An Itty Bitty Target Haul and Some Random Ranting

So hello again my lovely readers! It's been ages since I've posted anything it seems, but I have just been so wrapped up in a million other things that blogging has really been pretty well the last thing on my mind. And I will go into these other things that are taking up my time towards the end of my post, but I'm going to start with a little Target haul from the weekend before last. I will have reviews of these items up later, but I still haven't really properly tried these buggers out so this is just my first quick impressions. And this is really hardly a haul, I only scooped up a few things, but damnit it's been forever since I've had something to talk about makeup related over here so it'll just have to do. And diving right in then!

As you can see I picked up 5 items from the makeup section, I was actually pretty bummed because they had a really limited selection at the Target I went to and they didn't really have much of anything that I've been lusting after so I just kinda wung it.

First up are these Sonia Kashuk Full Glam Eyelashes with Glue which I got for a couple of dollars, I don't remember exactly how much they cost as I bought these a week and a half ago and lost the receipt, so my bad on that one. They are quite lovely, and I did try them on real quick to see how they looked and I wasn't disappointed. However, these lashes are rather stiff and really hold their shape, which made them kind of a pain for me to work with as my eyes aren't the same shape as the lashes. This will probably be resolved after I trim them to fit my eye properly, but hey, these are just first impressions. Also, I hate the glue. I don't see that changing. It's thick and a little goopy which is totally unappealing to me. But moving on...

I grabbed up two of the Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencils which are apparently Intense and Smokey in Purple Passion and Pure White. I did swatch these and play with them a bit and so far I'm pretty pleased with their performance. The white pencil does seem to be softer and easier to work with than the purple, but the purple seems to be quite alright as far as eye pencils go. Keep in mind that I'm a bit biased against the eye liner pencil and tend to prefer liquid liner, cream liner and even the crayon liners. I stabbed myself with a little wood sliver once using a pencil liner and apparently I know how to hold a grudge. And.. Close ups!

Please do forgive the awful quality of some of these pictures; I took them at sundown and the lighting in my living room was all sorts of wonky. Next time I'll exert some self control and wait until proper dark or morning to take my pictures. Live and learn..

And moving on to the Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer (Natural or Dramatic) in Emerald Sparkle. This is a crayon liner, which as I've said I do prefer to the pencil liners, and it comes with a sharpener and smudger which is always nice. I also swatched this liner and it is very easy to work with and the color is quite nice. And another close up!!

And I know you can't really tell, but the tip is pretty fine for a crayon liner and at the opposite end is the smudger which pulls out to reveal the sharpener.

And the one thing that I was actually looking for and really wanted to try: Maybelline Color Sensationals Vivid lipstick! This one is Vibrant Mandarin which is a really pretty orange based lip color.

This lipstick did not photograph well, which is probably partly the fault of my shitty lighting, but it's quite a bit more orange looking in real life. I don't have any other orange based lip colors so I was pretty excited to try this out, and it does actually apply a bit more coral than it looks in the tube, but it's still most definitely an orange based coral which is pretty rockin. I do believe these are about $5 a tube, and based on the impression that I have gotten from this one I probably will be grabbing up a few more as I have far too few lipsticks. This doesn't last the longest, but it goes on really smooth, the color is really vibrant, and it does seem to hydrate my lips quite a bit. So yeah, not disappointed with this one in the least. Yay!

Okay, now I'm moving on to my little bit of ranting, so beware, haha. So yeah, sorry I haven't blogged at all in almost 3 weeks now, but I really have had quite a bit going on. For starters, I have a little project going on that I've started with my sister in law, and we'll be designing and selling clothing. This probably sounds totally random and far fetched to a lot of you, but I'm pretty great with design and both me and my SIL used to work as seamstresses together. So I've been going over web design, label designs, and then of course the clothing design, which has had me totally wracking my brain as it's been some time since I've had to do so much of this type of stuff. And yes, I probably will be promoting our business through this blog a bit, BUT I have already told her that I have no intention of spamming up this blog as this is a makeup blog and it's not supposed to be about selling things. I don't want to turn off what readers I have here trying to promote my business, it's tacky. But I will totally share random tid bits because the thought of starting my own business is beyond exciting to me. And that's pretty legit in my opinion.
Also, and this one is really out there, like you guys are probably going to think I'm completely off my rocker at this point (if you don't think so already, haha!) but I'm doing a shit ton of reading and research because I plan on writing a novel. But before you start thinking I'm too nutters, there's a story behind this. About 5 years ago, right after I told my dad that I was engaged, he took me out to dinner and got completely plastered at this steak house. And I mean he was WASTED. Like wow drunk. I had only ever seen him this drunk once before in my life, and that was on the day that I graduated from high school. But anyway, after dinner we were driving back to my apartment and my dad was really talking. Being that none of you know my dad, you should probably know that he is NOT a talker. Like I hadn't had a proper conversation with my dad until I was out of high school. So when he talks, I listen because you know it's stuff that he's been stewing on for years. Literally. So he was talking about things, most of which I don't properly remember, and then he looked at me (pretty scary as he was driving) and he said to me that of all the people he had met in his life, I was one of two people that he thought had the potential to write a book. And then he blatantly asked me to write a book in my life, regardless of whatever else I choose to do, he wanted me to take what I have in my head and write a book. And he asked me like it was just nothing, like he was asking me to go to the store or something. And being that up until this point my father had never asked anything of me, and I am quite serious here he had never asked me to anything for him, I was obliged to say yes. So for the past 5 years I have been stewing on what I should write. And I'm finally at a point in my life where I think that I have at least one good story worthy of writing out. That was actually the driving force behind me starting this blog. I just needed to start writing and I needed a direction. So I've been avoiding the internet and diving into my favorite novels looking for inspiration and just trying to get the creative juices flowing. I'm still in the baby stages of my writing process, so I'm sure it will be some time before I get this book written up, but it's going to happen. I can just feel it. And when I'm finally ready, this book of mine will be fantastic.
And if all that wasn't enough, my husband and I have finally decided to give up on country living and have decided to move back to the city. So he's working like crazy so that we can save up to get a place, which means that I'm watching our daughter all the time, and I'm looking for affordable and conveniently located housing for us to move to. So yeah, I've got a lot on my plate right now.
But I've had time now to wrap my head around all that's going on in my life, so I will be posting regularly again. I probably won't be posting as much as I was before I decided to take my little break, but I will be posting at least once a week. The season change has my eyes a little on the sensitive side, hay fever I think is what it's called, so I won't be posting a ton of looks until it clears up. Though after we've successfully moved and I have my little clothing business up and running, I plan on posting more.
And one last little bit of randomness before I close up for the night. I'm sure many of you know that I live in Michigan in the USA, and let me tell you we have had some absolutely glorious spring weather going on these past few days. Everything is finally coming to life, and the colors are just so insanely gorgeous, and it has me in a state of euphoria. I am currently living in the house that my grandfather built (I rent it from my father) and ever since I was a little girl I have looked forward to this time of year as we have a beautiful magnolia tree right in front of our house. And as soon as winter lets up and the warm spring weather moves in this tree blooms, and the flowers tend to only linger for a few weeks. But the few weeks that it is in bloom are my favorite weeks of the year. I don't know how familiar you guys are with magnolias, but the trees flower and then shed the flowers for leaves. The interesting thing (to me anyway) is that the flowers and the leaves have the exact same texture. They are thick and waxy and rather heavy; it really looks quite exotic compared to the usual trees you see up in Michigan. And this evening I went to take the dog out and the tree was finally in bloom. Twilight had just fallen and the tree just looked so magnificent, the light pink petals contrasting perfectly with the dark blue of the sky. So I ran and grabbed my camera so that I could share my beautiful tree with you lovelies. Enjoy!

Aren't they just to die for?! I'm so happy, no beyond happy.. I'm absolutely thrilled. I know it sounds weird, but I really do look forward to this day every year, and it makes me so happy to be able to share it with you.

This post ended up being ridiculously long, I had no intention of rambling so much, I just had a lot on my mind I suppose. I hope that I didn't bore you to death chattering on the way I did, but in all fairness I did have three weeks of ideas to pour out. But I do look forward to hearing from you all again in the comments, and I've finally added my Facebook page to the side bar and I do encourage you to Like the page as I do check it more often than I do my actual blog page. But it's late and I've rambled a bit too long. Til next time!