What’s In My [Makeup] Bag?

April 19, 2017April 19, 2017 ~ kristalauren ~ 4 Comments

Okay, so it’s been forever since I told y’all I was moving to cruelty-free beauty products, but I finally feel like I’ve tried enough to actually share some reviews. I have subscribed to a few different beauty boxes — ipsy, Birchbox, and FabFitFun — and am a VIP member at Sephora now that I have been in so many times to switch up my beauty routine.

I decided to do my review in a similar manner some of the subscription boxes do, by showing off one of my favorite makeup bags with 5 products I recommend. The reason I’m linking everything to Sephora’s website is because I joined their beauty program that lets you pay just $10 for free shipping on any order for a year. What?!

Screen Shot 2017-04-19 at 12.58.49 PM.png — A big “Thank You” to my good friend Jenni for the Macy-inspired makeup bag!

Without further ado, here are a few of my “Must Have” cruelty-free staples:

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara
Let me start off by saying I love Tarte cosmetics. Every product I have tried I’ve really enjoyed, but this mascara is thebomb.com. Not only does it give my lashes volume, but it lengthens them and gives them a beautifully full look. I really could not say enough great things about this mascara, and between the cruelty-free testing and incredible product, Tarte has a new lifetime customer.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
I didn’t know the power of primer until I started using this baby. Currently I am kind of obsessed with bronze and gold eyeshadows, so I use my Naked palette or Pure Cosmetics shadows over the primer to create a fun everyday look. The Urban Decay eyeshadow primer makes these colors so much more pigmented than they would be on your naked eye, and sets a really nice foundation to add eyeliner to if desired.

Edward Bess Deep Shine Lipgloss
Oh my gosh. The way this lipgloss smells combined with its stay-power is amazing. It takes a little bit of getting used to, as it’s a stickier formula than I’m used to, but after just a couple of wears I have become a loyal fan.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil
It’s safe to say UD is one of my favorite makeup brands, (Along with Tarte and Jane Iredale) and I was so relieved to hear that they are also cruelty-free. My favorite eyeliner color is “Perversion,” as it’s a super-basic black that can go with any kind of look. I would say it’s a bit on the heavier side, though, so use it sparingly!

Zoya Nailpolish
Anyone who knows me will vouch that I always have some sort of fun polish on my nails. Needless to say I was devistated when I found out that OPI does, in fact, test on animals, and that my enormous polish collection had to be done away with. Thankfully, though, my last FabFitFun box had a beautiful subtle pink shade of cruelty-free brand Zoya nailpolish. I am in love with this brand now, and can’t wait to try other colors. It’s really reasonably priced and has incredibly trendy colors. Horray for loving animals and beauty!

What cruelty-free products do you think should be a staple in my beauty bag? I would love more recommendations, so sound off in the comments!

A Visit From The Fire Department

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 ~ kristalauren ~ 9 Comments

Oh my gosh, I have had such a crazy day already and it’s only 1 PM!

After a relaxing morning of writing a little and going for a walk since it’s like, above 70 degrees in February, I used the gas stove top to make a light lunch. It didn’t turn off, though, and kept clicking with little spurts of gas coming out. I went to the neighbors’ house to see if they knew what to do with no avail. So I called our gas company, who sent me to a contractor, who said they weren’t allowed to work with stove tops like ours anymore and sent me to the local fire department.

I was super embarrassed to call — especially because I went on a date with someone who works there once — but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! The people on the other end of the non-emergency fire line were incredibly nice and said that yes, they were the correct people to call for this kind of thing.

Macy and I waited outside for about ten minutes before the fire truck pulled up to our house.

Screen Shot 2017-02-23 at 2.39.32 PM.png — I didn’t have any time to put makeup on before leaving the house, so pulled the classic “hide behind a hat” move.

We heard the truck’s massive engine a full minute before it actually got to our house, and it was kind of hilarious to see all the neighbors lined up along the street, unashamed of being nosy to see what was going on.

Screen Shot 2017-02-23 at 2.59.25 PM.png

Three people came up to the house — two men and a woman — and it was actually really cool getting to watch them in action. They shut off the gas, told me that I should never do that myself, as I’m not trained to do so with this type of equipment, and said we needed an entire new gas stove top. Noted.

The female told me that it was really good I had called, and that women should certainly know how to take care of things around the house. It was actually really neat seeing how knowledgeable everyone was, and it inspired me to learn more about how to take care of minor problems in the home. I know my POTS prevents me from doing a lot of physical activities (And thinking altogether if I have brain fog or dizziness!), but I still think it is important to know what needs to be taken care of — even if I need to ask someone else to help me actually do it.

I waved goodbye to everyone as they drove off, and took a mental note to bake them all some goodies later this weekend to say “thank you” for coming over. People like that are really wonderful, as they essentially chose a job where they serve people all day long. Now I have to go take a nap, though, since sitting outside in the hot sun took a lot out of the POTSie in me. Have a great rest of your Thursday, friends!

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016 ~ kristalauren ~ Leave a comment

Halloween on a Monday sucked when we were kids, but it’s actually kind of perfect for us twentysomethings! We got to celebrate all weekend long and still get to hand out candy tonight. I can’t wait.

I wasn’t planning on going out this weekend, but literally a few hours before a party I realized I was feeling well enough to spend an hour or two out dancing with friends. The only problem was I hadn’t gotten a costume! So I decided to make one out of what I had in my closet.

A few options were an Olympic athlete, anything 80s (that’s always an easy costume to grab!), a black cat, or reusing last year’s costume. Then I remembered I had a pair of Taylor Swift’s 1989 sunglasses from going to her concert last year. Umm, heck yes. Halloween is a day you’re supposed to be whatever you want to be, and I love Taylor. It would be really fun to be her for like, a week. I don’t think I could handle that much fame and pressure for longer than that.

Anyway, here’s what I ended coming up with:

You can’t see the rest of my costume, but I wore a skater skirt and crop top similar to what Taylor wears for her songs Welcome to New York and New Romantics on her tour, along with one of her signature bomber jackets and sunglasses. Paired with red lips and a little bit of a cat eye and it was done. So easy!

But guys. I realized my costume was so much better at the end of the evening as I was taking my makeup off… I should have gone as crazy Blank Space Taylor! All I would have to do is sloppily throw on some eye makeup, then partially remove and smudge it. Maybe I’ll do this next year; I have the perfect leopard dress to pair it with.

Here’s the video for those of you who have never seen it (But let’s be real; Taylor is awesome, so odds are you’re like me and have seen this over and over again).

My little Macy is dressed up to celebrate Halloween today too. She’s a bumble bee and can’t wait to greet kids at the door later!

I hope y’all have a great day, and feel free to let me know if you’re dressing up this year and what your costume is in the comments!