2015 January Makeup Favorites

A new year means new makeup!! Super exciting stuff girls (and guys too if you're into that kinda thing). I have a lot more favorites that are not in this picture, but to keep this post from being too long i decided to cut them out. So, here are my January favs...

Covergirl's Flamed Out Mascara has been one of my favorite go-to mascaras for a long time. It does a good job at adding volume as well as lengthening.

The BareMinerals Complexion Rescue was a new release this month from the company and I LOVE it. Its a gel based tinted moisturizer that does a great job at keeping my face hydrated as well as evening out my skin tone. It's a lighter coverage so concealer is still needed.

Rimmel Match Perfection 3 in 1 concealer has been in my routine for the past 2 months and I really like it. It does a good job at covering redness and spots and the application is easy because it has a brush head rather than a doe-foot.

My perfume I've been wearing constantly is Nest's scent in Bamboo. Oh my gosh it's amazing. It smells like summer in a bottle. More specifically though fresh grass or something along those lines. Winter sucks so this smell makes me look forward to warmer months.

The best under eye concealer I have found is the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Brightener. This stuff does a great job at adding brightness to under my eyes and it doesn't settle into fine lines.

Cargo's blush in Bali is a really nice light pink color with a tiny bit of sparkle to it that adds a lovely tint to the cheeks like you've just been outside. This blush blends very well and you can build it up for a darker pink.

A pretty good eyeliner I have found for doing winged out looks has been the Laura Geller Eye Calligraphy liquid liner pen. The tip is the perfect firmness for creating sharp lines.

The Physicians Formula shimmer strips in Riviera has been a great highlighter. I use the top two colors to give my cheekbones a slight golden shimmer that looks really pretty when the light hits them. I use the bottom colors once in a while as eyeshadow, but I'm not a huge fan of glittery eyeshadows.

And last but not least is the Lorac travel size palette in Vintage Vixen. This is a great matte neutral palette for everyday looks. Plus, I can take it with me everywhere because its small and has a mirror!

Well, that's it until next month!

Bad Heir Day

     Man did this book get a ton of bad reviews. Most people said it was boring and very one dimensional, too many characters, not a chic lit, and there were many other reasons to go along with that list. I didn't think it was that bad. Sure, there were points in the book where I wanted to skip ahead, but I made myself read through. 

   The book is told from two points of view, being Anna and Cassandra, the protagonists of the novel. Anna is a not so well off aspiring writer who becomes nanny to Cassandra, the famous romance writer's, son Zak. Zak, by the way, is portrayed as the worst child ever with extremely bad manners and a foul mouth. He definitely adds a bit of humor to the novel. Anna eventually finds a slightly better "position" for herself when she is proposed to by a man she only just met and had a few dates with. From there it's a whirlwind of bad drama which she eventually figures out. 

    I would recommend this book to anyone who understands British humor and enjoys a two sided story. I found it to be a pretty easy and fast read, but I would agree it's not really true chic lit because it isn't filled with a ton of cheesy romance. 

Bad Heir Day by Wendy Holden

A Female King?

    We all learn about ancient Egypt whether it be in school, a tv show, or a book or magazine. Egypt and  the Egyptian way of life has fascinated me since I was young. I can't remember when it started but it could have been brought on by the Disney movie The Prince of Egypt or even the movie that was always on tv called Moses. Egyptians always were portrayed as a society of glamour (at least in the case of the elites, the lower classes did not have it as good) and I wanted to learn more.
    I chose this particular book to read because it was about a powerful woman in Egyptian time that I knew very little about. Most kids' brains are ingrained with learning about Cleopatra and King Tut.  I wanted to learn about Hatshepsut. Her life was one of luxury and comfort but at the same time there was loss and heartache. What a lot of people don't realize is that just because you're royalty doesn't mean that there is any safety from disease or malfunctions of the body. The palace was always plagued with those kinds of issues because of diet and sanitation. She grew up experiencing and learning many things that children would never learn at such a young age. Lifespan for them was shorter therefore more precious, so education started at a very young age, usually 4 or 5 years old.
    What surprised me the most in this book was the fact that women reigned Egypt for a very very long time. Not as the pharaoh but through him as a regent. A regent rules beside the "king" because he is far to young to make any diplomatic decisions himself. As regent to Thutmose III, Hatshepsut taught him the ways of the court and how to deal with managing all the affairs of courtly life. This regent role went on for many years because when a king died his son was usually still to young or inexperienced to rule whereas his wife was not. Many woman were the ones who taught the future king all he knew.
    Many scholars who studied Hatshepsut believed that she schemed her way to the crown because if she didn't she would lose all her power. She took the thrown for herself even though there was clearly a heir to it that was male (Thutmose III). It seems she partly did it because the heir would not reach ruling age and maturity for at least another 7 years which for the Egyptians the lifespan/health issue made things very precarious. This of course went against the way things normally went and is seen as a great accomplishment. There were only a couple of female rulers who successfully ruled before her. Hatshepsut came to be one of the greatest woman pharaohs.
    This book is full of detailed history of this woman pharaohs life and lessons. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about her or about Egyptian ways of ruling.

I would like to thank BloggingForBooks.org  for supplying me with this book!

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