Records

For Christmas my mom & dad got me a new (portable!) record player since the one I normally use is an antique record cabinet from my late grandparents. It's really big and old so I try to be gentle with it & use it infrequently. I'm really terrified of breaking it. Eventually I want to get it tuned up & replace the speakers since I don't think it's been serviced for a long long time.

But back to my new LP player-- it is SO beautiful. The floral pattern is so bright and happy & definitely brightens any room it's sitting in. The speakers aren't amazing but I'm planning on getting a sound system for our tv anyways so I just need to find a small table for it to rest on nearby so I can plug the record player in as well. You can take the top off easily if you don't have something to lean it against & there's a locking mechanism & handle so you can take your player where-ever you may want. It also comes with a program that enables you to record your favorites LPs & convert them into mp3, which is amazing. I haven't tried that yet but I'm really excited about it!




top to bottom: Disney's 'Cinderella' Soundtrack // 'Purple Rain' by Prince & the Revolution // 'Rank' by The Smiths // 'Milk Eyed Mender' by Joanna Newsom
I bought a few new records in celebration of being able to listen to records regularly again. I was having a really awful day when I bought 'Rank' but after listening to it, I definitely feel like experiencing such a shit day was definitely worth it since I now have such a great live recording of my favorite band in my possession. I feel like I've fallen back in love with listening to music. I was without speakers for my computer for over 6 months & I hate using headphones so I basically only listened to music in my car or on my phone & let me tell you, it was sucking the life out of me.

I'm not only falling back in love with listening to music-- but also shopping for records, talking about music & listening to full albums instead of single songs. I haven't felt this excited about a piece of technology since I got my electronic diary in fourth grade haha.



You can buy this record player here.



-Becca

Birthday Wishlist

one // two // three // four // five


1. "Youth Novels" LP by Lykke Li ($19 USD) - I've wanted this album for awhile & now that I have a new record player that's easier to use & portable I'm trying to beef up my LP collection. I also really want 'Reflektor' by Arcade Fire. I had trouble picking between the two but this one looked best in the image haha.

2. 'Buns & Guns' Sailor Moon baseball tee ($30 USD) - I've been wanting to start working out regularly again & this seems like the perfect tee to get me in the workin' out spirit. Plus it's Sailor Moon!! I'd honestly like the Sailor Jupiter or Neptune one as well but the Sailor Moon one has pink sleeves <3__<3

3. NARS 'Final Cut' Illuminator (Exclusive to Nortdstrom) in 'Adelaide' ($30 USD) - This is just pretty & I want it. Plus, it's limited edition & I love 'Copacabana' so much I figure this illuminator has to be just as amazing, right?

4. Jeffrey Campbell 'Malt Shop Heel' ($185 USD) - Haha these are totally out of my price range & a huge ridiculous wish but geeze, they're beautiful. Then again, this is a "wishlist" so I'm putting whatever I'm wishing for on here. Deal with it!

5. Betsey Johnson Ice Cream Wristlet ($68 USD) - THIS IS SO CUTE. I really hope this just shows up in a TJ Maxx sometime soon because I will scoop it up SO FAST. I don't really have any wristlets & I feel like I really should stop carrying around huge purses at some point in my life. Do I really need all that crap I carry around 24/7? Nope.



Not gonna lie I am not excited about turning 26 at all. Not at all. Wanna bury my head in the sand and pretend it's not happening. Maybe it's time to start lying about my age. I have trouble remembering how old I am on a regular basis so I'm sure I could confuse everyone & eventually no one would question me.

I'm gonna be 25 forever.

-Becca

Review: Victoria by Victoria's Secret

Despite not being much of a perfume person until I turned 20, I now have quite the little gathering of scents I really love that *I* think smell good on me. I'm not snobby about what types of perfume I use-- celebrity perfumes, knock offs, whatever. As long as it smells good/good on me & lasts I'll buy it.

Which brings me to this little gem. I don't know why I'd never tried any Victoria's Secret brand perfumes but I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with not shopping there haha. Nothing there really fits me that well so why would I?

Anyways, I was hanging out with my friend Erika (she used to work at Victoria's Secret) and she let me try a sample size of 'Victoria' because she was planning on buying a full size soon. I fell in love. The bottle was what got me at first (how cute is it???) but the scent is what made me want it even more. The Victoria's Secret website describes it as "a sparkling blend of red berries, Victoria rose and crème brûlée."



It smells amazing! You can definitely smell the rose & brightness of the berries while the crème brûlée makes it a little creamier smelling with a hint of caramelized sugar.

I love it. I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of it all year long but especially in the spring and summer. Definitely give it a sniff next time you go into Victoria's Secret. Victoria retails for $52 - $68 USD. I know they also make a body mist version that's a bit less potent and less expensive ($25 USD) if you're wanting something a little wallet-friendlier.

Let me know if you like it!


-Becca

WIW: Case of the Grumps

culture flock t shirt // ryan's cardigan // skirt // leggings // boots (similar)

I went out on Wednesday to run some errands with Ryan since it's his only day off during the week & I just had a string of bad luck all day. It put me in such a weird & grumpy mood. I am fairly sure I looked exactly like the drawing above while we drove around Denton paying bills and looking for books & returning things. I ended up buying some Cotton-Candy flavored "Mini Melts" (a Dippin Dots imitation) towards the end of the day and felt a lot better. Ice cream is a cure-all so I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised haha!

In other news, I'm back! I completely dropped my blog once winter hit & proceeded to have intense seasonal depression! I'm hoping that I can get back on track for spring & start churning out content again. I'm planning on broadening the spectrum of topics I talk about here (in hopes that it will keep me from hitting a wall & just dropping everything) so I guess we'll see if that comes to fruition.

Anyways, glad to be back!

-Becca

October 2013 Favorites

BEAUTY

revlon colorstay matte balm stain in 'sultry' // sinfulcolors nail polish in 'whipped' // tocca 'stella' // jouer matte moisture tint

REVLON COLORSTAY MATTE BALM STAIN IN 'SULTRY'
I've already reviewed this so I won't go into super detail, suffice it to say I really love the formula and color of this balm stain. I bought it mid October and it stayed on my lips through the rest of the month. I bought another color from the matte range earlier this week & I'm tempted to go back and get another. I just really love the pigmentation & feel of these. I wish they provided more moisture & didn't leave my lips feeling so dry after a few hours but I don't mind re-applying & using lip balm between applications. Overall very pleased.
review here


SINFUL COLORS NAIL POLISH IN 'WHIPPED'
This is a leather-looking matte nail polish from Sinful Colors new Leather Luxe line. There were lots of different colors-- black, white, red, burgundy, brown, navy & maybe a teal? I bought black for myself and one for my leather lovin' bestie, Taylor. Sinful Colors, despite being incredibly affordable ($1.99 at Walgreens) are quality nail polishes. I wore this for around four days (no top coat) without so much as a chip. I was pretty impressed


TOCCA 'STELLA'
Ahh! I've been waiting since February to start wearing this again. I love love love the way it smells. The Sephora website lists the notes as: bitter orange, blood orange, watery accord, white freesia, wild diamond orchids, spicy lily, sheer musk & sandalwood. It primarily smells like blood orange but isn't terribly sweet smelling. I don't know, I'm terrible at describing scents. I just find that it smells amazing when I catch a whiff of it on my scarf or cardigan. It smells clean and fresh and I just really like it. You can find it at Sephora & Anthropologie-- I definitely suggest going in and sniffing a sample of it. TOCCA 'Cleopatra' is also amazing.


JOUER MATTE MOISTURE TINT IN 'PORCELAIN'
I reviewed this earlier this week ...or was it last week? I don't know, you can find a link to my review down below. I won't go on and on but overall the Matte Moisture Tint is definitely a great tinted moisturizer/base and is perfect for people with normal-oily skin & lasts all day and blends amazingly. Despite having a measly color range, I'm assuming each color is supposed to work with a range of skintones? I have no idea. I'm very pale and have cool undertones & a LOT of redness and 'Porcelain' works PERFECT for me.
review here


MISC.

vintage green glass cameo necklace // f21 studded bat headband (sold out) // lexi holiday candle tin in 'frosted maple'

VINTAGE GREEN GLASS CAMEO NECKLACE


Ryan's mom bought me this beautiful necklace from a vendor at Czhilispiel last year. Ryan's family competes annually in the Chili competition & there's always a small fair & a section of booths with arts and crafts type vendors. I picked out the green cameo charm & the woman who owned the booth constructed a necklace from other bits and bobs she had on hand in her little jewelry tackle box. I used to have her card but I've lost it. The cameo is actually one of many from a vintage bracelet I've seen on ebay. I love this necklace & always get so many compliments on it when I'm out. It's one of those pieces I know someday I'll pass onto a child or grandchild because it was a sweet gift from Ryan's mother & feels like a timeless piece of jewelry.


F21 STUDDED BAT HEADBAND
I bought this at F21 last month when they first released their cats & bats line. I wanted the kitty cat beanie but I wanted the bat ears headband WAY more. I sort of wish I'd bought the cat beanie too though, it would have been easier to wear throughout the winter. I wore the headband on Halloween as part of my bat costume & I think it's basically the coolest headband ever. I wish I could wear it regularly but I don't like weird stares and the bat ears are quite tall and would be really hard to miss. I accidentally bumped them off of my head all night trying to get into cars or fix my hair. They look so awesome though! I love the metal spikes & the faux leather look. I wore it with a wet-look fit and flare skirt and my peter pan collar top with a black cardigan I pinned to make it look like I had bat wings. Terrible explanation but it looked pretty cute if I do say so myself. I couldn't find this still for sale on F21's website but I'm sure if you looked around your local F21 you might find a pair.


LEXI HOLIDAY CANDLE TIN IN 'FROSTED MAPLE'
THIS CANDLE. I've already burned the wicks down but there's still so much candle left-- which is my only real complaint. I hate when wicks aren't evenly distributed and fail to melt the entire candle. Ugh! But apart from that, this candle smells AMAZING! I am not one for buying a candle that costs over $10. I'm a bit of a penny pincher when it comes to how much I'll pay for things. Even the citizens in my Animal Crossing town call me a "bell-pincher". News of my bell pinching ways even made it all the way to Taylor's town...little gossipy turds! So when I smelled this upon entering the WillowBend Anthropologie a month or so ago I knew I couldn't leave without owning whatever was making the entire store smell so CRAZY GOOD. It was $18 and while I think that's a stupid amount of money to spend on a candle...I did it anyways. Because it smelled so freaking GOOD. Now, if you aren't crazy about sweet smells, this may not be for you. However, I hate vanilla scents because they're too sweet and I think this is amazeballs so I would definitely recommend smelling it before writing it off. I lit it in our dining room and it managed to make the entire apartment smell like fresh made waffles and maple syrup for the rest of the day. I'm trying to figure out how to melt the rest of the wax or put new wicks in. I'll figure it out but for now I just leave it open on a table for a bit and even just the smell of the soy candle UNLIT makes the apartment smell amazing. Plus the tin is too cute!




Well, that's it for my monthly favorites. Sorry it came a bit later than normal. Did you do anything fun for Halloween? What did you dress up as? I'd love to know! Tell me below in the comments!


-Becca

Review: Jouer Matte Moisture Tint in 'Porcelain'

So I've been accumulating Birchbox points the last few months & since I'm running low on my beloved NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, I decided to use my points to try a new foundation I've heard good things about: Jouer Matte Moisture Tint. Initially I'd wanted it for the summer because I wanted something light-weight to wear while sweating my butt off in Texas. Who wants to wear heavy foundation in 105ºF weather? Nobody does. But alas I put it off until nearly a month ago when the colder weather started settling in. Oops!



I ended up getting the lightest shade in the range called 'porcelain' for $8 after using my points. It normally retails for $38USD here & here.

Initially I was worried it would provide too little coverage (or be a bad match) since it's a light-medium coverage foundation/tinted moisturizer but it's super easy to build up & blend out. As for application I use a primer underneath & a damp beauty blender. I haven't tried applying it with a buffing brush but I always feel like whenever I use a brush it makes my makeup look cakey. Cakey is not cute.

The texture and consistency remind me a lot of my Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation as it's quite thick and comes in a squeeze tube-- but I find that the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint looks more natural and matches my skin tone better. The finish is matte but still looks natural & soft. I find it doesn't settle into my pores and despite having 15 SPF doesn't leave my face looking more oily for it. I've been using it everyday for the past few weeks & haven't had any spots or acne issues. Also, I have a very oily t-zone and this tinted moisturizer manages to stay fairly matte for better part of an 8 hour day. I normally only have to use a rice paper slip or apply a little powder towards the end of the day which I think is pretty impressive.

Price-wise you get the most for your money as well:
NARS Sheer Glow - $44 for 1 fl oz
Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation - $43 for 1.18 fl oz
Jouer's Matte Moisture Tint - $38 for 1.7 fl oz



I definitely suggest giving this foundation/tinted moisturizer a try since I think it's a really nice base & a more affordable high end brand. I recommend it especially if you're a fan of either Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation or NARS Sheer Glow. I personally love this & definitely plan on repurchasing.


Have you tried any of Jouer's products?? Anything I should try out? I'm itching to try more from this brand.

New Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell 'Zach in Metallic Silver'

I'm in LOVE with my new shoes from Karmaloop. I bought these Halloween weekend along with another pair of JC's (they ended up being too big and difficult to walk in--gotta return them :c) and was so hoping that they would fit alright. I own one other pair of Jeffrey Campbells & they're so comfy and fit like a glove so when I slipped these on & wore them a whole day (shopping & everything) without any blisters, I knew I'd made the right decision.

The Zach shoe is a penny-loafer style shoe with a pointed toe & a thick chunky heel at the back which gives a little bit of height without looking like a kitten heel or a child's first heel. They're made of patent metallic leather & a man-made sole. They were marked down from $120USD to $47.95USD when I scooped them up using an extra 40% off coupon code-- so I managed to pay around $28USD for them. Which is an INCREDIBLE deal for such a nice pair of shoes! I'm already looking forward to pairing them with dresses (a bit of that masculine shoe mixed with a feminine dress) or even just really comfy casual clothes because the intense shine they give off instantly makes an outfit a bit more glam. Unfortunately they're sold out on Karmaloop but I'm sure they'll turn up on ebay or somewhere else.



I'm posting about these mostly because I want to brag about Jeffrey Campbells amazing quality. And no, I'm not being paid to freak out over this brand, I just really really like them. I wish JC would send me free stuff, geeze. Sizes are really consistent from what I've both heard and personally experienced. I ordered a size 8.5 in the 'Zach' loafer (which fit perfectly & is also the size of my JC 'Wanted' heels) & a size 9 in the heel I'm planning on returning (which turned out to be too big...womp womp). Another thing I'm really impressed by is I always get blisters on my heels and toes with new shoes & neither of my JC shoes have so much as made my feet ache & I own both a pair of flats and a pair of heels.

I'm pretty new to the brand (wow two pairs) but I can already tell I'm hooked. I definitely recommend looking on both PLNDR & Karmaloop for deals on JC shoes & other really great brands.




Ah! I just love these so much! Do you have a brand of shoes that you just adore?

-Becca