{product} : bb cream.

bb cream = beauty balm.

i am a marketer's dream.

a complete sucker.

so, i obviously gave into the latest craze in beauty products

 & purchased this little L'Oreal Youth Code BB cream one night while i was aimlessly wandering around duane reade. 

i will be exiting my 20's in a few months - 

which means i have been lathering myself in any 

& every anti-aging skincare product out there. 

as i approach 30 - i am constantly fighting that nagging feeling of fearing getting older {and looking it}. i swear i've had wrinkles since i was 9 - so i guess 29 is a good age to start boycotting them. 

i want to age elegantly like my grandmother

 (she's the cutie in my pic above). 

she turned 83 yesterday.

she acts & looks like she's maybe 45.

returning from my tangent: 

so, bb creams are supposed to be the whole "next generation" 

when it comes to face products - bc they are filled with antioxidants, skin brighteners, botanical actives 

& anti-agers - along with providing sunscreen, foundation-like coverage, & moisture. 

i am not going to say i'm a full-fledged convert quite yet - 

but after using the product for a little over a month - 

i have come to love the lightweight coverage & smooth texture. 

i've replaced my foundation with this stuff. 

i still have crows feet - but maybe somebody will just buy me botox for my birthday & nip that one in the bud. 

{no this was not a sponsored post - just random thoughts} 

cheers. 

{diy} nail it.

i've only recently started painting my nails. 

 i still don't own my own nail file. 

this is something i get "a talking to" every single time 

i go home to Arkansas and see my grandmother.

since moving to nyc - 

i kind of have zero excuse to not keep my nails pretty.

bc manicures are the only cheap thing available in this city. 

sooo... it's obvious that i have NOT mastered 

painting my own nails - 

much less attempted these cool tricked out DIY looks.

but i wish i could.  

thebeautydepartment.com gives tutorials on stuff like this ...like how to use scotch tape to get the first nail look shown (i repeat...scotch tape) 

and the last photo i posted looks amazing...but there's 

no way in hell i'd do the 9 million steps 

just to stain my nails the perfect "ombre". 

i really love these looks. 

maybe i'll try my first DIY project - and then i'll let one of my roommates write a "follow-up" blog post about how i somehow got stuck in all that scotch tape and ombre'd myself up to my elbows.