The Search Continues....

I hope everyone is enjoying their (long) weekend.  I've been enjoying the extra time with my husband, and I think Micah is enjoying the extra time with his Dad.  We checked out Spirit Halloween (only open around this time of year), which was really fun.  Trying to figure out what to dress Micah as this year was not easy, however.  And my brave little man never got scared once with all the spooky decorations; I'm so proud of him.

The title of my post refers to my quest for the Holy Grail of  mascara.  Sounds silly, maybe, but I'm a girl who loves her makeup, especially eye makeup.  What I really love is the look of false eyelashes.  What I don't love is the way they feel, or getting them on.  I'm on what feels like an eternal quest for a mascara that gets me as close to that look as possible.  I've tried a lot of mascaras, and I've yet to find one I love enough to keep buying.

When I worked at Macy's, the lady at the Lancome counter told me I needed to start using a eyelash primer to help achieve the results I wanted.  It did seem to help, but of course Lancome is pretty pricey, so  I'm  also on the search for a good primer.

Here  is what I have, or have had recently.

I bought these two together, and I do like them.  I haven't had a chance to use the mascara much, but I did use up the primer.  I like it a lot, but it is pricey, so I'm searching for something more affordable.

I found this primer by Sephora on E-bay and got it for a really good price.  So far I like it just as much as the Lancome one, and it's a lot cheaper.  This is the one I use a majority of the time now. 

I also have the above one from  Hard Candy in my stash.  It's a fiber primer, and I find it a bit difficult and time consuming to get enough fibers on my lashes.  Once I did, however, it is a nice primer.  I use this one less often, on days I want a more dramatic effect.

I got the two above on sale at Harris Teeter, plus I had a coupon.  LashBlash Luxe is supposed to have a bit of a shimmer to it.  I can't tell weather it does or not.  Both are nice, but not as dramatic as i like.  They go own easy and aren't in any way clumpy, though, which is really awesome.  They do well for more "natural" days, although I probably won't repurchase when they're empty.

With the name False Lashes and Mac's reputation, I kind of expected this one to work the best.  And it does, sort of, with a couple of coats and primer beforehand.  But it's still not as dramatic as I expected.  

There are a couple of brands I would  like to try later; a couple by Too Faced and a couple by YSL.  Of course, this is after I use up a couple in my stash.  

Products Review in Blue

School started this week, and as I may have mentioned before, it's been about 10 years since I've taken a (legit) college class. I'm lucky enough to be able to use my husband's VA benefits to go back to school for free. I'm going to a local community college to get an Associate's Degree in Paralegal technology. A lot of time when I mention this, people will say: "Oh, are you going to go to law school?" Puh-leeze. Since when does everyone on the planet have to be an over achiever? If I wanted to be an attorney, I'd go to law school. But I don't want to be a lawyer. I have a philosophy: "I want to work to live, not live to work." I'm very excited and a little nervous. This is a field I never saw myself getting into. Frankly, my attempts to find a career have been a serious of epic fails. I was honestly beginning to wonder if I had a "niche" that would equal a steady pay-check. But Matthew (my hubby) has been going to school for free anyway, and his GI Bill was just sitting there, so he offered it to me. I'm hopeful that this will finally help me achieve the ever elusive goal of having a job I'm proud to talk about (or put on Facebook). Anyway, while I was trying to think of something to blog about, I realized I had a lost of recent purchases in the color theme of blue. So I thought I'd do short product reviews of things I love that just happen to be... azul.

First, Skechers GoRun. Fitness has always been another thing I've really struggled with. I'll go through periods of time where I will work out consistently (and usually see results), but it usually never lasts. Before I got pregnant, I decided that I wanted to make running a hobby AND a fitness routine. I just picked it; it sounded like something I'd like if I stuck to it. And, of course, that's the problem. Sticking to it. After my son was born, my husband and I both got Skechers because they were on sale (and we're both terrible impulse shoppers). Luckily, I really, REALLY like these shoes. They are very light and VERY comfortable. The shape of them forces you to run "right", and according to my husband (a fitness expert), that's a good thing. He loves his, too. I have this exact color. I've recently decided that fitness shoes should be in bright colors. It's more fun that way.

I saw this brush on Pinterest (where else) and had to try it. It's a little pricey for a hair brush in my opinion (about $12 at Target) but I've actually decided it's worth the price! I have very thick hair, and usually I don't even bother to use a blow dryer. Takes to damn long. The claim of this brush is that it can remove up to 30% of the water in your hair. I don't know about the 30%, but my hair is defiantly drying faster with the use of this brush. It's become an everyday tool for me.

Next is this cute Tiffany blue iPhone case by elago. I had been looking at it for awhile, but it was $15 with shipping on Amazon, and I had to ask myself if it was worth $15 since it's really only for decoration and not protection of my phone. I love it, though. It's slim, so my phone isn't bulky, and it still shows off iPhone's stylish frame. It's not impact resistant, but along with a screen protector, it's protects my phone for scratches and dirt.

My sudden obsession with Tiffany blue continued with this stunning color by China Glaze. This is for Audrey, which I wore with another bright color in a previous post. It's really a lovely color and I'm glad I found it. And because I'm a bargain shopper, I found my bottle on Amazon for under full price.