Christmas Crafts with a GUEST BLOGGER

Considering I have very few crafty bones in my body (& the ones I do possess are pathetic, at best), I've asked one of my dear blogging buddies to conjure up some holiday crafts to get everyone thinking of snow, sugar plums (what are these anyways?!), and Santa!

If you've never had the pleasure of checking out her blog, please do so to thank her for giving you such fan-tabulous craft ideas to make sure your holiday is bright ;)

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Hello everyone! I am so excited to be a guest blogger on SS's amazing blog! I am the writer behind Little Ramblings. I love fashion, makeup, music, movies, etc., and you can find all of this and more on my blog! Today, I will be sharing some of my crafty DIY centerpieces to help you prepare for the holidays!   

Cranberries & Pebbles.

This first centerpiece is my favorite. It is simple and so elegant. Another plus about this centerpiece is how affordable it is! I bought the vase and glass pebbles at The Dollar Store, so that's a grand total of two dollars. I picked up the cranberry branches at Jo-Ann Fabrics last year so I am not certain of the price, but I believe they were on sale for about one or two dollars. They can be found at any craft store, too!

{This decorative piece would be a great centerpiece, but it could also be placed 

on a mantle, side table, or even in a bedroom for a sleek and simple decoration.}

Pinecones & Ornaments. 

These two items are not just for the trees. I love the idea of incorporating the outdoors...indoors. There are so many options when it comes to this decoration. You can use a variety of containers (vase, basket, tin box) and mix & match what you put inside of each!

 {I love pinecones and the rustic feel they provide. By adding simple, solid colored ornaments, a chic and simple ensemble is created. My favorite design is the vase with pinecones and ornaments. I love mixing gold and red together. They are the perfect holiday colors for anything and everything. This would look gorgeous on a table with a couple candles surrounding it. Very romantic! You could also place these decorations on a bookshelf, side table, or any nook and cranny that could use a little holiday cheer!}

Bright & Beautiful.

I love the bright and cheerful colors of this decoration. It might be the simplest project because you probably already have what you will need lying around your house already. All you need is a giant bowl and ornaments of your choice!

{The colors and designs on the ornaments remind me of something Cindy Lou Who would put together in The Grinch. The giant glass bowl makes just as much of a statement as the bright baubles. I picked up these beautiful ornaments at The Dollar store, as well! That place has some great stuff if you spend some time looking. I picture this piece in the middle of a table filled with snacks and treats to add a little extra glam. It would also make for a fun centerpiece!}

I hope you enjoyed this little DIY post! I would love to see your versions of these centerpiece ideas! I hope you have a great holiday season! Thanks again for having me SS!

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Thank YOU so very merry much, Little Ramblings, for spreading holiday cheer on my blog today. I love these ideas and will do my darn best to incorporate them into my Christmas decor! My personal favorite decor item this season (aside from presents under the tree!) is a Christmas tree candle! I absolutely love the scent of a fresh tree and am glad candle companies jar that shit up so I can have it before our actual tree is cut down and put into our home! (Which is happening later today, woot!)

Until next time, check out my blogging buddy's page and have a very merry time utilizing your Christmas crafts...........

HAPPY FREAKING HALLOWEEN

Can you believe it is the last day of October? Really, if there wasn't a holiday on this day, I think I would have completely forgotten about October ending and woke up on Tuesday like it was just another day in the tenth month. Pretty much like when I wake up in a panic at 6:15am on a Saturday not realizing I'm not late for a gosh darn thing. So I'm not the best with times and dates...whatever.

BEFORE we get into the costumes portion of this post, you must first go to my blogging buddy's page because I did a guest post over there on fantabulous cold-weather coats! Woohoo to guest posting and YAY to Little Ramblings who asked me to do it -- love her, love her blog, love love love all around.

Go read it, go follower her, goooooo go go!

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Alas, it IS Halloween and I am here to share with you photos of SSB and I from the Halloween party we attended over the weekend.

Now, if you are an avid SS reader (then I stinking LOVE you...), you may know that SSB and I were clueless when it came to picking a costume this year. I did a solid two or three posts where you all could vote....well, we went with NONE of those. Don't be offended, dear readers, it was our (mine & SSB's, that is!) fault and our fault alone...we just don't see eye to eye on creative things in life.........until we have alcohol in our system and encouragment from bartenders. Yeah, I just went there.

We were mulling it over in our minds, thinking about what we could possibly to do to top our costume last year. Well, we realized we couldn't top it, so that was that.
Then we thought about what the people at the party would enjoy, what they'd recognize, what they'd be impressed by. Then I named the wrong superhero/woman because I'm clueless in the department of nerdiness, which then turned into the following conversation/debate....

SSB: "Wait, you should be her!"
Me: "Seriously?! There's no way, she wears latex...."
SSB: "Come on, they'll love it, it's a great movie...."
(At this point the bartenders hear, they like the idea, encouraging us to do it.)
Me: "I don't know, it's gutsy...you get to be covered up, too, that's not exactly fair."
SSB: "What other choice do we have?"
Me: "We have lots of choices where I don't have to wear a bathing suit!"
SSB: "You'd have to buy a wig, too, I think."
Me: {thinking for a solid five seconds} "OH! You're right....ok, I'll do it!!"

FINAL DECISION: Watchmen Characters - Silk Spectre and The Nite Owl   

(Silk Spectre hooks up with The Nite Owl once leaving the big blue dude, Dr. Manhattan...

I swear I'm not a loser nerd.....)

So.....if you haven't ever seen the film or read the graphic novel version of it, watch the below trailer to get an idea of who we chose to be. (Seriously, the trailer is badass, watch it....) -- Rent/buy/pirate the movie, people, it's good, it's a movie even this girl-tastic girl loves watching! It's set in an alternative 1985 and, holy shit, my character has killer outfit choices when she isn't wearing latex!

{my character shows up in the :57 mark and SSB's dude shows up at 1:03.....

in case you really don't feel like watching the whole thing!}

And if you really didn't even want to click play on the trailer (shame on you!), here are the movie posters featuring our characters....

 And....here WE are as those characters.....

{I mean, let's be real, I could not possibly fight crime in this outfit!} 

{The garters make it instantly risque but I assure you all body parts were

covered that should be covered....just a little leg action for ya!}

CLOSE UP, BITCHES

{the black hair made my blue peepers really stand

out in person....but the bangs, NOT a fan....}

The costumes seemed to be a big hit, but that's because we played to the party guests' strengths, we knew a ton of people there would be allll over a good comic book/graphic novel couple costume! And, damnit, we were right! 
The party was a lot of fun and I am glad we chose these costumes. Now I guess I have to become some sort of cat burglar or nighttime crime watcher just so I can wear this outfit again and get my money's worth!

PLEASE post your photos of your costume(s), I love seeing other people's choices!
I will leave you with my teacher OOTD for this Halloween..........it's a doozy.

ummm HELL YES I wore this around all day....walked in this morning with it on like it was no big deal. Kiddos loved it...well, some were "too cool" to appreciate a good panda hat. High schoolers, psshhh.

Teacher OOTD : Target Blazer, Target White Tee, Black Cigarette Pants (boutique in college), F21 heels (for the "bamboo" effect, since you know, pandas eat that shit up.)

Happy Halloween to all, and until next time, I hope you all have had a wonderful October........

Fall Favorites : EYE Spy a Guest Blogger!

Hello lovelies! Here is the last installment of my mini-series of Fall Favorites. I thought I would end the series with some fantastical (it's a word, look it up!) fall eye looks for you to rock during day and night. Yes, yes, you can thank me later for being so damn thoughtful ;) But really, you should be thanking my guest blogger, whom I kindly asked if she could showcase her ridiculously amazing EOTD talent to share with you all!
If you have yet to check out here site, please do! You will not be disappointed and you'll find even more eye looks on her page that you can try out, so go on over to ALMOSTBRITAIN (click the link, bitches!) I did a guest post for her a couple weeks back, so if you'd like to read about my first traumatic teaching experience, click HERE (so many links, so little time!)

There are two daytime looks and two nighttime looks to ensure your eyes are always fall-ready for whatever events come your way this season!

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Hey Superficial readers! I'm Britt from AlmostBritain and awesome SS has asked me to do a few 'Fall Looks' for eyes using the Urban Decay NAKED palette!  So let's hop right into it!

Daytime Look #1

This is a very pretty, easy daytime look. It'd work well for school or work or even a daytime wedding.

I used UD's Primer Potion (the original one) all over the lid and up to the brow bone. On the lid is 'Sin,' in the crease and on the lower lash line is 'Sidecar,' and on the brow bone is 'Virgin.' For mascara, I used Tarte's 'Lights, Camera, Lashes.'

Daytime Look #2

This look is more metallic than the other and is still great for school, work and any other daytime activity!

Prime your lids (I used UD's Primer Potion) and pack 'Sidecar' on the lid.  In the crease, I used 'Half Baked' and on the outer corner of the lid I used 'Smog'.  On the brow bone is 'Virgin.'  For mascara I used Benefit's Bad Gal Lash.  I skipped mascara on the bottom lashes only because the humidity where I live is at about 80% and I find this mascara leaves a nice ring underneath my eye.  You, of course, can add mascara to the bottom lashes!



Nighttime Look #1
This is one nighttime look that is dark and metallic; perfect for a girls' night out, an evening date, or a nighttime event if you like a more intense look!

I primed my lids with UD's Primer Potion and packed on Creep on the lids, and I do mean packed. This is about five layers of Creep. I didn't want to go for the obvious Gunmetal in the crease, so I opted for Half Baked to give it a little punch. I mixed Sin and Virgin for the brow bone color. I lined my waterline with MAC Fluidline in Black Track because it's the only cream liner I own. Any cream/gel liner will do, though. The mascara I used is Benefit's Bad Gal lash.
And if you want a bit more intensity, you can always add false lashes (see photo #3)!  Here I added lashes by Sugar and they're just named Flirt.  They only go on the outer corner, which I like.  I used a bit more Creep on the lash line and a little of the Black Track just to make the false lash line not so obvious.


Nighttime Look #2
Here's another nighttime look that is not nearly as dramatic as the other look I did, but the dark outer "V" makes it lovely for a movie or dinner date!

I primed my lids (of course, of course) using UD's Primer Potion.  Then I taped off the side of my eye to make the sharp edge.  On the lid I put Toasted and blended it up in the crease just a little.  I also added a little of Toasted the my bottom lash line.  Then I busted out Hustle (which looks like a lovely red-brown in the palette but, oh my God, I can only make it turn dark brown on my eye - seriously, what the hell?) and packed it on the whole outer half of the lid and the crease.  For the inner half of the crease I used Sin and took that into the inner corner as well.  I patted Virgin onto my brow bone with my finger because I wanted to keep the definition of Hustle on the lid.  I used Benefit's Bad Gal Mascara.
If you want to add a little more definition to the eye, add some liner to your water line.  Here I used MAC's Fluid Line in Black Track (see photo #3).

So there you have it! Four looks that range from classic to dramatic, daytime & nighttime appropriate,all  super cool looks using the Naked palette!

Thanks, SS, for letting me be a part of this!

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NO, thank you AlmostBritain; I feel prettier already! Now that you have some NAKED eye looks for you to warm up your fall makeup, go off and try them out for your next day/night event. I personally plan on trying each and every one of these as soon as I can. If you do not have the NAKED palette, try checking your local ULTA before going to Sephora. I have seen it at ULTA every time I've been in whereas it's consistently sold out at Sephora. Beauty people, get with it!
 
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Hard to believe we're on the latter end of September! Don't know about you all, but this bitch is ready for October, fo' sho' ;)
 
 

Until next time, farewell & wink wink (yeah, had to keep up with the theme!).........

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest....(Update, Guest Blog, Etc.)

Nothing new to report on the SS front. Coming soon, you ask? I'll tell you!

Teacher OOTD
Mini Hauls
Fall Fashions
Fall Makeup
.....and so much more! (Or not, who knows really)

For now, though, go check out one of my blogging pals over at Almost Britain. She kindly asked me to guest blog on her Sunday topic, "Did I ever tell you about the time I?...." If you enjoy my teacher rants or nanny posts, you'll be SURE to love this post! So go check it out, leave your thoughts & comments on my story, and be sure to follow her, too. She does some killer EOTD looks that are quite lovely!

Also, a momentary pause for those lost on 9.11.01....we will never forget. Now, a decade later, may our hearts come together to give strength to those who need it most.

I was in 8th grade, sitting in History class, when one of our guidance counselors came to the door, whispered to my teacher, and my teacher then said, "We're about to watch real history happen." Still gives me chills to think about that day, as he turned on the TV, the second plane hit. Mass chaos in the halls, silent lunch room to listen to the many students being dismissed, but it will never compare to those who saw first-hand the tragedy unfolding. Never forget, always remember, united we stand until the end.

Now, on another note, let's hear it for football for being back in the game! No pun intended...or intended, whichever ;)

Have a great rest of the weekend & be sure to check out my pal's blog!

Until next time, farewell and I love you all.....

Leaning about Ingredients (GUEST BLOGGER)

Hello, friends! As you know (or may not know - how rude of you!) I am currently on vacation. Woooohoooo! Be jealous ;)

However, my dear friend (who does not blog, but I still will consider her a "guest blogger") is going to be writing a post for me! I asked her bunches o' questions about the nasty ingredients we may not know are "bad" for us and she is now here on Superficial Sanctuary to tell you all you need to know the next time you go out to buy your favorites makeup and skincare products. I have dubbed her "The Ingredient Investigator." She has taught me a great deal about this topic and it's opened my eyes to what may be harming my skin (and the inside of me, as well!) So enough chit chat, let's get started!

We make for one sunny pair! 

"Ingredient Investigator" and "Superficial Sanctuary" @ Happy Hour!

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Hi, everyone! As Superficial already mentioned, I am the "Ingredient Investigator" but, really, I'm just a happily married southern girl (living up north now!) who loves her fair share of Starbucks and margaritas (who doesn't?!) I answered the following questions, but if you have any more for me, feel free to put them in the comments below! 

1. How did your investigative work begin? When, where, why?

Answer: My momma has always been a a health nut, not just with food, but all things related to keeping the body healthy & in its best form. I have followed her advice & 'strong' encouragement over the past years, mainly on the food side of things (ie what I put into my body) but recently thought, 'If it matters so much what I put inside, why not invest the same care for the outside?' So, I began digging. Not into my skin, haha, but into those tiny labels on the backs of my bodywashes, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, shaving gels, etc. What I found was gross & definitely disheartening. For so many years I considered myself to have sensitive, oily, breakout-prone skin. Come to find out, if I avoid the products that contain certain ingredients, then I can eliminate most if not all of my expensive, topical meds I had thought I needed these past years & enjoy glowing, happy skin. Not to mention, save my wallet. 

2. If you had to choose only five, which ingreidents would you choose?

Answer: Definitely the 5 parabens (butylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, methylparaben & propylparaben) but I can't just choose five! I have to include the 5 filthy friend, too! (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, formaldehyde, methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) & methylisothiazolinone (MIT). It's just ten items....write them on a little index card & stow in a favorite purse or, better yet, a wallet...that way they'll always be close by when you shop!

3. What are skincare/makeup brands that gals should try to steer clear of the most? 

Answer: This may be a little broad of an answer, but I'd say most all the 'cheapy' make-up/skincare brands out there are bad choices. All it really takes is spending the time (we're talking a couple minutes) to read the ingredients list and comparing it to your list of 'naughties.' Trust me, your skin will thank you! 

4. Does your investigative work go beyond beauty products?

Answer: Sure does, as I already mentioned before! What we put in our bodies matters so much! I cannot stress this enough!!! If you want glowing skin & healthy hair, not to mention a long & healthy life, you've got to watch your diet. Now, I'm not talking one of those super restricted, tasteless, boring, lose-weight type of diets. My diet plan is simple. Same as the skincare/make-up, there are certain 'junks' we must avoid. Here is a list of the top ingredients I will absolutely not eat or buy foods that contain: sodium nitrates/nitrites (packaged deli meat), BHA &BHT, propyl gallate, MSG monosodium glutamate, trans fats, aspartame (diet soda), acesulfame-k, food coloring, olestra (tater chips), potassium bromate (breads), partially hydrogenated fats & oils (gross!), benziocacid 210, saccharin, high fructose corn syrup.

5. What are your current favorite skincare products? 

Answer: Right now I am loving 'Jason Organic shampoo's & conditioners' (not a skincare product, but still great!) as well as most, if not all, of the Bert's Bees products. Really wanting to check out 'Say Yes to Tomatoes' & all the other 'Say Yes' products out there. Superficial Sanctuary told me they are worth trying :)

6. What are your current favorite beauty/makeup products? 

Answer: I have a 'makeup budget' so, from drugstores, I like Physician's Formula. You still have to check the ingredient labels but overall they are clean & pure. Their organic line is  usually the best way to go. Also, a FANTASTIC resource is the 'Paraben Free Princess'...her blog is awesome & absolutely full of helpful, affordable & junk-free advice/products. She taught me a ton. Check her out for both skincare & makeup! (Link)

7. What is your best-kept beauty secret? Who did you get it from, if anyone?  

Answer: My Momma, of course! She has always told me beauty comes from the inside. So true! Who you are as a person as well as what you eat!

8. What is your worst beauty memory? 

Answer: When I was 16, just driving, I took myself to a tanning bed. It was almost prom time & I had a date I wanted to look pretty for. I figured the sun in the summer-time cleared my skin up, a tanning bed should do the same, right? The gal working there offered me some crazy-named lotion that would 'enhance' my tan, y'all know the kind.  'Sure' I said, thinking I'd come out looking great & with cleared-up, sun-kissed skin. NOPE. The 'junk' in the lotion broke my skin out terribly. I still went on my date however & am now married to that very 'date'! A little positive reminder; men don't notice half the things us females do ;) 

9. What is the ONE item you could not live without? 

Answer: Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum by Paula Begoen's resist line. This can be found at www.paulaschoice.com 

10. Any final words for the beauty readers out there? 

Answer: Smile! Laugh! Read those labels!!! 

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There you have it! Thank you to my dear friend for filling us in and giving us all a lesson on better health and beauty!

Totally up to you if you'd like to start living "The Ingredient Investigator" lifestyle, but your skin (and overall health) may thank you in the long run! I've tried picking up her tips and advice and, I'll admit, it isn't the easiest to do because some of my favorite brands have the naughty ingredients, but I have noticed a difference in my skin when eating better and using better skincare products. Best of luck to you in your ventures ;)

Do you have anymore tips? Share them below! Hope you enjoyed my first guest post! I also hope you are all having a wonderful week. See you soon enough!

Until next time, as always, farewell lovahs....