The picture above transports me back to the cliffs of Oahu, Hawaii again, which of course gets me thinking about summer. A bucket list is essentially a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket.” However, in more recent times, a bucket list is usually described as a list of things you want to achieve or experience during a certain period of time. It’s just about summer, which means the temperatures are soaring, school is letting out, and energy is both high and leaning towards relaxation. Since I’m big on list making, I decided to make a Summer Bucket List Challenge, basically challenging all of you and myself to create a list of ten things I want to do before the end of the summer. It can literally be anything from places you may want to visit to an exhilarating adventure you’ve been intimidated to do. I sat down last night and created my bucket list on my iPad and I wanted to share mine with you. My summer bucket list is after the jump!  read more…

One of my fondest memories growing up is collecting Caboodles to store my “makeup” in. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t always makeup, but more like hair scrunchies, slap bracelets, and whatever my mom would give me from her makeup collection, but the storage was the coolest part. Everyone I knew owned one, and they came in different colors and sizes. Every year I would ask for another one, and every year I would happily wake up on Christmas morning, shredding the wrapping paper open to find a shiny new Caboodles container! Now known as the “Classic,” they still sell Caboodles, and have expanded their brand beautifully. Caboodles is twenty-five years old, and celebrating strong with a gorgeous collection of modern, updated makeup storage and organization. In the above video, I wanted to show you in detail the two products I love, as well as how I use them, and a little bit of my makeup storage. To see photographs of two products from their collection, as well, read more…

I typically don’t blog on the weekends, not because I don’t have plenty to blog about, but because I enjoy clearing my brain during the weekend and tapping into my creativity through relaxation. I end up feeling really refreshed and ready to start the week by Sunday night because I miss posting on here! I decided to start a “Weekend Style,” column where I post random musings, as well as what I did that weekend, and even recent style purchases. I know this is a beauty website but it seems like fashion and beauty sing perfect harmonies together so I figured I’d include it. This morning, I woke up early to attend a self-defense class at a martial arts center with a few other ladies. I’ve never been to one before, or even considered it, but it was incredibly educational, and I walked away feeling even more confident than usual. To read more about my self-defense class, two recent style purchases (neon, of course!), and my new hair color, read more…

Today was an unusually blustery day for us in the south, with temperatures in the mid sixties (I know, I know…that isn’t that cold), and gray skies. We finally got some much needed rain and I was inspired by the moody sky to create an eye makeup look that falls somewhere between blue and gray. This is a great way to make blue eyeshadow extremely wearable, especially since a lot of people are very intimidated by blue eyeshadow and find it to be “dated.” I used the City Color Multi-Flash Eyeshadow Palette which I swatched a few days ago on Beauty Gala. To see photographs and how I achieved this look, read more…

The second I spotted the brand new New York Color display in the drugstore, I picked this eyeshadow duo up and thought of Katy Perry at the 2011 Grammy Awards. She was way ahead of the color-blocking trend and showed us a bright but feminine purple and green eye makeup look. This is not only very trendy right now, but it’s also springtime, meaning…have fun with your makeup! I really like this look because it’s bright and eye-catching, but it still manages to be soft and simple. To see photographs and swatches of the eyeshadow duo and how I achieved this super simple makeup look, read more…

Last night my husband and I were sitting around trying to decide what to do when he asked if I wanted to do one of my infamous “drugstore crawls.” This is when I pop into one or more local drugstores to see what new releases and collections they have out. I didn’t have anything specific in mind like I usually do, but figured there had to be some new products out. I stumbled upon these brand new City Color Eyeshadow Palettes in my Rite Aid. City Color products are scattered throughout my Rite Aid and they are typically priced very reasonably, almost like Wet n Wild products are. However, these palettes look way more “mainstream” than usual, and I can tell that City Color is stepping their game up. There were three palettes available: nudes, smokey, and the one in the post, “Multi-Flash.” I was so excited to dip my fingers into this palette today and swatch it finally because I was really curious about the quality of these palettes. To see more photographs and my thoughts, read more…

For Easter weekend I typically go with something pastel or even some fun nail art, but I wanted to do something different this year. Milani Cosmetics released a brand new collection of nail lacquers and one of my favorites from the collection is Key West. It is in-your-face gorgeous with tons of turquoise shimmer and sparkle. It reminds me of the ocean at Cocoa Beach, Florida, where I was two weeks ago. This shade will look amazing on any skin tone, and it would look fabulous as a pedicure, too! Basically, I fall in love with nail polish shades from time to time and right now this is my favorite! To see more photographs and swatches, read more…

Milani Cosmetics Powder Eyeshadow Palettes are back! I am so excited for this release because last summer Milani released the first palette in this collection, “Paint,” and I reviewed it here on Beauty Gala. Impressionist and Abstract are the two newest additions to the family of the eyeshadow palettes that not only look aesthetically really cool, but also put down beautiful color. Those of you who love neutral eyeshadow shades and don’t have the budget for the more expensive Urban Decay Naked Palettes will find the nude palette especially pleasing. Pastel enthusiasts will absolutely adore the candy-sweet colors of the spring-inspired palette. To see photographs and swatches, read more…

Happy Friday everyone! It feels like it has been a long week over here, but I am definitely glad it’s the weekend and time to relax again. I decided to pull out some drugstore products to create an eye look because there are so many great drugstore available options out there! If your budget doesn’t call for high-end makeup you can still purchase products with great pigmentation and create gorgeous looks. This look, Violet Sunset, is inspired by my favorite color of all-time…purple, and of course the sky during a sunset, when it takes on various shades of bronze, orange, and coral. Two unsuspecting colors complement each other very well by blending seamlessly into each other, and they each make the other stand out. To see how to achieve this look, the products I used, and more pictures, read more…

I recently picked up three of the new Wet n Wild Matte Lipsticks at the drugstore because I was loving the color selection. While I am a huge fan of the matte lip look, I usually shy away from matte lipsticks because they can be really drying and sometimes flake or feather on your lips. I picked up three shades, all bright, in-your-face spring colors, and I put them to the test. If you’d like to see more photographs and swatches, read more…