Ten Beauty Products to Get You Through the Summer

Mascara: Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express
     This mascara is one of my all time favorites! I love my lashes to be long and voluminous. This product does that so well. Here's why I love it so much for the summer: it does not smudge. I can wear this mascara all day, and it will not budge. I'm not one for waterproof mascara simply because it's so difficult to remove. However, the waterproof version easier to take off than most of the waterproof mascaras I have tried.

Blush/Bronzer: Nars Laguna and Orgasm
     This combo is one of the best selling makeup products for a reason. Together, they give an amazing bronze, glowy look to the skin (which is perfect for summer time). I've yet to try a blush/bronzer combo that I love more than this one!

Primer: Makeup Forever HD Primer
     With summer comes two of makeups worst enemies: heat and sweat. This is why it's so important to prime your face before applying your foundation, concealer, etc. Although this product is quite pricey, you get your money's worth. You only need about a peas worth to cover your entire face. Thus, it will last you quite a long time.

Foundation: Covergirl Natureluxe
     The natural look is a trend that comes back every summer. I love this foundation for that reason! It's just enough coverage to allow for a natural look that still hides any small imperfections.

Hair Treatment: Hyrdrating Macadamia Oil Intesive Moisture Mask

     After many winter months full of heat styling, my hair needs to be nourished. After one use of this product, my hair was twice as shiny and soft! This is one of my favorite treatments to use in order to combat those hot, damaging summer days.

Hair Product: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray
       Another trend that seems to makes its debute every summer is soft beachy waves. I myself, as many other beauty addicts, set aside the heat stylers and let their natural locks loose. A sea salt spray emphasizes any waves you have as well as de frizzing them. This particular product is an investment, but it lives up to the price! However, you can make your own sea salt spray with one tsp. sea salt and eight oz. distilled water.

Eyeshadow: Maybelline Eyestudio Color Tattoo in Too Cool
     It's time to put away the dark shadows and go for a bright eye look. I love, love, love, to put this eyeshadow in the inner corner of my eye! Combining this shadow with a white eyeliner on the lower lash line really opens up and brightens the eye. And Because it's a cream shadow it stays put all day.

Lotion: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

     Summer is the season to break out the daisy dukes and tanktops. Along with those, comes soft and smooth skin. There are many lotions that work great. However, I find that when I use this product my skin is just as moisturized when I put my pajamas on as when I first applied the lotion in the morning. That's just what I want in a lotion!

Nail Polish: China Glaze's Pool Party

     This polish is a bright neon pink that is the same color on your nails as it is in the bottle. Some nail polishs can be quite dissapointing in that manner. When I buy a neon nail color, I want neon. This color is neon and then some! It's definitely my go to color and I get compliments everytime I have it on.

Lipstick: Maybelline Fifth Avenue Fucshia

     My favorite trend for the summer is bright colors, and I love to bring that trend to my lipsticks! Fuschia is a color I generally save for the summer because it is so bright. What I enjoy most about this color is that it looks incredible on every skin tone! I love this lipstick in particular because it's a triple threat: smooth, moisturizing, and pigmented!

DIY: Body Scrubs

         I am absolutely in love with these body scrubs! My friend, Alyssa, made them for me as a birthday present, and I had to share the recipe with you all. Most of the ingredients, you can find in your kitchen or at the local market. They're very simple to make and are the perfect gift for a girl who loves to pamper herself. She bought mason jars and hot glued a lace fabric around them. They're tied with bows and tags with the name of the scrub on the front and a list of ingredients on the back. They will last for about six months. (If you're crazy enough to not use them up before then!) Here's how to make them:

Sugar Body Scrub:

     1 cup fine white sugar

     1/3 cup (approx) sunflower oil

     30 drops vanilla essential oil

     In a glass or ceramic bowl, add essential oil to sugar and stir thoroughly. Add sunflower oil gradually, stirring continuously. Stop when the scrub reaches the consistence of moist sand.

Coffee Body Scrub:

     1 cup ground coffee
     1 Tbsp salt
     1/3 cup (approx) sunflower oil
     1 tsp ground cinnamon
     1/4 cup fine white sugar
     20 drops sweet orange essential oil

     Mix coffee, salt, sugar, and essential oil in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add sunflower oil slowly, stirring continuously, until mixture reaches the consistency of moist sand.

Summer trend: Dainty Rings

         Summer is almost here! I am so excited for the warm weather and all the trends that come along with it! One of my favorites is stacking, specifically bracelets and rings. I purhased these rings from Target. Forever 21 and etsy are also great places to shop while looking for the perfect set. I'm not one for mixing my metals, so I love to spice things up by mixing patterns. I strongly recommend this. Now, I just hope to find the perfect infinity ring.

And by the way, the nail polish I am wearing in this photo is Club Prive by L'oreal.

Changes in Hello Sunshine!

      I have some sad but exciting news! Alyssa is going to be studying abroad this next semester!! I am so happy for her because she has been looking forward to this for so long. Here is the sad part, she won't be able to update for the next few months. :( However, she will be sending me a few guests posts to share with you guys throughout her journey. Let's all wish her safe travels and good luck!

      As for me, I apologize for the absence. School has become quite stressful and busy. On the brightside, I just have dead week and finals before I am finished for the summer! I may not post much (if anything) these next few weeks. I have to focus on doing well on my exams! I will be back on track with many ideas after, though. If you have any suggestions for posts let me know!

      And for those of you in college who are nearing the end, stay strong! I know it's tough, but you'll be able to breath a sigh of relief once you are over and relish in your accomplishments! Thank you for being patient with me! Talk to you all soon!

Book Review: Delirium

Spoiler Alert!!

They say the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I have always believed them. Until Now.

Now, everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second

than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

       I am a huge fan of the book series The Hunger Games. I just finished reading through the trilogy for my fourth time. This being said, I love books that take place in a futuristic dystopian society.

       Delirium takes place approximately 63 years in the future. The government has diagnosed Love as a disease, and at the age of eighteen every Amerian has a procedure that eliminates all love and any feelings that go along with it. The story follows a girl named Lena as she nears her procedure. Here's the catch, there are people who resist the "cure" and live in the wilds outside of Portland (where Lena lives). It's quite obvious, but Lena meets a boy who has decided against the cure, and they fall in love. They then must find a way to esape the procedure and live together in the wilds.

      Delirium is like no other futuristic book I've read in that the author takes so much time describing the society and why the people believe love is a disease. The way she writes the story makes me think that if I were to live in this society, I would be just like the rest of the people who have been convinced by the government.

      This book had we screaming, laughing, and crying. (However, I tend to this with many books. Haha!) I absolutely adore this book! It is definitely one that you will pick up and not put back down until you are finished. I found myself wanting to be a part of each of the characters lives. The only thing that frustrated me was the last three pages of the book. Biggest cliff hanger I have ever read!! I guess that just means I will have to go purchase the sequel next time I am in the bookstore. I love Lauren Oliver and her other book Before I Fall. I very much recommend this book to everyone!

      If you have read Delirium before, let me know your thoughts about it in the comments below! And if you have any recommendations for me, let me know those as well!

Colorful Heart Cards

by Alyssa

Who doesn't love to receive a handmade card? I like to make my own cards because they are so much more meaningful to give and fun to make. One problem with making your own cards, however, is that it can take a long time! These pretty little heart cards only take about 20 minutes to make all three, and you probably already have the supplies to make them. Next time one of your friends has a birthday or you want to give a thank you card, consider trying one of these designs, or maybe make all three to have some extras on hand!

All you will need to make these cards is white paper, colorful scraps (construction paper is okay too), scissors, a glue stick, and a sharpie. Ribbon is optional.

Cut your scraps into even squares. This will help you make the hearts the same size. If you want to make a bunch of cards at once, just cut more squares!

Fold all the squares in half.

Cut a heart from each folded square. You could also just freehand cutting the hearts, but I like to do it this way so the heart is even.

Finish cutting out all of the hearts and now get creative with how to arrange them on your card! Here's a couple ideas that I used, but be creative and do whatever you think looks good.

I hope this inspired you to make some handmade cards! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by our blog :)

Gratitude Journal

by Alyssa

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to write five things that I am thankful for each day. The idea of having a gratitude journal was actually recommended to me by one of my professors last semester, and I'm really glad I started doing this. It has been a wonderful reminder for me to stop and count my blessings every single day, even if I'm in a bad mood and don't feel like doing it.

 

I write my list each day in this pretty purple journal that my sister bought me. I love the quote on the front because it reminds me to remember each moment that I am thankful for! I write down anything that comes to mind when I think of what I'm thankful for - sometimes it's people in my life, sometimes it's just some silly little thing that made me smile that day. 

Even though I've only been doing this for a couple of months, it's already fun to look back and see what I was thankful for on certain days. I would highly encourage everyone to start something like this; it really helps remind you how much you have especially when you're having a bad day!

"Gratitude is the heart of contentment. I have never met a truly 

thankful, appreciative person who was not profoundly happy."

 -Neil Clark Warren