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So we've all heard about the Benefit boxed powders... I've always really loved (most of) them, so when I heard about the newest one in the line, Rockateur, I could not wait to get my hands on it!

To me, most of these are great. There is only one that I really dislike... Hoola. I know, I know. Lots of people out there absolutely love it, but it's probably my least favorite bronzer ever. That's a whoooole other story.
But back to the positives, most of the shades are really wearable and flattering. I think overall, the formulas are great too. If I had to choose an all-time favorite, it would have to be Dallas...
Surprisingly followed by this new one.
Yes, it's fabulous.
Don't miss my full review (and some possible downfalls) at the bottom of the post.

This is how Benefit describes it...
Our famously provocative cheek powder in rockin' rose gold gives a show-stopping "rush of heat." For an encore, the sexy sculpted design is accented in gold.



 Here's what it looks like on.  Very natural! It's a pretty rosy flush.



*Product provided for consideration by Benefit with no agreements or obligations to review or feature.

I've never been much for "empties" videos. Never filmed a video on products I've "hit pan" on. Well lately, you all have been requesting these types of videos more and more. So over the past month, I started putting aside products that I had used up rather than throwing them away so that I could put together a little video for you all.
I've got to say, when I started filming the video and thinking of what all I was going to say, it sort of clicked and I suddenly totally understood the appeal of these videos.  I may even like these more than favorites videos.
First of all, if you've ever used up an entire product, chances are, you know a pretty good bit about the product. How well it works, the best ways to use it, and most of all, you've probably made a decision as to whether or not you'll be repurchasing it.
When I took a look at all the products I'd compiled for this video, I saw SO many stand-out products I love. I just think these types of videos are so interesting! Now I finally get it...haha

Check out my video below for all the details on the products I've used up recently and whether or not I think they're worth repurchasing. Hope you guys love it!


So what do you all think about me making these videos more often? Sort of as a monthly or bi-monthly thing? Let me know!

Oh how happy I am that today is FRIDAY! ...and not just any Friday, the Friday that my man turned 30. Wow how time flies!
Anyway, I thought I'd squeeze in this little blog post (with a big video attached) before the weekend gets too far underway.

I filmed this video a few weeks ago shortly after realizing that it had been quite some time since I had actually done a real "closet cleaning".
So I got all up in there (ahem, my closet), and got to work. Only to realize that while I had a lot of stuff to get rid of, most of the cleaning had already been done for me.
Yeah, I know. That totally sounds like it makes zero sense. But it will once I explain my go-to closet cleaning/de-cluttering/organization methods that really and truly work so well for me.
You'll get all the juicy details in the video, but it basically involves being honest with yourself every day. Not just on days you decide to clean your closet. If you're constantly taking inventory of what you have and following a few of my tips, you'll be greeted every single day with a closet full of things that you love that actually works. I swear, it's totally possible.
Don't freak out... I know that must sound like I'm constantly cleaning out my closet, but I'm really not. I don't even donate or get rid of clothes all that often. Maybe three times a year.

So what better way to show you all my closet-cleaning ways than to actually clean out my closet with you all and share with you my go-to tips and methods for a fab closet space. In the video, I also show you all what I decided to get rid of and why.


The video is full of so much more than I can share with you all here, but here are some of my main tips:

• Keep a bag or box somewhere hidden in your closet so that when you come across an item you're not "feeling" anymore, you can quickly throw it in.
• When you go on a bit of a shopping spree, put the same amount of clothes as you bring in into the "give away" bag.
• Anything damaged, worn-out, ill-fitting (and not worth tailoring), uncomfortable, or something that you're constantly trying to make "work" unsuccessfully goes straight into the give away bag.
• Donate/sell (basically just get rid of) the give away bag contents every 4 months. This works awesome because you'll be more inclined to put items you're not sure about into a bag you're not getting rid of right away. It's easier to commit to. You can also avoid getting rid of anything you may want later, as 4 months is a pretty good time frame in which you can catch your mistake if you change your mind. You can always get the items back out if you decide you want them!

So today I'm bringing you guys a little home update post. Before we get started, I just want to say that I'm LOVING how much you all are loving these home posts. I think it's totally fun to scatter these in here and there. While there haven't been any huge changes these past few weeks (the last big one was the guest bathroom "black" re-do),  a lot of little things have changed.
Well, I say little things, but they really made a big difference.

First, let's go to (SURPRISE!) the foyer.


These were a crazy steal too. They're super heavy and they say "crystal" on the tag. Which is exciting, because they were $34. I got an additional 10% off as well because there were tiny little nicks (totally unnoticeable because they're on the back and top under the shade). So that was awesome.

Here's a shot of the re-located peacock mirror in the sitting room/my office.  I'm about to give this room a new coat of paint which I'm really excited about.... stay tuned ;)


One more foyer update... I swapped out my much loved pink and black more traditional style rug for this zebra beauty that I've had for years and years. It was in the basement and not getting enough love.

The main reason for the switch was Waylon. The other rug was really lightweight and even with a rug pad and rug tape, it slid and bunched up every time Waylon took off up the stairs or crashed down onto it at the bottom. No joke, I even used packing tape at one point to try to keep it in place with no luck. It was also a bit small for the space. I really should've purchased the larger size in that one.
The zebra one has been perfect. Right now, the pink and black one is upstairs in the hallway but I'm not sure if it'll be staying there or in the basement... We shall see.

So let's go back to the lamps and Homegoods for a moment. Since we moved in, I had been looking for some fab ones for our family room for either side of the couch. I had some pretty gold sunburst ones that I didn't really love in the new house. I loved them in our last house, but not so much in the family room here.  But I still love those so I moved them to the guest bedroom and they look perfect there!
Ok so anyway here are the new ones...


Finding lamps for this room had been SO hard! I knew I wanted something a bit more crystal or lucite and a bit more modern and glamorous to offset some of the more traditional elements in the room. I love a mix of both!
So these. are. perfect.


I wanted this style of lamp for a while. I had been looking for some glass/crystal ones at a good price, but that's been almost impossible to find.  I had a smaller version of these from Target, but I only have one and never really felt like they looked nice enough to put in this room. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Target, but these types of lamps can either look really good or really bad and cheap.  These are solid glass/crystal/not sure, but they weigh like 15 pounds....haha. They look SO pretty in person. Pier 1 had these exact ones for over $100. It's pretty rare to find these that are solid that are less than that.
I scored these babies for $45 a piece (including shades and finials), also at Homegoods. Again, I got 10% off of one of them because it had the tiniest unnoticeable chip on the base. No problem because I put that one on the far end of the room. Not that anyone would ever see it anyway, but I figured that made the most sense to do.

I haven't showed the family room a lot (I think I did a loooong time ago on Instagram), but I'll do a full post on it sometime soon maybe!

Here's that little (very yellow) Instagram pic from several months back just to get an idea of what the room is like.


Here's the other side today.


Nothing fancy, nothing super cleaned up... cords everywhere. And don't even mind the cable box sitting out with all the cords. Lightning knocked out our nice one that hides in the cabinet in this room recently so we moved one of them up from the basement temporarily.  Nothing major has changed except the plant. We picked up another small fiddle leaf fig tree and it's doing really well in this room! Planning on changing the chairs over there eventually, maybe. But for now, it works and I'm loving how it is!

Which finally brings me to probably the biggest change!
This one took place in the breakfast area of our kitchen. "New" table and chairs!


I haven't really shared our kitchen at all. Weird because it's probably my favorite room. It's really spacious and perfect for cooking and entertaining. I love it! Of course, we'd like to update some of the appliances down the road, but I just can't justify it because they're working perfectly and honestly the white blends in pretty nice with the white cabinets.
Anyway back to the update...

**Don't worry, the rectangular rug is totally not staying. We just kept it there for now until I find a fab round one that I love to complement the table better. We use this table every day and I didn't want the chairs scuffing the floors.

I really wanted a cozy little breakfast area that wouldn't feel fussy or take up too much space. The table is an antique pedestal table that belonged to my great-grandparents.  I got the "kubu" style chairs at Pier 1 at an incredible price. They were doing a 10% off sale online when you bought 3 or more dining chairs. They honored that discount in-store and stacked it with a 20% off coupon they had sent me for my birthday which saved me a total of 30% which brought each chair down to $69. Not bad! They're really comfortable too.  I love how they added some more texture to the room.  These are basically my new fav things.

The old table moved down to the basement. We have a little bar and kitchen area down there that was basically empty. So that worked out perfectly!

I'll update you guys when I find the perfect rug! Any ideas? I'm on the hunt...

So today I thought I'd start the week with one of my go-to looks. My "go-to" glamorous, yet neutral look using some of my favorite MAC eye shadows.  It's seriously one of my favs, y'all.
This look is perfect when you want a little extra somethin' because it's slightly more dramatic than a typical, more "everyday" look using neutral shades.
Don't miss the video tutorial for all the step-by-step details, as well as some of my best tips for blending darker shades to the crease.

Hope you guys love it!



Products Used:

Sigma Eyebrow duo in Light*

NARS eye shadow primer

NYX Jumbo Eye Shadow Pencil in Milk

MAC eye shadows:

Samoa Silk

Gesso

Jest

Soft Brown

Swiss Chocolate

Mystery

Carbon

Sigma Brow Highlighting Pencil*

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense

Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Black

YSL Babydoll mascara

NARS Laguna powder bronzer

Chanel Rose Ecrin blush

Bite Beauty lipstick in Blush

MAC Lipglass in Soft Serenade

Sigma brushes*

not shown in video:

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ liquid foundation

Dior Hydra Life BB Eye (as under-eye concealer)

*discount code in blog sidebar for these products

Hello and Happy Friday, Loves!
So today as I was getting ready to meet up with my sister-in-law for a fun little spa day and lunch, I texted one of my friends to tell her happy birthday. I then realized not only was it her birthday, but that today is also my 5 year YouTube anniversary!!!
And my face looked like this...


I would seriously never remember that exact date if it were just any random day, but since it falls on her birthday, I always remember it! It was really a surreal feeling. I absolutely cannot believe it has been that long.
When I uploaded my first video, I had no idea it would become what it has. This fun hobby of mine has turned into so much more for me. It's truly changed my life. YOU guys have truly changed my life.

This post feels very "giveaway-ish", but there's none of that going on here. Just little ol' me saying thanks.  I'll try to do something like that soon- But most of you guys know my philosophy on giveaways and how they really work. To me, they're not really that big of a "thank you" for you guys. They really just drive more traffic to my videos or blog. So I don't do it for that reason. I really like doing things that will actually benefit you guys. Unfortunately, giveaways only benefit maybe 5 of you (at the most) out of almost 700 THOUSAND subscribers.  Which lets just be honest... You guys know if I could give you guys one of everything I ever talk about in videos each and every time, I totally would and it would make me the happiest ever. But that isn't really possible...haha  That's basically why I rarely do those.

So I just wanted to say thank you. Nothing fancy or showy, just simply, thank you. Thank you for all of your support and kind words, all of the comments that brighten my day and have brought me more joy, smiles, and laughter than you will ever know.

You guys are awesome and basically rock my world.