July 2014 Ipsy Glam Bag

YAY!! My July 2014 ipsy glam bag is here. If you aren’t familiar, ipsy is $10/month and sends its members a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Ipsy bills on the 1st of the month and usually ships from NC around the 10th of the month. Since I'm in NC I got mine in about 2 days.

The July 2014 ipsy glam theme is “Sensationally Sunkissed”. They don’t include a true information card with your products listed on it like some of the other boxes do. That information can all be found in your account. Ipsy sends out bag variations, via “ipsymatch”, which is based on the preferences you enter when you take the ipsy quiz. There were 21 different products this month and I believe each bag got 5 products. Here’s what was included:

~The Ipsy Bag: It's cute with a "leather" feel too it but nothing really special about it.

~BareMinerals 5-in-1 BB Cream Shadow (Divine Wine)($18): I was kind of scared of this color when I first opened it up but after wearing it, it's great. It's a bit darker than a milk chocolate color with the tiniest bit of shimmer. It blends out beautifully and does not budge all day without primer.

~Pixi Tinted Brillance Balm (Pretty Pink)($14): I love the way this feels on my lips! It has a very slight peppermint scent but is super moisturizing. The color is a bit too pink for me and the longer you wear it, it keeps getting pinker so this will be going to my niece.

~POP Beauty Sunkissed Bronzer (Secret Sunshine)($10): This was the only full sized product in this months glam bag. The color is great, especially if you have fair skin, but it does have shimmer in it which I don't tend to gravitate toward. It would be a nice all-over bronzer but I would stay away from it for contouring.

~SexyHair Soy Renewal Beach Spray w/Argon Oil ($19.95): I have short naturally wavy hair and this works great for keeping my waves looking good all day. I love that it has Argon Oil in it to help maintain my frizz. I have to use it on damp hair though because I tried on my dry hair and it just made it feel dirty.

~Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil SPF 8 ($11.99): This was my least favorite product out of the entire glam bag simply because I don't tan. It does smell good though. :)

After totaling everything up (deluxe samples at 1/3 cost), I came up with a value of $31.32 for the July 2014 ipsy glam bag. Not bad for a for 5 new products to try and a free makeup bag. Even though I didn't love all of the products, it's still totally worth $10 a month for me.

Did you get this month's Ipsy Glam Bag? I'd love to know what you got and what you thought of it! If you're interested in subscribing or learning more about the Glam Bag, click here.

Erin Condren Life Planner 2014-2015

At long last my wait is over! 22 days after submitting my Erin Condren Life Planner order it has finally arrived! I did pay the extra $2 shipping to get it here a little faster and I must say it was worth the wait and extra money. I did use a $10 off coupon code which basically covered my shipping charges. If your interested in purchasing a planner or anything else from the site you can also receive $10 off by signing up with this link.

As soon as I opened the tissue and bubble wrap, I was greeted with a $10 off and a $15 off coupons, a Reach for the Stars sticker and my elastic bands I added to my order.

I chose the classic style life planner with the 18 month option which will run you $50 plus $5 for the extra months. This is the Fleur Feliz cover in Splash. There are tons of different covers to choose from and all of them are interchangeable and can be completely personalized. I decided to wait on buying extra covers until I could see how I would like it considering this is my first Erin Condren.

This is the inside of the front over which has space to put your personal info in case you ever leave you planner some where. Both the front and back covers are heavily laminated and seem to be very durable.

This is the first page you'll see when you open the cover.

Next is a two page quote that I love.

Then is the 2014-2015 months at a glance. Mine goes from July '14 through December '15.

Another quote on some really cute paper.

Now we are on to the good stuff. This is the monthly view. I love the fact that it is a two page spread and has a notes section on the side. Every month is color coordinated and has a life quote at the top of the page. I anticipate this is where most of my planning will take place.

I absolutely love the weekly pages in this planner. You have your entire month at the top left and goals & notes under that but the best part is how the days are laid out. They are broken down into Morning, Day and Night and also extra lines at the bottom for additional notes for that day. I'm actually thinking of purchasing another life planner to use strictly for diet and exercise. The page layout would be perfect for meal planning.

Every life planner come with a clear removable ruler to mark the current week. From my understanding, the ruler used to be laminated and would block your view of the days. This one is made of thick plastic and is extremely durable.

After all monthly and weekly planning pages, there is a notes section. You get 20 lined pages and.......

10 decorative unlined pages. All of the unlined pages have different designs at the top, this was just one of my favorites.

Next, she has included a year at a glance for 2016 and 2017.

Then comes the free stickers. These sell for $5 for a sheet of 60 if they are printed from her website but they are customizable and repositionable. I already ordered a few extra sheets for myself. Included you get 60 Birthday stickers.

You get 6 Game, 6 Day Off, 7 Hair Appt., 2 Dentist Appt., 3 Sale, 6 Doc Appt., 6 Concert, 6 Mani/Pedi, 6 Party, and 12 Vacation stickers.

You also get 120 blank repositionable stickers to write in whatever you need.

Toward the back of the planner is a removable Perpetual Calendar & Contacts booklet and a double-sided Keep it Together folder. They have made the perpetual calendar & contacts removable this year so it's easy to move it from planner to planner year after year instead of having to write birthdays and anniversaries over and over. Nice touch.

And at the very back is a clear zipper pocket to store your pens, stickers, post-its or whatever you may want to put in there. But inside the pouch was yet another surprise. She has also included 2 Lets Get Together cards with 2 spiral paperclips and.......

12 beautiful gift labels. I'm only showing 6 of the 12 because the other 6 are personalized with your name and match you planner cover. Privacy and all that.

Overall, I'm extremely excited to start using my planner. It's exactly what I've been looking for. It is a bit heavy for some but I like a good substantial planner. There's plenty room for planning your day to day, making lists and notes or whatever you hearts desire. I love the heavy duty lamination on the covers, the clear bookmark and the attached pouch so I can keep everything in one place. Shipping is slow. I wish it was faster but thinking about it, it is a custom made planner just for you and I would assume takes a fair amount of time to make and put together. As I mentioned above, I did pay an extra $2 for shipping. Regular shipping is through the postal service, costs $7.95 and will take 8-12 business days to get to you after you planner is complete. So, for $9.95 mine was delivered through FedEx in 3-5 business day. Totally worth the extra $2.

I plan on posting an update in the near future with how I use my life planner and hopefully some tips and tricks. And in case you missed it before, HERE is the link for you to save $10 on your first Erin Condren order.

BareMinerals Bareskin Foundation

After hearing all they hype and watching a few videos I have to say I was skeptical about this foundation. Finally I made a trip to Ulta and decided to try it. When it comes to foundation I'm picky to say the least. I have very dry skin and alot of redness to cover up on my cheeks, chin and nose. I tend to go for a medium to full coverage foundation and honestly couldn't see how I was going to get those results from a foundation that has the consistency slightly thicker than water but I tried it anyway. The employee that color matched me at Ulta used the BareMinerals brush that you are supposed to use and I just wasn't happy with the results. It was streaky and blotchy although the 03 Bare Linen was a perfect match for me. I wore the foundation all that day after playing with it, trying to blend it a bit more, and was happy enough to go back the next day to buy it and try it on my own.

I didn't purchase the brush but instead wanted to try it with my trusty Sigma F80. It was flawless! BareMinerals advertises this foundation to be a sheer coverage with 1-2 drops, a medium coverage with 3-4 drops and a full coverage with 5-6 drops. I found the key to this foundation is less is more and blend like you've never blended before. You really have to work this stuff into your skin. For me, I start with 2 drops on my finger and dotted it on half of my face then blended it in. Then another 2 drops for the other half and 1 drop for my forehead. This gives me a medium to full coverage although I do take another drop and dot it over the majority of my redness and blend this layer by pressing it in instead of buffing it all over because it moves the layer underneath. 

This foundation comes in a 1 oz. plastic dropper bottle, that I absolutely love, has a broad spectrum 20 SPF, is serum based and retails for $29. It is water, oil, silicone, paraben and fragrance free which is great for sensitive skin like mine. It claims to be a tone correcting foundation and skincare in one, giving you a brighter more youthful appearance. I can say it does even out your skin tone leaving it looking very natural almost like your not even wearing makeup. After wearing it for about 3 weeks now I haven't noticed any brightening or changes in my skin when I'm not wearing it. It does leave your skin with a dewy finish which I don't mind considering how dry my skin is but if you have combo skin you may want to set it with a powder and I wouldn't really recommend this for oily skin types. I haven't noticed any clinging to dry patches and it lasts all day for me. I do set all my makeup with a setting spray for a little extra insurance.

This is the 03 Bare Linen shade which is the 3rd lightest shade in the collection. There are 20 different shades, so finding the perfect shade shouldn't be a problem for just about anyone. I would suggest going to a retailer and getting matched though. I have light skin with yellow undertones and this one works perfectly for me. Normally I wear MAC NC20, Urban Decay Naked Skin in 2.0 and Philosophy Hope in a Jar foundation in Shade 4.

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set

After using Benefit's Gimme Brow and Anastasia's Clear Brow Gel for so long, I wanted to find something in between the two. Something that would give me the all day hold like Anastasia without drying completely stiff and something with a more natural color with some hold, than Benefit. Well, I found the perfect mixture of the two. MACs Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set. This stuff is amazing and retails for only $17! It holds all day without feeling like you hair sprayed your brows into place, the color doesn't budge and it matches my dark brown brows perfectly. This stuff is so waterproof you literally have to remove it with eye makeup remover.

I got mine in the color Bold Brunette and it's the perfect match. Also, pairs great with the MAC Brow Pencil in Spiked. The brow gel comes in six different shades ranging from Emphatically Blonde to Brown Ebony.

The brush is slightly larger than the Benefit's Gimme Brow and definitely smaller than the Anastasia Brow Gel. Again a perfect medium for me. It brushes easily through your brows with just the right amount of product to give a slightly fuller look without looking completely fake and painted on. I have dark but very sparse brows and I think I've found a new holy grail brow gel.

Free Blog Planner Printables

Over the past six months or so I've decided to start blogging but I wanted some way to keep my ideas and blog info organized. Being a planner addict I figured what better way than a blog planner. I searched the web and local stores for some sort of planner I could convert to a blog planner but couldn't find anything that would suit my needs. Then I looked into planner printables and found a ton. I saved some of my favorites and when I went back to decide on one, I still couldn't find one that had everything I wanted in it. I wanted something colorful, so I would be drawn to use it, a monthly calendar, weekly plan pages, note pages and trackers. This is what I came up with.

I ended up with three different planners that had all the properties I wanted, so I took bits and pieces from each one and created what I wanted out of a blog planner.

I definitely wanted a year at a glance. So I printed one on the back of the cover on cardstock.

Next came an undated monthly calendar. I wanted undated so I could use it year after year without having to find a new printable since I really love the design of this one. Another great attribute to this one is the focus for the month at the bottom.

Then came the weekly plan pages from a completely different set of printables. I especially like this one because it's undated, there's room for three post ideas a week, a to do list, weekly stats and room for future ideas. This works for me because this is pretty much my weekly plan schedule anyway.

This is one of my favorite pages also. Here again I have a notes section with a contact check list. There is room for my three weekly posts and info on each with check boxes to make sure the images and links are done and also doubles for giveaways.

The next page is for my extra info. Here, I can track my weekly or monthly stats, websites & inspirations, tweets, pinterest and again....more note space.

This page is strictly dedicated to notes. Yes, I like plenty of room to jot down ideas and scribble them out if I like. This is were I can do that and then put my final ideas on the previous pages. I created five sets of these pages, printed double sided, for each month. I know each month doesn't have five weeks but I don't like my months to run over to the next week.

In the back of my planner I printed one double sided Income/Expense page. We all know it's going to cost something to keep a blog running especially if you have giveaways and possibly can make some money from it one day.

After the Income page, I printed another double sided giveaways page. With six spaces on one side that gives me enough room to track one giveaway a month for the whole year, which is what I'm planning. Each section lets me track what I'm giving away, start and stop dates, the cost, the winner and so forth.

The Website Analytics page allows me to have an overview of all my stats at the end of the year.

And lastly, is the Website & Blog password tracker. I don't know about everyone else but I can't remember my login and passwords for every site I go to, so I thought this would be handy to have at the very end. I gathered all these pages and put them in the order I wanted them and had them bound at Office Max with a clear frosted front cover and black vinyl back for around $5.00. I like the spiral binding they do because it lays flat when it's open and I can fold it back on itself and use one page at a time.

Now, as I wish I could take credit for fully designing this planner, I can't, I'm not that talented. As I found all the printables I was choosing from these three were my favorites and came from different blogs from ladies who were gracious enough to have free downloads. The majority of my planner came from Jolenthe at Home School Creations and can be downloaded here. My weekly plan pages came from Beckie at Infarrantly Creative and can be downloaded here. The extra info, giveaways, and brainstorming pages came from Confessions of a Homeschooler and can be downloaded here. These are extremely talented women and have wonderful blogs that are definitely worth checking out. Each planner is great all on it's own but just works better for me all put together.