Happy May {Giveaway} CLOSED

I love the month of May! It gets brutally hot here for most of Summer and part of Fall, so Spring is the perfect in-between phase. May is especially lovely because it starts warming up, but it's still bearable enough to venture outside in my go-to uniform of jeans and flats. It's one of the perfect months.

In celebration, I decided it was high time to do something special for you guys! I appreciate and love each and every one of you, and I'm not sure I show my gratitude quite enough. I went to two of my favorite shop spots and walked out with gift cards to giveaway to one of my beautiful readers.

 Rules:

Open to U.S. and Canada readers only

Only one reader will win both $25 gift cards

Winner will be chosen using random.org.

 

 

All you have to do to enter is:

Make sure you follow my blog via GFC and Bloglovin'

Leave me one comment with your email address so that I may contact you if you win.

 

 

This giveaway will run through next Friday, May 10th. You have until Midnight PST.

 

*These gift cards were purchased with my own money, and this is not sponsored in any way.

 

 Good Luck!

♥ Noelle

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Current beauty favorites for Spring

My current Springtime essentials:

1. Make Up For Ever HD Foundation - After testing it out for a couple of weeks, this foundation has really grown on me. I wasn't impressed at first, mainly because I am so in love with my Mat Velvet +. I like a nice, medium coverage to conceal the patches of discoloration I have. However, after a few days, my bias changed and I now love how natural it looks. I still prefer the overall coverage and lasting power of Mat Velvet. That foundation will always be my favorite, but the HD is beautiful for this time of year when I want a more dewy complexion. I think of it as a kicked up tinted moisturizer!
2. UNITE 7 seconds detangler - My soon to be sister-in-law/hair stylist swears by this leave in conditioner at the salon she works in. She got me hooked on UNITE products, and 7 seconds leaves my dry ends looking and feeling much softer and more manageable. I use this right before I blow-dry my hair.
3. Hourglass Ambient Powder - The much raved about face powder on YouTube intrigued me to the point that I had to see what all the fuss was about. Hourglass has a few shades, but I got mine in Dim Light. I sweep this all over my face as a setting powder. It's very finely milled so it doesn't leave me looking powdery or dry, just very natural.
4. Revlon Lip Butters in Juicy Papaya and Pink Lemonade - ADDICTED to these two shades. I wrote a post about juicy papaya here. Pink lemonade is a light peachy pink that's great for everyday.
5. Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer - Let me confess something guys...I tend to get really lazy about applying lotion once the weather heats up. My skin is extremely (and I mean extremely) dry in Winter, but as Spring and Summer come around, my skin becomes more normal. This spray - on lotion is great because it absorbs quickly and has a soft scent. Fast, easy, and it really does moisturize without leaving behind a film.

What are your current Spring beauty favorites?

♥ Noelle

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"Big Girl" Bag

I did it. I bought what I proudly like to refer to as my first "big girl" or grown-up handbag. The Michael Kors selma satchel is everything I knew it would be:

• Gorgeous saffiano leather that feels sturdy.
• A roomy interior.
• Luxurious gold tone hardware.
• And one of the best and most practical features...an adjustable/completely removeable shoulder strap!

Genius.

I would dare to even say that it's a cross between this Prada, as well as the IT bag of the year. I got it on presale two weeks ago, when the SA at Macy's caught me staring at myself in the mirror, grinning like a fool from ear to ear, the bag dangling from my arm. She told me about the friends and family sale. 100 dollars off the retail price?! Yes, please! Before I knew it, I had her put the last black selma away for me in the back room. I picked it up yesterday and the rest is history. I strongly suggest going to your Macy's this weekend if you're interested. The F&F sale ends on the 28th.

If you want any details on this bag, let me know :)

♥ Noelle

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Wedding Details: The Makeup

I went for a makeup consultation last weekend and the artist did such a beautiful job :) She came highly recommended by a good friend who also used her for her wedding. I had a few key requests in mind:

• I want my wedding makeup to be dewy and glowy - that "lit from within" look. Of course, I don't want to shine like a disco queen but I think that natural makeup will be perfect for the beach. It will also photograph well.
• I definitely want to play up my eyes for a slightly smokey look.
• I want an overall natural and neutral look, but I still want to appear a bit glam. It is my wedding day after all! I want to look like my best possible self.

Here are the pictures I brought to the consultation:

C/O Pinterest

I was pretty set on using a lot of my own makeup products, especially my Makeup Forever foundations and Nars Orgasm blush. However, after looking through the artist's work and just by meeting her in person, I instantly felt comfortable with letting her do her thing. She has a lot of experience and does weddings on a regular basis. She mainly works with MAC cosmetics.

I can't list all of the products she used on me, but I can let you in on some.

•  She did airbrushing not only on the face, but also on the chest area. She also used it to contour the planes of my face. I am not sure what foundation she used, but I believe it might have been MAC face and body.
• She lightly filled in my brows with a shadow.
• She used colors like Espresso and Girlie on my eyes. She started light, and then allowed me to check it out in a giant mirror. She gradually went a bit darker until I was happy with the level of shadow. She also used Espresso to line them instead of black.
• Lots of mascara and false lashes, although the lashes she used will not be the same kind as on my wedding day.
• For lips, she lined them in Soar and then used Viva Glam 5. I'm still unsure if that's the lipstick I want to use. I'm skipping gloss because the beach will undoubtedly be windy and I don't want a sandy mess! My friend suggested using a lip stain underneath the liner and lipstick.

It was such a fun but unexpected experience because there was a bridal expo taking place and we had an audience! I was definitely shy, but everyone was so sweet and most of the girls there were also getting married and wanted to use her for the big day.

 What do you girls think? I appreciate any input!

♥ Noelle

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Cobalt Crush

Blouse - Express (old)

Jeans - Loft

Pumps - J.Crew

Bag - Juicy Couture (old)

Necklace - Sonya Renee

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend! Mine was actually pretty awful. Literally an hour after this picture was taken, I started feeling really sick. I'll spare you the gruesome details. I went to urgent care at 2am and the doctor confirmed my suspicions - I had a bad case of food poisoning. I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, while the warm sunny weather taunted me from my window. Oh well, what can you do? At least these cobalt beauties managed to make it out of their box, even if only for an hour. After crushing on them for over a month, I decided to treat myself. Cobalt is one of my favorite colors and I know these will get a lot of wear. I also treated myself to another gorgeous item I've been crushing on, but that will have to wait until another post ;)

♥ Noelle

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Currently Loving ---> Delicate Stone Necklaces

My obsession with stone jewelry (as evidenced here and here) is going strong! I'm not entirely sure where it all started, but now that I think back, my favorite companies like Stella & Dot, Sonya Renee, and Oia Jules are known for their beautiful creations using colorful gems. The natural, earthy beauty of a stone necklace has quite an impact around the neck.

Here are some options in case you're just as obsessed as I am

Stella & Dot

Oia Jules

This was the necklace I wore in my last post. Love it.

Sonya Renee

Delezhen

Etsy has a ton of stone pendants, so I would encourage you to look there! But whatever you choose,  you can't go wrong. There is nothing as beautiful as nature's own jewelry.

♥ Noelle

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