Wildflower iPhone Cases!

 I recently took the plunge and bought my first wildflower phone cases after seeing them literally everywhere on instagram. I am absolutely in love!

Check them out here! and their instagram is @wildflowercases
My instagram is @neruall

I hope you are having a wonderful day, here are some lovely sunflowers to brighten up my gloomy weather!

Favorite Beauty Products of 2012

2012 was the year that I discovered some of my favorite beauty products. I became more involved in makeup and really started experimenting with different brands, high end and drugstore.

I'm going to start off with eye products. This area is where I have really found what works for me and what I like. I would say that all of these eye products are "holy grail" because I use most of them every day that I wear makeup.

Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara: This mascara is so amazing on many different levels. It's available at CVS for under $5 (I can't remember the exact price but it's around $3-$4). Not only is it affordable--it's a great product and gives high end mascaras a run for their money. My lashes look amazing when I wear this mascara--it lengthens and volumizes! One thing I will say is that this mascara is a wetter formula, so if you don't like that then you won't like this mascara. I personally, don't like wet mascaras but I just wipe the brush in the tube to take off any excess product so that way I can build up.

Covergirl Nature Luxe Mousse Mascara: This was something that I just purchased because it was on sale and I like cheap mascara. I really love this mascara because it gives you a natural look. You can still build it up but for the most part it's really natural and not heavy at all.

Jordana FabuLiner Liquid Eyeliner: Another item that I discovered from the drugstore. I'm really picky when it comes to liquid eyeliners and for the longest time the only thing I would use was the Kat Von D Tattoo liner. I still love that so much, but it's expensive and I wanted something that I could use everyday and it wouldn't break the bank. This eyeliner is a felt tip but it's so wonderful that it doesn't matter! I don't remember how much it was but it was $2-$3. It's opaque and long-lasting and by far the best liquid eyeliner that I have tried from the drugstore.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in the color Lionfish: I discovered this eyeliner in my birchbox! I use this eyeliner when I'm doing a more natural look or when I don't really want to put on a full face of makeup but I don't want to leave the house without anything on. I'll throw this on with some mascara and be good to go. This product lasts for such a long time and it's so creamy--I don't like eyeliners that aren't creamy. 

YBF Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in Universal Taupe: I don't know what to say about this product other than--how have I lived all of these years without you. This is the first product that I have ever used to fill in my eyebrows and it's the only product I will ever use. Despite being a pencil, it gives you a really natural look and makes your eyebrows look amazing. I was a little skeptical of the universal color because those don't normally work for me but this definitely does. I know that YBF sells this on their website but other than that you can buy this product at HSN and it comes with two for the price that one is on the YBF website.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in R.S.V.P.: An impulse buy that turned into a staple product. This is something that I use as a base or as an eyeshadow look; Sometimes I even use it on it's own when I'm running some errands but I don't want my eyes to be completely naked. I really love this color, I feel like it's similar to the shade of my eyelids but when an extra shimmer. 

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in the shade Bad to the Bronze: I feel as if everyone is including this in their yearly favorites, so I'll keep it brief. I love this as an eyeshadow or a base and it last for as long as I need it to.

 

 Urban Decay Naked Palette: I feel as if this choice is self-explanatory. I love this palette for everyday use and for travel. I have some great neutral eye looks that I used on a daily basis.

Rimmel London Traffic Stopping Shadow in Over the Limit: I saw Tanya Burr use this in a tutorial and I had to have it. It isn't available in the states but I found it on the ASOS US website and purchased it immediately. (ASOS carries some uk specific brands and they always offer free shipping on any purchase). I know it's another neutral palette, but I really like the colors and I think it's a good product.

Finally moving on from eye products (I didn't realize I had that many) to face products!

 

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle: This is a great product and my favorite highlighter. I like that it's shimmer-y not glitter-y. I don't feel like a glitterball when I put this on, but I do feel like I have a nice highlight. I love that this is versatile and I can even use it as an eyeshadow if I want!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 02: I really like this concealer because it isn't super heavy but it has nice coverage and it is buildable. It didn't break out or dry out my sensitive skin so that's a win win. 

 

 Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush: I had seen these blushes raved about everywhere and I finally gave in and bought one. They are a little more on the expensive side but they are so worth it. I bought this berry pink color and I just feel that it works really well on my skin. It's super pigmented and it lasts for as long as I wear it. In the pan, it looks as if it has some glitter but when you apply it on your face, it appears matte.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Blush in Santa Rose: Another amazing drugstore find for under $5. This blush is more of a nature flush so I'll use this when I'm wearing a bold lip or if I'm just doing a natural makeup look. I don't have anything else to say about it because it's such a nice product for a decent price and there's not much more to it!

  

Moving on from face products to lip products.

 

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm: I am someone that constantly has to be wearing lip balm and I'm very picky about my balms because I don't want to experiement with something that is going to end up drying out my lips. I saw essiebutton raving about this product and of course I had to buy it. I LOVE everything about this lip balm. I'm not a citrus smell lover but this product smells gloriously citrus-y. I use this at night because it is on the heavier side; I wake up in the morning with perfectly moisturized lips and I don't have lip balm all over my face. This balm has a couple beads? that blend out when you rub this into your lips. This is definitely a "holy grail" product for me and I hope they never discontinue it (like my beloved Bourjois Baume de Nuit lip balm).

 Saving the best for last-- LIPSTICKS!

In 2012, I became more comfortable in wearing bold lipsticks. At first, I thought that I couldn't pull them off and that I looked stupid, but now I don't care because I like lipstick and I like to wear lipstick. 

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Wild and Playful: I'm not going to talk about these too much just because I already did a blog post on them. These were a new discovery and I only really used them in the later part of the year but they are so amazing that I had to include them. Creamy, moisturizing, and pigmented--not really much more you could ask for in a lipstick.

MAC Lipstick in Rebel and Gladiola: I love MAC lipsticks and I own many a MAC lipstick so I shouldn't be surprised that I'm including two in my yearly favorites.  

Rebel however, is a color that I only discovered in 2012. I had seen many people rave about it and I was wanting a darker lipstick for the fall, so I picked up this little guy.

Gladiola is definitely one of my all time favorite lipsticks. I love it because it's a pink lipstick but it's not a bubblegum or stripper pink color that many MAC lipsticks are. It's a pink that has a slight purple tint to it and it's a color that works well with my skin tone.

 I love MAC lipsticks because they have decent quality, pigmentation, lasting power, and color range. The only thing is that some of these lipsticks can be drying, so I have to make sure that my lips are nicely moisturized. 

I had a nice amount of favorites but I don't think that I went too overboard. I can't wait to see what amazing products will be released from the drugstore and high end!

Hope everyone has a great new year!

♡ Lauren

❄ Holly Jolly Tag 2 ❄

1. Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until the last minute?
It all depends on who I'm shopping for really. I don't ever like to wait until the last minute because I typically buy my presents online because I get all my best ideas as I'm shopping on my computer late at night. Buying gifts online gives me the motivation not to wait until the last minute because I want it to get here in enough time with no shipping delays. I would say my Christmas shopping normally starts around Thanksgiving.

2. If you could be in any Christmas movie what would it be?
My all time favorite Christmas movie is It's a Wonderful Life. As a tradition my family watches it every Christmas Eve together. So I guess I would be Mary in that movie because George Bailey is a babe.

3. Which do you like better: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
I think Christmas Eve mainly just because there is so much anticipation and all of this build up towards Christmas and that's probably the best part.

4. When does your family put up your Christmas tree and who decorates it?
Since I'm away at college when I went back to my parents for Thanksgiving, my mom and I put up and decorated the tree on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

5. White lights or colored lights?
The lights I have are white just because I like how crisp and beautiful they look. I love going around and looking at everyone's light displays and I really like the colorful lights so I guess I just like both for different looks.

6. Are you guilty of peeking at your presents or do you like the surprise?
I don't peek at my gifts but I don't really like surprises.

7. Would you rather live in a gingerbread house or in Santa's Workshop?
Gingerbread house hands down. Just imagine how amazing it would smell in there. Granted you'd probably want to eat your house but you win some, you lose some.

8. Tell us your Christmas Eve traditions!
My family and I watch It's a Wonderful Life together before we go to midnight mass and then when we get home from mass, we open our gifts since it's after midnight and technically Christmas. We open our gifts when we get home so that we get to sleep in on Christmas day because we are just getting too darn old to wake up early for Santa.

9. If you could be under the mistletoe with anyone who would it be?
HA! uh...Ryan Gosling or JGL or whoever.

10. What tops your tree?
My mom's tree is a silver and blue angel that was my great-grandmother's. On my little tree here, I just have a blue star that was a dollar at target, until I can find one I really like.

11. Can you name the 12 days of Christmas?
No. I could say yes and look it up since I'm typing this out but there's no fun in that.

12. Have you ever gone Christmas caroling?
Probably, I don't remember but part of me thinks I did once or twice as a child.

13. Do you countdown to Christmas? If so, how many days are left?
Heck yes. Advent calendar and all! 12 til Christmas Eve and 13 til Christmas day!

14. What are some foods and treats you can count on having every holiday season?
When I was younger my neighbor would make us the best peanut butter fudge and we decided to try and recreate it this year which I'm really stoked about. We also like to make homemade sugar cookies and gingerbread men. Now I want some cookies....

15. How has Christmas kept its magic for you as you've grown older?
Um heck yeah. It's different in the sense that I sleep in on Christmas and wake up when I wake up as opposed to waking up at 5 to see what Santa brought me. I'm probably a little more stoked on Christmas now that I'm older because I get to decorate my apartment and buy a bunch of little knick knacky decorations.