Oct6

Setting Up Shop Online And Not Screwing It Up

Posted on by
Standard
Setting Up Shop Online And Not Screwing It Up

Setting Up Shop Online And Not Screwing It Up:

Hi everyone, this time, we’re looking at something slightly different. Everyone who loves fashion and thinking about it has probably had the same idea at one point or another. How you would like to be in the business. Nowadays, what with the internet, it’s not that hard to set up a business of your own based on what you love. In particular, we’re looking at ecommerce. Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned from great (and not so great) fashion ecommerce sites:

Smarter Sites: Hyper smart site design isn’t something that a lot of people think about regularly – but it’s important. When you’re thinking about customers, you have to think about how well you’re retaining them. Even just a few ‘off’ features can put them off. So look at things like buying without the need to sign in. Consider how smart and well placed your search function is. Breadcrumb navigation is another smart choice, which makes sure the customer knows how far along they are in the purchase process. You might also want to look into setting up a store on an existing eCommerce platform with the help of something like this Amazon Marketplace Management Agency if this is an area you struggle with or are pressed for time. You want the shopping process to be easy for every single one of your customers and even one issue can be a major setback.

Bold Ads: Advertising across different social media platforms and websites can bring in tons of traffic if they’re done right. Dynamic Product Ads can make the difference between a few sales a day to several and provide you with repeat customers. Go bold with your ads and have fun with them. People want to see why your business is different than all the rest and this is your chance to showcase it.

Photography Rules: Photography and fashion go hand in hand. A high-quality picture is going to sell people much more than a low price tag or a few lines of hype. For your site, there are two kinds of photography you should consider. First, mannequin photography, so people can inspect the item from different sides and zoom in. Second, it’s a good idea to have a model and professional photographer show how it looks being worn. You can’t go amateur with this step. Unless you’re a practiced photographer, it will just end up looking off.

Don’t Be Hard To Buy From: A big part of running an online shop is how accessible it is. How many times have you been frustrated and given up on a site because it went all wonky on your mobile? How many times have you been turned away because a site can’t accept your method of payment? That site probably lost you as a customer. So if you’re starting one, avoid that mistake. Make the site responsive in its design. Then research options like the difference between payoneer and paypal, different payment processing solutions, and payment security so you’re able to take money in a whole range of ways.

Speaking of making payments, do you have a model for the prices of your products? Is it a one time purchase or a subscription based service? On the topic of subscriptions, have you considered your payment platform and how this works? Some work on a subscription basis so you pay a specific amount each month to handle all your sales. Others work on a flat markup model basis, a markup model is where your processor takes a small percentage of every sale, so this may be better when you’re getting started out. It does ultimately depend on what you’re dealing with however.

Don’t Be Broken: Don’t launch too early! Whenever you’re making changes to the site, test it and test it again. If you can, hire some QA guys to come browsing and have them try to actively break the site. Discover any broken links and functions and get them fixed before you’re online. You will also want to pay close attention to your IP reputation score as this can be a strong indicator of cyber crimes happening on your site. Your website should be tested as often as possible because once it is compromised it will be very hard to maintain any of your current customers. This is enough to sink your business before it has even got off the ground.

The reliability of the site isn’t the only thing you can test as well. A lot of businesses also test how good their sites are at making customers. Customer rate optimization is something a lot of businesses need to think about and many use A/B testing to do just that.

If you want a successful site, it’s all about the look and the feel of it. You need to make sure it’s accessible and looks amazing. After that, it’s all about finding the right product.

Does anyone own an online business? Feel free to post the links in the comment section below! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image Provided By: Pixabay

Oct6

Life, Career Choices, The Boring Stuff!

Posted on by
Standard
Life, Career Choices, The Boring Stuff!

Life, Career Choices, The Boring Stuff!

It’s come to the point where I want to think about what I want to do with my life. Not just as a way to earn money (although I would love to make money by lying on a beach sipping champagne or making music. I’m not picky!) but what I can do that has those things that people’s parents talk about so much. You know, those words like stability, progression, and preparing for the future…As boring as they sound, I guess they have a point. So, I thought to myself, what do I want to do with my life? They say that you spend a third of your life working, so you’d better make it count, right? So I’ve been doing some research into what I might want to do. I started by just typing “fulfilling careers” into my search engine and then I went on a little job journey. Here were some of the careers that intrigued me:

Counselor: As cool as my guidance counselor is, I don’t mean spending my days doing that. Therapy and helping people out has intrigued me. And looking further into it, you need to have so many people skills to be able to do the job properly. I mean, you spend your days talking to people who are relying on you to fix them! That’s a lot of pressure. But the rewards come from helping someone out who might have depression or anxiety, and after they spend time with you, they’re able to go through life happy, and that’s a BIG DEAL.

Midwife: Looking at medical jobs would be pointless, I thought. You’ve gotta spend many years training to be a doctor or a nurse and what if you don’t even like it after all that? Then I saw that you could do a job helping mothers deliver their babies. And what’s more rewarding than that? Spending your days (and nights) delivering babies requires a couple of years training. Interacting with the parents and helping them through a tough delivery seems like such a rewarding thing. Seeing the look of joy on the mother’s face after you’ve helped them give birth to their child seems like payment enough!

Teacher: My teachers back in school must have had a hard time. The amount of homework they had to mark or if there was a student that was a complete nightmare must have been difficult to cope with. Saying that, if you get the job just right, the gratification you would have in helping someone on their life’s goal would be fulfilling. I used to think about some of my old teachers, “why are they still doing this if they are tearing their hair out with frustration ALL the time?” Well, it’s because they’re waiting for that one student to make it all worth it.

Nobody wants to be thinking about what to do with their lives, but when it comes to looking at a “normal” career, I think I’d want to be helping people make a difference in their life. It’s not a cool thing to say, but maybe my parents were right (don’t tell them I said that!).

What was your career choice when you were little? How does it differ from the job that you have now? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s cat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct6

Got The X Factor? Tips On How To Break Into The Music Industry

Posted on by
Standard
Got The X Factor? Tips On How To Break Into The Music Industry

Got The X Factor? Tips On How To Break Into The Music Industry:

Love it or loathe it, The X Factor is back on our TV screens, which means just one thing; it’s the first signs of winter! Well, actually it means a few other things too. Namely, some great talent mixed with some dodgy talent. And the raging debate of whether The X Factor is a credible show to be on if you’re serious about singing. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, if you read entertainment news, it’s going to be hard to escape The X Factor for the next couple of months. So, if you are interested in a professional music career, I’ve compiled a list of tips to help you on your way to getting a break. And better still, none of them include having to sing in front of Simon Cowell.

Know The Business: In the old days, you could just be a talented singer or musician and if you got on a record label, the company would do the rest for you. Since LP’s went out the window and new technology took over, this just isn’t the case anymore. These days you have to prove yourself as an artist before a record label will consider signing you. This means getting to know the business inside and out. Set up your own gigs at local venues, write your own songs, promote yourself across all online platforms and canvas the area with cheap business flyers uk (or your local area), and prove that you can produce an income from your music.

Create An Online Presence: One affordable way of marketing yourself and your music is to create an online presence. You can do this through YouTube or by setting up your own website. It is a crowded market, so you’ll also have to use social media, paid advertising, and SEO to make an impact. The best way to do this is to set up a professional website. There are many software packages out there that will enable you to do this in a relatively cheap way that still maintains a sleek and skilled look. 

Record and Create Your Own CD’s: If you’re performing in local pubs and venues, you will want to sell some of your merch. This is a great marketing opportunity. Invest in some time in a recording studio and you’re already setting yourself apart from the competition. Companies such as Nationwide Disc allow you to create stylish sleeves, wallets, and digipacks which will give you the competitive edge. These are ideal for handing out as promotions and selling at gigs. Investing in a professional photographer for a couple of hours will guarantee you get some stylish shots that you can use as artwork for your covers.

Get Your Music On Spotify: You don’t have to be a signed musician to get your music on Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon. In fact, they really like independent artists. Spotify has over 280+ million active monthly users so it’s one of the best marketing tools that you can implement. You can employ the services of a music distribution company to help get your music on Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes. If you are serious about becoming an artist, you’ll need to put in a lot of hard work. You’ll also need to be motivated and dedicated, not just to your talent but to the extra promotions that goes into making your music heard across the globe.

Where are all of my songbirds at? Feel free to provide the links to your work and Youtube channels in the comment section below! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image Provided By: Unsplash.com

Oct6

Common Winter Skin Issues and How to Deal With Them

Posted on by
Standard
Common Winter Skin Issues and How to Deal With Them

With cold weather just around the corner, this post is jam packed with tips and tricks on how to deal with the effect that it can have on our skin. Take a look:

Common Winter Skin Issues and How to Deal With Them:

It’s a fact of life that as the weather gets worse, our poor skin can suffer. But what can we do about the most common cold weather skin complaints? For issues like dryness or joint aches from the cold, you can’t go wrong with private label CBD skin care to help soothe chapped, irritated skin or minor aches. Bath bombs, body butter, and salves all can go a long way in providing some much needed relief. For other common skin issues, you can try the following:

Cold Sores: Many people have problems with cold sores when the weather turns. Cold sores are caused by the Herpes Simplex virus and usually occurs when the person’s immune system is compromised. That means they are more likely to pop up when you get a cold or the flu during the winter time.

The good news is that you can only get them if you already have the virus. The bad news is that it can be transmitted quite easily and that is why you shouldn’t share lipsticks or lip balms if at all possible, as you just open yourself up to the risk of contracting the virus. To treat cold sores, ignore the old wives tales and use antiviral creams. It’s best to deal with them as soon as you feel the familiar tingle. If you leave them to develop, they can become painful and ugly.

Chapped Lips: Even if you are not susceptible to cold sores, the harsh weather of the winter may cause you to get nasty chapped lips. This is when the skin on the lips dries out so much that it begins to crack. It can be very painful, and your lips are at a high risk because they move a lot and go from being wet to dry frequently.The best way of dealing with chapped lips is to use a lip balm regularly. You should also exfoliate your lips once a week so the dead skin does not build up on them.eos.jpg

Link to photo

Eczema: Winter time is often when people suffering from eczema experience a worsening of their condition. This is because the temperature varies so often throughout the day from the cold outside to the warm indoors which can further dry out and irritate damaged skin. It is worth remembering that eczema is more than just a bit of dry skin that can be dealt with by using face lotion. In fact, it is a recognized medical condition. If you believe that you could be suffering from this, you can get some more information online from West Dermatology.

If you can’t get into your dermatologist’s right away and are looking for relief for your eczema, you could try HarlanMD’s eczema cream for face. It is a prebiotic lotion that can help to both relieve and prevent flare ups to keep your skin looking and feeling its best all winter long.

Redness: A lot of people can suffer from redness in the face during the winter. This is often because they struggle to regulate their body temperature sufficiently. Or, the tiny capillaries in the cheeks become constricted trapping blood flow in that area. For many of us this red face issue, known as Rosacea is embarrassing and difficult to deal with. Some rely on creams to take the redness down, while others swear by green cream which is meant to neutralize the red color.

A more lasting way of dealing with Rosacea is to use a dermatologist developed camouflage cream. These creams are makeup that contains a high percentage of pigment. That means that they are effective at covering up redness and other issues like birthmarks. They are often waterproof once sealed with translucent powder, so the wearer doesn’t have to worry that it will come off in the rain or snow.

rosascea.jpg

Link to photo

Sun Damage: Surprisingly, another cause of red skin in the winter can be sunburn. We all associate sunburn with hot weather, but the sun can be shining brightly on even the coldest, snowiest day. That is why skiers often wear crazy neon colored sunblock. Make sure that your family is protected against the UVA and UVB rays of the sun all year round by providing them access to sun cream. The ones that you put on once in the morning and last all day are best because it’s likely that they will forget to apply regularly if the temperature is below 0!

Chaffing: Another rather embarrassing problem that winter can bring us is chaffing. This can happen anywhere on the body where your skin meets your clothes but is often an issue on the inner thigh area. It can be very painful and cause red bumps and welts to appear on your otherwise healthy skin. In particularly bad cases the skin can become so dry and damaged that it becomes flaky.

If you are suffering from this problem, there are a few things that you can do. First of all, you can apply an intensive moisture cream to aid healing in the damaged area. Secondly, check the fit of your clothes. Rough trouser seams or friction creating tights can have a lot to do with this issue. Lastly, you can coat the affected area with Vaseline which will add movement and prevent such a friction build up.

Moles: While we have to be careful of exposing any mole that we have to sunlight in the summer, they can still be problematic in the winter. This is because it’s easy to forget to check them regularly because we are much more covered up in the cold weather. However, it is essential to check skin marks like moles for the symmetry and edges. This can tell you and your doctors a lot about your risk of skin cancer. Although it may sound silly, schedule a time each month to make sure you check of this sort of thing. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Blisters: While many people jump for joy, because winter is the season for wearing big heavy boots, it makes others groan. This is because heavy footwear, made of stiff materials is likely to cause nasty blisters on your feet. At least until your boots have broken in with wear.

You can minimize blisters by stretching your boots out before you wear them properly. Wear two pairs of thick socks and your boots around the house so they begin to mold to your feet. You can also use specialized blister plasters or balm which will protect the most vulnerable parts of your feet like your heels and toes. This should make your boots a lot more comfortable and enjoyable to wear come wintertime.

boots.jpg

Link to photo

How do you beat winter skin problems? What is one of your skin care secrets to combat the cold? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct3

Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! I haven’t done any of the fun tags and awards that I have been nominated for for awhile but when my super cute friend K.M. tagged me for the Travel Tag, I had to give it a go! I am hopefully crossing the ocean in the spring of 2017 to the UK for a graduation gift to myself so travel has been on my mind constantly. Before you read my answers to K.M.’s travel themed questions, please be sure to check out her wonderful blog at Ankhor You! I love chatting with K.M. via comments and Facebook and I am sure all of you will adore her just as much as I do!

Q & A:

You are leaving tomorrow to start a life in a new country, where would you go?

FRANCE!! Mais, oui. I have been studying French since high school and I am nowhere near fully fluent but I am very dedicated to becoming so. I love everything about France – the people, culture, language, food, scenery – EVERYTHING. So, needless to say, if you don’t hear from me in a while, just know that I have packed up and gone away to France.

You can take someone for a weekend away to the place you had the best holidays ever, where would that be and who would you take to go with you?

Hmmm…Since a weekend isn’t a very long time, I would probably spend the weekend with my sister at Cedar Point. Cedar Point is about two hours away from yours truly and my sister and I both love amusement parks so I can totally picture us staying in one of their hotels and having a big adventure weekend at the theme park. I have never been there during the Halloween season, either, so I think that that would be so much fun!

You can get married wherever you want to, your budget is limitless, what is your choice?

I hate to be redundant here but can somebody say “Paris”?

During your travels you can bring back home one animal as a pet, which one would you pick?

A MONKEY, A MONKEY, A LITTLE BABY MONKEY!!! While exploring the jungles in some far away, exotic country, I will befriend a tiny little monkey and have it come home with me. Its name will be Frank. 🙂

You can go back in time and relive one family trip, which one?

Oh, that’s easy. Definitely Universal Studios! My entire family is a big lover of amusement parks and we had the literal best time at Universal. Being at Harry Potter World was a dream come true and I would give anything to go back.

What is the first thing you would pack for a one year travel around the world?

Red lipstick and a year supply of hair dye.

What would your fantasy 100th birthday destination be and why?

Uhhh… I don’t really plan on making it to my 100th birthday?

During your travel you can learn one sport to become a pro, what would that be?

I would continue my figure skating education! I skated throughout my childhood and early teens and miss it very much!

I Nominate:

My Questions For You:

  1. Where are your top three places that you would like to travel?
  2. What is your favorite type of ethnic cuisine to eat?
  3. You get offered a plane ticket to a country of your choosing but you can only bring three items with you.Where would you go and what would your items be?
  4. What location does not appeal to you to travel to?
  5. Your BFF is a total adrenaline junkie and she has you pick between building an igloo in Antarctica, scaling Mount Everest, or zip lining one thousand feet over the jungle. What do you choose?
  6. Are you an over packer or an under packer when it comes to prepping for a vaca?
  7. Have you ever forgotten something totally essential while on vacation?
  8. What is your perfect vaca outfit?

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition! Thank you to my fabulous friend, K.M., for the nomination! How would you answer some of the questions that K.M. asked me? How would you answer some of the questions that I asked my nominees? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct1

Stay Warm This Winter With These Toasty Decor Tips

Posted on by
Standard
Stay Warm This Winter With These Toasty Decor Tips

I am one of those people who are always always cold. So if you are anything like me, then I am sure that you will find this post useful to help keep you nice and warm this winter:

The cold weather will soon be upon us! How are you planning on staying warm at home this winter? Of course, you will always have your heating system available to heat your rooms. But did you know that there are also some other useful decor ideas that can help you stay toasty through the winter. And, no, I’m not just going to tell you to put on an extra jumper and woolly hat! Here are some of the best tips that you should take advantage of to make sure you don’t feel the chill this winter:

Thermal Drapes: Did you know that thermal drapes are a thing? They are a lot thicker and heavier than regular ones. But that doesn’t mean they have to be gray and unattractive. Quite the contrary! You will find that you can find them in a variety of colors and patterns. If you hang them on all of your windows, you will prevent any drafts from cooling down your home. They also help to insulate your rooms and prevent hot air from escaping through the windows. And that will save you a lot on energy bills!

Gas Fireplaces: There are some appliances that you can add to your home to help support the central heating system. For example, gas fireplaces. If you ever feel too cold, even with your heating on, just turn on the fireplace. And if it is ever a bit chilly, but not cold enough to turn on your entire home’s central heating, use the fireplace. What’s more, you can now get a double sided fireplace that can heat two rooms at once.

Get Some Throws: Throws are a great addition to any family living room. They are inexpensive and will add gorgeous bursts of color to your sofas and armchairs. Plus you don’t have to take them away once spring is here and the weather starts to warm up. Simply leave them on the backs of your chairs and sofa. But they are especially great in the winter. Once you start to feel a little chilly, grab a throw and snuggle up into it! It’ll be a great way to get cozy during a movie night!

Scented Candles: Now that autumn is here, the nights will start to get longer and darker. It can be very depressing when you come home to a dark house after a busy day in the office! Thankfully, there is an easy way to brighten things up. Just add some candles to your living room! This is a quick and cheap way to create an atmospheric room. For an extra cozy touch, use scented candles and fill your rooms with autumnal aromas.

Use Festive Decorations Wisely: There are a number of Christmas decorations that can help you seal up gaps and prevent drafts. Buy a Christmas doorjamb that can compliment all of your other decorations. Not only will your door be draft-free, but your home will look exceptionally Christmassy!

Winter is coming! But you don’t have to suffer; especially now you have these toasty decor tips.

Featured Image From: www.pexels.com

I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to their weekend! How do you keep nice and toasty during the cool weather? What is your favorite fall or winter candle scent? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep30

Reader Map Update

Posted on by
Standard
Reader Map Update

Hi everyone and TGIF! As you guys know, I love keeping track of all of the fantastic readers that I have in over ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE different countries via a world map and push pins in my room. I haven’t posted an updated picture of my map in a while so I figured that there was no better time than the present since I broke the one hundred and sixty barrier. Take a look! And also enjoy my featured image photo which is a picture of my boyfriend’s dog, Karma! I love her big ol’ puppy smile SO much! :)))

map.jpg

^^^ Hurray! Hurray!

I am so very thankful for all of my fabulous readers located from all of the different ends of the earth and I feel so proud every time I look at my reader map. It used to hang on display in my room but unfortunately, the wire that runs across the back of the board snapped months ago and both my dad and I have yet to address it. Every time it gets brought up, the classic phrase “I’ll do it later” comes up but rest assured that it is propped up on a very special place on my floor. 😉

I hope everyone is having a great day so far! Stay tuned for some new posts coming from my vacation cabin in North Carolina! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any big plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep29

See Ya Later!

Posted on by
Standard
See Ya Later!

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been MIA, I have been and still am pretty sick. My sister had a nasty cold and cough, which transferred to my brother, which transferred to me, which I transferred to my boyfriend, which I’m sure will end up getting transferred back to me somehow because that’s just how things happen in my life. Anyways, I’ve had a cough, cold, fever, and aches from hell since Monday and I am still feeling fairly questionable today. Fingers crossed that those feelings subside by tomorrow, though, because my family is taking a little beginning of fall vaca!

Yeah that’s right! For the first time in twenty-two years of being alive, my family is going on two vacations in one year. We enjoyed being in Asheville, North Carolina so much in June that we just had to come back. This time we are bringing our two dogs with us to the extremely canine friendly city and are departing on Friday and coming home on Wednesday. This is something that my family has never ever done before and I’m seriously so excited!

This semester has been a bitch and a half but I have already gotten all of my work completed for the following week and am ready for some much needed R&R! Since I have been away from my beloved blog baby for so long this past week, I will be sure to get some writing done while I’m tucked away in a little cabin in NC! Have a fabulous rest of your week everyone and See Ya Later! 🙂

Sep25

Weldon Carpenter: A New Friend

Posted on by
Standard
Weldon Carpenter: A New Friend

Hey everyone and happy Sunday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful, relaxing weekend. This past Thursday, I had to venture out to the Tri-C campus in Parma, Ohio for an extra credit lecture. Because I’m literally never in Parma since I don’t attend that campus, I decided to make a post on my Facebook to let my friends in the area know that I will be there for the afternoon in case anyone wanted to meet up afterwards. My friend, Danielle, replied and we decided to meet up at the bar that she works at in Lakewood which was about fifteen minutes away.

Because Danielle’s work didn’t open until four, we started at a bar that was down the street called The Patio. Danielle was treating me to twenty-first birthday drinks even though it’s over a year late so that’s what made me justify drinking at the bar at three in the afternoon! About halfway through our time at The Patio, an older gentleman walked into the bar and within ten minutes he came up to us and asked if we liked Playhouse Square (the beautiful theater in Cleveland).

Being an avid lover of the theater, of course I replied with an enthusiastic “YES”. This sent who I now know was Weldon Carpenter off to his car to retrieve a photo album and a surprise treat. While Weldon was at his car, the bartender explained to us that he was a historian and photographed Playhouse Square and the surrounding theaters since their openings. She also told us that he used to work as the personal chef to the one and only Miss Judy Garland.

Just as the bartender was finishing up her briefing on Weldon, he came walking in with a thick photo album and two teddy bears for me and Danielle. He told us that he has over one hundred and fifty little stuffed animals that he keeps handy just to make people smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a stuffie sitting on the bar that he must have gifted to the bartender when we weren’t looking. “Aren’t they beautiful?” he asked as Danielle and I held our new bears on our laps. And they really were. The beauty lied in the gesture and the bear he picked for me couldn’t have been any more perfect considering it was sporting a black t-shirt!

After we settled in with our drinks and teddies, we began to look through Weldon’s album, page by page. With every picture of each theater, there was a story or memory that went along with it and I was just mesmerized. To watch him smile and speak enthusiastically about the memories that he loved so much was something that was really special to me. None of my grandparents are alive so I haven’t conversed with someone in that age range in quite some time. Speaking with Weldon felt good and safe. It made me want to curl up in a blanket and hear more.

With every page turned, Weldon insisted on either one of us taking whichever photo we liked. “Don’t worry, I have plenty of copies and I give them all away for free”. His gentle prodding led to both of us picking out a photo that we loved and you could tell how pleased he was that we did. This man genuinely loved sharing what he felt was beautiful – and it was.

After we finished looking at Weldon’s photo album and listened to a few stories about how he met Judy Garland at his friend Mae West’s party we unfortunately had to part ways. Danielle had to be at work so we had to head down the street to the bar for a night of serving for her and more drinking for me. But all evening, I was still enraptured by the kind stranger who we spent a half hour with in the bar. The man who bore gifts and treats for complete strangers and left them feeling like they had just met their guardian angel or long lost friend.

When I got home, I Googled Weldon and found so many articles boasting that he was one of Lakewood’s local legends. Pages full of articles telling tales of theaters, photos, and stories similar to the one that I just told you. I felt proud. I felt proud that the city that he seemed to love so much loved him back. I felt proud that he was sharing his beautiful spirit and stories with the world. I felt proud that I just met him.

Will I ever see Weldon again? Maybe, if I head up to Lakewood around three or so, I’ll find him at The Patio enjoying a glass of red wine that he will be diluting with shaved ice. Maybe I’ll see him sharing a photo or a stuffed bear with another person at the bar. But until then, I’m so happy to consider Weldon Carpenter as A New Friend.

Sep24

September Finishes

Posted on by
Standard
September Finishes

Hey hey everyone and happy weekend! Welcome to my September Finishes post! This month was filled with lots of great empties so take a look and then let’s discuss:

done.jpeg

Would I Use It Again?

  • Softsoap Sweet Honeysuckle & Orange Peel body wash: YES
  • St. Ives Green Tea Scrub: MAYBE
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost: YES
  • Avalon Organics Vitamin C moisturizer: MAYBE
  • Yes To Coconut Souffle moisturizer: YES

Why/Why Not?

Softsoap Body Wash: I have always enjoyed using Softsoap shower gel and the Sweet Honeysuckle & Orange Peel is one of my favorites. It’s such a bright, energizing scent to wake up to every morning and it has one of those fragrances that just makes you feel good whenever you use it. This gel’s tart zing helps put a little pep in my step every time I use it and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. It took me about a month and a half to finish.

St. Ives Scrub: I love St. Ives products but, unfortunately, this scrub falls a bit short for me. I am always looking for a good blackhead clearing scrub because I suffer from really tough blackheads on my nose that build up near my piercings. I loved the scent of this scrub but it was just not gritty enough to get the job done of buffing away the pesky blackheads that polka dot my nose. If this scrub had about a handful more grit added to it, it would be perfect. I would use this scrub again if it were on sale but I will always prefer their apricot cleanser, instead! It took me a little over one month to finish.

TBS Skin Boost: You guys already know that this product is one of my old faithfuls so I am not going to go into detail about it. Just know that I love it. It took me three months to finish.

Avalon Moisturizer: This moisturizer was a weird one because I liked and hated it at the same time. I loved that it was Vitamin C based, that I got it for a steal, and that it lasted a long time. However, the major upset about this moisturizer was that it was one of those ones that curdles up on your face and just scuffs right off. After applying this moisturizer, I would have hella problems when I was doing my makeup because the cream would flake off in sticky clusters. If this weren’t an issue, I would never stop using the cream because other than that it was fabulous. I didn’t mind using it at night but daytime use was out of the question thanks to the flakiness. It took about five months to finish.

Yes To Coconut Souffle: I LOVE THIS CREAM! My mom got it for me for my birthday and it looks, feels, and smells simply delicious. Rich, creamy, coconut cream pie in a whipped souffle of a moisturizer that leaves your skin feeling smooth, supple, and simply luxurious. After just two minutes of the souffle being applied, my skin instantly transformed into peaches and cream perfection which left me completely confident in my complexion. I LOVED IT. It took two months to finish.

All in all, I would say that September was a very successful month of finishes. I was left loving a majority of my empties and even though I did have two that I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on, I didn’t completely hate them either! Now I just need to get my hands on another Coconut Souffle moisturizer and I’ll be all set!

So there you have it, my September Finishes! What empties do you have for this month? What beauty products do you need to restock soon? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah