Sparkly Accent's

So today has been entirely unproductive for me. I had another day off of school because it was -30 degrees fahrenheit where I live. We've been having one of the hardest winters I've ever experienced, if not the hardest. Anyways, instead of being the productive little busy bee I should have, I sat around and watched youtube videos, read blog posts, had a lovely bath, and treated myself to a new color for my tips.

(left to right)

Sally Hansen Insta-dri in 340, Cinna-Snap

I used two layers of this all over.

Zoya in Faye

I used one layer of this on my ring finger over the two coats of Cinna-Snap.

So that's it. I know it's not the fanciest paint job(?) ever, but it's something that I wear quite often and I think it looks nice. So yeah. I hope you like it! Do you ever wear an accent nail? 

Collective Haul

I've just done a haul, but I went shopping again... This time I bought A LOT more stuff. So hopefully this will be a bit more exciting! I know I'm excited! Okay, let's get to getting! So I went to Kohls(bleh), H&M, Lush, Aerie, and the Body Shop. Most of what I got was beauty products, no surprise there. Also, my dog decided to be a little helper...

Let's start with lush, shall we?  These are all new products for me. I decided to pop in because I haven't shopped there since before Christmas. Considering I used to go about ever other weekend, that's a seriously long time for me... and I was feeling deprived. The smell of that store is my version of heaven! 

(top left)Phoenix Rising Bath Bomb

So this is supposed to smell like spicy apple and cinnamon, which I can never really say until I actually use the product. That's probably because it can get so mixed up with all the other scents of the store/my bag. The colors are beautiful and I'm really excited to use this.

(top right)Rose Jam Bubbleroon Bubble Bar

So I already own the Rose Jam Shower Gel and that scent is to die for, so I decided to go for this little baby. They're like horribly malformed macaroons-cute right? According to the website, the 'icing' stuck on the inside is coconut. So for these you break them in half so they're good for two baths!

(bottom left)Green Bubbleroon Bubble Bar

So I decided to try out two of the bubbleroons because they look great. This one is supposed to smell like the Grass Shower Gel, but when I smelled it, it smelled like apples to me. like I said earlier-I'll see what it really smells like when  try it.

(bottom right)Tender is the Night Massage Bar

I've never tried a massage bar before, and since this is new out with the valentines collection, I decided to give it a go. It smells like Vanilla, which is what it is suppose to smell like, surpass, surprise. Also, the lady at the store said she thinks they'll become a part of the permanent collection.

I went to Kohl's because I had a present that I needed to return. I really don't like Kohl's because the things that had any taste were so over priced. Alas, I decided on this sheer button down tank because I couldn't spend my money anywhere else. I do really like it though. I thought it would be adorable under a sweater because of the detail on the collar.

 Next up is Aerie. I got two bralettes and one of those little fastener things for the back of your straps. I also got some other things, but I don't really feel like sharing those with the internet, for whatever reason.

Classic Lace Bralette in Odyssey Blue

So, I'm pretty sure that's what the dark blue one is. These are super soft and comfortable and I wanted something new to wear under my sheer, droopy tanks that I layer up nowadays.

Lace Racerback Bralette

I can't find the color of this one on the site, which is strange. It's just a lightish nude color. It's soft and comfy like the other and I'm probably going to abuse wearing these...

Strap Converter

So this is a three pack(black, nude, and clear) of little heart shape plastic contraptions that hook your bra straps together to make them a racer back. I mostly bought these because my bra straps are always falling of and slipping around. yeah.

H&M Dress

Excuse the white dog hairs. My puppy decided he wanted to help... I'm too lazy to try and find it on their website, so I'll just explain it to you. Kinda skater style, I guess. It nips in a bit at the waist and flows out just above your knees. Or my knees. I'm like 5'8" so this might be quite long on more petite folks.

Last is the body shop. I've never actually been into their store, I've only ever tired their body butter from places like Ulta. I'm really excited about what I got! I'm going to use all of it straight away!

(center front)Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in 03 Medium Matte

If you have seen my face(if you haven't see it here in this post), you would probably realize that I am, by no means, medium. But it was the lightest shade they carried and it wasn't that overly dark. I've worked with darker and I have been lusting over it for a while... so I got it.

(left)Chocolate Box Shimmer Cubes

These are so pigmented and soft and buttery. The colors are great and neutral and yeah. I'm excited to put these on my face!

(back)Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

After smearing makeup all over the back of my hand, the lady in the shop offered to take it off with this product. It's scented quite a lot, but it took the makeup off with ease and seemed very gentle. So in the basket it goes.

(right)Shimmer Waves in 02 Blush

This is such a pretty product. I've really wanted to get my hands on more highlight like products so this seemed perfect.

So that's it. Here's a few more pictures of Jack, the cutest photo bomber ever. Can this be considered a massive haul? I don't know. I'd say it's pretty large though.

Dry Shampoo Wars

I think The title might be over dramatic. Ah well. So I said a little while back in this post here that I might just review the two dry shampoos I had picked up in a moment of indecision. If they were to similar, the idea would pretty much be out the window, but there are some noticeable differences. Let's get cracking.

(left to right)

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush

This one I got for about five dollars and it come is a 6.72 oz can. I will say though that this can is a lot lighter than the other one and I don't know if there's less product or what. Promises and instant hair refresh for all hairstyles that's perfect to absorb grease and add texture in-between washes. I'll add that the scent is slightly floral and very subtle and that it sprays on white.

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo

I picked this one up for like eight bucks, I'm pretty sure(checks receipt again). Meijer receipts are so not descriptive! Anyway, it's a 7 oz can and it promises instant results. It absorbs excess oil, cleans without water, and has a lite matte finish. That's what the bottle says, at least. I just quickly add in there that it smells like a subtle citrus and stereotypical shampoo combination. A bit summery. It's also pretty clear when you spray it unless you spray way to close, which is nice.

Comparison

I feel like the Batiste one has the preferable scent because it's so subtle that it won't clash with perfume(which is such a first world problem of mine..). I think it's a bit more powdery that the other which means that it's finish is more matte and it gives a bit more volume. It also needs more blending in. When you do blend it in, white powder kinda shakes out everywhere, which is annoying. On the other hand, I think that the Not Your Mother's one would be quicker to use because theres no white issue and I do like the scent but I worry... about the perfume thing.

Bottom line
Though I like both, I find myself reaching for the Batiste Dry Shampoo more often.

So that's about it. I hope this helped you in some way, shape, or form. I like both products for different occasions. Tell me what your favorite dry shampoo is, I'd love to know as I'm a bit of a dry shampoo fiend.

Slowly Grasping the Ropes

So I was watching some old Sprinkle of Glitter videos whilst laying around(are we noticing my obsession yet?) and I saw this little gem. I thought, hm, Louise is quite successful, this can't hurt me a bit. So I watched her and Zoe talk about blogging galore and it occurred to me that a few changes are over due.

For one, I had to make sure that my Blog Lovin' thing that properly functioning. It is now, so if you would like to follow me in that way, it's available. ALSO I've set up a Google+ account and linked it here, somehow. Dunno what I did exactly, but now you can follow my profile over there are be updated whenever I post something new. Just have a little look see at the side bar thing of my blog and you'll find those. It didn't even occur to me that people might have a hard time following me before I watched that video. Goodness me, I'm an idiot.

Also, I've managed to construct a somewhat shoddy banner(the name thing at the top) and coordinate some colors. Hopefully my blog is easy on the eyes and the font is easily readable. I fear it might have looked nice before but was rather hard to read, so I've changed it up a bit. 

Okay so if you've got a relatively new blog, like I have, or if you are thinking about starting a blog, I've got a couple of resources for you. Just a few... So there's that video I mentioned earlier on. It's done here on Louise's video and here on Zoe's. Also, for a bit more technical advice, you can look at Wonder Forest, by Dana. I recommend this post on creating a banner/header thing, which I followed the advice of. But she actually has a whole section on her blog, here, that is all about blogging. These ladies know way more than I do, and I thought that I might just try and share with you all incase you needed any help.

I want to quickly apologize about having very wordy posts the last few days. I'd love to beef them up with some pictures, but I've been having some troubles, as you can see here. I also created this post because I really felt motivated to. Getting this blog to be something that I'm even mildly proud of has been hard and time consuming, but so worth it. I've also just figured out how to properly add links into my blogs, so I've been going a little link crazy...

Photo Frustrations

So I'm a new-ish blogger, and along with that I'm a relatively inexperienced photographer. As I go about reading the blogs I love, I see these amazing, beautiful photos and I die a bit on the inside. On one hand, I love to look at them, bot on the other, I feel saddened/jealous because my abilities are no where near theirs.

Of course I remind myself that they are more experienced than me and it should all come with time and practice, but that doesn't make it any easier. Sometimes I'll plan out a post and when I go to photograph it, it all looks so bad that I just give up. I've only published about eight posts on here, but I've written out about fifteen and while some are waiting to be posted, others have been scrapped because of the photos.

Alright, let's turn this post around into something a bit more positive! Dana, who writes Wonder Forest, just had a post with some of here photography. But really, you can look through any of her stuff and be blown away. Also, Megs, who writes Wonderful You, always has lovely pictures as well. I particularly liked this post. Last, I want to say that Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter inspires me. She's such an amazing lady who has come so far in her photo taking skills. I mean, look at this lovely post. Round of applause ladies. I'll keep you each in mind as I work on my own skills.

So, who inspires you when it comes to blogging? And have you heard of these three? They're great and I couldn't recommend them enough.