Little Black Bag

So, thanks to the lovely Sarah Belle and her May Favorites video over on youtube.com/sarahbelle93x (you should really check her out if you haven't already, seriously open another tab...it's worth it!) I was introduced to a little site known as littleblackbag.com. After hearing Sarah explain the concept of the site, seeing showing off her fun goodies from them, and the offer of a free gift link (check out the May Favorites video to get the link) I was hooked and had to check out the site for myself. 

Upon signing up you're asked to take a quick & simple style quiz, which was actually pretty fun if I do say so myself. From there you'll be stylistically (did I make up a new word?) matched up with a gallery of products from handbags to cosmetics and everything in between, even shoes and sunglasses! I don't think I got to pick my free gift but to start your little black bag experience you pick one key piece to put in your bag and that item is matched up with 2-3 other items that are picked by the stylists and placed into your bag at a discounted bundled price. However, since I was getting a free gift via Sarah's link they kinda made it seem like I was just getting two bonus gifts in my bundle. Well, anyway, once you get the stylist picked bundle in your bag you're able to see the mystery gifts and choose to either go ahead and ship your items or, and here's the fun part, trade your items with other site members for something that's more to your liking! 

My key gift was a First Aid Beauty Repair Eye Cream that I wanted to try out because I'd seen the brand on Sephora and have been looking for something to ease the rough patches I get around my eyes from my allergies. My bonus gifts turned out to be a really antiquey gold looking eye shadow from Pixi that I was really excited about when I saw it in the gallery and a kinda gross looking brown shade from the same brand. I was totally prepared to keep the first two and trade the brown shadow but it seemed like no one wanted it, I couldn't really blame them the picture made it look quite unattractive for an eyeshadow. However, I got tons of offers to trade my gold shadow and my eye cream. All of which I denied (sorry!) even when it came down to a dangly seahorse ring that was super cute, but come on when am I going to sport a seahorse dangling from my finger?

I ended up just letting the trading period slip by without actually trading anything but I must say the experience was quite fun and I enjoyed seeing what the stylists picked for a few different members and trying to barter away my murky brown shadow. 

Once my items shipped I was asked if I wanted to become a VIP Member of the site for $9.95 a month and I figured I pay that much for my Birchbox subscription that I'm not too happy with at the moment (more to come on that subject) so I thought I'd give it a try. After setting up my subscription I was given a new gallery tailored to me personally based on my answers from the style quiz and they were pretty spot on. 

I wanted to buy everything I saw (I've circled some of my favorites) and the discounted prices and promise of mystery bundled deals didn't help. 

I ended up falling for this navy patent leather tote

and even really adored this polka dotted number for some odd reason

It was like half off retail and had two other items in the bundle at that price so I was very tempted but decided that I should probably get through my first Little black Bag experience before I started another.

Then this came in the mail

How precious, "every girl needs a little black bag." They definitely get an A for packaging, the products were even wrapped up in black tissue paper. However, that's about the highlight of the experience. Yes, that's right folks, the Little Black Bag ending up being a Little Black Bomb from the moment I tore open that tissue paper and discovered this...

Yes, glitter gals, that is a cracked eye cream! Gasp! Now, I understand the rough journey that is the postal route of such a tiny package but this little bottle was double bubble wrapped! I repeat, double bubble wrapped! There's no way this little guy could have received such a battle wound while incased in the wonder that is bubble wrap. No friends, this was a pre-transit attack and with the accompaniment of a few other scars I noticed from the labels of the products and a chipped eyeshadow I came to the conclusion that these "free gifts" might very well be damaged or returned goods and I don't know whether to be appalled or remain appreciative. Eh, they all still worked so we'll go with the latter.

Now on to the eyeshadows, turns out I was wrong about them and shouldn't have judged them from what now appears to be poor quality photography.

I was right about the gold being antiquey as it's even in its name, "Antique Gold" even though the actual color was completely off and I was surprisingly wrong about the "Bronze Beam" that has nothing murky brown about it. However, while that's great and all these are absolutely terrible shadows. They are so dusty and lack luster that I'm glad I didn't pay for them! Infact, I had more shadow dust on my cheekbones after applying these shades that I wished I hadn't already applied highlighter/bronzed because once I brushed it away the remains on my cheeks was a bit of an overload.

Overall, I wasn't happy with the products. The eye cream is really thick and creamy which is what I look for in an eye cream but I really don't feel like it's doing much other than making my eyelids a little shiny and the shadows were definitely not worth it which was rather disappointing.

I do, however, really like the site and think that if you play around with it enough you might be able to score some really great deals. I'm still thinking about snatching up that navy tote.

If you decide you wanna give it a go and see for yourself you can get started by clicking this link

http://littleblackbag.com/v/InviteFriendsGet50

Thanks to SarahBelle93x for recommending the site and for the free gift, we'll see what we can do with them.

xo

aFm

Random Thought

I am kinda obsessed with the tribal print nails from the Mall Haul! I started out doing a pedicure then decided to use the nails on my toes.

I loved it so much I wanted to do my nails the same and guess what? There were plenty of nails left to do a manicure.

I'm at work now (on the job blogging, don't tell my boss) and every time I ring up a sale I silently commend my self in tee kick butt job! 

Can't wait to try out the tuxedo nails next!

xo

aFm

Mall Haul

So yesterday I went into work at Glamour Girlz boutique at our local "mall" a little early to see if I could hit some deals before punching the clock! I put the word mall in quotations because our town is so small and the mall is so quant that it really isn't deserving of the name, it's more like an indoor shopping center. You'll see what I mean when you realize that my Mall Haul is me just hitting two stores, even though I did try to pick up the new Lilly Pulitzer Estée Lauder gift tote at the Estée counter but let's save a discussion of their incredible rudeness for later.

Stop #1: Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale!

My mother and I wait all year for the summertime sale simply because they bring back all of our all time favorites! I barely shop at B&BW any other time because I only really like the discontinued fragrances. I'm all about some Midnight Pomegranate and Exotic Coconut! Which leads be to my first purchase:

My all-time favorite B&BW fragrance is Exotic Coconut because I am a coconut freak and will wear it any time of the year! However, I did try to restrain myself and make this trip one of only necessity as the sale lasts for like four weeks and I plan to pace myself.

I was bound and determined to get a 3-wick candle while they were on sale but the problem was finding a scent I liked. I ended up picking up the limited edition Summer Boardwalk

I liked the scent, which really does smell like a boardwalk with cotton candy, popcorn, and salt water which really isn't the worst combination believe it or not but it wasn't the scent I meant to pick up. I grabbed a Gelato scented candle and loved it but made it away with the boardwalk candle by accident. Not complaining, it will definitely get put to use this summer but I'm going to have to pick up the Gelato candle next time I pop in.

And stay tuned, I might do a tutorial on how I clean out the candle jars because they make the cutest little containers. I've got a set holding my Essie polish now.

Of course I couldn't make it out of there without lip gloss! I picked up some classic clear mint flavored gloss, a super cute jelly pop, and a really great blood orange gloss that's a nice bright redish orange with orange sparkle that is great for summer and has a great flavor too (I broke into it during my shift last night).

I even grabbed one of those rubber holders for lip gloss like the ones for their hand sanitizers because I thought it might be a good way to keep my favorite gloss from settling to the bottom of my bag where it's usually out of reach. We'll see how it goes.

Stop #2: Claire's and the 10 for $10

I'm a huge fan of Claire's mainly because we don't have a Charlotte Russe or Forever 21 and they offer the discounted 10 for $10 which is always great! 

I went in to get some new nails for summer and possibly a cute new iPhone case but couldn't resist the allure of the 10 for $10. 

Clock wise: a braided brown leather head band, a Libra zodiac necklace, elastic headbands, Minnie Mouse elastic hair bands, Hello Kitty 3D nails, pink & green composition book make up bag, heart shaped ear cuff, and red bow & arrow bracelet. 

Not to mention my favorite purchase of the day...

my XO necklace which I love so much and wore to work last night because I consider it my signature sign-off! How lucky to get all these great finds for just $10! 

I didn't forget the mission though and snagged some awesome nail kits.

I love the tribal print for summer and how cute are the little tuxedo nails? Too cute!

I managed to make it away without checking out the phone cases and my bank account is appreciative but it was mainly because I got distracted by the sight of all the Lilly totes at the Estée Lauder counter.

However, Stop #3 was a fruitless effort as I encountered some of the rudest make up counter girls ever! I fell in love with the blue and corally red tote so badly that I was bound and determined to make a purchase to get my hands on it! There I was, a customer with money burning a hole through my Coach wallet, fully prepared to be hoo-dooed into buying whatever granted me the "free" gift tote. I was a counter girl's dream! I figured I pick up a new foundation or eye cream, all I needed was a little assistance and I had 20 minutes before I was expected to be back to work. Plenty of time to make a purchase but what did I get from the counter girls? Nothing but dirty looks, a "give me a second, honey" while I get back to gossiping with three other counter girls, and an empty shopping bag. I'd just like to say that Estée Lauder herself would not be happy with their actions and neither would Lilly Pulitzer, God rest her soul.

So instead of walking away with the prize I treated myself to two of my favorite things...two scoops of Birthday Ice cream and a diet coke and all was well again. 

Let me know if you all want to see more hauls...I promise the next one will be a little bit more interesting.

xo

aFm

How to Glitterize Anything!

So while doing my morning routine of a cup of tea over a nice Pinterest search I stumbled upon a pin I had seen a while ago and thought I'd make a goal for the day to try it out.

via cosmeticsobsession.wordpress.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/175147872980984104/

I searched through The Great Big Craft Bag of Everything and gathered my supplies of Glossy Mod Podge and my favorite pink glitter! I threw in some painter's tape because I decided to glitterize my hairbrush and didn't want to get too much glitter on the actual part that would go through my hair. 

I forgot to take a "before" picture of the brush, but I made sure to clean it with a damp cloth and dried it before getting started and put the painter's tape over the area I didn't want glitter on. Then I took the sponge brush and brushed a layer of Mod Podge over the back of the brush & generously sprinkled glitter over the area. 

Make sure to shake the excess glitter off, I used a paper plate (a 'Merican flag one at that) so I could save the glitter for later.

Be sure to allow the layer to dry before adding more like the original link says.

Once all the glittery layers are dry brush more Mod Podge over the glitter to seal it all in and let it dry for a few hours. 

It should look something like this. Now all you have to do is be patient or if you're like me and that can't possibly happen you can glitterize other things in the meantime. I tried to glitterize my phone charger but the glitter I used was different than this one and it was an epic fail so I moved onto putting more glitter on the brush! 

That's a whole lotta glitter!

Now it's definitely time to be patient and let everything dry. 

And a few hours later you'll have a finished product! Ta-da!

Thanks to cosmeticsobsession.wordpress.com for the great tutorial! A+

xo

aFm

RueLaLa's $5 Surprise Party Invite

So I just got the greatest email ever! Like a lot you probably do, I get hundreds of emails daily from sites like Birchbox, Pinterest, RueLaLa, etc. and usually I ignore most of them just long enough to hit the delete button. Well, today something caught my eye from RueLaLa...they're hosting a $5 Surprise Party to celebrate 5 years and 5,555 Facebook likes!

They reeled me in with the promise of $5 (pre-loved) Birkins and Rolexes so of course I was all in from there. 

All you have to do is share a link on Facebook (like everything else these days) and I figured that was a small price to pay for the treasure that awaits and figured I couldn't possibly not share it anyways so here we go. 

Just click the link below and be sure to share it on Facebook through the link to get your name on the list an receive an update from RueLaLa themselves!

http://rtm.cc/YwQPA

Oh, invade you haven't been fully introduced to the wonderful world that is RueLaLa and most of this has just been me rambling on, consider this your personal invite to the site! It's fabulous and definitely the source of my main drain on my checking account but its so worth it, I mean a $5 Birkin? To quote my mother's idol Rachel Zoe, "I die."

http://www.ruelala.com/invite/mferrell25

xo

aFm

May Favorites 2013

I'm a little late but I couldn't help but feature some of my absolute favorite things from the month of May 2013. First of all, at the risk of sounding cliché, holy crap I can't believe it's already June! That means half of the year is almost over! Ridiculous.

Anywho, lets get started.

--Tanya Burr on YouTube--

While I love this British beauty's beauty blog, tanyaburr.co.uk, I adore her make-up tutorials and daily vlogs on YouTube. She's so cheery and fun and bright that you can't help but thrive off her energy and personality. Watching one of her videos can seriously change my mood as well as my beauty routine. I also love her daily vlogs and snippets of how cutesy and lovey she is with her fiancé/fellow YouTuber Jim. She id absolutely precious and I recommend her channel 100%. 

So don't forget to check her out at youtube.com/tanyaburr and youtube.com/tanyasvlogs.

--Essie Nail Polish--

I am a die hard Essie fan and self proclaimed nail polish addict so when. I come across a new Essie color I will most likely buy it but what is unusual about the colors I've loved in May is that they break completely away from my comfort zone.

My favorites have been two colors far from the light pinks and deep reds I've come to know and love over the years. I have fallen so hard for both the shades that whenever they are on my tips I can't help but smile and find myself taking better care of my nails because of it ( I even accidentally grew out my nails a bit in May while wearing Play Date but then Finals Week blew that all to hell.) I highly, highly recommend both shades as fun summer hues!

--My Tervis Tumblers--

Tervis has been a staple in my family for years but I never really appreciated them until I got my own set while on vacation with my friends. My Little got me a huge tumbler for my birthday but I had mainly stuck with my smaller cups for travel and long nights in the library but now that I've started my summer job back and have been packing my lunch to work I've brought out the big guns and they have saved the day. My drinks (and ice) stay cold throughout the day and in this massive heat wave that alone is a lifesaver so I'm definitely listing my Tervis tumblers as a Mat favorite. You can pick up your own at tervis.com!

--DVD Box Sets--

Okay this one is kinda lame but throughout May I was in the process of moving a lot, from dorm room to house to apartment, it was just a lot so I haven't had cable as of late which has resulted in me breakin out the old DVDs and I've been having a blast.

I've watched a heck of a lot of Sex & the City and still begged Carrie to say yes when Aidan proposed, I've freaked out over the craziness that is Brothers & Sisters, and I've went gaga over Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent in Smallville. Yes, I'm all over the board on this one but watching these beloved shows over again have made me relive some pretty fun moments in my own life while I was at it.

Last but not least...

--Maybelline Color Whisper--

This is a fun find I just happened to stumble upon while helping Little find a Taylor Swift-esque red lipstick. They are cute, fun, easy lip colors that are gel like so they're somewhere between a lipstick and a lip gloss. 

They offer a variety of super wearable colors; I have a nude, a bright pink, and a corally orange all in my bag right now so I can mix it up day or night. I think I'm going to try out a red and a plum color the next time I'm out, they're that good.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my favorites from the past month! I would love to hear some of yours so be sure to comment.

xo

aFm