First Fridays From the Vanity & Drugstore Makeup

Hey y'all!

As a lot of people head back into another school year I thought I would do an easy and casual makeup tutorial. This look is great for every day whether you're getting ready for class or the office. It's a pretty quick makeup application as well, under 10 min, for those mornings when you're on a time crunch. Plus, all of the products I used are from the drugstore! My entire face (including brushes) costs less than $100.00 - what a deal! Watch my video below for all the details on replicating the look:

Products I used:
1. Almay Smart Shade Makeup with SPF 15, Light 100, 1-Ounce Tube
2. Maybelline New York Fit Me Concealer, 10 Light, 0.23 Fluid Ounce
3. Maybelline New York Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, Radiant, 0.05 Fluid Ounce
4. Neutrogena Shine Control Powder Invisible 10, 0.37 Ounce
5. real Techniques Powder Brush
6. e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
7. Mary Kay Eye Primer
8. Rimmel Blush in 002 Mauve Cool
9. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink
10. L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow, #556 Smoldering Plum - 1 Ea, Pack of 2
11. Real Techniques Shading Brush, 1.6 Ounce
12. L'Oreal Infallible Shadow, Iced Latte, 0.12 Ounce
13.Bare Escentuals Buffing Eye Brush
14.Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil 002 Hazel
15. Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner Pencil #203 Brown
16. Jordana Fabuliner Liquid Eyeliner 02 Brown
17. Maybelline New York Volum' Express Falsies Flared Mascara, Blackest Black
18. Maybelline New York Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm, Grape Vine, 0.15 Ounce

I'm also so very thrilled to announce that I'll be adding another posting day here on Confessions From the Vanity, the blog! I'll now also be posting on the first Friday of each month as well as every Wednesday. There's no particular theme to it, I'll just be adding another post each month but I am a sucker for anything with a "theme" so I was still considering calling it "First Fridays (From the Vanity?)" What do y'all think?

August Check-In & September Goals

Hey y'all! 

 

One of the last sunrises of summer 2013 over Toledo Bend, TX

 

Happy, happy September! Hope you are all doing well.

August was, as predicted, scorching as ever and I'm glad to see the month gone by. I realize that here in Texas September doesn't exactly mean the coming of Autumn, we see our first hints of cool weather around mid-October, but all the kiddies are back in school, I've packed away my summer whites, and am already putting holiday videos and blog posts on my editorial calendar (I also may have purchased a few new ornaments for my Christmas tree already... they were 40% off!) so it feels like goodbye to summer even though the temps might not reflect my state of mind.

Last month I made some goals; lemme tell ya how I did: 

1. Stick to my daily routine for house management.* I follow the FlyLady house management system but, since I'm not a stay at home mom with a husband and kids, I've adjusted it to fit my lifestyle and living situation. August was a busy month, kicking off with Texas Style Council & concluding with a Labor Day girl's weekend in Toledo Bend... and sticking to any sort of schedule was a struggle. The house was rarely in disarray or anything but I'm definitely skipping on accomplishing everything each week like I'd prefer.

2. Throw a fun bridal shower for my soon to be sister-in-law. Success! My main charges for this shower were invitations & arranging the tables for the occasion. The bride-to-be loved the floral design so much that she asked me to duplicate the same thing for the actual wedding! My sister, Katie, planned the games, my sister, Krystal, the decorations, and my step-mom, Debbie, prepared the food. A great time was had by all who came and we're so glad to welcome a new member to the family.
 
3. Stay active 4 times/wk* I could reiterate and wax on about how all of August I was going, going and how when I wasn't doing anything I just wanted to enjoy my time to sit and relax... but those would just be excuses. I'll admit I was more of a once or twice a week mover last month. But, a full calendar is nothing new (though I did just have a couple of slow months & it's now picking back up) and I've managed it all before so making exercise a prerogative again remains a main focus for me.

4. Post a unique channel header & a new channel trailer. I posted a new video over on the YouTube channel, "50 Facts About Me" that will serve as a makeshift channel trailer for now. As I reviewed the footage I have of only myself, along with what I'd like to showcase in Confessions From the Vanity's trailer & my editorial calendar, I decided to push this goal back a few weeks in order to have all of the b-roll I wanted. YouTube added a couple of new features that made it necessary to tweak my channel header a bit. It will be up shortly so make sure to look for it over there!

5. Manage my upload schedule & calendar for CFTV efficiently.* I feel like I'm beginning to get the hang of my calendar and how long it actually takes me to get a blog post the way I want it or to film, edit, and upload a video. That being said, my video for this week will be up on Friday, which is a few days off of my normal Monday upload schedule. :/ But, summer is for spending time with family & friends... missing one deadline probably won't be detrimental. Come back over here to the blog on Friday for an announcement also! 

*These are ongoing goals that will continue for the forseeable future.

September Goals:
1. Make sure my roomie has wonderful birthday!
2. Soak up vast amounts of knowledge at my new apprenticeship.
3. Track my food and exercise in MyFitnessPal for 18 of 30 days this month.
4. Try two new beauty products.
5. Take one "class" to improve my blog.

The rest of the year promises to be just as full of activity and excitement as the previous one and I couldn't be more ready to take on the tasks that lay ahead. Not to mention we're headed into my favorite season, Autumn, and my favorite time of year- holidays! Anyone know where I can find a good Jessica Rabbit costume??

I'd love to hear what your goals are this month. Join the conversation down below or over on Facebook. Have a super September y'all! :)