Beauty Habits to Make Your Life a Bit Easier

I love making lists, so here's one of some simple beauty-ish things you can do to make your life easier. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but, hey, when I do these thing, my life seems easier. Maybe some of these things will make you say, "Uh, duh Katie." Or "You aren't writing rocket science, here." First of all, I never said I was, and, second, I know I appreciate reminders. Maybe you do, too.

1. Use lotion on your hands. Everyday. Especially in the Winter. Multiple times a day.
Doing this will prevent all that annoying and painful cracking. It will also help moisturize your cuticles and allow your nails to grow out better. I like to keep a small bottle with me in my purse or backpack, so anytime I get in from being outside I can moisturize those dry knuckles. 

2. Use a mouthwash.
I just think it helps my mouth feel super duper clean when I use a mouthwash. You can get ones that help with whitening if you can't stand white strips. Right now I'm using one by Crest, but I change it up almost every time that I buy it.

3. Own a facial moisturizer. And use it. Preferably one with SPF.
One of my favorites is Aveeno's Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer. It has an SPF of 15, and helps keep my face from literally falling of in the winter. In the summer, when I have parts of my face that get very oily, it doesn't over do the moisture and add to the oilyness, which is fantastic. I don't like having to change products based on season very much, so this moisturizer is ideal for me. The SPF protects my skin from UV rays, which will help prevent wrinkles and cancer later. Also, moisturizing will prevent your skin from overproducing oils to compensate for dryness, and those extra oils can lead to acne. Try out Aveeno if you like, but remember to find something that works for your skin. 

4. Curl your eyelashes.
As long as you can mentally and physically handle it, curling your eyelashes helps open up the eye and can make the eyelashes look longer, which I think I can safely assume we all want to do. I curl my lashes pretty much everyday, even if the only eye makeup I'm wearing is mascara. Practice makes perfect, and if you are afraid to try it, well, I hope you overcome your fears someday.

5. CHAPSTICK.
Dry lips are annoying and painful. And they can be a pain in the butt when trying to apply lipstick and other lip products, so keep a chapstick on you as much as possible. I love Carmex, in any form, and recently I've been using Blistex Five Star Lip Protection, which is fantastic, by the way.

6. Try out a face primer. 
If you have been struggling with foundations and haven't been able to find one you love, shift your focus to a different kind of product. I use face primer whenever I remember to, and I think it can be really helpful for getting a natural look. Face primers just smooth the face out and create a nice base for face makeup, which sometimes is all a foundation needs to really perform. You can also get ones that reduce redness or counter other discolorations in skin. Currently, I'm switching back and forth between Hard Candy's Sheer Envy Primer and NYX's Pore Filler.

7. Switch up face washes, treatments, etc.
Our skin is designed to help itself, so it will acclimate, to a certain degree, to the different products that we use. I like to use different acne washes from time to time, or else I find that my skin just gets used to it, and the results aren't as great as when I started using the product. Some of the most successful products I have used to treat acne are: AcneFree, Biore, Clean 'n' Clear, and Neutrogena. 

8. Drink water, sleep, eat "right."
I hate water, I like to eat foods that taste good, and I don't sleep as much as I should. So I'm not going to try and suggest that you change your lifestyle. Plus, I am not a doctor, so I can't give you any clinical advice or evidence to show that doing the above things will make you happier and healthier, but I can say that it is generally accepted that drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, and eating healthy will help you feel better and can even help give you clearer, more hydrated skin. That's all I have to say about that. If you want more information about these tips, check out the following websites.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4287/10-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Drink-More-Water.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/drinking-water.ht

9. Take your makeup off of your entire face every night.
Doing this will keep everything clean, unclogged, and breathing. I also find that if my skin is going through a dry spell, not washing my face and applying moisturizer before bed means I'm going to wake with my skin about to fall. off. my. face. It's unpleasant. You can find all different forms of makeup remover for all different prices. Just look for one that is non-drying and makes taking your makeup off comfortable. Some can feel sort of abrasive. 

I'm sure this list could be so much longer, but it's not so much fun to overwhelm ourselves. 

I hope you enjoyed these little things. Do you have any helpful hints for making life easier? They don't necessarily have to be beauty related. Feel free to share them in the comments, and thanks for visiting!

Plato's Closet and an Outfit of the Day.

Hellllooooo everyone.

I'd like to spend some time talking about one of my favorite stores: Plato's Closet. It's pretty much the best, and for several reasons.

How It Works
People bring their gently used, but still relatively new clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories to a Plato's location. The employees look through the clothes and choose pieces that are still trendy and whatnot, and then they pay the previous owner for their contributions to the store. So yes, you can get cash for your old clothes there. (Just be aware, though, they can be pretty picky. They are only going to buy things, for the most part, that people are looking for based on current trends and styles). They take both male and female styles, or at least the locations I have been to do. You can also just shop there; it's basically a selective thrift store.

Why It Is Fantastic
I really enjoy Plato's because I know that I won't be going though hundreds of tops and dresses without finding plenty that I like. I think it is important to buy things that flatter me, make me feel pretty, and fit my personal style, as opposed to buying clothes and accessories only because they are trendy. At the same time, though, there are lots of trends that I want to try out and that I do like, a lot, so the fact that Plato's has already narrowed the field of the millions of things one could wear is helpful. I L.O.V.E. Goodwills and other thrift stores as well, but I usually have to devote much more time to them in order to come away with some pieces that I like. And even though you are buying clothes that aren't all that old, you still won't have to pay nearly as much for them. Tops from Express, for example, will only cost you $12 - $14 on average, while in the store they could be as much as $50 (or more).

You can get really anything you might need there, and in the stores I've visited, everything is organized by type of item, then size within that type, then color within that size. So if you need a pink short sleeve shirt in the size medium, you will have very little trouble seeing all of your options in one place. They don't carry undergarments, understandably, but you could walk out with a homecoming dress or some workout clothes, and anything in between.

Brands I Often See There
Forever21, Express, BCBGeneration, Hollister, American Eagle, Charlotte Russe, Pink by Victoria's Secret, ALDO, Lucky Brand Jeans, Northface, Columbia, and tons more.

Some Recent Finds
My friend Krista and I recently visited a Plato's. Here's what we found. I'm showing you all this simply to give you an idea of my style and what you can find there, not to brag about the new things I have. I bought all of my items with a giftcard from a wonderful woman, first of all, and bragging would just be a waste of both of our time. 

A blue longish crop top by Xhiliration.

A fuchsia top from Forever21.

This fun printed shirt dress by Bebop.

Krista picked up this button-up
top by Charlotte Russe.

And this top by Charlotte Russe has some
great lace details and an awesome open
back.

This sweater is by H & M.
And it is Krista's new favorite thing.

What I Wore Today

I think this outfit is super fun. As soon as I got this top I thought of the shoes, which are also from Plato's Closet. It was really cold outside, but I've wanted to wear this for so long, I just got over it. 

So the top, which you saw above, is from Plato's and by Xhiliration. The jeans came from a department store many many years ago; honestly I cannot remember which one. I have them rolled to my ankles because that is simply the way I like my jeans. For more details, see below :).

I wanted to show you the back of this top, since that's what makes it kinda funky. I really like zipper details. Pardon the face.

These shoes are pointy-toed flats with ankle straps. They are fantastic. The fronts are black patent pleather. These also came from Plato's on a previous trip, and are by BCBGeneration.

This necklace is from Rue 21, but I saw it at Pacsun, also. It's a lion, in case you missed it. I feel the need to tell you simply because I think it is one of the greatest things, uh, like, ever.

If you want some more information, you can go to www.platocloset.com, and hopefully there is a Plato's near you! If not, it could always be a fun roadtrip :)

Thanks for visiting. You're the bomb dot com.

Manicure Monday! Just a Little Girly...

It's time for our second Manicure Monday! I'm really starting to miss summer, so I decided to share a look from way back when we could actually feel the sunshine.

I used a layer of Orly's Bonder Base Coat, then two coats of L'Oreal's "Penthouse Pink," which is basically a perfect light bubble gum color. The glitter is one coat of Revlon's "Girly." And that, dear friends, is probably the best sparkle polish ever. Revlon does a lot of great glitters. This is one of them. It has a light pink base, so that is where we get some of the deeper pink color from. On top is Orly's Won't Chip Top Coat.

Summertime is just so much better for my nails. My hands and cuticles don't dry out as much in the summer, so my nails grow out more nicely and don't chip or break as much. Pretty much, winter should just give up.

Thanks for visiting. See you tomorrow!