BENEBROWS

For a 'beauty blogger' and someone who works for a cosmetics company, I have terrible eyebrows.

Er, had.

Some of my friends and family may know that about a month ago I was hired at Benefit Cosmetics within Macy's, which I have been loving. I love that I get to gawk about makeup with other people who are just as fanatical as me, and I also get to help people buy some of their first makeup ever. It's not just young women either — I've helped some older women pick out some first-ever makeup!

Anywho, eyebrows are a crucial part of Benefit Cosmetics. Many Benefit locations have a Brow Bar, which is essentially a little place where you can get your brows (and lips and cheeks and chin) waxed. Our location happens to have one.

Back to the start of this post. For too long, my brows have been awful. I've not had them waxed in more than a year. I've tried at-home waxing but it just doesn't last as long. I kind of just gave up when it came to my brows; I wouldn't fill them in, tweeze them or anything else... I just let them grow.

See those bad boys? Ugh. I'm thankful to have blonde hair because otherwise I would have two giant caterpillars on my face, and the light hair helped soften the blow.

Benefit loves to preach about great brows and talk about how important they are to part of your makeup routine. I agree, they are, but I guess I didn't practice what I preached. Women would come ask me to help them with their brows and I felt like someone that couldn't be trusted. Yes, I'm aware that I'm totally looking into this and it's probably just me.

Since the day I started, one of my lovely coworkers — Sarah —has been dying to fix my brows. There have been a few times when we've talked about it, but I've just never really had the money until this paycheck.

Today, I finally had Sarah do my brows and oh. my. god. My face looks totally different.

Not only did I have my brows waxed and shaped, but tinted, too. Now, they're looking a little darker than they were when I left work but they'll fade soon enough.

I was facetiming my best friend, Nathan, this afternoon and one of the first things he said was "oh my god, you actually have eyebrows." Even he noticed the difference.

To fill these bad boys in, I'll probably be using what I normally use when I fill in my brows; an e.l.f. angled brush and the color Naked 2 from my Naked Basics palette. It has the perfect color for my ashy-blonde hair without making them look too unnatural.

If you have a chance, I'd recommend seeing a Benefit Brow Bar because they truly know what they're doing. They also cover up your redness before you leave so that you don't look like you just got waxed as you continue your shopping!

The lovely Sarah and myself! Thanks again, Sarah! PS you're famous on the internet now. ;)

Do you have any suggested brow products? What's your current brow routine?

xo

REVIEW: ESSENCE SUN CLUB MATT BRONZING POWDER FOR BLONDES

As a blonde with fair skin, bronzer has always intimidated me.

It wasn't until the past few months that I started wearing bronzer and I've never been truly satisfied with them. Every bronzer I would buy was okay, and the next one slightly okay-er. They are either too orange, too shimmery or too dark for me. I was beginning to lose hope that I would find a bronzer that would work well with my skin when I was scouring the makeup aisles of Fred Meyer and something jumped out at me.

That thing happened to be the Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder.

What attracted me to it originally was the price ($4.99!) and the packaging — right on the face, it says "for blondes." I happen to be blonde, so I was like, whaaa?

I picked it up, looked at it and decided I was going to give it a try. Normally I only buy beauty products that I have heard about or read about and I've heard very little about Essence bronzers. I've used their nail polishes in the past but have never heard much about their other products.

The bronzer itself is light and has an ashy undertone, perfect for adding some contouring and a little bit of color. It's well pigmented, so you really don't need to use that much. I love the large packaging because it makes me feel like I got a lot of product for the measly $5 I spent on this bronzer.

Overall, I'd totally recommend this bronzer to anyone with pasty fair skin. This adds a little bit of color without being overwhelming and it's super easy to apply.

Could I look any moodier? God. I promise, I'm in a good mood and love this bronzer despite the mean face.

Have you tried any Essence bronzers? What did you think?

I'm also wearing:

Benefit The Porefessional

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 115

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Light (under eyes)

M.A.C. Studio Moisture Cover Concealer in N15 (on blemishes)

M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish in Light

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

Benefit They're Real! Push Up Liner

Essence Get Big Lashes!

Benefit They're Real! Mascara 

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

Earrings: Forever 21

Shirt: Nordstrom

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BACK TO SCHOOL MAKEUP ESSENTIALS

All this cloudy, rainy weather has me thinking about how soon school will be starting. Part of me is excited to get back to the routine, but part of me wishes it could be summer forever. (Not the heat, though. I could live without that.)

Since I'm in the back-to-school spirit, I figured I would make a list of some of my favorite makeup items that are inexpensive and good for school days. Most of the items are under $10 (actually, all but one are!) and most of them can be found at drugstores.

I looked through my makeup bags and found the most inexpensive and longest-lasting products I owned. A lot of them are actually Maybelline products — I promise this post isn't sponsored by Maybelline! I guess I just tend to really like their products, especially for the prices.

A DAY AT THE BEACH

I am not a summer creature.

I live for the days where I get to layer up in a sweater, jeans and combat boots. Sitting in my room with some candles going and listening to the rain hit the window is my idea of a good time. But for now... it's summer, and it's hot as balls outside.

Yesterday, my little sister, Riley; my roommate, Paige and I decided to brave the heat and go to Locust Beach in Bellingham. Locust isn't a super water-y beach, if that makes sense. The tide was out when we got there, so if you wanted to actually swim you have to walk to freakin' narnia to get to water that was deep enough.

We took the small 5-minute trek from the parking lot to the beach and set up our little perch.

As soon as we laid down, we realized that it was about a million degrees hotter on the ground than it was if you were standing up. Probably because of the rocks or something. I decided this was a good time to not sit there and get all sweaty so I got up and started snapping some photos.

WANT-IT WEDNESDAY :: AUGUST 6, 2014

Hello and happy Wednesday! I've done a few "want-it" posts in the past, but it's been a while and I have a lot of things I'm currently pining over so I figured I would make it into a blog post, because why not? 

Apparently I think it's a good idea to make a list of things I want, which just causes me to want them more. I don't understand how my head works some times.

I've got a lot of beauty products and a few little random things on my list. Woo!

BEAUTY

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation and Concealer

I've heard so many bloggers talk about this stuff and how great it is, but I can never find it in stores! And by that, I mean Target. My local Target doesn't have it, so therefore it is impossible to find Maybe I can head to Walgreens or Ulta when I'm in Seattle sometime and pick up some of this.

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer

I got a sample of this in my Ipsy glambag a few months ago and I fell in love with it! It's an excellent primer and looks awesome with my Mac matchmaster foundation. It's not too oily, either, like many primers can be. When my sample is gone I might have to go pick up a full-size bottle of this.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub

Since it's summer and shaved legs and blah blah blah, I've been using a scrub before shaving and it helps make my legs a lot smoother. However, the scrub I've currently got is running out and I love the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush scent, soooo basically I need this right meow. 

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush

I love my Naked 3 palette, specifically a light shimmery pink shadow within it and I'm looking for something to replace it because lawd knows I'll hit pan soon. This looks like a pretty good dupe!

Sigma Travel Kit - Make Me Cool

I have heard sooooo many good things about Sigma brushes. I don't want to shell out a bunch of money on individual brushes, so this kit seems like an okay option (even though it's $86...) for someone like me who just wants a bunch of things all at once. Pls.

The Balm How 'Bout Them Apples? 

Blushes are something I've never used until recently — and I don't know why! I'd love to try this out because they can be used for lips, too. I'm all about products that can be used for more than one purpose.

OTHER

Ban.do 2015 17-Month Agenda

THIS PLANNER. I have seen the iPad case that corresponds with it all over, but then I saw the planner. During the school year, I NEED a planner to get by. My life depends on it. Now that my current planner is seeing the end of its days, I considered buying this one, although I guess I was too late because it's sold out now. Now I need to find another planner that calls to me. Damnit.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8

A modern-day instant camera. So adorable.

Get It Girl Pillow

This little pillow was found browsing around Pinterest, but I guess I'm not meant to have nice things because it's been sold too. Damnit.

Fotostrap

I've heard wonderful things about this camera strap! It comes in dozens of colors and styles. I would love to have one for my camera (although the strap I have now is pretty cute, too.)

That's it! If you have the dying urge to get me anything on my list, I won't crush your dreams and say no. ;)

What have you been wanting? /Do you know of anywhere I could buy that ban.do planner? PLZ.

xoxo