New Forever21 Jewelry

Can you believe we don't have a Forever 21 around here? Oh well. We have 1 about a half hour away but that mall sucks so bad. It is so old and broke down and every time I go to it, I get exited because I am going to something other than the mall near me, only to be disappointed when I get there. So I ordered stuff online. I wanted to type "I ordered stuff offline" but that doesn't seem right. Who cares.

At our mall near me, we have Body Central, Charlotte Russe, & Wet Seal. None of them ever have any trendy jewelry. Yes, I am trendy. You can't be too surprised! You have seen this blog before, right? So, I wanted some cheap, trendy jewelry. Here's the stuff I got:

Etched Arrowhead Necklace $6.80

This was what I wanted in the first place and wanted to make it over $21 so I could get free shipping. When it arrived, I found out I liked the other necklace better.  This one is a gold color, but not a true gold. Forever21 describes it as "burnished arrowheads with an etched zigzag pattern." The website does offer the length and dimensions of the necklace as 18". I didn't matter because I had no idea what 18" looked like anyway. What you see on my neck is about as long as it will go. I like it anyways. I have always wanted that House of Harlow necklace and this feeds my craving. For now. It has a lobster claw clasp.

  

Tiered Southwest Pendant $6.80

This is my favorite purchase. I cannot tell you the exact length of the necklace as Forever21 doesn't offer it any longer (more on that later). Just by looking at it here, you can tell it is longer than the Arrowhead necklace, which is 18". What you see in the picture is on the shorter side. This necklace is heavy duty. Not so heavy that it weighs me down, but it has some weight, if you know what I mean. I really like how the plates have a tribal pattern etched into them. It has a little flare with out being too loud on the tribal side. It has an oval chain, with a lobster claw clasp, and a high polish finish. I don't have anything like this and I am happy with it.

Arm Candy!

Rhinestoned Cross Bracelet $4.80

This was really cheap. Since I have been looking for a sideways cross piece of jewelry, I figured I would grab it. I have different pieces on my wishlist and this was one of them. However, I can see myself purchasing these beaded cross bracelets many times as they are stretchy and those always brake on me. It was just a couple bucks. Im happy with it. If you ask me, this bracelet is a little overpriced with the necklace prices in mind. All in all, it is only $4.80 so it's fine.

Metallic Chain-Link Bracelet Set $5.80

Mark. has something similar to these bracelets for $22. I figured these were a steal! I seen them on the site, and felt like I had to have them. When they finally got here, I seen the actual quality. They are just weird and seem cheap. I feel like they will pinch me one day from the way they stretch. I wish I could just hand it to you so you can see what I mean. I guess you get what you pay for with some things! I will still wear them, but comparing them to mark.'s In the Mix Stretch Bracelet's, I think those are way cuter and I will most likely crack and purchase them. I am a mark. rep so I get something around 20% off. If your interested in purchasing the mark version, I will link you to my boutique! 

 

Mark.'s In the Mix Stretch Bracelet

Ordering from Forever21 is a little tricky. I usually will put stuff in and take stuff out of my bag for about a week, making sure I am getting everything I want. Well, there was a downside to that on Forever21's website. Every day I would check my bag, making sure my items were still there. I do this with every online store and never before did I get to the page to find things missing from my bag. This happened twice in the week on Forever21's site. I don't know why. I am assuming they change stuff a lot, a lot. When I went to add it again to my bag, both items were no longer offered. So be careful if your indecisive about your online purchase like me. Don't say I didn't warn yah!

Also, if your wanting to order jewelry from cheaper places online (cough Forever21 cough) I would try to find some kind of review (like this one) on the pieces your wanting because not everything is as it seems. I am speaking mainly on the Metallic Chain Link Bracelet Set. Then again, nothing is all that expensive anyhow. I will probably do some research next time, anyways.

There's some of my new jewelry purchases! Overall, I have been loving my cheap jewelry lately! I have more jewelry stuff coming soon! 

If your going to make a purchase from mark. and you don't have a friend that sells mark., I would love if you shopped at my boutique! The restaurant I worked at closed about a month ago so I am out of work  ): it sux so bad! If you have any questions about mark., just leave a comment and I will get back to you! I am always totally honest because I would hate for you to order something wasn't very good or not what your looking for.

Have you guys purchased any nice jewelry from Forever21 recently?

What about cheap jewelry from them?

Any jewelry period?

Are you into arm candy?

do tell! 

xoxo

Erica

Current Beauty Faves

I have not done a favorites blog post in so long! I have had lots of different favorite products in the past few months, but I never did get around to talking about them. Here we go:

Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation:  
After using it a time or 2, I wanted to take it back! I couldn't get used to the peculiar packaging. After using it a while, I started to really love it. I already love the Dream Mousse Foundation in a jar. That one is much more creamy and keeps my face really matte and gives really great coverage. This 1 is really much more airy although it doesn't give as good coverage as the the original Dream Mousse foundation does, it give nice coverage and dries to a nice velvet, almost matte, smooth finish. 

how to find your color

The actual product is hidden in the jar and the color they paint the actual can isn't the color of foundation that comes out. I ended up picking the perfect color match. I knew I am cool toned and I am also on the fair to the light side of the spectrum, so I chose the lightest shade with red/cool undertones. The color on the can looked nothing like my skin tone but the product inside did. Happy camper

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer:
I am a little bummed that mine keeps coming apart from the base because the product gets twisted up to the shaft, not the sponge tip, and there's a bunch wasted! Maybe I got a dud but concerning the actual product, I have been really loving it! You need only a very thin amount and because of the sponge applicator, it dictates how much is being applied to the face which in turn makes it pretty much fool proof. A really thin layer really covers a lot of ground and even outs and blends in nicely. I really love this. I may even love it better then Maybelline's 24/7 concealer!

Maybelline Mega Plush Volume Express Mascara:
I must be loving Maybelline! I am always looking for a mascara that will volumize, but more importantly a mascara that will lengthen. This one, will volumize more and I am not impressed with the length it gives. It gives some, but the ultimate is Revlon's Growlucious. The reason I love this is because of the formula. Once it dries, it doesn't make your lashes brittle or dry. It actually makes them smooth and "bouncy" would be I guess a good way to describe them. I am convinced, because of these points, that it is healthier for your lashes. Take that last comment with a grain of salt as I have no evidence of this. Purely speculation.

Tarte Blush in Dollface:
I wont go too much into detail because I did a whole blog post about this blush. I just love the color and I haven't found a blush yet that lasts as long as this one does on the skin. I love it.

Suave Dry Shampoo:
In the past, I have tried Oscar Blandi's dry shampoo. It was a huge disappointment! I tried and re-tried Oscar Blandi's version reading and re-reading every single word in the directions, convinced that a) I was obviously not doing it right or b) that dry shampoo just wasn't for me. Oscar Blandi's made my hair even more greasy than before. Suaves actually works well! It sucks up all of my oil and keeps me going for another day with gorgeous hair. It even adds volume to it! It say's it's for fine and straight hair, but I have thick, curly hair and it works great for me.

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Liner's for Brown Eyes:
A great deal. You get 3 eye liners for $10. They really are great eye liners too. I have been into the purple and brown ones a lot lately! Nicely pigmented and they last on my eyes. The swatch you see lasted on my hand all night. I tried washing it off with just water and my rubbing it with my hand and it still stayed. I would have swatched the black one, but it was down to almost nothing, then the liner fell out of the tube so, yeah.

ELF Eyeshadow:
This is totally random and I feel a little bad because this eyeshadow duo doesn't even have a name. I got it in a Christmas Pack from last year and also gave one of them away too. Life as a Southern Girl won so maybe she will be the one to benefit from this being added to my faves for inspiration for herself-lol. The eyeshadows are ok quality but with a primer, I have been loving the bronzed color on the lid with the brown color in the crease. Particularly, the bronzed color is actually a pretty good dupe for Urban Decays Smog. Next to Smog, The ELF one is much prettier with more silvery taupe finish, actually. It has more depth. I like it. If you can find it this coming Christmas season, they are really cheap! I found it at Target last year.

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray:
I bought this mega size at Sephora when it was on sale for $17. I really love the De-Slick (a Holy Grail) but I ran out and since this was so cheap, I figured I would try this one out! This 1 only keeps your makeup lasting and doesn't keep your face from getting oily like De-Slick does. De-Slick to me is better because of that but this one really does make your makeup last which was my favorite part about De-Slick anyhow. It's one of those products that I can't believe I have been living without it and now a good setting spray is a must. I have only tried Urban Decay setting sprays so far but you have tried another good brand that's a better price, let me know!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion:
I got this last year for Christmas with my Naked palette. I have never had a high end primer until this one and it keeps my makeup lasting longer then any other drug store brand. It also keeps it from creasing better than any other drug store one too. It creases slightly if I have too many layers but I have really oily eyes lids and I have hooded eyes so that may be why. It also really makes any eye shadow color look that much more distinguished and vibrant.

There you have my beauty favorites! 

If you have Monthly Favorites up on your blog, please link us so we can check them out too! 

as always,
thank you so much for reading
xoxo
Erica

Scents of the Season #2: Yankee Candle + Some Candle 411

Hey! I love all the new candles coming out this time of year. In 2009 I won a chinese raffle full of different candles and candle accessories. I think this is where my obsession began. Since then, I feel like I have become some kind of self proclaimed candle/fragrance amateur guru.

Even though I dont discriminate on different types of scents, I think bakery might be my favorite kind. Even though Bath & Body Works is my favorite store, I am not completely partial and I give every candle company a chance! 

When I seen Yankee Candle come out with their new bakery line, I seriously jumped on it! I had a  coupon for BOGO free on either a small, medium, or large candle. The new bakery fragrance candles come in 3 different flavors:

Red Velvet Cake

Chocolate Layered Cake

Banana Cream Pie

before I weigh in on each fragrance, let me just say this...

Yankee Candles burn slower than Bath & Body Works

1 thing that sets Yankee Candle apart from Bath + Body Works, is that Yankee Candles burn much slower. You can tell the wax consistency differs between the 2 companies. YC is much more dense wax, they use paraffin wax. B+BW is much more soft wax, they use vegetable wax. You could probably stick your finger right into a B+BW candle b/c it is much softer. Weather you want your candle to burn slower comes down to preference. Your getting more bang for your buck with a slower burning candle but that also means you have to wait longer for all the wax on the top to melt in order to blow it out. Unless of course you would rather use a candle warmer....

In my experience:

If you dont let all the wax burn at the top, you will mess up the candle because the wick naturally burns some too. When you go to light it and when the wax finally does burn from the sides, it overflows onto the wick making the fire burn out and/or making the burning wick's fire really dim, which in turn makes it harder to smell the fragrance

Red Velvet

 medium sized
Because Yankee Candles are slower to burn, I had this one lit for a few hours (maybe around 2-3?) and the wax around the edges still wasn't burned into liquid and I blew it out anyways. Then, I happened again. and again. Knowing I was ruining my candle, I decided to put it on the candle burner.

When I had it lite using the wick

 the scent of the candle was a little faint. It had an ok scent throw but it didn't fill up the room like I had hoped. When I burned it with the wick, I noticed nothing more than your run-of-the-mill vanilla scent. It was nothing special. It reminded me of the Frosted Cupcake candle from Bath&Body works. Just like that one, not noticeable really at all.

When I put it on the candle warmer

the scent was much more prevalent. I could smell it throughout the whole upstairs (upstairs consists of 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a small hallway) This time, I smelled much more than just the vanilla. It smelled a lot like a cream cheese frosting & vanilla cake, a really sweet fragrance. I really suggest putting this on a candle burner as opposed to lighting the wick. Trust me, you will love it if you do so!

"A most decadent creation of creamy frosting atop moist cake and a touch of brown sugar. So very sweet!" -Yankee Candle's description

Chocolate Layered Cake 
medium sized  
I have just been burning this one with the wick as opposed to the candle warmer. I know if I use the candle warmer, the scent will be much more prevalent but using just the wick, the fragrance is very noticeable. There nothing to this candle besides the fact that it really does smell like a really rich chocolate cake. If you like chocolate, this one is only available for a limited amount of time!

"Layers of rich, fudgy cake laden with cocoa and covered with a light chocolate mousse frosting . . . it's simply to die for!" -Yankee Candle's description

Car Jar's
 B2G1 Free
I bought 2 in Red Velvet and 1 in Chocolate Layered Cake. I have used both the Red Velvet ones so far and they smell so delicious! Just like what the description suggests. There has been a time or 2 that I have gotten into my car and smelled coffee. That happened after the smell started to go away. I have yet to open the Chocolate Layered Cake one yet but knowing how much stronger the candle was compared to Red Velvet burning with a wick, I have a feeling it is going to be chocolatey good!

Overall

I love these and I wish they would have them all year long! If you like B+BW's Frosted Cupcake but you wished it had a higher scent throw, get yourself a candle burner and Red Velvet Cake and you'll be set! Or maybe just try Frosted Cupcake with a candle burner. You never know.

Side Note

Have you smelled the Glade candle, called Nut Cracker something or other? It smells like any bakery scent you would find at any higher end candle store! I love it. But I have yet to buy it, lol! I smelled it in the store and thought it was a perfect cold weather scent.

What has been your favorite candle lately?

Have you been to Yankee this season yet?

Have you checked out part 1 about B&BW yet?

Thank you for reading!

xoxo

Erica

Skinny Fun-fetti Cheesecake Dip

I didn't think something like this was possible, but turns out it is! Being my birthday on the 8th of October, I knew I wanted a skinny alternative to stand next to the delicious, fattening chocolate cake that my b/f's mom made me! God, I love that cake. I wish I could send you all a piece of it! You know the secret ingredient for a good chocolate cake?

coffee! 

It turns out it enhances the chocolate as opposed to making it taste like chocolate coffee.

back to the Fun-fetti cake dip. 

No, it doesn't hold a candle to my chocolate cake. No sweet food will ever come between me and that cake. However, the Fun-fetti cake dip to me can easily be second best. It could pass as a much creamier version of some yummy icing. The best part of that is, is that it is the skinny version!

here's your ingredients:

Directions are so simple:

-Make the Cheesecake Pudding according to the package. Let it set. 

-Add all 3 ingredients into a huge bowl and stir it up

1 serving would be 1/4 cup. 

 I tried to figure out calories and it was tough to figure out. I would say 270 calories in each serving and there are some calories in fat from both the fun-fetti cake mix and the cool whip lite. Just a head's up!

I first got the idea from Eat Yourself Skinny and she used plain yogurt in place of the pudding. I do think the cheesecake pudding gives it a little something. But then again, I have yet to try the yogurt version. Which ever one you have will work! 

I didn't expect the dip to get as thick as it was. My best friend Alex said it tasted just like cake batter, but much thicker. It was really delicious.

Idea's for dipping

We used dehydrated banana's & apples (my personal fav), 

strawberries, 

animal crackers, 

grapes which I thought were blueberries at the store. Everyone makes mistakes.

It's also really good with apple slices which I have been doing since my birthday.

So it isn't "good" for you but it's a much better option for any kid's party, adult party, birthday party, halloween party, work potluck, or any gathering of lots of people. Or you can make it for a bake sale and put it in little containers along with a little baggie of homemade shortbread cookies for dipping! that sounds like a fun, unique idea to me!

nutrition facts:

fun-fetti cake mix

jello cheesecake pudding (ff sf)

cool whip lite

So what do you guys think? Do you wanna try it out?

thank you for reading!

xoxo
Erica

Lucky Penny w/ Fireside Glow

 One trend i've been loving in the nail polish world this season, is the metallic finish. I also have always loved the ombre nail effect. Why not do 2 trends in 1 mani with perfect fall colors, youknowhatimean? That is what I did!

The color underneath is called Lucky Penny by Avon. You could call it a metallic finish, but as Avon put it, it is a sequin finish which I thought was a cuter way to say it! It think it would look like really tiny micro sequins if I were to put it under a microscope. Sequin finish/metallic finish/ sparkly glittery finish, whatever. It's just pretty. My mom actually picked this out. She wanted it because her name is Penny. It turned out to be gorgeous!

The glitter over top is another mom pick (I got it in my stocking last Christmas!) and I knew it would go hand in hand with Lucky Penny. It is China Glaze's Fireside Glow. It's a pretty red with really tiny glitter throughout.  If you have never tried a China Glaze glitter nail polish and you love glitters that are extremely opaque, then I strongly urge you to try any China Glaze glitter. Just pick one. It doesn't matter. As long as it's China Glaze, your glitter will be opaque.

 If your new to the ombre glitter mani, it's simple. Starting at the tip of your nail, paint some glitter there. Wait 10 seconds and then bring it down, with the brush of course, toward to cuticle. That's pretty much it!

 

You haven't already seen Nothing Else Metals from Essie here, go check it out! Another really cool Metallic finish polish!

Have a great weekend! 

xoxo

Erica

Scent's of the Season #1: Bath and Body Works

This time of year is unlike any other. For me, the changing of the weather and it getting darker earlier usually just kills me! I am a summer girl! But, considering my birthday is Oct. 8 & my favorite holiday is Christmas, I love this time of year in another sense. This time of year for me is really exiting this year, for some reason for another. 

I am not sure what it is. 

•  It could be that I have been on Things I love About Fall Tumblr thinking of all the things this season brings. 
•  It could be all the octoberfest and pumpkin beers ive been drinking (in a frosty mug rimmed with cinnamon and sugar!) 
•  It could be the new clothes and the new fall Pantone color panel. 
•  It could also be the scents of the season. I love food scented candles. Even food scented body washes and sprays. I will take them anywhere, anytime. However, the retailers decide that this is the time of year that make scents (ha!) to put all of the yummy bakery scented things I love out on the market again. I have bought a few things to fill up my house to make you believe that I have just been baking all day, every day, in every room. Yeah, I don't care. I have some in my bathroom right now. 

Im aloud!

Let's start with the obvious: the candle.

 Frosted Cupcake: White Barn Candle Co.

 My description is something a little bit different than B&BW's. I wished it had a stronger, higher, scent throw. It smells great when you sniff the hard wax, but I could kind of tell it wasn't going to be a candle with a really high throw. So why did I buy it, you ask? (Will answer that in a minute.) I have had it burning all night and I catch a whiff every now and again, but I just really want the scent to punch me in the face, yah no? To me, this smells exactly like the Shea Cashmere fragrance from the True Blue Spa line at B+BW, which is one of my favorite scents in the world. I have always thought the cashmere scent smells a lot like a frosted cupcake. So there you have it. 

The sales girl who is always so helpful, informative, & awesome at my B&BW told me that Slatkin & Co. and White Barn are actually the exact same company. They share a factory and everything. We don't know why they are changing the name but I don't really care as long as they are the same quality. As of right now, the White Barn candle has let me down in terms of how strong it is when burning. I had a coupon for something free worth $10, so grabbed this.

 

I bought this candle because my absolute favorite fall time candle Cinnamon Sugared Donut was out of stock! They said I could return it when they get it in and they would give me a call. I have yet to hear from them so we shall see. And a side note, they are not making a Wallflower in the Cinnamon Sugared Donut scent this year! I am so bummed! Luckily, I still have a half of 1 left from last year!

  

Then I purchased 2 Wallflowers and 2 Wallflower scents for $20. They always have this sale running.

Cinnamon Nut Bread: 

This is the next best thing next to Cinnamon Sugared Donut I suppose, with a nutty twist. I plugged this one in in the kitchen, and I thought for a quick second after I forgot it was plugged in that someone had spilled maple syrup somewhere. It makes the whole room smell really delicious! It also smells a lot like banana nut bread too. The scent will change from time to time, in a good way.

"Yummy! Enjoy a warm medley of fresh baked shortbread with cinnamon, buttercream and chopped nuts with this cozy fragrance."-Bath and Body Works' Description

Frosted Cupcake: 

The description from both myself and the candle above is the same. Smells just like the Shea Cashmere fragrance from the True Blue Spa line, in Wallflower form. As for the scent throw in Wallflower form, it is present. You can smell it from afar which means it has a high scent throw. However, Frosted Cupcake is not as strong as the Cinnamon Nut Bread. It has a fainter smell. Noticeable, but subtle. 

This I think would be a good scent for the bathroom if your someone that like's appropriate scents for the correct rooms. It has a creamy, sweet, subtle, fresh kind of scent. Really good.

2 Wallflower plug ins. 

If you buy these please note that if your power goes out and you have them plugged in, they will stop working! The nice lady at my B&BW store told me as an FYI. Other than that, I seem to get duds from time to time. It's really strange. Last year when I bought some, you could smell the Wallflower on the whole 2nd floor when it was in the bathroom. This year, I bought new ones and the acorn 1 barely worked at all, so I took it back and got a new acorn one which is a little better but not by much. I don't really know why that is. I have been using the white one by itself because I don't wanna waste my scents. That will never do! 

That was everything I picked up from Bath and Body Works for the house. But it's not over just yet! I still have my Yankee Candle stuff and let me tell you, I am completely in love! 

Side Note:

 I have a lot of blog post's to spit out this month! I am going to try for posting a blog every other day!! So check back often!

thank u

xoxo

Erica

New Maybelline Stuff

Lately, I have been liking a lot of Maybelline products. They were having their BOGO sale at Ulta a couple weeks back for Maybelline and since I have already looked in 4 other stores for the new limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoos and had no luck finding them, I figured Ulta just might have some.

Luckily, I was correct! Just when I asked if they had it in the back, a lady came out with a fresh, untouched display of the Scene on the Runway collection Maybelline is offering for a limited time. There is plenty more I would love to have from the collection (an eyeshadow palette, and that russet something or other lipstick!), but the display was strictly Color Tattoos. Thankfully, my hunt for the Barely Beige Color Tattoo was over.

Barely Beige is the only lighter color in the limited edition Color Tattoo's and I have a thing for champagne eye shadows. I already own Tough as Taupe from the permanent collection and they are both great without an eye shadow primer. Barely Beige can be swiped all over the lid, leaving Tough as Taupe in the crease and I can be done- no primer needed! Barely Beige is both creamy & pigmented even more so than Tough as Taupe. However, I have had Tough as Taupe for some time now and has more than likely dried out a little bit and since I don't know how Barely Beige will hold up over time, I can't give a fair comparison of the two in that regard. I have really been loving my Barely Beige Color Tattoo. I would say if you have been eying it, to grab it asap as it is limited edition and I am not certain about your town, but in my town it was hard to find! Swatches and comparison to come on this baby!

Since I could get something half off with my first Maybelline purchase, I already knew I wanted to try the Dream Bouncy Blush. I decided on Fresh Pink. I have heard mixed things about it. My bfff loves them. Some bloggers hate them. I happen to really like it! In my opinion it goes on with just enough pigment: not too much and not too little. It leaves a tint on the skin like a liquid tint would. Its also is nice and creamy and I find that I can build it up if need be. I have just been applying it with just my finger, dabbing and blending and that seems to work fine. It's pretty much fool-proof. Although the whole "bouncy" thing doesn't quite fit. It's doesn't bounce back up after you've tampered with it. It just has a permanent dent in it. I really don't mind that. Luckily I took my picture before I used it!

here's a swatch of the Dream Bouncy Blush in Fresh Pink, blended:

Have you gotten anything good from Maybelline lately?

thank you for reading!
xoxo
Erica