Tarte Energy Noir Palette

True Life: I'm Obsessed with Fall Makeup

Seriously, though, I'm obsessed with fall everything. 

Oxblood, flannels, vampy lips, vampy eyes, porcelain skin, combat boots, black skinny jeans, crunchy leaves, cool breeze... Need I continue? Have I gotten it across that I live for fall?

Tarte's new fall palette is this gorgeous Energy Noir clay palette. Take a deep breath, because I'm about to gush about how perfect it is. Preface: I love Tarte.

Let's get some swatches in here.

Look. At. Those. They're so pretty. Look how well that highlighter goes with the blush! *sigh*

Ok, so let's break this palette down. The top left six shades are all eye shadows. 4 matte shades and 2 shimmer shades. The bottom 2 left rectangles are shadow liners. Obviously, the large one is the blush, and the rectangle under that is the highlight.

Shadows

The shadows are really pretty. In the matte shades, there's a white, a nice grayish shade, a deep brown, and a lilac mauve. All these shades are highly pigmented and really true to color. I think I've used 3 of these shadows in a look already, and they are so easy to blend. If you've used the Tartelette matte palette, these mattes are to par with those. They're wonderful.

The two shimmers are in the center, and I'm in love with them. Charged Up has different hints when you're in different lighting. It looks like a nice gray shimmer, but in the swatch it almost looks like a taupe-y nude. Up to Slate does the same thing. It's a silvery purple shimmer. Both of these are so creamy and so easy to blend into the mattes.

I personally don't feel like they have any more fall out than other shadows.  They just go so well together, and I can't handle it.

Liners

These are also matte, clearly. I actually haven't used them as liners. I've blended that Power Plum into my outer corner, though, and it's wonderful. They do feel a little drier than the shadows, so I think if you wet an angled brush, they'd make a perfect subtle or deeper liner. Definitely something you could build on. 

Blush

This blush is gorgeous. Gorgeous. It's so, so highly pigmented. You only need a tiny bit to get it done. I feel like it has a hint of mauve in it, which is perfect for fall.

Highlighter

I've only recently become a highlighter fan. Like, really recent. Maybe 2 months ago. This one is more on the champagne side, and it just compliments the blush perfectly. I currently have a tan (ugh!), but once I get back to my lighter tone, I think it'll look perfect. As I'm just starting to like highlighting my face, I'm not on board with "strobing." BUT I bet this shade would be great for it this summer, because it's really pigmented, creamy, and just really bright when applied.

Unfiltered photos of me using the palette.

All over the lid and up to the brow bone: Stone Unturned

Transition shade: Misty Mauve

Inner and outer corner: Dark Drive & Power Plum

Center of the lid: Charged Up

Blush on the cheeks.

The palette is currently for sale online, at Ulta, Sephora, and Tarte (obviously). It's supposed to be hitting shelves on the 23rd, this Thursday.

What are you ladies thinking? Anyone going to pick it up?!

Current Routine

Health / Fitness

Health

So, you guys know I've been a vegetarian for like, 4-5 years now. I do my best to stick to that, there are times when I have my moments, and honestly, if I lived near the ocean, I'd probably be a pescatarian. Don't prosecute me! I much prefer the vegetarian life over meat. It just a generally lighter feeling. I don't feel over stuffed or gross after I eat. Recently, I've been doing clean-eating (or ya know, mostly). 

If you don't know what clean eating is, it's simply eating non-processed foods. My grocery cart is typically at least 50% fresh fruits and vegetables. No white bread or white rice. Typically, if you don't know what the ingredients in something are, it's not clean. It's really not that hard. But I love my sweets, let's be honest. So, through the week, I eat as clean as possible, and on the weekends, I'll allow small treats here and there. Not too bad. But let's be real here. I'm not giving up my morning grande caramel soy iced coffee. Nope, I can't do it. 

If you're interested in getting started in clean eating, check out Fit Girl's Guide. I found them while perusing through fitness things on Instagram, and guys. There is no body shaming in this community. Every single person in that community is just ridiculously motivating and positive. It's really great. (:

Fitness

In the last three to four weeks, I've changed up my workout routine. I was following a 12-week guide from Fit Affinity, and while I really liked all the weight-lifting, I wanted to start seeing slimming results faster. I'm impatient, ok? So, now, I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week, as well as 45-ish minutes of abs and arms/legs. This has been really working for me. Within these 3 weeks, I've already noticed my work pants fitting more loosely, which is just so motivating. So, I'm going to keep that motivation and momentum up. Keep in mind that everyone's body is different and finding what works for you is what's important.

Here's a sample of my typical leg day:

• Cardio. I  typically do 30 minutes on the elliptical with the setting on interval hill. During the lower resistance time, I keep my speed around 6-7mph. During the higher resistance time, I speed up to stay in the 10-11mph range. Seriously gets your heart rate up, and the intervals kick up the amount of calories you're burning.
• Stretch. I do a few minutes of stretching my legs and arms out after cardio.
• Abs. I alternate daily between abs and obliques (sides). On the days when I do abs, I'll typically do weighted sit ups (with a 10 lb. plate), leg lifts, and reverse crunches.
• Legs. If you guys don't know, I love leg day. It's just my favorite thing to work on. Lately, I've been doing pyramid reps of squats. So, 10 times at one weight, add some weight and do 8, add more and do 6, add more and do 4, then back to 6, 8, and 10.  I'll also do hip abductors/adductors, and weighted lunges.

Typically, my workouts last 1-1.25 hours, and I don't find this to be unreasonable.  Each week, I'll typically workout Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 2 days of arms and 2 days of legs. Abs and cardio happen on every day. Which, can I just say, I loathe abs. I don't even want them, but I do want a smaller waist, so...

I'm surely not claiming to be a health expert (I'm definitely not). These are just the things that seem to be working for me lately!

DIY Marble Coasters

Fact: I have to start my day with coffee. Otherwise, I nod off at my desk.

Hello, my name is Tori, and I'm addicted to coffee. Iced coffee. It's a very rare occasion that I actually drink hot coffee. Like, it has to be the middle of winter in Ohio, and a cup of Cafe Verona. 

My cubicle has these cute little water rings all over my desk from my iced drinks. So, I thought it was about time I found some coasters for my cube. But not just any coasters, of course. They have to be cute and colorful, and preferably shiny. I've got this current obsession with gold leafing and just whatever you can find me that is shiny and gold.

Enter DIY.

What you need:

Sculpey clay of various colors

Exacto knife

Large jar (or something with a large circle opening)

Baking sheet

Oven (;
Liquid gold leafing
Paint brush
Clear coat of enamel or clear spray paint (optional)

How to:

Break off a few nice chunks of colors that you like. The already rolled one is the scraps of a previously made coaster.

Roll all pieces out.

Wrap the colors together.

Roll the wrapped up colors until it's a smooth cylinder.

Put the ends together, and twist them together again.

Roll that out until smooth again.

Form into a ball.

Roll that thang out, and look at your pretty colors! Decide what side you like better, and place your large circular object in that spot. Now, take your exacto knife, and cut around the edges. I saved the scraps, and rolled them into their own cylinder to use in my next coaster!

Pop your pretty creations into the oven at 275 for about 30 minutes. Once they're completely cooled off, paint the edges of the coasters as you like. I'm personally not a fan of perfection, so the gold is in various thicknesses around the coaster.

At this step, you can certainly add a clear coat of enamel or clear spray paint if you want them glossy. I'm going to do that, but it was torrential downpour on my way home from work, and I didn't feel like running out there. (;

So, here's the finished product! They look great, and I love them. They would make great gifts, too! Plus, if you have kids, kill two birds with one stone. This would be entertaining for them while they help make pretty things!
If you guys make these, I seriously want to see them! Leave pictures or just comment on how it went! (:

Makeup Haul

Ulta, Nordstrom Rack, and BirchBox

*Credit to the boyfriend for finding the perfect meme.

Ulta

Nyx Pristmatic Eye Shadow in Frostbite. This is my second of these shadows, and I just love it. It's this iridescent purple-y white. Ugh. The texture of this shadow is ridiculously silky. If you're ever perusing Ulta, touch them. They have crazy high pigment. I also have it in the shade Mermaid, but that has more of the shimmer/glitter texture. Not mad, because the color is gorgeous.

In the picture below, I have it on top of the next product.

Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Lavender and Rust. So, the lavender is just that. A super soft purple that I bought solely because it brought out the purple tones in the Frostbite shadow. I seriously love the two together! I also bought the rust to go under a shadow as well. I've been loving red shadows. Is it fall yet? The pencils blend out really nicely, and they come in so many shades. My only problem is sharpening them. I've watched the little hacks, but I've yet to successfully sharpen it.

Left to right swatches: Lavender jumbo pencil, Rust jumbo pencil, Frostbite shadow from above.

Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Transylvania. I wish I could convey how much I love a dark lip.  Like, a dark lip in fall with porcelain skin is my perfect look. I now have two of these, because I thought I lost the original that I scoured the Earth for. Literally, it was sold out for months. I also can't tell you how much I love these matte lip creams. I'm not a fan of glossy lips, so these are perfect. They last a good amount of time, but they're also easy to tuck in your purse and touch up when you need to.  So, Transylvania is a deep red with some purple undertones. It's actual perfection.
Here it is in all of it's glory:

Nordstrom Rack

Stila Coming Clean Revitalizing Gel Cleanser. Anyone else think of Hilary Duff's "Coming Clean" song? No... just me? There was a time when I got the Stila Face the Day moisturizer, and I was in love with it. Really liked it. So when I was browsing the make up at Nordstrom Rack, I saw this and just grabbed it. Let me just say that since I've starting using this, Tea Tree Water and 9 to 5 from LUSH, my skin has actually been looking clearer. Way less breakouts, guys, and that's important!


Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Revolver. So, this one, I just took a gamble on. It's a gunmetal color, which I love. However, it does have a metallic finish. I'm so-so on that so far. I've only tried it on a darker shadow look (you'll see below), but I think it would look way better on a lighter look. It definitely doesn't budge, though!

BirchBox

Leaving the best for last, because I got so many great things. *insert heart eyeballs emoji here*

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light to Medium. I've been itching to get a contour kit for quite some time now, and I'm so glad I held out for it. The colors blend nicely, and they aren't too, too orange for a pale girl. I come across that a lot, and no thanks to the orange skin! I'm just overall really happy that I can do a more natural contour or a more dramatic one depending on how I'm feeling.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Taupe. Here's another product I just had to have. Basically everybody on YouTube uses this, and it always looks so flawless. Not only can you make your brows look really natural, but it also holds your them down and in place. I learned really quick that you only need the tiniest amount to get the whole brow done. It looked like a took a taupe sharpie to my face the first time. Not cute.

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 palette. This is the baby of the haul. I'm just so happy with it. Originally, I bought this for that deep red color in the bottom row. (4th in from the right) However, upon swatching, I'm literally in love with this palette. It's going to be a staple for fall, for sure. Tons of mauves, reds, browns, and golds. 

Here is that gorgeous red in action. Seriously, can you handle it? I can't. I've also got on the Urban Decay liner and contour palette, because it was all new, and I just had to play with it all!

What are some of your favorite recent purchases?!

My Current Beauty Favorites

Batiste Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is a necessity for me, unless I feel like washing my hair every night. (Which I don't) Basically, my head is a grease pot on the 24-hour dot. It's real cute. I've tried quite a few dry shampoos and this is by far the best I've tried.  Currently, I have (L to R) Refresh, Original, and Wild. I usually have a bunch of the Wild scent, but they always seem to run low on that at Ulta, so I trapped the other 2. Totally in love with Refresh now.

LUSH 9 to 5 and Tea Tree Water 

I love tea tree oil. We've definitely discussed the benefits here.  My skin is mostly oily and has occasional breakouts, mostly when I'm stressing out. Typically, when I wake up in the morning, I've got a nice sheen of oil on my face. Since I've started spritzing with tea tree oil at night and moisturizing with 9 to 5, that's not the case. At night, after I shower and wash my face, I spritz my face with like, 3 to 4 pumps of the Tea Tree Water and massage it in with my hands. Then I rub in a small amount of the 9 to 5 moisturizer. Guys, a little goes a loooong way. It literally melts into your skin without leaving any residue. My skin is ridiculously soft afterwards. Another plus is that it isn't extremely fragrant.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation

I'd been wanting to try this foundation for quite some time when I bought it, and I'm happy to say, it doesn't disappoint. I'm currently using this in the shade Fair Sand. As would be expected from a clay foundation, it has a matte finish, and they have a pretty wide color selection, in my opinion. I typically wear this on the weekends, as like, my special foundation. Mostly due to the price. It stays really well throughout the day, and I typically only have to blot my face once. 

NYX Photo-Loving Primer

Anyone else have some blotchy, red skin, or just naturally rosy cheeks? If so, you need to try a green primer under your foundation. This stuff works wonders. I will say it's a little oily, so you need to make sure to shake it well before applying. But after applied, it doesn't make my skin any more oily than normal. And it helps give me that porcelain look I love. *insert sassy emoji here*

NYX Voluptuous Mascara

More life problems? I have hooded eye. If you're a hooded eye gal, you understand the struggles of opening your eyes after applying mascara or liquid liner. I actually love this NYX mascara so much that I have an extra in my drawer all the time. It has a drier formula, so I don't have to worry about it leaving cute little polka dots on my brow bone if I open my eyes. It also gives my lashes a ton of volume. I usually start with this, then do a second layer with a lengthening mascara. Seriously, I swear by this stuff. If you have any other drier formula mascara's, leave it in the comments! I'm always looking for new mascaras.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer and Cargo Water Resistant Blush

These are both products I discovered through my Birchbox subscription.  A few tries of each of them, and I was totally hooked. So, the Cargo blush is water proof. I can definitely attest to that, since I go straight from work to the gym, and my blush is still right where I put it. I'm using the color Bali. It's just this nice peachy-pink, and I adore it. The Hoola bronzer I use almost daily for my contour. Since I have pretty pale skin, I don't need a super deep bronzer or contour shade. This one is on the lighter end, although, it does have the bronzer quality of being slightly orange. But, it could definitely just look orange against my skin.

Lippies you'll find in my purse:

I have to make a confession. I'm addicted to lipstick. It's a real problem. Not for me, for my boyfriend. It takes me forever when I'm perusing Ulta for new stuff. I'm always drawn to lipsticks, but then I just stand there and stare at them because I can't remember what I have at home. So, these are the ones in my purse alone. I typically go with a more neutral shade during the week, because I'm at work, and it just seems weird to walk in with red lipstick on. To sit in a cubicle. So, let's do this thing from left to right.

Too Faced Melted in Fig. It's this awesome dusty rose color, and it's not too glossy.

NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien. It's another rose pink color. I like wearing this under the two NYX lip creams coming up.

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Pretty Social. This one is a lighter, almost sheer, lavender pink. Again, I wear this under a matte cream.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in London. This is a darker neutral color. I can basically lightly layer this over any color, and I just love the outcome. I'm not into glossy finishes, if you can't tell.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo. This one is a lighter, brighter, peachy neutral. I wear this a lot during the week over the NARS.

NYX High Voltage Lipstick in Flawless. Super pigmented neutral that kind of falls between the two matte creams in color. I wish this line was matte, because they are amazingly pigmented and have some great colors. Again, I just dab a matte cream over it, and I'm good to go.

If you have any favorites that you swear by,  please comment below. I'm so indecisive when I walk into Ulta or Sephora, so something to go off would be great! (; 

Friday Funday!

Tiramisu Dip

I did it. I made something, I photographed it, and, now, I'm posting it. It's been a while guys, a long while. Sometimes, I'm like, "yeah! I'm going to make this and take some pictures!" Then it doesn't come out as pretty as I want, so I don't. Oh, the woes!

I'm headed to my friend's tonight for dinner, and I agreed to make dessert. She loves tiramisu, but I'm much too lazy for that on a Friday. So, let's make it a dip, which is also just perfect for summer! (In my opinion..)

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 c. mascarpone cheese

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 tsp. instant coffee

1/8 c. chocolate chips

Vanilla wafers for dipping!

How to:

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add in the mascarpone and combine. Mix in half the powdered sugar at a time, just to avoid having a cloud of sugar in your face.  Toss in the coffee and vanilla and combine! In a food processor, pulse the chocolate chips until they're pretty fine. 

Place your dip in whatever serving bowl you'd like and sprinkle as much of the chocolate as you'd like. Serve that up with some vanilla wafers, and you're good to go!

Refrigerate if you happen to have any left over!

So, can we discuss something completely irrelevant for a moment? While working on this post, I was watching True Life. Who even knew they still made this show? Remember when it was like, "True Life: I have OCD" or "True Life: I have Tourettes"? The only problem these kids have now? "True Life: I hate my butt" and "True Life: My family hates my boyfriend". 

The epitome of first world problems...

Anyway! This recipe is amazeballs, and, hopefully, it'll pass the tiramisu lovers test! I'd love to know if you try it!

Mother's Day Gift Guide

It's May!

Why, hello there! I apologize for the looooooong silence. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed by the amount of things I decide to take on. However, we'll have time to catch up in later posts!

Does anyone else have an awful time thinking of what to get their mom's for Mother's Day? If not, kudos to you, man. I've thought of a list of fool proof gifts, and decided I'd help all of us out. I might just be posting this so I can look at it next year, though. (; 

1. Personalized bracelet

Everyone likes personalized things. This could be anything from getting the word "mom" on something, to getting your (and your possible siblings) birthstone on rings, bracelets, or necklaces. 

You can find this one here.

If you have a little extra $$, this necklace is awesome.

Target has this bracelet! Not exactly personalized, but cute!

2. Anchor bracelet

I'm pretty sure I got my mom an anchor bracelet last year with a little card that said, "thanks for always being my anchor." If that note wasn't attaches, sorry mom! It was supposed to be! Here are a few cute bracelets:

This one is basically perfect for this note, and your mom!

I bought this one for my mom last year!

3. Spa basket

Let's face it, our mom's are probably exhausted from dealing with our shit for the past 18+ years. Or however long you've been alive. A basket with Lush products, fuzzy socks or slippers, body scrubs, wine, face masks, etc would be a great "thanks for dealing with me!" Here are some item ideas:

Lush has this massage bar soap conveniently called, "Love You Mom," or this slightly creepy bubble bar. If  you head over to the site, or store, they have a whole section of Mother's Day special products.

Do you remember my review of these? They're heavenly, and Target sells little individuals!

4. Candles

My mom is a candle fanatic. While you could definitely add a nice one to your spa basket, you could also get her a nice candle warmer and candles to go with it. Maybe some cute, decorative candle holders she'd love for the coffee table? The options are endless. 

Target has these or this birdcage, as well as plenty of candles to go with them.

World Market has these awesome hanging mason jar lanterns.

5. Cool cards to go with your brilliant gift

I personally despise cards. I hate trying to pick one out for someone, especially sappy ones. I'd rather just get something obnoxiously sarcastic and call it a day. 

Of course, Etsy has wonderful cards. You can find these here and here.

6. DIY vases, jars, scrubs, etc. 

even if you aren't in grade school anymore, she'll still tell you she loves what you've made! If you're tight on cash, DIYs can be really easy. 

I adore these easy DIY stamped bowls. They'd be great for mom's rings!

This simple watercolor mug is also a perfect DIY gift!

These gold-striped vases are great for spring and your mom!

Do you guys have any gift suggestions!? I'd love to hear them... I still haven't gotten anything! (;