Other blogger's giveaways!

LiveaPhotos is having an awesome giveaway here. Enter and follow her!
Glossicious is having a 100 follower giveaway here. Enter and follow her!

St. Ives Apricot Scrub Review

Hey everyone!
As I said before, I was looking for a good facial scrub. Well I found one!
I love this!
I have been using for about a month now. It has just the right texture. It is not too harsh on my skin but is gritty enough to buff off the dead skin. It is very important to remove dead skin or it can clog pores and cause breakouts. Whenever I have a zit and treat it, I am always left with a dry, pealing spot. But when I use this it rubs it off and my skin is back to normal.
It also leaves my skin so soft! And it smells great. I got the Invigorating one which is just to brighten up dull skin. They also have a Gentle one, Blackhead one, Blemish one, and Firm and Renew one. These are only the apricot ones. They have a bunch of other types of scrubs and skincare stuff. Click HERE for their website (link takes you to the facial products). I think it is anywhere between $3-$6. Not bad, and works great!
I would definitely recommend this scrub!
*Please read the comments for more information on possible side effects from this product (Thanks DoodleDaisy!)

Comment if you have tried this or any of their products and tell me what you thought!
XOXO,
Gena

An easy way to dry your brushes so they don't get ruined...

 

  This is the Sigma Complete Kit. Check out their website here!

Hey!

So I was washing my brushes the other day and I usually just lay them flat. But they always take forever to dry, they dry shaped weird, and it doesn't get the water out of the silver part.
Some people use The Brush Guards, which are sleeves that cover your brushes and allow you to stand them up straight. But I didn't want to have to buy them and wait for them to come and all that so I found an easy at-home way to do it.
I washed my brushes with ELF Brush Shampoo and squeezed all the water out that I could. But I noticed that there was still so coming out of the metal part.

It is very important to get the water out of there or your brushes will shed and become thinner over time. The water loosens up the glue that holds them in place.
So my solution...
Clothes pins.

I clamped them on the small brushes and rested them up on the soap dishes in my bathroom. You can also set them on the edge of a counter, table, or anything! A LOT of extra water drained out of them. You'd be surprised. For the large brushes, I stuck them in between the things on one of the shower caddys. But you can use the clothes pins for the large ones too. 

How do you all clean and dry your brushes?
Let me know!

XOXO,
Gena

My Valentine's Day Outfit, Makeup & Hair

               

Hey everyone! How was your Valentine's Day?
My boyfriend and I went out to dinner and here's what I wore:

• Dress, shoes, and cardigan from Charlotte Russe
• Jewelry from Charlotte Russe
• Headband from Claire's
• Makeup: Coastal Scents 88 palette, ELF bronzer in Cool, ELF primer, Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten, NYX Eyeliner in black, Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in Black, L'Oreal Curved Brush Voluminous Mascara in Black, Falsh lashes, Revlon Creme Gloss in Cherry Tart (lipgloss not picture in last two pics).
• For my hair used a 1 1/2 inch curling iron and wrapped small pieces around the whole barrel and held it vertically.

Comment and tell me what you did for Vday!
XOXO,
Gena

100 Follower Giveway WINNER!!!!

 We have a winner...



















TheDreamer xoxo


Congrats!!!
Thanks for helping me reach 100 followers and supporting my blog!

I've sent the winner an email--so please check it!


There will be more giveaways in the future so if you didn't win there will be other chances.

Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO,
Gena

Steals & Deals: ELF, Mark, Coastal Scents, Sigma, Ulta, Charlotte Russe, Forever21, VS, AE, and Ralph Lauren Sales

Hey everyone! I thought I'd help you all out and show you some of the sales I've come across. A lot of the stores are doing Valentine's Day and Presidents Day sales right now. Some of them only last today or a few days. I am not sponsored by any of these stores.

*A lot of stores do birthday sales, even if its just a relative's birthday. You just have to ask when you are checking out. You'd be surprised! Some do student discounts as well. They just don't like to advertise them so you have to ask. :]


Makeup
ELF:

• Buy one item get the second for 50% off with $15 purchase. Enter code: PRESHALF
• Free Red Mini Makeup Kit with $10 purchase (expires Feb 14th). Enter code: REDMINI
• 5 Free samples with $20 purchase. Enter code: SAMPLE2010 Click here 
• 50% off off lips with $15 purchase (expires Feb 15th). Enter code: 50LIPS

Mark & Avon:

• Free shipping on any $10 order. Enter code: SHOP2009
• Free shipping on any order on Feb 12th-15th. Enter code: VDAY10
• Free shipping on any $5 order for presidents day. Enter code: WASHINGTON

Coastal  Scents:

• 10% off orders of $75 or more on Friday Feb 12th. Enter code: LOVE
• Valentine's 5 piece gift set for $19.95

Sigma:
Click here for their website!

• 25% off Beauty on the Go Sets
• Valentine's Combo- Complete Brush set, brush roll, and heart mirror for $99
•  New brushes coming soon!

Ulta:

• $3.50 off any $10 purchase. Enter code: 45529
• Free shipping on $25 purchase. Enter code: 58480
• Click here for free gifts

Clothing

Charlotte Russe:

• 2/12/10 Embellished Tees 2 for $20
• 2/13/10 Dresses 25% off
• 2/14/10 Footwear Buy 1 get 1 for $10

Forever21:

• Sale items extra 75% off. Click here 

Victoria's Secret:

• $15 off orders of $100+ Enter code: SPRING10
• $30 off orders of $150+ Enter code: SPRING10
• $75 off orders of $250+ Enter code: SPRING10
• Sweaters $14.99 and up. Click here

American Eagle:

• Free shipping now through 2/15/10. Click here

Ralph Lauren:

• Extra 20% off select items. Click here

Comment if any of these helped you out. 
And please let me know if you have any deals and codes and I will post them (with credit to you of course) :] 

Enter my giveaway (here). It ends on Vday!!!! 

XOXO,
Gena 

 

Jewelry Organization and Storage

Jewelry is one of the most difficult things to organize. I used to use a jewelry box, but that just wasn't cutting it, especially when my collection grew. So I searched around online and this is what I came up with. Its cheap and displays everything instead of cramming it into a box.

Click to enlarge the picture

To organize my earrings I got this rotating earring tree. It holds a ton of earrings and I've almost filled it.
For my necklaces and bracelets I got this 2 tiered acrylic T-bar. Its great because I can see all of them and they don't get tangled.
Both the earring and necklace holder came from Gems On Display. I got them both at once and together it was $30. 
For other things like rings and small things I got this little dish at Walmart for only like a $1-$2.

Comment if you have any questions about any of the jewelry or the organization.
Tell me how you organize yours :]

Enter my 100 follower giveaway! It ends Valentines day!

XoXo,
Gena

Winter Eyes

Hey everybody!
I was stranded at home for 2 days with this crazy blizzard and decided to try some new makeup looks. We got 2 1/2 feet! Its crazy. So I guess with the snow and cold weather I was feeling the cooler colors. Here's what I came up with...

I used the Coastal Scents 88 palette and Sigma brushes.

1) Prime eyes with ELF Mineral Eye Primer
2) Using a Sigma SS239 apply Coastal Scents 88 Eye Color Palette light aqua color (6th from the left, 2nd down) all over the lid
4) Take a SS275 and apply a light blue (6th from the left, 3rd down) to the inner corners and lower lash line
3) Using a SS217 apply a periwinkle color (6th from the left, 2nd from the bottom) on the outer half of the lid, and bring it out and a little over the crease
4) Take a SS239 again with a deep purple color (bottom row, 4th from the right) and apply it to the middle of the lid, to blend the colors together
5) Then using a SS219 get a navy blue (bottom row, 6th from the left) and apply it to the outer V
6) Next take a SS224 and a highlight shade (first row on the left, 5th down) and apply it to the brow bone and blend the crease

7) Next I lined my waterline with Milani Color Brilliance in Aqua
8) Then I lined my entire eye with Mary Kay Eyeliner in Navy, and winged it out a bit
9) I curled my lashes and finished off with Dior Diorshow Mascara in Black

And that's it! Comment if you guys liked it!

Check out my previous post on staying moisturized this winter and enter my giveaway!

XoXo,
Gena

Staying moisturized this winter (Skin, Lips, Hair, & Nails)

Staying moisturized in the winter is crucial. I know my skin suffers, so I'm going to show you some of the products I use to keep my skin healthy. 

 

Skin:

One of the main things to remember is to exfoliate. For body wash, I use the Olay Spa Exfoliating Ribbons. There is different colors of these, each with a different main ingredient. This one is the seaweed extract one. It cleanses well and buffs away dead skin.

To exfoliate my lips I like to use the Mary Kay Lip Mask. It has a fine gritty texture and you put it on your lips and gently rub the dead skin off with a washcloth. I like it because it gets the flaky skin off. 

I finish off with Carmex Lip Balm. I have tried many lip balms and this one is the BEST. It works better than Vaseline. 

For a body lotion I love Olay Quench Active Hydration. This lotion has green tea and vitamins in it to heal dry skin. I like the way it dries fast and smells awesome.

For dry patches, cracked heels, and hands I love the Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment. I put this on at night on areas that get dry patches and my hands. Its also good to put on your feet and then sleep in socks and your feet are really soft and hydrated in the morning. It feels and looks like Vaseline, but works much better. 

For deodorant, I love Secret Smooth Effects in Silky Botanical. I used to use the clear gel kind from Secret, and it worked but it really dried out my underarms. They felt really dry and itched a lot. I don't like a solid deodorant, but this kind is a cream type that comes out like the gel. It says that you can shave less often, which really is true. It makes the hair feel softer when it grows back and your skin smooth. It doesn't get on your clothes either and keeps you dry. There's nothing worse than white chunky deodorant that sits in the creases like the solids and the drying effect like the clear gel. This does neither.   

My favorite moisturizer for my face is the Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer. It has SPF 15 in it and really evens out my skin tone. I originally only got it because I couldn't find the kind I used to use, but now I really like this one instead. 

Hair:

It is also really important to condition your hair, even all year long. My hair is curly, so its really dry and I use a lot of heat tools. So once a week I deep condition with Garnier Fructis Deep Conditioner. You leave it on for 3 minutes in the shower in place of your regular conditioner. It has apricot and avocado oils in it that really hydrate your hair. 

Nails:

My cuticles get really dry, especially when I have acrylics on. I just discovered the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme. It smells amazing! It looks like a solid lip balm in a little tin and you rub it on your cuticles. It really moisturized them and made my hands smell great.

I have been looking for a good exfoliating face mask, so if any of you know of one, please let me know. 

All of these products can be purchased at drugstores and each are under $10.

Tell me what you love to use to stay hydrated! And drink tons of water!

Enter my giveaway! It ends the 14th!

XOXO,

Gena