Oh Florida. Why do you do this to me? It's nice and warm out one day and in the 40's the next, that's just not nice. I'm ready for Mother Nature to make up her mind (and that goes for all over, not just Florida) and either be hot or be cold. I prefer hot but I'd be satisfied with no more crazy temperature swings. Sorry, I think I'm a bit crabby this week. Today marks 3 weeks with no coffee and this week I decided to start a bikini challenge which also means no soda or bread for 30 days. Trust me, I'm not one to diet, in fact this is the first "diet" I've ever done but I figured 30 days isn't THAT long so why not? I'm on day 3 and I'm ready to quit. I swear when I'm told I can't have a food it makes me want it a million times more. It was National Waffle Day yesterday. Who knows that? A girl who can't have waffles, that's who. If I wasn't on this diet not only would I not care about having waffles, I wouldn't even know it was National Waffle Day!! Ok, enough complaining.
I got this top last year from Sophie & Trey and I'm still in love with it! I love the bright orange color and the cut of it and how easily it can be dressed up or down. They don't have it in the orange right now but they do have it in mint and yellow which I guess are more "spring" but I don't care, I'm still rocking the bright orange! I wore this out for drinks on my trip to Cincinnati last year and paired it with wedges, white capris and a statement necklace but this time I decided to go in an opposite direction. I went minimal on my jewelry and paired it with jeans and simple nude heels from Aldo so it was more appropriate for day time. I love pieces in my wardrobe that are so versatile! Had I not worn this top with heels and wore it with flats and shorts it probably would have had a completely different look to it. Although I will say, this top probably looks better when I have more of a tan going on... ;)
For the February Birchbox the editors at Us Weekly decided to share some red carpet ready secrets just in time for awards season. Now if only I had a red carpet to walk so I could get all dressed up and pamper myself... oh who am I kidding? I don't need a reason to pamper myself... right? I mean obviously it's not star quality pampering but it is almost spring so might as well switch up my tresses, get a nice facial to get rid of all the damage the winter "cold" did to my skin and change up that nail color to pastels instead of jewel tones. While I wouldn't mind a nice spa day, I'll take what I can get! Meanwhile I'll sit on my couch (champagne in hand) and drool over what my favorite celebs are wearing to walk the red carpet and remember that even though I don't get to do all the glamorous things they do at least if I forget to wear my underwear underneath my dress no one is going to post a shot of it in all the tabloid magazines (no but seriously, who goes out in public wearing a short dress and no underwear? If you're going to at least be aware of it when you're getting out of a car. Thanks.). Thanks to Birchbox and Us Weekly editor Gwen Flamberg, at least I get to sample some awesome star-quality beauty products and review them here for you!
1. Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish in Ride 'Em Cowgirl - Sadly this was my biggest disappointment in the box and I was SUPER excited about it. I've been dying to try a color changing nail polish so I immediately put this on knowing I was going to be spending the entire next day outside. It's a chunky glitter so don't expect total coverage when you wear it, I'd suggest a nice base coat under the glitter so you don't just see your natural nail through it. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or if I some how messed up during application but mine never changed from gold to red like it was supposed to. I was literally in direct sunlight all day and it never changed from the gold that it was in the bottle. That being said, it was still a fun gold glitter and I put it on Monday and it still hasn't chipped so that's nice. I'll try again another time and see if I can get it to change but I was definitely disappointed I didn't experience anything the first use.
2. Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara - I'm always excited to try new mascaras and I'm already a big fan of Smashbox so I was really happy to see this in my Birchbox. Reading up on this it said it was supposed to thicken and lengthen lashes without clumping or flaking. I'm pleased to say it really did everything it was supposed to! It goes on thin but still adds dramatic length and thickness. I actually did a second coat and it almost looked like I was wearing fake lashes. Apparently it contains olive oil in it which is supposed to be good for conditioning lashes which I'm always a fan of. It also came off easily with eye make up remover and didn't leave me looking like a raccoon!
3. Smashbox Full Exposure Palette - More Smashbox goodies, how can I complain?? I absolutely LOVE the colors in this tester although I am sad it's a one time use sample so DON'T mess up or you won't get the second eye done. I'm a huge fan of neutral eye shadows (I religiously use the Urban Decay Naked palette) so this was right up my alley. I love that it has similar shades to the Naked collection but adds their own take on them making it different in a good way. I haven't tried the darker tones yet but I love the sparkly browns and nudes. They go on very smooth and stayed relatively crease-free all day.
4. Agave Healing Oil Treatment - I'm not even going to lie, I was slightly confused about this product at first. My initial reaction was "YES, finally Birchbox sends me something useful! Now, do I just want to take it as a shot or should I make a margarita...?" Wait. This is a hair treatment? Agave... in my hair? I thought Agave was supposed to go in my tequila? I resisted the urge to attempt to make a margarita with it and instead put it on my wet hair. The first time using this I didn't read the directions (again, I was fighting my desire to make a margarita, do you blame me for avoiding the directions?) so I washed it out after putting it in. After my hair dried and I didn't really notice any difference I decided to read the directions. Ohhh you're supposed to put it in AFTER washing your hair while your hair is still damp. Got it. So round two went much better and I definitely noticed the ends of my hair were smoother and softer. Sadly the ends of my hair need more than just an amazing margarita, I mean oil treatment, but maybe I'll try this out after getting my horribly split ends chopped off and see if the smoothness lasts more than just a few hours.
5. Camille Beckman Glycerine Hand Therapy - I got the Morelia Monarch scent of this hand cream which is supposed to smell like green tea and amber mixed with vanilla orchid. Amber and vanilla scent mixed automatically reminds me of my middle school/early high school years. Did anyone else use the Victoria's Secret Amber Romance Body Mist back in the day? This slightly reminds me of that, maybe just a bit more subtle. This cream is very moisturizing and creamy (it better be, it is a cream after all!) without being too oily or greasy. Definitely a plus if you want to use your phone after putting on lotion! Honestly, I don't know if I'd spend the $15 on a 6 oz bottle of it since after all it is just a hand cream, it doesn't have any miracle benefits and I certainly can't make a margarita out of it (I'm talking to you Agave Healing Oil Treatment...) so there are other hand creams out there that are cheaper and do the same thing but I definitely don't have anything negative to say about this.
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{ via } Happy Halloween babes! It's a bittersweet day since tomorrow means my favorite season is officially over. I'll be soa...
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Posts on Sequins & Sea Breezes may contain affiliate links. This means that I could earn a commission from them. All of these items are ones that I would personally (or already have purchased) purchase myself. All opinions remain my own.
