#KIDLIT | If You Look Up To The Sky by Angela Dalton

“Anything is possible.” 

How many times do we hear those words in the run of our busy, daily lives? Many of you may answer that you hear them quite often. Others may answer that they don’t hear those words quite often enough. Either way, most of us are familiar with the phrase. It’s a comforting affirmation that makes you believe in the stuff dreams are made of. If internalized, it truly helps us to believe that we can do and be anything we want to be. This can be incredibly comforting in times when so many things seem uncertain.

This is a message that I have been happy to take away from the children’s book If You Look Up To The Sky by Angela Dalton and illustrated by Margarita Sikorskaia. Written for children ages 3 and up, If You Look Up To the Sky is a grandmother’s comforting story to her grandchild in times of worry or uncertainty.

LIPSTICK LOVE | ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip In Baracuda

Just when I thought I had finally gotten control of my ColourPop liquid lipstick obsession collection, this beautiful rose colored lippie came along and changed my mind. I was minding my business. You know, I might have been browsing around checking a few lipsticks out, but had no intentions on getting serious about purchasing a new one. I remind myself each week that I have plenty of lipsticks in the stash that aren't getting any play. Then I vow not to buy any more until I hit pan on at least three or four. But then this one lipstick comes along, catches my eye, and I just can't stop thinking about her. That may or may not have happened when I met ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in Baracuda.

I added Baracuda to my cart one week, abandoned it with about 4 other lippies that shall forever remain nameless, and kept returning to it on my phone later that night. And I promised myself I wouldn't buy it because I believed I already had a lipstick similar to it. Then I went over to my friend Google and started searching for swatches on various women in an attempt to convince myself that I did not already have said lipstick in this particular formula. Eventually reason kicked in and I decided against purchasing it, thinking that was the last I would see of Baracuda. That was about 3 months ago.

But you see, Baracuda has a way of showing up and showing out when she wants to. Do you know this lippie showed up in my Ipsy Bag out of the blue last month? Almost made me feel like we were meant to be together, y'all! Now the test would be if Baracuda could actually deliver like I hoped she would.

REVIEW | In Real Life by Cory Doctorow + Jen Wang

How do the decisions we make in the worlds we've created online affect our REAL lives? This is a question I had to ponder as I flipped through the pages of Cory Doctorow's graphic novel In Real Life, illustrated by Jen Wang. Keeping this thought in mind, I was able to thoroughly enjoy reading along and sympathizing with teenage characters who learned that the two worlds oftentimes collide with lasting effects.

2018 Beauty Resolutions

I know to some, beauty resolutions may sound a bit trivial, but I love to set beauty goals. Why? Because this is one of the ways I remind myself to take the best care of ME. And while self-care doesn’t exactly equate to getting facials and pedicures at any given time, for some of us it does help. For one, it builds confidence. It helps me feel so much better when my hair is in place, my skin is glowing, my body is soft + moisturized, and my toes are pedicured with a pretty shade of pink. And who doesn’t deserve to feel good about themselves?

I will admit, however, that last year was a bust as far as my beauty goals went. I won’t say I completely let myself go, but I did stop paying attention to the things that made me feel my personal best.

LIPSTICK LOVE | NYX Lip Lingerie in Honeymoon

There's nothing like having a nice, nude lipstick in your beauty arsenal. Nude lipsticks can be worn anywhere, at any time, and for any occasion. They pair well with natural eye looks, glamorous ones, or even smoky-eye looks of varying shades. And if it happens to be an affordable nude lippie? That's even better!

I'm always on the hunt for a perfect nude lipstick, and thankfully I've come across many. This feat, however, has been met with a lot of resistance. For one, the nude lipstick shades I see online rarely look the same on me once I get them home and on my lips. I have found quite a few "my lips but better" shades, but that's been well after testing out lipstick after lipstick. Last year, as I was trying out the popular NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks, I came across quite a few affordable nudes. A line from NYX Cosmetics that claims to have a "nude for everybody" brought us 24 shades of neutral lippies with cute lipstick names to boot.

On a whim, I grabbed up NYX Lip Lingerie in Honeymoon and it's been love ever since. And every time I rock it, someone is asking me about it. Since it's become a favorite lipstick of mine, I decided I'd share a bit more about it here on the blog so you can weigh the pros and cons and see if this is a great lippie to add to your collection as well.