Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Benefit Brow Bar at Ulta

 Did you know I used to be an esthetician?  Many many years ago. I went to a locally owned Aveda school, and graduated in 2005. I worked at a few spas/salons, but realized it wasn't exactly what I wanted. 
I loved waxing people. But big jobs. Like legs...the occasional back (minus the guy who's back I had to trim for 1 hour before I could even start waxing). But hated eyebrows. 
Talk about pressure. Take too much off and you've ruined someone's look. Hit the wrong angle, same thing. No thanks. I don't like to hold that much responsibility. 
 
I also hated having my own brows done, because I always get really red and irritated, and I always broke out after. Also, most places I went just threw you in a chair and kind of cleaned up under the brow, without actually giving much shape. 

So I started threading. Which was nice. It was more painful than waxing since it was taking a hair at a time. But I was getting a nice shape, and I wasn't getting the irritation. I had a place I was going regularly and they were priced right.  And then they changed their threaded. And she was never in when I stopped in. And her schedule never seemed to work with mine whe I called for an appointment. 

My brows were BAD this week. I kinda cleaned them up myself a few weeks back before we went on vacation. But that wasnt the best job. 

My mom went to Ulta a few weeks back and raved about how great it was. So I gave it a shot. I made an appointment for this past Sunday and prayed I wouldn't break out; even if I had to suffer with my trademark post waxing superhero-esq mask. 

When I got there I was greeted by my waxed and she was really bubbly and excited about her job, which adds a nice touch to any service. She asked me what I was looking for, and handed me a mask asking what I liked about my brows and what I didn't like. And then we got started. 

What sets the Benefit Brow Bar apart is their signature "brow mapping" service. She took a small Popsicle stick and measured where my brow should start, where my arch should hit, and where my tail should end. And then she took a dark brow powder and shaped my brows until she was happy with the arch and shape. And of course she got my approval prior to beginning to wax. 

I'm not sure exactly what type or brand of wax they use. But it was a nice pearly color, and wasn't too hot. Lashara (hiw perfect was my waxers name?!) applied the wax so precisely, and pulled the strip off so well that I barely felt it. And after she was done, cleaned up the remaining hairs with tweezers, she applied a wonderful cooling gel to take down the heat you start to feel after a waxing. 

Whatbhappened next is something that I have never experienced after a brow treatment. Not only did she outline and fill in my brows (they aren't sparse, but lightly colored) SHE PUT CONCEALER AND POWDER over the redness, so not only did I not look like a masked superhero, the makeup I had applied prior to my appointment didn't look messed and sloppy!!  

I didn't even get a sales pitch. She showed me why she used, incase I was interested in any products, and only asked if I wanted to book a future appointment. Which I did. 

At $21, it's a pricey brow wax. But when you take into consideration the personalization of the service and the time they take with you, it's worth every penny!

Have you ever used the Benefit Brow Bar? What was your experience?

Kat

Monday, November 9, 2015

A Galaxy Far Far Away

Long ago, in a gal...
You get the point

I started this blog as a nail polish/nail art showcase. And as life has happened, I became less able to do my nails or nail art on a constant basis. I guess that's what happens when your baby grows up!!

So I abandoned the blog for a bit. And then did the redesign I guess you could call it. And decided is rather blog about all sorts of stuff:nails, beauty reviews, daily happenings, etc...

But today I thought I would go back to my roots (another daaayy, some other waaayy) <---you'd probably have to be an Imagine Dragons fan for that one..

Im just going to post a few of my favorite manicures, nail art, or colors from lately

The one above is the most recent, and a recreation of one of my favorite holiday manicures that I first did yeaaaars ago. 
This is one of my favorites from Polish Addict Nail Color. It's a thermal, meaning it changes color in cold or hot weather. You can see the color difference from the tips of my nails down to the base. 
This is from Liquid Sky Lacquer, her holos are absolutely gorgeous and her colors are so vibrant
And finally, FINALLY I "mastered" in my eyes anyways, the ombré effect. Going from mint green (my favorite color in case you ever wondered) to white. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  If you're reading an early version of this, I will have links to Polish Addict Nail Color and Liquid Sky Lacquers shops in later today!!

Kat




Newest family member!!

No. No babies. Well not human babies, and not yet anyways. 

But we lost our first "baby" in June this year when our 12 year old male German Shepherd Dog, Zeus, died of cancer. Worst day ever. Of course it was 11 at night, and Josh had a huuuge promotional interview first thing the next morning. 

We grieved for a few months and then having a one dog household was a weird feeling. And we didn't like it. So we called the breeder that we had purchased Zeus from (and our female Shepherd, Isis) and she had puppies becoming available soon!

We set a date to go look, which quickly turned into us planning to purchase that day. Hubs really wanted another male, since he's outnumbered by females already. And so it was decided. 


We've named all out dogs after mythical gods and goddess, so we needed another for this boy. And settled on Apollo, after many many many back and forth conversations about names. 


We brought him home September 25, when he was 8 weeks old. Man! Having a puppy is hard work. I had forgotten how much since we got Isis 9 years ago!  But he's worth it. He's adorable. Very calm. Loving, and best friends with Audrey 
They grow even faster than human babies, which is too fast. He was just under 20 pounds when we brought him home. And he's now close to 40!! He's going to be a very large dog; his paws are massive!
One look at his toy box will tell you how spoiled he is!  We subscribed to BarkBox, which is something we never did with our dogs before. Zeus destroyed any toy almost instantly, and Isis has no interest in them. Apollo loves them!  He chews all day, throws them in the air, chases them!  It's so nice to not have to pick up stuffing al day!!
That classic shepherd stance gets me every time!  He's growing into a very handsome, breed standard dog!!

Kat








Thursday, October 22, 2015

Influenster Got Me Like...:

WOAH!

Earlier this summer I got the bestest Voxbox I've ever gotten. It was YSL primer and finisher. And it was uh-mazing. I'd never used YSL prior to that and it was love and first use. 

And then Influesnter sent me ANOTHER YSL Voxbox. This time: lipstick!!

Lipstick is my jam. Lipstick and nail polish, obviously. So when I found out I was getting not one, but two TWO YSL lipsticks, I was over the moon!!
           YSL Rogur Pur Couture
                      Hello lovers

The first color is #19 Fuchsia. It's gorgeous. It's perfect. Everything you would want in a lipstick. First the important things: it goes on so smooth. And it feels wonderful on your lips, thanks to intense hydrating ingredients and antioxidants. The color though. Look at it. It's so great. 
                       Am I right?!

Who says your fall colors need to be dark and matte?! Bring out those bright colors and hold on to just a bit more summer!!

Color two is #9 Rose Stiletto. Now this is what I think is a traditionally "fall" color. It's warm, and neutral. It looks fantastic on all skin tones, and matches any look, day or night. And it goes on just as easily as the fuchsia!

But can we talk about those amazing tiny YSL's carved into the lipstick?  Or the gorgeous gold packaging (iconic by the way!)


At this pint my feelings on YSL are as follows:



Much love
Kat



**I received these products free for testing purposes. I was not compensated for my review**

Who knew

How busy life would get once my 5 year old was in kindergarten?!

Suddenly we've got Girl Scouts, tumbling, swimming, riding lessons, and of course HOMEWORK. 
 
Homework is a tough routine to get into when they don't know anything about it. We had the odd project here and there in pre-k. But no homework. 

Who's got tips on how to manage it all!?

Kat
PS... Look for my YSL Rogue Couture Lipstick post coming tonight! I've gotta do something while she's at swim class, right?!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Let's Talk About: Skincare

The I'm not sure many of you know, but I went to Esthetics school in 2004-2005. I'm obsessed with finding that miracle cure for troubled skin. 
While I was in skincare school, I was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, and I found out after seeing a dermatologist for  an unknown skin condition.  
The TS caused these angiofibromas all across my cheeks and above my eyebrows. They looked like acne, and it was a serious confidence killer for me. So I was always trying new things. 

Luckily, after my daughter was born, the angiofibromas cleared up. There's no medical research showing this has ever happened before, which leads us to think I was possibly misdiagnosed. But I still had acne, so my search continued. 

I've tried it all!  

And finally, I found it. My skin care "Holy  Trinity". 


I'm currently super into Lush, and can't get enough. My best friend recommended the AquaMarina cleanser and I haven't looked back since. 

It looks funky, it's pink from calamine powder (yes like the mosquito bite lotion!) and there's flecks and pieces of seaweed inside.
It smells a little weird, but Oh My God. Leaves my skin clean, smooth, and breakout free. FINALLY 

I follow Aqua up with another Lush product, Mask of Magnaminty. It's a minty green mask with peppermint, kaolin clay, and aduki beans for a gentle scrub. It's packed with other ingredients that help deep clean and spot treat breakouts!

And the last is a new discovery for me. I was noticing that as great as the AquaMarina was at cleaning my skin, it wasn't great at taking off my full face of makeup. And I really don't enjoy those makeup removing towelettes. I've seen Micellar water all over social media lately as a great makeup remover and skin cleanser so I decided to give it a try. 

I got mine at Target, and it's by the Simple brand, so I know only necessary ingredients are inside!  And it's so simple, just pour some on a cotton round and wipe!  Eye makeup comes off in a snap!  And I wear some pretty difficult mascara. Not a problem for this stuff. 

So I start with the Micellar water, wash with the AquaMarina
, and about 2-3 times a week use Mask of Magnaminty  

And guys. I'm serious. My skin has never looked better!

Kat

Do you use Lush products? Leave your favorites in the comments!!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Crest 3D White Brilliance Daily Cleansing and Whitening System

**I have a post brought to you by BzzAgent and Crest today. I received these products free for testing and reviewing purchases. I did not purchase these products.**
I have wanted whiter teeth forEVER. Basically since I got my braces off at 15. I've tried at home whitening strips. But never long enough for real results. And I want to do the zoom white at my dentist, but that can be pricy!!

Enter BzzAgent. I was selected to receive this new system by Crest and they sent me the whole set. It's a daily toothpaste and a whitening gel that you use twice daily. Using the toothpaste, you brush as normal, spit out the junk in your mouth and DO NOT RINSE. 

That part is so hard!  I'm so used to rinsing right away.  Don't even rinse off the toothbrush. 

Then put the whitening gel on the toothbrush and brush again for one minute. After you spit that out you can rinse. It's almost like brushing your teeth with the gel from those whitening strips they make. So the taste isn't the best; rinsing is necessary. 

I took a picture before I started using 
And I will take another one Sunday morning, as that will be one week. The packaging says you will notice results in one week. We shall see!!

On another note. Since we are talking about WHITENing products. My last name is Whiten. Pronounced just like the color (or as my mother in law says "what bleach does to your clothes).

 So many people call me Whitten though like the football player for the Dallas Cowboys. Not that I would mind football player money. But that's it my name.  Anyways the point is...
...do people look at a tooth whitening product and read that it WHITTENS your teeth!?

I'll leave you with that thought today

Kat ❤️

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Double the Homes!!!

The I've been so incredibly busy.  Once again.  But for good reason; we closed on and moved into the new house! 
From the moment we closed I've been going back and forth. And back again. 

Painting and cleaning in the new house. Packing and cleaning at the old house. 
Meeting contractors to fix small problems at the new house. To meeting handymen to tune up appliances at the old house. 

I'm exhausted. Everyday. Of course I also started working every day as soon as we closed, so that hasn't helped. 

But that hard work has PAID OFF. Omg this house is everything I wanted, and everything I never knew it could be.  It's about 300 square feet more than the previous house, but it feels palatial in comparison. 

We have a 15x20 lofted master with its own ensuite bathroom and walkin closet. We have a third bedroom that is a guest room and playroom for now. We have a DINING ROOM.  Say what!?  No more eating in front of the TV. #lifeisgood

The house was in good condition when we bought it. But I upgraded with paint and my own touches of course. 
Audrey picked out her own room decor. I haven't really seen her room all put together.  Because honestly it's not at all put together. Her bed is up, and her dresser and closet are full of clothes.  But she instantly had toys strewn about the entire room. 
                      #princessbed
Everything else is done though!  What a great feeling. To have a new place and everything is exactly where it should be.  

Gone are the days of just shoving things places because we have no space. No more clutter, no more mess!!
      *deep peaceful breath*

There's much more to be seen!  Coming soon to part two!!


But this might be the most impressive.  The inlaws brought over all the bourbon they have been given and didn't like (don't get my started). So let's get this collection started!  Do you have to keep them all full for it to be a collection?


Of course it's not over.  There's still the old house to clean. And get rented. But for now, I'm done.  And home!!



Sunday, May 17, 2015

Is it time yet?

Sorry for the lack of updates, but man have I been busy!!  Not only did hubs and I buy a new house, but my baby sister also bought her first house. 

Which means big sis is obligated to help her move in. It wasn't bad. She's lived at my parents forever so she didn't have an entire house or apartment to move. So it was quick and relatively painless. 

We painted this weekend. And cleaned. I'm not sure her sellers ever cleaned their house. The walls were gross, the white doors were black. And they left a bunch of shredded cheese (not in a bag) in the fridge door for us!!  

But now that she's done, it's my turn. And I realized today juuuust how quickly time is flying by. Yes I have just about a month to go before we close. And over a month until the official moving day. But I had nothing done. 
Minus purging. I purged a lot. Everyone should move every few years just to purge. I still have more to get rid of too! 😍

Anyways. I started packing today. I did pretty well I think. I got all the non essential things (pictures, knick knack stuff I can't seem to throw away) packed away. Including my home fragrance. With the exception of one measly candle. And a wallflower. 

Which probably explains the massive shopping trip on bathandbodyworks.com tonight. But when they say $9 three wick candles, a basic bitch like me can't say no!  So $135 later (which was really only $50 shipped for the sale) and I'm not so patently awaiting my order. I'll post that haul when it arrives. Promise!  

And I'll have an IKEA haul coming Wednesday too. That won't be pretty. For my credit card, not aesthetically. 

See you then!

Kat ❤️

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Can't get enough

I have to check in to buying stock shares in Target. I'm seriously there once at day (at least) on the weekends. 

And now that we are moving, I can't help but spend money on stuff for the new house. 

Thank god for clearance. 


These are perfect for my new kitchen. I love decals, and I LOVE wine!  Seriously the one thing I will miss about the current house is the wine rack built into our kitchen cabinets. And hello! Clearanced!!

Please don't tell my husband, he may take my redcard away. 

Who am I kidding, he would never do that!

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Well It's About Damn Time!

Holy shit y'all!  After 7 years of asking and showing him properties, and asking some more, more properties being shown to him...WE ARE FINALLY MOVING!  

Say good bye to my 750 square foot ranch house (well, see ya later, because we are renting it out when we move)!  Hell-ooooooo 1100 square foot cape cod of my dreams. 

I'm not sharing pictures of it yet, since we haven't closed on it. We have to wait until June for that. But I do have some stuff figured out already. 

It's in great shape already, so all I have to do before moving in is clean the carpet in the master and paint. Oh em gee! I love to paint rooms. So I have paint colors picked out from Lowes already. 

The princess has requested a white room with pink and purple hearts, so I found some decals on Amazon for $15 shipped. And I'm painting the kitchen, dining room and one wall in the master. 

Classical violet is going to be an accent wall in my master and Coastal Jetty is going in my dining room. The other two, Lyndhurst Celadon Green and Green Tea Leaves are going in my kitchen. They are picking up rather mint in the picture, but aren't that bright in person.  All these colors are Valspar colors. 

And the one other thing that is figured out is the princess's bathroom. We have two FULL baths in the new house!  So the downstairs bath will be kid friendly decor, but it's also our main bath when guest are over, so it's not in your face kids!  Like the Frozen set she picked out. Sorry Kiddo

 
How stinkin cute is that!?  I love the owls, I think it's something she can continue to grow into for a while, and it's still appropriate for a main bath. And it was all on clearance!  I think I paid $35 tops for all of it?  #targetforthewin

Can I admit something?  I've never (never) been to Ikea! *Gasp!*  But I'm going!
Soon!
In May. I have a dentist appointment, and there's an ikea close by. That haul will be a completely separate blog post all on its own. I had better bring cash as a budget. Haha who am I kidding!?

Wish me luck

Kat

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Door to Door Organics

The The I'm not usually an organic eater. Honestly, I think Organics are very pricey and I don't usually purchase them.  
But I had seen an add for Door to Door Organics all over my facebook news feed last month!  They were having a spring sale for new customers. 51% off any box, so long as you were new. No commitment, you could do just the one box if you wanted. So I decided to check it out. 
With the sale, I was able to get their largest mixed fruit and veggies box for $26 delivered. I can barely buy all our fruits and veggies for the week for $26, non organic!  Audrey loves (LOVES) fruits and veggies. 
It took a few days to decide to pull the trigger, but I did. They preselected items to bring to you, but you have the option to switch out things for a select few others. 
I chose to have my delivery day be Tuesday because I don't usually work then. That way I can bring the box inside as soon as it's delivered. Otherwise, if you're not home any of the delivery days you can leave a cooler outside and they will put the box in the cooler for you. 
I waited all day yesterday for my box; I love deliveries. Finally as I was making dinner it arrived, just in time too. I wanted the lettuce I was getting for dinner!
I quickly opened it and found layers of goodies awaiting me!
Organic bananas, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, strawberries, two pink lady apples. 
Organic mandarins, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, asparagus. 

Organic cameo apples, Fuji apples, avocado, garlic, grapefruit, Yukon gold potatoes, Bosc pears, and blood oranges. 
About those blood oranges. I didn't think Audrey would go for it. Because she's five,and they don't look like a typical orange. She can not get enough. Josh on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. Mostly because he couldn't get over the name. You win some, you lose some. 
But look how gorgeous these are:
That one in the middle that's almost orange to deep red ombré. Love. 

I can't believe I paid $26 for all that food to be delivered to my house! Now to figure out what to make with Swiss chard. And the grape tomatoes. Because Audrey has decided that she doesn't like them anymore. More five year old antics. 

If you're interested in Door to Door Orangics, and live within the states that they are currently delivering in, leave me your email address and I will send you an invite. You will get $15 off your order!  Unfortunately, the spring sale has since ended, but they have a variety of boxes at pretty good price points!  Be sure to check them out!

Kat

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Singapore Part Two:Indonesia

So after the whirlwind of flights just to get us to Singapore, we left a day and a half later for Indonesia; by ferry, thank god!  

It's a quick 45 minute ferry ride from Singapore to the Bintan Resort area of Indonesia. The entire Bintan area is full of resorts and vacation hotels. 
We left Monday morning, and stayed until Wednesday afternoon. All that luggage for just 2 days, 7 people of course, but two days!

The ferry was specific to the Bintan area, and very clean with a friendly staff. We sat on Emerald Class, which was their version of first class. We waited to board in the Emerald Class lounge

With preferred seating, access to the outer stern of the boat, and free soda or water. 




We were picked up by a bus from our resort, Nirwana Gardens. It was a quick bus ride from the ferry docks, and this was waiting for us after check in:

We had our own access to a private beach, with our own infinity pool, which is where we spent 75% of our time. Because, well private infinity pool. 
I'll leave the rest of the pictures for the end. 

We had dinner our first night at the Thai restaurant down the street from our villa. And it was really good. We had authentic Thai cuisine, outside next to the water. It was much less humid in Indonesia than I Singapore, so it was nice to sit outside next to the water. 

Mostly we spent our time in our own pool, but did venture out to the pool for the entire resort, mainly to take advantage of the swim up pool bar. Keep in mind, we were there Monday-Wednesday so the crowds were low, and there weren't many people. It was almost as if we had the place to ourselves!

The second night for dinner, we arranged for their "BBQ Party". They brought a grill and an assortment of food to the villa, along with a personal chef!  And Chef K prepared our meal that night. We have salad, fresh vegetables, roasted potatoes, beef and chicken satay, grilled steak, grilled chicken, lamb chops, and lobster. With a fresh fruit platter for dessert. 
The food was amazing, especially the satay; if my five year old willing eats it, you know it's amazing!

I never in my wildest dreams imagined going to Singapore, let alone Indonesia!  This was by far the best part of the trip, and I wish we had an opportunity to go back. I can tell you this, if I ever have a chance to go again, I won't hesitate!!