Product Review: MAKE Beauty Lipstick and Eyeshadow

One of my favorite parts of the blogging community is learning about new products and companies and being encouraged to give them a try. I'm still pretty uneducated about the fancier sides of makeup - contouring, highlighting, and all of that jazz - but two products I am familiar with (and also pretty picky with) are lipstick and eyeshadow.

So, when MAKE Beauty graciously presented an opportunity to be apart of the #MakeYourself beauty campaign, I was happy to try out two of their products.

First up is the Silk Cream Lipstick in Taffy

Pro: Color and Texture

I think it was about a year ago that I began to wear lipstick somewhat regularly and in that year I have become a bit of an addict. My younger, supper stylish sister is partially to blame. I do have some bolder statement colors that I use on special occasions or when I'm feeling particularly sassy, but I tend to stay on a more neutral side of colors. The taffy is a nice, neutral pink. What I love about this particular shade is that you can definitely tell that you are wearing a pink lip, but it's not overbearing and looks very professional.

The color goes on smooth and has a nice, matte finish and feeling which I prefer to gloss lipsticks. 

Con: Doesn't Last Long

While I found that the color went on smoothly, I noticed that after a short time of wearing it my lips were not solidly covered and needed a reapplication. Maybe I needed to use another product on top to ensure longer lasting coverage?

Matte Finish Eyeshadow - Alabaster

Pro: Smooth, Lasting Coverage

While the lipstick wasn't a huge success for me, I love the MAKE Matte Finish Eyeshadow. The color was so smooth and easy to apply. I also found that where many of my shadow fade or rub away by the end of the day, this eyeshadow stayed on, felt good and looked great. 

Con: Alabaster is a very light color

This particular color is much lighter than what usually use. Because of that I did have to mix in some of my normal shadows for different shading, but the product worked well with others :)

Overall, I was very impressed by MAKE Beauty products. The two I tried are well-made and felt terrific on my eyes and lips. I would recommend the eye shadow over the lipstick simply because I think the price of the lipstick is far too high for something that needs constant reapplication.

Another draw to MAKE Beauty for me is that they never test their products on animals. I've mentioned a desire to be a more intentional consumer on the blog before and that definitely applies to beauty products and how they are made.

Have any of you ever tried MAKE Beauty? Any tips for ensuring that lipstick lasts longer?

Peace,
Sarah

**A big thanks to MAKE Beauty for sponsoring this post. While products were supplied in exchange for a review, all opinions are entirely my own.

Read More

5 Weekly Graces Vol. 24

Another week has come and gone and honestly, I am just trying to soak in as much time here at school as I can manage. It's amazing to see how much one place can impact you in such a short period of time. It's only been three years and I can clearly see the difference between myself when I began my degree and myself now, just over a week away from being finished. But yes, I am ready to be done and to move on to whatever this next stage in life will be...

1) I passed comps!

3 years of studying apparently paid off because I passed my oral comprehensive exams last week and will officially be graduating on May 21. I feel so much lighter, but still don't quite know that I believe it has happened. I bet it will sink in by graduation weekend though - hopefully haha

2) Massage #earnedit

To celebrate passing comps, I treated myself to a massage in an attempt to work out some of the tension I have been carrying from comps stress. I used a Groupon and a coupon they sent me via email a few months ago so it ended up costing me $3 for the hour. Yay for thriftyness.

3) Wine Tasting

A group of classmates and I headed up to Sonoma County on Friday for some wine tasting. I had never gone to Sonoma and was thrilled for the opportunity to check it out before leaving. It was a ton of fun and such a treat to get out of the city into a slower pace - much more my style - plus, it's wine.

4) Student Dinner

My job's main role is to bring out leadership skills in our students as they prepare to take a group of classmates on immersion trips both domestic and abroad. To thank our hard-working student leader, our team decided to take the group out to dinner. It was nothing fancy, just a nice evening to gather together for the last time and share some memories and gratitude. My favorite part of my job is working with these students. They are all absolutely incredible and I cannot wait to see how they change the world.

5) Mile-a-Day

I mentioned it in my May Goals post, but I am participating in a challenge to walk/run/move for at least one mile each day in May. Today was the 10th day and so far it is going great. I love being outdoors and this challenge gives me an excuse to step away from final projects and get in some cardio. It's not too late, you cans still join in and finish up the month strong!

How was your week? Any moments of great joy? I'd love to hear about it!

Peace,
Sarah

Read More

5 Weekly Graces Vol. 23

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope that your week is off to a beautiful start! Mondays are my day off, so yesterday was a nice combination of relaxing and productive - though it could have been more of the latter haha

I think I might finally be getting back into the rhythm of regular blogging and I'm pretty jazzed about it. I've missed writing down thoughts and ideas and sharing with you all.

Per usual, the beginning of the week means the 5 Weekly Graces post where I round up five moments from last week where I noticed some good in my life. As you will see, last week was lovely :)

1. Walks with Friends

On Saturday my roommate and I took a walk to the Berkeley Rose Garden which is blooming and gorgeous right now. I wish I had a photo to share but we left our phones at home. I then took her to a hidden waterfall nearby that is one of my favorite places in town. It's tucked away behind the local park and hard to find, but so worth the walk. One of my roommates my first year at school showed me it's location and I suppose I have now passed it on down to the next crop of students.

2. Delicious Food

Monday was my night to cook for the community and I ended up trying a recipe from Pinterest for Mexican Chicken Quinoa Casserole. It was amazing! I always get a little nervous trying out recipes for the first time if I'm sharing the finished product. This super simple recipe did not disappoint and left us with leftovers for a few days after.

3. Catholic Underground

A group of friends from the retreat I helped with a few weekends ago came up to Berkeley on Friday for an event put on by the local diocese. The title sounds a little sketch, no? Basically, the event was praise and adoration followed by music from an independent Catholic artist, Kevin Heider. I had never heard of him before, but really enjoyed his music and ended up purchasing an album. His song The Waiting is beautiful. Oh, and if the world wasn't small enough, he is from Ohio and knows my roommate from college's husband. Crazy.

4. Community Happy Hour

My school has 3 buildings of student housing and the building managers hosted a "happy hour" on Friday for all of us to get together and mingle. It was super low key and just a lot of fun to see so many friends in one place this close to graduation. I'm truly going to miss the beautiful community here.

5. Camino Reunion

On Saturday night one of the professors who walked the Camino Ignaciano with me this summer hosted a reunion for the group. I had seen some of them here and there, but we had not all gotten together since last semester. Three cheers for good friendship, good conversation and good food.

What about you? What moments from last week have left your heart filled with joy?

Peace,
Sarah

Read More

April Budget

Normally I have my monthly budget post ready and waiting for Fran's link-up, but this month I'm a few days late. That's ok though, I still have lots of fun things added to my wardrobe this month and I'm excited to share them with y'all!

The majority of my additions are from an Instagram give-away that I won near the end of March, so I'll save those gifted items for the end of the post.

As far as purchases, I stuck to some basics using credit card reward points I had saved up. I've been in the market for a pair of lighter washed jeans and found a pair at Old Navy that I love as well as a classic, striped top that I have been wearing non stop. I also ended up buying another white cami from the Gap Factory because I love and wear the one I purchased a few months ago so much.

Birkenstocks were the big splurge for me this month (probably year). My feet have been bothering me in the non-supportive sandals I normally wear so I finally caved and invested in some quality summer footwear. As soon as I tried them on in the store my feet basically let out a sigh of relief. It's amazing the difference that a good pair of shoes can make. (I just wish they weren't 10x more then I'm used to spending on shoes...)

1. Linen Blend High-Low Tee - Old Navy - $9.97

2. Mid-Rise Super Skinny Jeans Light Wash - Old Navy -$19.99

** Used a $25 rewards coupon which made the total $6.56 for the two**

3. Factory Favorite Cami - The Gap Factory - $5.99

** Used a $5 rewards coupon which made the total $1.09**

4. Mayari Birkenstock Sandals in Mocca - Nordstrom Rack - $94.95 ($103 and change w/ tax)

Total: $111.09 including tax

Not horrible, but still more than I typically spend per month. To be fair though, I've worn each of these items countless times in the last month and will continue to do so.

As I mentioned earlier, I was the lucky winner of an Instagram Give Away hosted by JennaRoseColoredGlasses. My prize was a "Spring Break" package filled with amazing goodies from Cotton On. Everything was absolutely adorable and super comfortable too - I've basically been living in the tee-shirt dresses.

To be honest, I had never even heard of this retailer prior to the contest but after getting the items and receiving such amazing service when sizing was wrong, I can't get enough! Most of the items I won are already out of stock, which makes sense because from what I have seen they are constantly updating items! (I also have a green headband (seen here) and white version of the grey tee (top left), but couldn't find their images online.)

Did you add any fun pieces to your wardrobe last month?

Peace,
Sarah

**Linking up with Fran over at FranishtheBlog

Read More

May Goals

Holy moly, it's May already! The end of the school year is so close which is great in just about every way except for those final papers and projects just waiting to be finished...

I have a feeling this month will be just as full as the last, so I'm going to be realistic and do another round of short, but sweet goals. This way I can give myself some space to breathe as I prepare for whatever comes after graduation - Apparently I am finally learning the value of self-care. Who would have thought? ;)

Here are 5 things I hope to accomplish in May:

1) Pass comps - Last month we had our two days of written exams and this month we will defend what we wrote. My oral exam is on May 4th. Prayers are very much appreciated!

2) Write at least 5 posts and stay engaged with others - April's business really threw me off track with blogging, but hopefully I can get back into a groove this month.

3) Pack up and move - Where to? We shall see...

4) Complete the Mile-a-Day Challenge - My friends over at The Living Person have shared a challenge to run or walk at least one mile each day for the month of May. So far so good, but it is only the first haha. If you're interested, you can still sign up here. It's not too late and I'd be happy to be your accountability partner! Just let me know!

5) Write Letters - I hope to write letters or some sort of goodbye/thank you to some of the people who have been such an important part of my time at school. I would love to see them done before graduation, but even if I get them in the mail by the end of the month I'll consider this goal complete.

It's a short list, but still challenging and also quite exciting! I can't wait to see how it goes!

---

For those interested, here is a recap of last month's goals:

April Goal Recap

1) Make it through written comps
Done! Made it through and feeling great! Now I just have to make it through my oral exam this week...

2) 8 Blog Posts and continued engagement
Fail. Epic fail. As you can see, I posted a whopping 2 times last month. I blame comps.

3) Go to daily mass at least 5 times 
I know I completed this goal, but can't remember the exact days the masses were which makes me feel like I should be more intentional about it next time and not include Tuesday school liturgies since I always go to those...

I actually did a lot better then I anticipated. It helps that I knew April was going to be a tough month from the get-go.

---

Did you set any goals this month? I'd love to hear about them!

Peace,
Sarah

Linking up with #MonthlyGold, My New Lines, MorningMotivatedMom, BreakfastatLillys and My So-Called Chaos

Read More

5 Weekly Graces Vol. 22

So comprehensive exams might have pushed me into hiding for the past few weeks...

I had originally hoped to at least keep up with the weekly grace posts, but clearly that did not happen. A huge thanks for all of you patience, love and support! It's good to have some space to begin writing again and I even have a few posts that were queued up but I never put finishing touches on, so there should be some more posts on the way!

Because I have skipped the past few weeks, this edition of 5 Weekly Graces is probably going to cover more than just last week. #sorrynotsorry

Also, I'm pretty sure all of these moments will have something to do with comps... it was kind of a big deal haha

1) Comps!

On Thursday and Friday I took the written portion of my comprehensive exams for graduation - basically the Bar for MDiv students. The exam lasted 6 hours and I wrote 17 pages trying to encapsulate all of the knowledge I've gained over the past 3 years of study. It was terrifying and hard and everything you would think it would be, but it was also very blessed and exciting in some ways. On day one I was so anxious that I was breaking out into hives and even cried a little beforehand, but once I sat down and looked at the questions in front of me an sense of patience and calm took over - I knew the material. I could answer the questions. Do I think I passed with distinction? No, probably not. But I do think that I passed and I have until May 4th to research my answers and come to the oral exam (yup, there's more) prepared to correct or add to anything I wrote.

2) Caritas

 Rather than keeping the weekend before comps free for studying, I chose to help facilitate a small group on Caritas (the young adult retreat I attended in November). A bold decision, I know. After much prayer and reflection I realized that if I didn't already know the material by that point there wasn't much I could do. So, instead of spending the weekend in the library, I spent it in prayer and reflection with some amazing people and found that much of my prayer led to a calming of anxieties and also just a beautiful quiet, which was just what I needed.

3) Surrounded by Love

The night before comps and the morning of I was flooded with so many texts, emails, Facebook messages, etc from friends wishing me luck and offering their prayers. A few people at school asked me how I was feeling just before entering into the exam and my answer was simple - I felt loved. What a beautiful grace to be filled with a sense of peace during such an anxious time.

4) Visitors

I'm hoping that my confidence in passing comps is true because in addition to my mom, grandma and little sister coming to graduation, my best friend from college booked a flight to visit too! I love having worlds collide and cannot wait to share this place I have come to call home with all of them! (Now I just have to make sure to finish all of my coursework in a timely manner as well...)

5) Roommate Date

To celebrate the end of written comps, one of my roommates and I spent Saturday evening checking some items off of my Bay Area bucket-list and my 101 in 1001. We began with mass and went for a walk around Lake Merritt in Oakland with one of our other roommates. The weather was perfect and the lake was beautiful. For dinner we went to a delicious Ethiopian restaurant and ended the evening at home with some salted-caramel gelato. It was a good night.

I'm still so filled with joy and love from the past few weeks. I'm in constant awe of the kindness and support shared by others and cannot begin to articulate how grateful I am for having such beautiful people in my life.

Where have you found the good this week?

Peace,
Sarah

Read More

April Goals

Good golly, where did March go?! I cannot believe that it is already April! My blog will turn 1 this month which is super exciting, but I also have comprehensive exams which is not the most exciting thing...

Last month's goals were hit and miss. I would say that I accomplished at least part of all of them which is pretty good. To be fair, I am also being pretty lenient with myself - ok, very lenient.

This month I am going to keep the goals short and sweet simply because I am going to be SWAMPED with comps prep and interviews along with everything else. Here are three things I hope to accomplish in April:

1) Make it through written comps - thoughts and prayers on April 21 and 22 would be great!

2) 8 Blog Posts and continued engagement - still so thankful for this beautiful community!

3) Go to daily mass at least 5 times - because a little extra intentional time with God never hurts.

Again, not too many set for this month, but I really want to keep them manageable and protect myself from getting too overwhelmed in this crazy, busy month.

How about you? Do you have any goals in mind for April? I'd love to hear!

---

For those interested, here are the outcomes for my March's Goals:

Better Blogging:
Build Content - Post 10 times this month including one new recipe.
Technically I did not post a recipe, but I did attempt a new one and take photos during the prep for a post. It just ended up being an epic fail... womp womp.

Build Community - Read and comment on a minimum of 3 posts per day.
I was definitely way more engaged in building community this month. I did slack a little during my immersion trip, but given the extenuating circumstances, I think I can count this one as more or less complete too.

Create Art - Practice/Try new photo skills (Pinterest is a great tool!)
I definitely worked more with photography this month, particularly in editing skills. It's been a lot of fun and I am loving the learning.

Better Learning:
Manage Time - Get back in the habit of having readings done a day or so early - it's a nice cushion.
Fail. Life happens, ya know?

Manage Studies - Engage more in comprehensive exam preparations - at least 10 flashcards per week.
I spent a good amount of time studying this month. Some flashcards, but more case study practice than anything.

Look to the Future - Turn in 5 more job applications.
3/5 'aint bad, right?

Better Me:
Be Hospitable - Host a dinner party.
Done! I had the women from my cohort over for a beautiful party at the beginning of the month and had an amazing time.

Be Strong - Start running again after stitches are removed.
Check! I have been running a few times a week since the stitches are gone and boy does it feel good!

Embrace the Good - Set aside an extra hour of prayer each week devoted to gratitude.
I'm going to leave this undone just because I know I could be more intentional about this. I did spend time praying in thanksgiving, but not regularly.

---

And that's it. Hope everyone has a beautiful Friday and first day of April!

Peace,
Sarah

**Linking up with my so-called chaos, #monthylygold

Read More