Hello everyone and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I know its been a few days since I jumped on here and posted but with the past few days loading up with work, by the time I’m off I’m mentally exhausted. However, this weekend I am hoping to take full advantage of it being a long one and get all of the rest I can. I know many people travel around over this weekend but I’ve always liked to stay local for this particular weekend because usually beaches and lakes are crowded since everyone wants to use the first weekend of summer to travel (understandably). Unfortunately, I think it’s also supposed to rain where I’m at for most of the weekend so my activities that I had planned for outside might have to be put on hold. In this post, I will be sharing a full list of the sales that I was able to find. If you head over to my instagram @saraeliseblog, I also have all of these graphics posted. I have included some other sales in this post, special for my loyal readers, and won’t be posting those on my instagram.💙 Click on the link to the retailer, and it will take you directly to their site/sale section. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend and thank you to all of the service men and women who currently serve our country, have served, or given their life for our country. May we never forget what the true meaning behind the weekend and the sacrifices that were made for us. 🇺🇸
MDW SALES ROUNDUP
Abercrombie: 25% off select styles + Free shipping on orders over $75
IT Cosmetics: 30% off site wide sale with code: SUMMER + Free shipping on orders over $50 + Free makeup gift set with a purchase of over $100
Lancome: Friends and Family 25% site wide sale, 30% off when you create an account
*All thoughts and opinions are my own. I do not own the rights to the images provided unless the picture is of myself. All other pictures have website links tied to them. I do not make any commission of any of these items.
A whole post about Starbucks?? What is there not to love?! I’m not even a coffee person but this mermaid-icon based cafe is one of the places that brings me joy.🌈 One of my strengths is that I can usually find a silver lining in most situations. Now that I work from home and have been for the past year and a few months, I barely leave my house… or the basement for that matter. The very few times I leave my house during the week, it’s usually in the afternoon to run through the Starbucks drive thru and grab a quick pick-me-up for the rest of the day. This is the one thing throughout the work day that I can look forward to. It gets me away from my computer screen for about 10 minutes and I get a nice treat, sounds like a win-win situation to me. As I briefly mentioned, I am not a big coffee drinker and never really have been. I never got into it during college and there was never a huge impulse to drink it after I graduated and begun my professional career. I’m much more of a tea drinker, anyone else? What do you guys rather prefer, tea or coffee? ☕️
Over the past few months, I have tried out a few different combinations of drinks to find a few that I like and I wanted to put them all together in this blog post so that they can be all in one place. I would also like to point out that I usually only get iced drinks when its like 65 degrees or higher, anything lower I get a hot drink because I can’t stand the cold lol. I will provide the titles, pictures, and how I order the drinks below (approximate calories are taken from the Starbucks app and does not include customizations just standard renditions):
Iced Caffè Mocha (Tall) ~260 calories
Blonde Espresso
Almond Milk
No Whipped Cream
2 Pumps of Mocha Sauce (remove 1 from the standard 3 pumps in a tall)
2 Pumps of Toffee Nut Syrup
This is one of my favourite coffee drinks if I’m actually in the mood to order one. During the fall, I tried the Salted Caramel Mocha and surprisingly (I’m not a big salted caramel fan), I loved it. Since that is a seasonal drink and it was taken off the menu a few months ago, I had to do some experimenting. The toffee nut syrup makes all the difference. I liked this hot version so much, I made it iced in March and it’s basically the only coffee-forward drink I drink. I highly recommend trying this one.
I can’t remember how many years ago it was that this drink was brought to the menu but I want to say its been almost three years. I remember I tried it the same day I was wearing a dress that was the same colour of the drink so the Starbucks barista recommended it for me to try. I did, and it was my new favourite summer drink. If I’m feeling ~crazy~ then I get the grande but the tall is my go-to. Additionally, there is a version with lemonade in it and it is very good, very sweet, but I prefer just the regular refreshers since they are less sugar.
Peach Green Tea Lemonade (Tall) ~ 60 calories
I get the order as is
This drink is so good for a hot summer day! My boyfriend and family loves to go to Starbucks most days. Sometimes if I’m asked what drink I want and I don’t quite want something too heavy but just refreshing, I request this drink. The perfect amount of peach mixed with lemon is such a thirst quencher for the long sunny days. Again, I’ll get a grande if I think I can stomach it that day, but most times I get a tall. Since the tea is pretty light (sugar-wise) I splurge and get the lemonade for this version even though there is one without.
Sometimes, I omit the mocha drizzle on top (if I don’t want that much mocha)
Okay do frappes remind anyone else of high school afternoons? I remember getting out of school and wanting to run by starbs with my friends to grab a quick chilled frap before I ran to my dance studio for never-ending classes. I remember it like it was yesterday because this drink brought one of my best friends and I together. This drink came out the summer of my sophomore year of high school and we bonded over liking the Mocha Cookie Crumble… now back then of course I had a grande with FULL toppings and all the whipped cream you could imagine. There is no way I’m able to handle that these days so I have now a bit more of a modified version for those few days a year that I actually crave one of these bad boys.
I’d love to hear about what your fav drinks that you get from Starbucks when it starts to get warm outside. I’m always looking for more options to add to my list to try! I stick to almond milk for the most part and usually omit whipped cream because I don’t find the appeal in it anymore but I like trying new things for sure. I will say that I have tried the majority of the refreshers and they are equally good except for the Mango Dragonfruit one I mentioned earlier, def tops them all. Thanks for reading along and I hope you give one of my drink recommendations a try in the coming months! 🤍
Let’s all rejoice together that Friday is finally here. It’s now the weekend and we can all finally relax. I actually was just thinking about how a couple of years ago in college, my weekend would start on Thursday night instead of Friday. Ah the good ole college days were so fun. Somehow I made sure that every semester I never had a Friday class. 8 semesters, no Friday classes- it was so great which meant after I was done with classes on Friday, my weekend began (even though some of my internships were on Fridays) on Thursday and carried on throughout Sunday. What I would give to get one of those weekends back! Anyways, back to what I was planning on talking about in this blog post, basically a dreaded word…. comparison.
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
-Theodore Roosevelt
I don’t know about y’all but personally, I have always struggled with comparing myself. Not that it’s a daily feeling but I think it comes in seasons. Throughout various seasons in my life, I have caught myself feeling less than and comparing my life/feelings/scenario to others. Not even necessarily others I know, perhaps complete strangers but nonetheless, others who were not living my life. While I knew it probably wasn’t the best decision to be doing, I felt like I almost couldn’t help it. In today’s society with social media running our lives and now being isolated (safely and rightfully so, of course, because of the pandemic), it’s almost easier to compare our lives to others on the internet. This is a dangerous slippery slope to go down because as we all know, on any social media platform, it is very easy to get sucked into the black hole and start comparing and rethinking our own lives when in reality, we don’t truly know what’s going on behind the other person’s screen. In the same regard, others don’t know what is going on with us behind the screen because while technology is so useful and has brought such advancement to our lives, there is a slight negative side of it where some can rely on it so much or it be our only sense of reality, which would be a false one.
I can easily scroll through instagram and find a few accounts that I easily go down a rabbit hole on. Oh her hair looks so pretty, I wonder why mine doesn’t do that. Oh they must be so smart because they invested in blah blah, I could never understand that stuff. Oh she must not even have bad days because she’s always smiling and laughing… y’all get the point. It’s just so easy to play the comparison game especially with how our society functions these days. However, as we’ve explored, comparison can be a true root of evil. If we are constantly thinking of what other people have/don’t have, or what others lives must be like/or not like then how can we ever find peace and happiness in our own? “Real life”and some authenticity sometimes can lack on social media… instagram is definitely a highlight reel but that doesn’t meant that real life (whether it happens to you or others) doesn’t exist because it’s not posted about. On the contrary, “real life” happens everyday, its the way we choose to control our own emotions and handle the situation that really matters in the end.
In the past year, I will admit that I have compared my life or my story to others but in truth, I’ve made a conscious effort in the past months to understand why I start to have those thoughts when they arise and how to swiftly move away from them. Particularly during the past two years while navigating my post-grad life. My friends and I are all living very different lives now and in some ways it feels like I try to “catch up” or get to where I “should” be by x amount of months I’ve graduated from. In reality, those are all time constraints and expectations that we put on ourselves, we don’t actually have to listen to them. There really is no reason for me to compare because no one’s life/decisions/objects/feelings are going to be like mine because they are not me and I am not them. We all live individual lives and have our own experiences that are unique to us… and no one can ever take that away. Finding solace in the fact that no one else is living my life has helped me transition out of that toxic comparison mentality recently because if I can live my life confidently and in my own way (mistakes and all) then it’s my story to tell. I get to write the beginning, middle, and end….. with the help of the big guy upstairs of course. 🌈
If you are reading this and finding yourself agreeing with a lot of what I have said, then at least you can now realize you’re definitely not alone. It’s not just like there’s a cure either to just magically stop yourself from comparing things but I hope that with some conscious thinking, it will keep on becoming minimal in my life. I have also been trying to find the everyday joys. This counteracts the comparison game quite heavily. I’ve always been decent at finding a silver lining in situations but taking the time everyday to intentionally be grateful or joyful about something, big or small, takes WORK. Anyways, I hope you all have a great weekend and truly can find joy in all of your special, unique, and custom created lives. Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day weekend!💐 For those of you who find Mother’s Day challenging for whichever reason, I will be thinking of you. Thanks for reading along🤍
I hope you all have had a great week, I am definitely looking forward to the weekend. I can’t believe that Mother’s Day is right around the corner. For those of you who are reading that surprised, Mother’s Day is set for Sunday May 9th this year which is just over a week away. My mom is one of the sweetest, thoughtful, genuine, loving, and generous people I’ve ever known and I consider myself so lucky to call her mom. I’m sure that many of you can agree that you have a similar opinion of your own mothers. Every year I struggle with what to get my mom and how to make her feel a little extra special on Mother’s Day specifically. Our moms truly deserve the world, even though I can’t give her that, I can make an effort to shower her with love that day. I also want to make it a point to explain that Mother’s Day definitely doesn’t have to be only about giving gifts and such. Some years, the best Mother’s Days have been days where we spend time together doing different experiences together. I also don’t think any mom is going to turn down breakfast in bed or a homemade dinner made for her.
From left to right: Pics with my momma💗 My sister and I with mom in London in front of Big Ben December 2016, Mom and I in front of Loch Ness in Scotland January 2017, Mom and I in Normandy France July 2018, and Mom at my college graduation May 2019.
I wanted to put together a few gift guides on ideas for Mother’s Day. I made several different versions so that there is something for all moms. As a reminder, these gifts would be great for any other maternal figure in your life such as grandmothers, stepmoms, godmothers, or new moms/expecting moms. I also wanted to mention, which I also talked briefly on my instagram, that I know Mother’s Day can also be a difficult day for some and if that applies to you, you will be on my heart that day.
I hope these gift ideas help you decide/give you inspiration on items to get for your mom if you are shopping. If you do end up getting any of these gift suggestions, let me know- I’d love to hear about what you think about the gift guides. I hope that you all have a special day with your moms if you are lucky enough to live close enough to see them. Thank you for reading along and supporting!
*All thoughts and opinions are my own. I do not own the rights to the images provided unless the picture is of myself. All other pictures have website links tied to them. I do not make any commission of any of these items.
Hello friends! I hope your week has treated you well and that you are looking forward to another spring weekend. I was a little stumped on what to blog about this week mainly because I think the Sephora Sale wiped me out 😂. Not really however, I was still unsure of what I wanted to share with you guys. In recent weeks, I found myself cowering down in certain situations, feeling bad for some of the emotions I was feeling, and finding excuses for the times where I just didn’t feel “right”. I know recently I have been able to turn to my friends (you know who you are) that I’m so grateful for to talk about all of the internal troubles I seem to have been wrestling with.
To be fair, there isn’t just one facet of life that these feelings could creep into. Anything from work, friends, relationships, health, mentally, could all be relevant to what I’m talking about. It’s important for me to remember that when I start to feel like I may not be worth the trouble of …xyz…, that I remember that it’s most likely my inner enemies getting the best of me. I think we all struggle with those little voices in our head from time to time but at least in my case, mine have been making their presence known to me recently. I feel like I may be rambling a bit and going in a circle but I promise I do have a point lol. I hope that when I do share these types of posts, that someone else out there doesn’t have to feel alone if they are walking through a similar season in their life.
Anyway, back on track. I’m going to provide an example so that we can at least have a scenario in our heads. I’ll take my health for example. After battling with my diagnoses from last year (if you are confused, feel free to read my first post back to blogging here), I started to panic that I didn’t have enough answers from various doctors that I saw. The longer the time passed with few answers on how I would continue to live my life, the more frustrated I got and started to feel like my questions weren’t that important. Others probably had way worse issues than I did so why was I bothering the doctors? Maybe I was overthinking it? I didn’t realize this at the time, but now that I can reflect back on this type of situation, I know that I was just letting myself sink into the background. I want to be able to catch myself in these types of situations diminishing my worth. Of course I’m worthy enough to know answers about MY body, or bringing up MY concerns at work on a certain project, or advocating for MY emotions in my relationship. There are so many instances that I have to either stand up for myself or stand my ground in what I am feeling/saying- that it’s important for me to trust my gut and know that at the end of the day, the only person has to live with my life choices is me, so why doubt myself, my decisions, or my worthiness.
Sometimes instead of facing the issue, I can easily try to turn to ways of masking my negative emotions. The most infamous culprit is shopping or online shopping. In the moment, I feel sad or down so I go shopping (one of my favourite ways to spend time) and then think I want to buy material items. Once I have made my purchases, I am happy for only a few min after and then I go right back to the previous negative emotions that I was otherwise trying to suppress. Now of course this is a dangerous slope to go down, but this is exactly why I have been focusing on reflecting internally rather than turning to material items to get myself out of a ~funk~.
Sure, it’s easy enough to say “yeah, I know I’m worth it” but BELIEVING it is a whole other ball game. This is the part that I could argue is the most challenging. I definitely haven’t figured this part out yet but the best that I can explain it is to give yourself time and grace throughout this challenging process. It has taken me a long time to trust my gut but I am a heck of a lot farther in my journey than in former years. I think staying home for the majority of the past year due to the pandemic has left me in a frenzy of emotions…. and I’ve had to face them head on because there’s not really any place to hide from your thoughts during a shutdown lol. However, even though I wasn’t thrilled with this fact last spring, I’ve learned a lot about myself since then and am much more comfortable with feeling and understanding my various emotions as they arise. As you can tell from this blog post, my mind goes a mile a minute so I hope you’re following along with me. If there is ever any doubt in your mind, just remember that you are worth every good thing that may come into your life… and that you believe it.🤍 Take some time for yourself this weekend and enjoy it! Thanks for reading along!
I hope you have had a wonderful week, friends! If you’ve been scrolling around on Instagram at all this past week, you will have seen that the Sephora Spring Savings Event is currently happening and will end on April 19th. If you haven’t checked out my Sephora Shopping Guide blog post that I published at the end of last week, click on the title of the blog to read. Between all the questions and recommendations I have been asked this year, I figured I would go ahead and put together a huge blog post of all the items I purchased. As the week has gone on, I of course, want to order another shipment. I haven’t used a majority of these products yet as they are new purchases to me but since I will most likely be using them in the future in videos/tutorials, I figured having them all wrapped up in a blog post would be helpful. If you are planning on shopping the sale, I hope to be a helpful resource for you so if you need any more specific details on any of the products I have listed in either of my blog posts, please reach out and let me know. I have divided this post up into several sections including makeup, skincare/body care, and hair. 🛍 As a reminder, here are the main details you need to know for the sale:
If you don’t have an account with Sephora, you can sign up for free here. If you are in the Rouge status, you will be able to shop first with early access with 20% off from April 9-19. If you are in the VIB status, you can start shopping with 15% off on April 13-19. If you are an Insider, you will be able to shop with 10% off from April 15-19. Make sure to use the code OMGSPRING when you are checking out to receive your spring savings!
I think I might have one more order that I need to make so I will be adding to this post as more items come in. I wanted to say that while I have covered this sale quite extensively, I don’t want any of it to come off as that I am telling you that you NEED any of the items. At the end of the day, these things are just material items and they aren’t an essential. On my end at least, I plan several months in advance for these big sales so that I can set aside a little from every paycheck so when the time comes, I can make the most of my discount. During these semi-annual sales, I like to restock on my fav items, try luxury items that I’ve had my eye on, or invest in hair tools that I wouldn’t pay full price for normally. If there are other products you need recommendations for or a review, please let me know. I’m happy to help in anyway I can- even if that just means I’m listening to your skin concerns/makeup desires. Thank you for reading along! 🤍
*All thoughts and opinions are my own. I do not own the rights to the images provided unless the picture is of myself. All other pictures have website links tied to them. I do not make any commission of any of these items.
One of my favourite sales of the year has finally arrived! Today marks the first day of the Sephora Spring Sale that runs from April 9- April 19, 2021. This sale is one of two site-wide sales that Sephora has in a year, the other is the holiday sale usually in November. I look forward to the spring sale specifically because this is the time where I experiment and purchase products that I’ve been wanting to buy but haven’t tried out yet. This is also the perfect time to buy items that you are interested in for the summer or for products that are a little bit more of a splurge that you wouldn’t normally buy. It’s quite simple to shop the sale, all you need to know is the code to save (provided below), the Sephora tier you belong to, and your wishlist 😉
If you don’t have an account with Sephora, you can sign up for free here. If you are in the Rouge status, you will be able to shop first with early access with 20% off from April 9-19. If you are in the VIB status, you can start shopping with 15% off on April 13-19. If you are an Insider, you will be able to shop with 10% off from April 15-19. Make sure to use the code OMGSPRING when you are checking out to receive your spring savings! I have split this post into several sections so it is easier to plan your shopping strategy (and yes I take this sale that seriously). The sections include makeup, skincare, hair care, and fragrances. Within each category, I have listed products that I have on my wishlist and want to buy during the sale. I will double asterisk (**) any product that is a restock to me meaning that I’ve already used it and is a favourite of mine to repurchase. If at any time, you need a more comprehensive review of a particular product or have additional questions, please reach out to me ~ I’m happy to help! 🛍
Makeup
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Smoothing Foundation, $44 – Since I have been looking for a full coverage foundation and all of the other Charlotte Tilbury products, I’ve really enjoyed, I wanted to try this foundation to see how it would work for me. By using the shade finder, I believe I would be between the shades of 6, 7 , or 7.5 depending on what time of year it is.
Charlotte Tilbury Mini Flawless Setting Spray, $20 – This setting spray is supposed to be one of the best but since I haven’t tried it yet I would rather get the mini than the full size. Additionally, if I get the CT foundation listed above, it might be best for me to pair the same brand’s setting spray with it.
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Instant Eyeshadow Palette, $75 – During the holidays sale, I bought the limited edition bejeweled palette and I have been using it nonstop. Since most of those eyeshadows are glittery/shimmer based, I wanted to try the original Pillow Talk Palette for everyday use. The sale is a great time to snag this luxury eyeshadow palette.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil, $22 – I have been wanting to try a brown eyeliner to achieve that perfect glowy refreshed look for the summer. I want to get the shade bourbon and try it out with my other brown eyeshadows for a more relaxed look.
Gucci Poudre De Beauté Mat Naturel Beauty Setting Powder, $62 – The reviews about this product speak for itself. I have been interested in the Gucci makeup line for years but haven’t actually tried any of them. Usually I need a powder for the warmer months to set my face, so I wanted to see how this would pair with my current foundations.
Gucci Mascara L’Obscur, $35 – Over the past two years, I have tried upwards of 10 different mascaras and while I have found a few that I like for specific reasons, I want to try this one as I’ve been told it’s an overall great quality mascara. Of course, the packaging is a big seller as well.
ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation, $48- I feel like this foundation is calling my name. I have been moving towards clean skincare and makeup products over the last year since my health issues arose. ILIA is considered clean beauty at Sephora so in addition to being a clean brand, it has quite powerful ingredients within it and a high SPF of 40 which seems like the perfect product for me to wear this upcoming summer. Based on the shade finder, it seems that my shade would be 9 Paloma.
ILIA Mini Blue Light Protect + Set Mist, $18 – Carrying on with the clean beauty brand, ILIA, I wanted to try this setting mist in combination with the skin tint. Since I mostly stare at screens all day, I always look for blue light protection in as many products as I can. This mini product will allow me to try the mist without committing to the full size.
ILIA Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara, $28 – One more product I want to try from this brand. I have heard nothing but good reviews about this mascara and since I’ve been trying out so many mascaras, what is the harm in trying out one more?
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, $20 – I’ve heard great things about these liquid blushes from Selena Gomez’s cosmetics brand. I am looking particularly at the two shades Happy and Lucky but unsure of which would look best with my skin tone. I might buy both just to try them out. I think Lucky would be a great summer item to wear.
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation, ** $29 – I bought this earlier last year and I really liked wearing it for the fall time. It’s medium coverage but buildable to make it more full coverage. It is very lightweight on the skin and didn’t cause any irritation or texture problems on my skin. I wear the shade 270 N but will most likely need a lighter shade for now since that was after the summer months. I plan on buying another shade during this sale. Their shade range is amazing!!
Marc Jacobs Velvet NoirMajor Volume Mascara Very Merry Cherry Edition, **sale $19 – I bought this mascara during the holiday sale and this has been the one mascara I have been wearing nonstop since then. It does not flake off at all, very thickening and not too hard to take off. Even though it is categorized as the merry holiday edition, I could argue the colours work for the summer and spring especially since cherries are very on trend now. It is currently on sale so I will def be grabbing another one.
Hair
Drybar Southern Belle Volume-Boosting Root Lifter, $26 – I kinda hate that I want this just because of the name but marketing makes a ton on me. I’m always up for trying different hair products and while I currently have a volume lift spray I like, I want to try this one and see how it works.
Drybar Texas Tease Teasing Brush, $18 – Again, the name can sell me on almost anything. Everything is truly bigger and better in Texas so I HAVE to get this teasing brush to add volume to my hair.
Drybar Hot Toddy Heat Protectant Mist, $27 – I am in serious need of a heat protectant. I have been reading some good reviews, and though some have said the fragrance is strong, I don’t mind fragrances in my hair products. I’m going to buy it and see how it holds up with all of my heat styling tools.
Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo, (mini) $14 – I have been in this phase of trying out different dry shampoos while I’ve been in the process of training my hair. I like to get several mini sizes of various dry shampoos and try them out. Since I haven’t tried this one out and that it claims its detoxing, I want to try this out to see how it compares to others.
IGK Upgraded First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo Set, ** $27 – Another repurchase for me. I bought this set during the holiday savings event and it has worked out great for me! It truly detoxes my hair and is a heavy duty dry shampoo that I usually use on day 3 or 4 hair. This set is a great value because you get a full size and a travel size which is super convenient. Excited to get this in my order.
Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment, ** $32 – All of Briogeo’s Scalp Revival line is amazing! I bought the set of the line so I could help my dry and itchy scalp during the holiday savings event. Now my scalp is feeling much better and I use this treatment every time I wash my hair. I’m almost out of my current bottle so I need to buy it while it’s on a discount. It truly soothes my scalps and I have noticed a huge difference in the decrease of flakiness on my scalp.
Drybar The Mixologist Interchangeable Styling Iron, $199 – I feel like interchangeable irons are a popular trend but I’ve seen several types of wands in one and several types curling irons in one but I’ve never seen a wand, curling iron, and waver all in one which is what caught my eye. I’ve been looking to find a waver for the summer and since this tool has all 3, I want to try this out and see how each looks. Drybar has a great respectable reputation so I have high hopes for this tool.
Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer Limited Edition Gift Set, $399 – Okay here it is, the big kahuna, THE dyson hair dryer. I have been eyeing both this and the Airwrap for awhile but haven’t been sure of the major investment it takes to get these products. Essentially, my hair is very thick and it holds moisture forever. When it air-dries, it isn’t fully dry until almost 24 hours later. Since this hair dryer is very powerful and the new technology is supposed to do less damage with heat styling, I thought this would be the perfect tool for me to try out. This gift set is a great value to me because it is limited edition and it includes two gift brushes with the hair dryer for the price of the hair dryer regularly. I’m still nervous on actually purchasing it just because it is quite the splurge, but I think it will work well for my hair needs.
Mini Dae Hair Kit, $32 – I am in serious need of hair help. I’ve tried so many different shampoos and conditioners and haven’t been able to find one that works for my hair type. After reading the reviews for this brand, I wanted to try it out but couldn’t commit to the full size products. I thought this mini set would be the perfect way to try out the line and see if it will work for me.
Skincare
Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream 8.1 oz, ** $45 – This is a restock for me! I have been through 2 jars of this and I can’t get enough. I haven’t had it during the summer months so I’m excited to get it now in time for the warmer weather. Smells like I’m on a beach somewhere in Mexico… which is exactly where I want to be at this point. Even though this is a splurge lotion, I find it worth it.
Olehenriksen Wrinkle Blur Bakuchiol Eye Gel Creme, $49 – This is a new product that has Bakuchiol which is a plant based retinol alternative. I struggle with fine lines on my under-eye area so I’m hoping this will help as part of my nighttime skincare routine.
Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Creme, $39 – I have heard great reviews about this eye creme and I’ve been on the hunt for a good under-eye product. I’m hoping this will be a good addition to my daytime skincare routine due to the Vitamin C in it. I would use this product before I apply my concealer/makeup.
Fragrance
Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz, ** $105 – This is a repurchase for me! I love this scent, it was one of the first ones that my mom bought me when I first entered college. Now that it’s almost empty, I need to get another bottle for sure. This scent is classic and a timeless favourite.
Versace Bright Crystal 1.7 oz, $82 – This was a sample I got a couple of months ago and I really liked it upon first smell. I like to wear it whenever I go out to dinner but now that I’m out of the sample, I’m interested in the full size product.
Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris Eau de Parfum 1.6 oz , $102 – I received a sample of this in a Nordstrom beauty sample box and I fell in love with this scent! I’m hoping to snag the full size in the sale.
Okay this is one of my longer more full blog posts I’ve posted but for good reason. I wanted to make sure that I was as informative as possible. The majority of this post are items that I haven’t tried but want to purchase during the sale. If you are interested in another post about my tried and true items that I currently use that could be purchased during the sale, let me know and I can put something together. I truly have the best time researching and trying out products so I hope that my two cents in this blog post is helpful. If you have tried any of these products or if you plan on buying one, please let me know… we can compare notes! I’m always here to help with any shopping tips. I hope you are all able to snag one or two goodies from the sale, everyone deserves to treat themself once in awhile. Thanks for reading along and your support! 🤍
*All thoughts and opinions are my own. I do not own the rights to the images provided unless the picture is of myself. All other pictures have website links tied to them. I do not make any commission of any of these items.
Sharing pictures from yesterday’s Easter celebration! Dress is from Pink Lily Boutique.
Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great Easter Sunday filled with joy and blessings.🐰 While most of my time is spent at home these days, on holidays like yesterday, I find it to be a great blessing to be under the same roof as my loved ones. The day consisted of watching Easter mass virtually, getting all dolled up in my white dress, participating in the Easter egg cascaroñes hunt, eating a full ham dinner and dessert, and watching the movie Hop at the end of the night. A full day left me very tired this morning, anyone else? After reflecting on yesterday, I wanted to fully dwell in the sense of renewal that I felt throughout the day. As we are now fully engulfed in spring, the season of new beginnings and fresh clean slates, I want to absorb those sentiments within my own mentality.
A sense of renewal can be very impactful. Most notably, if we let go of our shortcomings, forgive ourselves for what we cannot fix, and extend grace to ourselves through the hardships. Now of course, this is all easier said than done but if we make a conscious effort to do these things, it will become easier to sway towards those directions instead of getting overly frustrated with ourselves. Our mindset is arguably one of the most powerful assets we have. If we work towards reframing our thoughts into positive ones, I think we will see the fruits of those labours manifest in our everyday lives. For me personally at least, I try to make sure that when I start playing the what if or I should’ve game, that I catch myself before I go too far. The what if and should’ve game is very toxic and can lead down a negative path very quickly. I’ll admit it’s still hard for me to not play into those scenarios but I know that in order for me to move on in a positive way, I have to let go of the second guessing.
I briefly talked about this in my other blog post, Spring Refresh (Your Mindset) but another way I wanted to relish in the season of revival and renewal is to step away from social media more often than I do now. I notice myself always reaching for my phone when I’m not focusing on other things. It’s like I always have to be scrolling if I’m not already preoccupied which is not a great habit that I want to keep. I probably am the odd one out when I say that Twitter is my favourite social media platform but it’s because that there are always more tweets to read and probes me to read a bit more, rather than scrolling on Instagram and TikTok where I can mindlessly scroll and just look at pictures and videos. Those pictures and videos can also lead to a cycle of comparison which I want to steer clear from. Especially with the pandemic still being very prevalent, it’s an easy escape to look at pictures online and compare your life with others right now. However, I always try to keep in mind that Instagram is a highlight reel and only shows a small portion of a person’s life, mine included. In the coming weeks, I would like to take intentional time away from my phone daily and when I do have my phone near me, to not always reach to mindlessly scroll.
Lastly throughout this season, I want to choose joy and gratefulness more often than I have been doing in the past. Even though I have been talking a lot about new beginnings and renewing ourselves, I don’t want to brush over the fact that there are people in my life that have helped me get to where I am now. And those people are not part of my “new beginning” because they have been with me through my past and will continue to be with my in my future. Whether it be my family, boyfriend, close friends, or various mentors, these people have played pivotal roles in my life which is something I want to acknowledge and be grateful for. A way that I was thinking of doing this was to send simple texts to those people saying “Hey, thanks for being you. You have helped me in xyz and I am truly grateful to have you in my life.”. Anything along those lines I’m sure would mean the world to people to receive because I know I would be overjoyed if I received a random note like that. It’s easy to start dwelling on the negative that has happened but it takes true discipline to shift those thoughts and choose joy for yourself.
I hope this post didn’t come off as too preachy because my intention of this post was to truly just reflect on my thoughts and share with all of you. This where is my recent thoughts have led to me, perhaps there are some correlations with celebrating Easter but even so, these thoughts have been swirling in my head for awhile so I wanted to compile them into one post to share. I’m looking forward to a new season this year, I think it will bring us great joy. Wishing all of you the best of blessings, joy, love, and the promise of renewal. Let’s all have a powerfully positive week. Thanks for reading along! 🤍
P.S. Linking last year’s Sephora Sale blog post here… big hints!! 💄
Easter is now less than a week ago and I started panicking yesterday because I realized how unprepared I feel. With that being said, I went to none other than Pinterest to craft up some ideas for the day of. In addition to decorative food items, I also looked at several different outfit options that would be appropriate for the day of. I always look forward to Easter not only because of the religious meaning behind it but also the sense of renewal and rejoicing that comes along with this time of the year.💐 Since I am feeling a little behind on my planning, I wanted to share what I have found with all of you incase you find yourself in a similar predicament. So let’s get hoppin’ to the details…
Depending on what your plans entails for the actual day of Easter will determine what meals you will want to focus on. Traditionally, we like to have a brunch of some sort and then a fun Easter dinner. I believe that is still the case this year but I haven’t checked on it. I know in years past, especially during the years I unfortunately wasn’t able to be with my family for Easter, I would spend the day/weekend with my best girlfriend’s family. They loved changing up the menu every year but everyone who came was responsible for a particular dish- we did the same thing for Thanksgiving! For the years I spent with them, I would bring a bunny garden cake which was basically a combined recipe I made from two types of cakes I found on Pinterest. I will post the pictures here (scrolling wayyy back into my camera roll for these) so you can get inspiration from it. I will also post my meshed up recipe so you can easily get the ingredients this week if you want to try your hand at it. Additionally, please find my blog’s Pinterest board below where you will find some pins I found for more snacks/dessert inspiration for the day.🐰🐣
My Easter Bunny Dirt Cake I have made from various Pinterest recipes. Yes, this picture is 2018 iPhone quality.
A long-standing tradition that my family makes happen every year for Easter is to have cascaroñes. It’s a Mexican tradition that we have always celebrated with for as long as I can remember. In the weeks leading up to Easter, whenever we are making eggs or recipes with eggs, we only crack the very top of the egg, dump it into the bowl and clean out the shell. We collect them until we have several dozen and then in the week leading up to Easter, we dye them! After they have fully dried, we stuff them with confetti, apply a thin layer of glue to the rim of the egg, paste down a piece of tissue paper and viola, they are ready. Just like any other Easter egg hunt, these eggs are hidden around the yard by the parents and then the kids are let out to collect as many as they can. The best part is when you find all the eggs, you crack them on people’s heads to shower them with confetti!🎊 I have such fond memories of this growing up and I fully intend to carry this tradition on whether I have kids or not in the future. I have posted a few pictures from over the years below so you can see the full effect!
Easter was one of the two days in the year that my mom MADE sure my sister and I were dressed to the nines… no exceptions. Easter and Christmas were the two days where we had to have play clothes and nice dresses/outfits for church. 👗Now that we are older, we still like to get dressed up and find joy in looking for the perfect Easter dress to wear not only for church but for the whole day. I have compiled a few options below in case you are still on the hunt for a fun and festive outfit for the day of. While they would make perfect Easter outfits, they would also be perfect for spring in general so if you see one you like, be sure to snag it! This is a judge-free zone so I will share with you that I intend on wearing the same dress as last year because I really like it and I want to wear it again.
I do not own the rights to these images. All are linked below to the owner’s website.
I feel like I threw a ton of information at you in this post but I hope you find it helpful in preparing for this weekend. I am excited to celebrate Easter with my loved ones this year and to crack a few eggs on their heads of course! If you are celebrating this weekend, please share with me how you will be spending the day and any Easter traditions/ideas you have. I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with joy. If you have made it this far, I so appreciate you taking the time read my posts. Your support means the world to me🤍
** All thoughts and opinions are my own on this blog post and the pictures of me/with me belong to me. All other images are linked to the owners of that site.
It’s that time of year again!! Spring cleaning time has arrived.🌸 Usually, I wait until a little closer to mid-April to start cleaning out my closet/room/life haha but this year I have decided to get ahead of the game and start before April even begins. Mostly because my Easter dress is in my spring clothes storage boxes and I need it before next weekend! So with that in mind, this weekend I’m going to tackle my own spring cleaning. When I started thinking about spring cleaning earlier this week, I realized that I have many areas in my life that I wanted to essentially “clear out” or minimize the clutter both in my life and in my mind. To keep this post concise and informational, I’m going to break it up into three tangible categories, closet/wardrobe, beauty, and accessories. Of course there are other areas that you can focus on this year but these are the three that I want to talk my tips through.
Closet /Wardrobe 👗:
I feel like this category might be the most obvious when I think about spring cleaning. However, it also might be the most important. For me personally, I have several boxes that I rotate between storing clothes for spring/summer and fall/winter depending on whichever is needed at that time of the year. This is good in theory for me but the downside is that I always forget about what I actually have in my wardrobe by the time the year has passed and the next set of seasons has arrived. Therefore, I buy things in anticipation for the upcoming seasons when in reality, I probably don’t need to since I have many other items just hidden away for the time-being. I can’t take credit for this idea but I heard about the hanger method a few months ago which I thought was a clever way to weed out the old in your closet however, it takes a little longer than a weekend to finish the project. If I were to implement this method, I would empty out all of my spring/summer clothes and put them all on hangers with the hook facing towards me. This way I would hang everything on the closet rack with the hooks facing towards me. Throughout the spring and summer, once I chose something to wear, I would take it off the hanger and flip the hanger to the hook facing away from me like normal. This means by the time the fall rolled around and the warmer months were over, I would know exactly what I wore throughout the warm seasons and anything with a hanger facing towards me would be the clothes I would get rid of since I didn’t wear them. I think this idea is really creative so I would love to try it out this year since I haven’t done it yet.
Alright y’all, I know there are some expired beauty items at the bottom of your makeup bag or in your bathroom closet that you forgot about. I am 10000% going through my makeup shelves this spring and clearing out any opened items that I don’t use either daily or in the past year. This applies for sanitary purposes as well since some products expire quicker than others. Obviously when we are taking care of our skin and body we don’t want to be putting items on that could cause damage to our skin. I stumbled upon this Cosmetic Calculator that I have linked for y’all because I thought this was too useful not to share. They resource a ton of different brands and by putting in some of the information from the product, you can see what the shelf life is for the product. Over the past year, I have really gone through my products to determine what works best for me and for some, I’ve gotten replacements with cleaner and safer ingredients after my health issues arose. For all the items I have replaced, I can get rid of the old ones I don’t need anymore.
Accessories (jewelry, hats/scarves, purses, and shoes) 👛:
I was hesitant on even including shoes in this category because I think they deserve their own but again, trying to keep this post concise. As far as shoes go, it is very hard for me to let go of them since they are like my fashion obsession and have been ever since I could walk basically. For the most part, I’m trying to keep shoes so I have 1 of a colour not like 4 pairs of brown boots. If I have more than 1 pair of brown boots, I have to pick my favourite and donate the rest. The idea behind it is to not have too much excess of one type or colour. With handbags and hats/scarves, this isn’t as necessary to clean out to me unless you’re having trouble fitting everything into your closet/drawers. If it’s starting to overflow, then perhaps it’s time to get rid of some. For purses, I’ve started to narrow down my selection and hopefully work towards a collection of purses. One for evening, one for everyday, one for travel, one for special occasions, and then a few here and there as iconic/specialty items. Anything that doesn’t fit in those categories at the moment for me, time for them to go. Jewelry I am working in a similar method as the purses so if I have several pearl studs, let’s try to pair that down to the ones I wear the most. I know I have a good amount of necklaces, bracelets, and rings from YEARS ago that I don’t wear anymore so I need to find them a different home.
As you can see, there are several ways to go about spring cleaning, no one way fits all, and it shouldn’t because everyone has their own method. I hope that by me talking through the strategies I’ve been thinking about has inspired you to think about what your spring cleaning is going to look like. Will you be starting this weekend, next weekend or are you an early bird and have already started? I really am trying to refine my mentality of not just keeping things just “to have” because that doesn’t serve much of a purpose and in the end, it’s just stuff. I am eager to get started tonight maybe tomorrow with my spring cleaning because I think it would be best for me to get a head start… I definitely anticipate needing the whole weekend and then some. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the nice weather. Thank you for reading along, as always.🤍
Sara Elise 