Gone for far too long

Hey guys!! I have missed you all so much and I am so sorry I have been gone for far too long. I have been dealing with a lot of personal issues in my life and I promise to do better. You all make me smile and I need to start focusing on the positive in my life. 

So a lot has been going on since I have posted last and I want to fill you guys in so we can catch up. 

First off back in January I found out my precious little Oliver (my dog) had advanced periodontal disease. These problems are extremely common in small breed dogs. It is basically a SEVER case of gingivitis. So we took him to Pet Smart and put him on a wellness plan...which is amazing. He had to get 8 teeth pulled so he no longer has front teeth but one little one on the bottom. On a side note... he is pretty stinkin cute with one bottom tooth. He reminds me of a Gerber baby! hahaha 

Anyways I was very worried about him when we were going through this process because if you know me... you know he is like my child. However I am so glad we had this done for him. He is no longer in pain and is a very happy healthy baby!!

My little fur baby!

Another update... My boyfriend of 5 1/2 years is going to enlist into the Air Force. He has mentioned going in before but this time he is very serious. I am very nervous because I do not know what the future will bring but I know we are about to start a journey that will be full of ups and downs. We have never been apart before and that is going to take A LOT of getting use too. I will admit it... I am very spoiled when it comes to his time. Every minute he has extra he gives it to me. Which I am very thankful for. However, If there is one thing I know about the military it`s the fact that they are gone all the time. This I am scared of but at the same time I am excited to start putting all of my time into what I love... which is fashion, interior design, makeup and hair. 

My Boyfriend James and I 

Speaking of which I am thinking about buying old furniture and re-vamping it. Is that something you guys would be interested in? If so let me know. It may take a while to get this started because all of the transitions I am about to go through but it will definitely happen in the future. 

Anyways guys I wanted to let you all know where I have been and that I am back to stay. I am so sorry I left for so long but sometimes I just have to take a step back and breathe. 

Thank you for being the positive light that shines in my life. Even if you only read my blog and follow me… you make me smile! 

February Ipsy Bag

I just received my February Ipsy bag this past Saturday. I have to say I am pretty excited about this one. January was pretty much a bummer… from the bag to the products. I would say they made up pretty well!

Here is a look into my February Ipsy bag and the contents inside! 

  The bag is much cuter this time and it did not smell like a plastic pool toy.

Here is a peak inside. Don`t you just love the leopard print on the inside? Agh so cute!

 I love this blush so much. Not only is it an amazing color but it has a lot of pigment. I can not believe how big it is... It`s a full size product not a sample. WHICH IS AMAZING! I can not believe I got this blush... I have been meaning to swing by MAC and pick up a new one but now... Thanks to my Ipsy bag... I do not have too.

 This is a FULL SIZE eye liner pencil made by MOLLY. I love this pencil so much. This product also has a lot of pigment and goes on very easy. When I went to the bathroom to wash my metallic dot off I couldn't get it off. I had to literately scrub it. This lets me know it stays on and will not run.

Beautiful FULL SIZE bottle of nail polish that I can add to my small but growing collection. 

I have not used this lip gloss yet but it seems to be really good. I love the color and it is very thick. This is the only sample bottle I received this go around. 

EYELASHES! A girl can never have enough pairs of false lashes. I do not wear them on a day to day basis at all but they are always good for custom parties and what not! (The lighting change makes my blanket look yellow... YIKES!)  

 So all in all I LOVED my February bag. Every product was full size except for the lip glass. I would say they definitely made up for the January bag and I am excited for more bags in the future. I can not wait to show you guys what March brings!! 

All natural hair wash

I am the kind of girl that is always up to try home remedies and all natural challenge. So when I read a blog post about washing your hair in baking soda and vinegar I had to try it.

The girl writing the post said that she had not washed her hair with regular shampoo in 6 weeks. Hearing this made me say, WHAT?? I have to wash my hair every single day because it is so oily! If I did not have to wash my hair for just two days, that would be a miracle within its self. I can`t even imagine 6 weeks.

I did a little more research after reading the blog post and found that the vinegar can strip hair die out of your hair. Since I have a light ombre I was a little worried but I proceeded to try this anyways.

This is what I used:

1/3 cup of baking soda mixed with a whole bottle of water

1 tablespoon of vinegar mixed with a small bottle of water

After I grabbed these items out of the cabinet and mixed them up... I went straight to the shower!

OK! Lets gets this started!! You will not be needing your hair cap for this one! 

First I poured the whole bottle of baking soda and water over my head trying not getting it in my eyes and screaming at the same time. Why was I screaming you ask? Well because my crazy self, filled the bottle up with cold water. Let me tell you, there is no surprise like cold water running down your back and not expecting it. So REMEMBER when trying this PUT HOT WATER INTO THE BOTTLE. Bahahaha

After putting the baking soda all in my hair, I gave my scalp a good scrub (my scalp felt like I had my head in the sand at the beach all day). I then Let this sit for about 5 minutes then rinse it out.

After I washed all of the baking soda out, I poured the vinegar mix over my head. Guess what? This bottle also had cold water. Thank goodness I was expecting it this go-around! I let the vinegar mix sit for about 2 minutes and then I rinsed it out.

I finished up my shower and got out see and smell the results.

OK, so my concerns were:

 1. Would my hair smell like vinegar?

2. Would my color come out?  

3. Would my hair be dry and brittle?

To my surprise my hair did not smell like vinegar at all. The amount of water was way greater than the amount of vinegar so it definitely diluted the smell. Rests assure ladies and gents your hair will not smell like nastiness!

All of my hair color came out. There is no longer any ombre. However, when I got my hair dyed about 1 year ago my hair dresser did not put any bleach on my hair. She only used light brown. So with that being said maybe that’s why it took everything out. I think this will pull out a lot of color no matter what hair you have. It will either take it out completely or make the color super dull.

OK! So these are before and after pictures. The top: before the all natural wash. The bottom: after the wash. I guess I do have a little color left but in person you can not tell at all.

My hair was more shiny, silky and light weight than it has ever been. It really took out all the wax and oils shampoo and conditioner puts in. It is really amazing how good your whole head will feel.  I did not have to repeat this again until 3 DAYS LATER!! This ended up being a miracle within its self and subtracting my time to my morning routine! WHOOP WHOOP!!

So I totally recommend everyone try this, unless you have hair dye. If you do stay on this all natural remedy I do recommend an all-natural hair mask once a week to moisturize the hair. I noticed the ends of my hair did get a bit dry but not too bad.  

When I get a chance I will do an all natural hair mask moisturizer and let you all know how it turns out.

Until then if you try this at home leave me a comment and let me know what you think! How did this work for you?

First Ipsy bag

I received my very first Ipsy bag yesterday!! I was totally excited but then I actually got it. I was a little disappointed. Thankfully earlier that day I had already logged onto my Ipsy profile and read all the reviews of the January bag. It seems that I am not the only one disappointed.

Here is a look inside my first Ipsy bag! 

 So I thought the bag was going to be super cute but it`s not. The bag is a big thing for me because I have a bag obsession. It also smelled like a pool float with a very strong plastic smell.

I actually like this smooth shadow creamy eye pencil. It is the only thing out of the WHOLE bag I use on a daily now. 

I tried the deep conditioning mask and honestly I already have pretty awesome shampoo and conditioner so it really did not make a difference. 

This lip balm ended up being a lip stain. I actually love the color and I loved that it would not come off. Even when I gave the boyfriend some smooches it did not come off... on him or me! hehe

This lotion smells so yummy but unfortunately my face is so sensitive I cannot use it all the time. 

Did not like this product at all. I tried it on my problem spots and it burned. It continued to burn for a couple of days. Not constantly but every time I would wash my face or put on my daily moisturizer it would burn.  It also dried my face out for a couple of days. 

So all in all I honestly did not like my products this time. I have heard it is a hit and miss kind of thing but since it is February I will be getting my next bag in a week or so and i will be giving you guys an update. 

Since it is February and it is Valentines month I have my hope up pretty high. There is so much cuteness that could go into this month. Lets hope its a hit!! 

WCW: Kandee Johnson

Typically people do not post why they have chosen their Woman crush for Wednesday. It is always pretty evident why they have chosen that person. It`s always their beauty or their personality. 

We see these people on TV and we see the characters they play but who knows if they are as good as they seem. For instance I watched an Interview once with Carrie Underwood and she said “That person up there on that stage is not me; my real person is too shy to do anything like that.” People tend to put on personas to play the part and make their career work.  Which is totally fine and I completely understand. I might even alter my person if I was in front of the cameras all the time.

My woman crush is Kandee Johnson!! 

You may look at my woman crush and think yeah she is beautiful, no wonder you picked her. Yes, she is beautiful but the truth is I didn't pick her because she is gorgeous. I picked her because of her heart. Kandee Johnson is a total inspiration.  I feel that God put her on this earth not only to teach us how to do our makeup and DIY`s but to also be that light in the darkness. She makes me strive to be a better person and to be a truly happy person. When I am feeling down and upset I go to her channel and just watch her videos over and over. Her happiness, smile, laugh, and love are just so contagious.

She does not show a persona that is fake. She stays true to herself and that allows her followers to relate to her. I feel like I honestly know this amazing person. She puts her life, her religion and her family out there to share with the world. Kandee adds a little sparkle to my heart and I am sure if you give her a chance you will feel the same. 

   

I could go on and on about how amazing she is but I think I will end it here and leave you to find out for yourself.

If you do not know who this truly amazing woman is you should check her out. She has 2 blogs, 2 YouTube Channels, an Instagram and a twitter account.  I know you will love her as much I as I do.

Do you have a blogger who helps you through your days and your troubles in life? If so tell me who they are I would love to follow also!!

Hugs and kisses to all my followers out there! I love you all very much!

YouTube Channels: Kandee Johnson 

The  Kandee Johnson Show

Blogs: http://kandeelandkandeeland.blogspot.com/

    http://www.kandeej.com/

Intagram: @kandeejohnson

Twitter: @kandeejohnson

My First Youtube video

I am so excited to share with you MY VERY FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO! I honestly cannot even thank you guys enough for wanting me to share my tips and tricks with you. I love doing makeup and any chance I get to do it… I will take it!! I also love to help and spread my knowledge. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity. 

( I had to go by Walmart on my way home from work to buy batteries so I could film for you guys. I was going to put the batteries in my camera (assuming it would work better than my phone) and try to film that way. But my camera was just not working good enough! So I had to rely on my phone.)

(Getting setup on my vanity)

Since I have started my blog and up loading pictures to Instagram and Facebook, I have had a lot of people ask me how I do my eyebrows.  Since I cannot explain everything in words I thought… “Why not do a video?” That way you guys can have a one on one with me and I can show you exactly what I do!! I really hope this video helps all of you that want big bold and beautiful eyebrows.

If you want me to do more of these videos let me know. Comment below and tell me. I will show you any tip and trick you want to know. Make sure you like my video and subscribe to my channel. Also follow me on Instagram at candy_land13

What I used for my eyebrows:

Too Faced Palette 

Sephora Brush set

Cargo Concealer ( I used this after I wiped my makeup off. It helped take what was left off of my eyebrows)

Let your light shine

I found this picture (above image) on my Facebook news feed yesterday. It really inspired me to speak to you from my heart.

There are so many men/women/ children/ teens that commit suicide every day because they feel as if they are not accepted. Weither it`s society, family, friends coworkers, ect.

If you have ever felt this way I wish I could just give you a huge hug and let you know how amazing you really are. I would tell you that you are worth everything in the whole world. Maybe I don’t know you. Maybe you are a stranger that I have never even met. But I still believe that God made you for a reason. You are here on this planet to do something amazing in your like. You have a light that glitters like no other in this whole world.  Your soul purpose in life may be that you overcome all the hardship you are going through and share it with the world. Just stay strong and you will come out even bigger even better even more awesome than all those that did not accept the amazing you. 

 We are faced with challenges everyday where we need to feel accepted. If you are yourself and they do not accept you… then they are not worth your time.

Everyone has an opinion of everything and everyone. That is just our society these days. It is so sad that we as a whole are not loving and accepting. I truly hate it!

 It does not matter who you are holding hands with and kissing. It does not matter if your purple, green or orange. It does not matter if you love birds instead of your opposite sex. It does not matter if you have a better or worse house/car/clothes/shoes etc. I still love you all the same and so do the ones that matter. Your family, your friends even your dog. You have a special place in this world and maybe you have not found that yet. But I promise you, you will. Just hold on and do not let go of that beautiful glittery sparkle that you are.

Just know you are beautiful and there is no one else in this whole entire world like you. God made you original and special in your own way. Let that light shine and do not be afraid. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Just be you and that’s the best you could ever do.

I love you all!! Sending hugs and kisses from my computer to yours!!

If you need someone to talk to and you are going through difficult times and hardships please feel free to email mail me. I am here if you need me! ccmitchell13@gmail.com