favorite beauty tubers

Lately I have been watching A LOT of YouTube. We don't have cable or satellite, so if there is nothing new on Hulu or Netflix, I am probably surfing the net, or watching YouTube. 

I have a few favorites out there that I watch regularly to get my beauty fix. Here are my top five channels where I never miss a video:

Bailey from Making Up the Midwest has wonderful concise videos that include reviews, swatches, tutorials and more. I am not going to lie, I first found her when I saw the name "Bailey" in the comments section of another YouTuber. I might have been drawn in by her name, but I come back again and again for her videos. 




Stephanie and Tracy from Eleventh Gorgeous are sisters with big personality. They are fun to watch and have a mix of beauty and life style videos, and never take themselves too seriously. I first started watching these girls when I found an Ipsy vs. Birchbox video on their channel. 




Emily at Beauty Broadcast has a great mix of high end and drug store products with reviews, tutorials, first impressions and haul videos. She posts quite a bit of content, where there is always something for everyone. She also has an express channel that delivers even more content and even features her husbands opinions. 



Estée from EssieButton is one of the first beauty bloggers that I started watching. She is a Canadian transplant living in England. She has a very likeable, quirky and adorable personality... and I might have a little bit of a girl crush on her. It is also extremely helpful that we have similar skin types and tones which makes her product recommendations a home run for me every time.  




Leigh Ann from LeighAnnSays is another YouTuber with big personality. She brings a mix of mostly drugstore makeup hauls, tutorials, clothing hauls and looks, hair, and nail videos that are always interesting. Watching her videos is like sitting down and chatting with a friend. 

retail therapy | anthro love

For years and I have been in L-O-V-E with Anthropologie, but who hasn't? What I am not always in love with is the price tag on each and every beautiful item that I fall in head-over-heels for. They have something for everyone, and ever time I walk in that store I find something that I can't live without... even though I usually leave the store without buying anything. 

I am one of those people {maybe it is because I eat, sleep and breath retail} who needs retail therapy when they have had a bad day. The other day was one of those days, and after work I found myself wandering down to Anthropologie with a friend after work. She needed to make an exchange, and I needed... well... nothing. 

There is nothing better than perusing the racks and ending up finding something that you really like, and a price that you really love. Here are a few items that I ran into on my journey that aren't going to break the bank. I picked up the beautiful emerald blazer for $39.95, and the lace peplum top for $29.95! I had to resist the other items, for now, but I am really digging the striped knit blazer.

Under $50:

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Under $40:

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Under $30:

 

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If I could live in Anthropologie, I would, plain and simple. Which one could you not live without?

 

pinspiration | arrows

My latest obsession {which seems to change on a weekly basis} are arrows. Here is what has been my latest pinspiration:

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polish please | atomic orange

I don't know about everyone else, but I had a lovely day today. Super Bowl Sunday is one of the SLOWEST days that you can get working retail, and today was no exception. If the the bowl didn't keep people in, the the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and the afternoon rain sure did. I always volunteer to work every Super Bowl because, let's face it... I am NOT a football fan. I would much rather watch the puppy bowl! 

It is nice knowing that you are going to have a slow day heading into work, you can map our your day, and get SO MUCH DONE. This year was made even better when we finally had a guest walk into the store around six p.m. and say, "There is almost no one out their shopping, I guess someone said that there is some sort of big sports game on today." I kid you not, that was real! 

After my leisurely day at work, I decided to head over to Target since I needed some more nail polish remover {something that I can go through quite quickly}. Target was nearly EMPTY! I love a nice relaxing stroll through Target to wind down after work. I had planned on just getting the remover, but couldn't help but make a pit stop over in the women's clothing. I resisted, and was very proud that I didn't pick ANYTHING up, but then... the shoes. It's not my fault that I was just thinking that I don't have any "Spring-like" ballet flats, and flats happened to be buy one get one 50% off! I picked up these two beauties:

I know they are totally adorable, comfy, and completely necessary in my life!

After I picked up these cuties, I thought that I should end my evening with some new polish. So I grabbed OPI Atomic Orange, a polish that I picked up last week when Ulta was having a polish sale.

How awesome is this color?!? I think that it is even prettier in person. I am not a huge "orange person." But for some reason I really love this color. I also got a chance to try my other latest purchase, Essie First Base Coat. The top coat that I use {and love} is Essie Good to Go, and I love it. I have tried a few different top coats, and just really love the consistency, and true rapid dry quality that this top coat has. I hope that I like the base coat just as well.

I never knew that safety orange could look so good!

 

polish please | Logan

I wanted to show off one of my free Zoya polishes, this one is called Logan {also the name of my little bro}. I had been looking for an emerald green, and I just had to get this one because of the name. I am really glad that I did, because this color is gorgeous.

Emerald is Pantone's "Color of the Year" for 2013, and is in the color trend report for spring seen here:

  

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polish please | arizona art

I was hoping to post about the mani that I gave myself for my friends wedding that I attended this weekend, but it turned out to be an EPIC fail. I am having SOOOO much fun with the striping tape that finally arrived from China, but I am by no means a pro yet.

I wanted to do something subtle and classic for the wedding {any pic that I am in will be around for quite a while}. I wanted to recreate this mani, it was perfect; mine was not. It all started out great, and looked very good. It dried, and everything was staying put, until I took a shower. After that, the mani was coming apart at the seams. The tape buckled and pulled up on all nails, but the middle fingers {the nail gods were trying to tell me something}. Fortunately my mega best friend Shawna came to the rescue, and I borrowed her black to go over the peeled off mess. 

Here is Mike and I just after the quick polish fix.

And my mega best friend who saved the day!

I thought that I should leave you all with a successful mani, and a tribute to the great state of Arizona. I love my stamping plates, and metallic polishes transfer VERY well.  

friendship bracelet

Now here is a blast from the past! I don't know if you all were like me, but I was a friendship bracelet addict growing up. It seemed like I was making a new one every week, giving them away and wearing them where ever I could tie the things on. Well this is a little revisit of the classic friendship bracelet, with a little twist.

I started by going to my new favorite store Hobby Lobby, we have only had them in Arizona for a few years, but my family in the mid-west have been talking about this place for years. I wish that they were open seven days a week, but other than that, I am in LOVE. I picked out a variety pack of embroidery floss, and brought my 40% off coupon. 

I picked colors inspired by a patterned dress from my place of employment, I figured that I could wear the bracelet with the newest collection that came in. I chose a bright blue, deep pink, orange, and purple, cutting each strand to 60" lengths. Take the four strands and folded them in half, tying a knot at the end creating a loop just big enough for my {peace sign} bead to pass through.

The easiest way to do this is to attach your bracelet to something stable. You could tape it to a table, use a safety pin to tack it to a pillow, a clipboard, or whatever works for you to keep it still while working. I taped mine to a lap desk, fired up netflix, and got started.

Arrange the stands in the order that you want the stripes to appear. I wanted to have consistent stripes so I put both sets of colors in the same order. For the "ombre" effect, place the first four strands from lightest to darkest, and the next four strands from darkest to lightest.

Now to the actual making of the bracelet. Take the first strand and place it over the second, creating a "4" shape like seen above. Hold the second strand tight, and pull up the first strand creating an overhand knot. Repeat same thing with the same two strands. Then take the first strand and repeat the steps on the third strand. Continue this with all remaining strands, and make sure to create two over hand knots on each strand.

When you get to the end of the row, start over with the next color. Easy as that. Once you get going it is easier to see what color comes next, and you get into a rhythm that makes it go by pretty fast. Once the bracelet is the desired length, tie a knot at the end, and braid the tail to make a closure. Add the bead of your choice, and you are ready to go. 

 After some trial and error, I did find that I liked the way the closure looked better if I braided the center of the four strands before making a loop, and attached the bead with a piece of embroidery floss into the final knot.

I kept one for myself, and have given the rest away to my friends, just like in the sixth grade!