Birchbox August 2014

I've been waiting eagerly for this pretty pink package to arrive in my mailbox this month. Of course there is the usual excitement of getting some awesome new products to try and review. But this month in particular I've had a little something special going on in the Birchbox department that I couldn't wait to share.

Hair Confessions

I love my hair.

I couldn't have made this statement my entire life. Actually, for quite a good bit of it I was cursing the universe for giving me what I considered to be flat, lifeless locks that seemed to absolutely refuse to cooperate with any attempts at styling. My roots were always greasy. My ends were always dry. Curls were an impossibility. In a lot of ways I had every right to be unhappy with the way that my hair looked and felt.

What I didn't realize, though, was that I wasn't born with terrible hair. I was just taking care of the hair I was born with in all of the wrong ways.

Here's how I learned (the hard way) to turn things around.

Maybelline - The Nudes Palette

With the success of Urban Decay's Naked series, it seems like everyone wants a piece of the neutral palette action. The hype is understandable. While bright, bold colors are fun and can add some serious punch to a look, neutrals have a certain versatility that makes them the bread and butter of the eyeshadow world. While there are many an offering among prestige brands if you're looking for a do-all palette, affordable options have been lacking.

Until now.

Birdie Bites - The Perfect Margarita

If I could only drink one cocktail for the rest of forever, it would be you, Margarita.

Playing Catch-up

You know that feeling you get when you realize you've neglected to respond to a text, and it's been just long enough that saying something now feels incredibly awkward?

This is what I feel like when I come back from a blogging hiatus.

As my co-worker Gigi has reprimanded me (lovingly, of course), "Lauren, you're slacking!"

It's true. I've been pretty absent for a while now.

There are a good 6 or 7 posts-in-progress crying for my attention. And I've got what feels like a billion other things to write about. But I've been pretty distracted with the happenings of life outside the blogosphere. Between the gentle (or sometimes not so gentle) words of encouragement of my friends and readers, as well as some excellent news that's come my way, I've decided I was way overdue to say hello.