I find my face getting much less oily and my makeup lasting longer than previous foundations I have used.



Being a water-based foundation, it does have to be shaken vigorously before applying because it separates very easily. That being said, I did find it a bit drying which surprised me since it is water-based and I have heard that it's meant for drier skin. Although with a good moisturizer I found it to be perfect for my skin and even cleared my skin up a bit! However, for my little Beauties with drier skin, it may be too drying, so try a sample first! (see my beauty tip below) I also love the coverage this foundation provides. It has very natural coverage, and I find that it doesn't look like you're wearing makeup, it just looks like you have amazing skin. It is definitely more of a light to medium coverage but concealer is needed if you want to cover blemishes. Regarding sun protection it only has SPF 15 which is better than none, but usually isn't considered enough daily coverage so you may need an additional sunscreen.

So obviously I love this foundation and it has a permanent spot in my makeup bag, however I do want to mention a few issues that I do have and the first one is the shade range. Unfortunately being offered in only 10 shades, makes it less accesible for many people and they're all pretty light shades so hopefully they will expand their range and come out with shades for deeper skin tones as well. That being said, I do like how their shade range has BR (Beige-Rose which has more pink undertones) and B (Beige which has more yellow undertones) to help ensure a better color match. Another issue I have is the price, it is $45 for 1 FL. OZ or 30 ml which is definitely in the more expensive range but I found a bottle to last me almost four months and the benefits outweighed the cost for me. One more thing to mention is the fragrance. Chanel has a very prominent floral scent in their products and this is no exception, it fades after about 20 min of application but can be a bit intense when first applied.

Jessica's Beauty Tip: Go to a makeup counter at a department store (or even Sephora!) and ask for a sample of any foundation you're looking to try before you buy it. They almost always have samples, but will only give them to you if you ask, so don't be afraid to ask!!

-xo Jessica

Photos from chanel.com & makeupgeek.com

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Sprinkle of Sparkle

What's my new favorite nail trend you may ask? Sparkly nail tips of course! Think ombre, but with glitter. My favorite combo is a gorgeous pastel, pearly pink with sparkling gold tips! Other options I think would be pretty are a dark navy with gold sparkles or for a more chic look, try black or dark maroon nails (which are very in this Fall) with gold tips that sparkle for this season!

OPI Italian Love Affair

For the look below, I used this amazing opaque pink from OPI called Italian Love Affair, with the color being as romantic as the name! I also used a gold sparkle topcoat from Forever 21 but any topcoat that has solid gold sparkles will work perfectly!



Here's how mine turned out and it was so simple and easy! Just paint the base coat (OPI's Italian Love Affair) and allow to dry, then paint the glitter only on the tips and do a couple short, light swipes toward the nail bed. Once this dries, paint another coat of glitter nail polish focusing only on the tips of the nails and do not swipe towards the nail bed this time, keep it concentrated on the tips and it will create an ombre effect! Let me know in the comments if you have tried any other combinations you loved! :)

-xo Jessica


Welcome!

Hello my little Beauties!

Welcome to my beauty blog full of beauty tips, tricks, favorites and reviews. I wanted to say a little welcome and thank you for viewing my blog! Please leave any comments, product suggestions, questions and any tips you may have below so we can create our own little beauty community :)

Stay tuned
-xo Jessica