September Ipsy Glam Bag

MPRINCESS Loose Eyeshadow in Pretty Petal: The color is pretty but I don't really care for loose powder. Fortunately though, this does have a sifter thing on top so you can have some control over how much you use.

LUXIE BEAUTY Harley Quinn Detail Flat Definer 110: I didn't like this brush. It's not my style at all and I really don't have a use for a brush like this.

SMASHBOX COSMETICS Photo Finish Primerizer: Overall I liked this primer. It left my makeup looking good all day long. I just prefer something that is pore minimizing, so that would be my only complaint I guess (which is just as well as it's a bit pricey!). Overall it's a great primer.

HAYADI Weightless Smoothing Cream: This was fine. Nothing too spectacular. I used it on my hair after I showered and it left my hair feeling soft. I haven't tried it on dry hair yet, but I'm interested in seeing if it will do anything for frizz. Overall it's just okay.

TRÈSTIQUE Mini Lip Glaze in English Rose: I really liked this lip glaze. I was a little worried the color was going to be really bold because I thought it was more like a lipstick, but it's actually more like a lip balm. It's just a really pretty color and one I can actually see myself getting some use out of! 

Overall this was just an okay bag. There weren't really any standout products. The lip glaze was probably my favorite item, with the primer being a second. Everything else I didn't really care for. 

Anyways, my October bag looks to be much better!

I'm curious though, do you subscribe to any beauty boxes/bags? What are your thoughts on them?

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, and BYBMG!

1. If you aren't up on the latest Nintendo/Mario news, the newest Mario Party releases today and my sister is pretty darn excited about it! My mom and I are going to be out today, so I volunteered to pick it up for her so she could just come straight home and play it.

We're also picking up pizza from Papa Murphy's, so it will be a fun night eating pizza and playing some Mario Party!

2. I'm also looking forward to tonight's Dateline. I was a big fan of the Up & Vanished podcast, so it will be interesting to see Dateline cover the case and talk to the host of the podcast. 

So if you don't normally watch Dateline, you might want to watch this one. The case is interesting, but as with all of the cases, the story is really sad.

3. My brother came home the weekend before last so we went to the Christopher Robin movie for something to do. I didn't really want to go to the movie, but it ended up being really cute! I wasn't expecting to like it but it was good. The Winnie the Pooh characters could have done with a bit more work to make them look more cute, but overall it was a fun movie.

4. After the movie my brother wanted to go by Old Navy, so as we were driving there we got stopped at a stoplight. We looked over and saw this sign! We were all laughing at it and my sister was able to get a picture.

5. In case you missed it, on Monday I shared a book review!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Delayed Justice by Cara C. Putman Book Review

Delayed Justice by Cara C. Putman
Publisher description:
She had long given up the desire to be loved. Now she only needed to be heard.

Jamie Nichols went to law school to find the voice she never had as a child, and her determination to protect girls and women in the path of harm drives her in ways both spoken and unspoken. As Jamie, now a criminal defense attorney, prepares to press charges against someone who wronged her long ago, she must face not only her demons but also the unimaginable forces that protect the powerful man who tore her childhood apart. 

Chandler Bolton, a retired veteran, is tasked with helping a young victim who must testify in court-and along with his therapy dog, Aslan, he's up for the task. When he first meets Jamie, all brains, beauty, and brashness, he can't help but be intrigued. As Chandler works to break through the wall Jamie has built around herself, the two of them discover they may have more to offer one another than they ever could have guessed-and that together, they may be able to help this endangered child. 

And as Jamie pursues delayed justice of her own, she unearths eternal truths that will change the course of her life.

I really enjoyed this book. I've liked all the books in the series and this was a great next installment. (check the other books out here!)

I thought the author did a good job at tackling the extremely difficult subject of abuse without overwhelming the reader with details. The characters (main and secondary) were all believable and authentic. Especially Jamie's emotional struggle with her past as well as her future. 

From being forced to open up herself and her home, Jamie is tasked with reexamining her relationships with her friends and family, as well as with Chandler. Jamie really goes on a journey throughout this book and it's so interesting to see her grow and change throughout the story.

I liked Jamie and Chandler's relationship. For one thing, it wasn't cheesy! He was the perfect person for her and their relationship was really well done. He wasn't pushy but he also knew when he needed to step in and help. 

The faith aspect was also well done. I find that a lot of Christian books can really beat you over the head with religion and just be way over the top, but the faith angle in this book was subtle yet resolute.

While there wasn't as much suspense as maybe the other books in the series, I was still left wanting to know what was going to happen next. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Delayed Justice releases October 16, 2018

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, and BYBMG!

1. My sister's birthday was last week and there was a doughnut shop she really wanted to try, so we made sure to visit Sugar Shack! 

Let me tell you, they were definitely the best doughnuts we've ever had! So so good! I don't like overly sweet desserts, and these (despite how they may look) were not too sweet. The doughnut itself was so soft and fluffy! And they had so many flavors that I can see lots more visits in our future!

2. We kind of celebrated birthday weekend for my sister, so on Saturday we got doughnuts and went shopping, and then on Sunday we did her presents, tried a new church (trying to find a church is so frustrating!), and then we went to dinner at Chuy's and had cake!

3. On Monday we experienced our first tornado warning! It was definitely a little unnerving to get an alert telling you to take shelter now! There ended up being a total of 8 tornadoes that touched down in the Richmond area that day! One of which was maybe 15 or so miles from us. The warning was originally until 3:30, but they kept pushing it back until like 4:45, and then they just had a watch until 10pm that night. 

4. I have several errands to run today (Trader Joe's!) and some other grocery stores and shopping. And then my brother is taking the train down to visit this weekend so that should be fun!

5. In case you missed it, on Monday I shared some pictures from our visit to Williamsburg, Virginia, and then on Wednesday I shared some of my recent beauty purchases!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Recent Beauty Purchases 4

Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black: I had received a sample of this and really liked it, but when I purchased the full sized version I was disappointed. I don't know what happened between the sample size and the full size, but the full sized version seemed way different. It just didn't really do anything. It really didn't look like I was even wearing any mascara as it just didn't coat my lashes well at all. I ended up returning it because there's no reason to keep it if it isn't going to do anything!

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara in Blackest Black and L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Original Mascara in Carbon Black: I am including these two together because I use them together. I like to use the Voluminous Original mascara first because the angled end of the wand works great to get in close to the root and then separate my lashes. And then I like to use the Voluminous Lash Paradise next to get a fuller look. I think these both work really well together and work better than some of the more expensive mascaras I've used.

Revlon Kiss Balm in cherry: I wasn't able to find a link to the cherry flavor, but I did purchase this at Target. I did like this lip balm. The color isn't as bold as I thought it would be, and the flavor isn't very strong, but it does give a nice bit of color. It is pretty moisturizing too! More so than I thought it would be. And at just under $4, it's a pretty good buy!

Pixi Glow Tonic: - I actually got this using my Ipsy points, so while not exactly a purchase, I thought I would include it anyways. I had been wanting to try this for a while because I had heard SO much about it. I did like it. It seemed to smooth and even out my skin. I wouldn't say it was the greatest product ever (like some seem to claim.) but it is nice. I guess it's something I would be excited to receive as a sample but I wouldn't spend the money to purchase it myself. I'll just stick with my favorite Neogen Dermalogy Real Flower Cleansing Water!

L'Oreal blow dry it quick dry spray: This has a ton of positive review, so I was interested in giving it a try. I have long probably medium weight hair. Meaning my hair isn't particularly thick or thin. I was pretty surprised at how well this worked though. It dried hair pretty quickly without leaving my hair feeling dry. I was afraid this was going to leave my hair feeling really dry since it is a drying spray, but I was really glad that it didn't! I mean, this isn't like an instant dry or anything, it still took me a bit of time to dry my hair, but it did lessen the time it took to dry my hair. Again, I do have long hair and drying long hair always takes forever!

Anyways, it's pretty inexpensive and definitely worth a try if you hate how long it takes to dry your hair. Also, the scent is nice and not overpowering.

Have you purchased any new beauty products lately?