Thursday, January 31, 2013

A Skin Care Regime: What I Use

I don't believe that there is one perfect skin care regimine for every single person. Skin is so unique and has been shaped by so many different factors that it is almost like a personality all it's own. That's why I'm constantly on the hunt for different videos and blogs to watch or read, because with so many products in the market, there is no way I could discover them all on my own. Mixing and matching each product is all part of the fun, and after being asked to do a post on this, I thought I'd fill everyone in on what I do to keep my skin as best I can.

Just to give you an idea of my skin, it's a combination of dry and oily. My cheeks and forehead tend to get oily (very oily during the summer) but my nose, the area around my nose, between my eyebrows, and chin get dry and "tight" feeling after my face is washed.


Unfortunately, my camera decided to go haywire and corrupt about 10 of my photos and I was only able to salvage two of them. The good news is that you can see all the products, even if it's just a corner of it, haha.

The first thing that I do is wash my face every morning and night. Now, I say that, but more often than not I will forget to wash it at night. I know that's awful for my skin, and I should really remember to do it more often because I notice a drastic difference in my skin when I do. The product I use is "St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub" and I swear by it. I feel like it really sloughs off all of the grime and dead skin that collects on my face, especially around and on my nose. The only downside is that it's quite chunky and tends to get stuck under my nails. 

Next, though it's not a "skin care" product, I felt I should include my makeup remover. I am hyper aware of not using an oil based remover to keep it from clogging my pores, and the best product I've found is the "Mary Kay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover". I can literally use one cotton pad to remove both eyes (unless I've worn heavy makeup that day, in which case two will do the trick).

Moisturizing is key, and if all else fails, I ALWAYS apply a moisturizer after washing my face. The product I use is called "Ren-Gen Cream" and it came to my attention after watching a Youtube video by Zoella. It's not available in the United States, and I had to order it on eBay, but it particularly caught my eye because it claims to improve skin elasticity and heal scars or acne marks. This is a major insecurity of mine, so naturally I was hopping to try it. I would have to say that it really do improve my skin's overall condition. Most moisturizers just sit on the face or soak in to prevent dryness, but my skin honestly feels plumper and smoother. I haven't noticed that it does anything to PREVENT breakouts, but it does seem to help even my skin tone after I've had one.


Fourth, I use a lip balm on my lips every night called "Goodnight Kisses: Lavender Lip Treatment". It's all natural, animal testing free, petroleum free, alcohol free...basically free of anything that is typically in products that really isn't all that great for them. It's a great product to wear at night when your lips aren't being hydrated by water or other lip balm. Their products can be found here.

The last product I use are the "Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips" and I've heard different things about them. I've heard they aren't good for your skin, but it's never adversely effected me, and it's addicting to see all the dirt and grime that is pulled out of your pores (as gross as that sounds!). I accidentally bought the face and nose combination box, but I only use the strips on my nose. If you buy the wrong box on accident, the face strips work just as well on your nose as the nose strips.

The last thing I want to say about skin care is WATER. It makes a world of difference. I really feel a difference in my body especially when I drink soda instead of water after abstaining for a while. I drink coffee every day, and drink a huge amount of water to try and make up for that, but I would say that opting for water over soda, juice, or coffee makes a major difference in the clarity and brightness of my skin, in addition to how I feel from the inside out.

Whew! I feel like that was quite a bit of text, but hopefully I got across everything I felt was important. I might end up making a video of similar information for my Youtube channel, so if you haven't checked that out yet, the link is over on the right! I just uploaded a video yesterday of "What's In My Bag". Thanks for reading, and if you have something you'd like to see on here or my Youtube channel, I love getting tweets and emails, and all those links are in the right bar. Adios! (I really need a solid ending...haha)

Monday, January 21, 2013

Drugstore Beauty Favorites Video


This is my second video on my Youtube channel! This video show cases all of my favorite easily accessible drugstore beauty products. I'm quite excited about it, and if you would subscribe to my channel or thumbs up my video that would be great!

I'll probably have an outfit post for you all later in the week, and I hope you all had a happy Monday!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Let's Go Thrifting +Haul.....video!

My first (real) video has gone up on Youtube! I'm so excited, since this has been in the works for quite a while. I managed to figure out that my old camera (that my mom has now) can actually record in HD! So here is the video, conveniently located for your viewing pleasure, but feel free to head over to Youtube and thumbs up my video and subscribe to my channel. It would mean a lot, but without further ado, here it is!


Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thrifting Haul

I love thrifting. It's just so much fun. There isn't a thing I don't like about it, honestly, and one thing I love the most is sharing the treasures that I find with other people.

Last week I ventured out to my first Saver's, which is a national thrift store throughout the US, Australia, and Canada. Although it's slightly limited in the US right now, I'm fairly certain they're expanding pretty rapidly since I know they're opening a store just 10 miles down the road from me in March! I'm crossing my fingers to possibly get a job there, although I would probably spend my entire paycheck...

Anyway, I found one about an hour away and these are the treasures I picked up! It's not one of the larger trips I made, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to save more money, which consequently means spending less. Sadly, I had to put back a really nice sweater whilst I was there because I had gone over my personally imposed spending limit *sigh* The struggles of being a college student...


Open Weaver Sweater, $7.99
Sleeveless turtleneck crop sweater, $6.99
Silver chain necklace (worn here), $4.99
Gold spike/triangle necklace, $4.99

On another note, Saturday is going to be *drumroll* MY VERY FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO!

Now some of you may be saying "oh, but Katie, you've done that before", and yes, I have sort of. However this is going to be a serious attempt at branching out into the Youtube realm for things that I want to add more life too. My first video will be a "come thrifting with me" style video, and I have a few more in the works, but you'll have to check those out for yourself to find out what they are ;) Happy Thursday! (it's only happy because tomorrow is Friday, hehe )

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Pretty in Pink - A Lipstick Review

Sorry for being MIA this week. It was the beginning of the spring semester this week, and then at the end I caught an awful case of the flu and spent two days in a Sprite and soda cracker filled haze. Thankfully I'm on the mend and back in action!

This week I bought my first MAC lipstick *swoon*. It's lovely. I bought "Snob", a Satin formula lipstick, on the recommendation of Jessie from sunbeamsjess on Youtube. She mentioned it in her "2012 Favorites" video (that's a link there if you want to check it out!) and I knew right away that it was the baby pink shade I had been searching for. 




(yes, those are my lips,  haha)

Even though this lipstick is a little pricey ($15 a tube), I'm in love with it. It didn't dry out on my lips, the color is so smooth and even, and very true to its tube color, which is something I've had serious issues with in the past. I'd buy a lipstick based on the tube color, get it home, and it's completely different on my lips! One thing about this color is that it is definitely going to require exfoliation on the days I wear it, but what's wrong with that anyway?

The second color is a Maybelline color I bought at Wal-Mart, of all places. "140 Fuchsia Fever" is a very vibrant, show stopping pink perfect. I thought it was a great pink color for winter since it was so bold and colorful, an easy way to brighten up any drab winter day. The formula is quite..liquid. It's definitely "glides" on and I put in two or three applications for the pigmentation in the picture, so it's an easily buildable color.

One thing is that both of these colors showed up quite glossy in these pictures, and it was only after the light had really disappeared that I realized my flash was on. Fuchsia Fever is a little bit shiny, but Snob is much more matte. It's not classified as a "matte" formula, but it doesn't have any serious sheen to it.




(I'm super sorry for the messy application on this one. I have no idea why I didn't catch it in the mirror, haha)

Monday, January 7, 2013

Stripes and Chains

Here's the deal, folks. I went out thrifting today to a new place called Saver's. I had some errands to run in the city, and since we don't have a Saver's over here I decided that it was the perfect opportunity (they're opening a new store only 10 minutes from my house in March though!). I then had the BRILLIANT idea to create a "come thrifting with me" style vlog where I video some interesting finds and such. So I go on over, lalala, everything is wonderful (except when I got lost), only to find out that a) I'd forgotten my SD card and b) my camera doesn't have video capabilities. I am crushed. I've always wanted to make fashion/beauty Youtube videos, but I guess this is a sign that I'm just not ready for it yet.

Anywho, this is the outfit I wore. I'll be posting pictures of my thrifting finds later this week. By the time I was able to take photos, the lighting was too dark and I didn't want to use my flash since there is jewelry involved.

Have you ever tried making your own Youtube videos? What are some of your favorite places to thrift at, and have you tried anywhere new lately?

Also, this post is for Marionberry's "Trend of the Month". I'll be having my post linked on her blog, and doing a new trend every month, so make sure to look for me and check out her blog as well!







High-Low Zipper top - Kohl's - old
American Apparel Disco Pants - $85
Half Glitter Boots - Baker's Shoes - $12.50
Demin vest - Goodwill - $3
Silver chain necklace - Saver's - $4.99

(Sorry for the bad lighting. We didn't start taking these until after 4 o'clock and by then the sun was well on it's way down)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Let's Get Started!

Even though it's a few days into the new year, I feel obligated to make a post about any new years resolutions I've decided to make. Though I know just about every single blogger on the planet made this post, I think that if I make my list public that I'll be more likely to stick to it. I haven't made any of the typical "lose weight/work out/eat better" resolutions, but I have made two separate lists: one for my lifestyle and one for my blog/fashion. Let me know in the comments what any of your resolutions are!



Lifestyle
1. Stress less about small things

2. Plan better/organization

3. Focus on school

4. Save money

5. Read more for fun


Blog/Fashion
1. Build a wardrobe
While my closet is stuffed to the brim, I realize there are so many items I don't wear or don't have anything to wear with. So over this year I'll be cleaning out my closet/shoes/jewelry, selling the items I can't work with (check eBay! There's in the right side bar), and building a solid wardrobe. I think I'll be putting posts up as I move forward on this journey, so check back!

2. Challenge myself
I feel like I get stuck in ruts. I find a trend I like, a fit I like, or a color, and then get lost in it. I also find myself wearing black on the bottom, and not pushing myself to get out of that. I also really want to get a fur collar, something I'd never have thought of last year. 

3. Blog consistently!
I'm sure any readers will appreciate this! I blog so much in spurts, but then go two or three week without a single peep from me. This year I'm determined to keep up with blogging regularly. I think I felt so much pressure to blog a certain way that it stopped me from letting loose. This year is going to change that.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Cat Sweaters - WARNING: TEXT HEAVY

Welcome 2013! My first post of the year, and it's more of a lifestyle-fun post than a fashion post. My boyfriend, Tyler, had an "ugly Christmas sweater" day at his school before he went on break, and we wanted to take some cute pictures in them and also get the feel of my new camera! I forgot to mention it in my last post, but you might have noticed my photos were MUCH better. That is because I received a Nikon D3000 for Christmas! I'm so happy that I finally have a high quality camera to take photos for this blog, and I can't wait to get busy with it!

I hope you enjoy our goofy cat sweaters as much as we did
xoxo

PS- Tyler was very excited about being on my blog and wanted to write a little paragraph for you all. Sadly, he had to leave to head back up north before we were able to sit down and write anything, but he dictated to me over the phone. Enjoy!

"Hey everybody, my name is Tyler if Katie hasn't already told you. Now I know this is supposed to be a fashion blog, but I couldn't resist asking my girlfriend if she would be interested in putting us in our possibly unfashionable cat sweaters on her blog since we both really love cats. 
Before I came down to visit, I was able to get my sweater for $2.00 and her's for $2.50 at Salvation Army. I was so lucky to find them because they were on the very last rack in the store, and they were (almost) our size. Mine may have been a little tight, and her's a little big, but I probably won't wear it again until next Christmas anyway. I decided the red sweater would be Katie's because on the front the cat is painting and it says "I'm not messy, just creative" and I thought that really fit her well. I'm always excited to see Katie make her posts on her blog. I love seeing her smiling and dressed up and in the most creative and fashionable outfits. This visit I was even able to take her pictures for her! She told me I did a pretty good job. I hope you all enjoy seeing pictures of and reading about the beautiful (and fashionable!) Katie.

Your's truly,
Tyler"

So complimentary! Hopefully he visits again soon to help me out more. He did take the pictures for my last post which I thought turned out fantastic. Let me know what you think, because he might be more willing to help if he knows you all like his photography ;) Hope you all are having a great start to the year!






This post also features my very fat cat, Salem. My other cat wouldn't let us find him to come out and play...




I just thought I'd add a shameless plug down here at the bottom. I'm try my hardest to save up money for when I move away to finish my degree at a different school this fall, and consequently I've been cleaning out my closet and dressers to sell all my unworn items on eBay. I have almost 30 items listed now (ending Friday!) and many more to come before I start my spring semester next week. There is an eBay button the left side of the page, but I'll also link below. Thank you to anyone who bids!