St Tropez Classic Untinted Self Tanner Mousse

I have been trying out various different self tanner mousses. If you have been a subscriber/reader for a while you will have seen my review on the Sally Hansen Sunless Tanner. The results of that one were nice but I wanted a little more color. I also wanted it to last longer than 3 days.

So I decided to try out the St Tropez Untinted Classic Self Bronzing Mousse. It is usually more on the expensive side with the 6.7 fl oz bottle costing around $44 in retail stores. Now I (being the thrifty person that I am) found a bottle that was barely used on Poshmark for only $14 so I decided to try it out. And I finally broke down and bought an actual mitt from Ulta so we're really getting fancy now!

I applied it in the same way as in my previous blog review but I will tell you my self tanning routine in case anything has changed.

1. I take a shower before I am going to get into bed but I do not wash my hair because if it is wet while the tan is developing and drips on your skin then the tan won't develop evenly.
2. I use a body scrub or some Epsom salt and I exfoliate my whole body, paying extra special attention to my elbows, knees, ankles and feet.
3. Then I shave everything! Well I don't shave my arms, but everything else. If you are not a full body shaver like me, your legs only will do just fine! It's all about preference.
4. When I get out of the shower I pat myself dry with the towel. I let myself air dry the rest of the way until there is not more drops of water on me. Then I put on some thick body butter on my spots that I extra exfoliated.
5. I use my mitt to apply my tanner evenly. This tanner does not have a color guide which threw me off a bit at first but I got used to it. I start with my calves and work my way up from there, only applying tanner to my elbows, knees and ankles when there is very little product on my mitt.
6. When I am finished applying tanner I stand in front of a fan and wait for it to dry and then I put on a big t-shirt and baggy pants and go to bed for the night.
7. When I wake up I jump in the shower and wash the rest of the tanner off and I am left with a beautiful, golden tan.

Here is my before and after pictures:

I LOVE the results of this tanner! Plus I can get 5 days easily out of it before it even starts to fade!!

Poshmark

Hello all!

Yes, I have been gone for quite a while but I am still alive and kicking! I will, in future posts, explain what has kept me away but for today we are talking about one of the many tricks that I have found to have nice things and get them for cheap! That's right, money saving tips!

If there is one thing that my family knows about me it is that I am good at finding expensive things for a cheaper price. Or taking something old and making it look new again, but more about this later as well! I am just so good at it that I think everyone should know my tips and tricks so this will be a series of blogs! And today we start with a website/app called Poshmark! Now just to clear the air, I am not sponsored by or influenced by Poshmark in anyway, shape or form! Now that that is out of the way, here we go!

Poshmark is an app/website that you can buy and sell used or new items, sort of like an online thrift store. You can find items anywhere from home decor to makeup to skincare to clothing and shoes. You can choose to buy with money from a bank account or credit card or, my personal preference, you can sell items on the site and you get basically like store credit to purchase other things on the site with. You can choose to request a check for the amount that you sold items for as well.

Tips for selling items successfully:

1. Be truthful about the condition of your items! If you live in a home where smokers are, don't say that it comes from a smoke free home. The buyer might be allergic to smoke. And if you have dogs or cats, make sure to list in the description so. The nice way to do it would be to say "Comes from a pet friendly home". And always explain what condition the item is in such as using terms like: "Some wear and tear", "Has a rip", "Tag is missing", etc.
2. Accurately state the size/color/shade of your items! I had experienced this exact situation myself. Everyone that wears makeup knows that you don't buy a foundation that isn't your shade if you can help it. I am the lightest of the light in shade and I asked someone what the shade of an item was (because she didn't list it in her listing) and she said it was the lightest shade and it in fact was not. If this does happen to you, Poshmark has an ability for you to return the item if it is not as described and get your money back.
3. Packaging goes a long way!Even if it is a bottle of shampoo, wrap it in something. I at least wrap everything in tissue paper. If it's makeup then wrap it extra good, or if it is breakable! Some people go as far as to wrap the items like a present with a bow and all. And the notes people leave as awesome. It can be something as simple as a sticky note saying thank you, or a thank you card with a hand written message. It's like you bought yourself a present!
4. Ship items on time!When your item sells, Poshmark automatically sends you a shipping label. Ship your items out in a timely manner! If someone doesn't ship the item in 7 days it does give you the option to cancel the order, which I have done several times. But the faster you ship, the more people will want to come back to buy from you again!

Tips for buying items successfully:

1. "Like" items and watch them!When you find an item that you like but aren't happy with the price you have a few options here. You can "like" the item and it will go into a sort of "wish list" and when/if the seller ever lowers the price it will notify you. Then you can snatch that item up at a bargain!
   or
2. Offer the seller a lower price!When you find an item you like there will be a button at the bottom that says "Offer". You can offer the seller a lower price for an item. Not all sellers will accept an offer but if it is an item that has been in their store a long time or they just want to get rid of it, then they may accept the offer!
   or
3. Bundling!Bundling is a great option for SO MANY reasons! The main one being that you can get around the $6.49 shipping on everything...sort of. If I find an item that I really want and it is a good price I will ALWAYS look at the other items in their shop to see if they may have something else that I want. The reason being that you can by multiple items from 1 shop for 1 shipping price, whereas if you buy 2 items from 2 different shops, you will pay for shipping on each item! This is my favorite way of saving money on Poshmark!
4. Leave strong feedback!This goes the same with any site like this, such as Ebay. Leave strong feedback for each seller that you buy from. I had someone leave me 4 stars instead of 5 stars because "my packaging wasn't good enough". I wrapped it in tissue paper!!! It was a shirt!!
5. "Accept" your items as soon as you receive them!!!I can't even explain how it drives me bonkers when I ship an item to someone and the tracking says they have received it, but they haven't "accepted" the item. What I mean by that is there is this feature to Poshmark that is made to protect the buyer. It will not release the money for the item to the seller until you click on "Accept item" meaning that you have received it and it is in the condition stated in the listing. I under stand waiting a day...or even two. But when you have obviously received it and it has been 3 days...really? But lucky for us sellers, Poshmark has made a feature to cover us. If the item has tracked as delivered to the address and the buyer hasn't released funds after 3 full days, they release the funds to you on the 4th day. I personally "accept" items the day they arrive at my home.

And this concludes my tips and tricks for using Poshmark to get the most for your money! Hope you all enjoy and please don't hesitate to comment any questions! You can Click Here to go to Poshmark.com to check it out for yourself! You can also Click Here to check out my shop!

Happy saving!

Semi Goth Makeup Look

I was heading out to a Goth Night event and ended up with a migraine after getting all done up to go out! So I thought I'd share the makeup look that I did with you all! Here's some of the pictures that I took! I was also playing around with taking different pictures at different angles as well! Enjoy!

Video Review on the Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation

I just posted a Youtube video wear test and review on the Tarte Amazonian Clay foundation on oily skin! Check it out at: https://youtu.be/2izbbGutLUg

I know a lot of the beauty gurus rave about this foundation but I just could not get on the band wagon with it. See my full thoughts in the video!

Review on the Dermactin-TS Pore Refining Sheet Mask

I was at Sally Beauty Supply a few days ago to pick up some supplies to do my acrylic nails and noticed a sale they were having. It was sheet masks for 2 for $5. I love trying out new masks and since I was here I decided to grab a couple. I bought the Dermactin-TS Pore Refining mask and the Purifying mask.

A few days later I decided to try the pore refining one. I washed my face like usual and applied the mask to my face. This is a 2 piece mask, so you apply one sheet from your nose up and then one from your nose down. It says to leave on for 15-20 minutes so I left it on for 20 minutes.

Now I have very oily skin and large pores. There is not a single pore on my face that can't be seen ever. When I removed this mask I was in shock! There were patches of pores that were so small that you couldn't see them! And my larger pores were smaller! I couldn't believe it!

A few days later I tried the purifying mask and not only did it clean out my pores but it shrunk some of them as well. Not as many as the pore refining mask but it still visibly shrunk them!

So if you have large pores you need to try these masks! Even when they aren't on sale they are still only $2.99 a piece! And in the right hand bar I have placed a 15% off of your total purchase at Sally beauty. This should be able to be used online of in store! It is an affiliate code so I will make a small commission off of it.

If you enjoyed this blog review please do me a favor and follow using e-mail notifications for when I release new blogs! You can do that from the link on the right hand side of the page. Thanks and have a beautiful day!

DIY Body Wrap

I discovered DIY body wraps last year. At the time I had just lost a lot of weight and was looking for something to help tighten my skin up and help with the sagging skin. I tried them out and it did work for a while.

I gained my weight back and then some. Now I have lost about 13 pounds and am needing to firm up again. So I decided to show you all how this works.

There are tons and tons of different recipes that you can try on the internet and Pinterest. But I have found that the most effective for me recipe is the simplest.

What you will need:

• Coconut Oil
• Plastic Wrap
• Scissors
• Ace Bandages

Yes, that is really all you will need. Now choose the part of your body you will apply this to. It is very tempting to decide to do your whole body but this is not wise. The main point is to make the part of the body that you apply this to sweat. So you will be building up heat. If you apply this to your whole body you many over heat yourself.

Today I decided to do my torso. Now you disrobe the part of the body. I first measured them for a "before". The widest part of my torso is about 3 or 4 inches below my belly button and it measured 44.25 inches. I also took before pictures.

Scoop out some of your coconut oil, which may look like butter at this point but the heat of your hands will turn it to oil. Slather is all over the part of the body you are applying it to. Do not rub it in. You will want a layer of it on the skin.

When you feel like you have a layer of oil on your skin then start wrapping. Take the Plastic wrap and wrap the area very snugly. Do not wrap it so tight that it cuts off circulation! Just nice and snug like a big hug. Wrap until you have about 6 or 7 layers of plastic wrap on that part and cut the plastic wrap.

Then take the ace bandages and wrap that area over the plastic wrap. Now I don't do this all the time. Today I just put on a warm, snug pair of sweat pants over top. The point is to heat up that area and make you sweat.

You can either attempt to sleep in this and leave it on over night or you can just leave it on for a few hours during the day. There's no way I could sleep like this so I choose to do it during the day. Now I would suggest doing something where you can be sitting down while you have it on. The reason being that the more you move around, the more the plastic wrap will move. It can slide around and no longer cover the area you were wanting to target. Maybe read a book or take a cat nap.

If you have dogs like mine, who LOVE to eat coconut oil, they will follow you around the house, trying to lick the ace bandages! Really, you would have thought I was carrying around a piece of steak in there!

Here's the biggest part: while wearing this drink TONS of water!! You do not want to dehydrate yourself!

After a few hours or until you just can't wear it anymore you can remove it. The best way I have found is to cut a straight line through all layers of the plastic and then you can just pull it off. Here's a helpful tip: remove it in the bathroom because you will want to jump straight in the shower. You will feel sweaty and greasy. The good thing is that coconut oil is good for your skin so it should be nice and soft afterwards.

Then measure the area again making sure to measure in the same spot as before. If you don't lose much or anything, don't lose hope. Just try it again in 2 days.

I measured my torso in the same spot and I am now down to 43 inches! 1 and a quarter inches loss of the extra flabby skin is fabulous! And I only left it on for 4 hours! Here are my after pictures!

If you enjoyed this DIY give it a Google+ thumbs up! Follow in the spot on the right side of this page if you would like updates when I post new blogs! Have a beautiful day!

Rainbow Gore Makeup

I wanted to do a makeup look in honor of the struggles that people in the LGBT community go through since June is Pride month. I have also been craving doing some good gore makeup as well. So here is the idea that I came up with!

It took me about 2 hours to do but I am very pleased with the results. It turned out just like I wanted it to. 

If you all would like a Youtube video tutorial on this then comment below. And be sure to follow using your email so you get updates when I post new blogs! You can do that on the right hand bar of this page. Here are some more pictures from the look. Have a beautiful day and happy Pride!

Review on the Wet n Wild Photofocus foundation!

Yesterday I posted a new Youtube video! It is a review and wear test on the new Wet n Wild Photofocus foundation! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of photos that I got from it, but had different feelings on how it looked in person. Check it out at the link below to see my thoughts and how it looked!

https://youtu.be/UGy8qgixhGI

Hope you enjoy this tutorial and feel free to comment on the video or on this blog with any comments/questions/concerns/suggestions! Have a beautiful day!

Champagne Smokey Eye Tutorial

Today I posted an Eye Tutorial on Youtube. I absolutely love this look! The star of the show is the Naked Cosmetics Eye Pigment in Desert Sunset 02. You can purchase this pigment through the link in the right hand bar of this page. This is an affiliate code that I do make commission off of. Feel free to purchase from somewhere else if you do not feel comfortable using an affiliate code! Here is a link to the Youtube Video:

https://youtu.be/cvfX5ELwMeo

Hope you enjoy this tutorial and feel free to comment on the video or on this blog with any comments/questions/concerns/suggestions! Have a beautiful day!

Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun Tanner Review

I decided to try out the new Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun self tanner. I have tried the Jergens self tanner before and was not happy with the color pay off and that the tanner faded off in patches in less than 3 days. I saw a review on this tanner on Youtube and decided to try it.

I bought it at Walgreens and it was $14.99. Not too bad for a drug store self tanner but not cheap. They only had medium and dark so I bought medium.

I am very fair skinned, especially on my legs. But I just love the look of tanned legs. It makes them look so much more slimmed and defined.

Here is how I look without any tanner on.

So I didn't get to purchase a mit because nothing local to me sells them. I would have to drive to a Sephora or an Ulta to get them and we are talking like over 30 minutes to drive there one way! So on Pinterest I found this hack. Cover your hand with a grocery bag and then turn a really soft sock inside out and put it over top of the bag. And you have a mit!

The way I prep prior to applying self tanner is I take a shower and exfoliate my whole body but paying extra attention to my elbows, wrists, knees, ankles and feet. Then I put a heavy, creamy lotion on those areas only.

Then I pump 2 pumps at a time onto the mit and apply it to my body. I start from my legs and go up. I apply it in circular motions, avoiding my joints until I have almost nothing left on my mit and then going over those areas.

Now the color guard on this one scared me a bit because it is very gray. I really thought I was going to turn out gray! But I didn't.

When I got done applying this I waited about 5 minutes and it was dry. I did reapply it to my legs for a second layer because my legs are so much paler than my arms and I wanted them to match.

I put on some baggy pajamas and went to bed for the night. When I woke up in the morning I took a quick shower just to wash off the guard. I just used my normal gel body wash and a loofah.

And here you can see my after pictures!

I absolutely love the results! It looks so natural and like a sun kissed glow! I would definitely recommend this to anyone! I will be repurchasing it in the future!

If you enjoyed this blog review please do me a favor and follow using e-mail notifications for when I release new blogs! You can do that from the link on the right hand side of the page. Thanks and have a beautiful day!

DIY Acrylic Dip Manicure

I stopped paying for manicures about 6 months ago. I couldn't afford them but despite my constant vitamin taking, my nails wouldn't grow in strong enough to stay long. Plus I love the look and feel of acrylic nails. So I went to Sally's and bought a gel manicure kit.

I had the hardest time applying this gel because you had to squeeze it on in an even layer and I just couldn't make it work. As I have said in previous blogs, because of my stroke my hands shake constantly. It is difficult enough just to paint them, much less squeeze gel onto them evenly. It was messy and uneven and I vowed never to do it again.

Then I went into Sally's one day to look at some makeup items for my kit and I came across an acrylic dip kit. I purchased this and gave it a shot. It comes with some white tips to glue on (though I prefer to use t he clear ones), nail glue to glue on the tips, Brush on nail glue, the acrylic powder, a setting spray and a very cheap nail file.

I have loved this kit and now continue to repurchase it. Here is my steps that I go through to do my manicure.

My nails are in pretty rough shape today, but here is what they looked like to start with.

I use this cuticle oil and push back and trim my cuticles.

I buy these nail tips and pick out a size that fits each nail and lay them out.

I glue the nails on using the stick of nail glue that comes with the kit. And then goof off and pretend that I might actually keep them this long before realizing that this is a completely ridiculous.

I then file down and shape the

nails. The major key is to file the tip down so that it is flush with your natural nail.

Now you get the rest of the kit out.

Here is the steps to applying this.

You paint on the brush on glue and dip your finger into the powder. I leave my finger in for about 5 seconds so that the glue can absorb as much as the glue as possible.

Then you use the body of the brush to tap the glue onto the powder. The powder will become soaked and turn a more clear color instead of a powder. But make sure that you wipe the brush off on a paper towel before you put it back into the container. If you don't, the brush will start to warp and get stiff and it makes it hard to brush on the glue.

Once the glue is coated in more glue you dip it into the powder again. Repeat this step one more time.

Once you have dipped your nail into the powder 3 times, you use the brush body and coat the nail in brush on glue once more. Now you spray it with the spray. Wait 5 seconds and brush on more glue and spray it again. After 5 more seconds you brush on and spray one final time. Do this on every nail. It will look uneven and dilapidated.

Now you file... and file... and file. I get a file a file at Sally's that is very coarse and then one that is less coarse and alternate between them. File them into the shape and thickness that you want. Then wash your hands and I advise putting on some thick lotion. Mine look like this when I am

done.

And you are ready to paint them! I just love this kit! If you enjoyed this tutorial give it a Google+ thumbs up! Follow in the spot on the right side of this page if you would like updates when I post new blogs! Have a beautiful day!

Migraines Suck

Hi there guys! This is another blog on me sharing my health issues and treatments that I have tried for them. I do this to share my experiences with anyone who may be suffering with the same or similar things. Ever since I had my stroke in 2014 I have been fighting with chronic migraines.

There is a lot of information and opinions out there about migraines. And a lot of people have a tendency to judge those of us who have them. They say "It's just a headache, why can't you function?" My migraines are totally debilitating. Some of the symptoms that I suffer from other than the pain itself are nausea, blurred vision, lightheaded and dizziness, and confusion. I will all of a sudden forget where I am and what I am doing.

Some of the symptoms that I experience are symptoms of having a stroke so there has been many instances where I will call my neurologist and she will send me to the emergency room to get checked out just in case it is another stroke. Thankfully that has not been the case so far.

After the stroke I was suffering from 5-6 migraines per week. We started off trying a medication called Topamax, which is a seizure medication called an anticonvulsant. This medication would cause my hands and/or the side of my face to go numb at random intervals. It scared me because it happened one day while I was driving! My doctor took me off of this right away.

They also advised me not to take anything over the counter for the pain of the migraines because it can make your body dependent on the medication to handle the migraines.

Next we tried a medication called Amitriptylin, which is a low dose antidepressant that doctors use to treat migraines with. This medication actually took me from 5-6 migraines a week to 4-5 a week. This was helpful but didn't get rid of them all the way. At the same time she also prescribed me a medication called Olanzapine, which is an antipsychotic that they use to treat the pain of migraines. This only got rid of minor migraines that I had.

Then the doctor added a medication called Candesartan, which is a blood pressure medication. They combined this with the Amitriptylin and they seemed to work very well together. I went down to having 2-3 migraines a week, which was a huge relief. The only problem was that I was indeed still having them and the ones that I was having were very severe.

At this point my neurologist suggested that I apply for intermittent FMLA because the days that I had the migraines I was not meeting my production at work. I stare at a computer and talk on the phone for 8 hours a day and my migraines were seriously affecting this. I applied and after a few months I was approved for intermittent FMLA. My job wasn't happy about it but at this point they couldn't do anything about it. The only downfall to FMLA is it only protects your job, not your pay. So the days that I was missing for migraines were unpaid days.

About a year ago my doctor decided that I qualified to try using Botox injections for my migraines. They can be expensive though and thankfully I qualified for financial aid through the hospital that administers them. You get them done every 3 months and they say that you have to have it done about 4-5 times before you begin to notice immediate relief when you have them. Below is a picture of how many and where they put the injections. I will admit that it sucks when you get them done.

I have had 4 rounds of the injections done and there for a while the migraines had diminished down to about 1-2 a week. However, for some reason I am back to 3-4 a week now. 

They also prescribed me with a medication called Metoclopramide, which is typically used mostly for stomach and esophageal problems but they prescribed me with it to treat the migraine pain. It does help with my severe migraine pain about half of the time. 

I see my neurologist this later month and hopefully we can discuss a new option or she may have me try more rounds of Botox. I am not sure what options we have left at this point because we are entering in our 3rd year trying out different things to get rid of them.

The main concern here is that having chronic migraines can cause damage to the brain. I have permanent but minimal damage due to having a stroke. The more damage that is done, the higher chance I have of having another stroke. So the goal is to get rid of them completely.

Having a chronic condition like this really sucks, there's just no other way to put it. But it does make you take full advantage of the days you have that are symptom free. I try to be a productive as possible on my healthy days and enjoy them as much as possible.

If any if you have gone through a similar situation, please feel free to comment if you are comfortable with it! Live every day to the most and know that if no one else does, I feel your pain and you are loved! You are not defined by your chronic condition, you are defined by who you are! I hope you all have a beautiful day! 

DIY Starbucks Iced Chai Latte (Light Ice)

Today's blog is a DIY. I love the Iced Chai Latte from Starbucks and would get one everyday if they weren't so expensive. Well I now can have one everyday and sometimes twice a day without breaking the bank. I have figured out how to make this delicious drink at home and want to share it with you!

There is only 3 ingredients. Your milk of choice (skim, 2%, almond, coconut, soy, etc), ice, and chai tea concentrate. The Tazo Chai Latte concentrate is what they use in Starbucks and the brand that I buy. Now it can be a little pricey, at Walmart it is $3.28 for a 32 ox box. But you can purchase it at Costco for $7.99 for 3 of the 32 oz boxes.









You start with a glass and fill it about a third of the way up with ice. Now I prefer less ice in mine so you may want to put more if you prefer lots of ice.

Next you fill your glass half way with your chai concentrate. You can adjust this to your taste. If you want the chai taste a little stronger than put more concentrate in it.

Then you top off the glass the rest of the way with your preferred milk. And then give it a stir and you have yourself a Starbucks quality chai latte! Yes, it is really that easy!








If you enjoyed this DIY recipe then please follow my blog for more DIYs. You can find that option on the right hand side of the page. If you have any other tips and tricks on making one of these please comment below. Thank you and have a beautiful day!