Life Update.

Hi guys! As I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to update you all on my life and what I'm up to this summer!

First off, I recently finished my sophomore year in high school. I can easily say that this past school year was a challenge. Not as much as far as my mental health, but more in terms of school works. Having two AP, or college level, courses was really tough. I'm not going to lie about that. But honestly, I'm glad I challenged myself. I know that if I hadn't taken these harder classes I would've gotten a better GPA, but I wouldn't have learned as much as I did. I ended up having a cumulative GPA of 3.88 out of 4, which in my book, is pretty good. I'm proud of myself, for the most part!

Next, I wanted to talk about my mental health. I like to keep you guys updated on this stuff because I don't want to seem like just a girl who blogs, but you know nothing about. If you've read my post Some Good Books, you know that I do suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, and depression. I struggled a lot with anxiety and depression last summer and fall, but I am out of the situation that I was in. Because of that, I've been feeling a lot better lately. That's not to say I don't get moments, days, or even bad weeks, but it's better. For example, a few weeks ago I broke up with my then boyfriend, which probably sounds dumb, but if you've broken up with someone you know how much it can hurt. It especially hurts when you have to pretend to be okay, you know what I mean? Since then, I've really been trying to work on managing my anxiety and keeping myself busy. Keeping busy works surprisingly well!!

Lastly, I thought I'd tell you guys about what I plan on doing this summer. In short, I want to have adventures. I want to do things I would've never thought about doing. I want to take risks and try saying 'yes' more. I also want to put more value into not always hanging out with my friends. I want to practice having some time to myself to go on a walk or explore the city. I think it's important to be self-aware and love yourself.

I think that's about it! Thank you guys for listening to me ramble on. Let me know what you guys would like to see next week! ♡♡♡

-Emily

Collective Beauty Haul. ♡

Hey all, it's been a while, hasn't it? My fault entirely. I plan to do a quick life update very soon, as in maybe later tonight, but I wanted to get out a proper post soon!

So I've been shopping lately, and decided to share with you all a few beauty items I've picked up: almost all new products to me! And even a few high-end ones :)

Anyway, let's get right into it, shall we?

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Let's kick things off by talking about the first thing I bought: Benefit's GimmeBrow in medium/deep.

This product retails for around $24.00

I bought this tinted brow gel because I was tired of constantly sharpening my Maybelline brow pencil and not getting the results I wanted for my brows. So I did some reading on the internet as one does, and found out that this product had great ratings. So I decided to splurge on my first high-end makeup product :'). This was a big moment for me! 

While it was a pricy little guy, it's been worth every penny. Not only does this product keep your brow hairs in place all day (seriously-ALL DAY), but it's tinted AND has tiny little fibers in it to make your brows a bit thicker! This product, in my opinion, is a must-have, especially for lazy girls like me (laziest person alive right here, I swear!).

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Next, now I'm really trying to stay calm, I bought a MAC lipstick. I BOUGHT A MAC LIPSTICK! You guys have no idea how excited I am. One, I'm really bad at buying anything, especially if it's expensive, because I worry I won't like it. Two, I was really scared to even step into the MAC store. But I did it!

Retails for $16.00

Here it is: MAC lipstick in Twig. I originally went into the MAC store with the intentions of buying Brave (I was set on the Kylie Jenner lip, and I heard that everyone was using Brave). However, when I tried on Brave, it was beautiful, but almost my exact natural lip color. It wasn't as much of a change for me, I wanted something slightly more mauve-y. When I tried on Twig, it was perfect. It's not too dark or too light, but it definitely adds a little something, which I adore.

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Now onto LUSH! You all know how much I love LUSH ;)

Retails for $6.95 in LUSH stores only

Firstly, I bought the fresh face mask Love Lettuce. And I LOVE this face mask (get it? I promise I'm not usually this cheesy). It's a nice green-ish color, and it goes on smoothly. My favorite part of this face mask is how it feels when you take it off. I like to wet my face with warm water, and then scrub off the face mask, using it to exfoliate my face. OH MY GOD IT FEELS LOVELY. This mask is filled with ground almonds, which means it's nice and scrubby but not harsh. My face feels so fresh and delightful when I'm done!

Retails for $6.25

Next, I decided to pick up Dragon's Egg bath bomb. I was deciding between Twilight, Honey Bee, and this one, but decided to get Dragon's Egg because I was craving a nice, citrus-y bath. This bath bomb is perfect for that! It's packed with citrus oils, and smell just like lemon to me. Now, this is the only product that I actually HAVE used before, but I couldn't remember if I loved it, or just liked it, so I decided to try it again! I know some people absolutely love this bomb, and others hate it, so we'll see how I feel about it! I'll keep you guys updated :)

That's all for now! I plan on doing a full review on the lipstick and eyebrow gel, as well as a life update, and a post about my adventure I had the other day with my friend Maddie! Keep an eye out for those posts coming up soon. As always, let me know in the comments what you'd like to see next, or if there are any beauty products you'd like me to test out and review. Talk to you all soon!

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Emily

YouTube Channel.

Hello everyone! Dang it's been awhile...sorry about that!

I wanted to let you know that I finally did it, I finally made a YouTube channel! I think I've talked about doing this before, but I've never had the guts to actually do it until tonight.

My channel will be pretty similar to my blog, mainly focused on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. However, if you guys would like to recommend any video ideas to me, I'd be more than happy to try them out!

Here is the link to my very first video, a fashion haul! I hope you guys enjoy it :-). If you'd like, please subscribe and like the video, I think it would be awesome if I could make something out of this channel (and out of my blog, of course!). 

Thank you so so so much, you guys! Hope your day has been amazing.

-Emily

Some Good Books.

Hi everybody, hope you're all doing well! I'm currently writing this blog post while in bed listening to Ed Sheeran, so I'm doing well!

Today I wanted to share with you a guys a couple of my book recommendations, because while I love to read, I don't get a lot of time to read, especially in the spring and fall. Winter is the perfect time! 

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Ned Vizzini

I'm currently rereading this book. It's all about a guy named Craig, who suffers from depression, and in the beginning of the book, tries to kill himself; however, he actually ends up checking himself into a hospital instead. I remember liking this book a lot. It talks about mental health and it's disorders in a funny, yet sensitive way. I don't think the issue of mental health disorders is stressed enough, so it's interesting to see how other people view things like depression and anxiety, especially because I suffer from them myself. This book isn't in the least bit boring, and it's a nice, fairly easy read. I think this book would appeal especially to teenagers, but adults would probably enjoy it as well. 

Paper Towns

John Green

I'm really excited to talk about this book, because it's one of my favorites! Quentin, or Q, is hopelessly in love with his neighbor, Margo, who is fascinating. One night, Margo takes Q out on an adventure to reek a bit of havoc in Orlando, their hometown. Q finally thinks he'll get a chance with Margo after that night, but the next day, he discovers that she has disappeared, and no one seems to know where she might be. Q and his friends spend the rest of the book searching for Margo, discovering not only where she has been hiding, but what she has been hiding. This book was honestly hilarious, and made me laugh out loud both times I read it. It also made me cry. John Green has a really good way with words, and I prefer this book over The Fault in Our Stars, so definitely give it a read!     

Everything is Going to be OK

Various Authors

This is the cutest, most uplifting little book I've ever read. It's filled with positive pictures and artwork that will surely provide as a nice pick-me-up when you're feeling a little down. I keep this on my bedside table and find myself picking it up quite often, just to pep myself up. I purchased this book at a coffee shop in Oregon, but you can get it at most places. Anyone would enjoy this book, and it would serve as an awesome gift!

Pleeeeeeeaaaasse leave me your book recommendations, because I'm always looking for something new to get lost in! :)   

-Emily 

 

Holiday LUSH Items.

Hi everyone! Happy Holidays! I know I'm a little late for Christmas, but I wanted to post this anyway.

Over the last couple months, my LUSH collection has been growing. Today I'm going to share with you guys some of what I bought (not including Golden Wonder, forgot to get a picture of it)! Hopefully with the buy one get one free sale they're doing, you can still get your hands on some of this stuff!

So White bath bomb

 The first thing I bought was the So White bath bomb. This is such a nice bath, it smells like fresh apples, and has a light pink interior that fizzes away nice and slowly. Maybe my bath bomb was just a little funky, but I noticed that the interior fizzed away especially slowly, almost fizzed away until I was finished with the bath, which I didn't love, but didn't mind too much.

Father Christmas bath bomb

Ahh this bath bomb was SO fun!! To me, it smells a little like muted Snow Fairy and Candy Mountain, so it's very sweet, but not overpowering. This fizzes out to reveal a very intense green inside, which is so awesome!

Snow Fairy sparkle bar

 Now onto the Snow Fairy sparkle bar. Now to be honest, I don't really like the smell of Snow Fairy shower gel, it's waaaaaaay too sugary for me, but this massage bar was actually O.K.! It's very moisturizing, and has lasted me a really long time. I've used it for over a month, and still have a majority of it left! I know last year, this bar was a very intense pink, but this year it's a nice baby pink, and doesn't leave your skin colored pink.

Candy Mountain bubble bar

GUYS THIS ONE IS AMAZING. The smell, I can't even describe it to you, it's so lovely! I love this bubble bar, because not only does it produce a mountain of bubbles, but the water is left a very pretty, shimmery, light pink color. This is a MUST buy, especially for this time of year.

Have a lovely rest of your day, guys. :)

-Emily

Missing Duluth.

Happy Saturday everyone! Or at least it’s Saturday here…anyway, hope you’ve all had a good past week, and a good Thanksgiving! I spent it the way I always do, with my family down at my great aunt and uncles farmhouse.

With my blog, I like to kind of alternate beauty and life-related topics, and since last week I did a little fashion haul, I thought I would share some pictures of a little day-long adventure I went on last month. I was thinking about this day a couple days ago, and I miss it so much. Here are some pictures of my little day-long trip to Duluth, so enjoy :-)

Lake Superior was so beautiful this day. It's weird because this totally looks like a scene you'd find on the East Coast.

The waves were huge, at least compared to what I've seen!

I live for this kind of weather, cloudy and windy and a little chilly. Love love love.

Only a little windy...haha. This was before I chopped my hair!

We went to a state park nearby, and I died a little bit. So beautiful.

I believe this was called Silver Creek because of all the rocks making the water appear silver.

I live for these kind of adventures. We've all got some wanderlust in us, I believe, but I've got enough for the whole country, I swear. Something about exploring the unknown and being outside just puts me in the absolute best mood, a mood I didn't even know was possible. If you've got time, go explore some place new. I promise you will not regret it.

-Emily

Oops, I Bought Things...

Hi guys, how are you all? I realized I forgot to post my Life Update, so you guys are getting two posts today!

I realized one thing I haven't done is a clothing haul. So the other day I was at the mall and bought a few things (naughty me, I seriously need to stop spending so much money). Here they are!!

Velvet Dress from Forever 21

The first thing I got was this (couldn't find the exact dress online, but this one is close!) velvet dress from Forever 21 in this beautiful burgundy color (my favorite color, especially for fall and winter!). This dress isn't too short, but it's so soft, and I think it would look great with some over-the-knee black socks or some black tights.

Sweater from Forever 21

Next, I got this rust-colored knit sweater, also from Forever 21. This sweater is crazy soft, and it's so flattering. I thought the rust color might be hard to match things with, but it's actually very easy, and I think anyone could rock this color.

THESE ARE MY FAVE- Sperry Boots

Okay, these boots are amazing. They were purchased at Nordstrom's, but are the Sperry Top-Sider brand. They're are the most comfortable boots I've ever owned, and they keep my feet so warm. They actually are lined with polar fleece, I believe, and are waterproof as well, perfect for snow and slush! I love these so much because they are practical while still being so so so cute. 

Nail polish from H&M

Lastly, I got this beautiful nail polish in the color 'envy'. Unfortunately, I couldn't find this one online, but the color is beautiful and perfect for this time of the year! It's very evergreen-y and subtle, but you don't need to put more than 2 coats on, which I love!

Well guys, that's all I bought for clothes and such! I did get some LUSH things though...;). Let me know what you'd like to see for my next post! Love you all.

-Em