The Bloggers' Ball

Beauty Bloggers Ball
So I saw Niki tweet about this and while I tend to avoid most New Year posts at all costs, I thought this one looked like fun.  To participate, you were asked to create a red carpet ball outfit as well as answer some questions about the past and upcoming year. To join, add your link at Rachel's blog, here

Questions:
What was the best part of 2012?
2012 was in all honesty really awful for me. I went through a really bad breakup back in February a few days before my birthday and I'm still trying to mend it sooo this year has really sucked all around.  There haven't been a lot of good moments, but one of them was probably back in October when I decided to start this blog, I've only been blogging a few months and I've already made some blogging friends and gotten to know a lot of you. I can't wait to see what 2013 holds for this blog and lovely community! <3

What was your favorite song/book/movie of 2012?
Song - Some Nights by Fun; Book - The Hunger Games; Movie - Pitch Perfect, The Hunger Games, and Snow White and the Huntsman.

What was your biggest accomplishment of 2012?
Deciding to transfer away from home and go to a different college. Also, I painted a couple really pretty oil landscapes...and I'm artistically challenged so that was cool. And lastly, the decision to go public with my song writing and make a Facebook fan page so that I can share with the people of my community what I do.

What are you looking forward to most in 2013?
Continuing to blog, college, and hopefully, mending the relationship with the love of my life.

What are your New Year's Resolutions? 
I don't even bother with New Year's Resolutions. haha. The only ones I've made are my beauty resolutions, which you can read in my previous post. (:


Side Note: Congrats to Kayla for winning my giveaway! And thanks to all of you who entered and tweeted! Stay tuned around the 100 follower mark for another giveaway! (:
My unboxing video for the voxbox is now live on YT so I'll do the follow up post on that later today.
I've been thinking that it would be cool to have a guest post every now and again on here so if any of you lovely people are interested in guest posting on TSJ, shoot me and email at jamieislovexoxo@aim.com. Don't worry if you don't have many followers, or even if you don't have a blog, guest posting is a great way to get your feet wet. So send me your idea(s) for a fashion/makeup/beauty post. (:


My 2013 Beauty Resolutions!


Makeup:
I want to start using concealer, purchase at least one item each from Lush and Soap & Glory, and own at least one high end item (never have I ever!).  That's very basic, but if you've been following my posts. I pretty much just want to make sure I try out everything on my wishlists from the past few months. 

Hair:
Up until September, I kept going back to medium or dark shades or brunet, for 2013, I'm going to continue to stick with red.  I'm also setting a goal to grow my hair out.  Up until two-ish years ago it was butt length, and I really miss that so, so much!

Nails:
Paint my nails more often.  Until recently, I've kinda just been repainting them whenever the current color wears off, I want to start doing them at least once a week.  I'm really into nail colors this month so that probably won't be hard to keep up.  I also want to get...pretty much every E.L.F. nail polish that there is available, because I love the formula better than anything I've ever tried (it kicks China Glaze's ass, no joke. it's epic stuff.).

Fashion:
I'm transferring away to another college so my fashion goal is to continue to rock whatever look I feel like and be confident with it.  If I wanna go punk one day, and country sweet-heart the next, I want to still be able to do that without feeling like I need to define myself one way or another.  

Share yours in a blog post or comment below!  Stay tuned for my unboxing Holiday VoxBox Post, the giveaway winner, and a review of Clean and Clear Acne Mark mask/wash. (:

xx


Etsy: Most Wanted/Gift ideas


Etsy Wish List:
1. Peacock Vintage Print on Upcycled Sheet Music, AvantPrint, shop currently closed - I love this style of art, cool paintings and designs on "upcycled" sheet music or book pages.  I think it's so classy and unique.  I actually have a framed peacock print from the dollar store for my dorm room that is some what similar to this.

2. Blue Crystal Swarovski Necklace, Crystalyte925, $32 - This really doesn't need explaining. It's so beautiful and delicate and very Downton Abbey.  Love, love, love. Everything from her shop really.

3. Terrarium, $5-15 - The one that is picture disappeared before I did this post so linked is the search page with tons to view.  They often come with moss or air plants which just need to be misted once perweek but otherwise take care of themselves.  These are so cute and make great gifts for those eco-friendly loves in your life.

4. "Till I got an arrow to the knee" Skyrim themed bracelet, LunaDesigns101, $6.69 - For those of you not familiar with Skyrim, it's a medieval, sim, adventure type video game that is the 5th in a series called The Elder Scrolls. The quote featured on this is kind of an inside joke with players because it's a cliche line that a lot of the NPDs (Non Playable Characters) say. So I just liked this because it was cute and simple and amusing. Luna is a UK based seller btw but she does ship internationally at great rates.

5. Peacock Feather iPhone Cover, RetroLoveCases, $19.95 - Are you starting to notice a trend here? Haha, I just really like peacock related things this season.  I think that's because my bedding for college is Aqua so peacock themed thing are easy to pair with it.  Also because in Illinois where I used to live, you could hear them scream all the time, which was kinda cool.

6. Turtle Photograph, elgarboart, $30 - Another Aqua/colorful themed item.  After my gazillionth trip to the zoo in October, I decided I'm quite fond of sea turtles and harbor seals.  This is such a beautiful photo and love angle at which it's taken.

So that's all for this list! This might give you an idea for some gifts or at least give you a little preview of Etsy if you've never shopped there before.  There are hundreds of great items that would make perfect unique gifts so I encourage you to take a look around!

What are you loving on Etsy right now? Leave links below!
&& If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a 32 piece E.L.F. cool eye shadow palette, Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm, 2 Pure Ice Nail Polishes from their Holiday Collection, and 2 samples of Skin+ 79 BB cream from Korea! Giveaway ends December 24th, open to US, UK, and Canada. (:

Happy Holidays
xx


My Gift to You: a Giveaway!

I was going to wait until next month to do a give away but I really didn't want to pass up a Christmas giveaway...even though the winner won't receive the items until after Christmas and they aren't really holiday themed - but you get the point. (:

Before I begin, because I really don't know anything about different customs procedures and shipping charges are insane to some countries, this giveaway is open to those in the US, UK, and Canada so if you're not in one of those three areas then I do apologize greatly and hopefully I will have something for you lovelies in the future!

 Up for grabs in this mini giveaway are as follows:
e.l.f. 32 piece cool eyeshadow palette - I haven't used this exact palette but I do have palettes from e.l.f and this one looks like it could be fun to play around with!  
2 Pure Ice Nail polishes (pictured below also) - I have a huge collection of these, including two of these exact colors.  From their holiday collection at Walmart, First Party is a gorgeous clear polish with red glitter and Grunge is a matte metallic grey/pink (if that makes any since at all haha)
Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus - I don't know how many times I've mentioned this balm on my blog, I'm obsessed with it and while it's kind of pricey for a lip balm, it's worth every penny.  It's a holy grail item for me so I just had to get one to share with you!
2 Samples of Skin 79 BB Cream - Asian BB creams are the original BB Creams and are very, very different from the American versions.  I've wanted to try this for awhile and I managed to get my hands on some samples and thought I'd add a couple to the giveaway in case someone else wanted to try it (I haven't as of yet.)  If you aren't familiar with the function of Asian BB creams I suggest you hit Google, they sound pretty snazzy for fair skinned ladies.



But that's not all! You'll also receive...

Ad Space - A spot on the sidebar where your own blog's lovely button shall sit for some long period of time between six months and the rest of forever.
Love from Jamie - And a hand written note in your package from your's truly
and whatever else I might find to throw in.
(:

Okay! So you know the drill - click that follow button and enter away! Much love && happy holidays!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winter Wear, December Edition


[left]"OMG" Neon Pink Hat from JC Pennye's, Gloves from JC Penney's. One hand says "lol :)" the other says "omg!"
[right] Arizona coat from JC Penneys, with Sherpa lining (fake sheep wool) and a furry hood. <3 Color: Burgundy


 [left]Dollar General stocking hat with ropes thingy.  In purple.  Also have a similar one in black.
[right]Santa Hat from Walmart. This was for a Quincy Symphony Chorus concert. Which I'm cool enough to be in. (this picture will also be in a  different post at some point because it uses one of my new elf products.

Ugly Dollar General gloves. Also came in a package with black. I got them, because they're cool. In an ugly sort of way.

And my sweater featured in most of these pictures, btw, is from Rue21. It's friggin fantastic. And I just got it four days ago on a mini-shopping spree there where also got skinny jeans! Which, I never used to wear, now I have Black Jeggings and Skinnys in Hot pink, red, and purple. 

That completes my Winter accessory collection of things I have so far this December - much love!

xx

December Wishlist!


1. Hard Candy Ginormous Lash Mascara in Carbon
2. Hard Candy Glamoflauge in Ultra Light
3. Soap and Glory Hand Food
4. Clearasil Acne + Marks Wash and Mask
5. Hard Candy Fox in a Box in Spicy and Sweet
6. CoverGirl Lashblast in Black Brown
7. Organix Tea Tree and Mint Shampoo/Conditioner
8. Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub
9. Lush Lip Scrub in Bubblegum

You can't tell I like Hard Candy, can you? (: This is not my Christmas wishlist btw, I tend to not ask for beauty-related items for Christmas.  This list doesn't have anything on it that is out-of-this world pricey, meaning at some point, I will get all of these items.    Some of them are things I've already had that I just need more of, like the mascaras.

Tomorrow I'm posting a non-beauty wishlist featuring all Etsy items! Because I adore Etsy.

x

P.S. A giveaway at 50 followers so watch out in the coming weeks for that! (:


Sinful Colors from the 90s! + Liebster 2

This bottle of polish has been in my bathroom cabinet for close to 15 years.  I believe I got this around 5 years old for Christmas from my aunt.  It was my very first bottle of nail polish and I thought it was the greatest thing ever.  I happened to be thinking about it the other day, because I had a hunch that the brand was familiar, and sure enough, when I went to look at it, it was Sinful Colors!  Not really a big deal, but I thought it was pretty cool that Sinful Colors is growing more popularly because of their dupes for high ends, quality, and affordability  and it happened to be my very first polish.  This bottle is dried out an pretty much empty now but I remember using this all the time when I was little.  This color is number #74 called "Blue Glitter".   I think it's safe to say they weren't as creative with their names back then. (:

In other news, I was nominated for another Liebster Award by Elle Woo from Lipstick and Lace, so I thought I would go head an answer the questions she posted.  I'm not going to do the full post but I'm very flattered that I was nominated a second time so I wanted to make sure I answered her questions.


1. What inspired you to start blogging?
I've actually been blogging since I was 12. I had been keeping a diary since first grade and when I got older, I because more interested in graphic design.  So blogging made those two things to go hand it hand. 
2. What motivates you to continue blogging?
I have an OCD issue with making lists.  And blogging is kind of the exaggerated form of that. Lol.  But other than that, I like being able to help people by making suggests, amusing them, or helping people see that they aren't the only ones who are going through tough shit (as related to the subjects on my other website).
3. What other hobbies do you have besides blogging?
Song writing, photography, horse back riding, singing, writing, road tripping.
4. What is the concept of your blog (e.g., is it makeup based, fashion based, life based, etc.)?
Right now it's makeup only.  But I'll have the occasional fashion haul and college life post.
5. What is your dream job?
I want to be a singer/songwriter, officially and professionally. But if that doesn't work out, I'm working on a degree in Anthropology
.
6. What's your favorite clothing store?
Rue 21. By Far. Yup. <3 <3 <3
7. What's your favorite makeup brand?
Hard Candy! But I probably use more NYC and Covergirl products.
8. What's your favorite color?
Purple. Haha No, not red. (;
9. What's your favorite number?
14
10. PC or Mac?
I have a PC, but I grew up with Mac so I'm hoping to get a Macbook Pro before next summer for school.  My current laptop will be four years old in February!

11. What is on the top of your wish list right now?
A LUSH sugar scrub.  I've never tried anything from LUSH.  And on a slight side note, I've actually never owned/tried anything high end. haha 

the long awaited BIG e.l.f. haul! (:




My order from E.L.F's Cyber Monday sale (I actually ordered the night before) is finally here!  It took two weeks, which I personally thought was an insanely long time but because it was a huge week for online shopping, I decided not to get too irritated about it.  Plus, when the box actually came, it was pretty much like Christmas so the wait was well worth it.  The top left picture is of the ten items I got from the online store and the bottom picture is the natural eye shadow palette I got from Walgreen's on Friday [don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.] There are also additional photos at the bottom of this post for a closer view of some of the items.

Here's the list of the items I got from my online shipment, there prices, and my initial thoughts.
  • Shimmering Facial whip in Golden Peach, $1 - I swatched a little bit of this on the back of my hand and it's such a lovely, light, gold.  I think it will be a perfect highlighter or luminizer for my super pale skin.  And it's scented like sugary oranges - or whatever it is they call that scent.
  • Nail Polish in Green Machine, $2 - I'm actually wearing this as an accent color on a couple of my nails beside a gold polish from Pure Ice.  Green Machine is a very thick, very pigmented Evergreen color.  It absolutely reminds me of pine needles. I used two coats but I'm pretty sure I could have gotten it away with one.
  • Nail Polish in Mod Mauve, $2 - The photo on the website makes it look like more of a lilac color but it actually has more pink tones. I adore this color.  It's actually really close to my natural lip color and I think it's absolutely gorgeous yet. I haven't tried this one out yet but I have a feeling it's going to be one of my newest favorites.
  • Limited Edition Holiday 4-Piece Nail Polish Set, $5 - This includes the colors Fairy Dust, Golden Goddess, Light Red and Plum.  I used Golden Goddess on top of Green Machine for my accent and it is absolutely gorgeous.  It's a very, very fine golden glitter polish top coat with larger gold pieces.  I really don't like glitter polishes (I'll have a couple in a hit or miss post later on) but this one I am really enjoying so far.  I most excited for the light red.  I've wanted a true red polish for so long and I refuse to spend more than a few dollars on one, thus the ones I've tried have sucked.  But if this one is a good as the green polish, it's going to be absolutely divine.
  • Studio Matte Lip Color in Nearly Nude, $3 - I think I'm going to have to play around with this a little more I think before I decided for sure what I think about this.  I find it a little too light at the moment, which looks a bit odd on my skin, but then again, I didn't have any other makeup on when I tried it so we shall see if I can play with it some a figure out what works best.
  • Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in Plum Passion and Twinkle Teal, $1 - These both look great, but the purple feels a tad rough, just might need to be worn down a little bit.  The teal on the other hand, reminds me a lot of Isodora's Patrol Green (I don't even this this is around anymore.) but Twinkle Teal is a lighter shade. This doesn't have chucks of glitter in it like the purple does, this one is more of a true shimmer - very pretty.
  • Essential Beauty Book Eye Set in Smoky, $5 - This comes with a small tube of the primer, which I've heard a lot about but never tried.  Excited to try that.  I love purple, and smokey eyes, so this should be fun.  I like that it's got illustrated instructions on the inside of the package.
  • Studio HD Blush in Superstar, $3 - Whoa. Okay, so I read the reviews on the website but I wasn't prepared for how true "a little goes a long way" is.  I put, maybe, a fourth of a pump of this on the back of my hand and wow, it's crazy pigmented.  Plus side, this seems to blend really well so I think after I get used to how much I need, it will look great.  It's matte, which I really love, and it's got a great consistency.  I'm pretty sure since this is really bold and I'm really white,  that this pump will quite literally last me forever.
  • Studio Stipple Brush, $3 - I've already tested this once with liquid foundation.  I've always been the type to use a sponge. Until a few days ago I started messing around with the few brushes that I have and decided to try that for awhile since that's how pretty much every other beauty person does it.  I've been hearing so much about stippling brushes lately that I decided to get one. I really cannot even begin to express how much I love this brush.  So much better coverage than anything else I have ever used. Just, wow.  And a great finish.  I feel like using a brush even makes my foundation last longer but that just may be all in my head. Either way, I'm positive that I will never use a sponge again.
  • Natural Eye Palette, $4.99 - Like I said, this was from Walgreen's not the shipment.  I adore this.  I used it yesterday and wow.  I think a big part of the reason I like this was for the instructions, I feel like I'm an idiot when it comes to eye shadow techniques.  My makeup always looks good but I never really do anything different.  This gave me some new ideas.  Also, I've never had a neutral palette before because it wasn't ever into natural shades after the look I did yesterday, I've determined that colors such as these just make my green/blue/grey eyes pop like crazy. (: I'm in love.

So that completes my haul! I'm so excited for all of these products.  I got an amazing deal.  
Tell me about your favorite elf products! Is there anything mentioned above that you might want to try yourself?

x
What's coming in future posts:: winter wear collection thus far, hit or miss nov-dec, a couple of fashion posts, college jabber, swatches of these palettes, andddd.....a giveaway! (I've started collecting products!)

More photos from this haul....





Liebster Award!


Hey all! I'm very happy to announce that Dani from My Makeup and Beauty Obsession has nominated myself, along with ten other great bloggers for the Liebster Award!  Pretty much made my day when I saw her post, so thanks very much Dani! And make sure y'all go check out her blog! (:


What is the Liebster Award?

"The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome."

The Rules:
- Link back to the blogger that nominated you 
- Write 11 random facts about yourself
- Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger that nominated you
- Create 11 questions of your own questions for blogs you would like to give the Liebster award
- Choose up to 11 blogs with under 200 followers to award 

11 Random facts:

- I was born on valentine's day.
- I'm a natural blonde.
-Anthropology major/Art History minor
-My skin scars very easily.
-Right now I'm listening to a band called Blackmore's Night [The Circle], that I was introduced to by my Western Civ teacher.
-My last day of classes at college was today.
-I can sort of speak conversational French.
-I write songs.
-I'm in love with Spotify
-I have a 10 year old Quarter Horse named Abbie (:
-There is currently a calico cat sitting on my lap. <3

11 Questions for me:


What is your favorite beverage? (hot or cold)
I love, love, love Mountain Dew.  Sure, it causes kidney stones. Do I care? No I do not.

What book/magazine are you currently reading?
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead (from the Vampire Academy series)

Do you enjoy cooking?
I do. But I don't do it often.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
With a certain someone. Or if not there, London or Ireland or somewhere pretty. (:

If you were stranded on an island what 3 items would you have to have with you?
Forgetting the fact that I need food,water, and such. I'd have to have my iPhone, chapstick, and uhh rubber bands.  Because I feel like that could be useful somehow. haha

What would be your idea of a perfect date night?
It depends on who I'm with.

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
I was a sale's associate at a portrait studio in Walmart. I quit on the fourth day.  They were so unprofessional about everything and tried to make me do manger's duties and be at the studio all day alone on little training because they were short handed, then lied about it. It was just pretty much wretched. You know it's a horrible job and they can't keep workers when you walk out on them and they still beg for you to come back. ha.

What is one of your pet peeves? (something that really winds you up)
Lip smacking while eating, people that take forever to text back, liars.

What nail colour are you wearing right now?
Pink and red glitter, and gold on the ring fingers.  It's not a great combo, I was just testing out all my new polishes. 

If you went into a sweet shop, what would be your first choice of sweets to take home with you?
Rock Candy! I love that stuff.

What do you obsessively collect? (For example, shoes, bags, notebooks, mugs etc)
Other than makeup? haha hmm, I'm not sure.  


11 Questions for YOU!

1. Do you have any pets? If so, what/how many?
2. What is your natural hair color?
3. Lace or Leather?
4. If you could live anywhere, cost/other issues aside, where would it be?
5. What kind of car do you drive?
6. What song has been stuck in your head today?
7. Can you speak any languages beside's English?
8. When you were little, what did you want to be when your grew up?
9.  What's something that you like that others think is odd?
10. Mac or Windows?
11. How's the weather?

I nominate....

Okay, so a lot of bloggers I want to nominate already got the award, so I'm just going to post a list of bloggers I really like these days with under 200 followers and if they would like to do then tag (if they haven't already) then they can feel free! x


Great blogs ladies, I follow you all! Keep it up! <3

I was also nominated a second time by Elle @ Lipstick and Lace. Read that post here.

FOTD: Au Naturel

I've posted two pictures in different lighting, just because.This isn't exactly my face of the day, it's more o the result of me fooling around with my makeup in my pj's at 9 o'clock at night.  Which, is a big deal considering I have never gone anywhere without my makeup focusing on my eyes (never gone without eyeliner, ever).  Tonight was also my first sucessfull attempt at loose curls (versus the tight ringlets I usually do) so I'm pretty happy with my look at the moment...besides the fact it's not really night-life appropriate and I don't have anywhere to go anyway. xD


Product List:

  • All Natural Face mineral foundation mixed with Clean&Clear morning glow moisturizer.
  • Hard Candy 24k Glow All the Way
  • Revlon Stay Matte powder in Natural (on eyelids & under eye)
  • Gold eye shadow on inner corners (unknown brand, from a holiday palette from Dollar General)
  • NYC Big Bold Mascara
  • Blistex Cold and Alergy lip balm
  • E.L.F Stay Matte Lip Tint in praline (over balm)
  • Remington Pearl  clampless curling iron



This look is centered the sample of Hard Candy 24k Glow All the Way that I've been carrying around in my makeup collection for a year and never really was able to get it to look right.  My skin is usually pretty "bleh" so I like this makes it look really night in my house lighting...of course, when I go to school, the florescents will be a whole different story.  I feel like the lack of eye makeup like a usual do makes the red hair look a tad more natural on me.  I'm very pleased. (:

Does anyone else have this Hard Candy glow?  If not, recommend your favorite luminizer!

LOL @ the line across from nose from wearing my glasses all day instead of contacts...classy.. xD

Tag: What's In My Makeup Bag?

So today I'm going to give you a little preview of what's in my makeup bag, which is pretty much my everyday/lazy day makeup. I have so much more eyeshadow than this it's not even funny. Perhaps someday Ill do an entire eyeshadow collection. (: I will probably update this in a few months when I get, hopefully, some higher end stuff.

I'm not going to go in depth too much on any of this stuff but if you would like a review or swatches of anything just let me know! (:

The List (from left to right):
Revlon Stay Matte powder in Natural, All Natural Face mineral foundation in dark tan warm, NYC lipstick in retro red, ELF matte lip color in praline, LA Colors little black book of eyeshadows in Natural, various ELF, Belle, and misc brushes, eye pencil sharpener, NYC Big Bold Mascara, NYC smooch proof lip stain in Berry Long Time, Rimmel London Natural Bronzer in Sun dance, LA Colors brow liner, CoverGirl perfect blend eyeliner in Brown Black, LA Colors Pearl Metallic eyeliner in Black Pearl, Eyelash Curler, and Zoe&Zac Naturals blush in spring eclipse.

I'm pretty much happy with everything I have in here except the NYC mascara, which you should all know by now that I hate, and the LA colors liners which I use for my brows because they aren't very pigmented.

The makeup bag btw, is from Walmart and it was part of a Venus razor set. I finally switched out my beloved Hard Candy makeup bag. Ill probably wash it up or get another one soon.

That's it! If anyone would like a review on anything like the Book of Shadows or blush or anything just tweet me or comment below!

Much love,
X


P.S. I tag everyone! If you've already done a post like this recently, drop me the link I'd love to check it out!