Spring Fever

Spring means new life and a change in the air. And if you are like me, you are beyond ready for some a lot of sunshine, green grass, and much warmer temperatures. Not only am I ready for all of that, but I am also ready for spring trends to take off in the fashion world AND the makeup world.

These are some of the items I am hoping will make their way into my collection this spring...

Hourglass Ambient Blush || Roses de Chloe perfume || YSL Lipgloss || Josie Maran Illuminizer || Benefit Posie Tint || Formula X Polish 

I love how these products all coordinate. No, I didn't even do it on purpose! I just love the idea of fresh pinks and corals in early Spring, paired with highlighted cheekbones and a perfect pout.

I got a sample of the new Chloe perfume and it smells like the perfect everyday scent for Spring. I would love to mix a little bit of the illuminizer into my foundation for when I want an extra glow...think date night! :)

What things are on your Spring wish list?

XO, Carrie

images via Sephora

When to Say Goodbye

Recently, I was thinking about how long products are safe to use after they have been opened. We all have those products that are shoved back in our drawers and have been lurking around in our makeup baskets for a LONG time, but what is stopping us from throwing them out? Maybe it's because we feel like we are wasting money, or maybe it's because we think we might need that product one day in the future. However, products across the board DO have shelf lives even though most packaging doesn't list an expiration date. Long story short, a products clock is ticking once it's opened due to exposure to air, bacteria, etc. So it's up to us to know when to muster up the courage and say goodbye!

If a product seems to be discolored, runny or lumpy, separated, has a strange odor, or feels different on the skin than when previously used, then it should be thrown out. Because, lets be real, you shouldn't want to use something funky on your skin... 

Here are some general guidelines (varies based on usage, storage, climate condition, etc.):

• Mascara: 4-6 months, toss when dry (don't add water)
• Foundation: 1 year
• Moisturizer: 6 months - 1 year
• Powder/ Pressed items: 2-3 years 
• Lip stick/ liner: 2-3 years
• Lip gloss: 2 years

How to make your products last:

• Store products in a cabinet or in drawers
• Don't store in direct sunlight 
• Tighten caps or lids after use
• Don't add water (or saliva) to thin out or remoisten products 
• Abide to expirations dates available (sunscreen, retinol products, etc.)
• Don't "pump" your mascara- excess oxygen will shorten its life
• Check seals when purchasing

Spring cleaning is around the corner. Here's your chance to get a head start! :)

image via 

Fabulous Flats

As of late, I am obsessing over colored and printed flats. Mostly because I am itching for spring, but also because I find them to be my favorite style of shoe. Not only are they comfortable and functional, but they also can be worn dressy or casual. For most of my [style-aware] portion of life, I have never been one hot after funky and trendy shoes. But after wearing my few favorites to pieces complete destruction, I decided it probably wouldn't hurt to add a few more pairs into my rotation.

Red & purple// Banana Republic (similar here)

Navy studded// Target (similar here and here)

Olive camo// Banana Republic (similar here & here) 

I have to mention, I got all of these flats on MEGA sale. I didn't pay over $20 for any of these! 

Now all thats left is some warmer weather, please! ;)

Hope you all are having a great week.

XO, Carrie

Beauty Bits: When to Save $$$

When it comes to skincare and beauty products, there are definitely categories you should head right to the drugstore for. The drugstore is FILLED with great options waiting to be discovered. Just because it's less costly and not in fancy gold plated packaging doesn't mean it doesn't contain great ingredients. These are four products that I always pick up at the drugstore and will continue to purchase again and again. 

What are your drugstore go-tos? 

XO, Carrie

How to Choose Skincare Products

These two steps are key. Knowing your skin type (which isn't too hard to figure out) and what concerns you want to focus on will make it easier to find products suitable for you. [Different products & treatments are typically made specific for target concerns and particular skin types, so buy them appropriately.]

Sephora is a great resource for narrowing down what products you should consider and maybe give a go. Everything is well organized, and they even offer a little Skin IQ quiz that will assist you in making choices. 

BUT you are not confined to only high end skincare! The drug store is filled with great products as well. Use the guide from Sephora to find out the active ingredients in items you think might work for you, and then hunt similar products down in the drug store! (I did this for acne spot treatments that contain salicylic acid.)

For a standard skincare regime, I would recommend these steps for morning & night, regardless of skin type:

1: Cleanse

2: Exfoliate (3 x weekly)*

3. Tone/ Treatments

4: Mask (at night 2 x weekly)

5: Moisturize (with SPF in the morning)

*Clarisonics can be used daily and don't have to fall under "exfoliate". If you use a Clairsonic daily, you can use a different scrub 3 x weekly following cleansing.

--Extra Info--

Just because a product works great for your friend or your favorite beauty guru, doesn't mean it will work for you. However, just because you don't see immediate results doesn't mean the product doesn't work. Give the products a couples weeks before discontinuing use. 

Be kind to your skin! First and foremost, wash your face before bed every night. Even if you are feeling lazy or you get home late and want to go right to bed, at least gently use a makeup remover wipe or a hot wash cloth. It takes 30 seconds of effort and is better than sleeping on a full face of makeup. Secondly, let your skin breathe! Don't be afraid to have at least one no-makeup day each week. And third, drink lots of H2O. Hydration nation, ladies! ;)

I hope this was helpful! Look for more skincare posts soon!

via Sephora

Spotlight: Laser Cut

My Inspiration

My Finds

I'm a fan of Pinterest. It's a great source for inspiration, and I love that it helps me make some "fashion risks" I might not normally take. Another great thing about Pinterest is that it offers up knowledge for what trends are hot & happening. I've found myself loving the look of laser cut details.  I ventured over to Sole Society and noticed they are on board with the trend too. 

Booties [here], Shoulder Bag [here], Sandals [here], Oversized Ring [here], Tassel Necklace [here]

What trends for this coming Spring are you loving? 

XO, Carrie

images via pinterest & sole society

Let's Get Ready!

Hello again! Can you believe the weather we are having here in Iowa? Yesterday I was raving about how beautiful it was and how much I was enjoying the sunshine, while today I am stuck inside and classes are cancelled across the state. If you're reading Mother Nature, I am ready for spring! ;)

Over the course of the last month, I have been working hard at organizing my blog, adding more resources, and brainstorming idea on how I can make it a better platform for sharing makeup tips and tricks with all of you! So I decided to have a little photo shoot with one of my very good friends. She's great behind the camera and knows a thing or two about what looks good. I wanted some new photos for my different pages that really would capture who I am. And I think they turned out great. See some of them on my About Me, Connect, and Ask Carrie pages!

We also snapped some photos of me getting ready...

Contouring is key when being photographed. 

*If you have a round face, avoid putting blush directly onto the roundest part of your cheek.
Placing it higher on the cheekbones will prevent an even rounder image. 

I grab for the Lorac Pro palette every day. So versatile!

Can't forget to tease the hair! ;)

Ready to go!

As always, thanks for reading!

XO, Carrie

Today's Picks

Each morning, I look forward to working on my clean canvas and creating a makeup look designed for that days events. Typically, I go for a natural look. I currently am loving and using the Lorac Pro Palette nearly every day. I love that it features good matte colors as well as soft shimmer and frosted shades perfect for simple eye looks that I gravitate towards. 

Lorac Pro Palette// Dior Forever Flawless// Too Face Sun Bunny// Tarte Blush in Exposed//

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind// Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder// Pop Beauty lip gloss

I also threw on my new cute graphic tee I picked up at Old Navy's sale yesterday. 

[Creator's notes: I am really eager to start posting more in-depth makeup looks, with step by step instructions, and close up, detailed photos. However, I am struggling with the camera I currently own as well as my lighting situation. Please bear with me as I figure out my setup. I'm excited to turn this into MORE of a makeup look oriented blog. Stay tuned!]

XO, Carrie

Obsessing: A Spoonful of Style

One of my favorite places to find outfit inspiration is Instagram. A few months back, I discovered the lovely Jade from A Spoonful of Style. She is a former hairstylist with a mad passion for fashion and beauty. I snagged some of her IG pics to show you why I am LOVVVVING her! Her sense for styling pieces is outstanding and well, lets be real...she looks great in everything. All of the outfits below have me itching for spring weather too! When I want to feel a little preppy, she is my go-to inspiration.

Check her out!

via

XO, Carrie 

Get Fit

I am officially 4 full weeks into my new "lifestyle". Some of you may have read here that I joined a gym, am meeting a trainer one time a week, and am working on goals for fitness, diet, and overall health. Even though I am only 4 weeks in, I really do feel that I am noticing my mentality change and find myself subconsciously making healthier choices. Positive results are very rewarding and make me want to go back to the gym each and every morning.

Some of you have been asking what my work out routine and diet guidelines are. So I thought I would share with you today a better look at that I'm doing to accomplish my goals. Here it goes:

Fitness:
My trainer suggests I work out 3-4x/week. However, I know I need to tackle more than that to get to where I want to be. So for the last 3 weeks I have been going about 6 times/week, usually resting on Saturday. Each week I meet with my trainer, typically on Tuesday morning, and she walks me through what I should do the rest of the week. She writes everything down in my little notebook for me, that way I have a guide. She also asks me to write down what I do each day I come in on my own, that way she knows what to prepare for me the following week (based on amount of weight, etc). The idea of changing up the work out routine each week is to help eliminate any dreadful plateaus your body may reach when doing the same routine day in and day out.

In the photo you can see my little notebook I write in each time I work out. This is so handy! Before I workout, especially if its in the morning, I like to drink a little something that will boost my energy and help burn fat. I picked up Prime Drive at Complete Nutrition and do feel that it works. Following the workout, I like to drink something filled with protein to replenish and repair muscle fibers. I mix my vanilla protein smoothie powder with a scoop of the vitamin mix, that way I am getting all the vitamins I need. I also take an Omega-3 pill every day. (Thanks to my friend Ashley for the recommendations!)

While I am working out, getting your heart rate "in the zone" is important. Depending on your age and weight, your heart rate lets you know when you are in the fat burning zone, how many calories you are burning, etc. So to help me have a better idea of what is all going on, I decided to get a Polar FT4 watch that does all of this! You wear a little monitor strap about your rib cage (at the band of your sports bra) and that picks up your heart rate and reports it to the watch. Totally comfortable and stays in place your entire work out. 

Here's a shot of the watch. Killed my workout this morning! ;) I would recommend this to anyone who is into fitness. I found mine on Amazon for about half the price it's sold for in your sporting goods store. 

Here is a sample workout routine idea for you:

Diet:

When it comes to diet, it's all based on what you are trying to accomplish. As for me, I have set some goals for each day. They are: 1500 calories max, 80 oz. of water, and 100g of protein. To keep track of calories, I use the app MyFitnessPal on my iPhone. It is so handy! It records your progress as well. Check it out! In order to accomplish drinking enough water each day, I drink from a large jug with a straw (helps your drink more) and always add a fresh slice of lemon. So good and makes the water much tastier. :) My favorite ways to get protein are: turkey, chicken breast, tuna, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt. Your MyFitnessPal app will let you know how many grams you have took in as you record what you eat throughout the day. Other than that, I have cut out specialty coffee drinks and soda. I am avoiding unnecessary white grains and of course, sweets. 

So far about 10lbs of what I call "junk weight" has come off me, and I couldn't be happier. I have a long way to go, but am finding that a good attitude, finding FUN in going to the gym, and a clean diet is what is going to get me where I want to be. 

I am going to write updates every so often, so be on the look out for those!

XO, Carrie

A Blog Story

Upon starting my blog, I knew up front I would be starting completely from scratch with only the faintest visions and a little inspiration. This meant I had a lot to learn (about the community, discovering my style, etc.) I really didn't have much for goals, except that I wanted a hobby to compliment my creative side and to use it as an opportunity to share my passions to anyone who was willing to read about them. Little did I know, blogging would teach me so much more than I expected. 

--> Blogging can be as creative as you make it! And it can completely be "your own". This may be the best thing I have grown to love about my blog. I have the ability to create, advise, share, and blabber about anything that I want, whenever I want! It feels good to sit at my computer and type about products I have tried, what I recommend, fun things I've done, share whats been inspiring me...AND have no deadlines. While I make it a point to post a couple of times a week and share whats been going on in my life as well, sometimes it's just not possible. But I can assure you, I have no plans to quit this any time soon!

--> Another great thing I have learned is that the blogging community is SO helpful! Over the course of the last year I've been blogging, I have reached out to a handful of my favorite bloggers asking for a few tips as well as just exchanging a few words about our love for blogging. Each and every one of them has been so generous and have made it clear that bloggers help other bloggers. Not only in the aspect of me emailing to make a connection and ask a few questions, but also in the sense that reading other blogs helps us get a better idea of what is pleasing to the eye, as well as grasping onto ideas for content, keeping things original to yourself of course! I've noticed that my 'personal' and 'inside look' posts are far more popular than anything else. Please don't ever be afraid to make a recommendation  of what you might like to see either! 

--> And finally, this: People are going to have things to say about your blog. That is simply a given. There is nothing you can do to stop people from making a few negative comments (online or in person). I remember how nervous I was to unveil my new blog with my very first post, but I am so glad I did! Being still VERY new and still experimenting, I am by no means an expert, nor do I claim to be! I blog from my apartment bedroom, usually while watching The Bachelor (guilty pleasure) and taking a break from studying. I use the simplest features on Microsoft Powerpoint to make fun spreads of pictures to share. I don't own Photoshop and don't use anything more than an iPhone and a Sony point and shoot camera to take photos. Yes, I might flood your Twitter or Instagram feed, but I don't want anyone to miss the opportunity to read about things I think are worth sharing, if they feel inclined to do so.  Which by the way, thank you ALL! Seeing my views go up daily is VERY rewarding. I never imagined to have 12,000+ views and counting. Who ever you are, it means so so much to me. 

I want the moral of my blogging to be that makeup and our personal beauty bring women together. Sometimes it might be the only thing a group of ladies have in common, but what is a better way to connect than through something as simple as that? Makeup and skincare is so much more than labels. It's knowledge on how to embrace and LOVE the skin we are in. 

With all of that said, if any of you have ever considered starting a blog, I highly advise you to do so! Write about what you know and love and it will be much easier than you imagined. My little blog has already opened doors and my eyes to a whole other world I didn't know about. While I am still learning the ropes, I am so happy to be able to share with all of you. 

On a side note-- I hope that you all had a happy Valentine's day whether it was with your honey, your girls, or just spent the evening relaxing. This year was my first "romantic" Valentine's. We enjoyed a nice dinner and ended the night at a comedy club in town. I also was surprised with this GORGEOUS white pearl ring. I've been feeling the love this weekend, to say the least! :)

As always, thank you for reading! 

XO, Carrie

"You've Got Me Blushing": A Valentine's Look

I've put together a sweet and romantic look for this special Valentine's weekend. 

To get the look, here are the steps!

1. Apply your favorite foundation. 

Try a satin or luminous finish for a radiance effect.

2. Conceal, highlight, contour, and powder... Whatever you do to look fab!

3. Prime eyes! This is essential for keeping your shadow perfect all night.

4. I've created a guide above for you for eyeshadow steps. Follow the numbers above.

1. All over the lid

2. Crease/Transition shade

3. Center of lid for a pop

4. Outer corner for definition

5. Inner corner and on brow bone for highlight

You don't need to own Naked3 for this look! Use similar warm shades you already own!

5. Fill in and set brows.

A brow gel gives the brows back that natural look of hair.

6. Bronze up your face for some extra glow.

7. Apply a sweep of a gorgeous rosy/coral blush on the apples of your 

cheeks for a 'just pinched' look.

8. Apply a few individual false lashes to the outer corners of your lashes for some extra, yet subtle drama! (This is great for you gals who don't apply lashes often.)

Use a tweezers for the most precise application.

9. Use your favorite mascara to finish the eyes. 

10. Last but not least, use a nude-pink lipstick with a gloss over top 

to accentuate your pout!

Try Angel by MAC (shown above) & see why Kim K. made it famous!

And voila!!

There you have a romantic, sweetheart look for an evening out.

If you try this look out, be sure to tag me in your pic so I can see! :)

XO, Carrie

Moodboard

via Pinterest

What does a luxurious body butter, a cozy flannel and a hot latte have in common? These are all things I love and need today. What inspires you this week?

Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, & Bloglovin'!

XO, Carrie

Step-by-Step Defined & Natural Makeup

Due to many requests (exciting!!!), today I am bringing you a closer look at how I accomplish a defined, yet natural makeup look. No, I am not naked... I wear a towel wrap after I shower, while I get ready :/ I took the pictures in natural light. 

See all the steps here:

1. Start with a clean and moisturized face. (Yes, my hair is in a silly turban.)

2. Apply your favorite foundation to create a clean canvas.

I chose a medium coverage and natural finish.

3. Apply a highlighting concealer to areas you want to bring forward.

Apply a cream contour to areas you want to recede. 

4. Blend everything out with a damp beauty sponge.

Set under eye area and t-zone with a fine powder.

5. Fill in brows for definition and add blush for a healthy glow.

6. Apply eyeshadow of choice and mascara.

Here's a close up of the finished look-- very clean, simple, and natural!

Ready to go!! :)

PRODUCTS USED:

Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation (shade 20 beige)

Bare Minerals Stroke of Light illuminating concealer 

Maybelline FIT me foundation stick (as contour-330)

MAC Studio Finish concealer (on blemishes-NW25)

Hourglass Diffused Light (to set under eye area)

Hourglass Dim Light (to set rest of face)

Anastasia Brow Wiz- Caramel

Maybelline Great Lash clear mascara (to set brows)

Benefit Rockateur blush

NYC Smooth Skin bronzer- Sunny

Rimmel Scandaleyes eye kohl- 005 nude (under brow and on water line to brighten)

NARS eyeshadow duo- Alhambra (used both shades all over lid)

NARS gloss- Chihuahua 

Revlon Grow Luscious plumping mascara

Camo tee- Target

I hope this was helpful!

XO, Carrie