A’s Favorite: Lip Balm

Hello beautiful people!

I’m starting a new segment here on The Beauty Benefits where I will be sharing my favorites!

My all time favorite lip balm would have to be Smith’s Minted Rose Lip Balm. I’m sure all of you have heard about it or have seen it in line at Sephora  in those tiny boxes where they put all those small little goodies in while you wait in line. (It’s a trap! But I fall for it every time) Well after hearing so many people talk about it and seeing it everywhere, I decided to give it a go. I mean why not right?

I don’t know what I was expecting when I first bought this product. But boy is it great.

I love love love my minted rose lip balm! It’s one of the best lip balms I’ve ever tried. I do have to admit that it does smell more minty than rose. The formula is very nice and moisturizing. This is my pre-lipstick application staple! It’s my everyday staple. It’s just great.

The packaging is super cute and has sort of an old fashioned or vintage esk feel to it.

The only con to this lip balm would have to be that it’s a bit bigger than regular lip balms like the Chapstick brand ones or Burt’s Bees. So throwing it in my Lululemon Scuba Hoodie pocket doesnt look the best but oh well.

But other than that, it’s fantastic!

It’s definitely one of my every day staples and a little goes a long way. I bought this a long time ago and there is still a lot of it left. So for the price of $7, it’s kind of a steal.

If you aren’t a fan of tin lip balms but would love to try this product, they also offer a tube version of the original rosebud salve (not minted but just as good) that you can get here!

If you would like to try any of their other lip balms you can get the original Rosebud Salve or the Strawberry Lip Balm.

Rating: 5 stars

Price: $7

Where can I get it?: Many stores carry this product (ex. Sephora)

 

I hope you enjoyed the first A’s favorite! If you have any products you would like me to review please leave a comment below!

 

xoxo

A

Nordstrom BP Fashion Board!

I’m pretty sure we’ve all been to or know of Nordstroms, but what not a lot of people know of is the Nordstrom BP Fashion Board!

The Nordstrom BP Fashion Board consists of high school students who are really passionate about all things fashion, etc and meet up about once a month. Being a part of the fashion board will give you insight on careers in the fashion industry, knowledge about on going trends, as well as making new friends and doing fun projects.

 

To be eligible to apply, you must:

  • be a high school student for the following school year
  • be interested in fashion! duh!
  • maintain a GPA higher than a 2.5

Here are the steps to apply:

  1. Fill out and submit an application. You can find them online here. Applications come out in February for the next school year.
  2. Start on your Fashion Board project! This can be a poster, look book, painting, etc about what fashion is to you, what trends you like, your personal style, etc.
  3. Look for two people to write your two required letters of recommendation. Maybe a teacher, neighbor, coach, etc.
  4. Shortly after you fill out your application, a representative of your chosen Nordstroms will contact you and schedule an interview!
  5. Kick ass on your interview date! Remember to bring your recommendation letters and fashion board project!

My Story

One of my friends told me about it last spring and asked me to apply with her and I was like why not?

I filled out my application online and waited for a reply. While I waited, I asked my volleyball coach and english teacher to write me a recommendation letter and got started on my project.

I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out what I was going to do for my project but I finally came to the conclusion that i should do a sort of look book, or a book about what fashion means to me.

I didn’t take any pictures of the book but I will try to describe it as well as I can!

First, I bought a spiral bound notebook from Target. It was a pretty small notebook, probably like the size of an average novel. It had a metallic gold and taupe striped cover which was super cute! I think the notebook was about $5?

Next I looked online and magazines for my fashion inspirations. (ex. Tumblr, fashion blogs, instagram, google, pinterest, vogue, teen vogue) I printed out these photos and started cutting them out. I had a bunch of photos!

Then it was all about decorating the notebook to make it unique. I mean it was MY project.

My notebook consisted of the following pages:

  • a cover page
  • table of contents
  • about me
  • fashion inspirations
  • my style
  • trends

The Interview

I went to the BP counter in my local Nordstrom and said I was there for the fashion board interview and the lady brought me into the stock room to be interviewed. I handed her my letters of recommendation as well as my project. The interview only took like 15 minutes. The questions they ask are pretty straight forward, things like

  • Why do you want to be on the BP fashion board?
  • What do you love about fashion?
  • What does fashion mean to you?
  • What are your extracurricular activities?
  • What do you want to be when you grow up?

Basically just stuff like that. I also had to explain my fashion board project.

After my interview, my interviewer said that I was basically in. About a month later, I got an email saying that I got in!

For those of you who were interested, I wore a grey babydoll dress, jean jacket, and black toms wedges! 

So throughout this school year, I will be keeping you guys updated on my thoughts on the fashion board, etc and answering your questions about it!

Don’t be afraid to ask me questions on the application process, etc.

xoxo

A

 

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

I know I’m not the only one out there who plays this game and finds it’s somewhat entertaining.

It has become one of my guilty pleasures.

For those of you who didn’t know, Kim Kardashian released a game on the App Store a week or two ago and it is all the buzz! I first heard about this game on tumblr and thought I should give it a go.

At first I thought it was a bit ridiculous. I mean going to photo shoots and such and just using up all your energy I order to get rewards wasn’t all that exciting but after playing for awhile, I kind of liked it. I don’t know why, but I just did.

I personally just feel the need to get to the highest level and that is why I continue to play it.

I am currently on level 11 and on the A-list (which is the highest level you can get to on the celebrity scale).

I mean the game itself is pretty boring since you just do the same thing over and over again. I have to admit that it is only fun when you have energy as after you use them all, you have to wait 5 minutes for a single energy to be replenished which many people find irritating. (Including myself) But I can definitely see the younger audiences enjoying this quite a lot.

Overall I find the game to be somewhat entertaining if I am extremely bored or have nothing better to do.

Rating: 3 stars

Price: free! (Don’t we all love free things)

Where can I get it?: the App Store on your iPhone or android

Want me to review something else? What are your thoughts on the game? Leave a comment down below and tell me what you think!

Xoxo
A

Posh what?

You know that yellow sweater that you bought from Forever 21 that you thought was super cute but later realized that yellow wasn’t your color? Or what about those pair of Levi’s that don’t fit you anymore? Or that purse that you never use anymore? Well I’ve got a way for you to get rid of that junk and make money!

I have recently discovered a website called Poshmark. (Which is also an app available in the App Store).

What is it you ask? Great question reader!

Poshmark is a website/app where you can buy/sell/trade your clothes, jewelry, shoes, accessories, etc. Trading is a common occurrence on Poshmark but the staff doesn’t recommend it.

How does it work?

After you make an account, you can make a listing for your item, where you include a picture, condition, size, asking price, etc. All of your items will appear in your closet which is visible to the public .

When you sell an item on Poshmark, they actually take a percentage of your asking price for the item. (I mean how else are they supposed to make money?) They will send you an email with a pre-paid shaping label and all you have to do is pack up your item for shipping, put it in a box (not a priority flat-rate box) , tape the shipping label to the box, and drop it off at the post office or schedule a pick up online. It’s as simple as that!

The shipping label is for 2 day shipping (which is freaking fantastic!) and it also includes insurance.

After you ship, you have to wait until the customer receives and approves of their purchase, then the money is put into your account. The money that you make will be saved onto your account and you have the option to either keep it on your account for future purchases on Poshmark, have a check mailed to you, or have the money transferred to your bank account.

You can also purchase items as well. It is also really simple. You just click buy and enter in your credit card information or use your balance on your Poshmark account.

I have sold several items on Poshmark and I can just say that it is a great way to get rid of stuff that you don’t use anymore and make some extra cash.

The only con is the shipping price. $4.99 for shipping is ehh okay. I mean it’s kind of a bummer if you find a cute dress for $10 and then have to pay $15. Like okay that’s fantastic. Not.

 

Other than that, I find Poshmark to be an awesome way to sell your clothes, etc and to restock your closet with really amazing stuff! There are great deals on Poshmark! Just go and take a look for yourself!

To read more about Poshmark and how it works, visit http://www.poshmark.com !

xoxo

A

Rant: “Sorry, forget you”

It has been so long since I have written on this blog.

Why?

Simply because there was so much going on in my life, like AP tests, school work, extracurricular, etc. So I guess now is a great time to catch you guys up with what has been going on in my life.

Let’s see… what is new?

Well I am beginning my behind the wheel training after holding my permit for over 4 months, but hey better late than never right? But here’s the thing. My father found a driving instructor who charges $250 for 6 hours of training and to take the test. (Which apparently is a really good deal) And my brother also took his classes with him a couple years ago so why not.

So basically, being the eager beaver that I am, I call this guy up to schedule a lesson. And here is our conversation. Let’s say his name was Charles.

“Hello is this Charles?”

“Yes.”

“Hi I was just calling about scheduling a driving lesson”

“Okay, well I am teaching now”

“Okay…”

“Just text me”

So I went and texted him and let’s just say there were a lot of grammatical issues.

Here were a few.

Okay well first he asked if 12-2 on Tuesday was a good time for me and I said no because I had a class that ended around 12. So in response he said “Pick you on school or 2-4” Umm excuse me? I understand typos but honey, you are missing two words.

But that’s not all.

So it’s finally Tuesday and I am so excited to take my class that was rescheduled for 2-4.

It’s 2 and I’m just there in my room, waiting for him to ring my doorbell or give me a call. Then I look at they clock and it’s 2:15. Okay well maybe he’s just running late. Finally after an hour later, I decided that he isn’t lost and texted him asking if we still had a class that day.

“Sorry, forget you”

Um what? Putting aside the fact that his response is grammatically incorrect, you forgot me?

Now at this point I was already pissed off because I had to wait an hour for him. Not only that but I was really looking forward to it and I could have been doing something else.(like working on the 7 page research paper that’s due for my psych class on Thursday)

First of all, you are the teacher and therefore it is your responsibility to remember when you have a student to teach. IT IS A PART OF YOUR JOB.

Then he replies “Friday at 2-4. Thursday text me again, thanks”

LIKE OKAY WHEN DID I BECOME THE PARENT OR TEACHER IN THIS SITUATION. IT ISN’T MY RESPONSIBILITY TO REMIND MY TEACHER THAT HE HAS A CLASS TOMORROW. Honestly, I just think it’s very unprofessional of him to forget my class in the first place and to tell me to remind him. Like seriously?

This is the 21st century, can’t you set a reminder on your phone or something? And even if you don’t have a phone or device that can do that, I’m pretty sure you have a planner or calendar. Like if you are the “professional” driving instructor that you claim to be, you should know when you have a student to teach or at least a system of remembering things like that. Like dude, this is your job.

I can’t even. I just can’t deal with him at this point.

And no, I didn’t say anything to him about being unprofessional because I don’t want to make it weird or anything for my first class. But if I find another instructor before Friday, you better believe I’ll give him a taste of my mind.

And for some of you out there, you may be thinking that I’m a bit harsh on the guy but I mean I don’t go to school and remind my teacher to come to school on Tuesday do I?

Exactly, I don’t.

i don’t know, I’ll see how things go.

xoxo

A

Henna it up!

Image I love henna! I recently went to a Tibetan shop and bought some pre-made henna in a tube. I have never done henna before so I decided to give it a try. I was so afraid I was going to mess up!

It wasn’t hard to use at all. Applying henna is actually really simple and super fun.

Steps:

  • Buy henna paste or a kit. (Make the henna if you bought a kit)
  • Simply apply the henna paste to your skin like you’re laying rope on the ground, don’t use it like a marker. 
  • Leave the henna on for 4-8 hours
  • Then you can peel off the henna paste 

After you make your design, allow it to dry for a couple minutes and apply liquid bandage over your henna design. 

* I have also heard that you can use liquid hair gel, or lemon and sugar. For more information on ways you can set your henna, feel free to google it. (I’m sorry I’m no help in that department!)

 

 To set the henna paste, I applied liquid band aid to the location. This will allow the color to become darker and last longer. 

This only lasts for a couple of days! 

xoxo

Sweater Weather

ImageRecently I have been searching for new artists and I came across The Neighbourhood. Oh lord. They are fantastic. Their album I’m Sorry… is amazing and you can purchase it on iTunes.

The first song I heard from The Neighbourhood was Sweater Weather. (fantastic song!) I recommend this band to anyone who enjoys The Weeknd.(which is another favorite artist of mine)

If you like indie pop/rock/alternative music, The Neighbourhood is the one for you!

Check them out on youtube and iTunes!

What song are you loving right now? Leave a comment below!

xoxo

Movie Review: Spring Breakers !

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How is everybody’s spring break going? Mine is swell but is sadly coming to an end. Today, I thought I would write a movie review since I saw Spring Breakers last week.

There was an enormous hype about this movie everywhere, on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc… I have to admit, I was really excited to see it also.

Movies like this can be either really good or really bad. Not in between.

Spring Breakers starred Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, Gucci Mane, and James Franco.

Summary: (yes there are spoilers in here)The movie is about these girls, Faith, Cotty, Candy, and Brit who all want to go on Spring Break. However they don’t have enough money to go to Miami. Cotty, Candy, and Brit rob a local fast food restaurant to get the rest of the money. When Faith finds that her friends used violence to get the money, she’s really disappointed. But they all go to Miami anyways and have a lot of fun. However, the fun ends when they get arrested from one of the many spring break parties. They either had to pay a fine or spend two more nights in jail. A drug dealer and rapper named Alien bails them out. Faith doesn’t feel comfortable with Alien and what he does so she gets on the bus and heads back home. Cotty, Candy, and Brit stay with Alien. Candy and Brit hook up with Alien and Cotty is passed out. Later Alien takes the girls to a strip club and talks to Big Arch, who is also a drug dealer. Big Arch was Alien’s childhood best friend but they are now enemies. Big Arch tells Alien to stop selling drugs in his part of the neighborhood. However Alien doesn’t listen to Big Arch and this results in a drive by shooting. Cotty gets shot in the arm and decides to leave. Candy and Brit are left with Alien and come up with a plan to get revenge on Big Arch. When they get to Big Arch’s house, one of Big Arch’s men kill Alien. Brit and Candy kills that man and continue to shoot everyone who comes in their way. They kill Big Arch, give Alien a kiss on the cheek, and drive away in Big Arch’s car. The End.

Review: They I’m not really sure how I felt about this movie. I didn’t have high hopes but it left me really confused. Like what exactly was the plot of the whole thing? I have no idea. I think that Alien wanted to kill Big Arch all along and after Cotty and Faith left, he was left with the strongest of the group: Candy and Brit. Maybe he knew that he couldn’t do this alone so since Candy and Brit are the strongest, they would  guarantee the death of Big Arch. That’s what I thought.

Another thing is that Selena Gomez was only in the movie for like 30 minutes, then she left.

Rating: I honestly have no idea. I still don’t know how I feel. I didn’t like it, but I don’t hate it.

Did you see Spring Breakers? What did you think? Leave a comment below!

xoxo

The Gingerly Touch… of shampoo

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Ginger shampoo? That’s so weird! Those were my exact thoughts when I saw this item at The Body Shop. I am a Love Your Body member at The Body Shop, which is a rewards program. You get 10% off of every purchase! To be a Love Your Body member, you only need to pay $10 a year. To find out more about being a Love Your Body member, visit your local Body Shop or visit their website.

Ginger Scalp Care Shampoo from The Body Shop is for dry and flaky scalps. I don’t necessarily have a flaky scalp but it really soothes my scalp and it feels AMAZING! The shampoo itself smells like ginger and lathers really well. I felt a difference after my first time using this and so did my friend because I bought her a bottle also! This has done wonders on my hair and I hope it does the same for you!

If you’re looking for a new shampoo, give this one a try! Or you can try the other shampoos from The Body Shop!

Price: $14

Where can I get it? You can get this item at your a Body Shop near you or here

Rating: 4.5 Stars