Manicure Monday

Brrrrrrr. It is -37 degrees here in Wisconsin, and I am NOT A FAN.  So, in protest of these low temperatures, I decided to do a bright, summery manicure today.

I applied two coats of Lily by Julep.  This is my first ever Julep nail polish - and I like it quite a bit.  I find it easy to work with - a bit runnier than most of my other polishes - but that's not really a bad thing.

It is a nice fuchsia color that reminds me of warm weather and makes me forget about the frigid temperatures that are just outside my door.

For my base coat and top coat routine click here.

How are you keeping warm today?

With love,

Traci J

I shared this post on the Your Whims Wednesday blog link up. Check it out here:

Products I've Used Up

Now that 2014 is upon us, it seems as though I've been getting to the end of quite a few of my products.  So, I decided to share a few of them with you - some good and some bad.  Enjoy!

1. St. Ives Blemish Control Green Tea Scrub 

I added this salicylic acid scrub to my skincare routine this summer and I fell in love with it.  First off, it smells AMAZING and it has the right amount of exfoliating power that I can use it at least every other day.  I have oily, acne prone skin that dries out easily - and this stuff helped keep my complexion matte, reduced redness and blemishes, and did not dry out my skin.  This is a product that I definitely am going to repurchase.

2. Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for Dry/Prone to Breakage Hair

My hunt for the perfect dry shampoo continues.  I didn't hate this dry shampoo but it definitely isn't "the one."  The formula is a bit wet - and hard to work through the hair.  It left lots of white residue and only made my hair feel slightly cleaner.  I definitely like this dry shampoo from Psst... better. I will not be repurchasing this product.

3. Knotty to Nice Conditioner and Detangler by Not Your Mother's

I first heard about this leave in conditioner and detangler spray in this video by Missglamorazzi.  Since I have naturally tangle prone hair and was in between hair cuts I decided to give it a try.  It was LIFE CHANGING.  I love this stuff.  It makes combing my hair out so much easier - and it smells super nice.  I'm feeling rather lost without my detangler - so I plan on repurchasing this ASAP.

4. Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer

For December, my mom gave me the QVC Beauty Advent Calendar, and a sample size of this moisturizer was included in it.  I fell IN LOVE with it.  I am so so so sad that it is gone.  Not only did it not make my skin feel greasy, but it didn't make me break out either.  While I am quite impressed with this product - I'm not sure I can handle the hefty full sized price tag.

5. Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Intensely Smooth Leave - In Conditioning Cream

I've been using this leave in conditioner for quite some time now and am fairly pleased with it.  My ombre hair requires quite a bit of maintenance and moisture - and I don't really feel like this product gives that to me.  It does it's job - but I personally need something a bit more hydrating.  I may repurchase it in the future - but it is not on my immediate repurchase list.

What have you used up recently?  Anything worth repurchasing, or putting on your "never again" list?  Let me know in the comments!

Happy Sunday!

With love,

Traci J

This post was shared on http://twothirtyfivedesigns.blogspot.com/

New Year's Resolutions 2014

Welcome to 2014 everybody!

I've never been good at making or keeping New Year's resolutions.
So somewhere along the line I just stopped making them.

This is partly because I try to constantly have a reflective mindset and  better myself - but there is something a little exhilarating in setting a resolution for the year. Is this just me, or do you guys feel that way too?

I think it will be fun to set a few goals for the new year and look back next year to see if I accomplished them - and I wanted to take all of my lovely readers on this journey with me! Excited???

So - let's do this.

Organize my room.  
I love love LOVE being organized - however I always fall short when it comes to my room.  My bedrooms (both at my family home and at school) get messy VERY quickly.   The lack of organization in my room makes it hard to put things away quickly - which I need in my super busy life- so I want to get my rooms organized!

Keep up with my blog.  
Four or five deleted blogs later, and here I am - still attempting to do the blog thing. Blogging has always been something that has made me happy, but I've never had the commitment to stick with it.  I want to keep this blog up and running and use it as something to pour my passion into. I said the key word in there - HAPPY.  If it makes me happy, I'm going to do it!

Try new things.  
This resolution is a bit on the vague side... which goes against all of the goal setting frameworks - but I'm using it anyway. I can be very uptight and get anxious easily, but deep down I really enjoy trying new things. Maybe I'll keep track of the new things I try in 2014 and do a post on it next year ;)  - side note - I'm already talking about next year... slow down. 

Alright.  I feel good about those.
What do you think?  What are your resolutions for 2014?

Happy New Year!

With love,

Traci J