The Butterfly House at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Part 1 and Part 2

We were excited to see that the botanical garden had a butterfly house!

Unfortunately, a lot of the butterflies were not very cooperative as they just did not want to land on anything! As soon as they landed on something they would take right back off again.

The blue morpho butterfly was especially quite difficult to get a picture of because it just wouldn't land! It would always take off again as soon as I was going to take a picture, or it would close up its wings. It's interesting how the blue morpho looks so 'ugly' on the outside but so pretty when it spreads its wings. As you might already know, that is how they camouflage themselves.

There weren't very many different varieties of butterflies at the garden, or any that were particularly colorful or anything, but it was still pretty neat to observe.

There are quite a few different varieties listed on the garden's website, but we only saw maybe half of them. There is one called a gray cracker that would have been neat to see!

Have you ever visited a butterfly garden/house?

Recent Beauty Purchases 6

The Honest Company Lip Crayon - Sheer Lush in Sheer Petal: I swatched this on my wrist because I had a really hard time finding a picture of the actual color before I purchased this. I thought this had more of a pink tone to it, but it seems to be more of an orange/coral color. While the color isn't quite what I wanted (I prefer more 'cool' colors and this is a bit too warm for me.) I do like the formula. It feels really creamy on my lips and is quite moisturizing. 

The description on the box says it has a combination of coconut oil, shea, and murumuru butter to help lock in moisture. And it certainly feels nice! So while it isn't quite the shade I was hoping for, after trying it on a second time I realized it didn't look as bad as I thought it did, so I will definitely still use it!

The Honest Company Body Wash in Sweet Almond: This body wash has a nice scent to it, although it is very subtle. I mostly just like that this is a more natural body wash and I don't have to worry about the ingredients in it. It lathers up nicely and feels nice and soft on my skin.

The Honest Company Face + Body Lotion in Sweet Almond: This body lotion is just okay. It's supposed to be an almond scent but I was disappointed to find that it really doesn't have any scent at all. I mean, no scent is better than a bad scent, but I just really like almond so I was hoping for more of that! 

L'Oreal Paris Advanced Hairstyle Blow Dry It Thermal Smoother Cream: I've tried the L'Oreal Blow Dry It Quick Dry Spray and was interested in trying the smoother cream when I found it in a clearance basket at Target. Unfortunately I didn't like it as much as the spray. It just seems to leave a film on my hair and it makes my hair feel and look oily. It really just weighs my hair down which is definitely not what I want! So I'm glad I got this on clearance because it's not something I would purchase again!

I will add that after using this a few times, if I use a very small amount and only apply at the ends of my hair (I got my hair cut a few weeks ago and it is much shorter than I wanted at about shoulder length.) it seems to be okay. If my hair were longer it would be easier to keep it more to the mid-shaft to ends of my hair vs. where my hair length is now. If that makes sense!

Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Mascara in Glam Black: The first thing I noticed as soon as I opened the tube was how terrible this smells! Usually mascara doesn't have much, if any, odor, but for some reason this just has a nasty smell. 

I've been using the L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara and just been disappointed with it. I reviewed it a while back and liked it at first, but after using and purchasing several tubes it it just seems to dry out really quickly. I picked up this Maybelline mascara randomly and was hoping it would be okay but I just don't really like it. 

It's just pretty average on what it does and really just isn't anything special. I wouldn't purchase it again.

Covergirl Outlast All Day Lip Color in Dusty Rose: This was another Target clearance basket find; but this was a major win! It's the perfect kind of neutral pink that works great for me. As far as how long it lasts, it's okay. I don't really have much of an issue with it, but other people might. It really depends on how much eating/drinking you do throughout the day and if you make sure to keep applying the lip balm so your lips don't get dry. That part doesn't really bother me all that much as I don't mind re-applying later in the day. Overall though it's a great color and even though I got it on clearance, at its full price it's still pretty affordable.

Revlon Volumazing Mascara in Blackest Black: I picked this up after hearing a makeup artist I follow on Instagram mention that she tried and liked this, and I was really surprised by it! First off, this is probably the cheapest mascara I've ever purchased at a whopping $5.99. It really seems to do a great job at separating my lashes and making them appear longer. I think this really has a lot to do with the brush. I have found that the brush can really make or break a mascara just as much as the actual formula. The brush is a bit wide at the tip, which makes it difficult to use on the shorter lashes on the inner part of the eye, but overall I really really like this mascara!

Have you tried any new beauty products lately?

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Part 2

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Part 1

The garden was just so pretty that I ended up taking so many pictures! The greenhouse was pretty neat because one part had a whole bunch of orchids in many different colors and shapes. Another part had a butterfly exhibit (which I'll share in another post!) and another part had a neat little house that reminded us of Hagrid's hut! 

Back outside, we saw a rose garden, but there weren't too many roses blooming anymore. We enjoyed walking along the different paths and around the pond while enjoying the many different kinds of plants and flowers.

We really enjoyed our time at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden! The garden was just the right size-not too big and not too small. It's easy enough to do in a few hours or longer if you wish. I can definitely see us visiting again!