New Year, New Goals!

Love this free printable from Luloveshandmade!

Happy New Year everyone!!  Sorry I've been pretty MIA for the past couple of weeks.  My life has been pretty busy lately with the holidays and the start of school, so that's one of the reasons I'm writing out my resolutions for the year!  The plan was not to jump on the bandwagon of broken promises, but to kind of come up with some reachable goals for the year to come!  I'm sure we all have them whether we made them New Year's Eve or not!  So here are my goals for 2016!

1. Find Something Every Day To Be Excited About

This is an important one that ties in with number 5.  Being excited all of the time keeps your energy up, helps you to acknowledge your gratitude, and get pumped for things to come!!  Even if it's just something small like getting to sleep in or going out to dinner with your boyfriend, those things are important parts of your life and things that make you happy!  Being grateful for those things keeps you happy and humble!

2.  Post On The Blog Twice A Week

I will admit I am horrible at keeping on track with the blog.  I try to post often, but more than not, I get distracted by life and then realize I haven't posted in two weeks!  So one of my goals, since this blog is very important to me, is to post twice a week.  Whether its a long article like this one or just my favorite pins of the month, I want to make sure I'm posting regularly for myself and for you, my readers!  I don't want to disappoint!

3.  Stay Organized & Stress Free

Ahh yes, organized and stress free.  Sounds like a beautifully unobtainable thing.  However, I know it's possible if I try hard enough.  I've got like 4 planners, notepads everywhere, and constantly check my classes on Moodle to make sure I've done everything I need to do.  Stress has been a battle for me in the past with school, so my goal is to not procrastinate and stay on top of my work in order to avoid that.  I'm not about that late night essay writing!

4.  Read At Least 1 Book A Month

If you didn't already know, I loooveee to read.  I would do it all day every day if I could.  Alas, life does not allow that.  So I've set a goal to read one book a month.  Or at least try.  I tend to get wrapped up in running around all day that by the time I head to bed I flip the TV to reruns of Friends and drift off to la la land.  That is a horrible habit I want to break, so the plan is to read at night, thus getting my monthly fill of the literary escape.

Currently reading! Movie comes out 1/22! Good motivation to finish!

5.  Maintain Balance & Keep Positive Energy Alive

This is a super important one, and one that will blanket all or most of the others. Keeping a balance in life is the key to happiness for me at least.  If I'm all work and no play, I'm miserable.  If I'm all play and no work I have the constant feeling that I'm forgetting something and I also get pretty damn bored.  So I plan on staying super positive, even through the inevitable hardships, and keep my life in balance.  That includes going out for drinks every once in a while, even if I have to get up early the next morning.  Such is life.

6.  Promote Healthy Habits

I'm already off to a great start on this one.  I've been eating really well and working out every other day.  I hope to keep this up, since I already feel a thousand times better than my "holiday self" which indulged in lots of booze and cookies.  I also plan on keeping good company.  That means people who will encourage me, push me even, to stay on this track.  Those people are pretty damn wonderful and I'm so thankful to them for helping me to become a better me!

Part B to this one would be to maintain a healthy diet, not an actual "diet."  Diets don't work. I've tried the lot of them and they're good for a while, but ultimately disappoint.  So I like to eat healthy most of the time, but if I want a slice of pizza, I'm going to eat it.  And not feel bad about it.  Seems like a good habit to have, right?

7.  Land That Summer Internship

This one is more subjective and is dependent on a lot of outside factors.  But I really want to make it in the world of Journalism, so I plan on getting an internship this summer, whether it's somewhere local or an online gig, anything that's going to look good on my resume is good to me.

8.  Open A Savings Account

Money and I have a love/hate relationship.  I hate it because it runs my life.  I love it because I love to shop.  See my issue?  So at this point in my life I feel like I should be making enough money to have some savings.  Currently, I am not.  But I hope to change that within the next year or so.  So instead of spending the money that I would normally use for my student loan, I plan to save it. Well, some of it at least.  We'll see how that one goes.

9.  Learn To Cook A Few Good Meals

I HATE TO COOK. I really, really do.  I wish I didn't because my dad is an amazing chef and I'd love to learn from him.  But unfortunately, I am horrible at it and I hate it.  But if I'm ever going to fend for myself (without the use of EasyMac and Ramen Noodles) then I need to learn at least a little bit.  So my goal is to figure out how to cook at least 3 meals that are healthy and easy.  I'll probably hate every second of it, and I'd rather bake 80 cakes, but I'm gonna do it, gosh darn it.

So those are my goals for the year.  I hope to carry them in to the future as well!  Most of them are just creating a better lifestyle for myself so I really hope to accomplish each and every one of them! What are your goals for 2016?  Do we share any? I want to know and maybe we can even help each other out!

XO, Briana

Summer Glam with Mary Kay!!

Hey everyone!! Who is seriously ready for summer?! Now that spring has finally arrived, I am still unsatisfied and now am craving summer.  Go figure.  I actually am not a huge fan of spring because of allergy season. Yuck.  However, I'm happy that it's reasonably warm and I don't need my boots and coat anymore!

But, in light of the coming season, I've decided to show you a Summer Glam makeup look featuring the wonderful products I received compliments of Mary Kay and Influenster!  Earlier this week I came home to a very happy mail day!  One of my packages was my MKGlam VoxBox!  Included was:

Mary Kay® Bronzing Powder

Mary Kay® Translucent Loose Powder

Mary Kay® Mineral Cheek Color

Mary Kay® Cream Eye Color in Apricot Twist 

Mary Kay® Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush

Mary Kay® Lash Love® Mascara

Mary Kay® Gel Eyeliner with Expandable Brush Applicator in Jet Black

Mary Kay® NouriShine Plus® Lip Gloss in Mango Tango 

Happy Mail! Top Photo is MK!

Everything in the box was so pretty, fresh, and summery! I was inspired to create my own look using everything! So I'm going to call this my Mary Kay Summer Glam Makeup Mini Tutorial! 

So first up, I primed my face to make it a blank canvas for my makeup. I used my Yes to Blueberries Brightening Eye Roller to de-puff my eyes. This is really great for early mornings! Then I sprayed with my Lush Cosmetics Tea Tree Water Toner. Last I decided to use my Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer. Now a lot of times I would use full fledged foundation, especially if I was planning on being photographed. But for this look, I felt that a tinted moisturizer was a better summer option. It's lightweight and gives you that sunkissed, dewy glow! Lastly, I put on a bit of concealer to cover any blemishes, redness, and the dark circles under my eyes that never seem to go away.  I used Benefit's Boing concealer (not shown) which is a lifesaver.

So now that we're prepped and ready, next up is powders!  I started off with the Mary Kay Translucent Powder to set the "foundation" and take away unwanted shine.  So here is what I looked like at this point!

Next I put on the MK Bronzer and the MK Blush! Both had great color and pigmentation. I didn't need to use a whole lot for it to show up. For the bronzer, I used the MK Powder Brush to dust it on the places the sun would normally color your skin. Which is pretty much everywhere except your eyes! I also used it to contour just a smidge under my cheek bones and jaw line. As for blush, I tend to be picky about colors. I usually lean toward a more coral tinted color, and this one is right in between pink and coral. But I absolutely love it. It gave me a nice natural glow that doesn't look like I'm wearing too much. And it's even got a bit of glitter!

Now onto my favorite part, the eyes!  I always love to play up my eyes with makeup! Although most of the time I go for a natural eyeshadow and a classic winged eyeliner.  Which is pretty much what I did here. After touching up my eyebrows, priming my eyelids and white lining my waterline, I moved onto the shadow!

Now I'm not really used to cream eyeshadows.  I've used them before on other people, but I actually think this is now the only one I own!  I have to say though, I really love it.  Its a beautiful color: neutral with a bit of shine, and its not slimy or greasy.  The color is very light, but it could definitely stand alone.  But for me, I like to add a little more depth.  So I used my favorite shadow pallet, Stila's In the Light pallet.

Can you tell which are my favorites? Lol.

I put the MK on my lids, then used the Stila "Kitten" shadow to highlight my brows, then dusted a little of the "Gilded" in my crease.  Also to give my eyes a little more brightness, I put some of the "Bubbly" in the inner corners of my eyes.

There are really a lot of different ways to use this cream shadow.  Another great thing about it is that its very buildable.  I used about two or three light coats to get it to the intensity I liked.  But you could definitely make it stand out even more if you want.

Awkward finger swatch

Next for the eyes was eyeliner!  I am basically the eyeliner queen.  I've been obsessed since about 8th grade and ever since I literally won't leave the house without it!  Well, not until recently when I started working 9 to 5. Now mascara is enough to hold me off, since I already look like I haven't slept in weeks.  Not much I can do to cover that anyway, haha.  But I digress.

This eyeliner is fabulous.  It is the MK Gel Eyeliner, and it came with the little baby brush which is adorable and equally as wonderful. It's also expandable. The liner glides on super smooth and is a really cool texture. It's not really a solid like most gel liners I've tried, but actually "gel" like in texture.  To give you an idea, if I had stuck my finger in it it would have sunk to the bottom!  So really, in this particular case, go light with that brush and less is definitely more. I found myself wiping the brush on the side of the pot even after taking the tiniest bit.  So seriously, don't just dive on in there.  You'll regret it.

Last for my eyes was the mascara. I am a mascara addict. Which is actually funny because I never even used it until my second or third year of college. I always hated the clumpy feeling it gave me. But when I got older, I tried out some different ones and eventually latched on to the Maybelline mascara collection. Seriously I bought like every new one that came out until I found my favorite. But for this look, I used the MK Mascara. I actually really like it. It's not clumpy and it doesn't feel like you're really wearing anything. But it gave my lashes a nice natural boost. I put two coats on my top and one on the outer lashes on the bottom.

I used that little brush for my concealer!

To complete the look, I finished off with the MK lipgloss. I think this is the product I was most excited about when I opened everything up. It's such a fun, bright color and instantly made me think of summer. It's just an overall great gloss!

I had a really great time doing this look! I 100% LOVE all of the Mary Kay products and would recommend them all to everyone! I'll definitely be using them this summer!! Make sure you head over to the Mary Kay website to check out the products I used and the tons of other great things they have to offer! I've been a fan of theirs for many years, as my mom used to be a representative!! So believe me when I say the company is timeless and great quality!

The final look!

I hope you enjoyed reading my first mini makeup tutorial as much as I did writing it! Please feel free to comment below with any questions or anything else! I always love to hear from my readers!

#DWEEB

XO, Briana

#PowerofPlants: The Boots Botanics Ionic Clay Mask!

Hey everyone!  So today I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Boots Botanics Ionic Clay Mask that I received courtesy of influentser!  I finally got the time to try it out and it did not disappoint!

First a little bit about the product.  This mask, when used, "actively removes impurities and deeply cleanses." It's also supposed to make your skin less shiny.  In the directions, it suggests that you use it a couple times of week for best results.  So seeing as I've only used it this one time, I'm just going to give you my initial reaction to it and how it made my skin feel.  The mask is made up of mostly organic materials, it's star ingredient being Willow Bark Extract.  Also, all of the Botanics products are free of parabins, mineral oils, parafin waxes, SLS, and SLES.  It's not tested on animals and the packaging is made of mostly recycled materials.  Save your face and the environment simultaneously!

Now lets get to the fun part.  Me and my fails at using new products.  So after reading the directions on the package (which as with anything else are extremely vague) I proceeded to put the mask on.  Now, it failed to tell me to shake well before using, so it was running everywhere and made a huge mess.  So please if you buy this make sure you shake it first to avoid a green goblin esq crime scene.

Next, I just smeared the now appropriately thick mask all over my face and neck, avoiding the eye area and making sure to put enough on.  You want to make sure you use enough to cover your face and not see skin peeking out, but not too much where it takes forever to dry.

Bonus ridiculousness

Once you feel like you've put an ample amount on, you get to sit around for ten minutes with a green face.  I proceeded to sing Defying Gravity for as long as possible before it was too stiff and I could no longer move my face. (LOL)  So don't expect to have a conversation for that short bit.  And don't laugh either. Seriously.

P.S. I wasn't trying to look miserable, i just couldn't make an expression

After your ten minutes are up, your face should have turned a lighter, less putrid colored green and be hard as a rock.  Make sure you touch it because it feels really cool.  Then proceed to your bathroom (if you're not already there) to take it all off.

On the package, it says something about tissues, and whatever.  I just rinsed it off with warm water and that seemed to do the trick.  I would recommend using tissues to make sure you get off all of the slime, I mean mask, as to not get it on your clothes or your white towel.  Luckily, my towel happened to be green.  I patted dry and Voila! good as new!

My skin now feels tighter, softer, and cleaner.  It's also more even in color and less oily.  It kind of feels like getting a mini facial!  This is definitely one of the best masks I've used.  I don't know about you guys, but I like to see/feel results right away and this one for sure hit the mark.  I would recommend this to just about anyone who needs a little R&R for their skin!  Enjoy!

XO, Briana

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Top 5 Blogging Tips for Awesome People

So I've been blogging for all of about 6-7 months and in such a short time I have learned soooo much about blogging!  Definitely not everything I need to know, of course, but enough to help out other people.  Which actually, my good friend Haven inspired me to write this post!  She's just starting her blog, MisbeHaven, and has been asking me for advice.  Of course I was flattered because I'm not exactly an expert, but she's my friend and I much enjoy helping her out.  Her first ever post is quite hilarious and I can't wait to see more from her!  So as I was saying, she inspired me to write this post.

Hey look, it's us! Circa. 2011

When I started blogging I had zero idea what I was doing.  I did a lot of pinning on Pinterest to my "Bloggy" board and looked at other peoples blogs.  Basically I read.  A lot.  But now that I'm on the other side of the rope, I would have loved someone more experienced when I first started out.  So this post is going to be my top five blogging tips for awesome people.

1. Post good content, but don't compromise yourself

Blogging is all about creative freedom.  In my opinion at least.  Your blog should be a place for you to write about, well, whatever the hell you want.  Whether it's yesterday's adorable outfit, or the horrible week you had at work, you should just get that all out in the open.  But your content should still be quality.  Like, legible and grammatically correct, and interesting.  And if you want to post something random every once in a while, that's ok too!  Just always remember, this is your  blog.  You created it and you always have the freedom to do what you want with it.  On the flip side, good content is important for building a following, if you're concerned about that.  When brainstorming future posts, think about things that you will enjoy writing about and that your followers will enjoy reading.  There is a happy medium, where you don't wind up slaving away at the keyboard for the sake of your followers.  End point being, don't compromise your vision for developing demographically focused pieces.  

2. Get yourself out there!

In order to become a famous blogger you need to GET YOURSELF OUT THERE!!! Don't be afraid of people or anonymous internet beings.  Promote your blog through all of your social media sites and wherever else you can find.  Post flyers on campus or in your local coffee shop, even get your friends to tell their friends and so forth.  Also, find opportunities to get the word out in person, by going to networking events, or other events that will probably turn into networking events.  Make up business cards and carry them everywhere.  You never know who you might wind up talking to in line at Victoria's Secret!  PR mavens buy pretty underwear too!  Basically, make it your job to tell people how awesome you are.  Now that's not so hard, is it?!

3. Don't get discouraged

I'm just going to be straightforward about this one.  It's going to seem like it's taking forever to build a secure following.  I've been at it for a good while and I'm still feeling under accomplished on that level.  But the followers will come.  Eventually.  You just have to be patient.  And if you are not the patient type, I understand because I'm right there with you.  Just don't get discouraged!  Remain positive and optimistic and good things will come to you!  If you keep doin' what you doin' you will get there! You go!!!

4. You are your BRAND

As you blog, keep in mind that you are your brand.  Your blog is your brand.  Everything you post anywhere is your brand.  You will eat, sleep, and breathe your brand.  So make sure you like it, because you're gonna have to get used to it.  One of the most important things about a brand is the aesthetic. Basically, make it pretty.  The visual aspects of brands is even more important today with things like Instagram and Pinterest. It should be eye catching, appealing to a wide range of people, and consistent. More importantly, it should feel like you.  For example, my brand is Sequin Gowns & Mermaid Crowns (also referred to as SGMC).  I purposely branded it with an acronym because it's shorter and easier to remember.  Short and sweet.  Then there's the sequins.  Part of the name and also a part of me; I freaking love glitter.  I kept a color palette that was minimalistic and easy on the eyes: gold, white, and black. These are all seen in my layout, my photos, and my logos.  Also, fonts.  Please.  Use no more than three different fonts.  Or you will be sorry.  And speaking of logos, my logo encompasses my brand.  It has my colors, my acronym, and its a crown with a mermaid tail.  It's pretty literal, but in my opinion, it's memorable and pretty!  So when your coming up with your brand remember all of this and incorporate it into your own blog/brand.  If you have a set aesthetic it will be easier to carry over into other things in the future. Your brand comes into play with your content as well.  It should all kind of go together.  It's all about consistency in your writing and formatting.  People should know it's your post by reading it.  Your content should sound like the same person wrote all of them.  This will come naturally if your a good writer, which most bloggers seem to be.  If you do have trouble in that department, I suggest doing some writing exercises to find your voice.  Practice makes perfect!  I could write a book on this but, to summarize, make your brand an easy to understand representation of you and what you want for your blog.

5. Be a part of the community

Being a part of the blogger community is hugely important.  This is how you gain respect with your peers. This is also another way to get your blog out there.  By being a part of communities, you can make friends with other bloggers, which is fantastic.  Not only do you now have awesome new friends, but they can also help you with their personal blogging knowledge and also help you to promote your blog.  And in return you will help them and everyone will be happy little bloggers!  There are plenty of places online to join up with other bloggers.  So find ones that suit your needs or your niche and have a presence.  Presence is also super important.  Don't think that just joining is going to make you millions of friends.  That is not  how it works. Community is all about being a part of something, so make sure you check in regularly and actually talk to people! I promise, it's fun and it's totally worth it!  Also, make an effort to check out and comment on other people's blog posts!  This will also make you friends and get you exposure.  So yay for community!

So those are just my top five tips.  I could seriously talk about this stuff all the live long day, ask Haven!  But alas, I cannot.  So if you have any particular questions you think I might be able to answer, then please do comment!  And if you have tips of your own, I'd love to hear them!!  I hope these are of some help to y'all! Keep your eyes out for future posts with the lovely Haven! In the meantime, don't forget to check out her blog, and also my Pinterest Blog Board!

XO, Briana