FOTD Featuring the September Glam Bag from Ipsy

Hello lovelies!

Today I put together a quick look for you guys using all of the items in my September Glam Bag. I don't usually wear makeup on the weekends unless I'm planning on going out, but my cousin, her daughter and her boyfriend are coming out to visit today and I was getting dressed and was like "Oh, I should straighten my hair too." And once my hair was all pretty and straight it was like "Well, since I bothered to do my hair I might as well try out some of my new makeup." And I was listening to Amy Winehouse, and she may have influenced how I applied my makeup a bit... I didn't do full face makeup, but it's definitely a very dramatic look for just having family over lol. I did use the nail polish that came in this month's bag, but I'm saving the pictures for Tuesday when I do my review post as my daughter should be attending her first day of preschool then!!! And yes, I'm ridiculously excited about this. And nervous. But let's move on to the pictures, my cousin is on her way here and I want to be done with this post by the time she gets here.

Face Products Used: e.l.f. Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter in Fair/Glow; Mary Kay Mineral Foundation in Ivory 2; NYX Mosaic Powder Blush in Paradise; Bronzer and Highlight from BH Cosmetics San Francisco palette.

Eye Products Used: NYX Eyeshadow in Cryptonite; Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner in Black; White eyeshadow from e.l.f. Little Black Beauty Book Cool Python Edition; Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Volumizing Mascara in Black; Red/Brown Eyeshadow from the Sephora Color Daze Blockbuster Makeup Palette for my eyebrows.

Lip Product Used: Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple

And if you're curious, for my hair I just took a couple of bobby pins and pinned back my bangs and teased my hair just a bit to give it some volume as I am currently out of hair spray and wax. Oh yeah, and I straightened it with my flat iron and fwipped out the ends a bit.

But that's my crazy cousin Saturday party time look and I hope you guys like it! Did you catch the Amy Winehouse inspiration with the eyes? I toned it down a bit from her looks, but it's not like I'm going out. So far, I'm really digging the items I got in this month's bag, but my favorite has got to be the Jesse's Girl Eyeliner. I've got to wear it a bit more to be sure as to how much I love it, but if it wears well this is probably the best pen-style liquid liners I've ever used. I so love Ipsy!!! And if you like this look and want to give the Glam Bag a try, don't forget to use my referral so that I can get some freebies in my next bag. Here's a linky: Danielle's Ipsy Referral I hope you're all having a totally bitchin Saturday doing whatever it is you do and I hope you'll share some love with me in the comments and subscribe if you think I'm as awesome as I think I am lol. Til next time!

September 2013 Classic Beauty Ipsy Glam Bag

Hello lovelies!!

As many of you know I am a subscriber of Ipsy's Glam Bag, and today I got my September bag!! If you are unfamiliar with the Ipsy Glam Bag, it's a monthly subscription box that comes with 5 different makeup items that they choose for you based on a quiz that you take. It costs $10 a month, and the bag's value is typically between $40 and $50, so it's a good deal. If you're interested in joining please use my link *Here* because I will totally get free stuff based on the number of referrals I bring in.

In this month's bag I received a deluxe sample of It's So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott, full size Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple by Cailyn, full size NYX Eyeshadow in Cryptonite, full size Butter London Nail Lacquer in LA MOSS, full size Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner in Black, and a little sampler from the Life Palette Career Life - Look 3 Out To Lunch from em cosmetics.

I am in love with the design for this month's bag, it's totally gorgeous and I will definitely be using it to tote around my makeup when I'm out and about in the future.

It's So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott

I have yet to try out this mascara, though it looks pretty standard. I'm unfamiliar with this brand, but so far Ipsy hasn't let me down so I have high hopes for it.

Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple by Cailyn

This is another brand that I've never heard of, but I had to play with it right away because I just love the design. The color is gorgeous, but it's really not much of a balm and is really more of a stain. The brush in the tip is pretty nice, makes for nice and crisp lines.

NYX Eyeshadow in Cryptonite

This is my first NYX eyeshadow, but I have tried other items from NYX and have been very pleased with them. I like the color quite a bit, it's a pretty gun metal color loaded with shimmer that will be great to go with a smoky eye.

Butter London Nail Lacquer in LA MOSS

I have yet to try this brand, but LA MOSS is a very pretty wine color that's totally perfect for fall.

Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner

Jesse's Girl is another brand that I've never heard of, but I love me some liquid liner so I was totally stoked to see this in my Glam Bag. This is one of those pen style liners with a felt tip, and I dunno about you, but I love this style of liner. The packaging is really pretty, though the metal casing did make for some hyper glare on my camera (sorry!)

Sampler of The Life Palette Career Life by em cosmetics

For those of you not in the know, em cosmetics is YouTube makeup guru Michelle Phan's new makeup line. The products are really cool looking, the packaging is high quality and from my understanding the products are also of a very high quality. However they are also extremely expensive and I won't be buying any of this line in the near future unless I come across a random fortune. BUT I'm totally lusting over this brand as I love Michelle's videos and I trust her to make some bitchin makeup. So even though this is a teensy weensy little sampler, I'm really looking forward to checking out the pigmentation and the texture of the products.

But that pretty well wraps up this month's bag, so far I am pretty stoked to try out all of these items and I feel like a got a great value once again from Ipsy. Also, I will be posting more regularly (every Tues and Thurs) as my daughter will be starting day care in the near future giving me time to properly devote to the blogging. Again, if you want to sign up for Ipsy's Glam Bags please use my referral link *Here* so that I can get some cool goodies. I hope you're all having a wonderful week! Til next time!!

Getting By With a Little Help From My Friends...

Hello again lovelies!

I know it has been ages since my last post, but I have been so beyond stressed out lately. I don't often delve into my personal life here and I promise I won't make too much of a habit of it, but damn, I am in a tough spot here.

Last year I had a great job working in an office and I had finally managed to un-bury us from the mountain of debt that seems to pile up over time. Unfortunately as soon as we started to get ahead, I was laid off from my job when the company downsized. This in and of itself wasn't the end of the world, but around a month after I lost my job, our van broke down and was beyond repair. My husband works his tail off for not enough money, and he manages to keep us from drowning fiscally, but we can't get any money saved up because he just doesn't make enough for us to have anything left over. My makeup budget (and this does include skin and hair products) is $10 a month. That's pretty much all the frivolous spending we do as a family. So yeah, I need to get a job to help out. But in order to do that, I need a car.

So in an effort to save my family, I've started an online fundraiser to help us raise money for a good reliable vehicle. If you have any extra money and can help my family out, please donate here: A Family Car For the Hughes's. Having to put this fundraiser together is a serious blow to my pride, and I truly hate having to ask for your help. But I'm desperate and I don't know what to do at this point. I am beyond shamed and I hope that you guys will forgive me for begging in such an ungraceful manner, but I just don't know what to do. Every day just gets harder and harder for me, and I'm losing hope in ever being able to provide a wonderful life for my daughter. I know that she deserves better than a mother that has to beg just to get by and it makes me sick. Again, I am so sorry to be putting this out there for all of you to see, but I'm at a loss of options. If you can't afford to donate to my cause, would you please consider visiting the page that I linked above and sharing it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. I need all the help I can get to help get my family on its' feet again.

Left: My daughter, Penny Lane, age 2.5; Top Right: My Husband and daughter age 3 weeks; Bottom Right: Me and my friend's son when I was in the hospital after I delivered Penny.

  I'm not really sure how to end this post, just writing this all out has me feeling so shamed and emotionally drained. To all of you who decide to donate or share my story, thank you so much. I appreciate it more than I could possibly put into words. And I know that all of you have your own problems and you probably don't need to hear about mine, I'm just lost. I will have some more posts up, looks and tutorials mostly, after I've calmed down some and gotten back into my zen. Thank you all for sticking with me through my rather sporadic postings, you guys are awesome. Til next time! xoxox

Healthy Eats - My Favorite Green Bean Side Dish

Hello lovelies! I've got a quick healthy recipe for you guys today that can be made as a side dish or enjoyed as a meal. I was half asleep last night and decided that I wanted to cook (random I know, but when I get sleepy I like to cook lol) but it was really too late to be making myself anything. So I pulled out the slow cooker. And if you don't know, I LOVE my slow cooker!! With the kiddo running around it can be a pain to make a nice healthy meal during the day, so getting to throw everything in the slow cooker before I go to sleep is a serious help to my diet.
I was going to try and put together something really fancy, but after I cut up my onion I was pretty well out of steam. So I threw this recipe together, it took me maybe 5 minutes total, and I put it in the slow cooker over night. This recipe is super easy and SO good for you! So here it is, my slow cooker green beans aka string beans.

Slow Cooker Green Beans
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8-ish hours
Serves 3 as a side dish

Ingredients
1 medium onion, any variety will work though I used a sweet onion
1/2 a bag of frozen green beans
1 jar of mushrooms (fresh are better, but this was what I had on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of water

1. Cut your onion into fourths and then slice. You can cut up your onion however you like, I just like big pieces of onion because I really love onions. If you're not an onion person, dice the onion so you don't get big bites of it. Then toss the chopped onion in your slow cooker.
2. Toss your frozen green beans into the slow cooker.
3. Drain your mushrooms and then toss them into the slow cooker.
4. Add the water, salt and pepper to the slow cooker and mix it all together.
5. Put the slow cooker on low heat and let it cook for about 8 hours. Make sure to check it every now and again as you may need to add more water to prevent burning. 

This is a really versatile recipe, you can add a lot of things to make it more hearty or complex. My mom makes a similar recipe and she adds bacon (which is totally delish, btw) but bacon is really fatty and I'm avoiding it at the moment. Smoked turkey would probably be a really good substitution for the bacon... I'll have to try that next time..
This recipe is so good for you! The onion is great for your heart, it can help lower cholesterol and it protects your heart and blood vessels. It's also been shown to help prevent the loss of bone density when eaten regularly AND it can help prevent cancer. And green beans are loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants which is great for your overall health. And then there's the mushrooms which are also loaded with antioxidants and vitamins and such, most notably potassium and vitamin D.

 I hope you guys enjoyed another healthy recipe from my kitchen. This is great comfort food without having to worry about a lot of fat or calories. It's really dreary and rainy here and this made for a great lunch. Til next time!

BH Cosmetics San Francisco Palette

Hello lovelies!!

I'm going to be totally real with you right now. I am so friggin tired. Like, holy hell am I tired. But I swore up and down that today I would put up my look at the San Francisco palette from BH Cosmetics, and I'm gonna do it. And I'm going to do it quickly. So here we go!

This palette, as with all the palettes in the California Collection, comes with a gorgeous illustration of part of the city for which it is named. The palettes come with matching sleeves, I forgot to the sleeve back on the one in this picture, but it looks nice. The palette has a magnet in it to hold it closed, and it works quite well. Haven't had one fall open on me yet.

When it's all folded open you can see it has 4 blushers, 16 eyeshadows, and a handy little mirror for touch ups. I like how they have the eyeshadows separated, it seems that the shadows on the left are more evening wear while the shadows on the right are more suited for day wear.

I really like the selection here for blushers. Before I swatched them I didn't think they looked overly impressive, but these colors are rather interesting to wear. The top left is a really pretty highlight with a gold-ish shimmer to it. Next to it is a bronze color that is really quite light. I actually found that it looks really nice on my cheeks as opposed to a contour. The bottom left is a really pretty rose blush with a rather heavy shimmer to it and the bottom right is a matte pink. A very bright, highly pigmented matte pink.

The blushers swaatched really well. They went on really smooth, and they're pigmented very well. I think I'm really going to rock the rose blusher this fall, I'm totally in love with it.

This palette comes with 16 eyeshadows, and they did a great job with color selection. There's a very even distribution of matte and shimmer shadows, and the colors are all very smoky and down to earth.

I love these eyeshadows! The colors are so pretty and they apply really well. Of all the California Collection palettes, the shadows in this palette applied the best. I really like the darker colors, and this is looking like my go to palette for the fall. I love the wine colored shadow, it might be my favorite of these shadows. And the white shadow on the bottom right is really neat, it has like a pink-ish shimmer to it that I think is just totally gorgeous.

I think that about wraps up my look through this palette, I'll be posting some looks using this palette throughout the week. This palette sells for $17.95 and in my opinion, it's worth every penny.

But again, I'm really friggin tired, I'm going to ditch you guys and go get some shut eye now. Til next time!

DIY Nail Polish

Hello again lovelies! I was floating around the internet today and I happened across a couple of DIY nail polish posts, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I was super surprised at just how simple the process was, and it seriously took me less than 10 minutes to make my own color of nail polish. And because it was super fun and super easy, I thought I should share it with you guys.

What You'll Need:

• A half empty bottle of clear nail polish
• Loose eyeshadow of your choosing (you can mix pigments to make your own unique color or if you have regular pressed shadow, you can crumble it up really fine to make it loose. Bottom line, when you mix, it needs to be loose lol)
• A toothpick to stir, or those awesome little ball bearing mixing bead thingies for polish
• A funnel or a small scoop

Alright, let's get started!! I didn't take step by step pics because I'm a bad blogger, but it's really easy and I'm sure you lovelies can figure it out.

1. Get all your stuff laid out and prepped. If you want to mix pigments for a unique color, do it now. If you need to crush up a solid shadow, do it now. If you don't know how to go about crushing up a pressed shadow all you really need to do is scrape out the shadow into a plastic bag and kind of crumple it with your fingers, then go over the bag with a rolling pin until the shadow is nice and smooth. 
2. Open up your clear nail polish and insert funnel into the spout. If you don't have a funnel and are using a small scoop, skip this step!
3. Pour your loose shadows (already mixed if you're going for a custom color!!!) into the funnel and work it into the polish. If you aren't using a funnel and are using a scoop, scoop the eyeshadow in.
4. Stir the eyeshadow into the polish to help blend with a toothpick. I don't have any toothpicks, so I just cut up an emery board to fit. If you have those little mixing ball things, add those in now.
5. Shake the shit out of that polish!!! No joke people, you really gotta get your shake on to avoid clumping and help distribute the pigment into the eyeshadow. It's important, kay?

When going about trying this yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, the quality of the pigments you decide to use as well as the quality of clear polish you use will effect the end result. More finely milled shadows will clump less and distribute the color better. Also, you might want to add the shadow bit by bit to the polish. If you add too much, it will totally clump on you.

So here's my finished polish, and I'm pretty pleased with it. The color is really pretty and it was opaque after 2 coats.

My polish, no flash in natural light

My polish with flash

Sorry about the big ole watermarks over my work, but I recently had a fellow beauty blogger go through some bs because somebody decided to steal her work and enter it into a scholarship contest. So I figure better safe than sorry.
And if you're curious, I used a random clear coat I've had laying around for a couple of years from ONS and I loaded it up with an e.l.f. Studio Pigment Eyeshadow in Tropical Teal. I applied two coats of this over my natural nail and I think it's really pretty. My daughter recently destroyed my go-to teal polish (she dumped it all over the bathroom floor) so it's a welcome addition to my rather small nail polish collection.

But I had a total blast doing this, and I'm thinking that maybe I should throw my hat into the indie polish scene. But it's quite an investment to get up and started there, so we'll see...
If you decide to give this quick and easy DIY polish a try make sure to let me know!! Send me your pictures on Facebook so we can all see what everyone created. Hope you all had a lovely weekend! Til next time!

Sponsored Giveaway for a Spicy Subscription Deluxe Product + Sample Products

Hello lovelies! Today I have for you my very first sponsored giveaway!! Yay!!! This giveaway might be a little racey for some of you guys, and it's only available to my readers that are 18 years old and up. But as I said, this is a sponsored giveaway and I would just like to give a quick shout out to Nicole who contacted me from Spicy Subscriptions. She was super nice and very helpful and extremely patient with me, I had like a million questions for her and she always answered very promptly and was so kind.
This giveaway is only available to those of you who are in the United States and Canada, and there will be one lucky winner. The winner will receive a deluxe toy and sample products, and Spicy Subscriptions prides themselves on discreet packaging so you don't have to worry about anyone knowing what's getting delivered to your door.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you'd like to learn more about SpicySubscriptions *Click Here* to view their website. They offer a Premium Spice Box for $24.95 as well as a Deluxe Spice Box for $34.95. And if you use my coupon code "kjkosmetics" you'll get a 5% discount on the price of the subscription. Yay discounts!!

 
I hope you're all excited for this giveaway and good luck to all of you who choose to enter! I think that this is a super fun subscription box and if you sub for it I'm sure you'll love it. Til next time!!