Birchbox: May 2016

Hello everyone!  A little late in the month for me to be uploading, but better late than never!  I did get this about the middle of May.  There was actually a little issue with with my box to start with. I saw the little sneak peek and have three products I've already gotten! Oh goodness. I contacted Birchbox customer service and they were just wonderful with helping me! This is the second box they put together for me.

Here's this month's box!  Not my favorite box so far, but it's still really cute!  It's meant to look like it has paint brush strokes on it.  I'm really not sure why I don't like it as much; maybe because it's really abstract? Oh well!

Here's the little card detailing everything I got in my box this month!  As you can see, I really did hit the jackpot on awesome stuff!

I may have not liked how the box looked, but this month is killing it sample wise!  As you guys know, I love getting makeup in my boxes and Birchbox always sends high end brands.

Let's just jump right into this!

amika un.Done Texture Spray

I think because of Birchbox I now own every single product amika makes! Not really, but this is the third product I've gotten from them!  I don't mind texture sprays personally but I really don't use them a whole lot; my hair has as lot of texture as is. I'll still be sure to give it some love soon!

Jouer Long-Wear Lip Creme Liquid Lipstick "Lychee"

This is probably one of my favorite liquid lipstick formulas ever, and I've tried a lot.  Maybe I'm biased for some reason, I don't know. I'm just in love with everything about this. It's super smooth and soft, and it is so incredibly pigmented.

Just look at this color. It is my favorite lip color!  Just beautiful, the perfect amount of pink and nude mixed in; it's a good my lips but better color for me! I could go on for days about this lipstick but I won't. I'll just go ahead and leave it at this: if you have the chance, try these out. They're awesome.

Supergoop! Everyday SPF 50 with Cellular Response Technology

Wow, I'll ever need to buy sunscreen for my face again! I keep getting samples of it in all my boxes. I'm definitely not arguing, it's really freaking expensive.  A full size of this product costs $48; wow! It's great that they're sending sunscreen out right now, as summertime is rolling around and most people, myself included, tend to forget that your face needs as much protection as everything else!

Vita Liberata Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion

Like I said in my Beauty Box 5 post, I've never used self tanner before. I might open this up and try it out on my legs; we'll see how brave I'm feeling at the time.  It's also great to get this product during summer time so that I can not look like a ghost when I'm wearing shorts.

W3LL PEOPLE Bio Correct Multi-Action Concealer "Light"

This is my last sample for this month. It's a small tube, but I think it'll be okay!  I love trying out new concealers, and especially not having to pay for something I don't know if I'll match colors with.  Plus concealer textures are so tough to know if they work!

You can see where it is on my hand; it's slightly more orange. However, it should match my face perfectly blended out.  It definitely has good coverage!

Well, that's it!  I don't have much more to say about this box; it was really good! Definitely one of my favorite Birchboxes that I've gotten thus far.  The liquid lipstick is so good.  The rest of the products are things I'm going to use for sure.  It's so nice to have a good month; I've been on the fence about Birchbox for a couple months.

What do you guys think?  Do you want to try any of these products out? Do you self tan? Let me know!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Ipsy: May 2016

Hello everyone!  I've been spending a whole bunch of time looking at #projectpan pictures on Instagram for the past week.. I think I'm addicted.  I've considered putting my own makeup into a project pan but I'm just not feeling like using only one product until it's gone. I'd rather just use whatever feels good! I did, however, create a makeup inventory so I'd at least know how much I have to use up.

Back to the topic at hand, today: Ipsy!

First, this bag is so different from a regular Ipsy bag!  It's gorgeous.  As you can see, instead of the standard zipper they have a little button with a flip top.  It came in a few different colors; mine's obviously purple, but it could also come in blue and pink!  I wish I would have gotten the pink because it's my favorite color ever but I can handle purple too. If you look, there's a whole bunch of pretty little icons depicting different areas in the world.

Here's all of my products for this month!  It's very makeup heavy and the skincare is something I'm super pumped about.  Let's jump right into it!

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow Trio

Okay, so before I get into the actual product you guys need to look at this packaging. Just look at how freaking gorgeous that is!  I'm so in love with it.

Here's the actual trio of shadows. They're super pretty, very wearable colors!  The cool thing about this brand is that it's vegan and cruelty free, so if you're someone who really cares about that, this brand is a great drugstore option!  It's a little pricier than other brands, but far cheaper than high end alternatives.

Did I mention that I'm in love with these shadows?  The lightest one is a little weak on pigment, but the darkest shade is beyond gorgeous. The shade names from darkest to lightest are Lovely, Skinny Dip, and Crush.  I really just enjoy looking at these colors; so shiny!

NoTS 28Remedy Acne Pore Deep Cleanser

Ipsy always does a good job at sending skincare products that feel relevant to me!  I love the idea behind this product for my skin: my pores are my biggest problem right now.  I haven't cracked it open yet, but I definitely will be soon!  I'll get you guys a separate review of it later.

Glamour Dolls Gloss Snob "Twirl"

This is one of the products I'm not super excited about this month. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but I'm just not a lip gloss person.  I don't like the sticky feeling or the super sheer color to it.

I do have to say, this gloss is really thick and opaque, so maybe I'll actually try using it!  I do love the color.

Vera Mona Eye Smudger Brush

I'm not actually super crazy about this brush!  It's really pretty, but the bristles are so short, I don't think I can actually use this without bumping my eye with the metal.  We'll see when I really use this, but even with my hand they weren't long enough to keep me from scraping my skin.  Super soft, though!

Smashbox Cosmetics X-Rated Mascara

Of course, as soon as I finish the Smashbox mascara from my November Ipsy, I get a new one to try! Unfortunately I have about 10 other mascaras to try before this (I did count!), so this one is going to wait for a while before I open it up and try it out. I wasn't super impressed with the other one, but we'll see if this one is better!

Well, that's it!  I may not have seemed like the most excited person to try this stuff, but really I am pretty pumped! The eyeshadow is gorgeous and the cleanser seems perfect for me.  The other stuff isn't bad, just not the most exciting!  I'm still totally in love with Ipsy and will continue to get it, this month just wasn't the best box I've gotten!

What do you guys think? What's your favorite product? Let me know!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Beauty Box 5: May 2016

Hello everyone! Like I said yesterday, I really want to jump back onto the blogging wagon!  I've been loving all the products I've gotten this month in my boxes, and Beauty Box 5 is certainly no exception.

The theme for this month was Mermaid.  I've said this before and I will say it again; Beauty Box 5 is one of the boxes that really does an awesome job at sticking with their themes!  I will admit, a few things here and there are a bit of a stretch, but for the most part you can totally see where they're coming from.

Here's a picture of the back of the card, which has all of the products listed!  It has some details about the products you got, and even shows you if what you got is full size.  I really do enjoy the cards we get from them.

Here's all of the products together for this month!  I'm really in love them! Let's get right into it.

Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-in Spray

Briogeo has always been on my radar, but in the past two months I've gotten one of their products in every box!  Last month was Ipsy and Birchbox, and this month it's this box and my new secret box that you guys will be seeing soon!

As for the leave-in spray itself, I haven't opened it up to try it out yet. I'm trying to use up a spray I got a long time ago before I open any more, but I'll leave you guys a review of it when I get to it!  I personally love leave-in sprays because I'm lazy and taking one step out of my routine is awesome!

Appeal Cosmetics Luxurious Lipstick "Crush"

Well this certainly is the big ticket item of this month's box!  This lipstick is full size and retails for $29! No, that is not a typo.  That costs over twice as much as this box!  The picture makes it look a little more pink than it really is; it shows in person as a true coral.  The swatch looks accurate.

Unfortunately, my lips are a little too pigmented for this color!  It doesn't show up very well on me, so I'll have to figure out how exactly I want to go about wearing this, but its a beautiful summer shade.  The perfect coral color for people who are brave enough to rock it!

Mystic Tan Mocha-Kyssed Bronzer Lotion

I'll be honest you guys, I've never, EVER fake tanned or fake baked or any of that. I've always let the sun turn me whatever color it wanted to. Most of the time it's red, but that's not the point. Maybe this is the summer I get adventurous! If I do work up the courage to use this, it will be on my legs because yikes, I could blind someone with 'em.

Glamour Dolls Mermaid Lashes Splash Proof Mascara

Glamour Dolls is a brand I've suddenly been getting all the time!  I got it in my march BB5 and then in this month's Ipsy!  I have a million mascaras to try, so this one is going on the back burner for now. It's also waterproof, and I'm not exactly sure if I want to wear it.  I do have a lot of lashes but waterproof mascara is hard to get off and I don't want to rip them all out!

Elizabeth Mott You're So Fine Liquid Liner "Glitterati"

Finally, we have this liquid liner!  It's actually really pretty for summer if you're tired of standard black eyeliner. It's slightly different, but subtle, so if you're a person who doesn't like a ton of glitter but wants to switch it up, this is great for you!

Please pardon the terrible swatching on my part. I got a little gung ho with the wand on that top line and just kind of turned it into a blob.  The two lines below it I tried to make super thin for a couple reasons. First, to show you how the applicator worked and how thin the lines really could be. Second, I wanted to show you guys what the glitter looked like in the liner itself. Like I said, it's a pretty, subtle product!

Well, that's it for this month's box!  I really loved how well they stuck to the theme, even if I wasn't totally pleased with everything that came in the box. I'd highly recommend this box to anyone who's looking for a way to change up their routine with fun and unique products! I've always been pretty happy with what's come from my boxes.

What do you guys think? Would you dare to wear that coral shade? Or glitter liner? Let me know!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Why I Quit the Daily Blog Challenge

Hello everyone! Long time no talk. It really hasn't been that long, but it's been longer than usual. You may have noticed by now what this post is about due to the title.  Today I'm going to update you on what happened and tell you what I learned in these past few weeks.

When I started doing the 31 Days of Blogging, I was super gung ho about it. I thought for sure this was going to be what brought my blogging game to the next level. And for the first four days I did it and it was fine.

Then I ended up getting behind on my posts.  I didn't put it up one day, then I tried putting them up and I just got a little bit overwhelmed. On top of that, I started losing my motivation to keep putting something up every day. I felt like as soon as I finished writing the post it went on the blog, with no time for stepping back and just looking.

The reason I enjoy blogging and how I found such peace with it is because there was no pressure for me to have anything done for it. Yes, I did have a schedule I liked putting things up on, but I didn't HAVE to do it. The minute I started putting a time limit on things I got tired of it.  It lost all of the appeal to me and suddenly became a chore; something I HAD to do every day.

I've learned this about myself: a hobby loses all fun to me when I force myself to do it.  It's also a bit of a burn out to blog every day; I don't know how people do it!  I feel like I have so much stuff to do all the time that also blogging every day just made it so stressful. It kind of lost all fun to it and became work, which is the opposite of what I want from a hobby.

I really will come back to blogging this week.  I took a break from it to recover from the negative feelings blogging has taken on, but I should be good to go this week! I'm so ready to show you guys all the awesome things I've gotten from my beauty boxes, plus I have some reviews to start posting for you guys!  I'm so excited to jump back onto the wagon!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 8: Old Photo of Me

Hello everyone! I'm here to bring you day 8 of my 31 days of blogging!  Today I'll be telling you guys all about an old photo of me!

Here's the picture I've decided on!  It's actually a picture of me giving a speech at my mom's wedding. I was in 8th grade at the time and had no idea what I was going to say.  I was actually looking at my mom and stepdad at the time.  The person looking at me is Candace, one of my mom's friends.

This was actually the first wedding I've ever been in/to, and while I've been to many more this is one of the most memorable ones.  I gave my first maid of honor speech and made most people cry. Score!

In all seriousness it was an important milestone in my family's life and seeing this picture reminds me not only of that day but of the things I said and how I'm reinforcing them.

Well, that's it!  I know there wasn't a whole lot of detail to give about this picture but it's the one I've had in my head for a long time and I really wanted to share it for some reason. If you guys have a favorite photo of yourselves when you were younger and want to write about it, let me know! Send me a link; I'd love to see it!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 7: 10 Favorite Foods

Hello, everyone!  Turns out keeping up with one blog post every day is hard to do!  Especially when you start it on the week of finals. I may have made a poor choice, but fear not, I'm back on track!  Today I'll be talking about my favorite foods!  This is really hard for me to decide on because let's be honest I pretty much love all food.

Well, here's a list of my 10 favorite foods!  Just so we're clear these aren't in any specific order.

1. Pizza
2. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
3. Potato Salad
4. Jolly Rancher Chews
5. Mashed Potatoes
6. Orange Dream Cupcakes
7. Honey Mustard Pork Roast
8. Honeycrisp Apples
9. Caramel & Honey Iced Latte
10. Cheesecake

 I'm seeing a theme of honey!  Probably because I really am a huge fan of sweet foods; they'll be the first things I pick up when I get the choice.  I'm that person who if given the chance will order dessert first and be happy.  Or will eat only a little bit of the meal but eat dessert afterwards. I'm a sucker for sweet!

Well, that's it!  Let me know what you guys think! Do you have any top favorite foods? Do you like anything that would be considered weird? Let me know! Also don't forget: if you're doing this challenge send me a link so I can read it!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 6: 3 Personality Traits I'm Proud Of

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be telling you about the three personality traits I'm most proud of!  This is a difficult question for anyone; it's hard to think of positive things about yourself sometimes. Especially when someone asks you the question!

My Creativity
One of my favorite personality traits about myself is my creativity.  It's not always there with me, but when it does appear it sticks around for quite some time.  It's kind of like the idea of breaking the dam?  Once you think of one idea they all just flood. 

Right now the project that I'm really using my creativity for is my bullet journal!  I'll write a dedicated post about it soon, but it's basically the best thing I've ever done for myself.

Ability to Handle Stress
I work in a job that requires the ability to handle stress and figure out problems quickly.  I have seen many a manager crack under pressure; it's a difficult job.  I pride myself in the ability to handle all the stress that comes with running doing my job; it's a valuable skill to have!

My Desire to Learn
As dorky as it may sound to some, I love learning. I will literally be willing to learn about anything, as long as I can understand it. Sadly math is not something I think I'll ever enjoy learning, although it is important for me to understand!  Just the idea of having knowledge that I didn't possess before makes me really happy.  It isn't even just learning new things; it's hearing either an affirmation to something I thought I knew or thinking of certain things in different ways. It's all so amazing to me!

Well, that's it!  Can you guys relate to me at all? Let me know!  Also, if you're following along and doing this, send me a link so I can check it out!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 5: My Guilty Pleasure

Hello everyone!  I'm here today to bring you something top secret: my guilty pleasure!  We all have little things we do that we don't necessarily like to tell people simply because it may be embarrassing.

Well, I'm going to bare all and tell you mine. I enjoy reading and writing fanfiction.  I know, most of you are probably thinking "what is that?" Those of you who know what it is might be judging me a little bit, but I've come to terms with myself and that's okay!

Fanfiction is basically stories that people write about existing characters and worlds.  For example: think of your favorite TV show. Think of the characters that you love to see as a couple.  Chances are there are other people who like the same thing so much that they write their own stories about it!

There's really not a specific set of shows, movies, books, etc. that are used in fanfiction. There are so many different genres and worlds and couples that people love, fanfiction is endless.

I think the reason it's a guilty pleasure of mine simply comes from the stigma that may be associated with people who write/enjoy fanfiction.  When people think of it, they likely think of the weird basement dwellers who do nothing but play video games and watch anime all the time.  You don't think of the normal people like me doing it!

For me personally it comes from my love of writing but my inability to create characters I really enjoy.   I use fanfiction as a creative outlet for myself, kind of like this blog. Instead of writing about myself and beauty, however, I'm writing creative stories about characters instead!

Well, that's it!  If you want to share your guilty pleasure, feel free.  I'd love to read whatever you have to say; who knows, maybe we share something in common!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 4: My Earliest Childhood Memory

Hello everyone! Today I'll be talking about my earliest childhood memory.  My earliest memory is less of a specific memory, and more of a specific person.

Her name is Becca, and she is my cousin and one of my best friends ever.  I don't have any specific memories from my childhood but the ones I do remember always involved her.

We were arguably friends in the beginning. For some reason there was always some sort of dissonance between us at the start, and we'd often ask each other questions that resulted in us fighting over whether a unicorn could be a favorite animal or not.  It was a sad attempt at getting to know each other better!

For every important moment in my childhood spent with her we were still besties.  Another strong memory of mine is when we pretended that I beat her up and scared my younger sister and cousin.  While it was hilarious for both of us it probably scarred them in ways we could not have foreseen. Worth it!

The picture above actually comes from being at her house!  She had just gotten that pug (Oli) and so I was spending time with her and meeting the dog. We would often swim in the pool and then take baths together, and we would stay up for hours into the night watching movies and playing video games together; shout out to the Buffy game!  We'd also play Herd Your Horses, which was as board game favorite of ours.

This picture is from the school park in my grandparent's hometown. We would often go together to this park and play for hours. They had two separate swing sets and a giant playground area with different levels and bridges and tunnels. We'd regularly climb on top of the tunnels and slides (like I am in the picture!) and play tag.

I have such fond memories of childhood with my cousin. Whether we were fighting or not I could always count on being happy with seeing her at some point in time.

Well, that's it!  I hope it's interesting to see a little into my life.  Feel free to join along with me and post these as well. If you do so send me a link so I can read it!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 3: Meaning of my Business Name

Hello everyone!  Moving quickly onto day 3 of the blogging challenge!  Today I'll be talking about something I think we've all wondered: how did I come up with my business name? What does it mean?

I've actually have been asked this question before!  The Cornfed Princess is a somewhat obscure name that doesn't necessarily define what my blog is about, but that's okay.

I didn't really sit and think about coming up with this name, honestly.  Sometimes I have these thoughts that pop into my head and won't go away until I do something about it, and this is one of them!  The phrase cornfed princess was in my head and I decided it would be a good name for a blog.

Cornfed is meant to define where I live.  I live in a state that pretty much is all corn.  Seriously, there's pretty landscape or forests or anything similar. It's all crops.  I wouldn't ask for anything different however, which is why I wanted to incorporate it into my name!

Princess is meant to show the more girly side of me.  It also happens to be the opposite of cornfed. Really, my name is a contradiction!  Cornfed heads back to my country roots while princess is meant to show sophistication and refinement.

Well, that's it!  Not the longest post I've ever put up but it's full of Cornfed goodness!  Feel free to do this challenge along with me if you'd like. Send me a link if you do something like this, I'd love to check it out!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 2: 20 Facts About Me

Hello, everyone!  Day 2 of the 31 days of Blogging Challenge is here!  Today I'm going to be giving you guys 20 facts about me you probably don't know. Enjoy!

1. I naturally have dark brown hair and blue eyes, however April of last year I decided to dye it blonde. I'm ready to go to a more caramel brown color but I'm just too lazy to get it done!

2. I have a passion for horses. If you've looked at my Facebook page you've probably seen my cover photo, which is of Reese, a horse I used to own.  I leased a horse for a little while and took lessons, but horses are freaking expensive!  I had to stop for now, but that doesn't change the fact that I still love them and miss them.

3. I struggled with knowing what I wanted to do for a long time.  I wanted to be a vet for a long time (childhood dream!) but realized that I can't handle that sort of pressure and blood.  I then decided I wanted to be a psychologist but that was way too much schooling to get a good degree worth having.  I always loved business, helping people, organizing, etc. so I decided that I wanted to do business administration. As I've come along and thought, however, I decided Human Resources was a better choice for my personality.

4. I have two sisters. One is 16 and the other is six.  I'm the oldest of us three!

5. I love lists. I love making lists, I love checking things off of lists, lists give me life.  I put a ton of things on my lists because it's just fun for me.  My to watch list is painfully long, my to read list is in the thousands. 

6. I'm actually a really shy person when it comes to being around people who I don't know.  I'd prefer listening to other people over being the one talking in those situations.

7. In the summer before 8th grade, I fell off a horse and broke my shoulder.

8. I tried dabbling into makeup in 7th grade, but I was made fun of every time and so I decided to stop altogether.  It wasn't until last year that I decided to try again. I still don't wear it very often because I'm happy with how my face looks bare, but sometimes I'm feeling it and will put a full face on.

9. I'm a huge procrastinator.  I'm currently trying to work on that right now by trying to break down tasks and do them one by one, but I'm still struggling!

10. I'm terrible at doing my own nails!  Cutting them AND painting them.

11. I am a religious Target shopper. Seriously, I'm there at least once a week, but usually I'll visit more often than that. I have little shame!

12. I have a weird way of going about liking things. I never just "like" it, I become obsessed with it.  I basically do everything involving it and only focus on the one thing until I become tired of it. After that, I really just stop.  This happens mostly with online games, which is why I don't let myself play them anymore.

13. I'm kind of a hoarder.  Not really in the sense that I keep everything, but I have a hard time getting rid of things that I might use at some point in time.  I own a lot of books that are meant for people younger than me but I keep them because I do want to read them eventually.  I keep all my makeup/skincare samples even though I can guarantee I'll never use all of it.

14. I am extremely sarcastic in person with my friends.  While I definitely avoid it here (sarcasm reads poorly on the internet), it's witty, sarcastic banter that really makes me laugh!

15. I'm kind of a nerd!  I used to play World of Warcraft (and miss it!), I watch video games on YouTube and play the occasional game if I really like the way it looks. 

16. I am incredibly open minded and tolerant.  The only time this is not true is with people who are being the opposite of me; hateful and excluding those who are different.

17. I've been out of the country one time, on a cruise for this winter (2016). We went to Jamaica and Haiti! 

18. I really love using my bullet journal! I use it to hold all of my lists, including to dos, my goals, and my planner. That's only a few of the things I use it for, too!

19. Along the line of my bullet journal, I am a stationery addict. It's actually a pretty bad habit; I own tons of notebooks, journals, sticky notes, memo pads, etc. I also own a bunch of pens and stickers.

20. At some point in time in my life, I want to be an elementary school teacher! I don't think I should start right away in my life, mostly because I don't have the patience right now, but at some point I want my own classroom with my own students.

Well, that's it!  I hope you guys learned some interesting new facts about me.  If you want to post the same thing on your own blog, do it!  Send me a link and I'll check it out for myself too.  I'd love to do this little challenge along with you guys!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

31 Days of Blogging // Day 1: Introduction

Hello everyone!  I thought I'd do things a little differently for this month!  I saw this challenge and decided it would be something I wanted to do for sure!  Fear not, regular content will be put up on the usual Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  I'll just be putting these up as well!

The first post for the month is "Introduction".  Seems pretty straightforward and not too creative. That's okay, though!

My name is Karissa, and I'm a sophomore at a local community college. I live in the midwest and have been there my whole life.  In the fall I'm moving to a new state and going to college there, where the majority of my family lives!

I currently go to school for business, and plan on getting my bachelors in Business Administration and Human Resources.  After that I'd like to go to a school to get my masters degree in Human Resources.

I currently work at a local grocery store as a part time manager.  When I'm not managing I'm working in customer service.  I plan on transferring to the same store in the new town I'll be moving to, and possibly staying with the company beyond school years.  My end career goal if I stay with the company is to be an H.R. manager at the corporate level.

I haven't been very active in my college but I really hope to change that when I move. I have a few different clubs I'm interested in looking at, and I may delve into sports. I also applied to be a PINK campus rep!  We'll see how that works (I'm not SUPER hopeful, but a girl can dream!).

I don't know what else to tell you guys, honestly.  You'll get to know me more and more as we go on with the month, but if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask me! I'll totally be willing to answer.

ALSO, if you like this idea feel free to do it along with me!  I'd be more than happy to follow along with you!

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess