Win Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer over at A Spicy Boy, A Cat, and My Fat Ass

Okay, so I wasn't planning on posting again today, but I saw this giveaway, and I just couldn't resist! I have been wanting this book forever, and I just haven't been able to get off my fat a** to go buy a copy.

I've recently started getting into all these giveaways, and I'm going pretty crazy on this one. So, I really just wanted to post about it and hopefully improve my own chances of winning.

If you haven't heard about the book, Its about a guy who has always been back and forth between Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian, but upon finding out his wife is pregnant, he really sets out to make a choice and to find out what really is the best option. He contacts many of our country's major farms and from my understanding, is quite disgusted by what he finds. I think that in the end, he decides that meat is okay, as long as its free-range, grass-fed and just in its purest form. But no, I didn't just give away the ending because this book is about his journey and not about the lesson.

So if you're interested in signing up for this giveaway, head on over to A Spicy Boy, A Cat, and My Fat Ass to check out the entry requirements.

.::Fall Into Fitness::.

Hey everyone!
I stumbled across this today while looking at some blogs, and I wanted to share.

The Single Mommy Blog
 

It is a fall time "get healthy" program/challenge that she has set up. Not everyone will have the same goals, it can be a particular fitness goal or to lose a certain amount of weight... Anything, because we are all different. Every week, she posts something as encouragement and of her own experiences.

If you're interested, head on over there.  Everyone could use some encouragement, no matter what your goals are, and I think this will be a fun little challenge. Especially because I think that fall is a difficult season to work out in (its windy outside and its starting to get colder, ohh... the excuses I could make!)

As my little bit of encouragement, I have another link to share with you, that is along the same lines...

In my effort to get healthy, I signed up for an account at Livestrong. Well, I need to start recording what I eat again, because its completely getting out of hand (At about the same time as I start recording, I also started feeling quite yucky and bloated, and my brain decided to make a connection, even though I know there can't be). Anyways, I get their emails that are daily or whatever, I haven't paid attention, and I found one that was 10 Tips For Fall Fitness. ENJOY!!

Yes, I took a bath in Chocolate Milk & It Smelled Delicioussss!

Hey there!!  I tried a new bath mix today, that I mixed up myself! I think you might love the idea of this... 

Chocolate Milk Bath :)

So, I'm thinking this would be especially fun for kids, because of the chocolate. It might be a good way to encourage kids to take a bath. 

Parent: "Bathtime!"
Kid: "NO! I'm Clean (even though I'm covered in dirt)! I don't need a bath!"

Parent" "What about a chocolate bath?"

Kid: "Huh??  OK!"

Okay, so I don't have kids, so who knows if this would be a good idea, or if a some kids would even get excited about it. But I would try it when I have kids!

Here's the recipe:

4 Cups Milk (The "thicker" the better... I used 2%, but I would definitely recommend using Whole Milk)

1/4 Cup Honey

1/4 Cocoa 

Then you just add everything to the tub as your running the water. You might need to help the honey and chocolate break up a little bit. The honey should dissolve in the water, but cocoa can clump up when it hits water.

Why these ingredients?

The lactic acid in the milk will act as exfoliant, by eating through dead, flaky skin. This ultimately results in smoother, fresh, softer skin that hasn't yet been worn down by the environment.

Credit

Honey is a humectant which attracts moisture to the surface of your skin and will really make your skin soft. Also, you could rub pure honey on your skin while bathing for further exfoliation. 

Cocoa is high in anti-oxidants which means it reverses skin damage by fighting off (or actually balancing out) free radicals. This also means that it has anti-aging properties. The smell of chocolate is also strong enough to overpower any scent there may be from the milk.

So what did I think of this bath?

This really smelled quite wonderful. I think that next time though, I might adjust the amounts... Either more milk & chocolate for the amount of water I had, or filling up the tub less that way the additives have a higher concentration to have an effect on your skin. Its not that my skin didn't feel smoother after getting out, but I just think that with more milk, it might have been even more so, because it was more of a light hydration and I was really looking for a deep hydration. As I was researching milk baths, I found that using powdered milk seems to be more popular, probably because its a higher concentrated form of milk. So, I would recommend using the powdered milk if you have it. If not, regular milk should be just fine, although I would maybe even double the amount that I used for a full bath.

Tip Tuesday #6

Have Oily Skin? Try A Little Rice Powder! I use this stuff and it does wonders. You can buy it tinted or translucent and it really sucks up any oil on your skin, plus it diffuses light to even out your complexion. You can use this a couple different ways. You can put over mineral foundation, like a veil. Or put over your liquid foundation to set it. Or, because I have bad skin, what I do is put on my liquid foundation, then a light coat of rice powder, and then my pressed powder with a kabuki brush to blend and for further coverage.

Etsy: LaBella Beauty Bar Review

A couple weeks ago, I had mentioned an etsy shop that I was in love with... La Bella Beauty Bar. Her shop consists mostly of bath bombs, but a few of her other products include lotion bars, bubble bars, candles, bath salts, and exfoliants.

When I did the review before I had purchased anything, I had mentioned something about wishing she had a larger variety of products. And then when I made my purchase, I sent her the link, and you know what... since my purchase, there are a ton of new products on her site. Now I feel like I need to buy more!

 My products came wrapped in plastic bags. The lotion bar was just taped closed, and the fizzy was tied with ribbon. And then there was a label on each stating the product and the ingredients. The ingredients aren't listed on the product page, so this was helpful in making sure there were no harmful chemicals.

My only complaint is that it took a week before the products were shipped. I'm not sure if she had to make the bath bombs and didn't have them on hand or what. Its not a big deal, just more of an annoyance.

Okay, so right now, she's doing a special, Buy 2 and get one free... which is what I did.

Blueberry Cobbler Lotion Bar
Okay, so this is the first product I ordered. I have really been wanting to try a lotion bar, since I discovered Lush's massage bars. This is a 3oz bar, in a light cream color. Somehow when I ordered, I completely missed the long list of scents at the bottom of the product page. During our conversations back and forth about bath bombs, I had mentioned that I'm not too picky about anything but floral scents. So, when she realized I hadn't specified a scent, and because she wanted to get my package out, she went ahead and sent me Blueberry Cobbler. I am definitely not disappointed. Its a such a fruity/berry scent, and its definitely not lacking at all. Its quite strong, but I like it. Once its on your skin, its not overbearing. 

I have heard people talk about how lotion bars can be oily, and this one is not an exception. It does go on a bit oily, so I would just recommend using this on your body and not on your hands or face. I enjoy the oils on my legs. 

Lovespell Moisturizing Bath Bomb Fizzy
The other product that I purchased was a purple bath bomb that was scented similar to to Victoria's Secret Lovespell. It smells very similar to Lovespell, except her version is just a little more fruity. Boy, do I love fruity smells. They just make you so happy! Anyways...

This was my first experience with a bath bomb, as well. (Think I was sheltered much as a child? Hehe.) It was so fun! I like feeling the bomb fizz and it changed my bath water to purple. And like I mentioned, the scent smelled absolutely amazing.  And it really did make my skin feel soft. The final touch was that it was filled with glitter. It really made my skin sparkle! (And anyone who knows me, knows how much I enjoy glittery things!). It almost disappoints me that I used that particular one on a Sunday night!

My free product was a moisturizing bath bomb in the scent fruit slices. This bomb is multicolored, so I don't think it will be turning my bath a fun color, but I just like to smell it anyways.  I haven't used this one yet... I think I might today though...



 

Lush: Coalface Review

So, when I made my trip to Lush a few weeks ago, I had also gotten a sample of Coalface facial cleansers. Once again notice, I said sample... I told the sales associate it was something I was interested in trying and that I only wanted a sample to see how my skin would react. I actually walked in saying I wanted a sample of both Coalface and Dark Angel. Both cleansers are contain activated charcoal and are made for oily skin. She suggested the Coalface because it was less exfoliating. And she told me that to try to make it last me two weeks to really get an idea of how my skin would react. It lasted me more like 3 weeks.

Coalface Facial Cleanser
Okay, so like I mentioned, the main ingredient in this cleanser is activated charcoal. Another active ingredient is licorice root. 

First thing you will notice from this cleanser is that it's black. Kind of a scary thought, even though you are rinsing it off of your face. It also has a light licorice scent to it. I didn't mind it, but if you really don't like licorice, you won't like this cleanser. Something else you will notice is that if you run your fingers over the side of the bar, it feels scratchy. This is supposed to be exfoliating, but I think the particles that are causing this, are just too small and too far apart to be anything but scratchy. It just doesn't feel nice.

Credit

This cleanser differs from some of their other cleansers. The other ones, you break off a chunk and then rub it between your hands to create a paste and then rub it to your face. This cleanser is more like a black bar of soap. From some of the reviews I have read on this cleanser, it seems that most people will take the entire bar and rub it over their face. I tried that and I just didn't like it. For one, I didn't like the scratchy exfoliation and for two, you end up using the bar so much faster. I actually rubbed the bar between my hands, like I do with the shampoo bars, and then rubbed what was on my hands into my skin. I think this is why my bar ended up lasting so long.

This, like the shampoo bars, has the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in it, which is drying to your skin. That's why, I guess, this one in particular, is so good for oily skin.... it strips the oil from your skin. Now before you jump on me for what I just said, I don't necessarily agree with this process.. stripping your skin of its natural oils, but for whatever reason, this worked... my skin really didn't get that oily during the day. And for my skin, if I can make it less oily, then I can reduce my acne (but like I've said, mine is hormonal, so I don't think I'll ever get rid of it). 

In general, I think I prefer this cleanser over Herbalism (but I have quite a bit left, so I think I'm going to give Herbalism another shot). Right now, I think its the combination of having to switch facial cleansers and my skin still recovering from "that time of the month" that I am completely broke out right now. I'm just not sure at this time what Herbalism is doing for it, but I know that when I was using Coalface, my acne wasn't too bad.  Before throwing myself into Coalface entirely, I do want to try a couple other charcoal facial cleansers... so we will see!


I would say I purchased this product with my own money, but I didn't... it was a sample. However, the sales associate had no way of knowing I would be writing a review on this product. Once again, I am in no way affiliated with Lush or its distributors and all of the above opinions are of my own. Please make your own judgments when using this product. 

 Much Love!!  Xoxoxo

Lush: The Blonde Review

Hey everyone! A few weeks ago, I made another trip to Lush to pick up a couple more products. I must not very much because I picked up yet another Shampoo and another facial cleanser.

The Blonde Shampoo

Credit Although this picture shows a bar with
lemon slices, my bar only had the chunks
of dried chamomile flowers.

Okay, so a couple weeks before I picked up the shampoo, I decided to dye my hair back to it's natural color, which is a lighter blonde. (Yes, I know... I'm crazy for even dying it in the first place! I haven't been blonde in nearly 4 years!!). My roots were already growing out, so really, all I needed to do was lighten the rest of my hair. But I was dumb, and like blondes do, had a blonde moment. I lightened my roots as well. OOPS! To try to even it out, I decided to do some pretty heavy highlights, which worked on some parts... but not everything (& yes, I'm did this all at home).  Well, I wasn't going to process my hair anymore, so I decided to purchase The Blonde from Lush, which is meant to lighten blonde hair. The main ingredient in this shampoo is chamomile, but it also has marigolds and lemon juice. All three ingredients are known to lighten blonde hair. Not only that, from number of reviews on the website, it seems that its one of the more moisturizing of the solid shampoos, as a lot of reviewers stated they didn't even need to use a shampoo afterwards.

My thoughts on this shampoo... I've been using it for about 3-4 weeks now and I can't say I haven't noticed any lightening, and I have used it every time I have shampooed since I purchased it. In fact, yesterday was the first time I didn't use it and Alex casually stated after I had dried my hair that it looked more blonde than usual, not as yellow. So does this mean their shampoo was depositing yellow color onto my hair? I'm not sure, but I have heard of many blonde shampoos doing that.

In terms of moisturizing, I don't know if I agree with this claim either. I do think that if they take out Sodium Lauryl  Sulfate, it really would be moisturizing... But it does contain SLS and this does strip your hair of moisture. Lush has been working on replacing the SLS in their shampoos with the more gentle Sodium Coco-Sulfate. However, I haven't seen this switch in any of their solid shampoos... yet.

There are a couple things that I do love about this shampoo... I am entirely and completely in love with the scent. Its like a spicy citrus and its amazing! There are also chunks of dried chamomile flowers in the shampoo, which makes it a fun treat. Whether or not they make a difference in the ability of the shampoo, I'm not sure. But its always fun to see flowers in your shampoo. :)

Also, The Blonde is cut off larger blocks of The Blonde shampoo... this means, that if you purchase in store, that you request however much you want. I purchased a $5 block and I am only maybe half way through it. This works really well that way you can buy however much you can afford. I was broke, and I could only afford $5 and I really am glad that I didn't purchase more.

So I'm not saying this shampoo won't benefit someone, I just don't think it was for me. I really enjoy Trichomania better than this one. If you have dry hair, I don't know if I would try this, because I find it a big drying and I'm on the oily side. But I have also found that as long as you're using a good conditioner, its not really a problem.

If you haven't already noticed, I purchased this product with my own money and am in now way affiliated with Lush, besides the fact that I'm one of their cult followers. All opinions above are of my own and have not been influenced by anyone... Please make your own judgement when purchasing this product.

Much Love!!  Xoxoxo -The real blonde! ;)

"I played poker the other night... With tarot cards. I got a full house and 4 people died." -Steven Wright

Hello There!!
I just wanted to welcome everyone to my site! I hope you get the chance to look around. If you haven't visted my blog before, Its a little bit of everything... But MOSTLY Natural beauty. This goes from homemade recipes and tips to reviews on natural/organic/botanical products. I really hope you enjoy. 

P.s. I've been lacking in comments lately... :( I would really appreciate if you let me know your thoughts on any of the posts below! No pressure though!!

This is in honor of Halloween coming up. I had this huge Halloween party last
year and this was the "girl" picture as everyone was arriving.  I was the gypsy

If You Like Food, Check This Out!!

Hey everyone!! A friend of mine from high school, Lynzee, recently began her own blog and I just wanted to put the word out for her!

Her blog is Unapologetic Gluttony and its for all of you food lovers out there! Its basically all things food, so no one should feel left out. I hope you check it out and let her know that you came from my site!  Thanksss!!

"Man is like a banana... When he leaves the bunch, he gets skinned." -proverb

I have a bundle of bananas sitting at home, and as I was eating one for breakfast, I was inspired to write a post about how amazing bananas are. They are probably one of my favorite fruits and I absolutely love them. And we all know how good they are for your body, at least I hope we all do.

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Quick Anatomy & Physiology lesson... your nerve functions are basically ran on an interaction between sodium and potassium.  You need to be able to keep both levels up to make sure everything is firing correctly.  I'm pretty sure no body has to worry about their sodium levels dropping (except for maybe if they do lots of cardio, or just sweat in general), but how often do we worry about keeping our potassium levels up?

So first & foremost, I would try to eat a banana everyday.  Then you won't have to worry about your potassium levels getting too low. You should especially do this if you get runner's cramps.. I promise, it will help.

Bananas also have a ton of other nutrients that will really benefit your skin, hair, and nails.

• Everyone knows how much I love a good PreConditioning Hair Mask.  You can make a variety of hair masks with bananas. A really good one to try is to mash 2-3 ripe bananas and mix with about 2-3 tablespoons of honey.  Wet your hair and then apply this mask.  If you have a shower cap or plastic wrap that your can put on your hair, do that. You'll want to try to create some heat, so it could be beneficial to zap it with a hair dryer. After 30 minutes, jump in the shower and rinse, then shampoo and condition as usual. After doing this a few times, it should really improve the overall texture of your hair.
• Bananas are also beneficial if you have blemishes skin, because they are soothing to your skin.  You can make a quick mask by mashing a ripe banana and mixing with 1 tablespoon milk, pinch of nutmeg, and a tablespoon of oatmeal. Apply to your clean face and wash once its dry.
• They're also quite moisturizing. Put them to the test by applying them to your dry, callused, and cracked feet. Leave the mashed banana on your feet for about 10 minutes and then rinse with warm water and then again with cool water. It should help soften some of the dry spots.
• You can also try a moisturizing face mask made with just bananas and honey. Mash 1-2 bananas and add some honey, I would recommend 1 tablespoon. Apply to your face and then rinse after 10 minutes. It should really  moisturize and also brighten your complexion.
• Why not make a hair mask that can also be consumed as a smoothie?! Blend one banana, 1/2 of an avocado, a couple chunks of cantaloupe, and a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt. You can also add some vitamin E (which is also edible) to the mixture if your hair is very damaged. (You can either purchase vitamin E liquid from a health food store or break open a vitamin E capsule). Apply to your hair and put on your shower cap or plastic wrap and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse, shampoo, and condition like any other PreConditioner.
• Bananas are so amazing that they also have anti-aging qualities to them as well!  And it really doesn't get much easier than mashing a single banana and applying it to the skin. And then just rinse after about 20 minutes. You will love your skin after this.

Sources
Beauty Cosmetic Guide: Home Remedy for Dry Skin
Beauty Tips: Benefits of Bananas 
Livestrong: Natural Home Remedies for Damaged Hair

Viva La Vie Boheme

I really enjoy Bohemian style. And for a couple years, I've been telling myself I want to incorporate a more bohemian look into my dress, but I really have yet to do it.

In the winter, I'll wear those scarves, and I wear chunkier jewelry on occasion, but I don't think you would say "Look at her! She's so bohemian" when you look at me.

So that's my goal... to dress more bohemian. What do you think? Is this way of dress overrated?

Okay, so there's this website that I found that has some really great tips on how to dress bohemian the right and wrong way. http://www.thechicfashionista.com/bohemian-fashion-style.html

Some Clothing Brands that I know of, so far...
Some great clothing lines I think I'm going to check out more often are:
Free People Free People is also on Bluefly, so that's a cheaper way to afford the brand. :)
Billabong
Alternative Apparel
American Apparel
Does anyone know of any other clothing brands that are on the more bohemian side? Especially ones that are less expensive. The cost of Free People pushes it, but I absolutely love their style. I have yet to purchase any of their clothing, so for all I know, it could fit me awkwardly and look weird. I also prefer to shop at the Mall as opposed to shopping online. I like to touch things and try things on and in general, see things in person.

My Inspiration

Only the 2nd two... That dress is horrible!

These are just some styles that I can see myself wearing. I'm very body conscious because of my weight, so I'm not usually comfortable wearing shorts and skirts or really showing skin in general all that often. I do guess my fear is that these clothes are going to make me appear even wider than I already am? What are your thoughts? Or what are some ways to minimize this?

Zen Habits

I stumbled across this really great blog, and I just really wanted to share it with everyone. 

I am constantly on a mission to find peace in life, and, in general, to eliminate complications.  Zen. This blog is a way to assist you to do that.  To make it part of your life.  It talks about everything, from design to exercise. 

I came across it by googling "how to work out" ... it was that simple.  And now, as I'm looking through the archives of the blog, I am coming across many articles that I find interesting.  

I really do think that everyone can find an article of interest and really encourage you to check it out. :)

Zen Habits: Smile, Breathe, & Go Slowly

My Week in Review and What I Have Coming Up!!

Here lately, I have had the desire to use my Sunday's to wind down, relax, and reflect. The winding down & relaxing are pretty much done, and now I just need to reflect... which is what my blog is for.  :)

Another New Work Schedule... Ugh.

So... how was my week?  Well... Mondays & Wednesdays for me, are usually pretty hectic. I have school, starting at 8am, and then from there, I go straight to work. However, I won't be doing this anymore. One of my good friends, is pregnant. She also works at the same place I do, working 3rd shift (I work 2nd). However, due to the pregnancy, she is not able to sleep during the day, therefore stay awake at night during work. For whatever reason, I agreed to switch her shifts. I have mixed feelings about this...

On one hand, I'll have more free time during the day, which I am happy about. I won't have to go an entire week without seeing Alex, and no more going straight from school to work (And not doing it vice versa either, because I told her I wasn't going to work and then go straight to school.. I'm too scared I will fall asleep). But, on the other hand, this means going back to working weekends again and then more driving on my part, because I won't be able to go straight from school to work. The college is about 20 minutes from where I live and my work is another 15 minutes further from that. (Can you tell I'm from Ohio? I heard somewhere that we're the only state that uses time to calculate distance...)

The County Fair
I really do enjoy county fairs. I don't understand how someone couldn't? I love eating the fair food (although I am somewhat picky) and walking around to see all of the animals and merchants tables and everything. Unfortunately, I was unable to go until last night... and for my local county fair, it was the last night. And the only reason we did go, was because Alex wanted to go to the truck pulls they had. 

Some friends and I at different truck pulls
a few weeks ago. Fun times!! If
you have never attended before,
you really should!!

I was pretty disappointed, though. The vendors were great but there was hardly anyone there! Where was everyone?! Apparently it had been like this the entire week, not just the last night. I was really just disappointed about this. During the truck pulls, there were more people sitting in the pits (which we had pit passes, but ended up sitting in the grandstand because there was a better view) than up in the stands. And really, it seemed like the most of the people there were the pullers. 


It just makes me sad, because I blame the lack of attendance on the economy. Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana are still struggling a great deal, despite the fact that things are getting better. I really feel that a direct affect of the economy is that people don't have the money to take their kids to the fair. I also think that the people who do have the money are working multiple jobs and don't have the time, or similarly, there are A LOT more people attending the community college, and they just don't have the time. It's just so sad to see  our culture suffer because of the economy. :(

I Need to get HEALTHY!!
I've really been taking a look at my body and my health the past couple days and I think it has finally kicked in, I need to eat healthier and exercise more. If you can't tell from the picture above, I have wayyyy too much weight around the mid section, and that is really unhealthy! I just think I have finally made the switch in my mind to actually make this happen. I have said before "I want to be healthy and fit and work out" but because my mind hasn't officially made the switch, I haven't done it anymore than periodically. 

I also have too much of a sweet tooth and consume a lot of sugar. A couple things I am thinking of doing to help is to begin substituting sugar with honey (because I absolutely love honey!), and just in general, working out... A good thing about my new schedule is that I will be able to do that.

I also really want to begin consuming more raw fruits & veggies. So a new goal of mine is to consume raw food at least once during the day. I am also vowing to no longer consume soda, which will be the hardest for me. I have done a pretty good job so far though! I only had a Sprite yesterday morning, and that was because my tummy hurt... 

So I will try to keep everyone updated on my efforts and really just take it one day at a time. Wish me luck!

I have a lot of new reviews coming!!
Okay... so get excited. :) I have a lot of fun things coming up for everyone. I already have reviews written up for Lush's The Blonde and Coalface. And a really fun article on all the great uses for bananas! (Oh... and I have been eating bananas non-stop lately. They are so good!!). 

And then I have a bunch of articles that I still want to write... For example, I have been wanting to write a big piece on Arbonne. The reason why I haven't yet, is that they reformulated a lot of their products and I really haven't gotten a chance to take a look at my personal inventory and compare it to their updated product listing. I also just received and began using my products that I ordered from LaBella Beauty Bar on Etsy. And then I wanted to talk about a few hair conditioners... one being from Organix (which you commonly find at Walmart) and another from Say Yes to Carrots. 

And finally, with Halloween coming up, it might be fun to find out how good pumpkin is for your hair and skin. And maybe some other things halloween related. And then, as I was looking through Etsy, and seeing all the fresh face masks, it made me wonder why more people don't just make their own! So, I wanted to do something on face masks and choosing the right face mask.

So I hope I have everyone thinking about somethings and that you're excited for what I have coming up. I'm really trying to write things up for you when I have time and then gradually posting them, so I don't go through any more phases where I post a lot all at once, and then nothing for awhile because of time. We'll see how this works. 

  Much Love!! Xoxoxo

Automagically Eye Lining Pencil from Origins

I have a new favorite eyeliner.  I'm not even going to lie...
I'm one of those people that feels the need to wear eyeliner every single day. I don't feel like its too dramatic because I only line my waterline. I just think it makes me look more awake.

If you have been keeping up with my posts, you might have noticed awhile back that I do have very sensitive eyes (I had that horrible allergic reaction, which I did trace down to simple benzoyl peroxide, by the way), so finding a good eyeliner that won't irritate my eyes is very important to me.

My current favorite is Automagically Eye Liner by Origins. I have mine in Cocoa which is a rich brown color, but they have tons of fun colors such as Jade, which is a teal color, and Mulberry, which is a toned down purple-y color.

Credit

I have a lot of success with this one. Not only do I have sensitive eyes, but I always somehow manage to smudge my eyeliner, and I will end up getting it up near my eyebrows. I have no idea how that happens, but ever since I switched to the Origins eyeliner, I haven't had that problem. It will last me all day, as long as I'm not rubbing my eyes (which I tend to do when I'm at work). And the color is just perfect, very pigmented on your skin.

I've only tried it once on my actual eyelid and not my waterline, and it did well with this as well. It was long lasting and slid right one. No tugging, pulling, or gaps.

Of course, I can't get lucky enough for it to be perfect, however. The smudger is really tough & rough.  Its one of those that has one built onto the opposite end of the pencil, and it was just too rough. It really hurt to use it. However, I did find that it did a good job of applying eyeshadow as a liner.

I think that if you're in the market to try a new eyeliner, this is really one that you ought to give a shot.

Please note, that I am not affiliated with Origins in any way and am not being compensated for this review. I purchased this eyeliner with my own money, because I am an eyeliner junkie. I am honestly, from the bottom of my heart, suggesting that you purchase this product.

Much Love!!  Xoxoxo

Cosmo's 50 Wacky (but totally brilliant) Health Cures

I had an impulse last night on my home from work... to stuff my face and read a girly magazine.  We all get them, right?  I was definitely craving some good pasta... So, ended up going straight to Walmart to browse the frozen food.  After standing there and grabbing one thing and putting it back and grabbing another thing and putting it back, I ended up with some Garlic Chicken pasta dinner.  And I'm not talking about an individual frozen dinner... like the family meal!  Haha... but anyways, I made sure to grab my Cosmo on my way through check-out.  (Oh, and I ate the entire bag.. )

Anyways, there was an article in there that I wanted to share with you.  It is 50 Wacky (but Totally Brilliant) Health Cures... so basically, Home Remedies!

Here are some of my favorites:

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•  #1: You have a splinter. Put a piece of well-ripened banana skin pulp-side down on the affected area, and cover the whole thing with a bandage. The enzymes will help draw out the foreign matter.
• #6: Your under-arms stink, but there's no time to shower. Head to the ladies' room and pat your pits with a paper towel. Dabbing some liquid soap in them will mask odor-causing bacteria.
• #11: You're about to hook up, but there's an inflamed ingrown hair on your bikini line. Hold a paper towel dipped in cold water on it for a few minutes, or grab an ice cube on the way to the bathroom. Swelling and redness will shrink in 15 minutes.
• #14:  You sense a zit about to erupt on your face.  Run very hot water over a metal spoon for about 10 seconds, then press the underside of it on the emerging blemish.  It'll put off the pimple for a couple of hours and decrease its size once it does show.
• #18: Your breath is kicking. Many cases of bad breath are due to dehydration, so chug two glasses of water. If the stink if from pungent meal and there's parsley on your plate, eat that. Parsley contains a natural breath-freshening chemical.
• #23: You burned your forehead with a straighetner or curling iron. Coat the burn with honey, an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory agent that speeds up healing.
• #25: You nick yourself shaving. Cover the cut with baby powder - a powder bronzer works too - to facilitate a blood clot.
 

Please note that I did take these straight out of the magazine... I just loved them so much that I wanted to share! There are quite a few more in the issue, but these are just some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Much Love!!  Xoxoxo

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Hello!! It's Friday & Its time for Blog Hoppity Hoppin'!  Welcome to my blog & I hope you enjoy!






I wanted to share this.  A couple days ago, I had a post that the local park in my town was burnt down. This is a video of the news story that was on ABC 13 News out of Toledo, OH.