MOM RANT MONDAY!!!

Good morning world!  I'm running a bit late with this post because my precious baby is running a fever over 100 degrees because she's cutting three teeth at the same time...last night was really rough, so this post might be a bit short.

Today, I'm pretty much feeling like the cartoon above.  I'm sure every parent has felt that way, more often than not, but how you choose to deal with it is the question.  (I choose the occasional martini or two...DON'T JUDGE ME.)  Being a single parent makes it even more difficult, when you don't have that other parent to relieve you of your duties sometimes, or even just provide a sounding board for your frustrations.  Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom and my daughter did not ask to be put in this situation, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss being able to go to the bathroom by myself or take a uninterrupted nap whenever I wanted to.

Sometimes I feel guilty for even thinking these things, but on the other hand, I'm only human.  I would have never imagined in a million years that being a single parent would be so wonderful, and stressful at the same time.  

Hola chicas! I know it's really early to be talking about Valentines Day, but I just wanted to post a look that I did today based on a few of my favorite make up gurus in celebration of the DAY OF LOVE!!!

For this look I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion and NYX Eyeshadow Base in white to base my eye, my BH Cosmetics 88 Matte Palette, and a Pure Luxe pigment in Smug which is a gorgeous iridescent pink/purple color.  In this shot, the colors look more purple than pink. :-)

CLOSE UP SHOT...

Tonight, I tried a "cut crease" for the first time...well, kinda  sorta..and I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out!  I will have to keep practicing!  Oh, and sorry about the gunk in my eyelashes, I was practicing putting on false eyelashes and got glue on them, lol!

For tonight's lips I tried the new Maybelline Vivid lipstick everyone is raving about.  The color I'm wearing is #900 Hot Plum.  Lemme tell ya, I love this lipstick!  At first, I was a bit intimidated by the color because it is a very bright, pretty pinky/purple, so I thought it would be too bright for my complexion, but once I combined it with my NYX lipliner in Currant, I felt a bit safer.  This lipstick has a luxurious creamy feel, has incredible color payoff and holding power.  A definite must-have for any makeup junkie's collection!

MAKEUP NEWS HOT OFF THE PRESS...

Ok, I know I'm probably late as hell, but I just saw something about two new Urban Decay palettes that are coming out for the spring 2013...

They're called the Oz the Great and Powerful Palettes, and I think that they are supposed to launch as early as January 25th!  The palettes colors are based on the two main characters of the movie, Glinda the Good Witch and Theodora.  It's been said that each palette will be $49 and comes with eight new, exclusive eye shadow shades (two of which are duos), a travel-size 24/7 Glide-On Pencil, an exclusive full-size Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color and a detailed get-the-look card.  I don't know about you, but I love Urban Decay and I'm pretty excited to see how these turn out! :-)  Urban Decay is also running a sweepstakes on their Facebook page for a trip for two to attend the Hollywood premier of the new Oz movie, so hurry and enter...good luck!

MOM RANT MONDAY!!!

Good morning world!  As I sit here in my robe, coffee cup in hand, I'm going to briefly tackle a topic that seems to be very controversial in the motherhood community...

BREASTFEEDING!!!

While I was pregnant with my daughter, I insisted that I would breastfeed  EXCLUSIVELY, I would never use formula, the best thing for my baby is my milk, breast milk is the safest thing for the baby, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...  honey, when she got here, I breastfed her for about a month and a half and then I switched to formula because 

I COULDN'T TAKE THE PAIN!!!

Call me lazy, call me a punk, say I'm a bad mother, I don't give a shit!  I did the best I could and my daughter is still as healthy and intelligent as any year and a half old toddler could be.  (maybe a little more!)  I was glad that I was able to at least get that month and a half in, as I do realize that breast milk is the best thing for the baby, and the nutrients from the colostrum helps fight disease, build the immune system and all that good jazz, but the pain that shot through my boob when that little chica clamped down on my nipple was more than I could stand!!! 

Besides, my baby was starting to lose weight because the pain that breastfeeding caused me resulted in my being too stressed out to produce as much milk as she needed at the time.  So really, my decision to switch to formula was a judgment call for the benefit of my daughter, which I don't regret, because she has been healthy, strong and beautiful ever since. :-) 

BREASTFEEDING IN PUBLIC...

Quite frankly, I don't see what the big damn deal is.  You see more tits on daytime television and commercials than you do during a breastfeeding session any day.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily want to see a boob while I'm eating in public or whatever, but if I just so happen to, I'm not going to spontaneously combust.  I've read it somewhere, that mothers who breastfeed in public should be careful...that there could be someone who was sexually traumatized in their past, and witnessing a woman breastfeeding could trigger them...I don't mean to sound heartless, but how in the hell can you ask a mother to care more about a PERFECT STRANGER than her hungry child???  I'm sorry, but that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard.  It's not like a mother can look around the room and tell that someone has been sexually traumatized, or is a rapist or pervert and say "Oh, I better not breastfeed here, there's a rapist in the room..."  Anyway, I said this would be brief, but then again, this is MOM RANT MONDAY.  Right or wrong, that's my humble opinion on that!  :-)

MAKEUP GIVEAWAY!!!

Hola Chicas!  Just a quick note this Saturday, I've had my eye on this company GLAMA GIRL COSMETICS for a while and I'm interested in trying their products...I've recently discovered the they are having a GIVEAWAY!!!  Yes honey, but hurry, it's only till the end of the month... check the video below for details and good luck!

You can also contact them here on Facebook! :-)

FABULOUS FASHION FRIDAY!!!

Hello lovelies! Today were gonna talk about the other love of my life besides my daughter and makeup...FASHION!  Being a mom doesn't mean that I can't keep up with the latest trends...or at least fantasize about them, lol!  

NEW SHOE ALERT!!!

I just wanted to share a pic and some info about these beauties I received as a late Christmas gift from a very good friend of mine! The style name is Ciara-03 from Cupid Shoes.  

Love these babies! :-)

Ladies, let me tell you these shoes are hella cute, and actually comfortable to wear!  And here's the best part, (wait for it...!) THEY'RE ON SALE!!! You can find them at the Deb Shop for 18.25, but hurry, they're only available online and going fast!  And here's a quick tip if you have a killer pair of shoes that are a bit too tight...

1. Put on socks with your shoes

2. Blowdry the tighter areas

3. Let cool (while you are wearing the shoes)

4. Remove socks and test out the fit

*Repeat until comfortable*

SPRING'S NEW TRENDS!!!

It would appear that the trend seems to be leaning towards pastel colors and florals.  I've always considered myself a "primary" or "bright" color girl, but the more I see these gorgeous shades of peach and mint, the more interested I become.  I don't know how well that's gonna work with a messy toddler, but I'm willing to find out!  

I stumbled across this look from Dots and was particularly interested in the jeans.  I thought they were cute, fun and girly, and Dots is one of my favorite clothing stores because they have a pretty good selection and decent prices for a budgeting mom.  I would probably hook the jeans up with a different top and shoes, but I could definitely see myself wearing this on an outing to the park with my daughter!  They retail for about 26.80 and are also available in plus sizes, which I would need, lol!

CUTTING EDGE FASHION...

Ok so I'm basically a "Twitter Virgin"  and I'm still getting the hang of how things work on there, but recently I had the opportunity to check out my first follower, the Bijoux Terner Boutique.  You can find lots of gorgeous jewelry, bags and accessories, MOST FOR TEN DOLLARS!  And get this ladies, they even have great accessories for men and children!  (I know, right?)  They're also offering FREE SHIPPING but for a limited time only, so hustle your tails over there and check them out!

BijouxTerner @ Twitter

Bijoux Terner @ Facebook

JUST A QUICK NOTE...

Only fifteen days left to use your INFLUENSTER25 code for $25 off at 

Sole Society! 

Hola Chicas!  Now that I finally got the baby to take a nap, I have a chance to tell you all about the LA Colors three color eyeshadow palette in "Sunflower", #CES445 and the NYC New York Color Brush On Brow Kit in Brunette, #876.  As previously stated in an earlier post, I bought these two products with my own little money, from my local Family Dollar store. 

Retails for 1.50

Retails for 4.00

       
Ok, I usually start with my brows when I do my makeup, and I've never used a brow kit before, so for my first time using it, the instructions are fairly simple.  You mix the grooming wax (which I didn't particularly care for) with the brow powder and apply to the brow.  Eh...I wasn't too impressed with it actually.  I felt like the brow powder was too dark and gave me a very harsh and artificial look, especially now that my hair color is lighter. And the grooming wax just made my eyebrows feel heavy and gunky.  I was also a little disappointed with the price.  Maybe I'm being cheap, but I could have used that four bucks for something else, but hey, trial and error, right?  Now, I'm not saying its a bad product, perhaps there is a better way to work with it, but it's just not for me.  At least the kit comes with an applicator brush and a set of mini tweezers.  Now on to the eyeshadow!!!

Ya'll forgive my asymmetrical eyebrows...!

First, let me start by saying, I didn't use the NYC Brow Kit in these pictures because I didn't like how it made my brows look, but I really liked the LA Colors eyeshadow!  I was impressed with the fact that it was so pigmented for such an inexpensive product, and the colors were smooth and really easy to blend!  

Full face view

For this look, I used my Urban Decay primer potion and my NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yogurt as a base, but clearly this eyeshadow can look just as good as any other high-end makeup when combined with the right products and techniques.  I think I got awesome results with this product and I would definitely consider purchasing more in the near future!

I finally had a chance to try my Quaker Real Medleys Summer Berry flavored oatmeal I received in my Holiday Vox Box from Influenster this morning and I must admit, I'm  not a huge fan of oatmeal, but this was delicious!  (well, the portion I was able to eat before my toddler devoured the rest was...) :-)

The directions are fairly simple, add water and heat up in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, but let me tell you, as soon as I opened the package, the yummy scent of fruit hit my nose like POW!!! It smelled so good it made me instantly hungry! Lots of delicious chunks of REAL fruit all the way through to the bottom!

Well, like I said before, I really enjoyed the portion I did get a chance to eat...maybe a bit too much, because before you knew it, here comes little missy to inspect the contents of my container, and here were the results...

     

This chick tore my oatmeal up!!!  She liked it so much she finished the container and asked me for more (AWW)!  And that's saying alot, because my daughter is in the middle of a really picky eating phase where she only seems to want juice and raisins...*SIGH*.  So I would say that Quaker Real Medleys was a success in this household and will be getting more for her very soon!

disclaimer: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for review.

So, after doing a little mid-month grocery shopping with the baby this afternoon, I was able to squeeze in a few makeup goodies to try out from my local Family Dollar store...

I was pleasantly surprised with the selection, and was excited to try out a few more products from the NYC New York Color collection.  I grabbed another NYC Liquid Lipshine Gloss in Wine n Dine #587... (I gave the first one I bought to my mom, but when I saw how nice it looked on her, I had to go back and get it again!), the NYC Brush On Brow Kit in Brunette #876, and they didn't have any NYC eye shadow palettes there, but I picked up a cute three color palette from LA Colors...Sunflower #CES445.  I'll talk more about the brow kit and the eye shadow in another post. :-)

Ok, so I was too tired (lazy, lol!) to do a whole look tonight after wrangling the baby and grocery shopping, but I did do a swatch of the gloss by itself on my bare lips and a swatch with lip liner and a complimentary shade of gloss for added depth, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like with and without.

WITHOUT LINER

 WITH LINER

For the bottom picture I used my NYX Long Pencil lip liner in Currant #CLPL05 and a little bit of NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Mauve #140 in the center of my bottom lip.  I love the way this gloss looks either way, and is a complimentary shade with many different complexions, especially women of color (tan or dark skin).  In general, its a decent gloss... it lasted for a few hours before I had to reapply, and left my lips feeling soft, smooth and moisturized.  I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a decent quality, everyday gloss without paying an arm and a leg! 

MOM RANT MONDAY!!!

I think I may make this a regular thing, if I have time to sneak and get on the computer, LOL!  Everyone needs a good rant every so often... :-)

Let me start off by saying how blessed and lucky I am to be the mother of this little darling pictured above...she is my reason for living and without her, my life has no purpose...HOWEVER, as my darling is rapidly approaching the "terrible two's" , she constantly tests my patience and makes me question my sanity!  She has a very strong personality (like her mama) and has an independent streak a mile wide!  She has recently reached a phase where she is constantly telling me "no" and is generally uncooperative with the simplest of tasks...as a semi-new mom, no amount of "old wives tales" could have prepared me for this measure of insolence!  

I'm sure I'm not the only parent to ever experience this with their children, but as a single parent, I often find myself feeling alone and frustrated with trying to figure out how to encourage my daughter's independence and re-enforce positive behavior , while implementing healthy, discipline...all while trying not to go crazy myself!  

I was bored with the way I looked and felt the need to make a change, so I cut all my hair off and dyed it blonde a few days ago.  I've done this in the past, so I knew what to expect.  I also thought this was a great opportunity to try a new look featuring the NYC New York Color Lipshine lipgloss I received in my HolidayVoxBox from Influenster for review!  I did a whole look today so that you can get an idea of what it looks like with a full face done.

Needless to say, I LOVED THE GLOSS!!! I am a certified makeup junkie so this is a perfect addition to my collection!  I loved that it goes on sheer with a hint of color that you can build or combine with your favorite lipstick.  It's also perfect on it's own if you just want a light wash of color for running errands, so you don't look like death warmed over.  I appreciated that it's not sticky and it doesn't have a heavy perfume scent or a yucky aftertaste.  I liked it so much, I went out and bought two more colors!  The NYC Lipshine gloss also appeals to me because its super affordable.  It retails for about $2.49 at chain drugstores and mass merchandisers nationwide, so as a mom, I can work this little treat for myself neatly into my budget.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for an affordable lip gloss with great quality!

disclaimer: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for review.

I finally got a chance to try the Kiss Nail Dress decals I got from Influenster in my HolidayVoxBox, and I have to say, they are the bomb! It's easy to put on, they lasted through several hand washings, wrestling with an active toddler, scrubbing pots and pans and actually made my grubby paws look kinda cute! I like them mainly because now that I'm a mom, I don't have the free time to sit and paint designs on my nails and wait for them to dry...using these was very fast and convenient and they are so affordable, I ran out and grabbed a few more designs in case I get the opportunity to go out for a night on the town!

disclaimer: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for review.

Ok, so I have to backtrack a little bit and talk about how excited I was when I finally got my first VoxBox from Influenster! I had been a member for a while, since June 27, 1212, which was when I first heard about it on Facebook.  Being a new mom with not a whole lot of money to blow, I'm all about the freebies when I can catch some! So, needless to say, I was happy I finally qualified to get a box, and just before Christmas too...I mean, literally skipping around like I won the lottery, lol! It had some really cool products inside that I couldn't wait to try, like NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine, Kiss Nail Dress, the Goody Quikstyle Brush, a sample of Quaker Real Medley Oatmeal, a Montagne Jeunesse facial mask, a SoleSociety discount code, and a sample of EBOOST energy drink. 

disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for review.

Ok, let me start off by saying I am a "blogging virgin"...I have no freaking idea what I am doing, so forgive these first few posts, as I'm just getting the hang of things.  I promise, it will get better!  

What can I say about me?  Well, I'm a regular gal, just like anyone else...I'm a semi-new mom, (my daughter is a little over a year and a half) so expect to be hearing alot about her!  I love shoes, clothes, hair and makeup and will be giving my two cents about that stuff in the future...if that isn't your thing, I suggest you hit the door now.  I'll also have you know I'm a bit of a foul-mouth and very outspoken.  I cuss regularly, so if your sensitive AND SHIT, you might want to skip my blog too, LOL!  I will do my best to keep that under control though, for the sake of my (hopefully) future readers!  

Gonna be posting some pictures and reviews of some great products I received from Influenster in my very first HolidayVoxBox, (excited about that!), so stay tuned!