January Favorites

Hi again!

I hope that everyone’s January went great! Mine was pretty good! Extremely busy with the start of the spring semester, but good! Here are some of the products that I was loving this past month!

1.) My favorite mascara for 2013 so far is the Clump Crusher by Covergirl. I love the formula and the wand!

2.) Covergirl's Toasted Almond Nail polish is one of my new favorite neutral colors! It's a brownish taupe.

3.) For Christmas I recieved Philosophy's Christmas Cookie 3 in 1 body wash. It smells like a bakery! I've always loved how Philosophy's body wash makes my skin feel smooth and moisturized. Plus the scents are heavenly!

4.) I finally broke down and bought the Pink body mist that I'd been eyeing for the last month and I'm so glad I did! I've worn this more than all my other body sprays and perfumes (including my new Dot perfume!). It's a blend of artemisia, neroli flower, and peony. If you haven't tried this, go to Victoria's Secret and try it out. It's amazing! Plus the packaging is adorable.

5.) For the start of the new semester, my room has been smelling like Bath and Body Works' Frosted Cupcake. I absolutely love this scent so far! Can you tell that sweet scents are my favorite currently?

6.) Speaking of sweet scents, the Cinnamon Sugar Donut candle I picked up at the Semi-Annual is the best scent ever! I love this scent so much! It's so sweet and cozy! I hope that they bring it back next fall! I will definitely stock up!

7.) Earlier this month I broke down and decided to try out a new drugstore blush. I picked up Bourgeois Pig by NYX. It's a bright pink (much like Dollface by Tarte). It's so pigmented and been a breath of fresh air!

8.) The Covergirl Shimmering Sands eyeshadow trio is always a huge favorite of mine, and this past month I've enjoyed it just as much as ever. I'm constantly amazed by the quality for something that is less than $5. Seriously, there is no eyeshadow that I love more than these three.

9.) I'm still loving red nails, and this month I've gone back to Wet n Wild's I Red a Good Book. Once again, this is a drugstore product that I'm continusouly impressed with. It lasts for days, covers so well, drys quickly, has a good amount of shine, and is a pretty classic red color. If you haven't tried out this shade, you have to!

What things have you loved this January? Has anyone else noticed that drugstore brands seem to be really stepping it up these days?

Spring Semester Room Updates!

Hey everyone!

I just finished up my first week back from Christmas vacation, and I wanted to share with you some new room updates I made!

I don’t know about you, but I hate looking at the same stuff for months on end. When it comes to decorating, I like change, I like incorporating new things into my space so it’s less stagnant and it keeps me interested and excited. The changes can be simple (my new scent for my Wallflower: Frosted Cupcake!) or more major like a bedding switch. But what I want you to keep in mind, is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to put a fresh new look and energy in your old, tired space! Something that I know college students can struggle with! 

The first dramatic change to my room at school is my bulletin board! If you remember, I had some picture frame decals and a bulletin my big made me. While it was lovely, I wanted something that didn't have so much white space! Something more dramatic and interesting to look at! 

Here's a little reminder of the before!

And this is what it looks like now! 

Pretty dramatic, right? So the picture before doesn't illustrate it really well, but behind my bulletin board and frame decals, was a cork board that they painted white. I guess in older homes (like my sorority house), it was pretty common to just build cork into the walls, since they are plaster and pretty much impossible to put nails or tacs into. 

Over break I saw this picture on Pinterest of a chevron board. First I love chevron, and I love bulletin boards, and I like the look of having like an inspiration board. 

From AnntheAdventurer

And I got to thinking about the cork on my wall, so I decided to change it up a bit. I bought this fabric from a local fabric outlet (it is a black chevron from Riley Blake, though if you want to search for it). I basically bought two yards (I just had a enough!), used push pins to cover it, then simply lined it with red ribbon! So far it's holding up nicely! And while the pictures and things on it are a work in progress, I put up some of my favorite pictures and notes and other things I love! The chevron is so perfect!

There were other changes I made too. Since chevron plus damask would equal a major migraine from all the busy prints, I decided to change out my bedding. If you know one thing about me, it's that I love bedding. Because I love the combination of dots and chevron, I decided to use the PB Teen dottie duvet I purchased last spring! 

I like how it grounds the chevron and isn't as visually crazy as my damask comforter last spring. Plus, if I have to recommend bedding for a dorm, it would definitely be PB Teen bedding. It's definitely worth the price! I arranged the pillows a little differently, I eliminated some as well, but overall, the all were things I already owned, so the change was free! 

You'll also notice in this picture that I brought in a different lamp as well. Since zebra and chevron are like weird cousins of each other, I thought I'd give my eyes a rest and exchange the zebra lamp for this plain black one I bought at Target a couple of years ago. 

Here is another shot of the lamp and my bedding. 

Other changes I made her all sort of little, but they are definitely fun ones! 

 On the shelf beside my bed I added this cute little cupcake picture holders from Big Lots. I love cupcakes, and I love Valentine's Day decor, so I thought these were a cute little addition. Plus the have red and dots! 

 On the mirror on the back of my door, I added some cute little window gel clings for Valentine's Day. I love the little ladybugs (Hobby Lobby) and the little cupcakes (Target dollar section!). 

And then a really fun addition to my dresser area (which is where I put my makeup on), is Max. My little ceramic doggie that holds my makeup brushes. I saw this idea on Youtube, and loved it! Basically, I filled up Max with glass beads (mine were from Joanne's and I bought three of the little mesh bags), and then I just stuck my brushes in there. I love him! Max came from Target's Valentine's Day table decor area and was $14.99. 

Those are the changes so far to my dorm room, but I love them! All were very inexpensive, but definitely help get this spring semester off to the right start!