Ipsy Glam Bag: January 2016

January 30, 2016

I fell in love with subscription boxes when I started in 2012 with a subscription to Birchbox. Since then, I have fallen in and out of love with different boxes, but I'm always excited to try new boxes. I love coming home to a package in the mail and getting to try new beauty samples without having to spend money on full-size products. I originally subscribed simply because I loved the idea of getting a little gift every month, but I've since found that beauty boxes have actually helped curb my makeup buying habits. I find that (contrary to popular belief) I actually buy less makeup since I know that I will always get a new lip product or nail polish every couple of months .

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that gives subscribers 4-5 sample and full size products for $10 a month. All of the beauty samples also come in a handy little makeup bag. I love that all of Ipsy's products come in these adorable bags because they are insanely useful for holding just about anything!

Dirty Little Secrets Cosmetics: Satin Lipstick in Vengeance

Receiving new lip products is my favorite part of getting my ipsy bag! I always get at least one new lip product and since I love trying new lip shades, ipsy is perfect for this. While I'm not in love with this shade - it's a little too bright for my taste - it will still work nicely in combination with some more muted shades.

Tucker Ashley: Advanced Peptide Eye Complex

I'm always excited about trying new anti-aging products not really because I'm overly obsessed with preventing aging so much as I love feeling like I'm doing something good for my skin, so the more creams I can slather on my face the better - ha! This eye cream has a neutral smell and feels nice and cool on the skin. Plus, the sample is pretty big for an eye cream so it will last me quite a while.

MARSK: Mineral Eyeshadow

Like I've mentioned in multiple past posts - eye shadow is still a product that I'm learning to use since it can be very tricky with the shape of my eyes. Since I already have a ton of eye shadow that I do not use very often, I really wasn’t looking to receive any more. I always indicate on my profile that I'm not interested in eye shadow but somehow I end up with an eye shadow in every bag. I wish I had the option to opt out of receiving certain products and really feel that this is somewhere that ipsy can work to improve.

Promise Organic: Ultra Moisturizing Argan Crème Facial Lotion

I love receiving any type of facial lotion in my ipsy bags because I'm always looking for new and better moisturizing products! This one has a nice, natural smell and the consistency is thin. In my experience, many facial lotions have been too heavy and oily for my combination skin so I love that this facial lotion feels light and really feels like it's re-hydrating my face rather than dumping a layer of oil over it!

theBalm Cosmetics: Mr. Write (Now)

I've received a couple of past items from theBalm in my ipsy bag before but have yet to find a product that I'm really in love with. I like that this eyeliner comes in a twist-up format but it didn't slide on as easily as I was hoping it would despite the fact that I'd primed my eyelids beforehand.

Unfortunately, for now, I've decided to put a hold on my ipsy subscription. While this likely won't be a permanent cancellation because I do love trying out new beauty samples, I'm really not thrilled with the products I've received in the last couple of months and I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth of products that are actually relevant to my personal preferences.

Maybe it's time I switched back to Birchbox or tried a new beauty box? I'm still trying to decide! If you've got a beauty box you think I should try, let me know!

Weekend Plaid & Sparkles ✧

January 27, 2016

Headband: Deepan Gurnani/Earrings: Target/Tank: Old Navy/Shirt: Francesca's/Yoga Pants: Victoria's Secret

I'm a homebody at heart so I love spending my weekends at home rejuvenating in my cozy apartment. Having nowhere to go for an entire day, however, can really hurt my productivity because I feel no motivation to do anything other than mosey around snacking! One way I've found to really gear up for my day even if I'm spending it mostly at home is to dress up a little bit - if only for myself and my boyfriend.

Just because you're spending a day at home doesn't mean you have to wear marshmallow sweatpants and sweatshirts all day right? (I'm guilty of this on many occasions) Sometimes, being dressed and ready for the day even encourages me to get things done at a local library or coffee shop instead, since I'm already dressed! While I'm not advocating for a full-face of make-up + ready-for-work outfit, I do think there is something to be said for dressing up at home. It makes me feel more confident and brings my energy level up.

On the weekends, I live in yoga pants, so instead of changing that, I like to let myself keep the comfy-ness of my trusty yoga pants while adding simple things I can throw on quickly like a flannel or cardigan. On top of that, headbands are awesome for dressing up an outfit without too much effort since they're easy to throw on and add just little bit of sparkle to an outfit.

How do you like to jazz up your at-home outfits?

A Well-Designed Life: Day Designer Review

January 25, 2016

I am so excited to be writing this review because that means I finally own a Day Designer! I have wanted a Day Designer for quite some time now - ever since I stumbled upon Whitney English's Instagram account I was absolutely hooked! While I decided to wait out 2015 with my Lilly Pullitzer planner, I couldn't contain my excitement when January 1st arrived.

I have always been and always will be a dedicated planner girl. Throughout my school years, I was lucky enough that my schools would always provide us with planners designed for the classes we were taking. Once college hit, I found myself in a situation where I really needed to decide what kind of planner worked best for my personal organization style. At the time, I still wasn't sure what exactly that organization style was. I've tried planners of all sizes and styles - small half-page ones to big week by week planners - but so far, none of them have fit my lifestyle as well as the Day Designer has.

How I use my Day Designer:

In order to let you figure out for yourself whether the Day Designer would be a good fit for your needs, I figured I needed to give you a little taste of what my organization style is like and how I use my Day Designer! I have about a million and a half goals and to-do's running around my head at all times so I like to get them all down somewhere. For me, that's on a digital platform called Trello, which I mentioned in this blog post from earlier this month). In order to really figure out how to tackle all of these to-do's, however, I like to have a written spot where I can see the days of the week and can transfer down the specific tasks I plan to tackle off of my master list. I'm also the type of person that gets a ton of satisfaction from seeing all of my accomplishments laid out in front of me so seeing what I've accomplished on a physical page motivates me to continue working towards my goals.

Style:

The Day Designer styles were really what drew me to the collection in the first place. My personal style is a mix of bright colors and more classic combinations so I love that the Day Designer collection is exactly that! There are classic designs like striped and dotted planners as well as more colorful whimsical ones. The classic Day Designers all include hard front and back covers that are reinforced with pretty gold corners. I appreciated the corners a ton because I tend to toss my planners around in my bags and I know that they can get really raggedy when not reinforced!

Price:

Their standard Flagship Day Designer is $59 while the mini runs at about $49, however, Day Designer also has separate lines of planners with Target, Blue Sky, and Belle & Blush that may have different price points. While the price of a Day Designer is quite a bit steeper than you might pay for a basic planner at your local bookstore, I truly feel that the value the Day Designer delivers is worth the price you pay. Their planners are so adorable and a lot of thought is put into the design of a Day Designer so as to make users as productive as possible!

Size:

The website lists the standard Day Designer as 9" x 9.75". This is also quite a bit larger than a standard planner. Since there's a page for every day, the Day Designer ends up being much thicker than other weekly planners. While it can be a little big to carry around, if you're like me and carry a tote + laptop to and from work every day, it's really not too much of an added burden. Plus, a planner that has a page dedicated to every day is bound to be thicker.

Page Design:

First, I want to start off by noting that the Day Designer really is more than just a planner. It also has a handful of great goal setting pages in the beginning that help set you up for achievement before you even begin using your planner! While I didn't use every worksheet among the goal setting pages, I do feel that the pages helped me organize my goals into more specific, measurable tasks.

The classic Day Designer has a monthly page for every month as well as a daily page for every day. The daily page has boxes for a schedule, daily to-do's, and your top three tasks. It also has convenient spots for due dates, dinner meal plans, and a gratitude box. I absolutely love this design because I love writing all of my to-do's down and the Day Designer provides a spot for me to do just that! Many of the planners I've tried in the past don't have enough spaces for the sheer number of things I want to write down so the Day Designer's long to-do's checklist works perfectly for my habits.

My only complaint is that I wish the weekend pages weren't one combined page! Day Designer has both Saturday and Sunday combined into one page - cutting the amount of space that's dedicated to each of these days in half. As someone who does most of my creative and household work on the weekends, I would love to see a Day Designer that has the same amount if not even more space dedicated to weekends!

Overall Verdict:

Overall, I am in love with my Day Designer! Ever since I stumbled upon it, I knew that I wanted one and it has not disappointed! It has really helped me feel more productive and in control of my everyday tasks and to-do's. This planner girl is officially obsessed!

Do you have a Day Designer? I'd love to hear about your experiences as well!