Saturday, January 29, 2011

Flawless Foundation

I have found the ultimate trick to having flawless foundation. I recently was looking for some foundation that truly matched my skin color. I'll admit that I have committed the crime of "the mask" which is soooo ugly and I have finally found the solution to well blended and true to your skin color foundation. I watched Kandee Johnson's cheap foundation video on Youtube which you can watch here and it gave me great tips. Here is how to get this look.


The foundation that Kandee uses in her video is L'oreal True Blend. I am not a huge fan of liquid foundation because I fell in love with Bare Minerals however, as she says in her video not everyones skin is all one color or you would look like a cartoon. So that is why I have the lighter color for all over my face picked a darker color 3 shades darker then the lighter one for shading. This lets you shade parts of your face which slenderizes and adds dimension. The reason she likes True Blend so much is that L'oreal is a French based company so the quality of the product is just as good as any pricier name brands you may find at Sephora.

1. Put the lighter color all over your face and blend down to your neck
2. Put on concealer as needed to cover redness, darkness under your eyes, and any pimples you may have
3. Take the darker color and swipe and blend right under your cheek bones.
4. Apply to the temples
5. Put on the forehead and blend into hairline
6. Next to slenderize your nose put some on the sides leaving the center untouched
7. To add a finished feel apply Airspun Extra Coverage Translucent Powder
8. Apply a none shimmer bronzer on your cheeks right where the darker foundation was applied and blend.
9. Yay! Now you have a flawless face!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Friday, January 28, 2011

Come Home


image via weheartit

Jeff's first games of the season is this weekend in El Paso. He left yesterday and I couldn't go because of work. I heard he pitched really good today, I'm so proud of him. But come home. I MISS YOUU♥

xoxo,
Alyssa

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tanning: At Home and Healthy

I was introduced to tanning beds when I was 16 years old and consistently tanned in them until prom of my Senior year. I was educated about them and was well aware of the effects since skin cancer runs in my family. I finally came to my senses and will never lay down in tanning beds again. Not to mention how itchy and irritated my skin got after laying in those beds. Ah It is even horrible just recalling it. I tried spray tans before I started the tanning beds and was really satisfied for the first couple days, however the drastic change in skin color is far from natural looking and as the color starts to fade your skin looks like fish scales flaking off. Not cute. Another down side to "fake baking" and certain types of spray tans are the price. I spent hundreds of dollars on "unlimited tanning" so many times it makes me sick to think how much money I really did waste. And most of all, I don't want to look like I'm 50 before I even turn 20. Learning about how to keep your skin looking healthy and natural is now on the top of my list. I have found the ultimate way to get a natural looking tan gradualy, cheap, and most of all healthy for your skin.

Step #1
• First get your favorite scent of lotion. Mine happens to be Love Spell by Victoria's Secret.
• Purchase L'oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self Tanning Lotion in Medium. The reason why I like this tanner more than any others is that is moisturizes, is a natural color ( NOT ORANGE), and is more of a gel then a lotion.

Step #2
• Put a little bit of lotion in your hand first. About the size of a silver dollar. After squeeze some of the bronzer gel on top. Make sure there is more lotion then bronzer. This will make your tan look more natural and less streaky. I apply on my body in sections. This allows you to have more control of where you have put color and where you haven't .

Step #3
• Lastly wipe of your hands, wrists, and in-between your fingers to prevent any color that may have collected. You don't want carrot colored fingers.

xoxo,
Alyssa

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Peachy Keen

I recently went to Ulta to use a gift card my wonderful boss gave to me for Christmas. I picked up a ton of my new favorite products! I will post about those shortly. Here is one of them. I adore this peachy pink, orange color. It is by Orly and it's called "Cotton Candy". Considering I have been looking for this specific color for years I wasn't hesitant to purchase this at $7. Here are my lovely Mac photos because my camera is dead:(



Today was my first day back to school and it went great! Tomorrow I would normally have my lab but since those don't start until next week my only class tomorrow happens to start at 12 :) I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week. Oh and P.S. my Examiner articles I have been writing are going to be getting sponsored by Avon. I will be getting paid more for those and am so happy about it! I know I haven't posted links for them in quite awhile but they are still out there!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Monday, January 17, 2011

11 Things About Me


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I came across this on one of my absolute favorite blogs SWEATshirt DRESSshirt and I challenge all of you to try it. Apparently I have a hard time picking just one;


1. Clothes Shop: Forever 21, Nordstrom B.P., Target
2. Furniture Shop: Any antique store
3. Sweet: Cookies N' Cream Hershey's Bar or Daqueri Ice sorbet at Baskin Robins
4. City: La Jolla, CA or San Diego, CA
5. Drink: Freshly squeezed lemonade/orange juice
6. Music: EVERYTHING.
7. TV-Series: Criminal Minds, The Glades, Bridal Plastie, Kendra
8. Film: Return To Me
9. Workout: ZUMBAAAA
10. Pastries: Hmm I would have to say any of the scones or coffee cake made at Mission or Olives in Mission Beach, CA
11. Coffee: Skinny Vanilla Latte, White Chocolate Mocha Latte

xoxo,
Alyssa

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

All Natural Again


Okay so I finally took my extensions out after having them in (different sets but still!) since the beginning of June. I absolutely loved them but am so happy to have my real hair again. I am going to miss having my long curly locks but soon enough my hair will grow out. Ever since cutting my hair the beginning of senior year I have been on a mission to grow it out and you may think I'm crazy but I almost cut it short again! I love having it super short and healthy and love it super long but this whole in between business will have to do. At least it is healthy again and hey I get so bored with my hair its a change! I put blonde back in the top but it will take a couple of times going back to get it fully light again but I kept the brown underneath to help it grow. I love it!


***And if you are wondering what kind of extensions I had, I had two different kinds. The first time I got it done I had the glue in kind. Which I loveddddd everything about until I found out the hard way about taking them out. They were a pain in the butt to remove because it resulted in glue being left behind. So I switched to this kind that used little metal beads that had a coating of color ( you picked the color that best resembled your hair) and squished them on to each individual strand. I completely recommend this kind. It is so easy to put in and take out my friend and I do each others and I even did my other friends hair with them.

xoxo,
Alyssa

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Day In The Life


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So lately, since this was a part of my new years resolutions, I have promised myself to get in shape for bikini season. The hard part about that statement is not the actual work (which still is quite hard I might add) but finding time to go. So I printed out my gym schedule and highlighted all the classes that I will go to and it has made it so much easier. I went to Zumba twice on Monday (I know I'm weird) then yogalaties after. Today I woke up early again and went to Zumba and then later went to a new class at my gym called Willpower and Grace. OH MY GOODNESS. Talk about the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. As much as I wish I never want to go to that class again a strange feeling inside me actually wants to go again. So right now my bed feels pretty darn comfy. Tonight Jeff and I went to bible study at a church called East Valley now called Redemption. The bible study is called 7 ten. It starts at well you guessed it 7:10 and was so good! I am so happy that we went and hopefully will go every week:) On a side note, I am getting my hair done tomorrow. I am taking my extensions out and going all natural. AND you know me, blonde or brown that is the question. Well I have pretty much made up my mind and am going to put blonde highlights back in as much as I can on top and leave the bottom more natural to let it grow more. I really don't know what to expect seeing that I've never gone from brown to blonde before. So we will find out tomorrow:) I can't get away from blonde its calling me back. But as much as I have loved being brunette, goodbye for now. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon. Well I'm off to read my devotions and my book. Yeah I'm a nerd.

xoxo,
Alyssa

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Book Worm

I have loved to read ever since I was little. Okay so maybe I don't read Nancy Drew and Boxcar Children anymore but I have found a really good read that I recommend for anyone. I am open to any genre of book but for some reason mystery/thriller/suspense novels catch my eye and my heart every time. Here it is!

I haven't finished it yet but its amazing so far. It is definitely a page turner that you can't put down. I also got a new planner for 2011! I love the size of this one primarily because you can write normally instead of in microscopic hand writing like I had to in my last planner. And to make this even better, there is a quote on the first page for every week and stickers for events, dates, and doctors visits. It was $14 dollars at Barns and Noble and I love it!

Another exciting thing is that my parents bought me my first (really nice) study bible!:) It's an ESV study bible so the translation of it makes it easier for people to understand and it is one of the newest study bibles and it known for having the truest translation from hebrew to english. I love it and am planning to read a lot of it this year.

Andddd I finally got my new RayBan glasses :)


xoxo,
Alyssa

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

11 Resolutions in 2011

Here are my 11 resolutions for 2011. I am set on completing these and I mean business.

1. Read my bible more/start a daily bible study
2. Be more patient and learn to not let things bother me easily
3. Stick to a strict workout schedule to get bikini body ready for summer
4. Read and FINISH at least 5 books this year
5. Continue to eat healthy
6. Run 4 miles without stopping
7. Make something with my sewing machine
8. Finish knitting my scarf
9. Don't sweat the small things
10. Find a second job so I can have one in the summer
11. Continue to blog as much as possible!

Image via we heart it

xoxo,
Alyssa

Sunday, January 2, 2011

So Long 2010, It's Been Fun!

Lets take a look back. 2010 has been filled with so many memories it is hard to recollect all of them. Winning state (7 times in a row), having my first job at Forever 21, Nationals, Sadies and Prom, Jeff and I's one year, Graduating class of 2010, San Diego trip, our many trips to Fossil Springs, quitting Forever 21, starting college at SCC (go chokes!), going brunette, getting my amazing job teaching dance to kids, turning 19, my best friend getting engaged and so much more! Now it's time to say goodbye to 2010 and start fresh in 2011.





































xoxo,
Alyssa