Author Archives: lifewithlilred

About lifewithlilred

Just your average gal blogging an average blog!

Sep6

Bath Bomb Blitz: Bombs & Balms Edition

Posted on September 6, 2023 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! I enjoyed a wonderful long Labor Day weekend with Johnny and we had a blast doing a whole lot of nothing. One of my “goals” over the weekend was to finally use the last of our purchases from the Punk Rock Flea Market we attended in mid August. Johnny bought me a bath bomb from our friend’s booth, Bombs & Balms, and I have been eager to try it out! This bath bomb was easily the coolest looking one that I have ever used and I think all of you will be able to see why:

There were tons of awesome goodies at the Bombs & Balms stand including bath bombs, obvi, and lots of adorably unique homemade jewelry. Johnny and I both gravitated towards the bath bomb we walked away with immediately because we like anything with skeletons and cauldrons lol. I am also a lover of all things with an apple scent so I couldn’t wait to take a whiff of the Green Apple fragrance! On Sunday evening, I thought I would cross my bath time goal off of my to do list and it was just the relaxing, pampering treat I needed.

The scent of this bath bomb was so perfectly Green Apple and I was really impressed with its sweet/tart fragrance. I had a great feeling about this bath bomb because the last one I used from Bath & Body Works sucked on ice. Before popping this bomb into the tub, it was a given that it would begin to bubble and brew in the cauldron. Seeing it actually happen was SO cool, though, and it was like watching a potion fizz and pop!

My literal only gripe about this bath bomb was that the cauldron floated, so it was up to me to keep it under the water to fully do its thing. This wasn’t a big deal because the novelty of the witch’s brew was fun and different enough that a floating cauldron was the least of my worries. This bath bomb turned my water a bright glittery green and I thought that was fantastic because lighter colored bombs have the potential to turn the water swampy. After my soak, my skin felt soft as can be and as a bonus, the bath bomb washed away completely in the tub so there was no scrubbing afterwards. 😀

You can check out Bombs & Balms on Facebook and place orders through their page. If you are looking for a treat yoself purchase with some spooky flare, then you know exactly where to go!

What is your favorite homemade beauty brand? What is your favorite fall fragrance? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

The Business Of Blogging

Posted on September 5, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hey! I was SO excited to receive an email from Oprah of the blog Oprah Zip Bradford letting me know that she was back to the blogosphere after a hiatus. It is always so nice to be in touch with friends new and old that I have met through lifewithlilred and Oprah and I go way back. When she asked if I was up for a collaboration, of course I said YES! We were in touch after my four year streak of daily content was announced and she thought it would be beneficial if I explained my blogging business a bit more. I am always down to help inspire and inform other writers so of course I said YES! Here is some advice from your favorite Lil Red blogger:

What do you want out of your blog?

Blogging is an interesting hobby because it could be left as something done just for funsies or as a lucrative hustle. I originally started writing just for fun and I still do. However, I was lucky enough to be linked up with publishing companies and advertisers during lifewithlilred’s early years. Every day, I write for pleasure. However, it is a source of income for me and that keeps me motivated to continue creating daily content. Even if your blog isn’t making you money right now, that’s not to say it won’t in the future. If this is something that you are interested in, then it must be taken seriously as not only an outlet for your creativity but as a potential job.

Making a schedule that works for you:

Whether you would like to publish content just for fun or as a possible source of income, I will always recommend making a schedule. Schedules are important for bloggers because it lets your readers know when to expect you and to keep checking in. When you have a publishing schedule, you can create a writing schedule that works for you. In my case, I publish daily. This means that I have to write daily or write multiple posts in one sitting to schedule ahead of time. As you can tell, I am a very schedule oriented person when it comes to my blog and it has done nothing but help me.

Reach out:

If you are hoping for more interactions, viewers, or friends in the blogosphere – reach out! There are millions of blogs out there and it’s unrealistic to think that everyone is going to find yours. Scroll through the WordPress newsfeed and see what tickles your fancy. Interact with other bloggers on their pages and send them love. Encourage collaborations, announce your blog on social media, use word of mouth marketing. In other words, draw attention to your page yourself. There is viral content being shared every second of every day and it’s easy for blogs to get lost in the crowd.

Don’t limit your content:

If you have a blog where you are writing about a specific topic with every post, that is fine. My advice would be not to limit your content, though, because this just limits yourself as a writer. lifewithlilred started out as a strictly beauty and fashion blog and I am happy that I was able to branch out as a well rounded lifestyle blogger. If I stuck with just beauty and fashion, there is no way that I could create daily content. What are offshoots of your favorite topic to write about? For example, beauty and health and wellness often go hand in hand. Once you identify more topics to write about, you are inviting even more readers with different interests to check out your page.

Go easy on yourself:

It might not seem like it, but blogging and maintaining your page is hard work. It can be disheartening when you find that your efforts are not resulting in views or a payday. Please, don’t fret! Once you start beating yourself up, it immediately sucks the joy out of writing. I always say to write for the sake of writing. Don’t do it for viewers, don’t do it for advertisers – do it because YOU love it. When you are doing something you love, it doesn’t matter if one person sees it or one hundred thousand. Do keep this in mind because I have seen many a blogger come and go in lifewithlilred’s almost ten year tenure. Don’t set yourself up to give up by making comparisons or feeling like your page isn’t good enough. You are writing and that is always enough! ❤

Thanks so much to darling Oprah for asking me to share my Ted Talk. I hope this post gave all of you some insight going forward with your own blog!

What are some of your blogging questions for me? What is the link to your blog? Share away! I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep4

New Pink & Lavender Glitter Nails

Posted on September 4, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! Lil Red has some REALLY exciting news on the horizon and I can’t wait to announce it! Unfortunately, everyone is going to have to wait a little bit longer because the event that I will be attending got postponed a week. It is not often that I get my nails done twice in one month and I guess I could have held off a little bit longer. But, I didn’t hear about the rescheduling of the event until it was too late to reschedule my nail appointment. That’s okay, though, because I never say no to some extra pampering and I love my new Pink & Lavender Glitter Nails! Check it out:

When I was on my way to Elysian Nails, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my colors. Did I want to give a final hurrah to summer? Or did I want to welcome fall with rich deep hues and jewel tones? Both options sounded good to me so I decided to let the nail polish wall decide. As I browsed through the endless array of nail polish, I ended up going with not my first idea or second one either. Instead, I found an adorable glitter pink called “Bubble Bop” and glitter lavender called “Just 4 U” sitting side by side. They looked so cute together that I figured I might as well! My new nails look exactly like candy with these sweet shades and I am obsessed.

Mary, my nail tech, knocked this fill out of the park as always. We were working on a time crunch because she was running a little late and I needed to get back to work, which was totally fine. I have had many a speedy fill by Mary and I trust her with my claws completely. It always amazes me when Mary does my nails with limited time because they still look like someone spent over an hour on them. This fill was accomplished in forty minutes and in that time she didn’t miss a beat with her attention to detail or customer service. I cannot wait to sport her handiwork for the event I am going to!! 😀

Keep it locked on lifewithlilred for some big news and a brand new Bath Bomb Blitz all coming soon!! YAY! ❤

Do you like glitter on your nails? Do you prefer gel, dip, or regular polish? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep3

Fabulously Fall OOTD Bloopers

Posted on September 3, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Fabulously Fall OOTD!! These past few days in Ohio have felt so gloriously fall and I have been SO there for it. In fact, I broke out my black skinny jeans for the first time since summer began the other day and it was awesome! All good things can’t last forever, however, because Mother Nature is definitely running her own blooper reel… It will be in the nineties this week. -_- Thankfully, my new hair will keep me in a fall state of mind despite the heat! Let’s take a look at some pics of me looking my absolute best:

Grace. Elegance. Poise.

I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thinking of growing a mustache and thinking I’ll rock it

Can’t take a good hair shaking picture to save my own life

Whoopsy daisy

Lol that face you make when you almost beef it

All better!!!! 😀

My entire timeline on Facebook right now is people lamenting over summer being almost over. Myself, on the other hand, has been wishing for fall since summer began! With my new do, I feel like a Harvest Goddess and I am ready to take on the pumpkin patches, hiking trails, and eat ALL the soup. And don’t even get me started on Halloween because I have been work shopping costume ideas since last Halloween when I dressed up as Johnny lol.

There is something about fall that just hits different. While I am looking forward to the change in weather and autumnal activities – I’m sure all of you can guess what I am most excited about. If you said the fashion, then you are correct!! Fall fashion is Lil Red’s jam and I cannot wait to wrap myself in cozy sweaters, warm scarves, and jackets on jackets on jackets. Guys, I have been so sick of dressing for summer and I will be giddy when I can officially retire my shorts until next year. My Fabulously Fall OOTD gave me a little taste of my favorite season and I am beyond ready for it. Does it really have to be in the nineties this week or?

It will be fallmageddon soon on lifewithlilred and I can’t wait to share in the happiest time of the year with all of you. Here’s to crisp days, bonfires, and Halloween!

What should I dress up as for Halloween? What is fall weather like in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep2

Fabulously Fall OOTD

Posted on September 2, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! Your girl has been feeling her damn self since getting my hair done and I couldn’t wait to show off my new do with a brand new OOTD. My freshly dyed red, yellow, and navy hair is such a lux color palette and feels so Fabulously Fall. I have been waiting for my favorite season since summer began and I wanted to create a look that welcomes fall and perfectly compliments my hair. I hate to toot my own horn, but I think I knocked it out of the park! Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Button Down Dress: Forever 21

Heeled Oxfords: Lulu Hun, ModCloth

The accessories are all from Target I think!

As you can see, this was a very simple OOTD to style with such a minimal amount of pieces. Sometimes, simple is best and I felt radiant in this look because it achieved my goal of complimenting my hair so well. It took me quite a while to figure out what I wanted to wear because I had originally eliminated the Forever 21 dress I was wearing as an option. I had a vague memory of washing it and it shrinking in length and after that I never wore it again. I’m glad I decided to try it on anyways because the length was fine and I think I was thinking of a different dress lol. SMH!

The Forever 21 button down dress was everything I needed to make a cohesive look between clothing and hair. With navy as the base and the floral pattern featuring deeper shades of red and yellow, it was like this dress was made for me getting my hair done! I love the way this dress fits because it’s form fitting without being tight. The bow at the waist allows for an hourglass shape and it made me feel SO confident. Some button down dresses can be really boxy and that wasn’t the case with this one in the slightest.

Next on the agenda was shoes and that was an easy choice. To keep with the theme of fall colors, I went with my plum and caramel heeled oxfords by Lulu Hun. These are my sexy librarian heels and I am so there for it! Although the shoes aren’t a perfect match to anything in the dress or my hair, they still worked because they complimented the color palette I established. They are also just right in height because anything taller would have made the dress a bit too short for my liking. Maybe it did shrink a little…

Finally, it was time for accessories to tie everything together. Since the bold floral pattern acted as an accessory in itself, I kept things simple in my selection. For earrings, I went with a pair of burnished gold dangly crosses. I thought they looked lovely against the navy in my hair! Then, I threw on a few statement rings and was ready to go. Also, how cute is that double finger feather? It’s one of my faves!

My Fabulously Fall OOTD is one of my favorite looks that I have styled in a while. I felt like an autumn goddess and I can’t wait to continue exploring rich jewel toned clothing to match my hair. Keep it posted for the blooper reel tomorrow!

What is your favorite jewel tone? Are you as excited for fall as I am? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep1

Making Good Decisions For Your Pet

Posted on September 1, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Everyone is (hopefully) aware that having a pet in the household is an investment. It’s an investment of your time, energy, financial backing, and of course, love. Thankfully, that last part, love, is paid back to us in spades, so there’s no need to worry about a “return on investment” when bringing a beloved pet home. While it’s true that you’re likely ready for all of the responsibilities involved with owning a pet, you also have a life to lead.

In this light, anything that makes pet ownership a little easier without having to dismiss or neglect them even slightly is helpful. Of course, this might sound like you’re outsourcing the responsibility of pet ownership to others, but that doesn’t have to be the case. After all, no one considers convenience like safety gates to be neglectful, it just means you don’t have to keep teaching your puppy not to claw at the sofa until they’re old enough to adopt that lesson properly. In this post, we’ll discuss how to improve the convenience of pet ownership one step at a time:

Walking & Sitting Services:

Not everyone has time to walk their dog daily, nor can they look after their pets if they’re heading on vacation for a little while. That’s where walking and sitting services come in. Dog walking is a great task for teenagers so paying your neighbor’s child to walk your dog once every other day could be ideal, just as you would hire a babysitter.

Using the same logic, sitting services can be helpful too. If you’re going away for the weekend, you might ask a trusted friend or neighbor to spend time at your house. Prepare some food and fill the fridge with groceries, give them access to your streaming services, and let them feed and play with your pets, reporting any issues to you immediately. It’s a little effort but it does make a big difference.

Great Medical Care:

Before you bring a pet into the household, it’s always wise to see if there’s a local veterinarian with good reviews and dependable service. There’s usually a great vet in every town, but just make sure you understand what the service is, if they offer any membership or enrollment programs, and the general cost of each checkup. You can also bind this to medicine deliveries when needed, as you might do with a local pharmacy, to ensure you have everything you may need ahead of time.

Doggy & Kitty Doors:

Once you’ve trained your little furry friend and you trust them to head out into the garden, installing a doggy or kitty door that allows them to go out and come back in whenever they need (and then locking this at night) can save you having to check the door all day. Little habits like this will also help you avoid accidents on your carpet, which are never enjoyable to find!

Strong Fences & Gates:

If you have to worry about your dog bounding out every time you open the door with a leash or finding a way out when in the garden, installing gates and privacy fences with strong foundations can ensure there’s no way out of your property for your dog. Cats can climb and will find some way out, but will generally come home when they feel like it. Dogs can struggle with this and will bound out even if they love living at home. That’s why it’s good to have zones prepared so that even if they try to book it, they can’t get past a certain point without your approval.

With this advice, you’re sure to improve the convenience of pet ownership, one good decision at a time!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Sep1

New Hair, Who Dis?

Posted on September 1, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! This past Friday, I spent a wonderful four or so hours getting my hair done by the amazing Anna at The Shear Shop. We decided to say bye bye to rainbow hair and move onto something deeper and more lux for fall. This was the shortest amount of time that I have ever spent in Anna’s chair in I don’t know how long. Short and sweet because this is my absolute favorite thing that she has ever done. I know I say that every time I get my hair done, but I really mean it this time! Check it out:

Pulp Riot colors from left top to right bottom:

Fireball

Pyro

Nightfall mixed with Velvet

Satire

When conferencing with Anna pre appointment, we decided that we loved the idea of jewel tones. The “peacock” portion of my hair last time around of green, blue, and purple faded into something swampy and very unsightly. A deeper blue or purple was the way to go to avoid that because the faded portion of my hair looked HIT. To achieve this do, Anna began by bleaching out my regrowth and it only took about a half hour to get my roots lightened to her satisfaction.

Once the bleach was washed out and my hair was dried, the fun part of color application began! My favorite part is when Anna brings out her tray full of Pulp Riot colors and we just have to smell it because it smells exactly like Sweet Tarts. 😀 Anna first started by painting my roots with Pyro and applying Satire next to my bangs and crown. Then, she tied it all together with some Fireball. Once the top half of my hair had color applied, she painted the bottom half with her combination of Nightfall and Velvet. We were hoping that this would pull as a rich navy blue and crossed our fingers while the color sat for forty-five minutes.

The almost hour of waiting to be rinsed off dragged on for forever because I couldn’t wait to see the results! As always, we washed it with ice cold water once the time was up and it definitely woke me up lol it was freezing. While my hair was being washed, Anna told me it was looking really good, but we never know how good until it is cut, dried, and styled. What usually extends my appointments is that we are not happy with how certain colors pulled so we either have to rebleach or redye or both to those areas. That was so not the case at this appointment!

Even with wet hair, we were going gaga over the Nightfall and Velvet combination. It was exactly what we wanted and the contrast between it and the bright colors on top was stunning. Not that I don’t freaking love spending a day at The Shear Shop, but it’s always great to have things go accordingly to plan the first time around. Our literal only regret is that we didn’t have more of the navy and we plan on applying it even higher at my next appointment. I am thinking we will keep with this color combo for a long while because it is shear perfection.

As per ushe, Anna is a genius and a true master of her craft. She works magic every time I see her, but this style is on a whole other level. ❤ Keep it posted for my brand new OOTD tomorrow featuring my brand new do!

What is your preferred hair dye brand? Are you changing your hair for fall? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug31

August 2023 Finishes

Posted on August 31, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone! I blinked and we are already at the last day of August! The end of the month means that it’s time to discuss my finished beauty and skin care products. This post will be short and sweet because I only used up two – in July I had seven empties to discuss! Let’s take a look at my August Finishes and chat some more because they were both duds lol:

Would I Use Again?

Honest Beauty Vitamin C Radiance Serum: NO

Goop Glow Vita-C Brightening Eye Cream: NO

Why/Why Not?

Honest Serum: This is the second product by Honest Beauty that I have used and I was expecting a bit more from the Vitamin C Radiance Serum. I was most impressed by Honest’s Calm & Heal Melting Balm and was hoping for another rave review. I wanted to like the Vitamin C serum, but it just didn’t do anything for me. I loved its shimmery orange hue and that’s about it. I needed a decent amount of serum to fully cover my face and neck. Despite the bigger bottle, it was finished in under a month. In that time, I noticed no positive changes in my complexion. I suppose my skin looked a tad brighter, but literally any serum can do that. This is one you can definitely skip on.

Goop Glow Eye Cream: I received this product as a freebie during my Sephora Birthday Haul and it was pretty good. This was actually a nice free item to receive because the tiny jar lasted me over two weeks of morning and night use. I did notice the skin around my eyes to be brighter and a lightening in my under eye circles. However, I simply refuse to pay fifty-eight dollars for a full size jar of it. That’s ridiculous and even if it were at TJMaxx it would still be too expensive. It’s another no from me, dawg.

My empties for August were not anything to write home about. That’s okay, though, because they can’t all be winners and whether I like the products or not, it’s always fun to try something new. See you in September!

What products did you finish this month? What are your thoughts on any of the above if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug30

goodhabit Rescue Me Water Jelly Dew Cream Review

Posted on August 30, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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goodhabit Rescue Me Water Jelly Dew Cream Review

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new skin care review on lifewithlilred! Today, we are going to be talking about the Rescue Me Water Jelly Dew Cream by goodhabit. I have been using it for the past month and still have a little ways to go and I have been loving it. Johnny really likes it too and it has treated his forever dry forehead well lol. The only thing we still can’t quite wrap our mind around is the color of this moisturizer! Take a look:

I will never forget when I opened this moisturizer for the first time and my first impression was simply “Smurf blue”. I always open a new moisturizer expecting a white or off white color so you could color me surprised when the Water Jelly Dew Cream just wasn’t haha. After the initial shock of all blue everything, I was able to appreciate the delightful aquatic scent this moisturizer has. It is so crisp and refreshing! This product also fully lives up to the name of a Jelly Dew Cream because it feels exactly like jelly and jiggles like it too. 😀

Applying the goodhabit moisturizer is like giving your skin an instant hydration boost. You barely need any of it to fully cover your face and neck – a little goes a very long way, but just a little packs a huge punch. This moisturizer absorbs really fast, sits well under makeup, and my skin has never looked or felt better. My face feels SO insanely soft and it looks fresh and bright… almost as if I am well rested for once in my life! I am going to be so sad once it is all gone and I think Johnny will be too!

If you are on the market for a new moisturizer, I can’t recommend goodhabit’s Rescue Me Water Jelly Dew Cream (that’s a mouthful!) enough. I am hoping that I find more during my next TJMaxx shopping trip because I could imagine it being most helpful for dry skin during the fall and winter!

What is your favorite skin care brand? Have you used any goodhabit products before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug29

Country Cutie OOTD Bloopers

Posted on August 29, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Country Cutie OOTD! The Portage County Randolph Fair was a hoot and I am so glad that Johnny and I stepped out on a school night to attend it. It was safe to say that we were definitely not at the Punk Rock Flea Market when we got to the fair. It is also very safe to say that Johnny and I stuck out like sore thumbs. It’s not every day that your favorite vampires venture out to farmland!

I am pleased to report that our presence was very well received minus the little girl who told Johnny he looked like Michael Jackson and proceeded to scream “hee hee” lolol. Take a look at some pictures that were not very well received at all:

Using my sorcery to set all of the farm animals free

Just gonna go grab my phone, ya’ll

I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Closing my eyes against all the dust and hella MANURE

Broken down robot

Smiling for my school picture like

Smiling for my other school picture like

As I have mentioned in previous posts, people have been simply SHOOK that I have never been to a county fair before. Many a person has been curious to see if I would go to one again and to be honest, I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, I had a ton of fun and it was an exciting brand new experience. However, it just wasn’t my bag in the slightest. Being surrounded by animals up for auction is not my idea of a good time. Neither is being in a huge crowd with nothing much to do but eat. Lol, my favorite part was playing a carnival game with Johnny, but that only lasted for like five minutes out of our entire evening!

Regardless of if I ever visit another county fair again, I now understand why people enjoy it so much. Before, I truly didn’t get it! It is exhilarating to be among a group of people all having a blast with the food, rides, and games. It just wasn’t my kind of fun I guess? Johnny didn’t want to ride anything so we didn’t. We also didn’t want to spend an obscene amount of money on games so we only played one. Also, we were full after we ate! That pretty much eliminated every activity in one fell swoop. It’s all good, though, because it was another date night for me and Johnny in the books and that is the best thing of all!

The Portage County Randolph Fair put me far out of my comfort zone from the setting in general to my outfit. It’s always great to try something new and now we know to skip on the county fairs next summer!

How do you feel about county fairs? What is your favorite fair food? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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