Twenty Something Plus

February 16, 2016

Bloomingdale’s Bonus Box

Remember how excited I was to be one of the 50 influencers selected to receive a Rakuten Affiliate Network Bonus Box for the second time?

It’s happened again. Only this time, instead of the quarterly Bonus Box, I was one of the 25 selected to review an exclusive Bloomingdale’s Bonus Box.

I though I was the luckiest girl in the world. well, one of them anyways).

And then I opened the box and knew I was!

The first three items are different face masks.

I’m not going to talk about them, that’ll be another blog post…

I’ve tried a few, but I don’t use them very frequently. I have a feeling I am going to be using them a lot more often.

SK-II Facial Treatment Mask | 1 Sheet $17, 10 Sheets $135

Malin + Goetz Detox Face Mask | $42

Kiehl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque | $32

What I will talk about is the makeup included.

Any other time I’ve used a setting powder it’s been white. Even though they are all technically translucent, this one has been the best by far.

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder | $38

Normally liquid eyeliner is not my thing. Not because I don’t like it. But because it’s frustrating to apply. It bothers me that my eyeshadow gets all over the tip of my pen. And it really bothers me when it takes forever to apply over eyeshadow.

Not the case with this liner. It goes on smooth and is super vibrant!

Gucci Power Liquid Liner | $38

Bobbi Brown is one of my favorite makeup professionals and her makeup line is top notch. I love this mascara for everyday use.

Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara | $30

Trying new products is always an honor. Clinique’s Pop Oil isn’t available yet, but when it is, you’re going to want it!

For now, you can pick up their Pop Lacquer Lip Color + Primer.

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw this Sisley Paris face cream. Given my budget, anything over $50 for a skincare product that doesn’t come with a plug seems somewhat excessive to me, but my skin feels amazing and I am going to savor every single little scoop.

Sisley Paris Sisleÿa L’Integral Anti-Age | $525

Plus there’s a ton of bonus offers right now on the Bloomingdale’s website that you don’t want to miss out on!

February 12, 2016

14 His and Hers Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

Valentine’s Day is this weekend and the manfriend and I made plans in Boston. Gift exchange isn’t really a big deal to us, but I think that’s mostly because we both always forget until the last minute to come up with Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

I’m sure we aren’t the only ones, so here is my Valentine’s Day gift to you!

A bouquet of fresh flowers and jewelry are pretty standard, making them practical makes them amazing. Flowers in a mug? It can be used in the office for coffee. Dainty jewelry? A simple necklace or bracelet will go with more outfits and can be worn pretty much everyday.

Seven LUSH goodies in one set? I may end up getting this for myself. Gift the ultimate at home spa experience. Or if you’ve booked a hotel room, bring this along and make it even more luxurious!

And to pack? A heart duffel bag. Because, who doesn’t love to travel?

These Steve Madden shoes are on my personal wish list, so I couldn’t not add them to a V-Day themed gift guide.

Chocolate isn’t the way to my heart, but Melted Chocolate? A totally different story.

Shopping for guys is something a lot of people find hard, but it really just comes down to knowing what your guy’s interests are.

For instance, the manfriend is a gamer. He also needs a new headset. See what I did there?

We are both a little nerdy, so seeing Deadpool (which happens to come out in theaters just before Valentine’s Day) is a must! And so is buying his favorite candy.

Does he have a favorite sport? A cologne he always wears?

Then, there’s the stuff that everyone wants. Apple watches are pretty nifty and if you can afford to invest, then why not for the one you love? If not, I’m sure he could alway use a new pair of boxers.

February 11, 2016

Styled by 5 featuring Cents of Style

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

Never trust a groundhog. Despite his prediction for an early spring, New England has been getting hammered with snowstorms. Thankfully, this month’s Styled by 5 happens to be very weather appropriate.

Each month myself and four other boss blogger babes have been styling the same piece of clothing and since we all look and think differently from each other (hair, religion, location, skin, size, height, style…all of the above), you’ll get five totally different looks. That means you’ll get to see what I style, on other body types so you can find something that is best for you!

This month we’re styling a Cents of Style jacket AND a hat and scarf set, also from Cents of Style. Don’t forget to check out how Deidre, Kaylynn, Jacque, and Alexis of The Denovo Design, styled these items too!

What’s great about the jacket is that it can be worn in the spring and fall, and in the winter it’s ideal for when you’re wearing layers. Plus it has a hood. As for the hat and scarf set, I especially love the furry pom pom on the hat!

Hat and Scarf Set: Cents of Style
Jacket: Cents of Style
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Sperry

Bonus: Sperry winter boots are now 30% off. Plus, get an extra 10% off with the code: Extra10

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February 10, 2016

Target Wish List

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

Walking into Target lately has been bad news for my bank account. So, I’m trying to steer clear. In hopes of holding me over for a bit, I’ve made a Target wish list…

While I am extremely grateful for my Who What Wear x Target buys, there is still a few more things that I want. In particular, the zip pouch and the knotted belt. I mean, not only do they match but they could literally go with just about anything! If I had to choose between the two, I would have to go with the belt. That being said, I really want them both.

Also, in other unrelated, but totally still kind of related news, the Oh Joy for Target home decor collection launched and is now both in stores and online and I already have my eye on a few items for the home office space that I don’t yet have…

The dotty acrylic table would make the perfect fun side table! It doesn’t take up a lot of space and would go great with the rug I have in mind.

Wall art is something I appreciate but have never invested in. Sure I could DIY it, but the You’re OK and Hey Hey Hey framed wall art prints are exactly what I didn’t know I’d been looking for!

What’s on your Target wish list?

February 9, 2016

Better Beauty with Beautycounter

I know I’m not exactly the healthiest person, but one of my goals this year is to try to be more conscientious of what I put into my body. As well as what I put onto my body.

This is much easier said than done.

Especially with makeup.

But Beautycounter is out to change that.

I met up with Emily of Beautycounter to learn about the products they offer and test some of them out for myself.

I had already sampled their Body Glow Scrub and Hydrate Body Lotion, because they were in the Monarch Workshop swag bag.

But it was the makeup that I really wanted to try out!

My personal favorite product (that I will most definitely be getting), is the Touchup Skin Concealer Pen.

Unexpectedly, I also really liked the Color Contour Matte Brozner (in No. 2). I didn’t think it would be dark enough, but it created a very natural looking contour.

Using the brushes was a real treat!

I seriously want them all.

Safe beauty is better beauty.
Here’s the before and after…

Face: Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer in No. 5, Touchup Concealer Pen in No. 2, Color Sweep Blush Duo in Tawny/Whisper and Color Contour Matte Bronzer in No. 2
Eyes: Color Outline Eye Pencil in Black and Color Define Brow Pencil in Dark
Lips: Lip Gloss in Sienna

A nice, yet naturally enhancing, look. And you can still clearly see the difference.

If you’re interested in learning more about Beautycounter, you can contact Emily, here!

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February 8, 2016

2 Ways to Wear Something: Trench Vest

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

Just because I won’t be attending NYFW this season, it doesn’t mean that I can’t do something a little fashion forward on my own.

Even before I scored any of pieces from the Who What Wear x Target collection, I was thinking about which items I wanted and how I would style each of them.

One of my favorite pieces was this trench vest. I honestly didn’t think I’d actually end up getting it, but it is so me and I’m positive it’ll be worn very often!

Trench Vest: Target
Sweater: & Apparel
Necklace: Kate Spade
Jeans: American Eagle
Shoes: Dolce Vita (similar)

Also, if you didn’t notice, my hair is back to black. Well really dark brown, which is my natural color and a refreshing change.

Dress: Old Navy (similar)
Necklace: Shopbop
Socks: Old Navy
Boots: Steve Madden

I’m already planning how I want to wear this next!

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February 5, 2016

Splurge or Save: Straightening Hair Brush

During my 12 Days of Christmas Wish Lists the hair wish list included a $300 straightening brush by Dafni. While a lot of hair tools aren’t cheap, I just couldn’t justify spending that much on something I wasn’t even sure would work that well on my hair type.

But, thanks to a boutique deals website called Jane, I was able to get my hands on a much more affordable one.

It has rubber ball tips to help prevent burning your scalp. I broke one of the rubber tips off the first time I used it, to me it wasn’t a huge deal, but it is something worth mentioning.

Also worth mentioning, the temperature is in Celcius, not Fahrenheit, so you do have to keep that in mind when setting it. I’m not great with number and really not good with converting degrees, so I’ve been setting it to the highest temperature and then turning it down a few from that. It gets pretty hot, but definitely takes more that a few seconds to heat up.

More to keep in mind is that I have course chemically relaxed hair. It works well with my hair, but if my hair were natural, I don’t know that it’d be all that much better than just combing and using a flat iron.

I still haven’t tried the $300 version, because, well, it’s $300. But I can say that a straightening brush for around $20 is very much so worth it!

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February 4, 2016

My 5 Current Makeup Favorites

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

If you were to open up my purse and pull out my makeup bag, either two weeks ago or right this second, these five products are definitely in there.

I may not use all of them everyday, but they are my current makeup favorites and I use them often enough to feel like I have to have them on my person at pretty much all times.

Had you asked me prior to receiving the Marc Jacobs Beauty Velvet Noir Mascara free from Influenster, I would have said my favorite mascara was Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. While it is still one of my top mascara’s the Velvet Noir is just, well, better!

What I mean by that is, I am much happier with the way my lashes look when using the Velvet Noir Mascara. Plus, for a limited time get a free mini Le Marc Lip Crème and a mini Velvet Noir Mascara with any Marc Jacobs Beauty order.

Use code: FEB16. (I want to get their coconut face primer and keep the mini Velvet Noir in my bag and my current full-sized one on my vanity.)

The only thing that could possibly make Better Than Sex my number one again is if it came in waterproof…

I have been wanting to experiment with lip colors, but at the same time not wanting to go broke. In doing so, I have fallen head over heels in love with NYX. Right now I’m obsessed with their Butter Gloss in Praline. It makes a really great nude for darker skin tones.

Speaking of skin tones, I was given PÜR HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation to sample and found that by mixing one part Dark and one part Deep it matches my skin color perfectly! It’s light and dewy and gives my face a natural looking glow.

When I saw the Maybelline FaceStudio Master Contour kit all over my Instagram feed, I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I think I may have even secretly wanted to hate it a little bit. But the Medium to Deep palette created such a soft, natural looking contour that it quickly became one of my go-to’s.

If you already follow my on Instagram, you know my brow game isn’t a game. I usually use e.l.f Cosmetics Cream Eyeliner in Coffee and top it with NYX Tinted Brow Mascara. This process takes a while. Time that I don’t always have. But, with Benefit Instant Brow in Dark, I can do my brows even when I’m in a hurry.

And right now, Benefit Cosmetics is offering a free full-size Instant Brow pencil (in your shade) with any $55 order.

Use code: “LIGHT”, “MED” or “DEEP”, depending on the shade you want.

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February 3, 2016

Ocean Mineral Cleanser

I’d told myself, that I was going to use up the skincare products I have before trying any more new ones.

But Oz Naturals changed my mind with their Ocean Mineral Cleanser. I mean, they pretty much always do that to me, their products are vegan and organic, so I can almost never resist.

Really, they had me at ocean.

That and organic rose hip oil.

I’ve been using it for over a week now and I really like it. It gets my face clean, but gently. After I clean off my makeup, I wash my face with the Ocean Mineral Cleanser so make sure there won’t be any makeup stains on my pillows. Hasn’t let me down yet!

Now if only using it could make it summer and put me on a beach by the ocean somewhere…

February 2, 2016

My Q4 Bonus Box

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links.

Guess who was lucky enough to be selected to receive the Bonus Box by Rakuten Affiliate Network for a second time…

And the Q4 Bonus Box is equally as amazing as last quarter’s!

I’m not exactly a fan of headbands, but the one from jdklajkjdskflajlskj is cute and although I have yet to wear it out, Valentine’s Day is coming up so I’m pretty sure I will be very soon.

Jewelry is one of those things I like to look at and then don’t invest enough in. So it’s always nice to get something that is luxurious, yet practical. This Monica Vinader bracelet is the perfect addition to my little bangle collection, although I prefer to wear it solo.

My skin care routine is something that I’m constantly adapting. Even more so as I start to get older. Being able to try a new anti-aging cream cleanser was very nice treat!

I have already have a Clarisonic Mia, but the Foreo Luna Mini is a completely different experience! I especially recommend it if you have sensitive skin. Plus, you don’t have to worry about buying replacement brushes.

E.l.f. Cosmetics is one of the most predominate brands in my makeup bag. It’s affordable and their products work really well. I don’t think I could ever have too much e.l.f.

Plus, this Party Ready palette is great to take your look from day to night!

There was also a voucher for a pair of DL1961 jeans. I requested the Emma Skinny Jeans in Slashed.

The Rakuten Affiliate Network Instagram account has been releasing little sneak peeks of some of the contents for the 2016 Q1Bonus and I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I think I saw something from Clinique!

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