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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Of course this would happen...

Almost immediately after I hit "Publish" when my previous blog was done, I grabbed my bag, flew out the door and headed to class. Just as soon as I got on the road THIS happened. Spooky. I could not even believe it, it was like someone had heard my rant and sent this down from the heavens (and by heavens I mean HELL) for this to prove a point! Grrr.
**I apologize in advance for an shouting, outbursts, or foul language in the video.**

XOXO, Kimmy

Very hot & very bothered. ☼

Where I live it seems as though spring has skipped by and summer has arrived, today it was near 80° and quite toasty  I know I am of a rare bunch that is not a fan of summer, heat, sweat, and all things that come with it. I generally prefer winter and take snowstorms with a grain of salt. Let me just fill you in on a few concrete -often irrational- reasons why I dislike summer. No, wait, we'll say I prefer winter to summer, because lets face it, everyone loves a sunny day. So here we go.

  1. Bugs. I. HATE. BUGS. I have an irrational fear of them, and not just like any girl despises insects... I completely break down into full panic. Mostly bees & wasps freak me out, but basically if its bigger than my fingernail --BOOM. DONE. Cant do it. #BUGMURDERER
  2. Heat. I love a good workout sweat, back sweat from walking to the mailbox? Not so much. I cannot handle sweating while just standing outside, thats so gross it gives me the heebeejeebees. #GRODY
  3. Attempting to wear makeup... really? Really? Good luck to all of us attempting to look pretty while sweating our rear ends off. I hate the feeling of sweat on my hairline and makeup that can be felt dripping and melting off my face. #canIgetablottingsheet
  4. Humidity makes me feel like I'm going to pass out, like I cannot breathe... um hello does anyone else see it? That is perfect climate for a full blown panic attack. Throat closing, dizziness, heat rushing to your head, sweats... yeah I'm practically having anxiety writing this. #MOVINGON
  5. Landscaping trucks. The second I turn on a 2 lane highway with a double yellow -BAM- landscape truck appears in front of me. I don't know what is worse, how they drive 30 under the speed limit or the stupid rocks and debris crap that flies off and hits my windshield. #moveb*tchgetouttheway
  6. I have a love/hate with air conditioning. I absolutely cannot and will not live without it, but its just weird, recycled air. Its conditioned air, that just sounds manufactured. Ew. #itshotinhurr
  7. Summer clothes < winter clothes. Fall fashion is way better. I'll be honest. I'm not a big girl, but I am not little either. Believe it or not I feel insecure in a tank top, let alone a bikini. Its awkward for me. #passthecheese
  8. 7 brings me to my next point, bikini bods. UGH I am not a good worker out-er. I am SO bad at committing myself to a workout plan by spring so naturally by summer my cellulite is in full effect and the only thing toned is my beer gut. #whatbikini?
  9. Fall colors. Fall candles. Fall Starbucks drinks. #noexplanationneeded
  10. Summer gas prices. #punchmeinthegutnow
  11. SUNBURN LEADS TO SUN POISON LEADS TO SKIN CANCER. #OWWWWWW
I will admit, I do love myself a good day by the pool/beach in the sunshine but I'm sorry folks, I love me a good snuggly, winter, snowy day by the fire. ☼

Monday, April 29, 2013

Words to live by ♥

XOXO, Kimmy ♥

Product Review!

Recently I purchased the (fairly) new Olia hair dye from Garnier Nutrisse. I have pretty normal hair, oily at the roots & dry at the ends. My real hair color is a muddy somewhat dark brown with golden/red undertones. It sounds like a decent color but its actually pretty gross. I will preface this by saying I had bleach blonde platinum hair for about 2 1/2 years before going to dark about 6 months ago. As a result, the mid-shaft and ends of my hair are drastically more dry than the average head of hair! Although I have kept up with proper grooming and trimming, (thanks to my best friend being my personal hair stylist *LUCKY*) the ends of my hair do not hold color as well as I'd like. Because my ends are like straw, color tends to fade A LOT more quickly than the roots; sad but true. This is the biggest issue I have with at home hair dye. I will say as of recent, because my hair has grown a lot in 6 months the fading at my ends have created an unintentional ombre effect-thank holy heaven that's still in style or I'd be in trouble! I will insert a photo of the platinum blonde I had before going to a deep chocolate brown.

I used to religiously get my hair color done at a salon professionally by my bestie. (Thanks, Liz!) In October my beautiful best friend got married & moved 2 states away making it hard for me to keep up with the bleach blonde so I box dyed a iced chocolate brown on my head. It ended up looking drab and terrible so I let it run its course and bought a better formula of Garnier Nutrisse color foam which was a dark intense auburn, a slight improvement. I've learned firsthand the importance of undertones and shades and how to judge darkness on a box vs. darkness on a actual head of hair! I am not picky with brands nowadays, I usually gravtiate to something on sale or with a coupon. This time I had a coupon for the new Olia which is marketed toward drier hair types because it is made from 60% oil, which we all know is the bomb dot com for dryness. WINNING! That's me! I picked mine up in the shade dark soft mahaogany, such a pretty color, and relatively close to my natural color so as to no cause roots a la Britney Spears circa 2007. 

My first impression of this hair color was YUM. This smells amazebeans! It had zero hint of ammonia stench and smelled yummy and natural. The cream developer and color were very easy to mix, nothing too different from the norm. The bottle was somewhat awkward to hold - especially with rubber gloves on - and I am anticipating the brand changing this in the near future. (In fact, I am calling it right now that in the next 2 months you will see all of the Olia line go on clearance and then come back with newer packing and newer bottle, you wait and see!) The coloring process was simple, I did notice it took a little bit longer to develop; I had to leave it on my hair for 20 minutes which isn't long, but longer than I'm used to. When I rinsed it out it wasnt as tangled as it got with regular creme hair dye. Normally I feel like half my head of hair is in the drain but this was not the case with Olia. The deep conditioner it came with is AMAZING. It smells like heaven and makes hair SO SO SO shiny & lustrous. I wish I could buy this conditioner on its own, I'd buy gallons. I've been using so sparingly because it makes hair so beautiful and healthy looking/feeling.
Overall I would recommend this product, I loved it more than I expected. I think the oil trend has really found its place in my heart. I have been migrating from cream products to oil and in hair dye Olia definitely won! Will you give it a try?

XOXO, Kimmy ♥
I just had to post this for fun. Back in the day, getting my roots touched up at Liz's salon.  Hair gangster.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Haul!


I just ran to the corner to grab a few things to prep for the upcoming weekend & picked up a few goodies. (Happy Friday Eve!)
I had a few repurchases; Yes To Blueberries facial wipes, Q-tip dual purpose applicators (lame) & Almay makeup eraser sticks. Also got some new fun eye-shadows I'm excited to try out! I have a few other shades so I know the formula of the Maybelline Color Tattoo is amazebeans and I had to have the color tenacious teal. Wow. In love. Next I grabbed the new Revlon Photoready Primer+shadow (which my oily eyelids do not trust, I will be using my usual Urban Decay primer) in the color Bohemian (its the blue & gold shadow in the photo). I also bought the Revlon Colorstay shadow quad in Seductive (ooh la la, you know me!) These are the purple shades shown. Last I got the new Simple brand eye make-up remover pads. Not gonna lie, I mainly picked these up because the packing is tiny and cute and miniature and I love miniature anything. I have used the regular face wipes from this brand and they are fab for sensitive skin. As for non makeup products, I needed shampoo. Desperately. I saw the new got2b oil-licious shampoo (not shown) and had to have it. It was on sale for $4.09 and came with a cute mini (& free) argan oil. Again, love the mini packaged items. I'll probably end up doing a review on this since I'm such a shampoo snob.
The main reason I ran to the store was to pick up a plant for a friend I am visiting out of state tomorrow. She's a mom, and mothers day is approaching, and I just love her to pieces so I got her a pretty lil' pink flower plant thing. I try to be classy. I strive to remember to bring a little something whenever someone is dishing hospitality out to me. I don't like to arrive anywhere empty handed. My mama taught me good!
XOXO, Kimmy ♥

April Birchbox


Happy April! (Even though April is just about over, I still wish you the best these last 5 days.) This month's Birchbox theme was Tiny Tweaks inspired Women's Health Magazine. I have been known to pick up that magazine from time to time, but am not currently a subscriber (more like a waiting room stealer). However, I do believe this is a great magazine for those interested in health, fitness, and overall general well-being. I loved the theme of self-improvement this month as I have recently started a new workout/life change regiment. Although this box didn't contain items relating to fitness it was more beauty directed (HOLLA!)  which is way more up my alley [so to speak]. So let's get into it shall we? Here is what I received in my April Birchbox:

Caudalie Divine Oil ♥ 
I have heard SO much about this brand but cannot afford to drop 50 bones on an oil. I will say, this will blow your mind along with your pocketbook. It smells just as its name intends, DIVINE. I really liked it a lot & it very much served its purpose. I only got a teeny sample so I cant tell you long term results, but the time I did use it was amaze. 
[A+] (Full size $49.00)

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream ♥ 
Jury is still out on this whole CC cream trend. I understand that they are very good for your skin & la la la, but they are extremely sheer. Mine came in the deeper tint but did not show up on my skin. I suppose the long term effects are probably pretty solid, judging by the popularity of the brand. This is a sequel to a previous cream Juice made. I enjoy the smell & texture of it, but I'm just not sold on the CC cream deal. 
[C] (Full size $39.00)

Hail Merry Macaroons ♥ 
They're gluten. They're vegan. Whatevs. I'm not into uber healthy desserts, but these were OK. I don't have much to say about it except that it was a nice extra! 
[B-] (Full size $5.00)

Ojon rare blend™ Deep Conditioner ♥ 
OH MAN. I was really excited to see this! First off, this was a great size sample, enough for at least 5 uses. The smell, uh, TO DIE FOR. It smells citrus-y and clean. This brand is overall a great pick for any hair care item, but I am always desperate for a great deep conditioner (thank you previous bleach blond hair) and this one knocks it out of the park. 100%, A+, I'm in love with this one! Totes worth the money for full size.
[A+++++!] (Full size $34.00)

Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Exfoliating Cleanser ♥ 
Wow, that's a handful to type. We all know Elizabeth Arden is a top name in skin care & who doesn't die to go to the Red Door Spa? I loved this cleanser, didn't have much of an amazing scent but it certainly wasn't awful. I imagine over time this would show greater results, but I just received a little 2 time use packet. It foamed really nicely, had little micro-beads so I could feel it working, and didn't irritate my skin whatsoever. All in all, I approve; and for the price -which is shockingly low- I might think about purchasing.
[A-] (Full size $20)

Supergoop!® Advanced SPF 37 Anti-Aging Eye Cream ♥ 
It was so odd to me to have such a scraggly number be the SPF... I'm a math nerd & I like nice round numbers. Anyway, I am always a big fan of SPF. I hate sunburn, skin cancer, & tanning beds. I also am becoming a big fan of eye creams as I get older. I have a few other products from this brand that I love so this was a nice addition. The price pushes me away a little, because I don't think eye creams are extremely essential to my current skin care routine. Plus I have several I need to empty before buying more. To conclude, I enjoy this product, I will save it for travel because of its size. 
[B-] (Full size $45)

**Also in this month's box, I received a card for 10 issues of Women's Health Magazine for only $10! Normally I'd be excited about this but, as I said in my intro, I'm not a consistent reader of this magazine & I usually snatch them from waiting rooms. If anyone would like me to pass this offer onto you, let me know!**

XOXO, Kimmy ♥

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Epic Discovery No. 164: Mint, FTW. √

Ummm WHAT? How was I so uninformed about a staple beauty product? I'm at a loss. As I was casually strolling my local Sephora last night, I discovered Smith's Rose Salve is made in rose MINT! MINT? WHAT THE? I know. I felt the same way too when I found out. Do you have a mint addiction like me? I hate gum that isn't mint, mint ice cream is the best (duh), but mint lippy/solver of all life's problems? Thank you to the Rosebud Salve gods, point for you. Mint FTW.
XOXO, Kimmy ♥