A Little Birdie Told Me... Vol. 1

I've been eagerly anticipating the end of March so that I could finally roll out this post. As I've gotten more and more invested in writing my own blog, I've also been spending a proportionally large amount of time reading other blogs and admiring the work they do. As excited as I am about some of the things I've come across, I decided to start this new series. Each month I plan on bringing you a small collection of my favorite recent posts from blogs I love.

Spring Things - Pink & Coral Drugstore Picks

If you haven't already noticed, I'm really excited about spring.

I would say maybe a little too excited, but then again, can you really blame me?

One of the things I love most about this time of year is the explosion of color everywhere- in nature, in homes, on racks and shelves in stores. When I was much younger (think circa 1992) my favorite color in the world was undoubtedly pink. I don't even know if "favorite color" properly expresses my complete obsession, but we'll roll with it. As I've gotten older I've found myself head-over-heels in love with pink's slightly more sophisticated cousin, coral. Regardless, both of these shades are equally perfect for the transition into the bright, happy, warmer months to come.

Birchbox March 2014

It's FINALLY springtime!

Or, at least, that's what the calendar tells me.

Mother Nature hasn't exactly been up to speed with the whole changing of the seasons thing, but I'm trying to be patient. I really just can't wait for all the snow to melt away and for a little bit of life to start reappearing in the trees and flower beds. I've got quite a bit of garden related maintenance to do, and as soon as the last frost has come and gone I'm going to be all over that.

In the meantime, Birchbox has me geared up and ready for spring with this month's box. The theme for March is Spring Forward, encouraging us subscribers to make the most out of our extra daylight as well as the beauty products in our arsenals.

Lemon Love

Confession time.

I have a slight addiction to all things lemon.

From pastries to perfumes to cleaning products, there's something about that bright, citrusy goodness that I just can't get enough of. Just a brief waft of the smell is like instant happiness. As you would expect, a quick look through my beauty stash would definitely show signs of my lemon love affair. And as the weather continues to dip below freezing (despite today being the first day of spring), a little bit of that cheer-inducing yellow fruit is the perfect pick-me-up.

St. Patrick's Day Smokey Green Eye

Top o' the morning to yea!

It's Monday (boo) but it also happens to be the day when everyone is Irish (yay!). In celebration of today's festivities, I decided to get my green on and showcase a super intense, emerald smokey eye.

February 2014 Glambag

As per the usual, I'm a bit fashionably late with my February Glambag post. This month was all about creating the Look of Love, just in time for Valentine's day. I had high hopes for this month's products, but ultimately was a bit let down by the quality of some of the items I received. Let me break it down for you.

Tea-Time Me-Time

I can't definitively prove that there is some kind of cosmic energy that connects everything in the Universe, but after a week like this one, I've got enough personal evidence. Maybe it just comes down to the old adage, "When it rains, it pours". Either way, it feels like everyone I know has been going through a rough patch lately.

In my experience, I find that it's easy to get swallowed up in negative feelings - be it anxiety, grief, disappointment - when we can't seem to find the time to take care of ourselves. Or, perhaps more accurately, when we can't find the energy to take care of ourselves. It's not always so easy to be gentle and patient with yourself, or to find the motivation to cheer yourself up. I don't know about you, but if I'm feeling down or overwhelmed, my interest level in just about everything is hovering around zero.

Acne Fighting Skincare from Clinique*

Regardless of how perfect a person's skin may be on average, I have yet to come across anyone who hasn't felt the woes of a pimple. For some this is an occasional woe - maybe at that time of the month, after a particularly stressful week, or for seemingly no reason at all. But for us lucky individuals battling with some level of acne, the day to day pimple problem isn't a matter of "if" but of "how many".

In my own personal battle, I am constantly tweaking my skincare regimen and experimenting with different acne treatment products on the market. Although there are moments where I swear I've tried it all, something new is always around the corner. This time around it's Clinique that's stepped up to the plate.

Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Duos

There's no denying that I'm a sucker for lip products. From a gorgeously shiny gloss, to a bold matte lipstick, what you put on your lips has the power to change your whole look. That being said, it's not surprising that when I stumbled upon these Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Duos, having been cleverly placed at the bottom of my Sephora online shopping cart page, I just couldn't resist giving them a try. Bite Beauty is not a line that I've had a whole lot of experience with yet, but all of the rave reviews I've come across definitely added to my intrigue.

March 2014 Wish List

While logically I know the start of spring is only a few weeks away, the never-ending cold weather has started to make me feel like I'm going to be eternally stuck in wintery despair. A mountain of snow still looms in front of my condo, with no chance of melting in sub-artic temperatures. But, since getting Mother Nature to cooperate doesn't appear to be an option, I've decided to try and stay positive by focusing my attention on other things. Namely, making a wish list of all the beauty products I'm currently lusting after.

February 2014 Birchbox

I don't know about you, but when it comes to Monday evening, doing anything more than lounging around in my sweatpants feels a little bit like torture. If there are fundamental laws which run the universe, I'm pretty sure one of them is that Mondays must have a comparatively high percentage of bad juju compared to any other day of the week.

Fortunately for me, this particular Monday evening has afforded me the opportunity to forget the frantic and stressful happenings of the work day, snuggle up on the couch, and review my February Birchbox.

(While wearing totally mismatching sweats, I might add. Sometimes comfort > fashion. Especially on Monday.)

The Skeptics Guide to Liquid Liner

For so many years I thought I hated wearing liquid eyeliner. It was incredibly painstaking to apply, incredibly easy to accidentally ruin, and always felt so unpleasantly cold and wet on my eyelids until it dried. It was kind of a necessity for my ballroom competition makeup looks, so I choose to suck it up and deal until I discovered the gel pot liner and immediately made the switch. However, in the past 6 months or so, I've been re-introduced to liquid liner, this time in an amazing marker format that has managed to convert me back to the liquid forever.

Winter 2014 Drugstore Beauty Haul

Despite my uber strict budget, I'm surprisingly not so well-versed in the latest and greatest of the drugstore beauty world. With saavy shopping, gift cards, and of course, the occasional splurge, I've somehow managed to make the majority of my beauty purchases from prestige brands. While high-end beauty certainly has its perks, that's not to say that there aren't some true gems on the shelves at CVS. Realizing that it has been a long time since I'd gone treasure hunting, I clipped some coupons from the Sunday paper a few weekends ago and went shopping. I was really happy with my purchases, and thanks to the sales and my coupons, I was able to get all of these products (a $40 something value) for less than $25.

(I believe they call that winning.)