Chicago: Day 3

Hello, world.

It is time for Day Three of Chicago.

You can read all about Day One here and Day Two here.

The first thing that we did was head to Chinatown again for lunch. Everyone agreed to go back to the same restaurant because it was just that good. Since the portions are extra big, and we learned our lesson from the last time, Justin and I shared a meal, and Joann and Cody shared a meal.

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry after lunch. We took the bus instead of the train because it was easier that way. We wanted to go there because Justin, Cody, and I wanted to take a tour of the U505 submarine. A little fun fact: the reason that the U505 is on display in Chicago is because it is the hometown of the captain who captured the submarine. At the museum, we also got the chance to go on a coal mine tour because I wanted to do it. The Museum of Science and Industry is definitely unlike any museum that Ive been to because its focused on science and industry (duh) instead of the mummies and dinosaurs that Im used to.

The next thing that happened made me very conscious about the fact that I have gotten used to monotonocity and routine of living in Iowa. What happened was that we boarded a train downtown after leaving the museum. We got off on the right stop, but somehow, exited the wrong way. We were trying to make our way to North Michigan Avenue to do a bunch of stuff. We got lost. Justin and I had to walk 1.7mi. Joann and Cody took a bus but got lost anyway. Since it took us forever to get to where we wanted to go, we ended up heading straight to dinner because we were smart enough to make a reservation this time to the Weber Grill restaurant. Lets just say that it was worth it.

Then, off to North Michigan Avenue we go! I splurged on a bunch of hauls: Lush, Benefit, and Urban Decay. Reviews coming soon!

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NYX Haul

Hello, world.

I recently bought a few NYX products from HauteLook.

The first product is the Super Skinny Eye Marker. This is my favorite type of eyeliner. I love dramatic eyeliner and my everyday look consists of thick eyeliner. Marker eyeliners are the way to go if you love heavy eyeliner but dont want to spend too much time getting ready.

Before this product, my favorite eyeliner was the Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner. The NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker blows Eyeko out of the water! The felt tip is very fine, making it easy to apply precise lines. It also glides on very smoothly and doesnt catch or drag on your skin.

The second product is the Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Black. This type of eyeliner is also essential in creating my eye look. I prefer liquid liner to marker liners in drawing cat eyes because a flimsy brush is easier to flick.

My current liquid liner is the ELF Liquid Eyeliner in Black. I have no complaints about this product; it is wonderful, but I always enjoy trying out new products.

The third product is the Collection Noir Skinny Black Liner. This is just a normal crayon liner, a type that I havent used in a while. Lately, Ive been getting frustrated with pencil liners so I decided to get back into crayon liners.

On the NYX website, the Super Skinny Eye Marker costs $9, the Studio Liquid Liner costs $4.50, and the Collection Noir Skinny Black Liner costs $6. In total, these three products are $19.50 on NYXs website before shipping. On HauteLook, I paid $11 before shipping.

These are blushes. You cant really tell the actual color from the picture because I took it with my phone. I was getting sick of my old camera being stupid so I decided to use my phone. It focuses a lot easier. Hang in there because Im saving up for a new camera!

From left to right, the shades are: Mocha, Angel, and Mauve. These are $5 each on NYXs website. I bought all three for $10.50 from HauteLook.

Since I recently bought a new blush that I adore, I probably wont end up using these. I'll put them into the stash for the upcoming giveaway.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

What is your favorite NYX product?

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Thank you for reading.

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Chicago: Day 2

Hello, world.

My post today will be about Day Two in Chicago.

For the post on Day One, please click here.

The original plan was to head to the Navy Pier but one of the train stations that we stopped at was the one for Chinatown. Joann (Codys girlfriend) and I wanted to get some dim sum so we were like, SPONTANEOUS CHINATOWN VISIT! But instead of dim sum, we went to this restaurant called Joy Yee or something like that. It was amazing! We went again the next day, LOL. We were saying that if we lived in Chicago, we'd probably be eating there a lot.

After Chinatown, we finally made our way to the Navy Pier.

It may not sound like theres much to do at the Navy Pier but there actually is. Theres a mall there filled with souvenir shops of every kind as well as lots of food and icecream, lots and lots of icecream. Theres a tropical garden sort of thing in the mall and we chilled in there for a bit. There was an Indian cultural thing going on in there too so that was kinda entertaining.

Then, of course, theres the ferris wheel! Thats where we took this picture actually. It was nice weather, I was with Justin, it was nice.

There was a Bubba Gump at the Navy Pier where we wanted to have dinner at but lunch at Chinatown filled us up so we decided to wait a little longer. We left the Navy Pier to go to Ghirardelli. Justin bought a 50-count bag of chocolate for his mom and we got brownie sundaes. It was so good, OMG! Unfortunately, neither of us could finish it. Sad face.

Across the street from Ghirardelli is the Hersheys store. Justin had been talking about the 5lb thing of Hersheys bar so we went in and got him one along with two huge Reeses Cups that are 0.5lb each. So far, hes finished one Reeses Cup and we havent even made a dent in the Hersheys bar.

The day ended with dinner at Bubba Gump.

Check back soon for Day Three! My next post will be a mini haul from NYX.

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Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Color-Saver Sulfate Free Shampoo Review

Hello, world.

Today, I will be reviewing the Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Color-Saver Sulfate Free Shampoo that came in my March Birchbox.

I managed to get good use out of this product because I just got my color streaks back on Thursday. I will try to show you guys a picture if I can get good enough lighting. I have dim yellow lights in my apartment which sucks when it comes to taking pictures.

Anyway, on to the product, its pretty decent. After two washes, the emerald green is still very much there. I dont know if its because the place I went to this time is a lot better than the last place I went to or if this shampoo is just that great.

It is a gentle shampoo that conditions and moisturizes your hair while still being sulfate free and non-stripping even though it foams decently. It smells alright, a scent that I cant really put my finger on. The fragrance isnt necessarily minty but the shampoo leaves your scalp tingly and feeling fresh for some reason.

Overall, I like this product. If I didnt have two other bottles of color saving shampoo sitting around, I would probably purchase the full-size of this product.

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

What is your favorite shampoo?

Thank you for reading!

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Chicago: Day 1

Hello, world.

As promised, I will be blogging about my trip to Chicago in multiple posts. Cue Day One. . .

Our Holiday Inn hotel was way outside of the city of Chicago in a place called Cumberland. To get places, we take the Blue line train thats nearby the hotel.

The first thing that we did on the first day was go look at the Chicago River. If you saw my updates post, theres a picture of the river dyed green for St. Patricks Day. It was legit green, guys! Also, around that area, we got to see the Chicago Tribune building. I dont know why but that got me really excited.

For dinner, Cody (My boyfriends friend) suggested that we go to the Weber Grill restaurant. We got there and found out that the wait is three and a half hours minimum. So we pretty much went NOPE and went somewhere else for dinner. We ended up at PF Changs whose wait was only 50 minutes, LOL. It was Justin (My boyfriend) and Is first time in a PF Changs and we loved it!

The day concluded with a walk to North Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile or something like that. It was legit a mile long strip of just awesome stores and brands. I dont think we did any shopping, just took a look around because it was getting pretty late at that point.

My next post will probably be a product review so check back next time if you want to read about Day Two!

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March 2013 Birchbox Review

Hello, world.

The March Birchbox arrived a while ago, the day before I left for Chicago, so I didnt get the chance to blog about it until now.

Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream in Blueberry

$20 | 150ml | Birchbox.com

MAKE Satin Finish Eyeshadow in Great Lakes

$18 | 0.1oz | Birchbox.com

MAKE SPF 30 Face Primer

$30 | 1oz | Birchbox.com

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Color-Saver Sulfate Free Shampoo

$22 | 8floz | Birchbox.com

Madewell for Birchbox Nail Emery Board

$5 | Birchbox.com

I havent had the chance to do anything with these products yet so I didnt want to bore you with any text this time. I'll post separate reviews for you guys soon!

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Updates

Hello, world.

I probably should have mentioned that I will be spending four days of Spring Break in Chicago with my boyfriend and a friend of his who brought along his girlfriend. In essence, it was one big double date.

It was my first time in Chicago, and it was amazing! It definitely wouldnt be the last time that I'll be there. We managed to do all of the things that all four of us wanted to do in the time frame of four days. With that said, there is a lot to blog about. I'll break the vacation into four separate blog posts for you guys so as not to overwhelm you.

I havent blogged in a while so needless to say, I have a lot of posts lined up. Be excited!

This is our first picture in Chicago. It was the weekend of St. Patricks Day so the Chicago River was dyed green!

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Beauty Addicts ShowOff Mascara Review

Hello, world.

I am back with another review!

This is the ShowOff mascara by Beauty Addicts. The full-size product retails for $20. I bought mine for $8 from a blog sale. The product is described as being not only volumizing and lengthening but also curling and moisturizing! I want to begin by saying that the claims are all true.

I have never heard of the Beauty Addicts brand. To be honest, I bought it because the packaging is attractive. Besides Birchbox, that is one way I try out new brands. If Im attracted to the packaging, Im more likely to try it out.

My verdict is that Im on the fence about this product.

As I mentioned above, the claims about the product being volumizing and lengthening are true. In one sweep, it dramatically volumizes and lengthens your lashes. Im not sure about the curling and moisturizing properties, but who really cares about that, right? We mainly want the volume and the length. This product gives a very dramatic look because its dark and very noticeable.

However, there is a downside to this mascara. A lot of product gets on the wand when you pull it out. Its very messy. Youll have to wipe of the excess back into the tube before you apply or itll get everywhere. The product also clumps easily because of that.

Once you work out all of those kinks, its actually a pretty good mascara that I wouldnt mind continuing to use.

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

What is your favorite mascara?

Thank you for reading!

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ELF Haul

Hello, world.

I have a long overdue ELF haul to blog about.

The first product is the Eyebrow Kit in Dark. The only options available are Light, Medium, Dark, and Ash. Having black hair, I figured that I should go with Dark since lighter eyebrows arent very flattering. Little did I know, it isnt as dark as I thought itd be. I havent tried it yet, though. Im scared that itll turn out too light.

The second product is the Contouring Blush & Bronzer in Antigua. The blush is super pretty but the bronzer is too dark on me. I probably shouldve gone with a lighter shade of bronzer like the St. Lucia, but then the blush wouldve been too much like a highlighter.

The third product is the High Definition Powder. This is just a loose powder that I use to set my makeup. It fills fine lines and wrinkles really well, and it definitely does make you HD-ready. Even though Im never in HD, I love it! It makes your face look flawless.

The fourth product is one that they threw in there with my order. I never buy lipsticks so I obviously didnt purchase this one. It was just in my order for some reason. It is the Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph. Im never one to go with nude lip colors. Id rather just use untinted lipgloss and have my natural lip color instead. Obviously, I didnt really like this product mainly because of the color.

The fifth product is the Brush Shampoo. I already have a Daily Brush Cleaner that I use to clean out colored eyeshadow. I currently only have three eyeshadow brushes that I have out: one for blacks and silvers, one for my daily neutral look, one for all the other colors. Because of that, I like to wash out the colors right after I use them since I have palette after palette of different shades. I havent gotten into this brush shampoo yet but itll probably be a weekly thing where I give my brushes a thorough washing.

The sixth product is the Makeup Lock & Seal. Basically, this is a liquid that you mix with your makeup to make it last longer. I havent gotten into it yet either but I plan on using it on eyeshadow to turn it into eyeliner, which would give more uses for my color palettes.

The final product is the Makeup Remover Pen. I find this useful but it doesnt work too well. I use it to fix mistakes with eyeliner and stuff like that but the downside is that it smears instead of removes. I have a different product that I prefer to this, which will be coming up in my next haul post.

Yes, I have a couple of hauls left to blog about: the Forever 21 one and a Drugstore.com one. Stay tuned!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

What is your favorite ELF product?

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to be notified of new posts!

Thank you for reading.

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