Meet Yuna, Our New Kitten!

So my lovely husband Justin calls me at work yesterday saying his mother had a kitten who needed a home. He suggested we bring her to our home until we find another person to take her and see if she could work out with our current cat Anna Molly. Anna Molly (pronounced anomaly, and also called Nam) is almost nine and she has not lived with other cats since she was a baby. I thought Nam would hate having another cat in the house, so I was hesitant to tell Justin we could bring this new kitten home. However, by the end of the work day, I knew we would be keeping her for good because I had already gotten myself too excited to have a new kitten in the house. So I headed to Target and picked up some new supplies for her. 

Justin brought her home in a carrying case and set her on the kitchen floor where Anna Molly immediately came over, they sniffed at each other and Nam started hissing. The new kitten didn't seem too concerned, but Nam was on the edge all night long. Overnight, we kept the new kitten in our spare bedroom with her own food, water, and litter box. She also had a basket full of her own toys from her old house. Today, we're both at work and we left them both in the same situation. Nam has free run of the house and the new kitten is in the spare bedroom with her own little set up.

She is so pretty! She is a striped, or Mackerel, tabby cat, similar to Nam! Nam has more of a red-brown coat whereas the new kitten is more grey. Because of all of the white on her face and her stripes, when I first saw her, she reminded me of a white tiger. She has light brown eyes and she also has some little tufts of hair on the tips of her ears, which is just precious. Justin decided to name her Yuna, after the character in Final Fantasy.

So only time will tell how our two kitties will get along, but I hope that Anna Molly comes to like Yuna.

Learn more about Anna Molly here!

Thanks so much for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Sephora Contour Eye Pencil Waterproof - Banana Split

The fact that this was a matte pencil is what drew me to it. It is a bright yellow that doesn't have any glitter to it. It's also definitely waterproof. Trying to rub it off after I swatched it in Sephora made me super excited to try it on my eye area.

It works great as an eyeshadow base. Just lay it down, even it out a bit with your finger and go to town with your eyeshadow and it's good to go all day without creasing or fading. I've enjoyed using it underneath champagne or light golden colors to bring out that yellow gold look.

At first, I didn't think this product stayed well on the waterline. But it seems to need a little bit of warming up at first, and then it did just great as a waterline eyeliner. It stays put pretty well too! After 3.5 hours, there is minimal change in the color intensity on my waterline and by the end of the day, you can still tell it's there, it's just lost a lot of intensity and transferred along the lashes more than right on the waterline.

Overall, I'm glad I picked this one up! It's unique and works well!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick - A-Go-Go Review & Pictures

Today I have a review for you on my newest obsession: the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in A-Go-Go. This is a vibrant matte orange lipstick that has been making me so stinking happy this week! I just recentl colored my hair with Lush Henna Caca Rouge which has given my dark brown hair a reddish tint and I've been obsessed with orange because I think it brings out the new hair color even more!

Even though you obviously can tell I am in love with this product, here is my full review anyway...

This lipstick is pretty awesome if only because applying a lipgloss/balm on top does not ruin the lipstick underneath. It doesn't get cakey or patchy or budge in anyway. Sometimes a gloss or balm on top of other liquid lipstick will actually begin to break them down, so I'm happy to say this is not the case with this one!

I have very sensitive lips that are addicted to balms. I like my lips to feel moisturized. After 4 hours with Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick on, I really want to apply a lip balm because my lips are starting to feel uncomfortable. This is the only downside to this product! I love everything else about it! It's not an unbearable dry feeling, but I just thought I'd mention it.

No cracking or flaking at all! No transfer. Still looks perfect 7 hours in with no eating, just drinking water.

It does need reapplication after eating. I had a grilled cheese sandwich from Steak n Shake (aka the greasiest grilled cheese ever lol) and you could definitely see the product was fading on the inner parts of the lips. I could also see my lipstick marks on my food, just FYI.

It reapplies nicely though. It doesn't get cakey or act strange.

It is quite the task to remove, however. I have to use makeup remover or an oil of some sort. It will not rub off evenly with just a tissue and some scrubbing.

I wish I could get some more colors from Kat Von D but I'm not about to spend $20 a piece on a handful of lip products. So I began looking for dupes and came across quite a few positive reviews of LA Girl's Matte Pigment Glosses. I placed an order and shortly we will see how they stand up against Kat Von D. So if you're interested in that comparison post, be sure to follow this blog!

Thanks so much for reading about my new obsession! I hope you try out one of these liquid lipsticks for yourself! Let me know your thoughts.

Love,
Alaina

Target Beauty Boxes - Summer 2015 - Head of the Class & Honor Roll - Back to School Time!

Head of the Class

(Smaller Box)

_____________________________________________________________________

Honor Roll

(Larger Box)

For $5 these boxes are an awesome deal, I must say! 

Lush Caca Rouge Henna Hair Dye - Before & After - Dark Hair - Lots of Pictures

Here are some links you might be interested in:

First Henna Experience w/ Caca Noir
Second Henna Experience w/ Caca Noir applied twice

First night, blow dried.

all flat ironed

There was a little bit of staining around my hairline (you can see it a little right above the part in my hair in the picture).

I am obsessed. I think this is my new favorite! I can't get over this color.

Judging by how this stained my feet, I thought for sure my hair was going to be bright orange! I'd show you a pic, but some people are grossed out by feet, so we'll just not do that. My feet were stained because this is a messy process. I dyed my sister's hair and she did mine. We just laid down an old sheet on the kitchen floor and went to work. The fallout covered the sheet and therefore I did step in it at times, hence why I had orange stained feet for a day or two lol. This Rouge stains like regular ole henna that you might apply to your skin. Noir never stained my skin.

It stained a little bit around my hairline in some spots. It was nothing intense though and it faded away in the next couple of days (even before my first wash). We didn't use Vaseline or anything around the hairline either if you're wondering.

I left this particular batch on for nearly 5 hours covered in a shower cap. I rinsed it out outside with the garden hose with the help of my husband (excellent idea). I was afraid it would stain the shower tub badly since it stained my feet so intensely, so I rinsed as much as I could in the yard before stepping inside to wash it out in the shower. I rinsed it with straight conditioner about 4-5 times in the shower to get it all out. 

The night that I washed it out, it looked like it had a bit more orange to it. But in the morning, it was a deep red color. I feel like the lighter portions of my hair (like the bangs) still has more orange to it. It looks so gorgeous in the sunlight now!

I like to wait about two days before washing again and when I do, I just use conditioner without shampoo. I try to only wash with shampoo once or twice per week when it's freshly henna'd. 

I even feel like this has made my hair much more conditioned than the Caca Noir. I feel like my hair is super soft and very lightweight. It even feels less tangle-y. My hair turned out great and not oily at all (which was something I always noticed about the Noir) 

If you want to see my results with Noir, the links are right below. :)

First Henna Experience w/ Caca Noir

Second Henna Experience w/ Caca Noir applied twice

Thanks for reading!

I hope this was helpful in some way.

Love,

Alaina

Hair Secrets Hair Extensions Review & Pictures - It Was All A Dream

Outdoors

See my quick video review here.

Indoors

You really can't tell a difference in the hair indoors, but outside I think it's a bit more noticeable. However, I don't think anybody else would notice unless they knew I was wearing extensions. Even my husband was excited to see me with long hair again and he commented that they matched perfectly and looked real. Thumbs up for the guys' opinions!

My natural hair length

So here are some specs from the Hair Secrets website. *affiliate link

20" long = these reach to my lower back

"The same thickness from top to bottom" 

"Premium quality Remy human hair" with "same direction cuticles from root to tip" = I think this basically means that the root of the hair is at the top and the ends of the hair are at the bottom, therefore it runs just like your natural hair does. Have you ever taken your fingers and run them up a lock of hair, it just feels unnatural, your hair is supposed to run in a particular direction, and that's how these extensions are designed. 

They have a gentle coloring process that takes 8 days so it doesn't ruin the hair.

 The Ultimate Volume Set comes with 2 1 clip wefts, 2 2 clips wefts, 2 3 clip wefts, and one 4 clip weft. In general, I clip in these extensions starting with the largest ones at the bottom and working my way up to the single clip wefts nearest to the top of my head. I can also do a demo video if you would like to see how I apply and work with these extensions if anybody's interested.

These extensions shed just like my natural hair does. I don't think it's anything to be worried about.

They are soft and feel like regular hair that has been well taken care of. I see no split ends in them.

They have a very slight taper from the top to the bottom of the hair that looks really natural when applied.

My particular set has a little bit of a natural wave to them, I'm unsure if all of the extensions are like that or if that just happens to have been the natural texture of the individual whose hair this originally was.

I have had these extensions a few weeks now and I will continue to keep you updated if any of my opinions change about them and I'll keep updates on how they last over time.

 The clips are sturdy and I haven't had any issues with them so far. I like that the clips say "Hair Secrets" on them and I realize the importance of that if you happen to own several different brands of extensions, this will make it easier to keep track of this set.

I love that they come with a pouch! This pouch is the perfect size for my to slip my hand into and pull the hair extensions through. I love that you can tie the top part up and keep the clips secure to the hair doesn't get stuck in the bag.

The bag opens and closes on both ends.

I really hope this was helpful!
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

OUR WEDDING PHOTOS! Reception Day June 27, 2015

Here are our wedding pictures taken by our good friend Noah at UWish Photography. I love these pictures and I hope you enjoy them as well. They were all taken at my parents' house, a location that was not only just perfect for the backdrop of our wedding photos, but also a location that has more sentimental value than anything as it is the place where I grew up.

This one has to be my very favorite photo. :)

We had a few shots in this location, but this one is my favorite. The sky might look awfully gloomy to you and that's because it did sprinkle for a little while during the reception. I like this shot so I can remember that it was a little rainy that day but everything still worked out so perfectly in the end. :)

Justin had to remove an eyelash from my cheek. :)

Genuine laughter brought on by my silly sister talking to us the whole time. :)

These two with the sun behind us turned out so beautiful!

As you may have noticed, Justin wasn't wearing his ring for many of the pictures. :p He only remembered to put it on about halfway through. 

We took a lot of rings shots, but this one is certainly my favorite. I love how you can see the black and white of our outfits along with my bouquet out of focus in the background.  

 

I just love this shot of the back of my dress!  

I love Justin's genuine smile in this one. That smile was one of the first things that made me fall for him.  

I know the dock looks like it's about to sink here, but I love the reflection shot! 

 My sister Ryann was trying to keep things upbeat by saying stupid (and sometimes humorous) things to us, so we ended up with some nice genuine laughter and smiles.

 I just love the shots showing off the back of my dress!

(we weren't looking too exciting in this picture, but I just love the side shot of my dress here! lol.)

 With my parents and Grandpa.

 My sisters and nieces.

With Justin's siblings. 

With Justin's mom and Grandma. 

With my bestest friends! 

 With my sisters.

With Justin's mom and stepdad. 

With Justin's siblings and nieces and nephews.