Stuck In A Rut? Need Motivation?

I hope every one's weekend has been going good so far. As for myself, so far so good. I accomplished more than anticipated, which feels good. I thought it would be nice to do a weekly inspiration/motivation post. Hopefully, I can stick with this new regiment. I can barely keep up with my hauls and reviews already.

I've decided that this year, I'm going to get out of this rut. Anyone else out there feel this way, or is it just me?

Here is pretty much how my typical routine is:

• Full time work Monday through Friday
• Occasionally run errands or do some shopping after work. I think I do this more than needed and this is turning into an expensive activity.
• Cook. For those of you who loves cooking can you please tell me how? I just don't find any enjoyment in it.
• Help my youngest with homework when needed.
• Work on my blog, reviews, and posts. That also includes taking a ton of pictures and editing them, and testing products. This blog has done a pretty good job at keeping me busy and keeping my mind off of things.
• Spam comments on Luuux so I can earn my points. This is very tedious and a lot of bitch work, excuse my French, but anyone who is on it knows what I mean.
• Sleep. I'm a bit of an insomniac and I get an average of 5 hours of sleep on the week days.
• One thing I've added to my boring routine since last September is exercise. I'm happy to say that I've been pretty consistent with it.

So that's pretty much my current life in a nutshell. Am I a person who likes to stick with  her comfort zone? The answer is yes and no. Yes because I think it's human nature to want to stay where they feel comfortable. No because I'm very passionate about life. I only have one life to live and I want to live it in a meaningful way.
In order to get out of this rut, it starts with your mind set. I had to rethink of the ways I used to think and here are some of the issues I've identified.

1. Stop making excuses. I think that everyone can relate to that. We all  have an excuse for the things that we do or don't do. Identify what your concerns are and find a resolution for them instead of letting the excuse hold you back. One of my main excuse is money. I always think that having fun involves money and perhaps it does depending on what it is but I'm pretty sure that if I do my research, there has got to be some affordable ways to have a good time.
2. Take small steps. You don't have to completely change your routine but set a goal and start with the changes you think you can handle. I think I need to make myself a list so I can track my progress.
3. Don't wait for others. That's a tough one. I'd prefer to share the experience with someone. I'm gonna try not to hold back anymore, even if that means doing it alone. I'd like to thank a new friend for the advice.
4. Confidence. Mine always bounces up and down. Truth is I don't get easily hurt or offended by others but I am my biggest critic. I try not to be too harsh with myself, which is something I have a tendency to do.

I think I've touched on the basic issues that I have so I'm going to work on them. I don't know if this post was motivational but hopefully insightful at least.

Any advice or suggestions you have to get out of a rut?

PS: I did some changes on my page. I added a message board on the right panel so anyone can drop me a quick message if they wanted to. I changed the width of my page and going forward, I'm going to post larger pictures. I finally figured how to add additional links to my other posts, lol.

**Picture taken from http://www.lonelyidea.com/**

Luuux Shared Link

I'M Stocked!!! My New Camera, Sample Pictures, and First Impression

I wasn't even looking to buy a camera but last weekend when I was out shopping with my sister at Target, I was playing with their display cameras just for fun. I took some snapshot with this camera I was like WOAH! This camera is AMAZING!
I read several reviews and they were pretty good so since I wasn't able to get it off my mind, lol, I caved in and bought it yesterday.
It retails for $200.00, which is really not too shabby for what it can do.

MAC Haul and Swatches

Hello Lovelies,

Last Sunday, I wasn't planning to do anything but chill at home; however, that didn't  happen because my sister called me and asked me if I wanted to go to the CCO. Of course, I wasn't going to say no to a free ride, lol, so I jumped on the offer. Yep, I did more damage to my checking account, please don't judge, lol, I do pay my bills.

Here's what I picked up...

February My Glam Bag

Hi everyone,

I decided to jump on the My Glam bandwagon last month after seeing a few posts of what people have been receiving. I typically try to steer away from these monthly subscription companies because from what I've seen so far it seems like it'll be only a waste of my money.
What's interesting about My Glam is that for $10 a month you receive a bag filled with custom goodies, some of which are brands we are familiar with and love. You get a mix of 4 to 5 samples, deluxe samples, or full size product in your bag. I don't mind receiving samples but my problem is that I always forget to use my samples. So knowing that I'll be receiving some full size product really peaked my interest.
I placed my first order last month but was only scheduled to receive my bag on the following month. I was a little disappointed that everyone else got their bag and confirmation before me. Given I had received an email stating that the last bag would be shipped on Valentine and I didn't get a confirmation until the day after.

What I received

• A cute pink bag with black hearts.
• Ghirardelly chocolate
• Premier Instant Stretching and Revitalizing Mask sample, Premier Concentrated Facial Serum Sample, and a 50% off coupon code (MYGLAM) for www.premierdeadsea.com. I'm not sure if the coupon code is only good toward the Cinderella Mask or if it can be used for anything in the store.
• NYX Roll On Shimmer Onyx. I not sure if I'm going to love this but I can tell you that I am already not liking the color. Considering the way that it is packaged, that would mean that I can only use this to do an all over dark smoky look. IDK how that's going to turn out.
• X Out Shine Control. I could definitely use this on my T-zone, which is usually the oiliest part of my face.
• Freeman Facial Enzyme Mask Pineapple. I've never tried this before so I'm sure looking forward to it.
• $100 gift card for NuMe Professional Styling tools or Hair Extensions. Wow, that's probably the most exciting part of this month's bag. I'm definitely going to check out the extensions.

 

Oh and one last thing, all these goodies came in this fancy-looking metallic pink envelope that I find very cool.

Have you jumped on the My Glam bandwagon yet? What do you think of My Glam?

 

Luuux Shared Link

YSL Rouge Pur Rosewood Lipstick Review and Swatches

Wow, can you believe I've had this lipstick for about a year now and still haven't posted about it? To be quite honest, I've taken these pictures a little while back when I first got the lipstick. I normally take a bunch of pictures when I first purchase something new and then write reviews later...that is if I don't forget to.

Packaging

• For some reason this one feels lighter than the other YSL lipstick that I have.
• The metallic gold packaging looks nice and high-end but I hate how it attracts fingerprints and gets scratched very easily.
• .12 oz or 3.5 g

  

Product

• Rosewood is a pinkish nude color with a creme finish.
• The pigmentation and formula of these YSL lipsticks are among my favorite. It feels very moisturizing and luxurious.
• It glides so effortlessly and yet the formula doesn't slip or slide and wears for hours. I get about 3-4 hours of wear.
• It has a very prominent fruity/perfumy scent. I personally don't mind it. I think it smells very nice but it does have a stronger scent than most of my lispsticks so it might bother some.

Conclusion

Aside from the packaging. I love everything else about this lipstick from the rich pigmentation to the moisturizing and comfortable feel that lasts for hours. YSL products are expensive but this one comes with a quality to match the price tag.

My rating 9.5/10.

Luuux Shared Link

Nail Supply Haul and Swatches

  

I went back to the little nail supply shop because I wanted to see if I could find a few nail polishes that I've had on my list and it was quite a successful trip since I managed to find most of them. I don't know about you guys but I've really been enjoying the Color Club nail polishes. I think they are pretty good and so much cheaper at the nail supply.

The Vow

We celebrated my sister's baby shower yesterday and afterward a few of us decided to go see The Vow. I particularly don't really watch romantic drama movies. Truth is I actually avoid watching drama because it always makes me think. Not a bad thing to think and reflect on what you see but it does bring back some memories.

The movie is based on a true story about a newly married and happy couple who got into a car accident. When the wife wakes up from her coma, she doesn't recall anything about her husband. From there everything goes downhill but ends on a happy note.

What I learned from the movie...

• We all encounter several points of impact in life that can change us or steer us in a different direction. Whether we stay or leave, ultimately the choice is ours.
• I am amazed at what people can do and are willing to do for the one they love. For someone like myself, witnessing such makes me feel like I've never really lived.
• A few people try to remember their past while some of us try to forget. Whether the memory remains or not, we can always create new ones.  
• One of the quote the mother said in the movie really struck me "I chose to stay for everything that he did right and forgive him for the one thing he did wrong"...Wow, that completely blew me away. That was deep and powerful. It really made me feel weak.
• I know it's a chick flick but guys should really watch chick flicks too. Trust me, you can learn a thing or two about how to love.

Overall, the movie wasn't amazing but it was good. I enjoyed a few parts in the movie that made me reflect on love and life. We all go through bumps and holes that challenges our faith and hopes and overcoming the obstacles is a proof of our strength and passion for what we believe.

Have you seen this movie? Would you watch it?

Photo credit from http://thevow-movie.com/

Luuux Shared Link

Second Random Haul and Swatches

Here's the rest of the stuff I bought today and yesterday. I've been pretty much shopping everywhere, lol.

• Suave Sleek anti-frizz cream. I just thought this looked like something I might need to smooth the flyaways and control the hair around my forhead since they sometimes have a mind of their own, lol. It was just a few bucks, so pretty cheap.

Orly Oh Cabana Boy Swatch

Here is another polish that I've swatched way back then and didn't post about it. I bought this back in the summer. Oh Cabana Boy is a very bright pink with an iridescent blue shimmer to it. All I gotta say is this color is just gorgeous and stunning on the nail. When I first saw my sister wear this on her nail, it totally caught my eyes cause it's that bright and looks pretty unique to me. I have not come across a pink like this one. Here I have 2 coats and the coverage looks pretty good. My camera doesn't do this beauty justice but the color is actually pretty darn close. If you don't mind bold nail color, this is definitely one to add to your collection. You will not regret it.

 

What do you think of this shade? Would you wear it?

Luuux Shared Link

Missha Haul

I have been curious about BB creams for quite some time now and I finally caved in and decided that it was time I tried them. I saw one of the girls on Luuux do a post on her Missha haul and I took interest in the company.
I have always wanted to try asian cosmetics but being unfamiliar with their brands and products, I had no clue where to start. I wanna say Missha is a Korean company since it says on the packaging that the product was made in Korea, so correct me if I'm wrong.

There is a few reasons why I decided to place an order with them

• If you sign up to be on their email list, you will receive a FREE Perfect Cover BB cream in the shade 21. Yes, you read it correct, a free full size BB cream!
• There was a few specials and deals going at the time I place my order.
• Missha now has several stores located in the US. Click here to view where they are if you are interested. Therefore, it's being shipped within the US to your home.

My initial impression is that it took about a week for me to receive my order, which isn't too bad. When I opened up the box, my order arrived in good condition. They used styrofoam peanuts, which I don't like. I would have prefered bubble wrap because I think it does a much better job at adding that extra layer of protection so that your product doesn't get damaged during shipping. Anyways, I'm glad nothing broke and I received everything that I ordered. So far, my first experience with this company has been good.

Now let's move on to what I purchased...

Swatches - Color Club Covered in Diamonds and Sally Hansen Lavender Clouds

I figured that since I'm going to pair these two together, I might as well swatch them together. Lavender Cloud is not something I went out of my way to find but I happened to find it at Walgreens in the clearance bins. And since I also had a $1 coupon, I figured, eh why not. It looks like a white creme polish but with a very slight hint of lavender. I'm not sure if you can see that in the picture because it's quite subtle.
The polish was streaky and a bit tricky to work with but with 3 coats, I was able to minimize the looks of the streaks.

Random Haul and Swatches

Happy Friday everyone!

Here's just a little random haul with products I managed to get within the past few days.

• Milani Smooth Base coat. I've seen a lot of people using this basecoat and I was very curious to give it a try.
• Hard Candy Sky. What's interesting about this shade is that it looks like a creme finish with a subtle iridescent blue sheen. I think this brand is only available at Wal-Mart.
• Nicole by OPI Fabulous Is My Middle Name. Apparently, this shade is a Wal-Mart exclusive. It looks very interesting in the bottle. I see a mixture of silver, purple, dark blue, and red glitters. I didn't noticed until swatched but most of the glitters are very tiny bar glitters.

• Rimmel London Kate 01 (left) and 08 (right). Ok so I finally caved in and bought these lipsticks. I couldn't wait to try them. I heard that they are very long lasting, which I like since I always forget to reapply. 01 is pretty close to being a true red but there is still a little bit of warmth in it as far as I can see. 08 is a pinkish nude with some warm undertone. I will post more swatches and review on these lipsticks soon.

• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment duo. My friend Celia got 2 of these on her birthday from Sephora and she was so sweet for saving one pack for me. I really love these lipbalms. They feel very moisturizing and nice. The only problem I have is that they don't moisturize long enough so I have to keep reapplying.

• Profusion Glitterazzi's Journal. If this palette looks familiar to you, it's because not long ago, I purchased two of these already. I was able to find this palette at Walgreens but I don't think it is a permanent item. They are all quite pigmented and shimmery. The only one that didn't feel smooth is the darker blue shade. The texture could have been better but they are workable. This palette was dirt cheap. I only paid a couple bucks for it.

So that's it for this haul. I have a few more hauls coming up so stay tuned. I didn't want to put them all in one posts since it's going to end up being very long.

Luuux Shared Link

Milani Illuminating Face Powder Amber Nectar Review and Swatches

I purchased this new Milani Illuminating powder a few weeks ago at CVS. I can't remember the exact price but it was around $8-9. When I first saw it, I was all over it, lol. I got totally sucked in by the packaging and snatched it immediately off the shelf.

Something Sweet for Valentine's Day

I hope you all enjoyed your V-day, whether you are alone or not, celebrate it or not. Our company passed around some cupcakes at work. I forgot to take a picture, lol. Before you know it, I already chowed it down.

This year, since I am single, I didn't do anything too special. I actually wasn't planning anything but when I was driving home from work, I felt the urge to get something sweet for myself and my kiddos.
I made a pit stop at Coldstone and picked up this delicous layered ice cream cake.

OPI Serena Glam Slam Swatches

 

Hello,

It's me again with another nail polish spam, lol. I purchased this set from TJ Maxx for less than $10 about a month ago and have been putting off on the swatches until now. I am not sure if you can still find it in stores but if not, there is always amazon and ebay.

By the way, in case you didn't notice, I did a couple changes to my page...

• I have enabled the mobile view so it would be easier if you wanted to view my posts through your phone.
• I've also set the comments to only members of my blog because I've been getting a lot of spams lately. I'm going to leave it at that for now.
• I finally figured how to add the jump breaks, lol, since some of my posts can be pretty long. With that said if you want to view the contents of each posts in its entirety, please click on "read more".

  

OPI Nicki Minaj Save Me and Fly Swatches

The other night, I swatched...gosh I lost count of how many polishes. Since I buy polishes a lot and on the regular, I'm trying to post swatches as soon as possible. Even though I post pretty much every day, I feel so backed up with all the untried and unreviewed products that are still waiting for me. Any of you beauty bloggers feel as overwhelmed as I do?

Anyways, this Nicki Minaj collection just very recently launched and the polishes are colorful and fun. However, there was only 2 of them that really caught my attention.

Milani Jewel FX Red

Happy Valentine's day to all you lovely people. Not sure if you guys are busy getting your groove on lol...but I'll be here blogging as usual. If it seems like I am on a roll with nail polish spams, I sure am! LOL. I need to get these swatches going so I can move on to new things!

Here's another glitter polish Milani added to their Jewel FX line. This is just a plain and simple red glitter in a clear base. The glitters are large. Again like the other Milani glitters, I have to move the glitters around and position them where I want before the clear base dries.
So far I have spotted these new Milani polishes at CVS, K-Mart, and Walgreens. I can't wait to see more Milani products.
I wonder what base color I should pair this red glitter with. I have so many polishes that I need to swatch and post that I haven't really worn a manicure for a while now.
Again, please don't mind my nail polish spams. I'm still staring at that box of untried and unswatched...ughhh.

Luuux Shared Link

NYX Single Eyeshadow Swatches

I'm happy to say that my infected eye has improved and the redness significantly decreased today so I don't have to go to work tomorrow looking sick. I still have to continue using the drops for a few more days. Aside from that I was going through my stuff yesterday because I finally decided that it was time I depot my single eyeshadows into the Z Palettes I have bought way back last Black Friday. Well guess what, that didn't happen, lol, because I realized that I haven't posted these NYX eyeshadows. I'm gonna have to do that before I depot them.

Milani One Coat Glitter Red Sparkle

I found out not long ago that this is the new version of the Red Sparkle. The original one did not have gold glitters in it. It was just red glitters. I really don't know why Milani didn't change the name. I mean how hard can it be to add a new name. Giving it the same name as the previous one can be confusing, especially that there is quite an obvious difference.
The red glitters are quite small and the gold glitters just slighter larger. I really like this glitter combo. The base is actually clear, which I like cause it's better for layering.
One thing that really boggles me is why they named this product "one coat." Sure you could do one coat if you want but one coat never turns out good with these polishes. The glitters are spread out very unevenly and they don't completely cover the nail. Here on the swatches I have 2 coats.
It's very glitzy so I'm not sure if I want to wear this on all of my nails but it would make a nice accent nail in my opinion.