Expecting Beauty: Those Thrift Days of Summer

I'm set to start bemoaning the post grad, pre-grad school days soon (I'd never leave you hanging!), but I thought about giving you a glimpse into my goodwill shopping bag to see what you can see.

I started hardcore thrifting about two to three years and I've been lusting after my local Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, and countless consignments since. I've been quite chill on the thrifting lately though. The excuses remain the same:

I haven't had time to properly pick through the store.
I'm busy molding my hinder parts to the couch in the den.
I started watching Orange is the New Black and was unable to leave my house for three days.
My wallet is on new levels of empty.
Netflix.

BUT! A brand new Goodwill was opened up near my home and I HAD too! Here are some of my favorite finds.


Coach handbag: 19.95

Late Mother's Day present...also a little something to remind them that they love me before they buy my books

 Earrings: 2.65 each

Sleeveless Black Lace Women's Blouse: 4.94

Black Slim Fit Evening Gown with a Lace Cut-Out Back: 2.00!!!!

Floor length and fits like a glove! Praise the Goodwill Goddess!!!

le sigh :)

I'll make another thrift shop stop before I leave for school, but for a ten minute starter back-to-school thrift haul...I think I did well :)

Expecting Beauty: Red Lips

Wearing NYX's Alabama with Wet N' Wild's Fuchsia Fusion lipliner

You want to know a truth universally acknowledged?

Red lipstick makes everything better. 

Always

. 

Fact. 

Bible.

I'd like to debunk a few red lip lies told by good people with bad information:

1. Dark Girls CAN wear red lipstick. Hear that ASAP Rocky? Don't listen to the haters, ladies. There is no reason for you to think you can't rock a daring red hue with the best of them.
2. Lip liners are your friend. They will never leave or forsake you. There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing all your hard work smeared on the cap of your Starbucks cup. Lip liners help your gorgeous shade stay on all day. Also, lip liner can help accent different elements of your lipstick and help compliment your skin tone with the color of the lipstick.
3. Blot between layers to get long lasting stay.
4. It is totally appropriate to wear red lipstick to menial outings like Walmart, the bank, and beer runs.
5. When hugging people...my lipstick literally fights to smear itself on other people..especially since I'm shorter than most (if not all) people.Tuck your lips in when hugging someone....trust me.
6. Wear the lipstick. Don't let the lipstick wear you.
7. Hilary Clinton's personal aide wears the red lipstick to help Clinton shift though emails and diplomacy and to help her Weiner of a husband. Think about that. The flawless women that Hillary Clinton surrounds herself with rock a bold lip. Red lipstick= bold, flawless, bffs with Hillary Clinton.
8. It gives you confidence! Studies have shown that women with the fiery hue painted on their lips are more confident and self assured than bare lipped ladies. 
9. Lip size doesn't matter. Red lipstick is not a size queen.
10. Shop around for a shade. Not every shade of red will end up being perfect for you, shop around and do some research about the type of red that would be the most flattering. It'll be worth it when you find your perfect color.

What To Expect: Quarter Life Crisis: Marriage Edition or the The Case of the Tragic Singleton

Image from Weheartit.com

This blog post is suffering from multiple name disorder....apologies!

There are moments when logging on to Facebook makes you feel good about where you are in your life. Someone will have upload a flattering picture or your comment on your friend's status was liked by people you've never met. You know...the super gratifying stuff.

But mostly Facebook just works to ensure that you always compare your life to the lives of all the people around you who have better more interesting lives. How else would we know how to mark success and failure?

Mostly, scrolling through Facebook makes me question whether or not, I'm doing certain things in my correctly.

Should I be partying more?
Should I invest in a flask? Perhaps a bejeweled one like hers?
Am I the only one who hasn't lost 1 million pounds since high school?

Why are they all so married? Why am I so single?

And that friends...is the point of this post. We're in the carefree years, the years of responsibility- free livin' and binge drinking. We are also in the years of settling down and legally binding contracts(ones of a romantic and student loany nature).

Life is nothing if not ironic.

If the work you do in during your twenties sets the base for the rest of your life, should I be working harder to get a boo?

I can't even imagine myself in a relationship right now, I honestly can't even imagine anything more permanent than getting my Masters degree and finally deciding to drink my tea with honey instead of sugar.

Perhaps, that's why I'm single...no long game.

I don't feel like a tragic singleton. I don't feel third wheeled in a mass of "booed" up friends. I am aware that they have something that I don't, and the mantra "chicks before dicks" only goes so far. I know that one day, the overnight sleep overs will be thwarted by husbands. One day, I won't be able to call my bestie at 3 am because her husband will probably be a light sleeper and unappreciative of my midnight breakdown. One day I'll feel discontent about my single girl in the city status and wish for a more permanent cuddle buddy.

One day maybe.

Probably.

Expecting Beauty: Keeping My Lip Game Right

As you grow older it is important to recognize your vices. My biggest vice (outsode of an occasional glass of wine) is makeup, more specifically lipstick.

I LOVE lipstick.

Love it.

I wear lipstick (in some form) every time I leave my house. Whether it's a matte creme MAC shade, a Revlon lip butter, a NYX matte lipcolor, or a Wet N' Wild bargain, lipstick is followed only by my car keys in my dash out the door.

So I thought I would share some of the collection favorites!

Favs in my NYX Collection:

NYX Matte Lipstick "Alabama"

NYX Matte Lipstick "Merlot"

Must-haves from ULTA:

ULTA "Raspberry Serbet"

ULTA "Chocolate Kiss"

 Used so much I've literally rubbed off the writing...

REVLON Lip Butters....oh you mean Revlon Life Changers...:

Revlon Lip Butter "Red Velvet"

Revlon Lip Butter " Raspberry Pie"

MAC.... enough said:

MAC Satin Lipstick "Verve"

MAC Matte Lipstick "Diva"

Here are all the swatches put together:

The lippie flawlessness is literally punching you in the face

Obvi....I have a lipstick type

Go be flawless!