Polka Dots && Statement Necklace

Lets take a beauty break shall we and talk fashion and accessories for a moment. Lately I have been obsessed with polka dots and statement necklaces. I don't know. There is just something so whimsical and Spring-y (is that word) about polka dots. Paired with a stand-out necklace that uses two of my favorite colors of the moment, blue and green, I couldn't help but be delighted with the combination.

Here is a photo of a recent outfit that I wore to a relaxing lunch. The lime green polka dots on a navy blue chiffon shirt was a perfect match for the necklace.

Items worn:  striped pull-over and polka dotted shirt from Forever 21

                        Cleo necklace from Monique Leshman

                     Color Design lipstick in Designer Bloom from Lancome

These are my favorite pairings of the moment. What are yours? Do you have a favorite combination that you love to wear?

Unboxing :: Drugstore.com

As a savvy beauty consumer, I love finding ways to get my beauty fix for cheap. That is why I love shopping for drugstore beauty items on drugstore.com. You can find popular makeup and skincare items as well as more obscure items that regular brick and mortar drugstores don't stock on their shelves anymore.

In particular, on this website you can earn 5% cash back on every purchase. They are regularly running promotions and the best part is all of their promotions or discounts stack. That means savings on top of savings. Score! I hate it when stores or websites only allow you to use one coupon or promotion at a time. And if you are a Beauty Smarty such as myself, you can also earn additional cash back if you join fatwallet.com. I will discuss further details regarding how to use fatwallet in a future blog.

So yesterday I received by mail a box of goodies from drugstore.com. Here is a sneak peek at the items I purchased. Reviews to follow.

The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub

Recently I purchased the Mango Body Scrub ($20/ 7.4 oz) from the thebodyshop-usa.com when they were having an amazing sale. You can see what else I purchased during this sale here. I have never tried a body scrub from this store before but I was curious if it would help my very dry skin.

My skin is very sensitive, dry and as a result gets very itchy. It is so irritable that I sometimes bleed from scratching it. I needed something that would add and keep the moisture in my skin.

Unboxing :: The Body Shop Body Butter && Body Scrub

I always love receiving packages in the mail. Today, I came home to find this box of goodness at my door. The Body Shop was having an amazing sale on their website so I thought I would try out some new things. I got a selection of their body butters and body scrubs.

Here is a peek at the things I got. Reviews to follow in the future after I have gotten a chance to try them out.

Not sure why these remind me of an old fashioned crate of fruit.

I purchased the following items,

2 Mango Body Scrubs ($20 each) read about my review here

2 Shea Body Scrubs ($20 each)

2 Olive Body Butter ($20 each)

1 Aloe Body Butter ($20)

Needless to say I did not pay anywhere close to $140 for all seven items. Another victory for a Beauty Smarty.

Urban Decay Naked 2

Also included are a mini Lip Junkie gloss & a dual-ended brush (inside the case).

With the enormous success of the original Naked eyeshadow palette, Urban Decay released their sophomore effort with the Naked 2 palette. Of the two, I thought I would prefer this palette over the original but after several uses I find myself reaching more for the Naked versus the Naked 2 palette.

What I'm Loving :: New Beauty Corner

I regret that its been a long time since my last post. Needless to say it was mostly due to taking a creative break and partly due to some life events that we experienced. Now that things have settled back down I was inspired to write again and this was helped by my new desk and beauty corner. It's not the most ideal set up but it is the best one I have so far. Hopefully, the creative forces will be with me and I can recommence with my writing.

How and where do you find your creative inspiration? For me it's having my own space where I can see all of my beautiful things. I find immense inspiration from just the physical beauty of these objects. From the colors, textures, packaging or even the scent of these items.

Our new home is quite petite but even a small desk or area such as this can offer so much creativity. Make your mark. Carve out your own sanctuary. A place that is yours alone no matter how big or small.

Be inspired.