Cute and Reliable Bags, Purses, and Accessories!

I purchased the Olivia + Joy Zip Zoom Tote in black a while back and have been loving it! I use it for school and it is roomy enough to fit my laptop and much more. I really love how this tote feels super sturdy, especially with everything that I carry in it! This tote also has a lot of pockets which makes it easier to find things. For some reason, even though my bag gets quite heavy, when I carry it on my shoulder, it feels really comfortable.

On the Olivia + Joy website, they are having a 30% OFF SALE for the Fourth of July. It is happening right now, until July 7th! I was super excited about this and purchased two new bags! I mean, who doesn't love a good deal, right?! I can't wait to get them in the mail and will share my thoughts on them after using them!

Go check out their site for awesome bags and accessories!! In my opinion, the quality of the bags make them worth every penny!

I hope you are having an amazing day and I will talk to you soon!

Seasonal Favorites?

When I started my YouTube channel about a year ago, I wanted to share my monthly favorites- because I loved watching these videos to see what everyone else was liking! But I stopped doing monthly favorites because I really wanted to share things that I really liked- not just pull things together just to make a video (after the first couple of months, I didn't have enough new things that I liked enough to want to share/ I hadn't had the time to really try the products out to get a good review of them). 

I spent some time thinking about how I could make this work because I still want to share my favs with you! I have been thinking about doing seasonal favorites instead, which gives me about three months time to discover new things! So, that would make four favorite videos a year- which I think will work out a lot better for me! There will be a Winter Favorites, Spring Favorites, Summer Favorites, and Fall Favorites!

I have already been collecting some things for my Spring Favorites video and can't wait to film it and share it! Of course, my favorites video will be filled with random things that I have been loving this Spring- could be foods, drinks, books, music, clothes, makeup, or any other random things...you're going to have to wait to see! 

Anyway I hope you are having an amazing day, and I will talk to you soon!

How to Make Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Pecans!

I seriously forgot how much I really love cinnamon-sugar roasted pecans! I recently picked some up at my local market and absolutely love them! I really only need a few to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I know that because they are nuts, it isn't necessarily healthy to eat a lot of them because of the fats they contain, and making them into cinnamon-sugar roasted pecans, they do tend to contain a lot of sugar (in my opinion), but they make a delicious treat!

It is super easy to whip these up and they are quite delicious! They can be eaten by themselves or can be used as a topping for other desserts!



Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Pecans

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• about 1 pound pecan halves (comes out to about 4 cups)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (water, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract), except the pecans, in a large pot, over low/med heat.
2. Let this mixture cook and bubble for about 10 minutes, while stirring frequently (you don't want the sugar to burn). As you come to the end of the 10 minutes you will notice the syrup becoming thicker, which is what you are looking for. 
3. Keep the heat on and add the pecans.
4. Stir the pecans well to be sure all are coated.
5. Continue stirring the pecans until the syrup mixture becomes a crystalized texture on the pecans.
6. Remove from the heat and pour pecans on a baking sheet (I prefer to line my baking sheet with aluminum foil).
7. Separate the pecans, as much as possible, to avoid big clumps of them.
8. Let cool and enjoy!!

Taking Advantage of the Spring Weather

We all have those days where we will make the longest list of excuses of why we don't want to or have time for exercise. But, I will say that it feels amazing after a great workout. Sometimes it's really just finding that motivation to get up to exercise. 

With the nice, warm, and sunny weather this spring season I've found that getting outside to exercise has been my favorite! I absolutely love getting out in nature, especially in nice weather. Switching up my typical indoor workouts for something different makes it so much easier to get a good workout in. I've recently been loving going on hikes with friends and family. It gives you the time to catch up, but you also are getting a workout without even really realizing it! I find myself using different muscles in some of my hikes than I am used to in my regular workouts (hence the sore muscles the next day, which really makes me feel that the workout was a good one!). The fresh air is amazing but getting a nice tan while working out is also an amazing plus! 

Basically, finding something that is enjoyable to you can help you get that motivation to get moving! Making your workout fun is what it's all about! The best workouts, in my opinion, those that don't feel like workouts!

What are your favorite workouts? What do you do to get your motivation?

I hope you enjoyed this little post!

Anyway, I hope you are having an amazing day and I will talk to you soon! 

Review: Facial Cleansing Devices

As someone with acne-prone skin, skincare is something that is super important to me. With this being said, I am always on the lookout for skincare products that will help to better my skin. Skincare products can seriously begin to add up, without you even realizing how much you are even spending (I definitely know this!). So, I wanted to do this review for you (if you want more information on each device then I recommend you check out their websites because I'm mainly going to focus on my thoughts here), so that if you are looking into investing in a facial cleansing device to add to your skincare routine, hopefully this will help with your decision!

The three facial cleansing devices (I am really hesitant with calling them "devices" because one of them is really just a "cleansing pad," but I'm just going to stick with it) that I am going to be reviewing range in price from around $6- $200. If you do decide to purchase one of the more pricey ones, I definitely recommend doing your research before making that investment!

I will be reviewing and comparing the following:
- Clarisonic PLUS
- FOREO Luna (Sensitive/ Normal Skin)
- Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad

Before I start my review I want to just let you in on how my skin is, so that you can have a better insight on how these work for me. Everyone's skin IS different and can react differently to things, but I am just sharing my experiences.
I would consider my skin to be:
- Sensitive
- Acne-prone
- for the most part oily, sometimes combination (with the changing of the weather)

When I wash my face, whether with a facial cleansing device or not, I use the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser.

So let's finally get on with this review!


Clarisonic PLUS

The Clarisonic PLUS is a rechargeable device that can be used for both the face and the body. It has interchangeable brush heads that you can purchase depending on your skin type (normal, sensitive, deep pore, acne, etc...). Using light circular motions while it uses, what I would describe as, vibrations to help cleanse your face (the brush head does not rotate). It has a timer that beeps to let you know when to move on to the next part of your face, which I think is nice.

Honestly, I've never used this for my body, so I can't really say how that is. But, I have used it for my face plenty of times.

When I first got the Clarisonic PLUS, I bought the sensitive brush head to use with it. I started off using it in the morning and at night and was really enjoying it- my skin felt so much cleaner (I use a makeup wipe to take off my makeup before using it). After about a week of using it twice a day my skin started feeling a little more sensitive, so I started using it only once a day- which worked out well for me. I really felt like it was getting that extra makeup off my skin and doing a better job cleansing my skin than my hands were able to do.

When the colder months came rolling in, my skin began getting drier. My dry skin and the Clarisonic really didn't get along, so I stopped using it and was just going back to washing my face with my hands. This was okay, but I could feel the difference in the cleanliness of my skin- didn't feel as fresh as my skin had felt with the Clarisonic.

When my skin went back to normal (no more dry skin) I went back to using the Clarisonic once-a-day. After a couple of months of using it again, my skin just felt so irritated by it. So, I decided to give my skin a break from it and try it out again a month or two later. This is exactly what I did and the same thing happened again- my skin got irritated.

Review (used on and off for about 1- 1.5 years)
Pros:
- cleanses the skin really well
- multiple brush heads that you can choose based on your skin type
- multiple settings (I used the lowest intensity setting)
- comes with a wall charger
- rechargeable battery

Cons:
- a little too abrasive for my skin
- recommended to change the brush head every 3 months (which equals more money)
- kind of bulky and heavy for travel
- battery takes what seems like forever to charge (full charge lasted anywhere from 30- 60 uses)
- pricey

Would I recommend it?
For people that tend to have drier or sensitive skin, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, based on my experiences. However, I do know people that have "normal" skin and absolutely love it! But, for my skin, the bristles on the brush head were just too abrasive.

FOREO Luna for Sensitive/ Normal Skin (Pink)

The FOREO Luna is a rechargeable silicone facial cleansing device that can be used for both facial cleansing and for anti-aging purposes. It uses what they describe as "T-sonic pulsations," which really just feels like vibrations on the face. It has a timer to indicate when to change to a different part of your face (change in vibration pattern will tell you when to change to a different part of the face).

I have used the FOREO Luna for cleansing my skin, but not for the anti-aging purposes, so I can't review that part of it.

I was super excited to purchase this, although I was hesitant to make another big purchase on a facial cleansing device, but with all of the good reviews I was seeing, I decided to purchase it- and can I tell you, I am so glad that I did!

I started using this in the colder months, when my skin was a little drier. This didn't irritate my skin at all and this really surprised me. Whether my skin was oily or drier that day, it didn't really matter. I didn't find the silicone bristles to be that abrasive at all.

I use this once-a-day, at night (I prefer to get a deeper cleanse at the end of the day, since my makeup has been on my face the whole day). It definitely makes my skin feel clean after a long day!

Review (used for about 5 months)
Pros:
- cleanses the skin well
- does not irritate the skin
- available in differing devices based on your skin type (differences in the bristles)
- available in the FOREO Luna Mini, which is about $60 cheaper than the Luna
- no need to change the brush
- light and travel friendly
- comes with a wall charger
- rechargeable battery
- takes about one hour to fully charge (haven't had to charge it once since I fully charged it, when I first got it- using pretty much every day- once a day for about 5 months)

Cons:
- isn't a super deep cleanse, like the Clarisonic
- pricey

Would I recommend it?
For those of you with skin similar to mine, I would definitely recommend this if you are looking for something that is gentle, but still gives you a good cleanse.

Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad

The Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing pad is a flexible silicon pad that has little bristles on it. It is meant to help give you a deep facial cleanse.

I decided to purchase this because I really liked the FOREO Luna and this seemed like kind of the same concept- without the whole "device" thing to it. Obviously this one didn't use "T-sonic pulsations," but it did have silicon bristles. I basically wanted to see how this held up to the Luna.

As soon as I purchased this, I immediately took it out of the packaging and wanted to feel the bristles- to see if they were that stiff silicon feel or if they were soft like the Luna- and they actually had a softer feel to them, when compared to the Luna.

I switched to the Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad in place of the Luna for a good amount of time. I found that this was super gentle on the skin, but somehow still felt like a better cleanse than I would get with just washing my face with my hands.

Review (used for about 2 months)
Pros:
- cleanses the skin well
- does not irritate the skin
- under $10
- super light and travel friendly
- no need to worry about charging

Cons:
- doesn't provide a deep cleanse
- doesn't have the convenient timer like the others
- sometimes it can get a little slippery when using

Would I recommend it?
For those of you looking for something to provide you with a better cleanse than you are getting with just your hands, but are not looking to spend a lot of money on a facial cleansing device, I would definitely recommend giving this a try! I think that even for people with dry skin, this would be gentle enough on your skin (thats how soft the bristles are!) and would still deliver good results.


I hope this review has been helpful to you! If you decide to give any of these a try or if you already own one of these, I would love to hear what you think!

I hope you are having an amazing day and I will talk to you soon!

Welcome!

Hi, thank you for visiting my blog!

I plan on posting DIYs, reviews on makeup & beauty products, recipes, and some other random stuff here and there. I already have some DIYs and makeup videos posted on my YouTube channel, that you should check out!

So...why start a blog?

I am always trying out new products and am constantly on the lookout to find products that work well for me. I love reading and watching reviews on products and think that it is important to see how other people feel about certain products because we all have different types of skin. 

I also love DIYs and finding ways to create things that maybe you could buy in a store, but by making it yourself you are able to put your own twist on it! Inspiration for DIYs can pop up anywhere and at any time, which makes it all the more fun!

Basically, I wanted to start a blog because I feel that when I want to do a review on a product or do a DIY, for example, but just don't have the time to record and edit a video, I would love to share it with you through this blog! Although I love making YouTube videos, through busy schedules, sometimes it's really hard to find the time to sit down and make one. I know that creating blog posts can also be time consuming, but I like having the flexibility to write on the go! With that being said, I feel that through this blog, I can be a little bit more consistent with my posts!

Anyway, I look forward to sharing some fun posts with you! 
I hope you are having an amazing day and I will talk to you soon! :D