The Scents of Summer

Hey There!

If you know me, you know that I have to get my mind right before cold weather raises its ugly head. I live in the south so right now it's cool but not cold. That's okay. Cool is the gateway temperature for sweater weather. And, I am not a fan.

But, before I pull out my heavy boots and parka (we only use those for like 3 weeks total), I'm going to tell you what I smelled like this summer.

I LOVE cotton candy. I eat a lot of it. I burn candles that remind me of it. And, I wear cologne that smells like it. Cotton Candy by Body Fantasies is one of my favorite scents in life. I always have 2 or three bottles of this at all times. I use it as body spray and room freshener. It instantly puts me in a good mood and makes anything bad, better.

Midnight Path is a fragrance mist in the Bath and Bodyworks fragrance line. I smelled this one on a coworker and fell in love with it. That weekend I went and picked it up and I've been sniffing it ever since. I normally wear this at night, if I'm going clubbing (I so, do not go clubbing!). I like that it's a heady scent and very musky. It's sensual scent and in my mind, I think that it's perfect for date nights.

My final scent is fairly new. I got a hold of it a few weeks ago but I've been drenching my body in it ever since I picked it up. It's Bumble Bee, a Mark Jacobs Honey imitation. It smells likes Honey but it doesn't last very long. I wear this if I'm going out for the evening and just need to smell good for a few hours. If I need to smell good all day, I run to my Cotton Candy scent.

I'm a simple girl with simple scents. Now that it's getting colder, I will want a something a bit deeper in notes.

Can't wait to smell that, can you?

Marshalls and Why You Should Know What Nail Polish You Own

Hey There!

I ended up going to Marshalls twice yesterday. I went once to just do a walk through and see what I don't own, didn't know I needed but now that I've seen it, I can't live without it.  I was doing good but then I got to the nail polish area. My Marshalls has a pretty nice nail polish area. It's right by the cash register so it's not messy and full of open and dropped polishes (probably because the cashiers can see what's going on). I took a peekie poo into the bins and low and behold, they had some Sally Hansen Insta-dri polishes that I really wanted to take home.

Except I was sure if I already owned them or not.

They were colors that I liked so it was possible that I already had them. But the names didn't ring any bells so I just wasn't sure.

Yes, I could have taken a gamble, purchased them, and if I owned them, bring them back. But, I wasn't sure when I was coming back and I hate the hassle of returning stuff.

So I left them in the store.

And then I thought about them all day. I didn't own them. I checked twice just to make sure and nope! I didn't own the colors that I had drooled over earlier.

So, on my way to a festival with some friends, I stopped back by and picked up the colors that I truly wanted.

I picked up Rush Hour (350), Enchantment (250) and Berry Magical (260). They are all shades of purple. They were only $1.99 and they can range from $2.99 - $4.99 in store. I like the Insta-dri line. I don't know how instantly they dry because I use my Insta-dri top coat over all polishes -- it's magical. The thing that I love about Sally Hansen polishes that they have a ton of colors to choose from. And they are different colors! You know how some polishes have lots of colors but they are the same colors with different names? In my experience Sally Hansen polishes aren't like that. They are different shades. Some are close to others but just a slight difference in hue.

Anywhosie, back to my 3 new nail polishes. Rush Hour is a pale mauve-y, lilac. It's warm and oddly makes me think of sweaters. Enchantment is a pinky lavender and is the perfect winter pink. It just yells cool weather but still pink and pretty. Berry Magical is a bam! dark berry. It's that deep, vampy berry purple that is perfect for fall -- think October 31 -- spoiler!

All of these are nice shades for fall and I'm ready to wear them. On the nail swatch, they are opaque in 2 coats (Enchantment is almost opaque in 1 coat). And, because they are Sally Hansen, I really am not worried about the formula. Out of all of my Sally's I can't think of 1 that I don't like the formula on (I'm sure if you force me to, I can find one).

Do you peruse your nail polish aisle at Marshalls (T.J. Maxx, Ross, etc.)? How often do you tempt the fates and purchase without truly knowing if you already own it?

Making Lemonade Outta Lipsticks

Hey There!

Is there anything worse than picking up a drugstore lippie and finding out that it is not the right color? Well, there are probably many things that are worse, but for purposes of this conversation, let's say there isn't.

Quite a while ago I purchased 2 NYX round tube lipsticks. I picked up Tea and Paparazzi Paparazzi. They are so pretty on the bottom of the tube! I just knew that would go so well with my complexion! Once I got them home and prepared to wear them I discovered...

...they are NOTHING like the color on the bottom. Sighhhh. The horror. Tea is a muddy brown that blends into my complexion and looks horrid and Paparazzi Paparazzi is a crazy pale pink that I could never pull off.

Since I purchased these lippies at a beauty supply store, returning them is out. So what's a girl to do? Well, I'll tell you.

You get your NYC Liquid Lipshine in Midtown Mulberry and you make them work!

Showing you on my hand (using the grotesque bathroom light) doesn't do the transformation justice. Midtown Mulberry really changes the color of both lippies and makes them wearable. Now I'm able to take two lipsticks destined for the trash and actually wear them.

When was the last time you had to do this? Or, have you ever tried doing this? What colors did you mix?