Greetings everyone and a very Happy Halloween to all of you! I hope that all of you who celebrate enjoy a day of tricks and treats and, to those of you who don’t partake in the festivities, have a great normal day! Here is a friendly reminder of my angry dog in her minion costume last year wishing everyone a wonderful day:
Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! As all of you know, the only social media that I have is Facebook. Between the blog and my FB page, anything else would just be too much to maintain. And, I’d be a liar if I said that I didn’t enjoy scrolling through my newsfeed throughout the day! During one of my scroll sessions, I saw lots of people post a status encouraging others to put their iTunes on shuffle and comment what song it ended up on. It seemed fun, so I thought that I would do that with my October Funky Time Jams. Check it out:
^^^ And, as always, I have no rights to these songs or videos!
As you can see from eight songs on shuffle, I have a pretty eclectic taste in music. From girl power queen Christina Aguilera to funky legend Prince and punk icons The Ramones, I truly never know what I’m going to get when my iTunes is on shuffle. But, above all else, I am definitely an indie girl at heart when I’m not feeling super emo! I love upbeat Los Campesinos! and the more experimental Handsome Furs and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes. Pepper in some of The 1975 and Tears For Fears and I’m golden! 😀
What song shows up when you put your music on shuffle? What is your favorite music to put you in a spooky October mood? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Guys. I’m literally going through the worst time of my life when it comes to beauty products, because I feel like all of my signature staples are being discontinued. The most recent ones being The Body Shop’s Brush On Radiance Beads. I have literally been using those amazing, pearly wonders since high school and now they’re laying this shit on me?! Ugh, I seriously can’t even.
But, thankfully, there’s always Amazon, which allowed me to purchase three jars of my beads before they might go bye bye. It sucks, though, because The Body Shop always runs awesome promotions and I had to buy the beads for full price, which I have never done before. Was it worth it? Yes, because one jar lasts a really long time. Am I pissed at The Body Shop? HELL YES, and they better bring back my blusher beads pronto!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Have any of your favorite products been discontinued? What do you use now as a substitute? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Helloooo and happy Hump Day! In this post, we will be talking about my last birthday goodie from Lush, a hand mask called Golden Handshake. Before my darling friend, Kate, gifted me with this, I had no idea that hand masks even existed – but here we are now! I really enjoyed using this product and, what’s even better, is that I got to pamper my mom with it, too. Take a look and let’s discuss:
To use the Golden Handshake hand mask, you boiled water and then swirled the product around in it until it melted and changed the H2O consistency into rich, creamy lusciousness. I used a baking pan for my concoction, which was a good move because it was big enough for both mine and my mom’s hands. It was initially a long process to get the mask to melt, so we opted to break it apart, which helped speed it up immensely.
From getting Golden Handshake ready for use to applying it and letting it sit was a totally unique and indulgent pampering experience. First, I loved the way that this product smelled. It had a rich, nutty aroma to it, which is one of my favorite scents for bath products. I also thought that the light dusting of gold glitter was a lovely touch! And, most importantly, Golden Handshake felt so soothing on my hands and left them feeling soft and moisturized. They still feel as smooth as ever even after my shower and multiple hand washes.
Another nice thing about this hand mask is that it’s reusable. My mom and I poured the water through a sieve so that we could catch the chunks of product before it went down the drain. We then put the remainders of the mask in a little container and let it harden in the refrigerator so that we can use it again during our next pampering session. I can’t wait!
What is your favorite way to pamper yourself? Have you ever used a hand mask before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! Lil Red has been in desperate need of some retail therapy these past few weeks, so TJMaxx was the move both in store and online. And, as always, ol’ TJs was very very good to me. For example, if it wasn’t for TJMaxx, I wouldn’t have these insanely gorgeous, THIRTEEN DOLLAR Bella Jack earrings that I am SO in love with. Check it out:
Now, normally I’m not too keen on buying new earrings, because I usually just wear my signature black crosses. But, I’ve had my eye on these periwinkle flower bells for a long time. And, did I mention that I was in desperate need of retail therapy? I think that these Bella Jack beauties are so charming, and all I needed to do was briefly hold them up to my face in the mirror to know that they were coming home with me.
I love the glassy but matte shading over the pale blue coloring of these earrings, and I think that they look lovely with my hair, eyes, and complexion – if I do say so, myself. I also adore how if you make the earrings move, you can hear the tiny chime of bells ringing in your ears. This Bella Jack jewelry is pure fairy tale fun, and I can’t wait to wear them throughout the summer!
Where do you love to shop for jewelry at? What is your go to summer accessory? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! If there’s one thing that a Lil Red loves, it’s fun beauty and fashion questionnaires. And, when I stumbled upon the 7 Deadly Sins Of Beauty Tag, I had to give it a try. I found this post on my friend Sarah’s page, Sparkle & Mine, and it was such a creative idea for a beauty tag that I had to give it a go. Check it out and see how the 7 Deadly Sins turn into the topic for each question:
1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive? My most inexpensive beauty item is my eyebrow pencil. It is by Wet n’ Wild in a shade called Taupe Of The Morning and I pay a whole one dollar for it. AND it lasts me several months! My most expensive item is definitely my Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, which runs at twenty-three or twenty-four dollars. It’s steep, but I love my lashes when I use it and I try to make it last for as long as I can.
2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? Hmmm… I don’t really know if I have a real love/hate relationship with any products that I use. I rarely branch out of the brands that I like and I’m not that adventurous when it comes to buying makeup so I’ve never really used anything that’s made me feel SOME TYPE OF WAY before.
3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products? My Cocoa Butter from The Body Shop. Hands down. It smells like the richest, creamiest milk chocolate fresh from the candy store. I also love their Fresh Picked Raspberry body butter, too. It smells like Lip Smackers and I’m obsessed.
4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness? So when I’m getting ready, I always do my skin care routine no matter what. But, if I’m feeling lazy that day, I won’t do my hair or makeup all together and go au natural. Painting your face every day gets exhausting so I definitely need some makeup free days throughout the week!
5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence? A bright, beautiful red lip, of course! Specifically my signature shade in NYX’s Pure Red Matte lippie.
6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? Someone who’s tall. I love tall, lanky guys. Tattoos or piercings don’t hurt, either!
7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift? Oh, it doesn’t really matter to me. As long as I’m not paying for it, I’m happy to try out new products.
This tag was SO much fun to complete and do feel free to copy and paste the questions to answer on your page, too! How would you answer some of the above questions? What other beauty tags should I complete? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! If there’s one thing a Lil Red loves, it’s a clay mask. I don’t buy them too often because I don’t use them too often, but the one that we’re discussing today was a hand me down from my beauty queen sister. It wasn’t the best, but it certainly wasn’t the worst, either. So, take a look and let’s get to it:
Okay, so a major pro of this mask was that it smelled awesome. It had a nice and creamy texture thanks to the avocado, but it’s scent was rich and sweet from the oatmeal. I have a love/hate relationship with the overall feel of this mask, though. I liked that the consistency of it was lighter than a standard clay mask. But, at the end of the day, I love a really thick texture. It’s a matter of preference, though. I love being able to take a bath and let a thicker mask soak in. It was impossible to do that with the CVS one, because it dried so quickly!
Although this product smelled really good, I am glad that I didn’t go out of my way to purchase it for myself. When I use a face mask, I’m only genuinely concerned about one thing: Blackhead removal. And, unfortunately, my blackheads were none of the better after using this mask even though it’s supposed to be a purifying one. Don’t get me wrong, my skin felt soft after using it and it will be nice to apply every once in a while. But, don’t expect a miracle in this face mask, because you aren’t going to get it.
What is your favorite face mask to use? How do you like to pamper yourself? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! While browsing through my WordPress beauty feed, I noticed a Beauty Scenario Tag post by Fridoline and it looked like so much fun that I had to join in! Here we go:
You have to get rid of all your foundations and you can only keep one high end and one drugstore, which do you keep?
Much to everyone’s shock when I tell them this, I don’t wear any type of foundation or concealer products. I consider myself very lucky and my pasty pale complexion is one of my favorite things about myself.
You go for an interview and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?
Oh wow… I have no idea how I would handle this. I actually don’t think that I would say anything. If a total stranger told me that I had lipstick or food in my teeth, I would feel so embarrassed. I think that it would be better if she found out herself or if a coworker who she knows better pointed it out. But, that’s just me.
You’re not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which lipstick do you put on to make yourself feel beautiful?
NYX’s Pure Red Matte Lipstick, of course. It’s my go to shade and is fifty percent of the reason why my nickname is Lil Red. (The other half being my red hair, obvs lol.)
You go back in time for a day to your teenage years, how would you do your hair and makeup differently?
When I was a teenager, I actually didn’t wear a lot of makeup. Maybe if I did, I would be better at applying it now! Ha. But, I had long hair as a teen and I wish that I dyed it red, because I think that it would have been so pretty. I’d love to see what it would have looked like, because it is so difficult for me to grow my hair out now.
You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott hair cut, but they hear wrong and give you a pixie cut.
Do you:
A) Smile, say thank you, leave and call your mom hysterical.
B) Cry in the chair and things get awkward.
C) Complain to the manager and demand a refund.
OR D) So, I had no idea who Pixie Lott is and I had to Google her. Her hair is very pretty, but it’s not me at all AND I look great in a pixie cut (#humblebrag) so I don’t think that I would have been too upset.
HOWEVER, since that’s not an option, I would probably go with C. I would be very nice about it and say “this is not what I wanted at all and I don’t think that I should have to pay for it”. At the end of the day, it’s your hair that got messed up, so paying for someone’s mistake just adds to the suckery of it.
Your friend surprises you with a 4 day city break and you have 1 hour to pack. Which ‘do it all’ palette do you pack in your makeup bag?
I don’t own any palettes aside from my Elf Nude Rose Gold one, so I guess that’s the one that I would be bringing, lol.
Your house has been robbed, don’t worry everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What’s the product you really hope is safe?
Since 99% of my makeup is drugstore brand, besides for my Better Than Sex mascara, I wouldn’t be too disappointed about anything. But, I would be kind of pissed if the Tarte Lip Paint sample that I got for my birthday from Sephora got messed with because it’s an exclusive shade for the Beauty Insider members and I freaking love it.
Your friend borrows your makeup and returns it in awful condition.
Do you:
A) Just pretend you haven’t noticed.
B) Ask them to repurchase it.
C) Secretly do the same to something of theirs.
Can option D be “none of the above”? Lol, I’m not really keen on letting anyone but me use my makeup.
Thanks again to Fridoline for this fun tag! It was a hoot. How would you answer some of these questions? What is your holy grail beauty item? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! This is a special edition of my Scarf Series, because the one that I’m discussing today is one of a kind. My newest scarf was handmade by my mom! Despite my mom having no artistic talent in regards to drawing or painting, her creativity shines through in a different manner. She is an expert in her craft of bread baking and always uses the phrase “kneaded with love” so Knitted With Love only seemed like an appropriate title for this post. Take a look:
Literally no one in my family even knew that my mom knows how to knit until last month when she had a stay in the hospital. The lovely JANE decided that she would like to spend some of her time there knitting, so we took a trip to the absolutely darling Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium to pick out some materials for her to work with.
At first, I was ambivalent about my mom making me a scarf, because I already have so many and my sister specifically said that she wanted one, so I wanted my mom to focus on that, instead. But then, my mom and I laid eyes on the gorgeous mustard yellow tweed yarn that you can see above. It was the perfect shabby chic, collegiate cool palette and my prior sentiments of “you don’t have to make me a scarf if you don’t want to” instantly turned to “can you PLEASE make me a scarf?!”.
While my mom was away, it was always so exciting to get a text or hear her say on video chat that she was working on my scarf. And when she finally returned home, which was amazing in itself, it was made even more special to see the fruits of her labor for her two girls with a rose pink and mustard yellow scarf. It hasn’t been cold enough in Ohio to wear scarves, any more (Which is great!), but I did get to wear my home made scarf one time and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to get more use of it next winter!!
What is your favorite craft to do? Did someone teach you how or were you self taught? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! Okay, so on a recent post that I made talking about how I enjoy learning new languages, I got so much positive feedback and some great tips. Thanks for that, by the way! Many of you mentioned the Duolingo app in your comments, and I decided to give it a go and I am in LOVE!!
Normally, when I’m learning a new language, I just like doing the tapes in my car and practicing on my own. I had heard of the Duolingo app before but never thought of giving it a try until it got such positive reviews from my readers. I am SO thankful for that, because I am enjoying it so much!! I’m working my way through the French lessons as a fun refresher and then I plan on starting Spanish within the next month.
I just can’t emphasize enough how pleased I am that you guys shared such positivity for the app with me, because I’m bullheaded enough that I would have just kept trudging through doing things my own way without it. Learning a new language is such an amazing workout for your brain and if you are interested in a great mental workout, then Duolingo is the way to go. I can now join the rave reviewers, because within a handful of days, I have become obsessed!!
How do you practice a new language? Are there any other handy language apps that you like to use? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Featured Image By: MUO
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