Summer Beach Essentials

Hello hello! Happy hump day everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We went to the beach as you do in Florida and it was a perfect day. Being a Floridian going to the beach is something that happens quite often. I’ve grown up spending weekends at the beach or on the river so I’ve learned a few essential items to bring along the way. Check out my summer beach essentials below!

1. Sunscreen: I can’t stress the importance of this enough. When I was young I hated putting sunscreen on and would come home miserable and looking like a tomato. Now I am probably a little obsessive with it. I use the Neutrogena Beach Defense SPF 70 and apply it once an hour to ensure I am protected from the sun.

2:Sunglasses: These are a must for the beach. In Florida the sun can be super harsh and can be hard on your eyes. Sunglasses are needed especially if you will be at the beach for an extended amount of time. I think Forever 21 has some of the cutest and most inexpensive sunglasses out there.

3. A cute bathing suite: Okay this might sound a little dumb but I feel like its so much easier to enjoy yourself at the beach when you have bathing suite that makes you feel good and confident about yourself. I am currently in love with the one I have on. Its from Cotton On and is also affordable. Check it out here.

4. A Book: Its so relaxing to sit on the beach and read a good book. I am currently reading the Out from Egypt series. I can’t rave enough about these books. They suck you in and you never want to stop reading.

5. Small wristlet or pouch: I usually bring an empty Ipsy bag that way I can keep my phone, wallet, and keys without them falling to the bottom of my beach bag. It makes it way easier to find.

6. Massive Beach Towel or Beach Chair: While at the beach you are going to want something to sit in beside the sand. A big beach towel works great or if you prefer a chair you can easily find an inexpensive beach chair.

7. Water: It gets extremely hot in the summer and that makes it easy to get dehydrated. So while at the beach make sure you are drinking a lot of water!

 

Top 5 Makeup Brushes

1. BH Cosmetics Brush 29: This is the perfect brush for blush. I never use another brush to put on my blush. It works for powder or cream and blends it all out beautifully.
2. Sigma F80: I have loved this brush for years and its still one of my favorites. Its perfect for blending out my foundation. It feels so soft when applying liquid foundation and just gives a flawless look. Its a an oldie but definitely a goodie.
3.  Real Techniques Contour Brush: I have never loved a brush for my powder contour as much as I’ve loved this one. Its extremely precise and perfect for contouring specific areas of your face.
4. Morphe M330 Blending Crease: This brush is so soft and blends my crease perfectly. Plus its super affordable and works better than any of my more expensive makeup brushes.
5. Real Techniques Shading Brush: I absolutely love this brush. Its density is perfect to apply powder eyeshadows. I also love using this with my Colour Pop Super Shock Shadows.

Get all these awesome brushes here:

BH Cosmetics Brush 29: <a href=”http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=USZ6KtAtSx4&offerid=451576.3074&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhcosmetics.com%2Fdaily-deal-014″><IMG border=0 src=”http://www.bhcosmetics.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/4/14.jpg&#8221; ></a><IMG border=0 width=1 height=1 src=”http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=USZ6KtAtSx4&bids=451576.3074&type=2&subid=0&#8243; >

Sigma F80: http://www.sigmabeauty.com/f80-flatkabuki/p/F80PARNT

Real Techniques Contour Brush: https://realtechniques.com/core-collection/p/1403

Morphe M330 Blending Crease:https://www.morphebrushes.com/products/m330-blending-crease

Real Techniques Shading Brush: https://realtechniques.com/shading-brush/p/1404

 

 

Empowerment Sunday: Samantha Virella

I have had on my heart for a while to start a blog series all about women who inspire, empower, and are all around girl bosses. My vision is through this, other ladies can relate and feel empowered to follow their dreams. When deciding who my first interview would be I instantly knew I wanted it to be Samantha Virella.

I met Samantha about six months ago, and we instantly hit it off. She is possibly the sweetest person you will ever meet but when you get to know her there is so much more than that. When I think of Samantha the word empowerment comes to mind. I constantly see her pouring into other women and ministering to their hearts. She recently became a Refit fitness instructor and her classes are all about empowering other women. She is also a wonderful wife and has four beautiful kids. I am so excited to share my first Empowerment Sunday post with you!

 Q: 3 words that you would use to describe yourself?

A: Passionate, Loyal, and God-fearing. If we are being real a little messy.

 

Q: I know you are a Wife, Mom, and Refit instructor how do you manage to balance it all?

A: I don’t. I just keep going when it gets hard and God keeps me even when it’s hard to manage it all. When you’re a Mom it gets hard and taking time for me is important.

 

Q: What is Refit and why did you decide to get into it?

A: Refit Revolution is fitness for mind, body, and soul. Its faith inspired. It ministers to your heart physically and mentally. It was a God thing. I’ve been doing it online for 5 years and it has inspired and changed my life physically and mentally and I wanted to share it with others. It kind of chose me and I love it.

 

Q: Do you have any health-related goals for the New Year?

A: I haven’t made any goals except staying on this journey. My goal is no longer a number but to be just healthy and happy. I let go of losing a bunch of weight and just live a healthy and free life. I do want to lose a little more weight but it’s not a goal like it used to be. I became so focused on losing weight it overwhelmed me last year and I don’t want it to consume me like it was.  

 

Q: Looking back what is one piece of advice you would give your younger self?

A: Honestly there is nothing to be afraid of when God is on your side. Fear used to hinder me so much and now I am no longer letting fear control me. My biggest obstacle was getting over fear.

 

Q: What would be your advice for those who are just starting a family?

A: Give yourself LOTS of grace to make mistakes and always be willing to learn more and pray a lot.

 

Q: What brings you the greatest satisfaction professionally?

A: Planning what the lord has put on my heart to share at the end of my classes. Organizing my playlist as well that’s fun!

 

Q: What brings you the greatest satisfaction personally?

A: Gods love for me.

 

Q: What is the best part of Motherhood?

A: There is so much! Even the hard times are worth it. I never knew I could love a person so much. It makes you understand more about Gods love for you.

 

Q: What’s your greatest indulgence?

A: A nice cheat meal is great. I just love food.

 

Q: What beauty product could you not live without and why?

A:Coconut oil. It removes makeup, moisturizes, nourishes your body. I just love it. Then eyebrows and mascara I don’t leave the house without doing those.

 

Q: Do you have a quote or bible verse you like to live by?

A: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Favorite quote is I’M ENOUGH!
 

 

 

Review: Wet n Wild Photofocus Foundation & Concealer

I was browsing around Walgreens, as you do, when suddenly out of the corner of my eyes new Wet n Wild products catch my attention. Naturally I rushed over, who am I kidding I walked and probably super slow too. Anyways I saw the Photofocus line and instantly fell in love…I mean these are the most expensive looking products Wet n Wild has ever released but we will get into that soon enough. While looking through the stash of foundation I couldn’t find my color anywhere, darn my pale skin, finally at the very back and in the wrong spot I got the very last one. Then I proceeded to find the concealer and I did. The lightest shade looked to dark but I shrugged my shoulders and bought it anyways, I can’t be stopped when it comes to makeup.

Now for the actual review of the products. I have been wearing both of these products and I feel like I have a pretty good judgement on these product. First off I will say if you have dry skin you will absolutely hate the foundation. It dries out on your skin so quickly. My skin is normal so I didn’t mind it so much. The foundation is a great color match for my skin and gave a really nice Matte finish. I wore this foundation my whole work day and noticed that it settled into my pores and really extenuated them. This foundation is horrible and for six bucks it doesn’t get much cheaper! The concealer is the real surprise for me. I originally thought it would be to dark for my skin tone but it ended up being a perfect match. It blends out beautifully and does everything you want a concealer to do. Overall these products are so inexpensive and the quality is not bad either.

My Goals for 2017

I can’t believe it’s already 2017 where has time gone. I am actually very excited for this year. I feel like its going to be great! This is the time of year where everyone sets goals for the themselves and I’ve never really set new years goals because most people never actually fulfill them. This year I decided I would set five goals and I wanted to share them. So here goes!

1. Read my bible for at least 20 minutes everyday. Sometimes life gets so busy that its easy to forget to push aside spending time in the word when it is so important for spiritual health.
2. Make more time for myself. This something that I am not very good at but I think its vital to take some time and do things that make you feel happy and relaxed. Some of those things for me are date nights, spending time with my girlfriends, relaxing baths, and writing for fun.
3. Blog twice a week. I am so inconsistent with my blogging and this year I’ve decided to set myself a schedule.
4. Go on a long walk twice a week. Walking is so good for you and can really help clear your mind.
5. Book a vacation to Paris! This has been a long term goal for me and I’ve kind of made it my husbands to. I have been to Europe but I have never been to Paris and its always been a dream of mine. By the end of this year I would love to have a trip booked for the beginning of next year!

There are my five goals for 2017! I am so excited for these and I feel like they are actually obtainable. What are some of your goals for 2017?

New York City

I love the city but I exspecially love the city during Christmas time. There is something that is magical about it. The crowded city streets, crazy crowds, and decorations all over the city always seem to put me in the Christmas spirit. One of my favorite parts of Christmas time in New York City is the Christmas Markets throughout the city. My absolute favorite is the Bryant Park Christmas Village. You can buy ornaments, accessories, and my personal favorite is the food. The fried pickles and Nutella Banana Crepes are my favorite. This year I went to see the Radio City Rockettes for the second time. I have loved the Rockettes since I was a little girl and I am so happy I was able to see them again. We decided to do the Top of the Rock and that never disappoints. The views from the Rockefeller Center are breathtaking. It’s my favorite view of the city.Our final night we did a NYC harbor tour, which I have never done, and loved it. The tour stops in the financial district, Brooklyn, and the Statue of Liberty. We went at sunset so we got to see the sun go down over the city and it was just beautiful.I feel really blessed to have the opportunity to go to New York. I’ve been three times in the last three years and I never get tired of this beautiful city. 

One of my new favorite places for New York style cheesecake is Eileen’s Special Cheesecake. So yummy!

We had such a great time in the city. I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving vacation and hope you enjoyed taking a peek at mine! 

HALLOWEEN 2016

This year I decided to be basic and be a black cat for Halloween. It was super easy and I already had everything to do so. So here is my costume! Hope you all had a great Halloween!👻

Top 3 Favorite Body Butters

Body butters are a must for me when the weather starts to get cooler. My skin dries up literally the first day it’s even a little bit chilly. If you don’t know what body butters are I would describe them as a lotion that is like a millions times more moisturizing than your typical everyday lotion. I love them and they work miracles on my skin. I have 3 that stand out above the rest.

First of let’s talk about Bath and Body Works body butters. They are amazing. Paris Amour is my favorite scent of theirs. I have the candle, perfume, body spray, lotion, and of course the body butter. This stuff smells amazing! I usually put this one on in the morning to compliment my perfume as I’m about to start my day.This one is a tad greasy so it’s not great for nighttime use. 

Creightons Rasberry Revive is my go to nighttime skin moisturizer. I love how it feels on my skin. It goes on smooth and doesn’t leave you greasy. After application it has this cooling sensation and it’s amazing. 

The last one I want to talk about is The Body Shop body butter.  I feel like I can’t talk about body butters without talking about The Body Shop. They have awesome products in general but I really love this one. It’s perfect to throw in your purse for use throughout the day. The scent smells of coconut and I love that.

I hope enjoyed my favorite body butters! Do any of you use these and what are your favorites? 

Favorite Palette for Fall

Fall is such a great time for makeup lovers am I right? It’s fun to switch up your makeup when the seasons change and it gets a bit colder. I’ve been loving this Mac palette lately that is perfect for this time of year.  With its purple hues and gorgeous mix of Matte, Satin, and frost shades it makes for a perfect palette. I will admit I was a little scared to use it when I first saw it but it can be used to make a really pretty natural everyday look. The bottom left shade is my favorite it’s perfect to blend into the crease. Plus Mac just slays their packaging. Sometimes I want products just because they look pretty. The tones in this palette are the perfect shades to wear during the Fall season. It isn’t the cheapest palette but it’s worth the price tag. 

Fall Tag

1. Favorite Fall lip product? I have two that are my absolute favorite and that is Mac Rebel and Sephora Collection Courtisane. They are perfect for Fall Rebel is deep purple that literally looks good on anyone and Courtisane is a deep brick red that is gorgeous.

2. Favorite Fall Nail Polish? I really like Yank My Doodle by OPI at the moment.

3. Favorite Starbucks Fall Drink? Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino of course!

4. Favorite Fall Candle? I love any Bath and Body Works Candle but my favorite is Marshmallow Fireside. Its just one of those scents that smell cozy and its great to have around your house.

5. Favorite Fall accessory? I love oversized chunky knit sweaters to just throw on over a pair of leggings.

6. Haunted house or haunted hay ride? BOTH

7. Favorite Halloween movie? Hocus Pocus and the Disney version of Sleepy Hollow. I’ve watched and loved both of these since I was a kid.

8. Favorite candy to eat on Halloween? I’m obsessed with Candy Corn.

9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?! I probably wont dress up this year. Maybe I’ll be basic and throw on a pair of cat ears.

10. What is your Favorite thing about Fall? EVERYTHING. I love that feeling it brings. I love that it brings families together. I love the anticipation for Christmas it brings. I love that its usually when I go on vacation. I love the crisp morning air. Fall is just the best ya’ll!