Invisalign

So I've had shark teeth since as far back as I can remember, but never wanted to have braces out of fear of the pain and just having metal in my mouth. Well, now at 27, I decided I wanted to straighten out my shark teeth with the help of Invisalign.  So far, I'm on tray 1 and it has been an adjustment process, but it's not so bad. The first day or two of the first set of aligners, my teeth felt horrible. They were so sore that even taking them out to eat hurt. I was so hungry at one point, but couldn't chew properly I wanted to cry (dramatic, I know, but i was hangry!). Now it doesn't really hurt so bad as before, but it does feel different. The best way I can describe it is similar to when you stub your finger on something and it feels weird after. Well that's how my teeth feel. Horrible description, but that's the best I got. LOL. I would say right now the biggest inconvenience about Invisalign is the production that has become eating. Every time you eat or drink you have to take your aligners out and brush your teeth before putting them back in. Not the easiest thing to do if you are in a public place or in the car. My snacking days are over. To keep my trips to the bathroom to a minimum, I'm just sticking to my three meals a day so that I only have to brush my teeth 3 times a day.

Another weird thing I didn't expect about Invisalign was that they can smell a bit weird! Even brushing them and rinsing them off each time I take them out to eat!!! It's pretty gross actually, so I went and bought Efferdent to help keep em clean. When I come home and am ready to eat dinner at night, I drop my aligners in a cup with efferdent and let them soak while I eat. I'm trying to do it one time a day, but many days I've done it twice (breakfast and dinner time)because I think about how gross it is to have stinky plastic in your mouth.

Other than that, I'm excited to see how my smile changes! Yay for Invisalign!

EBATES! I feel better about my online shopping addiction

On my quest to reach VIB rouge level at Sephora, I have discovered Ebates. I had heard of Ebates previously, but always thought it was too good to be true. I'm happy to report that Ebates is not a scam and it has helped me to save money all the while fueling my online shopping addiction. Basically what Ebates does is provide you a certain percentage of your purchase back in a quarterly payment to your PayPal account. All you have to do is first go to Ebates.com and then choose the store which you are planning to shop at. This will direct you to the appropriate site and open up a shopping trip. For example, if I want to shop online at Sephora, I will first head over to ebates and it will tell me the current percentage of cash back. Let's just say it was 4% (the percentage can vary), if I spent $100 I would get back $4.00 in my Ebates acccount that would be paid this out to my PayPal account at the predetermined date. If you are ever unsure about when the payment date is just check out the next big fat payment date on the left hand side of your account info on Ebates.

If you are interested in signing up for Ebates check out this link and sign yourself up! Ebates will also allow you to earn $25 for each person you successfully refer.  Pretty neat!

Ebates Referral Link

My experience with eyelash extensions.... so far

So first let me give you some background and let you know that I love the way that a nice pair of falsies looks, however, I am horrific at getting lashes placed properly. I always end up with one good lash one crooked lash and glue all over my eye shadow. When I first was made aware of lash extensions I was super interested, but then I saw the hefty price tag that came along with it.

I was overjoyed when a FB friend hooked it up with an appointment as a "lash model" (sounds fancy) where I would be able to get a free set of lash extensions in exchange for allowing a lash technician to essentially practice on me. I was extra down with this arrangement because I was always afraid to pay the $$$ to get the lash extensions only to realize I hated them.

My appointment took about an hour and half and it was actually pretty relaxing. You lay down on a table and have these little white pads placed under your eye and keep your eyes closed for the duration of the appointment. It didn't hurt or anything at all. I was so relaxed I fell asleep during the application. LOL. Whoops! Once she was done I was immediately hooked. My lashes are pretty flirty and long looking, but I don't resemble Snuffalufagus (THANK GOODNESS) and they aren't at all uncomfortable or heavy.

The aftercare instructions are the only thing that have me a bit nervous at this point. I was given strict instructions to not get them wet for the first 24 hours or the glue would reactivate and they could move or fall off.  The paper said do not cry and after that point I was terrified I would cry and ruin the beautiful lashes I was gifted with.

Here is a snippet of the aftercare instructions I received

First 24hrs

• Avoid showering, steam rooms, massages and facials for as long as possible after lash application. Don't "scrunch" eyes tightly. Do not wet the lashes and absolutely no crying. 

The No-No's

• No curling your lashes, no mascara and no smooshing your face on your pillow, no eye masks, and no picking/plucking your lashes

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Foundation

When I first started using makeup everything HAD to be MAC, but as time went on a lot of the products didn't really call to me  as I ventured into the world of other brands. However, I was very intrigued when I heard MAC had a waterproof foundation and I felt compelled to try it. I went to my local MAC counter at Macy's and picked up the foundation in NC35. The foundation retails for $32 for .85 fl oz which is not really too expensive, but not really a great value either. Meh!

The foundation claims are as follows:

• Water-Resistant
• Transfer resistant
• 24 hour wear
• provides instant and long-term hydration
• oil-free
• stays true to color
• can be used as a foundation or concealer
• for all skin types

I have been using this foundation for the past few weeks and am really enjoying it. The texture is a bit thicker than I was anticipating, but it is by no means heavy feeling or cakey looking. The foundation does a great job at providing coverage, but all the while still looking natural. In regards to the long-term hydration, I didn't really notice any dramatic hydration to my normal to dry skin. However, the foundation did not cling to any dry spots on my face which is a huge plus for me.  I feel like the wear time was pretty good, but I can't say that it lasted the entire 24 hours as I didn't wear it for that long. I usually wear my makeup for about 8ish hours a day and it was still in good condition at the end of the day. I have not yet tested the claims about being able to use it as a concealer as I don't really have high hopes for that claim. I have dark circles that can't easily be tamed!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this foundation and it is my obsession of the moment. The real test will be on vacation! If this foundation will stand the heat and swimming I will be doing.. my life will be complete!

AdoreMe- Affordable Great Quality Chonies

Since I'm an avid watcher of YouTube beauty videos, I was introduced to AdoreMe through a monthly favorites video by the ever so talented Elba Navarro (Elba's Google Plus). I am soooooo BEYOND overjoyed to have been introduced to this great way to buy pretty chonies! (Chonies is a way to say underwear in Spanish just in case you have no idea what that meant).

When it comes to undergarments I am super picky. I have a very specific idea of what I want from my bras and often times I have a difficult time finding it at other places besides the pricey Victoria's Secret. I joined as a VIP member which means that you get some $$$ off the matching sets and a personalized show room every month. You have until I believe the 5th of the month to skip a month, if you should choose to skip a month. You are not obligated to buy every single month! If for some reason you are unhappy with your order you can return or exchange it for something else. The other really neat thing about being a VIP AdoreMe member is that every 6th set is free...yes... FREE.

There are tons of different styles of bras and they even offer swimwear and really cute pajamas. I would definitely recommend AdoreMe- they have not let me down.


Check out AdoreMe Here- Get Your First Set for $25

ColourPop Super Shock Eyeshadows

My newest obsession so far are ColourPop Super Shock Eyeshadows. I discovered them through various Youtubers raving about them, but I was always super hesitant to try them because of the creamy, mousse texture I heard they had. I am not a big fan of using my fingers to do anything eyeshadow related so hearing that this was one of the most effective ways to use these shadows was keeping me from clicking the purchase button. However, now that I took a risk I am ADDICTED. The color pay off is amazing and for $5 a pop how could you pass them up?! I'm still in the process of finding the best brush to use for these shadows. Obviously because of the texture a synthetic brush should be used to avoid the natural hair bristles from eating up the product. Right now I am using the MAC 239 brush which gets the job done, but I'm not in love with for using these shadows. I do still find myself using my fingers to get the color payoff (yuck), but the results are breathtaking!

If you have not hopped onto the ColourPop bandwagon, you are missing out BIG TIME!

Here is a look I created using ColourPop Super Shock Shadows.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

Lately I've been on a liquid lipstick kick. I love the convenience of a super long wearing matte lipstick. I don't understand why all lipsticks aren't transfer proof?! It's genius! The staying power is great. The only downside is that they can be very drying on the lips as can be the case with many matte lipsticks. It's important to make sure to put some lip balm on and let it sit before you apply the liquid lipstick. I like to do the agave lip mask the night before. It helps to keep my lips from looking ugly and flaky!

I'm wearing underage red in the picture. Isn't it gorge?!