Balancing work and school

Balancing work and school. This can be one of the most difficult tasks any college, or even high school, student can face. Trying to figure out a balanced schedule with time for work, class, homework, sleep, friends…it can be exhausting, and from experience not that easy. So here are a few simple tips I have come up with.

1. Talk it over with your boss. Most managers or supervisors will be willing to work with you if you take the first step and ask to sit down with them. They will not go find you. Sit down with your manager and discuss a schedule that works around enough time for everything else. Make sure they know the times you absolutely cannot work, so they know when not to schedule you. Remember to proactive and maintain an open line of communication, this is a key to a happy work experience.

2. Don’t over book. It is not a smart idea to be taking a large amount of units and also work a full time schedule. Find a balance. Say you take 15 units and work 20 hours a week. Find something that works for you and doesn’t kill you, haha.

3. You can say no. If it gets to the point of being overwhelmed, it is time to take a step back. If you are trying to add something new to your schedule and it just doesn’t fit, you need to think about the priority in which it falls. Remember, it is ok to say no and reschedule.

4. Have scheduled time for homework. When you are busy a lot it can be easy to forget about all those pesky little assignments you need to get done. So set aside specific times to just sit down and work through your homework. This will save you a lot of last minute freak outs.

5. You don’t have to be super[wo]man. No one expects you to work miracles. Just do your best and that’s all anyone can expect. Don’t kill yourself trying to do everything.

Please remember that each person's situation is unique, finding your balance will take a while so just be patient, know your limits and know your strengths. I hope these few words of wisdom helped you in some way.

Good luck <3 Kimmie

My First Coastal Scents Order and UD Naked Palettes Dupes

Hey everyone,

Was super excited when I got home from work today to discover the spoils of Black Friday online shopping had finally arrived.

Ordered the two Revealed Palettes, a blending brush and two single shadows or "Hot Pots."

The two Revealed palettes I have been wanting to pick up for quite some time as I have heard a lot of people say that they are dupes for the three Urban Decay Naked palettes. You can check out several blog posts about this here, here and here. I really like these palettes and have been using them literally every day since I got them a about a week ago. There are some shades that are a bit chunky or powdery, but overall the shadows are very bendable and I like the texture and overall feel of them. Normally these palettes retail for $19.95 each.

So far I am really loving the hot pots, I bought mine in Flesh Tone which is described as "a neutral pale, beige hue with a golden shimmer finish", and Dark Chocolate which is a "warm, deep taupe hue with a satin finish." They are super creamy and bendable and I think that they are just absolutely incredible quality for the price. These individual shadows are only $1.95 each at full price, I got them on sale for 50% off so they came out to 97 cents each. They are very comparable to Mac or Makeup Geek eyeshadows. Certainly worth trying.

Both the individual shadows and palettes have pretty decent lasting power on there own and longer when paired with a primer. The longest I have worn these were for 12 hours, maybe longer, and they held up to the challenge of my long and busy days.

Finally, I picked up the Pro Fluff Blending Brush because it looked vary comparable to the Mac 217 and I figured I would give it a try. Full price is $4.95. It works really well to blend my transition or crease shade and it doesn't make my shadows patchy or anything. It is made from goat hair so if that is a problem for you, letting you know. The hairs are a bit scratchy but I used a bit of conditioner on the brush and it didn't scratch any more.

Keep in mind that Coastal Scents do have sales fairly often so if you are looking to try something there is a high chance you can get it for cheaper.

So overall I am loving the results of this order. I hope you got some useful information or tips out of this review and talk to you later.

<3 Kimmie

"30 Day"/30 Questions Makeup Challenge Part 1

Hey everyone, so I thought this would be fun to do a bit of a challenge post. I found the picture below and it says it is a 30 day challenge but I am just gonna answer the questions here in this post. Hope you enjoy.

Question #1: When did you start wearing makeup?

- I think I started wearing makeup when I was 14 and it really wasn't too often or very much (haha oh that black eyeliner!) Mostly for formal events for Jobies and for holidays. 

Question #2: How did you learn to put on makeup?

- At first it was just a lot of trial and error and watching my cousin, but then, I discovered YouTube! The first people I watched on YouTube were Kandee Johnson, Michelle Phan and MakeUp Medic (who sadly doesn't do YouTube anymore).

Question #3: Favorite Brand?

- I don't have too much of a favorite brand to be honest as I am still trying to branch out and try more brands and makeup. Drugstore, the one I own the most of is Maybelline and I really do love them so I guess they would be my favorite. High end, as I said I am still trying to branch out and so far I only own a few things my Mac, BareMinerals, TooFaced and Tarte. Haven't picked a favorite yet.

Question #4: Do you like wearing foundation?

- Actually yes, at the minimum a BB or tinted moisturizer. This is mostly because I do have uneven skin tone and acne so I like wearing foundation to even everything out.

Question #5: Favorite lipstick, lipgloss and lip liner.

- I hardly ever wear lipgloss but I really like Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Evelyn. Lipstick would have to be a tie between my Kat VondD Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Outlaw and Wet n Wild Bare it All. Lip liner: I LOVE my Maybelline lip liner in Toast (it goes with Bare it All and so much else.) For a darker color I love Jordana's Cabernet (great dupe for Mac's Nightmoth).

Question #6: Do you wear false eyelashes? (Strip or Individual?)

- Just bought my first pair not too long ago for halloween. Still honestly trying to figure out false lashes but I haven't tried individuals yet.

Question #7: Favorite eyeshadow color?

- I am a huge fan of neutrals. Nuf' said.

Question #8: Favorite daytime look?

- Honestly when I am lazy I just do concealer over my lids and pop a neutral transition shade in my crease, run some nude eyeliner in my waterline, through on eyeliner and mascara (maybe blush and bronzer if I have an extra minute) and I am good.

Recently my favorite look has been using the bareMinerals "The Magic Act" holiday palette. I take the shade Celebrate and put it all over my lid, then use A-Ha in my outer v and crease with a bit of Foreshadow to darken it up and put Foreshadow along my lower lash line. I also use the blush Close Call to contour with The Indecent Proposal on the apples of my cheeks.

Question #9: Picture of your makeup collection.

- I recently reorganized it so here for your viewing pleasure:

                                                So this is where it all hides

 

Top drawer is mostly face stuff or stuff I use on a daily basis.

Lip stuff and eye stuff with my DIY Z-Palette

Where I have been stashing my friends christmas presents and misc stuff

More misc

And my brushes and larger sets.

Question #10: Favorite makeup brush?

- I would have to say it is a toss up between three. My Real Techniques Buffing Brush, my Real Techniques Contour Brush and my Crown double-sided brush that I received in my ipsy bag.

If you are reading this please let me know if you liked it and I will post answers to the next 10 questions soon!

<3 Kimmie

Holiday Makeup Haul

Pretty excited because this year was the first time I had money to really spend around the holidays and splurged on getting myself some of the holiday collections. This was over a couple weeks of collecting stuff. Enjoy :) 

Tarte Bon Voyage kit from Sephora. You get 20 eyeshadows, a full sized lip gloss, full sized lip stain, a sample of Lights Camera Lashes mascara, a sample size limited edition cheek stain, sample marajuca oil and sample of the finishing powder. The shadows have good color payoff and are smooth. Haven't tried much else yet out of the set though. Full review on Temptalia here.

   

This is the Too Faced Everything Nice palette and I have been loving it. Occasionally the shadows blend weird but I love the color variety and it comes with the Chocolate Soleil bronzer which I have been loving along with the Papa Don't Peach blush. Full palette review on Temptalia here. 

Too Faced La Belle Carousel. This one the packaging is just so ridiculously cute. I love how you have seperate little sections that you could take on the run. You get three eyeshadow quads, two blush/bronzer duos and a sample of the Better than Sex mascara. Check out Temptalia's review here.

bareMinerals The Magic Act Palette. Can't express how much I have been loving this palette, I have pretty much been using it every day since I got it and it has been spending a lot of quality time in my purse lol. I talk about one of my favorite looks with this palette here. And Temptalia does a full review here.

bareMinerals READY Convertible Eye Shadow Palette 2014. This palette is pretty fun because you can move shadows around and take out the little section and throw it in your purse. Karen from Makeup and Beauty blog does a review here.

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot. This one I was pretty excited for because I don't own any of the Benefit Box o Powders and in this palette you get Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugar Bomb, Rockateur, Coralista, Hoolah and a sample of Watts Up highlighter. Full review here.

Mac Holiday Keepsakes Plum Eye bag. This bag was actually a gift from my sister because I was obsessing over the eyeshadow duo and the lighter shade "Triple Impact" in particular. It is the most beautiful eyeshadow I think I have ever seen. It is a described as "Opalescent Pink" but it also has shades of purple and blue and it is just so incredibly beautiful. See swatches here.

Hope you enjoyed my first ever haul post. Hugs from my computer to your,

<3 Kimmie