04 December 2017

Quest To Finding Myself: Toxicity of Too Much Social Media



My first post back since August was talking about how much I've lost who I am. I've felt like I'm so far gone from who I thought I was. Constantly comparing myself to others and really just trying to fit in with the fold. Whoever they are. I'm trying to take some major steps back to be able to chip away at the facade of trying to be like others and discovering who's really underneath.

First tiny step I've taken was to try and wean myself off of social media, much like a baby growing accustom to solid food after having nothing but their mothers milk. Quite the metaphor but you get my point. As much fun as social media is, it's also very toxic if you let it take over your life. Which is definitely what I did. Now, I understand how it might be important especially in the blogging world. Constantly keeping engaged and current is crucial for maintaining an up to date blog with your audience. I would know because I do just the opposite. But putting that aside, and not thinking about social media helping your hobby or work, the majority of us are on it from the moment we wake up to the minute we go to bed.

You might ask, "What does social media have to do with finding yourself?" Great question. You ask a lot of great questions. (Let's see if my friends caught on to that one.) Daily, I'd go between Facebook, twitter, Instagram,  and Snap Chat and then just circle those for hours on end. Not only is that a waste of time that you could be enjoying the sunshine, fresh air, a walk around the park, or quality time with family and friends but I feel it's a bit harmful to your self confidence as well. I know that was a huge leap from treading the countryside to how one thinks of one self but it's true. At least in my case. I'm always comparing myself to the other girls I see on Instagram - how they look, act, talents, etc. The successful bloggers on twitter and how I wish my blog was like theirs or even people I know personally and what they might have achieved in life.

With all that said, I decided to start slow and log off my Facebook for a few days. I think I'm a good five days strong as I'm writing this (Update: since I take so long to upload my posts, I've officially been off for nearly 2 weeks). I know Facebook is just one app out of many and I still have been using my other social media but I'm trying to start slow. For a person who checks their social media almost every 5 minutes, cold turkey would set me up for failure.

By no means am I saying you have to shut off any and all social media you have or that social media will make you insecure with yourself. I'm just writing out the steps I'm taking to have a better mindset about myself, wholesome living and finding myself again. This does not mean I'll delete all my social media and throw out my phone. Everything in moderation. I'm just hoping by shutting off my social media every now and then will just help me focus on me, instead of what everyone else is doing.

As I continue to lessen my time on social media, I'll be sure to keep you updated on how that's working and what I'm doing to better myself in placement of just scrolling the depths of the internet for hours on end.

Thanks for tuning in.

Jay

22 November 2017

Finding Myself Again



Prologue: I went searching for free stock photos I could use for this post when I came across this one. It's funny because the meaning meant a lot more to me than just slowing down the car in rural neighborhood. The ease and serenity of the photo made me think of my body and mind saying "Thank you for slowing down". Remembering to take time for you in a non-stop world is important.

It's only been a few months since my last "Where have I been?" post. I make a lot of excuses on why I haven't been posting or even engaging on social media like I would like too. I think of what's been keeping my hands occupied enough where I "don't have the time to blog". Whether it be work, my trip that I spent months preparing for, church, hanging out with friends ect. I now realize that it's not what I feel have been occupying my hands that are keeping me away from blogging but what's been occupying my mind. It comes down to the simple fact that I'm keeping myself away from blogging because I haven't wanted to. I don't feel like it's something that should be forced either.

I noticed that I don't like to get too personal on my blog because I'm afraid of being vulnerable. I know I've mentioned my anxiety before and I know that it's quite common and a lot of people go through it. I have been taking counseling for my anxiety and depression for the past several months. And with my counseling, one thing that I've discovered is about how much I've lost myself.

I've noticed I've put a huge pressure on myself to be just like everyone else. To make my blog seem like those of people who we feel are the "perfect blogger" with the "perfect life". To only speak about certain subjects because people like reading them from others but not necessarily putting out everything I feel. Worried that something I put out might be looked at as controversial so keeping quiet on things that I strongly stand behind. I've been so enamored with what everyone else is doing and trying to be like everyone else and liking what they're liking - I've completely lost who I am, what I enjoy, and my own outlook on life. Constantly comparing myself to others and trying to do what others like to please them. Whether that be in the blogging community or in my daily life.

As I'm typing this, trying to figure out traits, mannerisms, things that make up who I am - are they even me at all?

I can even feel me doing it as we speak. The nagging feeling in the back of my mind that as I type this, I'm just feeling like I'm not very good with my words and my posts aren't creative literature that captures people into wanting to read more.. so why am I still typing? And if you're reading this until now, you're probably just as confused as I am on what I'm blubbering about. There really isn't rhyme or reason to this post. I'm just typing as I go along.

I'll try my best to work through this while keeping this blog up to date. Maybe starting my own series of posts just me trying to journey through life. I'd like to try and be more mindful of things instead of just sitting on social media. I feel like that's a good chunk of why I'm feeling like I do. But that's a story for another post.

I still want to post about the beauty items I love because at the very least, I know that's something I do enjoy. I just have to have fun with it and not compare those beauty posts to the millions of others out in the beauty community.

Here's to my journey on finding myself again..

Jay

23 August 2017

Box Swap w/ K.F.Pestell

Welcome back, little birdies!

In the beginning of the year, my bestest blogging friend Katie from K.F. Pestell and I agreed to do a little box swap with each other. We've known each other and our blogs for a little over a year now and clicked right away. As you all know, I'm on the East Coast America (for now ;) ) and she's across the pond over in England so we figured it'd be nice to send a little each other little bits and bobs that was harder for the other to get a hold of.



She had a little bit of a hard time sending it off to me through the post office so we decided we could just wait until we met up in London to give it to me. We finally met this past July and it was the greatest thing ever! Unfortunately, because the post office wouldn't let her send the box, and she can't travel with a huge box and lug it around all day, she had to take the contents out of the box and put it in a bag. She did also buy me one of those cute London bags with a double decker on it to make up for not being in the box haha. I loved it either way. Here's what was in the box! She wrapped everything up so lovely. I don't have a picture but I did do a video on snapchat if you want to see it!

First, I'll start with a request of little goodies from Rosie for Autograph. After I saw Alys' post over at Alys George of the two lipsticks she got from the brand and I fell in love. We don't have M&S over in the States and when I tried to order online, they didn't have it available to send to the States so I thought that request would be nice. And Katie being the little angel she is, added some to my box! I got Rose Lace and Silk Rose lipsticks. Both absolutely beautiful shades - they're perfect - one for during the day and one for night. Can I just add that the rose gold packaging is blog photo worthy. She also added a liquid liner from Rosie's collection because she knows how much I love my liners. I've not had much luck with felt tip liners but this one works great! Definitely impressed.



Next up, I opened two Tanya Burr lip products. I've never had any Tanya Burr products before so I was excited to receive these. Katie bought me a bubble gum pink matte lip in the color Puppy Paws and a nude lip gloss in the shade Lunch Date. She's so silly. She told me she didn't notice that Lunch Date was a gloss instead of matte and was hoping I'd still like it. I absolutely love Lunch Date. I can put it on top of any lipstick for that extra bit of color and shine. No need to worry. :)




Before I opened up my goodies, I spent a day with Katie around London (You can read about how we met HERE ). Funny enough, we were talking about Bourjois and how we don't have that brand here in the U.S. and I saw it when I went into the stores over there. When I got back to the hotel and opened up my gifts, I saw that she added Bourjois Shiny Finish Lip Color in the shade Laque. It's a gorgeous berry color. I think it'll be perfect for Autumn coming up soon. To match, she added a Barry M Nail Varnish in Fuchsia Generation. I love it!!



I then opened up the Soap & Glory Super Cat Skinny Liner. I've heard amazing things about this liner and so far its been working out well with me. The felt tip is a bit longer than I'm used to from other felt tip liners. Actually, I feel Rosie for Autograph's liner is quite similar to this one. I'm already sure that I'll be repurchasing this once it's run out.



Katie then added a No. 7 Sea Salt & Lavender Soft & Soothing Aroma candle. I was really excited to receive this because it smells SO good! It's definitely one of those candles you turn on before bed at night to make the room comfy and relaxing just in time to sleep. I feel like it's a bit of a pamper product. Once I do my at home spa night routine I can have this on in the back while I cuddle into my bed with the fairy lights on to get ready for a great nights sleep.



Being the little investigator that she is, she knew from one of my posts that I love to sketch. I used to do it all the time and spend hours on perfecting a sketch. So my lovely Katie bought me a new sketch pad and art pencils to get back in my creative side with art. How thoughtful!?!? I'm working on something at the moment I'm hoping it turns out the way I'd like so I can send it over to her. 😚

These last two items that I opened were by far my favorite. Leaving the best for last per say. These mean so much to me because she put her time and effort and looooooove into them. The first is a bracelet she made me that has my name on it with earthy toned colors because those are my favorite type of tones and she figured that I never had my name on a key ring because my actual name is more unique. How cute?! (I won't be uploading a photo because it has my name on it. But trust me -  it's beautiful)  She also FELTED ME A SPARROW. Can you imagine the time and probably stress it takes to FELT A SPARROW!? I just can't. She knows Sparrows are my favorite animal and for her to do that for me especially during her time in uni and studying for exams. That just makes me so over the moon and appreciate her as my best friend so much. I couldn't have been so honored and blessed to have met her.



Everything I received was so well thought out and let's be real - I was very spoilt! I'm so thankful to have her in my life. I miss her so much already and can't believe it's already been a month since I've seen her! Hopefully that'll change within the next year and I'll be able to see her more often <3 I HIGHLY recommend giving her blog a follow. You can find her at K.F. Pestell . Her blog is very mindful and wholesome. It's definitely worth the read.

So to my Katie bear, I thank you SO much for the thoughtful contents in my little goodie bag and I'm even more thankful for the chance to be able to hang out with you. It was such an amazing day that (in my humble opinion) went by WAY too fast. I can't wait to see you again soon! Love you, girl!

Jay


10 August 2017

My English Adventures July 11th - 19th 2017

Welcome back, little birdies!

I know the last time I posted I was keeping you up to date with everything that's been happening and keeping me a little on the busy side and away from blogging. July was an exciting month for me as I took my first European trip across the pond to our neighbors, The U.K. I had an absolutely amazing time. This post will be a long one because I would really like to go back and read it in the future but  I would also like to share it with you. I had quite the experience so grab a "cuppa" and a snack.



I arrived on English soil after a 6 hr flight. It was a bit of a surreal feeling knowing that I wasn't at home anymore and in a completely different country and culture. It was cloudy and a little bit rainy when we arrived, just as you would imagine English weather to be but thankfully it didn't last long as the rest of the week ended up being beautifully sunny and warm.

We hired a driver who took us from Heathrow to our hotel at the Holiday Inn Regent's Park which was only a stone's throw away from the bustling Oxford Street. We arrived a couple hours before our check in time so we decided to go out for breakfast at Villandry's on Great Portland Street. First meal in England and I absolutely loved it. I had some scrambled eggs, with mushroom and toast and it was delicious. Our first day was definitely very chilled. We walked down Great Portland to see what was around before heading back to our hotel for some English "telly" and a well deserved nap. We agreed on a meeting time of 6:30pm to head out for dinner.



I researched restaurant's in the area and we decided on Tinsel Town which is an American styled diner just down Great Portland. It was packed at the time we reached the restaurant but were seated within minutes to a very attentive staff. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting the food to be as good as it was. It was beyond delicious that I'm sure my mom and friend Ann went a few more times through out the week without me.


Once we were done, we took a stroll down to Oxford Street. I was really surprised with how early everything closes daily. It was only Wednesday night and shops were closing down before 10pm. Where as back at home, everything is open pretty late and the only times it actually closes early is on Sundays. So with that, we went back to our hotel.



The next day was a very exciting day as I was meeting up with one of my bestest blogging friends, Katie, from K.F. Pestell . She and I have been separately inseparable since we found each others blogs. Never meeting never stopped us from growing closer as friends and having regular catch ups about life and not just our blogs. The morning went by fast as my mom, Ann and I were picking Katie up from Charring Station to do touristy stuff around London. Little did I know that London was busier than it's normal busy because of the Dunkirk premiere. We had gotten into a taxi that should of gotten us to the station probably within 20 minutes. Our driver was kind enough to let us know that it would be faster to get the tube to the station rather than pay a large amount of money by the time it took us to get there due to the traffic. With time to spare, we decided we'd site see London by walking to Charring Station - ahem.. stress city. I don't know what I was thinking but we definitely got lost and had Katie waiting about an hour and a half at the station... Sorry!! FINALLY, we managed to have our first ever meeting right under a giant thumb statue in front of the Natural History Museum.



It's amazing to see just how much my blog has done for me. I've (virtually) met SO many amazing people around the world through my blog and even gained best friends. So to actually meet Katie in person was more like we were having a catch up of not seeing each other in a bit rather than meeting for the first time. Can I just mention, she's just as beautiful inside and out in person as she appears on her blog. I only wish we had more time to spend together and that I wasn't an ocean away so I could see her more! 😍



That Thursday sped through quickly as we toured through London a bit, stood outside Buckingham Palace waiting for the Queen to make her appearance,  ate a delicious meal at the Hard Rock Cafe - funny enough, all four of us had the exact same meal haha - went in search of the Lego Store so I could get London stamps on my brother's lego passports, and then stood on the outskirts of the Dunkirk premiere before heading back to Charring Station so Katie could take her train back home. It was so sad to have that goodbye hug knowing it was going to be a while until I was able to hang out with her again. Although, my family loves her and my mom now feels as though she just gained a beautiful British daughter and have offered Katie a place to stay if she's ever on the East Coast. 💓



Friday was the last day I was spending in London with my mom and Ann as I was meeting up with my long time very special closest friend (Haha could I have made that any clearer that we're VERY close. :p) . Mini disclaimer - For their privacy and my own, I'll be changing their names and leaving out some details of why my time with them was beyond special to me. There's certain parts of my life I like to keep private and to myself because I cherish them so much. With all that said we'll call my friend "Nick" and his sister "Sarah". He picked me up at my hotel and met up with his sister and their friend on Oxford Street to head down to another hotel near the Tobacco Dock as we had the weekend pass to the Hyper Japan Festival. What I wasn't prepared for - and I don't know why I didn't look at google maps to see how far it was - was the walk to Wapping. We walked an hour and a half with bags and suitcases (Super thankful to Nick who was a gentlemen through and through and carried my suitcase which weighed a ton :) ) through London in the heat. You could only imagine just how worn out we were by the time we got to the hotel. We rested for a bit before we did more walking to and around Tobacco Dock for Hyper Japan 2017.

Once we got to Hyper Japan on Friday the first thing that was looked for was food. The lines for food were absolutely ridiculous and it looked like you'd be waiting for ages. We decided for some quick "fries". I'm not sure what in the world these fries were - they had like seaweed in them and some other stuff. They were good, and we all devoured them but for some reason half way through the day they ended up not sitting well with my stomach. I became very hot, and nauseous and had to sit out instead of wandering in the different areas of the place and looking around. We all went outside for some fresh air when they all started talking about food. Once I got that sick feeling just by listening to conversation about food, I knew I had to try and make it around the maze that is Tobacco Docks to the bathroom asap. Nick was a great nurse and escorted me to the toilets to throw up.. twice. I didn't get to see much that day but the toilet bowl and before I knew it we were heading back to the hotel not long after to rest up enough for the next two days.

Next day we planned on being at Hyper Japan for 10:00am so we could avoid long lines. Saturday was a lot better than the day before when it came down to how I felt. I was able to wander around the place without having to sit outside and throw up. It was really cool because Sarah and her friend both dressed in cosplay that were absolutely kick butt. Watching people come up to her and ask for a photo felt like I was with a celebrity haha. I always thought I was this huge anime nerd especially when I was a teenager. But after going to Hyper Japan and not knowing much, I realized I had a lot of anime culture to catch up on. I have no clue who Sarah was cosplaying (Sorry!) but she looked cool none the less. That day we wandered around to shops. I didn't buy much as I knew I had to carry it all back and try to lug it back to the States. What I'm glad I bought were these BEAUTIFUL digital art from this little shop. Nick said every time he'd go to HJ he'd buy a painting from the shop. The artist is beyond talented and I appreciate this type of art so much I bought myself two of the smaller sizes and one for my brother. I'll certainly be purchasing more. I love this style of art. I was going to add photos but I think it'll be better to link her website instead. I highly recommend checking it out - HERE.

 On Saturday we even watched the CosParade which is watching all the people who entered show off their amazing cosplay. I totally regret not taking any pictures of the venue and what was around as it would've been great to look back on with what we did during those days. I did manage to get a bit from Sarah so I could put a little something together. (Thank you!)



Sunday was a lot more chill. We went off to Hyper Japan around 10:00am grabbed food and wandered about for the last day. That day we spent more time chilling outside as it gets really crowded and hot inside. We didn't spend too long there and spent the rest of the day watching movies in the hotel room. It was a great end to an eventful weekend.😊 Monday was our travel day. We checked out of the hotel, and went on the two hour walk up to Hyde Park where we checked out the beautiful little garden, sat on the grass for hours and fed pretzels to pigeons before taking the long train ride from London up to Worcestershire. Nick and I got home (my home away from home) at around 7pm and our friend bought us all seafood pizza while we watched movies the rest of the night. - Can I just add that seafood pizza is now my favorite. It was absolutely delicious and now I'm making myself hungry for one. Yuuumm. -



Tuesday was one of my favorite days as I spent quality time with Nick and wandered around the town site seeing and falling in love with it and it's history. Magical. It was a very chill day as we slowly strolled around the river. I needed many breaks in between because Nick walks fast and it was hot out. Haha those are my excuses for being completely unfit. ;p We spent a few hours out before heading back home to chill out a little. Later on, I took my first trip to Asda to grab some necessities for chilling the rest of the night. It was a leisure day that I enjoyed very much. Perfect last full day in England.💓

Wednesday was the day we journeyed back home and it was probably the most heart breaking. We got up early so I can pack away my things and we could make it to the train on time. Cried a bit on the train. Got to London two hours later. Slowly made our way from Paddington to the Holiday Inn in Regent's Park near Oxford Street to meet up with my mom and Ann again and said my very sad "see you later"'s to Nick before heading off to Heathrow for our flight home.



My flight home went by pretty quickly and we landed at around 11pm on Wednesday night. It was so strange to be back home as I was getting used to life in England. - Can you imagine?! Just after a week! :) - Now that I've been back I can look back on those memories and honestly say it was the best time. I loved every moment of it. I'm SO thankful I got to see and spend quality time with my love bug Katie and my friends Nick and Sarah. They made the trip that much more amazing. Now, looking forward I'm hoping to apply to a university in England hopefully for next September to start new chapters of my life. But for now, I'm content knowing I have these wonderful memories to look back on.

Jay

30 June 2017

Reviews, Trips, Where Have I Been?! I Update

Welcome back, little birdies!

I hope you are all doing wonderful today. I apologize for not being active on my blog, bloglovin' and twitter. I have exciting plans on my plate and I'm trying to get everything in order. With all that, my blog has taken a back seat. I really do miss it and am planning my future posts now.



Where are the reviews?
I have so much to share with you beauty-wise. So many new makeup products that I've been absolutely loving and I can't wait to share them all with you. With that said, I've been looking into Direct Sale makeup that I'm trying out and want to share with you as well - more on that later on.

What's so exciting?
I'm heading off to England this summer! This is my first time vising England (certainly won't be the last) and my first time to Europe in general! I've never really been outside of the U.S. - or even the other side of the country for that matter. I've always stayed on the East Coast of the U.S. and I've traveled to Puerto Rico plenty of times to visit family. I've also been to Canada once when I was very young, around the age of 6 or 7 with my family for maybe a day or two but I don't remember much of that trip. I'm beyond excited to explore the city of London a bit, hang out with one of my BESTEST blogging buddies Katie from K.F. Pestell; who I'm so excited to see so much and stoked to hang out with! I think it'll make me giggle at our height difference at first but I can't wait to have fun! Other than that, I'll be hanging out with my long time close friends I have in England. We'll be going to a festival which I'll talk about and have some pictures with in another blog post when the event is over. I can't express enough just how excited I am and I'll definitely keep you all posted a long with maybe even a vlog with Katie!? :) I;m so excited but I have been trying to prep for this trip for a while and it's coming down to the wire!

Educations and Jobs?
After almost two years of a break due to trying to get myself together, I'm finally getting things ready to get back to my classes. I'm motivated to get my degree and maybe travel abroad for Uni. We'll see! I will be changing my major to English and Communications to hopefully help me grow my blog into more than just a hobbie in the future because it is something I do enjoy. To have the time to do it because it's my profession would be a dream. So I'm looking forward to learning more and growing as a person.

Until then, I somehow started looking into direct sales makeup brands such as Younique. I've always known they were out there like Avon and Mary Kay but I never really paid any mind to it. I've recently started watching videos from a Younique Presenter that is a family member of someone I know. I really liked her videos and started looking into the products. I then had the thought of maybe even doing direct sales myself ever since seeing her video and all the information she gave. After that I started doing a lot of research on the brand and becoming a Presenter and the products and peoples feedback - when I came across a plethora of other bands such as Maelle, Maskcara, Beauty Counter and more! I really enjoy makeup so what better way to earn some extra bucks than to do something you enjoy - playing with makeup!? I'm still doing my research on what brands I like better and I can't do that without trying them out first. I just bought the new 3D Mascara from Younique to see how I feel about that and am planning on buying more from there. I also have some products from Maelle lined up as well even though they're not doing direct sales at the moment. I plan on doing another post all about the brands I'm looking into and the products I buy from them so please stay tuned for that!

With all that said, I feel like I'm getting back to a place where I can start regularly posting like I was doing to get back into the  blogging community. It may be sparce in July due to my trip but that only means that I'll have a lot to talk about when I get back! Hopefully I can put a few posts together before then. Thank you for your patience!

Jay

01 May 2017

Best Liquid Matte Lipsticks

Welcome back, little birdies!

I hope everyone is having a grand ole day. I love how much warmer the weather is getting as we quickly approach summer! Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting more outfit posts now the it's bright and shiny outside.



Today, I have for you what could be the greatest Liquid Lipsticks of all time. In my opinion at least. About a month ago I went to do some makeup shopping as you saw in my previous Sephora haul and I picked up the Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in the shade Muse. I've heard a lot about Huda Beauty but I think they sell more of them in select Sephora's so there was only a small collection left in the corner of the store. My birthday just passed and one of my best friend's decided to get me another one of the lipsticks in the shade Bombshell.

Liquid Matte? More like Liquid Gold

I've always been weary of "matte" lipsticks because I'm afraid how much more dry they'd make my lips and how much the color would just cling to the dryness of my lips but my goodness this couldn't be more far from it. Before I put on any type of lipstick, no matter the formula, I always pop on some of MAC's Lip Prep + Prime. It's supposed to help give your lips the hydrating foundation it needs to layer your lippies. It also helps prevent feathering. Once that's in and set putting on Huda Beauty's liquid matte's make it feel like liquid gold. The formula is so "rich" - is that strange to use that word when talking about a formula!?- it feels like you're applying velvet to your lips. It dried pretty quickly to settle in to a lovely matte - which - didn't take hold of my dry patches. It doesn't feel like you're wearing a matte lipstick when you have it on. Your lips feel as free as they do when you're not wearing any at all.

(Unfortunately, my camera doesn't show the true color of these. They're beautiful!)

Don't get me started on the lasting power of this thing. After putting it on before work, ate and drank all day - this lasted like a dream. I've actually never had a lip product that stayed on your lips as well as this one.

 Overall, I'm obsessed and definitely see myself buying more of these in the future. I do hope they end up putting more Huda Beauty in our Sephora's. I hear great things of all her products and I would like to try more stuff. I mean, if these are this good - what else does she have in store?!

Have you tried any products from Huda Beauty? What's your favorite product?

Jay


24 April 2017

Keep The Coachella Vibe Going All Summer!

Welcome back, little birdies!

Spring has surely sprung here on the East Coast. One major indicator of that - besides the beautiful weather we've been having - is that it is officially Coachella season. One thing I love seeing from all the Coachella news is the fashion; what people decided to wear to this event. My favorite outfits trends for this massive music festival would have to be that girly boho look. What better way to spice up that look than with jewelry!?

With all that said, I was having a little snoop around the Jewelry section on Etsy. That's when I came across what is now, my favorite jewelry shop on the site. It's a little shop called Ethnicca. Ethnicca focuses on ethnic and bohemian style jewelry - all of which I fell in love with. It took a lot of me to just buy two things instead of buying out the whole shop. I would definitely recommend buying from there if your summer style is boho chic.



I started off with a Suede Bohemian Feather Necklace with the light brown strap as shown in the photo on the store. This has to be my favorite out of all of them. No matter how many different chokers I was looking at, I would always come back to this one. After receiving it, it didn't disappoint me either! It fits just at beautiful as it looks.



The next one I bought is just as gorgeous! This one I feel is a lot more on trend mostly because of the jewel that hangs down from the choker. It's the O Ring Choker. I feel like there are a lot of clothes that this would compliment and could fit anyone's taste. I bought two of these.. one for now and a back up! Haha kidding. I bought one for my blogging bestie, Katie for a swap we're doing. (Katie, if you're reading this before you received your box... forget what you read..)





I'm so excited to wear these and show them off. They're beautiful and definitely staples in my collection. If you want to grab some, I know she's doing a Mother's Day sale that gives you 10% off any purchase. She also has percentages off if you buy 2, 4 or 6 items! What a deal?! Check it out, here.  I recommend taking advantage of those and stocking up for the summer. I know I sure will. She even ships international!

*Disclaimer: I'm not sponsored by the Etsy shop Ethnicca to do this post or give you discounts. I bought it with my own money and am genuinely impressed with the shop that I wanted to share.♡*

Thanks for reading!
Jay

09 April 2017

Spring Sephora Makeup Haul

Happy Spring, my little birdies!

I hope everyone is doing just dandy today. I'm back from my little hiatus. Thanks for the patience. Sometimes when you don't have inspiration you just can't force it. I've gathered plenty of inspiration the past month and a half and have been super excited about getting back into it!

The other day I decided to do a little makeup shopping with my friend at Sephora. I originally was just going there to grab a Tarte Rain Forest of the Sea Color Splash Lipstick after watching Kathleen Lights' March Favorites video. I grabbed some more goodies apart from that, that I wanted to share with you!



So as you know, I grabbed one of the Color Splash Lipsticks after watching Kathleen's video. She had mentioned that she mostly loved the colors Pink Lemonade and Beach Babe. After seeing those I knew I had to get them for myself. I'm such a nude lipstick lover .. well.. I'm a lipstick fiend in general but nude shades are my favorite. They are 21 bucks a piece so I decided to just pick up Beach Babe for now. Besides it being the most beautiful nude lipstick I've set my eyes on, the packaging won my heart. It's in a blue packaging with stokes of white and dark blue faded into it. It reminds me of summer time by the pool side or the ocean. It's just gorgeous. With this type of packaging, it'll certainly be in the forefront of my lipstick stash.

(I apologize for the blurriness of most the photos! I took them with my iPhone because I couldn't find the charger to my camera. For some reason, when I put them in, they're blurry and I'm unable to fix it.)



As I was wandering around Sephora I noticed that they had some Huda Beauty lip products. I feel like Huda Beauty is a popular brand but hard to get your hands on here in the States. At least at my Sephora it is. They have a few products of hers but not much at all so I was very excited to have seen them. I decided to grab a liquid matte lipstick in the shade Muse. There were several beautiful colors to choose from but I decided to go with Muse as it's more of a deep mauve shade that's borderline berry and I don't have any like it so far.



As I went to go check out of Sephora I was suckered into those minis that they surround you in as you wait to pay. While looking around I noticed the Kat Von D Lock It Setting Powder. Now, I love my Rimmel Stay Matte powder I've been using for years but I've heard such great things about the Kat Von D one I decided to give it a try. It's a loose powder where as the Rimmel is pressed so I'm looking forward to seeing how I do with that. Hopefully won't make too much of a mess - and if I do - I hope it's worth it. ;)



Since April is my birthday month, I was also able to receive my birthday goodies from Sephora. I choose the Tarte mini duo. It has the Amazonian Clay Blush in the shade Paaarty and it also has the Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in the shade Birthday Suit.  They're such beautiful colors and I'm so excited to try them out.



Last but not least, I picked up a MAC Lip Prep and Prime. (From MAC, not Sephora - of course) As much as I love lipsticks, my lips are ALWAYS dry. No matter how much lip balm I put on them, they always have dry spots that lipstick loves to cling on too. This Prep and Prime is supposed to help hydrate the lips while giving the lip colors a good base to stick too. Bonus point for stopping liquid lip colors from feathering out.




So that's all I got on my makeup shopping day out. It's been a while since I went out shopping for makeup so I feel this was long over due. Plus, I decided to splurge a little for an early birthday present to myself.

If you've tried any of these or know of any others like these leave me a comment down below!

I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Jay

14 February 2017

A Single's Valentine's Day

Welcome back, little birdies and Happy Valentine's Day!

I do hope you're all doing well today. I'm trying to stick to a schedule with my blog and while I was planning it out, I realized that I was scheduled to put up a blog post on Valentine's Day. Immediately, I got flustered on what to write about - debating whether I should acknowledge the day or not and put up a regular non themed post. When I was trying to get into the spirit of making it Valentine's themed I realized that everything I was thinking about was "date night ideas" or "what to get him for V-Day" and it frustrated me more because I have no idea at the moment. If you did or didn't know, I am single and have been for quite a while now. I have no idea what exciting adventures to unfold on date nights and have no clue what to buy a guy for that particular day. I was building up this "Perfect Blogger" idea in my head that this is what you're supposed to write about on Valentine's Day but that's not me. I've past the point of bitterness or feeling sad for myself on this day because I'm single. I love reading the cute date night stories or what cute thing a guy did to surprise his girlfriend. Although I do, it's not what will be happening for me this Valentine's day. So I started thinking, what would I do on this day? For me? I figured I'd write a Single's Valentine's Day guide. Grab some ideas, enjoy and love yourself today and every other day!



Dress Up or Dress Down!

  1.  Dressing up for yourself! I love getting dressed up and love getting myself ready. I love doing it because it makes me feel good! I love the way I look and it makes me feel confident!
  2. Dress down. Don't feel pressured to have to get all dressed up that day if you don't want too. Need a no makeup, sweats, and messy hair day? Rock it.

Don't be Afraid to get your Independence on!

  1. Movie for one? Yes, please! I love going to the cinema but one of the hardest things is agreeing what movie to actually watch. There will be movies that either you want to watch and they don't and visa versa. This will be a stress free, any movie YOU'D like kind of day. And you won't even have to share popcorn. ;)
  2. Go shopping. Going out and finding new outfits is such a great feeling! Retail therapy is a real thing and it feels fabulous. I love finding new things to wear. Especially for spring which isn't far away! You'll be ahead of the game. 
  3. Treat yourself to a Spa Daaaay. A great way to take care of yourself is going to get a massage, facial and mani - pedi. You'll thank yourself for having one of those days.
  4. Do something adventurous! Go out and do some rock climbing, or those obstacle courses. Depending on where you live you can go skiing or sledding. Take some chances on things you always wanted to do but were always too afraid of doing!
  5. If you don't want to go out at all - stay home. There's seriously no place like home. It's the best snuggling up on the sofa or in bed, wrapped around my Totoro fluffy blanket, finding new shows to fall in love with on Netflix.

Create some Deliciousness in the Kitchen


  1. Go to the grocery store and stock up on cake mix and frosting. You can even buy those cute heart shaped sprinkles in different colors!
  2. Scroll through Pinterest for baking ideas. I've typed in "Things to Bake for Valentine's Day" and the list goes on for miles on ideas. From chocolate covered strawberries, to marshmallow pops, to red velvet cupcakes, oh my!
  3. If you've baked a special Valentine's Day treat, leave your links in the comments! I'd love to see what you've come up with.

And there you have it! A few ideas on what you could be doing on your Valentine's Day as I know I'll be doing a few of these as well. I'm ready to take on this day with positivity and love towards myself. Bonus points for treating yourself! I hope you enjoy this day whether with a significant other, friends or family, or even just flying solo. Sending some Blissful Beauty Bird love your way.

Thanks for reading!
Until Next Time,
Jay

10 February 2017

Summer Inspired BooHoo Wish List

Welcome back, little birdies!

Recently, I made my first purchase over on the BooHoo USA site after being recommended it by one of my friends. I've always heard of BooHoo but because it wasn't a store I could physically go into - I was skeptical about the clothing and if they'd fit. One thing that worries me with online shopping is if an item doesn't fit. I'm sooo impatient that I'd probably be a bit disappointed that I'd have to send it back and wait for a replacement. Regardless, I took the plunge and ordered online. I'll do an outfit post on what I bought in the future as I absolutely LOVE what I got and I've gotten so many compliments from the items that I did buy from there that I'm excited to purchase more!


By my wish list you might suspect a theme. Dark and lace. I'm just loving these summer inspired tops. The Sally Ruffle Neck Lace Georgette and the Julia Crochet Trim High Neck Sleeveless Blouse make me want a beautiful holiday over in Spain. At a beach,. with a pina colada (virgin).

Along with that I love the Petite Dina Crochet Lace High Neck Bodycon Dress (these names are loong haha). It's the perfect summer dress and I choose the color in white to help out with the tan. Can I quickly just mention how much I love when a clothing store has a Petite section!? It can get hard sometimes finding clothes we're not swimming in or having to hem the bottom of the pants for. :)

The last two, Erin Long Sleeved Ruffle Shirt and the Lola Slash Neck Fisherman Jumper are great summer night items when things start to get chilly. One casual and the other dressy.

I know summer is quite the way a ways but I love the thought that it can be so close and we can get ready for it by buying clothes for the warm weather! These are definitely in my cart ready for check out for my next purchase as I just adore these items. Nothing wrong with wishful thinking for summer months to get here soon!

Thanks for reading!
Until Next Time,
Jay

06 February 2017

HandPicked Beauty Box January 2017

Welcome back, little birdies!

I hope you're all doing well on this fine day. One thing that gets me excited for a new month is the box I subscribed to at the end of November. HandPicked Beauty Box is a fairly new subscription box that consists of 5 FULL sized items! Isn't that amazing?! The only catch is this box is more expensive than the other boxes out on the market at the moment - which is totally understandable seeing as these are high end products. I'm certainly enjoying it and it's only my second box. I'll be showing you what I received for the month of January 2017.



The first thing I saw when I opened the box was a Tony Moly Lip Scrub in Kiss Kiss. My lips are almost always dry and I can't seem to make them nice, smooth and plump. So I was excited to see this in the box. I've heard great things about the brand but have never tried them out myself. I'm SO ready for beautiful luscious lips so I hope this does the job. :)



The next thing in the box was this SkinFood Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Toner. To be honest, the foodie in me thought it was a drink at first when I saw it just before reading that it's for my face - haha. I'm so intrigued by this. I do want to do a little more research on this though as my skin is pretty sensitive and when I tried to look at the instructions on the back of the bottle it was all in Korean - it did although have a sticker of ingredients on there in English so you know what's in it. I'd love to learn more about this brand and see how my skin takes to this new toner. I'm excited to try it out!



I then saw a beautiful package that said Urban Decay on it. This is only the second box I've received from this subscription and this is the second Urban Decay product I've gotten and that makes me so excited! It's one of my favorite brands and I love that this helps me to be able to try out different products from there I probably wouldn't have gotten before. I received this UD Revolution High Color LipGloss in the color Fail Bait. It's a lovely pink shade that's super glossy. I feel like this will be a staple in my collection over the summer.



Next I saw a little Becca box. I loved seeing this in here because I always hear great things about Becca cosmetics and I've never gotten anything from them before. I'm happy to finally have a product of theirs. It's a Shadow and Light Brow Contour Mousse. Now, I'm not great at doing my brows. Actually, I'm pretty horrible at it haha. So I'm glad to have a good high end product to practice with. I did try it out today and the formula is brilliant - very lovely. The only thing with this is that it's in the shade Cocoa and it's a bit light for me as my hair is quite dark. Regardless, I think this is a great product and it applied smoothly.



The last (and biggest) item in the box is this Fiona Stiles Eyes and Face Contouring Palette. I've never heard of this brand and had to look them up to see what it was all about but the palette looks absolutely high quality and I'm pretty excited to try out all the shades in here. I did use the contour shade in the palette and it is SO pigmented. It's matte so it has no shimmer in it. I feel like that's my favorite contour shade I've seen so fair. I can't wait to use the shadows, highlights and blushes!



Over all I was VERY intrigued with January's HandPicked Box. I feel like it was very focused on enhancing your natural beauty -  from eyes, brows, and face contours to skin / lip care to a natural gloss to your lips. This box has gotten me so excited for the summer time. I'm glad for all the things in the months box and I can't wait to fall in love with all the products like I've done with some already. If you're interested or looking into a subscription box and wouldn't mind spending a little extra I'd recommend giving this a little look. I've been enjoying it so far.

Mini Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I purchased this box with my own money and have a monthly subscription with HandPicked that I pay for - monthly.


(Random behind the scenes haha)



Thanks for reading!
Until Next Time,
Jay

29 January 2017

A - Z of Me

Welcome back, little birdies!

I did a bit of a different post today. As most of you already know the lovely, Peta, from Pe-Ta had created a WhatsApp group of about 19 other bloggers called The Blogging Friends (recently changed to M I E U - Motivate Inspire Empower Uplift) around the start of November. I've become so close with those girls I feel like speaking to them is part of my every day life. One day I think there were blog post ideas being thrown around and Peta had mentioned an A - Z of Me type of post. I've not seen anyone do it so I figured it would be something fun to do on my blog. So credit for this idea goes totally to Peta. I encourage you to do one of yourself as well! It's so nice to learn more of others - even the silly facts!



A - Anxiety
Sorry to start off on a sour note but anxiety is a part of who I am. Anyone that know's me well know how badly I struggle with it from time to time and how serious the matter can be. It's not a great part but it's something that definitely makes me - well.. me.

B - Birds
This may be a bit of a strange one. If you couldn't already tell by the name of this blog.. birds are my favorite animal. To be more specific, Sparrows. I just love the way they are. Cute little things! They're small and hop around instead of walking (waddling?). They kind of remind me of myself! Bubbly, small creatures. Haha :)

C - Christian
If you've read passed posts of mine you will know that I am a Christian. I got saved in September of 2013. Putting my faith in Jesus Christ was the best decision I've made!

D - Dog
For the majority of my life, I've had a little Toy Poodle named Sam. (Toy Poodles are an actual breed of dogs.. I don't mean a fake dog haha!) Fun fact: We named her Samantha because when I was younger my favorite singer was an Irish singer called Samantha Mumba.

E - Education
Education is a huge part of peoples lives including my own. Although I haven't been active in college for the past year, I'm excited to return to my classes this Fall 2017 to continue my journey on graduating and getting a degree for a career I'd love to be in.

F - Fashion
I love fashion as much as the next girl so it's no surprise this would make the list. I love putting outfits together and new trends that are happening. I also love shopping. Definitely love shopping. I went to a trade high school, so I was in Fashion Merchandising a good 3 of 4 years. I did really enjoy it and even searched Fashion Merchandising Colleges after I graduated.

G - Gullible
This is a bit of a tongue in cheek one. Sometimes I can be so guilty of being gullible that when my friends joke around they might have to tell me it's a joke. For example, one of my coworkers had a Dunkin cup and on it had the letters F and U and the number 2. My coworkers joked with me and told me that someone had written something rude on there and I was in shock that someone could be so rude and disrespectful as to put that on someones drink. Well.. once they started laughing at me I figured something was up. Apparently, the F stands for French. The U was actually a V and stood for Vanilla and the number 2 was just indicating 2 shots of it. Insert covering eye monkey emoji here.

H - Hugs
Once again if you know me you know I'm a hugger! I'll go around the room (room full of people I know.. not just strangers haha) and give everyone a hug when I see them and when I'm about to leave. Meaningful hugs are lovely, don't ya think!? As Olaf would say, I love warm hugs!

I - Independence
This is a huge one. One thing I strive to be is an Independent Women. Am I living at home at the moment? Yes. Are my parents amazing and help me out? Yes. But it's my parent's who have taught me to strive to be independent and to make sure I work hard for my own future. I made this reference before but I'd love to be as strong, brave, adventurous and independent as Lara Croft. :)


J - Jay
My name! Jay is short for my actual name that I won't mention haha. It came about in middle school when I made new friends and they wouldn't remember my actual name (it's not that common) so instead they called me Jay.  Only a few of my closest friends now and some coworkers call me Jay.


K - Kitten
This is something that might be surprising. I love kittens and I'll love to pet them especially when they're babies. But I actually get nervous around cats! Haha I saw this show when I was younger and this cat attacked a person and now I'm nervous that they'll just run up to me and attack me haha. I'm more likely to give them a cuddle when they're small though. :)

L - Laughter
Who doesn't love to laugh? One of my many favorite moments in life is when I have a good ol' laugh! Like I mean a bent over, about to create a 6-pack of abs, teary laugh. Those are the absolute best and moments that I tend to remember because of it. What a great thing in life to enjoy time with your friends and family and have a laugh!


M - Mindfulness
This is something I've been trying to do recently. A certain goal of mine this new year. I would like to be more aware of things. The way I am, how I treat myself, what I eat, what I say, how I treat others or how others are feeling. I just want to be more aware of myself and the world around me. I look forward to doing more of that this new year!

N - Nurture
I'm not a mother yet but I'm already a very nurturing person. I always want to help people from any hurt or sadness they're going through. I've feel like I've always been a very caring person.

O - Ocean
Something else that kind of big in my life is that I can't swim! The many times I wanted to be a mermaid would be useless when the mermaid can't swim.. My friends have been trying to teach me and I'm not doing too shabby to be honest! I'm sure I'll get there one day.

P - Princess
Let's all move to Disney World and be princess', yeah?! Who's with me!? While watching the show Once Upon a Time I had the strongest urge to just be a princess for the rest of my life. It was a serious career move thought. Haha

Q - Queen
A fun fact I like to share with people is that I share the same birth day (not the year ;) ) with the Queen of England. I was born on April 21.


R - Romance
I am the biggest hopeless romantic. Although I'm single, I want all the gushy love that you see in those romantic movies. I wear my heart on my sleeve and love hard. That may be why I'm still single haha. I'm picky but only because you have those amazing romance movies and all the Disney princess' who have their prince charmings. I'm sure I'll have my own price one day. In the mean time, I'll have my heart explode confetti watching rom coms!


S - Shortie
This is another silly one but I'm a proud shortie at the grand ol' height of 4'11. Haha. My height is something I was made fun of a lot in school. What people didn't realize is that it never bothered me! I love my height! I think it's super cute and the great fact that I can wear 6 inch heels and be a "normal" girl height haha.


T - Thunderstorms
I love me some thunderstorms! That's honestly one of my favorite things about summer time is all the thunderstorms you get. I love falling asleep to it because I find it so relaxing. On top of that, I really enjoy watching lightening. Is that weird? Last summer we had a lot of dry heat that meant we got those lightening storms - when it's not raining but there are lightening flashes. Those are my favorite. I just really enjoy them.

U - Unconditional
I'm loved and do love others unconditionally! And I can't imagine just how much love I'll have for my own kids!

V - Visual
I'm very much a visual learner. I can't just learn something by hearing it - like lectures, I have to see how it's done and then have to do it myself. :)

W - Wanderlust
I've mentioned this before but I'm itching to start traveling. My mom is a big traveler. She loves to visit places she's never been before and has traveled to Europe quite a few times along with other places. I feel like traveling is in my blood and I'm ready to have it take over! My first trip will be to England! I've wanted to go for yeaarss but I've not been able to until now! I'm so excited. I feel like one day I'll end up living there. Another place I'd love to visit hopefully in the near future is Japan! Dream big!


X - X Ray
I've never broken a bone before which I feel is the most common reason people need x-rays but I did have pancreatitis when I was 8 years old and had to get my appendix removed at 16 years old. Those are pretty grim but I'm sure I needed x-rays for that some how haha.

Y - Youthful
I'm still young! I've got my whole life ahead of me to achieve goals and travel the world and fall in love. I want to live life with adventures that I will one day be able to tell my future grandchildren.

Z - Zoo
How original, I know ;) Trying to think back at it.. I don't think I've ever been to a zoo!? Is that not actually insane. I feel like it's part of life to go at some point in your life. I can't remember if we've gone on a field trip when I was younger but I have no recollection of going to a zoo. Or seeing Zebras. :)

That was quite difficult to do! It's a little hard to think of words per letter especially when it gets down to the end of the alphabet. I did have a lot of fun thinking of words that correspond with my life and hopefully you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me! It's not a tag but I would encourage you to do this as it's fun to do and entertaining to look back on things. If you do this please leave your link in the comments as I'd love to have a read!

Thanks so much for reading!
Until next time,
Jay

21 January 2017

Early Autumn Outfit (In the middle of Winter)

Welcome back, little birdies!

Before we begin this post I would just like to say how I started this post back in Autumn. Hence the title - Early Autumn Outfit. I decided to put it up regardless of being months late because I figured that we don't all live in a cold area as New England. Others live in those beautiful warm areas all year around or even across the world where winter is like our summer. What I'm trying to say is this can be worn as is or even layered for the cold. So, lets get into the post!

I'm so excited for this post - just as I am any other fashion post I put up because they are few and far between. I teamed up with my best friend Mia from ConfidentlyCurly to bring you a slightly more autumnal feel to this fashion post. This one was actually inspired by the absolutely beautiful Georgie from She Dreams . She did a beautiful outfit post showcasing her lovely dress, stylish booties, and super adorbs bracelet.


I saw this dress at Forever 21 when I was browsing around and once I found this gorgeous floral print, my ideas of what to pair it with starting flowing. This is more of a light weight material which is why I figured it would be great for the early weather of autumn. It can be paired nicely and just right for cold weather if it's layered. The front comes down to a deep V neck which does have a little clasp to it to help secure it in place. It's sleeves are kind of long but it's just the way I prefer it to hide my hands in. Plus, I'm 4'11 so I have pretty short limbs. It could end at the right spot for you taller girls. ;)



I paired it with this beautiful belt I also bought at Forever 21. I've been searching high and low for a belt like this so when I found it, I knew it would be perfect with this outfit. I decided to wear leggings with this outfit because the front was quite.. open. To be honest, I'm not sure if this is a shirt for normal sized girls but it sure does fit like a dress for us shorter folk. Haha! So to be on the safe side I just put on some comfy black leggings that my sister in law had given to me. I also decided to wear my little grey booties to compliment the outfit.



As finishing touches I put on my dark blush rose cat ears that I bought from Hot Topic. I don't wear it out often so I figured this would be the perfect time to show case those cute kitty ears. I also bought a ribbon choker from Forever 21. I have one in this pink color and also in black other than those I honestly wouldn't buy those from there again. They were about $4.00 for a ribbon I could of gotten from JoAnn Fabrics for less and done it myself. - rant over. Haha. I decided to help the ears stand out a bit more to wear the pink ribbon choker as well.




So there you have it! A bit of a late outfit post but can certainly be layered for the colder months. Or you can just read this again next Autumn for some inspiration. Either one ;)

What are your favorite outfits for Autumn that you'd layer up for the colder winter months? Have you checked out Georgie's outfit?  What are your favorite pieces from this outfit? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!
Until Next Time,
Jay