Back to Basics

Last weekend I made a pit stop into one of my favorite stores: Express. I really didn't have anything in mind when I went in, but they were having a sale so I decided to take a look around.

Something you need to know about me is that I'm the type of person who will buy the same item in multiple colors if I like it well enough.. and that's what I did.

I love Express' Portofino button down shirts. Their quality is fantastic, they never go out of style, and depending on the pattern/color one buys, they basically can be worn year round. They can very easily be worn with blue jeans, skirts, or dress pants at the office.

They also happened to be having  a sale that day (buy 1, get 1 50% off) and they had several back on their sale rack. I picked out four:






The top two were on sale and the bottom two were full price.

I've worn two already (top two). I paired the snake skin shirt with a pair of black dress pants and heels and the navy, red, and white striped top with a pair of flared blue jeans and classic Sperry boat shoes.

I'm thinking white skinnies with the blue stripey one and perhaps a deep denim with the red.

Have a great weekend!
XO-ANGELLE

Ulta's Free Gift with Purchase : What to Expect

Thursday morning, I opened my vanity drawer to discover that I only had one more application of my NYX retractable black eyeliner remaining, so a trip to Ulta was on the agenda as soon as I got out of work. 

I haven't been in Ulta for a while. I've been trying to be good and not buy so much makeup, except necessities, so I figured I'd take a look around. 

After wandering around for 45 minutes swatching all the lovely products I strolled over to the drugstore section to discover that if you spent, I believe it was $20 or more, on any Ulta brand product(s), then you would receive a free gift. 

I picked out two of their brushes, a buffing brush and a large eye shadow brush, and was told at the register that I could pick one of the three different colored bags on this large table near the entrance. They offered, gold, silver, and a pretty plum. I'm also not sure if all of the contents are the same in all the bags, or if they give you different colors depending on the bag you picked but here's what was in mine, and what you can generally expect if you decide to take advantage/stumble across this offer. 

3 eyeshadow quads. (Ulta brand eyeshadows are actually pretty good quality. I actually wore the blue, green, and cream already and they weren't terrible) 

2 duo eyeshadows. (1 is matte, the other has a glitter top coat that isn't quite my cup of tea) 

1 lip stick 

1 lip gloss

1 mini nail polish (The color is "Bittersweet" which is a deep oxblood)

1 double ended eye liner (black and brown) 

1 full sized mascarra (which I also tried

. Wand is nice, formula is milky)

1 liquid eyebrow filler (not my shade, will be thrown out, unfortunately) 

3 brushes (1 for shadow, one for blush (so it says, but I use it for highlight since it's slightly flat), 1 flat shadow brush, (which I like for paint pots and cream shadows)) 

1 top zip cosmetic bag with tassel

Following is a closer look at some of the products:

August Update

Greetings from this very rainy Saturday morning!

I just finished working out, I lit a candle, and have settled in with a nice hot cup of salted caramel flavored coffee.

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!  Every year we take a small trip to get away and celebrate. This year, we visited some family I have in Cincinnati and then from there went and visited some family I have in Pennsylvania.