Talia Joy

Hello Loves!

Tonight has been a really tough night for me. Tonight I heard that Talia Castellano was beginning her transition from this world to the next.

For those of you who don't know, Talia is a 13 year old professional Youtube Beauty Guru and has been fighting a cancer for six years now. Talia was first diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma on February 14th, 2007. She was cancer free for 13 months, but relapsed in 2008. In 2012, Talia's cancer spread to her bones and she also developed pre-Luekemia. For the past five days Talia has not eaten and has only woken up to go to the bathroom or vomit. She is not giving up or quitting, but gracefully transitioning from this world, to the next. This is not the end for Talia, it is only the beginning of a beautiful eternity with her Heavenly Father.

Through all of the trials and tribulations Talia has gone through in her short life, she always remained such a positive force in the world. At only 13 years old she has touched more lives than many people well into their 80's have. She used Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and other means of Social Media to connect and touch people from around the world. I am so blessed to have come across her on the Internet and I know that she has changed me for the best.

I pray that her heart is filled with peace, joy, and love during her last days on this Earth and that her family and friends are filled with that same peace as well.

If her family ever reads this, I want them to know that they truly raised an incredible daughter. She touched so many lives, inspired so many people, and touched anyone that was lucky enough to come in contact with her. I also pray that they know that this is not the end for Talia-- she is going to be in such a beautiful place, free of pain, and free to be the spunky, happy, and quirky girl she has always been. She will be with loved ones who have passed and she will once again be with her Heavenly Father. You will see her again and until then, I know she will be your beautiful angel looking over you.

If you haven't already pleased head on over to this Facebook group and leave an uplifting note, prayer, scripture, song, or anything that will bring a bit of peace and comfort to her family and friends.

Life on this Earth is such a precious gift and you never know when it will come to an end. Please, take a moment and tell those you love that you love them, call a loved one or friend that you haven't talked to in awhile, and treat the strangers you come in contact with with love and respect. Love each other. Uplift each other. Inspire each other.

I love each and every one of you so much.

Talia's Youtube
Talia's Facebook
Talia's Twitter
Talia's Website

Influenster

Hey Kittens!

Have you heard of Influenster.com? If you have, then you know how AMAZING it is! And if you haven't, well now's your chance!

I first heard about Influenster about a year ago and I can't tell you how HAPPY I am that I did.

If you're anything like me, you're a little obsessed with the new monthly subscription boxes (Birchbox, Glossybox, Ipsy, etc). If you're REALLY like me, you spend way too much money on these sample-size filled boxes. That's where Influenster comes in! Influenster can provide you with FREE; yes I said FREE boxes filled with FULL SIZE goodies! Okay, pick your jaw up off the floor and let's get into the details!

If you'd like to sign up for Influenster (remember, it's FREE) then click this link: Join Influenster. Then, once you're there fill out your Influenster profile and start unlocking "Badges". You can unlock "Badges" by completing surveys, linking your social media, sharing Influenster on your social media sites, etc. The more your participate in Influenster, the higher your Influensters score will be, and the more likely you are to get chosen to receive a VoxBox (the free box I mentioned earlier). That's really ALL there is to it! The only CATCH (if you can call it that) is that after you receive your Voxbox filled to the brim with amazing full-size product, you must then complete a survey at the end rating all of the products that you got to try. Easy, right?!

Now, there are Voxbox's for EVERYONE-- beauty, travelers, college students, dog lovers, cat lovers, food lovers, athletes...and so many more! Your "Badges" show Influenster what your interests are so that they can best match you with a Voxbox that you are sure to love!

Remember, you are not garaunteed a Voxbox, but the more you participate on Influenster.com, the more likely it will be that you will be chosen. I try to be very active on the site and have received FOUR Voxbox's since December! So, what are you waiting for? Head on over, sign up, and get your hands on one of these amazing boxes!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

     I don't know about you all, but I absolutely LOVE the New Year! It feels as if your slate from past years has been wiped clean and you can start fresh. The hopes, dreams, and possibilities for the New Year seem almost endless and everyone strives to make the coming year their best yet.

     Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that every year I keep every resolution I've ever made; or even that I remember every resolution I made. But I am here to tell you that THIS year I will...because YOU are going to keep me accountable.

    Below is a list of my New Year's Resolutions! Feel free to post your New Year's Resolutions as a comment and we'll keep eachother accountable. Then, on December 31st, 2013 we can come back to this blog post and see how many of us kept those pesky little resolutions!

     LET'S GO!!!

1. Get to my "ideal" body weight and wear a BIKINI in Summer 2013!
2. Post on my blog DAILY.
3. Post on my Youtube DAILY.
4. Journal DAILY.
5. Read The Bible.
6. Read The Book of Mormon.
7. Pray every night, every morning, and before every meal.
8. Volunteer at LEAST once a month.
9. Go to the Temple once a WEEK.
10. Go to church every Sunday.
11. Keep a memory jar to open next December 31st.
12. Book acting gigs.
13. Get a national agent.
14. Take a vacation.
15. Compliment someone every day.
16. Give money to a poor person whenever I have cash.
17. Take consistent dance, acting, and voice lessons.
18. Move back to NYC.
19. Inspire people.
20. BE HAPPY!

College VoxBox by Influenster!

Have you all heard about Influenster? If not, it's time you did! Influenster is a free-to-join website where people like you and me are rewarded for giving our opinion on new and exciting products! Once you join the website, you begin to unlock "badges" by writing reviews for products, sharing products on your social networking sites, and filling out surveys. The COOLEST thing about Influenster is that they frequently provide their users with something called a VoxBox. A VoxBox is filled with new and exciting products and is sent to you completely FREE OF CHARGE! How awesome, right? They have a variety of VoxBox's-- there has been a Beauty Vox Box, there are Dog & Cat VoxBox's, and so much more! You don't have to be a blogger to qualify for one of these boxes, all you need to do is get on their website and start filling out surveys that tell them more about YOU so they can pair you up with the perfect VoxBox! Remember, you are not garaunteed to qualify for a box, but the more active you are on the site, the better chance you have of receiving one!

I started becoming active on Influenster about a month ago and I've just received my first ever VoxBox!! It is SO easy to get a box of goodies sent straight to your doorstep for FREE I just had to share this with you all!!

SIGN UP NOW to get started at: http://www.influenster.com

Here's a peek at my first VoxBox the College 2012 Box!!

VoxBox Overview

 

NYC Show Time Glitter Eyeliner

 

This eyeliner is GREAT! It goes on smoothly and is very pigmented. The glitter is fine enough to where you don't feel it on your skin, but the look it gives is great! Perfect if you need a little pick-me-up with your makeup and don't have time to do an entire eye look.

 

imPRESS Press-On Manicure

 

I absolutely LOVE these imPRESS press-on manicure nails!! They are SO easy to use-- they literally take just a few minutes to put on and you're good to go. They fit my finger nails perfectly and they don't look "fake"-- it really does look like you spent hours doing your nails. These come in a variety of colors and designs and I definitely recommend these when you're in a pinch for time. They lasted about four days on me!

 

Energy Sheets

 

This is a GREAT pick-me-up during the day! It has a nice minty flavor and gives you that extra boost of energy you need during the middle of the day. These to me are really like a breath mint with a little extra "go" in them. They don't make me jittery but definitely give a boost in energy.

 

Pentel EnerGel Pen

 

I'm such a pen fanatic-- and this has become my new FAVORITE pen! It's nice mix between a gel pen and your classic ink pen. It writes smoothly, doesn't smudge, and is over all a great pen. I'll definitely be keeping this in my purse at all times!

 

Tropical Necco Wafers

 

I had actually never tried a Necco Wafer before so I can't really compare them to their "original" flavor, but I quite liked these! If you like fruity candies, these are definitely worth a try!

 

 

This VoxBox was sent to me for reviewing purposes.

 

 

Wet n Wild Color Icon: Swatches & Review

First of all, let me say that I have a new found respect for all of those beauty bloggers out there! It took a good hour and a half to swatch all of these bad boys, phew!

I've been hearing a lot of hype about these Wet n Wild Color Icon shadows so I had to do some investigating myself. Do they live up to the hype? I have to say: YES! Wet n Wild has come a LONG way from the company I remember in high school. I remember trying to get ANY color pay-off out of their eye shadows and I remember even their lip glosses being pretty crap. I don't know what they did, but they have completely redeemed themselves for me and turned their business around. If you don't have the extra money to spend on high end makeup, or simply don't want to, I think these palettes are an amazing alternative! I'll even be using some of these colors in place of some of my MAC & Urban Decay colors. Yes, they're THAT good!

The formulation on most of these is spot on-- the matte shades generally aren't powdery and as you can see from the pictures, when placed on top of an eye shadow base, show up extremely well. The metallic colors are definitely my favorite, they have a really creamy texture and go on much like MAC Veluxe Pearl shadows. My least favorite of the formulas would have to be the glitter-- although the glitter itself doesn't seem to create too much fall-out the shadow definitely does. I find this formulation to be the most powdery and "hit and miss" throughout the palettes.

Now, it's not all good. As you'll see by the swatches below, you definitely need to use an eye shadow base to get the full color pay-off with these guys. I used MAC's Painterly Paint Pot and it worked wonders! There were also a few "dud" colors in each of the palettes that you will be able to see from the pictures.

All in all, is it worth the money? Heck yeah! Is it worth more than what they're charging? Probably so! I say, go out and pick one of these bad boys up for the make up lover in your life, they'll be thanking you later!

Now, on to the good stuff...

Spoiled Brat Trio

No Primer 

With Primer

Blue Had Me At Hello 8-Pan 

No Primer 

Primer

 Petal Pusher 8-Pan

No Primer

Primer

Drinking A Glass Of Shine

No Primer

Primer 

Comfort Zone 

No Primer

Primer

THE WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY IS LYDIA ROBINSON!!!

FTC: All opinions are my own I am not affiliated with Wet n Wild.