Lipsticks of the Week : Feb. 8-12 : Matte & Colorful

This week I kept fighting the urge to buy new lip products. I tell myself, "Alaina, you have a ton of colorful lipsticks that you don't wear enough! Don't buy new products, just "shop your stash" (as Emily Noel would say." So that's what I've done this week.

Also this week I've remembered just how much lipstick livens you up. Even if I just did my brows and slapped on some mascara, by adding a colorful lip it automatically looks like I actually put in some effort. Haha.

So let's take a look at what I've been wearing this week.

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Monday : Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid - Nude Thrill (my full review here)
This is a good Monday color. On Mondays I tend to be particularly lazy with my makeup. I always sleep in too much and just can't get into it. But I do love this formula. So comfy on the lips, easy to reapply, doesn't last the longest, but that's okay. This is the color I chose when I didn't want to stare at my lipsticks for five minutes decided what color to go with.

Tuesday : LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss - Obsess (my full review here)
Super long-wearing, no fuss lipstick to last all day, except at lunchtime it can be a pain to remove without some oil. I actually like to put a chapstick on top, rub my lips together, then scrub it off with a tissue. I just find with these long wearing super matte liquid lipsticks, it's easier to just remove it all before a meal and reapply it completely once you're finished eating.

Wednesday : Milani Color Statement Matte Lipstick - Matte Orchid (my review on a shade that I didn't really like here)
I wanted to wear a hot pink lipstick this day but I thought, I'm gonna tone it down a bit and not do something so neon, and so this is the color I settled on. Plus I couldn't think of a good hot pink matte lipstick that morning, all I have are cream finishes (I think...).

Thursday : Limited Edition Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Snow Peach (1956) (review here)
I love the two limited edition lipsticks I got from this collection. You can still find them on eBay too. It's such an easy lipstick formula. It has a glossy finish and just feels comfy on the lips. This color in particular is fun and colorful without being overboard in any way.

Friday : ColourPop Ultra Matte - Trap (review here)
This is my favorite "Friday lipstick." I reserve my favorites for Fridays, I don't know why. I usually for some reason care more about my makeup on Fridays. I will do a full face compared to my usual very minimal makeup (if I'm feeling it and I get up before my first three alarms). It's a little edgy and I just think Fridays are good days for it.

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As you can probably tell by now, matte is my thing. I love a good matte lip (and pretty much all matte makeup). It's just easier to take care of throughout the day. They don't fade or transfer as bad as glossy stuff, and they don't tend to bleed either. Although some formulas can be less than comfy, matte lips are the way to go if you want something easy and long-wearing for the workday.

So I hope you guys enjoyed this little tid-bit of my makeup for the week. Let me know if you enjoyed this and perhaps we can make it a thing and do it more often.

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina

The First Half of my First Pregnancy Milestones Overview

Here's a little week by week breakdown of some of the milestones and events that have taken place so far in my pregnancy! We're "halfway" there!

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Screenshots from 5 Weeks Pregnancy Update video.

3 weeks, 5 days - First true positive test!

4 weeks, 4 days - First doctor appointment

5 weeks - Morning sickness appears, begin slathering torso with body butter, feeling bloated, fatigue
5 weeks - Told Justin's parents!
5 weeks, 1 day - Told my younger sister & nieces!
5 weeks, 2 days - Told my parents and older sister!
5 weeks, 3 days - First new bra

6 weeks, 3 days - Peeing all the time begins, first mention that I feel baby is a boy
6 weeks, 6 days - First ultrasound! Already hating regular pants

...a lot of the same random symptoms going on, but nothing too exciting...

Week 11 - morning sickness is done, back to the gym, giving in to maternity pants

Week 12 - Harmony test taken, one baby name chosen, round ligament pain really begins!, less peeing at night

Week 13 - extreme hunger begins, acne appears everywhere, super oily skin, cleared out the nursery-to-be, second name picked out, +7 pounds from the start

Week 14 - Harmony results came in 10 business days

Week 15 - Bump officially "popped," gender reveal

Week 16 - First comment on the bump from a stranger, energy definitely back, strange bout of morning sickness a couple days, itchy belly, another boobie growth spurt begins, finally can feel my uterus, think I felt him moving

Week 17 - heavy breathing, knee pain, definitely felt first kicks

Week 18 - less starving feelings, feeling movement like crazy

Week 19 - another comment on the bump by someone who didn't know, stretchmarks appear on the thighs and hips, light-headed-ness, boobie growth spurt confirmed, thought I felt him from outside, wedding band is freaking tight, shoulder pain

Week 20 - anatomy scan!, noticed uneven bump, belly button is changing, feeling kicks above belly button, +23 pounds from the start

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Here is my pregnancy updates playlist if you want to hear more in my weekly updates.

I hope this was helpful or entertaining for you! I know it will be cool to look back on!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Week 21 - 2nd Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 21 - Jan. 29- Feb. 4

Our baby boy Calvin Lee is due June 17, 2016!

Bump:

Apparently I lean on my belly a lot. I lean on the counter at work, I lean on the sink when I wash my hands. So that's getting uncomfortable. I never really noticed I did that. Lol.

Maternity Clothes:
Might have to give up on the elastic Walmart pants I was so in love with in the beginning of this pregnancy. They were awesome at first when all of my regular pants started to get uncomfortable. But now they are stabbing me and cutting right into the area below the belly in a very uncomfortable way.
Some days I just hate pants altogether. And I hate that I can't just wear the same pants throughout this pregnancy! Haha. Well at least next time around I'll be set. And hopefully my sister can wear some of these clothes one day too so somebody can get more than a couple months of use out of them. I'm going to try and put up with these pants for a couple more months til we get to spring and hopefully I'll just do dresses for the majority of the time from there on out. Spending money on clothes isn't bad when the clothes are fun and different, but just buying different pairs of jeans is not so much fun. Especially when all this maternity stuff can cost so much.
I think this also could influence the pants situation: twice a day, I slather body butter everywhere from my thighs to my armpits and that stuff lasts forever on the skin, so it can make just the basic task of putting on skinny jeans a chore. Haha. Stupid pants.

Emotions:
Going good. I had one afternoon where everything was aggravating me, but I was able to control it and not freak out on someone else for no good reason. I have days like that in regular life too though, so not a big deal. But overall, I think I've been in a pretty good mood this week actually.
And one thing I think I've realized is that I laugh so much more now that I'm pregnant. Honestly. I laugh louder and harder at so much these days! I think that's a good thing. I think me and the pregnancy hormones get along pretty well in that department.

Food:
I've been eating yogurt like crazy lately. Yoplait Greek 100. Delicious. Most delicious stuff ever. I'm in love. I don't even remember what made me decide to pick those up but I'm addicted now, I never tried them before now. I want to try all the flavors. So far Black Cherry is amazing. Strawberry is pretty good too, with extra strawberry bits added in. Yum. I had a Whipped Chocolate Cherry one and that was so good. The whipped texture is just magnificent. Peach is alright, nothing crazy awesome. I wonder if they have a lemon-y one... I got Justin a Banana Strawberry one but he hasn't tried it yet. What I'm saying is, if you like yogurt and haven't tried these yet, you NEED to go find them! :) They are the best $1 snack you around I tell you!
Been trying to get more magnesium into the diet after my chiropractor suggested more calcium and magnesium. And these two seem to go hand in hand in the natural world too. Stuff with magnesium also tends to have calcium too. So, I've got a new salad recipe for the week to help increase these special little vitamins. All spinach salad with a handful of chopped broccoli, some cheddar cheese, one baby carrot chopped, a tablespoon of sunflower seeds, plus dressing (lately it's been zesty Italian). So I traded the bacon bits and croutons out. I usually add iceberg in with my spinach to give it something crisp, but I realize spinach is better than iceberg, so the broccoli is pretty good at replacing that crunchiness.

Sleep & Dreams:

Sleep is still kinda crappy. I always get a good amount of sleep, but I'm up many times throughout the night and just can't get comfortable sometimes.
Why have I been so bad at remembering my dreams lately? I know I've had weird ones, but I just suck at recalling them.

Energy:
I want to go to bed at like 7 pm and I never want to wake up until after a handful of alarms go off in the morning.

Exercise:
The weather has been decent for the majority of the week, so I took an hour long walk with Justin Saturday morning and half an hour Monday and Tuesday night. My shoulder is finally starting to feel better and I don't want to aggravate it again so I'm avoiding other workouts that involve too much movement of that area. I really liked the yoga ball workout I did last week but I'm afraid to hurt my shoulder when it's finally just starting to get better! Hopefully next week.

Physical Symptoms:
Light headed-ness again this week.
Restless Legs - I won't say I have Restless Leg Syndrome. My legs aren't tingly like I've read for the description of that, but I just want to move them a lot. I want to elevate them. I feel like skinny jeans are trying to suffocate my calves and ankles. I don't know how else to describe it but some days it drives me nuts! I just feel so uncomfortable. And it's not usually at night, but during the day at work. I work at a computer desk all day and I know that doesn't help things.
Headaches again this week.
Already getting some swelling in the ankles by day's end. Super.

Movement:
I can definitely feel him from the outside now! It's not super intense or anything, but you can tell there's movement in there. It also seems to be more intense when he kicks at my belly button versus down low. So feeling him was exciting to wake up to on the very first day of week 21. :) And at 20 weeks, 3 days Justin felt him for the first time! I think he was disappointed at how soft it was, not like a big ole kick or anything. Lol. But that was exciting! He finally got to feel him! I had him lay down and talk to him and he told him about the video game he's been playing lately (apparently he has to capture ten of each monster in order to get something else) and then just a minute after he was done telling him this story, he kicked a few times that I could feel and then there was one that Justin felt. :)

Oh, and another thing is at our doctor appointment last week, the ultrasound technician typed "ant pla" on the ultrasound picture. I am assuming that stands for anterior placenta, but I didn't ask about it. I thought that was weird because they say having an anterior placenta can sometimes make it harder to feel babies' movements early on. So, I could have been feeling Calvin even sooner! I already thought I started feeling him a little earlier than some other first timers. But anyway, with that being said, I have noticed that when I feel Calvin moving, it's strongest at my belly button. When he kicks down low, it's much softer feeling. So I thought that was interesting. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Justin feeling Calvin move for the first time!

Baby Purchases:
We registered at Target this weekend for the baby shower. That was fun and overwhelming at the same time. Looking at all the different strollers and car seats and trying to decide which one was best was tough, so I did a little online research before adding those. It really helps things sink in though. The reality of having this precious little baby gets more and more intense with each passing week.

What I Miss:
Cookie dough! Oh man, cookie dough. While making cookies last week I just wanted sooo bad to lick the damn spatula! I could have cried over this. But I tell myself, I know the risk is small, but don't do it! How terrible would you feel if something bad did happen and your only excuse was, well I chose

Random Thoughts:
When I think about the fact that only 21 weeks ago, there was no Calvin and the fact that he grew out of two little cells into a little blob, into a little tadpole, and now he looks like a baby, it blows my mind. We all started that way! It's crazy to think about. It really does make me realize the true miracle that life is and it's absolutely awesome.

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina and Little Calvin

Review : #YSLcolorperfection YSL Touche Eclat Neutralizer - Bisque

I received this product from Influenster for free to review. However, my opinion is 100% my own and honest.

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I find that this product helps to conceal my undereye circles.

I always have to top it with a skin tone concealer to cover its intense pigmentation.

The product isn't too liquid or stiff, it's a great consistency.

The product color is brightening, it seems to have some great light reflecting properties that make the skin appear luminous and still natural and pretty.

I love the click packaging! So easy to use and unique.

However, it isn't the best for my fair skin. It would be better for those with more medium to darker skin tones. With darker skin tones, you wouldn't have to go in and cover it with another concealer, making the undereye area unnecessarily heavy.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina