goals for 2015

Image via Glitter Guide

It's never too late to get started on your 2015 goals. I have quite a few for this year but wanted to share just a few with you. I really try to make my goals ones that I think I can actually accomplish throughout the year. I like to think of them as realistic goals as opposed to resolutions that are just so far out there that I know I would just throw in the towel in a few months.

1. Go to bed earlier, wake up earlier.
So this is technically fairly easy in theory. All I need to do is just get into bed before 11:30 and everything should be good, right? Unfortunately, no. For the life of me, I really don't know why I sit at my little dining room table/desk for hours doing... well, nothing really. Then it ends up being 2 AM and I'm super tired, which leads to crankiness and not wanting to get out of bed before 8. So I'm going to try and work in increments this year. So instead of getting into bed at 2, I'm going to shoot for 1:30 AM and then 1 and then 12:30 and so on. And since I'm going to bed a half hour earlier, I'm hoping that I'll feel better in the morning. A win-win!

2. Post more often to my blog and YouTube. And about things I really care about!
I've neglected my blog and YouTube as of late. I don't know why, but I did and I want to change that this year. So I'm going to try and get back to posting three times a week. Whether that be three blog posts every week or two blog posts and a video, I'm hoping to get things moving around here. I'm not about to get in front of the camera and start posting outfit photos {I'm not a fashionista by any means and I'm definitely not comfortable posing in photos} so I want to really start talking about things that are relevant to me. More recipes, more golf, more makeup, more life updates.

3. Read 32 books.
Ever since I signed up for Goodreads, I've tried to read 35 books a year. I've only ever made it to 30 so I think 35 was aiming a bit too high. I wasn't accounting for book ruts that I fell into or struggling through books I didn't like, so this year I'm hoping to just read an extra two than I have in the past. I read four books while on vacation so I think I'm on a roll so far! I've bookmarked this book-to-movie list and this top 10 list to help with different resolutions to get my to-read list started.

4. Get serious about my health.
I can admit that I'm not the healthiest person out there, but I want to make a serious effort to fix that this year. I just started this 12 week challenge and the Whole 30 yesterday so that's one {or two?} steps in the right direction! I've decided that setting small health and fitness goals each month might be more attainable than setting one large goal for the full year. This month, I'm aiming to up my water intake to get 2 liters every day.

5. Less spending, more saving.
I didn't save as much as I wanted to in 2014 so I want to make a better effort to do this in 2015. I don't have much space in my little studio apartment so I know there won't be any shopping excursions in my future. I need to remember that having more in my savings account is more important than having so many things that just sit there and collect dust. I don't know how much I want to put into my savings account at the end of each money, but no matter the amount, I know I'll be happier at the end of the year when I see a bigger number there.

6. Pare down my belongings.
I've been giving a lot of thought to this notion of living a more minimalistic lifestyle and a capsule wardrobe for a few months and think now would be a great time to put it into motion. I'm currently reading Live More, Want Less by Mary Carlomagno and think it's going to be really helpful in achieving this goal. I want to try Jess Lively's challenge of throwing out 100 things before moving out of my current apartment because I really need to lessen the amount of things I own/never use and increase the amount of space I have. I've also just started reading Unfancy, a blog focusing on minimalism and building a capsule wardrobe, and it's really inspiring! If you know of any other minimalist blogs, please let me know!

So there you go, six of my goals {I have more!} for this year. I'd love to know what you're hoping to accomplish this year so that we can cheer each other on!

Happy Wednesday!

makeup favorites of 2014

I'm here! And with a new post! I swear I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, the holidays were just a very busy time. But I hope you all had a great holiday season and very happy new year! I'm currently on a family vacation in the Dominican Republic {you can follow me on Instagram for some pretty pictures} so I thought I would share with you my beauty favorites from 2014. I tried to pick just one thing in each category instead of mentioning 5 million eyeshadow palettes because that would just be really repetitive and not as fun.

On to the best beauty products of 2014...

Best Brow Product: Anastasia Brow Wiz in Soft Brown - My most used brow product of the year and is by far the best option for filling in yours brows. I love that it has a spoolie on one end and very thin retractable pencil on the other. It makes it really easy to outline your brows and fill them in, while keeping it very natural.

Best Eyeshadow Primer: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer in Original - Ever since I discovered eyeshadow primers, this has been it for me. I typically just use the original version, but I also really like Eden, UD's matte primer, whenever I'm using less pigmented shadows.

Best Eyeshadow: Lorac Pro Palette - I think I've talked about this palette before because it is so freaking good. If you are debating on what neutral palette or eyeshadow palette to get, this is the one. Neutral and natural looks, smokey looks - this has everything you need for any eye look. With a row of eight matte shades and eight shimmers, this palette is definitely the best one out there!

Best Cream Shadow: Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow in Topaz and Bronze - I own this in two colors, and they are the best cream eyeshadows I've owned. They're incredibly creamy, very pigmented, and don't crease - all things you'd want in any eye shadow. I haven't been able to find these on the Sephora, Ulta, or Nordstrom websites so I'm worried they might be discontinued. You can still find them on the Smashbox website, so that's probably your best bet if you're looking to get these.

Best Liquid Eyeliner: Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner in Ultra Black - I love this pen liquid eyeliner because of it's tip. I'm not a fan of felt tip eyeliners and this one has a brush, which I think is much easier to use. It's so easy to get winged liner with this, whether it's with a really thin line or something a little thicker.

Best Pencil Eyeliner: Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Really Black and Dark Chocolate - I've been using this eyeliner for nearly eight years now so you know it's a tried and true favorite of mine. I always keep the the shades Dark Chocolate and Really Black in my collection and have used Grape on occasion. It has great pigmentation and is really creamy, which makes it super easy to smudge and soften.

Best Mascara: L'Oréal Butterfly Intenza Waterproof Mascara - This one is a late 2014 discovery for me, but I'm so glad that I tried it out! When it says waterproof, L'Oréal means it. It really fans out your lashes and keeps them separated while adding length and volume. The original Butterfly mascara is great too, but this one trumps it just a bit for me. 

Best Concealer: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Concealer in Light - I've been using this for the past two years and I think it's the best concealer from the drugstore. I might even go as far as saying that it's better than some high-end ones too. It does a great job of concealing and brightening and doesn't settle into fine lines.

Best Powder: Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent - I don't use powders for anything other than setting my concealer and a quick brush on my T-zone so I prefer for them to be translucent. I tried this one after hearing so many YouTubers rave about this and they were right. It's amazing and smells like lotion. A win for me.

Best Contour Powder: Benefit Hoola Bronzer - Technically this is a bronzer [as the name suggests}, but it's cool tone makes it great to use as a contour powder. I've just started attempting to contour this year and this has made it really easy. It's very pigmented so a light hand is all you really need.

Best Bronzer: Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder in Medium Deep - I bought this looking for something a little bit warmer for the summertime and this is just great. It's replaced my NARS Laguna bronzer as my favorite, which I never thought would happen. It's very pigmented, but the brush it comes with makes it easy to just lightly sweep on your face.

Best Blush: NARS Blush - I can't even pick a single color from the NARS blush line because they're all amazing. I've never been disappointed with any that I've purchased because the pigmentation is just off the charts. I'm currently loving Douceur and am trying out Deep Throat while I'm away on vacation. They're pricey but completely worth it!

Best Lip Liner: Clinique Quickliner for Lips - I'm not a fan of anything that you need to sharpen so it can be a little difficult finding a lip liner. Clinique doesn't disappoint here. These retractable lip liners drag smoothly across your lips, aren't drying, and lasts all day. It does a great job of preventing your lipstick from feathering too, which is definitely a plus. I use Baby Buff, Rich Red, and Chili.

Best Lip Gloss: NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu - I'm not a big gloss fan, but I do love the formulation and scent of these NYX Butter Glosses. I've tried out a few of these, but Tiramisu is definitely my favorite of the bunch. It's great to use throw on when you're in a rush and a perfect every day shade.

Best Neutral Lipstick: Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Honey - This is a recent discovery, but I've never found a more perfect everyday neutral/nude lipstick that suits me so well. It's taken me ages to find a shade similar to Honey, a rosy nude with a bit of brown, but now I'm never turning back. It has a bit of sheen to it, which I prefer for my neutral lipsticks. It also means that it's not drying, and this one is very smooth and moisturizing. I hope Smashbox never discontinues this because I would be so upset!

Best Bold Lipstick: Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte in Divine Wine - Have I harped on about this enough? Are you getting sick of it? I honestly can't get enough of it! Despite being a matte shade, this one doesn't dry out your lips no matter how many hours you've had it on. And because it's matte, it doesn't transfer as much as one with a sheen or pearly finish. It has a bit of an odd smell, but I can overlook that because of everything else it has going for it.

Phew! It was a lot to get through, but those are all of my makeup favorites from 2014. I'm trying to cut back on the makeup spending this year so it'll be interesting to see what I end up using in 2015.

Have a great Monday!