June Favorites!

I almost forgot to upload this today, I completely lost track of time! I'm glad a remembered since it's the last day of June which means I'm doing my June favorites! I didn't have many favorites this month as a found myself using the same products as the last few months, but I manged to find some to throw in here. Enjoy!

I've been using the Rimmel Stay Matte powder a lot lately and loving it! It sets well but I do have to re-apply once throughout the day. I have also been obsessed with the precision of the Maybelline Gel Liner. It lasts forever and gives the perfect jet black line. I've been using the NYX Soft Matte lip cream in Tokyo with a lip balm to create a semi-matte finish! It's perfect for summer. The Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara has been giving my lashes amazing volume this month! Maybelline's Fit Me concealer covers my dark circles perfectly and lasts all day. And my brows have been a mess this month so the NYC brow pencil has been fixing them!

For more random favorites, I've been obsessing over the Be Delectable Strawberry & Cream body mist. It smells great but doesn't last long. I've also been using the real techniques powder brush to apply bronzer all month and it's so soft and blends well. My sunnies from Target have been a must for me this month too!

That's all for my late-night, short, little June favorites! I hope you enjoyed! :)

June Empties & Mini Haul

Hello Everyone!
Today isn't the nicest of days so it seemed only right to cuddle up and work on my blog! I've been a bit lazy in the past year with my blog theme. It's a huge project and I just haven't found the strength to do it. If any of you have suggestions for my blog theme I would be more than happy to take a look! I'm hoping I can work with it a bit over the summer.

Anyways, today's post is going to be my June empties and a mini haul of things I picked up throughout the month. Nothing too excited, mostly just some basic but I thought I'd pop it in there anyways! 

Enjoy

As you can see, everything is mostly bottles of bath & body products! I've put myself on a spending ban as of lately in order to save a bit for my up coming vacation! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Starting with EMPTIES!

I finished up some shampoo and conditioner both by Herbal Essences. The shampoo is Honey, I'm Strong Strengthening Shampoo. This smelled nice and lathered well and I'm usually pretty happy with Herbal Essences' hair care. The conditioner is  Body Envy Volumizing Conditioner. This didn't do much, volume wise for my hair but again it smelled nice and was fairly average. I also finished another Dove Dry Shampoo as it's an essential for me!

I used up a can of Satin care Olay Shaving Gel for Sensitive skin. This works well and leaves my legs very smooth! Oddly enough, I finally came to the end of my Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel body lotion! It smells great and isn't my favorite lotion but it not bad either. And I also finished another Dove deodorant.

Of course I finished another package of makeup wipes, as always! I also used up the Lush Brazened Honey fresh face mask. Me and my Mother didn't really like this (we both used it). I didn't enjoy the smell and the consistency was very chunky and odd. And lastly, I used up the Clarins Wonder Perfect mascara. I really loved this and I'm sad to see it go!

Moving onto my MINI HAUL!

I picked up some new hair products. I tried the Aveeno Pure Renewal shampoo and conditioner and another Dove Dry Shampoo!

I also grabbed a new Vaseline cocoa radiant body lotion. This is my absolute favorite and I love the pump! I'm running out of body wash so I decided to try the Be Delectable Strawberry and Cream body wash. And I also picked up the same shave gel.

Lastly, I got a new mascara. I heard the miss manga mascara from L'Oreal was good so I decided to give it a go!

That's it! As you can see, I basically repurchased everything I ran out of this month!

Bye :)

My Maybelline Collection! Best & Worst

Hello Everyone!
My mind drew a blank trying to brainstorm ideas for today's post. I ended up coming up with the idea of doing a makeup brand collection and showing the best and worst of my collection. I decided to start with Maybelline as it's one of my favorite drugstore brands! I hope you enjoy this new little segment/idea!

Starting with face, I've got 3 products!

Dream Fresh BB Cream: Around $9.99 This product has an amazing SPF of 30 and it's very lightweight! It doesn't provide much coverage but it blurs the skin and has moisturizing benefits. 8.5/10

Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser: Around $9.99 This wasn't one of my favorites from Maybelline. I feel like it very slightly blurred the appearance of my pores, but I could definitely still notice them. I was a bit disappointing and I regret purchasing this. 

6/10

Fit Me Concealer: Around $6 This concealer is amazing! It's very affordable and gives amazing coverage to under-eye circles! I use this daily and it blends so easily!

10/10

Onto eyes!

Master Precise Liner: Around $7 This is very precise and gives a great winged look. It's very easy to use and lasts long too! 

9/10

Eye Studio Gel Liner: Around $10 This is amazing! It is so intensely black and is so creamy and smooth. It's very easy to apply with a thin brush and it last all day without fading and smudging! This is definitely one of my favorites from Maybelline!

10/10

Eye Studio Baked Shadow: Around $6 This is not a bad product but it's nothing special. It's fairly pigmented but doesn't last a super long time.

7/10

Single Shadow: Around $4 I didn't really like this product as it's not very pigmented and it doesn't last. It just doesn't do much for me.

5/10

Lastly, Lips!

Baby Lips: Around $4 These are another favorite of mine! They are so moisturizing and give a light splash of color. They last a while and smell great too!

9.5/10

Color Whisper: Around $8 This is also fairly moisturizing and has great color payoff! It gives off more color than Baby Lips but less than a lipstick.

8/10

That's all for my Maybelline Collection! I've also tried many of their mascara but I don't currently have any. I hope you enjoyed!

Bye!

xx Ella

Beauty Blogging For Less!

Hey there!

As you can probably tell, my blog is mainly focused on affordable things such a s drugstore makeup. I thought it would be perfect to share my tips on how to blog when you're on a budget! You don't have to spend loads of money to put up good quality blog posts, you just have to find ways to save money that work for you! 

1. Create a drugstore makeup blog! Focus on drugstore makeup and affordable beauty finds the relieve pressure to buy high-end makeup!

2. Use natural lighting. Don't waste your money on expensive professional lighting, take photos using natural lighting, the quality looks just as good!

3. Find foam boards at the dollar store for a white background. A white background is very simple and makes the subject pop. 

4. You don't need to spend $600 on a camera to take good quality photos. Phone cameras and cameras around $100 work just fine too!

5. Review products you already own. Instead of buying the latest makeup, raid your own collection!

6. Find coupons for makeup in flyers and online. This will help you save money while still finding new products to try and review!

7. Read reviews before you buy so that you're not wasting your money. If you do decide to buy new makeup, do your research first.

8. Try different types of posts such as recipes, fashion and TAGs. You can find things for recipes and fashion around the house and TAGs are FREE!

9. Review free samples. It's still the same product as the full size, it just may look a little different!

I was really hoping to make 10 tips but I'd rather have 9 good ones than 10 bad ones!? Does that even make sense? Haha

Anyways, I hope you found this helpful and enjoyed, BYE!

25 Summer Bucket List Ideas ~ Summer 2014

Hey there!

With it being Summer and all, I thought it would be fitting to share my Summer "Bucket List" ideas. I don't really like the term "Bucket List" and it seems so common but I just want to share some fun Summer ideas and activities! I'm really hoping this will be a great Summer for me and everyone else! Enjoy!

1. Go to the beach

2. Go on a road trip

3. Do a stairs workout outside

4. Read a good book

5. Collect seashells

6. Have a waterfight

7. Take more photos

8. Try a new food

9. Get tanned

10. Eat home-grown strawberries

11. Make a scrapbook

12. Go to the spa

13. Go on a Ferris wheel

14. Take on a DIY project

15. Have a movie marathon

16. Explore somewhere new

17. Bake something new

18. Tie Dye a shirt

19. Eat healthier

20. Star Gaze

21. Start a Journal

22. Try a new style

23. Go to a fair

24. Retail therapy with friends

25. Enjoy the outdoors

Those are all of my summer bucket list ideas, what are yours? Thanks for reading!

Bye :)

Homemade Summer Treats! (Frozen Desserts, Cupcakes & Drinks!)

Hello!

I had a lot of fun putting together some Valentine's Day treat ideas back in February, so with Summer coming up, I thought I'd share some fun, summer treats! These are great for summer parties, barbeques, or even just for yourself! I hope you try these out or get some inspiration from them. If you do try them out, let me know! 

Enjoy!

xx

Butterscotch Cupcakes with Caramel Butter cream Frosting!

Denser cupcakes that aren't too sweet but still satisfy your dessert craving!
 Adapted from "The Cupcake Life's Better With a Cupcake" Cookbook: Butterscotch Cupcakes.

Makes: 12
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, not packed
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

FROSTING:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups icing sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1-2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375°F and fill regular muffin tin with cupcake liners.

 Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat together until smooth.
Spoon the cupcake batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in the 375°F oven. Poke the center of a cupcake with a toothpick and if it comes out clean they're cooked. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the Butter Cream Frosting, beat the butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add in the icing sugar, beating well after each addition. Add milk until desired consistency. Beat in 2-6 tbsp (as desired) of caramel sauce. 

I spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and decorated them with caramel sauce and chewy toffee! 
I actually had about half of the frosting left over, so if you're planning on spreading it, try halving the frosting recipe. If you plan on piping the frosting, you probably don't need to half it. 

And that's it!

Watermelon Lemonade!

Make your own flavored lemonade with any fruit! Watermelon is one of my favorite summer snacks, so why not combine it with my favorite summer drink?

Makes: 1 serving
Ingredients:
Around 1 cup of chopped up watermelon

Around 1 cup of lemonade

Ice

(essentially 1 part watermelon juice, 1 part lemonade)

Place your watermelon in your blender, and blend until smooth.

Pour the blended juice into a strainer to remove any pulp, and leave you with a smooth consistency. Add lemonade and ice, and shake in a beverage shaker until combined.

 
Not only is this drink a phenomenal color, it has the perfect sweet and fresh combination!

Honey-Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt Pops!

These sweet & Tangy pops are perfect for a summer party, or for cooling down in the heat!

Adapted from Fun Stuff Frozen Pops recipe book.

Makes: 6 pops
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup honey

1/4 milk

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

Pop molds or paper/plastic cups & pop sticks

Blend together all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Pour the mixture into your pop molds and cover. 

Freeze until completely frozen (2-6 hours).
To remove, hold the frozen pop under warm water for a few seconds then gently slide the pop out. 

Enjoy!


Watermelon Granita (Homemade Shaved Ice)!

Another refreshing watermelon treat! This is perfect for cooling down in the summer and it's super simple to make!
Adapted from various recipes I found online.

Makes: 4-8 servings depending on size
Ingredients:
Around 3-4 cups of chopped up watermelon

Juice of 1 lime

1-2 tbsp of sweetener of choice (optional)

Squeeze lime juice in the bottom of the blender. 

Add the watermelon then the sweetener. I decided to go for about a teaspoon of each sweetener just to try 'em all out!

Blend until completely smooth. Pour liquid into shallow baking dish and place in the freezer for 1 hour. 

Rake the frozen watermelon with a spoon or fork. Freeze again for 1 hour and rake again. Freeze and rake.
 

Scoop into dish and enjoy your frozen treat!

Those are all of the recipes I decided to do for this recipe post! If I decide to try out some more fun recipes this summer, I might just end up doing another one of these! I hope you enjoyed this!
Bye!

Nautical Makeup Tutorial!

Hello Everyone!

Today I thought I'd step out of the box and post a makeup tutorial! I'm not the absolute best at makeup, but I really enjoy fooling around with different looks. Today's look is nautical themed which would also be perfect for 4th of July since it incorporates red, white and blue! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this nautical tutorial! :)

The eye makeup isn't too dramatic because I prefer a more wearable look but if you'd like to make it a little more bold, go for it!

Starting with a matte white or cream shadow, I applied that all over the lid, on the brow-bone and also on the inner corner. This works as a base for the other shadows as well as adds some brightness in the inner corner. This particular shadow is from a NYX trio.

Next I lightly blended Urban Decay's Tease (or any matte brown) into the crease just to add a bit of definition.

I then added a bit of a navy shadow into the crease and outer corner. The shadow I used wasn't very pigmented, so it's just a light wash of color.

I wanted it a little bit more vibrant so I sprayed my brush with MAC Fix+ and applied more of the blue color in the outer "V". This palette doesn't have a brand I believe I just picked it up at a drugstore.

I added a tiny bit of black and blended everything together with a clean blending brush.

I decided to go for some winged eyeliner to tie the whole look together. I used Maybelline's Master Precise Felt Tip liner for this.

I also tight lined with the elf black eyeliner and lined my waterline with my Rimmel Scandal Eyes pencil in Nude.

Of course I had to top it off with some mascara! Lancome Hypnose Drama is my current fave!

To keep with the nautical theme, I opted for a bright red lip! I applied this with a lip brush for a cleaner look.

I used my wet n wild lipstick in stop light red!

That's all for my nautical, summer makeup tutorial! I hope this was helpful!

Bye! =)