Budget Friendly Makeup Collection and Storage {DIY}

Any sort of collection you may have that involves a bunch of different little piece {makeup collection, craft/scrap book/etc} can be kind of hard to organize. In most cases, collections tend to grow over time and the way you store things will grow over time as well. This is how I used to store my makeup back in 2011/2012. I love those plastic drawer units. You can find those at any Target or Wal-Mart for a decent price.

Now that my collection has grown, the storage unit has also grown. I bought this Ten Piece Drawer Set at Sam's Club for a complete steal for only around $20! It was easy to put together and with a little bit of messing around with everything, everything fits perfectly.

All of the little bins inside of each drawer were either bought at Target ($1), Dollar Tree (3 for $1 and the larger ones $1), and Dollar General ($1).

Tips:

I was looking at the ten drawers in the order I do my makeup. The top drawer is face items {foundation, concealer, primer's, etc} Second drawer is blushes, + bronzers. Third and fourth drawer are eye products, going all the way down the line {with some exception. I should have made the brow products one of the tops drawers but whatever}

Start by figuring out what you have the most of/least of then designate a drawer accordingly. Then start placing your bins in each drawer and you will be surprised to learn that the bins just start fitting in each drawer almost like they were meant to be there- almost like a puzzle piece or something!

♥Adorable DIY Tablescape
♥Favorite Drugstore Matte Bronzers/Contours
♥Favorite Champagne Eyeshadows
♥Mally Beauty Brand Review

ok it's Friday night and I am so ready to to chill out and edit a video and some photos, have a marathon of The Challenge and Chardonnay and maybe order a pizza? I couldn't think of anything more fun to do. Dork. Yes. I am. 

How do you store your makeup?

Until Next Time!
Erica

Decorate, Organize, and Wear Blush. Plus a Haul!

A few topics that do not really fit with each other. But I had really no other way to bring it up and I dont want to make a blog post for each video. It would be too many videos and not enough actual blog post. Lucky enough for you, you will learn my favorite drugstore blushes, the brushes I like for those particular blushes, what things I bought recently, how to organize on a budget, and what to do with all of those empty Bath and Body Works candle jars all in one shot! What better way to spend your Sunday? Unless your going to church. Or going to your family's. Or if your going sled riding with your friends. Whatever. Enjoy!

If you don't already subscribe to my You Tube channel, you totally should! I make videos frequently and its another way to channel my creativity and learn a thing or two. If you have been a fan of Mind Body Beauty, then you will surely love the Erica Jackson {thats me} channel. That sound's weird, doesn't it?

♥♥More written reviews, swatches, comparisons.♥♥
♥ ELF Studio Blushes Review

♥ NYX Cream Blush
♥ Old School Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush Review
♥ Wet n Wild Blush in Heather Silk
♥ NYX Cream Blush in Rose Petal

yah no what? Just for kicks, let's throw in my October Favorites Video too!

♥ OOTD
♥ Whats in My Philip Lim Bag
♥ Blonde Video
♥ Maybelline Bouncy Blush
♥ Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil
♥ Hair Products Review

Thank you for watching!
xoxo
Erica

Keeping Organized, Saving Money, + Living the Dream!!

There are so many mixed opinions on making resolutions at the beginning of the year. Some people think it is silly because you should be making resolutions or goals all year long. That is so true! But the point we even make resolutions is to change our lives or make them better at least. To me, it doesn't matter when you make the resolution. It's just the act of making it shows that you are committed to a certain point and make sure to always take comfort in that! Let me tell you why it is important for me to make new year's resolutions.

It's important to always stop and re-evaluate your dreams and goals! You need to have an idea of what you want in life and mapping them out is even better. Last summer I did something called a 5 year plan which calls for you to look it over every year to see what I need to do next and the progress I have made. The book Smart Women Finish Rich requires to make a list of your dreams and goals encompassing everything you want your life to be. Any type of self help book, or financial book I read this seems to be the theme. Every year, I make resolutions aka re-evalute what I want out of life. My resolutions change just as my life does. Some things that weren't so important last year, might be the most important this year. Some resolutions from last year I may have completed and I can move on to focusing on other things! It's important for me to refocus every year. To me, it doesn't much matter if it is Jan 1st or December 30th.

This year, I want to make even more progress with my goals! I want to complete all of them. Just as I was pondering my intentions for the year, I came across #HowtobeHappyJanuary on Youtube from Nikki Phillipi. She has learned a method to setting your goals and achieving them and she is teaching it to all of us! It's okay if your not into this type of stuff but I have always been a list maker & life ponderer so I love the idea! If it is something you have never really thought of before but your curious, please join us! It's going to be great!

Here's all the tool's I am using for 2013:

3 Journal's

Spiritual Journal: I write 5 things I am grateful for at least 5x a week. I also go to this website and meditate on the verse. Then, I will write about the verse and what I got out of it. Another thing I like to do is to keep a prayer tab in this journal. If I have any questions about life and I need an answer, I will write them in and then keep my eyes open for an answer in future verses or wherever I feel God is speaking to me.

Healthy Journal: Grocery list's, recipes, & and my weekly menu. I was going to track what I eat but I am doing that in the Tone It Up community + On Twitter

Finance Journal: Taking a thing or 2 from Smart Woman Finish Rich again, it is a recommendation that you track every single penny you spend for the next 7 days. At the end of the week, compare your running tab to your goals and resolutions list you made and really see if your money is funding your dreams or if it is going to useless items{ahem}. After the week is up, im keeping a month by month plan and in each month, writing down what im going to do that month and how much it's going to cost. Example: I wanna go on a shopping trip in May. It's going to cost $200. I divide 200 by the amount of weeks I have until May and I will get my total for what I should be saving week to week. Then, I add all of my weekly expenses and total them to see what I need for the week all together (grocery's, bill's, etc.) Once I have that amount, I put it in the designated slot in accordion folder #2 + I usually have some money left over to spend on whatever I want! Easy peasy. If your trying this out, leave room for each month in case you decide you want to do add something later down the road. Another tip: Write everything in pencil!

Planner & Notebook: I need to get a planner but I am telling you if you wanna simplify your life, you need one! It goes week by week with plenty of space for you to write in each day. The notebook for me is just for miscellaneous things. Blog ideas, My #HowtobeHappyJanuary stuff is in there and also my 5 Year Plan.

Bills and Mail Accordion Folder: The big one. It is for papers I get in the mail. I need to keep track of all of my bills and debts I have. Each pocket is labeled and dedicated to one company or expense. That way, if I need to know how much I have yet to pay or have paid so far, I can refer to the paper I need easily.

Goal Funding Accordion Folder: I am a server, so that means I make tips. I have a designated pocket for each bill and dream I have as well as a saving pocket. I am sure to always save at least %5 of everything I make. I used to save %20 and it became too much so I quit saving all together. Bad idea! This folder goes hand in hand with the Financial Journal.

I suggest you take the 1/2 hour and really think about what you want out of life and make it work!

There's my little tricks to staying track! It has surely evolved over the years!

How are you all keeping organzied and on track?

Anyone else doing #HowToBeHappyJanuary?

xx

Erica

12: What's In My Bag

The items that make up everything in my bag aren't things I reach for on a daily. When it was time to take everything out & photograph it, I started wondering why I ever even carry a purse. The only things I use on a daily basis are 1 lip gloss, 1 lip stick, 1 body spray, a pen (sometimes) & my wallet. The deodorant? I have never used it! I do suppose it is better safe than sorry when it comes to my "essentials". Either way, there is a method to my madness...kind of.

Bag A: I received this little bag from the Target free beauty sample program they run every now & again. In here, I keep makeup. I sometimes throw in a face powder but not normally. I am not someone that touches up my whole face throughout the day. I do touch up my lips every time I get in & out of the car, along with spraying some body spray.
1. Nyx Jumbo Lip Pencil in Brown
2. Stila Lip Glaze in Mango
3. Nyx Lip Gloss in Beige
4. Nyx Soft Matte Lip Color in Tokyo
5. Nyx Round Lipstick in Strawberry Milk
6. Revlon Lipstick in Prim Rose?
7. Revlon Lip Butter in Creamsicle
8. Essence Lip Gloss in Me & My Ice Cream
9. L.A. Colors Lip Liner

Bag B: Clinique was doing a promo where if you spent more than $50, you got a bunch of free stuff! Me & mom both got a bag, 2 shadows, 1 blush, 1 lip gloss, 1 lip stick, & 1 moisturizer. I love those promo's. In this bag I keep tampons & the following:
10. Garnier Fructis Anti Aging Roller Ball. Something that I think does absolutely nothing for me or my eyes. Don't buy this, lol.
11. Bath & Body Works Pocket Back Hand Sanitizer in Chocolate Chip Cookie
12. Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Mini Lotion
13. Degree Body Spray in Classic Romance (I love pairing it with the Classic Romance deodorant!)
14. A Comb: If I tease my hair for the day, I like to touch it up throughout the day. It also comes in handy for a day at the lake or even if I have the windows down & my hair gets knots in it.
20. Lady Speed Stick Invisible Dry Deodorant: Sorry for the random number for this one, but I do store it in the Clinique Bag

15. Then I have my wallet. I got it at Rue 21 about a year ago. It is faux snake skin. It is still in great shape and I only paid around $6 for it. I love it.

I keep the rest of this stuff in a little side pocket in my purse. 
16. Orbitz Gum
17. A Heart Emery Board I got in my Birchbox.
18. A Leopard Mirror I got for Christmas from my Mom (:
19. That is a lipstick holder that I store perfume samples & bobbi pins. All of the Perfume Samples I get from Birchbox stay in there. If you have a lipstick holder you do nothing with, try this! I like storing my perfume's in it so I don't have to lug my bigger glass bottles with perfume around if I am feeling something more than a body spray.
20. Lady Speed Stick Deodorant Mentioned Above
21. Bath & Body Works Be Enchanted Body Spray (yum!)
22. Pens.

So know for the obvious question.....

What's in your Bag?

xoxo

Erica

30 Day Beauty Challenge: Day 1-4

#1: Your Wardrobe: This is easy enough. We live in an old farm house, FYI. So my closet is shaped quite weird. I hang up dresses, blouses, sweaters, cardigan's & the like on a hanger. The shelf above that I keep: pants, jeans, jeggings, cami's, & other tops that wont be ruley on a hanger! I have a part for belts, scarves, & bags. Then most of my shoes go in the holder. The clothes I wear often are most likely in a basket, which means they are not in the closet- I keep "clean-worn clothes" in it because I am too lazy to hang everything up every single day. (: - too lazy to blog? never.  I guess I just have fucked up priorities

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


#2 A Scent You Can't Live Without: Victoria's Secret's Sexy Little Things.It's not just this scent. My other favorites are Ralph by Ralph Lauren & Paris Hilton by Paris Hilton. all 3 of these scents have every note in common with one another. Fruit on the top. Floral's in the middle. & the bottom note is usually musk. For fun I am going to list the scent description for each perfume:

In common with Ralph Lauren In common with Paris Hilton In common with Sexy Little Things In common w all 3

Victoria's Secret's Sexy Little Things: japanese osmanthus, apple, water lily. honeysuckle, jasmine, lotus. iris, musk, cashmere wood.

Ralph Lauren's Ralph : apple, japanese osmanthus, italian mandarin. magnolia, boronia, yellow freesia. musk, white iris.

Paris Hilton's Paris Hilton:  melon, apple, peach . freesia, lily, lily of the valley, mimose. tuberose,  jasmine. sandal wood, musk, oakmoss, ylang ylang.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


#3 Something You've Never Worn Before: My makeup item is Coastal Scents Camo Quad. It is to cancel out certain colors on your face. I bought it for the green color, to cancel out my redness. All it did was make my face green. It barely covered up any redness. It is much easier to just conceal the redness. I am still looking for a way to use this little quad. And thing is that they are very pigmented & creamy! Maybe I can use them as an eyeshadow. In fact, I think I will.

#3 My clothing item doesn't have a good reason. I bought it on sale from Wet Seal about a year ago (maybe 2 years ago) and I never wear it! It is really cute too. I like the flower detail on the back. I like the way it fits too. I think I will wear it this week. Problem solved!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 #4 Your Favorite Color Eyeshadow: This changes all the time but I have loved Stila's Kitten since I got it. It is a really nice champagne color. Depending on the way the light hits it, it can become a mid-toned gold. I probably wear this color on my lid every day. Over any other lighter color I have, actually. I love this color. Not to mention it is so easy to apply. It feels like silk.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are doing this Challenge, let me know in the comments so I can check it out! If you just found out about it, no need to feel like you missed out, just start when ever and link me up!

xoxo

Erica

Makeup Storage Ideas

I dont know about you, but I am always looking for practical, functional, & stylish organization tips & ideas. I have learned a thing or 2 and have found some great ideas. Bobbie pins are always in my way so I was on a mission to find a great storage idea for them. Doesn't it seem like they are always everywhere? Only when you really need one, they are nowhere to be found! my latest brilliant idea which my best friend came up with was to throw them in these shot glasses we got! her work was throwing them away so we decided to give them a good home and make them a good home for our bobbies! success

I hear it is not good to keep your makeup in the bathroom, because the steam from the shower gives the makeup bacteria. That is the lightest place of my house as I do not have my makeup mirror anymore (I need a new one) and it just works for me to put my makeup in the bathroom. I have a roll-away stand that a store everything on which is great for when you wanna sweep-

the pink box thingee that is storing my face washes I got from the $1 section in Target- the Target dollar tree always gets me! Functional meets Stylish meets Cheap

So this is how I organize my makeup int the drawers you see in the picture above: you can kinda see what is what in each drawer if you look close.

• In the top drawer I keep all my brow stuff  & tools: stencils, brow powders, tweezers, pencil sharpener. all that kinda stuff. 
• Next drawer down, I keep concealers, highlighters, & primers. 
• Next drawer, I keep bronzers and blushes. 
• Next drawer after that I keep all eye liners and mascara's.
• In the last drawer I keep all of my lipsticks, liners, & glosses. 

In this silver bucket,  I just keep basically all of my foundations and powders in. Face items. I also keep my lash curlers just because they really don't fit anywhere else.

       

I hang all of my irons and hair tools up on the rack which works out pretty well. That way, they are tucked back and organized and the cords aren't running for miles, which really bugs me! My blow dryer is actually hung on a nail. As is the hand-held mirror. 

The basic rule of thumb is to keep like things with like things. Even tho my makeup collection isnt as big as some others, I still have a couple of each items. I find that the rule of thumb works out for me to find my stuff quicker, as I am usually in a hurry anyways, after all.

I see everyone do this with their makeup brushes. It's a great idea I think b/c you don't hafta store them just laying down where the brush hair could potentially get messed up. I had rocks and beads so I put the biggest rocks at the bottom and then the smaller beads are at the top...as you can see the rocks get messed up, but whatever. It really is a great storage idea- I bought the vase it's in for a buck at Marcs.

All of my eye shadows & palettes are in the bin at the bottom. Since I have the most shadows out of anything, I need the most space. You can find these bins at the dollar tree for cheap.

So yeah those are my storage tips for makeup and all that junk. Anybody have any other good ideas for storing hard-2-store stuff? Can you believe that this whole blog post was only supposed to be about how I store my bobbie-pins?! yeah, im crazy...thanx for reading!

Cute Storage and Organization Tip

hey everybody! My major used to be Architectural & Interiors I have an obsession with being organized and I just love little touches in a room. I am really fascinated with architecture and interiors, so I am always on the hunt for great adorable deals. I picked up some stuff recently pick little things up all the time so I wanted to share some things with you guys I am sure you will all enjoy!

I was shopping at Big Lots and decided between this or Revlon Colorstay invisible lip-liner....I was not sold in that "invisible" mess (anybody tried it?) so I opted for the much more practical, useful high-heel ring holder! Dont you love?!

Me and BFFF had to drive her mama out to Pittsburgh to catch a plane this past weekend so we decided to stop at Ikea while we were out there. I am really crazy about organization especially when it comes to paper everywhere. Something about seeing a bunch of paper on the floor makes me wanna puke! (im so weird, I know) Love these: 2 of them for 5 bucks!