May2

Monday Update: Let Me Take A Selfie Edition

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Monday Update: Let Me Take A Selfie Edition

Hi everyone and welcome to another week here on lifewithlilred! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend. Mine was busy but good, thanks for asking! As you guys know, I recently worked a new pair of specs into my wardrobe so it only seems appropriate to post some actually satisfactory selfies in which I’m donning my new frames. Take a look and don’t mind the dog fur on my jacket too much:

glasses11glasses1

I absolutely took these pictures while in my mom’s car and I regret nothing. However, I was getting pretty antsy because we were nearing the end of our drive back home from glasses shopping for her and I STILL couldn’t take a “good” picture. 1) I looked a hot mess in most of them and 2) my mom drives like a maniac so the bumpy ride was definitely not ideal for selfie taking! Luckily, we ended up stopped at a pretty lengthy red light so best believe your girl found her lighting Top Model style and posed and snapped away until the light turned green!

These pics definitely beat the duck face featured in one of my previous Monday Updates and I haven’t posted any new shots in a while so I figured this week’s Monday Update would be the perfect time to do so! I post 99% more pictures of me on my personal Facebook page so please don’t be afraid to follow me or shoot me a friend request so you can keep up to date on all of my statuses and picture posts! I’m not the best at updating my page for lifewithlilred but a like on there is always nice, too! ALSO, pretty please click my Twistfire ads so I get paid! 🙂

If you happen to visit my Facebook or blog this week, you’ll be seeing a lot of Influenster related posts because I was lucky enough to be selected to try out their #bloombox for testing purposes! I’m so excited to try out all of the new goodies that I received and I can’t wait to share my reviews on them. Definitely be on the lookout for Influenster posts and do check their website out because it’s a lot of fun – beauty blogger or not!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Let Me Take A Selfie Edition! Does anyone else use Influenster? What is one of the coolest products that they sent you to test? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May1

Life Is A Beach OOTD

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Life Is A Beach OOTD

Hi everyone and welcome to a special guest blog post compliments of my blogging BFF, Nida, over at Shopaholic Blogs. One of the things that I love the most about Nida is how she isn’t afraid to take initiative. From the first email I received from her back in March to ask about guest blogging until now she’s always one of the first people in my email asking about what post that she can do next and I think that’s just fantastic. It shows great confidence and tenacity and it really is amazing. I’m so happy to have Nida help me kick start the month of May here at lifewithlilred with a post that’s all about fun in the sun. So without further ado, take a look at Nida’s Life Is A Beach OOTD:

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💕Hello Sweets!
✨ I am so thrilled to be back and working with Sarah again! When she told me she was doing a month of summer and beach inspired posts I was totally on board! 🔆 Early summers here are not as intense ️and are perfect for hanging out at the beach and pool. For this look I headed out to the beautiful JBR beach for a day of fun in the sun!
✨ For the beach I like to keep my outfit as minimally fussy and cool as possible. The maxi dress is flowy and gorgeously flattering without overwhelming my petite frame. The top provides some coverage without being heavy like a denim jacket. I kept loose waves in my hair to make it beach appropriate. Since it was incredibly hot and humid I kept the makeup minimal, too!
️ Outfit Details:
☀ ️Dress: Aeropostale
☀️ Top: Bershka
☀️ Sandals: Kenneth Cole
☀️ Accessories: H&M, Fossil
☀ Tote: Aeropostale
  Makeup:
☀ Tinted Cream: Dusty Girl’s in Golden Medium
☀ Blush: IT Cosmetics in Radiant Rose 🌹
☀ Eyeliner: Hashmi in Kohl
☀ Lipgloss: IT Cosmetics Vitality Butter Gloss
💕 I hope you guys enjoyed this OOTD and hopefully it inspired you to hit the beach. I know I went a little camera crazy but it’s not everyday that you get to do a beach OOTD! Many thanks to the lovely Sarah for having me guest blog again. Do let us know how you liked this blog post!
Until next time xoxo 💋
 Get In Touch:
💟 Instagram: shopaholicblogs
💟 Email: shopaholicblogs@gmail.com
So there you have it, Nida’s Life Is A Beach OOTD! Thanks again to the darling Nida and please be sure to check out her page at Shopaholic Blogs! How do you rock a beach ready OOTD? What is your favorite warm weather clothing item? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Apr30

April Finishes

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April Finishes

Hi everyone and happy weekend! The end of the month brings us to another post about all of the beauty products that I used up in April. I emptied out a solid amount of lotions, skin care, and makeup so take a look at my finishes and then let’s discuss:

finished2

Would I Use Them Again?

  • St. Ives Nourish & Smooth Body Wash: YES
  • Victoria’s Secret Rockin’ Body Cream: NO
  • Bath & Body Works Vanilla Brown Sugar Shimmer Cream: NO
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost: YES
  • Garnier Makeup Removing Cleanser: NO
  • The Body Shop Mango Whip Lotion: NO
  • Maybelline Falsies Pushup Drama Mascara: NO

Why/Why Not?

St. Ives Body Wash: St. Ives is one of my all time favorite skin care brands and I love everything from their scrubs to their body washes. The jumbo sized body wash bottle is a great value and it leaves you feeling clean and hydrated after every use. It took me about a month and a half to finish this body wash.

VS Cream: This month, I tried to finish up all of the shimmer lotions that my sister left behind when she moved to her apartment. I would never use this product again simply because I despise shimmer lotions and this particular VS cream didn’t do the best job of moisturizing, either. It also didn’t make me look 5X Sexier, as the marketing claimed. 😦

B&BW Cream: Same goes for this Bath & Body works number. I love the Vanilla Brown Sugar scent, I hate the cup full of glitter that they dumped into the bottle.

TBS Skin Boost: This is my old faithful serum that I’ve been using for years. I am trying to find a less expensive serum but until I find just the right one, I’ll be sticking with this bad boy.

Garnier Cleanser: This was one of the worst cleansers that I’ve ever used. You can read my full review here but if not, just know that I hate it.

TBS Lotion: As I’ve mentioned countless times, I love all of the bath and body care products from The Body Shop. However, I can’t stand their Mango scent. It seriously smells like rotten fruit to me and I was so happy to finally be done with it because it took me for friggen ever to finish.

Maybelline Mascara: I read so many reviews on how amazing this mascara was but I just wasn’t a fan. The Falsies Pushup Drama Mascara was so clumpy that I had to rake through my lashes after I applied it to get them separated. I was thrilled when I finished this number and am currently using Covergirl’s special edition Star Wars mascara and loving it!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too successful as far as liking all of my finished products go this month. But that’s okay, because I still have an entire under the sink cabinet filled with beauty products to try during the month of May. As of now, I’m using Victoria’s Secret’s Pear Glace lotion, a cocoa butter body wash from Suave, a shameful cleanser from Nourish Organic, and a fabulous exfoliator from Olay. I can’t wait to give some new products a try and kick the finished ones to the curb so be sure to join me next month so we can discuss what I finished in May!

So there you have it, my April Finishes! Has anyone used any of the products that I emptied this month? What did you think of them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr29

Beauty Blogger Award #3

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Beauty Blogger Award #3

Hey everyone and TGIF! On Wednesday I was nominated by my blogging BFF, Nida, over at Shopaholic Blogs for my third Beauty Blogger Award. Nida is one of my literal favorite people who I haven’t met yet so please be sure to check out her page because I know you’ll adore her as much as I do! And be sure to tune in to lifewithlilred on Sunday for a special guest blog from Nida! Now, onto the rules for the Beauty Blogger Award:

The Rules:

  • Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you.
  • Answer the questions assigned to you.
  • Nominate your own makeup/lifestyle/fashion bloggers.
  • Frame 10 questions for your nominees.
  • Inform the nominees about their award nomination.

Q & A:

Your favorite thing to eat?

Taco Bell! Always and forever.

List five beauty products you use everyday.

My moisturizer from Trader Joe’s, Nutriganics eye cream from The Body Shop, Vitamin C Skin Boost from The Body Shop, some type of cream cleanser (I’m not picky), an exfoliator, and usually a St. Ives body wash. (That was six but I could have named twenty!)

One tip for writing a great blog post.

Write as if you were talking to your best friend.

If you could buy five things for free from Sephora what would you choose and why?

Uh oh…I’m going to sound like the worst girl ever but I’ve never purchased anything from Sephora before! I’m the queen of drugstore makeup so I never really bothered with getting sucked into the hype of high end beauty products. I suppose if I could try anything, though, I would love to give some of the Kat Von D lipsticks a try – I hear they’re amazing!

Perfume or body mist?

Body mist all day every day!! Country Apple from Bath & Body Works is my mist of choice and I have four extra bottles of it in my hoard just in case they ever discontinue the scent!

One tip for making your makeup last through the day?

I would say to stick with makeup that you know works. I have a very set in stone makeup regimen that I don’t often steer from so if you were in a situation where a makeup melt down would be disastrous (a wedding or a hot summer day) then it’s best not to be ballsy with trying something new. I like to stay within the brands that I love and know that work best for me because I’d hate to waste money on a product that doesn’t last/work well!

Straightening iron or hair dryer and why?

Straightening iron because I’m not patient enough for the hair dryer! I also prefer my hair to be pin straight and that’s something that I can never achieve on the rare occasion that I blow dry my hair.

How have you improved as a blogger over time?

I would say that my posts are way cleaner from when I first started out a year and a half ago. I’m a big grammar and run on sentence stickler so I’ve been trying to eliminate those faux pas from my writing and I think I’m doing alright so far!

Liquid eyeliner or pencil? Which do you choose? State your favorite brand and why you love it.

Definitely a pencil! I use Covergirl’s Liquiline Blast eye pencils and they’re so awesome. I don’t like the super hard pencils and the Liquiline Blast is so smooth and creamy, it makes applying it such a breeze. I also don’t have the steady hand for liquid eyeliner!

A makeup product you wouldn’t use even if you got it for free.

Lol, that’s easy! The brand, Nourish Organic, has the literal worst cleanser I’ve used in my life. You couldn’t pay me to ever buy it again.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

My Questions For You:

  1. What is your favorite beauty product to splurge on?
  2. What drugstore makeup brand do you swear by?
  3. What is your favorite fragrance?
  4. Your favorite junk food?
  5. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
  6. How do you usually style your hair?
  7. What is your go to nail polish color?
  8. What makeup shades look best on you?
  9. How about colors that just look awful?
  10. What is your favorite shade of lipstick?

So there you have it, my Beauty Blogger Award #3! Thank you so much again to Nida at Shopaholic Blogs for the nomination! Nida is the epitome of beauty inside and out so please give her page some love! How would you answer some of the questions that Nida asked her nominees? How about some of the questions that I asked mine? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr28

Attention!!!

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Attention!!!

Hi everyone! So my super amazing, talented, gorgeous friend, Sujata has just launched her online store for her beautiful clothing brand. I had the pleasure of creating a wedding look for Sujata a while back ago and we’ve been friends ever since. I loved being able to see her website and brand develop and her newly launched site is a true testament of her flawless designs and talent. Please be sure to check it out by clicking the link of “online store” and help support a fabulous fellow blogger and friend! Much love. -Sarah

Apr28

Birthday Beauty Wish List

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Birthday Beauty Wish List

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! The month of April is a time when I get really excited about my upcoming birthday on June 7th. Three birthdays fall in succession in my family – my mom’s on March 22nd, followed by my dad’s on April 6th, and my sister’s on April 8th. So needless to say, birthday fever has got a hold on me like you couldn’t believe. I love birthdays. I love giving gifts to friends and family and of course, I. LOVE. PRESENTS!!!

True story, all my boyfriend had to do this weekend was mention that he ordered some of my birthday presents and it turned into forty-eight hours straight of poor Kyle having to listen to me ask twenty-one questions about my gifts. I hate surprises and I hate waiting so the fact that I have to wait over a whole month to see my birthday gifts killed me! If there’s one thing that soothes my birthday fever though, it’s making a list and checking it twice. Therefore, I created my Birthday Beauty Wish List to hang proudly on my refrigerator to give all of my family members a not so subtle hint on what to get me. Check it out:

Beautiful Sarah’s Birthday Wish List:

(^^^ Lol that’s how I labeled it!)

  • Cash money
  • Good but cheap cleansers
  • Good but cheap moisturizers
  • St. Ives tea tree, apricot, oatmeal, and pink mandarin and lemon scrubs
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost
  • The Body Shop Brush on Radiance, Ref. #63691
  • The Body Shop blushes, shades 05 Bubblegum and 01 Macaroon
  • Covergirl mascaras in the darkest shade possible
  • Covergirl Liquiline Blast eyeliner in the darkest shade possible
  • Maybeline Dream Bouncy blush shade 05 Fresh Pink
  • Wet n’ Wild eyebrow pencil shade 604A A Taupe Of The Mornin’
  • Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red hair dye

On my birthday and Christmas, I almost always ask for a restock of all of my must have beauty products. To me, there is nothing better than receiving a box full of beauty goodies because then I don’t have to buy my most loved products by myself! It’s a win/win because I know exactly what I want so it makes gift giving to yours truly an easy and relatively painless process!

For my birthday, I’d love to have a garden style party because I have a really big backyard. My family has badminton, croquet, and bocci ball set up and I feel like those are some of the perfect ingredients to having a super classy and fun birthday bash. I picture cute little appetizer food, teas, and mimosas for the menu as well as a big fruit salad for dessert. I also would love to have some type of water activity like water balloons or squirt guns in case it’s really hot out. Hopefully I have enough friends to make it a success. 😉

So there you have it, my Birthday Beauty Wish List! How would you throw a perfect garden party? What are some must haves for my possible birthday bash? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr27

Busy Weeks Ahead

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Busy Weeks Ahead

Howdy everyone and happy Hump Day! These next few weeks are going to be very busy for me because I am nearing the end of my spring semester at school on top of work and preparing for my internship. I might not have a daily post in the weeks ahead so fear not, because all is well, I’ll just be a little crunched for time! If you’d like to keep up with what Lil Red is up to on the daily, feel free to follow me on my personal Facebook page or on my page for lifewithlilred! Just please be sure to click on my ads for Twistfire if you do!

ALSO, I’m still looking for guest bloggers for when I leave for vaca during the first week of June so if you’re interested, shoot me an email at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com! Until all of the end of semester papers and exams are done, the best way to reach out to me will be via Facebook or email! Have a great rest of your week! -Sarah

Apr26

Monday Update: This Or That Edition Update

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Monday Update: This Or That Edition Update

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! During a previous Monday Update, I asked for everyone’s opinion on what pair of glasses I should pick out between two equally gorgeous pairs. The choice was between a circular pair of Dolce & Gabbanas or a rectangular pair of Kliik Denmarks. I made my decision and received my new pair of glasses last week and I must say, I’m very happy with them! So what pair did I pick? Take a look and find out:

glasses2

THE DOLCE & GABBANAS!!!

Shocking, I know, because the majority of you guys picked the Kliik Denmarks as the pair that I should pick. So why did I go with the polar opposite? I guess I just liked how quirky the circular pair was. I liked that it made me feel professional but still fun and I loved how I could picture myself wearing them to school, my job, and my internship. And yes, I was totally enamored by the fact that they were Dolce & Gabbana. I’m really not a girl that goes gaga over labels but I do have a soft spot in my heart for designer eye-wear. It’s a weakness and a sickness, I tell ya!

All of the above reasons kind of sealed the deal for the D&Cs but one major “aha!” moment made me feel that much more confident in my decision. When I returned to the optometrist’s office after a weekend with both pairs of glasses to help make up my mind, I was wearing my old pair of specs. I’ve had my only pair of glasses since I was fifteen (I’m almost twenty-two, now) and it took trying the Kliik Denmark pair on one more time after I took my old glasses off to know that they were no longer the pair for me.

My pair of old faithfuls just so happens to be the exact same shape as the Kliik Denmarks except that the frames are thicker. I had no intentions of parting with my old pair of glasses so that I could have them as a backup pair and to wear them around the house on a lazy day. Once I saw that I would essentially be having two pairs of the same glasses but in different colors and widths, I knew that I made the right choice by picking the Dolce & Gabbanas.

The D&Cs were the first pair of glasses that I tried on after my eye appointment so it seems fitting that they ended up being the pair that I left with. I’m so happy with my new glasses and all of the compliments that I’ve received about them make me feel even more confident with my quirky cool choice!

So there you have it, an Update on a previous Monday Update: This Or That Edition! Has anyone purchased any new eye or sunglasses recently? How about a new pair of shoes or a purse? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr25

Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition

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Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new week here on lifewithlilred! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend. If there’s one thing that Lil Red loves, its cooking and baking. I could spend all day in the kitchen whipping up new meals and treats and have the time of my life. Recently, my mom acquired a new recipe from Today’s Kitchen in Wooster, Ohio to make Raspberry White Chocolate Scones and they are just as amazing as they sound. These scones are one of my favorite things to make and I just had to share the recipe with all of you since I made a fresh batch this weekend. They were delicious, if I do say so myself, so take a look at my finished product and then stick around for the recipe:

scones

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones:

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream, half and half, or milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (I use 1 tsp)
  • 1/4 cup raspberries (I use 22 raspberries on the dot)
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

The Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (I use 1 tsp)
  • 3 tbsp cream or milk

Directions:

  1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2.  Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in butter until it is in small pieces. With a spatula stir in 3/4 cup cream, extract, berries, and white chocolate chips. Add more flour if dough is too wet. (Dough should form a relatively smooth, firm ball.)
  3.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently. (I usually have a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour handy because the dough will still be pretty wet.) Press or roll out into a 6 to 8 inch circle and cut into eight wedges. Place the wedges, not touching, on baking sheet. Bake scones for 20 minutes or until golden and slightly firm when pressed. (I bake mine for 12 minutes because my oven sucks.)
  4.  Cool on a wire rack and then coat with glaze.

These scones are simply to die for and I hope all of you enjoy them as much as my family and I do! Thank you so much again to Today’s Kitchen in Wooster, Ohio for the divine recipe!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition! What is your favorite thing to cook or bake? Has anyone had any kitchen disasters lately? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr24

Black Leather Jacket OOTD

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Black Leather Jacket OOTD

Hi everyone and welcome to a very special post here on lifewithlilred thanks to the fabulous Tara from venuslaughing. When Tara initially approached me for the possibility of guest blogging I was a little ambivalent because I still was unsure of how I wanted to go about doing guest posts on my page. However, after looking over her AMAZING blog, I just couldn’t say no. Tara is so creative, talented, and just lovely as can be and I am so incredibly lucky to have her on my page. I asked Tara if she could create some OOTDs involving a Black Leather Jacket (or pleather which is what I prefer!) and her post and photos blew me away. So without further ado, here is Tara’s guest post created special for my lifewithlilred readers. Enjoy:

Hello! Today I am thrilled to get to share with you one of my favorite wardrobe essentials that can be worn any season: the black leather jacket. I have been drooling over leather jackets for the past two years. Finally, my budget has allowed for this fantasy to become a reality! After a couple hours of careful perusing, I found an Etsy shop in California called The Industry that had a style I loved: vintage 1980s, black, short length, with patina and fringe! I’m so happy this treasure now lives in my closet.
Leather jackets communicate being secure in your own skin, marching to the beat of your own drum, and being in tune with your wildish nature. Also, wearing animal skin is a reminder of our primal connection to the earth itself, which modern society tends to be so out of synch with! And of course, buying vintage/used leather is smart for eco-sustainable and ethical reasons.

A leather jacket can pair with so many things! Here are a few of my favorite looks:
 
A Pop Of Color:
The inspiration for this look came from a beautiful bag my mom surprised me with one day, purchased at a local fair trade store called Just Creations. I had this idea to do my hair up in a kind of Bridget Bardot-esque look. The leopard booties (ASOS) might be too much, but they’re fun! Cut your mesh tights into socks and roll your skinny jeans over them for this look!

Romantic:

The inspiration for the romantic look was this floral summer dress, AKA the “Nashville dress”. It reminds me of a trip my sister and I took to Nashville once to try busking on the street (we made a whopping nine dollars!). Also, a beautiful book called Paris Street Style by Isabelle Thomas and Frederique Veysset, given to me for Christmas by my sister. It has a selection on leather jackets and dresses!
 
 Tips & Pics:
  • Mix it with something frilly, lacey, floral, romantic, or soft.
  • Pair it with white.
  • Bring a pop of color to it with earrings or shoes.
  • Put your hair in an updo to soften the look (Pro Tip: Use hair powder!).
  • Wear a bright colored lipstick.
  • And remember, above all else, have fun! The best fashion breaks rules. Do what feels good!

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Thank you so much to the beautiful Tara for such a wonderful guest post! Once again, please be sure to check out her page at venuslaughing! What is your favorite look that Tara created? How would you style a Black Leather Jacket OOTD? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah