What is the point of having a face brush?

In my post Write Now, which you can read here, I stated that I'm not really good at expressing myself vocally. I think I used to be pretty good at it, but after high school and college, I've seemed to curl into myself and step away from a lot of social interaction. In fact, you'll find me at home ninety percent of the time if I have the choice. But it's gotten to the point where my anxiety has built up and if I don't get it all out, then I'm really just hurting myself mentally. So enter the journals.

So I decided to start with some simple journals that would have random things inside. Some with my thoughts and writing prompts, others with doodles, another with things I've found online that I can relate too. It's all a mixture but I've found that writing things down and being able to go back to something that inspired me without having to go back online has really helped me take a step back and look at myself for who I am.

These notebooks are just the beginning, but I'm hoping to fill them up and start collecting a whole bunch of them. So I don't have to be afraid of the word 'diary' and I definitely don't have to be afraid of expressing myself and getting my thoughts in order. They are no longer running around in my head at a million miles an hour. And I can't even tell you what a relief that has been.

Thoughts & Prompt Journal
Doodle & Inspiration Journals

What do you like to write about?
♥





*This post is not sponsored. All thoughts/opinions are my own, as always*

I am a lover of tea.

Whenever it's particularly cold out, or I have some kind of illness going on, tea is there to save the day. It is a constant companion and has come along with me on all kinds of adventures; both real and literary.

I've actually discovered this brand of tea before, kind of unexpectedly. This company allows you to make your own blends of teas, and I bought a few made by fans of a game I play. So it was definitely cool to find out that it was the same company!

Following, I have a couple of different blends that I'm pretty excited to share with you. With Autumn on the way, there's a decent handful of these that are going to fall perfectly in line with my routine.

Peppermint Tea | What else can be said about Peppermint tea? I feel like this is the most comforting and readily available tea that you can find. I like adding a bit of lemon to it as I find it makes it a bit sharper in taste, but this is perfectly good on its own and all year round!

Tea-tox Tea | There is nothing like a good ol' detox tea to flush out your system. (Just erase the graphics of that, would you?) This comes in a pretty cool metal tin, easy for re-using as future storage for even more tea, or whatever bits and bobs you want to keep safe. My first impression of this was that it was quite crisp and fresh, without being too overbearing. I've had detox tea before and the particular one I had was like... a heavy duty detox. Very strong in taste and it was like a punch to the face. But this is very mellow and something that you could find yourself drinking more than a couple times throughout the day. I would stick to just one in the morning though, as you don't want to detox too much in a day.


Lavender Earl Grey | When first opening this tea, the first thing that hits you is the smell. It's so beautifully fragrant! I have to admit that Earl Grey has always been a favorite of mine, so I might be a little biased here. The lavender is a wonderful addition though and honestly, I have no idea why I have never had this one before. This is a tea that you can drink all the time, though I think I'm going to stick to those nights where you had a really stressful day and just want to relax. This is the tea that will get it done.


Masala Chai | Oh my God. Is there a tea more spicy than this one? If I could put Autumn in a tea, it would be this one. This actually tastes better with a bit of milk added in. I typically take my tea with sugar only, so this was a different kind of experience altogether. I don't think I would drink this all year round. I like vanilla chai's no matter the weather, but this one is definitely an autumn drink.

Jasmine Phoenix Pearls | Now these were the weirdest things I've ever gotten. When you think of tea, you think of loose leaf or tea bags, but balls? These little things are hand-rolled and are super cool to make. When added to your hot water, they unfurl and pretty much look like a little tiny green dragon that tastes like jasmine. It's a little sugary flavored on it's own and was a completely new experience!

Spiced Apple Chai | This was a tea I was very excited for. Yes, the name says it all, but they also came in large tea bags, so you could steep entire pitchers full of the stuff! You could do hot or cold, it doesn't matter, but the taste is so so good! It's as it says; spiced apple in a chai tea. Perfect for the new fall season!




Do you have a favorite tea?
♥




*This post is sponsored by Adagio Teas! All opinions are my own, as always.*

I honestly have no words for the book I have currently been reading.

You might be familiar with the movie version of The Circle, with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. I went into this movie without having read the book, which is something I don't normally do. I quite liked the movie, honestly. But the book...

Oh man, this book is so completely different from the movie that I feel it was just used as an outline. It's a bit more vulgar and just... irritating. If you've seen the movie you know that everyone wants Mae (Emma) to be more social and yadda yadda. So they encourage her and whatever. But in the book it's like they're berating her for not socializing with other people, for not being more active on their version of social media. So much so that Mae believed she was getting fired.

This irritated me so much and I actually almost stopped reading. But I powered through, knowing that other changes would be coming. And I can't say that it gets much better. This is probably the first book I've completely finished that I can say I actually rather hated. I HATE THIS BOOK. 😠

This next book, Wars of the Roses: Bloodline, was going to be my next venture. Until I realized that it was the third in it's series. 😑 So I won't actually be reading this one just yet. It's going to have to sit on my desk, looking beautiful and tempting, until I get the first two.

I suppose this is good though, since I can stay on my planned path of what to read next, which is going to be Jandy Nelson's I Will Give You the Sun. I tend to not follow my own reading plans and just pick up whatever I feel like reading next. And there is nothing wrong with that, but I NEED STRUCTURE.

What have you been reading?

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Over the last month or so, I've collected a small number of beauty bits that I really feel the need to share. I've been doing a lot of rearranging in my life. Sorting things, doing clear outs, all that jazz. And that included giving my make up and skin care collection a good old overhaul.

Usually what this means is that I've found some of my old things to love and picked up some new additions to replace the spaces left over.

A favorite that I like to keep on my desk when I'm doing whatever. This has the lovely and very feminine scent of Zoella Beauty's core range and leaves your hands feeling soft and clean. I typically buy most of my hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works, so having a larger bottle is something I've really enjoyed.

Now this is probably the product I'm most excited about. This is rehab cream for your stressed out skin. Pacifica is a brand that I really love and have been exploring for the last year. They're vegan and cruelty free, which means they're available for everyone to try. This is great for all skin types and it's so so great. I use this once a week at night and in the morning my skin feels brand new. It's a bit pricey, but it's so worth it.

Another gem I found while roaming the aisles of my local store. Don't write off this brand because this clarifying shampoo has been a life saver! I've tried a more expensive one that just didn't do what it said it was going to do. This bottle cost under a dollar and has done everything and more for my hair. If you need something to really get all the product and gunk out of your hair, definitely reach for this one!

I received this little bottle in one of my Birchbox's a while back and never really gave it much thought. It sat on my shelf until just recently and I can't believe I never gave it a go before now! If you've been here before, you'll know that I have thin, fine hair. So finding volume can be a challenge. Using this after a shower has been a treat because my hair dries like it's naturally thick. I have so much volume with this and I love it!

I'm a fan of Maybelline's Lash Sensational, so when I saw this, I thought it was going to be amazing. A curved wand for EXTRA curvy-ness? Yes, that's everything I want in a mascara! I'll admit, the first time I've used this wasn't pleasant. It was super clumpy and just didn't feel right. Giving it a few more tries, it seems to have worked out. It is waterproof, which I'm not really a fan of, but this has given my lashes some extra dimension and I can't really complain about that.

Another one of my testing projects. I wasn't sure if I was going to like going all natural when it came to my armpits. I tend to go for the spray, so this was a different experience for me. This goes on clear and it a gel like stick. It's aluminum free and does hold up pretty well, though it took a few days for my body to get used to it. I had to reapply a few times the first week, but now I don't need too. Depending on how much you sweat, etc, I would give this a go.
My most recent purchase, I decided to splurge and get MAC's Honeylove lipstick. The color is right up my alley. It's a gorgeous nude with a very slight hint of pink. I've been using it almost daily! If you're a fan of MAC lipsticks, definitely try this one. I think it would look great with any skin tone.

Zoella Beauty Hand on Heart Cleanser
Pacifica Coconut Probiotic Water Rehab Cream
Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo
Davines Replumping Hair Filler
Maybelline Lash Sensational Curvitude
Tom's of Maine Wild Lavender Deodorant
MAC Honeylove

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"Man must have an idol - the amassing of wealth is one of the worst species of idolatry - no idol more debasing than the worship of money."

There is nothing more satisfying than jumping into a book and becoming immediately drawn in by the characters, plot, and issues it presents. Such is the case with Carnegie's Maid.

I received an advanced copy of this delightful book from NetGalley for an honest review. Just like As You Wish, which I did last month. You can read that here.

Unlike my disappointment with that novel, I really can't find many negative things to say about Carnegie's Maid. I love a good historical fiction, and while this is not quite the time era I prefer, I found it refreshing and couldn't wait to explore more of it.

The book is set in the 1860's and follows the story of Clara Kelley, an Irish immigrant hoping to make a living in Philadelphia so she can send money back to her family so they don't lose their farm. Clara is educated, despite her considerably low status, which makes it slightly easier for her to adopt her role of lady's maid to Mrs. Carnegie when she's thrown into it.

This book touches upon quite a few subjects such as slavery, politics, status, and the aspects of business and wealth. My favorite character is John Ford, a black cook in the home, who as you can imagine is affected by the slave situation. He used to be a slave on a plantation and escaped, but his wife and daughter were left behind. When Abraham Lincoln passes the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, his family is still missing, though are being looked for. He is a caring and sweet person, and Clara's only friend in the home. Which just makes him all the more endearing.

When it comes to Andrew Carnegie, you can tell that there is some creative liberty being used. But as the man bounced between good and bad decisions throughout his career, I feel the author used that to her advantage and I don't have any issues with how she made him appear in this novel. Especially as a love interest.

All in all, this was a very smart read and I would recommend this to anyone. If you're a historical fiction reader like myself but have a specific niche, I would seriously, seriously recommend branching out. This was a long shot for me and could have gone so wrong, but I loved it! Because of Marie Benedict and Clara Kelley, I will be searching for more in different eras.

♥

*This post is not sponsored, though I was provided an ARC, and all opinions are my own, as always*

Hello Lovelies!

If you have oily skin and have been bouncing from primer to primer without finding success, like me, then you are going to love this post.

Because of genetics, I have oil pretty much coming out of every pore. (I know, super gross, sorry.)

It makes finding a face primer rather difficult. The moisturizing ones just make me even more oily, and the normal, oil free ones just don't seem to last an entire day. I didn't expect to find one in one of the places I look the most.

Yes, I have seemingly looked over this primer for ages because not only is it my favorite drugstore brand, but I have literally picked this up and put it back because I was sure IT WOULDN'T WORK.

This stuff is literally amazing. And I should have known better. I need to use primer when it comes to using my powder foundation on good skin days. Otherwise, it won't stick and I'll be reapplying all day long. I've been using this for a week now and I think I've only needed a touch up once!

My nose and forehead are my worst spots and this completely masked every shiny bit that threatened to pop up. Seriously, Rimmel hit the nail on the head when it came to this primer.

♥



*This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own, as always*

There are things in life that I'm not so good at.

Words being one of them. And when I say words, I mean talking about my feelings out loud with other people. I feel like I'm better at writing them down, but then again, I've never been consistent with that either.

I've been wanting to start journaling, but to be honest, I don't completely know where to start. I found a lovely YouTuber by the name of Lavendaire who had a great video on what she writes about and on her blog, she had a sheet with a list of things that you could write about. You can find a million things to journal about on Pinterest, but I needed something more than that.

I needed examples.

I have nothing to show right now, but I have a small collection of notebooks that I'm going to start filling with some of the things that she has shown. Not the complete same, mind you, but I like that I now have a base to work off of. That little bit of foundation is comforting.

Lavendaire

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*photo by Nine Kopfer*

As some of you might know, Zoella (Zoe Sugg) recently came out with another collection for her Zoella Beauty range. And it smells every bit of summer as you might expect. This time around she went for an Elderflower and Pomegranate scent, which I think is both lovely and overpowering at the same time. Out of all of her collections, I think this is the most fragrant yet. And while that's not a bad thing, it can be for those who don't like strong scents.

The mist really is the star of the collection. It's with this that you can get the best of both worlds. You don't have to love or hate the strong scent because it goes on lightly and won't overpower your nose throughout the day. You'll get whiffs of it now and then, but nothing that will make you regret wearing it. As with all her body mists, she kept to the same 'barely there' route.

There are a couple new things in this collection, including the Bath Frosting and Bath Waffers. Almost everything in this collection is moisturizing and you get your choice of two body washes for the shower. I personally love that they brought back the pink beads in the body pudding from the Tutti Fruity collection. They melt right into the skin and leave it feeling great!

You can now buy Zoella Beauty in the US! You can find the original collection at Target online and the Sweet Inspirations and this new Jelly and Gelato collection at Ulta online.

Will you be trying anything from this collection?
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Blogger's Note: Hi guys! This is my first official ARC review. Which means I was sent an advanced, lightly edited copy of this book by the publisher. I'm going to be posting my review on Netgalley and Goodreads, but they will be edited for language. If you're reading my review here, please note that I use... excessive profanity.

Anyway, let's get on with this review.

What if you could wish for anything - and get it?

That is precisely what happens to this small town in the Mojave Desert. It is a secret only to their town of Madison, no one in the 'outside world' knows of this special little quirk you get for living here. Can I move there?

Also, I would 10,000% wish for money. Get out. Don't act like you wouldn't even consider it. At least financial stability, let's be real.

I noticed in the first couple of chapters, that our main character Eldon, is a giant prick. If he's not angst-ing away over his wish, which is 95% of the book, he's being a jerk to other people over their own wishes. Plus there's this whole thing of being a twat to his ex and some girl who doesn't even like him, though he's so egotistical that he believes she does. He whines over his loss in popularity, (other people have wished to be popular, so someone has to go down, naturally), he's mean to what friends he does seem to have, has very little thought to strangers just passing through the town, and he just generally has a bad friggen mindset.

The only thing that could possibly save him as a character is his grief over his sister, who suffered a tragic accident. But throughout the book, Eldon DOES NOT change. Let me say this again, THERE IS NO CHARACTER GROWTH. He has some serious issues, knows about them, but does nothing to try and fix them.

A lot of the characters that have been placed in this town are all kind of jerky, now that I think back on it. They are all so obsessed with wishes that it seems to have consumed them. The only character that I think has any type of interest for me is Norie, whose wish it is to never be able to return to Madison once she leaves after graduation. She wants to make something of herself in the world outside of their small town and not come back with her head hung low. I can see why. People claim to hate the town and want to leave, but they just make their wish, have a family, and the cycle starts all over again.

I feel particularly bad for Eldon's father, Harmon. He was wished into the life he has now because of his wife, who wished for him to love her. Forever. Not only did she completely manipulate his free will, she eventually fell out of love with him, as you do. But he can never fall out of love with her. I'll give her credit, she hasn't divorced him and is living with her punishment of being in a relationship she no longer wants to be in. And I think it only fair that she's miserable after what she did. But it's definitely hard to read the scenes between the two, because he only wants to make her happy and she wants nothing to do with him.

A scene that pissed me off in this book, so much so that I RED FLAGGED the fucker. It's the first 'official' time we see Eldon and Merrill go to the hot springs, which is the hot spot for all the teens to hang out, apparently. Which I think is kind of ridiculous since one of the only ways to get there is to rope climb up a friggen cliff. Anyway, so they're there, walking around and greeting people. When Penelope comes over, (a rather sweet character that we do meet early on), and greets Eldon, super drunk. It's at this point Eldon looks to Merrill and basically says with a look, I could so score with her right now. BECAUSE SHE'S DRUNK. Fuck you.

A little nitpicky thing that I have with the writing... well, maybe not so much the writing, but there's this one phrase that the author uses a lot that just irritates me. She writes a sentence just like this and adds yeah? at the end of it. This might be overkill, but I'm going to share with you JUST HOW MUCH SHE DOES THIS.


The word 'yeah' is probably used about 100+ times in this book. Now that's overkill.

Side Note; I do actually really like the premise of this book. Make a wish just because you live in this small town? Yes, please! There is so much potential with this kind of plot, and sadly, we don't see it executed in the best way possible. IMO. Also, with a title such as this, I was a little disappointed that there wasn't even one single hint at the Princess Bride. No character named Westley... missed opportunity!

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti will be published in January 2018.

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Hello Lovelies!

It's been a while since I properly sat down and went through my current reads. Or at least it feels that way. I've upped the count on my reading goal for the year, so I've been spending as much spare time as I can reading.

One book series that I really want to talk about with you is the Matthew Shardlake mysteries. It's based in, what else, Tudor England. Henry's reign, to be precise. I found this series on a whim and while I can't say I was ever really into murder mysteries before, these sucked me right in. And the best thing about it is that the series was completed so I didn't have to wait around for new additions to come out!

I recently just finished the fourth installation, Revelation. It's set in 1543, while Henry is preparing to woo and marry his last wife, Catherine Parr. Our main character though, Matthew Shardlake, is working on a case about a teenage boy who seems to have lost his mind. In the middle of all of this, a good friend of his is horrifically murdered, and the murder is involved in a series of murders that Archbishop Cranmer is trying to solve before the King gets word of it. So everything is very hush, hush. This was bigger than the previous books, but there was also a lot of twists and turns, all very exciting.

I'm just now getting into the fifth book, Heartstone. This one is set in 1545, while Henry is at war with France. This next mystery will pull him back into the political world at court, a place that he really doesn't like.

I also delved into some biographies. Both on Mary Boleyn. There is so much I could tell you about Anne, but I couldn't really even skim the surface with Mary. As it turns out, there isn't much to tell, as she seemed to live as far away from her sister as possible. There were a lot of issues that Mary went through, both with her family and the Crown. Though we can all say that she was the luckiest of the sisters, since she was able to keep her head. If you're interested, I've linked all the books below on Goodreads, so you can take a look.

Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII's Favourite Mistress
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings

Coming Up;
Lamentation by C.J. Sansom
The Selection by Kiera Cass

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Hello Lovelies!

I know I'm not the only one that has been watching this show since it started. Hands up if you started with the books!🙋 So it seems only fitting that I make a post about it, because this has been my life for the last seven plus years. And we need to talk about it.

From this point I'll be mentioning spoilers, so if you haven't seen the finale (which I think you have, honestly), stop reading here!

Firstly, I need to mention that I'm so ready to start binging from season one all over again. From the very beginning, I have been in love with Aria and Ezra. Ezria ♡ I even have a shirt that says as much! Consistently, she has been my favorite liar. The crazy clothes, the writer, the lover of art. Aria is a girl after my own heart. Having wanted her and Ezra to get married after seven seasons and finally having it happen? THANK YOU. That's all I've ever wanted! I don't even care who AD is!



And then there's Spencer. My second favorite, the crazy smart girl with some obsessive issues when it comes to wanting to figure everything out. I have loved watching Spencer flesh out. From the beginning, to me, it seemed like she was just going to be the smarty pants, which she was. But she brought something incredible to the show. All the twists and turns that she took as a character when she found out all of the secrets her family had was crazy to watch. And I absolutely love her and Toby together. Hopefully, they become something again, though I'm sure that was insinuated.

Can we talk about that accent though? I know that she practiced to get the best accent she could but... I don't know. I'm not British, but I know a lot of them were like... wtf was that? I can't say that I liked it, but seeing as how Alex Drake pretty much grew up on the streets on London, she probably developed a very harsh accent. At least, that's the only way I can live with it.
And last but not least, the whole twin thing. I kind of had a feeling that they were going to stick with that. After all, it was in the books. Though it was Ali's twin and not Spencer's. Though I'd have to reread the books to see if there was so much intermingling between family's. I'm looking at you, Peter Hastings. I kind of wish, for the show, they would have chosen someone else. Perhaps Melissa? And the ending... I could have done without the whole thing with Addison. Instead, wouldn't it have been such a legendary finale to have it end with the group talking about how the town will always talk about them and what happened, and then Alison saying this?

Also... poor Wren! 😭

What did you think of the finale? Were you happy with the ending, or disappointed?
♥

I think the title says it all here...

Hi. My name is Maegan Mariee, I'm 26 years old, and I'm just learning how to properly manage my money.

'What?', you may question. Well, it's true. I was never really taught to put money aside into a savings account or to watch what I spent. Honestly, as long as I had enough to pay my bills and put gas in the car, I was fine. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Eventually, those bills added up and kept on coming. Suddenly, I was out of school and had a car and an apartment. And with that apartment came rent, electricity, emergency money for emergencies. I was working two jobs and still not making enough to get by.

It seems like it should be common sense that you need to save money, to put something aside so you have it for the future. But school never taught me that. They didn't offer basic math skills, by which I mean they didn't teach you how to do your taxes or manage your accounts. My mother would mention it here and there, but it never really stuck until I was thrown right into the storm of it.

Yikes.

This post isn't going to be informational. I don't have spreadsheets or hacks to help you save or become rich in seconds. Think of this as someone telling you to think about your money situation and be smart about how you approach it.

I do have a spreadsheet in excel that I use every two weeks, budgeting myself until my next paycheck. I know what I've paid and how much I have left to spend and put into savings. It's helped, though there are so many other things that I could be utilizing. I won't lie about that. If you're looking to save more money, Pinterest has some great options.

And if you get married, make sure you're honest with one another about debt and bills! It has been so much easier knowing what one another owes so we're not caught by surprise if something comes in the mail. Learning how to manage money shouldn't be hard, but sometimes getting there can be. I always feel like I'm struggling with money and I just want to be secure and be comfortable with what I have.

Worrying is the worst part and I'm a serious worrier. Make a plan and stick to it!

Do you have any suggestions on how to manage money, save, and get out of debt?

♥



*This post is not sponsored and all opinions are mine, as always. Photo credit to William Iven*