Monday, August 31, 2015

August 2015 Favorites


Here are my favorites for the month of August:

Sephora Eye Mask - There are 8 different eye masks each with their own unique benefits. My 2 favorite are the Pearl and Rose - I know, I know, the rose isn't actually in the picture above but that's because I just used my last one

Fresh Sugar Nourishing Lip Balm Advanced Therapy - Right now this is my favorite lip balm, it's something that is very moisturizing and I find I only have to apply it 2-3 times a day. With other lip balms I am typically applying them every hour and even though they are also moisturizing I don't want to be applying lip balm all day! 

Caudalie Moisturizing Toner - LOVE this toner, it is very moisturizing for my dry skin. My skin feels amazing after I apply this, my skin feels very fresh and hydrated 

Becca Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Champagne Pop - What can I say about this highlighter that already hasn't been said? Probably nothing but this really is a truly an amazing  highlighter for fair skin gals. I wear this everyday and I wore this on my wedding day, it showed up great in pictures

Z Palette - In the past I've only really gotten pre made palettes like the Urban Deacy Nacked Palette. Just recently I've started making my own palettes and it has been so much fun! I love customizing and perfecting a palette that suits me and my taste and my skin tone

What was your favorites this month?



Friday, August 21, 2015

Living a Fit & Active Lifestyle


Going to the gym. Losing weight. Following an eating plan. Doing an at home workout. Sounds easy right? Well sometimes it can be easier said than done!

ETB Fitness got in contact with me at the end of July asking some great questions which inspired this blog post! They wanted to know what foods you you eat pre workout? How do you switch up certain routines daily/weekly to stay motivated? What do you eat or do after your workout to make sure you got the most out of your workout? Basically what fuels me for an AWESOME workout and  a GREAT day! So here are some tricks, tips and personal advice on how I stay motivated to continue my fit & active lifestyle.

I've always been a fitness enthusiast....ALAWAYS! I guess I can thank my parents for that. When I was in grade 4 I got my first taste of running by joining the cross country team at school, I begged my parents to let me quit piano and start running. Since then I've NEVER stopped.

It's not easy living an active & fit lifestyle, it takes work, it takes dedication and it will also takes sacrifice. Staying motivated to live this sort of lifestyle can be the biggest challenge some people can face. In my opinion "being fit" isn't something that happens overnight, it isn't something you can do for 10 weeks and then go back to your old habits....this is a lifestyle change! This is something that you need to commit to and work towards every day. I know, I know, it can be a struggle and some days are easier than others.


Let's start at the beginning...getting in gear to do a workout! Most of the time YOU are the only one holding yourself back. I know that on those tough days when I don't want to workout it takes some time to talk myself into getting my butt moving. So what motives me to GET MOVING? I think about my past accomplishments and what I hope to achieve in the future.

Let me explain.....I have competed in 67 running events. Don't believe me? I have kept every completion number to prove it, they are all pinned and displayed on my "race wall". I look at those numbers and it fuels me! I think about every race that I've ever competed in and what it took to get there.

Once you're put yourself in the right mind set you're ready to move onto fueling your body. This is SO important, you don't want to be stopping halfway through your workout because you've run out of gas. You have to find something that works for you, you want to eat enough so your energy lasts for the whole workout but don't eat too much to the point where you feel like there's a rock in your stomach. Your best bet is to look at and try some preworkout energy drinks, bars or other supplements. You'll have to try and test what works best for your body.

Also remember to eat afterwards....it's best to eat within 30 min of completing your workout for recovery. If you've traveled to your workout location grab a bar and eat it in the car on the way home. If you've worked out close to home have something ready in the fridge to grab when you're done.

How do you stick with a fitness lifestyle long term? Mix it up! Do something that interests you. For me...I'm a runner. I love running so that's my main fitness goal, however, running is a high impact sport so I'm big on cross training. How do I do that? I use Beachbody works which can be done at home. I switched from the gym to Beachbody in 2011 because I found they gave WAY better results. My training plans for running usually stay pretty consistent...a marathon training program is a marathon training program BUT I can do my marathon training program+Beachbody Insanity or marathon training program+21 Day Fix. I like to keep it interesting and switch up what I'm doing for my cross training.

I truly feel like if you can find an active that you enjoy participating in you will stick with! But also remember to mix it up and always try new things....who knows you might enjoy it.

So how do you get started towards your new active & fit lifestyle, just go for it! Start small, maybe going out every night for a walk, finding a drop in class near your house, or start following an at home workouts. Only you can take that first step towards your new lifestyle. Are you ready? Get set. Go!



Monday, August 17, 2015

Product Empties August 2015

MORE BEAUTY TRASH!!! Here is what I'm tossing out this week...

(starting on the top left)

Neutrogena body oil - I LOVE this stuff! It's great for a few different uses...first you can use if as a moisturizer or you can put it in your bubble bath. Personally I love this in my bath, when I get out my skin feels very soft and its a lazy way of moisturizing because I don't have to do it after the bath. 

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover - This product isn't empty but I'm throwing it away anyway. I didn't like this product at all. Even though it says oil-free I feel it leaves oil around your eyes. Also it doesn't completely remove your eye makeup and will always leave traces of mascara behind. I know it's cheep because its from the drug store but I would skip this. 

OPI "Princesses Rule" - This is one of my favorite colors and I have repurchased the color. It's a very light sparkly pink and looks GREAT on my nails. 

Vita Liberata Luxury Tan tan Mousse - This is just a sample from Sephora that I redeemed some points for. I didn't like this mousse I prefer the St Tropez Tanner instead 

Quo Luxury Oval Cotton Pads - These are the best cotton pads! They are bigger than the round cotton pads and they get off your makeup really well. 

(now going from the bottom left)

Ardell Accent 301 - These are my favorite lashes and since they were on sale recently at London Drugs...I stocked up!!!

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder - This is the BEST setting powder that I can find. These works even with my dry skin to set my makeup and make it last longer. It comes with the puff which I didn't really use it with, I actually prefer to dip my damp Beauty Blender into the powder and set my makeup. Just a note that this is the smaller travel size (the powder last a  long time so I don't bother buying the full size one), the travel size comes with the puff but if you buy the bigger size it doesn't come with a puff. I have already repurchased this powder. 

NeoStrata Lash Enhancer Serum - I did try to make my own lash serum to save money...but nothing compares to this. This lash serum is on the pricey side but I feel that it is worth every penny. My lashes have grown out so much they touch  my eyelid...which makes putting on mascara very challenging because it likes to transfer. Before using this I had really short stumpy lashes...it took a long time to grow, give it about 6 months. Buy this on sale because it is very expensive, I already picked a few up on sale for backups. 

Evian facial spray - The aisle of doom got me at Sephora. I don't know why I picked this up but it's a waste of money. Why I thought water would set my makeup is beyond me! I should have returned this but instead I used it like a spray bottle to wet my hair...which I could do for free by getting water out of the tap. Don't bother with this spray...there are so many amazing sprays out there that set your makeup. If you need a recommendation I would say get Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray, this is like hairspray for your face. Trust me your makeup will not move.

Lancome Bi Facial Double Action Eye Makeup Remover - This has been in a few of my empties and it's no supprise that this is still my favorite eye makeup remover. Yes it is on the pricey side but nothing has even compared to this so far. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I hope you enjoyed reading about my beauty trash. 




Monday, August 10, 2015

YouTube Made Me Do It | Part 3

Welcome back to the final part of this series!

This is the last peak into my makeup collection I've accumulated.


To read part 1 click here http://www.mspamblam.com/2015/07/youtube-made-me-do-it-part-1.html
to read part 2 click here http://www.mspamblam.com/2015/08/youtube-made-me-do-it-part-2.html

Nars blush (orgasm) - this is the most talked about blush I've found on YouTube. It's a great peachy color with shimmer. I've already hit pan....clearly I use this a lot!

Cover FX Illuminating Setting Powder - great powder but it's a little too heavy for my dry skin. If you have combination skin you would love this, if you have oily skin I would go for the matte setting powder

Loreal True Match Lumi Foundation - I like this drugstore foundation but it doesn't last very long, it really is lumi so I would only use this if you have dry skin

The Balm Mary Loumanizer - I have one word for this highlight...SHIMMER. This is a very intense highlight, it looks very nice but just use a very light hand when applying it

Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 Foundation - another great drugstore foundation, but again I can't find my perfect color match so I don't wear this foundation that often

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - this is a very popular talked about concealer on YouTube. I like this concealer when you initially apply it but I find this settles into my fine lines so I don't wear it that often

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - another very popular talked about product but again not my favorite mascara. I've been testing mascaras over the past 6 months and I've found better mascaras out there than this one

Mac Lipstick (Angel) - great lipstick, this is a very nude pink lipstick from Mac

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Anastasia products are my go to for brows! This isn't the most natural product for your brows but it is waterproof so trust me your eyebrows will NOT move when you apply this

Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder Loose -  love this setting powder. This makes your skin look amazing and airbrushed. The only thing I don't like about this powder is it doesn't help with your makeup lasting longer

Tarte lights, camera, lashes mascara - I don't like this mascara but it came with the eyelash curler from tarte that I love!

That's it for this series!!! Thanks for joining me, I had so much fun rummaging through my closets and going through my makeup collection.

Share with me what things have your purchase because of YouTube?


Friday, August 7, 2015

Life Update | July Wedding



If you saw my July favorites or follow me on social media you will already know that in July...I GOT MARREID!!!

Time has seriously just flown by! I got engaged to my high school sweetheart last year on our 9 year anniversary. We have spent this past year planning the wedding and we got married this past July on our 10 year anniversary, it was the perfect way to celebrate 10 years together.

We both had just an amazing day with close friends and family. We wanted to keep our wedding very small so we only had 60 people attend. Surprisingly everything went exactly according to plan, we were on time the entire day and all 60 people showed up for our wedding! How did that happen? I'm still not really sure. Chris (my husband) is always late...always!! With me being a perfectionist and detailed planning, it really bothers me when he's late and things don't go according to plan. I've had people prepping me for MONTHS! Telling me that if things don't go according to plan don't freak out, just go with it, enjoy your day...and turns out everything did!

The Friday night before our wedding we went to the reception hall to set everything up and then we said goodbye. We didn't have a wedding party so there was no rehearsal dinner....we both kind of just do what we want. We decided to only follow a few "traditional" wedding rituals that we felt we wanted to follow. So our wedding was slightly unconventional.

On the morning of our wedding my dad took Chris out for breakfast while I started to get ready. We started our day out at the church @ 1pm. It was very important to my husband to get married in a Catholic church...for me it didn't matter where we got married. Chris hadn't seen me or my dress previous to me walking down the aisle...it was really emotional when we saw each other. The ceremony was perfect! Short, sweet and to the point. I had my auntie stand up as my witness and my husband had his close uncle stand up for him.

After the ceremony we chose to skip the receiving line and go straight to family photos. I had my grandma there who we had to be checked out of the hospital for the day...we thought it would be best to get family pictures over and done with so she could go back to the hospital for a break before heading to dinner.

Immediately after family pictures our wedding photographers took us away from the chaos and did some private photos with just myself and Chris. I haven't seen any of the photos yet so I am anxiously waiting to see them!

From there we went to the reception hall which was just a few blocks away from the church. We had an amazing meal and got to visit with all our guests. On our wedding day it was 36 degrees!! Everyone was so hot and of course we rented a hall that didn't have AC! We had about 10 fans set up plus there was a walkout onto a patio so people could leave and get some air which was very useful. Following the meal, of course, we had a dance! Chris & I were almost the last ones the leave...I think by the time we left it was around 1:30am.

At the reception we skipped things like the bouquet & garter toss. As you can see from the picture we aren't big flower people. Originally I wasn't going to carry anything down the aisle but then I found a feather bouquet online. My mom ended up making me my wedding bouquet and it is truly amazing and unique! It's layers and layers of feathers, sparkle, crystals and pearls. I just couldn't toss it away. I'm planning on getting a shadow box to frame and keep the bouquet forever...I think it will be a wonderful keepsake. The garter that I wore has been in our family for 60 years! It's blue with white trim lace (which has yellowed over the years). The garter belonged to my grandma and has been worn by every bride on my moms side of the family for the past 3 generations. I was the very first one in my generation to wear it and I felt so honored being able to borrow it and keep the tradition alive!

Because of our current financial situation we weren't sure if you could afford to go on a honeymoon. We didn't end up officially booking anything but we did take a week off of work just to spend some time together and whined down. I told Chris that it didn't matter where we go on a honeymoon, if we go on a honeymoon, I just wanted to spend some time together. That's really always been our attitude, it doesn't matter where we are in our lives. We've gone from being 21 and living together in a crap apartment with no money, to being well off, to dealing with a live altering car accident, to dealing with piles of debt, to being well off again....but it doesn't ever matter. All that matters if we've gone through it together and stayed together and we are both happy!

Our family's found out we weren't going a honeymoon and wouldn't stand for it! They insisted that we get out of city even for just a few days so we did. The Wednesday after our wedding we headed down to Banff. Banff is were we took our very first holiday EVER together when we were 19 so the trip was very special for both of us. We went back to the same hotel and spent 3 nights there. It was so peaceful and wonderful. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate...it was about 10 degrees and rainy the entire time we were there but we just made the most of it.

A lot of people have been asking me...what's life after marriage like? And my answer is, it feels exactly the same as it did before. I think that for everyone it is so different but for myself because we've been together for so long and we've been through so much nothing has really changed....we just finally made if official!

We are both so happy and we are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives.





Monday, August 3, 2015

YouTube Made Me Do It | Part 2

Welcome back for part 2!!!

This is a 3 part series, if you haven't seen my part 1 from last week click here http://www.mspamblam.com/2015/07/youtube-made-me-do-it-part-1.html

Here is another peak at my makeup collection. Pretty much all my purchases are influenced by YouTubers, beauty blogger or other makeup reviews I read online.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara - This is a great mascara...although they changed their packaging and I feel that the mascara has also changed. I preferred the old formula to this formula much more

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer - I had to buy this bronzer just because it smelled like chocolate. It really does smell amazing! I go back and forth between using this bronzer, it's matte but doesn't look muddy

Urban Decay Naked Basics & Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Eyeshadow Palette - These are great palettes, especially if you are traveling. I do like the first palette over the 2nd palette. They have great color pay off and they are very compact

Rimmel Eye Kohl (nude) - This is a great eyeliner to highlight the inner corner, it's waterproof so it will also stay on all day

Loreal Magic Lumi Primer - if you want a luminizing primer that is afordable I would check this out! But it is pretty oily so I would only try this if you have dry skin. It looks great under makeup but it defiantly isn't a primer that is long wearing

Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara - This is about my 3rd tube of this mascara, it is a great mascara but I have been venturing out and trying out a few differnt mascaras latley

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet + - This is a great foundation....but only if you are oily. I just can't make this foundation work for my dry skin so it just sits in my closet

Maybelline Great Lash - by far this is my favorite drugstore clear eyebrow gel, I think I've tried every clear gel at the drugstore and none of them even compare to this prodcut

Nars blush (douceur) - This is a great blush, its not too pink but it's not too nude. I wore this blush on my wedding day and I mixed it with a shimmery hourglass blush, it was amazing!

Make sure to check back next week for the final part of this series!!!


Saturday, August 1, 2015

July 2015 Favorites

July was a very special month for me. First off I GOT MARRIED!!!! On July 11th I got to marry the man of my dreams...what made it really special is July 11th 2015 was our 10 year anniversary. I'm doing a whole life update blog post about this past month and our wedding.....keep your eyes open for that post, it should be up next week. 

So my first July favorite is my wedding dress & bouquet. I LOVED my wedding dress, I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it just yet. Also my bouquet is another favorite, it was layers and layers of feathers, crystals, sparkle....I even think there was a brooch in there. I'm not a big flower person so my mom ended up making me my bouquet based off of a picture I found online. We decided to skip the bouquet & garter toss at my wedding (my garter has been in the family for 60 years and I was the first of my generation to wear it on my wedding day). I'm planning on framing my bouquet in a shadow box and hanging it in our new house when we move in.

Because July was my wedding month most of these favorites have to do with my wedding.

First off 5 days before my wedding my makeup mirror BROKE!!! I was so upset, I did my own makeup on my wedding day and I needed a makeup mirror. Luckily I had a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond so I ran out there and picked up the Zadro Dimmable Florescent Dual-Sided Mirror. I got this one because I remembered MakeupbytiffanyD talking about this mirror. I would never think to get a florescent mirror but it is amazing! I truly think my makeup application looks better because I can see more clearly what I'm doing. This mirror is supposed to imitate natural sunlight which I defiantly think it does. I also really like how you can control them dim. My last make mirror was on/off, there was no option to dim the light. If you are looking for a new mirror I highly recommend this one and make sure to use your 20% coupon as it was a little pricey. 

The lashes I wore on my wedding day were the Ardell Accent 301. I've been experimenting for the past few months with lashes. I knew I wanted something for my wedding pictures as my lashes are long but not very full. I loved these lashes because they are pretty natural but they still show up in photos. Actually I get a lot of complements from friends and when I tell them they are fake people were SHOCKED! I did a trial in my engagement photos and they came back looking amazing so I used them for my wedding as well. 

Waterproof mascara is a MUST on your wedding day. Normally I don't wear mascara with false lashes but I made an exception for my wedding day. I used the Chanel Volume de Chanel Waterproof mascara with my false lashes. I did have some waterworks on my wedding day and everything stayed put!

Last favorite is the Kat Von D Shade & Light pallete. This pallete is great for highlight and contour! I only use 4 of the 6 colors so I've depotted those 4 colors and put them into zpalletes so it doesn't take up so much room on my vanity. The colors are amazing and blend really well. I'm really pale so finding highlights that show up and contours that aren't too dark is very hard to do. I think this pallete is very diverse which I love!

That's it for this month. Thank you so much for stopping by and supporting my blog.

Tell me in the comments below what your favorites were for the month!