Floral Jeans

Floral Jeans by gthursto featuring super skinny jeans

BEST Facial Mask EVER

My friend Jenn tweeted about doing this Orange/Baking Soda mask and I became intrigued! I love trying new products/DIY treatments and I have been having breakouts (prob stress from school) so I decided to try this little concoction. I have used several masks in the past and yes, they make my skin feel tight and clean right after, but I feel like my skin goes back to normal and they do not really treat breakouts too well. So I went to CVS and bought an off brand baking soda and a small 100% natural Orange Juice (you can use juice from an orange too if you would like). First, I washed my face with my normal cleanser (Clean and Clear Deep Clean) and then in a shot glass (lol) I poured about half baking soda and then enough OJ to make a little more fluid than a paste- so about the consistency of a smoothie. Only a thin layer is needed to spread all over your face. This stayed on my skin for 20 minutes. During this time, it dried quickly and made my face feel extremely tight- like, I could barely speak! Then when time was up, I put just a little bit of water on my face and massaged the mask in to exfoliate and then rinsed it off. The baking soda apparently clears black heads and rubs dead skin cells off, while the citrus from the OJ brightens skin and makes pores tighter.

Results: I could tell a huge difference after the first day! The next morning I woke up and my skin felt so clean, less oily, and still tight. More than anything it was really soft and smooth, except for previous breakout areas. I don't think it really treated the breakouts, but it definitely helped to prevent future breakouts! A perfect mask for that time of the month as well!

Cons: There are not many cons. I am definitely going to use this mask for...well, forever, but it did leave some areas extremely red because I have sensitive skin. So after the first treatment, I decided to only put the mask around my chin, mouth, nose, and forehead, rather than cheeks/cheekbones because those were the areas where I don't get breakouts anyways and are highly sensitive. This helped tremendously. Also, I need to warn that it does burn and tingle a bit, and I have heard it itches (didn't for me) but it wasn't too bad to me.

I HIGHLY recommend this mask to EVERYONE who has oily or combo skin types. If you have sensitive skin like me, just modify it to best fit what's right for you, like I did. I don't think this is a good mask if you have dry skin, because it basically "dries" my skin out- which is much needed!

If you try this, leave a comment below! I want to hear what you think about it and if you love it (or even hate it)! Also, if you have any other DIY masks I would love to hear about it!

Get In My Closet! (AND suprisingly NO leopard!)

Get In My Closet! (AND suprisingly NO leopard!) by gthursto featuring tribal jewelry

Eyebrow Kit

I feel like it is my duty as a girl, who loves makeup, to tell you all about what I have discovered. I have just started filling in my eyebrows this last year, only when going out to dinner or with friends, and bought the Benefit brow kit (seen below- the second one). It was very pricey at $30, but I thought it will do the job and I didn't really shop around after my brow lady (Benefit brow bar- AMAZING) convinced me. A few months later I saw E.L.F. had one that looked identical and for $3 I HAD to try. I didn't really expect much, after all it was a tenth what Benefit was, but I LOVED it! It was so much better, I thought, than my Benefit one! Since then, I have tried more E.L.F. products, even though I have been wary of the price-hence, you get what you paid for. However, the products I have tried from this brand are great!

 I will say that if you are looking for a great place to get your eyebrows waxed and live near an Ulta, check and see if they have a Brow Bar by Benefit because they all go by the same technique. I have had my eyebrows done at several salons and they are the only ones who will touch my eyebrows from now on (besides myself, of course)! The wax is great for people, like myself, who has sensitive skin and they teach you all you need to know for keep-up.

ELF (above)-$3: I like this because it didn't just lay on my eyebrows, it really blended down in and filled them in well. Gave the illusion that my eyebrows were fuller and matched very well!

Benefit- $30: This one matched pretty well, but I felt like it just stayed on top of my brows, rather than blending and covering the areas I wanted. It's a good product that works, I would just save the money and use a product that does the job (somewhat better) that is less expensive.

Hope this helps! What other beauty products have you found that are cheaper alternatives? Also, what are your favorite E.L.F. products?

February Birchbox

YAY! My Birchbox arrived! I was so excited to open this and see the products, and I have to say, I was very pleased! If you do not know, Birchbox is a monthly box that is delivered to you free of shipping for only $10 a month, that is filled with samples of products. I am someone who loves to try new products so this was the perfect thing for me! The packaging is exquisite and what you receive is based on a beauty survey you take when you sign up!

Here is the link:  https://www.birchbox.com/

So here is my box, which I have to say is great as well for reusing because it is sturdy and a great size to hold small items. Inside the box, pink and purple tissue paper wrapped the items as well as a purple ribbon. This was so impressive to me that they took the time to package it this way and made it feel more special :)

I thought this was so cool, Eye liner stickers. And I have to admit, I have tried so hard to do the cat-eye or winged liner look and have yet to perfect it! I am going out with some girlfriends this Saturday and I cannot wait to try it out!

For the longest time I thought this was nailpolish (lol) but it is actually a lip gloss sample! The picture does not really do it justice- its a hot pink color (sorry). I decided to try this real quick and the color was great- more sheer than what you see- and didn't have that sticky gooey feeling I hate about lip gloss! I may just have to buy this in the full size!

These are double-sided sticky tape in black and nude that you use to avoid a wardrobe malfunction. I can't wait to give these a go!

This is a sample of the perfume, Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture. I actually own the full size of this perfume already and LOVE it!

Because I didn't want to open this until I thought I would need it, I am still really unsure what it is. I know, like it says, it is a puff that gives off color- for a sunless tan look I guess- but I am still intrigued and curious. I am assuming it is like a bronzer? I guess we will see!

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions about Birchbox, if you got a box this month with different items, or if you have tried any of these!

Quickie Post

Just a quick post on looks from the past week or two that I love. Most of these were taken at NY Fashion Week. Enjoy! Comment and let me know what looks you loved!

Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Kristin Cavallari- loving these colors for spring!

She made a double appearance in my blog! The girl has great style though!

Miranda Kerr- gorgeous as always! I am dying to wear a similar look this Spring!

Lover her- flawless and love this look! (Rachel Mcadams)

Sophia Bush looks fun and chic! She is gorgeous and I love when she wears jackets to events because she always pulls them off and is different!

Sorry Kacie (my roommate who loathes Vannessa Hudgens), but I actually liked this look. It's not something I would typically like, but I think the whole package looks good from hair, makeup, to outfit.

What do you guys think?

Grammys Fashion

Overall, I thought the Grammy's fashion was what I was hoping to see- risks! I have to say that I was surprised by all of the long dresses this year! When I think of Grammy's fashion, I think of short dresses, sparkle, leather, spikes, and craziness...this year we got long dresses, sparkle, lace, and guns? Anyways, below are just some of the few that stood out to me, the good, the bad, and everything in between. Leave a comment below to let me know what your thoughts were!

There is nothing Carrie Underwood could wear that would look bad! She has amazing legs but decided to cover them and show off her back (not pictured obviously, but was gorgeous!)

I'm not a Paris Hilton fan, but I had to admit, she looked good! I loved this dress with the gold belt.

I thought Kelly Rowland looked amazing! Such a pretty dress and so flattering on her, and I loved her hair like that!

Not gonna lie, Rihanna looks good here! Not digging the hair- mainly due to her awful roots- but I thought this dress was very va-va-vooooom on her.

Jessie J really pulled off this sparkly dress. I thought it was so appropriate for the Grammys, but I didn't love the hair- especially on camera to the side.

Ahhh Kate Beckinsale- so refreshing, right? She is stunning...'nuff said.

This was probably one of my favorites of the night- and picked by a MAN (Ryan Seacrest chose this dress for her, she said). The whole look is almost simple, but fun and chic.

Putting aside my personal frustrations with Taylor Swift, I am on the defense with this look. I love the way it looked on the runway, but I just don't care for it on her and with her hair like that. It's a gorgeous dress, but I would have rather liked to see her in something fun and flirty.

I thought this was very figure-flattering for Adele, and of course the sparkle is pretty, but that's really all I have to say about it. Kind of ho-hum, but her makeup looked beautiful and she carries herself very well in it!

I loved Ellie Saab's SS 2012 collection that included this dress, especially the green, but I wasn't a huge fan of this look. I do love the risk part of it and that's pretty much it. I mean, it is Katy Perry...

I just can't...I can't

Love the color...HATE the entire thing. If you are going to show your underwear and you have a body like hers, why would you wear high-waisted underwear?

So what did you guys think? Agree/Disagree? The Grammy's are just a fun event and although I did not like Fergie's and Katy's dresses, among others, I do love that they took a risk, because this is the event to do it!