The Blues of my Life

As I'm writing this,  I realized that I went all day without mascara and part of me is apalled because if you read my super old post here, you'd understand. And then the other part is ok with it because my allergies have my eyes and nose and face all kinds of itching and runny and ew. But it made me remember that I hadn't done this post yet and I really needed to.

So a bit of a backstory with my mascara, I was not allowed to wear makeup until I was 15. My Quinceanera was a big milestone for me and anyone who's familiar with Hispanic culture knows that the doors open when you turn 15. And when I did I joined the sisterhood that my mom and aunt started. Blue masacara....

Now I know that you know that colored mascaras were a pretty decent trend for a while but from what I found nothing came close to my first love, my ride or die, my forever...AND IT WAS DISCONTINUED!!!!

What Maybelline didn't realize that I tend to stock up on the Great Last mascara in Royal Blue. I know it's not the best thing to have and do but it's a thing and I will not regret that because for a long time I had no idea that Maybelline discontinued my all time favorite mascara that me, my sister, my mom and my aunt wore FOR YEARS as our signature! And I felt blindsided to know that I finished the last bit of my mascara and couldn't restock until they came to their senses and brought it back and I bought two the first day I found them.

In that time before the heavens reopened, I tried a couple other drug store mascaras and had mixed results.

My first was from Covergirl that featured Katy Perry. I don't know if I got a bad one because I swear the moment I opened it, the brush came out clumpy and dry and scratchy even before I attempted it on my eyes. The color was more navy than anything and didn't really show up on my lashes and didn't do much at all. I know I've enjoyed the Covergirl foundation but obviously the eye side needs work.

The second was better. L'oreal Voluminous is pretty awesome anyway and they came out with a blue mascara. I had some real hope for these because I do enjoy the Carbon Black but it has to be waterproof or I am straight raccoon status. In all honesty it was pretty good in terms of the Voluminous quality that I'm already used to and while the color was not as bold when it's dry as my Royal Blue, it's still pretty good and I'll still use it. Now the Voluminous line also has a white mascara primer and if you're using it beforehand, the blue is brighter and it's nice as long as you make sure you cover all the white before it dries.

Now I know that people have mixed feelings about Maybelline and the Great Lash line itself. I've never used the black mascara and for me brown mascara is pointless. I used to use the clear Great Lash on my eyebrows but you can NOT understand my love for the Royal Blue mascara. It's my signature eye makeup. It's my thing. I get compliments on it just about every time I wear it. It is not waterproof but the formula is great enough to where it stays on my eyes until I wash it off. Even when I wash it off it doesn't take an act of Congress and a virgin sacrifice to clean it off without pain and a ton of pulling.


So on that note, it may be time to start restocking.


And in the meantime, check out some of my other posts....



For those with da ta-tas - http://bit.ly/2ezvzOM

Smell Good Stuff - http://bit.ly/2vT879v

Some Summer Favorites - http://bit.ly/2uD9o4o

5 Necessary Cozy Office Decorations

I’m a firm believer that you have to be comfortable in your own space. More often than not, I’m at work more than I am at home so excuse my language when I say Hell Yes, I want to be comfy in my office bubble. And being on the mend has changed a lot of my perspective because I’m at the point where I don’t want to take care of allllllll my clutter. So in looking around my office, I believe it’s time to redecorate.

I’ve had my customers come in and say it feels cozy and yes, that helps too. Your surroundings affect how you feel and how others feel around you in that space. I’m no neat freak by far, like seriously from Death Valley to the moon far, but it’s time for a change. Besides Spring and Summer are here and it’s time to put away the dark table coverings and replace the dark folders and dark decorations and clear off a bit more space to feel fresh and hopefully keep the cozy feeling.

So here’s my necessary items that I keep my workspace cute and cozy no matter what theme I have.

Himalayan salt stone lamp - No matter what beliefs you have, this thing is amazing. They come in sizes small to OMG huge, but the benefits are awesome. Electronics put out positive ions that can mess with your body’s stuff and cause harm like headaches if you have a desk job that has you staring at a computer screen all day. This lamp gives off negative ions to cancel them out and I haven’t had a headache since. Who’s saving money on ibuprofen and Tylenol? Also it’s a cute conversation starter because trust me, everyone notices it and every kid will want to know what it is.

Shiny Canister - I’m a huge fan of shiny and glitter anything. I tend to lean into walking around like a disco ball but I understand for some people it can be too much. So walking around Hobby Lobby, I found this canister on clearance and while it looks deep, it’s not but it does have room to hold some candy or keys or in my case a stash of Colgate wisps for after lunch.

Scentsy or wax warmer – avoiding open flame in the workplace is pretty standard and with the variety of people I see and sometimes smell on a daily basis, having the room smell nice is essential. Living in the Southwest, agriculture is a big part of our industry but I don’t necessarily need my office to smell like cows. Just sayin.

Statement Piece (My cross) - Now most of my things are kinda general but I like to pull my personality in and that can be with a statement piece. This was a gift from my mom for my birthday a few years back. A friend of hers had made one for my mom for Christmas and it was gorgeous but could I bring it back with me? NOOO. Then this beauty came in and I was more than ok with it. My favorite colors plus glitter and you have me wrapped up with a fleur di lis. Who could ask for more?

Hand Sanitizer/Lotion – I’m a sucker for office supplies so when I found this little organizer on clearance at Hobby Lobby, I was determined to use it. Stick on a few scrapbook gems and a monogram and I have a space for my much needed hand sanitizer and lotion. Bath and Body Works is a good friend to have and having a wonderful friend who works there to let you know when the good sales are happening is even better and slightly dangerous. But anyone who works with the public knows that it’s a must and I don’t mind sharing it with my clients either. They feel great and smell great and with how sick I am, it makes me feel better.







Check out some of my other posts...

Travel Reality - http://bit.ly/2travelwoe

Tales of the Tank - http://bit.ly/TOTTBackpack

My Monthly Favories - http://bit.ly/LApril17F




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7 Perks to Living Alone

I’ve always been pretty independent, even according to my mom as a kid, and a lot of that helps me now that I’m working out this adulting part of life. I’ve lived by myself for a long time. Even with roommates in college, my dorm life went from roomy to no roomy for different reasons and my RA just never gave me a new one. Even when I lived off campus with other roomies, we had such different schedules that we weren’t at the apartment at the same time most of the time. And now with no school and no roommates, there’s definitely a lot of upsides to living by yourself.

1.       The ability to walk and be around the house in PJs or less. There’s no one around to be decent or sexy or modest for. If you want to walk around without pants as soon as you get home, then let the trail of clothes begin

Google is on point in the search area

2.       Have it your way. No, seriously. Even in a rental, there are a million things to make your place your own. There’s a living room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen that can all be decorated differently with your own taste with no arguments other than yourself(because yes, that will happen). But double check the ability to paint, because big changes are usually a no with landlords. I’ve been toying with the idea of temporary wall paper. Hang it up and work it out and if and when I move, it is supposed to come off but there’s more research to be done on that end.

Yes this is on my board, follow me there too in the side bar

3.       Have one bathroom schedule to keep or not. Unless you have guests staying over, there’s no Dr. Sheldon Cooper telling you that it’s not your turn or where to keep your toiletries

Ultimate roommate situation - thank you Google Search

4.       There’s no roommates to blame for the dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher. There’s no one else to complain for leaving clothes in the washer and dryer. Everything is up to you and if you want to leave it, that is at your own risk. You can really test your own limits with chores and I feel that it helps get you in gear because if it bothered you with roommates, it will bother you more without them. And if it didn’t bother you, it will now, guaranteed or I have no sanity.

And the internet provides

5.       You literally have your own space. One issue that I had with living on campus was that yes I got my own half of the room but the times where I needed to just be alone and handle my thoughts or life in general, I couldn’t be alone. When you do, yes you have to deal with yourself but you can do that in peace. So if it’s Netflix and ice cream or blaring your stereo to get some energy out, you can just do you boo boo.

It really provides so much truth in life

6.       Sprawl out all over your bed or couch or floor, wherever your little heart desires!!! It’s one thing if you live with roommates or a significant other, but being able to leave the trail of clothes at the door or falling asleep in a starfish fashion on your bed is a great feeling. With roommates, you have to respect each other’s boundaries, but when it’s all yours then there are none. So lay across the couch or paint your toes in the living room with a sheet mask on.

I know I've slept all these ways and maybe a few more lol

7.       Be as quiet or as loud as you want. Trust me both extremes will come into play. Going thru life with roomies, there’s usually something going on. Living on campus, my friends usually had a tv show going on when I came ‘home’ or some sort of music. My older brother is a wonderful musician as is my younger brother, so classical music, big band, Dixieland, and other band arrangements of popular songs were being made at all times of the day and night for a majority of my life. That was the biggest change when I started living alone so the quietness got on my nerves, so I will always have access to movies being played in the background, or music or videos on Youtube to keep my mind from wandering. (Also I’ve gotten to a point where I can measure how much time I’ve spent by how long a song or movie was. Works wonders in the mornings.) But then there are times like me writing this post, where I’m a bit sick from stomach and headache issues, sound is the enemy and it can be quiet for however long I need it to be. No one to remind that I feel like crap and appropriately hiss when they turn on the light, or the tv, or the xbox. 

Yasss, Fave feel better movie

Now that you've read 7 perks, check out

5 Lifesavers When Late

10 Beauty Products For the Grown

This Girl's New Best Lash Friend

If you read my post on 10 Products Every Grown Woman Needs, then consider this a follow up slash extension. I wrote briefly on one product that is my overall go to, mascara. But I didn’t quite elaborate enough on the why and what I use, so here we are.

Now I have a fairly decent amount of lashes and they are a good length as well, thank you Dad. If I could wear only one makeup product, it would be mascara. Now granted I hated it as a kid who was dipped in makeup for dance recitals, but alas I was young and knew not the amazingness that lies in the power of eyes.

I don’t consider myself a beauty guru by far but I’ve tried a lot of products to get what I’m looking for and I know what works for me and my issues. And for mascara they are:

1.       Is it waterproof like my Voluminous mascara from L'Oreal?

2.       Does it do a better job than my favorite Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue?

So my thing is that my skin is not just oily but it also gets to my eyelashes in some ways. Like I mentioned, my lashes are decently long on top and bottom. If I’m wearing a black mascara, more often than not it absolutely has to be waterproof because somehow, if it’s not, then it’s instant rabid raccoon eyes. I’ve been wearing the Royal Blue Great Lash since I was allowed to wear makeup and never had that issue. Is it the formula? Who knows, but my blue lashes have been a signature of the women of my family for a while.

My second go-to is the L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara. A great friend of mine turned me to it in high school and I’ve never looked back. Besides the fact that the formula that can’t come off without an act of Congress, I love the separation it gives my eye lashes. Call it my Hispanic culture, but no one has time for clumpyness. So yes, I have been that stereotypical chick separating her eye lashes with straight pins, pencil lead, etc. Never have to do that with Voluminous mascara.

With these, I’ve never really had a want to dabble into other brands. I’ve tried a couple drug store brands but not so much on the higher end other than samples from Sephora or Birchbox, that is until now. I can say that I am so hooked on Benefit’s Roller Lash. A couple YouTube peoples I follow have talked about it and I understand that you basically either love it or hate it. I love it! I love it! And did I mention that I absolutely LOVE IT!

Now this is only a mini version that I got at Ulta for maybe ten bucks, I had a coupon and redeemable points so I couldn’t tell you exactly how much it was. But because I didn’t know if I would love it or hate it, I just said to be safe and get the mini and I’ll probably be getting the full size very soon and add it to my go to’s, especially if I'm running late, then it goes here.

I can only describe it as a great mesh between my staple mascaras, because my Maybelline formula lets me wear a cool color mascara without the black eyes later in the day or in the morning. As far as I can tell, the Roller Lash is not waterproof but it does have some epic staying power even for my oily issues. The brush isn’t as ‘brushy’, best I can come up with, like the voluminous but the lift and separating power is phenomenal!

So if you are on the fence about finding your go to mascara, give the mini Roller Lash a try from Ulta and that way, you can try it guiltlessly and if it works, come to the lashy side. I’m sure we’ll have cookies.


Read up on previous posts

Tales of the Tank - External Batteries

*I read this little article from the Huffington Post the other day about beauty products that every grown woman should have. Going through it, I can agree with most of them. They are pretty vague and basic, and sometimes we need simple and basic, but I think we can also just up it just a tad. So I want to go through Dana Oliver’s list with my two cents and you can take what you will and add your opinion in the comments.

1. Red Lipstick – Every grown woman needs some shade of red lipstick, or lippie as the new lingo goes. If you haven’t heard of the Lipstick Index or the Lipstick Effect, Google it and learn you some because this makes sense in an odd way. Red lipstick is always seen as a classic staple in makeup and has withstood the test of time. So what is noticed is that when financial times, like the stock market or the economy in general, is down or even in great or great tragic events, then the sales of lipstick, particularly in red, skyrocket. They saw it during the Great Depression, after 9/11, and the recession beginnings of 2008. This I totally agree with because anyone can stick with a standard drug store red and look like a million bucks without breaking the budget or have your designer but still not have to worry as much as say the purse or shoes from said designer. But I’d say the more modern way to go is the liquid lipstick or a pigmented lip balm. For people like me who lick their lips too much, it’s just important to know what works for you.

2-5. Facial Cleanser, Moisturizer, Concealer, Eye cream – I don’t know of any woman or girl for that matter who didn’t have issues when puberty hit. In my case, I had and still have extremely oily and crazy sensitive skin. During puberty, I think there was a bidding war between countries to see who’d place ‘dibbs’ on my face. Now, I have the acne scars and the pores remaining from those tough times and still have oily skin. But I do know how to combat them. Part of it is a great cleanser but I think more of it is finding out how your skin reacts to certain cleansers and the chemicals in these kinds of products. Long story short –LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS!! It doesn’t matter the reviews on a product, if there is oil or certain acids, I put it down and back away. And if times are tough, look into some at home remedies, like warm tea bags (I prefer chamomile or green) over the eyes to help with puffiness or my newer love with le Eye Panda. Pinterest is amazing that way.  

6. Hair Dryer- Now this can go either way depending on how many of you rely on blow drying your hair. I can’t complain when I say that getting the right amount of volume is nice and I agree with Dana when saying a few extra bucks for quality is worth it, but I also know that my $20 Conair hair dryer has lasted about 7 years going over my hair that has ranged in length from above shoulder length, to the middle of my back. So if I am to take or leave this one, I’d probably leave it.

7. Sunscreen – this is not new because Dana is absolutely right when she quote Kerry Washington who said that there’s no excuse to not wear sunscreen daily, even in winter. If your foundation, BB cream, CC cream, etc doesn’t show SPF, then it has no business on your face.

8. Fragrance – Now the post says that they don’t believe that you “need” a signature scent but I beg to differ. Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory. Now do you need to douse yourself every day? No and please don’t, because you’ll stop smelling it on yourself and everyone will smell too much. Mix it up every now and then but having that staple can and will make you memorable in a good way if you do it right. That’s why even now into my mid twenties, I have a mix of great perfume and body spray.

9. Top coat nail polish – ok I wasn’t even allowed to wear nail polish until maybe 9^th grade, the Quinceaῆera milestone, aka Sweet 15, in the Hispanic community is very much strong in my family. But even then I knew if you didn’t have a base and topcoat, then forget about keeping that mani. So I’d leave that off of the ‘woman list’ since that should be learned at a younger age.

10. Mascara- I left this one for last because the sad little single sentence does NOT do this product justice. I love mascara. If I could only wear one thing, it’s mascara. “The eyes are the window to the soul.” Your lashes can be accentuated, appear longer, fuller, and act as an accent without taking the importance away from the eyes. No offense to the false lashes, even I’ll wear them occasionally, but when you find your soul mascara, then you are on top of the world in my opinion. I've got my go-to's and some new loves here if you wanna look that way.


Here's the article btw

Tales of the Tank - Electronics

So I know I say that I lose track of time but honestly, there's been a lot of shiz going down. Between work and a surgery that didn't go my way and an epic vacation, things have gone on. But on that note, there's a lot to talk about and one of those things has to go with today's post.

Call me a nerd, and I’ll agree, but if you are anything like my younger brother and I, we have ways to keep ourselves entertained. Whether it be on road trips or a doctor’s office or waiting on a flight, there is time to kill and shut out the world. We are shamelessly attached to our electronics and have nearly perfected our system when it comes to taking, using and charging.

He has his own and I have my tank aka my purse. Should it be an actual tote? Probably but I just like big purses. In the words of Victoria Donelda on YouTube, it gives me life. In the words of my mother, I carry everything including the kitchen sink. Either way you look at it, there’s me with my tank. Now on what I carry on the daily is a little different than on a trip but it only varies ever so slightly.

Now the purses I tend to get have that middle zipper pocket in the middle, most times I like it and honestly sometimes I just want to rip it out. However comma, I do find uses for it. I carry with my on the daily:
-My phone
-my phone charger
-my iPhone that has the majority of my music (now my iPod that I got for my birthday)
-iPhone/iPod charger
-an external battery 
-my kindle fire hd 8.9 (the big one)
-a dual wall adapter (ten bucks at walmart) and car adapter (ten bucks at walgreens)
and recently started carrying my Olympus Tough point and shoot camera.
Especially on trips, I will throw in my Nintendo 3DS XL.

(btw don't own meme duh)

Now granted, my car adapter stays in my car and I have a dual adapter at home as well as at work, but the minute I need to go somewhere where they are not, they are on my person. Now if you are female and wear slacks, you know the struggle is real when it comes to pockets, so I took it upon myself and my sanity to gather the cords and adapters/chargers up in a $3 makeup bag from the Wally World. If I’m feeling extra ambitious then I’ll wrap the cords up but if I’m grabbing it from work to go home it’s normally thrown in but the point is that it's in there.

This way, I have all the cords I need which include, my Android charger for my S7, Ipod charger, cord for my external battery, camera cord, and DS charger. No matter where I am, I don’t have to worry about the 2% battery life or hurrying a gym battle up on my DS to save the game before I lose everything.

Signature Style

Call me typical, call it dumb, call it whatever. I don't care. I love reading me some Cosmopolitan. In this recent issue, there was one article that really struck a chord with me and it was about signatures.

Everyone has their own style. It's great to go and experiment with different things, clothes, makeup, etc. We've all seen the pictures over years of all our "phases" in life, but there's always something you go back to. Something that signifies you to yourself and everyone knows that "IT" is your thing.

For Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, it was her Hermes scarves. For my grandma, its White Diamonds perfume. And for myself, my sister, my aunt/second mama, and my mama, it's the Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Royal Blue and a winged liner.

It's our thing. We'll mix it up but every time someone notices on me, the look on their faces is priceless. They always expect some super high end makeup when in all actuality its about $4-5 at Walgreens or Wal-Mart. I would buy it in bulk if I could. Now it may not be waterproof but it is thorough. It's standard, simple packaging with a standard, simple applicator. It's my rock of makeup and has my heart forever and a day.

Everyone needs their staple. We have fashion and makeup as a symbol of our individuality and creativity. The late Oscar De La Renta said, "Fashion is about dressing according to what's fashionable. Style is more about being yourself." We spend so much time trying this and that and keeping up with the new trends that it's nice coming back to something you know that works. It's easy that you can always come back to. It's comfortable and just makes you feel good. So find that signature and work it.