Life Lately

It's been a week since I've graced my little corner of the internet and all for a good reason. I've been working like a crazy woman! With Sephora's VIB Event in full swing, I worked my glitter-covered buns off six days in a row. I sure hope you VIB's and VIB Rouge's took full advantage of the 20% off!

Other than selling Sephora client's baskets full of goodies, here are some other things I've been up to:

I received my first Anthropologie haul in the mail. That's right...my first. I've spent hours on the Anthropologie website many times, but I could never convince myself to buy adorable but overpriced items. I decided that it was time I hopped on the Anthro monogrammed mug train. It took everything in me not to buy all of the other precious teacups. Gimme them all. I also bought two Boulangerie Jar candles in Peppermint Stick and Gingersnap -- both smell amazeballs and festive. And last, but not least, I picked up some Snow Drop Hand Cream  in Winter Vanilla. The scent is divine. I would probably eat it if it wouldn't make me sick.

And while we're talking about buying overpriced items, I convinced the hubby to buy me a Clarisonic Mia2 as an early Christmas present. Okay, I didn't really have to convince him. The first three weeks of November, Sephora gives its employees an extra 10% off on top of the normal employee discount as a little 'thank you' and to help with Christmas shopping. Laying the numbers out for the hubby made my case a whole lot easier. So when I leave work on Saturday, I'll be walking out with this little lady and I can't wait! If I get to work on Saturday and the Bluemoon Mia2 is gone, I'll lose it.

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I got home from work last Friday and the hubster was acting all kinds of strange with this dorky grin on his face. I just chalked it up to him being happy to see me, but noooooo, someone had a little accident while cutting his hair.

I've been drooling over the new Naked3 palette that's scheduled to come out just in time for the holiday's. I love my Naked palette, but didn't purchase the Naked2 palette because I just felt like it was too similar to the original. I was skeptical when Urban Decay announced the Naked3, but the swatches sold me. Neutral rosey hues are right up my alley and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

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If this wasn't the biggest random blog post, then I don't know what is, but now you're all up to date on my life lately -- which has been a whole lot of nothing besides Sephora. I'm so thankful for four days off in a row so I can catch up on housework, laundry and sleep.

Hope you lovelies are having a wonderful Hump Day!

xoxo

Wedding Wednesday: Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner

Now that I'm back to blogging, I'm so excited to share our wedding with you all! I really, really, really want to share wedding pictures with you, but like I shared in my I'm Back post, we don't have a single picture from our wedding photographer. Listen, I understand that retouching every image by hand takes a lot of time, but not sending us a single "sneak peek" image two months after the wedding is unacceptable. Especially after you told me at the wedding that I would be receiving a couple via email in a few weeks. To say I'm unhappy with our wedding photographer is an understatement, and I made that perfectly clear in an e-mail I sent yesterday (oops!) But come on! We didn't pay you an arm and a leg for poor customer service! Clearly I'm salty and could go on and on about that, but I'll restrain for now. I'm sure a whole post about this chick will be coming sooner or later.

But moving on from my rant, our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It ended up being a gorgeous day even though the weather forecast said it wouldn't be, which was perfect since our rehearsal dinner was planned to be in Justin's parent's backyard. The whole event started around 5 o'clock in downtown Ann Arbor, not such a great move on our part considering there was a home Michigan football game that day, but we survived. The rehearsal went fine, a few bumps due to differing opinions and miscommunication, but we were all adults and got through what can be a stressful process pretty smoothly, in my opinion!

The rehearsal dinner was held at Justin's parent's house and it was absolutely gorgeous! His family prepared an amazing meal and fantastic desserts. We all sat out in the backyard and enjoyed each other's company the night before the big day. Justin's brother's girlfriend, Jess, shot some amazing pictures throughout the night. I couldn't be more thankful that she was there to capture the moment. (And if any of you bloggers live in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area and need pictures, seriously, hit her up. I wish her and Tyler had started dating before we booked our wedding photographer! Click here to get to her website.)

Happy Wednesday, lovelies!

The Twenty-Two

I'm obsessed with nail polish. Nothing new, we all know that. So it's not a surprise that when I started working at Sephora, my eye was constantly being drawn towards the huge display holding 191 different nail polish options.  Yes, 191 options! It is like Candyland, ladies.

If you've been spending your hard earned money in Sephora lately, then you know I'm talking about the Formula X for Sephora line. With 191 polish options, it's pretty much guaranteed that the Formula X line will have any color you're looking for.

With 191 different options, picking just one color can be tough. So, why commit to one color, when you can have 22?!

Meet The Twenty-Two! 

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The Twenty-Two contains a variety of 22 mini nail polishes from the Formula X line. With a mixture of creamy colors, chromes, neons, and splatter top coats, you'll have it all! 

Xplosive Top Coats

From left to right: Turbulent // Wham! // Meteoric // Bionic

 Neons

From left to right: Radioactive // Zap // Haphazard

 Effects

From left to right: Rocket Fuel // Racy // Need For Speed // Vroom

 Colors

Top from left to right: Unmistakable // Brazen // Eureka // Indellible
Middle from left to right: Omni // Infatuated // Thrilling // Extraordinary
Bottom from left to right: Dark Matter // White Matter //Flashy 

I picked up The Twenty-Two Sunday while at work and started playing around with the polishes as soon as I got home. Everything I was told about the Formula X line was spot on. The colors dry to a gorgeous shiny finish, making your manicure look as if you spent a ton of money on a gel manicure. The polishes also dry very quickly, and so far, without a chip in sight (even after ripping open my Anthropologie packages today!) the polishes are living up to it's long-lasting name. In the "for what it's worth" category, my supervisor has had her Formula X manicure on for a month now and has very little chips! And my favorite thing about Formaul X polishes, the colors are super creamy and extremely opaque. Even the lightest colors cover beautifully.

On my nails I have Extraordinary and Meteoric and I'm absolutely in love. I was shocked at the number of people who came up to me to ask about my manicure while I was running errands yesterday. But what I love even more is the color combination on my toes. No one likes to look at feet pictures so I'll spare you all, but I have Omni and Wham! on them right now. The combination of the bright blue and the white confetti top coat is amazeballs and will definitely be making an appearance on my fingers very soon! 

The Twenty-Two only barely touches the surface of all the different polish options Fomula X for Sephora has. So if I were you, I would get my tush to Sephora ASAP to check them all out. The holiday season is upon us, so go pick up The Twenty-Two for your best friend...and one for yourself while you're there!

Get to Know Me: Fall Edition

I could sit here and say that fall is my favorite season of the year, but if I were being honest with myself, I say that about every season. Except for winter. I only like winter for the first snow and Christmas. After that, it can scram. But regardless of all of that mumbo-jumbo, I still really love fall.

Couple that with the fact that I have been MIA from Blogland for nearly 3 months, I think it's time for a Get to Know Me: Fall Edition.

1) I hate Halloween. Like hate, hate hate. I hate Halloween for many reasons. First, I don't understand the desire to dress up all whorish just to get black-out drunk. Hell, give me some tequila and I'll get drunk without showing my hoo-ha to every Tom, Dick, and Harry, who are more than likely to SnapChat that ish to their entire fraternity. Second, trick-or-treating is for the adorable children in their dragon and princess costumes. Not the annoying high schoolers "dressed up" in their football uniform. Save the candy for the children, ya losers. Third, it's a stupid holiday. I have no reason for that statement. It just is. BOOM [dramatic mic drop]

And with that said... y'all have fun tonight!

2) I love pumpkin everything. But I also like to point out that my love of pumpkin came way before the white girl Pumpkin Spice Latte craze (which I love as well -- no shame in my game). For as long as I can remember, my mom has made eleventy-thousand pumpkin pies every fall and you better believe I ate every.single.one with extra whipped cream on top. Pumpkin candles, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cheesecake....hell, roll me in a can of pumpkin puree and I'll be in heaven.

3) I fully believe that Thanksgiving night should be spent pulling out the Christmas decorations. Again, another family thing -- we always pulled out the Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving night. In my mind, Thanksgiving will always be the last day of fall and the beginning of the Christmas season. If there's one thing I love more than pumpkin, it's Christmas!

4) The changing of leaves makes me emotional. It's like I'm that mother looking back on her children's baby pictures with tears in her eyes. I'm not sure why the changing of leaves does that to me. Apparently I'm emotionally unstable. I'm still waiting for the trees to change colors, but Indiana is taking it's sweet time.

5) I feel bad when I step on crunchy leaves. I know some people who will go out of their way to step on a crunchy leaf. Nope, not this girl. I'll go out of my way to avoid a crunchy leaf. Maybe it's because I hate when leaves turn into little pieces of annoyingness that seem to get tracked all over the dang place. Or maybe because I feel like it's inhumane...err, inleafmane? How would you feel if you were all old and wrinkly, dead on the ground, and someone just stomped on you. Yeah, that's what I thought.

And now you all know just how weird I really am!

Happy Thursday, ladies!

Booties

Am I the only one who sings Ms. New Booty anytime anyone mentions booties? Yes? Okay...

Go ahead a judge me. Bubba Sparxxx was a lyrical genius.

Anywho. If you know me, you know one of my many obsession is boots. I have an entire laundry basket overflowing with boots in my closet as we speak yet, I never have enough. It's a sick obsession. And there is nothing I love more than a few pairs of good fall booties.

If you're a newlywed, then you know the newlywed lifestyle doesn't allow for new fall booties. Unless your mom comes to visit for a shopping trip and slips you some dolla bills -- thanks Mom! But since I went over my monthly allotment two weeks into October, I've been left to lust over booties. I would be happier than a fat kid at a food festival if the booties below just popped themselves right into my closet.

1//2//3//4//5

One of these days when we're no longer slaves to student loan debt and our "For Jenna to Look Good" category of the budget increases greatly, I'll have a field day with fall booties. But for now, window shopping will have to do.

What are your favorite shoes for fall?
Do you obsess over boots like me?

Happy Hump Day!

October Favorites

If you know me, you know I looove me some beauty products. I'll admit, I'm a beauty junky and my new position at Sephora definitely isn't helping it. This month, I've put together seven beauty items that I haven't been able to live without.

October Favorites

Here & Here

If you've never tried Josie Maran products, you honestly do not know what you're missing! Josie Maran's all-natural products are infused with 100% pure argan oil. After watching a few beauty gurus on YouTube rave about the Josie Maran Argan Oil, I knew I had to give it a try. I bought the original formula and fell in love. A few drops of this oil rubbed over my face before bed left me with soft and moisturized skin in the morning -- something very rare, thanks to my super dry skin. My skin drinks this stuff up, never leaving me with an oil slick on my face. I've also used it as a bath oil and put a few drops in my body lotion. I received the Light version of the Josie Maran Argan Oil as part of my gratis when I began working at Sephora. This lighter version is perfect for those with normal to oily skin or those looking for a great day time moisturizer. I know you oily skin ladies are fainting at the thought of putting an oil on your face, but trust me, all natural oil like this argan oil will help to cut down on your face's natural oil. By putting a natural oil, that will not clog your pores, on your face, you are essentially tricking your skin into thinking it's produced enough oil, and in return, producing less. You're probably all saying "Okay Jenna, we get it. You love it" and you're right. I can't stop raving about it. Josie Maran has a ton of different argan infused products that you need to check out -- take my word for it! Just go into your local Sephora and ask for some samples. You won't be disappointed!

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Okay, an hour later after Jenna's Josie Maran rant, I bring you product number two! MAC's Mineralized Skinfinish in Give Me Sun. I've raved about NYX Matte Bronzer before on my blog, but I threw that stuff out the window after discovering this product. As a MAC product should be, considering the price, it's fantastic. The MSF's are extremely smooth in texture and long lasting and this shade is the perfect bronze color. There is no sparkle or shimmer so it is perfect to use as an all over bronzer.

Here & Here

I'm completely sold on Makeup Geek eyeshadows. No longer will I spend $10 on a depotted pan on MAC eyeshadow. Makeup Geek eyeshadows have the pigmentation and creaminess of MAC eyeshadows at the fraction of the cost! A single pan of eyeshadow costs $6 (a couple dollars more if you buy it in a compact). GIMME MORE! The two colors above have been my absolute favorite. Peach Smoothie on the left is a skin toned peach color that works perfectly as a transition shade for the crease. Cocoa Bear on the right is a gorgeous red brown. Use this to create the perfect red-brown smokey eye or throw some on your lower lash line for an added pop. The best part of buying these shadows in the pan without the compact is that you can store them all in a Z-Palette for easy organization.

Here

I'm all about the deep berry lip this fall and this color is perfect. I love high-end lipsticks, but brands like Revlon and Maybelline have never done me wrong. Plum Velour by Revlon is gorgeous! It's the perfect deep plum but still extremely wearable. The formulation is super smooth and creamy. My only problem with this lipstick is that it's not very long lasting, but a little reapplication never hurt anyone.

Here

Last but not least, my Sephora facial brush. If you've been with me for a while, you may remember that I mentioned this little tool once or twice before. Now, this brush ain't no Clairisonic (I want one soooo bad) but at only $7, I think it does the trick. The brush isn't as gentle as a Clairisonic, so you need to be careful -- scrubbing your face too hard will cause serious damage to your skin. I forgot about this brush for a while but when J and I moved to Indiana, I found it and decided to try it again. For the first week my chin started breaking out really bad, but that's normal! Using a facial brush to deep clean your face will cause all of that nasty dirty and oil deep down in your pores to surface, causing little break outs. But if you can hold out and let your skin run it's course, the results will be amazing. My skin has never looked so clean and clear. Good skin is the foundation for great makeup, so you can imagine how much better my makeup is looking.

And there you have it -- my must-have products of October.

What have been your favorite products this month?

Have you ever used any of the products on my list?

Happy Monday!

Guess Who's Back...

....back again.

Jenna's back.

Tell a friend...

Okay, Eminem.

Have you missed me?! Probably not since it's been months since I've last blogged. But that's okay. I've been getting the blogger itch a whole lot lately, so I thought it was about time I grace my little corner of the internet once again. Plus, a wholeeee lot has changed since I was last here.

I left my old job.

Got married to my best friend.

Don't ask to see our professional pictures because we haven't seen a.single.one from our photographer. I'm salty....sensitive topic.

Went on an amazing honeymoon to Mexico.

I burnt my shoulder with my curling wand the night before our wedding. Cute accessory with my wedding dress.

Got home from Mexico and moved to Indiana three days later.

Became an aunt to the most precious little boy ever.

Decided to change careers and accepted a position at Sephora. Makeup artistry, here I come!

...and that brings us to right now as I'm sitting here on my couch, that just so happens to be missing two of the three back cushions (life of newlyweds). I'm pretty darn excited to get back into blogging and catching up on all of your lives. 

I MISSED YOU GUYS!!!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

If you're like me, you have that type of hair that gets to a certain length and grows as slow as molasses. This means you also envy every girl with long flowing locks -- you know, the kind that most certainly has to be extensions but they claim they are not.

I've spent years searching for the best hair growth treatments on the market. I spent my first 3 years in the working world as a receptionist a hair salons, so that is a lot of products! But then one day, I was slapped with the harsh truth. I hate to break it to ya'll but....

There is no such thing as a product or treatment designed to make your hair grow faster.

The reality is, products that claim to make your hair grow faster really, in most cases, are just making your hair healthier. It's not putting hair growth into overdrive, but just making your hair stronger. Stronger hair = less breakage = more hair on your head and less in your brush.

If anyone has put their hair through the wringer, it's me. Blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons, bleach, bleach, and more bleach. At one point, all of that damage really caught up with me. My ends were breaking off and my hair was just stuck at that awkward length. So I decided to start taking good care of my hair again. Here are some products that have nursed my hair back to health, allowing it to grow.

Biotin. I'm sure you've all heard of this wonder supplement. Not only is it great for providing necessary nourishment to your locks, but it will make your skin glow and your nails grow. I take the maximum strength biotin (usually Target brand because it's cheap!) daily for the last year and I've noticed a huge difference in the health of my hair, skin, and nails.

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment. I have not been using this product very long, but I already love it! After the first use, my hair was unbelievably soft and shiny, and the benefits just continued from there. This treatment is meant to be used in between shampooing and conditioning. It is full with protein, make the hair shaft stronger, as well as nourishing your scalp -- an important aspect of hair growth. Just like the packaging says, "Remember, if the earth is not nourished, you'll never grow beautiful flowers." You can find this treatment at Ulta.

Redken Extreme CAT Protein Treatment. Protein is necessary for healthy hair. It strengthens the hair shaft from the inside, preventing breakage. I always do a protein treatment after highlighting my hair (BLONDIES--- very important!) and every 2-4 weeks after that. You do not want to do protein treatments too often because too much protein will make your hair brittle and break easily! This treatment is usually not sold in stores or hair salons due to its intended professional use. I buy mine off of Amazon or you can ask your hairstylist to order some for you!

What products do you love for healthy hair?

Happy Wednesday!

DIY Wedding Invitations

Good Morning, lovelies! It's been a while! I had the entire week last week off from work and, quite frankly, I just didn't really care to post much. But now that I'm back on the work grind, you get me back.

Since I didn't had the week off of work and Michigan decided to be overcast with a side of monsoon, I had a lot of time to get some wedding planning done and out of the way. The biggest accomplishment? Finishing invites and sending them out. A while ago I shared that I was making the invites myself. Listen, I saved a whole lot of money doing it myself, but would I do it again? Hell no. Unless you have all the time in the world and the patience of a saint, I would recommend just paying to get them done.

I had originally started to search for invites on Etsy, my place to go for creative wedding ideas, and I found this listing.

They were almost perfect -- super simple, rustic-chic -- the only problem was the price. The invite shown in the picture above costs $2 alone! (And now I know why she charges that much...sheesh!) I knew I could make these invites myself. I downloaded the Lavanderia font and created the invite and the RSVP postcard. I then bought some brown cardstock, a small paper-cutter, lots and lots of glue, and paper doilies from the cake decorating section at Michael's.

Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom. A million and twelve hours later and several trips to different Michael's (I bought all the doilies at the Michael's near my house) our invites we're created.

I am really happy with the way they turned out. I just wish they hadn't taken me so long! If you are wanting to make your own invites -- a great way to save a ton of money -- I suggest making them waaayyy ahead of time. That way you won't be rushing to get them done and sent out in time.

Any DIY brides out there?

Did you make your own invites?