Bath&Body Works Fall Scents

*Cliché Alert* Hey guys! Seems like I start every blog with apologizing for not posting for a while and y'all have heard all the excuses, so let's move on;)
Okay so today I'm going to be very cliché and fan girl over Bath&Body Works' fall candles. And to be even more cliché they are both pumpkin scented.

First, is the pumpkin caramel latté candle. And let me tell you, they nailed the scent. It couldn't get anymore pumpkin latté unless it was served to you in a Starbucks cup with a misspelt name on it... That's a different story for a different time, but back to the candle. As soon as this candle is lit, the sweet aroma of pumpkin latté fills the room and lingers for days to come.

 

Next, is the caramel pumpkin swirl candle. I'm not quite sure what a "caramel pumpkin swirl" exactly is, but with a scent like this it doesn't matter. It smells like a homemade spice cake....but beautiful. I have always been head over heals in love with fall scents, and fragrances like the pumpkin latté are perfect. But the pumpkin swirl candle is perfect to the power of a hundred. It smells as if there is a bakery on the countertop and conjures up imagery of a cloudy fall day and coming home to find a nice spice cake in the oven. Can you tell I'm in love with this scent? I say all this to say, when it comes to the pumpkin swirl candle, on a scale from 1 to even I can't.

 

 

Neat Dude its a Lokai!

And once again I am having to apologize for the lack of blog posts... I got very busy very suddenly but I am going to try my hardest to post more on a regular basis. ANYWAY, on to the fun stuff. While shopping is all good and fun there are some things worth buying that you just can't find in stores. And boy did I find two things worth ordering. I saw this on twitter and completely fell in love with the look and the symbolism and I knew that I absolutely had to have it. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the beautiful lokai bracelet.

For those of you who don't know about the lokai bracelet, the white bead in the bracelet above contains water from mount Everest, while the black bead contains mud from the dead sea. The white bead symbolizes when you're "on top of the world" and to stay humble, and the black bead symbolizes when you've hit a low and to stay hopeful. This bracelet is beautiful in look and meaning. It can be found on the owner's website-  mylokai.com

 

My second purchase was one I wasn't too sure about upon ordering, but it did not disappoint. With fall soon approaching there is one fashion staple that every girl needs- a beanie. I ordered this beanie from neatdude.bigcartel.com

 

And I'd say its pretty self explanatory. But it is made of strong material and is surprisingly warm! This beanie gives a cute addition to any outfit and I was defiantly happy with my purchase.  

 

Tie Dye Decor

I'm constantly hanging new artwork or pictures on the walls and nothing is better than a fun splash of color. As it is well known I am a big fan of tie dye, so a large tie dye stamp on the wall seemed perfect to me.

Things you'll need:
-Tie dying kit
-1 and 1/2 yards of cotton fabric
-Rubber bands
-Gloves
-2 nails
-Hammer

 

Alright to start off this craft first you'll need a tie dye kit and a plain white sheet(in the picture above the sheet is about 1 and 1/2 yards) and fold the sheet in half.

                                       Then pinch the fabric in the middle on the folded side.

And then continue to pull the top of the fabric.

 

And proceed to rubber band it. Depending on how many colors you are looking to use, rubber band it in sections.

And then as with any tie dying project mix the dyes as directed and place garbage bags on your work surface and we can begin tie dying!

(Although you really cant tell) I dyed each section separated by a rubber band a different color. While the normal waiting period for tie dying is 6-8 hours, the cotton fabric I used did not take the dye very well so I waited 12 hours. I would suggest finding almost a t-shirt fabric that has a little stretch to use for this project.
Once you're done washing and drying the fabric its time to start hanging it!

I measured about 5-6 inches from the edge and then placed the first nail and did the same on the other side. I didn't pull the fabric terribly tight across the top as to help keep it flowy.

And now your wonderful tie dye decor is displayed on the wall! You can experiment with different tie dye patterns, colors, or types of fabric for this project and make it your own! Have fun! :)

 

 

Summer Favorites!

Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in a couple weeks, my work schedule has been very hectic... But I'm back now! And while it is still summer I've decided to do a few blogs over products, outfits, or even food that I have fallen in love with this summer! Today I would like to start out with a few beauty and hair care products that I have been my go-to all summer.

 

 My absolute favorite product so far this summer is this St. Ives oatmeal scrub. While its summer and we sweat and it's always hot out I decided I needed something a little stronger than just my normal face wash. This scrub cleared up any acne I had in about a week. It is so gentle that even people with super sensitive skin wouldn't have a problem with it, and my favorite part, it smells so sweet. Whether you're looking to get rid of acne or keep your skin clear in these harsh summer months I highly recommend this.

Now onto hair care! I have extremely frizzy hair. Like you guys would not believe. And while I wish I could hop out of the shower and comb my hair and then let it dry naturally that is simply not the case. Here I have two products that really work hand in hand. The first is an oil treatment by One 'n Only that you can find at Sally's beauty supply, the second is a dry oil repairing treatment by L'Oreal Paris. One 'n Only's oil treatment is meant to be applied to wet hair, and let me tell you, this product is so high quality it makes your hair feel like you've just walked out of the salon. It was only about $6 at Sally's beauty supply, and the bottle should last all year. It doesn't leave your hair feeling greasy or weigh it down, and it even helps as a heat protectant. L'Oreal's dry oil treatment is meant to be put on dry hair almost as a smoothing spray to catch fly-aways. It makes hair look so shiny without being greasy. These two hair products together could tame any kind of frizz!

And last, but certainly not least(wow can I get any more cliché?) is my new favorite eye shadow from Mac cosmetics. While this color has been out for a while I just recently fell in love with it. The eye shadow is named Embark and its a deep purple/brown color. It would go great with blue or green eyes and adds a little pop of color to any make up look!

I really do apologize for my lack of blogging but I shall start posting more on a regular basis. I'm even thinking about doing weekly vlogs this fall(if anyone would even be interested in that). Leave a comment if you have any suggestions for products or brands to review. Thanks!:)

New Blogs Coming Soon!

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since my last blog post and I'm sorry about that. My work scedual has been insane and I'm trying to juggle a few projects and school and it's just been very overwhelming. But I am working on things for the blog and will have blogs coming up in the next week I promise! Thank you guys for your patience, I promise to post more on a regular basis soon! Have a great day :)

If you have any suggestions for blogs you'd like to see leave a comment below!

Videos?

Hey guys! Thinking about adding videos to the blog! Comment with whatcha think! Thanks! :)

Clairol Natural Instincts-New Hair

Yes my last post was about ombreing my hair, but I really love change! My hair is naturally light/medium brown and recently ombre, but I had been wanting to try darker hair for a while, so I decided to dye my hair with Clairol's Natural Instincts semi-permanent hair color in color hazelnut(20).

 

Natural Instincts is a semi-permanent hair color so it washes out in about a month which is perfect for those who have never colored their hair before or are not sure of the color. This formula defiantly repairs damaged hair and makes it incredibly shiny. This specific color is more of a dark brown but does end up very rich and extremely healthy.  

This was my natural/ombre hair. It was very damaged and the ends were frizzy due to using a straightener to make sure my hair didn't look like a circus clown's afro.

And this is my hair after using Natural Instincts! The color is a lot darker than I expected but is still very rich. It made my hair so much healthier and overall easier to style. Its been over a week since I dyed it and the color has stayed the same even through multiple washes. Natural Instincts has a variety of colors and shades that will not disappoint. I'm extremely pleased with how my hair turned out. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a semi permanent hair color!:)

Subtle Ombre

One of the biggest trends in the hair world now a days is ombre hair. If you don't know, ombre hair is when your roots are a dark brown and then gradually your hair gets lighter and goes to blonde at your ends. I quickly fell in love with the look of ombre hair, but wasn't sure how it would look on me, and ever since a bad experience with highlights I have lived in fear of damaging my hair with bleach. You can go to a salon to achieve the ombre look, but if you're like me and want to save $50, you can bleach your hair at home. Bleach kits, for me at least, are very unpredictable color wise and can severely damage your hair, but I have found a solution. Sun in hair lightener is a peroxide and water mix, normally used for highlights, but I achieved my subtle ombre look by spraying it on my hair and then either laying out in the sun or using a hair dryer to activate the peroxide. One of the biggest advantages to using Sun-In is its not one application like bleach. To ombre your hair with Sun-In it requires multiple application, so you can stop lightening your hair when it reaches the desired color compared to bleach where the color varies. Sun-In does not damage your hair like bleach will, it keeps it healthy and fluffy.

Here is my ombre hair after applying Sun-In to wet hair and drying with a hair dryer every day for 1 month. I applied the most Sun-In at my ends an gradually less as I got towards my roots. I stopped applying it completely about 4-5 inches from my roots. I sectioned off my hair into about 3 layers to apply the Sun-In. Laying in the sun will lighten your hair faster than using a hair dryer, but I prefer to only lighten it a little at a time. Sun-In is the perfect way to get that fun summer ombre look without damaging your hair and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a subtle ombre look! :)

Summer Purse

Here I have a white cloth purse from Earthbound Trading Co. This purse is the perfect accessory to any summer outfit! It's lightweight and big enough to carry around all you need for a fun summer day. The purse is just smaller than a tote but is stylish and elegant enough to not look bulky. This purse is complete with leather straps, cloth inner lining, and lace detail. I adore this purse and its ability to be worn with both casual and formal outfits. This beautiful purse would be the perfect addition to any girl's wardrobe! :)

Mac Gel Eyeliner- Fluidline

Whether you're going for a natural look or a bold smokey eye, eyeliner is an essential ingredient to any make up routine. While I normally use liquid liner I have become obsessed with Mac's gel eyeliner called "Fluidline" in color "Blacktrack".

The application is very smooth and tends to last all day. It does not smudge hardly at all which has been an issue for me in the past with liquid liner(as much as I truly do love it). The color stays rich throughout the day, and easily compliments any eye color or shadow and will be a nice addition to any make up routine. I apply this product with the Mac 206 angle brush.

 This angle brush makes it especially easy to do winged eyeliner and is able to achieve a very smooth and clean line using the gel liner. For me, this brush makes it very easy to have eyeliner even on both eyes, it has the ability to make very small precise lines which is extremely helpful. Overall the Fluidline is easy to apply, can last a full day without smudging, and looks amazing. This combo of gel liner and angle brush will always be in my make up bag and has begun to play a key role in my daily make up routine and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a long lasting eyeliner!

Tie Dying Tank Tops Tutorial

Tie dying is one of my favorite crafts. Why you may ask? Because there is no possible way to mess it up. And for someone like me who is a perfectionist, there is nothing more frustrating than doing a craft or spending a lot of time on a project and it turning out poorly. But tie dying is super fun, easy, and cheap way to get the creative juices flowing.

So I decided to tie dye a tank top since summer is soon approaching and I would rather have a cute looking tank top than a men's Hanes shirt. I got the tank top from Target for about $10 and the tie dye kit from Hobby Lobby for $20.

Now! Onto the actual crafting!
Begin by covering the floor(or work surface) with unfolded trash bags, and then mix the dyes in the bottles as directed by the kit.

Then lay the shirt or tank top out flat, and pinch the center and begin twisting into a spiral form.

Once you have twisted the tank top fold the corners around until it becomes mostly circular(it doesn't have to be perfect) and then rubber band the shirt secure enough that it wont fall apart in the middle of dying it.
The kit comes with plastic gloves to protect your hands from being stained, but I tend to use rubber cleaning gloves. Select the colors you wish to use!(Keep in mind that the colors will bleed and blend together so if you use blue and yellow there is a strong chance that there will be green on the shirt)

Begin adding color to the outside layers of the section you wish to use that color on, then I normally put the tip of the bottle down into the shirt to ensure that the color is being distributed evenly and that there will be no white on the shirt.

When you've dyed the desired section add another color and repeat the same process on a new section. I like to peel back the folds in the shirt to make sure the whole shirt is being colored. Something that adds a cool affect is using a different color in the shirt to color the folds in. (To make sure there is little to no white in the shirt go around and open up all the folds while dying and make sure they have been heavily coated in dye)

Add other colors if desires, but as I said before, remember that the colors will bleed and mix. Here I am adding yellow to a section next to the first blue section and it became mostly green.

Once you fully dyed the shirt place it in a zip lock bag(any plastic shopping bag or trash bag will do) and rubber band so that the shirt is fully covered and can stay damp. Let sit for 6-8 hours.

After waiting for 6-8 hours take the shirt out of the bag, remove the rubber bands, and place under running cold water until the water runs clear. Don't be alarmed by how much dye is rinsing out, and make sure to clean it all out of the bathtub or sink that you use or it will stain. Once the water runs clear wash in warm water by itself with detergent and tumble dry on low.

And here is the finished product! Tie dying is fun and creative, but it can be messy so make sure you clean up any spills so it doesn't stain. While tie dying you can color sections at a time or just be messy with it and either way it'll come out looking just fine! There is no wrong or right way to do it and it will forever be one of my favorite crafts! Hope this helped! Have fun tie dying :)

Relaxed Spring Outfit

As the weather gets warmer I find myself immediately ditching the jeans and going straight to shorts! While shorts are a must for me I can't quite let go of my beloved sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts that accompanied me through the long winter. I am a big fan of the shorts and long sleeve shirt look. In the above picture I'm wearing a relaxed long sleeve from Earthbound Trading Co., black midi shorts from American Eagle, and a crystal necklace from Earthbound Trading Co. This is one of my favorite outfits for spring! It is so comfortable and appropriate for many occasions.

Here is an up-close picture of the crystal necklace from Earthbound Trading Co. So beautiful! And goes with so many outfits!

"The End of Me"

        I have not been posting on here as often as I originally said, I know! I know! My schedule has been so crazy lately, but once the school year finishes up I'll have more time to work on projects that might actually be interesting to any of you out there... But anywho! I shall be doing more fashion and craft related posts in the near future but until then, here is a poem I recently wrote titled "The End of Me".

The forth color in the rainbow,
The first whisper of spring,
A light giving freedom for traffic to flow,
Green of  course is a beautiful color that sings,
Varying from vibrant to muted tones,
Especially on every tree that grows,
Green represents life and wellness,
Known as the color of wealth and rebirth,
Bringing peace and joy to all whom walk the earth,
But no- this color is not what it seems,
In fact this color is the very thing that's killing me,
Taking away my breathe as my blood ceases to be,
I cant hardly talk its slurring my speech,
I try my hardest but breathe I can not keep,
Its blurring my vision I can't hardly see,
Because I am Kalel,
And Kryptonite was always the death of me.

Lovin' Mac Makeup

I've used Mac Makeup for several years and to be honest, nothing really measures up to the pure brilliance that each of their products contains. All the Mac products last me around 6 months or longer so I hadn't had my foundation matched in a long time, and while my summer tan faded and became the essence of vampire pale, my foundation did not. I usually try to stay away from liquid foundation as I tend to feel like I'm wearing a mask, but my powder foundation always seemed to rub off by the end of the day. I explained my problem to the women working at the counter and oh my gosh, the product she brought out changed my life, well not really, but it helped ;)

The Mac Prep+Prime Natural Radiance Base Lumiere is amazing. I've never been a big fan of primers, but I could not pass this up. Its very light and not sticky like most primers I have tried, it brightens up even the most tired face, and it is soo moisturizing! Completely solved my issues with keeping my foundation looking fresh for long periods of time.

Speaking of foundation! The next product I picked up (and haven't put down since) is the Mac Studio Fix powder foundation!

This powder foundation is so light! Half the time I forget I am even wearing it! It completely covers all blemishes and evens out my skin tone. This matched with the Mac primer will last all day long and then some!

Now on to the last product I bought, and certainly my favorite.

Mac Cremesheen lipstick in the color "Party Line". Oh man, I can not even explain my love for this lipstick and the color. The lipstick itself goes on so smooth, and is about as moisturizing as your favorite chapstick. The color is so rich and is the perfect tint to go with just about any look!

Overall it was a very successful trip to the Mac makeup counter and these products are things I'm sure to use as long as I can ;)




http://www.maccosmetics.com/shop/shop.tmpl

Bleach Dying Tutorial

           I think we all have a few old shirts lying around that we love, but they got stained or even lost their original color! And there's a way to bring that shirt back to life! Bleach dying shirts is the same concept as tie dying but you start with a colored 100% cotton shirt, and use bleach instead of t-shirt dye. It can give a cool pattern to a bland graphic t or a fun slash of color to an old favorite. So here is a step by step tutorial on this fun craft:

Here I have a 100% cotton t-shirt from Hot Topic(100% cotton is all that will work, anything less and the bleach won't take.) Graphic t's are my favorite for bleach dying because while the color of the shirt will change the printed on part of the shirt will stay the same!

And then I just have Clorox bleach, really any kind of Clorox will work!

Next head into a bathroom with a bathtub and lay the shirt flat and from the middle of the shirt begin twisting!

The shirt should end up looking like this when you are finished twisting it into a spiral pattern! Then place the shirt in the bathtub.

Get a plastic cup (that you will never use for drinking out of again) and pour about a cup of Clorox bleach into the cup and add a 1/4 cup of water. Then pour the Clorox bleach and water mixture onto the shirt in a circular motion around the spiral. The more you go around the spiral the less the original color will remain after the bleach dries.

After only a few minutes it will begin to change colors, but wait 10-15 minutes before adding another treatment of the bleach and water mixture(if desired).

After waiting about 20 minutes from the last bleach and water treatment, run the shirt under cold water in the bathtub until the water runs clear. Ring the shirt out as its under the water and it will speed up the process quite a bit.

After the water runs clear put the t-shirt in the washing machine(by itself) on cold with half the normal detergent used, and then tumble dry on low. This was the finished product of my shirt (although it was still damp in this picture)! Hope you enjoyed this bleach dying tutorial :)







http://www.clorox.com/

http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Homepage.jsp