What I Love Wednesday 10.9.13

I'm really late here and I don't really have an excuse for that this time so let's just get with the favorites already.

LOOT CRATE BOXES

First of all is LootCrate. I'm sure many of you have heard of Birchboxes or Julep but this is a different kind of box. This box is for geeks and nerds alike. In your box you will receive 6-10 geek related items ranging from tv show nerdiness to meme geekery and everything in between. I love the concept of this and I love that there is something for the guys... and me.

 LORDE

I'm in love with queen bee! Mainly just two of her songs and her look. She's got a beautiful face and that hair is to die for. It seriously makes me consider growing mine out. I can't believe she is so young and so talented. In my opinion she is far more talented than Miley. I rarely love female artists so this really says something.

ARBY'S SALTED CARAMEL SHAKE

Even though I am on a diet and I don't often trust shakes that come from fast food restaurants, this is my new favorite fall drink. Y'all can keep your caramel-machi-whatevers and pumpkin-spice-somethings. I'll take this over those any day. Please go try it. It's got the perfect paring of sugar and salt. It's perfection.

OVERSIZED LACE HAIR BOWS

I really hope this turns into a thing. Oversized lace hair bows. I would really like that this becomes a thing for autumn and winter. That is all.

SPIKED WIDE BRIM HAT

I tried on this hat (or one very similar to this) at H&M in Denver and I hate myself for not buying it. I look very good in hats and I think I should just start buying more of them aside from knit beanies and the like. I could seriously kick myself for not buying this!

PLAYLIST//

Lorde - Tennis Courts

Ms Mr - Hurricane

Twenty One Pilots - House of Gold 

Panic! At The Disco - Girls/Girls/Boys

Daft Punk ft. Panda Bear - Doin' It Right

Cage the Elephant - Come A Little Closer

The Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know

Urban Outfitters Nail Polish Review

Hey friends! It's time for another product review! I thought that I would review something that I bought while in Denver. I want to do a review on the nail polishes that I bought at Urban Outfitters.

First of all, these were completely an impulse buy as they have buckets and buckets of nail polish, jewelry and other fun goodies in a labyrinth on the way up to the registers. I settled on two colors that I don't really have, but caught my eye.

'Undercover' by UO Ecote Collection and 'Storm' by UO Prairie Rose Collection

Aren't these just beautiful? I usually gravitate towards the bright and bold colors but this time I went a different direction. And you all should know by now how I love my gray hues. These also totally scream fall to me even though they are not the traditional fall colors one would expect.

I had read somewhere before that these polishes are high shine and chip resistant and that got me really excited to get my paws on some.

I had originally only intended on painting one of each of my nails with these colors as sort of a swatch to see how they handle and I ended up painting my whole hand! These are not only high gloss but they dry super fast (which is always a plus for a crafter!). I have only had them painted for a day but I have not yet had to do any touch ups and I think they look really good for not having used a base or top coat.

The real challenge will be to see how these fair on a Thursday at work as that is a truck day and I spend the whole day using my hands to peel open boxes.

Well done Urban Outfitters! I will be back for more!

Fall Lip Colors and Products and Product Reviews

This is going to be one of those sort of 'beauty' posts. I will never go as far as saying that I am a 'beauty guru' or expert but I do like to talk about the products that I purchase, use and products that work for me. This post is about a few of the products I have purchased for fall and my two cents on them.

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve (Bath and Body Works)

Based on what the tin recommends that this Rose Salve can be used on, I have been using for sort of a balm. It can be used on lips, elbows, knees, cuticles and chapped skin. It's got a very sweet scent to it and appears clear on the lips. Because it is rose extract, it works to soothe and condition skin.

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Pomegranate Lip Gloss (Bath and Body Works)

This is the second product I have by C.O. Bigelow and I am really pleased with it. It has a very distinctive scent of sweet lemon and tastes somewhat like lemonade. It is also clear in color which means that you can wear it alone or over a lip color. I also love that these products are not tested on animals. Upon visiting their website, I have learned so much about their products, history and process that I am now in love. I may have to come back for Christmas presents.

C.O. Bigelow

Dazzlelicious High Sparkle Lip Gloss in Golden Caramel (Bath and Body Works)

I'd go on a limb and say that this is one of my most daring purchases ever. It's got a beautiful pink/ orange tint to it and I wasn't sure how that would match with my skin tone. Luckily, upon application, you do not get a big mess of it and it's easy to put on. At first I thought I would hate it because of it's scent because it does smell like caramel, but it smells a little burnt or something, but the scent actually grew on me because it reminds me so much of autumn. It has a light taste to it as well. It is one of those glosses that feels heavy and sticky, however, but that's my least favorite thing about it.

B&BW Dazzlelicious

Plum Dazzle Shine Attract Shimmers Lipstick and Gloss (AVON)

 These lipstick/ gloss combos are one of the most beautiful and beautifully packaged AVON purchases I have ever made. I first got this darker one hoping it would do something for my skin tone and it does. It's not overly colorful and has just enough silver sparkle to it. It's lightweight and non-clumpy. They are also manufactured in four other colors. I also purchased the Sparkling Orchid.

Sparkling Orchid Shine Attract Shimmers Lipstick and Gloss (AVON)

This was the second lipstick gloss that I got from AVON and as you can see it is a brighter pink color and has golden sparkle to it. I almost feel like it is too pink for my complexion but I think it's a good night time product.

AVON Shine Attract Shimmer

And that's all I have for you in this post. I hope you liked this review and will give the websites listed a click so that maybe you can find some fall and maybe winter products for yourself.

Bath and Body Works & Spirit Store Haul

So I am a total liar and shouldn't promise things ahead of time. I ended up having some other stuff to do today  (along with going to the mall, obviously.) but tomorrow for sure I'll post something worthwhile. In the meantime, here is all the stuff I had to get today!

Here is a look at everything I snagged at Bath and Body Works. I originally went in to grab some fall fragrances, but as you can see, I got a bit carried away.

It was between this mason jar candle and one called Pumpkin Cupcake. These smell amazing. I may go back and get the cupcake one anyway!

Here are a few other things along with that candle I got. I also got another Wallflower plug. I got the owl because I thought he was perfect for Autumn and Winter and I love owls. The Wallflower fragrances I got were Farmstead Apple, Lavender Vanilla, Flannel and (surprise!) Pumpkin Cupcake.

The bins on the way to the checkout are my downfall. Completely and utterly... I can never pass up the PocketBacs. They're usually 5 for $5 so I got Hoot Berry, Pumpkin Caramel Latte, Farmstead Apple, Warm Vanilla Sugar, and Creamy Pumpkin.

Then there was the half off bin where I found this gem. I'd call it a summer fragrance but I may use it beyond summer time as it smells so sweet and yummy.

I did something I NEVER do on the way to the registers. I bought lip products. I got a Lemon Pomegranate flavored gloss, a C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve tin, and a Dazzlelicious High Sparkle Lip Gloss in Golden Caramel. It's more orange-colored and I think it will be fun to wear for fall. I also grabbed these cute kitty emery  boards (like I need any more...).

I also stopped by the Spirit Store just to see what they had and I ended up buying more stuff there. I do plan on returning as I have a friend whose husband works there and they want to get me a discount on stuff I will be getting for my Halloween party. I only got a makeup kit, some faux nails which have little stitches painted on them and are glow in the dark, some white hair spray and a lace web table cloth.

That's all for the haul!

Making a Fall Burlap Wreath for Work

Recently at work I was asked to make a Fall wreath for a display at work. Now, I don't have process pictures because I made this at work and I'm not allowed to have my phone on the floor, but I will provide a list and a written process of how I made this beautiful Autumn creation. I believe you can get most of these materials at most craft retailers.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

--`// :: a grapevine wreath

--`// :: floral wire or chenille stems

--`// :: colored burlap (5 inches wide)

--`// :: assorted fall picks (I used grapevine pumpkins, fall leaves, yellow beaded sprays, and burlap sunflowers in yellow, orange and a natural color.)

--`// :: natural colored raffia

--`// :: wreath stand or hanger 

--`// :: hot glue gun

THE PROCESS:

--`// :: First of all, take your colored burlap and cut it in half. Wrap one half of the burlap around what will be the top left "corner" of your wreath. Secure the end of the burlap to what will be the back of the wreath with a small piece of floral wire or a chenille stem. Do the same to the bottom right "corner" of the wreath.

--`// :: Next arrange your floral / fall picks around your wreath in a scattered manner. I started with the leaves, then the sunflowers, the grapevine pumpkins, then finally the yellow beaded sprays. Make sure you leave the bottom right burlap covered area empty.

--`// :: Once all of your picks are where you want them to be, tie in the wire stems to secure the picks that are overlapping into the grapevine wreath and cut the backs of the sunflowers so that they are now flat and secure. Hot glue the sunflowers and anything else that seems insecure.

--`// :: Fashion a bow out of your raffia and slip a piece of floral wire into it so that you can secure it to your wreath.

--`// :: Remove all of your hot glue strings and display!