Spring Has Sprung...?

Spring officially started yesterday and Chicago welcomed its arrival in classic Chicago fashion, with snow. I'm totally envious of everyone exclaiming "spring is finally here!" but I know it'll warm up soon enough. Actually, what I'm most excited about is the cleaning and organizing coming my way. Shocking, I know.

I have been dying to finish my vanity and makeup storage since my last post about it in November, which truly feels like eons ago. Once it's spray-paint safe outside, I'm going to wrap up that project and get my room in shape.

In anticipation yesterday, I picked up some goodies to go along with my IKEA fira mini chests and writing-desk-turned-vanity from Target. I always feel so weird going to The Container Store, or buying any storage for that matter because it's just more stuff for my other stuff (I can't be alone on this!). Here's what I purchased:

4-DRAWER DESKTOP PAPER ORGANIZER(Hat tip to Ckey Beauty for this find) CLEAR 3-DRAWER BOX - CURRENTLY ON SALE (REG $14.99) 24-LIPSTICK ACRYLIC ORGANIZER
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I also made a run to Ulta. Ulta's having their 21 Days of Beauty Steals event right now and I've been pretty good. I mean it! I wanted to try out Tarte Lights, Cameras Lashes! mascara, which was on sale for $10 (reg $19) but I didn't make it in time on Tuesday. It just wasn't meant to be.

Yesterday I took advantage of Butter London polishes being 2 for $15 (reg $15 each) and picked up two beauties. Have you been keeping up with the calendar and running out daily? I want to, but like I said, I've been good. My next purchase is going to be one, or two, of those adorable Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blushes which will be 50% OFF (reg $30) on April 4th! I'll definitely be making that purchase online at 12AM to be safe (lol).

What are you looking forward to the most this spring? I'm excited to not have the all of the moisture sucked out of my skin, and to actually wear clothes again. My 2013/14 winter uniform hasn't been cute so I welcome the opportunity to wake up in that department.

Stila's Latest Trend for Spring: Tri-Lined Eyes

Last weekend I went to a great event at Sephora for a mini Stila makeover and introduction to their expanded collection of eyeliner new for Spring 2014. I have to be completely honest here, I got suckered in by the promise of a free Smudge Stick but the three beautiful looks on the invitation didn't hurt!

I walked out with a fresh face, samples of their One Step Correct Primer and new CC Cream, and obviously a few new eyeliners. As soon as I got home I dug into my four In the... Palettes to see what colors I already owned, and now I've got quite a little collection growing.

There will be a few more of these events this month so check their events page to see if any are being held in your city.

This is such a quick and fun look to do. I knew I had to recreate it and show you how to do it yourselves. It's as easy as smudging some liner, applying a bit of thick liner, then another finer flick of liner on top. Done! At Sephora the defining line was made using brown but I'm more a black liner kinda gal. It's a little Halloween-y now, right? Oh well! On my lips I'm wearing Bite Beauty's Luminous Crème Lipstick in Cin Cin.

Products Used:
L'Oréal Infallible Eyeshadow in Iced Latte
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Gilded
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner Amber
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner Intense Black
Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara
e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in Medium

Step 1: Pat base (Iced Latte) onto eyelid with finger and blend.
Step 2: Apply bronze (Gilded) to eyelid and smudge with finger to crease.
Step 3: Line upper lash line with orange (Amber) — make it thick.
Step 4: Apply brown (Eyebrow Powder) to crease for soft definition.
Step 5: Line center of lower lash line with bronze eyeliner (Gilded), smudge edges.
Step 6: Give yourself wings (Intense Black) following the edge of the orange line!

I'm definitely going to try the look with Emerald winged out and Melon on the lips. I just need to get myself some more of these liners and a Vinyl Lip Gloss or two! Have you tried any Stila Smudge Sticks or Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliners?

P.S. There's still time to take advantage of Stila's online sale going on now through tomorrow (3/14). Just use code "SPRING25" for 25% off plus free shipping with no minimum. Don't miss out!

Keeping Succulents Alive

Quite some time has passed since my last succulent update! Winter came in full force with such unbearable cold that my poor plants have been removed from the window sills almost completely. Their new home is atop an IKEA EXPEDIT (RIP) and they periodically visit my one sun-soaked sill whenever the sun is actually shining.

All of the beautiful tight rosettes forming from my leaf cuttings are long gone... They've continued to grow leggier and leggier reaching for the sun, which is a little sad yet totally adorable.

Some plants have been relocated, like these three which used to share a room (a cup). Their growth rate has slowed but it's still a lot more than I expected in this weather! I'm sure they appreciate the extra room to breathe.

One huge surprise did pop up, though. Two to be exact! The lithops I was so worried about becoming overly wrinkly birthed two new plants! I'd given up all hope that it'd survive and left it alone on my bookshelf for about a month completely untouched. Then, miraculously, this happened!

My Mezoo 'Trailing Red' needs to be pruned soon. It's almost taken over the entire pot at this point. I think I'll just wait till spring to do anything about it even though I feel bad for the little guys it's crowding.

I've cut back on watering across the board. My large pots get watered once a week and everyone else gets spritzed 2-3 times a week. The lithops and living stone get no water. Hopefully they all pull through and make it to spring—myself included. This endless winter has been awful. Over 75" of snow has fallen since December!

❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄