Mac Rebel and Vino Lipstick and Lip Liner Review

I don't shop at Mac all that frequently because I am on a rather tight budget, but every now and then it's fun to splurge on something nice. In general I love Mac lip products. They are so nice and smooth and they smell like vanilla!

I wanted to get some darker autumnal colors and I was drawn to Rebel (lipstick on left) but it wasn't quite as dark as what I originally was thinking. The girl at Mac was nice and suggested I layer a lip liner in Vino over top (just a little) to deepen the look. I loved it!

Rebel is a deep purple-y maroon color. I tend to gravitate towards these colors in general so this was a great fit for me.

My biggest issue with the Vino lip liner (top swatch) is that it does sometimes look almost black if you have dry skin. I recommend exfoliating your lips before use. In the swatch below they almost look the same color, but I would not recommend using the full lip liner look underneath the lipstick unless you are really looking for a deep, almost gothic, look.

In general I think the lipstick is true to color, but the lip liner definitely comes off darker in person than on camera.

Malena

Lush Facemask and Lip Scrub Review

I have had a few not so great experiences with face masks (see here), but I must say so far I have been enjoying my recent purchases at Lush! I recently bought the face mask Love Lettuce and the Bubblegum lip scrub.

Let's start with the face mask. This one from Lush cost $6.95 and is Lavender and Almond based. It is a Fresh Face Mask which means it does need to be refrigerated and used fairly quickly. It doesn't keep for very long - I'd say two weeks tops. Now out of this little pot I've gotten three nice face masks already! And I think I can get 3 - 4 more. Not a bad deal really... it comes out to about a dollar a face mask. I like the fact that these are nice and cool on your skin (courtesy of being refrigerated). All you do is leave it on for about 10 - 15 minutes until it starts flaking off. The one down side I would say is that it leaves a bit of a mess in your sink when you rinse it off if you're not careful.

I like the effects this mask has on my face. It doesn't really handle breakouts too much, but it does sort of balance everything out. There are also some "Scrubby" bits in the mask that you can work into your skin that helps with black heads. Overall, it's great!

Next up is the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub which costs $9.95. I love this stuff! I have been sick lately and as a result my lips have been quite chapped and flaky (not cute). This stuff has helped tremendously!

It's easy to use and smells and tastes JUST like bubblegum. They say you can lick it off when you are done scrubbing, but that grosses me out (dead skin cells!) so I just rinse it off with water. 

I'm happy with the results so far, though I do think it is a little over priced.

 However, I must say that my lipsticks have worn much smoother with far fewer flaky patches.

Overall, I recommend these products from Lush. They are worth testing out if you get the chance!

Malena

Pumpkin Cookies From Scratch

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I've recently broken my ribs. As a result I have picked up other hobbies to fill my time. One of which is apparently baking... not the wisest trade off - exercise for baking! 

I have been quite enamored with fall recently. Keeping with that theme, I decided to use my leftover pumpkin puree (leftover from my pumpkin pancakes!) to make pumpkin cookies. I got the recipe off of pinterest, and I must say it is not the best written recipe I've ever seen. It combines EVERYTHING in 3 steps that each have like 15 mini-steps.  I much prefer my baking steps to be broken up more. You can check it out for yourself here.

The ingredients (ignore the powder sugar... that's for the frosting not the cookies. Oops!)

Combine the dry ingredients

Then add the wet and mix! I just used a hand mixer, but boy do I want a kitchen aid mixer.

On the left are the baked cookies and on the right are the unbaked. These cookies don't spread much which is good, but they don't really come out very round so be prepared!

Next up! The cream cheese frosting, yum!

This one is pretty simple to make and it tastes SO GOOD.

I had a lot of fun making these cookies and I'm planning on having them for dessert tonight with my boyfriend for our three year anniversary!

Lots of love,

Malena

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Pumpkin Pancakes From Scratch

It is that time of the year again! Time to break out all things pumpkin. I absolutely love to cook and I particularly love to make pancakes. Growing up my dad used to make these pancakes for me and my sisters. 

Now I like to add my own spin - my dad only really made your traditional pancake. I like to add some fall flavor to them.

I added Pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and a dash of vanilla extract to a family pancake recipe. I bet it would also work if you added these to a pancake mix out of a box.

I added about a cup of pumpkin puree and then pretty much just added everything else to taste.

Don't worry! The batter is supposed to be orange. It means you've added enough pumpkin.

Make sure your pan is buttered and heated up completely before adding your batter. This ensures a nice evenly cooked pancake.

Yum! You know its time to flip the pancake when it starts to bubble a little and the edge of the pancake goes a little "dull." Keep in mind the second side tends to cook faster than the first!

You can also add some yummy chocolate chips or fruit!

I love to experiment with different flavors. Simply take a basic recipe and add your own twist!

Also, save the leftover pumpkin and you can make pumpkin cookies (hint hint)

Love,

Malena

Bluegrass Music Festival

This past weekend me, my boyfriend and his family headed downtown for a Bluegrass Music Festival! I absolutely adore country music but typically Bluegrass hasn't been my style. After spending a weekend immersed in it I have started to really appreciate the musicality of it and I think I'm hooked. I absolutely love how you can tell all the musicians really appreciate their craft. Sometimes I wonder if pop singers can really read music or even know what a key is...

Anyway, we had lunch at this lovely restaurant.

Then explored some of the booths that were set up. It was fun to look at the beautiful instruments that were for sale, though they were wayyyy out of my price range.

Please enjoy this super awkward selfie-with-a-DSLR-while-walking picture.

Then we headed to the amphitheater for the main shows! Downtown has this beautiful mural that I believe is made out of mirrors. It really creates a wonderful atmosphere for concerts.

It even lights up at night!

I had a great (but busy) weekend! We wound up napping Sunday afternoon because we were just plain tuckered out from too much fun.

Lots of Love,

Malena

September Favorites

This past month has been a little slow for me. I haven't been able to exercise at all due to my broken rib, and that leaves me with quite a bit more time on my hands. So here are a few of my favorite things from my laid back month.

Reading is my first favorite this month! I am currently reading The Book Thief which is a little bit darker than what I tend to read, but its really pretty good. I was a little blindsided going in (It was a gift and I didn't read the back of the book before starting it) but once I adjusted to the fact that it was set in Nazi Germany I started to appreciate the story more.

Writing would be my second favorite. I've felt a little more inspired to begin writing again. Obviously I've started posting a little more on here, but I've also started to write other things too. It's refreshing.

Next up is music. I've always been a musical person, but I've picked back up on teaching myself piano and guitar. It's nice to just relax on my porch with my guitar and write some music. I also attended a Blue Grass Music Festival this weekend and it was a blast! Hopefully a blog post on that is coming soon.

And as for a "conventional" favorite, I have been absolutely loving fall candles! I work from home so it is really nice to have a beautiful fall scent in my house while I work. I also love the little candle topper (center)I got from Yankee Candle.

Here's to a wonderful October.