13 by Halloween Update #2

Hello lovelies, I have my second update for my 13 by Halloween roulette project pan. Having it roulette style just means that I am picking a new category each time I finish a product. I am always working on 13 products.

This update I have finished another 2 products, making my total 4 so far!

Maybelline product - Dream Lumi Touch concealer - this was nice, but I don't know that I would purchase another one. My brother got me 2 of these when he was working at CVS so I have another in backstock, but like I said nothing I would go and repurchase myself.

Tarte product - eyeshadow in Private Chateau - goal is hit pan - just another standard cream colored shadow to set my base with. I did enjoy using the blush that was in here and that midtone brown. Its a nice little quad and blush combo.

And now for all the products that I am still working on.

Foundation - Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder - I have finally figured out the way that I like to use this I should get more progress from here on out. I don't actaully know where I am though because I can't see through the bottle.

Bronzer - NYC Sunny - I am so beyond close to finishing this up. I think I've got about another week, maybe even less because it is pressed so thin. I had to repress this yesterday becsause it was basically unusable.

Face Primer - Rimmel Stay Matte - Making my way through this slowly. I don't know that I will have this done in the next 2 months though.

The Balm - Single in Flirty - I have hit some serious side-pan. I'm not sure if it looked like that last update, but I have made more progress on it. I am considering repressing this because it is getting pretty hard to use.

Lip Gloss - Tarte Cannes - I am making steady progress on this. I should have it done by the next update, but I have been reaching for another lip gloss in a different project.

Highend Product - Mac Studio Fix Concealer - slowly making my way through this.

Eye Base - Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded - this will probably last me until the end of the year to finish it up.

Something New - NYC Get it All foundation stick - still making steady progress with this. I will probably have it done the next update.

Highlighter - Benefit Watts Up - Same steady progress.

Free Choice - Pacifica eyeliner in Fringe - I have found that I much prefer this in my eyebrows as opposed to as an eyeliner. 

Cheap Product - Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude - use it everyday but don't need to sharpen that often.

And now for the products I added in when I finished the other products:

Pink Lipstick - Bite Beauty lipstick in Cafe - I have had this duo for a while so I defintely need to get working on it before it goes bad. I have already made some serious progress in 2 weeks (see photo above).

Brow Product - Loreal Brow Stylist Plumper - this is my oldest brow gel and I just want to use it up before the end of the year.

So there it is. 4 out of 13 products is really great and I don't think I have ever had this much success with a project before. I will need to kick it into high gear though if I want to use up another 9 products in 2 months. I think by next update I will have the bronzer, lip gloss, lipstick, and foundation stick all done if I really focus on them.

How are your projects going?

7 Summer Flings Update 3

Hello lovelies, I have another update on my 7 summer flings project pan. I have reached my goal on another product this month, but I still have 5 more to work on in the next month before the project is over.

I have finally hit pan on the Colour Pop Super Shock shadow in Amaze. As gorgeous as this is I have decided to declutter it. There is far too much glitter fall out and I just can't be bothered. 

And now for the 5 products that I have left...not sure how many of these I will actually finish.

St. Ives Spray Lotion - Getting really close to finishing this up. I moved it to my bathroom to use right after I get out of the shower and that seems to help me move through it faster I think.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray - Can we tell how much I love this stuff? I am not using it anymore than I thought I was before but I seem to be moving through it at a ridiculous pace. I have already gotten a backup because there is no way this will last me through September.

ELF Mineral Face Primer - I am moving through this, but I realized that I really don't like it. I have gotten through half of what I started with and that it really exciting to me because I am working on 2 other primers right now as well. One of the products that I will most likely not finish, but I am happy with the progress I've had so far.

BBW liplicious in Watermelon Sorbet - I am making good progress on this. I wish I had thought to take it with me for the week I was gone because that would have made a huge difference in progress. I'm not sure if I will finish this, but I am going to try my hardest. The plus side is that I actually like the product so I am not too worried about it.

Jergens Natural Glow lotion - I don't like this very much. But I have made a huge amount of progress since last month. I decided to put away all the other lotions in my room so I can solely focus on this. 

So it is really just the primer and the lip gloss that I am really worried about not finishing. The St. Ives lotion is a guess at where I am with it so I don't exactly know when that one will be finished. I guess we will just have to see what happens especially now that the semester is starting and I won't be home to use all of this stuff.

Book Review: we were liars by e. lockhart

we were liars by e. Lockhart

I really don’t know where to start with this book. I mean the fact that I managed to read it within a couple of days should say something. I guess I can start with what the book is about and go from there.

I am going to try to do this without giving anything away. The story is told from the point of view of Cadence and she discusses her family that spends every summer on an island that her grandparents own. The “liars” are Cadence, Johnny, Mirren (who are all cousins) and Gat who is Johnny’s mom’s boyfriend’s nephew. Cadence goes through many summers and then summer 15 happens (the summer that all the liars are 15) and there is a terrible accident. Cadence then goes into trying to figure out what has happened because she has trouble remembering most things about that summer.

That is as basic as an overview I think I can give. I am not one to read the backs of books because I like to be surprised about what I am about to read. I had no idea what I was getting into when I was reading this book and I am happy that I didn’t because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. I think that reading from Cadence’s perspective is not something I really care for, but that is more because YA perspectives tend to be teenagers who just won’t quit. I always enjoy the stories in the long run, but trying to read it is like scratching a chalkboard for me. However, Lockhart’s writing is absolutely poetic. This is what kept me reading the whole time. It was truly captivating for me. And it wasn’t just poetic in words but also in format which I enjoyed far more than I thought I would.

Overall though, while the writing style kept me reading this book it is the ending of it that makes me want to read more from Lockhart. It wasn’t what I was expecting and I was wondering where the story was going, but the ending really tied it all together. I was feeling too many feels by the end of this, and I’m not even mad about it. It is the kind of story that leaves you feeling a little numb inside and only really good books do that. Would recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Pokemon Indigo League Readathon (My First Readathon!)

Hello lovelies, I recently watched a video from Emily Fox in which she chose the books to go along with this readthon that is from August 14 to September 4. I have never done a readathon before because they are typically a lot of books in a very short amount of time, but I took a chance with this one because I loved watching Pokemon growing up and why the heck not join in right? I am hoping that I will get through these books that I have chosen. This is the last 2 weeks before teh new semester and I am not sure how much spare reading time I will have so I want to read a lot before then. So I will just get right into it!

Pewter Gym - First Book in a Series - The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. I am aware that I should have read this already at some point in my life, but better late than never right?

Cerulean Gym - Book that Might Make you Cry - We Were Liars by e. lockhart. My sister told me that she was on the verge of crying when she read this, so I just went with it. Also I really wanted to read this for a while.

Vermilion Gym - Book with Thunderous Hype - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by j.k. Rowling. Is anything more hyped than the Harry Potter series?

Celadon Gym - Book that Focuses on Diversity - Flawed by Cecilia Ahern. Not sure if this fits perfectly but my sister says it does and I am going to go with it.

Fushia Gym - Book with Great Romance - Ciao Bella by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk. This is in my 5 by Nov. 5th so I wanted to add something from there to not totally abandon that book challenge, but also because the main character must deal with the love for her missing husband as well as finding new love in an American soldier.

Saffron Gym - Book with Fantasy/Supernatural Elements - The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks - Don't know much about this trilogy, but excited to get into it.

Cinnibar Gym - Book with a Red Cover - Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. The cover has a lot of red on it, so that counts.

Viridian Gym - Post-Apocalyptic Setting - The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. As I come close to finishing the Mistborn Trilogy I don't think I can move away from Sanderson's writing just yet. He has definitely become one of my favorite writers as of late.

So there are my choices and I don't think I will get through all of these books because there are a lot of them and I am a slow reader that has a full time job, but I am going to try!

Are you joining in on this readathon? What books would you choose?

Travel Makeup Bag: MI to FL

Hello lovelies, so I had started off the month of August determined to post every day this month. However that was interrupted by an impromptu trip  down to Florida for an undecided time. Me and my dad drove down there and it was an absolutely stunning drive (will probably do a post of all the photos I took!) and I was without internet for the drive. There was also the fact that I was enjoying my time with my sisters and all of my nieces and nephews that I completely forgot the world of the internet. 

Anyway, the packing process was very rushed as I found out I was leaving the afternoon before I left and right before I had to leave for work. I didn't want to take too much, but since I was driving and not going on a plane I wasn't as limited on space. This is what I decided to bring with me.

This is an excessive amount of lip products I am aware, especially considering they all look pretty similar, but they aren't. There are different finishes and the colors are for the most part actually different. There is also the fact that I like to layer my lip products a lot.

Colour Pop Rayezor - the only lip liner I chose to take with me. Regretted it as it was a lot darker and more purple tinted than I remembered.

Colour Pop Pinch and Brink - I love layering these 2 together.

Essence Barely There - Easily one of my favorite lipsticks and I don't go anywhere without it.

Revlon Blushing Mauve and Rose Velvet 

Wet n Wild 902 C

Rimmel Kate 08 - again easily another favorite.

Maybelline Daringly Nude

Tarte Cannes - the only lip gloss I took.

Tarte Holiday 14 quad - I chose this because it is very basic and easy to work with and I used this as my blush.

The Balm Flirty Single - for when I wanted something less basic

Pacifica Fringe eyeliner

Chella Ivory Lace highlighting crayon

Rimmel Nude eyeliner

Starlooks Amethyst

Maybelline Color Tattoo Barely Branded

Covergirl Clump Crusher - love this for my lower lashes

Ulta Brow Tint - my favorite tinted brow gel

It Cosmetics Brow Power

Too Faced Better Than Sex - just trying to finish it up.

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter - you can't be in the sunshine state without a good glow!

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind brightener and Dream Lumi Touch - I was close to finishing the dream lumi adn didn't want to be without a brightening concealer but also didn't want to open up any new concealers just to travel with and risk not knowing if they would work well.

Too Faced Soul Mates bronzer and blush in Ross and Rachel - mainly chose this because my sister loves Friends, but also because it gives the skin a good glow and I could have another blush option as well.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder 

Temptu bronzer in Warm Glow - this is probably my most favorite of favorite things right now. Gives such a gorgeous glow to the skin while still looking natural! 

Covergirl Ready, Set Gorgeous foundation - This gives medium to full coverage and I knew that it would hold up well in the Florida heat.

Wet n Wild photofocus Setting Spray 

ELF face primer with SPF 20

ELF baked blush in Pink Tastic - because like I said, you need a good glow in the sunshine state. 

So that is what I came up with. I think I could have done better, but I also could have done a lot worse. I haven't traveled in a really long time so trying to pack for a trip was a bit tricky, especially considering the last time I went to Florida I wasn't all that into makeup. 

Let me know what you think of what I packed? Would you have done something differently?

Read 5 by Nov. 5th Book Challenge Update #1

Hello lovelies, it has been a month since I have started the Read 5 by November 5th book challenge. I finished one and made my way through some of the others.

I am only going to update on the books I have read and so that this won't be too long. If you would like to see the books I chose for this challenge you can see that here.

to all the boys I loved before by Jenny Han - I made it through this one fairly quickly. It is an easy read, kind of predictable, but still nice for an easy summer day. Han's writing was a bit frustrating for me since it was full of fragments and incredibly short chapters. It isn't something that I thought I could get used to, but it made having only a couple of minutes to read easier since I like to stop at chapters or page breaks. Reading this peaked my interest into more of her work though so I guess it did its job. I know that there are a couple of books that follow this story and once this challenge is over I will probably seek them out.

Morning Light by Catherine Anderson - I am so close to finishing this book. I probably have 2 more days worth of reading (yes, I am a really slow reader.). This was a reread, and quite frankly I am questioning everything I read when I went through my romance novel phase. It wasn't completely bad, just some parts that I think could have been written out a little better.

A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert - This isn't the worst book that I have ever read, but I can't exactly see myself rereading it. I might just to see if I can make more sense of it. But I think that this book needs to be read on its own and within a short period of time so that it doesn't confuse you. Those are 2 things I am not very good at though.

Ciao Bella by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk - I only read a couple of chapters from this one so I don't know what to make of it yet, however I am excited to get more into it. I love the use of descriptive scenery since it is the closest I will get to Italy at the moment.

So, 1 down and 4 out of the 5 left to go. I have decided that I need to focus more on one book at a time, or at least try to. Having random stacks of books all over my desk is getting frustrating for me. As for the next update I know that I can have the Catherine Anderson book done, and possibly the Kate Walbert one as well.

How is this reading challenge going for all of you?

AReadersGuide: A Review of the July 2016 Owlcrate Box

Hello, I am Hanaa also known as @areadersguide on instagram. I am a bookstagrammer who will be guest posting here today. I am going to be doing a review of the July Owlcrate box. Owlcrate is a young adult book subscription box that gets sent out around the third week of every month. It cost $30 with shipping which usually gets a total of $34-$36, though it may be higher for international subscribers outside of America. You get a newly released hardcover book and 5-6 bookish items. Each month has it's own theme featuring collaborations with tons of bookish stores.

This months theme was Good Vs. Evil. Subscribers were sent either a good box or an evil box. I was (happily) sent the evil box.

In the evil box you receive;
-A Harry Potter themed  Funko Pop. Evil boxes had either Draco Malfoy (debatable if he is actually evil, in my opinion) or a Dementor, which I received. (The good box had either Luna Lovegood or Dobby)

-An AMAZING Star Wars themed necklace by Vector Engravings (@vectorengraving on instagram, check out his shop) the evil box had a Death Star and the good box had the Millennium Falcon.

-An Alice in Wonderland themed magnetic bookmark by Jane's Tiny Things. I received the Queen of Hearts, Alice was received in the Good box.

-An exclusively designed for Owlcrate sticker paying homage to Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff was made by Drop and Give Me Nerdy, the good received a quote from a hero in the story.

-And bonus goodies included a coloring book featuring some YA book covers, a signed bookplate from the author and as usual, a note written by the author.

-This month's book was This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab, who made her way to the best sellers list and many booktubers hearts with her novel A Darker Shade of Magic. The description the card OwlCrate gives is 'In a world where evil breeds literal monsters, no one is safe. When two kids from opposite sides collide, lines begin to blur and no one can be trusted. Who is truly evil and who is trying to rise above the darkness?' I am excited to dive into this book and I think the theme goes along perfectly with the description.

Overall, I was very pleased with this month's box, I love Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland/Disney, and Harry Potter. I have Illuminae and it is on top of my tbr so I was pretty stoked for that as well. The book choice was wonderful and they plan these things out months in advance, that along with the signed bookplate is pretty awesome. The notes are one of my favorite things to read because it is the author personally telling us something about the book; sometimes it is them talking about the struggles they went through with writing it or something interesting we need to know while reading it. I love that I am always surprised and it gets me to not judge a book by its cover because I never have to choose the book. I highly recommend this subscription box to anyone who wants to read more but struggles finding a book, or someone like me who is in a lot of fandoms but can't afford to spend tons on fandom merch. This can be a thing to do for your teenage kids, to get them into reading or something for adults who don't necessarily have the time to go looking for books.

That is all I have for you today, leave a comment if you would like monthly updates of my OwlCrate subscriptions, other than that I will be back with a few book reviews that will be much better written than this rushed mess.
Sending positive vibes your way,
-Hanaa

Thinkin' 'bout the Past

Do you ever have one of those moments where you become overwhelmed with how time has somehow slipped past you? All the people you once knew so well have become strangers and when you run into them it is like all of a sudden you feel like you can't really see clearly because you are confused about what the heck happened.

I had this moment the other day when I was at an engagement party for my cousin. This isn't about the bride or groom, it is about the bride's brother. I saw him and we both kind of had that moment that we just stared at each other for a moment and we exchanged the standard pleasantries. Before saying goodbye we hugged and in that moment, that small hug with my cousin (who I was actually taller than at one point but not anymore!) I was taken back to grade school. It was always me, him, and another 2 of our cousins. We were a force to be messed with. We were always there for each other, even when we became friends with other people.

But that was grade school...and more years than I would like to divulge have passed and we went from all being such a tight knit group to damn near being strangers. Which I am even more saddened by because we are family and we live fairly close to each other. Somehow in our adulthood we all became too busy for one another.

Why is is that we become so self consumed that we let go of things that mattered so much to us at one point in our lives? I get that people change, that is a very normal part of life. But I don't remember when it happened. When do we decide that people are just not going to be a part of our lives anymore? Is it a gradual change over time or does it happen suddenly?

Project Ipsy Month 8 Update

Hello lovelies, I have my 8 month update for my project ipsy. I have decided to declutter 1 of the items from this project and I have been trying to make more progress on products that are not in this project because I am not making nearly the progress I wanted to be making this late in the year. I am only updating on the products with visual progress.

 I have decided to declutter this lipgloss from Mary Kay in the shade Teddy Bare because I am not making any sort of real progress on it and I do not enjoy wearing this at all. I always put it on and then take it off almost immediately. No sense in keeping something that I am disliking that much.

Vasanti exfoliating cleanser - Not as much progress as I had hoped there would be.

Avene Thermal Spring Water - I have been using this to wet my beauty blender and I think I am even lower than I marked.

Pure Brazillion Leave in conditioner - Making steady progress on this. I think I am going to try and focus on this until I finish this product off.

Sexy Hair spray clay - I have styled my hair twice this month and so there is some actual progress. 

St. Tropez gradual face tan - I think I am going to just start using this on my arms or something. I like it well enough, but now my face is a lot darker than the rest of me because of this product.

Ofra eyeshadow in Bliss - I am not sure if you can tell in the picture, but I have a bit of a dip going in this.

Absolute lip balm - So close to hitting side pan. I probably would have had more progress had I not lost it for a week and a half.

Chella Ivory Lace highlighter crayon - Same steady progress.

Jcat Big Lip Pencil - I decided that this will be the product that I am going to put a lot of focus on. I am really going to have to use this a lot if I plan on having it done by the end of the year!

Bare Minerals lipstick in Get Ready - Made a small dent.

Nyx Butter Lipbalm - The tiniest bit more progress has been made here. I have decided that I will use this for the month of August and then just declutter it. I am curious to see if I can get to the half way point with this.

Starlooks Amethyst eyeliner - I have been loving this as an innercorner highlight. Will probably begin to make more progress with it now that I have realized that.

And now for the 3 products I am adding in this month! (all marked on the above paper)

Nyx Slim Eye Pencil in Silver Shimmer - This is going to be interesting to use since it has actual pieces of glitter in it. I don't think I have ever used this so it may be a declutter next month if this doesn't go well. I am interested to see how the glitter in it is since the Starlooks one has glitter that falls all over my cheeks but I love the color far too much to get rid of that one, silver however I think I can live without, but we will see!

It Cosmetics Universal Brow Pencil - I like that this has a spooly, but I like my eye brows to be a bit warmer since I have a warmer toned hair, but I will get through this.

Mary Kay eye crayon in Teal Me More - I have a gold one like this that I have reached for a lot more. I know there is no way that I can get through this by the end of the year but I am excited to make some progress on it and maybe finish it off next year.

So in total I have finished 26 products. I think my new goal will be 50 products by the end of the year as opposed to the 91 that I initially wanted. I think by the next update I can have the Avene spray, leave in conditioner, and st tropez face tan done. I would be pretty content with that.

Finish 13 by Halloween Update #1

Hello lovelies, I have an update on my Finish 13 by Halloween roulette style project pan. Since this is a roulette that means that I am replacing the items I finish with a new category. For the first time in my project pan history I have managed to finish a couple of products. I normally have nothing to show for the first update and so this is something that is really exciting for me. So without further ado I will get right into it! 

Face powder - Rimmel Stay Matte powder - I have hit pan on this which I am not too surprised about considering i could already see the rings peeking through the product a bit when I started this. On the final update I will probably add a new picture of this to show how far I have gotten with it over the course of the rest of the project, but for all intents and purposes of this project it is done! 

Something almost used up - Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm - This lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. I never imagined that almost daily use over the course of three weeks and there wasn't that much left. I won't repurchase this ever again because it didn't have enough coverage for my taste, but it was nice for just a little something to tone down the redness of my cheeks. 

Foundation - Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder - I just added this in after I finished the Urban Decay bb cream so I have only used it once or twice. I am starting from the red line. It is hard to tell where I am at because the bottle isn't see through, but that is where I think I am starting. I hope I can get through this during the summer because it is far too dark for me any other time of year.

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer - I have so many primers in all of my projects that it is hard to focus on just one. I often have 2 on my face at a time. I am really going to have to work this product more into my routine though because I have only used it a handful of times.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch - It is kind of ridiculous how quick I can work through this product. I like it, but I wouldn't pay for another one of these, there just isn't much in there. I do have another one in backstock though.

Tarte lip gloss in Cannes - I am honestly surprised I made as much progress on this as I did considering that I didn't really reach for it that much. There was one time when I was using it and the stopper came out, so I will be very happy when this is gone.

The Balm shadow in Flirty - I tried so hard to get some side pan on this. This may take me longer than I thought it would to get through honestly.

NYC bronzer in Sunny - A lot more pan showing on this. I really can not wait until this bronzer is out of my collection. I don't know that I would repurchase it again. It has started to look more orange on me lately.

Mac Studio Fix concealer - I have managed to hit some side pan and that is really exciting for me. I haven't been enjoying using this too much because I feel like my undereye area has been really dry lately and this product emphasizes that.

Maybelline color tattoo in Barely Branded - I was having some serious issues with this looking patchy on me until I finally mixed it up. Now it is the product that I used to love using again.

Tarte eyeshadow in Private Chateau - I can definitely see hitting pan on this shadow in the next week or so. Since I use such a large brush with this to set my eye primer it is covering more area and I think that is why I haven't hit pan yet. But the dip is pretty deep.

NYC Get it All foundation stick - I have some seriously mixed feelings about this foundation stick. It looks nice on some days, but others it looks terrible. If you have dry skin stay away from this product!

Benefit Watts Up highlighter - I am making great progress with this I think. I remember having it in a past project and it wasn't going nearly this fast. This progress is without me using it everyday either.

Pacifica eyeliner in Fringe - This is the liner that won't quit. I don't have to sharpen it that much since I use it only to tightline, so progress with this is going to be very slow.

Cheap product - Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude - I just added this in less than a week ago so there is no progress yet. I think I will be able to get through this by the end of the project.

2 out of 13 products done and I think I have pretty good progress on other products. I think I will hit pan on the Tarte eyeshadow and finish the Maybelline concealer by the next update. How are you projects going?