After getting about 5 hours of restless sleep I am wide awake but totally exhausted, so it makes perfect sense to write a blog post right now. I am currently trying to wake up for the day so I can put videos up on my channel and be a productive human being. I have talked about my theory of being a cat in a video before (5 random facts about me) so I won't go into details, but let's just say Bear and I are on the exact same sleeping schedule. We get hungry at the same time every night (around 3am) so we trampoozle down to the kitchen and make our snacks. He runs around my feet and trips me until I go into his food room and shake his food (weird Bear habit, he won't touch his dry food unless it has been freshly shaken up), and then waits until I make my food. Then he insists on playing with the guinea pig for a few minutes, which I try to avoid letting him do because he gets little bits of pine shavings all over him, but ultimately he wins by sitting down on his haunches and howling until I come and let him in the cage. Then he gets all in "I'm a sloth" mode and gets really pliable and fits in a cage half his size. Maybe he thinks Guinea is a brother from another mother? They are like bff's.
Anyway I realized recently how incredibly scardy-cat like Bear is. We were sitting out on my screened in porch and we couldn't see anything outside because it was pitch black. Dad was taking the trash out so we heard a scary loud creak of the gate being opened, and Bear sat there with his nosed pressed against that screen, ears flat down sideways and eyes wide, looking terrified. Downright terrified. And he is the size of a lion. I do not believe he would do any protecting if a monster came out of my closet, let me tell you.
I found a video that completely and utterly depicts how Bear treats me in the mornings (around 6am). Add some eyeball stomping and sneezing and subtract the baseball bat and you have Bear to a "T":
What else is new? I recently found out that my family is going to the beach next weekend for a week, which is really exciting because I haven't gone on a vacation in AGES. My birthday is on Tuesday AND I finally made an appointment to get hair extensions so I am very excited for this coming week. I had my consult yesterday to meet the stylist and make sure she knows what she is doing, and I really liked her... so yeah, I am psyched. I have had 3 consults over the last couple years (I have wanted hair extensions since I was in high school) but I never liked the stylist enough to trust her with my hair. She is using the brand "HairDreams" which according to my research is the very best along with Great Lengths. I will vlog about them the day I get them in (next Friday) and tell you what I think.
I wore clip in's for Senior prom so I will attach a picture where you can see my hair here ---->. The only thing bad about clip in's are they don't blend as well as real extensions, as you can kinda see from my hair (I was still happy with them though :). Should I go that length? Or a bit longer, shorter? Let me know your opinion!
It is pouring rain outside, but I guess that's for the best because I have some homework to do and I know I would put it off if it was pretty out by justifying that it is a Saturday and the pool is lonely... so alas, inside I sit, procrastinating anyway. I'm currently taking a few online courses which sounded a lot easier than they actually are, but that's life. I feel like I should be on summer break, but it was my decision to take a few classes online so I guess I have to deal with the not so fun parts of it. Hope you guys are enjoying the start of summer!
Finally, after being diligent for months I am done with my two projects. And let me say - thank goodness for that. I was getting quite bored of it. For those of you that have not been following my blog until lately, let me say welcome (lol) and quickly explain the project. The idea is to refrain from purchasing anything new until you have completely finished up 10 makeup products (Project 10 pan). I also did a spin off project at the same time where I didn't buy any new lush items. I plan on purchasing some new lush goodies and a few things from MACs To the Beach Collection (out May 27th) so I will have some makeup hauls soon! I have been keeping you very updated on Project 10 Lush, so I will just do a mini review of the final product that I used up, a little shower gel called Flying Fox. Flying Fox smells lovely, a mix of jasmine and honey, two of my favorite scents. This is the type of scent I reach for in the evenings, but it also rejuvenates me in the mornings since I love the smell. I will probably repurchase this in the future, but for now I want to try out some new products since I haven't gotten to buy anything new lately.
As far as Project 10 Pan goes, last I blogged I had completed 4 products. Here are the final 6:
My Carmex "bland" lip balm, which I somehow liked enough to finish up. I don't have much to say on this balm except that it sat on my nightstand for a couple months and so it was bound to eventually get used up... I'm not sure I would repurchase though, I have way too many more balms to finish up first.
C.O. Bigalow Cinnoment Mentha Lip Shine: one of my favorites that I have repurchased time and time again; it smells like cookies. I always have one of these in my purse, which is why it was one of the first to be used up. I can't help but smile when I have this on, it smells (and tastes) so good!
Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium: This one was tricky to finish up, just because it is not the right shade for me. I am actually a Medium in the winter and a Medium Deep in the summer, but by the time I realized this I had used too much to feel right about selling it on a blog sale, so I decided to use it up. I wore this on days where I wasn't going anywhere important but I still wanted some coverage. It took a few months, but this product is now finished.
Clinique Superfit Foundation: I actually had 2 of these sitting in my drawer that were both about half completed, so I decided if I used them both up it could count as one product towards my project 10 pan. I had used this foundation for years when I decided I wanted to venture off and try something new, and found my beloved Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation. I don't dislike this foundation, I just got bored with it and the makeup junkie inside me wanted to try out new products. I am glad these are used up though; they were making me feel a bit guilty sitting in my drawer, unlike some MAC ones that I can justify not using because they break me out.
MAC Plush Lash Mascara: I used this up because I knew it was going to go bad soon, not because I loved it. Mascaras can't be trusted after the 3 month mark (of opening/using it) so I keep track of which ones are going to go bad when, and this one was next in line. Out of all MAC mascaras plush lash is my favorite, but I prefer L'oreal Telescopic or Benefit Badgal Lash.
Victoria's Secret Lip Plumper in Baby Pink: I love this stuff. It gives your lips a soft pink tinge, and tingles just a tad to let you know it's plumping up your lips, but doesn't burn like some lip plumpers. The packaging is also pretty, very streamlined and feminine. The only thing I didn't like was the applicator, I am not a big fan of the click up brush tip applicators; they don't seem very sanitary!
I am very happy to have completed this project, as it was generally a pain in the butt. The second you set limits on yourself you immediately want to defy yourself, but I managed to be 90% good. I say 90% because I was sent some free stuff over the course of this project, so I did get the pleasure of trying out new things without actually breaking the rules, but I think if I had not I might have cheated - hence only being 90% good. I award myself a B+ for this project. Also, I found that lip glosses and mascaras are the easiest products to use up, probably because I apply copious amounts of them daily.
For those of you that were doing this project along with me, how is it coming? Let me know in the comments! I think you can leave a comment with your twitter account now, which is kinda cool (I installed a new program).
I just raided the kitchen for a snack and found out halfway through munching on a wheat thin that the box was expired. This led me to purge my entire pantry, a much too common trend for me. It got me thinking of people's quirks. This is definitely one of my biggest quirks; I am obsessed with food expiration dates. I check it on every single thing that goes in my mouth. Even if I just bought it, it gets checked. It drives my mom crazy when I am at her house because I think she takes it personally (as if she doesn't keep her pantries clean) (she does) but it's not that at all, it's just a full-scale, blown-up quirk.
I also can't sleep if my room is over 72 degrees, but I think that is a much more common quirk. Another one, more of a pet peeve I guess, is that I can't STAND when someone states untrue information as a fact. This used to bother me all the time in college classes, when a student would misstate a fact, but it also pertains to gossip. I know all girls gossip, and I will admit that I have done so occasionally (although I am against it normally), but sometimes I will straight up call BS on the gossiper. If you are ever in a gossipy conversation with me, be forewarned :)
This might be why I am so interested in law (I was pre-law in college); I have this internal need to shut people up who talk about untrue stuff. Let me clarify though, I don't mean if someone is simply repeating or questioning something; I mean when someone states something untrue as a fact. Unfortunately, I have to deal with this a lot on YouTube and in media outlets. Let me say this: you cannot believe 90% of what you read about me online, only what I have directly said or quoted. And included in this are major news sources that I had no idea could print false information until recently. News sources can print any quote, true or not, if it comes from a person (like a hater) and no one is going to question it, even if it is an outright lie. I'm a communications/law major and I did not know that national huge media outlets could go without fact checking and be unethical, but they can. An example would be the Good Morning America piece saying Blair dropped out of school to "shop". Completely false, and a little bit negligent, since no one is going to question Good Morning America. It's a bit unfair to say something hateful about a 17 year old girl who by no means can defend herself against something as big as Good Morning America. This is not the only example, but through YouTube and dealing with this it has dulled my passion to constantly right the wrongs said about me. Sometimes I don't want to outright address an issue for privacy reasons (like my address, full name, cell number, etc) or for legal reasons but that doesn't mean I am "hiding" anything from you. It has gotten to the point where it is more like "Say what you will, and my true fans will stick with me. They are true to me, and I will always be true to them". Those of you that have known me from the beginning will know I haven't changed a bit, just grown with my audience. And that's that.
I think I have totally confused some of you with my back and forthness from my house to my parents house over the last month. I did a quick vlog, which I will put up soon, but while I am sitting here watching Gossip Girl I might as well fill you in on what's going on in my life. The back and forthness has been due to two things: traveling, and taking loads of my stuff to my parents house to make moving out easier - my car doesn't hold much.
It's the end of another school year, but this one is different; it was my last one. My senior year of college, my very last semester. I do have a few more classes to take this summer, since I fell behind this semester from traveling and decided to finish up online, but as for standard school, living on campus - it's over. And I am very sad and nostalgic about it; I'm having a tough time. Our lease is up at my rental house so I am moving out and back to my parents for the month of May. In June I will move on with my life, a new chapter, I just haven't worked out the details. I will be getting my own place though; after living on my own for 4 years it will be hard to live with my parents for even a month. I am quite independent, and even though I love my family to death a month will be more then enough time to regroup and figure out what my next move is. If I seemed sad in my most recent tutorial, the bonfire at the beach one, this is why. I'm attaching a picture of my little warm house that I am very dearly going to miss - it makes me sad and happy at the same time to look at it. The steps of doom are on the side so unfortunately you can't see them, that would have been funny to show! The hill drops off steeply and the steps are steep and narrow, and IMPOSSIBLE to navigate in the icy winters :) College was the best 4 years of my life, and I wish everyone the best of luck who haven't started yet. If you are in the middle of your college years - enjoy every minute.
********************* On a more cheerful note, there are things about my family home that I miss when I am not there. Bella, my girl cat, has absolutely no coordination and is forever falling off of beds and couches, never landing on her feet. Sometimes while she is walking she trips over her own tail. She has been sitting in this one big flower pot in the front yard and it makes me fall over laughing every time I see her, plopped on the dirt with a serene look on her face. I think she meditates in there.
Bear has had his own "issues" lately. He has developed this habit of sleeping UNDER my bed instead of on top with me, which I don't like one bit. I like to hear him purr and for him to be there for me to cuddle with when I wake up in the morning. So I had this great idea to make a barricade (BEARacade - get it?) all around my bed so he couldn't get under. I sat there planting boxes and baskets all the way around the bed, plugging the holes with blankets and making it impossible for him to get under there. About an hour later I noticed he was missing, so after looking everywhere I removed a box and peered under the bed, and there he was. I have NO IDEA how he got under there. He totally outsmarted me. I'm still scratching my head over it. If anyone has any inklings, please clue me in. There he is with his favorite tennis ball ---->
Dad and I have gotten in the habit of taking a walk around the neighborhood after dinner, when it starts cooling off outside. Normally we speed walk, try to get our heart rates up (my dad used to be a runner) but the last time we literally just moseyed along staring agog at all the houses. We were like two agogers agogging at everything. The worm on the ground, the grass, different houses, everything. We were the nosy neighbors that everyone has who everyone secretly wants to buzz off.
I finished the book "Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella which I really enjoyed. I would recommend it if you want a quick, easy, girly read. It was one that I didn't want to put down, just because I related to the character and the writing style so much. I am currently at the tail end of "Need" by Carrie Jones, and to be quite honest it's been difficult to get through it. I'm not sure why, because it involves werewolves and fairies and supernatural things that I love, but it just hasn't captivated me the way I needed it to. I ended up pausing and reading the entire Twenties Girl book right in the middle. I'm also halfway through "Love the one you're with" by Emily Giffin, which is another easy read. It's basically about what happens when you find the love of your life, and you marry him, but then you find the REAL one you were supposed to be with. Do you stay with the one you married? The book is basically about that :)
I will have my April Favorites winners up soon, and as far as Tarte - that was on them. They have already picked their winners and contacted them. I will list the names in the April Favorites video, but you would have already been contacted on the email address you signed up for the contest with.
Lost just ended; it was the saddest episode. It was the one from last night, May 4th, and I am incredibly sad. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet - but it's a tearjerker. There are only a few episodes left - how on earth are they gonna wrap it up!? For a long time I thought that the whole island was limbo - a place between heaven and hell where the choices they made on the island affected their fate, but I just have no clue anymore. I have watched this show since the very first season. Lost nerds - UNITE!
Last thing: Project 10 Pan has been completed! I will do a separate blog post on this including the items I finished up and my thoughts, so look out for that!
Hey guys! I am currently sick in bed with what could possibly be the flu (bad Blair for getting me sick) so I can't film tonight. Therefore I figured a blog post was in order. I was sitting here noodling over what I could review when I spotted my two candles happily burning on my dresser, and thought, "I know I talked about these in my April Favorites but I will do a blog review as well". If you haven't seen my April Favorites video you can watch it here; I give away 2 of these candles, but please do not comment any "enter me's" on this blog - only on my YouTube video :)
So I was sent 6 scents, and for time purposes I only described 4 of them in my video. I will quickly describe each one, and tell you my favorites. These are available at www.illumenature.com.
The first one is my favorite, and one that I am currently burning. It is called Cinnamon Sticks. This one has the scent of cinnamon bark and spicy yumminess. It smells exactly like big red gum. I didn't burn this one right away, I just let it sit in my room with the lid open, but when I lit it up it immediately grew in scent intensity. I took this picture RIGHT after I lit it, so it hasn't even formed a puddle yet, but it smells marvelous. I will purchase this one when it runs out. One thing I like is how streamlined these candles are, they don't look "homemade" at all.
My next favorite is the Banana Nutbread. This one smells of banana, brown sugar, and vanilla. It is a sweet smelling, cake-like scent, one that would be good in the kitchen. Obviously I am burning mine in my bedroom currently along with Cinnamon Sticks, because I love sweet, food smelling candles. I actually especially love banana nutbread, my mom makes the best banana nutbread around, but she only makes it in the fall. Maybe I will pester her and get her to make me some tomorrow. "Mom, I'm soooooo sick. I have the flu and the ONLY thing I can eat is your banana nutbread....".
Hahaha I am playing, I wouldn't use her like that, but it does sound tasty!
The next one is a scent I'm sure everyone recognizes, Japanese Cherry Blossom. It smells just like the one from Bath and Body Works, but I am not complaining because it is one of my all time favorite scents. It is a clean scent, slightly floral and very feminine. Plus, the candle itself is pretty; and I am one to judge on those things. I am big on packaging, and if it is not pleasing to the eye I don't want it as decor. The ones from Bath and Body Works are pretty as well, which is why I purchase from them often.
The next one is one I chose not to review on my April favorites, but it is still a nice scent. It is called Citrus Basil. This one smells exactly as it sounds - exceptionally citrusy. It smells like lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit, all mixed into one candle, with a bit of basil leaf. This one I would keep confined to my kitchen or bathroom, just because I like my bedroom to have a softer, more feminine and romantic scent to it. I like it though; it smells very clean and fresh.
Next is Chestnut and Brown Sugar, which smells deceivingly like banana nutbread at first, but once you smell them closely it has its own unique scent. It smells of caramel, chestnuts, vanilla and brown sugar. It is another cake-y scent, smelling like baked goods straight out of the oven. It is a bit less sweet than banana nutbread, but still smells nice and I would recommend it if you like that type of scent.
The last one is my least favorite, but I could see some people enjoying it. It is Lavender, which is a scent that I am so-so about in general. Lavender is great to use at bedtime, because it naturally makes you sleepy and relaxed. I use lavender sometimes in my baths, but it is just not a scent I am personally that attracted to. This one reminds me of laundry detergent - not in a bad way, just a clean, lavender way. It is a fresh scent, and if you are a big lavender fan then the scent is true to its' name.
So that's all of them! For reference, mine are the 8oz size, so they are $11.99 each. They are also available in a 20oz.
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