Blast from the Past

Clinique was my first make-up to wear (flashback to Junior High) and fall in love with.  My mom thought it was more appropriate since it was light and sheer while being a higher quality than drugstore makeup (I'm not hating, I love me some drugstore lipstick and mascara).  I loved their eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick...and I went gaga over their beauty bag gift with purchase!  Their "Almost Lipstick" in Black Honey is a classic. 

But as the years went on so did my taste in makeup...I moved on to MAC in college and now mostly use private label stuff that I get from a local makeup artist in Houston. 

The Clinique name has been making lots of appearances recently in the blogosphere along with TV and print ads and displays at Nordstrom...all for the Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm.  So I finally broke down and gave them a try when I found a deal for a free Chubby Stick with any Clinique purchase and free shipping, duh!

I now have tried 4 colors and here are my thoughts!

Pros:
-  Very moisturizing!  I usually wear chapstick under my lipstick because my lips are always dry (I promise I drink water), but there is absolutely no need with this product
-  Some days a little color is all you need
-  Small and light, throw in your pocket for color and moisture in one
-  Great variety of colors
-  Never needs sharpening and fun to apply since the shape is different than normal lipstick!

Cons:
-  Most of the colors are very sheer
-  The color doesn't last as long as most lipstick does
-  Cost.  For $16.00 I can get 2-3 tubes of lipstick at the drugstore for just one chubby stick

Colors I've tried:
Mega Melon - sheer peachy pink
Love this one a lot.  It's my second favorite and a great color when I'm not weary much makeup on the weekend and just need a little bit of something.  Very subtle. 

Fuller Fig - sheer pinky beige
Like it.  I think I will get more wear out of this in the fall.  Right now I'm feeling bright colors.

Whole Lotta Honey - sheer warm beige
I purchased this one because I thought it might be a good nude color to try, but it's far to sheer for my taste.  You can't tell I have anything on. 

Pudgy Peony - sheer fuchsia
My FAVORITE!  It's bright, but without being to dramatic for daytime or work.  I love it!

Chunky Cherry - sheer cherry red
Is my next to try.  I've heard it's fab...from Vogue.

I Won!

I feel like all I ever do is enter blog contests without ever winning, but today I'm a WINNER...and it's a good one too!  A $25 Erin Condren gift certificate.

Thank you to Whitney from The Observant Turtle and Celia from UnSimply Celia for hosting and sponsoring this giveaway!

Now I just have to decide which cover I want for my new Life Planner... 

 

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Before moving from a 2 bedroom apartment in the city to a 4 bedroom house in the burbs, I got lots of advice. 

-  "There will be endless amounts of work to be done outside, especially with a pool"
-  "You will be shocked with how much cleaning has to be done constantly"
-  "Get ready for your bills to sky rocket"
-  "How on earth will you fill it coming from a small apartment"

So far nothing has surprised me.  Maybe I'll eat my words after a few more weeks, but I feel like I was very prepared for the work load and cleaning and surprisingly, J & I did not have any trouble filling the entire house! 

The one thing that no one prepared me for or even warned me on...

The critters!  So far in our backyard we've had raccoons, squirrels, turtles, toads, frogs, lizards, owls, hawks, and every type of creepy crawly imaginable including a giant walking stick and the largest asp I've ever seen.  I'm just waiting for a snake to show up.  We even found a spider in our bed this weekend (and this was after our Pest person came and treated the house).

In the neighborhood there are lots of ducks, bunnies, alligators and plenty of nutria!

One of the two raccoons who welcomed us last night when taking little Tucker out.

These little tree frogs are everywhere.  This guy was on Jason's car last night.

Giant asp I almost stepped on last night

Two HUGE owls sleep in our trees and around 7:30 pm we start hearing them hoo.  At about 8 they fly out and perch on the taller trees seen above searching for food...we just hope it's never Tucker!

Nutria are all over the golf course.  They are cute except for their rat tails.  Jason thought they were beavers and he will never live that down!

I am an avid animal lover and yet at times, I'm creeped.  I did not have this issue living inside the loop!  Is this just my particular house or a suburban thing? 

I'm sure you country folk are making fun of me right about now, but I'm a city girl used to viewing these things in cages at the zoo not jumping out at me late at night.  And I'm seriously worried about my little 5-pound, toothless Chihuahua running around!  Poor thing thought he was upgraded to a large yard, but I hardly let him run out of my sight these days. 

Oh and besides the animals, I thought we had ghosts too.  After taking tons of pictures in every room, the media room pictures were crawling with what I thought were "orbs."  Jason informed me it was just dust particles flying around since that room does not have strong ventilation. 

I need to stop watching Ghost Hunters so much.  And going outside barefoot at night. 

For All You Erin Condren Addicts

Whitney from The Observant Turtle is hosting an Erin Condren $25 giftcard giveaway right now sponsored by UnSimply Celia! 

I haven't purchased my Life Planner yet because I've been holding out for some type of sale like last year's Plum District deal, however, this giftcard would be just what I need to take the plunge. With that said, I hope you don't win, so I can win, but if I don't, then I hope it's you...nothing like honesty right?

Have a great Wednesday and good luck!

First Vlog: July 2012 Birchbox Review

Hope you enjoy my first ever Vlog!!!  Have a great weekend. 

Love, Chels

Join Birchbox NOW! 

Jonathan Adler Letter Pillows

If I had endless amounts of money I would purchase these Jonathan Adler Letter Pillows in a C, J and T for Chelsea, Jason and Tucker of course! 

How perfect...a "C' amd a "J"

Black and White Bathroom Accessories

Jason and I did our master bedroom and bathroom in black and white.  I needed new bath accessories for the counter tops like a toothbrush holder and a soap dish.  A few weeks ago Jason and I discovered the Black and White Apothecary Bath Accessories from Pottery Barn. 

Even though some of the pieces were a but pricey ($50 for a wastebasket!), I justified m purchases because I didn't need the whole set and I had a stash of gift cards.  I ended up with the toothbrush holders (2 since we have a double sink), soap dish and set of canisters.  I set it all up at home and love the look!

However, just last night while browsing Bed Bath & Beyond, I noticed their version, the Toulouse Bain Bath Ensemble.  The look and quality are both very similar.  The main difference in the two sets is that the BBB version does not have the three canisters.  They do however have an aluminum basket (not pictured) that I bought to hold my products that I like to keep out on counter like hairsprays and lotions).  It looks wonderful next to the Pottery Barn pieces.  You can't even tell the difference!