time management 101

For as organized as I usually am, you'f think time management would a breeze for me. Wrong-oh! I've actually always been horrible with time; it sneaks away from me without me realizing it. Half the time I couldn't even tell you what day of the week it is. Right now time is slipping away from me and before I even realize it I'll need to be at work. That's pretty much what happened to me the other day. I was sitting in bed, watching Breakfast At Tiffany's, drinking some tea (check out the adorable elephant mug I got at Target), and painting my nails (O.P.I You're a Pisa Work, if you're wondering) when all of a sudden it was three in the afternoon. I had to be at work at 3:30 so I rushed out of bed to get ready and speed off. Fortunately I managed to be on time, unfortunately my nail polish didn't care about my scheduling needs and got totally ruined. Fast dry top coat really should be more instantaneous. After that I vowed to abusing my multiple day-planner apps to avoid being caught in the same situation again. I'm an excellent list maker, I just couldn't put a time frame to things if my life depended on it. The rest of that day was awesome, though! I stopped by Ulta on my way home and picked up a few more Revlon Lip Butters (pictured from left to right: Lollipop, Candy Apple, Strawberry Shortcake, Sweet Tart, Creme Brulee, and Tutti Frutti.) and then had some drinks over The Big Bang Theory with my mom. 

Yesterday was another rush of minutes and hours that I couldn't quite grab onto. I got a bit of a later start on the day than I had planned which was my first mistake. I'm currently in the middle of some very rushed home improvements that have been set into motion to accommodate a house guest. There has been lots of cleaning and emptying and touching up. The biggest part of this project isn't even the fact that I want to paint half of my room or that I'm kind of totally redoing a bedside table to fit my room's current decor; it's emptying a closet. I have too many closets and too much stuff and in an effort to make temporary living arrangements and comfortable as possible I'm totally emptying out one of my closets so my friend can take it over. So far I've got my purses out of it. I know, not very impressive. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to pull out the rest of everything and sort it into appropriate bins so it can get stored away in shed-land. But for now I'm out of time to worry about cleaning and redecorating because I've get to get to work soon and don't want to be left stuck in that same rush.

makeup I can't live without

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer 2. Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturizer (in Fair) 3. Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder 4. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in Sin) 5. Maybelline One by One Mascara (in Very Black) 6. e.l.f Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder 7. Marc Jacobs Diasy Perfume and Body Lotion 8. e.l.f Studio Lip Stain (in Birthday Suit) 9. M.A.C Eyeshadow (in Sweet Joy) 10. e.l.f Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter (in Glow/Fair)

I'm a huge makeup nut but unless the occasion calls for a heavier look I tend to stay pretty natural. Everyday I start off with my three Smashbox essentials which are primer, tinted moisturizer, and finishing powder. I actually just recently switched over to Smashbox from Victoria's Secret. VS makes really amazing foundation for super cheap but I wanted to switch over to something a little lighter because the summer heat was making my foundation feel cakey on my skin. I'm loving this Sheer Focus tinted moisturizer, though, it gives enough coverage to even out my skin without feeling piled on. The only product in my Smashbox trifecta that I'm not crazy about is the finishing powder. I'm obsessed with finishing powders so I've tried out quite a few different brands. This one gets the job done just fine but i feel like Laura Mercier's Invisible Loose Setting Powder is where it's at. That one just leaves my skin feeling light, airy, smooth and overall perfect. Once I've got all of those basics out of the way I dust on some blush from e.l.f's blush and bronzer duo. The picture up there absolutely doesn't do this product justice. The colors are much more pigmented and it's actually a pretty perfect and much, much cheaper dupe of Nars' Orgasm/Laguna duo. I don't use the bronzer in this little set very often but the blush is a perfect shimmery coral shade that brightens without looking too intense. 

Moving onto eyes, I always wear Urban Decay primer. I've tried other brands (most recently Victoria's Secret and Smashbox) and nothing beats their formula. Once you've got that on your lids anything else you put on will for sure stay put. This doesn't just go for my natural looks, I've used this for smokey nighttime eyes and crazy Halloween makeup and it still works marvelously. For the longest time I used the original color but i've moved onto Sin which is a shimmery champagne shade that can actually be worn on its own and still looks really nice if your in a hurry (which I often am). Unfortunately I wasn't able to link to the eyeshadow I use because it's sold out on MAC.com  but it can probably be found on eBay and I'm sure there are tons of dupes floating around out there. Sweet Joy was one of the Cruella shades in last Fall's Venomous Villains collection. I actually fell so in love with this color the second I put it on that I went back to the store at bought two more. This color isn't as pigmented as it may appear. it's very light and leans more towards an off white and a yellow when you put it on. Once my shadow is in place I swipe a little e.l.f highlighter under my eyes (and some concealer if I had a particularly rough night). Finally, I top off the eyes with mascara. This is the one thing I really don't skimp on at all. I have serious Kim Kardashian lash envy and I pile this stuff on until it looks like I've got falsies on. It's an amazing mascara that builds well without flaking all over the place. 

Lips and perfume are the quick and easy part. I'm all over e.l.f's lip stain in birthday suit which is a perfect summer pink. It's bright without looking neon which I think is perfect and it stays on really well. Perfume-wise I wear Daisy almost every single day. It has definitely become my signature scent in the last two or three years. All in all it takes me about ten minutes to get through this little process most mornings.