Best Beauty Brands (BBB)

According to me.

This post will temporarily be without photos. I am taking a quick break from work so I will have to upload photos later. I just found some new favorite lippies and wanted to keep a record of my old favs. I am seriously considering on stocking up on some of my old favs since I have sadly had to say goodbye to many favorite discontinued items.

So here are some of my favorite brands when it comes to beauty and the products I would not choose to live without.

Dior
Dior Addict Lip Glow
This was a tough one. It was down to the lip glow and the lip balm. I chose the Glow because I have already ran out of one and purchased a second. It gives my lips a nice shade of pink without feeling thick on my lips. The only downside is the slighly bubble gummy scent. Plus I adore the packaging.

YSL
Volupte Sheer Candy
This is a new favorite. I do find that the different colors have different wear lengths. The Tangy Tangerine shade will last through eating a big burrito, while the Fig shade will fade quicker. They all feel like silk on the lips and don't leave a strange ring around the mouth. I think the orange shade is more worth the money because of the staying power. Also the packaging is pretty, not as cool as Dior though.

Chanel
I don't have a top one in this category. I tend to like the majority of their products from skincare to makeup. I am not a huge fan of the glossimers but I tend to favor this brand anyways.

Tarte
Lip Surgence
I really like these. Super moisturizing, great crayon like packaging. I find these super handy and the color is amazing when I want a great berry or a nice pink. Staying power is pretty decent for a glossy balm.

Josie Moran
Argan Oil
Yes I love the Argan oil. I tend to like the majority of her products from the hair stuff to the stick balms. I do not however care for the pot balms or most of her glosses. I found them too thin. The oil itself is amazing though. I put it on my hair, face and body. I have had to repurchase a new bottle, and am considering splurging on the jumbo size in the future.

Wen
Pumpkin replenishing mist
I actually like both pumpkin and tea tree. I will definitely be repurchasing more replenishing mists. I would not consider myself a "wen" girl since I use shampoo still. I find the actual cleansing conditioner to be OK. I did not get the excellent results they rave about. I do love the replenishing mists. If I haven't had a chance to wash my hair, this helps. I spray it on my face when I need a pick me up or am running out the door. Best stuff ever, hands down:)

Cadaulie
Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid SPF 15 PA++

and
Firming concentrate
This is a tie. I love love love the day perfecting fluid. I got this as a 500 point perk before from Sephora. I am still using it and will have to find it for cheaper in the future. My skin is amazing from this. I also love the scent. Ditto with the firming concentrate.

Jurlique
Day Cream
I tend to use this at night. I like the thick cream and it works great on my elbows and chest too.

Signature Club A
Essentials Creme for face and eye
This is more of a daily moisturizer for me. It absorbs in my skin really fast. Love love it.

Lush Cosmetics
Soft Coer
Sorry if I spelled that wrong. I love the smell of this massage bar. I feel really pretty when I wear this. Definitely repurchased it and savored every bit.

Thi Cosmetics
Cream shadow in Soy and Lipgloss in Lan
I am super sad that both of these are now discontinued and I can't find it anywhere:(

Clarins
Hydraquench lip (old white package version)
Luckily I purchased an extra one, so I won't run out anytime soon. Still searching for more so I can really stock up. Love the way it feels on my lips, love the look of the golden lip balm when I squirt it out of the tube. Love the way it smells, love this product.

and

Lip firming contour cream
Awesome lip miracle worker. I think my lip color is actually slightly pinker.

Goals

I have decided to make some work/school and personal goals. I realize that it is not new years but I think this is as good a time as any.

Personal

1. Begin purging out house of things I don't want. This week I plan on going through the kitchen and my bedroom. I will throw away things I consider garbage, and donate or sell things that are worth selling or keeping. I will stash these things in my bedroom corner. If the items do not sell within two weeks I will donate or give them away. I plan on completing the purge by Christmas.

2. Research Lasik surgery and choose a doctor by end of November. Visit my eyedoctor during the month of September.

3. Add to my excercise regimen. I currently do some excercise at lunch and when I wake up in the morning. I will now do a min of 15 minutes of jumping before I make dinner and end my days with another 15 minutes of weight excercises before bed. Thursdays I will continue my zumba class. Next year I may join a dance class at a nearby studio. (this depends on cost) I am only committing to 15 minutes for the time being. I am hoping to up this to half an hour and then 45 minutes.

4. Keeping a log of what I eat and also not feeling guilty about what I eat. I think keeping track of what I eat will at least help me gage how much I am eating. So when I eat something that is junk I can at least keep most of what I eat, healthy,  and grooming myself (especially face) I want to make sure I at least take care of my  upper lip and eyebrows on a regular basis and not just when there is an event coming up. This also means taking care of my hair and skin.

5. I want to begin keeping my bathroom tub very clean. I know I will be moving but I want to continue to allow myself relaxation during the weekend or on friday nights by taking bubble baths or soaks.

6. Keeping better track of my finances. I will create a spreadsheet and keep tabs on by bills similar to the way I keep tabs on recurring bills at work.

7. Vacuuming and getting rid of fleas. This means making sure Mouse has his flea medicine too. George can help me with this one.

I am going to keep it at these seven goals for now. I will begin now after I list my work/school goals.

 

Work/School

1. Begin studying for CPA exam at the beginning of the year.
2. Complete three remaining Courses.
3. Speak to Marla about CPA exam and studying for it in January.
4. Study clients at the end of each work day and during billing projects. Get to know the clients better.
5. Create consistency between clients.
6. Keeping my office space clean.
7. Creating a better school schedule. (not leaving stuff till the weekends)

Food Diary

Breakfast: Wheat bagel (I think) and plain cream cheese. 
Snack: Orange
Lunch:
Dinner:

Weekend and Plans

So my weekend went pretty well. I was still recooperating but we surprized my dad on his Bday this saturday. Kathryn was able to get us tickets to Cavalia where she works. It was a pretty amazing show. Plus my dad was really surprized. I also did some homework. I will have to spend my lunch hour doing more homework today because I didn't sleep very well. I think I am going to need to rest some more when I get home. On top of that this week I believe we might be having dinner with Karine, Joseph and george's parents. Then on Friday I am meeting up with the girls for dinner again. This weekend I might go to my parents house or stay home and study. I have  to study ahead of time because I need to get work done before our trip to Roberta's and for the wedding. It turns out that I have a midterm right smack during my trip to Hawaii. Sucks!!!

feel like death

So the terror has begun again. Some moronic super annoying bug has bitten my feet. I even had George vacuum the house while I went to get some afrin for my stupid stuffy and runny nose. Despite the vacuuming some evil doer took a bite out of each of my feet. I am now sitting at work trying very hard to not think about the itch in my feet. I am annoyingly totally failing at that.

Moving cubicles

So I was notified today that I will be moving cubicles :( I am slightly sad about this because I have started to get acquainted with my spot. However I will be moving to a cubicle with a window:) and I will at least still be next to Jennifer. Sadly Anne will be moving far far away. Ok so granted everything in the offices are not far away. But still, I was about to start decorating my area and making the place more "mine." I am apparently luckier because my space is not only by a window but also not smaller (I think).

Also Zeba is being interviewed at my company tomorrow. I hope they like her and things go well. I hope so especially now that I gave her my recommendation. I am hoping they adore her like they did me. We will be in diff departments so we won't be competing. She seems a little worried because it is a temp position but mine is as well.

Also my days are going to be super busy. Tomorrow after work I have Zumba class. Then on Friday I have lunch with Anne and going to Zeba's to celebrate her belated bday. Then Sat I am going to my parents where I will have to get silver shoes for Christine's wedding and figure out how to get to the wedding. Then next week is Christine's wedding. We also have to get around to arranging the bach party for Roberta and the speech as well as figure out the dance moves. Yeep!

I love Aerosoles

Today I spent the day with Shabana. She took the train up to the hillsdale station and I hung out at the mall with her. It was nice catching up. George and I also watched HUGO today. I actually really liked the movie. I thought it was going to be only ok but I really enjoyed it. Finally I started looking for some shoes to wear to the weddings. Sadly I need three different shoes because they all want me to wear different colors. I was searching for shoes that I could rewear again because it would be a total waste of money to only buy them for the weddings. Sadly I was unable to find shoes that would be appropriate. It looks like I am just going to have to either hope Roberta's silver shoes work, or buy a pair from Payless. Finding shoes for Marvie's wedding might be difficult too. I did however find some awesome shoes by aerosoles. I seem to favor this brand because I already own several of their shoes.
I love these shoes for several reasons.
1. They make my feet happy
2. They have rubber soles ( less chance of twisting my ankle because of the grip they have on the ground.)
3. Uber soft footbed (it feels like my feed are sitting on pillows)
4. shorter heel
5. Some of the shoes are very vintage inspired
6. Reasonable prices. On sale some of them are as cheap as 20 bucks. When they are pricey they are about 80 bucks which is still not horrible for a really great pair of shoes. Most of the ones I have are around 30-60 bucks.

 These last ones I could wear to Roberta's wedding. They might be easier to dance around in than my super cute Kate Spades.



End note: I had to include a picture of this yellow diamond ring. Drool.

Diamonds by Lauren and this one is very similar to the Tiffany co one but this one is less than 7K while tiffanys is 33K. Both are insanely expensive but you can tell they are both great diamonds. I love how warm the yellow diamonds with yellow gold are.

Here is a cushion cut diamond that is simply gorgeoui